Posted 09/26/2009 at 04:28:52pm

The point I was making is that when the government does the regulating instead of the market, the company doesn't learn any lesson about screwing its customers.  Part of the problem is that we, as consumers, are unwilling to force these companies to quit screwing us.  Honestly, with what Comcast does for example, I should switch to their main competitor in my area, which is Verizon.  But I do not.  Why?  Because I value the speed of my internet access more than I do making my point to Comcast.  So by not taking my business elsewhere, I effectively license their practice of throttling traffic during peak hours.  I should be willing to sacrifice this luxury if I'm so affronted by what Comcast does.  I have made a choice.  And I will be damned if I cry to the government as a result of my choice.  AT&T and Verizon will only do what the government requires them to do because it would cost them more not to.  Most government intervention in the free market does little more than stifle the power of the consumer's voice to companies who practice bad business.  It subsequently creates a dependency on said government to achieve any progress within the market, at which point it is no longer free.  This might punish AT&T and Verizon to some extent, but it punishes any upstart competition to a far greater degree.  If I buy and maintain a lawnmower at my own expense, should the government have the right to come in and tell me when I MUST let my neighbor borrow it?  That is effectively what the government will do to the infrastructure laid down by these companies, subjugate it for use by others who invested no capital in the building and maintenance of it whatsoever, effectively punishing the company that spent its money, time and resources to provide a service.  That is socialism, not capitalism.  I am not willing to give the government that power.  And while me might disagree on the causes of these problems and their solutions, that certainly does not make me uninformed.

"Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories. "  - Thomas Jefferson

Posted 09/23/2009 at 01:25:18am

The irony of that little graphic is that the federal government is far more like the Empire now than any company could ever be.  I think the heart of net neutrality is great.  But as go all things in which the government sticks its fat, sore-encrusted thumb, this will not result in a lesson learned for companies such as Comcast who throttle down P2P connections.  I'm not saying that AT&T and Verizon are Jedi, but I am saying that this new FCC Chairman seems an awful lot like a Sith Lord.  These aren't the droids you're looking for.  Move along.

Posted 09/23/2009 at 01:04:12am

I just built a Phenom II X4 system this past April, but I skimped a little on the video card.  I got an OCed 4850 after much research.  I was more interested in balancing performance with decibel levels (the old "computer in the bedroom" scenario).  My old HD2600 sounded like a crowded airport runway after gaming for about 42 seconds.  Considering the pricing on Phenom IIs and Core i5/i7 parts - and now DDR3, I just may have to relegate this current setup to a HTPC and put together a new machine around this little sumbitch - pardon my use of the vernacular.  I have never been one to assume brand loyalty in the face of product or service inferiority.  I've gone the AMD route as of late because of that little price/performance ratio, and I have not been disappointed.  At a $380 price-point (surely to be discounted a few times between now and Christmas), I'm salivating like one of Pavlov's dogs after he rang that damn bell.  Talk about putting your money where your mouth is... way to go, AMD/ATI!