Argnoth - Slashdot User

Submission + - Netflix Stealthy Reduces Service, Keeps Prices the Same

Submitted by Nom du Keyboard on Monday July 21, 2014 @11:48PM

Nom du Keyboard writes: After seeing a drop in my DVD service from Netflix I got a customer service representative tonight to confirm that Netflix has ceased processing DVD returns on Saturdays nationwide. And that they did this without either notifying their customers, nor reducing prices to compensate for the reduced service. Given that the DVD selection still far outstrips their streaming selection, this may be news to others like myself who don't find streaming an adequate replacement for plastic discs. My experience up until recently, unlike Netflix's promise of a 1-3 day turnaround at their end which gives them lots of wiggle room to degrade service even further, had been of mailing in a DVD on day one, having them receive it and mail out my next selection on day two, and receiving it on day three. Now with them only working 5 days and many US Post Office holidays, they're still getting the same money for significantly less. Is Netflix still the good guy here?

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 1) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Monday July 21, 2014 @05:07PM (#47503571) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

Yes, straight-ticket voting is horrid. But again, in a multi-party system, things tend to balance out towards the center. In a first-past-the-post system, the two sides are encouraged to move to the extremes.

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 1) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Monday July 21, 2014 @05:04PM (#47503549) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

Actually, I'm a proud socialist of Canuckistan. And our system certainly has it's quirks and foibles (and outright stupidities) as well, don't get me wrong.

How One School District Handled Rolling Out 20,000 iPads 285

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 21, 2014 @03:15PM from the accident-waiting-to-happen dept.

First time accepted submitter Gamoid writes This past school year, the Coachella Valley Unified School District gave out iPads to every single student. The good news is that kids love them, and only 6 of them got stolen or went missing. The bad news is, these iPads are sucking so much bandwidth that it's keeping neighboring school districts from getting online. Here's why the CVUSD is considering becoming its own ISP.

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 1) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Monday July 21, 2014 @01:55PM (#47502231) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

It's better principles, maybe, but it also guarantees that your vote is tossed away.

The system, as is, is designed to not allow third parties to win. Therefore, by voting third-party, you're implicitly not voting for a candidate that could actually win.

Like I said in another post, change the system. Somehow.

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 1) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Monday July 21, 2014 @01:52PM (#47502201) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

Well, America kinda half-asses it. One one hand, it's a republic, whereby you elect representatives. On the other hand, you vote directly on various propositions and what not. It's bloody weird.

Comment Re:Texas? (Score 1) 172

by JWW on Monday July 21, 2014 @10:25AM (#47500357) Attached to: California In the Running For Tesla Gigafactory

No state income tax for businesses.

Really, this plant is building components for the cars built in California. There is actually no relation from the manufacturing side to the selling side here.

This decision should be made puerilely on balance sheet issues that allow Tesla to make batteries and cars as cost effectively as they can.

New Toyota Helps You Yell At the Kids 205

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 21, 2014 @09:43AM from the scream-better dept.

An anonymous reader writes If you're tired of yelling at the kids without the help of technology, Toyota has a van for you. From the article: "The latest version of the company's Sienna minivan has a feature called 'Driver Easy Speak.' It uses a built-in microphone to amplify a parent's voice through speakers in the back seats. Toyota says it added Easy Speak 'so parents don't have to shout to passengers in the back.' But chances are many parents will yell into the microphone anyway. And the feature only works one way, so the kids can't talk back. At least not with amplified voices. The feature is an option on the 2015 Sienna, which is being refreshed with a totally new interior. It also has an optional 'pull-down conversation mirror' that lets drivers check on kids without turning around."

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 1) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Monday July 21, 2014 @09:19AM (#47499881) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

No, see, that's the problem. You, as a voter, are presented with a choice. Do you vote for the candidate you actually want, knowing full well that the American system, as currently implemented, is specifically geared against third-party candidates? Or do you game the system, and aim for the best realistic outcome?

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 2) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Monday July 21, 2014 @09:16AM (#47499857) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

It's a democracy.

Given that the American government setup was SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED to avoid 'too much democracy,' I'd have to disagree with you, champ.

New York Judge OKs Warrant To Search Entire Gmail Account 150

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 21, 2014 @08:55AM from the we-want-everything dept.

jfruh writes While several U.S. judges have refused overly broad warrants that sought to grant police access to a suspect's complete Gmail account, a federal judge in New York State OK'd such an order this week. Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein argued that a search of this type was no more invasive than the long-established practice of granting a warrant to copy and search the entire contents of a hard drive, and that alternatives, like asking Google employees to locate messages based on narrowly tailored criteria, risked excluding information that trained investigators could locate.

California In the Running For Tesla Gigafactory 172

Posted by samzenpus on Monday July 21, 2014 @08:07AM from the if-you-build-it dept.

An anonymous reader writes Thanks to some clean-energy tax incentives approved late this spring, California appears to be in the running again for Tesla's "Gigafactory". From the article: "The decision should have been made by now, and ground broken, according to the company's timeline, but is on hold, allowing California, which was not in the race initially — CEO Elon Musk has called California an improbable choice, citing regulations — to throw its hat in the ring. 'In terms of viability, California has progressed. Now it's a four-plus-one race,' said Simon Sproule, Tesla's vice president of global communication and marketing, referring to the four named finalists — Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada — for the prize. That's heartening. Having the Gigafactory would be a vindication of Gov. Jerry Brown's drive to make California the home of advanced manufacturing, of which Tesla's battery technology is a prime example. With its technology, 'Tesla may be in position to disrupt industries well beyond the realm of traditional auto manufacturing. It's not just cars,' a Morgan Stanley analyst told Quartz, an online business publication last year.

Comment Re:if you've voted R or D... (Score 2, Insightful) 217

by SuiteSisterMary on Sunday July 20, 2014 @07:39PM (#47496899) Attached to: Ars Editor Learns Feds Have His Old IP Addresses, Full Credit Card Numbers

Nonsense. For example, if you voted for Ross Perot, you're directly responsible for the Republicans losing the White House. If you voted for Nader, you're directly responsible for the Democrats losing the White House.

Either go back to your government as intended; that is to say, without political parties, or accept the fact that there are, in fact, political parties, and change your government setup to work with that.

Comment Re:MS Research was meant to mop up talent, that's (Score 1) 161

by SuiteSisterMary on Sunday July 20, 2014 @03:11PM (#47495675) Attached to: Microsoft's Missed Opportunities: Memo From 1997

Microsoft isn't static. Take their utter dismissal, followed by 180 degree turn around and headlong rush into TCP/IP and the Internet. They're surprisingly agile, for such a large company. If they weren't, they'd have been eaten long ago.

Comment Re:MS Research was meant to mop up talent, that's (Score 1) 161

by SuiteSisterMary on Sunday July 20, 2014 @09:48AM (#47493803) Attached to: Microsoft's Missed Opportunities: Memo From 1997

The only reason Microsoft still has it's 'monopoly' is it's ability to change and refocus, thus preventing it's competition from disrupting them.

Were Microsoft static, it would have been supplanted long long ago. When is the last time, for example, you saw a piece of software which advertised, as a system requirement, "IBM PC or 100 percent compatible?"

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