Don't be silly. They can't even get Google Maps to quit crashing.

By "others" I mean price-gougers like motels, airlines, etc. is that in these industries, EVERYBODY does it and they've been doing it for years so they get away with it. People expect airfare and lodging to cost more during holidays and special events. But Uber is a taxi company and taxi companies don't do this. It's simply not necessary. They have survived for decades charging whatever rate is posted on their door, which seldom changes due to inflation.

But go ahead, Uber. Do what you want. Once people realize they're paying more than conventional cabs, they'll be gone.

And when demand shrinks, the customers you had before won't be yours any more. I once worked for a cab company. When their only competition in town went out of business, they jacked up their rates for medical/blood deliveries. When the other company made a comeback, the doctors and hospitals switched over to the competitor. Moral of the story: gouging customers only works in the short term.

"I knew slashdot was right wing these days"

LOL really?! The leftist propaganda keeps me away from this site most of the time.

I have yet to see ANY OS "decay" with Linux. Been a daily user on several machines (Kubuntu and Xubuntu) for about 4 years now and haven't seen it yet.

For those in the UK, those people mentioned are all prominent politicians and businesspeople in the US who happen to be very, very wealthy.

LOL really? Like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and George Soros all do? Bill Gates and Warren Buffett can make this claim but few others can.

I think it depends on the distro. For a noob, I recommend Mint. Kubuntu works too. All other distros are probably left best with seasoned Linux users.

Amen.

Exactly. It's extremely annoying having FB pick and choose what I see. I keep my news feed on "Most Recent" all the time. But every once in a while, without warning, they pull the ol' switcheroo and change it back to what they think are the "Top Stories". No FB, I actually know everyone in my friends list and I like to keep with with all of them, not just the few I communicate with most.

This is somewhat over-simplified but Google can also zero in on human faces in street view in order to slightly blur them. It's all automated. I think it has something to do with scanning for skin tone hues and corrosponding shapes. We recognize that an object we see is a human because of how they are put together: arms, legs, a torso, chest, head. Yes, all varying in sizes and hues but not by much. Parental control engines scan images for what they consider to have excessive skin tones, especially when those tones are interrupted with other skin tones that make up things like nipples, public hair, etc. It's quite sophisticated indeed, but when Facebook can do facial recognition, considering that Google can flag an image of something like a child with a dick in his mouth doesn't seem too far-fetched.

Which is why I don't use gmail and I find it rather alarming just how many people are/have switched to gmail. This is not to say Hotmail and Yahoo are any better at minding our privacy but I don't use them anymore either - for the same reason.

I don't need them to do "rich document rendering" (whatever the hell that is) nor do I need them (or anyone else to) index the contents of my files. All I want is for someone to STORE the shit and keep it synced between all my machines. Dropbox does this very well.

As for encryption, I don't have time for that nonsense. Anything sensative such as financials is kept locally on my own server or burned to a DVD and put in the closet. I couldn't care less if someone gets a hold of my vast collection of pictures and documents. It is private, but not going to hurt me if someone at the NSA starts snooping around.

So a business found a way to cut costs and thereby increase profits? For shame!

Why would you apply to work for the same company that just kicked you to the curb? I'd tell 'em to go to hell.