I seriously doubt that your son's chair costs any more to manufacture or has any more expesive parts than this chair (I know it's probably a totally different design, but I'm sure it uses the same motors and controls), which lists for just over $6000, and sells for under $6k. It's certainly not your fault, you don't have a choice in the matter. But if there was a cap of say 300% or even 400% profit on products paid for by insurance companies, maybe our premiums would go down. Or maybe insurance companies would just make more money. I'm just saying this chair sounds just like a $20 asprin at the hospital. But then again you could argue that people wouldn't come out with innovative products like this if there wasn't such a huge profit potential. Ok, now I'm debating myself, so I'll just stop now:-)
Yes, and therein lies one of the major problems with Healthcare in the U.S. My neice had 2 identical proceedures done over the course of a little over a year. The first time she had insurance, and the second time she didn't. You would be amazed at the difference in the bills when they know they're getting paid by an insurance company. When you consider the insurance premiums, the out of pocket was actually less without insurance.
As long as the insurance companies blame the overpriced hospitals, hospitals blame the uninsured and malpractice suits, and everyone blames the lawyers, it's the consumers who are left holding the bag.
People who have insurance don't mind getting billed $30k-$40k for something that should cost maybe $10k, because they think the insurance company is paying for it, when in fact it's the consumers who pay for it with their outrageous premiums. You don't see a lot of insurance companies filing Chapter 11, no matter how much they pay for an asprin.
It literally brought tears to my eyes seeing what it will mean for millions of disabled people around the world.
Are there really millions of disabled people who can afford a US$30k wheelchair? I saw this on the news last night, and that's about what they're charging for it, apparently. Now, if it weren't going to be covered by some insurance companies, do you think it would retail for that much, or would it be closer to the roughly US$5k that a Seqway goes for? It's more complicated, but is it 6x more complicated?
They also said it is very complicated to operate, and requires a doctor's prescription. The video they showed looked like it would be very easy for someone to get hurt if they didn't know what they were doing.
Someone in my office just gave me a screen shot of a shutdown timer on their computer at home. Anyone used the removal tool yet and had any luck with it?
Sorry, but when you compared the "$30" you pay to the $300 it would cost your girlfriend, I couldn't help but think you didn't have a clue. I think "any moron" would have read that as a direct comparison, and as such it is flawed. What your employer contributes is part of your compensation package, and you obviously know that. I see your point, and I can respond to it without the need to insult you.
Your original reply told me to look at the difference in cost before I started spewing. Now you say you know what the cost is, but if that's the case, why can't you see my point. What difference does it make if your employer pays it, or work for yourself and pay it?
Like I said, just as insurance is part of the cost of having an employee, it's also part of the cost of working for yourself. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to work for yourself - you need to save more. So yes, if you don't have adequate savings, it can be a huge obsticle.
Choosing to start a business without adequate startup capital to fund your insurance is a choice. That's how most small businesses start. Most small businesses also start without even the simplest of business plans. And the vast majority of small businesses will fail - That's a fact. And they will fail because of choices. Sure, most will fail for lack of planning or funding, but really, they'll fail because someone's choice to jump in without proper planning or funding.
As far as the worker's comp, vacation, etc.- having run my own business for over 6 years before incorporating and moving on to more fulfilling pastimes, I am fully aware of what is required of a self-employed person, an employer and a corporation. I my statement was that most people have jobs so someone else can take care of those things - in other words provide all the things that come with employment, which includes the security of worker's compensation and unemployment insurance, and the relaxation of a vacation.
It's all about choices. I even knew of an employee (not mine, thank goodness) that thought he couldn't afford his share of the health insurance premiums (the $30 in your case, working at a small company, more like $80 in his case). Although he "couldn't afford" the coverage, he somehow managed to smoke over a pack of cigarettes a day. Now he wouldn't have even had to quit smoking to afford insurance - just cut down. Choices. That's what makes this country great - choices. Some good, some bad, some illegal. But you make them for yourself, usually.
When I first started my business, I worked 10pm to 2am at a newspaper so I could afford what I felt I needed for my business, and still be available during business hours. (You can't imagine how hard it was to get that job with my "kindergarten experience").
But hey, what's to worry about? If you're uninsured and get sick or hurt, you can always go to the emergency room, and declare bankrupcy if it gets too expensive. Let the healthcare system absorb the cost, it's not like they're going to loose any money. They'll just keep upping everyone's premiums. So no big deal, right?
Seriously, read the article, check out the SBA, go to the library - there's a ton of free info out there to get started right. My first business went like most others - I jumped in and went at it, with no business plan or savings. It even lasted a couple years- but with a plan, some savings, and some free help from the volunteers (mostly retired business owners or corporate officers), it probably would have done as well as my second one.
And your girlfriend - my God, being a self-employed single woman is way better than being a guy - there's all sorts of help out there. She should check out the ABWA. And if she's a minority or a single mom, there's organizations practically begging to give her a small business loan so she can start off right, with a salary and health insurance. You just need a business plan, and the SBA or ABWA will help with that.
If you can barely pay the bills as it is, and you think that's a good position to be in to start a business, you've been watching too many infomercials.
I don't understand why so many people are comparing this to hard drive or CDr based mp3 players. It's like comparing SATA Hard drives to DDR Memory. Sure, the hard drive based players are a "better deal", but only if you're willing to cart around the extra weight, and aren't the clumsy type.
Personally, I prefer my car deck that plays mp3s from CDr's, because I don't need to listen to music when walking from my car to my home or office (yes, I know, I should jog/bike/walk more, sue me). But I can't compare it's price or features to any other type of player.
Because then you couldn't charge $170 for 256 Mb of flash memory. I don't think their primary concern is price and upgradability. I think it's profit and sales.:-)
Did you read the pages you linked to? They all say Gateway 2000 (the computer maker) lost, and Gateway.com (The "little guy") won. I couldn't find anything online about Gateway 2000 "stealing" the domain. I couldn't find anything about how they ended up getting it, either. Anyone know what happened? I would suspect they may have bought it from him, but your guess is as good as mine.
In most cases, it's only a matter of cost. Even if you're a high risk, with a group it's just spread out over the other people in the group. It's not like they're giving deals to companies because they like them.
I've known a few people in your situation, and often the only choice is to have a job just for the insurance benefits. I know one couple where the husband has a business, and the wife brings home about $20 a week - despite a very respectible salary. After insurance, daycare, taxes and retirement deductions, it's pretty much all gone.
The only other option (which I'll admit may not pan out) may be to get in a group policy through an association.
Sorry if I insulted you in my original post, it was directed at healthy younger Americans who whine about health insurance costs stopping them from striking out on their own. There are plenty of people who have a legitimate reason to complain about healthcare - like yourself, and people who have jobs that don't provide health insurance. Like part time workers, temps and people who for one reason or another can't stick it out long enough to qualify.
Actually, I'd be willing to wager that I've got a few years on you, my naive young Slashdotter.
I'm sorry if my wording was overly complicated. Maybe you should ask your employer what percentage your $30 actually pays. Then ask your employer how much it would cost to add your girlfriend to your policy, if you were to get married.
Allow me to spew a bit more... your employer is paying the majority of your insurance premium, and that is part of the total cost of having your mass grace the presence of their facility. You will likely find that they will not pay the majority of your theorhetical spouse's premiums, so don't expect to add her to your policy for an additional $30 a month, should you ever get married.
Now pay close attention, because this is the point you missed last time, and probably the point that got me modded up - You make more money per hour freelancing because you have to cover these types of expenses that your employer is paying now. Now the problem is getting to the point where you're billing almost as many hours as a full-time job - that's why you save, plan, save some more, and then plan some more. And then save some more. Most people have jobs instead of working for themselves because they like being taken care of, and having someone else worry about things like insurance. And unemployment tax. And Social Security. And worker's compensation. And vacation time. And sick leave. And FMLA leave. And maternity leave. And training. And wrongful discharge. And liability. Well, you get the idea. Or maybe not.
Yes, yes, spoken very authoritatively and with the requisite amount of condescension for a Slashdot poster.
Right back atcha:-)
Excellent points, especially for the clueless whom I'll reply to directly in a moment...
You clearly state the other side of the coin - I was addressing the comment from the standpoint that many people think that the $30 a paycheck that gets deducted is what their insurance is actually costing them. Not even close. First of all, it's pre-tax, so it's even less. Second, most employers pay a good chunk as a benefit.
Obviously a group plan will be cheaper per person, assuming that the groups mean health demographic is roughly the same as the individual's. But when you compare making say $15 or $30 an hour as an employee to say charging $60 to $120 as a freelancer, you should be able to afford good, quality comprehensive healthcare. It's simply a cost of doing business like anything else. And like many things, it's more expensive for a small business than a large one.
The same goes for comparing rates of a business with 30 employees to a business with 300. Are you going to turn down a better job with a smaller company because the health insurance is more expensive? The problem is that the 'one man operation' only has himself to consider, so he often considers health insurance as optional, or too expensive to afford.
Ummm, I don't know, maybe pay for it, like you do when you're working for someone else? Just because 100% of it isn't coming out of your check, doesn't mean you aren't paying for all of it. It's all part of the expense of employing you, along with unemployment insurance, worker's compensation, etc. That's why freelancer's generally charge a much higher rate per hour - they have to pay that stuff themselves, instead of having someone else do it for them.
Actually, you're reading that from the Computer Geeks web site - newegg is the second link. The support contact listed on the Computer Geeks web site means they supply support. Sorry for the confusion.
Pricing aside (newegg is about $20 cheaper), having dealt with both, I'd recommend newegg for the speed they get items out. I haven't had to deal with Computer Geeks customer service, but newegg's is unbeatable.
Pretty cool how you can use the radio, CD and mp3 playing capabilities without booting up the PC. But they say due to the proprietary nature (I assume they're talking about these features) that only MSI optical drives a guaranteed to work.
With so many people having cell phones these days, all you have to do is ask around to see who's best in your area. This explains the high ratings and little spread in the study. By now people have figured out who they should go with in a particular area.
A useful study would ask how people rated their service when travelling. I think you'd see the ratings plummet. I have T-Mobile which is ok for where I normally use it, but I just went on vacation, and any distance at all off the highway or away from any cities, and it was useless. And at our family reunion at my folk's place in the boonies (about 45 minutes from the nearest town), I think we had every carrier represented, and not a single signal among them, including the ones that showed coverage on thier maps.
Telecommuting vs. outsourcing is like pregnancy vs. adopting. Either way you end up with a kid, but one way you spend a lot of money and fill out a bunch of paperwork, and the other way you get to screw somebody.
There are so many differences it's hardly worth mentioning any - but I will anyway. Liability, insurance, workers' comp., if one guy can everyone will want to, and most employers feel like they have to ride their charges when they're in the office, how can they expect them to work if no one's there to crack the whip?
A lot of the logic behind not allowing telecommuting may be flawed, but comparing it to outsourcing is even more flawed. Do you have any idea how hard it is to fire someone these days? It may seem easy, but it's hard, expensive and risky. You must know someone at your company that everyone wonders why they're still there. If not, ask someone who works in a union shop. Breach of contract (if it's even an issue) is much easier to deal with than harrasement claims, unemployment disputes, discrimination charges, wrongful termination, or the real sweet quiet guy that kept to himself who you just fired showing up the next day for a little score settling.
Well, considering Portland, OR is only near a port, one has to wonder where it even got its name. Hmmm... could it be that it was named after Portland, Maine? Or is it even more interresting than that,? A different result of the coin toss would have had us asking which Boston.
Let's recap: Portland, Maine was around way longer, is actually a Port town, and the "other" Portland was named after it as the result of a coin toss. And as far as population goes, I would guess (although I may be wrong) that more people in the US live closer to Portland, Maine than Portland, Oregon. Ayuh.
Actually, turns out the co-founders were doing pretty ok before Netflix. Particularly Marc Randolph, who founded or cofounded MacUser Magazine and Micro Warehouse, apparently. This would explain the difference between them and us - they had the $$$ and connections to actually take that simple idea and make it a reality. And the more I think about it, they really don't need their patent. They're doing a pretty good job from what I hear, and if they were idiots, it would be a shame to make the idea unavailable to someone who might make it a success.
I'm feeling less and less torn the more I debate with my fellow/.'ers.:-)
What I'm getting at is: the Netflix idea is not one that's good enough to allow the "inventor" to compete with an established behemoth like Blockbuster. So? The "inventor" should go to Blockbuster and get hired, saying "look at this cool idea I had -- hire me and I'll think of more."
You can't be serious. The "inventor" should go get a job at Blockbuster for $50,000/year if he's lucky, and turn over his idea for the priviledge of an at-will emplyyment agreeement, meaning he can be fired at any time? You are aware that Netflix has been successful enough to raise over $80 million in their IPO? They're a publicly traded company. Sure, Blockbuster has 10x the customer base (last year's numbers, sorry), but look at their overhead. And I don't think they're renting online even now.
And Blockbuster wouldn't hire him anyhow - they'll just try to steal the idea like all the other uninspired, unoriginal followers.
Oh, and megabucks are also made with inside information, cooking the books, ripping off investors, or even once and a while by Cletus who can't afford shoes for his kids, but manages to come up with $40 a month than buy lotto tickets. Praise be.
Slashdot Mirror
I seriously doubt that your son's chair costs any more to manufacture or has any more expesive parts than this chair (I know it's probably a totally different design, but I'm sure it uses the same motors and controls), which lists for just over $6000, and sells for under $6k. It's certainly not your fault, you don't have a choice in the matter. But if there was a cap of say 300% or even 400% profit on products paid for by insurance companies, maybe our premiums would go down. Or maybe insurance companies would just make more money. I'm just saying this chair sounds just like a $20 asprin at the hospital. But then again you could argue that people wouldn't come out with innovative products like this if there wasn't such a huge profit potential. Ok, now I'm debating myself, so I'll just stop now :-)
Yes, and therein lies one of the major problems with Healthcare in the U.S. My neice had 2 identical proceedures done over the course of a little over a year. The first time she had insurance, and the second time she didn't. You would be amazed at the difference in the bills when they know they're getting paid by an insurance company. When you consider the insurance premiums, the out of pocket was actually less without insurance.
As long as the insurance companies blame the overpriced hospitals, hospitals blame the uninsured and malpractice suits, and everyone blames the lawyers, it's the consumers who are left holding the bag.
People who have insurance don't mind getting billed $30k-$40k for something that should cost maybe $10k, because they think the insurance company is paying for it, when in fact it's the consumers who pay for it with their outrageous premiums. You don't see a lot of insurance companies filing Chapter 11, no matter how much they pay for an asprin.
It literally brought tears to my eyes seeing what it will mean for millions of disabled people around the world.
Are there really millions of disabled people who can afford a US$30k wheelchair? I saw this on the news last night, and that's about what they're charging for it, apparently. Now, if it weren't going to be covered by some insurance companies, do you think it would retail for that much, or would it be closer to the roughly US$5k that a Seqway goes for? It's more complicated, but is it 6x more complicated?
They also said it is very complicated to operate, and requires a doctor's prescription. The video they showed looked like it would be very easy for someone to get hurt if they didn't know what they were doing.
Maybe we should just leave nature to its simple, one-asses schematics.
Someone in my office just gave me a screen shot of a shutdown timer on their computer at home. Anyone used the removal tool yet and had any luck with it?
Sorry, but when you compared the "$30" you pay to the $300 it would cost your girlfriend, I couldn't help but think you didn't have a clue. I think "any moron" would have read that as a direct comparison, and as such it is flawed. What your employer contributes is part of your compensation package, and you obviously know that. I see your point, and I can respond to it without the need to insult you.
Your original reply told me to look at the difference in cost before I started spewing. Now you say you know what the cost is, but if that's the case, why can't you see my point. What difference does it make if your employer pays it, or work for yourself and pay it?
Like I said, just as insurance is part of the cost of having an employee, it's also part of the cost of working for yourself. If you can't afford it, you can't afford to work for yourself - you need to save more. So yes, if you don't have adequate savings, it can be a huge obsticle.
Choosing to start a business without adequate startup capital to fund your insurance is a choice. That's how most small businesses start. Most small businesses also start without even the simplest of business plans. And the vast majority of small businesses will fail - That's a fact. And they will fail because of choices. Sure, most will fail for lack of planning or funding, but really, they'll fail because someone's choice to jump in without proper planning or funding.
As far as the worker's comp, vacation, etc.- having run my own business for over 6 years before incorporating and moving on to more fulfilling pastimes, I am fully aware of what is required of a self-employed person, an employer and a corporation. I my statement was that most people have jobs so someone else can take care of those things - in other words provide all the things that come with employment, which includes the security of worker's compensation and unemployment insurance, and the relaxation of a vacation.
It's all about choices. I even knew of an employee (not mine, thank goodness) that thought he couldn't afford his share of the health insurance premiums (the $30 in your case, working at a small company, more like $80 in his case). Although he "couldn't afford" the coverage, he somehow managed to smoke over a pack of cigarettes a day. Now he wouldn't have even had to quit smoking to afford insurance - just cut down. Choices. That's what makes this country great - choices. Some good, some bad, some illegal. But you make them for yourself, usually.
When I first started my business, I worked 10pm to 2am at a newspaper so I could afford what I felt I needed for my business, and still be available during business hours. (You can't imagine how hard it was to get that job with my "kindergarten experience").
But hey, what's to worry about? If you're uninsured and get sick or hurt, you can always go to the emergency room, and declare bankrupcy if it gets too expensive. Let the healthcare system absorb the cost, it's not like they're going to loose any money. They'll just keep upping everyone's premiums. So no big deal, right?
Seriously, read the article, check out the SBA, go to the library - there's a ton of free info out there to get started right. My first business went like most others - I jumped in and went at it, with no business plan or savings. It even lasted a couple years- but with a plan, some savings, and some free help from the volunteers (mostly retired business owners or corporate officers), it probably would have done as well as my second one.
And your girlfriend - my God, being a self-employed single woman is way better than being a guy - there's all sorts of help out there. She should check out the ABWA. And if she's a minority or a single mom, there's organizations practically begging to give her a small business loan so she can start off right, with a salary and health insurance. You just need a business plan, and the SBA or ABWA will help with that.
If you can barely pay the bills as it is, and you think that's a good position to be in to start a business, you've been watching too many infomercials.
I don't understand why so many people are comparing this to hard drive or CDr based mp3 players. It's like comparing SATA Hard drives to DDR Memory. Sure, the hard drive based players are a "better deal", but only if you're willing to cart around the extra weight, and aren't the clumsy type.
Personally, I prefer my car deck that plays mp3s from CDr's, because I don't need to listen to music when walking from my car to my home or office (yes, I know, I should jog/bike/walk more, sue me). But I can't compare it's price or features to any other type of player.
Because then you couldn't charge $170 for 256 Mb of flash memory. I don't think their primary concern is price and upgradability. I think it's profit and sales. :-)
Did you read the pages you linked to? They all say Gateway 2000 (the computer maker) lost, and Gateway.com (The "little guy") won. I couldn't find anything online about Gateway 2000 "stealing" the domain. I couldn't find anything about how they ended up getting it, either. Anyone know what happened? I would suspect they may have bought it from him, but your guess is as good as mine.
Maybe because for $10 more you get a graphic display with ID3 tag support and voice recording capability?
Hey - finally a valid point! :-)
In most cases, it's only a matter of cost. Even if you're a high risk, with a group it's just spread out over the other people in the group. It's not like they're giving deals to companies because they like them.
I've known a few people in your situation, and often the only choice is to have a job just for the insurance benefits. I know one couple where the husband has a business, and the wife brings home about $20 a week - despite a very respectible salary. After insurance, daycare, taxes and retirement deductions, it's pretty much all gone.
The only other option (which I'll admit may not pan out) may be to get in a group policy through an association.
Sorry if I insulted you in my original post, it was directed at healthy younger Americans who whine about health insurance costs stopping them from striking out on their own. There are plenty of people who have a legitimate reason to complain about healthcare - like yourself, and people who have jobs that don't provide health insurance. Like part time workers, temps and people who for one reason or another can't stick it out long enough to qualify.
Actually, I'd be willing to wager that I've got a few years on you, my naive young Slashdotter.
I'm sorry if my wording was overly complicated. Maybe you should ask your employer what percentage your $30 actually pays. Then ask your employer how much it would cost to add your girlfriend to your policy, if you were to get married.
Allow me to spew a bit more... your employer is paying the majority of your insurance premium, and that is part of the total cost of having your mass grace the presence of their facility. You will likely find that they will not pay the majority of your theorhetical spouse's premiums, so don't expect to add her to your policy for an additional $30 a month, should you ever get married.
Now pay close attention, because this is the point you missed last time, and probably the point that got me modded up - You make more money per hour freelancing because you have to cover these types of expenses that your employer is paying now. Now the problem is getting to the point where you're billing almost as many hours as a full-time job - that's why you save, plan, save some more, and then plan some more. And then save some more. Most people have jobs instead of working for themselves because they like being taken care of, and having someone else worry about things like insurance. And unemployment tax. And Social Security. And worker's compensation. And vacation time. And sick leave. And FMLA leave. And maternity leave. And training. And wrongful discharge. And liability. Well, you get the idea. Or maybe not.
Yes, yes, spoken very authoritatively and with the requisite amount of condescension for a Slashdot poster.
:-)
Right back atcha
Excellent points, especially for the clueless whom I'll reply to directly in a moment...
You clearly state the other side of the coin - I was addressing the comment from the standpoint that many people think that the $30 a paycheck that gets deducted is what their insurance is actually costing them. Not even close. First of all, it's pre-tax, so it's even less. Second, most employers pay a good chunk as a benefit.
Obviously a group plan will be cheaper per person, assuming that the groups mean health demographic is roughly the same as the individual's. But when you compare making say $15 or $30 an hour as an employee to say charging $60 to $120 as a freelancer, you should be able to afford good, quality comprehensive healthcare. It's simply a cost of doing business like anything else. And like many things, it's more expensive for a small business than a large one.
The same goes for comparing rates of a business with 30 employees to a business with 300. Are you going to turn down a better job with a smaller company because the health insurance is more expensive? The problem is that the 'one man operation' only has himself to consider, so he often considers health insurance as optional, or too expensive to afford.
Ummm, I don't know, maybe pay for it, like you do when you're working for someone else? Just because 100% of it isn't coming out of your check, doesn't mean you aren't paying for all of it. It's all part of the expense of employing you, along with unemployment insurance, worker's compensation, etc. That's why freelancer's generally charge a much higher rate per hour - they have to pay that stuff themselves, instead of having someone else do it for them.
Actually, you're reading that from the Computer Geeks web site - newegg is the second link. The support contact listed on the Computer Geeks web site means they supply support. Sorry for the confusion.
Pricing aside (newegg is about $20 cheaper), having dealt with both, I'd recommend newegg for the speed they get items out. I haven't had to deal with Computer Geeks customer service, but newegg's is unbeatable.
I've seen this at Computer Geeks for some time now. Even better, they also have it at newegg.
Pretty cool how you can use the radio, CD and mp3 playing capabilities without booting up the PC. But they say due to the proprietary nature (I assume they're talking about these features) that only MSI optical drives a guaranteed to work.
With so many people having cell phones these days, all you have to do is ask around to see who's best in your area. This explains the high ratings and little spread in the study. By now people have figured out who they should go with in a particular area.
A useful study would ask how people rated their service when travelling. I think you'd see the ratings plummet. I have T-Mobile which is ok for where I normally use it, but I just went on vacation, and any distance at all off the highway or away from any cities, and it was useless. And at our family reunion at my folk's place in the boonies (about 45 minutes from the nearest town), I think we had every carrier represented, and not a single signal among them, including the ones that showed coverage on thier maps.
Over 570 items on eBay alone, and now this! Keep your eyes out for broom-adorned helmets!
It's not even from the movie, it's from the Universal Studios attraction. How rare is that? Starting bid $4,000?!
Telecommuting vs. outsourcing is like pregnancy vs. adopting. Either way you end up with a kid, but one way you spend a lot of money and fill out a bunch of paperwork, and the other way you get to screw somebody.
There are so many differences it's hardly worth mentioning any - but I will anyway. Liability, insurance, workers' comp., if one guy can everyone will want to, and most employers feel like they have to ride their charges when they're in the office, how can they expect them to work if no one's there to crack the whip?
A lot of the logic behind not allowing telecommuting may be flawed, but comparing it to outsourcing is even more flawed. Do you have any idea how hard it is to fire someone these days? It may seem easy, but it's hard, expensive and risky. You must know someone at your company that everyone wonders why they're still there. If not, ask someone who works in a union shop. Breach of contract (if it's even an issue) is much easier to deal with than harrasement claims, unemployment disputes, discrimination charges, wrongful termination, or the real sweet quiet guy that kept to himself who you just fired showing up the next day for a little score settling.
Well, considering Portland, OR is only near a port, one has to wonder where it even got its name. Hmmm... could it be that it was named after Portland, Maine? Or is it even more interresting than that,? A different result of the coin toss would have had us asking which Boston.
Let's recap: Portland, Maine was around way longer, is actually a Port town, and the "other" Portland was named after it as the result of a coin toss. And as far as population goes, I would guess (although I may be wrong) that more people in the US live closer to Portland, Maine than Portland, Oregon. Ayuh.
Does anyone else find it ironic that a dozen or more people post duplicate messages complaining about this being a duplicate post?
Ow- that made my head hurt!
LOL - I live in Florida. We're not as dumb as we looked. :-)
Actually, turns out the co-founders were doing pretty ok before Netflix. Particularly Marc Randolph, who founded or cofounded MacUser Magazine and Micro Warehouse, apparently. This would explain the difference between them and us - they had the $$$ and connections to actually take that simple idea and make it a reality. And the more I think about it, they really don't need their patent. They're doing a pretty good job from what I hear, and if they were idiots, it would be a shame to make the idea unavailable to someone who might make it a success.
/.'ers. :-)
I'm feeling less and less torn the more I debate with my fellow
What I'm getting at is: the Netflix idea is not one that's good enough to allow the "inventor" to compete with an established behemoth like Blockbuster. So? The "inventor" should go to Blockbuster and get hired, saying "look at this cool idea I had -- hire me and I'll think of more."
You can't be serious. The "inventor" should go get a job at Blockbuster for $50,000/year if he's lucky, and turn over his idea for the priviledge of an at-will emplyyment agreeement, meaning he can be fired at any time? You are aware that Netflix has been successful enough to raise over $80 million in their IPO? They're a publicly traded company. Sure, Blockbuster has 10x the customer base (last year's numbers, sorry), but look at their overhead. And I don't think they're renting online even now.
And Blockbuster wouldn't hire him anyhow - they'll just try to steal the idea like all the other uninspired, unoriginal followers.
Oh, and megabucks are also made with inside information, cooking the books, ripping off investors, or even once and a while by Cletus who can't afford shoes for his kids, but manages to come up with $40 a month than buy lotto tickets. Praise be.