Category: Rant

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From Engadget: Dutch court rejects Apple appeal, says Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is legal

Finally!!!  I hope this is a sign back to normalcy for business… Apple needs to quit it!
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A court in the Hague has just cleared the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for sale in the Netherlands, rejecting Apple’s requests for a nationwide ban. As NU.nl reports, a different Dutch court had already issued a similar ruling in October, which Cupertino promptly appealed, claiming that Sammy’s slate was too similar to its own iPad 2. Today, though, the Court of the Hague shot down Apple’s arguments, determining that there are enough differences between the two products to legally justify their coexistence. Granted, this is only one of manypatent battles that the two companies are currently waging, but for today, at least, it looks like Samsung has come out on top.[Thanks, Rolfski]

 

from Engadget

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From Morning Edition: As Citizens United Turns 2, SuperPACs Draw Protests

As Colbert has revealed the flaws and abuses in SuperPACs and in politics, this is a welcome progression… my 2 cents.

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Saturday is the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, a key element in establishing the big-dollar superPACs now influencing the presidential campaign. It’s also primary day in South Carolina, where a superPAC backing Newt Gingrich has been blasting away at Mitt Romney.

from Morning Edition

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From Morning Edition: Consumer Protection Bureau Takes On Payday Loans

I for one think this is way over due! Those insanely high rate loans need to be prosecuted for abusing power!

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The recently created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau went on the road to hold its first public hearing. The bureau traveled to Birmingham, Ala., to talk about payday lenders. In Alabama, there are four times as many store-front payday businesses than there are McDonalds.

from Morning Edition

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From Google Reader: China wants microbloggers to register with the government, hand over real identity

My thoughts?! Boo, I say, boo!!!
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Weibo

Thought that Facebook’s and Google+’s requirements that you use your real name were draconian? Just be thankful you’re not a weibo addict in China. The government is planning to expand a program that demands users register their real names and disclose their identity. Wang Chen, China’s top internet regulation official, said the eventual goal would be to get all 250 million microbloggers registered, starting first with any new users signing up. The obvious privacy and free speech issues that could arise from such a move shouldn’t need to be explained — especially considering the country’s track record of censorship and politically motivated arrests. Sadly, unlike SOPA, putting an end to this troubling law isn’t as simple as putting up a black banner or emailing your congressman.

 

from Engadget

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Netflix: How I got Screwed

Netflix had it for me. I could watch practically humongous selections of TV shows and movies online be it on my laptop, at home, or on my Android phone. And if one wasn’t on that streaming list, I could just have the DVD/Blu-Ray sent home. No late fees and life was great. But as the pic above shows for me, they just changed the plan.

Instead of $12/mo. for 1 DVD/Blu-Ray plus unlimited streaming, they were gonna split it up at $8 each, which meant that it was now going to be $16/mo.+$2 extra if I wanted Blu-Ray option. I get it. I understand that it’s expensive to ship all those DVDs and that they underestimated how popular discs are still and how expensive it is to ship them and process them, but for someone like me who borrowed DVDs that Netflix just didn’t carry for streaming, I rarely rented the discs. Now I am forever penalized?!

You know what, Netflix?! We used to have a great relationship… now you screwed it up for me. So you know what I’m gonna do?! I thought about just sucking it up and getting the (now) $18/mo. plan (which will be about $20 after tax and such). However, I said I’m gonna let Netflix know how I feel…

How do I do that?! By poking where it hurts. My spending that $8/mo. on Hulu Plus.  You see, one weakness… actually TWO weaknesses, of Netflix are these: 1) stream selection still has a LONG way to go… there are hardly less than 20 Korean movies and 2) the latest/current seasons of TV shows take forever to become available.  Hulu Plus solves that!

So you know what, Netflix?!  Go shoot yourself in the foot, ’cause that’s what you are doing now! Keep it up and I might just have to quit you!

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So Many Dictators Around the World

MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images

AP News

In case you’ve been living in a cage past month, there’s been a protest and uprising in countries like Tunisia, Egpyt, and now Yemen.  What I hadn’t realized due to my own ignorance is that those countries, in addition to other countries, have been under a totalitarian ruling for several decades.

What makes it even worse is that many of those are backed by our own government!  How the hell did that happen?!  In short, it’s because of our “interest”.  We don’t want to pay for $5/gallon gasoline price.  We have patrolled a bit too much out of our own interest.

There are so many countries that suffer under dictator rule.  I thought only Cuba and North Korea were dictatorial countries (except for Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s rule).  Not so.

If you google to see how many are under dictatorship, it’s 11.  77 countries are under “pseudo democracy“.  People are beyond miserable around the world.  Sure there is some sense of “stability” under dictatorship.  But would you call that freedom?  Would you call that democracy?  I immediately think of 1984 by George Orwell where freedom no longer exists and communist/totalitarian ruling.

When we trade comfort and our selfish needs at the cost of freedom and people, we are no longer fit to be human.  I am waking up from my own Matrix.  I must resist too much comfort and fight for others’ freedom.  Down with dictators!!!