'Being Online' is way too broad a descriptor for spending leisure time.

I do not see any reason to differentiate between watching standard cable / broadcast TV and watching a movie, tv show, or other video content via a Netflix / Hulu / YouTube / whatever.

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Next time your in a 7/11, take a look at the section with prepaid cards for iTunes and Android. You can buy those with cash.

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/...

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For free to play games, the tech support is primarily viewed as customer support. They know how much you pay, and the level of attention you get will be scaled to how much you are known to spend. I know this from a previous job where I was implementing the code for our game to use a 3rd party tech support service.

It is not the fault of whoever ended up speaking to your wife, as call center employees are basically doing what they are told. But for the developers and publishers of Freemium games, helping or catering to players that generate zero revenue is not a priority. There is literally no incentive for the publisher to pay a customer support tech to help your wife who is not spending any money, as she is not really a customer.

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Fundamentally, Netflix created movies are the same medium as theatrical releases. Netflix has series that have won Emmy's. They want the same shot for their other content, particularly their documentaries.

There are a few good reasons for Netflix to want to do this.
  - Competition for and Recognition of Talent: Netflix's shareholders and such might not care if a movie gets any nominations. The actors, writers, and directors probably do.
  - Competition for Content: If someone makes a documentary, they shop it around. If the ownesr are hoping to win an Oscar, they will disregard Netflix if going with them means no chance of an Oscar.
- Free Advertising: Being able to point to movies that have won awards may attract subscribers.

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Of course the more popular Netflix became the more they wanted to charge Netflix. Netflix negotiates deals based on being able to show the content for X number of years. Lets say you own SuperAwesomeMovie 7, and you make a 3 year deal. You may assume that only 15% of Netflix subscribers will watch the movie, so you make a deal for 10 million dollars. If a year and a half into the deal, Netflix overall subscriber base tripled, you are now kicking yourself because your now only getting maybe 1/3rd of what you ought to.

DVD sales used to be massively lucrative, and a solid movie would sell 1 copy per potential viewer. You set your initial price high, and lower it over time to maximize your revenue. Maybe your movie is not a blockbuster, but if it did better on home video then in theaters, you were doing well.

Netflix has killed that revenue stream. Instead you have to negotiate a good deal for streaming rights. Netflix will know exactly how often your movie gets watched and what it is worth to them when the time comes to renew the deal. You can only make an educated guess based on disclosed number of subscribers.

For movie studios, Netflix is that one poker buddy who keeps cleaning you out every week. You need him at the table to play the game, but it would be nice to win once in a while.

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The problem with saying that these companies should be broken up is that there is that the United States is not the only country in the world.

Companies that operate internationally are all competing on the same playing field, but depending on which country their HQ is in, they are not necessarily playing by the same rules. The reason outsourcing is a thing is because those countries do not have the same labour laws.

My point: TenCent and Alibaba are Chinese companies. Why should China compel them to be broken up, and why should they subject themselves to American laws saying they are too big and should be broken up?

The United States can regulate activities within its borders and impose all sorts of tariffs, but I do not think requiring these companies get broken up is the answer.

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Ok, so you think Disney has too much of a monopolistic influence in entertainment. I disagree that it is a significant problem, provided that the contracts of the key content creators they have under their control are not unreasonably coercive. Being a bigger content provider does not worry me. I would be worried if they started buying and operating movie theaters or broadband networks (ie, buying Comcast).

Disney is fundamentally a creator of content. They own ABC and want to have their own streaming service, but the foundation of their power is the content they create.

They are not in a position to prevent other groups from creating content, and nothing they do can diminish the quality of the content.

Putting it another way, you are allowed to like both DC and Marvel comics. You are allowed to like Star Trek and Star wars. You may like one better than the other, but within the constraints of your own time and budget, you are free to enjoy both.

Unless they are in a position to force customers to be unable to watch competitors offerings, I do not see any real problem here.

Clearly you see a problem, but what is an ideal situation for you, and how does it change things from how they are now for a typical consumer?

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The argument for Universal Basic Income should not be based on any concept of fairness or trying to guarantee outcomes. That path is generally unworkable anyway.

It should be about self preservation.

If a societies wealth ends up too concentrated among a small segment of the population (say 10%), you are going to end up with 90% of the population having a huge incentive to destroy the social economic system that is screwing them over.

More bluntly, a rich person is able to live a life of comfort and luxury because all of his poorer neighbors are not envious and angry enough to want to tear his head off and take his shit.

If 90% of the population is living in poverty and squalor, the wealthy 10% have a good incentive to spread enough of the wealth around to keep that 90% content enough that they do not want to murder wealthy.

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Complaining about too much screen time misses the point.

The problem has never been 'too much video games' or 'too much facebook'. The problem is 'Not enough meaningful activities that improve ones quality of life". As long as any given individual is doing something that is personally fulfilling, and as long as they put enough time and effort into those things, it really does not matter how they use the rest of their time.

But if a random person has few friends, no hobbies, and lacks the means and opportunity to find and pursue something of interest to them, they are going to be depressed and isolated.

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Before 'Screen Time' became a thing with smart phones, it existed with The Internet, Game Consoles, and TV. Trying to arbitrarily reduce screen time is not really solving the right problem.

When this kind of issue starts to cause actual problems, you do not want to focus on minimizing screen time; You want to focus on maximizing activities that have either a social component, or that carries other benefits that contribute to general success in life.

Teens between 13 and 15 years old have a combination of a maximum amount of free time to pursue whatever interests they may have combined with minimal responsibilities. But when there is a lack of opportunity to pursue anything that can both engage their attention and benefit them in any meaningful way, there is no shortage of activities that can engage attention and provide nothing in return.

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When shopping for any new gaming console, NEVER pick the hardware first. Since this is for some kids, figure out which games the kids are going to want to play. If any of them are exclusive to one console or the other, then your decision has been made for you. If Gears of War or Halo is on the list, your getting an XBox. If Gran Turismo or Ultra Street Fighter IV are on the list of games that they want to play, get the PS4.

If the games that they want are multi-platform, then the next things to consider are which controller is better in the opinion of the players, and what platform their friends play on (if online competitive play is a drawing point for the kids).

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I tend to think of it a bit differently.

In my view of things, in any democratic society governed by the rule of law, people can only become as wealthy as the masses are willing to tolerate.

Maybe some of those who are rich managed to get there by hard work and talent, or maybe they were born into it. Either way, the only reason that the rich are able to stay rich, at a fundamental level, is that every other person in that society is willing to tolerate it. If the poor become angry enough, they will basically either steal all the shit that the rich person has by force, or just outright murder the fucker by forming an angry mob and going after them.

The basic income scheme can be viewed as the rich and powerful having enough foresight to see this possibility and trying to placate the mob sharing the wealth.

Besides, it also helps to keep in mind that those who are truly wealthy are in a position that which country they chose to live in is a near trivial matter of choice. If you have a billion dollars in the bank, and do not like the taxes in one place, you can afford to move to another place with a more hospitable tax regime.

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Set aside for a moment about which programming language you like to use the most, and how much it upsets you that "People you Do Not Know also Do Not Like what You Like". Many of us are employed to work on projects we did not start. In most cases, you are not going to start a job and tell people 'Henceforth, all code shall now be implemented in the One True Language'.

Assuming that, which language is going to get you paid the most and make you most employable?

I am a game developer, and I have worked on consoles and currently on mobile games. I have used mostly C++. But I have had to work with pure C and C#. Being able to write good code in C++ is primarily responsible for me being employed.

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I would want my daughter to know who her father is as a person.

There is a great deal about you that your child will remember. But there are clearly stories about yourself that you would never tell a 12 year old girl.
Things like the first time you got drunk, or did something that horrified your parents. Essentially, things that your best friends and wife might know but might not tell your child about.

So tell your kid about the first time you got drunk, but also say why you did that and what you were thinking. Tell you child about the most important decisions you made in your life, and why you made them. Tell your child about your regrets and what you wish you could have done differently. If you have any strong beliefs that are important to you, talk about them and why they are important.

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