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20 Dec 2010 10:40

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Tech: FCC could compromise on net neutrality policy this week

  • In case you’re concerned about this net neutrality mess, you might want to keep an eye out this week. See, the FCC is about to decide on a compromise proposal which would force network providers to accept all traffic, while conceding that it’s OK for them to manage network congestion and charge users more based on their usage. This policy would have the support of the three Democratic members on the FCC’s board, but the two Republican members would prefer that the Internet remain free of regulation. Which we, by the way, seriously don’t understand. This is one of those cases where, if the government doesn’t step in, consumers will seriously get trampled on. source

19 Dec 2010 11:55

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19 Sep 2010 10:35

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U.S.: In Missouri, judges can factor in a prison sentence’s price tag

  • Well, that’s one way to help shore up the budget. In Missouri, judges are now being given price tags for various types of sentences. And the main lesson to learn from this? Putting people in jail for a long time is way more expensive than simply giving them probation. No other state does it, and it’s created a bit of debate for the way that it seems to encourage weaker sentences. Our thought? If it means having safer streets, we’d rather have the added deficit. source

31 Jan 2010 20:53

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Biz, Tech: Amazon takes it from Macmillan because it has no choice

  • We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books.
  • A statement from Amazon • On its decision to back down from the removal of Macmillan’s e-books over a disagreement on pricing. Amazon removed all of Macmillan’s books on Friday, only to put them back up today. Amazon has insisted on a $9.99 price for Kindle books, but Macmillian wants to charge more. Amazon is optimistic that other major publishers won’t follow suit. We’ll see where optimism gets them. source

23 Sep 2009 22:42

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Tech: Wii think you should know the Wii is getting a Wii bit cheaper.

  • $199 for the Wii (20% cheaper!), starting this Sunday source

27 Jul 2009 10:58

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Biz, Tech: Best Buy offers a huge discount on the Palm Pre by accident

  • $99 for the Pre, but they say it was an error. Dang it source

17 Jul 2009 09:49

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Music: eMusic finally gets a major label – but not without concession

  • What’s up? eMusic is one of those services that we’ve always heavily supported in part because its inexpensive, music-fan-first approach got the experience of downloading music right – even at the cost of major label support. Recently, it convinced one major, Sony, to jump on board. Good for them, right? Well, yes and no. source
  • What’s up? eMusic is one of those services that we’ve always heavily supported in part because its inexpensive, music-fan-first approach got the experience of downloading music right – even at the cost of major label support. Recently, it convinced one major, Sony, to jump on board. Good for them, right? Well, yes and no.
  • The cost It appears eMusic had to give up a lot to convince Sony to let them put Simon & Garfunkel on the site. Longtime users used to paying $20 for 90 tracks will be surprised to see their download numbers cut. And while the selection is killer, the company had to restrict some tracks – the hits – to flat-rate album download only. source
  • What’s up? eMusic is one of those services that we’ve always heavily supported in part because its inexpensive, music-fan-first approach got the experience of downloading music right – even at the cost of major label support. Recently, it convinced one major, Sony, to jump on board. Good for them, right? Well, yes and no.
  • The cost It appears eMusic had to give up a lot to convince Sony to let them put Simon & Garfunkel on the site. Longtime users used to paying $20 for 90 tracks will be surprised to see their download numbers cut. And while the selection is killer, the company had to restrict some tracks – the hits – to flat-rate album download only.
  • Our take We won’t lie. In part because of the sheer novelty, we downloaded Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” ’cause we could. Ultimately, even with the changes, the service is still cheaper than most download sites. Our disappointment is that they bent so much for a major at the cost of the indies. We’re not sure if this is a good long-term approach. source