More likely it's just because Bill Gates' protege Ballmer doesn't think software should be free. See his infamous Computer Users Group letter from circa 1977. He cited the unfairness of gaining the benefits of software authors' time, effort, and capital without paying them.

It's also reminiscent of how Microsoft sent letters to schools warning them that using open source and/or pirated software could be dangerous with possible legal consequences. As a result we have stories like Karen the Teacher sending a student to detention, because he was handing-out Linux OS discs. (She thought she was doing the right thing based upon Microsoft's warnings.*)

MS actively fights against open source.

*
* "No software is free and spreading that misconception is harmful. These children look up to adults for guidance and discipline. I will research this as time allows and I want to assure you, if you are doing anything illegal, I will pursue charges as the law allows."

>>>loss at ã120 then the "hurt feelings" at ã1,000,000.

That's not quite how it works. The courts sue the company the value of the product PLUS a multi-million dollar punishment to discourage the corporations from acting like assholes in the future.

AKA punitive damage. I'm surprised the UK doesn't have a similar way of punishing corporations, else they'd just keep screwing the citizens again and again.

>>>I know of two lifetime replay TV units that are still getting data

They have cable and still receive cable updates. But when freeTV Analog was turned-off, replayTV stopped supplying the data to those users.

Of course RTV could still supply FreeTV digital, but they simply choose not to. Instead the screen comes-up blank as if no over-the-air stations exist.

They have cable and still receive cable updates. But when freeTV Analog was turned-off, replayTV stopped supplying the data to those users.

Of course RTV could still supply freeTV digital, but they simply choose not to. Instead the screen comes-up with just one lowpower analog station, and none of the digital channels. (I get about 50 of them.)

>>>loss at £120 then the "hurt feelings" at £1,000,000.

That's not quite how it works. The courts sue the company the value of the product PLUS a multi-million dollar punishment to discourage the corporations from acting like assholes in the future.

AKA punitive damage. I'm surprised the UK doesn't have a similar way of punishing corporations, else they'd just keep screwing the citizens again and again.

>>>>>10MB broadband.
>>
>>Ah it means speed, not volume. I am in Australia so 10MB seemed strangely low [data cap]
.

This is funny. Up above we had a discussion about how diluting terms like "brick" can cause confusion when speaking to other people, and now here we see an example of that.

It's not 10 MB broadband. It's 10 MB per second or 10 MB/s broadband. The former is not correct, but the latter is - volume versus speed. (If this was college, the professors would take half a point off for having an incorrect answer.)

>>>Lifetime of the service, not of the box or your lifetime.

Like all lawyers
you're a dick
that has never seen pussy. That is NOT what the agreement said.

The Supreme Court has long held (since the 1800s) that searches at international borders don't require a warrant.

This is nothing new.

>>>Jailbreaking provides value

Precisely. The Commodore=64 and Amiga 500 were the most-pirated computers ever made (pirates cracked software within days & shared them online), and yet both were the best-selling computers of the mid-80s to early 90s. The fact these Commodore machines were "jailbroken" made them extremely desirable, because people knew you could get software for almost no cost.

Jailbreaking provides value and sells hardware.

>>>smart enough to realise (and have the restraint)

For me it's not high IQ, but "restraint" certainly has a lot to do with it. I don't see the need to spend ~$600/year for an internet-capable smartphone when my "dumb" phone can be had for $0.00 a year. (I only get billed when I use it - which is rare.)

Similarly I don't have cable TV. I used to when it was a decent price ($400/year) and Sci-Fi actually played sci-fi, but since the price skyrocketed to $900..... forget it. I put-up an antenna and now get 40+ channels for free.

BBC has a real problem understanding the concept of "archiving". For some reason they think just because they are done with the sites, nobody else wants them either, so just erase them.

It's somewhat similar to how they destroyed 1950s and 60s television tapes.

>>>Since when has Fox employed "news reporters?"

About the same time MSNBC hired reporters. (Oh that's right - they didn't.) Here was their coverage from the night of the election, "Newly-elected Senator Rand Paul will refuse to raise the Debt ceiling, and he will be personally responsible for creating another depression in 2011." And Rachel Maddow who I used to think was intelligent, replied: "Oh yeah I agree with you. It won't be good."

Wow.

Bottom Line: Both NBC and FOX are poor sources of information. The truth lies somewhere in the middle of their two progressive/liberal and christian/conservative viewpoints.

Mass transport is a highly inefficient means of travel - I don't mean energy use. I mean time wasted at either end waiting for the damn bus or metro. As example:

My former boss took 1.5 hours to get to work on the VA train. It took me half an hour by car. The reason it took him longer was because of the half-hour walk to the station, and another half hour to the job.

I always prefer the faster route over the slower route (in terms of my personal travel time).

The American Dream is about being free from tyranny, to live your life however choose to live it, not living like a Middle Ages king (i.e. in comfort). I'd sooner be middle class and free, then rich and have an internet firewall (China censorship).

Oh, and China ranks poorly on the internet scale. Looking just at continent-sized nations or federations:
Mbit/s
12.3 Russian Federation
10.3 US
10.0 EU
9.3 Canada
8.0 Australia
5.7 Saudi Arabia
4.8 Brazil
3.8 China ---- way down here
3.4 Mexico
speedtest.net

>>>Your car is more inefficient, in terms of the value you can make of time spent.

Yeah but because I arrive an hour earlier than my boss each day, I also collect ~$250 more each week (after taxes).

>>>In your car, you better be focusing your attention

I usually listen to books-on-tape (or ipod), so it's not time wasted. And I've gone almost 600,000 miles and never hit anything, mainly because I stay in my lane and don't move from it (changing lanes is when most accidents occur, due to misjudgements).

I'll stick with my car, thank you very much.
As if my right as a Free person.