Charging for email is an inevitability. The corporate marketing machines will spin full speed, the media will eat it up and spoonfeed it to the masses as a "good thing" and "such a small price to pay to fight the evil spammers". People will buy into it using comparisons of paying for other forms of communication (fax, phone, snailmail) as their acceptance that this is "just the way things are".
Of course, the ongoing costs to fight the spammers will require this postage to go up and up and up.... ...and it will utlimately be as futile as the war against snailmail spammers.
Agreed, but how do we as a society stop companies from patenting naturally occuring components? Especially since the U.S. will most likely be leading the charge.
Keeping people out is infeasible so they'll eventually get the material. We can't keep everyone out of something as big as Anarctica (couldn't even do that for a country the size of Iraq). Standards need created to prevent the patenting or additional provisions need created on what constitutes a patent.
Forget Onstar or Lowjack, wait until this becomes available for your cars...smarter than most of the people on the road.
Now if we can just keep Microsoft away from grabbing the rights to the pilot's operating system. If they did, then OS crashes would take on a whole new meaning.
Honestly, electronic copies would just be a great big target to be cracked and vigorously shared.
This industry is a scam with forced purchases, oftentimes virtually unused, and very low buy back. Don't know if it's the schools or the publishers, but someone is making too much money on this.
Re:Don't be led astray by things you don't need.
on
KISS
·
· Score: 1
Agreed. This trend is not the manufacturer's fault, but our own. I don't mean invidually, but collectively as a society we are always looking for the bigger, better deal. We've shown that we're willing to pay a little more and -- what do you know -- manufacturers have stepped up to fill the void for the masses of sheep, er, consumers.
Let's not forget that in addition to movement, any real definition of a cool robot includes weapons. Spinning blades or flamethrowers would be a welcome -- and necessary -- addition.
What happens when -- not if -- this system becomes more mature? Imagine the future where a person registers and stores their virtual information at an authorized location thereby allowing them to virtually try on clothes from any Internet browser (for a small monthly fee, of course).
The phrase "let's go to the mall" currently holds two prospects for those not going:
1) The promise of an afternoon alone with TV/Computer and beverage(s) of choice while someone else is shopping.
2) The bleak trudgery of shuffling from one shameless, image conscious, capitalistic establishment to another.
Once this system is in full swing, going shopping will be as easy as hitting a browser. Depending on where you sit with the above choices, this may be good or bad.
On a final note, this ultimately will not come to pass because it overlooks one of the fundamental reasons people go shopping. There is something satisfying about trying on new items and seeing your reflection as a different person whether that is more elegant, sophisticated, professional, sexy, etc. A virtual reflection will never have the same appeal because inside you'll know that the image you're seeing isn't really you (this opens up some psych/philosophy discussions pertaining to what is real). Also you can't feel the material actually against your skin. Yes, someday a tactile system will help in this arena, but that would just be another type of virtual reflection of reality. Not to mention the amazing looks when someone close to you witnesses a new you stepping out of a dressing room.
Interesting concept which has its place, but a totally virtual world cannot succeed when it comes to fashion.
Slashdot Mirror
Of course, the ongoing costs to fight the spammers will require this postage to go up and up and up....
...and it will utlimately be as futile as the war against snailmail spammers.
As the digitization of our encyclopedias continues, millions of unemployed encyclopedia salespeople lament their poor career choice.
A terrible privacy decision would be the government mandating that video monitoring would be required
Keeping people out is infeasible so they'll eventually get the material. We can't keep everyone out of something as big as Anarctica (couldn't even do that for a country the size of Iraq). Standards need created to prevent the patenting or additional provisions need created on what constitutes a patent.
Now if we can just keep Microsoft away from grabbing the rights to the pilot's operating system. If they did, then OS crashes would take on a whole new meaning.
This industry is a scam with forced purchases, oftentimes virtually unused, and very low buy back. Don't know if it's the schools or the publishers, but someone is making too much money on this.
Agreed. This trend is not the manufacturer's fault, but our own. I don't mean invidually, but collectively as a society we are always looking for the bigger, better deal. We've shown that we're willing to pay a little more and -- what do you know -- manufacturers have stepped up to fill the void for the masses of sheep, er, consumers.
Let's not forget Street Fighter 2. IMO much worse than MK2 and it was compounded by Jean-Claude Van Damme being in it.
Let's not forget that in addition to movement, any real definition of a cool robot includes weapons. Spinning blades or flamethrowers would be a welcome -- and necessary -- addition.
The phrase "let's go to the mall" currently holds two prospects for those not going:
1) The promise of an afternoon alone with TV/Computer and beverage(s) of choice while someone else is shopping.
2) The bleak trudgery of shuffling from one shameless, image conscious, capitalistic establishment to another.
Once this system is in full swing, going shopping will be as easy as hitting a browser. Depending on where you sit with the above choices, this may be good or bad.
On a final note, this ultimately will not come to pass because it overlooks one of the fundamental reasons people go shopping. There is something satisfying about trying on new items and seeing your reflection as a different person whether that is more elegant, sophisticated, professional, sexy, etc. A virtual reflection will never have the same appeal because inside you'll know that the image you're seeing isn't really you (this opens up some psych/philosophy discussions pertaining to what is real). Also you can't feel the material actually against your skin. Yes, someday a tactile system will help in this arena, but that would just be another type of virtual reflection of reality. Not to mention the amazing looks when someone close to you witnesses a new you stepping out of a dressing room.
Interesting concept which has its place, but a totally virtual world cannot succeed when it comes to fashion.
Has anyone tried selling this manual on eBay? Mispelld awkshun itums ar vairy common and pawpular.
If (cough, cough) this person gets caught, then the name of the virus will be rather ironic.
Now if they could hold onto the properties of the landmines, this would be perfect for that no-longer-special person in your life.