While I agree the interest rates most companies charge are extortionate (especially since it is incredibly hard to file for Ch. 7 bankruptcy protection these days), there exists a point when the person running up the debts every month needs to get it through their skull that they simply do not need to buy all the junk they do.
When people learn that they are not what they own, they might not need to carry $10,000 of debt.
Around 50,000,000 americans do not have health insurance. That means they become functionally bankrupt if they need any sort of emergency care. My girlfriend once went to the ER with a high fever and severe vomiting for 2 days straight. Three hours and $1,000 later, they told her that there was nothing they could do and that she should go home.
I will agree the average quality of care is better in the US than Canada, but the quality of care for the poor (the only kind of care that matters) is much, much worse. No matter if you are Paul Martin or the local beggar on the streets, you get the same care.
Kazaa Lite K++ is still floating around the internets somewhere. I believe the last version was 2.4.3e (or something to that effect). One possibility is to install the latest Kazaa and try to download Kazaa Lite. Of course, you'd then want to uninstall the adware version and do a cleanup then install Kazaa Lite.
Renting video games with food stamps is not an uncommon occurrence.
Which starts the cycle of poverty anew. My error. I thought we were supposed to be helping these people get out of poverty. Apparently its another PR stunt that nets [insert megacorp. here] some profits and tax write-offs.
Re:./ers aren't always the brightest bulbs
on
The Hundred-Buck PC
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· Score: 1
It seems a stretch to suggest that those who barely have enough money to feed themselves are concerned about playing WoW and finding out how to enlarge their penis.
Re:The big picture doesn't always matter
on
The Hundred-Buck PC
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· Score: 1
They certainly don't need education when 99% of their futures and full-time jobs will be along the lines of 'farmer'.
Actually farmers need to be quite diverse in their knowledge. Now most of these farmers won't have to learn to troubleshoot diesel engines or much as far as technological knowlege, but they will need technical knowlege in their profession.
For instance, they will need to learn crop rotation methods, field fertilization methods, ways to eliminate topsoil loss, etc. All of these skills require basic education as well as some more advanced science. Knowing the scientific method helps out tremendously in this area.
Over long enough of a timeline, it will teach the broadcasters that their statistics are wrong. Instead of multiplying every viewer by 'x', they'll revise their formula to use 'y'.
That being said, you still make an excellent point.
That may be. Personally, I would be glad to pay more than $1 to keep some of my favorite shows in production (Coupling, ST: Enterprise, Futurama, etc.).
The way to get people to pay that can is to open the books to the public for any particular show.
Exec: "See folks, we can't afford to bring you another season of Popular Show #15 because not enough people are paying for it. Sorry, but if some of you non-payers paid, we might be able to bring back Popular Show #15 for another season."
If the books are not open, the people can always cry out that the non-paying downloaders are being used as scapegoats to cancel a program that isn't the most profitable, but still enjoys a relatively good following.
Concerning VOD, I can only speak to what my father has at his home (TW in NE Ohio district).
Most VOD programs are simply small selections of a daily program. For instance, a 5 minute segment of The Daily Show is available on demand. Hardly ever did I see an entire episode of anything, except some Aqua Teen... which I decided to watch.
Just after I pressed the play button, I was called away for a moment. I didn't worry about missing anything because I could always rewind it or restart, etc. After being gone for 15 minutes, I was sure that I had probably missed most (if not all) of the show. On the contrary, the show HAD NOT STARTED YET. There were 15 minutes of commericals before the start of the show. Luckily, I learned they were able to be bypassed by a quick fast forward, but 15 minutes of commercials -- come on!!! It makes me sick that my dad pays over $60/mo. to have 15 minutes of commercials shoved down his throat to watch a 10-15 minute short.
I predict that VOD will go the way of OS/2 if this is how most cable/dish companies do their business.
The employees of the "sweat shops" have chosen to engage in this transaction of labor-for-pay.
I would agree 100% with you if employers and laborers were on the same playing field with the same barganing power.
The laborer is at a huge disadvantage in wage negotiations, especially in areas where most people can barely afford to eat. The laborers "choose" to work the same way you "choose" to use products that are distributed via publicly owned highways. Those laborers turning down a job would be like you deciding to stop using products that relied on any sort of government owned rails or streets. Indeed, you can make that choice, but you're going to starve to death, just as the laborer will without some sort of job.
Conversely, the employer will not starve to death if the laborer is not hired. The worst that that company will have to endure is a smaller number of widgets shipped this quarter. I hope you can see the difference between less widgets and less people.
It is clear to anyone without their brain in idle, that the employer dictates wages to the employee. At one time, it was a different story (see union employment in the mid 20th century), and that too needed to be rectified.
Capitalism is just like socialism and communism. In theory, they are utopia. In practice, they don't work as advertised; all the people at the top control the people at the bottm.
most people in China don't care if the government controls all the corporations as long as they can make money and buy cell phones, bootleg DVD's, and knock-off Louis Vuitton handbags.
Remove "China" and replace with "America" and it still rings true.
America isn't a capitalist country. In capitalism risks and rewards are both beared by the entrepreneur. In our economy, rewards are privatized while risk is publicized (in that Uncle Sam will always bail out the big corps when they make a bad investement move).
I'm still think MGM made some shady dealings here. All DVDs should have the original aspect ratios in which the film was shot clearly marked on the box along with information about how the movie was cropped/altered etc.
Slashdot Mirror
While I agree the interest rates most companies charge are extortionate (especially since it is incredibly hard to file for Ch. 7 bankruptcy protection these days), there exists a point when the person running up the debts every month needs to get it through their skull that they simply do not need to buy all the junk they do.
When people learn that they are not what they own, they might not need to carry $10,000 of debt.
In Soviet Russia, $90,000 transfers you!
a filename is not enough grounds to sue
I'd be willing to imagine that it is probable cause to get a John Doe warrant for an IP address, though.
I think this patent is incredibly valid.
There is no such thing as an "incredibly vaild" software patent. Software patents are a big no-no.
"The More You Know*"
Around 50,000,000 americans do not have health insurance. That means they become functionally bankrupt if they need any sort of emergency care. My girlfriend once went to the ER with a high fever and severe vomiting for 2 days straight. Three hours and $1,000 later, they told her that there was nothing they could do and that she should go home.
I will agree the average quality of care is better in the US than Canada, but the quality of care for the poor (the only kind of care that matters) is much, much worse. No matter if you are Paul Martin or the local beggar on the streets, you get the same care.
And perhaps "GNU Hurd will be available in 2006 ... except in Nebraska".
That is, if that one will ever catch on.
Kazaa Lite K++ is still floating around the internets somewhere. I believe the last version was 2.4.3e (or something to that effect). One possibility is to install the latest Kazaa and try to download Kazaa Lite. Of course, you'd then want to uninstall the adware version and do a cleanup then install Kazaa Lite.
What percentage of top sellers are 'M'-rated?
Renting video games with food stamps is not an uncommon occurrence.
Which starts the cycle of poverty anew. My error. I thought we were supposed to be helping these people get out of poverty. Apparently its another PR stunt that nets [insert megacorp. here] some profits and tax write-offs.
You also forgot:
OMGWTF 486 doesn't run quake!!!!11!
It seems a stretch to suggest that those who barely have enough money to feed themselves are concerned about playing WoW and finding out how to enlarge their penis.
They certainly don't need education when 99% of their futures and full-time jobs will be along the lines of 'farmer'.
Actually farmers need to be quite diverse in their knowledge. Now most of these farmers won't have to learn to troubleshoot diesel engines or much as far as technological knowlege, but they will need technical knowlege in their profession.
For instance, they will need to learn crop rotation methods, field fertilization methods, ways to eliminate topsoil loss, etc. All of these skills require basic education as well as some more advanced science. Knowing the scientific method helps out tremendously in this area.
Over long enough of a timeline, it will teach the broadcasters that their statistics are wrong. Instead of multiplying every viewer by 'x', they'll revise their formula to use 'y'.
That being said, you still make an excellent point.
That may be. Personally, I would be glad to pay more than $1 to keep some of my favorite shows in production (Coupling, ST: Enterprise, Futurama, etc.).
The way to get people to pay that can is to open the books to the public for any particular show.
Exec: "See folks, we can't afford to bring you another season of Popular Show #15 because not enough people are paying for it. Sorry, but if some of you non-payers paid, we might be able to bring back Popular Show #15 for another season."
If the books are not open, the people can always cry out that the non-paying downloaders are being used as scapegoats to cancel a program that isn't the most profitable, but still enjoys a relatively good following.
Concerning VOD, I can only speak to what my father has at his home (TW in NE Ohio district).
... which I decided to watch.
Most VOD programs are simply small selections of a daily program. For instance, a 5 minute segment of The Daily Show is available on demand. Hardly ever did I see an entire episode of anything, except some Aqua Teen
Just after I pressed the play button, I was called away for a moment. I didn't worry about missing anything because I could always rewind it or restart, etc. After being gone for 15 minutes, I was sure that I had probably missed most (if not all) of the show. On the contrary, the show HAD NOT STARTED YET. There were 15 minutes of commericals before the start of the show. Luckily, I learned they were able to be bypassed by a quick fast forward, but 15 minutes of commercials -- come on!!! It makes me sick that my dad pays over $60/mo. to have 15 minutes of commercials shoved down his throat to watch a 10-15 minute short.
I predict that VOD will go the way of OS/2 if this is how most cable/dish companies do their business.
can't afford the legal option
Since this demographic cannot afford the legal option, they never were a possible customer.
Obviously, you can't claim a loss to someone who can't afford your product*, but I'm betting the distributors will anyway.
*That is unless it is an item that decreases the amount of items that can be sold to other customers. Since downloads are limitless, it applies here.
The employees of the "sweat shops" have chosen to engage in this transaction of labor-for-pay.
I would agree 100% with you if employers and laborers were on the same playing field with the same barganing power.
The laborer is at a huge disadvantage in wage negotiations, especially in areas where most people can barely afford to eat. The laborers "choose" to work the same way you "choose" to use products that are distributed via publicly owned highways. Those laborers turning down a job would be like you deciding to stop using products that relied on any sort of government owned rails or streets. Indeed, you can make that choice, but you're going to starve to death, just as the laborer will without some sort of job.
Conversely, the employer will not starve to death if the laborer is not hired. The worst that that company will have to endure is a smaller number of widgets shipped this quarter. I hope you can see the difference between less widgets and less people.
It is clear to anyone without their brain in idle, that the employer dictates wages to the employee. At one time, it was a different story (see union employment in the mid 20th century), and that too needed to be rectified.
Capitalism is just like socialism and communism. In theory, they are utopia. In practice, they don't work as advertised; all the people at the top control the people at the bottm.
I choose option three.
Where money can be made, morals are lacking.
IMO, if you're losing, you need to switch to communism so you can build up your military.
You may want to try the Persians. I find them to be among the best.
whoops...meant to hit preview
Remove "China" and replace with "America" as well as switch "government" and "corporations" and it still rings true.
most people in China don't care if the government controls all the corporations as long as they can make money and buy cell phones, bootleg DVD's, and knock-off Louis Vuitton handbags.
Remove "China" and replace with "America" and it still rings true.
America isn't a capitalist country. In capitalism risks and rewards are both beared by the entrepreneur. In our economy, rewards are privatized while risk is publicized (in that Uncle Sam will always bail out the big corps when they make a bad investement move).
Note my reply to "WidescreenFreak" in this same thread.
Indeed, things were misleading on both sides.
Many thanks!
I'm still think MGM made some shady dealings here. All DVDs should have the original aspect ratios in which the film was shot clearly marked on the box along with information about how the movie was cropped/altered etc.