Re: Just a thought...
* in the words of Bill Hicks…
21 publicly visible posts • joined 22 Jun 2009
"So a bit better than flipping a coin"
Assuming they used the highest level categories there are around 30 so random chance would be more like 3 - 4%, if they used the lower level categories (somethng like 20k I believe) then you're looking at a fraction of a percent...
However no point in doing in that fast really when you can train for a bit longer and get to ~90%
"As someone noted, though, the Kindle reboots multiple times in so doing. Why would this be necessary for a key change unless something else is happening internal to the device?"
I believe there is a minimum supported firmware version before it can install the March 2016 update so if you haven't updated for a very long time there may be multiple updates...
"it isn't bad compared to selling through conventional retail outlets"
Ignoring the fact that the internet isn't a conventional retail outlet, you'll probably notice that the price of a magazine/paper in the shop is a lot higher than if you buy straight from the source - something which Apple has specifically disallowed.
"Apple seems to be largely covering its costs"
Are you having a laugh? 30% for payment processing - and you can't really argue that you're just covering costs when you're forcing people to use your service...
The main problem is it's being forced on everyone - for those that don't need payment processing, for those whose margins are too tight to give up 30% - tough shit, use our service or no more iOS apps, and it's going to mean higher prices for us (whether we use iOS or not) and less money going to the people who actually create/provide the content.
Surely a denial of service attack on a website - when people have downloaded the required software and have chosen to participate - is equivalent to lorry drivers doing a go slow on the motorway or people blocking the entrance to a shop.
Unless the people arrested were running a botnet I don't get why it's illegal...
"...preventing internet users from being accidentally exposed to child pornography."
In nearly 20 years of access to the internet, much of it with far less filtering/control (and including my teenage years spent pretty much exclusively searching for porn), i've never seen any child porn.
Anyone who says they viewed it by accident is a lying pedo!
"Yes, they may have had "millions and millions" of hits off the back of this affair, but will advertisers queue up to be associated with a site tarnished by it and whatever legal proceedings it engenders?"
Millions of millions of hits == millions and millions of ad impressions so I reckon most of them will deal...
What I don't understand is how Chen gets any journalistic protection when he's actually committed a crime, surely the shield laws are there to protect journalists who, for example, impede an investigation by refusing to name a source, not those who knowingly buy stolen goods..?
People who live out in the country are constantly banging on about all the reasons why living in the country is so much better than living in the city, they wouldn't give it up for anything etc.
Well there are disadvantages too... Suck it up!
Having said that it should be made easier to find out if somewhere has coverage or not before you buy i.e somewhere to put your postcode in and it gives you full (and easy to understand) information about coverage in that, and the surrounding area.