There is no asterisk in the Bill of Rights.
Hate Speech IS protected. I can hate anyone or anything I feel like and nobody can stop me.
Fully Automatic Weapons ARE protected. I can have one if I want. The fact that they are illegally regulated is beside the point and it is continually going through court challenges and will continue to be challenged until the Supreme Court has the balls to rule on the issue.
Etc. Etc. my ass. There are no exceptions to the Bill of Rights, just OPINIONS of people that believe there are....
I hate people with opinions...
They should establish basic service for everyone. You or I consider broadband as basic service and we all pay the Universal Service Fee on our bills. That money is meant to provide basic service to everyone, particularly in the rural areas.
We paid for those lines to be built and we are still paying to keep them maintained.
The phone companies, on the other hand, are doing their absolute best to NOT spend the money as they are supposed to spend it. Instead they quote numbers like it costs us $13,000 per phone line per year to get service to people who live in the woods.
I don't know about you, but if I was being given $13 grand a year per household to get people phone service, I'd happily erect a cellular tower to cover 50 people and give them wireless broadband.
It's time we abandon wireline service, especially in rural areas and force the telcos to refocus their efforts on updated technologies.
Your post gave me an idea. Domains are 'property' in a sense and they have a value. Let's charge 'property taxes' on them. If a domain has a market value, it has a taxable value. It could generate some nice tax revenue for states, or countries. It could also spur some pricing wars with domains other than.com and.net as different countries charge different tax rates. The majority of people own domains worth $10 or less, so it would cost them at most $1 a year per domain. Anyone who owns more than 100 domains would have to pay an incrementally higher rate per domain. It's just an idea, I'm sure a politician would love it.
Imagine being able to forward the '$4000.00' response to the Internet tax office - he's now liable for the $400 in taxes on his $4000 domain, every year. I bet he'd drop the price, or the domain pretty quick.
Personally, I'd rather have someone like Bezos holding the patent, if it were going to be granted in the first place. He has so far held up to his word on the collection of silly patents they have, that never should have been granted. For example, Amazon also owns the patent for internet affiliate programs. They've had it for most of this decade.
Technically, they could stop every one of their competitors and any other business that sells online by using traffic from affiliates. 99% of webmasters would lose 50% of their ad revenue. Google AdSense would only sell ads to a few hundred advertisers and would probably not even still exist at that low volume today. They have to date done nothing with that patent. Using it would devastate the heart of the internet.
If they did anything with the 404 patent, the negative publicity alone would destroy them as a business.
Imagine a patent troll owning these? Who would you trust more, Amazon or a troll? Amazon owning these patents does garner them some good will, even from the cynical types, like myself, that frequent/.
(disclosure - I do own AMZN stock, and I'm not complaining, I'd short sell it in a second if they did operate this way)
Either way, I still think we should shoot stupid people, we can start with the people approving idiotic patents like these.
Idiocracy is already here...
From what I understood, Google only had an interest in 'wholesaling' the spectrum out to other providers - with open-access rules enforced. As for the nationwide spectrum up for bid, they would need to partner with another company or multiple companies to meet the build-out requirements.
I don't see them being the actual provider, just the controlling interest in the spectrum being used.
I understand Amazon considers the fine and publicty cheap advertising.
I'd suggest after the fine is reviewed in 30 days, and probably raised dramatically, that they immediately alter the policy to 1 cent shipping.
Journalists must write at an eighth grade level or the majority of their readers would not be able to understand them. Of course, for an arrogant intellect, such as yourself, maybe you should just stop reading so you can be happy.
They are racking up the vetoes though. This alone shows it's not just congress blocking progress, but the presidential veto. Before 2006 it was just a rubber stamp of approval for anything the GOP let out of congress.
It still goes to show they can't even figure out how to compromise, but that's both sides faults.
You're right. I better go sue the company that made my matches.
They caught fire! I burnt my finger. Sue. Sue./end_sarcasm
We can't sue gun companies because guns kill people. We can't sue McDonalds because their food makes you fat. We can't sue the school system because our kids are too dumb to get a decent job.
It's time we enact and enforce more laws that promote personal responsibility, not more laws to protect dumb people from themselves...
You're ignoring the fact that not all people are libertarian. In America even if 50% all of a sudden decide to follow a libertarian philosophy, they still must compromise with the other 50%. Even among libertarians there is a wide range of views, some favor some regulation - others favor more socialistic support of the truly helpless.
Our society is a blend of ALL ideas, and the 'tech' community that may lean more libertarian is beginning to see it's voice heard. Over time the community will gain more and more influence and things will change. It will still be a compromise, of course.
I doubt we'll see the true libertarian days where you can build a nuclear reactor in your back yard, but I can envision you not being forced to wear a seat belt by law anymore - can't you? Taxes are not going to go away, but do we really need to fund corporate tax credits/welfare and sugar subsidies? We would still take care of the disabled, but we wouldn't force Home Depot, for example, to have 40 empty Handicap parking spaces right next to the front door.
The entire point and fuel of the libertarian movement is that government is taking far too many steps into our liberties. We are no longer free, but almost entirely regulated. It's not just business anymore, it's our lives. It's time to step back and bring back our liberty. It's time to learn to compromise and see more than the dual Republicrat view that is basically just the same view with different moral standards to appease their base.
My Time Warner 'bundle' contract existed of me saying Yes 3 times to a computer and stating my social security number's last 4 digits to verify my identity. If I cancel within 15 months, it's $250.
I happen to be buying a house in an area without Time Warner service, and it's only been 10 months since I agreed to the bundle on the phone. I fully intend to use this 'packet shaping' BS as my out to avoid the $250 cancellation fee.
I paid for 7Mbit service, not 7Mbit service when they see fit. What I was led to believe was this was dependent on my neighborhood node, which has always been able to give me 6-7Mbits without fail. Now, my Joost service is jittery, my peer to peer speeds are dropping and Skype is giving me that echo I used to hat one VOIP again.
This is NOT what I paid for, and I WILL NOT pay a cancellation fee.
Anyone caught spamming SMS on a flatrate plan would probably lose their cell service permanently and be subject to prosecution in the US. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who gets SMS spam actually - in the US.
Flatrate SMS is not offered on pre-paid plans/phones.
You don't seem to realize the new 'Tool' is only for PAYING AdWords customers.
It does nothing for the webmasters who rely on AdSense for their site revenue. This is a PR gimmick designed to make Google more money by optimizing their clients sites, not common webmasters who display the ads.
250,000 seems like a better number, especially if we allocated about half of them to medical fields - a field the US is sorely in need of more skilled people.
Considering millions of unwanted people come in illegally, why not increase the number of legal and desired immigrants? Instead our idiotic system keeps the skilled immigrants we want and desire out, yet lets the illegals who burden the system walk across the border without fear of repercussion.
I seriously doubt the US needs a key to shut down the internet. I'm sure it can be accomplished without one.
The need for such a drastic measure would only be considered in the case of a world war, in which case I doubt the net survives as it exists now anyway, after a few EMP pulses from the nukes getting tossed about.
What annoys me to no end though is the fact that the system was even developed with a Master Key. Why?
It's not needed and nobody deserves to hold it, US or international.
Slashdot Mirror
There is no asterisk in the Bill of Rights. Hate Speech IS protected. I can hate anyone or anything I feel like and nobody can stop me. Fully Automatic Weapons ARE protected. I can have one if I want. The fact that they are illegally regulated is beside the point and it is continually going through court challenges and will continue to be challenged until the Supreme Court has the balls to rule on the issue. Etc. Etc. my ass. There are no exceptions to the Bill of Rights, just OPINIONS of people that believe there are.... I hate people with opinions...
They should establish basic service for everyone. You or I consider broadband as basic service and we all pay the Universal Service Fee on our bills. That money is meant to provide basic service to everyone, particularly in the rural areas. We paid for those lines to be built and we are still paying to keep them maintained. The phone companies, on the other hand, are doing their absolute best to NOT spend the money as they are supposed to spend it. Instead they quote numbers like it costs us $13,000 per phone line per year to get service to people who live in the woods. I don't know about you, but if I was being given $13 grand a year per household to get people phone service, I'd happily erect a cellular tower to cover 50 people and give them wireless broadband. It's time we abandon wireline service, especially in rural areas and force the telcos to refocus their efforts on updated technologies.
Not really. Back then they had a show and did live commercials for the toothpaste or whatnot. Now the show will be abut toothpaste, as a topic.
So what happens when a local crop duster or life flight helicopter flies through this tethered balloon? It's definitely not a batter model.
Your post gave me an idea. Domains are 'property' in a sense and they have a value. Let's charge 'property taxes' on them. If a domain has a market value, it has a taxable value. It could generate some nice tax revenue for states, or countries. It could also spur some pricing wars with domains other than .com and .net as different countries charge different tax rates. The majority of people own domains worth $10 or less, so it would cost them at most $1 a year per domain. Anyone who owns more than 100 domains would have to pay an incrementally higher rate per domain. It's just an idea, I'm sure a politician would love it.
Imagine being able to forward the '$4000.00' response to the Internet tax office - he's now liable for the $400 in taxes on his $4000 domain, every year. I bet he'd drop the price, or the domain pretty quick.
Personally, I'd rather have someone like Bezos holding the patent, if it were going to be granted in the first place. He has so far held up to his word on the collection of silly patents they have, that never should have been granted. For example, Amazon also owns the patent for internet affiliate programs. They've had it for most of this decade. Technically, they could stop every one of their competitors and any other business that sells online by using traffic from affiliates. 99% of webmasters would lose 50% of their ad revenue. Google AdSense would only sell ads to a few hundred advertisers and would probably not even still exist at that low volume today. They have to date done nothing with that patent. Using it would devastate the heart of the internet. If they did anything with the 404 patent, the negative publicity alone would destroy them as a business. Imagine a patent troll owning these? Who would you trust more, Amazon or a troll? Amazon owning these patents does garner them some good will, even from the cynical types, like myself, that frequent /.
(disclosure - I do own AMZN stock, and I'm not complaining, I'd short sell it in a second if they did operate this way)
Either way, I still think we should shoot stupid people, we can start with the people approving idiotic patents like these.
Idiocracy is already here...
From what I understood, Google only had an interest in 'wholesaling' the spectrum out to other providers - with open-access rules enforced. As for the nationwide spectrum up for bid, they would need to partner with another company or multiple companies to meet the build-out requirements. I don't see them being the actual provider, just the controlling interest in the spectrum being used.
I understand Amazon considers the fine and publicty cheap advertising. I'd suggest after the fine is reviewed in 30 days, and probably raised dramatically, that they immediately alter the policy to 1 cent shipping.
Mod this man up.
Journalists must write at an eighth grade level or the majority of their readers would not be able to understand them. Of course, for an arrogant intellect, such as yourself, maybe you should just stop reading so you can be happy.
The government already has the right to use any tech, copyright or patent freely for the national defense. They don't have to ask.
...you mean Belt(s).
Isn't online gambling illegal in the US?
They are racking up the vetoes though. This alone shows it's not just congress blocking progress, but the presidential veto. Before 2006 it was just a rubber stamp of approval for anything the GOP let out of congress. It still goes to show they can't even figure out how to compromise, but that's both sides faults.
You're right. I better go sue the company that made my matches. They caught fire! I burnt my finger. Sue. Sue. /end_sarcasm
We can't sue gun companies because guns kill people. We can't sue McDonalds because their food makes you fat. We can't sue the school system because our kids are too dumb to get a decent job.
It's time we enact and enforce more laws that promote personal responsibility, not more laws to protect dumb people from themselves...
You're ignoring the fact that not all people are libertarian. In America even if 50% all of a sudden decide to follow a libertarian philosophy, they still must compromise with the other 50%. Even among libertarians there is a wide range of views, some favor some regulation - others favor more socialistic support of the truly helpless. Our society is a blend of ALL ideas, and the 'tech' community that may lean more libertarian is beginning to see it's voice heard. Over time the community will gain more and more influence and things will change. It will still be a compromise, of course. I doubt we'll see the true libertarian days where you can build a nuclear reactor in your back yard, but I can envision you not being forced to wear a seat belt by law anymore - can't you? Taxes are not going to go away, but do we really need to fund corporate tax credits/welfare and sugar subsidies? We would still take care of the disabled, but we wouldn't force Home Depot, for example, to have 40 empty Handicap parking spaces right next to the front door. The entire point and fuel of the libertarian movement is that government is taking far too many steps into our liberties. We are no longer free, but almost entirely regulated. It's not just business anymore, it's our lives. It's time to step back and bring back our liberty. It's time to learn to compromise and see more than the dual Republicrat view that is basically just the same view with different moral standards to appease their base.
Interestingly enough, thats actually more (18 cents) than an artist gets per song.
The RIAA, record companies and their distributors get the rest.
The first fool that tries entering my home to enforce this type of law will be met with both barrels of a shotgun.
I doubt this law will ever pass.
Hurry!
We must ban gay bacterial marriages right away!
Consider the possibilities of complex artificial intelligence and this could be applied to virtually any aspect of our lives.
My Time Warner 'bundle' contract existed of me saying Yes 3 times to a computer and stating my social security number's last 4 digits to verify my identity. If I cancel within 15 months, it's $250.
I happen to be buying a house in an area without Time Warner service, and it's only been 10 months since I agreed to the bundle on the phone. I fully intend to use this 'packet shaping' BS as my out to avoid the $250 cancellation fee.
I paid for 7Mbit service, not 7Mbit service when they see fit. What I was led to believe was this was dependent on my neighborhood node, which has always been able to give me 6-7Mbits without fail. Now, my Joost service is jittery, my peer to peer speeds are dropping and Skype is giving me that echo I used to hat one VOIP again.
This is NOT what I paid for, and I WILL NOT pay a cancellation fee.
Anyone caught spamming SMS on a flatrate plan would probably lose their cell service permanently and be subject to prosecution in the US. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who gets SMS spam actually - in the US.
Flatrate SMS is not offered on pre-paid plans/phones.
You don't seem to realize the new 'Tool' is only for PAYING AdWords customers.
It does nothing for the webmasters who rely on AdSense for their site revenue. This is a PR gimmick designed to make Google more money by optimizing their clients sites, not common webmasters who display the ads.
Actually these spots need to be increased.
250,000 seems like a better number, especially if we allocated about half of them to medical fields - a field the US is sorely in need of more skilled people.
Considering millions of unwanted people come in illegally, why not increase the number of legal and desired immigrants? Instead our idiotic system keeps the skilled immigrants we want and desire out, yet lets the illegals who burden the system walk across the border without fear of repercussion.
I seriously doubt the US needs a key to shut down the internet. I'm sure it can be accomplished without one.
The need for such a drastic measure would only be considered in the case of a world war, in which case I doubt the net survives as it exists now anyway, after a few EMP pulses from the nukes getting tossed about.
What annoys me to no end though is the fact that the system was even developed with a Master Key. Why?
It's not needed and nobody deserves to hold it, US or international.