Posts by Uncle Ron

Facebook gets Weed-whacked: Unilever exec may axe ads over social network's toxic posts

WTF

Bill, WTF are you talking about? Your post is nonsense.

Re: Some say...

Sorry P., I have to ask you, "Who or what do you think is responsible for what you are describing?" The very "rot" you are describing is -exactly- the objective of all these phony activities. And of course it matters who is at the tiller. Our (the West) economic and political adversaries are fomenting the very confusion, division, and "rot" you describe. I agree that politicians and others in power take advantage of this increased noise level--they're genetically programmed to do so--but the noise level isn't real. It's fabricated by people who aren't on -either- side, and don't play for either "team," and only care about sowing the very social and political weeds you describe.

Smart people in the intelligence and espionage profession agree, and are publicly testifying today, that everything I said in my OP is true. Those that own the pathways that this "rot" is traveling through have a lot to answer for. It is not only FB, it is Twitter and other social media sites, -and- ISP's who knowingly host phony "news" sites. And yes, legitimate media who regularly pick up and run with questionable stuff. It stinks. The malicious players in this scenario are already working ferociously on (in addition to other things) significantly impacting the 2018 US Congressional elections. The US intelligence community is convinced of these facts, and are testifying before Congress TODAY about it. The danger is that those who got into power as a result of this interference will be likely to do nothing about it.

Some say...

Some say 10's of thousands of fake FB accounts were created over the last 5 to 10 years by hackers from the old Eastern Block. With activity and content directed from the Kremlin. From those accounts, 'likes' and 're-posts' and 'shares' by the millions made their way into the West with the purpose of causing confusion, shaping opinion, and spreading false news stories. In the end, these carefully and brilliantly planned activities generally made some things seem much more important than they are, some things much less, and some of the insanity was totally fabricated. The beneficiary of this chaos was not the Right, or the Left, or any particular 'movement.' The objective was (and still is) to make governments and institutions in the West seem weaker and less legitimate. Who benefits from this? The balance between East and West is a zero-sum game. If the West crumbles into chaos and illegitimacy, who gains? It's much, much cheaper to do this than to build armies and buy missiles. The old KGB master is a fucking genius.

Here's the real, real rub IMHO: FB could, should, and probably still doesn't, know and care that this is happening, where it is coming from, and how to stop it in it's tracks, along with all sorts of other misuse an abuse of it's pathways. Hell, if I had access to their insides, I could stop it in 24 hours. All of it. All the hate and lies and phony 'news' stories, and phony accounts--all of it. Why haven't they?

Google takes $1.1bn chomp out of HTC, smacks lips, burps

Mystery to Me...

Don't understand why HTC has fallen on such hard times. I have been using an HTC One - M7 for several years and have been -very- pleased with it. It is one or two generations back from current, but it has nice resolution, runs all my apps (except DTVN and Sam's checkout thing,) it takes kickass vids and very nice pics, I have several dozen movies stored on it, it runs Netflix and Plex very nicely, excellent 4G performance, and still has very good battery life after 2+ years. I just don't get why HTC isn't doing better. Perhaps they just don't understand marketing.

Dear US taxpayers, 4.5 BEEELLION of your dollars were blown on unapproved IT projects

Perspective...

I feel it is very important to keep in mind that there is quite probably a comparable story in the private sector as well. Small businesses, non-profits, to giant corporations all have "little," "personal," "departmental," or even "rogue" IT projects that somehow get past the watchful eye of the IT bureaucrats or detour around the "official processes." Adhering to the "rules" doesn't assure success, nor does bypassing the "rules" assure failure.

As sure as I'm sitting here, some of that $4+ Billion in projects produced good value, and some of the "legal" ~$15 Billion was a total waste. I also feel strongly that bypassing the labyrinth of procurement rules doesn't automatically mean graft, corruption, or incompetence. Huh?

HP Inc – the no-drama one – is actually doing fine with PCs, printers

Simple

IMHO, HP PC's and Printers are absolutely where they are because they understand DISTRIBUTION. Don't get me wrong, if they had crappy products, intelligent distribution wouldn't matter, but they absolutely understand what makes a reseller/retailer tick, and they know how to get the most out of all their distribution channels without tripping over themselves. Importantly, they -respect- their channels as partners, and not as 'underlings,' or as 'a necessary evil,' as I feel IBM and others do. This intelligence has been true at HP for decades.

HP engineer good products, but lots of companies do that. What sets HP apart is their totally separate (from engineering) cadre of people that -live- in the shoes of resellers and retailers. And that cadre is treated with respect -inside- HP as well. This is not new for HP. It is a tradition at HP that was probably started by some management genius 30 or 40 years ago. Again, IMHO.

Fresh bit o' Linux to spruce up that ancient Windows Vista box? Why not, we say...

Not a Noob

I have been diddling around with Linux for decades. I have used Windo$ for more decades. I have multiple machines set up for dual-boot. I have 8 machines (static and notebook,) and have several set up to play with. I don't play much any more. I have used Suse, Debian, Ubuntu and more. I'm on Ubuntu now. Here's the thing: I have never been able to figure out HOW TO INSTALL AN APPLICATION !!! Sure, I could read a book, but even with Ubuntu's Android-like 'store,' it is still unpredictable. And don't get me started on what happens when I install an OS update. It universally hoses Grub, and the boot script has to be manually revised. No, I'm not there yet. All my current machines run Win7 Pro 64 bit. I am desperate to get Linux up and usable and easy before MS abandons Win 7. BTW, I have never written a line of code in my life, and I don't want to look at obscure "run" commands and scripts. I want point-and-click. I want wizards to install apps. PLEASE. I want to replace Windows with Linux.

Sprint, T-Mobile US reignite mega-merger talks (again)

Oligopoly

Having a three-way oligopoly is, possibly, worse than a monopoly. These three could simply look sideways and slowly inch everything up, and everything down. No real competition any more. No innovation. Advance technology at a snail's pace. They don't have to collude, to collude. If this is allowed to happen, American is even more sunk than it already is.

One-quarter of UK.gov IT projects at high risk of failure

Balance

I feel it is only fair to point out that, IMHO, probably, 1/4 of PRIVATE SECTOR IT projects are also at "high risk of failure." Whichever "shadow government" happens to be in the shadows at any given time is only too happy to point out -any- projects (whether IT or otherwise) that fail to live up to expectations. This only serves to destroy the public's confidence in government. Think about it: The general consensus of the public in almost all Western democracies is that the "government" is inept, lazy, stupid, and wasteful. It is no more true in the public sector than in the private. The private sector simply doesn't get the open, public scrutiny that the public sector gets. Makes me sick.

IBM deep-sixes DeepFlash 150

Re: Linux boxes outsell Power ???

I think the OP knows this. I think, by "Linux box," he meant "server HW running Linux." And I know Power is HW architecture and Linux is an OS, the OP just 'mixed his metaphors' a little, huh?

IBM: ALL travel must be approved now, and shut up about the copter

Re: Effective use of time?

Pen, I'm a long time IBM'er. Believe me, the "divisional general manager" never sees -any- of these travel requests. S/he delegates ALL of this to his/her staff with all sorts of instructions. As sure as I'm sitting here, the GM mentioned in this article has hired several new "flunkies" entirely for this task.

IBM asks contractors to take a pay cut

The "MBA Syndrome"

Companies around the world--in every category of every industry--are falling ill due to a ailment which I call, "The MBA Syndrome." This rapidly disfiguring and slowly fatal ailment is caused by the infusion of individuals into an organization who are trained in nothing--nothing--but cost cutting, expense containment, downsizing, outsourcing, contracting, resource action, marketing double-talk, revenue enhancement, and related, growth-negating concepts. These infectious agents know -nothing- about the actual business the company is in.

The disease is spread from the actual carriers to surrounding non-MBA individuals. Upper-level decision-makers are particularly susceptible, as, in most cases, these decision-makers know nothing about the actual business either. The death spiral is well underway as the carriers jump to another host, or are absorbed into a consulting firm to infect other, sometimes smaller, companies.

Kill Google AMP before it kills the web

I have been a user of news.google.com for YEARS. Probably since inception. Lots of reasons, but it's clean, ad-free display and customization are the two big reasons. However, I have LONG noticed that, in addition to WAPO, NYT, NBC, CBS, The Hill, Politico, Atlantic, Huffpo, and more, all sorts of 'garbage' news sites get included. Sites with -terrible- grammar, questionable sourcing, bad journalism, and downright fake news. If Google allows this to get worse, and AMP certainly sounds like it will, I'm gone--maybe from Google altogether.

It's 30 years ago: IBM's final battle with reality

Re: PS/2 and OS/2

Nah. IBM (and many others) used the "/" for many, many products. Like System/360. It was a naming convention that seemed to lend weight, not division, to a product family.

Re: IBM was its own worst enemy

IBM was and still is it's own enemy. So many comments above reflect this so well. Eg: "IBM's mistake was that it tried to make money right away from MCA." So true. IMHO, it is the MBA's permeating the entire company that are the enemy. They know nothing about the business IBM is actually in, only about cost recovery, expense containment, and fecking business models. For the last 30 years, the real heroes in IBM have been the ones who cut the most, or spend the least, or pound suppliers the worst.

This virus is especially dangerous when a non-MBA contracts it. When they see who gets the most recognition, they can't wait to de-fund sales commissions or training programs or development staffs. They think they are "doing good." It is not only true in IBM. Companies all over the West are infected with the idea that reducing costs (and innovation) towards zero, and increasing revenue towards infinity, is all we should be working on. So, fewer Cheerios in the box, fewer ounces of pepper in the same size can, cut the sales-force, reduce the cost (and quality) of support, and on and on and on.

If there is one word that summarizes this disease, and a word I cannot stand to hear in -any- context, it is the word, "Monetize." It encapsulates all the evils of what I feel is the "Too Smart by Half" mentality. I cannot say how many times I have heard the phrase, "how much money are we leaving on the table?" or, "how many more will we sell if we..." and the room goes silent and a good idea is dropped.

I am sorry I am rambling, I am sad. Never be another System/360 or Boeing 747. Incremental from here on out. Elon Musk doesn't seem to be infected...

'I'm innocent!' says IT contractor on trial after Office 365 bill row spiraled out of control

Unique on the Planet

The office of County Sheriff in the US is the -only-, I repeat ONLY, elected law enforcement officer in the world. In the WORLD. It is an archaic and unnecessary agency. It is a highly politicized office and is populated with hacks, morons, corrupt incompetents, and criminals in their own right. Deputies and other employees are very often hired based on the "good-old-boy" methodology. The office of County Sheriff is an overlapping, redundant, and highly expensive agency and should be eliminated. Everything about a County Sheriff's Department is questionable, from it's hiring practices, to it's access to highly sensitive citizen data bases. It is a terrible situation in America, rife with abuse.

In this case, some kind of good-old-boy connection between the CoC and the Sheriff's office, perhaps a well placed political campaign contribution, may explain why this poor, stiffed, contractor finds himself in jail right now. Just sayin'...

Florida Man jailed for 4 years after raking in a million bucks from spam

My $0.02

Here's what I think: The global disaster that is spam e-mail, and the loss, dysfunction, heart-ache, and unnecessary load that it places on the Web, should be targeted with -far- more serious penalties that "48 months" in prison. If I steel a hundred bucks worth of spam from a 7-11 store I could very well get a TEN year prison sentence, but steel a MILLION dollars with a TRILLION spam e-mails and I get a lousy 4 years. This is just not right. It sends the wrong message to these assholes.

Trump's cartoon comedy approach to running a country: 'One in, two out' rule for regulations

Donald Trump is clinically insane. A significant portion (not all) of those who voted for him are also clinically insane. The rest are morons. The people he is bringing in to dangerous positions of power are incompetent and/or corrupt. Or insane. Donald Trump must be removed from office. He is not fit to be President. He is not fit to be at liberty.

Don't worry, America: Elon Musk says he'll have a word with Trump

Insane

Donald Trump's illegal immigration ban begins by invoking 9/11 three times. 9/11 hijackers were from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Lebanon. None of those countries are banned. None of the major attacks committed or attempted in the United States since 9/11, including 9/11, were committed by people who were from any of the seven countries included in the illegal ban. Donald Trump is insane. He must be removed from office.

Early indications show UK favouring 'hard Brexit', says expert

Huh?

Is it possible that the UK could quick BREXIT, then Parliament could move to quickly re-join? With or without another plebiscite? Would the EU object to this "regaining" of the UK senses? Doesn't the majority of UK citizens now believe it was a mistake, that they were misled? Huh?

IBM scraps loyal staffer gifts in favour of... a congratulatory social page

Miserable and Despicable

"We will cut our way to growth."

The MBA's employed by IBM have been trained in nothing but cost-cutting, cost-containment, expense control, and monitizing, monitizing, monitizing. Developing and exploiting a new technology is not something they know anything about. Buzzwords, hype, and nonsense complexity is all they know how to do. It is a total shame that IBM has come to this. But it was inevitable that the virus of B.S. would spread uncontrollably across the Apple Orchard and beyond.

IBM Fellows are not listened to, and the empty suits (and dresses) are the only voices with power. Too Damn Bad. Continually slapping employees in the face is certainly -not- a good strategy.

IBM shuffles units, axes staff, sees profit shrink

Cut

"We will cut our way to growth." The MBA's employed by IBM have been trained in nothing but cost-cutting, cost-containment, expense control, and monitizing, monitizing, monitizing. Developing or exploiting a new technology is not something they know anything about. Buzzwords, hype, and verbal complexity is all they know how to do. It is a total shame that IBM has come to this. But it was inevitable that the virus of B.S. would spread uncontrollably across the Apple Orchard and beyond. The IBM Fellows were not listened to, and the empty suits (and dresses) were listened to. Too Damn Bad.

Dear Windows, OS X folks: Update Flash now. Or kill it. Killing it works

Sick and Tired

I'm so sick and tired of Flash. I can't understand why it wasn't abandoned YEARS ago. It is bloatware, unbelievably buggy, stunningly insecure and destructive and dangerous, constantly being patched--it's just a piece of junk. I'd like to see some sort of Emperor Mandate that requires it's death by a date certain. Let's just say, on July 1, 2016, Adobe Flash or Shockwave Flash or whatever the heck it is, be disabled and trashed and no code will or can either require or use it. RIP.

Britain is sending a huge nuclear waste shipment to America. Why?

Re: So are you saying....

Sorry, at -least- a million lives (US and Japanese) were saved by the deaths of those 50 or 60K people. even if that is the lower end of estimates, and the real number is 200+K killed, saving 4 for every one killed was a good trade in my book. You doubt that Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the war? We killed a million burning down Tokyo and that didn't even phase them. No, using the A-bomb had nothing to do with penises.

Tonnes

700 Kg is only about 1500 pounds. How many tonnes of stuff have we shot into space? You could build hundreds of man-rated boosters with "escape" rockets in the event of launch failure, for the prices we're discussing here--plus hurtling it into the Sun assures the stuff never bubbles back to the surface. Why not do it this way?

FCC gets Bern notice on Charter-TWC deal

Wrong Headed

Some on this board are saying, "So what? They already have a monopoly on my house, the merger doesn't change anything." Of course it does. As the article states, the enormous debt that Charter will have to take on will leave it NO choice (and a terrific excuse) to raise rates, introduce Metered Internet Billing, and introduce other fees and practices to raise it's revenues and profits. Once the debt is paid down (not too many years) the usurious rates and fees and other practices will remain--and get worse. Because of the duopoly that will then exist between Comcast and New Charter, they will be "bullet-proof" in front of Congress, the FCC, and any state or local "regulatory" body. They are already among the biggest, best funded lobbyists and campaign contributors in the country, and their fleecing power will only become more pervasive.

The monopoly cable industry has publicly stated their prediction that "cable" bills (meaning internet service, as the TV part of it is dying) will reach $200 to $300 per month within 3 to 5 years. Remember, that's just for internet service, no content. Add on Netflix, HBO, Sports, CBS and whatever else, and you have a $3,000 to $4,000 a year bill--and huge profits for the monopolies. If this buyout is allowed to happen, it will prove the regulatory bodies are completely corrupt, and have given up on the public interest. It stinks.

This buyout cannot be allowed. It is in NO one's interest except the executives and stockholders. That's not good enough.

IBM to erase 14,000 people from the payroll – Wall St analyst

Focus

Balance Sheet Engineering, or BSE, a term I just invented, has overwhelmingly replaced product engineering at the IBM Company. And not only at IBM. BSE at any company is a result of the infusion of massive numbers of MBA's pushing out an equal number of IT professionals, scientists and others who actually know something about the "B" that IBM is actually in. Those IT professionals who remain are not listened to and have little to no budget to actually do anything other than cut, cut, cut the remaining cost and expense of their current products. Of course, no new ones. Except from Marketing (more MBA's.)

There isn't a seasoned IBM veteran, current or former, who would disagree that a small number of huge-ego executives, poorly equipped and badly placed, over the last several decades, is responsible for bringing IBM to it's knees. The company has been too clever by twice in trying desperately to whitewash over their careless, mindbogglingly stupid decisions in that time frame. The company should be run by computer science professionals, with nattering little MBA's tugging at the pants-legs or skirts, not the other way around.

Competition? No way! AT&T says it will sue to keep Google Fiber out of Louisville, Kentucky

De-regulation

I find it hilarious that corporations--and many/most businessman--promote, plead for, espouse, demand, and lobby/bribe politicians, to obtain, "de-regulation." They literally WORSHIP at the altar of "de-regulation."

Except, whenever something they don't like happens--then they go whimpering and sometimes screaming to the regulators to get them to regulate their competitors out of business, and/or enact further regulations for their own protection--very, very often, at the expense of you and me. Hilarious.

SCO's last arguments in 'Who owns Linux?' case vs. IBM knocked out

Re: weird thing is...

There -is- no SCO. There is only the lawsuit.

Axe to fall on staff at IBM's Global Technology Services 'this Friday'

Re: a resource action will happen this Friday

IBM in the US has referred to mass firings of employees as "resource actions" for decades. They don't call them layoffs because that word implies that those laid off might return to service as some later date. Of course that won't happen. They don't call them firings as that word is harsh, just as they don't call it dumping dead weight.

They don't call it redundancy in the US because that word infers that the jobs of those released were either not needed or duplicated by other employees. Neither of which is ever true. No, these employees are being shed because the expectations--demands--of stockholders cannot be met without dumping something. Common employees are the easiest thing to dump. IBM has gone -far- beyond shedding fat and has gotten deep into muscle and is sawing away at the very bones of the company. Has been for 20 years.

Terrible infections, bad practices, unclean kit – welcome to hospital IT

Disinfection

The -entire- healthcare "industry" in the US is the largest, most expensive, most out-of-control mess in the history of mankind. It is a multi-trillion dollar behemoth presided over by corrupt hypocritical elected and appointed officials, greedy and immoral business people, egocentric medical professionals, and significantly arrogant employees and managers. It is a total mess.

From unbelievable and convoluted and indecipherable billing practices, to the very process of actually scheduling an appointment, to selecting and paying for "insurance," to the myriad of surprises and failures at every turn, the only "cure" for this chronic infection on our society is a total make-over. We just have to have the political will to do so. But how do you develop that political will in the face of a million tons of propaganda and outright lies and paid deception that come from the profit centers and ego centers and PAC centers of the "industry?"

Kentucky to build 3,400-mile state-owned broadband network – and a fight is brewing

The Business of America is Business

The thing that "hampers the growth of private business" in this case, is the private business itself.

These US monopolies, and every one of the predecessor companies that they gobbled up over the last two decades, were licensed and made legal monopolies to do ONE thing: Dig trenches and wire up neighborhoods, communities and cities for CABLE TV. They -all- got into the ISP business BY ACCIDENT, and they have -all- done everything possible to create artificial scarcity, minimize investment, raise prices, and slow advancement to the greatest extent possible.

That we have allowed these regional monopolies to become the 800 pound gorilla lording over our telecom policy is a travesty of our own making. They must not only -not- be allowed to further merge (Charter-TWC) but should be broken up. They should be broken up not only into smaller companies, but separated into "common carrier" and "content" companies. The failure to implement this common-sense policy is proof of a completely corrupt legal and regulatory system in America. A total failure of consumer (and business and technical) policy.

Americans know who they should vote for next November. They probably just won't do it. The US Congress needs to be turned out of corrupt GOP corporate PAC representatives. They're screwing US consumers in IT, health-care, financial services, and more. America will go down the drain if this doesn't stop.

IBM still on a (downward) roll with 15th consecutive quarterly revenue drop

Transformation

Just as the old "huge margin," customer raping companies like Oracle and Microsoft--and even EMC--are tanking and running for cover, IBM is steadfastly moving to re-emerge, once again, as -the- essential information technology company. Those other companies--and many more like them--in their short(er) existence--had -one- idea, bled it's customers to the maximum extent possible, and haven't had another really interesting idea. IBM has had -many- ideas, usually the right ones, really good ones, and made a lot of money that customers usually weren't reluctant (usually) to pay.

No, I think IBM will prevail, perhaps as a lower revenue, but higher profit company, that continues to make headlines for innovation, value-add, and creating the future. If I -had- any money, I'd buy a lot of IBM.

Cardinal sin: Ex St Louis baseball exec cops to 'hacking' rival team's db

There is no evidence, none at all, that the intruder's intent or subsequent actions, had -anything- to do with "stealing" data. There is no evidence that he shared any data he accessed with anyone in his organization, or even made -any- use of it. There is no evidence that anyone else in his organization approved or even knew of his intrusion. His stated purpose (and I choose to believe him) was to determine if former Cardinals employees stole proprietary data or proprietary software or proprietary methods and tools from the Cardinals upon moving to another company (team.)

The above is not a defense of his stupid actions, but, IMHO, casts them in a completely different light, No?

Comcast joins the OpenDaylight software-defined networking party

Comcast, and every one of it's predecessor companies that it, and it's predecessor merged-into companies, gobbled up over the last two decades, were licensed and made legal monopolies to do ONE thing: Dig trenches and wire up neighborhoods, communities and cities for CABLE TV. They all got into the ISP business BY ACCIDENT.

That we have allowed Comcast and the other regional monopolies to become a "heavyweight" and an "800-900 pound silverback gorilla" is a travesty of our own making. They must not only -not- be allowed to further merge (Charter-TWC) but should be broken up. They should be broken up not only into smaller companies, but separated into "common carrier" and "content" companies. The failure to implement this common-sense policy is proof of a completely corrupt legal and regulatory system in America. A total failure of consumer (and actually business and technical) policy.

Americans know who they should vote for next November. They probably just won't do it. The US Congress needs to be turned out of corrupt GOP corporate representatives. They're screwing US consumers in IT, health-care, financial services, and more. America will go down the drain if this doesn't stop.

Wow, what took you so long? Comcast bends net neutrality rules

Re: If it walks like a Duck, etc.......

It doesn't have to "impact the efficiency" of anything in order to break the rules. The monopoly cable systems cannot unfairly advantage their own content vs. competitive offerings. That's not why the monopolies were granted. The monopolies were granted to lay cable--nothing else. To use the ownership of the cable to price-gouge consumers, unfairly profit, or disadvantage non-monopoly competitors is wrong and must be stopped. If it isn't stopped, we will be paying more and more for less and less, our technology will degrade, and will clearly prove that our system is corrupt.

There is no "private IP network." It is all delivered by the monopoly cable, a monopoly granted by "the government" (read: us) in order to get the monopolies to invest in something that might not have been built competitively. In other words, 2 or 3 companies would never have invested to duplicate digging trenches and laying cable. That's -all- they were chartered to do. Not to have "private networks" or to own sports networks, or movie studios, and then to have a delivery and pricing advantage over non-monopoly competitors. We have to begin to act and regulate and legislate on this basis.

Re: Its all going to get more complicated

Everything a cable system delivers today is digital. QAM is digital, IP is digital. It's all the same, just different protocol. It should no longer be distinguished by anybody. It shouldn't be "usage billed" or be considered a "private network." None of the "networks" a monopoly cable system uses are "private." They are all delivered by the regulated monopoly cable.

Cell phone and other wireless carriers are a horse of a different ass altogether.

Re: That's the point

"I'm fairly certain" you're wrong about what you think you're right about, as well as what is beyond you. The monopoly cable company doesn't have to be anywhere near your cable modem to know what your "byte count" is. Only the consumer doesn't know. A single IP address is assigned to your cable modem and linked to your bill at any single time. Believe me, they know -exactly- what your "byte count" is and where those bytes came from.

Also, multiple credible studies, done around the world, have shown repeatedly that the incremental cost, to the cable company, of delivering that "next byte," over and above some phony "data cap" or "usage cap" --that incremental cost--is almost nothing--nearly unmeasurable. These studies have shown that whatever they charge you is very nearly, almost entirely, pure profit. Further, such billing plans are actually a -disincentive- to the company to -ever- improve it's system or services or technology. Just create artificial scarcity and charge more.

That's what's wrong with our current setup.

You said, " it may have the effect of making their in-house offering more attracting than a third-party offering but what's wrong with that?"

What is wrong with that is that the monopolies were never granted for these companies to be in the content business in the first place. The monopolies were granted to spur investment in something that would be inefficient or impossible to get multiple companies to duplicate: Laying coaxial cable all over the place. For these monopolies to now be allowed to compete with non-cable companies--non-monopolists--using their ownership of the monopoly cable as a competitive advantage is outrageous and wrong on it's face. The monopoly cable companies (and to a similar extent, AT&T) have been allowed to encroach and expand into businesses they should have never been allowed to be in. It needs to stop. Comcast shouldn't own NBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, Comcast Sports Network, Universal Studios, and the rest. They shouldn't be allowed to put up a movies service that competes with Netflix, but doesn't count toward your data cap--IT'S WRONG.

Re: Loophole Schmoophole

Cable TV systems in the US operate under license from the FCC to "cross FCC boundaries" with their cable, regardless of which "DOCSIS" channel they exploit, with whatever protocol they choose, to get whatever service they concoct to deliver to consumers. They don't have a "private network." All of it is subject to FCC regulation. They get a MONOPOLY in return for being regulated. They can't use that monopoly to gain further advantage over potential competitors. If the courts don't rule as such, then the courts, as well as the Congress and the FCC, have been corrupted.

And further, if the policy of Metered Billing or Usage Based Billing, or Data Capping, or whatever you choose to call it, is allowed to prevail, it will be one of the biggest consumer rip-offs, if not -the- biggest, in US regulatory history. It is unprecedented, unjustified price gouging, and an actual -disincentive- to the monopolies to -ever- improve their systems. It cannot be allowed.

What upgrade cycle? Tablet sales crater for fourth straight quarter

Re: My Nexus 7 is three years old.

I just looked at the Cyanogenmod pages and I am NOT a candidate. I feel it is unbelievably complicated and convoluted. If you are a "civilian" this stuff is NOT for you. I'm not a programmer or a "hacker" or even a computer hobbyist. I'm just a semi-advanced user. There are offerings in Cyanogenmod for both of the Android devices I have (Nexus 7 2012 and HTC Evo 4G) so, GREAT. But, there's no way I can do this. There are just too many steps and too many places to go haywire and too many places to make an error and get bricked. Also, despite the great work these folks are doing, and the great writing they're doing to make things understandable for dopes like me, it's still not good enough. Too many terms I don't understand.

My 2012 Nexus 7 is still very, very good. However, Google decided -not- to support Marshmallow on it. Their support ends with the 2013 '7--and they've said M'mallow is the last upgrade for it. The reason I bought the Nexus 7 was to get a device directly from Android Central, without all the bloatware and forking of the other guys. But the SW is end-of-life and I'm screwed. I'm sure there's no technical reason, they just don't want to support a 3-4 year old device anymore. (They'll still do security updates--but they're not doing much of that anyway.) I don't think a couple/3 years is long enough. A perfectly beautiful, high-quality, high-performance, beautiful screen device is now obsolete.

So, I believe the mfg strategy across the board is to just stop supporting devices after a few years and make you buy a new one. My HTC phone is still terrific, but HTC's support for it ended with, I think, Android 2.4. Lots of apps don't run, and Sprint's new Spark network is dark on it. No more 4G LTE. It stinks.

AdBlock blocker biz bought

More and More Horrible

The entire internet experience is rapidly tumbling down the loo. Like every other commercial enterprise, websites are spending much more effort attempting to get more revenue from their product vs. spending to actually improve the product. Spend as little as possible and gather more and more revenue, as much as possible, is the mantra, delivered by their staff MBA's, of every commercial website.

Pop-ups and pop-backs, and overlays, and drop-downs, and unwanted videos, and animated gif's and more and more and more. If newspapers had slapped you in the face with adverts at every turn like the web does, they would have gone out of business a hundred years before they did. Go to any non-commercial or non-advert-supported website and see how stunningly fast the site loads and appears compared to ANY commercial website as it makes dozens of trips to other url's sending and receiving data and taking down metrics and accessing cookies on your machine and then gathering ad content from dozens of other servers all over the planet, and then spends multiple more seconds organizing, rendering, and finally displaying all the ads and commercials and other crap.

The whole thing is about to stink way too much. I have completely abandoned many sites I used to like.

Wikipedia’s biggest scandal: Industrial-scale blackmail

Scams?

The article says Wikipedia will be better "...without the scams, frauds and petty crusades which anonymity permits."

The ENTIRE internet permits scams, frauds and petty crusades because of anonymity. The world has suffered incalculable damage because of our tenacious adherence to the idea of anonymity on the web.

I feel that what made the internet great will soon make it useless. The reason is because most human beings are just no damn good. Most human beings are, in varying degrees, selfish, self-righteous slugs. Sometimes. Some human beings are just plain thieving, lying crooks all the time.

The internet is very close to being useless. A "fork" that ensures security, enriches corporations, eliminates anonymity, makes the 1% richer, protects rich people, screws the little guy, is inevitable.

Perhaps middle-aged blokes SHOULDN'T try 34-hour-long road trips

Terrible--And Wrong--Common Opinion

You say, "...users of such infrastructure should be the people paying for such infrastructure."

This is such a common and completely wrong opinion that I couldn't possibly let it go without a tirade: Are you NUTS! It is as completely wrong as is any other 'flat tax' philosophy. It is simple-minded, lazy, and, I feel, destructive. Somehow, we have all been lulled into this mode of thinking--by the Right and by the stupid media.

You can easily throw this idea on it's ear by conflating the word "users" and the word "beneficiaries." All public infrastructure, and in fact, ALL the features of a modern society--national defense, public education, the very rule of law, and more--benefit the "users" more, the richer they are. For example, in the States, Michael Dell "benefits" from the above features of our society, EVEN WHEN HE IS SLEEPING. He is "using" our toll roads to get his raw materials to the factory, his products to market, his employees to work, and his customers to the stores to buy his products. Yet he pays exactly the same couple of bucks to personally use those roads. They cost him -far- less personally than they would if the true benefit to him was assessed. Meanwhile, the tradesman, lower-class working man, and may others, are trying to figure out a way to get from Point A to Point B--without using the toll road--as he can't afford $60 a month toll to get to and from work every day. This isn't right, and this seemingly common-sense opinion needs to be thrown out with all the other trash.

Of course I'm referring here to the concept of "progressive" vs. "regressive" taxation. Our infrastructure (and much else) in the States is crumbling because the stupid, wrong, and unfair idea of "user pays" and "trickle-down" has taken such root. Fertilized by the rich.

Thank you.

The 'echo chamber' effect misleading people on climate change

Not Just Climate Change

The "echo chamber effect" is not only misleading people on climate change, but on all kinds of topics and issues from politics, foreign relations, trade agreements, religion, human rights and more. Just about every topic from settled science to feeding your cat has become controversial--because of, wait for it, THE INTERNET.

Hitler once famously said, "Give me a thousand followers, and I can take over the world." With the internet, it's now -very- easy to get a thousand crackpot followers. I'm not saying get rid of it, or censor it, just that humanity needs better education on this topic.

Yow! It's the HOT NEW 'Collections' from Google! Oh wait ... it's a Google+ thing

Picasa

I was an early, early rube on G+. Then I discovered it TOTALLY screwed up the Picasa album sharing process. Not only did it require the receiver to sign up for G+ to look at my albums, but it changed the format of actually -looking- at my albums. Couldn't use Slideshow anymore. It took me WEEKS to back out and I will never return. Now Google actually TELLS you when you sign up for G+ that your Picasa environment with be altered, and click here to approve. FU*K YOU.

Roku 3: Probably the best streaming player on the market ... for now, at least

I'm a Cynic

Here's a word I hate: Monetize. It was probably invented by some MBA from Wharton or Harvard or one of the other "No Value Add" institutions. It means the wringing out of every dime of revenue and profit from a line of business without having to really do anything new. In other words, you don't add anything real, you just take advantage of whatever competitive advantage it is you find yourself in to the maximum extent until you simply flog yourself out of business.

I feel Roku may be headed down this path. Roku has 10 Million+ users (read sets of eyeballs) they obtained by creating a terrific product. However, if you read their new "privacy" (read -not- privacy) language you'll see they fully intend to "monetize" those eyeballs to the very maximum extent they can. They probably hired an MBA to advise them along these lines.

If you are a Roku user, you know they can change your wallpaper at will from RokuCentral. You know, like on Mother's Day or Christmas or any other time they can do this, usually for one day. That could easily be a background ad for the "New Chrysler 300" or whatever other product their new "privacy" policy makes them think is relevant to you. Next will be little pop-up ads inserted right into the middle of your Netflix show. The new high powered engines in the Roku 3 and the newer Roku 4 will give them plenty of horsepower to do this.

IMHO, the web browsing experience has been completely ruined on most sites the last few years by all the pop-ups and pop-downs and video overlay ads, and all this stuff is eating up the new bandwidth and processor capacity and slowing down the whole show.

Watch for Roku to make you wait 5 or 10 or 15 seconds to get to your paid-for content by making you watch a 15 second ad and then popping up a little ad in the corner of your movie every 5 or 10 minutes. A Harvard MBA probably came up with this idea.

BTW, this is -exactly- what I'd do if I ran Roku--but it still stinks on ice.