arguably, that's the point at which one encounters the Reason why American citizens have the right to 'keep and bear arms' [bare? some other bizarre spelling?].
and, ya know, news papers do make functional temporary umbrellas if, you know, you get caught out in the rain... with a news paper... that you don't mind losing the outer pages of...
*thinks*
ya know, a cheap umbrella costs less than four times as much as a Saturday paper?
I'd imagine the licensed version would be significantly more convenient than trying to track down the original, make it work right, apply a translation patch, and so on.
so, a reason to buy is present, at the very least.
as long as they don't charge too much [and a translation project should be a lot cheaper than an original, after all] it sounds like it should work.
interesting... we have free newspapers here. have had for a long time, they're printed by the same people who sell the ones you have to pay for, and i think they may own them, too.
over time, the ads to news ratio has gone up, the city paper got merged with several regional papers, and then the regional elements got largely jettisoned... all that good stuff.
on the other hand, what they Do cover and give space to, is still usually very informative and well done, they still do community news bits, and so on.
i remember when the thing came three times a week and was about half as thick as the one you pay for, [even the weekend editions], had a local section they switched depending on where you were, and had a lot less full page ads and such. the main one now seems to be at least half advertising, most of the reporting isn't actually news exactly, and their choice of what to headline can be outright bizarre sometimes, only come out twice a week, much smaller.
seems less prone to noticeable bias, too.
it's really hard to figure out what i think of the free papers... so many different ways to measure, and some produce 'it's awesome!' and others 'it sucks!'
Re: Re: It's not just the daft laws - it's the daft police
i've got not idea what the registration process in the UK is like, but if it's anything like here?
it's because it's expensive and borderline impossible to actually do without taking all sorts of [also expensive] courses.
also I'm fairly sure the point was actually not that the law shouldn't apply to everyone, but that stupid laws shouldn't be made in the first place, and that the laws made should be enforced in a way that actually makes sense.
there is no sane reason why the above arrangement requires government regulation.
i don't know a single person in real life who actually prefers screens for Reading. more than a few wish they didn't have to deal with them as much as they do. i do know several people who, if sent an e-mail, news letter, or other such document electronically, will promptly print it and never look at the digital copy again, though.
then again, a lot of the people i know have interesting sensory issues, so i suppose that skews things a bit.
meh *shrugs* people, world, blah blah blah blah.
i really don't see the one replacing the other by any natural process, at any rate.
anyone know where i can find several good assassins?
and lots and lots of money to pay 'em with?
because sometimes i think this is about the only way to deal with many high level stupidities.
3 strikes rule. with bullets. yeah.
they'd either shape up or be paralyzed into inactivity. or start hiring military level security guards... then sic'em on each other the next time they got into a big argument... hehehehe....
now That I'd pay to see. assuming i had money at the time.
[for the sake of any espionage types who may read this and panic that those who supply their funding are in danger, I'm not Actually stupid enough to think this is a viable solution. it'd probably depopulate the planet before it solved the problem, for one thing. I'm also so ridiculously poor [well, by western standards] that it's completely imposable :D]
that said, i don't read biographies much and have no interest in stuff about Helen Clark, nor a good memory or names.
that aside, most libraries in this country are owned by either city or district councils. local government. we also have a unitary system, functionally they can only do what the national government lets them [but the national government doesn't interfere with them much most of the time].
if you're not from the appropriate district, there IS typically a fee of some description to use the library.
most people who buy your book? probably never heard of it before encountering it at a library.
the libraries are payed for by the rates [local utilities and amenities taxes, basically], there for, technically, what's actually happened is that every citizen of that district owns a part share in the book. they can go read it whenever they like because they're part owner.
some of them then go buy their own copies so they don't have to share.
the way i figure it, the authors should LOVE libraries. libraries = almost guaranteed sales [to the libraries themselves] as long as you make them aware your book exists [or it seems that way, given the amount of utter garbage that floats around there with the good stuff]. they also = free advertising.
this argument annoys me no end. books on my shelf? the vast majority that is not manga i found via a scanlation site or random gifts by relatives when i was a kid? found at the library.
libraries do not cost yous sales. they result in people who couldn't afford your book anyway or have never heard of you actually becoming aware of it's existence, and yours, and ensure the information contained there in is available and accessible as part of the local knowledge base.
you know, all the arguments people put forward against libraries periodically,here at least, can often be answered with 'so... you're rather they DIDN'T pay you for the books?' hehehe.
yay for big rant.
I'm a fan of books, libraries, and so on. True education is Win.
i am not a fan of stupid people, ignorance, or avoidable error.
thus the above.
i know what you mean there, but if i read it Literally, the response is:
'and if they don't, they fail'
if memory serves, programmable calculators were expressly forbidden in every exam i ever took where maths was relevant. 'course, I'm in NZ... which has penguins, and is thus better, but more significantly, seems to be the home of 'weird takes on normal stuff'... sometimes good, sometimes not...
non-programmable calculators were allowed in a lot of sciences and the like, mind you.
another possible reason calculators haven't really gone anywhere, is that most of the demand for them is pretty much for something that is highly portable, easy to use, and does [semi-]basic mathematics to reduce careless errors in, say, accounting[or just personal record keeping].
and even a lot of that sort of thing is done on computers these days....
as usual, this comment does not have any particular point :)
we actually have multiple national level providers of internet, telephone, and television services.
there's only one Cable provider, mind you... who're also one of the telcos... and basicly just provide satalite tv by another delivery method... [and are also the ones who basically killed that stupid copyright reform there was that big deal about a while back by refusing to go along with the silly]
On the post: Finland Says 1Mb Broadband Access Is A Legal Right
Re: http://www.pretty-tiffany.com
better or worse than shoes?
On the post: Court Says No To Feds Attempt To Delay Handing Over Lobbying Info On Telco Immunity
Re:
tossing out corrupt officials, was it not? :)
On the post: Still Debating The Cost Of Ebooks
Re: Re: Re: You are confusing value and cost
yeah, yeah, i know, not the point...
On the post: Rupert Murdoch's Latest Foray Into Online News Business Models... Not So Ridiculous
Re: Pedantry Corner
...
the amount of snark involved in making any further comment advises me t hat it's better to stop here :D
On the post: FBI Investigation Into Programmer For Freeing The Public Domain
silly situation, dubious response, ridiculous counter response, no apparent significant harm done [yet?]
business as usual in the world of humanity, really... especially government.
though i do see the point.
On the post: New Advertising Strategy For Newspapers? They Make Great Umbrellas
and, ya know, news papers do make functional temporary umbrellas if, you know, you get caught out in the rain... with a news paper... that you don't mind losing the outer pages of...
*thinks*
ya know, a cheap umbrella costs less than four times as much as a Saturday paper?
oh well, at least it's creative :D
On the post: 'Approved' Fansub Anime To Compete With Licensed Version
so, a reason to buy is present, at the very least.
as long as they don't charge too much [and a translation project should be a lot cheaper than an original, after all] it sounds like it should work.
always nice to see stuff like this.
On the post: As Newspaper Execs Discuss Putting Up Online Paywalls, London Evening Standard Paper Edition Goes Free
over time, the ads to news ratio has gone up, the city paper got merged with several regional papers, and then the regional elements got largely jettisoned... all that good stuff.
on the other hand, what they Do cover and give space to, is still usually very informative and well done, they still do community news bits, and so on.
i remember when the thing came three times a week and was about half as thick as the one you pay for, [even the weekend editions], had a local section they switched depending on where you were, and had a lot less full page ads and such. the main one now seems to be at least half advertising, most of the reporting isn't actually news exactly, and their choice of what to headline can be outright bizarre sometimes, only come out twice a week, much smaller.
seems less prone to noticeable bias, too.
it's really hard to figure out what i think of the free papers... so many different ways to measure, and some produce 'it's awesome!' and others 'it sucks!'
and i've completely forgotten my point.
also, i don't live in London :D
On the post: BPI Unhappy With Techdirt, Seeks To Correct The Record... But Still Gets It Wrong
Re: Re:
i mean, i know I'd be scared.
On the post: Free MP3s... If You Sit Through An Ad
Re: Re: Good luck.
but your answer's much better :D
On the post: The Rule Of Law Over The Rule Of Reason
Re: Re: It's not just the daft laws - it's the daft police
it's because it's expensive and borderline impossible to actually do without taking all sorts of [also expensive] courses.
also I'm fairly sure the point was actually not that the law shouldn't apply to everyone, but that stupid laws shouldn't be made in the first place, and that the laws made should be enforced in a way that actually makes sense.
there is no sane reason why the above arrangement requires government regulation.
On the post: James Joyce Estate Agrees To Pay Legal Fees To Professor It Sought To Stifle
mostly just seems to make them all out to be arseholes.
then again, I'm not actually an American, so what do i know?
On the post: Kindle Flunking Out Of Princeton?
Re: ebooks have a place
i don't know a single person in real life who actually prefers screens for Reading. more than a few wish they didn't have to deal with them as much as they do. i do know several people who, if sent an e-mail, news letter, or other such document electronically, will promptly print it and never look at the digital copy again, though.
then again, a lot of the people i know have interesting sensory issues, so i suppose that skews things a bit.
meh *shrugs* people, world, blah blah blah blah.
i really don't see the one replacing the other by any natural process, at any rate.
On the post: Music Industry Copies Language Of Copyright Reformers In Pushing For Three Strikes
and lots and lots of money to pay 'em with?
because sometimes i think this is about the only way to deal with many high level stupidities.
3 strikes rule. with bullets. yeah.
they'd either shape up or be paralyzed into inactivity. or start hiring military level security guards... then sic'em on each other the next time they got into a big argument... hehehehe....
now That I'd pay to see. assuming i had money at the time.
[for the sake of any espionage types who may read this and panic that those who supply their funding are in danger, I'm not Actually stupid enough to think this is a viable solution. it'd probably depopulate the planet before it solved the problem, for one thing. I'm also so ridiculously poor [well, by western standards] that it's completely imposable :D]
On the post: New Zealand Author Claims Libraries Are Involved In Grand Theft By Loaning Books
that said, i don't read biographies much and have no interest in stuff about Helen Clark, nor a good memory or names.
that aside, most libraries in this country are owned by either city or district councils. local government. we also have a unitary system, functionally they can only do what the national government lets them [but the national government doesn't interfere with them much most of the time].
if you're not from the appropriate district, there IS typically a fee of some description to use the library.
most people who buy your book? probably never heard of it before encountering it at a library.
the libraries are payed for by the rates [local utilities and amenities taxes, basically], there for, technically, what's actually happened is that every citizen of that district owns a part share in the book. they can go read it whenever they like because they're part owner.
some of them then go buy their own copies so they don't have to share.
the way i figure it, the authors should LOVE libraries. libraries = almost guaranteed sales [to the libraries themselves] as long as you make them aware your book exists [or it seems that way, given the amount of utter garbage that floats around there with the good stuff]. they also = free advertising.
this argument annoys me no end. books on my shelf? the vast majority that is not manga i found via a scanlation site or random gifts by relatives when i was a kid? found at the library.
libraries do not cost yous sales. they result in people who couldn't afford your book anyway or have never heard of you actually becoming aware of it's existence, and yours, and ensure the information contained there in is available and accessible as part of the local knowledge base.
you know, all the arguments people put forward against libraries periodically,here at least, can often be answered with 'so... you're rather they DIDN'T pay you for the books?' hehehe.
yay for big rant.
I'm a fan of books, libraries, and so on. True education is Win.
i am not a fan of stupid people, ignorance, or avoidable error.
thus the above.
On the post: Texas Instruments Goes Legal On Calculator Hackers: How Dare You Make Our Product Better!
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: I know why
'and if they don't, they fail'
if memory serves, programmable calculators were expressly forbidden in every exam i ever took where maths was relevant. 'course, I'm in NZ... which has penguins, and is thus better, but more significantly, seems to be the home of 'weird takes on normal stuff'... sometimes good, sometimes not...
non-programmable calculators were allowed in a lot of sciences and the like, mind you.
another possible reason calculators haven't really gone anywhere, is that most of the demand for them is pretty much for something that is highly portable, easy to use, and does [semi-]basic mathematics to reduce careless errors in, say, accounting[or just personal record keeping].
and even a lot of that sort of thing is done on computers these days....
as usual, this comment does not have any particular point :)
On the post: Gov't Needs To Reveal Who Lobbied For Telco Immunity On Warrantless Wiretaps
Re: Re: Re: Re: Right
move to New Zealand.
we actually have multiple national level providers of internet, telephone, and television services.
there's only one Cable provider, mind you... who're also one of the telcos... and basicly just provide satalite tv by another delivery method... [and are also the ones who basically killed that stupid copyright reform there was that big deal about a while back by refusing to go along with the silly]
yeah, cable never took off here :)
On the post: Some Proactive Thoughts On Making Newspapers Better
On the post: Skype Tech Licensing Soap Opera Continues: Founders Sue eBay, New Buyers For Copyright Infringement
Re: Yes, but
sorry, not helpful, i know. but amusing none the less.
[taking dodgy analogies and running with them can be funny :)]
On the post: Overstock Told That 'Browserwrap' Agreement Is Unenforceable
[wonder if anyone ever said that before? :D]
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