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Comment Re:Not sure what the fuss is about for indies..... (Score 1) 197

described as 'undervalued' relative to other streaming services

As opposed to those other streaming services continuing to lose money because the content owners keep charging too much and keep raising their rates?

Soon they will either have to make money, or fold. Music is in need of something, I don't know what. I'm still listening to music I bought decades ago, so I'm not sure how well I apply.

Comment Re:better question... (Score 1) 355

VLAN blocks probably won't last long. a simple 3g soc is in the several dollar range now. Supposed they split ad revenue with a cell provider so there would be no actual fee to the consumer and you'd have to wrap the fridge in tin foil to prevent ads, though in that case, I can't connect to the internet = non cold fridge. i.e. fridge is broke, call repairman...

Comment Re: Undefined (Score 1) 800

Wonder if it could be structured like vaccination. In that case, some people react badly to being vaccinated, and there is insurance and legal indemnity for those cases, since in the vast majority of cases, it is profoundly useful. Admit it won't always be perfect, but when it isn't, we deal with the consequences and move on. Would laws to that effect ever be allowed?

Comment Re:The real point of what Detroit has to offer... (Score 0) 398

You think the great lakes are inexhaustible fresh water? Also, they are getting more and more polluted and more and more water is being removed each year. I believe that we are near the beginning as to how political it will be. It may rival the American southwest as to how much each municipality is allowed to take each year etc.

Comment Re:Complacency (Score 3, Insightful) 262

They're compact enough to throw in a messenger bag along with a laptop.

And when somebody takes your messenger bag, *poof* there goes your data AND your backup. Happened to my father, he was always backing stuff up. But he put his backup in his laptop bag. His truck was broken into one evening and the laptop bag was stolen. The data on the laptop was worth many multiples of the cost of the laptop. He would have been happier if they left the bag and took the truck! A fairly new truck that was worth less than the data lost.

Comment Re:My spider sense in tingling.... (Score 1) 634

Having to prove the new medicine is both better than the old one, with less side effects is indeed a worthwhile endeavor. However, from things I recall, a lot of trials test the new medicine vs non-treatment via placebo, not against the current best treatment.

One other issue is a lot of side effects are seen many years down the road for the newer targeted medicines. Are the side effects caused by the drug or normal human variation due to aging?

The final thing that needs to be investigated is the people who demand 'medicine' for everything. If you just give them the 'right' medicine, they dont' need to do anything else. See also: prescribing antibiotics for viral infections, weight loss pills, etc. If society is going to be paying for health care, can we as a society force others to live healthier? I would be first on the chopping block for not being quite as healthy as I probably should be, but that is the question everybody ignores.

Comment Re:Jay Leno Re:balancing the scales (Score 4, Insightful) 307

Just don't commit any crimes...
Just don't be associated with those who commit crimes.
Don't be associated with those who are associated with people who commit crimes.
Certainly don't walk/run/drive/bicycle through any place that has recently had a crime committed.
Don't appear to be doing something worthy of being noticed, even if it is benign.
Don't get in the way of people who would rather have what you have.
Don't make people upset with you.
Don't let people get upset with you even though they don't know you.
Don't have the wrong skin color.
Don't have the wrong gender.

People may argue slippery slope, but most of those are already being used EVERY SINGLE DAY to target people. Collection = abuse. You can't get around having it, if you're not gonna have people use it. Occasional news reports about people at the DMV grabbing celebrities police reports and that is stuff people think is necessary to collect! What about everything else? Also, the security of databases stinks. More so via people than technology.

Comment Re:Buy a bag of nails, a bottle of propane, batter (Score 1) 405

If they haven't done it already, I'm sure they will soon do something like the following: We will lower the transactions fees for using debit/credit cards if you send us a list of items sold. (doesn't have to be with the transaction, just some time later would be sufficient, i.e. on a weekly or monthly basis). Though, now that I think about it more, it will go: We will RAISE the transaction fees unless you share the list of items sold...

Comment Re:Fundamentally Flawed (Score 3, Interesting) 183

People will not pay extraordinary amounts for slightly better hardware and software. (no apple doesn't count, they are good value for money, though you can't get good enough for low money from them.) Take for instance houses. People still make wood stick frame houses, even though they are quite lousy for insulation and longevity. A much better masonry or adobe house costs roughly 5-10% more, but they are very few and far between. Now take what most people are willing to pay for hardware ($0, free with subscription!) and software ($0). Now how does that figure into building them?

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