I pretty much agree with you. and no one can call me 'unpatriotic' for it, as i'm not a citizen of the USA.
As for getting screwed over by the US's err... semi-hegemony? a place doesn't even have to be 'developing' for that. Even 'only-sort-of-first-world-standard' countries like NZ have been on the receiving end of that suck to varying degrees.
To be fair, written English does take at least twice as long to learn as any other European language, with graduating highschool students not yet having attained what would be considered basic literacy in any other language.
American English is very slightly less so, mind you, due to some spelling changes.
Who's point that actually supports/detracts from, i really don't know.
That's pretty much where I'm sitting too, though i still think he'd have been wiser to leave off attacking those who downloaded the thing.
Sure, there's the 'remove demand, remove cause for supply' issue. the problem is, the only way to remove the demand is to remove the demand for what he's selling himself.
Still, it's mildly annoying to see someone who has, until now, been something of a national example of 'how to actually do things right and be successful and stuff' say silly things like this.
if memory serves, a single disc and it's jewel case cost NZ$2.50. a 50-pack comes on a spindle instead, and is quite a bit cheaper per disk, though i don't remember the number.
on the Other hand, US made software will quite frequently render your hardware unable to Use the things...
... tell me. is it as depressing as i think it is to live in a place where this is needed just to get a service provider to NOT rip you off?
Also: do you seriously think 3,500 means Anything to large corporations? they eat more than that in legal fees for no good reason on a regular basis. i know US$ is worth more than NZ$, but not That much.
humm. here about it's typically a 5-20 minute sequence of 'is thing A set properly? is thing B set properly?', unless they've already had someone else complain about the problem, then it's 'is thing a/b/c going wrong? yes? yeah, it's X'. this is typically followed by 'we've told telecom/telecom's already made us aware of this.', because the issue typically is further up the chain than the ISP, though not always, then 'we're working on it. should be back up in a couple of hours' or 'nothing we can do about it. should be back up in x hours' or very occasionally x days if it's a result of a major natural disaster.
of course, very few of our ISPs are actually full blown corporations, and Telecom was Starting to go that way... so the government stepped in and unbundled the net, and was looking at busting up Telecom, which had previously had a monopoly in a lot of places and services simply due to lack of practical competition. Telecom voluntarily split it's retail and wholesale sections to avoid government intervention though, and has really got it's act together since, while telstra, now able to use the preexisting exchanges, layed a lot more fiber optic cable to provide more competition in other areas (including providing cable-delivered tv. i say it that way because it's just alternate delivery of the satellite/terrestrial broadcast channels, last i checked, but still)
but yeah, telecom used to be bad like that.
now, Microsoft is TERRIBLE, in exactly the same way, only more so. And not just to consumers. they regularly treat the repair shops and retailers just as badly. (largely due to their call centers being staffed by Indians, in India, reading from scripts, with no actual useful knowledge
Meters and limits are standard in NZ too, but we have competition in that market to the point of ridiculousness, at least at the retail level.
Standard arrangement, last i checked, was a flat monthly fee for X data. If you go over that, most companies will give priority to those users who haven't yet, so you get throttled back based on traffic flow. depending on the situation, this may not slow you down at all, or it may drop you to dial-up speeds, or anything in between.
some ISPs, however, simply bill you for another chunk of data. (think i pay NZ$10 per 2gig over my cap). presumably they then pay Telecom and/or Telstra (I'm not sure exactly how that works, but they're the ones with their own cable) extra for priority. (to my understanding they pay for a 'share' of possible traffic, which they then sell on to the consumer).
Most people tend to prefer the latter arrangement, apparently.
oh, and remember: unlike in the US, there actually IS a physical, practical limit on data into and out of NZ. As in, all internet traffic (and international calls) go through the one, old, undersea copper cable... which i Think goes to Australia, initially?
And the majority of the traffic is probably going to and from the USA, too. by way of... err... almost every other developed or convenient nation in the pacific between Australia and the USA, if memory serves.
Should be noted that, as I'm not one to download movies, or much music, i rarely go over my initial $60~ 20 gig cap once, and almost never twice. When that does happen, it's when I've downloaded a large game (legally, i might add, for everything possible, and usually from Europe.)
basically, infrastructure needs to be either directly government controlled and regulated (this is probably better for small countries) or have have a lot of competition for at least the last stage or two of service delivery. (those businesses can then kick any complaints back up the chain with a lot more force than the individual consumer can, if nothing else)
looks like the USA gets the worst of both worlds.
though how you ended up with an internet bill of Au$10,000 TechNoFear, I'd love to know. You're either getting screwed to the point of insanity or doing something really weird.
*grins* 'course, it helps that, here, there are government funded TV programs who's entire point is finding dodgy business practices, showing you how to spot them, exposing those who conduct them, and applying pressure to get them to shape up. (while being entertaining at the same time). hehe. heck, on a slow day, a $10k internet bill might even make the news if the cause was weird enough.
If memory serves, it's not 'do no evil' it's 'don't be evil'. which can probably be read more accurately as 'don't do anything that'll make the customers hate you'
go tell that to the working class of England in the industrial revolution, to name one example off the top of my head.
innovation, in general, helps everyone, to a degree, eventually.
specific innovations, however, will often also cause various types of harm to various people. typically speaking, the poorer folk have a much harder time of avoiding the resulting fall out.
not that i quite disagree with you here, Tom, just think you're making grand generalisations without a whole lot of obvious logic or thought to 'em.
(i, personally, happen to find the US government annoying at best, and i don't even live there :P )
This could actually work. if it's actually the wifi etc, and tests have proven that that doesn't actually cause anything at all, and he's actually suffering, then it's probably psychological. ... of course, he could then probably sue whoever it is who made a big deal about it in the first place... America's silly like that.
(nevermind the possibility of comparatively rare sensitivities, the suffers of which don't make it into the tests. such things can occasionally happen, one would guess)
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Re: Re: Re: No
If not, I'm just confused.
On the post: As Developing Countries Gain More Power In Diplomatic Discussions, Will They Push Back On IP?
Re: Not actually that unlikely.....
As for getting screwed over by the US's err... semi-hegemony? a place doesn't even have to be 'developing' for that. Even 'only-sort-of-first-world-standard' countries like NZ have been on the receiving end of that suck to varying degrees.
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Re: Re: Re: Higher Margins in Printed books?!?!?
i mean, the word's right there.
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Re: No wonder I basically hate everything at this point:
i say this in total ignorance regarding this band, however.
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Re: Re: Stupid americans
American English is very slightly less so, mind you, due to some spelling changes.
Who's point that actually supports/detracts from, i really don't know.
On the post: Peter Jackson Freaks Out About BitTorrent Leak Of The Lovely Bones
Re: Re: Re: Trade Secrets
Sure, there's the 'remove demand, remove cause for supply' issue. the problem is, the only way to remove the demand is to remove the demand for what he's selling himself.
Still, it's mildly annoying to see someone who has, until now, been something of a national example of 'how to actually do things right and be successful and stuff' say silly things like this.
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Re:
For reasons unknown (or far too well known. it varies), they don't.
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Re:
on the Other hand, US made software will quite frequently render your hardware unable to Use the things...
wonderfully clever, that.
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Re: Re:
what?
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i'm probably about to infringe on a copyright here:
taken from Sid Mier's Alpha Centauri
admittedly, this is probably more appropriate to attacks on the internet as a whole, but still.
I think a lot of people, especially in positions of power, haven't yet grasped how similar 'the internet' and 'the street' actually are.
On the post: As ISPs Look To Charge Per Byte... How Accurate Are Their Meters?
Re: Sickening!
oh... billions.
yeah. you'd need that. all the non-bribes...
'course, you could always go for Trillians "hey, guys. stop sucking and I'll pay the (interest on the) national debt for you"
hey, it could happen.
in theory.
maybe...
On the post: As ISPs Look To Charge Per Byte... How Accurate Are Their Meters?
Re: Re: And Who Will Be the Arbitrator?
Also: do you seriously think 3,500 means Anything to large corporations? they eat more than that in legal fees for no good reason on a regular basis. i know US$ is worth more than NZ$, but not That much.
On the post: As ISPs Look To Charge Per Byte... How Accurate Are Their Meters?
Re: Re: And Who Will Be the Arbitrator?
of course, very few of our ISPs are actually full blown corporations, and Telecom was Starting to go that way... so the government stepped in and unbundled the net, and was looking at busting up Telecom, which had previously had a monopoly in a lot of places and services simply due to lack of practical competition. Telecom voluntarily split it's retail and wholesale sections to avoid government intervention though, and has really got it's act together since, while telstra, now able to use the preexisting exchanges, layed a lot more fiber optic cable to provide more competition in other areas (including providing cable-delivered tv. i say it that way because it's just alternate delivery of the satellite/terrestrial broadcast channels, last i checked, but still)
but yeah, telecom used to be bad like that.
now, Microsoft is TERRIBLE, in exactly the same way, only more so. And not just to consumers. they regularly treat the repair shops and retailers just as badly. (largely due to their call centers being staffed by Indians, in India, reading from scripts, with no actual useful knowledge
On the post: As ISPs Look To Charge Per Byte... How Accurate Are Their Meters?
Re:
Standard arrangement, last i checked, was a flat monthly fee for X data. If you go over that, most companies will give priority to those users who haven't yet, so you get throttled back based on traffic flow. depending on the situation, this may not slow you down at all, or it may drop you to dial-up speeds, or anything in between.
some ISPs, however, simply bill you for another chunk of data. (think i pay NZ$10 per 2gig over my cap). presumably they then pay Telecom and/or Telstra (I'm not sure exactly how that works, but they're the ones with their own cable) extra for priority. (to my understanding they pay for a 'share' of possible traffic, which they then sell on to the consumer).
Most people tend to prefer the latter arrangement, apparently.
oh, and remember: unlike in the US, there actually IS a physical, practical limit on data into and out of NZ. As in, all internet traffic (and international calls) go through the one, old, undersea copper cable... which i Think goes to Australia, initially?
And the majority of the traffic is probably going to and from the USA, too. by way of... err... almost every other developed or convenient nation in the pacific between Australia and the USA, if memory serves.
Should be noted that, as I'm not one to download movies, or much music, i rarely go over my initial $60~ 20 gig cap once, and almost never twice. When that does happen, it's when I've downloaded a large game (legally, i might add, for everything possible, and usually from Europe.)
basically, infrastructure needs to be either directly government controlled and regulated (this is probably better for small countries) or have have a lot of competition for at least the last stage or two of service delivery. (those businesses can then kick any complaints back up the chain with a lot more force than the individual consumer can, if nothing else)
looks like the USA gets the worst of both worlds.
though how you ended up with an internet bill of Au$10,000 TechNoFear, I'd love to know. You're either getting screwed to the point of insanity or doing something really weird.
*grins* 'course, it helps that, here, there are government funded TV programs who's entire point is finding dodgy business practices, showing you how to spot them, exposing those who conduct them, and applying pressure to get them to shape up. (while being entertaining at the same time). hehe. heck, on a slow day, a $10k internet bill might even make the news if the cause was weird enough.
... what was the topic again?
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Re: Re:
which i think is at least part of the point.
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Re:
(of course, that's far from unique to the USA, sadly)
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Re:
just say'n.
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Re: Re: Re:
On the post: Can The US Continue To Innovate At A Necessary Rate Without Causing Complete Social Upheaval?
Re: Nonsense
innovation, in general, helps everyone, to a degree, eventually.
specific innovations, however, will often also cause various types of harm to various people. typically speaking, the poorer folk have a much harder time of avoiding the resulting fall out.
not that i quite disagree with you here, Tom, just think you're making grand generalisations without a whole lot of obvious logic or thought to 'em.
(i, personally, happen to find the US government annoying at best, and i don't even live there :P )
On the post: Man Sues Neighbor For Not Turning Off WiFi And Cell Phone
Re: Re:
(nevermind the possibility of comparatively rare sensitivities, the suffers of which don't make it into the tests. such things can occasionally happen, one would guess)
alternatively, maybe he's got a Cunning Plan.
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