I've done the same, generally buying cheap CDs or books only. I've only bought two expensive items via eBay, and in both cases, I made sure that I did some serious research. Both items were available from the sellers on separate, commercial websites that I found reputable -- the eBay offerings were merely overstocked inventory.
Buying the big stuff still frightens me. I don't think I'll be bidding on plasma TVs anytime soon.
Re:How about those "Get info on FREE Ipod/HDTV" Bi
on
eBay Fraud Vigilantes
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· Score: 1
I'm just outside of Toronto, so maybe that's an issue. I *have* seen CDs priced around $14.99, but they're generally Top 40 discs. Certainly, digging through anything past the front of the stores runs in excess of $20.
I'll ask some friends in Halifax what their prices are like. I don't really know anyone out west, so I can't compare there. I have found that, even with S&H, it's often cheaper to order from the US.
Anything that's not a Top 40 release at any of the major chains (HMV, Music World, etc.) will easily run you around $19-$25, before taxes. I don't consider that very low. Give me $10-$14 discs, and then I'll agree.
I got it into my head that red/black roulette betting could be won all the time using the simple strategy of "Always bet the same color, and when you lose, double your bet."
Not true. Consider:
Start with $1500 Bet $100 on red, result is black, loss = $100 Bet $200 on red, result is black, loss = $300 Bet $400 on red, result is black, loss = $700 Bet $800 on red, result is black, loss = $1500 Player is broke, and cannot bet again
Keep in mind that probability states that red and black have equal probabilities of coming up, so there is no guarantee that "red will eventually come" and get you your money back. You have an equal chance of landing on black or red at every turn (green square excepted). Sticking with the same colour does nothing except give your mind a nice placebo effect that you're doing something effective. This is a common fallacy.
I tried searching for "pentium" and got back a list of insurance-related results.
With a single term like that, Google (like all search engines) is pretty much reduced to searching for content over context. Take a look at a sample page that Local returned. The page is for insurance software, and specifies the hardware requirements to run it. This is ilkely what caused your hit. A bit strange that there are lots of Insurance firms listed, but a lot of them seem to have similar page styles, so...
Try changing your search terms to "pentium" and "Intel" and you get very specific results, as expected.
Hate them though we will, as long as they have competition, they cannot, by definition, have a monopoly.
You're not quite right.
Consider a large software vendor that does have a monopoly on office suites. If an Average Joe starts up a one-man software company in his basement, and sells a single copy of JoeOffice, then by strict definition, it's competition with that large software vendor. However, the courts will still rule that it's a monopoly. Why? Because there's not a large enough market share for that competition to be at all effective.
That being said, I think that this lawsuit is grasping at straws in the first place. Why?
Computer sellers can install competitive media players along-side WMP.
If Microsoft is forced to "unbundle" WMP, what's to stop them from simply putting up a link on their initial login screen that says "We can't bundle WMP, so here's a link to download it. Please click if you want to play MP3s and AVIs."
Those who are in-the-know about computers will probably already know about WMP alternatives. Those who aren't likely don't care (barring the occasional user), and just want to hear their music that they downloaded from the IntraWeb.
I've found many a tasty recipe on there, but then, I love cooking and don't mind buying some wacky ingredients or spending extra time whipping something up.
Re:Search engine spam is the key...
on
Search Beyond Google
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· Score: 2, Informative
Yes, Google has tweaked their algorithms and added filters to strip out some of the obvious abuses. But lately it seems like each time they remove a link, two more replace it.
Maybe they've got some super-sneaky solution they're working on right now to remedy this. It would certainly help prevent searches like:
Re:Search engine spam is the key...
on
Search Beyond Google
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· Score: 5, Informative
I thought the whole concept of google was that it ranked pages higher if lots of other pages linked to it.
And this is exactly one of the problems that is now coming to light. Spammers set up hundreds of tiny sites that do nothing but point to each other, thus inflating their PageRanks. They've saturated Google to the point that searching for information about commercial products usually returns 2/10 legitimate pages.
If you charged.01 cents an email, I don't think anyone would mind paying a cent for a hundred emails we sent out (if it meant no spam). To a spammer, such a cost suddenly makes bulk emailing not an option and they'd be screwed.
Not really. If a spammer wants to send out 1,000,000 emails, the total cost would be:
$0.0001 * 1000000 = $100
That's not really deterring. It's a small investment that the spammers would make back within the first few sales of their product, I assume.
Are all these going to be in one controller, or will there be compromises made?
For simplicity, the controller will be a single button. Commands can be executed using a series of taps, similar to morse code. For example, to make your Rampage character leap onto a building and punch the roof, use the following:
tap-tap tap tap-tap-tap tap tap tap-tap-tap
Oddly enough, this is not that different from playing Mortal Kombat to begin with.
Well, worth a double-post. Less than 2 minutes after searching around, I found a number of links regarding the cone. Found a couple of PDF links too. Should make for interesting reading.
Yeah, I always knew about the larger objects rising to the top. It's the discrepancy between the box and the cone that got me interested. Still, worth a look!
Slashdot Mirror
Does this mean that Microsoft will be able to look at the source for OpenOffice?
Maybe you mean StarOffice. Hint: guess what "Open" stands for in "OpenOffice".
I always thought that this flick was the ultimate in "dating design patterns".
An "open sauce comapany" is news to me
Here you go.
There are many words in the English language that have homophones.
Eye for won due knot sea awl aught of miss takes re: salting from hoe mow phones. Inn fact, eye am you sing the pro gram write now.
I've done the same, generally buying cheap CDs or books only. I've only bought two expensive items via eBay, and in both cases, I made sure that I did some serious research. Both items were available from the sellers on separate, commercial websites that I found reputable -- the eBay offerings were merely overstocked inventory.
Buying the big stuff still frightens me. I don't think I'll be bidding on plasma TVs anytime soon.
Try this search:
ipod -"free ipod" -info
Seems to weed out 90% of the buggers.
I'm just outside of Toronto, so maybe that's an issue. I *have* seen CDs priced around $14.99, but they're generally Top 40 discs. Certainly, digging through anything past the front of the stores runs in excess of $20.
I'll ask some friends in Halifax what their prices are like. I don't really know anyone out west, so I can't compare there. I have found that, even with S&H, it's often cheaper to order from the US.
prices on CDs are actually very low in Canada.
Anything that's not a Top 40 release at any of the major chains (HMV, Music World, etc.) will easily run you around $19-$25, before taxes. I don't consider that very low. Give me $10-$14 discs, and then I'll agree.
Chalk it up to lack of coffee, and trying to do too many things at once.
I hear they've just completed the DNF board game too. It's an empty box.
I got it into my head that red/black roulette betting could be won all the time using the simple strategy of "Always bet the same color, and when you lose, double your bet."
Not true. Consider:
Start with $1500
Bet $100 on red, result is black, loss = $100
Bet $200 on red, result is black, loss = $300
Bet $400 on red, result is black, loss = $700
Bet $800 on red, result is black, loss = $1500
Player is broke, and cannot bet again
Keep in mind that probability states that red and black have equal probabilities of coming up, so there is no guarantee that "red will eventually come" and get you your money back. You have an equal chance of landing on black or red at every turn (green square excepted). Sticking with the same colour does nothing except give your mind a nice placebo effect that you're doing something effective. This is a common fallacy.
I tried searching for "pentium" and got back a list of insurance-related results.
With a single term like that, Google (like all search engines) is pretty much reduced to searching for content over context. Take a look at a sample page that Local returned. The page is for insurance software, and specifies the hardware requirements to run it. This is ilkely what caused your hit. A bit strange that there are lots of Insurance firms listed, but a lot of them seem to have similar page styles, so...
Try changing your search terms to "pentium" and "Intel" and you get very specific results, as expected.
So, since I live in Wisconsin, I should be seeing tons of ads for cheese and beer..?
What about those folks that live in Dildo, Newfoundland?
Never mind the fact that it's located right next to Spread Eagle...
Hate them though we will, as long as they have competition, they cannot, by definition, have a monopoly.
You're not quite right.
Consider a large software vendor that does have a monopoly on office suites. If an Average Joe starts up a one-man software company in his basement, and sells a single copy of JoeOffice, then by strict definition, it's competition with that large software vendor. However, the courts will still rule that it's a monopoly. Why? Because there's not a large enough market share for that competition to be at all effective.
That being said, I think that this lawsuit is grasping at straws in the first place. Why?
Those who are in-the-know about computers will probably already know about WMP alternatives. Those who aren't likely don't care (barring the occasional user), and just want to hear their music that they downloaded from the IntraWeb.
If immitation is the sincerest form of flattery, whats plagarism?
"Copying a source word-for-word is plaigarism. Copying several sources word-for-word is research."
Or something like that...
...there's always Epicurious.
I've found many a tasty recipe on there, but then, I love cooking and don't mind buying some wacky ingredients or spending extra time whipping something up.
0' ! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) ~ `
Hey, you stole my copyrighted Perl code!
Yes, Google has tweaked their algorithms and added filters to strip out some of the obvious abuses. But lately it seems like each time they remove a link, two more replace it.
Maybe they've got some super-sneaky solution they're working on right now to remedy this. It would certainly help prevent searches like:
+product +information -buy -deals -ReferralFarmName -otherRedirectTerms -...
I thought the whole concept of google was that it ranked pages higher if lots of other pages linked to it.
And this is exactly one of the problems that is now coming to light. Spammers set up hundreds of tiny sites that do nothing but point to each other, thus inflating their PageRanks. They've saturated Google to the point that searching for information about commercial products usually returns 2/10 legitimate pages.
At least, that's been my experience.
If you charged .01 cents an email, I don't think anyone would mind paying a cent for a hundred emails we sent out (if it meant no spam). To a spammer, such a cost suddenly makes bulk emailing not an option and they'd be screwed.
Not really. If a spammer wants to send out 1,000,000 emails, the total cost would be:
$0.0001 * 1000000 = $100
That's not really deterring. It's a small investment that the spammers would make back within the first few sales of their product, I assume.
Are all these going to be in one controller, or will there be compromises made?
For simplicity, the controller will be a single button. Commands can be executed using a series of taps, similar to morse code. For example, to make your Rampage character leap onto a building and punch the roof, use the following:
tap-tap tap tap-tap-tap tap tap tap-tap-tap
Oddly enough, this is not that different from playing Mortal Kombat to begin with.
Well, worth a double-post. Less than 2 minutes after searching around, I found a number of links regarding the cone. Found a couple of PDF links too. Should make for interesting reading.
Thanks again.
Thanks for the name.
Yeah, I always knew about the larger objects rising to the top. It's the discrepancy between the box and the cone that got me interested. Still, worth a look!
Heh, thanks for trying. I'll look into it a bit more. Time to get creative with searches.
Thanks. I've been flipping through Google for a few minutes, without any luck. I know some science/math teachers who'd love this sort of thing.