Quebec is a strange province. They have the lowest tuition in the country. They are a "have-not" province, which means they receive transfer payments from the "have" provinces like oil-rich Alberta. That would be fine, but when the provincial government decided to raise tuition, the students freaked out. Rioting, protesting, and skipping school all followed. The incredible thing is, Quebec has the lowest tuition, but also the lowest enrolment rate in post-secondary. So there goes the notion that free education will help us all. I think that if something is free, it is not valued.
The government is heavy into infrastructure in Quebec, which is why it is the most corrupt province in Canada. The Hell's Angels and the mob run many businesses, while out west, where the free market reins, gangs and corruption are relatively small. The "Sponsorship Scandal", that brought down the Liberal party, was in Quebec.
And every decade or so, Quebec threatens to separate from the rest of Canada. Dude, you know the transfer payments stop when you leave, right?
You're blaming the wrong person, when you say "the industry's love affair". The customer decides what games are popular and the customer is always right.
I think the violence issue is overblown. Obviously, the guns in Call of Duty operate differently than real guns, because you respawn after you are killed. Online FPS's are just like complicated games of schoolyard tag, only you are tagged with a bullet, not a hand.
This is why it is so entertaining to see companies like EA bitch about the used market. Do they really think I'd pay $60 for a game if I can't sell it? It is already starting, with first-purchaser codes. A few days after Bioshock:Infinite came out, it was worth $26 at GameStop. I used to be able to sell week-old games for $40.
In a year or so, cue big game publishers complaining that the new game market has "unexpectedly" crashed.
Although I dislike EA, this statement is true. How many times does Google get criticized for infringing search results, even though they are doing more than any other company to remove links? Same for McDonalds, who reliability prints nutrition information on the backs of all tray liners, but is slagged for bad food. Or Walmart and their treatment of employees, even though they are more likely to obey the rules than a mom 'n' pop.
The leaders of the industry are always held to a higher standard.
WRONG. This is capitalism's best feature. Companies who overpay their CEO's will go out of business. That is not anyone's business, not even yours.
When the government gets involved and heavily regulates industries (like banking), it suddenly feels responsible and bails them out. GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM. The free market will sort out idiots like these companies.
If you don't like Steve Ballmer or Mark Zuckerberg making millions, don't use Microsoft or Facebook. But don't come crying after the fact that they are rich. No one forced you to give them money or use their services.
I really see no other solution than stores like Best Buy charge a membership fee. I'd pay a fee to go and try out computer equipment. They could refund the fee with your first purchase.
The huge advantage B&M stores have over online is physical presence of the merchandise, plus knowledgeable sales people. I'd pay for that. Giving that away and hoping people will buy stuff is dumb. I totally disagree with Mike on this one.
I agree, e-cigarettes are the solution. But it will take a while to catch on, what with governments addicted to cigarette taxes. Every year that governments dither, thousands of people die of lung cancer needlessly.
Why would Google kill Keep? Evernote could just come back. That's like saying Zuckerberg will kill Facebook after Myspace dies. That doesn't make any sense.
A better analogy is a garage sale where one table is marked "free". If the seller accidently puts items on that table and someone takes them, whose fault is it? Did that person "steal" or "trespass"? Of course not.
The free market is a democracy. Government regulation is communism. Please, just vote with your wallets and don't buy the game. When you give too much power to the government, it is just means the lobbyists have fewer places to go.
I think capitalist should take back this word. Failure is a feature of capitalism, not a deficiency. Every successful person failed in life. I have no problem calling her kickstarter a failure, it just was a really cheap one. In that sense, it was a smart failure.
The question really is, will American's tolerate the inevitable road to war with Iran? If they are pissed at the bailing out of banks, how can they tolerate the trillions spent in wars again goat farmers and former allies?
PETA thinks the natural world is like a Disney movie. I think a bolt to the head is more humane than getting eaten alive or starving to death, which is how most animals die.
Here's a fun game. Let's try and figure out which country he's talking about. I thought Afghanistan, but then you mentioned the Pakistani girl. And the Taliban actually was a step up from the mess Russia left. At least they had the drugs under control. It could be Iraq, because you did destroy that country too.
Re: Re: Re: Be silly that reseller rights are more than the creators.
Piracy is actually the broken window fallacy in reverse. While a broken window will enrich the glazier, it will reduce society's wealth. Inversely, a digital copy may hurt the producer of the media, but society will be improved.
So what is income correlated to? Hard work? Cunning? Give me a break.
Even a quick check of Wikipedia shows that IQ is correlated to income between 0.4-0.5 (i.e., 40%-50% of the variability in income is explained by IQ). That is a lot, in my book.
On the post: Montreal Student Arrested For Posting Photo Of Anti-Police Graffiti To Instagram
Quebec
The government is heavy into infrastructure in Quebec, which is why it is the most corrupt province in Canada. The Hell's Angels and the mob run many businesses, while out west, where the free market reins, gangs and corruption are relatively small. The "Sponsorship Scandal", that brought down the Liberal party, was in Quebec.
And every decade or so, Quebec threatens to separate from the rest of Canada. Dude, you know the transfer payments stop when you leave, right?
On the post: Sen. Feinstein Says Congress 'Ready To Take Action' To Rein In Violent Video Games
Re: Re:
I think the violence issue is overblown. Obviously, the guns in Call of Duty operate differently than real guns, because you respawn after you are killed. Online FPS's are just like complicated games of schoolyard tag, only you are tagged with a bullet, not a hand.
On the post: EA COO: We Get Votes For 'Worst Company' Because We're Awesome And Voters Are Homophobes
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Catch 22
In a year or so, cue big game publishers complaining that the new game market has "unexpectedly" crashed.
On the post: EA COO: We Get Votes For 'Worst Company' Because We're Awesome And Voters Are Homophobes
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The leaders of the industry are always held to a higher standard.
On the post: Maybe E*Trade Should Stop Giving Four-Year Contracts To Its CEOs
Re:
When the government gets involved and heavily regulates industries (like banking), it suddenly feels responsible and bails them out. GOVERNMENT IS THE PROBLEM. The free market will sort out idiots like these companies.
If you don't like Steve Ballmer or Mark Zuckerberg making millions, don't use Microsoft or Facebook. But don't come crying after the fact that they are rich. No one forced you to give them money or use their services.
On the post: If Your Kid's Playing M-Rated Games, You Can't Blame The Retailer
Re: R-rated Movies
On the post: Dumb Policy: Store Charges $5 Just To Look At Goods, To Keep People From Looking And Then Buying Online
Re: Comparative solution?
The huge advantage B&M stores have over online is physical presence of the merchandise, plus knowledgeable sales people. I'd pay for that. Giving that away and hoping people will buy stuff is dumb. I totally disagree with Mike on this one.
On the post: One Step Closer To Sales Taxes On All Internet Purchases
Re: MAJOR tax actually NEEDED is transaction tax on Wall Street.
On the post: Next From The Nanny State: Bloomberg Tries To Make You Not Think About Cigarettes
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On the post: Will People Trust Google's New 'Note' Keeping Service After Reader Shutdown?
Re: Don't worry...
On the post: Expose A Blatant Security Hole In AT&T's Servers, Get 3.5 Years In Jail
Re:
A better analogy is a garage sale where one table is marked "free". If the seller accidently puts items on that table and someone takes them, whose fault is it? Did that person "steal" or "trespass"? Of course not.
On the post: Maxis GM: Our Vision Is More Important Than Our Customers & Lots Of People Love Our Crappy DRM
Re: Refunds
On the post: Kickstarter Projects That Don't Meet Their Goal Are Not 'Failures'; They Help People Avoid Failures
Failure is fine word
On the post: Iran Wants To Sue Hollywood Over Argo Somewhere, Some Time, & For Some Reason
On the post: PETA Goes After Assassin's Creed For Its Depiction Of Whaling; Ubisoft Responds With A Heaping Dose Of Sarcasm
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On the post: Proposed California Bill Would Require Sites To Hand Over Private Info On Kids To Their Parents
Re: Not sure whence the outrage
This is the solution, not some bureaucratic nightmare. We had our computer upstairs and I put a key-logger on it. Done.
On the post: Eric Holder On Domestic Drone Strikes: Eh, Could Happen
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This is fun!
On the post: Yes, The US Industrial Revolution Was Built On Piracy And Fraud
Re: DO NOT FEED
On the post: Two And A Half Minute Video Explains How The Ability To Sell Stuff You Legally Purchased Is At Risk
Re: Re: Re: Be silly that reseller rights are more than the creators.
On the post: Upon Further Review... Judge Realizes The Jury In Apple/Samsung Case Screwed Up
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Even a quick check of Wikipedia shows that IQ is correlated to income between 0.4-0.5 (i.e., 40%-50% of the variability in income is explained by IQ). That is a lot, in my book.
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