Just because the IRS allots 57c/mile doesn't mean that it actually cost that to run a vehicle. I'm not saying you'll get rich driving your own vehicle, but if you're willing to drive a cheap fuel efficient car into the ground, you can make ok money being a delivery person.
"You can only tax those things to just before the point where it becomes worth it for organized crime to get involved"
I agree, but you could probably tax alcohol and tobacco more before you reach that point. And as you increase taxes, consumption should decrease. Then you have more $$ to take care of less users. If its $10/pack for cigarettes, I'm sure less people would smoke, and most smokers would smoke less. The biggest roadblock would be the tobacco and alcohol lobbyists and not knowing how high you can go before you have a black market.
"Americans also spend $586.5 billion a year on gambling."
That is bad, but it does employee a lot of casino folks. And if you think the casinos are making an insane amount from that, you can always but stock in MGM Grand, Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, etc and take your share of the profits.
I would like to see alcohol and tobacco taxed at a rate where they are health neutral. i.e. The amount spend to treat related problems equals the amount spent creating them. Therefore those who choose to drink and smoke are paying for their own medical treatment.
I suspect the amount spent on illegal drugs would be less if they weren't illegal. Since most of those drugs come from other countries, I propose we send bills to those countries for the health-related expenses. I suspect it wouldn't take long for those countries to crack down on those responsible for exporting the drugs. That leaves the domestically created illegal drugs. Cannabis likely doesn't have a lot of health related costs. Crystal meth is another matter. And to complicate things, those who create it usually don't have money to confiscate. The components used could be taxed though. Its already such a pain to buy Sudafed that most people go for an alternative.
"We need classes to teach people what the difference is between the OSes."
If you had taken that class 20 years ago, you'd have been learning the difference between Windows 95, AIX, OS/2, and OpenBSD. What layman from then needed to know the differences of those or OSes of today?
I do agree learning about security topics like https, phishing, etc would be useful to the average Joe.
Just because you don't want to have to be a renaissance man and know how to fix everything you'll ever own, doesn't mean you "support strict DRM/patents/copyright". And frankly, a lot of tech is "too hard" for the average person and should be left to the experts. Its great you know how to code. But most people can't and don't care. Just like most people can't fix their TV or even a toaster. Sure, they could learn the skill, or they can toss it and buy another toaster at Wal-Mart for $12. Everyone has a finite amount of time. I could probably fix a toaster, but I likely wouldn't even try. I'd rather just buy a new one every decade or two.
And what does "strict" even mean in that context? That people who own patents/copyrights get to take advantage of them for the time allotted?
Writing a simple script is more of a skill than checking your oil. Its more like changing your oil. You don't have to be an automotive expert to do it, but you need more than a trivial understanding of what you are doing.
If its totally separate from the hard drive, then full disk encryption would stop it in its tracks. Also, if the computer is off, that couldn't access your hard drive without you hearing it turn itself on. And if it were snooping on anymore other than the extremely rare targeted event, then it would be detected by someone when it called home.
I'm with you. Who cares if mankind continues if 99.999% are wiped out by something? I'm sure the people left will want to survive, but if myself and the Earth are wiped out I don't really care that there are 200 people on Mars to carry on our DNA.
It didn't cost a trillion dollars to send the old world explorers to their death. And sure, we will all eventually die here, but that could be thousands or millions of years away. It would literally be easier to establish a colony 100 feet under the ocean than on Mars. And if something went wrong, they could just eject to the surface. Even if a giant asteroid hit and scorched the earth, conditions would still be better here than on Mars.
"Imagine if computers had the same capabilities, the same CPU speed, the same RAM, the same form factor, the same monitor resolutions, as they did in 2008 but cost a lot more. Who would still be buying them?"
Yes we would. We get value from them. Bigger and faster is nice, but we wouldn't stop using computers if they stopped getting better. My car is a 1999 model but still gets 37mph, can go 100+mph, AC/radio works, and is drivable. New cars aren't appreciably any faster, larger, more fuel economic, or better, yet cost a whole lot more. But there are plenty of dealerships out there selling them every day.
He acts like buying a $150 hard drive will break the bank and if its not "certified" it won't work in an XP box. Any standard hard drive you buy would work. And you can now get a 5TB drive for $130. That could store 2 decades worth of data or more. I would suspect they may very well be retiring user's desktops that have 250GB+ drives in them that they could get for free, are certified, and would work just fine.
Like most people here, I don't think they need to keep this data forever, but just say that. Don't use red tape as an excuse.
Since most people spend 95% of their time at either home, work, or some such place, you'd think there could be an app that lets you know you are connecting to a strange tower it doesn't know about. That app could even have a setting to disconnect if such an incident were to happen. Since these are so secretive, there is no way to know if nefarious types are using them for illegal purposes. This would seem to help keep phones secure from anyone legally or illegally using such a Stingray device.
"Trying to force your personal idea of what's rght on everyone everywhere is totalitarianism "
Yeah, states should be able to decide for themselves whether discrimination, murder, owning personal nukes, selling meth to children, and rape are acceptable.
Lie. Call the 1st level support and tell them it won't power up. Tell them you've tried 3 different plugs and connected it straight into the wall, otherwise they'll have you do it. Then they are out of options and the only thing they can do is send you another one. If someone comes to install the new one and sees the old one powers up, shrug your shoulders and say the spouse put the call in.
Slashdot Mirror
"IRS say 57c per mile"
Just because the IRS allots 57c/mile doesn't mean that it actually cost that to run a vehicle. I'm not saying you'll get rich driving your own vehicle, but if you're willing to drive a cheap fuel efficient car into the ground, you can make ok money being a delivery person.
"You can only tax those things to just before the point where it becomes worth it for organized crime to get involved"
I agree, but you could probably tax alcohol and tobacco more before you reach that point. And as you increase taxes, consumption should decrease. Then you have more $$ to take care of less users. If its $10/pack for cigarettes, I'm sure less people would smoke, and most smokers would smoke less. The biggest roadblock would be the tobacco and alcohol lobbyists and not knowing how high you can go before you have a black market.
If Congress can't pass laws without modifying the Constitution, then we would just end up with a Constitution that has 10,000 amendments.
I'm not saying the DMCA is a good thing, but one way or the other, we need Congress to occasionally make new laws.
"a $4 soda"
There is no way you can get a soda in a movie theater for $4.
"Americans also spend $586.5 billion a year on gambling."
That is bad, but it does employee a lot of casino folks. And if you think the casinos are making an insane amount from that, you can always but stock in MGM Grand, Wynn Resorts, Caesars Entertainment, etc and take your share of the profits.
I would like to see alcohol and tobacco taxed at a rate where they are health neutral. i.e. The amount spend to treat related problems equals the amount spent creating them. Therefore those who choose to drink and smoke are paying for their own medical treatment.
I suspect the amount spent on illegal drugs would be less if they weren't illegal. Since most of those drugs come from other countries, I propose we send bills to those countries for the health-related expenses. I suspect it wouldn't take long for those countries to crack down on those responsible for exporting the drugs. That leaves the domestically created illegal drugs. Cannabis likely doesn't have a lot of health related costs. Crystal meth is another matter. And to complicate things, those who create it usually don't have money to confiscate. The components used could be taxed though. Its already such a pain to buy Sudafed that most people go for an alternative.
"We need classes to teach people what the difference is between the OSes."
If you had taken that class 20 years ago, you'd have been learning the difference between Windows 95, AIX, OS/2, and OpenBSD. What layman from then needed to know the differences of those or OSes of today?
I do agree learning about security topics like https, phishing, etc would be useful to the average Joe.
Just because you don't want to have to be a renaissance man and know how to fix everything you'll ever own, doesn't mean you "support strict DRM/patents/copyright". And frankly, a lot of tech is "too hard" for the average person and should be left to the experts. Its great you know how to code. But most people can't and don't care. Just like most people can't fix their TV or even a toaster. Sure, they could learn the skill, or they can toss it and buy another toaster at Wal-Mart for $12. Everyone has a finite amount of time. I could probably fix a toaster, but I likely wouldn't even try. I'd rather just buy a new one every decade or two.
And what does "strict" even mean in that context? That people who own patents/copyrights get to take advantage of them for the time allotted?
Writing a simple script is more of a skill than checking your oil. Its more like changing your oil. You don't have to be an automotive expert to do it, but you need more than a trivial understanding of what you are doing.
If its totally separate from the hard drive, then full disk encryption would stop it in its tracks. Also, if the computer is off, that couldn't access your hard drive without you hearing it turn itself on. And if it were snooping on anymore other than the extremely rare targeted event, then it would be detected by someone when it called home.
I'm with you. Who cares if mankind continues if 99.999% are wiped out by something? I'm sure the people left will want to survive, but if myself and the Earth are wiped out I don't really care that there are 200 people on Mars to carry on our DNA.
It didn't cost a trillion dollars to send the old world explorers to their death. And sure, we will all eventually die here, but that could be thousands or millions of years away. It would literally be easier to establish a colony 100 feet under the ocean than on Mars. And if something went wrong, they could just eject to the surface. Even if a giant asteroid hit and scorched the earth, conditions would still be better here than on Mars.
Didn't they say the "average surface temperature is minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit". That would go a long way towards cooling.
" If people were more RESPONSIBLE, it wouldn't be an issue."
If only we could all be as RESPONSIBLE as you then nothing would ever be lost or stolen.
"Imagine if computers had the same capabilities, the same CPU speed, the same RAM, the same form factor, the same monitor resolutions, as they did in 2008 but cost a lot more. Who would still be buying them?"
Yes we would. We get value from them. Bigger and faster is nice, but we wouldn't stop using computers if they stopped getting better. My car is a 1999 model but still gets 37mph, can go 100+mph, AC/radio works, and is drivable. New cars aren't appreciably any faster, larger, more fuel economic, or better, yet cost a whole lot more. But there are plenty of dealerships out there selling them every day.
He acts like buying a $150 hard drive will break the bank and if its not "certified" it won't work in an XP box. Any standard hard drive you buy would work. And you can now get a 5TB drive for $130. That could store 2 decades worth of data or more. I would suspect they may very well be retiring user's desktops that have 250GB+ drives in them that they could get for free, are certified, and would work just fine.
Like most people here, I don't think they need to keep this data forever, but just say that. Don't use red tape as an excuse.
Since most people spend 95% of their time at either home, work, or some such place, you'd think there could be an app that lets you know you are connecting to a strange tower it doesn't know about. That app could even have a setting to disconnect if such an incident were to happen. Since these are so secretive, there is no way to know if nefarious types are using them for illegal purposes. This would seem to help keep phones secure from anyone legally or illegally using such a Stingray device.
"Trying to force your personal idea of what's rght on everyone everywhere is totalitarianism "
Yeah, states should be able to decide for themselves whether discrimination, murder, owning personal nukes, selling meth to children, and rape are acceptable.
"in US fewer and fewer games are banned (as a percent of all video games). This is because the number of avenues for games publishing is mushrooming"
Are those same avenues not available EVERYWHERE?
Lie. Call the 1st level support and tell them it won't power up. Tell them you've tried 3 different plugs and connected it straight into the wall, otherwise they'll have you do it. Then they are out of options and the only thing they can do is send you another one. If someone comes to install the new one and sees the old one powers up, shrug your shoulders and say the spouse put the call in.
Unless you put a post-it over the camera (assuming you have one)
"MS-Windows is perhaps more than a thousand times more prone to malware than Linux in the real world"
Perhaps because it is 1000 times more likely to be user in the real world?
"if this wasn't illegal, I don't know what is"
How about murder, rape, embezzlement, child abuse, Arby's?
"Gee, maybe you should have hired someone who knows his trade"
Wherever you go, there are things you don't know. At the least, no matter how smart a person is, they occasionally have to ask where the bathroom is.
"Bit like making the condemned sharpen the guillotine before they step up"
If it were your head, wouldn't you want a nice clean quick cut? Or, would you rather have them drop the blade 4-5 times before your head came off?
"a third-world shithole where barter in the form of chickens and blowjobs is ...accepted "
When is the next flight to this place?