Not really my point.

My point is that if a large company establishes "standard" pricing there will be areas where it works well, and areas where it doesn't. The big problem, which I guess I didn't touch on, is that the sheeple will just spout whatever price they are fed by a big company without thinking about the realities of the areas in which they live. "What do you mean that you won't install my bathtub for the Amazon price just because I live up a 100' flight of beautiful artistic rock stairs and the house has the original lead plumbing in it."

But like so many other things, the service is tailored to densely packed cookie cutter regions and will be force fit to areas that are outside the norms.

What caught my eye in the fine summary was "One of Amazon's goals is to help standardize the price for various services, so there aren't any surprises when the bill comes due." We live on a rural ferry served island. It is considered a destination for tourists and rich retires alike. The result is that the cost of living is significantly higher than on the other end of the ferry. The ferry consumes several hours for a round trip and is $40-$50 depending on the season so even if you commute from the mainland it is still quite expensive. So is Amazon going to tell a service person who registers here that they must charge the same amount as somebody on the mainland?

I can understand trying to normalized rates at a macro level like a greater metropolitan area or a large region, say "southern California", but to break it down detailed enough to take care of micro regions is going to be pretty tough, or expensive.

My biggest fear of this technology is that people may be investigated for no reason other than that their car was seen in close proximity to where a crime was committed. Police and district attorneys have been found to fit the evidence to match an individual. This has lead to, at a minimum an extended "interview" at the police station, and at a maximum being put to death. Was your car parked at the entrance to an alley while you picked up a pizza at the same time somebody was raped in the alley? How much money do you have for an attorney?

I don't know about most, but I'm sure many do. I know I do. My normal vehicle is my work E250. Occasionally I drive my wife's Subaru and frequently notice that I'm driving 10 or 15mph over the limit. While the Subaru can certainly handle corners and stop a heck of a lot quicker than the van, it doesn't make up for the one constant, human reaction time. We live in a rural area with narrow roads and a lot of twists and blind driveway entrances. Being able to easily keep one's speed reasonable would be a handy feature.

but how about if we don't kill people?

After all, aren't we punishing them for supposedly killing in the first place? What makes the government morally right for taking an action that they condemn in others.

Interesting comment to post as an Anonymous Coward. If you feel that strongly you should be posting from a username which is your true legal first and last name and include your phone number as well. Oh, and to prove you really believe what you are saying, post a compromising nude photo of yourself as well. Umm, on second thought skip the photo.

Yeah, yeah, I know, don't feed the trolls.

Oh for mod points. That would be a +1 funny.

But what about next time?

What about other vendors?

The quest to further "monetize" customers that have already paid for a product is one that more and more companies are doing. I understand the business reasons behind it, but what about the consumer's rights? Do we have any let? Superfish is an especially egregious example if this problem. It is, in essence, a back door installed into millions of consumer devices. The penalties on a company should be so severe that they couldn't just make it disappear in one quarter, but not so severe that it forces the company in bankruptcy. In other words it needs to be painful enough that other companies will think long and hard about possibly doing something similar, but stopping short of putting the head of the villain on a stick outside the castle walls.

Sadly, I think the extent of the punishment will be a little bad press for a few days, then they'll continue on as if nothing had happened.

Be careful with that advise. I friend asked my what specific recommendations I had for a product. I told him to buy anything but Brand X. A few days later he's showing off his beautiful new Brand X. I asked why he bought it and he said it was because he remembered me saying "Brand X". Most people these days are so tuned into brand names, it's the name they remember, not the good or bad behind it.

Sadly, I agree. I moved to the Mac world 10 years ago because I was tired of the constant struggle to keep Windows boxes working, both hardware and software. At that time, Mac was a breath of fresh air. It did just work. Now I'm with macalli, I dread each new update wondering if things will net out as better or worse.

For the first time every I'm going to use this expression....

ROTFLMAO

Unless you have some kind of super squirrel secret agent phone number, or your company is worth billions, please explain how to call any of these companies and actually talk to somebody that can _accurately_ answer your questions and just as importantly has the power to make a change.

And how is this different than most other endeavors throughout time which need significant funding? How many men were lost at sea exploring the world in search of trade goods for the ships owners? The list is virtually endless. I'm sure that Oog sent Uma to a probable death in trying to kill a sabertooth tiger in order to have the teeth to trade with the neighboring clan. Nothing has changed, and nothing will.

Oh no, can't sit on the living room couch. An engine might fall off a passing jetliner, crash through your roof, and kill you. Better get in your bomb shelter in the basement. Or, since you will need to remove all joy and sensation from life in order to be "safe", just skip to the end game instead.

Ford has it available. Go to http://owner.ford.com/

Perhaps others do as well.