Something that if you mess up, I won't be able to fix for you. (Drawing the line between what I will ("can") fix and won't ("can't") fix works wonders for me.)
"If they lowered prices their profit on each item would fall,of course, but more people would feel that its worth it to go buy music or movies."
Do you have any numbers to back up your theory of the demand curve? A good controlled study that showed you were correct would be worthy of a journal article, if not a Ph.D.
Not at all! I like them very much. Not the self-promotion in the local cinema's trailer, or the slideshow, but I do like the trailers. The ones that represent movies I dislike, I get to see what I'm not missing. All the groaning and cringing I would do during the movie, I'm done with, and I will NEVER be in a position where I think I might enjoy the film. The trailers for the films I *do* like, are part of the experience that is not included in the movie itself.
I remember the first trailer for Alien, back in '77 I think. I knew that was a movie I had to see. Think about how you feel when you see clips for movies you really anticipate, like Star Wars (admit it), or LOTR.
>Do you dislike the fact that when you watch a >DVD, you often can't skip opening sections on a >disk?
What I dislike about it, is the theory that the production company owns both my DVD *AND* my $20.
For rentals, I don't really give a crap. I think it would be cool if there was a writeable trailer section so the rental places could put localized adverts, current trailers, etc. It doesn't really bother me that I can't skip them, but it does bother me a lot that it's a crime in the US to make a device that can skip them. I don't really believe the DMCA will stand the test of time, but I also realize that "the test of time" takes a hundred years or more.
>Do you still go to the theater
Hardly ever. Only for the films that I really, really don't want to miss. The ones that come every 5-10 years, if that. LOTR. Maybe I'll go see the Matrix, probably not. Certain foreign films that I'll only ever see screened one time and might never make it to home video. This has more to do with my life priorities than my regard for the film industry.
>and rent/buy DVDs?
Again, there are certain films whose subjects or whose importantce transcend "entertainment" and are essential. I'd buy them for 4x the price. Rentals are cheap enough also, and I don't see the problem, DRM or no.
My problem with the restrictions of digital copyright stems entirely from my views as a musician. I do not appreciate being constrained in my means of production by artificial barriers. Many of the barriers between amateur and professional music production are created specifically to raise the bar, and are not really based that much on technical merit.
Also the whole attitude about copying music actually works against the independent artist who doesn't seek any money at all from his work, but would like it to be heard, shared, etc.
Whenver I hear something that implies that "downloading copyrighted material" is always wrong, or a crime, I see red -- because that blanket statement would also cover my own copyrighted work. But what if I *want* it to be downloaded, P2P'd, etc? Copyright law is going in a direction that will severely curtail the rights of independent content producers.
>I post on Usenet with my real first and last >name, and my primary email address.
Something tells me that posting to Usenet will not get you killed, imprisoned, or fired, or have your healthcare privileges revoked.
Perhaps you do not live in an oppressive society.
You remind me of a manager I once had. An elderly wife of a wealthy retired surgeon, who was simply not able to understand that other people work because they need money to make ends meet. For example she could simply not understand why others had not availed themselves of the opportunity to travel the world, or why it was a problem to go 2 weeks without being paid.
>then why did they put it in the context of >a "well regulated Militia"?
They were trying to say that, ultimately, it will be up to YOU to regulate them. The militia will be operating under a command of tyranny, and it will then become your responsibility to put them back in their place.
Consider that the people who wrote that clause had recently had some experience with that very unthinkable situation.
"The problem with this is that there aren't really any road-capable NEV's or whatever you want to refer to them as."
The real problem is that alternative fuel vehicles of every sort, woefully underperform even the most humble gas powered vehicle.
When there is an electric car that can outrun a souped up honda on a 1/4 mile, everybody will want one. They will no longer be "alternative", they will be the obligatory shiny thing that one Must Have.
That's what it's going to take. Higher performance than you can get from a regular car, or else $20/gallon gas. And I'm not entirely sure $20 gas will do it!
>That idea would completely destroy email as we >know it.
I think you do not understand how SMTP works. What I described is the normal configuration, proabably (hopefully!) in use by your ISP and anyone else you send mail to. 5xx: Relaying denied. Goodbye.
No company policy can ever trump your rights and obligations under the law. At best, they can clarify what your rights and duties are, but they can never replace what is required of you.
If your State requires you to report something, and you choose not to report it, it might not be as strong a defense as you believe, that there was a company policy against reporting it.
Calculus is Algebra. Analysis is Algebra. Linear Algebra is Algebra. Trigonometry is Algebra. If you don't study Algebra how will you ever comprehend the problems being addressed by Calculus?
On the other hand, I think most of what is taught as "arithmetic" is useless.
>4. Therefore, $unknown must be less than $3 for >me to have ANY interest in this stupid concept.
I'm guessing that lots of them will be free. Or very, very cheap -- trading card cheap. With niche titles aimed at kids maybe. Expect them to be cheap as hell but with all kinds of marketing "content". Maybe even teasers for premium titles, or other self-destructing discs.
>Imagine a game that requires a CD that expires >in 48 hours.
I imagine someone will buy it. If it is perceived as cheap ($2.00-$5.00 each time instead of $60.00 one time, works better in some people's reasoning). I wouldn't touch such a game.
>How about a copy of Windows where the install >disk fries itself after install?
Whoever chooses to buy such a thing brings the consequences on himself. I'm not sure I see a problem really. In a way, I wish Microsoft hadn't been so willing to enable copying from the beginning. Had they made it difficult to copy windows install discs, we might have seen more competition in the OS market since 95. I often wonder if more people have Windows installs that are afoul of the license, than have completely legal installs. Some days I actually wonder if one person in ten who runs Windows even has an original install CD.
There are alternatives to Windows, but most people don't know it. If they can't afford Windows, they know they can get it free. If Microsoft actually made an effort to stop them getting it free, they would start to understand the value of the alternatives.
>It was a technique that was intended to help >keep cashiers honest.
That was then, but now it works as a psychological buffer against a price point. Your argument goes under the same category as Sholes' typewriter key layout.
The people who care are the ones who want GPL and other Open Source software to be something that it is not: A stimulus for commercial investment.
"Open Source" does not "lose" due to the I.P. stuggle, except where laws literally make it illegal to use or develop the software. Patents, export controls, and anti-circumvention laws are the only things I can think of at this moment. And these generally apply to people in the US.
Since software development appears to be moving OUT of the US for as many economic reasons as political, it will not be an issue for much longer.
Sure they do. Maybe not the drink machine in your cafeteria, but there are many vending machines that take $20's. The stamp dispensers at my post office take them, and give change in Sacajaweas. Also, the ticket kiosk at my light rail system. The changer at the laundromat. The automatic car wash. There are plenty of machines that have to be updated whenever the bill changes. And for the people that have to pay for it, the last change was yesterday!
>My wife and I got swatted by our home owner's >association
You signed the paper, and that makes you ultimately responsible for the swatting. Shame on you for signing away your rights. Shame on you again for trying to place the blame on someone else. You signed it. You face the consequences.
People will negotiate HARD for 1/10th point on their mortgage, but they won't even make a peep about the HOA. The contract is signed, the escrow money is in the title company account, and the only document you haven't signed is the HOA. I think there's a lot of bargaining power in the buyer's hand at that moment. "My attorney has advised me not to sign this document as it is written."
I guarantee the HOA becomes less important the closer it comes to killing a sale.
Slashdot Mirror
>What's an MBR?
Something that if you mess up, I won't be able to fix for you. (Drawing the line between what I will ("can") fix and won't ("can't") fix works wonders for me.)
"If they lowered prices their profit on each item would fall ,of course, but more people would feel that its worth it to go buy music or movies."
Do you have any numbers to back up your theory of the demand curve? A good controlled study that showed you were correct would be worthy of a journal article, if not a Ph.D.
>Do you dislike watching trailers in the theater?
Not at all! I like them very much. Not the self-promotion in the local cinema's trailer, or the slideshow, but I do like the trailers. The ones that represent movies I dislike, I get to see what I'm not missing. All the groaning and cringing I would do during the movie, I'm done with, and I will NEVER be in a position where I think I might enjoy the film. The trailers for the films I *do* like, are part of the experience that is not included in the movie itself.
I remember the first trailer for Alien, back in '77 I think. I knew that was a movie I had to see. Think about how you feel when you see clips for movies you really anticipate, like Star Wars (admit it), or LOTR.
>Do you dislike the fact that when you watch a
>DVD, you often can't skip opening sections on a
>disk?
What I dislike about it, is the theory that the production company owns both my DVD *AND* my $20.
For rentals, I don't really give a crap. I think it would be cool if there was a writeable trailer section so the rental places could put localized adverts, current trailers, etc. It doesn't really bother me that I can't skip them, but it does bother me a lot that it's a crime in the US to make a device that can skip them. I don't really believe the DMCA will stand the test of time, but I also realize that "the test of time" takes a hundred years or more.
>Do you still go to the theater
Hardly ever. Only for the films that I really, really don't want to miss. The ones that come every 5-10 years, if that. LOTR. Maybe I'll go see the Matrix, probably not. Certain foreign films that I'll only ever see screened one time and might never make it to home video. This has more to do with my life priorities than my regard for the film industry.
>and rent/buy DVDs?
Again, there are certain films whose subjects or whose importantce transcend "entertainment" and are essential. I'd buy them for 4x the price. Rentals are cheap enough also, and I don't see the problem, DRM or no.
My problem with the restrictions of digital copyright stems entirely from my views as a musician. I do not appreciate being constrained in my means of production by artificial barriers. Many of the barriers between amateur and professional music production are created specifically to raise the bar, and are not really based that much on technical merit.
Also the whole attitude about copying music actually works against the independent artist who doesn't seek any money at all from his work, but would like it to be heard, shared, etc.
Whenver I hear something that implies that "downloading copyrighted material" is always wrong, or a crime, I see red -- because that blanket statement would also cover my own copyrighted work. But what if I *want* it to be downloaded, P2P'd, etc? Copyright law is going in a direction that will severely curtail the rights of independent content producers.
Actually, it's voilà
>I post on Usenet with my real first and last
>name, and my primary email address.
Something tells me that posting to Usenet will not get you killed, imprisoned, or fired, or have your healthcare privileges revoked.
Perhaps you do not live in an oppressive society.
You remind me of a manager I once had. An elderly wife of a wealthy retired surgeon, who was simply not able to understand that other people work because they need money to make ends meet. For example she could simply not understand why others had not availed themselves of the opportunity to travel the world, or why it was a problem to go 2 weeks without being paid.
>then why did they put it in the context of
>a "well regulated Militia"?
They were trying to say that, ultimately, it will be up to YOU to regulate them. The militia will be operating under a command of tyranny, and it will then become your responsibility to put them back in their place.
Consider that the people who wrote that clause had recently had some experience with that very unthinkable situation.
"The problem with this is that there aren't really any road-capable NEV's or whatever you want to refer to them as."
The real problem is that alternative fuel vehicles of every sort, woefully underperform even the most humble gas powered vehicle.
When there is an electric car that can outrun a souped up honda on a 1/4 mile, everybody will want one. They will no longer be "alternative", they will be the obligatory shiny thing that one Must Have.
That's what it's going to take. Higher performance than you can get from a regular car, or else $20/gallon gas. And I'm not entirely sure $20 gas will do it!
>That idea would completely destroy email as we
>know it.
I think you do not understand how SMTP works. What I described is the normal configuration, proabably (hopefully!) in use by your ISP and anyone else you send mail to. 5xx: Relaying denied. Goodbye.
>Most places have company policies
No company policy can ever trump your rights and obligations under the law. At best, they can clarify what your rights and duties are, but they can never replace what is required of you.
If your State requires you to report something, and you choose not to report it, it might not be as strong a defense as you believe, that there was a company policy against reporting it.
>killed himself at age 31. A year after his
>mathematical prime.
30 is not prime.
Calculus is Algebra. Analysis is Algebra. Linear Algebra is Algebra. Trigonometry is Algebra. If you don't study Algebra how will you ever comprehend the problems being addressed by Calculus?
On the other hand, I think most of what is taught as "arithmetic" is useless.
"they should just include an postage paid envelope with your rental."
Of course, you must realize that the cost of the return postage is greater than the margin on the product itself.
>4. Therefore, $unknown must be less than $3 for
>me to have ANY interest in this stupid concept.
I'm guessing that lots of them will be free. Or very, very cheap -- trading card cheap. With niche titles aimed at kids maybe. Expect them to be cheap as hell but with all kinds of marketing "content". Maybe even teasers for premium titles, or other self-destructing discs.
>The fellas down at the garage say it should go
>to 185K-200K then it'll totally die.
Are they specific at all? Valves going? Cam lobes flattening? Suspension mounts rotting?
One of my cars is a 62 VW with over a quarter million miles on it. TCO for 3 owners since new is less than $5,000.
>I've seen many Fords, Chevys, Dodges and GMCs
>from the 70s still in good operating condition.
Outside the rustbelt, you will have no problem at all finding them from 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's.
It's the cars made SINCE THEN that are scarce, except in junkyards. The 80's and 90's cars were definitely not built to last.
>Imagine a game that requires a CD that expires
>in 48 hours.
I imagine someone will buy it. If it is perceived as cheap ($2.00-$5.00 each time instead of $60.00 one time, works better in some people's reasoning). I wouldn't touch such a game.
>How about a copy of Windows where the install
>disk fries itself after install?
Whoever chooses to buy such a thing brings the consequences on himself. I'm not sure I see a problem really. In a way, I wish Microsoft hadn't been so willing to enable copying from the beginning. Had they made it difficult to copy windows install discs, we might have seen more competition in the OS market since 95. I often wonder if more people have Windows installs that are afoul of the license, than have completely legal installs. Some days I actually wonder if one person in ten who runs Windows even has an original install CD.
There are alternatives to Windows, but most people don't know it. If they can't afford Windows, they know they can get it free. If Microsoft actually made an effort to stop them getting it free, they would start to understand the value of the alternatives.
> It's the same respect you show a cop
"Are you ORDERING me to close my relay?"
"No, I am simply making a suggestion that you do so."
"But you are not ordering me to do it, is that correct?"
"That is correct."
"Good day officer, and thank you for your suggestions."
>It was a technique that was intended to help
>keep cashiers honest.
That was then, but now it works as a psychological buffer against a price
point. Your argument goes under the
same category as Sholes' typewriter
key layout.
>So who cares if MS say that?
The people who care are the ones who want GPL and other Open Source software to be something that it is not: A stimulus for commercial investment.
"Open Source" does not "lose" due to the I.P. stuggle, except where laws literally make it illegal to use or develop the software. Patents, export controls, and anti-circumvention laws are the only things I can think of at this moment. And these generally apply to people in the US.
Since software development appears to be moving OUT of the US for as many economic reasons as political, it will not be an issue for much longer.
>Operate your own smtp server.
That's great, if you have an ISP that permits it.
Most people don't.
Folding his own money a certain way only solves the problem for spending the money.
A blind person cannot work independently in a job where he accepts money from the public (i.e., cashier), unless he can differentiate the bill.
Now, think how many jobs require taking money from the public.
>Dumbass, vending machines don't take $20 bills!
Sure they do. Maybe not the drink machine in your cafeteria, but there are many vending machines that take $20's. The stamp dispensers at my post office take them, and give change in Sacajaweas. Also, the ticket kiosk at my light rail system. The changer at the laundromat. The automatic car wash. There are plenty of machines that have to be updated whenever the bill changes. And for the people that have to pay for it, the last change was yesterday!
Handwritten or not, if it has a 1st class stamp, it's 1st class mail.
"Trucking it to Hollywood from Texas can't be that bad."
Isn't it on a standard rail gauge? Seems like it could just go via Union Pacific.
>My wife and I got swatted by our home owner's
>association
You signed the paper, and that makes you ultimately responsible for the swatting. Shame on you for signing away your rights. Shame on you again for trying to place the blame on someone else. You signed it. You face the consequences.
People will negotiate HARD for 1/10th point on their mortgage, but they won't even make a peep about the HOA. The contract is signed, the escrow money is in the title company account, and the only document you haven't signed is the HOA.
I think there's a lot of bargaining power in the buyer's hand at that moment. "My attorney has advised me not to sign this document as it is written."
I guarantee the HOA becomes less important the closer it comes to killing a sale.