Wait- does this only cover music with US-based copyright? If so, the station I listen to is definitely in safe territory (unless, of course, JASRAC decides that they want their share).
Inclined to spend more money? Don't be surprised if piracy goes up. Other side effects may include increased tourism nd long-term residence to pirate-friendly countries like China.
Exactly- When games cost $50 (DS and PSP games first cost that much in China around their release dates) everyone turned to piracy. Of course now that prices are more reasonable (less than half the original price) people are buying.
Where in China are you? I get them for 5-7RMB apiece in Shanghai (in one of the more "out there" areas). Failure rate is high but at least they let me return them (same can't be said for official DVDs, though).
My school also uses a filtering system. Unlike your school, our filtering system might as well not be there at all because proxies/tunnels aren't blocked. Why? We're in China. Those proxies are needed to get past "The Great Firewall" to do research. Limiting the research to sites that aren't blocked is impractical because of the topics of research involved (certain parts of Chinese history are definitely not adequately explained if you don't use sites that are blocked).
Fine, then put a picocell in the plane. Oh, but then the next technical reason would be supporting the myriad standards that the world uses. Solve that by only using certain standards on certain flights- for example, who needs CDMA outside the US and Asia? Only use it on those flights. The US doesn't feel like using normal 3G (2100MHz WCDMA)- keep normal 3G out of US-bound flights. Does anyone outside the US use iDen? Keep that within America. Easy as that.
Graduated pricing levels are good, but there has to be some way of monitoring data usage in real time. I don't want "you've gone over your limit already, we're charging you extra for data after this point" suddenly sprung on me. For example, I currently have a mobile data plan (GPRS) that gives me 50MB/month for $3 (I live in China- I wish wireless data was as cheap in the States as it is here). I can call at any time and get my data usage for the month. And since I tether through my phone, it keeps a running count of my data usage over the month (I reset the counter every month to get an accurate idea of how far I am from the limit). This needs to happen in the US- if they don't want it to be unlimited, give a concrete limit and a way to track data usage.
Sure, those huge ones are probably not good, but I was seriously getting a much smaller one in Japan that runs on AA batteries that would only block signal in a 2-3ft radius of the device (good for waiting in line and not wanting distractions from those arould you). Thus- if you're going to talk on the phone, don't do it in my personal space (unless I know you or have business with you I don't want to be that close to you) and don't talk loudly about your "personal issues" (because I just love knowing in great detail how erotic various vegetables are when inserted- never looking at zucchini the same way again). The killer- I use my phone to browse the web when bored- obviously that wouldn't work out (I rarely talk on the phone, though- after realizing how loud I get on the phone as an unconscious reaction I use text or e-mail to communicate instead).
I just realized how good of a deal I can get here in China looking at your numbers. In China I can get mobile internet (CDMA 1x- runs about 110kbps)charged by the minute which gives me 60 hours of usage per month for $12-$13. This means that by your math (double the speed so half the time means 5Gb in 15 hours) I'm getting 4x as much as Verizon customers are getting for (according to an earlier post I read it's $45) 1/3 the price. China pwns the States here.
You aren't accounting for things like Youtube and iTunes, are you? I listen to internet radio strams because I want to hear my radio in English when I'm out here in China (and I hate what's on mainstream radio even in the US). Also- the problem isn't that the limit is 5GB. The problem is that there is a limit on a plan that's being advertised as unlimited. That's the problem. If they were honest and called it the 5GB plan far fewer people would be bitching about it.
You may, however, want to download it on a long bus trip to entertain yourself and friends with (don't forget the spare batteries- damn, that got me once).
Simple- in some rural areas they're the only ones with coverage (probably left over from analog- when that goes away then their advantage goes away- either they build out digital coverage (costs a lot) or they pull out of service contracts with people in said areas (which costs some). Of course once those rral areas lose their coverage inevitably some carrier (if not Verizon replacing analog coverage with digital) will step in with digital coverage.
Then call it the 5GB plan. Where I live (China) there is no longer an unlimited plan in GPRS data (maximum is 2GB for $25). But, prices are reasonable, and the CDMA carrier(so that we are comparing apples to apples here, and yes, there is only 1 CDMA carrier in China) has an unlimited plan without tricky fine print for $25/month (catch is that it's prepaid for 18 months- that's a $300 upfront payment). Of course, this China, where there is still such a thing as domestic roaming (for voice, not for most data plans). That's what Shanghai gets. Guangdong province, on the other hand, has CDMA internet charged by the minute- so the same price gets you 200 hours of usage per month (no roaming charges). I'm so happy I moved here- tethering is so much cheaper (I am currently on China Mobile's GPRS plan- for $3/month I get 50MB of data usage because, frankly, at GPRS speeds I'm not patient enough to even think about downloading large data files with it.
Oh yes- Japan, the holy mother of broadband. Really- all the technological innovation they have is seriously making me consider becoming a permanent resident there- the main barrier is the language and I have that mostly figured out. America is so far behind it's not even funny (especially the part where they have 2 different WCDMA frequencies that no one else uses- 1900MHz and 1700MHz- really, it's just stupid of the FCC to segregate itself from the world even further). Now if only some Japanese service providers would open up shop in the US and knock some competition into the US mobile market (yes, I know that Japanese service plans are more expensive than equivalent US-based ones but people are willing to pay more if it's marketed right- Apple is a shining example).
Relatively silly? Why? This allows free competition, and open flow of goods (hint- different countries sell different music, and sometimes people want that different music; blocking this trade will only push people to piracy to get what they want).
Finally- hitting them where it actually hurts, and for an amount that they will notice (unlike the US where fines to corporate entities re barely enough to make a dent- 10% of global revenue is definitely a noticable loss).
I'm a Chinese person with an American passport and spend roughly an equal amount of time in both countries, so I should know. Also, living in China, I also know that with said apple I can haggle the price down to $.75 or $.60 while in the US I get sworn at if I try. I'm seriously regretting the fact that I hold a US passport (maybe Canada or some country on the European continent) because of comments from some people (not you, though- what you said is mostly correct except that I take issue with the fact that you assume that I am not Chinese).
Then tell me this- why do CDs (not the pirated ones- real, licensed ones) cost less in China than in the States? When the same CD costs $7.50 to buy in China and $19 to buy in the US there's something wrong (I didn't want to compare Amazon to eBay China but I couldn't find any online stores for China, mainly because in China there's a little wiggle room in pricing called haggling that simply can't be done online). Now, the Chinese CDs all say "not for sale outside China"- wonder why? They want to keep Americans paying more because htey know that Americans are willing to pay more than Chinese people. Of course, I mainly buy pirated CDs because the selections of licensed CDs are limited (There's only so much Ayu I can stand).
Note- because of Initial D the mountain roads shown in that TV show have had additional safety measures (speed bumps, guardrails on Irohazaka where the shortcut jumps are) added to precent reckless driving (yes, all the courses on Initial D are real).
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Wait- does this only cover music with US-based copyright? If so, the station I listen to is definitely in safe territory (unless, of course, JASRAC decides that they want their share).
Inclined to spend more money? Don't be surprised if piracy goes up. Other side effects may include increased tourism nd long-term residence to pirate-friendly countries like China.
Exactly- When games cost $50 (DS and PSP games first cost that much in China around their release dates) everyone turned to piracy. Of course now that prices are more reasonable (less than half the original price) people are buying.
Where in China are you? I get them for 5-7RMB apiece in Shanghai (in one of the more "out there" areas). Failure rate is high but at least they let me return them (same can't be said for official DVDs, though).
because he doesn't want to attract too much attention (unlike China, those DVDs are illegal to have in the US)?
My school also uses a filtering system. Unlike your school, our filtering system might as well not be there at all because proxies/tunnels aren't blocked. Why? We're in China. Those proxies are needed to get past "The Great Firewall" to do research. Limiting the research to sites that aren't blocked is impractical because of the topics of research involved (certain parts of Chinese history are definitely not adequately explained if you don't use sites that are blocked).
Fine, then put a picocell in the plane. Oh, but then the next technical reason would be supporting the myriad standards that the world uses. Solve that by only using certain standards on certain flights- for example, who needs CDMA outside the US and Asia? Only use it on those flights. The US doesn't feel like using normal 3G (2100MHz WCDMA)- keep normal 3G out of US-bound flights. Does anyone outside the US use iDen? Keep that within America. Easy as that.
Graduated pricing levels are good, but there has to be some way of monitoring data usage in real time. I don't want "you've gone over your limit already, we're charging you extra for data after this point" suddenly sprung on me. For example, I currently have a mobile data plan (GPRS) that gives me 50MB/month for $3 (I live in China- I wish wireless data was as cheap in the States as it is here). I can call at any time and get my data usage for the month. And since I tether through my phone, it keeps a running count of my data usage over the month (I reset the counter every month to get an accurate idea of how far I am from the limit). This needs to happen in the US- if they don't want it to be unlimited, give a concrete limit and a way to track data usage.
Sure, those huge ones are probably not good, but I was seriously getting a much smaller one in Japan that runs on AA batteries that would only block signal in a 2-3ft radius of the device (good for waiting in line and not wanting distractions from those arould you). Thus- if you're going to talk on the phone, don't do it in my personal space (unless I know you or have business with you I don't want to be that close to you) and don't talk loudly about your "personal issues" (because I just love knowing in great detail how erotic various vegetables are when inserted- never looking at zucchini the same way again). The killer- I use my phone to browse the web when bored- obviously that wouldn't work out (I rarely talk on the phone, though- after realizing how loud I get on the phone as an unconscious reaction I use text or e-mail to communicate instead).
Oh- I see. I also get 512k DSL out here in China but I pay about half what you do (not to be mean to you or anything).
I just realized how good of a deal I can get here in China looking at your numbers. In China I can get mobile internet (CDMA 1x- runs about 110kbps)charged by the minute which gives me 60 hours of usage per month for $12-$13. This means that by your math (double the speed so half the time means 5Gb in 15 hours) I'm getting 4x as much as Verizon customers are getting for (according to an earlier post I read it's $45) 1/3 the price. China pwns the States here.
You aren't accounting for things like Youtube and iTunes, are you? I listen to internet radio strams because I want to hear my radio in English when I'm out here in China (and I hate what's on mainstream radio even in the US). Also- the problem isn't that the limit is 5GB. The problem is that there is a limit on a plan that's being advertised as unlimited. That's the problem. If they were honest and called it the 5GB plan far fewer people would be bitching about it.
You may, however, want to download it on a long bus trip to entertain yourself and friends with (don't forget the spare batteries- damn, that got me once).
Simple- in some rural areas they're the only ones with coverage (probably left over from analog- when that goes away then their advantage goes away- either they build out digital coverage (costs a lot) or they pull out of service contracts with people in said areas (which costs some). Of course once those rral areas lose their coverage inevitably some carrier (if not Verizon replacing analog coverage with digital) will step in with digital coverage.
Then call it the 5GB plan. Where I live (China) there is no longer an unlimited plan in GPRS data (maximum is 2GB for $25). But, prices are reasonable, and the CDMA carrier(so that we are comparing apples to apples here, and yes, there is only 1 CDMA carrier in China) has an unlimited plan without tricky fine print for $25/month (catch is that it's prepaid for 18 months- that's a $300 upfront payment). Of course, this China, where there is still such a thing as domestic roaming (for voice, not for most data plans). That's what Shanghai gets. Guangdong province, on the other hand, has CDMA internet charged by the minute- so the same price gets you 200 hours of usage per month (no roaming charges). I'm so happy I moved here- tethering is so much cheaper (I am currently on China Mobile's GPRS plan- for $3/month I get 50MB of data usage because, frankly, at GPRS speeds I'm not patient enough to even think about downloading large data files with it.
Oh yes- Japan, the holy mother of broadband. Really- all the technological innovation they have is seriously making me consider becoming a permanent resident there- the main barrier is the language and I have that mostly figured out. America is so far behind it's not even funny (especially the part where they have 2 different WCDMA frequencies that no one else uses- 1900MHz and 1700MHz- really, it's just stupid of the FCC to segregate itself from the world even further). Now if only some Japanese service providers would open up shop in the US and knock some competition into the US mobile market (yes, I know that Japanese service plans are more expensive than equivalent US-based ones but people are willing to pay more if it's marketed right- Apple is a shining example).
Japan seems to be doing a pretty good job so far.
Relatively silly? Why? This allows free competition, and open flow of goods (hint- different countries sell different music, and sometimes people want that different music; blocking this trade will only push people to piracy to get what they want).
Finally- hitting them where it actually hurts, and for an amount that they will notice (unlike the US where fines to corporate entities re barely enough to make a dent- 10% of global revenue is definitely a noticable loss).
It's MS-DOS. You don't really expect MS-DOS to run a driving game as realistic as, say, Initial D, do you?
I'm a Chinese person with an American passport and spend roughly an equal amount of time in both countries, so I should know. Also, living in China, I also know that with said apple I can haggle the price down to $.75 or $.60 while in the US I get sworn at if I try. I'm seriously regretting the fact that I hold a US passport (maybe Canada or some country on the European continent) because of comments from some people (not you, though- what you said is mostly correct except that I take issue with the fact that you assume that I am not Chinese).
That's what I do- I live in China, after all.
Then tell me this- why do CDs (not the pirated ones- real, licensed ones) cost less in China than in the States? When the same CD costs $7.50 to buy in China and $19 to buy in the US there's something wrong (I didn't want to compare Amazon to eBay China but I couldn't find any online stores for China, mainly because in China there's a little wiggle room in pricing called haggling that simply can't be done online). Now, the Chinese CDs all say "not for sale outside China"- wonder why? They want to keep Americans paying more because htey know that Americans are willing to pay more than Chinese people. Of course, I mainly buy pirated CDs because the selections of licensed CDs are limited (There's only so much Ayu I can stand).
Messy indeed- is the CD really worth $60 more than the DVD?
Note- because of Initial D the mountain roads shown in that TV show have had additional safety measures (speed bumps, guardrails on Irohazaka where the shortcut jumps are) added to precent reckless driving (yes, all the courses on Initial D are real).