My wife (now ex) needed to have her appendix taken out. Cost me about $7,000 out of pocket. They don't pay for silly things like bandages, IV's, food, etc. They pay for the doctor, and the surgery.
Two years later, she had to have her gallbladder taken out (they shoulda just taken her brain out at the same time) that one cost me another 8-9 thousand. (Emergency room coverage is really, really bad)
Catastrophic insurance is pretty crappy, and after having these two episodes, I think that Blue Cross is one of the crappiest.
People may complain, and hate HMO's, but when your biggest priority is covering your ass (financially) they can't be beat. Those two surgeries combined would have cost me $10 with Kaiser.
DRM IS AN OPTION with Windows Media Player when ripping a CD. It is not mandatory. There is a checkbox at: Tools-->Options--->Copy Music See the 'Copy Protect Music' box? Uncheck it-
Most of that 95% didn't buy the computer because of what it is- but what it does. Most of the people bought it because it runs Windows, which runs the software they want to use.
I don't think OEMs put Windows on computers because it is free, or cheap, or anything like that. They put it on computers because Windows is the REASON that people buy the computers.
I'm really glad that you make it a point not to buy things from places that require cookies.
Personally- if a site doesn't offer the option to 'remember' who I am, and I need to sign in each time- I stop going there because it is a pain in the butt.
So we are supporting different sites- isn't that great?
Twenty to one says I (and people who do accept cookies) spend a lot more money on the web than you do. So as long as we keep supporting our respective sites, natual selection will work this whole mess out.
I've got thousands of cookies on my machine, from places like Amazon, Ameritrade, Ebay, EBGames, Wellsfargo, Netflix, Network Solutions, Round Table Pizza, Slashdot, Target, Tower Records, Trekbikes, Cingular...
Each is a place where I have spent money on-line in just the past two months or so. Oh, and I've got some porn sites too, but I didn't spend money there.
Sure- don't visit sites that use cookies, you're probably a pain in the ass customer anyway.
A few years ago, the public was against cookies. I had users calling me up all the time, because their web browser "didn't work". Frequently, the problem was that they had turned off cookies, and couldn't access a lot of sites.
When I asked them "why did you turn cookies off?" the answer was always the same - "I don't want them to know my credit card number."
I had to tell them again and again, cookies can only store information that you supply. And the site can only access information that it set. (With the exception of things like Doubleclick- but you can turn 3rd party cookies off) Any site you WANT to give important information to, will not be allowing 3rd party cookies with sensitive information.
After a few months of these users having to re-enter their password each time they visited a site, they started to get tired of it, and slowly turned their cookies back on. Eventually, it got down to where only one person still had cookies turned off- I found out he was the 'ringleader' the person who started the whole trend.
This person has always been the least productive member of the group- more concerned about everything else in the world, than getting his job done. I don't think he will ever change, because he is paranoid, but I do enjoy watching him log in to sites all the time, and always give his speech about not wanting them to get his credit card number.
Cookies are generally very safe. For most users, they make using the web far easier, and more enjoyable. This is an area where "what they don't know, won't hurt them" that I fully support.
But- a lot of 'middleware' (such as ASP and Cold Fusion- dunno about PHP) saves these session variables as cookies on the client machine. So, setting a session variable actually does create a cookie.
But you can have one of them NOW (in a few minutes) and the other one would take you much longer. (Go to the store, whoops- they don't have it, order from Amazon...)
I could go out to eat, and get my meal delivered to me hot, fresh, and I don't do the dishes. It costs a little more, but that is okay. OR, I could go to the grocery store, and prepare the same meal, for a lot less money.
You'll see that WMA files at 128k get a very high (95% quality) rating. The article suggests that this is perfectly fine (good) for pop music. In fact, if you look at the next page, you'll see that WMA is their recommendation for the average consumer/listener- at 128k.
128K WMA files sound very good. Not like that MP3 garbage- the files are smaller, and the quality is better.
This is probably the product I have been waiting for. I am an avid WMA user- Windows Media Player is probably the best out there, extremely easy to use, and fully featured... If these files can be transferred by my Minidisc, then this will meet just about every need I have for music.
The minidisc itself has DRM, and it doesn't bother me. I can have one song on 3 different discs at a time- which is enough for personal use.
Maybe Apple should have moved to the Windows market a little earlier. The other 95% of the people out there might be willing to buy music on-line too.
(Windows Media 9 really is a great product- from the quick-buffer, to the tools that drop into your task bar, built in CD burning and everything else...)
The free game promotion is over. Just about all stores have cleared their stock. They lowered the price to $179, down from the $199 deal with the games.
To make up for the free games, they started the 'platinum' series of games. These are some of the fairly decent, older games, that they sell for $20. There are about 18 titles, here is a list: http://www.lunabean.com/xbox/xbox_platinum_hits.ht ml
This is very good- because you can get a good game for only $20. Instead of paying the same amount of money for a crappy game.
I replied to this message, because the other one was an AC.
Dr. Pepper is NOT a Pepsi product. Maybe in YOUR area, the same company bottles both, but Dr. Pepper is not produced by Pepsi.
So Mr. AC- I think you owe Windex an apology. Not only did he NOT say that Dr. Pepper was a Pepsi product, but you attacked him with false information.
Here is a list of Pepsi drink brands- they also sell food, but that is not on the list.
You could pick up a Pocket PC (Running what used to be called Windows CE, now they have changed it to Windows Mobile 2003) and run Terminal Services from there.
Works great. Top end Pocket PC is about $500, and that includes a phone. It is also a very good PDA.
The important thing to understand, is that Microsoft wants you to use their product line all the way up and down. If you do, things integrate very well. They have done a great job with that, but that is also what many people are most against. But going half-way, and not trying to use the best means to connect, cripples you.
So, if you understand the tools that are available, and you are willing to use them as prescribed, you may find that a very good answer is out there. If you spend time looking for reasons it WON'T work, you will probably find those instead.
I have questioned the business model of 'free' and 'open source' software many times here on Slashdot.
Personally, I am a supporter of software you pay for. I think people should be rewarded for their efforts (with money) and I don't push the free stuff. Why? I want to keep my job, and I want people to perceive value in what I do. I don't mind paying others for what I find to be valuable. And I want to be paid well for the work that I do.
People who understand business know that perceived value is far more important than adding up your costs. Diamonds? What is their true value, and what will you be paying when you buy your fiancee a ring? The diamond business makes money, and one of the reasons is that they don't lower their prices- maybe they have a horde of diamonds somewhere, but they know that once people think they are cheap, they have lost their profitability.
When you start working for free, people see less value in what you do.
I've owned my own business before, and I loved what I did. I was very concerned with my 'craft' and I thought I was near the top of my field. I didn't make much money. I didn't understand the business aspect- and that is the most important part. My customers loved me, because they got a great product, at a good price. But when I went out of business, I didn't do them, or myself any favors. If I had valued myself a little higher, I would have raised my prices and charged people what my work was worth, not based on how much time it took me. (I could produce higher quality work, in 1/2 the time...even though I charged by time, my work still should have been more expensive than someone who took twice as much time.)
If I (as a programmer) went around telling people that they should use free products, instead of something they pay for, I de-value the entire software industry. My company will look at my work (which is custom coding for our specific needs) and start to think it is less valuable. They will be less likely to give me a raise, and they will start to think that if software is free, I should at least be cheap.
I've mentioned this before, and I always get the same response. 'You're stupid, companies will always need custom code, and if you are good they will pay for it.'
Well, I am worried about industry trends. If the free software is good, and we need something custom-built, then why not send it to India? Why pay our people a lot of money to sit around and type all day, when writing software is really No Big Deal (hell, some of the best stuff is even free!).
I don't lie to my company. I don't suggest they spend money un-necessarily. But I do tell them that a product that costs $5,000 might be worth it. I make sure we stay up on our licensing, and I personally deliver a high quality product. When someone pushes a product because 'it is free' that is fine. But I try to sell my company on things like support, compatibility, support, etc. For many companies, spending $5,000 is much cheaper than screwing around for even just a few days while we try to figure out why the software doesn't work with a certain sound driver.
If you think software (how you make a living) really should be free, go ahead and tell everyone. But in the end, how will you be effected?
Hmm...Zathrus. If I was on a UT server I would assume you were a bot. Unless you were kicking my ass, then I would assume you were some rogue bot...
I always use 'Noodle of Death'. It works whether you win or lose. If I am sucking, people just see the 'Noodle' part...but when I am kicking ass, they wonder what a Death Noodle might look like...
Hopefully this will start a very long chain of arcade titles being ported over to the Xbox quickly, and well. The concept is good- make a console with good hardware, use it in arcades, port the same game over to the home version of the console. (Profit?!?)
The Xbox is not going to beat the Playstation 2 because of the huge difference in numbers- but hopefully the fact that it is easier to program for, and port to/from will benefit us Xbox users.
I've played a few PC games that were ported from the Xbox, and they were excellent games - Rallisport Challenge comes to mind- good on the Xbox, excellent on the PC. The PC gets much better graphics, but the gameplay is the same.
Maybe it will be a winning combination. Personally I am sick and tired of hardware and software conflicts while playing games on my PC, so I finally bought an Xbox. It thrills me to play for 2 hours without a single crash. Most of the crashes on the PC come from audio/video driver incompatibilites. I've sunk so much money into video cards in the past 2 years, I could have bought an Xbox and dozens of games.
Finally- freedom from that mess, AND Sega will hopefully be porting over arcade games...cool.
Steal my karma, take my dog- don't let me eat for a week.
Give me more Cate Archer and I'll be happy.
If you do play AGAINST Cate, there is no way I could shoot her. No way at all. I would have a heart attack if I got to the last level, and killing Cate was the final mission. I would probably end up like a quivering bowl of jello, or some acid burn-out.
What about the increased support for all of those new users?
The cost of support per user will not go down as users are added, but will go up instead. You will get a lot of new, inexperienced users.
Your $80 (retail? what is Adobe's cut of that, after distributors/retailers are done?) will not go very far when it comes to a program that must be supported.
Now, that Britney Spears CD you are listening to- yeah sure, sell a billion of those. The only added support is throwing away all that extra fan-mail. (****It is illegal to send bodily fluids through the postal service****)
Slashdot Mirror
I had Blue Cross catastrophic insurance.
My wife (now ex) needed to have her appendix taken out. Cost me about $7,000 out of pocket. They don't pay for silly things like bandages, IV's, food, etc. They pay for the doctor, and the surgery.
Two years later, she had to have her gallbladder taken out (they shoulda just taken her brain out at the same time) that one cost me another 8-9 thousand. (Emergency room coverage is really, really bad)
Catastrophic insurance is pretty crappy, and after having these two episodes, I think that Blue Cross is one of the crappiest.
People may complain, and hate HMO's, but when your biggest priority is covering your ass (financially) they can't be beat. Those two surgeries combined would have cost me $10 with Kaiser.
DRM IS AN OPTION with Windows Media Player when ripping a CD. It is not mandatory. There is a checkbox at: Tools-->Options--->Copy Music See the 'Copy Protect Music' box? Uncheck it-
Most of that 95% didn't buy the computer because of what it is- but what it does. Most of the people bought it because it runs Windows, which runs the software they want to use.
I don't think OEMs put Windows on computers because it is free, or cheap, or anything like that. They put it on computers because Windows is the REASON that people buy the computers.
Actually, if you want to compare a cars radio to MS software- I think the obvious comparison is to Windows Media Player.
It's free.
Excellent quality.
No advertisements.
Does more than most of the competitors.
Exportable playlists.
Free Upgrades (Download from the fastest servers on the web.)
Built right into the dash.
Has anyone ever come under scrutiny, been prosecuted, chastised, or even yelled at for violating something that was only present in the EULA?
Have you ever torn off a mattress tag?
Wash a shirt that was 'dry clean only'?
Used your lawnmower without safety goggles?
http://www.gameconsole.tv/demos_pictures.html
Now look at the Cappuccino mini PC at Thinkgeek:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/handhelds/5a9 8/
Inovation rules! What a revolutionary design!"Then again, look a few posts above that one...hmm...same two links..innovation strikes again.
I run XP at work- it never crashes- at least not yet this year.
I run XP at home, it crashes a lot. But it *only* crashes when playing games that haven't been patched. Usually new games, or new video card drivers.
Of course, no other platform is supporting these games, or the latest video card drivers.
If my home computer just ran 2D apps all day, it wouldn't crash either. But for some reason I want to play games on it.
I finally got smart, bought an XBox- now my home computer never crashes either.
I'm really glad that you make it a point not to buy things from places that require cookies.
Personally- if a site doesn't offer the option to 'remember' who I am, and I need to sign in each time- I stop going there because it is a pain in the butt.
So we are supporting different sites- isn't that great?
Twenty to one says I (and people who do accept cookies) spend a lot more money on the web than you do. So as long as we keep supporting our respective sites, natual selection will work this whole mess out.
I've got thousands of cookies on my machine, from places like Amazon, Ameritrade, Ebay, EBGames, Wellsfargo, Netflix, Network Solutions, Round Table Pizza, Slashdot, Target, Tower Records, Trekbikes, Cingular...
Each is a place where I have spent money on-line in just the past two months or so. Oh, and I've got some porn sites too, but I didn't spend money there.
Sure- don't visit sites that use cookies, you're probably a pain in the ass customer anyway.
Okay- honest question...
Why do you fear cookies?
A few years ago, the public was against cookies. I had users calling me up all the time, because their web browser "didn't work". Frequently, the problem was that they had turned off cookies, and couldn't access a lot of sites.
When I asked them "why did you turn cookies off?" the answer was always the same - "I don't want them to know my credit card number."
I had to tell them again and again, cookies can only store information that you supply. And the site can only access information that it set. (With the exception of things like Doubleclick- but you can turn 3rd party cookies off) Any site you WANT to give important information to, will not be allowing 3rd party cookies with sensitive information.
After a few months of these users having to re-enter their password each time they visited a site, they started to get tired of it, and slowly turned their cookies back on. Eventually, it got down to where only one person still had cookies turned off- I found out he was the 'ringleader' the person who started the whole trend.
This person has always been the least productive member of the group- more concerned about everything else in the world, than getting his job done. I don't think he will ever change, because he is paranoid, but I do enjoy watching him log in to sites all the time, and always give his speech about not wanting them to get his credit card number.
Cookies are generally very safe. For most users, they make using the web far easier, and more enjoyable. This is an area where "what they don't know, won't hurt them" that I fully support.
But- a lot of 'middleware' (such as ASP and Cold Fusion- dunno about PHP) saves these session variables as cookies on the client machine. So, setting a session variable actually does create a cookie.
Hmm..I don't know if I believe that Apple is "working like gangbusters" to put iTunes on Windows.
Yes, they will sell more songs. But having iTunes an Apple exclusive probably sold more computers.
Compare their computer sales, to their song sales. Which do you think is more important to them?
Exclusive software sells their hardware.
But you can have one of them NOW (in a few minutes) and the other one would take you much longer. (Go to the store, whoops- they don't have it, order from Amazon...)
I could go out to eat, and get my meal delivered to me hot, fresh, and I don't do the dishes. It costs a little more, but that is okay. OR, I could go to the grocery store, and prepare the same meal, for a lot less money.
I do both...depends on my mood.
Take a look at this page:
http://www.cdburner.ca/digital-audio-formats-artic le/digital-audio-comparison.htm
You'll see that WMA files at 128k get a very high (95% quality) rating. The article suggests that this is perfectly fine (good) for pop music. In fact, if you look at the next page, you'll see that WMA is their recommendation for the average consumer/listener- at 128k.
128K WMA files sound very good. Not like that MP3 garbage- the files are smaller, and the quality is better.
They may be restricting their site to IE users (94%+ of the web) and people don't like it.
Apple restricts their service to 5%~ of all computerdom, and it's a 'cool service'.
This is probably the product I have been waiting for. I am an avid WMA user- Windows Media Player is probably the best out there, extremely easy to use, and fully featured... If these files can be transferred by my Minidisc, then this will meet just about every need I have for music.
The minidisc itself has DRM, and it doesn't bother me. I can have one song on 3 different discs at a time- which is enough for personal use.
Maybe Apple should have moved to the Windows market a little earlier. The other 95% of the people out there might be willing to buy music on-line too.
(Windows Media 9 really is a great product- from the quick-buffer, to the tools that drop into your task bar, built in CD burning and everything else...)
The free game promotion is over. Just about all stores have cleared their stock. They lowered the price to $179, down from the $199 deal with the games.
To make up for the free games, they started the 'platinum' series of games. These are some of the fairly decent, older games, that they sell for $20. There are about 18 titles, here is a list: http://www.lunabean.com/xbox/xbox_platinum_hits.ht ml
This is very good- because you can get a good game for only $20. Instead of paying the same amount of money for a crappy game.
I replied to this message, because the other one was an AC.
Dr. Pepper is NOT a Pepsi product. Maybe in YOUR area, the same company bottles both, but Dr. Pepper is not produced by Pepsi.
So Mr. AC- I think you owe Windex an apology. Not only did he NOT say that Dr. Pepper was a Pepsi product, but you attacked him with false information.
Here is a list of Pepsi drink brands- they also sell food, but that is not on the list.
http://pepsi.com/pepsi_brands/all_brands/index.phOR-
You could pick up a Pocket PC (Running what used to be called Windows CE, now they have changed it to Windows Mobile 2003) and run Terminal Services from there.
Works great. Top end Pocket PC is about $500, and that includes a phone. It is also a very good PDA.
The important thing to understand, is that Microsoft wants you to use their product line all the way up and down. If you do, things integrate very well. They have done a great job with that, but that is also what many people are most against. But going half-way, and not trying to use the best means to connect, cripples you.
So, if you understand the tools that are available, and you are willing to use them as prescribed, you may find that a very good answer is out there. If you spend time looking for reasons it WON'T work, you will probably find those instead.
Well, on at least two of them...yes..
I have questioned the business model of 'free' and 'open source' software many times here on Slashdot.
Personally, I am a supporter of software you pay for. I think people should be rewarded for their efforts (with money) and I don't push the free stuff. Why? I want to keep my job, and I want people to perceive value in what I do. I don't mind paying others for what I find to be valuable. And I want to be paid well for the work that I do.
People who understand business know that perceived value is far more important than adding up your costs. Diamonds? What is their true value, and what will you be paying when you buy your fiancee a ring? The diamond business makes money, and one of the reasons is that they don't lower their prices- maybe they have a horde of diamonds somewhere, but they know that once people think they are cheap, they have lost their profitability.
When you start working for free, people see less value in what you do.
I've owned my own business before, and I loved what I did. I was very concerned with my 'craft' and I thought I was near the top of my field. I didn't make much money. I didn't understand the business aspect- and that is the most important part. My customers loved me, because they got a great product, at a good price. But when I went out of business, I didn't do them, or myself any favors. If I had valued myself a little higher, I would have raised my prices and charged people what my work was worth, not based on how much time it took me. (I could produce higher quality work, in 1/2 the time...even though I charged by time, my work still should have been more expensive than someone who took twice as much time.)
If I (as a programmer) went around telling people that they should use free products, instead of something they pay for, I de-value the entire software industry. My company will look at my work (which is custom coding for our specific needs) and start to think it is less valuable. They will be less likely to give me a raise, and they will start to think that if software is free, I should at least be cheap.
I've mentioned this before, and I always get the same response. 'You're stupid, companies will always need custom code, and if you are good they will pay for it.'
Well, I am worried about industry trends. If the free software is good, and we need something custom-built, then why not send it to India? Why pay our people a lot of money to sit around and type all day, when writing software is really No Big Deal (hell, some of the best stuff is even free!).
I don't lie to my company. I don't suggest they spend money un-necessarily. But I do tell them that a product that costs $5,000 might be worth it. I make sure we stay up on our licensing, and I personally deliver a high quality product. When someone pushes a product because 'it is free' that is fine. But I try to sell my company on things like support, compatibility, support, etc. For many companies, spending $5,000 is much cheaper than screwing around for even just a few days while we try to figure out why the software doesn't work with a certain sound driver.
If you think software (how you make a living) really should be free, go ahead and tell everyone. But in the end, how will you be effected?
I applied the patch to dozens of machines today, I didn't have a single problem.
Just wanted to increase the sample size..
Hmm...Zathrus. If I was on a UT server I would assume you were a bot. Unless you were kicking my ass, then I would assume you were some rogue bot...
I always use 'Noodle of Death'. It works whether you win or lose. If I am sucking, people just see the 'Noodle' part...but when I am kicking ass, they wonder what a Death Noodle might look like...
Hopefully this will start a very long chain of arcade titles being ported over to the Xbox quickly, and well. The concept is good- make a console with good hardware, use it in arcades, port the same game over to the home version of the console. (Profit?!?)
The Xbox is not going to beat the Playstation 2 because of the huge difference in numbers- but hopefully the fact that it is easier to program for, and port to/from will benefit us Xbox users.
I've played a few PC games that were ported from the Xbox, and they were excellent games - Rallisport Challenge comes to mind- good on the Xbox, excellent on the PC. The PC gets much better graphics, but the gameplay is the same.
Maybe it will be a winning combination. Personally I am sick and tired of hardware and software conflicts while playing games on my PC, so I finally bought an Xbox. It thrills me to play for 2 hours without a single crash. Most of the crashes on the PC come from audio/video driver incompatibilites. I've sunk so much money into video cards in the past 2 years, I could have bought an Xbox and dozens of games.
Finally- freedom from that mess, AND Sega will hopefully be porting over arcade games...cool.
Steal my karma, take my dog- don't let me eat for a week.
Give me more Cate Archer and I'll be happy.
If you do play AGAINST Cate, there is no way I could shoot her. No way at all. I would have a heart attack if I got to the last level, and killing Cate was the final mission. I would probably end up like a quivering bowl of jello, or some acid burn-out.
I love Cate Archer.
What about the increased support for all of those new users?
The cost of support per user will not go down as users are added, but will go up instead. You will get a lot of new, inexperienced users.
Your $80 (retail? what is Adobe's cut of that, after distributors/retailers are done?) will not go very far when it comes to a program that must be supported.
Now, that Britney Spears CD you are listening to- yeah sure, sell a billion of those. The only added support is throwing away all that extra fan-mail. (****It is illegal to send bodily fluids through the postal service****)