That's a poor analogy. Macs do not cost 5 times as much or even nearly that. And they are known for lasting longer than PCs. And they have a lot of advantages. Ease of use, just working, no viruses, aesthetics, etc. I'm not saying they are better in every way for everyone, but they are certainly worth the price for the people who use them, and probably most who do not.
I did say some competition. DSL vs. Cable. And what about Speakeasy and Earthlink? I believe they have to pay the telecoms for using their infrastructure, but they are still competing.
There is some competition among ISPs. Bellsouth, Earthlink, Comcast, Verizon, etc. If people want to get together and set up a wireless network over a city, that's great, and the government should let them put the transmitters in streetlights and whatnot, but the government should not be able to force anyone to pay for this.
it harms no one if the city wants to provide the service
Well, I would consider having money stolen from me "harm". And it doesn't help a lot that it is the government doing it, when it's not going towards the protection of me or my rights.
So, you're saying only the rich can take care of themselves? Perhaps the "neocons" have confidence in the average hard working person.
And you also feel that people shouldn't pay for goods and services? That they are entitled to everything they want (unless they are rich)?
I am of the view that people are entitled to safety and security, and streetlights are part of roads, which can't be private in a lot of cases.
OpenOffice for Mac OS X is available as a boxed retail product along with some other open source applications at Apple Stores. It is meant to be a cheaper alternative to Microsoft Office. I believe it is $40.
Does that single CD also contain an office suite, multiple SQL servers, a full suite of programming languages (C/C++, perl, ruby, python, java, and more), dozens of games, etc. etc. etc?
I'd have to concur that "Ubuntu" isn't a great name. Neither is "Red Hat" or "Slackware" or "Mandriva or "Fedora" or "Gentoo" or "KDE". Then there is "GIMP" and "KEverything" etc. Linux needs better names. Linux itself is a good name, though.
Even if the Kyoto Protocol had been signed by the U.S., it would never have had any impact on the recent hurricanes. Even if one believes that most global warming is caused by humans, a few years enforcing the rules in that agreement are not going to make enough of a difference to stop hurricanes.
You think Mars doesn't have those? Hah. They've been importing them from us for years now. Bill Gates is, in fact, a Martian. The only way to avoid their mind control powers is a tinfoil hat and Linux.
In a competitive market, you are going to pay a lot less than paying a government agency which doesn't have to provide good service to make money. More than that, though, it is your right to spend your money as you please, and your right to not have it stolen from you (Taxes, while necessary to a certain degree, is larceny committed by a state.) More money is not an effective means to make a government agency function well. Even with more money, there is no incentive to do so. If the market cannot support a rail transport system, it shouldn't exist.
Throwing papers at doors isn't done because people are afraid of being shot. It is done because it is easier. Laziness, not fear!
How long do you think it would take the police to come to someone's aid if they live at a farm away from the city? Or should they attempt to use a bow and arrow to defend themselves? Rural areas with more guns don't have nearly as many murders as cities where they are banned.
If you're the kind of person who is perfectly content with an OEM preinstall, then you won't care if you have no firewall, sixty open ports, a single login which is a password-less administrator account, default email and browser applications which are highly insecure malware vectors, etc., etc.
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That's a poor analogy. Macs do not cost 5 times as much or even nearly that. And they are known for lasting longer than PCs. And they have a lot of advantages. Ease of use, just working, no viruses, aesthetics, etc. I'm not saying they are better in every way for everyone, but they are certainly worth the price for the people who use them, and probably most who do not.
In OS X all you have to do is drag it to your Applications Folder (or another folder). Would that be very hard to implement in Linux?
A billion can also be 1000000000000, or 10^12 in the long scale which is used in most non-English speaking countries.
How would writers get paid without copyright? Anyone could give away the text for free, or print them and give them away cheaply.
The state of literature in the time of Homer was entirely different from what it is now.
This was made with an automatic complaint generator.
I'm here from PAOMWF (People Against the Overuse and Misuse of the Word "Fascist"). You have just used the word inappropriately.
A) Fascist describes a government, not a person or in your case a god or God.
B) Fascist is not the same as authoritarian.
C) Fascism refers to how a government operates.
I did say some competition. DSL vs. Cable. And what about Speakeasy and Earthlink? I believe they have to pay the telecoms for using their infrastructure, but they are still competing.
There is some competition among ISPs. Bellsouth, Earthlink, Comcast, Verizon, etc. If people want to get together and set up a wireless network over a city, that's great, and the government should let them put the transmitters in streetlights and whatnot, but the government should not be able to force anyone to pay for this.
it harms no one if the city wants to provide the service
Well, I would consider having money stolen from me "harm". And it doesn't help a lot that it is the government doing it, when it's not going towards the protection of me or my rights.
So, you're saying only the rich can take care of themselves? Perhaps the "neocons" have confidence in the average hard working person. And you also feel that people shouldn't pay for goods and services? That they are entitled to everything they want (unless they are rich)? I am of the view that people are entitled to safety and security, and streetlights are part of roads, which can't be private in a lot of cases.
OpenOffice for Mac OS X is available as a boxed retail product along with some other open source applications at Apple Stores. It is meant to be a cheaper alternative to Microsoft Office. I believe it is $40.
Give examples. They haven't done any of this as far as I know unless by "coming for abortion providers" you mean trying to end abortion (infanticide).
What would you say the current administration has done to deceive and strip away our inalienable rights?
Does that single CD also contain an office suite, multiple SQL servers, a full suite of programming languages (C/C++, perl, ruby, python, java, and more), dozens of games, etc. etc. etc?
How many people use all of that?
It's not that hard if you just want a player. Just recompile the latest xmms source or install the rpm.
Irony.
I'd have to concur that "Ubuntu" isn't a great name. Neither is "Red Hat" or "Slackware" or "Mandriva or "Fedora" or "Gentoo" or "KDE". Then there is "GIMP" and "KEverything" etc. Linux needs better names. Linux itself is a good name, though.
With your attitude 95% of people will never use Linux.
Ubuntu is meant to be easy to use, not something that you have to "fix" to use.
I agree. The label "Made in the USA" is a lot more common than "Made in America".
Even if the Kyoto Protocol had been signed by the U.S., it would never have had any impact on the recent hurricanes. Even if one believes that most global warming is caused by humans, a few years enforcing the rules in that agreement are not going to make enough of a difference to stop hurricanes.
You think Mars doesn't have those? Hah. They've been importing them from us for years now. Bill Gates is, in fact, a Martian. The only way to avoid their mind control powers is a tinfoil hat and Linux.
In a competitive market, you are going to pay a lot less than paying a government agency which doesn't have to provide good service to make money. More than that, though, it is your right to spend your money as you please, and your right to not have it stolen from you (Taxes, while necessary to a certain degree, is larceny committed by a state.) More money is not an effective means to make a government agency function well. Even with more money, there is no incentive to do so. If the market cannot support a rail transport system, it shouldn't exist.
Throwing papers at doors isn't done because people are afraid of being shot. It is done because it is easier. Laziness, not fear!
How long do you think it would take the police to come to someone's aid if they live at a farm away from the city? Or should they attempt to use a bow and arrow to defend themselves? Rural areas with more guns don't have nearly as many murders as cities where they are banned.
I am an OS X user and find it a lot better than Windows in more than just installation. I was not disputing your point, just pointing something out.
If you're the kind of person who is perfectly content with an OEM preinstall, then you won't care if you have no firewall, sixty open ports, a single login which is a password-less administrator account, default email and browser applications which are highly insecure malware vectors, etc., etc.
You have just described 80%+ of computer users.
95%+ of Windows users will not upgrade to Vista without buying a new computer.