If the Networks can't make money, then how do the studios? You can only profit on scarcity. Ubiquity makes things free. Networks charge advertisers because of the scarcity of the viewer who is tuned in to that network. They can charge for their eyeballs. If the Studio goes directly to the web, how do you gate that any better than a network would?
TV is in a similar place Music was in the later 90s - 2000 with the dawn of Napster. video files are still much larger, and it will take the next gen of bandwidth increases to make SD (standard Def) video easily transmissible through the interweb thingie. The generation after that will make HD doable. as it is, "HD" over the web is hideous.
We're not quite to where a movie can be DL'd in a few minutes. But add a few zeros to the bandwidth and we will.
Then ubiquity decimates your business model. So, how do you pay your actors, your crew, yourself?
A decent TV drama is going to cost at least $3 million an hour, minimum. 10 episodes is $30 million. A 20 episode year is $60 million. If you get 1 million people to watch it, that's $60 a head...
And that's for something trivial and mindless like TV drama. Something that is necessary to the functioning of society, like a working journalism community, the costs are pretty intense - hundreds of people getting paid every day, day after day.
So, how do you charge for that, outside of a network system?
HBO
History Channel
MSNBC
CNN
CBC
BBC
Comedy Central
Showtime
Science Channel
PBS
Animal Planet (for my daughter)
Cartoon Network (for my daughter)
VH1 (for the wife)
That's it. I don't watch and don't care for the rest of it, because it's mindless brain drool, and a lot of what is on the stations I listed is also mindless brain drool, just less of it than elsewhere (like Oxygen, MTV, SPIKE, ABC/CBS/NBC, etc.). That's 13 channels I would watch, and watch at least once a week. I would pay a dollar a month for each. That would give them $13 a month they're not getting now. I would not pay more than $1 month, because frankly, TV is a big time suck and mind poison. but that's what I would do, and I am certain there are many people who agree with me.
I don't want the Food Channel. I don't want ESPN. I don't want "Desperate Housewives" or "American Idol". It's crap. I don't want it in my house.
But I am willing to pay for the good stuff, if I can be certain I will get GOOD STUFF.
I see your point, but I'd suggest that HTML is only readable as long as HTML is readable. Sure: we might have a "web" in the future, but it won't work the same way. It used to be that betamax was the BEST and everyone used it. VHS (for a variety of good reasons) became the standard even though it was inferior.
So, we could go from HTML to something else, say Internet Crap Markup Language (ICML) and ICML might suck ass compared to HTML, or it migh be superior - either way, HTML is toast, and all those HTML pages go the way of olde english.
I would double your point #3 as very important. Look what happened to tables in HTML. Once they were central to web design, now they are gradually being deprecated. As despicable as the BLINK tag is/was, it's a classic example. In the future,BLINK won't even work, and then a website won't be understood in all of its "glory". Now BLINK is ugly and stupid, but TABLES are not. When will CSS be deprecated, then what?
Your point #3 is endemic to all digital data, and it is why I think our culture, unlike many before, will simply disappear from history completely.
Back when the Bush Junta decided to invade Iraq, the article on Time MAgazine's website by George HW Bush as to why deposing Saddam would be a Really Bad Idea disappeared. As far as I know it still isn't there.
I think Archive.org is a good online archive, but its actual mission is impossible: it would automatically require a doubling of the size of the interweb thingie.
So, combine that with the Memory Hole problem, and you have a precarious situation: not a good formula for notions of an archive, where consistency, completeneess, and reliability are paramount.
Brush up on your Koran. Get your wife into the habit of wearing a black bedsheet and walking 6 feet behind you. Because the Terrists are gonna take over when they discover Renaissance Era encryption. If the world has spent billions responding to a bunch of thugs who used simple methods to cause murderous mayhem, then when they use slightly more sophisticated means to accomplish their aims, we will have to spend TRILLIONS to defeat them. TRILLIONS I TELL YOU!
Man. I dunno. Between the Beaufort and Vigenere, I think we're cooked.
Queen Elizabeth is the head of state only by name. She doesn't even hold much weight in the UK itself these days. Canada is essentially independent. Do they have to do ANYTHING the UK commands them to do?
Obviously, you haven't been paying attention to Canadian politics for the past 6 months, otherwise you would have known that Canada had no government for almost 2 months, because the Queen's representative, the Governor General, agreed with Harper to prorogate Parliament, effectively leaving Canada with no deliberative government. And if you think she didn't talk to the Palace and 10 downing street, you're very naive.
So, let's see, the Queens representative basically said through her actions, "Oh, you don't need a Parliament IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC MELTDOWN IN HUMAN HISTORY. It's much more important for Harper to stay in power. So, you silly persons in Parliament - you can just go home until Jan 20 and by the way, we're clearing the legislative slate, so you will have to start over."
So, YES, the UK has a lot to say about Canadian government. Imagine if the Queen's representative said to the US gov., "Oh, Congress is being silly. So we'll just tell them to go on vacation and when they get back, they'll have to redo everything."
You don't know what you're talking about, you make false statements, and you're just pulling it out of your ass. Go away.
Who is the head of state in Canada, at this very moment, 1 MAY 2009? did you guess Stephen Harper? Because if you did, you would be wrong. The head of state in Canada is none other than Queen Elizabeth the Second.
Canada is not a colony, but it isn't really independent either. Heck, Canada didn't even have a real flag until 1965.
and before you go lecturing me on history, I would like to note that Canada DID NOT fight in Viet Nam Canada except for small number of troops in 1973 to help enforce the Paris Peace Accords.
So, kindly get a clue. Is Canada "better" than the USA? IMHO, yes. Not a lot. But a little is enough.
But I do know that in the war of 1812 the US was fighting the British Empire, not Canadians.
And Canada was what? Oh that's right: a Colony of Britain. So, by definition, there were no "canadians" to begin with. However, Canadians have always been distinct from the UK and the USA. So, you're wrong both ways.
A good majority of the troops came from England.
See above.
Secondly, both armies invaded each others' territories and were repelled.
Which invasion? The USA rebels invaded Canada in 1775, and again, got their butts kicked.
Thirdly, the war ended because BOTH SIDES had no reason left to fight (it was indirectly caused by the Napoleonic wars and directly by the British impressment of US sailors among other things).
Again, which war? Oh, that's right - the USA invaded Canada MORE THAN ONCE. And you wonder why no one trusts Americans? Invade Canada. Twice. Get asses kicked twice. Practice genocide on abouriginals and constantly lie and betray treaty obligations. Destroy Mexico. trump up a war with Spain to expand the American Empire (the USA has been an imperial force for over 100 years). Iran, guatemala, El Salvador, nicaragua, Cuba, Phillipines, Israel, etc. etc. etc. It's a long and murderous list.
Canada has PLENTY of problems and PLENTY of its own set of evils, but nothing compared to the USA.
and as far as I'm concerned,
(amenglish)
Y'all can ken go fuck yerselves, ya morans.
(/amenglish)
Canada is the only place I know of where 100 CDRs costs more than 100 DVD-Rs...
We pay EVERY FUCKING DAY massive extra money to the American Ideological State Apparatus and Canadian native culture is pressured into virtual non-existence thanks to the Hollywood/TV juggernaut.
Our only consolation is we have all the water and oil, and the last time you invaded Canada, we kicked your ass.
Please, please, please, we pray that your empire dies so we can sell our resources to the highest bidder and not to you thanks to NAFTA.
WTF? I was one of the first three posts in the ENTIRE pile, and I get rated redundant? For trying to be funny? WTF? I swear there's a mod out there who simply hates me. And to that mod (and no one else, so I'm not flaming, I'm just sending a personal message):
kindly go fuck yourself, you narrow minded gutless douchebag.
To everyone else, I send my undying gratitude and love.
"Oh, that pesticide is NASTY! It's like Zyklon-B or nerve gas! And manure is...is... POOP! It's full of GERMS! But: HUMAN HAIR? EeeEEEeeeewww! Gross! Gag me with a spoon! Give me the nerve gas or the cowshit! Now!"
Seems to me that we've got one party that accepts massive government redistribution of wealth but feels guilty about it, and another that does the same but is honest about it.
But you have NO mainstream party questioning the basis of the question of the ownership of the means of production and distribution, which is what (ostensibly) a real socialist party is supposed to do.
So you have two CAPITALIST parties simply arguing over how to manage the empire and divide up the world for the benefit of the ruling classes, and that is why the US political spectrum is seen as so deeply skewed to the right.
1. his presence will serve as a brake on more progressive legislation.
2. being a Democrat will prevent the Dems from offering up a more progressive candidate to oppose him had he stayed Republican.
3. He'll likely vote as a "liberal" Republican, ie: with the interests of capital in economics, in the interests of no one in particular (i.e. who ever pays his bills) in social issues.
Good:
1. He'll likely vote with the Dems about 60% of the time.
2. This will force the Republican party (now the property of ignorance and corruption) to be more considerate and thoughtful of their positions.
3. This could lead to someone like Snowe defecting as well, which would really bury the Republican part, possibly for good, as it could split between the Bible Thumping retard faction and the neocon fascist faction, which would work to the benefit of the Democrats.
It doesn't matter who Phorm is. they could be bigger than Mr Newton's WORLD ENTERPRISES, or a fly-by-night dry cleaning establishment or a pizza delivery service. The point, and this is very clear in the summary, is that the Home Office was getting approval from persons outside the government for their development of policy. This may be standard practice in the USA and other third world hackeries, but in nations that at least try to pretend to be objectively subject to the rule of law, this kind of thing is considered Very Uncool.
You don't have to write much of anything at all. Would you get a good grade? Fuck no. Would they FLUNK YOU FOR IT? Fuck no. Because its graded by untenured faculty who have to curry favour with students, or its graded by Grad Assistants who don't give a shit, and why should they.
Oh, look, a paper by Cindy Bleethstain. She's a fucking idiot. Let's see. Hmmmm. Yup. Incomprehensible bullshit, as usual. Give her a C+ because some of it is intelligible and kind of funny.
Oh, look another paper by Guido LeDouchebag. Bottlecaps are smarter than this turnip. Hmmm. Yup. More incomprehensible bullshit. C+. At least he finally discovered the spellchecker.
THAT'S what it is often like, unfortunately.
I read the paper, and if there is a passage that is noticeably different in tone, I'll copy past a section into Google and see where they pulled it. 9 times out of 10, it's a direct lift from a web page, unattributed. I send it back, and tell them "Footnotes, please. Also, automatic single grade loss. right off the top."
If it comes back still broken, then I nail 'em for plagiarism. It's a big deal, and requires paperwork I don't like to fill out...
So far I've only had one student have the cajones to not bother fixing their attributions, and he got crucified by the Ethics board. He was an arrogant little prick, too.
The screen should be filled with ones and zeros, and if you can't suss out what it is saying/doing/sounding-like, you're an idiot and shouldn't be on the interwebs.
Fuck GUI and command line. Just ones and zeros.
Then we'll know who the REAL computer people are. None of this namby pamby "I want pictures! I want colours!"
No siree bob. Just ones and zeros. In black and white.
And you can choose, white numbers on a black field or black numbers on a white field, 'cuz I wouldn't want you to think I wasn't being accomodating or anything...
It boils down to dollars and time, which in the USA is the same thing.
As someone above noted, if you're making more than $20p.h., don't bother building your own. Your time is worth money. If the boss is willing to piss away several extra bucks, then fine - just go and buy the damn cable, or better yet, order it online and have it delivered the next day FedEx.
There is also an issue of accountability involved. Example: you spend $100 on a cable from "wireco" or where-ever. It comes with a warranty from Wireco, and if it doesn't, then it should be returnable to the seller "Compujunk" for replacement. If you build it yourself, then it's your wages spread over the time it takes to build it PLUS the money spent on the raw materials. The raw materials may be from Wireco, but their functionality is mediated by your labour on them as cables. So, if it fails or doesn't work, it's the COMPANY'S ass on the line, not Wireco or Compujunk's.
So, for your own stuff at home, sure: DIY.
At work, go for the third party materials.
"Nobody ever got fired for ordering gear from RCA"
Slashdot Mirror
Do you believe everything you read?
RS
You can get the vinyl anywhere - gemm.com is a classic place to find it.
their canonical works (the first 4) are available on CD from Amazon and just about anywhere, really.
The script? You'll have to go to abebooks.com and find an ancient copy of "The Big Book of Plays".
It's worth it though...
RS
The only problem I see is this:
If the Networks can't make money, then how do the studios? You can only profit on scarcity. Ubiquity makes things free. Networks charge advertisers because of the scarcity of the viewer who is tuned in to that network. They can charge for their eyeballs. If the Studio goes directly to the web, how do you gate that any better than a network would?
TV is in a similar place Music was in the later 90s - 2000 with the dawn of Napster. video files are still much larger, and it will take the next gen of bandwidth increases to make SD (standard Def) video easily transmissible through the interweb thingie. The generation after that will make HD doable. as it is, "HD" over the web is hideous.
We're not quite to where a movie can be DL'd in a few minutes. But add a few zeros to the bandwidth and we will.
Then ubiquity decimates your business model. So, how do you pay your actors, your crew, yourself?
A decent TV drama is going to cost at least $3 million an hour, minimum. 10 episodes is $30 million. A 20 episode year is $60 million. If you get 1 million people to watch it, that's $60 a head...
And that's for something trivial and mindless like TV drama. Something that is necessary to the functioning of society, like a working journalism community, the costs are pretty intense - hundreds of people getting paid every day, day after day.
So, how do you charge for that, outside of a network system?
RS
Normally, that's true, but I live in Canada...
RS
What I want:
HBO
History Channel
MSNBC
CNN
CBC
BBC
Comedy Central
Showtime
Science Channel
PBS
Animal Planet (for my daughter)
Cartoon Network (for my daughter)
VH1 (for the wife)
That's it. I don't watch and don't care for the rest of it, because it's mindless brain drool, and a lot of what is on the stations I listed is also mindless brain drool, just less of it than elsewhere (like Oxygen, MTV, SPIKE, ABC/CBS/NBC, etc.). That's 13 channels I would watch, and watch at least once a week. I would pay a dollar a month for each. That would give them $13 a month they're not getting now. I would not pay more than $1 month, because frankly, TV is a big time suck and mind poison. but that's what I would do, and I am certain there are many people who agree with me.
I don't want the Food Channel. I don't want ESPN. I don't want "Desperate Housewives" or "American Idol". It's crap. I don't want it in my house.
But I am willing to pay for the good stuff, if I can be certain I will get GOOD STUFF.
RS
So, we could go from HTML to something else, say Internet Crap Markup Language (ICML) and ICML might suck ass compared to HTML, or it migh be superior - either way, HTML is toast, and all those HTML pages go the way of olde english.
se middan-geard is awa ahwierfth.
RS
Your point #3 is endemic to all digital data, and it is why I think our culture, unlike many before, will simply disappear from history completely.
RS
I think Archive.org is a good online archive, but its actual mission is impossible: it would automatically require a doubling of the size of the interweb thingie.
So, combine that with the Memory Hole problem, and you have a precarious situation: not a good formula for notions of an archive, where consistency, completeneess, and reliability are paramount.
RS
Brush up on your Koran. Get your wife into the habit of wearing a black bedsheet and walking 6 feet behind you. Because the Terrists are gonna take over when they discover Renaissance Era encryption. If the world has spent billions responding to a bunch of thugs who used simple methods to cause murderous mayhem, then when they use slightly more sophisticated means to accomplish their aims, we will have to spend TRILLIONS to defeat them. TRILLIONS I TELL YOU!
Man. I dunno. Between the Beaufort and Vigenere, I think we're cooked.
RS
Obviously, you haven't been paying attention to Canadian politics for the past 6 months, otherwise you would have known that Canada had no government for almost 2 months, because the Queen's representative, the Governor General, agreed with Harper to prorogate Parliament, effectively leaving Canada with no deliberative government. And if you think she didn't talk to the Palace and 10 downing street, you're very naive.
So, let's see, the Queens representative basically said through her actions, "Oh, you don't need a Parliament IN THE MIDDLE OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST ECONOMIC MELTDOWN IN HUMAN HISTORY. It's much more important for Harper to stay in power. So, you silly persons in Parliament - you can just go home until Jan 20 and by the way, we're clearing the legislative slate, so you will have to start over."
So, YES, the UK has a lot to say about Canadian government. Imagine if the Queen's representative said to the US gov., "Oh, Congress is being silly. So we'll just tell them to go on vacation and when they get back, they'll have to redo everything."
You don't know what you're talking about, you make false statements, and you're just pulling it out of your ass. Go away.
RS
Who is the head of state in Canada, at this very moment, 1 MAY 2009? did you guess Stephen Harper? Because if you did, you would be wrong. The head of state in Canada is none other than Queen Elizabeth the Second.
Canada is not a colony, but it isn't really independent either. Heck, Canada didn't even have a real flag until 1965.
and before you go lecturing me on history, I would like to note that Canada DID NOT fight in Viet Nam Canada except for small number of troops in 1973 to help enforce the Paris Peace Accords.
So, kindly get a clue. Is Canada "better" than the USA? IMHO, yes. Not a lot. But a little is enough.
RS
And Canada was what? Oh that's right: a Colony of Britain. So, by definition, there were no "canadians" to begin with. However, Canadians have always been distinct from the UK and the USA. So, you're wrong both ways.
A good majority of the troops came from England.
See above.
Secondly, both armies invaded each others' territories and were repelled.
Which invasion? The USA rebels invaded Canada in 1775, and again, got their butts kicked.
Thirdly, the war ended because BOTH SIDES had no reason left to fight (it was indirectly caused by the Napoleonic wars and directly by the British impressment of US sailors among other things).
Again, which war? Oh, that's right - the USA invaded Canada MORE THAN ONCE. And you wonder why no one trusts Americans? Invade Canada. Twice. Get asses kicked twice. Practice genocide on abouriginals and constantly lie and betray treaty obligations. Destroy Mexico. trump up a war with Spain to expand the American Empire (the USA has been an imperial force for over 100 years). Iran, guatemala, El Salvador, nicaragua, Cuba, Phillipines, Israel, etc. etc. etc. It's a long and murderous list.
Canada has PLENTY of problems and PLENTY of its own set of evils, but nothing compared to the USA.
You are wrong on every count. Next.
rS
(amenglish)
Y'all can ken go fuck yerselves, ya morans.
(/amenglish)
Canada is the only place I know of where 100 CDRs costs more than 100 DVD-Rs...
We pay EVERY FUCKING DAY massive extra money to the American Ideological State Apparatus and Canadian native culture is pressured into virtual non-existence thanks to the Hollywood/TV juggernaut.
Our only consolation is we have all the water and oil, and the last time you invaded Canada, we kicked your ass.
Please, please, please, we pray that your empire dies so we can sell our resources to the highest bidder and not to you thanks to NAFTA.
RS
kindly go fuck yourself, you narrow minded gutless douchebag.
To everyone else, I send my undying gratitude and love.
RS RS
tookthemlongenough
"Oh, that pesticide is NASTY! It's like Zyklon-B or nerve gas! And manure is...is... POOP! It's full of GERMS! But: HUMAN HAIR? EeeEEEeeeewww! Gross! Gag me with a spoon! Give me the nerve gas or the cowshit! Now!"
RS
But you have NO mainstream party questioning the basis of the question of the ownership of the means of production and distribution, which is what (ostensibly) a real socialist party is supposed to do.
So you have two CAPITALIST parties simply arguing over how to manage the empire and divide up the world for the benefit of the ruling classes, and that is why the US political spectrum is seen as so deeply skewed to the right.
RS
I for one welcome our new slimy polymer overlords.
1. his presence will serve as a brake on more progressive legislation.
2. being a Democrat will prevent the Dems from offering up a more progressive candidate to oppose him had he stayed Republican.
3. He'll likely vote as a "liberal" Republican, ie: with the interests of capital in economics, in the interests of no one in particular (i.e. who ever pays his bills) in social issues.
Good:
1. He'll likely vote with the Dems about 60% of the time.
2. This will force the Republican party (now the property of ignorance and corruption) to be more considerate and thoughtful of their positions.
3. This could lead to someone like Snowe defecting as well, which would really bury the Republican part, possibly for good, as it could split between the Bible Thumping retard faction and the neocon fascist faction, which would work to the benefit of the Democrats.
RS
It doesn't matter who Phorm is. they could be bigger than Mr Newton's WORLD ENTERPRISES, or a fly-by-night dry cleaning establishment or a pizza delivery service. The point, and this is very clear in the summary, is that the Home Office was getting approval from persons outside the government for their development of policy. This may be standard practice in the USA and other third world hackeries, but in nations that at least try to pretend to be objectively subject to the rule of law, this kind of thing is considered Very Uncool.
Dissent is racism? WTF are you talking about? Dissent is racism. Sure. Why not. And Agreement is sexism. I don't know if you're being funny or stupid.
RS
And the Postmodernism Generator?
You don't have to write much of anything at all. Would you get a good grade? Fuck no. Would they FLUNK YOU FOR IT? Fuck no. Because its graded by untenured faculty who have to curry favour with students, or its graded by Grad Assistants who don't give a shit, and why should they.
Oh, look, a paper by Cindy Bleethstain. She's a fucking idiot. Let's see. Hmmmm. Yup. Incomprehensible bullshit, as usual. Give her a C+ because some of it is intelligible and kind of funny.
Oh, look another paper by Guido LeDouchebag. Bottlecaps are smarter than this turnip. Hmmm. Yup. More incomprehensible bullshit. C+. At least he finally discovered the spellchecker.
THAT'S what it is often like, unfortunately.
I read the paper, and if there is a passage that is noticeably different in tone, I'll copy past a section into Google and see where they pulled it. 9 times out of 10, it's a direct lift from a web page, unattributed. I send it back, and tell them "Footnotes, please. Also, automatic single grade loss. right off the top."
If it comes back still broken, then I nail 'em for plagiarism. It's a big deal, and requires paperwork I don't like to fill out...
So far I've only had one student have the cajones to not bother fixing their attributions, and he got crucified by the Ethics board. He was an arrogant little prick, too.
RS
Fuck GUI and command line. Just ones and zeros.
Then we'll know who the REAL computer people are. None of this namby pamby "I want pictures! I want colours!"
No siree bob. Just ones and zeros. In black and white.
And you can choose, white numbers on a black field or black numbers on a white field, 'cuz I wouldn't want you to think I wasn't being accomodating or anything...
RS
RS
As someone above noted, if you're making more than $20p.h., don't bother building your own. Your time is worth money. If the boss is willing to piss away several extra bucks, then fine - just go and buy the damn cable, or better yet, order it online and have it delivered the next day FedEx.
There is also an issue of accountability involved. Example: you spend $100 on a cable from "wireco" or where-ever. It comes with a warranty from Wireco, and if it doesn't, then it should be returnable to the seller "Compujunk" for replacement. If you build it yourself, then it's your wages spread over the time it takes to build it PLUS the money spent on the raw materials. The raw materials may be from Wireco, but their functionality is mediated by your labour on them as cables. So, if it fails or doesn't work, it's the COMPANY'S ass on the line, not Wireco or Compujunk's.
So, for your own stuff at home, sure: DIY.
At work, go for the third party materials.
"Nobody ever got fired for ordering gear from RCA"
RS