I'm probably posting too late but:
There seem to be a lot of outrage and confident assertions over 'what the law is' in this thread, so I'd like to give my opinion (I am a 2 year law student)...
1. Courts frequently allow the recission in these clerical error type cases because it does not serve recognized contract law social policy to enforce them.
2. In each case where the customer knew of the mistake, black letter law (See Restatement of Contracts, section 153 'When Mistake of One Party Makes a Contract Voidable') indicates a slam dunk case in Amazon's favor. (Often mistake can be inferred from the price stated in the Contract offer, so it is certainly possible a court would decide this even in the few cases where the customer honestly thought he or she was getting free DVDs).
3. Neither of the above makes it correct for Amazon to pursue 'vigilante' measures of collecting (in this case, charging customer's credit cards). Amazon should look to a court to rescind the contract.
I agree that private citizens should be allowed to own guns, and that such is the most reasonable interpretation of the Second Amendment. However, I would urge you not to cast your vote for the federal executive branch based on that belief. It is not the President's job to create legislation, but to enforce it. You should use this desire to choose your (State and federal) lawmakers, not the national executive. What do you fear he is going to do? Veto a bill that provides for private gun ownership? That does not make sense because that bill does not make sense, primarily because private gun ownership is already status quo and arguably already a law (the 2nd Amendment).
The best thing you can do as a student to make yourself more appealing to potential employers is to take a part time job or paid internship as a student.
I interned at a software company for three years during college, which I believe put me on a completely different level than my peers who had no work experience - even though many of them had better grades
You mentioned "Cisco, Exchange, SQL, etc", IT type jobs are the ones getting washed out by grads. If you are serious about becoming a developer, you need to get experience - try making significant contributions to an open source project or going to grad school and landing some sort of internship like I just mentioned.
Around here there are tons of companies that hire CS students, many times with the hope of grooming them into a full time employee.
That makes my point.
If being able to strip application software away from a OS is important, don't use Microsoft's OS.
I'm not going to argue why a free market, capitalist economy is good and works...but..
If enough people want to be able to strip the kernel bare BAD ENOUGH, eventually microsoft will go out of business.
Granted, I don't think all of those are myths. But one really irks me as being false for any software developers:
Myth: New developers interested in the project will best learn the project by fixing bugs and reading the source code.
Reality: Reading code is difficult. Fixing bugs is difficult and probably something you don't want to do anyway. While giving someone unglamorous work is a good way to test his dedication, it relies on unstructured learning by osmosis.
I work for a very niche market/profitable software company and thats exactly how the developers get their feet wet, by fixing minor bugs.
Seems like the only way to "learn a project" is to fix bugs and therefore read the code.
I use a motorcycle as my primary form of transportation and I have never had a problem checking my speed, odometer, RPMs, etc, simply by glancing down.
Personally, I think I would find it MORE distracting to have all that information in the "periphery of one eye". I'm always looking as far ahead as I can at road conditions, intersections and a million other things. The last thing I want is my vision obstructed
I really don't think this will be a boon to motorcycle safety...maybe if there were a switch on one of the handle bars that would flick the information on/off. That feature seems crucial, yet very difficult to package when you have no idea what bikes your consumers own, etc.
From the FAQ:
What should I do if I get a "Would you like to send this error report to Microsoft" box?
---
Don't panic. You're not going to die,
Sweet!!! I NO LONGER FEAR MY OWN MORTALITY
What is up with the use of M$, replacing the S with the dollar sign? I've seen tons of people use it as an insult, while being thoroughly amused at themselves for it. Can anyone explain to me WHY this is either 1) funny or 2) an insult in the first place? Microsoft is A COMPANY they exist TO MAKE MONEY. Yes, their primary concern is TO MAKE MONEY. Replacing the S in their name with a dollar sign is a completely inane gesture.
There is nothing wrong with existing to make money, not heedlessly sacrificing one's earnings and productivity because someone stands on a pedastal screaming its a sin not to. That's what is great about the United States - if you don't like windows DON'T BUY IT and shut up about it.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm probably posting too late but:
There seem to be a lot of outrage and confident assertions over 'what the law is' in this thread, so I'd like to give my opinion (I am a 2 year law student)...
1. Courts frequently allow the recission in these clerical error type cases because it does not serve recognized contract law social policy to enforce them.
2. In each case where the customer knew of the mistake, black letter law (See Restatement of Contracts, section 153 'When Mistake of One Party Makes a Contract Voidable') indicates a slam dunk case in Amazon's favor. (Often mistake can be inferred from the price stated in the Contract offer, so it is certainly possible a court would decide this even in the few cases where the customer honestly thought he or she was getting free DVDs).
3. Neither of the above makes it correct for Amazon to pursue 'vigilante' measures of collecting (in this case, charging customer's credit cards). Amazon should look to a court to rescind the contract.
I agree that private citizens should be allowed to own guns, and that such is the most reasonable interpretation of the Second Amendment. However, I would urge you not to cast your vote for the federal executive branch based on that belief. It is not the President's job to create legislation, but to enforce it. You should use this desire to choose your (State and federal) lawmakers, not the national executive. What do you fear he is going to do? Veto a bill that provides for private gun ownership? That does not make sense because that bill does not make sense, primarily because private gun ownership is already status quo and arguably already a law (the 2nd Amendment).
From the Sixth Amendment: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial..."
You have no "right to a speedy trial" in a civil suit.
The best thing you can do as a student to make yourself more appealing to potential employers is to take a part time job or paid internship as a student.
I interned at a software company for three years during college, which I believe put me on a completely different level than my peers who had no work experience - even though many of them had better grades
You mentioned "Cisco, Exchange, SQL, etc", IT type jobs are the ones getting washed out by grads. If you are serious about becoming a developer, you need to get experience - try making significant contributions to an open source project or going to grad school and landing some sort of internship like I just mentioned.
Around here there are tons of companies that hire CS students, many times with the hope of grooming them into a full time employee.
That makes my point.
If being able to strip application software away from a OS is important, don't use Microsoft's OS.
I'm not going to argue why a free market, capitalist economy is good and works...but..
If enough people want to be able to strip the kernel bare BAD ENOUGH, eventually microsoft will go out of business.
Granted, I don't think all of those are myths. But one really irks me as being false for any software developers:
Myth: New developers interested in the project will best learn the project by fixing bugs and reading the source code. Reality: Reading code is difficult. Fixing bugs is difficult and probably something you don't want to do anyway. While giving someone unglamorous work is a good way to test his dedication, it relies on unstructured learning by osmosis.
I work for a very niche market/profitable software company and thats exactly how the developers get their feet wet, by fixing minor bugs.
Seems like the only way to "learn a project" is to fix bugs and therefore read the code.
I use a motorcycle as my primary form of transportation and I have never had a problem checking my speed, odometer, RPMs, etc, simply by glancing down.
Personally, I think I would find it MORE distracting to have all that information in the "periphery of one eye". I'm always looking as far ahead as I can at road conditions, intersections and a million other things. The last thing I want is my vision obstructed
I really don't think this will be a boon to motorcycle safety...maybe if there were a switch on one of the handle bars that would flick the information on/off. That feature seems crucial, yet very difficult to package when you have no idea what bikes your consumers own, etc.
anyone who wants to take on my level 2 LOGD theif in a duel TO THE DEATH is welcome to try
From the FAQ: What should I do if I get a "Would you like to send this error report to Microsoft" box? --- Don't panic. You're not going to die, Sweet!!! I NO LONGER FEAR MY OWN MORTALITY
What is up with the use of M$, replacing the S with the dollar sign? I've seen tons of people use it as an insult, while being thoroughly amused at themselves for it. Can anyone explain to me WHY this is either 1) funny or 2) an insult in the first place? Microsoft is A COMPANY they exist TO MAKE MONEY. Yes, their primary concern is TO MAKE MONEY. Replacing the S in their name with a dollar sign is a completely inane gesture. There is nothing wrong with existing to make money, not heedlessly sacrificing one's earnings and productivity because someone stands on a pedastal screaming its a sin not to. That's what is great about the United States - if you don't like windows DON'T BUY IT and shut up about it.