Limited Pressing

[a_minimalist]

I don't know about Rockerfeller, but Gates gave his fortune - 'donated' - to his and his wife's own charity. Not really too far out of his own reach and control. :/

Yeah, but that's a whole other argument. The size of the donations they make appear to be some sort of coping mechanism. That's how I see it. Make a tremendous amount of money in ways that some don't like, then donate tons of money to change the perception of you.

 

[Denim Chicken]

Want is manufactured and people are a commodity. The sad fact is the majority of people are sheep who will want they are conditioned to want, believe what they are conditioned to believe, and think how they are conditioned to think. We play the part of good little consumers and patriotic citizens while the machine rolls on. We are living in a through-away culture. It is unsustainable and we are seeing just the beginning of the enviable collapse which will ultimately lead to the destruction of a system that could never last. History is cyclical and we will eventually have to start at the beginning if all does not end.

 

[vta]

Want is manufactured and people are a commodity. The sad fact is the majority of people are sheep who will want they are conditioned to want, believe what they are conditioned to believe, and think how they are conditioned to think. We play the part of good little consumers and patriotic citizens while the machine rolls on. We are living in a through-away culture. It is unsustainable and we are seeing just the beginning of the enviable collapse which will ultimately lead to the destruction of a system that could never last. History is cyclical and we will eventually have to start at the beginning if all does not end.

:storm:


:laugh2:

I agree with a lot of what you said. The 'system' itself is fine, what could not last was man's ability to cultivate it in a generous manner, with the ability to run rough-shod over it for greater economic inequality consistently cautioned against.


I'm not for dictatorial caps on what a person can earn, though.

 

[Stash]

:storm:


:laugh2:

I agree with a lot of what you said. The 'system' itself is fine, what could not last was man's ability to cultivate it in a generous manner, with the ability to run rough-shod over it for greater economic inequality consistently cautioned against.

I'm not for dictatorial caps on what a person can earn, though.

Neither am I, but there has to be some limits, if not legally imposed, morally.

That's the part of the equation that I myself continue to struggle with, trying to not stifle innovation and motivation while curtailing acts of dishonesty, pure greed and short-sightedness at the same time, all the while plugging the gaps that allow the parasites to exist in between, living off of the system.

Truly a daunting task.

 

[YosemiteSam]

But that's the point: people don't decide to stop dealing with them. All of the bad you say Microsoft did, they're still in business. They're still selling. The problem isn't them, it's the customer.

I said it in my post. The reason Microsoft and Oracle still exist and are large corporations is because people could't afford to move away from them. Windows and MS Office where standards. (I believe Windows was on 98% of all desktops for a time) There were no adequate replacements for them. Same with Oracle for large databases. The other offerings just didn't stand up to what Oracle offered. (meaning, SQL Server, DB2, Sybase, etc) Oracle knew this and that is why they charge so freaking much.

That is still pretty much the case for Microsoft, though Libre Office is making hugh strides forward. My company actually has standardized on Libre Office, though our brokers still have Excel due to the interpopulation with other financial packages they use that just don't work with Libre. Most of my company uses Linux desktops except the brokers are the backoffice guys. That is due to required software also. (actually, my desktop is Windows too, but it's only due to support requirements for the other Windows users)

Now, as for Oracle. MySQL actually started taking customers from Oracle, so Oracle grabbed them when they bought Sun Microsystems officially ending that threat to Oracle's business.

Most people think MySQL is still a website database. The truth is, financial institutions (among other) also use it heavily. That alone made Oracle buying Sun worth it. Thinking they could sue Google over Android was just a bonus. (a bonus that bit them in the backside)

 

[Denim Chicken]

:storm:


:laugh2:

I agree with a lot of what you said. The 'system' itself is fine, what could not last was man's ability to cultivate it in a generous manner, with the ability to run rough-shod over it for greater economic inequality consistently cautioned against.


I'm not for dictatorial caps on what a person can earn, though.

I agree. I'm am not for limits on any kind of freedom. It starts and end with the people. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

 

[vta]

I said it in my post. The reason Microsoft and Oracle still exist and are large corporations is because people could't afford to move away from them. Windows and MS Office where standards. (I believe Windows was on 98% of all desktops for a time) There were no adequate replacements for them. Same with Oracle for large databases. The other offerings just didn't stand up to what Oracle offered. (meaning, SQL Server, DB2, Sybase, etc) Oracle knew this and that is why they charge so freaking much.

That is still pretty much the case for Microsoft, though Libre Office is making hugh strides forward. My company actually has standardized on Libre Office, though our brokers still have Excel due to the interpopulation with other financial packages they use that just don't work with Libre. Most of my company uses Linux desktops except the brokers are the backoffice guys. That is due to required software also. (actually, my desktop is Windows too, but it's only due to support requirements for the other Windows users)

Now, as for Oracle. MySQL actually started taking customers from Oracle, so Oracle grabbed them when they bought Sun Microsystems officially ending that threat to Oracle's business.

Most people think MySQL is still a website database. The truth is, financial institutions (among other) also use it heavily. That alone made Oracle buying Sun worth it. Thinking they could sue Google over Android was just a bonus. (a bonus that bit them in the backside)

But are they that large due to business or consumer? Most of the language you're using her might as well be Greek to the average user who bought a computer. I could be wrong, but I think the entire explosion was based on consumer growth and not business and 90% of the business are users and not techie guys.

I understand Microsoft did enjoy a huge monopoly on both business and consumer and still do for all I know, but I put most of the onus on us, the consumer. It's bigger than simply computers; we're more than just customers we've become fans of brands. In clothes, in games, in phones, in everything and now we've hitched our personal opinion to a thing and likely will wink at business anomalies because we can always point to the transgressions of the competitor whom we dislike.

 

[Stash]

I agree. I'm am not for limits on any kind of freedom. It starts and end with the people. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.

When it's 'freedom to be a criminal', I do.

And too many of those still exist.

 

[tupperware]

It would help if the consumer did more homework and put more thought into who they're giving their money to.

It's not just companies acting in unethical ways, it's the 'mindless consumer' forking over their dollars without asking 'why' as well.

This is pretty much it. You can rant and rave all day about a company such as Apple doing unethical things but why should or would they stop if people continue to buy their products and sales increase?

It really is the fault of the customer. If customers at all valued honesty in a company and ethical business practices, we wouldn't be seeing this. They care about getting a device that does what they want, that's it.

Until that changes, this will continue.

 

[bsheeern]

Without discussing names or industrys Ive seen this same philosophy utilized by one of the oldest and biggest American companies this country has ever seen.

Basically by keeping their competitors locked into legal battles they seemingly affect the CODB. Cost of Doing Business. Which ultimately trickles down to the consumer but also has Hundreds of other affects that we as consumers never see.

All of this is going on while the "FDA" plays a critical role. One that allows it to get even worse. So called "regulations" are passed and plotted on a daily basis only to make certain companies spend more money. You have this huge Empire sitting atop These FDA panels creating new policies and regulations that are strategically developed into Strong-arming it's competitors into "staying small" & out of its way.

It's not anything new in terms of business but having so much control over the FDA is what makes its scary. I wish I could tell specifics but I'd be in court soon too. Probably not even wise of me to have posted this much.

Companies with bad ethics generally get themselves in trouble when other companies or customers decide to stop dealing with them.

Now, companies like Microsoft and Oracle basically had monopolies of sort that locked their customers in.

While Apple is big, it's not too big to reap the repercussions of their unethical actions. Apple does not hold a monopoly and they are also playing a serious game of Russian Roulette in the legal system that is probably going to cause more self-inflicted harm than good for them.

Do you realize that Apple is suing Samsung trying to ruin Samsung's business, yet it's Samsung that is one of Apple's biggest parts suppliers for their products? Talking about ****ing where you eat.

 

[bsheeern]

This is pretty much it. You can rant and rave all day about a company such as Apple doing unethical things but why should or would they stop if people continue to buy their products and sales increase?

It really is the fault of the customer. If customers at all valued honesty in a company and ethical business practices, we wouldn't be seeing this. They care about getting a device that does what they want, that's it.

Until that changes, this will continue.

Yeah because at the end of the day most "consumers" just want the best product for their family at a good price.

They barely have time to eat dinner with their kids much less spends weeks and weeks of research only to find that they are ultimately only given the "lesser of the evils" as options.

The information this consumers world has access to know is light years ahead of pre Internet times. But it also gives the bad guys that same info and they usually are the ones who have more time to do more with that info.

People are more concerned with schools being safe, Sexual predators whereabouts, terrorism and things if this nature than Ever Before. Partly because we have so much access now than every before partly because all those looking for evil have that same access.

It's not that people care less or don't educate themselves, its more to do with where does Apple vs Samsung Rank on their list of concerns for the well being of their family. Most would say Safety, Cost and reliability are their major factors when making these choices. Oddly enough Guilt of providing what their family wants more times than not outweighs most Of the factors whether we admit to it or not.