I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that way. I didn't get the "like us or else" message from reading the infographic. To me, it just looks like they're saying if you can't pay, those who contact us end up working something out, those who don't contact us, just don't pay and end up defaulting.
I've been a fortunate and happy Comcast customer, especially since I moved to my current residence. I get good (not as best as possible) internet speeds, very reliable service (almost no outages) and when needed, they comcast guy is usually available the next day, shows up on time and knows what he's talking about.
It's a great search engine, but I'm finding myself moving away from Google (albeit slowly) for this very reason. I've seen quite a few apps come and go (I was a big fan of Wave). Given how little faith we can have on the long term viability of a given app they come up with (google health anyone?) it's just to risky to start using something of theirs now.
BTW, Bing's a pretty strong competitor on the search front too.
Another conjecture (the first thing I thought of) is that people who make more are probably using broadband more (and/or higher speeds) and thus would see disconnect as being a more harsh penalty than those who might not use it as much.
I suspect this is taken a bit out of context, or maybe he just didn't make himself clear (or maybe he's a loon but happens to agree with my perspective a bit).
I agree that people (whether the "youth of today or my age or whatever) should know how to do some things on their own. You should know how to change a tire, put gas in your car (check youtube for the moronic people who just can't see to manage that) drive a nail in and hang a picture, etc.
You should have a basic understanding of how your computer/tv/DVD/etc. works vs. just where the power button is and how the UI works.
If your response to every question is lmgtfy, then you're probably spending a whole lot less time thinking critically than you should.
Mike, you said: "Wouldn't it be nice if we actually elected a principled politician? Do they even exist any more?"
Not wanting to start a "but he sucks, look at x" flame war, but in my opinion, Ron Paul would have been the best contender for "principled politician". Also Senator Wyden.
When you said "gee, how can we 'exclude' people?" I think what they're actually thinking is "gee, how can we 'monetize' people?" They don't want to exclude anyone (rather the opposite) they just want to find the way to make the most money per viewer as possible. Finding better/more convenient ways for viewers to consume content is not really part of their mindset, unfortunately.
What's sad is that this sounds very much like something I'd expect a US senator/congressman to write. Just about all of these could be reworded to something we're hearing from our "leaders" right now.
I "bought" the free version of Shazam back when I had my first iPhone. When they started to monetize their success (good for them) they were able to take all their users who had purchased the app for free and essentially convert them to fully paid versions. I continued to get enjoy the app with all the new features they were now charging for. During an iPhone migration, I briefly lost access to the app (It didn't recognize my new phone) but when I contacted them, I was able to provide proof of purchase and they re-enabled my account immediately.
I don't see why Bravo couldn't do the same thing. Apple should make this a requirement (surprised it's not already) that app owners retain whatever access they had when they purchased the app, regardless what they paid for it.
While I think SZC was dumb suing the bar, how has this really backfired for them? Will they make fewer movies? Will people not go to see their movies? Are they having to pay someone as a result of this activity? Yeah, they got some bad press (from people who are aware of this at all) but what else?
BTW, serious question, not rhetoric. Has there actually been any repercussions to their actions?
A little googling indicates Chicago's not the only one. From what I've seen, this isn't a copyright thing. Chicago does it only in a limited fashion. They restrict sketching in certain galleries where they have an exhibit that's only going to be available for a short period. They have high traffic volume through that area, so they limit sketching to avoid having people standing around (interrupting the other people who are moving through).
I may not like the idea, but if that's the reason, it seems like a reasonable approach. Allow more people to see the exhibit at the cost of limiting the amount of time artists can spend sketching.
While this will get cleared up, what if she lost a job opportunity because "she" posted that she likes to suck dick on her facebook profile? What else should be involved to make this a felony. If she said she was going to blow something up or do something violent? What's the line between casual prank and something that's damaging to her and others?
If you illegally break into someone's account and then do stuff, it's a felony. Hey, I have an idea, don't do that.
I don't think Apple is signaling that they're scared with this patent lawsuit. I think they're signaling that they have boat loads of money and are using it to hinder competition as much as possible.
After all, when you have more money than the government (Right Mike? :) ) you might as well use it to make sure you keep raking it in.
Just google "VMT" and you'll find a number of states, plus the Fed are looking into alternatives to the gas tax. The study the CBO did (http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12101/03-23-HighwayFunding.pdf) sounds terrible from my perspective, but I can see the the need for it. I just can't believe they'd capture all that personal info and not pass it on somewhere.
If it's true that roadway maintenance is funded through gas tax and that gas usage is going down due to higher fuel economy (hybrids, electrics, etc.) then I can see why we would need to come up with an alternate. I think the one the CBO came up with is not a good one, but I don't have any better ideas.
I'm one of the backers (I bid $20) and the latest update indicates they dropped the 3,000 backer limit. They're now sitting at over $80K in funding.
I like Mike's idea (highest bidder) but it might be challenging to implement. When you bid, you actually pay that amount. How would they work getting the money back to you if you don't bid high enough? I know this wouldn't be insurmountable, but it would mean a change in how they deal with the funding. I think it would essentially convert the process to a pledge method, then you have to worry about people bailing on the pledge when it's done.
Comcasts Xfinity app for the iPad does a marginally better job than the description of Time Warner's app in that you can watch a lot more shows. Same other restrictions apply (be a subscriber, be on your home wifi). I wonder why they're upset with Time Warner and not Comcast?
Meanwhile, ABC is just doing it themselves with their own app, which also works great (and as far as I know requires no subscription, no "your own wifi", etc.) They do show commercials that can't be skipped. I haven't played this aspect of it yet, but I understand you can also watch a TV show live (it's supposed to sync itself with the broadcast) so you can do even more stuff, like take surveys or vote on characters or something. That seems like the right way to go (for ABC). Get people interested in doing other things with the show, they then watch it live and so are exposed to the commercials.
Re:
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that way. I didn't get the "like us or else" message from reading the infographic. To me, it just looks like they're saying if you can't pay, those who contact us end up working something out, those who don't contact us, just don't pay and end up defaulting.
very funny, fortunately doesn't fit my experience
I've been a fortunate and happy Comcast customer, especially since I moved to my current residence. I get good (not as best as possible) internet speeds, very reliable service (almost no outages) and when needed, they comcast guy is usually available the next day, shows up on time and knows what he's talking about.
I'm the 1%
Moving away from Google
It's a great search engine, but I'm finding myself moving away from Google (albeit slowly) for this very reason. I've seen quite a few apps come and go (I was a big fan of Wave). Given how little faith we can have on the long term viability of a given app they come up with (google health anyone?) it's just to risky to start using something of theirs now.
BTW, Bing's a pretty strong competitor on the search front too.
(untitled comment)
Another conjecture (the first thing I thought of) is that people who make more are probably using broadband more (and/or higher speeds) and thus would see disconnect as being a more harsh penalty than those who might not use it as much.
(untitled comment)
I suspect this is taken a bit out of context, or maybe he just didn't make himself clear (or maybe he's a loon but happens to agree with my perspective a bit).
I agree that people (whether the "youth of today or my age or whatever) should know how to do some things on their own. You should know how to change a tire, put gas in your car (check youtube for the moronic people who just can't see to manage that) drive a nail in and hang a picture, etc.
You should have a basic understanding of how your computer/tv/DVD/etc. works vs. just where the power button is and how the UI works.
If your response to every question is lmgtfy, then you're probably spending a whole lot less time thinking critically than you should.
Do they exist?
Mike, you said: "Wouldn't it be nice if we actually elected a principled politician? Do they even exist any more?"
Not wanting to start a "but he sucks, look at x" flame war, but in my opinion, Ron Paul would have been the best contender for "principled politician". Also Senator Wyden.
I think you used the wrong word.
When you said "gee, how can we 'exclude' people?" I think what they're actually thinking is "gee, how can we 'monetize' people?" They don't want to exclude anyone (rather the opposite) they just want to find the way to make the most money per viewer as possible. Finding better/more convenient ways for viewers to consume content is not really part of their mindset, unfortunately.
(untitled comment)
What's sad is that this sounds very much like something I'd expect a US senator/congressman to write. Just about all of these could be reworded to something we're hearing from our "leaders" right now.
Shazam managed it fine
I "bought" the free version of Shazam back when I had my first iPhone. When they started to monetize their success (good for them) they were able to take all their users who had purchased the app for free and essentially convert them to fully paid versions. I continued to get enjoy the app with all the new features they were now charging for. During an iPhone migration, I briefly lost access to the app (It didn't recognize my new phone) but when I contacted them, I was able to provide proof of purchase and they re-enabled my account immediately.
I don't see why Bravo couldn't do the same thing. Apple should make this a requirement (surprised it's not already) that app owners retain whatever access they had when they purchased the app, regardless what they paid for it.
Backfired?
While I think SZC was dumb suing the bar, how has this really backfired for them? Will they make fewer movies? Will people not go to see their movies? Are they having to pay someone as a result of this activity? Yeah, they got some bad press (from people who are aware of this at all) but what else?
BTW, serious question, not rhetoric. Has there actually been any repercussions to their actions?
Not as bad as it sounds?
A little googling indicates Chicago's not the only one. From what I've seen, this isn't a copyright thing. Chicago does it only in a limited fashion. They restrict sketching in certain galleries where they have an exhibit that's only going to be available for a short period. They have high traffic volume through that area, so they limit sketching to avoid having people standing around (interrupting the other people who are moving through).
I may not like the idea, but if that's the reason, it seems like a reasonable approach. Allow more people to see the exhibit at the cost of limiting the amount of time artists can spend sketching.
MPAA could help here
We should ask the MPAA to do their little math/conflation tricks on these numbers. We'd end up with billions of people who are against SOPA.
Lee Anderson against John Barron (GA)
Looks like Lee Anderson has registered with the FEC to go up against John Barrow.
(untitled comment)
You're a day or so out of date. Apparently, Carrier IQ has already responded to the article you mentioned and said they don't provide data to the FBI.
http://gizmodo.com/5867693/carrier-iq-were-not-working-with-the-fbi
So maybe it's the second option, that the FBI is already looking into them.
I'm okay with it
While this will get cleared up, what if she lost a job opportunity because "she" posted that she likes to suck dick on her facebook profile? What else should be involved to make this a felony. If she said she was going to blow something up or do something violent? What's the line between casual prank and something that's damaging to her and others?
If you illegally break into someone's account and then do stuff, it's a felony. Hey, I have an idea, don't do that.
Apple's not scared
I don't think Apple is signaling that they're scared with this patent lawsuit. I think they're signaling that they have boat loads of money and are using it to hinder competition as much as possible.
After all, when you have more money than the government (Right Mike? :) ) you might as well use it to make sure you keep raking it in.
(untitled comment)
Hah! How soon before he's sued for pirating content? Good thing he's not trying to do this with a movie or USCG would be all over him, filthy pirate.
Utah is not alone
Just google "VMT" and you'll find a number of states, plus the Fed are looking into alternatives to the gas tax. The study the CBO did (http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/121xx/doc12101/03-23-HighwayFunding.pdf) sounds terrible from my perspective, but I can see the the need for it. I just can't believe they'd capture all that personal info and not pass it on somewhere.
If it's true that roadway maintenance is funded through gas tax and that gas usage is going down due to higher fuel economy (hybrids, electrics, etc.) then I can see why we would need to come up with an alternate. I think the one the CBO came up with is not a good one, but I don't have any better ideas.
They got their funding
I'm one of the backers (I bid $20) and the latest update indicates they dropped the 3,000 backer limit. They're now sitting at over $80K in funding.
I like Mike's idea (highest bidder) but it might be challenging to implement. When you bid, you actually pay that amount. How would they work getting the money back to you if you don't bid high enough? I know this wouldn't be insurmountable, but it would mean a change in how they deal with the funding. I think it would essentially convert the process to a pledge method, then you have to worry about people bailing on the pledge when it's done.
Xfinity and ABC do this better
Comcasts Xfinity app for the iPad does a marginally better job than the description of Time Warner's app in that you can watch a lot more shows. Same other restrictions apply (be a subscriber, be on your home wifi). I wonder why they're upset with Time Warner and not Comcast?
Meanwhile, ABC is just doing it themselves with their own app, which also works great (and as far as I know requires no subscription, no "your own wifi", etc.) They do show commercials that can't be skipped. I haven't played this aspect of it yet, but I understand you can also watch a TV show live (it's supposed to sync itself with the broadcast) so you can do even more stuff, like take surveys or vote on characters or something. That seems like the right way to go (for ABC). Get people interested in doing other things with the show, they then watch it live and so are exposed to the commercials.