bobbleheadbob
Apr 9, 10:28 AM
I'd love for Pokemon to be on iOS devices.
My kids would love that, too. Only problem would be trying to get my iPhone or iPad away from them! ;)
My kids would love that, too. Only problem would be trying to get my iPhone or iPad away from them! ;)
idevSteve
Apr 21, 09:33 AM
Yes well sort of they can launch a task to complete background.
They can keep a track of GPS co-ords. Ask to be woken based on events like distance or time, various location criteria, then ask to complete a task based on that wake up or to ask the user to make them key.
For a skilled developer this limilted multi-tasking seems to have opened up lot of function that is useful to me as a user. While being respectful of my battery and more importantly what i want the processor to be doing.
So I'm still confused as to what real world use advantage "Real" multitasking brings. I mean Android has it so there must be examples. What function do i miss out on.
Admitting that the only answer I've ever gotten in the past is to have two apps active on the screen so you can reference one will working in another.
Not sure why that needs the reference app to be active just needs to hold that view so I can scroll or copy and paste plus a UI that lets me pop that view in and out to suit.
So you can't watch the Wizard of OZ and listen to Dark Side of the Moon at the same time? Get a real phone. :D
They can keep a track of GPS co-ords. Ask to be woken based on events like distance or time, various location criteria, then ask to complete a task based on that wake up or to ask the user to make them key.
For a skilled developer this limilted multi-tasking seems to have opened up lot of function that is useful to me as a user. While being respectful of my battery and more importantly what i want the processor to be doing.
So I'm still confused as to what real world use advantage "Real" multitasking brings. I mean Android has it so there must be examples. What function do i miss out on.
Admitting that the only answer I've ever gotten in the past is to have two apps active on the screen so you can reference one will working in another.
Not sure why that needs the reference app to be active just needs to hold that view so I can scroll or copy and paste plus a UI that lets me pop that view in and out to suit.
So you can't watch the Wizard of OZ and listen to Dark Side of the Moon at the same time? Get a real phone. :D
wovel
Apr 28, 09:03 AM
Make up your mind what you want to count iPads as. Damn is it a mobile device a computer. Someone give them a ****ing category already.
It can count as a computer, net books do..
It can count as a computer, net books do..
wordoflife
Mar 18, 11:53 AM
I hate how these carriers work in the US.
If you give us a data allowance, that is what you give us - regardless of how we use it.
If you were giving us unlimited data, then I could understand why you would be charging for tethering. But that would go bad anyways.
I know its in the contract, but thats cheap.
If you give us a data allowance, that is what you give us - regardless of how we use it.
If you were giving us unlimited data, then I could understand why you would be charging for tethering. But that would go bad anyways.
I know its in the contract, but thats cheap.
hunkaburningluv
Apr 9, 04:00 PM
The problem with your view is that Nintendo is a JAPANESE corporation and they are still the boss over the USA counterpart. Apple has to kiss Japan's ass first to do that. I heard a very old story from the 1990s that Microsoft tried to buy them out which Nintendo of Japan's CEO, at the time, discussed and revealed in an interview.
Guess what? Nintendo of Japan gave Ballmer the finger. Secondly, Nintendo and Apple could partner up in a deal, theoretically, but a buyout will never happen. And no, the Daimler/Chrysler situation is not a good comparison for this industry.
there was also talk that both would share platform specs but market to different audiences too - it was never meant to be
Ninty have always made serious money from their hardware and no other gaming company can say that - usually they make a loss with the consoles and make the cash back up with licensing further down the road. No other platform (game wise) can say that. Ninty has enough money now from the wii and the ds/dsi to endure they are around for at least another few generations - they won't 'do a sega' and end up software (crappy at that) only.
Guess what? Nintendo of Japan gave Ballmer the finger. Secondly, Nintendo and Apple could partner up in a deal, theoretically, but a buyout will never happen. And no, the Daimler/Chrysler situation is not a good comparison for this industry.
there was also talk that both would share platform specs but market to different audiences too - it was never meant to be
Ninty have always made serious money from their hardware and no other gaming company can say that - usually they make a loss with the consoles and make the cash back up with licensing further down the road. No other platform (game wise) can say that. Ninty has enough money now from the wii and the ds/dsi to endure they are around for at least another few generations - they won't 'do a sega' and end up software (crappy at that) only.
Bill McEnaney
Mar 27, 09:17 PM
The goal of any ethical psychological treatment is only to treat the conflict that causes pain. The patient is considered healthy when his thoughts and behaviors do not interfere with his ability to lead a fulfilling life, not when he changes his thoughts and behaviors to ones endorsed by the therapist. Anything else is abuse of the patient and psychological malpractice.
But what if changed thoughts and changed behaviors would make people even happier than than they would be without the changes?
To tell someone who is in conflict over his sexual orientation that he must change it to be well is no different than telling an anorexic to lose more weight so she doesn't feel so fat. It is indulging the conflict to produce conforming behavior rather than treating the conflict to produce a healthy patient.
Not even Nicolosi tells his clients that they need to change their sexual orientation. He says that NARTH is for people who want to change it. In a video I posted to this discussion, he says that therapy doesn't work well for clients who tell him they want to change because the Bible teaches that they shouldn't have homosexual sex. You may already have read my post about Fr. John Harvey's apostolate to people who feel same-sex attraction. Again, that organization doesn't try to change anyone's sexual orientation.
But what if changed thoughts and changed behaviors would make people even happier than than they would be without the changes?
To tell someone who is in conflict over his sexual orientation that he must change it to be well is no different than telling an anorexic to lose more weight so she doesn't feel so fat. It is indulging the conflict to produce conforming behavior rather than treating the conflict to produce a healthy patient.
Not even Nicolosi tells his clients that they need to change their sexual orientation. He says that NARTH is for people who want to change it. In a video I posted to this discussion, he says that therapy doesn't work well for clients who tell him they want to change because the Bible teaches that they shouldn't have homosexual sex. You may already have read my post about Fr. John Harvey's apostolate to people who feel same-sex attraction. Again, that organization doesn't try to change anyone's sexual orientation.
toddicus
Nov 3, 08:08 AM
I have to say that I would have always agreed with you in the past. Apple just didnt seem to want to play in the mainstream desktop PC arena before. But if the Mac Pro goes 8 core (which is inevitible IMO) then there is a big yawning gap between the iMac and the Mac Pro, both price wise and performance wise. I dont understand why Apple seems content to leave it empty. Is it because there is no money to be made there?
I beleive that Kentsfield will allow them to fill it with a powerful machine that still allows them some profit margin. The 8 core Mac Pro will be a true professional workstation, with a price to match. It makes sense to slot something in a bit lower, esp. if the commodity price is lower for Apple (DDR2 ram instead of FB-Dimms, etc)
I think when they introduce cloverton it will be the top option. Probably two clovertons at 2.66 Ghz making the machine about 2,999 even 3,299. Making it the top machine, like the quad was with dual-core G5s. I don't think quad-core chips will sweet the line right away. So the base Mac Pro would stay the same, possibly even come down in a few months (even if only slightly) with probable price drops with quad-cores on the market.
this would make the gap between 24" imac and mac pro (dual 2 Ghz) not quite as big as if they were all 8-core mac pros
I beleive that Kentsfield will allow them to fill it with a powerful machine that still allows them some profit margin. The 8 core Mac Pro will be a true professional workstation, with a price to match. It makes sense to slot something in a bit lower, esp. if the commodity price is lower for Apple (DDR2 ram instead of FB-Dimms, etc)
I think when they introduce cloverton it will be the top option. Probably two clovertons at 2.66 Ghz making the machine about 2,999 even 3,299. Making it the top machine, like the quad was with dual-core G5s. I don't think quad-core chips will sweet the line right away. So the base Mac Pro would stay the same, possibly even come down in a few months (even if only slightly) with probable price drops with quad-cores on the market.
this would make the gap between 24" imac and mac pro (dual 2 Ghz) not quite as big as if they were all 8-core mac pros
Bill McEnaney
Apr 27, 04:35 PM
No gods exist. There is not a shred of evidence, ontological or otherwise.
Before Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria with his microscope, many probably would have insisted that there was not a shred of evidence that any microbe existed.
Before Anton van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria with his microscope, many probably would have insisted that there was not a shred of evidence that any microbe existed.
acearchie
Apr 13, 03:25 AM
I know they are linked on the front page but have a look at the screenshots http://www.loopinsight.com/2011/04/12/first-screenshots-of-final-cut-pro-x/
It looks good and has installed a bit more faith in me having a look at something more high-res.
I agree with Lethal, when Apple updates there website (probably closer to release) everyone will get their feature list and calm down! Plus I want to see what more it has to offer!
It looks good and has installed a bit more faith in me having a look at something more high-res.
I agree with Lethal, when Apple updates there website (probably closer to release) everyone will get their feature list and calm down! Plus I want to see what more it has to offer!
WestonHarvey1
Apr 15, 11:27 AM
Not what he said, but how he said it. But you already knew what I meant.
People tossing out random verses from the Pentateuch/Torah to defend or condemn religion is problematic and is above most people's pay grades. There are plenty of rabbis and other scholarly folks who can help people understand some of these harsh and difficult passages. Of course, it's easier and way more fun to remain ignorant of these books to play "gotcha!" with other people's religious beliefs.
The modern view of homosexual sex in all the orthodox Christian religions is so tame and simple it's almost boring. It's just premarital sex, which is considered sinful. It's not morally worse than heterosexual premarital sex. And yes, marriage is considered to be between a man and a woman in these religions, so yes, that does really suck for the orthodox gay Christian.
People tossing out random verses from the Pentateuch/Torah to defend or condemn religion is problematic and is above most people's pay grades. There are plenty of rabbis and other scholarly folks who can help people understand some of these harsh and difficult passages. Of course, it's easier and way more fun to remain ignorant of these books to play "gotcha!" with other people's religious beliefs.
The modern view of homosexual sex in all the orthodox Christian religions is so tame and simple it's almost boring. It's just premarital sex, which is considered sinful. It's not morally worse than heterosexual premarital sex. And yes, marriage is considered to be between a man and a woman in these religions, so yes, that does really suck for the orthodox gay Christian.
AP_piano295
Apr 26, 01:27 PM
Not all religion is about the belief in God. In Buddhism (http://http://buddhismbeliefs.org/), it doesn't matter one way or the other if God exists or not. In many ways, my thinking follows the Buddhist way. By it's very definition (http://http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion), atheism can be considered a religion. #2 a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects: the Christian religion; the Buddhist religion.
Atheist believe in the non-existence of God; some as fervently as Christians believe in one.
As for trying to prove or disprove the existence of God. Many men and women, much smarter and better qualified than me, have tried. All have failed. I don't bother with the impossible.;)
I'm getting tired of shooting down this massive and prevalent mis-conception over and over again so I'll just copy paste my post from the "why are there so many atheists" thread.
For a start atheism (ass I see it) is not a belief system, I don't even like to use the term atheist because it grants religion(s) a much higher status than I think it deserves. The term atheism gives the impression that I have purposefully decided NOT to believe in god or religion
I have not chosen not to believe in god or god(s). I just have no reason to believe that they exist because I have seen nothing which suggests their existence.
I don't claim to understand how the universe/matter/energy/life came to be, but the ancient Greeks didn't understand lighting. The fact that they didn't understand lighting made Zeus no more real and electricity no less real. The fact that I do not understand abiogenesis (the formation of living matter from non living matter) does not mean that it is beyond understanding.
The fact that there is much currently beyond the scope of human understanding in no way suggests the existence of god.
In much the same way that one's inability to see through a closed door doesn't suggest that the room beyond is filled with leprechauns.
A lack of information does not arbitrarily suggest the nature of the lacking knowledge. Any speculation which isn't based upon available information is simply meaningless speculation, nothing more.
Atheism is no more a religion than failing to believe in leprechauns is a religion..:rolleyes:
Atheist believe in the non-existence of God; some as fervently as Christians believe in one.
As for trying to prove or disprove the existence of God. Many men and women, much smarter and better qualified than me, have tried. All have failed. I don't bother with the impossible.;)
I'm getting tired of shooting down this massive and prevalent mis-conception over and over again so I'll just copy paste my post from the "why are there so many atheists" thread.
For a start atheism (ass I see it) is not a belief system, I don't even like to use the term atheist because it grants religion(s) a much higher status than I think it deserves. The term atheism gives the impression that I have purposefully decided NOT to believe in god or religion
I have not chosen not to believe in god or god(s). I just have no reason to believe that they exist because I have seen nothing which suggests their existence.
I don't claim to understand how the universe/matter/energy/life came to be, but the ancient Greeks didn't understand lighting. The fact that they didn't understand lighting made Zeus no more real and electricity no less real. The fact that I do not understand abiogenesis (the formation of living matter from non living matter) does not mean that it is beyond understanding.
The fact that there is much currently beyond the scope of human understanding in no way suggests the existence of god.
In much the same way that one's inability to see through a closed door doesn't suggest that the room beyond is filled with leprechauns.
A lack of information does not arbitrarily suggest the nature of the lacking knowledge. Any speculation which isn't based upon available information is simply meaningless speculation, nothing more.
Atheism is no more a religion than failing to believe in leprechauns is a religion..:rolleyes:
nefan65
May 2, 09:37 AM
Bigger, most Windows PC have anti-virus, can you say the same for Macs?
It's Malware, not a virus. Big difference. Also, it's only related to Safari, WITH Open Safe files after downloading enabled. Otherwise, it requests that you open it, and enter a username/pass for the Admin account...
It's only "Bigger" if you're gullible enough to download it, and install it without checking first...
It's Malware, not a virus. Big difference. Also, it's only related to Safari, WITH Open Safe files after downloading enabled. Otherwise, it requests that you open it, and enter a username/pass for the Admin account...
It's only "Bigger" if you're gullible enough to download it, and install it without checking first...
gnasher729
Oct 30, 01:44 PM
Thanks for the heads up. I guess I'll have to wait for someone else or me at a store to make sure Toast and Handbrake don't have those bugs. :eek:
That kind of bug is the reason why a programmer would be very hesitant to use more processors than are available on any machine the code has been tested on. It is not unlikely that for example Handbrake has a built-in limit of four processors, because the developers never had a machine with eight processors.
That kind of bug is the reason why a programmer would be very hesitant to use more processors than are available on any machine the code has been tested on. It is not unlikely that for example Handbrake has a built-in limit of four processors, because the developers never had a machine with eight processors.
MacCoaster
Oct 9, 06:06 PM
Originally posted by Backtothemac
Dude, I am a microsoft certified professional and spend all day dealing with PC problems. I have worked on the slowest ones and the fastest ones. The dual power macs fly! On top of that they do not run winblows. PC's suck because of the OS period. My mind will never be changed on that because I have almost 2 decades of dealing with Microsoft's crap!
Then use FreeBSD on the PC. FreeBSD ****in' flies. PCs don't suck. A particular OS does.
Dude, I am a microsoft certified professional and spend all day dealing with PC problems. I have worked on the slowest ones and the fastest ones. The dual power macs fly! On top of that they do not run winblows. PC's suck because of the OS period. My mind will never be changed on that because I have almost 2 decades of dealing with Microsoft's crap!
Then use FreeBSD on the PC. FreeBSD ****in' flies. PCs don't suck. A particular OS does.
Don't panic
Mar 15, 03:14 PM
Well, not that I hope he's right, but words like these from people of high up places don't give any comfort.
Europe's energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger dubs Japan's nuclear disaster an "apocalypse,"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110315/wl_afp/japanquakelivereport
yes, but it's a figure of speech.
however bad a realistic worst case scenario would be, it will not require permanent evacuation of anything but a few tens of square miles, if that.
for example, this is not going to be as bad as chernobyl by any stretch of imagination, since the design and built of the plant is much safer, and this uses water for cooling instead of graphite which is itself flammable. And in chernobyl, only the immediate surroundings and another area where the fallout was massive are still off-limits.
In addition, this plant is on the seashore, so about half of the contamination will be dispersed into the ocean.
on a separate note, i can confirm takao's post that many japanese cities have built "tsunami walls" including one of the cities shown in one of the videos (where you can clearly see the water coing over a wall and waterfalling into the city. It might have been inefective in a tsunami this massive, but I am sure they can work on smaller ones. One of the California nuclear power plant on the coast also has a similar 25 feet wall.
I also agree with takao on the bizarre design of putting the spent rods in a pool on top of the reactor and without any containment other than the cooling water and the roof.
it seems clearly a design flaw which hopefully will be/has been taken care of in other designs and fixes
Europe's energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger dubs Japan's nuclear disaster an "apocalypse,"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110315/wl_afp/japanquakelivereport
yes, but it's a figure of speech.
however bad a realistic worst case scenario would be, it will not require permanent evacuation of anything but a few tens of square miles, if that.
for example, this is not going to be as bad as chernobyl by any stretch of imagination, since the design and built of the plant is much safer, and this uses water for cooling instead of graphite which is itself flammable. And in chernobyl, only the immediate surroundings and another area where the fallout was massive are still off-limits.
In addition, this plant is on the seashore, so about half of the contamination will be dispersed into the ocean.
on a separate note, i can confirm takao's post that many japanese cities have built "tsunami walls" including one of the cities shown in one of the videos (where you can clearly see the water coing over a wall and waterfalling into the city. It might have been inefective in a tsunami this massive, but I am sure they can work on smaller ones. One of the California nuclear power plant on the coast also has a similar 25 feet wall.
I also agree with takao on the bizarre design of putting the spent rods in a pool on top of the reactor and without any containment other than the cooling water and the roof.
it seems clearly a design flaw which hopefully will be/has been taken care of in other designs and fixes
killmoms
Apr 13, 12:55 AM
Not making an individual track for every single track of audio attached to a clip is enough reason for a day one purchase for me. HATED the old-school, Pro Tools-style audio track system in FCP. Made working with anything beyond stereo or mono a bear. I don�t want to HAVE to go into Soundtrack if I don�t want to, dammit!
yg17
Mar 26, 09:27 AM
And all this coming from the organization who protects a bunch of child rapists. Why are people taking them seriously anymore?
torbjoern
Apr 24, 06:16 PM
Fundamentalists who have taken an extreme point of view. Are you saying that Islam is not allowed any extremists? All religions have then. But not Muslims are extremists.
The muslim extremists in my country always get supported by those who call themselves "moderate muslims". Probably because of some "solidarity" (blind obedience) code in the ummah. When they gang up together like that on issues that are controversial even within the ummah, it's very easy to see them all as extremists. That's how they strive to appear, even when they're not.
The muslim extremists in my country always get supported by those who call themselves "moderate muslims". Probably because of some "solidarity" (blind obedience) code in the ummah. When they gang up together like that on issues that are controversial even within the ummah, it's very easy to see them all as extremists. That's how they strive to appear, even when they're not.
macnulty
Mar 19, 07:32 AM
Um, you still have to buy the song, he hasn't cracked the DRM, and the user has to use a program other then iTunes to execute. It would seem to me the easiest thing for Apple is to use a more stringent iTunes identifier. After all, all us non-IE users should be familiar with this concept.
YoungCreative
Jun 27, 07:56 PM
Bash AT&T and flame me all you want, but I had 2 nightmare years with Verizon before I purchased my iPhone three years ago. I couldn't get a signal in my home 90% of the time with Verizon. I usually had to walk outside to make a call. That was convenient in sub-freezing weather!
When I went to the Verizon store, they told me that there shouldn't be a problem since I live in the middle of a "very strong" signal area. :eek:
Even if I had a call going, it would drop as soon as I walked downstairs. The final straw was one day in the supermarket just 3 blocks from home. I could not get a signal on Verizon, yet there was someone talking on a cell phone right next to me. Yep! They had AT&T!
Now I have my iPhone and it works great...even in my basement AND in the store. My friend came over one day and said he tried to use his phone while he was here. No Signal! Yep! He has Verizon. He also said that he can't use his phone at the same store: No signal!
It all depends on the area. No carrier has as good of coverage as they claim in their ads. (Commercials are misleading? No! Say it ain't so! :D)
Go with the carrier that works for you and don't assume that yours is best for everyone. For me, AT&T works great...but I can't wait to upgrade my original iPhone and get rid of that annoying AT&T Edge buzz in my computer speakers and interference on my TV screen.
Bottom Line: I AGREE that Apple should open the iPhone up to other carriers. That way everyone can use the one that's best for them and just end this whole debate!
When I went to the Verizon store, they told me that there shouldn't be a problem since I live in the middle of a "very strong" signal area. :eek:
Even if I had a call going, it would drop as soon as I walked downstairs. The final straw was one day in the supermarket just 3 blocks from home. I could not get a signal on Verizon, yet there was someone talking on a cell phone right next to me. Yep! They had AT&T!
Now I have my iPhone and it works great...even in my basement AND in the store. My friend came over one day and said he tried to use his phone while he was here. No Signal! Yep! He has Verizon. He also said that he can't use his phone at the same store: No signal!
It all depends on the area. No carrier has as good of coverage as they claim in their ads. (Commercials are misleading? No! Say it ain't so! :D)
Go with the carrier that works for you and don't assume that yours is best for everyone. For me, AT&T works great...but I can't wait to upgrade my original iPhone and get rid of that annoying AT&T Edge buzz in my computer speakers and interference on my TV screen.
Bottom Line: I AGREE that Apple should open the iPhone up to other carriers. That way everyone can use the one that's best for them and just end this whole debate!
iJohnHenry
Apr 15, 11:40 AM
I feel sad at how many of you are totally distorting the message of Christ.
Well, perhaps if the Bible didn't contain so much self-serving crap by religious 'elders', we might have a better chance picking out Christ's nuggets.
The real blame goes on those who use his name to sully his very purpose.
The real blame goes to those that cover themselves in His name, but only for false purpose.
Those false Christians make me sick.
OK, you got me on that one. Me too.
Well, perhaps if the Bible didn't contain so much self-serving crap by religious 'elders', we might have a better chance picking out Christ's nuggets.
The real blame goes on those who use his name to sully his very purpose.
The real blame goes to those that cover themselves in His name, but only for false purpose.
Those false Christians make me sick.
OK, you got me on that one. Me too.
carlgo
May 9, 12:31 PM
There is only one rational, consumer-friendly way to deal with this: allow carriers of our choice and offer plans that reflect the amount of use.
Right now it is like if you buy a BMW you can only use Shell gas and have to sign a contract to buy 200 gallons a month even even if you don't drive much. And, you have to pay for 200 gallons even if you do want to drive a lot, but the gas isn't even available!
Of course, you should have known that there are no Shell stations nearby and that others are driving around in perfectly good Fords and Kias that can fuel up at any of the other gas stations in town.
Maybe you really did believe the Shell employees who said a new station would be up soon. Of course, you do know that they might be tempted to sign you up to a contract that forced you to buy gas that wasn't actually available? Sort of a double-dip, eh?
And, maybe you didn't realize that many of the Shell stations that are open, in neighboring towns, only have one pump and that there are long lines of people waiting to fuel up their BMWs.
Shell says that they will build more stations, but mostly they just put new logos on the existing pumps and advertise more. Turns out that more pumps cost money and are opposed by many residents.
So, Shell simply charges more for the existing gas! And, they sell apps and BMWs and gas cards in the convenience store. Now they make so much money from all this that they actually give a large percentage back to BMW!
BMW is able to sell their cars for half the price because of this subsidy. Selling a very desirable and expensive car cheap and locking customers into a kick-back exclusive arrangement to regain the profit margin is genius. And, Shell can charge enough to cover the kickback and still make a huge profit. Pure genius.
The head of BMW, the improbably-named Herr Jobs is renowned all over the world for pulling off this marketing arrangement and greatly enriching both BMW and Shell. This business model will be studied for a hundred years.
In fact, it is so successful that other gas companies want to sell gas for BMWs as well. The problem is that it would cost a fortune to change their gas formulation to work in BMWs and they want BMW to instead change the fuel system to work with their gas.
Herr Jobs sees no reason to change the arrangement with Shell because he gets the financial breakdown every day and he first looks at the column showing the take from Shell.
As a kid, Herr Jobs loved Scrooge McDuck and hoped someday he would be diving into huge piles of money in the basement of his lavish new McMansion. Now he can do that!
It will all end. In time we will be able to buy the gas of our choice, from stations that are open in our area and which have fast, friendly service. We will actually be able to buy just the gas we need.
It is just hoped that this change will happen sooner than later because we consumers will certainly be better off when it does. Don't worry about Scrooge McDuck. He is a resilient old duck who will do quite fine and will remain the Head Duck on the pond as long as he wants.
Right now it is like if you buy a BMW you can only use Shell gas and have to sign a contract to buy 200 gallons a month even even if you don't drive much. And, you have to pay for 200 gallons even if you do want to drive a lot, but the gas isn't even available!
Of course, you should have known that there are no Shell stations nearby and that others are driving around in perfectly good Fords and Kias that can fuel up at any of the other gas stations in town.
Maybe you really did believe the Shell employees who said a new station would be up soon. Of course, you do know that they might be tempted to sign you up to a contract that forced you to buy gas that wasn't actually available? Sort of a double-dip, eh?
And, maybe you didn't realize that many of the Shell stations that are open, in neighboring towns, only have one pump and that there are long lines of people waiting to fuel up their BMWs.
Shell says that they will build more stations, but mostly they just put new logos on the existing pumps and advertise more. Turns out that more pumps cost money and are opposed by many residents.
So, Shell simply charges more for the existing gas! And, they sell apps and BMWs and gas cards in the convenience store. Now they make so much money from all this that they actually give a large percentage back to BMW!
BMW is able to sell their cars for half the price because of this subsidy. Selling a very desirable and expensive car cheap and locking customers into a kick-back exclusive arrangement to regain the profit margin is genius. And, Shell can charge enough to cover the kickback and still make a huge profit. Pure genius.
The head of BMW, the improbably-named Herr Jobs is renowned all over the world for pulling off this marketing arrangement and greatly enriching both BMW and Shell. This business model will be studied for a hundred years.
In fact, it is so successful that other gas companies want to sell gas for BMWs as well. The problem is that it would cost a fortune to change their gas formulation to work in BMWs and they want BMW to instead change the fuel system to work with their gas.
Herr Jobs sees no reason to change the arrangement with Shell because he gets the financial breakdown every day and he first looks at the column showing the take from Shell.
As a kid, Herr Jobs loved Scrooge McDuck and hoped someday he would be diving into huge piles of money in the basement of his lavish new McMansion. Now he can do that!
It will all end. In time we will be able to buy the gas of our choice, from stations that are open in our area and which have fast, friendly service. We will actually be able to buy just the gas we need.
It is just hoped that this change will happen sooner than later because we consumers will certainly be better off when it does. Don't worry about Scrooge McDuck. He is a resilient old duck who will do quite fine and will remain the Head Duck on the pond as long as he wants.
JackAxe
Apr 8, 10:58 PM
I hope they poach someone that likes BUTTONS.
lilo777
Apr 20, 08:56 PM
Why do they allow the files to be hidden?
Of course if you used Norton you wouldn't have this problem. :D:D:D
Why is it that hard to understand? Because every OS has files that users should not and could not touch. OS/X is not an exception to this rule. Showing these files to users in file manager generally makes user life more difficult. What's the point of seeing them if you can not do anything about them? Also, it reduces the chance of doing something stupid with these files accidentally (like removing).
Windows has an option to hide such files. OS/X does not.
Of course if you used Norton you wouldn't have this problem. :D:D:D
Why is it that hard to understand? Because every OS has files that users should not and could not touch. OS/X is not an exception to this rule. Showing these files to users in file manager generally makes user life more difficult. What's the point of seeing them if you can not do anything about them? Also, it reduces the chance of doing something stupid with these files accidentally (like removing).
Windows has an option to hide such files. OS/X does not.
