"Fans love music. They want to support the musicians and they want to pay for music. But if you put enough hurdles in front of them, they will become pirates. As I did this morning."
Classic demonstration of rationalization tied to immediate gratification disorder:
I want it! I want it! I want it NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!
I can't have it NOW??????
Well screw waiting until it's available, I'll steal it!
What's best for most users is to bring the phone in for repair by an authorized dealer and not make matters worse by opening it up in a dusty, non-static-free environment.
The Retina screen is custom, the motherboard is custom, the battery is custom, and all of them are shoehorned into a space that couldn't even hold a spare business card. In short, there's practically NOTHING a typical user (or even a typical geek) could repair or replace anyway.
As mentioned above, if you're phone is broken they probably will not fix it in the store. They'll swap SIM cards and give you a new (probably refurbished) phone.
And funny how you mention the home button, as that may well be the ONLY part you could possibly fix on your own. Unless you have a stock of proprietary iPhone motherboards, displays, and batteries on hand, of course.
Unfortunately, WebM isn't proven to be unencumbered, either. And isn't MPEG-LA looking at setting up a patent portfolio for WebM?
And is it just me, or is this a clear double-standard? Google states that they're dropping H.264 in order to support more "open" technologies. Okay, fine. But why, then, are they supporting a proprietary technology (Flash) on Chrome and their Android devices?
There, and I quote, they say it's because people should be "free to choose".
Sorry, but Google needs to do a dictionary search on their own web site. The word is "hypocrite".
"...as if we were all pompous, elitist millionaires trying to pry $10 out of their hands for something that "really" has no value."
You never hear this argument? It comes up all of the time. It comes up for music, for software, for movies, and even for books.
As to price... hah. Pick ANY price, and sure enough there will be someone who will suggest that even that price is too high for a "digital copy that costs nothing to produce." Cut THAT price in half, they say, and they'd be a customer. They'd more than make up the difference in volume. Right.
It's all about evil corporations who are looking only to screw the consumer. Heck, even here you hear that argument just because Amazon charges people 20 cents more for a digital book than Amazon (NOT the publisher) charges for the print version. Oh, the inhumanity of it all.
"They talk about how they don't think the price is reasonable -- or they don't want to get stuck with annoying DRM, or they don't want to have to deal with noisy people at the theater, or who knows what."
Precisely. Who knows what. Solve almost any problem, and they'll switch to a different argument. It's almost as if most of those arguments were little more than rationalizations.
As if they were simply justification for stealing anything and everything that they want, and paying ONLY when it suits them... or on those rare occasions when they have no choice.
"Some people will never pay. Forget about them. They're meaningless. Focus on the folks who now appreciate your work, and look for ways to get them to pay to keep you moving forward."
Unfortunately, that's subject to the "free rider" problem. And game theory tells us that sooner or later the sucker who's paying for everyone else will eventually get tired of being the sucker.
Re: "MPAA... they got the law put in place by lying to Congress."
"This holiday season, invite the usual family and friends over, power on the DVD player/media center and provide a good ol'fashioned performance by sharing a movie for all to see."
Bingo. That's sharing a movie with your friends.
Sharing 10,000 copies with complete strangers is something else, entirely.
And if your computer system is in one of those places, it will no doubt use one of those codes to indicate such.
Over the years, they probably have over 200 such locations reported and stored in their database, and did a database query to count them. Or would you been happier if they'd said, "over 200 countries, territories, and locations, including a few countries that have been renamed, and some that no longer exist?"
Feel better now?
Regardless, you're quibbling over a simple technicality in what, for you, is an extremely lame attempt to discredit them and their findings. I really expect better from you.
Of all of the things to quibble over... Mike is actually trying to refute their numbers based on country codes?
How about facts instead? There are 239 current ISO 3166 Country Codes USED BY COMPUTER AND DATABASE SYSTEMS. Plus dozens more that have been deleted or are in transition.
Visa and MC have reached the point where they can make or break businesses and industries. They're effectively currencies, in and as of themselves. Amex is a distant third, and all of the rest (IIRC) barely add up to Amex.
So. Do we really want two corporations deciding what's "right" and what's "wrong"?
If the president of Visa is a staunch Republican, should he be allowed to squelch any site that takes donations that benefit the Democratic party? Or vice-versa? Just because they don't want to do business with them?
Do we want Visa and MC to start dropping companies because they supply abortion equipment and the presidents of both of them are against such things? Or because they don't like against someone's religion? Race? Sexuality? Or again, politics?
We don't allow bankers and lenders and employers and schools to discriminate based on any of those criteria. Visa and MC privileges should be no different.
If the business or activity has been JUDGED illegal, then fine. Otherwise, hands off.
"...AND sell a lot more books through the Kindle platform."
That is, for the Kindle apps on the iPhone, iPad, Android, and so on. As to who wants one... it appears as if a lot of people do. They're selling 'em like hotcakes at $139, and blew through a thousand or so used ones at $89 in just a few SECONDS.
Mike is confusing the publisher with Amazon again. The PUBLISHER is discounting the ebook to $18 from $26. About a 30% discount. But as you pointed out, it looks like Amazon picked up some cheap copies at wholesale from somewhere, so AMAZON is discounting the paper book's price below that of the ebook price.
Not only does Amazon still make a profit, but they also benefit from the sputtering rage generated by all of the ignorant masses who read Mike's article and think that the PUBLISHER'S are screwing them, all because Amazon's artificially lowered discount price is below that of the publisher's discount ebook price.
This benefits Amazon, as they in turn can use the turmoil generated in further price negotiations with the publisher. Get the prices down, and Amazon will sell a lot more Kindle ebook readers, AND sell a lot more books through the Kindle platform.
In fact, this is happening so often that I tend to suspect that Amazon's pricing strategy is deliberate. They're willing to take a hit on a few books now, just so they can dominate the ebook market later.
Finally, the comparison to used prices is just stupid. Follow that logic, and apparently we're supposed to discount the price of every digital purchase to a buck, just because some scratched used physical CD or DVD is available for $2 at Half.com.
Re: A good point and one that I have been pointing out
Of course, the Japanese manage to do it. The Chinese manage to do it. Students who go to school in India manage to do it. Calculus. Physics. Latin, for Christ's sake.
So just why are AMERICAN students too stupid (or lazy) to learn any subject even remotely advanced?
No one expects them to be experts in the field. On the other hand, EVERYONE should be able to read and write, handle math, know how to communicate, and have a basic knowledge of history, civics, science, the arts, and so on.
Let children learn only what they want, and you'll end up with a generation of video game junkies and ex-high school football player wannabes that will fight tooth and nail for the next opening at Wal-Mart. They're CHILDREN. They have no clue what they're going to need later on in life.
We need doctors and engineers and scientists and teachers. Lot's of them. We do not need stupid, ignorant couch-potatoes unable and unqualified to hold a job or make even the simplest of decisions. "How do I feel about global what???"
Posted this the other day, but it's just as applicable here.
Here's a great article on how Israel handles security at their airports. Note the emphasis on properly training PEOPLE as opposed to buying and trusting multi-million dollar machines to do the job.
On the post: Once Again, If You Don't Offer Authorized Versions Of Released Content, Don't Be Surprised If People Get Unauthorized Copies
Classic demonstration of rationalization tied to immediate gratification disorder:
I want it! I want it! I want it NOW! NOW! NOW! NOW!
I can't have it NOW??????
Well screw waiting until it's available, I'll steal it!
They MADE me do it!
On the post: Twenty-Five Years Since The Challenger Explosion
Re: NASA is a mirror of the US in general - never quite able to get there.
Perhaps you could tell us where you live, so we, in turn, could marvel at the many skills and wonders of your particular homeland?
If any.
On the post: Apple Using Special New Screws So You Can't Open Your iPhone
Re:
On the post: Apple Using Special New Screws So You Can't Open Your iPhone
Re: Re: Re: Device over user
On the post: Apple Using Special New Screws So You Can't Open Your iPhone
Re: Device over user
The Retina screen is custom, the motherboard is custom, the battery is custom, and all of them are shoehorned into a space that couldn't even hold a spare business card. In short, there's practically NOTHING a typical user (or even a typical geek) could repair or replace anyway.
On the post: Apple Using Special New Screws So You Can't Open Your iPhone
Re: Re: Suddenly this is a big deal?
And funny how you mention the home button, as that may well be the ONLY part you could possibly fix on your own. Unless you have a stock of proprietary iPhone motherboards, displays, and batteries on hand, of course.
On the post: Rock & A Hard Place: Will Google Dropping H.264 Lead To Antitrust Questions?
Re: Re: Open but not free...
And is it just me, or is this a clear double-standard? Google states that they're dropping H.264 in order to support more "open" technologies. Okay, fine. But why, then, are they supporting a proprietary technology (Flash) on Chrome and their Android devices?
There, and I quote, they say it's because people should be "free to choose".
Sorry, but Google needs to do a dictionary search on their own web site. The word is "hypocrite".
On the post: Piracy Isn't The Problem, A Bad Business Model Is The Problem
You never hear this argument? It comes up all of the time. It comes up for music, for software, for movies, and even for books.
As to price... hah. Pick ANY price, and sure enough there will be someone who will suggest that even that price is too high for a "digital copy that costs nothing to produce." Cut THAT price in half, they say, and they'd be a customer. They'd more than make up the difference in volume. Right.
It's all about evil corporations who are looking only to screw the consumer. Heck, even here you hear that argument just because Amazon charges people 20 cents more for a digital book than Amazon (NOT the publisher) charges for the print version. Oh, the inhumanity of it all.
"They talk about how they don't think the price is reasonable -- or they don't want to get stuck with annoying DRM, or they don't want to have to deal with noisy people at the theater, or who knows what."
Precisely. Who knows what. Solve almost any problem, and they'll switch to a different argument. It's almost as if most of those arguments were little more than rationalizations.
As if they were simply justification for stealing anything and everything that they want, and paying ONLY when it suits them... or on those rare occasions when they have no choice.
"Some people will never pay. Forget about them. They're meaningless. Focus on the folks who now appreciate your work, and look for ways to get them to pay to keep you moving forward."
Unfortunately, that's subject to the "free rider" problem. And game theory tells us that sooner or later the sucker who's paying for everyone else will eventually get tired of being the sucker.
On the post: Author Tries Honest Approach To File Sharers: Not Upset, But If You Want To Support Me, Here's How
Surely he can sell them a t-shirt.
On the post: MPAA Reminding Universities They Need To Crack Down On File Sharing -- Leaves Out How It Lied To Get The Law Passed
Re: "MPAA... they got the law put in place by lying to Congress."
Bingo. That's sharing a movie with your friends.
Sharing 10,000 copies with complete strangers is something else, entirely.
On the post: Homeland Security Gets Walmart To Tell You To Inform On Your Neighbors
Re: Wait . . .
On the post: Avast Claims Single Pro License Installed 774,651 Times Around The Globe
Re: Re: The trouble with quibbles...
Over the years, they probably have over 200 such locations reported and stored in their database, and did a database query to count them. Or would you been happier if they'd said, "over 200 countries, territories, and locations, including a few countries that have been renamed, and some that no longer exist?"
Feel better now?
Regardless, you're quibbling over a simple technicality in what, for you, is an extremely lame attempt to discredit them and their findings. I really expect better from you.
On the post: Avast Claims Single Pro License Installed 774,651 Times Around The Globe
The trouble with quibbles...
How about facts instead? There are 239 current ISO 3166 Country Codes USED BY COMPUTER AND DATABASE SYSTEMS. Plus dozens more that have been deleted or are in transition.
http://userpage.chemie.fu-berlin.de/diverse/doc/ISO_3166.html
And that's not even counting any that might have been entered or reported to their system incorrectly.
Hey Mike, why don't you contact them and get some facts, instead of simply making fun of numbers it's clear that you don't understand anyway.
On the post: How Political Pundits Get Confused When They Don't Understand That Wikileaks Is Distributed
Re: Re:
On the post: Visa & MasterCard: KKK Is A-OK, But Wikileaks Is Wicked
Re: again, its their choice, within the law.
So. Do we really want two corporations deciding what's "right" and what's "wrong"?
If the president of Visa is a staunch Republican, should he be allowed to squelch any site that takes donations that benefit the Democratic party? Or vice-versa? Just because they don't want to do business with them?
Do we want Visa and MC to start dropping companies because they supply abortion equipment and the presidents of both of them are against such things? Or because they don't like against someone's religion? Race? Sexuality? Or again, politics?
We don't allow bankers and lenders and employers and schools to discriminate based on any of those criteria. Visa and MC privileges should be no different.
If the business or activity has been JUDGED illegal, then fine. Otherwise, hands off.
On the post: Irony: Ebook About Clueless Media Moguls Costs Many Times Brand New Hardcover Version
Re: Re: Mike is confused. Again.
"...AND sell a lot more books through the Kindle platform."
That is, for the Kindle apps on the iPhone, iPad, Android, and so on. As to who wants one... it appears as if a lot of people do. They're selling 'em like hotcakes at $139, and blew through a thousand or so used ones at $89 in just a few SECONDS.
On the post: Irony: Ebook About Clueless Media Moguls Costs Many Times Brand New Hardcover Version
Mike is confused. Again.
Not only does Amazon still make a profit, but they also benefit from the sputtering rage generated by all of the ignorant masses who read Mike's article and think that the PUBLISHER'S are screwing them, all because Amazon's artificially lowered discount price is below that of the publisher's discount ebook price.
This benefits Amazon, as they in turn can use the turmoil generated in further price negotiations with the publisher. Get the prices down, and Amazon will sell a lot more Kindle ebook readers, AND sell a lot more books through the Kindle platform.
In fact, this is happening so often that I tend to suspect that Amazon's pricing strategy is deliberate. They're willing to take a hit on a few books now, just so they can dominate the ebook market later.
Finally, the comparison to used prices is just stupid. Follow that logic, and apparently we're supposed to discount the price of every digital purchase to a buck, just because some scratched used physical CD or DVD is available for $2 at Half.com.
On the post: What If We Gave Toddlers An 'F' In Walking?
Re: A good point and one that I have been pointing out
So just why are AMERICAN students too stupid (or lazy) to learn any subject even remotely advanced?
No one expects them to be experts in the field. On the other hand, EVERYONE should be able to read and write, handle math, know how to communicate, and have a basic knowledge of history, civics, science, the arts, and so on.
Let children learn only what they want, and you'll end up with a generation of video game junkies and ex-high school football player wannabes that will fight tooth and nail for the next opening at Wal-Mart. They're CHILDREN. They have no clue what they're going to need later on in life.
We need doctors and engineers and scientists and teachers. Lot's of them. We do not need stupid, ignorant couch-potatoes unable and unqualified to hold a job or make even the simplest of decisions. "How do I feel about global what???"
On the post: TSA Agents Have 'Limited Ability' To Spot Prohibited Items In New Naked Scanners
Re:
Here's a great article on how Israel handles security at their airports. Note the emphasis on properly training PEOPLE as opposed to buying and trusting multi-million dollar machines to do the job.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/744199---israelification-high-security-little-both er
On the post: TSA Does Full Grope Search On Screaming Three Year Old [Update]
Re: Re: Re:
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