What dollars? Wasn't the original Watchmen a huge financial bust? Along the lines of the studio guys saying they'd never do an R-Rated Comic movie again?
As noted by others, the movie wasn't a blockbuster, but the graphic novel is a perennial that's sold 2 million copies and counting.
April and June are in the same quarter.
The example was only meant to show that Microsoft has a poor commercial track record with their phones. And given that the roadmap was denominated in quarters, the joke couldn't easily be constructed in a finer time frame. Still, the writer's room should take note.
You should blame Google for making such deals when they aren't required to.
What does "required to" have to do with the issue? The relevant mechanism is "choose to," as in choosing what's best for Google's business. Cozying up to Universal versus pissing off some minuscule portion of the interweb is a decision denominated in dollars.
It's not true to say there haven't been any reports of widespread DRM on CDs, though. Look into, among others: * Macrovision Cactus Data Shield 100, 200, and 300 * Macrovision SAFEAUDIO * Macrovision TotalPlay * SONY Key2Audio * SunnComm MediaCloQ * Sunncomm MediaMax CD3 * TTR MusicGuard
Yes, there were a number of systems tried out during the first half of the decade. The technologies you name all date back five or more years. The majors abandoned this approach around 2006. There doesn't seem to have been any wide-spread release of DRM-based commercial music CDs for several years now. If you know of any, please point out DRM'd music CDs that have been released recently.
Maybe not rootkits or "effective" DRM, but it IS still there. Look at almost any music cd from the last 10 years. There will be a logo with something about the cd being "protected from unauthorized copying". Just because the DRM has been broken doesn't mean it isn't there anymore.
"Protected from unauthorized copying" is a warning of legal limitations, not an indication of a technical blockade. Standard music CDs do not have DRM mechanisms on them. Other than Sony BMG's rootkit (from 2005), there haven't been any reports of wide-spread commercial use of DRM on music CDs.
...I also no longer buy it either on CD or as downloads, because I object to the removal of my fair-use rights, and the unnecessary DRM schemes on both CDs and downloadable music that put artificial limitations on what devices I can use them with. It's been a decade or more since I last paid a cent to anybody other than private artists selling their own music.
Other than the Sony BMG's rootkit, there hasn't been widespread DRM employed on CDs. LIkewise, Amazon and other on-line e-tailers have been vending DRM-less MP3s for years now.
Look at your $60-120 cable bill and tell me there isn't something else that would make you happy with that money.
We downgraded our cable service to basic. Instead of $90/month, we pay $30. I smile every month when I look at the bill and realize that there's $60 less per month going to the cable company. That makes me happy. I don't even need to spend the money on anything else. I could crumple up six ten-dollar bills and throw them in the gutter and feel happy that I wasn't sending them to the cable company.
Be free and open and breezy! Enjoy! Things won't get any better so get used to it.