Want to read Slashdot from your mobile device? Point it at m.slashdot.org and keep reading!

 



Forgot your password?
typodupeerror
×

Comment Planning (Score 1) 234

I'll bet most of that cash went into the rounds and rounds of planning and back-and-forth that come with ANY government project planning process, followed by user testing and compliance analysis. The actual coding process was probably less than 10% of the cost. That's still high, but gov't contractors are very well compensated.

Comment Trap (Score 1) 536

If I create a simple, one page site the terms of service of which simply say "you are not permitted to use this web site unless you are Rinisari", I could turn them over to the authorities because they've committed a crime?

Comment Burden of the holder (Score 2) 303

The burden of preserving the "sanctity" of copyrights and patents has always fallen on the holder. This ensures that the holder is earnest in keeping their government-sanctioned property to themselves. It's simply a problem of our court system that enforcing these rights has become very expensive.

Comment Education? (Score 1) 130

Are they going to airdrop people who can teach them how to use this technology from the heavens? Some tools are intuitive. To people who have never seen a computers or even really much technology at all, computers are not.

Comment What a waste (Score 2) 920

No one should have thought that this We the People thing would bring about any measurable change. It's an exercise in false hope of efficacy in the legislative/executive process. 150k signatures supporting marijuana legalization/reform and the best answer they could come up with is a bunch of scare tactics and anti-drug rhetoric based around studies that were ineffective and the lack of studies because of the nature of the substance being tested.

You want real change for marijuana policy? Run for local office, get people to support you, and defeat the incumbents who stand in your way. Get the local laws to support your goals and work your way up the chain.

As for the education funding reform response, it's just pushing the Obama administration's education agenda. The petition signed by 32k visitors called for a bailout of recent graduates as the best economic stimulus possible for that generation. The response is nothing more than what you'd expect to receive from a Congressperson when you write vehemently in favor of or opposing a piece of legislation: the Congressperson will summarize the bill, summarize their position, and essentially say "thank you for your feedback".

Again, if you want real reform, get elected and don't let yourself get corrupted. Good luck; you'll need it.

Comment Let's do some math (Score 2) 349

Let's assume 25M subscribers at the standard DVD + Streaming plan, which I believe was $11/mo. We can chop off a few zeros and still get the same effect, so let's do that and keep our math simple.

25 * 11 = 275

I think the cheapest is now $16 for both, so let's figure out what they'd be making if everyone who stayed kept the same plan at the higher rate.

24 * 16 = 384

Let's derive a quick formula.

(24 - x) * 16 + x * 8, where x is the number of people who choose DVD /or/ streaming.

24 * 16 = 384 = (24 - 0) * 16 + 0 * 8

Now, let's solve for 275, to assume they'd be making the same amount.

275 = (24 - x) * 16 + x * 8

I put this into my handy equation solver because I'm too lazy to work it out in my head and can't find paper/pen...

x = 109/8, or 13.625.

Netflix could go down to 10.375M users of the DVD+streaming, and have 13.625M users of one or the other and still make the same amount of money.

Methinks Netflix did their math beforehand. They're going to be making bank, and savvy shareholders are buying now on this dip on bad news. Happens every time. Netflix is here to stay, for as long as the content owners will allow it to exist.

Comment Internet (Score 1) 607

I would pay extra for it through not cable. If I could drop another $2-3/mo on my Netflix subscription to have Syfy's entire back catalog and new shows available day-of-release on Netflix, I'd do it in a second.

And I haven't had cable, thus not watched Syfy except at friends' houses or on Netflix since 2007.

Slashdot Top Deals

He who steps on others to reach the top has good balance.

Working...