And Macromedia is the archproponent of DRM, digital rights management. When, not if, they get their way, those cookies will be used to control what you read or listen to. My Internet usage is confined 100% to those areas that are free. Hotmail, Google, jimmyr, and a host of academic web sites. DRM means you will be forced to watch ads (a form of payment), and the article you read is deleted after one usage. Want to read it again? Pay again.The cookies are a precursor to software that will prevent the material from being printed, copied, or downloaded, and it will become illegal to sell it used or give it away when you are finished. Even when you pay full price, the media never becomes yours. Everything you look at will be filed away “for your protection”. You can view these evil cookies by downloading and running “Cookienator”. Here is a screenshot of some Flash malware already on this brand new, just set up computer.
Yes, there are forces at work to repel this Americanization of the Internet, but they are disunited and far spread. DRM will make it illegal to open any accounts in a fictitious name so don’t waste your time on that angle. If you remain complacent (and you will), it won’t be long before you must watch a three minute ad for deodorant before you get the weather report or enter your PayPal code for lottery numbers. Want to check your own email? That will be 15 cents, please, because the log-on screen is copyrighted.
Some of you may think the above scenario is far-fetched. If so, you have evidently not traveled much. In the majority of foreign countries where the media is controlled, like Canada, DRM is certain to be implemented as soon as it is ready. It almost is.
It looks like steak and lobster for the weekend, bingo was a resounding success. The cruise line regulars are finally back, packing the place again. While not setting any records or reaching the highs of a year ago, the game has certainly evolved to a show. But rest assured, it is nonetheless still gambling and there should be no disguising that point.
I headed up to the [Radio] Shack, intentionally driving through mortgage estates, the band of middle-class housing between the I-95 freeway exits. Those who think the real estate market will recover in this lifetime are brain dead. Live in a tent, but wait this thing out. Banks are purposely holding back the foreclosures so as not to flood the market, but they are getting desperate. The foundation of the market, first-time home buyers, are gone. What is selling is going to investors who are focused on making a profit, not maintaining the property.
It’s a statistic, but almost half of all foreclosed houses have been trashed by former owners to the point of being uninhabitable. Why, it’s the bank’s fault for lending them all that money when they couldn’t pay it back. My guess is when house prices drop to the $45,000 range, things will pick up, but only because at those prices it is dumb to rent.
Renting is another barrier to consider. It is very difficult to find good tenants in Florida. And bad tenants know the law is on their side. As I pointed out in 2000, the difference between renting and owning in Florida is barely $100 per month. All the good people have bought so you are renting to the other group. In all the years I’ve been here, Dave-O is the only person I know who rents. And he’s buying as soon as his big bucks arrive. He’s buying a mobile home and waiting out the market. He’s seen the light.
