The problem with government monopolies is that everyone has to pay regardless of whether or not they want the good/service. That's the first problem. Second, government doesn't have to earn customers. They have a virtually endless revenue source, and have to do nothing to maintain it.
Private industry on the other hand enjoys neither. If they become a monopoly and their product/service deteriorates to the point where customers no longer see a value in it, they will lose customers and revenue.
Private industry earns money, governments take it.
Right, because NO was a prosperous beacon of personal success before GWB took office, and then promptly fell into a welfare state.
Until people like you see past your blind hatred, the REAL problems will remain unsolved... which you will continue to blindly blame your political foes for.
How much is "enough" for a person to live on? More importantly, who gets to decide what "enough" is?
Socialism doesn't help anybody; all it does is make rich people slaves to poor people, and poor people slaves to the government.
You need only read about the misery in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to understand the inevitable outcome of being completely dependent upon the government for your very survival.
"It's hard to overestimate the influence that Babylon 5 had on American television"
Sorry pal, it ain't going to be THAT easy for you to validate those hundreds of hours you wasted watching TELEVISION.
Didn't they realize that such rental schemes would fail when consumers roundly rejected DIVX? Why do they keep trying to force a product we clearly don't like down our throats?
"if you're a parent you want businesses to abide your wishes not to sell things to your kids, not to show things to your kids, not to get your kids hooked on things when your kids are away from home."
As a parent, I don't have the right to dictate to a business owner how he should or should not run his business. As a parent, I do, however, have the right to teach my kids to stay away from his business.
"your [theoretical] parental right"
That right there says everything about your position that I need to know. Perhaps it would be better, after all, for the government to raise your kids for you. I suppose if you abdicate your rights and responsibilities as a parent, it's easier to accept the fuckwads they grow up to become.
If I were a parent, I wouldn't need a LAW to teach my kids right from wrong, nor would I need one to set parameters for their activities and behavior. That's a PARENT'S job, not the government's!
You seem to believe that anyone who wants government to stop interfering with how we raise our kids advocates anarchy and debauchery. I'm calling you out on that strawman.
It's not a civil right; it's a contract. You want to use the service? Then you have to agree to these terms.
Feel that the contract is unnecessarily restrictive? Then don't buy their game!
Web developers who are using duplicate code and/or conditionals either need to educate themselves on web standards, educate their bosses on web standards, or find a new line of work.
Not to sound like a W3C zealot or anything, but there's really no good reason not to adhere to standards. And no, compatibility with outdated, non-compliant browsers isn't a good reason.
If your web site is W3C compliant (X)HTML/CSS, chances are that it will be compatible for viewing on mobile devices.
Yet another advantage of adhering to standards.
I don't know about you, but to me thet habitual use of "like" and "ya know" do not project much in the way of intelligence, confidence, or professionalism.
In fact, I submit that there is an inverse relationship between the number of times you say "like" or "ya know" during a job interview, and the likelihood of getting hired.
As far as the rest of the MTV pop culture-inspired "enhancements" to our language, ten years from now most of these kids will look back and laugh at how dumb they sounded. The rest will still be talking like that, living off of social programs.
How about on a laptop, on which for some reason my BIOS won't let me disable the on-board sound, and I'm trying to set the USB as the default?
Running Ubuntu (Hoary) and have had no success getting the USB to work.
Could the same not be said about any emerging technology? I bet it took things like television, cars, and telephones a few years to gain traction in the American household, but thereafter became an integral part of our lifestyle.
I don't see why anyone would think the Internet would be any different.
"Thus, I hope people will understand that making sure that our games are purchased instead of stolen is very important to us."
Maybe I don't really understand the issue here, but how exactly does DRM stop a person from shoplifting their game?
Either they're barking up the wrong tree with their DRM scheme, or perhaps they should say "infringed" instead of "stolen".
Boo hoo! So their PROFITS are down. That only means they're not stealing as much from the poor. I call that a move in the right direction!
Let's face it folks! Companies only profit by exploiting the poor. The very existence of poverty is all the proof you need! What do they need all of that money for? They have a civic duty to share their ill-gotten fortunes with the society they exploit to create their riches.
Companies should be forced to operate at a break-even limit. Any excess profit proves that they are charging too much for their product, and exploiting the poor. Such immoral profiteering should be illegal! There are so many people that need that money more than those greedy, racist executive robber-barons!
The slavery must end, people! If we don't stick up for the poor now, who will fight for us when it's OUR turn to be robbed?
Slashdot Mirror
Saying "serious programming" in the same sentence as "Visual Basic" makes the Baby Jeebus cry.
The problem with government monopolies is that everyone has to pay regardless of whether or not they want the good/service. That's the first problem. Second, government doesn't have to earn customers. They have a virtually endless revenue source, and have to do nothing to maintain it. Private industry on the other hand enjoys neither. If they become a monopoly and their product/service deteriorates to the point where customers no longer see a value in it, they will lose customers and revenue. Private industry earns money, governments take it.
Right, because NO was a prosperous beacon of personal success before GWB took office, and then promptly fell into a welfare state.
Until people like you see past your blind hatred, the REAL problems will remain unsolved... which you will continue to blindly blame your political foes for.
From the fine article: "Earlier this year, The New York Times reported that Microsoft came close to acquiring Claria." Guess what that means, folks?
How much is "enough" for a person to live on? More importantly, who gets to decide what "enough" is?
Socialism doesn't help anybody; all it does is make rich people slaves to poor people, and poor people slaves to the government.
You need only read about the misery in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to understand the inevitable outcome of being completely dependent upon the government for your very survival.
"It's hard to overestimate the influence that Babylon 5 had on American television" Sorry pal, it ain't going to be THAT easy for you to validate those hundreds of hours you wasted watching TELEVISION.
Right, because no other company can compete with Microsoft in the console market.
Didn't they realize that such rental schemes would fail when consumers roundly rejected DIVX? Why do they keep trying to force a product we clearly don't like down our throats?
I'd moderate the parent post, but I can't seem to find the "Unlikely" option. Some help please?
"In the end, it seems the only real winner after a hybrid purchase is the environment."
Let's not forget the auto manufacturers and their markup for sticking the word "hybrid" on their vehicles.
"if you're a parent you want businesses to abide your wishes not to sell things to your kids, not to show things to your kids, not to get your kids hooked on things when your kids are away from home." As a parent, I don't have the right to dictate to a business owner how he should or should not run his business. As a parent, I do, however, have the right to teach my kids to stay away from his business. "your [theoretical] parental right" That right there says everything about your position that I need to know. Perhaps it would be better, after all, for the government to raise your kids for you. I suppose if you abdicate your rights and responsibilities as a parent, it's easier to accept the fuckwads they grow up to become.
If I were a parent, I wouldn't need a LAW to teach my kids right from wrong, nor would I need one to set parameters for their activities and behavior. That's a PARENT'S job, not the government's!
You seem to believe that anyone who wants government to stop interfering with how we raise our kids advocates anarchy and debauchery. I'm calling you out on that strawman.
These parental government initiatives seem to be something both Democrats and Republicans can get behind. Isn't bi-partishanship great?
It's not a civil right; it's a contract. You want to use the service? Then you have to agree to these terms. Feel that the contract is unnecessarily restrictive? Then don't buy their game!
...that the first and second editions weren't all that definative?
The problem with buying "new and improved" is the revelation that all along you'd been using "old and inverior".
Web developers who are using duplicate code and/or conditionals either need to educate themselves on web standards, educate their bosses on web standards, or find a new line of work. Not to sound like a W3C zealot or anything, but there's really no good reason not to adhere to standards. And no, compatibility with outdated, non-compliant browsers isn't a good reason.
If your web site is W3C compliant (X)HTML/CSS, chances are that it will be compatible for viewing on mobile devices. Yet another advantage of adhering to standards.
Reference (Damn you for beating me to it!)
I don't know about you, but to me thet habitual use of "like" and "ya know" do not project much in the way of intelligence, confidence, or professionalism. In fact, I submit that there is an inverse relationship between the number of times you say "like" or "ya know" during a job interview, and the likelihood of getting hired. As far as the rest of the MTV pop culture-inspired "enhancements" to our language, ten years from now most of these kids will look back and laugh at how dumb they sounded. The rest will still be talking like that, living off of social programs.
How about on a laptop, on which for some reason my BIOS won't let me disable the on-board sound, and I'm trying to set the USB as the default? Running Ubuntu (Hoary) and have had no success getting the USB to work.
Now if only something as trivial as a USB sound card could be installed and operational in under 7 hours.
That's fairly easy to explain.
For most people, the Web is the best, and in many cases, the ONLY connection to the rest of the country/world.
In a state where many locations aren't even connected with roads, an information media like the Internet is invaluable.
Could the same not be said about any emerging technology? I bet it took things like television, cars, and telephones a few years to gain traction in the American household, but thereafter became an integral part of our lifestyle. I don't see why anyone would think the Internet would be any different.
"Thus, I hope people will understand that making sure that our games are purchased instead of stolen is very important to us." Maybe I don't really understand the issue here, but how exactly does DRM stop a person from shoplifting their game? Either they're barking up the wrong tree with their DRM scheme, or perhaps they should say "infringed" instead of "stolen".
Boo hoo! So their PROFITS are down. That only means they're not stealing as much from the poor. I call that a move in the right direction! Let's face it folks! Companies only profit by exploiting the poor. The very existence of poverty is all the proof you need! What do they need all of that money for? They have a civic duty to share their ill-gotten fortunes with the society they exploit to create their riches. Companies should be forced to operate at a break-even limit. Any excess profit proves that they are charging too much for their product, and exploiting the poor. Such immoral profiteering should be illegal! There are so many people that need that money more than those greedy, racist executive robber-barons! The slavery must end, people! If we don't stick up for the poor now, who will fight for us when it's OUR turn to be robbed?