Are you seriously trying to tell me that the only reason you got a good job is because you paid an extra $500 for a spiffy new phone on a two year contract? Rofl. If you say so. handslap to the forehead indeed.
My bill was actually $38 last month because I used a few voice minutes. If I just went with my data plan only it would have been about $32. It probably works out to a savings of $4-500 over two years. Which almost pays for my next major phone purchase (the n900 perhaps). So I can basically upgrade whenever I want, which seems like a good deal to me.
It's not purely theoretical when you end up paying far more for than what you save after just a few months. Unless you get a good paying job in a few months you will be in bad shape. Even after you get a good paying job it's not worth it. I'm quite happy with my $20/month 3g data plan. If you're really that poor, you should be going pre-paid until you get a job.
If the economy is really that bad and you can't afford it, $60/month will hurt a lot more than $20/month. You'll will make up the subsidized difference in only a few months. Unless you expect to be solvent again in a few months, it's a pretty bad deal. Basic math, people.
I have a $20/month 3g data plan from ATT for my nokia e71 that I bought outright for $330. I asked them what the lowest possible cost was, which was some wierd thing they don't advertise. Then I went online and added the $15 media net plan on top of that.
Very important? I, for one, wouldn't lose any sleep at night if this wasn't being funded with my money.
400k could buy a few houses for people. Or feed several families for a year. People wonder why there is still poverty and hunger, yet insist on having stupid government spending.
The current system we have is due almost entirely to bad government policies. I'm not complaining that we will lose HMOs, etc. They are definitely part of the problem. Which was created by the government. Their past track record is horrible, and I have no reason to believe they will fare better if we give them even more responsibility.
It's not entirely clear how well the USPS would compete without the special privileges they have with first class mail. Or any of the other subsidies they receive that the others don't.
The USPS gives absolutely terrible service, for a variety of reasons. They can't stay afloat without constant rate increases. They're the only reason I get so much junk mail at my house which I'm trying to sell. They stay afloat only because they have a forced monopoly on first class letters. They even make us place the mailbox at an inconvenient location, (convenient for them) way down at the end of the driveway. If UPS or FEDEX was allowed to deliver first class mail, the USPS wouldn't stand a chance.
Medicare and medicaid are hardly known for being models of efficiency. And just look at the terrible treatment given to military vets at their special health centers. I'm not arguing to keep things as they are, which I agree would be foolish. I want the government to get out of the health care business COMPLETELY. For a couple of good starting points of why things are so screwed up:
and create a new public insurance program to compete with private insurers
We see what you are doing here. Government provision of services, by definition, is the exact opposite of free market competition. When you take money from people by force and give it to others, that is NOT competition. Please stop saying that it is.
It's the size and convenience. None of your mentioned solutions offer anything close to the MiFi form factor. Try fitting your Soekris board in your pocket.
Thanks for the info and for pointing to specific cases, that is definitely helpful. Like you said, I hope they don't just focus on the narrow issue and ignore the larger context.
My question is, even if you have an an act, or a series of acts, how does that not qualify as a form of IP? It may be physical property you are transforming, but isn't the process itself is still pure knowledge? Doesn't that say only one person would be allowed to have the knowledge of making steel from a base metal? Would someone else be stopped from using their own property to figure out a similar process to make a similar end product?
I know this is blasphemy on Slashdot, but not ALL method patents are bad. Method patents traditionally cover things like industrial processes and medical testing, things that actually do require innovation and/or substantial investment in FDA approval.
Hmm, still not convinced. I still believe business method patents are bad for society. IP in general stifles innovation. It practically removes any possibility of incremental improvement in other people's work. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to own an idea. I hope the court rules against it, and perhaps it could eventually land a real blow to the whole concept of intellectual property.
Many of the "problems" of so-called market failures were actually caused by governments in the first place. Utilities and infrastructure are prime examples. There were hundreds of competitors in these fields before the government came in and forced everyone to consolidate. In fact, I can't really think of any current, major monopolist that wasn't initially created from some kind of special government protection.
Also, it is pretty obvious that governments have not solved externatilites or free rider "problems". Governments create a whole separate class of free riders that are dependent on hand-outs.
You should take a look at this article, which really helped me understand the myths involved in natural monopolies:
I tried Skype with the n800 for awhile, and the experience left much to be desired. Plus there are much cheaper VOIP providers. Now I use an e71 with Gizmo5 SIP service, which is much cheaper and works much better for me. Plus you can select "internet call" right from your phone's contacts.
use voip with your wifi-enabled device (tablet or whatever), and just ditch the 3G cellphone entirely. I can't vouch for whether verzion allows voip traffic through this thing though.
whether or not this claim is substantiated, the problem is that when police commit the very crimes they are intended to protect us against, there is no recourse against them. surely there is some child molester policeman out there that is being protected solely because he is in a position of power. it really speaks to a low point of our society that we allow people to have such strong police authority.
I have the $35/month data-only plan with AT&T and my nokia e71. Skype in and skype out works fine over 3g and fring's symbian app. Quality is not as good though, so I will probably switch to a SIP provider over Skype. Which is also more convenient since SIP stack is built right in to your contacts. All you have to do is configure your SIP gateway info, then select your contact and choose "internet call". Easy as pie.
I've been doing the same, with similar results for Skype In. I have a Nokia e71, with SIP stack built right in to my contacts, so I don't imagine staying with Skype In/Out much longer. When I tried to add skype credit the other day, they charged me $3 for a monthly subscription, which I promptly canceled. I'll probably end up going someone like Gizmo5 in the near future, where I can put in $10 and use the credit till it runs out, without having to worry about subscription fees. I'll have to change phone numbers yet again, but oh well.
Slashdot Mirror
The only thing your example proves is that you are in a very small minority of people buying expensive subsidized contracts. Congratulations.
I'm glad you were able to get the job by having a G1. I reckon you are in a very small minority.
Are you seriously trying to tell me that the only reason you got a good job is because you paid an extra $500 for a spiffy new phone on a two year contract? Rofl. If you say so. handslap to the forehead indeed.
My bill was actually $38 last month because I used a few voice minutes. If I just went with my data plan only it would have been about $32. It probably works out to a savings of $4-500 over two years. Which almost pays for my next major phone purchase (the n900 perhaps). So I can basically upgrade whenever I want, which seems like a good deal to me.
It's not purely theoretical when you end up paying far more for than what you save after just a few months. Unless you get a good paying job in a few months you will be in bad shape. Even after you get a good paying job it's not worth it. I'm quite happy with my $20/month 3g data plan. If you're really that poor, you should be going pre-paid until you get a job.
If the economy is really that bad and you can't afford it, $60/month will hurt a lot more than $20/month. You'll will make up the subsidized difference in only a few months. Unless you expect to be solvent again in a few months, it's a pretty bad deal. Basic math, people.
I have a $20/month 3g data plan from ATT for my nokia e71 that I bought outright for $330. I asked them what the lowest possible cost was, which was some wierd thing they don't advertise. Then I went online and added the $15 media net plan on top of that.
How could $500 extra over a forced two year commitment possibly be better for some people?
I lived in Cleveland for several years. It's not that bad as long as you avoid about 50% of the city.
distinction without a difference. voting is the main way to determine who has political power in the US.
...and right back in to another one.
Very important? I, for one, wouldn't lose any sleep at night if this wasn't being funded with my money.
400k could buy a few houses for people. Or feed several families for a year. People wonder why there is still poverty and hunger, yet insist on having stupid government spending.
The current system we have is due almost entirely to bad government policies. I'm not complaining that we will lose HMOs, etc. They are definitely part of the problem. Which was created by the government. Their past track record is horrible, and I have no reason to believe they will fare better if we give them even more responsibility.
It's not entirely clear how well the USPS would compete without the special privileges they have with first class mail. Or any of the other subsidies they receive that the others don't.
The USPS gives absolutely terrible service, for a variety of reasons. They can't stay afloat without constant rate increases. They're the only reason I get so much junk mail at my house which I'm trying to sell. They stay afloat only because they have a forced monopoly on first class letters. They even make us place the mailbox at an inconvenient location, (convenient for them) way down at the end of the driveway. If UPS or FEDEX was allowed to deliver first class mail, the USPS wouldn't stand a chance.
Medicare and medicaid are hardly known for being models of efficiency. And just look at the terrible treatment given to military vets at their special health centers. I'm not arguing to keep things as they are, which I agree would be foolish. I want the government to get out of the health care business COMPLETELY. For a couple of good starting points of why things are so screwed up:
http://mises.org/article.aspx?Id=1547
and follow up:
http://mises.org/story/1588
These two only barely scratch the surface though.
health care is already one of the most heavily regulated industries. I fail to see how even more government involvement will lead to more competition.
We see what you are doing here. Government provision of services, by definition, is the exact opposite of free market competition. When you take money from people by force and give it to others, that is NOT competition. Please stop saying that it is.
It's the size and convenience. None of your mentioned solutions offer anything close to the MiFi form factor. Try fitting your Soekris board in your pocket.
Thanks for the info and for pointing to specific cases, that is definitely helpful. Like you said, I hope they don't just focus on the narrow issue and ignore the larger context.
My question is, even if you have an an act, or a series of acts, how does that not qualify as a form of IP? It may be physical property you are transforming, but isn't the process itself is still pure knowledge? Doesn't that say only one person would be allowed to have the knowledge of making steel from a base metal? Would someone else be stopped from using their own property to figure out a similar process to make a similar end product?
Hmm, still not convinced. I still believe business method patents are bad for society. IP in general stifles innovation. It practically removes any possibility of incremental improvement in other people's work. No matter how hard you try, it is impossible to own an idea. I hope the court rules against it, and perhaps it could eventually land a real blow to the whole concept of intellectual property.
Many of the "problems" of so-called market failures were actually caused by governments in the first place. Utilities and infrastructure are prime examples. There were hundreds of competitors in these fields before the government came in and forced everyone to consolidate. In fact, I can't really think of any current, major monopolist that wasn't initially created from some kind of special government protection.
Also, it is pretty obvious that governments have not solved externatilites or free rider "problems". Governments create a whole separate class of free riders that are dependent on hand-outs.
You should take a look at this article, which really helped me understand the myths involved in natural monopolies:
http://mises.org/journals/rae/pdf/RAE9_2_3.pdf
I tried Skype with the n800 for awhile, and the experience left much to be desired. Plus there are much cheaper VOIP providers. Now I use an e71 with Gizmo5 SIP service, which is much cheaper and works much better for me. Plus you can select "internet call" right from your phone's contacts.
use voip with your wifi-enabled device (tablet or whatever), and just ditch the 3G cellphone entirely. I can't vouch for whether verzion allows voip traffic through this thing though.
I guess you think the slimebags in washington, DC will do any better? given their pathetic record on just about everything else they try?
whether or not this claim is substantiated, the problem is that when police commit the very crimes they are intended to protect us against, there is no recourse against them. surely there is some child molester policeman out there that is being protected solely because he is in a position of power. it really speaks to a low point of our society that we allow people to have such strong police authority.
you actually sat there for hours watching a white screen? I hope you had munchies.
I have the $35/month data-only plan with AT&T and my nokia e71. Skype in and skype out works fine over 3g and fring's symbian app. Quality is not as good though, so I will probably switch to a SIP provider over Skype. Which is also more convenient since SIP stack is built right in to your contacts. All you have to do is configure your SIP gateway info, then select your contact and choose "internet call". Easy as pie.
I've been doing the same, with similar results for Skype In. I have a Nokia e71, with SIP stack built right in to my contacts, so I don't imagine staying with Skype In/Out much longer. When I tried to add skype credit the other day, they charged me $3 for a monthly subscription, which I promptly canceled. I'll probably end up going someone like Gizmo5 in the near future, where I can put in $10 and use the credit till it runs out, without having to worry about subscription fees. I'll have to change phone numbers yet again, but oh well.