That's a preposterous argument. Your post makes it seem like WM is a superior platform for your "adult" tasks. In reality, it's anything but. You are right though, there is a reason that people run Windows phones, but the reason is because they don't know better.

If only I had a mod points.

"Automagically" is not a word.

I prefer people that iron it.

Of course there are ways for ISPs to make more money. Caching FB content, guaranteed service for Netflix, or whatever...all that stuff does is make the ISP money. It's not doing me any favors. As it stands, I have no problems with my connection to FB, Netflix, or anywhere else. And my ISP has no problem paying their rent. Now, once they can start monetizing my QoS...it all goes out the window.

Like I said, contrary to your claim, the economics haven't changed. My internets are moving through the tubes just the same, and that's not going to change significantly in the future. ISPs' reward for upgrading their networks is that they don't get run over by the competition. There is no true gain to be had for users from any of this. If Cox cuts a deal with Facebook so that they get preferred service, I'm not going to see a discount on my bill. Know what I will see? A slow-down when I visit Myspace, or whatever other website that didn't pay the protection racket.

And to answer your question about why shouldn't ISPs be free to monetize their products however they'd like? Because they're monopolies. In many instances in America, government protected monopolies at that.

Not to get all ad hominem, but your OP falls flat. (My unqualified analysis? You get off on being contrarian for its own sake.) ISPs being free to do as you'd like will benefit nobody but the ISPs...and of course the Facebooks of the world who would have it that much easier to keep new competition at bay.

You're wrong about all of this.

AT&T did not offer people competitive or advantageous pricing for going to tiered service. They dropped the price $5 and added a cap. Hardly significant or a fair trade. Then they eliminated the unlimited plan, so of course people are signing up for the metered service. Grandfathered AT&T accounts are OK, of course. But I haven't met anyone who was happy with the way AT&T handled all of that. And trust me, before long, that price is going to go back up $5. That's why this kind of thing is always a net loss.

The economics of the internet, re: my ISP, are the same as they've ever been. I pay them $60 a month, and they deliver mediocre "broadband." It doesn't matter what the fuck I do with my internet connection. In the past, my bits maybe came from Geocities instead of Facebook, but none of that means shit re: an ISP. What has changed is that other people have started making a lot of money from their websites, and the ISPs want a cut.

Sounds like you probably needed to buy smarter when you bought those Minis. I'm smart, and I have a Mini, but I never would've bought it if I intended to run a modern video game on it.

ZING

You kinda sound like a 17 year-old know-it-all, but your uid says otherwise. The basic flaw I see with your case is that it seems like you just hang out with douche'y people. When I go out, 99% of "the guys I meet" (sounds kinda creepy in itself) are not the people you describe. I'm not saying the world isn't full of those people, but I somehow easily avoid dealing with them. The flaws aren't inherent to recreational social activity, they're in your implementation of it.

I lol'ed. Sorry I don't have mod points!

I was at Defcon this year (like always), and the people conducting this study were essentially paid per response, which I'm sure is quite common. We were standing on the Riv steps, during one of our many cigarette breaks, and some girl came up and asked us to do her survey.

Us: "This question doesn't really make sense."
Her: "Just check any box, I need to get them all filled."

And that's basically how it went. The question/answers seemed a little silly, and there were a lot of excluded middles. The surveyors knew nothing of the questions, and were just trying to get out there of (can't blame 'em). The answer space was a checkbox, and if you saw it, you'd see how easy it'd be to just fill out the rest of the boxes with similar answers if you wanted to go home.

The purpose seems to be to "ASK SLASHDOT."

Maybe he's counting on jury nullification!

There is so little real info in the piece, and none of it is particularly insightful or otherwise-unknown. Dunno wtf is wrong with OP that made him decide to sell that forum post like that. COME ON!

Seriously, really fucking good. The only worthwhile thing I've ever seen on Idle. My life, no shit, will forever be a little better than it was before now.