Bill Gates does not take money out of his pocket to give to charity. He gives stock to the foundation which then sells the stock and gives away the money. Bill is giving away POTENTIAL INCOME not money he already has.
Good point. Say, will you sign over your salary for the rest of the year to me? It's not money you already have. It's only potential income.
The bible is peppered with sayings about how the poor man who gives away a shekel is more moral then the rich who gives more.
I'm pretty sure the Bible also says something about "Judge not, lest ye be judged."
And even weirder still, I was working on this really funny response, but then this new humor engine was available and I started using it and went back to square one.
Sadly, this kind of thing is common in other media as well.
Back when it first became apparent that videotapes were going to be a profit source for Hollywood, the WGA (the union for film and TV writers) sat down with the studios and hammered out an agreement, which said that the writers of a given movie would get 2% of the studio's profit on every videotape sold of that movie. However, since videotapes were a new technology, and production costs were still high, the studio's costs were defined as 80% of their income on every tape. And since the retailers kept about 50% of the cover price before passing the income on to the studio, this meant the writers got 2% of 20% of %50 of the purchase price of a movie on tape. If the consumer paid $30, about $15 might go to the retailer, $12 to the studio, and a little less than 5 cents to the writers. (I assume the DGA (directors' union) and SAG/AFTRA (actors' union) got similar deals, but I'm not sure; as a WGA member, I know more about the activities of my own union.)
This was not a lot of money for the writer, but at that point, it seemed fair. Of course, as VHS technology matured, the cost of production dropped, so that studios were spending a lot less than 80% on production. But that 80% figure was written into the contract, and writers were stuck with it.
And then DVDs came along, which are even cheaper to produce than a VHS cassette. But that 80% figure was still there. And now digital downloads are here. Guess which formula the studios want to apply?
The WGA has been pissed off about the unfairness of this formula for a long time, but the studios have dug their heels in, leaving the WGA with no way of forcing an agreement other than mounting a long enough strike to force the studios to cave. Unfortunately, the WGA hasn't been able to generate the willpower for such a strike. Ironically, much of the early resistance came from TV writers, who thought the only people with an interest in home video sales were film writers. Needless to say, the booming market for TV shows on DVD has made that stance seem rather shortsighted.
Fortunately, the WGA (and the other unions) have language built into their contracts that would give a better deal for certain kinds of digital download. But these contracts had to be written in a somewhat open-ended way to cover not-yet-invented technology, which leaves the studios wiggle room. The studios (of course) are claiming that, under the language of the contract, the iTunes store and similar digital delivery mechanisms ought to have the same 2% of 80% formula as DVDs; the unions (of course) are claiming that, under the language of the contract, the iTunes store is covered under a different formula that is more favorable to the writer. It seems to me that the WGA has the vastly stronger argument here, and the studios' argument is laughable--but then, I'm a union member, so I'm probably biased.
This is why all blenders should be built according to the three laws of blendermatics:
1. A blender must not harm a person, or, through inaction, allow a person to come to harm.
2. A blender must never spew tomato juice all over a person's shirt, or, through inaction, allow tomato juice to be spewed.
3. Free daquiris for everybody!
Actually, I'm taking a net karma loss on this. +1 funny doesn't give karma, as you say, but -1 Redundant takes it away.
Fortunately, when my Amazing Comment is ready to ship, it's going to be SO amazing that they're going to invent a whole new category for it-- +1,000,000 BEST COMMENT EVER.
At least, I hope so. If not, I'm facing karma bankruptcy.
I'm back! And I have my comment ready to go, and I could definitely post it, but here's the thing:
While I was watching the World Cup game, I started thinking, "It's so much better to see a game then just to read about it." And then I started thinking, what if instead of just reading my post, you could see it, too?
So I've decided that rather than put up a purely verbal post now, it's better to take the time to transform it into a really incredible visual post.
So hang in there. My amazing response is coming, and it's going to be even better than before! I just need a day or two to learn Photoshop.
I've had to take a break from writing my post to go watch the England/Paraguay World Cup Game, but I will be back and have everything finished in three hours, TOPS.
OK, it turned out there was a little bit of Cheeto crumb stuck in my keyboard. I just shook it upside down for a minute, and now everything's working again.
Fortunately, the slight delay has given me time to reconsider my development environment. I was writing the amazing response I have to the article in TextEdit, but I've decided to switch to TacoHTML. This will enable me to give you--the comment reader--the sort of impressive, modern HTML styles you've come to expect from a quality post.
Unfortunately, I forgot to save when I quit TextEdit, so I've had to start my post from scratch. But it ought to be ready within an hour at most. Watch this space!
Sorry, 'm havng some problems wth one of the keys on my keyboard. Gve me another half hour or so, and the post wll be ready. Trust me, t's worth watng for. t'll be AMAZNG!
I am working on an amazing response to this article. Trust me, it'll be great--not just funny, but incredibly insightful. It will take your breath away. It is destined to be the most talked-about Slashdot posting of 2006.
Unfortunately, it's not ready to post yet, but it will be ready within about 10 minutes. I just wanted to give everybody a heads up. Look for it here!
Here's a little exercise. Imagine an article on the history of the computing business 50 years from now. Complete the following sentence in the most likely way:
"Among Apple's moves in 2006, the one that had the single biggest effect on their market share and the landscape of the computer business in general was...."
A. "...making their power cords magnetic."
B."...fitting a computer into a cute little box."
C. "...making it possible for a user with no technical knowledge to boot Windows on a Mac, thereby making Apple the only company in the world to sell computers that, out-of-the-box, were compatible with both the world's most popular operating system and the world's best-reviewed one."
Slashdot Mirror
I'm pretty sure the Bible also says something about "Judge not, lest ye be judged."
And even weirder still, I was working on this really funny response, but then this new humor engine was available and I started using it and went back to square one.
Damn it! This is what happens when you announce a product before you ship it--the market gets flooded with imitators.
Sadly, this kind of thing is common in other media as well.
Back when it first became apparent that videotapes were going to be a profit source for Hollywood, the WGA (the union for film and TV writers) sat down with the studios and hammered out an agreement, which said that the writers of a given movie would get 2% of the studio's profit on every videotape sold of that movie. However, since videotapes were a new technology, and production costs were still high, the studio's costs were defined as 80% of their income on every tape. And since the retailers kept about 50% of the cover price before passing the income on to the studio, this meant the writers got 2% of 20% of %50 of the purchase price of a movie on tape. If the consumer paid $30, about $15 might go to the retailer, $12 to the studio, and a little less than 5 cents to the writers. (I assume the DGA (directors' union) and SAG/AFTRA (actors' union) got similar deals, but I'm not sure; as a WGA member, I know more about the activities of my own union.)
This was not a lot of money for the writer, but at that point, it seemed fair. Of course, as VHS technology matured, the cost of production dropped, so that studios were spending a lot less than 80% on production. But that 80% figure was written into the contract, and writers were stuck with it.
And then DVDs came along, which are even cheaper to produce than a VHS cassette. But that 80% figure was still there. And now digital downloads are here. Guess which formula the studios want to apply?
The WGA has been pissed off about the unfairness of this formula for a long time, but the studios have dug their heels in, leaving the WGA with no way of forcing an agreement other than mounting a long enough strike to force the studios to cave. Unfortunately, the WGA hasn't been able to generate the willpower for such a strike. Ironically, much of the early resistance came from TV writers, who thought the only people with an interest in home video sales were film writers. Needless to say, the booming market for TV shows on DVD has made that stance seem rather shortsighted.
Fortunately, the WGA (and the other unions) have language built into their contracts that would give a better deal for certain kinds of digital download. But these contracts had to be written in a somewhat open-ended way to cover not-yet-invented technology, which leaves the studios wiggle room. The studios (of course) are claiming that, under the language of the contract, the iTunes store and similar digital delivery mechanisms ought to have the same 2% of 80% formula as DVDs; the unions (of course) are claiming that, under the language of the contract, the iTunes store is covered under a different formula that is more favorable to the writer. It seems to me that the WGA has the vastly stronger argument here, and the studios' argument is laughable--but then, I'm a union member, so I'm probably biased.
This is why all blenders should be built according to the three laws of blendermatics: 1. A blender must not harm a person, or, through inaction, allow a person to come to harm. 2. A blender must never spew tomato juice all over a person's shirt, or, through inaction, allow tomato juice to be spewed. 3. Free daquiris for everybody!
Actually, I'm taking a net karma loss on this. +1 funny doesn't give karma, as you say, but -1 Redundant takes it away. Fortunately, when my Amazing Comment is ready to ship, it's going to be SO amazing that they're going to invent a whole new category for it-- +1,000,000 BEST COMMENT EVER. At least, I hope so. If not, I'm facing karma bankruptcy.
I'm back! And I have my comment ready to go, and I could definitely post it, but here's the thing: While I was watching the World Cup game, I started thinking, "It's so much better to see a game then just to read about it." And then I started thinking, what if instead of just reading my post, you could see it, too? So I've decided that rather than put up a purely verbal post now, it's better to take the time to transform it into a really incredible visual post. So hang in there. My amazing response is coming, and it's going to be even better than before! I just need a day or two to learn Photoshop.
I've had to take a break from writing my post to go watch the England/Paraguay World Cup Game, but I will be back and have everything finished in three hours, TOPS.
OK, it turned out there was a little bit of Cheeto crumb stuck in my keyboard. I just shook it upside down for a minute, and now everything's working again. Fortunately, the slight delay has given me time to reconsider my development environment. I was writing the amazing response I have to the article in TextEdit, but I've decided to switch to TacoHTML. This will enable me to give you--the comment reader--the sort of impressive, modern HTML styles you've come to expect from a quality post. Unfortunately, I forgot to save when I quit TextEdit, so I've had to start my post from scratch. But it ought to be ready within an hour at most. Watch this space!
Sorry, 'm havng some problems wth one of the keys on my keyboard. Gve me another half hour or so, and the post wll be ready. Trust me, t's worth watng for. t'll be AMAZNG!
I am working on an amazing response to this article. Trust me, it'll be great--not just funny, but incredibly insightful. It will take your breath away. It is destined to be the most talked-about Slashdot posting of 2006. Unfortunately, it's not ready to post yet, but it will be ready within about 10 minutes. I just wanted to give everybody a heads up. Look for it here!
Here's a little exercise. Imagine an article on the history of the computing business 50 years from now. Complete the following sentence in the most likely way: "Among Apple's moves in 2006, the one that had the single biggest effect on their market share and the landscape of the computer business in general was...."
A. "...making their power cords magnetic."
B."...fitting a computer into a cute little box."
C. "...making it possible for a user with no technical knowledge to boot Windows on a Mac, thereby making Apple the only company in the world to sell computers that, out-of-the-box, were compatible with both the world's most popular operating system and the world's best-reviewed one."