Because sometimes it's serious.
Jobs: The most compelling reason for most people to buy a computer for the home will be to link it into a nationwide communications network. We’re just in the beginning stages of what will be a truly remarkable breakthrough for most people—as remarkable as the telephone.
via Longform Reprints: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs by David Sheff.
Being libertarian, and also a staunch supporter of private property rights, I’m totally against the whole Net Neutrality movement. Unfortunately i’ll have to revert to some simple analogies to make my points relatable to people that believe they have a right to others property (and vicariously their prosperity).
“The Government invented the Internet, therefore, access needs to remain neutral”, is one frequent argument. NASA engineers invented the microwave oven. Does that mean the public should be able to dictate how Amana or GE manufacture microwave ovens, and what is approved for cooking in those ovens? Of course not. Comparing the early “Internet” used by the state to today’s internet is like comparing a tricycle to a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Yes they both have wheels, but, well, you get the idea.
“Those big, evil corporations will control, restrict, charge for, and otherwise dictate what and how content is streamed to you.” Yes, they built the pipes, manage the pipes, and provide those pipes all the way to your router. Dictating that they must grant blanket access to those pipes to all content providers is nothing less than taking their property. Stealing. Socialism.
“But what if they somehow compromise my access to my preferred content (Netflix, Pandora, LastFM, WordPress, etc.)?” Of course content providers want to have a free ride on highways someone else built. They can optimize their revenue stream and shareholder value and push the cost of doing business to someone else. How can that be a bad thing as long as you (the consumer) get your episode of Real Housewives at no extra charge?
And that my friends is the bottom line. It’s not really about restricted access, it’s about free riders. The content providers and the consumers don’t want to have to pay to play. All the “what if” scenarios fall by the wayside, because they are just fear-mongering used by master manipulators to push an agenda. You don’t like how Comcast is treating you and your preferred content? Then move to AT&T. And that’s the solution the the problem.
An internet that is responsive to the will of the consumer is one where the free market is allowed to operate, and competition between content providers, internet providers, and those in dual roles (like Google) are vying for advertisers and consumers. It will ultimately drive down costs, up quality, and increase access. To get there will require government to quit interfering, and people to stop using the power of the state to impose their will on others. Just because it’s popular (democracy) does not mean it’s right.
By Rob Campbell
As the sub-prime mortgage crises continues to imperil the beleaguered US economy, North American homeowners may get some relief, from an unlikely source, online. Calgary based, Multiplied Media Corporation, [TSX-V: MMC] has designed a promotion to market their local search service, Poynt and help struggling homeowners make their mortgage payments at the same time. It’s generous, and ingenious; it’s a game with real prizes. In their persistent search for ‘early adopters’ the executives at Multiplied Media have designed a contest to attract some of North America’s 70 million instant messenger users. Throughout the month of March, the "Home Free" contest rewards participants with the opportunity to win a $250,000 Grand Prize, or one of two dream vacations worth $5,000, Microsoft Xbox 360’s, BlackBerry Curve or Pearl Smart Phones and literally hundreds of movie tickets and music downloads.
The user experience has two parts; after registering (for the contest) and adding ‘poynt@live.com’ to Microsoft® Windows Live™ Messenger or the screen name Poynt to AIM®, and after each ‘player’ has completed one valid search using Poynt, that individual will receive one game play on the contest website — the game features a unique cartoon map interface that dispenses useful tips and search protocol instructions. Five more valid searches in the real world earns a second play at the game in the cartoon world, and yet another five valid searches on Poynt are rewarded with a third and final game play in the contest website.
Some of us don’t need media celebrities to point out the merits of incorporating more homegrown, locally manufactured commodities into our personal and business lives. Consuming domestic produce is better for the environment, pure and simple. Local traffic means less petroleum is spent bringing goods to market, and that goes a long way toward reducing everyone’s carbon footprint.
At the end of the day, Poynt isn’t just another handy online resource – this powerful tool could help save the world. Now it’s finally possible to track all manner of environmentally friendly food, pet, clothing, and entertainment options close to home. With the click of a button, ‘local search’ helps evolve 21st century consumers.
Poynt’s Homefree Contest Sure, it’s a game; the same way a scratch and win card is a game. It’s really a paid comprehension test. Follow the instructions, and learn by interacting with the software as it makes relevant the abstract potential of Poynt’s local search service in each player’s life. Pay attention and you could win prizes.
What Kinds of Things is Poynt Good For? As participants must actually perform genuine local searches using this unique service, they might get some ideas from the contest. ‘Take Rover to the vet’, ‘Get a haircut’, and ‘Find a doctor’ are the first three things on most TO DO lists on the contest site. Participants will probably mimic the pattern in reality. Suddenly they will know the address of the nearest veterinarian hospital, and the closest barber shop, and medical center.
About the Author: Go to http://www.mypoynt.com/homefree/ to register and play the game; do a local search on Poynt, and perhaps you will learn something about your neighborhood at the same time.
Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=237464&ca=Parenting
By Rob Campbell
As the sub-prime mortgage crises continues to imperil the beleaguered US economy, North American homeowners may get some relief, from an unlikely source, online. Calgary based, Multiplied Media Corporation, [TSX-V: MMC] has designed a promotion to market their local search service, Poynt and help struggling homeowners make their mortgage payments at the same time. It’s generous, and ingenious; it’s a game with real prizes. In their persistent search for ‘early adopters’ the executives at Multiplied Media have designed a contest to attract some of North America’s 70 million instant messenger users. Throughout the month of March, the "Home Free" contest rewards participants with the opportunity to win a $250,000 Grand Prize, or one of two dream vacations worth $5,000, Microsoft Xbox 360’s, BlackBerry Curve or Pearl Smart Phones and literally hundreds of movie tickets and music downloads.
The user experience has two parts; after registering (for the contest) and adding ‘poynt@live.com’ to Microsoft® Windows Live™ Messenger or the screen name Poynt to AIM®, and after each ‘player’ has completed one valid search using Poynt, that individual will receive one game play on the contest website — the game features a unique cartoon map interface that dispenses useful tips and search protocol instructions. Five more valid searches in the real world earns a second play at the game in the cartoon world, and yet another five valid searches on Poynt are rewarded with a third and final game play in the contest website.
Some of us don’t need media celebrities to point out the merits of incorporating more homegrown, locally manufactured commodities into our personal and business lives. Consuming domestic produce is better for the environment, pure and simple. Local traffic means less petroleum is spent bringing goods to market, and that goes a long way toward reducing everyone’s carbon footprint.
At the end of the day, Poynt isn’t just another handy online resource – this powerful tool could help save the world. Now it’s finally possible to track all manner of environmentally friendly food, pet, clothing, and entertainment options close to home. With the click of a button, ‘local search’ helps evolve 21st century consumers.
Poynt’s Homefree Contest Sure, it’s a game; the same way a scratch and win card is a game. It’s really a paid comprehension test. Follow the instructions, and learn by interacting with the software as it makes relevant the abstract potential of Poynt’s local search service in each player’s life. Pay attention and you could win prizes.
What Kinds of Things is Poynt Good For? As participants must actually perform genuine local searches using this unique service, they might get some ideas from the contest. ‘Take Rover to the vet’, ‘Get a haircut’, and ‘Find a doctor’ are the first three things on most TO DO lists on the contest site. Participants will probably mimic the pattern in reality. Suddenly they will know the address of the nearest veterinarian hospital, and the closest barber shop, and medical center.
About the Author: Go to http://www.mypoynt.com/homefree/ to register and play the game; do a local search on Poynt, and perhaps you will learn something about your neighborhood at the same time.
Source: www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=237464&ca=Parenting
Any time the Government is your source of rights, your rights are contemptible things that can be vacated at a whim. In the case of France vs. Apple, the state is in effect saying that you have no right to your property (intellectual). France is a true democracy.
That is why true rights are "inalienable", derived from God rather than the State. The most significant being the right to Property.
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Apple sued over alleged iPod hearing loss – Tech News & Reviews – MSNBC.com
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All it takes is deep-pockets and some bozo will try to join the victim club. When will people learn that they can’t (and should not) be rewarded for their own ignorace and stupidity. I guess it will be when Judges and juries stop rewarding them.
Like that will happen.
