From the change in the TOS:

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Am I misreading this? It doesn't look like Instagram is selling your data, only changing how they may use it.

i.e. Instagram is choosing to your use existing data as a part of targeted advertisements delivered to you. They are _NOT_ selling the data to advertisers, but instead saying to advertisers "Here's the types of data we have, you tell us how you want it displayed when your ads come up". As another Slashdotter already mentioned, "Hey Mike, Dave just got back from an awesome trip to Rome!". The service could grab a picture of you, grab a picture of Dave from his recent Rome trip, and do some swapping of bodies in the pictures. Then inject a message of "Image yourself enjoying Rome like Dave did".

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong but if I'm reading this correctly this is a pretty smart move. Instagram holds the data, the advertisers link to the data, but do not have a copy of it. They avoid all of the legal issues by not selling the data, and, make more money in the process.

Good discussion so far on how to erode brand value. I lost my preference for Linksys when their WRT54G models cut the amount of flash memory from 4MB to 2MB for no other reason than to improve margins. Now can't flash DD-WRT to the model. And, they tried to resell the 4MB flash memory models at a higher price as the "WRT54GL" model. Good job in destroying a loyal customer base.

Used to be if you wanted a reliable wireless router in your home, you paid an extra $10-$20 and got a Linksys. Belkin, NetGear, and most other brands used to crap, but now have caught up in terms of quality and kept their prices lower. That being said, the low margins I think are the other big reason Cisco is looking to drop Linksys. From TFA:

Hi AC. For a power user, the quick launch toolbar is your friend.

- If you have not put it at the bottom of your taskbar extending the length of your screen, you are not making good use of it.
- I have about 40 icons in my quick launch bar, no scrolling required, with plenty of room to spare in a 1920x1080 monitor.
- The only time I need use the Start Menu is when I access a program I haven't used in awhile (perhaps once a month I'll need to do this).

I agree the Start button needs to die. I don't agree with its current replacement.

Integrated authentication can be done with Firefox if you backend application(s) support it:
https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Integrated_Authentication

First hit off a quick Google search of "SPNEGO Firefox" - IBM WebSphere Application Server:
http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/wasinfo/v6r1/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.ibm.websphere.base.doc%2Finfo%2Faes%2Fae%2Ftsec_SPNEGO_config_web.html

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Your point on group policies is valid .. with a good reason for having it to distribute the whitelists needed for integrated authentication! Of the two features, this should be the more trivial of the two to implement. No idea why they haven't done so yet.

1) It cost me $1 on sale
2) They keep adding new content to the game free of charge.
3) Each level can be played for 1 minute - 1 hour if you so desire.
4) It simple to understand and can be played by all age groups.
5) Its non-offensive in almost every way possible.

Poster child? No.
Best example to date? Possibly.
Will something else come along in the future that will be stood up? Yes.

Do you have any links / case studies of where a coop ISP has been successfully implemented, lessons learned, etc.?

Some of the responses I'm seeing so far from other Slashdotters is amazing given the support towards Net Neutrality. You do not get to determine what is "malicious" from your point of view and decide whether to keep it on or off the Internet. It gets sent out, period.

- If my home ISP, workplace, campus connection, etc. has in writing via a TOS they can quarantine me from the rest of the internet for being contagious, I'm good with that.
- If said home ISP, workplace, campus connection, etc. suddenly decides to cut my connection without my consent and without the TOS stating they can do so, then I have problems with that. That changes the TOS by which I chose to interact with the other party originally.
- Give me advanced notice, I can choose to continue using that service or not for Internet connection.

Case in point: I no longer frequent Panera Bread for food+Internet access given certain locations limit how long (usually 30 min) you can use their WiFi during peak periods. They did give notice of their change in TOS in writing prior to my using their Wifi. I will continue to eat at Panera Bread if I don't need internet access ... that didn't change. I will not eat there if I need internet access ... that did change.

It depends on the Terms of Service. Not much more discussion to be had.

No need to spend the extra money on the coprocessor. Hit the "turbo" button on your computer case.

You are wrong here on one point. Monsanto holds about 40% of the market share at the most for a single crop. They are not by any means "monopolizing" the seed market. Oligopoly with the other big corporate players and thereby reducing the number of small seed companies, perhaps, but not a monopoly.

Your other points are valid. Resume popcorn eating and Monsanto bashing.

I want a pony dammit. And a pink one at that!

Sincere question: If that's the case, why not make the first set of DLC free? "Hey, we wanted to include this in the base product but had to draw a line somewhere". I understand there's a cost to publish/distribute through a console vendor (Microsoft being the worst). If there' a cost to publish/distribute, charge that amount only (say $0.99 or $1.99). Charging customers an additional 10-25% on top of the base product within a day or two of release really doesn't sit well with most folks.

Zaeed DLC for Mass Effect 2 introduced an interesting but noncritical character two days after product release. Additional DLC followed. I paid for most of the Mass Effect 2 DLC due to the high quality of the first DLC that was released. The DLC purchases added another 20 hours of total gameplay to a 40 hour game which I really enjoyed

EA has a rich 30 year history behind it. In the past 5-10 years, more power has been put into the consumers hands and has negatively affected their revenues. This is a general trend for the entertainment industry, where a movie/game/etc. can be killed within a day or two of being released. Not defending EA here, instead I'm saying they haven't responded well to this change in the industry.

Annual report is an interesting read:
1) High costs
- $4.1B revenue, $76M profit. Marketing was 21% of net revenue, General/Administrative was 9%, R&D was 29%. When the cost to sell the product exceeds the cost to develop it, there's a major problem.
- There's also a "cost or revenue" which ate into another 39% of the revenue. Other than third-party royalties which can't be avoided, this item looks really suspicious to eat up that big of a chunk.

2) Digital and mobile
- The report admits the current models of AAA console games needs to shift. The risk+cost is too high. Digital and mobile games at a lower overall cost and via direct sales to consumers works better. The acquisition of PopCap will hopefully gain them a strong brand to start in the mobile space. The Sims will continue to dominate the social space.
- I personally think Origin has a chance with PC gamers. However, it has started out really really poorly. You don't take a AAA title and throw a half-baked Beta digital distribution platform against it. For console games, I think digital distribution COULD work if done right. I'm not confident in EA's management to pull it off though given how poorly Origin started out on PC.

3) Work with your Customer
- Of all the things the annual report is missing ... focus on the customer. I see absolutely nothing listed for how they plan to incorporate their customers into their business model. You can't go into the digital or mobile space and expect to succeed without this incorporated into your strategy. Steam, Facebook and Apple all have gotten a LOT of things right in this regard, like them or hate them, they've gotten it right.
- EA needs to work with their customers, not against them. Do not pull another Command and Conquer 4 and introduce radical change in gameplay to completely destroy one of the best and longest running game series. Do not announce / force a specific release date for a game ahead of time if it needs more polish ala Mass Effect 3.
- Do not focus so much on the short-term, you are destroying your brand equity longer-term by doing so. The tinfoil hat part of me suggests the Extended Cut for Mass Effect 3 was planned all along, but would have taken too long to release ... after the end of EAs fiscal year (March 31st). This would have resulted in a huge loss for the year rather than a small profit.

A private purchase may return EA to profitability. It needs some significant changes and this may be the ticket to do so. Really feel sorry for the employees of the company ... they were already putting up with 60-100 hour work weeks ... this will just make things a lot worse. Probably better than the company folding, but not by much.

Diablo III's requirement for constant connection sucks bandwidth and takes away from the porn. That's the problem. In the future, I would recommend trying Porn + G/F or Diablo III + G/F, but not Diablo III + Porn. The two just don't mix.

Unlimited mobile broadband plans from Verizon/Alltel stopped being offered awhile ago. The last ones offered by Verizon were in 2007 before they established overage charges, and by Alltel in 2009 before the acquisition was complete. All grandfathered unlimited mobile broadband plans are well past the two-year agreement terms. Unlimited data plans on phone may extend a bit longer into 2013.

I am on a grandfathered unlimited plan from Alltel. This is the ONLY decent internet coverage where I live. Satellite and Dialup do not count. The other two big networks (Sprint/AT&T) do not reach my house. Right now, we average 50GB per month, topping out at 80GB one or twice a year (usually right around when Steam has their summer/winter sales). Based on current Verizon rates:
Highest tier current mobile broadband plan: 10GB at $80/month. $10/GB overage. Estimated combined cost ... ~$500/month.


Offer me a high-tiered plan that costs less than a T1 per month. 30GB is not enough, keeping going into 50GB, 80GB, 100GB range range for those of us that need it. $4 per GB is not unreasonable ... I would be willing to pay $200/month for my 50GB of usage. Others may not be willing to pay that much, in which case, they already have options for lower tier data packages and can moderate their use accordingly. Offer an option to your current heavy data users. You'd be surprised what your heavy data users are willing to pay given the opportunity.

Depending on how long the "on-call" lasts for. You really don't need high-tech for this, low-tech will work.