It is odd. What is even more odd is that most banks this side of the pond (I'm in Canada now, instead of the UK), charge for personal banking. From what I can see, most will charge you for every cheque you write, every transaction you make. Worse they don't even give you a significantly higher rate of interest than the UK. Companies in the UK, small and large, still have to pay per transaction, though if they are big enough they can get a discount. Which sucks if you're a small company trying to make a living. Of course, the really large companies like Sainsbury's just start their own bank so they can get even cheaper per transaction costs.
Cheques (or checks for those this side of the pond) are a royal pain in the ass for small companies. They get lost easily, or they bounce which is worse. Credit cards are costly but at least you know you are going to get your money. And it turns out per transaction they aren't that costly compared to cheques.
In the UK most utility companies will charge you if you don't set up a direct debit into your account (i.e. they can take the money direct from your account). Same with paying your property taxes.
Do you expect that level of service if the USPS closes? Where do you think that line of people at the USPS will go? Oh that's right to Fedex at Kinko's. Guess what, those employees will probably turn into the unfriendly monsters you see at the USPS because their relatively calm job has suddenly turned into an incredibly busy one.
You use cheques for your mortgage? Why doesn't the bank just take the money from your account like normal people do? And before someone complains that the company might take more than they are supposed to, that's the point of online banking so you can spot that kind of thing quickly and get it resolved.
Except commercial companies like UPS take the piss out of the USPO by sub contracting the expensive bits (the last few miles). That won't make it any cheaper or more reliable, it will just transfer the profitable parts of mail delivery to a private company. How is that going to save the USPO?
MI5? Why MI5? Is he a terror suspect? What have I missed here?
Oh, you mean that the civilian police at Scotland Yard might think he's a paedo? What's that got to do with Military Intelligence (after all, that's what the MI stands for)?
First off, there is an easy way to deal with patent interference.. that is.. don't grant the patent to either party. If there is a patent interference that means the idea itself may not be brilliant.. so why does someone deserve a 21 year monopoly on it?
Doesn't even matter if it's brilliant or not. If two people independently file for the same patent around the same time, surely both should fail because it was an obvious invention?
Except: the quality of the movies produced has gone down the price of popcorn has shot through the roof you have to sit through 10 times the adverts (and it's never for anything local any more its always big companies trying to sell you more sh** you don't need) and the seats are still as uncomfortable as ever
I don't know which part of the world you're in, but the price of the ticket is as expensive as buying the DVD when it first comes out. And there I get to watch it as many times as I please, with as many people as I like, in my rather comfortable living room. Which part of the cinema model has improved?
That hasn't stopped idiotic lawyers attempting to sue Grannies who don't own computers or single unemployed mothers. These systems are usually automated with little or no human interaction.
How am I to know whether the person who posted the video has the rights to post it, or not?
IANAL but I wonder if you could mount a legal defence based on YouTube's user policies and their policing of the content they see to be doing these days
Thing is, this is more likely targetting TV episode/movie/music downloads. Unless Netflix or similar service is in place, people will continue to download.
Anyone know how easy it is in NZ to get a different ISP? What's the ISP market like?
You don't understand how the human immune system works. Sure there are a documented cases (Typhoid Mary being the most obvious one that springs to mind) where someone is a carrier for the disease, but for the most part - no your immune system kills stuff. Obligatory wiki article
<devil's advocate> Ah yes, cos China's doing such a terrible job economically. I mean they're only the second largest economy in the world </devil's advocate>
This is only any use if at the same time, they can cure all the other diseases that are truly debilitating - Alzheimer's being a prime example. I certainly don't want to be trapped in my body unable to die of other natural causes.
You beat me to it, but I suspect our cousins in the States don't understand the concept of a media outlet that doesn't require ads to support it. Indeed, the BBC is required (I believe by law, but I could be wrong) NOT to carry advertising within the UK. It might be a different matter for BBC content outside the UK, I don't know.
Slashdot Mirror
It is odd. What is even more odd is that most banks this side of the pond (I'm in Canada now, instead of the UK), charge for personal banking. From what I can see, most will charge you for every cheque you write, every transaction you make. Worse they don't even give you a significantly higher rate of interest than the UK. Companies in the UK, small and large, still have to pay per transaction, though if they are big enough they can get a discount. Which sucks if you're a small company trying to make a living. Of course, the really large companies like Sainsbury's just start their own bank so they can get even cheaper per transaction costs.
Cheques (or checks for those this side of the pond) are a royal pain in the ass for small companies. They get lost easily, or they bounce which is worse. Credit cards are costly but at least you know you are going to get your money. And it turns out per transaction they aren't that costly compared to cheques.
You're right - they are doing it wrong.
In the UK most utility companies will charge you if you don't set up a direct debit into your account (i.e. they can take the money direct from your account). Same with paying your property taxes.
Do you expect that level of service if the USPS closes? Where do you think that line of people at the USPS will go? Oh that's right to Fedex at Kinko's. Guess what, those employees will probably turn into the unfriendly monsters you see at the USPS because their relatively calm job has suddenly turned into an incredibly busy one.
Is that because the political parties (read: Republicans) are refusing to fund the upgrades necessary to bring the USPS into relevance?
You use cheques for your mortgage? Why doesn't the bank just take the money from your account like normal people do? And before someone complains that the company might take more than they are supposed to, that's the point of online banking so you can spot that kind of thing quickly and get it resolved.
Except commercial companies like UPS take the piss out of the USPO by sub contracting the expensive bits (the last few miles). That won't make it any cheaper or more reliable, it will just transfer the profitable parts of mail delivery to a private company. How is that going to save the USPO?
MI5? Why MI5? Is he a terror suspect? What have I missed here?
Oh, you mean that the civilian police at Scotland Yard might think he's a paedo? What's that got to do with Military Intelligence (after all, that's what the MI stands for)?
First off, there is an easy way to deal with patent interference .. that is .. don't grant the patent to either party. If there is a patent interference that means the idea itself may not be brilliant .. so why does someone deserve a 21 year monopoly on it?
Doesn't even matter if it's brilliant or not. If two people independently file for the same patent around the same time, surely both should fail because it was an obvious invention?
How long before corporations have the same right?
Someone recently did a mash up with the Cookie Monster and Tom Waits which did the rounds on FB recently which seems to fit the bill.
I think that was kinda his (side) point.
Except:
the quality of the movies produced has gone down
the price of popcorn has shot through the roof
you have to sit through 10 times the adverts (and it's never for anything local any more its always big companies trying to sell you more sh** you don't need)
and the seats are still as uncomfortable as ever
I don't know which part of the world you're in, but the price of the ticket is as expensive as buying the DVD when it first comes out. And there I get to watch it as many times as I please, with as many people as I like, in my rather comfortable living room. Which part of the cinema model has improved?
That hasn't stopped idiotic lawyers attempting to sue Grannies who don't own computers or single unemployed mothers. These systems are usually automated with little or no human interaction.
How am I to know whether the person who posted the video has the rights to post it, or not?
IANAL but I wonder if you could mount a legal defence based on YouTube's user policies and their policing of the content they see to be doing these days
Thing is, this is more likely targetting TV episode/movie/music downloads. Unless Netflix or similar service is in place, people will continue to download.
Anyone know how easy it is in NZ to get a different ISP?
What's the ISP market like?
Why would need an unaerated homogenated mouse?
You don't understand how the human immune system works. Sure there are a documented cases (Typhoid Mary being the most obvious one that springs to mind) where someone is a carrier for the disease, but for the most part - no your immune system kills stuff.
Obligatory wiki article
... they also provide a -1 too. I'd like to mod a page down as a method of balancing.
<devil's advocate>
Ah yes, cos China's doing such a terrible job economically. I mean they're only the second largest economy in the world
</devil's advocate>
No - just a first fail
This is only any use if at the same time, they can cure all the other diseases that are truly debilitating - Alzheimer's being a prime example. I certainly don't want to be trapped in my body unable to die of other natural causes.
You have a very jaded view of your police force.
I'm not sure which is worse - sensationalism to create money through advertising, or for the sake of it.
You beat me to it, but I suspect our cousins in the States don't understand the concept of a media outlet that doesn't require ads to support it. Indeed, the BBC is required (I believe by law, but I could be wrong) NOT to carry advertising within the UK. It might be a different matter for BBC content outside the UK, I don't know.
I suspect that Notepad not being able to wrap properly is the least of their worries