The pirate bay can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. You never know how fast your downloads will be, what will be available, or what the quality will be. Yes, I have used it in the past myself. I still do occasionally for stuff Netflix doesn't have, like Disney for example. But since I now have a decent paying job, I have a Roku with Netflix that streams 1080p beautifully over my wireless network. Much easier to deal with IMO and not that expensive.
Do your Government masters pay you to make snide comments? Or are you the one who is really employed by them, trying out a bit of reverse psychology? I await your insightful response.
If there's a shutdown, why are we all still be paying taxes? It's kind of laughable how there are so many services deemed "essential" that will continue to be working. I wonder if people will even notice this shutdown. Somehow I really doubt this will cause the end of the world.
The liberties of a people are in danger from a large standing army, not only because the rulers may employ them for the purposes of supporting themselves in any usurpations of power, which they may see proper to exercise, but there is great hazard, that an army will subvert the forms of the government, under whose authority, they are raised, and establish one, according to the pleasure of their leader.
You also probably didn't have to pay off multiple levels of bureaucracy and consultant insiders to make things happen. Don't you just love government efficiency?
I'm with you on the nook color. I have mine running the latest Cyanogenmod 7 and I love how well gingerbread works on it. I think the iPad is just too big and pricey for me. 7 inches is the my sweet spot for a tablet. Sometimes I even stick it the nook in my back pocket if I have to attend to something else for a minute. It's lighter than the iPad and the screen is better IMHO.
I've owned several Apple iDevices and a couple Androids. In my opinion Android works just as well most of the time. Apple stuff crashes on me and sometimes has unresponsive apps too. The early ones were even worse. So either way, it's not always sunny roses all the time.
Even when my local Apple store is pretty crowded, most of the time I don't have to wait all that long if all I want to do is buy something. Usually no longer than if I have to go to a department store and wait in line at the cash register. Often times Apple can be faster than that. There were a couple of times when it was really crowded and I had to wait a few minutes. But most of the time it's not that bad.
I agree it's not really just price, although that is part of it. Although price is one of the main reasons I went with a Color Nook instead of an iPad. But it's also true we might need to wait until Android tablets have better usability/apps/etc.
Android entered into the smartphone market after the iPhone had the mindshare and was already selling like crazy. But it still ended up taking over. The Apple marketing and component advantage couldn't protect them for very long. There is no reason why Android wouldn't be able to come out with more competitive tablets in the future. Only time will tell.
Apparently, we are not going to see a repeat of the Android ambush of the smartphone market
It is WAY to early to make this kind of a judgement. There is absolutely no reason why Android couldn't take over tablets as well as smartphones. Judging by the success or failure of a first gen product like the Xoom is definitely not an adequate representation.
As it was explained in those papers, they did nationalize the telephone system during WW1.
Companies that possesses statelike powers in real-world society ultimately come from being cozy with the state itself. Not from the economic excuse given as so-called "natural" monopoly. That is why they are calling it an unnatural monopoly.
From the second paper:
The telephone monopoly, however, has been anything but natural. Overlooked in the textbooks is the extent to which federal and state governmental actions throughout this century helped build the AT&T or "Bell system" monopoly. As Robert Crandall (1991: 41) noted, "Despite the popular belief that the telephone network is a natural monopoly, the AT&T monopoly survived until the 1980s not because of its naturalness but because of overt government policy."
Indeed, a chronological review of the industry's development produces an indisputable conclusion--at no time during the development of the Bell monopoly did government not play a role in fostering a monopolistic system. Adherents to the old school of thought correctly point out that AT&T attempted to restrict competition throughout this century. Yet, this fact is irrelevant. Every business logically tries its hardest to exclude competitors. What is more important, and widely ignored, is exactly how federal and state government actions encouraged the Bell monopoly to develop during the early years of this century. Once the government allowed this monopoly to develop with its assistance, AT&T's strength could not be matched by any competitor, resulting in a monopolistic market structure that survived well into the 1980's.
You should read the rest of the details given after that.
The problem with monopolies is that while most of them were created intentionally through government action, that's no longer the case, most of them form from the failure of the government to step in and break them up.
I'm not so sure that is true. Please name some specific examples.
I listen to a lot of newly released music, and buying individual albums simply isn't very efficient. I would much rather use a subscription service and pay $10 a month to listen to however much new music I want. For anyone who listens to a lot of music, it's worth it because I used to spend $100 to $120 a year on CDs anyway. Plus it takes way too much time to organize and sync it all. Just not worth the hassle of dealing with files imho.
Very true, it also took me several hours to figure out how to get the gapps installed. so if you're not a programmer it will probably be even more difficult.
My 8 year old Pentium M laptop handles 720p just fine with its discrete ati x600 graphics. But the battery doesn't last long, so there's no way it could get through one full 720p movie. I mostly use it plugged in at home on the kitchen table. It's still my primary personal laptop.
You should look into the Nook Color. Very decently priced mid-range tablet that I was able to install android honeycomb quite easily. I love using it around the house or while on the couch. It plays angry birds and other games just fine. It's a lot less awkward to use than my laptop or netbook while lying around in front of the tv, in my opinion.
The only downside is that the honeycomb install can be a bit glitchy sometimes, but that's not a dealbreaker for me. It's only a preview release and should improve greatly when Google finally releases the source code.
Same boat here. I was on a prepaid Nokia e71 before I was lured over to Verizon by the Droid 1. My wife is on the Eris. I absolutely hate paying for two data plans. I can't help but think there are so many better things we could be doing with that money. I regret signing up for the 2 year contract, and will probably jump ship as soon as that is up in November.
Slashdot Mirror
The pirate bay can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. You never know how fast your downloads will be, what will be available, or what the quality will be. Yes, I have used it in the past myself. I still do occasionally for stuff Netflix doesn't have, like Disney for example. But since I now have a decent paying job, I have a Roku with Netflix that streams 1080p beautifully over my wireless network. Much easier to deal with IMO and not that expensive.
Nice website, bro.
Do your Government masters pay you to make snide comments? Or are you the one who is really employed by them, trying out a bit of reverse psychology? I await your insightful response.
If there's a shutdown, why are we all still be paying taxes? It's kind of laughable how there are so many services deemed "essential" that will continue to be working. I wonder if people will even notice this shutdown. Somehow I really doubt this will cause the end of the world.
Essential reading:
http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus10.htm
Cable companies would offer ala-carte if they could. Unfortunately, the content providers are the ones who hold sway in this matter.
You also probably didn't have to pay off multiple levels of bureaucracy and consultant insiders to make things happen. Don't you just love government efficiency?
I'm with you on the nook color. I have mine running the latest Cyanogenmod 7 and I love how well gingerbread works on it. I think the iPad is just too big and pricey for me. 7 inches is the my sweet spot for a tablet. Sometimes I even stick it the nook in my back pocket if I have to attend to something else for a minute. It's lighter than the iPad and the screen is better IMHO.
I've owned several Apple iDevices and a couple Androids. In my opinion Android works just as well most of the time. Apple stuff crashes on me and sometimes has unresponsive apps too. The early ones were even worse. So either way, it's not always sunny roses all the time.
Even when my local Apple store is pretty crowded, most of the time I don't have to wait all that long if all I want to do is buy something. Usually no longer than if I have to go to a department store and wait in line at the cash register. Often times Apple can be faster than that. There were a couple of times when it was really crowded and I had to wait a few minutes. But most of the time it's not that bad.
I agree it's not really just price, although that is part of it. Although price is one of the main reasons I went with a Color Nook instead of an iPad. But it's also true we might need to wait until Android tablets have better usability/apps/etc.
Android entered into the smartphone market after the iPhone had the mindshare and was already selling like crazy. But it still ended up taking over. The Apple marketing and component advantage couldn't protect them for very long. There is no reason why Android wouldn't be able to come out with more competitive tablets in the future. Only time will tell.
It is WAY to early to make this kind of a judgement. There is absolutely no reason why Android couldn't take over tablets as well as smartphones. Judging by the success or failure of a first gen product like the Xoom is definitely not an adequate representation.
What? How, exactly, is Google still playing catchup with Apple?
As it was explained in those papers, they did nationalize the telephone system during WW1.
Companies that possesses statelike powers in real-world society ultimately come from being cozy with the state itself. Not from the economic excuse given as so-called "natural" monopoly. That is why they are calling it an unnatural monopoly.
From the second paper:
You should read the rest of the details given after that.
You should read the whole paper. It addresses that thoroughly.
Could you please name some natural monopolies that were not formed/assisted by the government?
I'm not so sure that is true. Please name some specific examples.
This is what I use. Their mobile service costs $10, which I need since they are blocked at work. Otherwise I would have just stuck with the $5 plan.
The Myth of Natural Monopoly p.56-57
Unnatural Monopoly: Critical Moments In The Development Of The Bell System Monopoly
I listen to a lot of newly released music, and buying individual albums simply isn't very efficient. I would much rather use a subscription service and pay $10 a month to listen to however much new music I want. For anyone who listens to a lot of music, it's worth it because I used to spend $100 to $120 a year on CDs anyway. Plus it takes way too much time to organize and sync it all. Just not worth the hassle of dealing with files imho.
I'm amused that people go to such great lengths to read their propaganda dreck. Shills for the state, nothing more to see here...
You should try Mog.
Very true, it also took me several hours to figure out how to get the gapps installed. so if you're not a programmer it will probably be even more difficult.
Sure, hopefully these should get help get you started.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=872003
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=936995
My 8 year old Pentium M laptop handles 720p just fine with its discrete ati x600 graphics. But the battery doesn't last long, so there's no way it could get through one full 720p movie. I mostly use it plugged in at home on the kitchen table. It's still my primary personal laptop.
You should look into the Nook Color. Very decently priced mid-range tablet that I was able to install android honeycomb quite easily. I love using it around the house or while on the couch. It plays angry birds and other games just fine. It's a lot less awkward to use than my laptop or netbook while lying around in front of the tv, in my opinion.
The only downside is that the honeycomb install can be a bit glitchy sometimes, but that's not a dealbreaker for me. It's only a preview release and should improve greatly when Google finally releases the source code.
Your $200 laptop doesn't compare to tablets in those areas.
Same boat here. I was on a prepaid Nokia e71 before I was lured over to Verizon by the Droid 1. My wife is on the Eris. I absolutely hate paying for two data plans. I can't help but think there are so many better things we could be doing with that money. I regret signing up for the 2 year contract, and will probably jump ship as soon as that is up in November.