http://www.itworld.com/software/98522/microsofts-charney-suggests-net-tax-clean-computers
*quadruple facepalm*
That sucks. Period.
That is all.
Microsoft is such a lolcow. A dangerous one, but lulzy none the less.
wow, this makes me want a mac. :\
Microsoft needs to stop sending mixed messages.
I mean, seriously, a few months ago, we heard about Microsoft deciding to open-source the next version of the .NET framework (this topic (http://ostan-collections.net/viewtopic.php?p=73704)) and then this comes out.
Is Steve Ballmer, or whoever is currently in charge of what Microsoft does, bipolar or something?
And of course he had to draw a metaphor to the current health care debate... ><;
I think I've already made my feelings on Ballmer clear in a number of other threads here... on topic, yes he's in charge.
I will say that this doesn't necessarily have to be a bad idea. I do think it's a step in a dangerous direction, but it doesn't have to be a disaster. Let's just hope this idea gets nixed... or at the very least, retooled into a safer idea.
that's it. we need Bill back to the CEO chair.
indeed. at least he's somewhat mentally stable...
sides' he's "FATHER"~~~~
and well, yeah. this guy's schizo, srsly.
Well...
That sounds ugly but in Italy we have more ugliest law.
Wanna know?
There is a very recent (jan 2010) law called "Equo Compenso" that can roughly translated as "fair compensation".
Well it is not even a law of the Italian State!!!
It is just a Decree from Ministry of Cultural Goods and Cultural Activities in Italy, mr. Sandro Bondi from the government of infamous notorius TV and Media Tycoon Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy.
It states that all storage media are potentially space for pirating, so it RAISE of a certain percent any media.
(Yes cell phones are considered media storage too)...
CD/DVD writers = price is raised of 5%
Analogic tapes and Digital support (tapes and CD/DVD) 22 cents/Euro price raise for any hour it could record...
Rewritable DVD 41 cents/any 4,7 GB.
Hard disks 2 cents euro any GB in Hdds upto 400 GB, 1 euro cent x GB for HDDs over 400GB.
The first and second year this ministry decree became effective the raise of Hdds price cannot exceed 12 euro plus the normal pricing of the Hard Disk, but starting from third year the decree is became valid, then this exceed price limit will be 20 euro.
Memories or Hard Disk embedded in devices (such as Memory Sticks embedded into Cell Phones and/or PVR and so like media) will be rised of a certain amount of money.
We start from a raise of 3,22 euro for memory sticks upto 1GB sold with Cell phones, and so on...
(For example hdds embedded in PVRs will be raised of 28,98 euro for Hard disks over 250 GB.)
Any kind of Memory Stick or card will be raised 0,05 euro/GB starting from 32 MB upto 5 GB, 0,03 euro/GB for sticks and cards over 5GB.
USB Sticks are considered apart and over 4 GB the ministry asks for 0,09 euro on any Giga of storage.
(Well there is also a little trick in the Ministry Decree.
Prices are considered to raise a certain amount of cents on any Gigabyte of storaege, but really the decree not states the amount of taxabile data per unit of memory. Then in the future it could even be counted on any megabyte)
MP3 and MP4 players are also considered apart and these devices really got a bang in their head.... 5,15 euro more pricing for devices featuring quantities of memory from 1 to 5 GB, 6,44 euro priced more from devices with 5 GB upto 10 GB. 7,73 euro priced more for devices starting from 10 GB upto 15 GB of memory, 9,33 euro priced more starting from 15 upto 20 GB and price will be rised of 22,88 euro for players storing more than 20 GB.
Any PC sold in Italy or any BlueRay, or D-VHS unit, will pay 1,90 euro priced more for any unit if without CD/DVD/HD/HD-DVD writer, or featuring just players, else if the writer is present in the device then the unit will be rasied 2,40 euro more.
Any Cell Phone and/or Smartphone unit sold then will pay 0,90 cents euro but here again these is a trick in the Ministry Decree stating that the tax fee could raise depending on storage capability.
Who is the subject who will receive this enormous amount of extra money?
(It is a very big amount of money... imagine whole Italian market of media...
Just think the fact that Italy is a place in which there are almost 2 cell phones per inhabitant)
The subject who will receive all this money is the Society of Authors and Editors (SIAE), an obliged organization state office born in fascist era and never suppressed later.
It is the only subject in Italy which is authorized to collect copyright fees and distribuite it in percents to either authors of publishings/songs/movies and Editors/Music Majors/Cinema Majors.
Obvioulsy the Italian State keeps also its percent on these Copyright fees.
Well this Ministerial Decree states that any consumer of media devices in Italy is a pirate.
Well done Minister, well done.
Just to give you a practical idea since the tax was introduced last january the price of iPod shuffle 2 GB in Apple Stores raised from da 55 to 61 euro, IPod 4 GB raised from 75 to 81 euro. iPod nano 8 GB passed from 139 to 143 euro, iPod 16 GB from 169 to 174 euro. iPod touch 8 GB passed from 189 to 194 euro, The 32 GB model was rasied from 279 to 286 euro.
It is 10 euros more pricing if you wnt to buy 64 GB model.
http://punto-informatico.it/2839914/PI/News/realta-aumentata-dell-equo-compenso.aspx
Well people, I consider this a real (and barely legal) State Robbery.
And also if Microsoft proposal will pass and a whole global tax will be adopted, then I think the time for a revolution on this planet are sure come.
Okay, now that's just bullshit. I'm all for punishing the pirates, but this just penalises the common man.
Berlusconi sure sounds like a cool guy, doing weird TV shows and doesnt afraid of anything.
Quote from: "NejinOniwa"Berlusconi sure sounds like a cool guy, doing weird TV shows and doesnt afraid of anything.
Yeah. He is magic super (little) man of Communication.
In his last public speech in Rome last 20 of march, he promised his government will defeat Cancer in less than the three remaining years of his term of office. o_o
http://palermo.blogsicilia.it/2010/03/silvio-berlusconi-will-defeat-cancer-in-3-years/
http://www.cancernewstoday.com/17381/youtube-berlusconi-promises-to-win-cancer/
(http://i40.tinypic.com/2heam48.gif)
And so you are worry for some Microsoft random silly ideas on about WANNABE FUTURE in which all countries in the world will taxing any computers to keep internet safe from any virus ?
Just think by whom we italians are governed just in this precise moment...
It is kinda scary period for italian democracy. ;013 ;026 ;014
And your nation doesn't exactly have the cleanest record on democratics, either...Europe is being sad. ;_;
It's as if when Obama took office and finally gave the US a leader face you can look at without FUCKWADRAGE-ing, all the shit jumped over to this side of the atlantic instead... -__-
;____; italy was so cute in hetalia.....who knew it was so pricey and had such a stupid law? :[
Quote from: "NejinOniwa"And your nation doesn't exactly have the cleanest record on democratics, either...Europe is being sad. ;_;
I beg your pardon??? ;018
I think he's referring to Mussolini.
And I agree, \nej. When Bush was at the reins, the US was the laughing stock of the international community. Now it's us.
Quote from: "NejinOniwa"And your nation doesn't exactly have the cleanest record on democratics, either...Europe is being sad. ;_;
Quote from: "Red-Machine"I think he's referring to Mussolini.
Regarding italy
Mussolini was a dictator parenthesis between two democratic moments in the history of Italy.
He was not even elected by the people as Hitler.
Mussolini in 1922 made some sort of golpe (the fascist marched towards Rome) and the King Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy saw in Mussolini the perfect man to get rid of communists.
So the Savoy monarch made Mussolini Prime Minister using his king privilges. In less than two years with a politics of terror, Mussolini got the whole power as dictator, got the power in fake elections and get rid of previous democratic parilament of Italy.
It was culprit of italians? No.
Italy was a Kingdom and the King kept various privileges.
But even then, there were italians of the former democracy who fought Mussolini from inside and outside Italy.
When Mussolini and Hitler caused the World War II, these brave men fought against their own country to help the allies, and created a resistence movement.
When in 1943 Italy succumbed the war and fascist government collapsed, the democratic forces in Italy created a Committee of National Liberation including all political parties which were abolished by fascism to rebuild the nation and the lost democracy. This caused an Italian Civil War.
Modern Italy is born from these acts of supreme courage to fought even the mother land, that was unfortunately represented by the fascism.
Seeing whole events from an external point of view, and from a generic school perspective taken just from school-books it is just plain that "allies defeated Italy as just a fascist country". And it is not necessary to know the whole matter as World War II is a very complex phenomenon with thousand of faces and consequences.
See these articles on Wikipedia just to know more about facts of WWII Italy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Fascism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-fascism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_resistance_movement
Forgive me for this wall of text, but history of contemprary Italy it is often unknown to people who had not studied it, and hetalia is not the correct and complete way to study WWI and WWII ;hi ;012
Regarding Europe...
As I made this advocay for my country, I must say I got really perplexed as NejinOniwa said that "either Europe knows anything more Italy about Democracy"...
He seems to forgot that this politic form of government was born in Ancient Greece and precisely in Athens 2500 years ago. And more or less Greece is in Europe.
In medieval age Britains got its first democratic rules with the Magna Charta Libertatum, and again Britain is in Europe too
Sweden is a kingdom, but since Viking age, Viking are used to elect their kings in public Things (assemblies). This consudetude ended in 14th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thing_(assembly)
Iceland Althing was the first real Parliament and Democratic Assembly in Europe, which included all freemen who were free to speech in public to decide for the nation, and this since year 999 AD.
Icelanders are so democratic people that they in the middle age even accepted Crhistian Religion by debating in the Althing if it was a good thing to acccept this new religion or not.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Althing
In last Middle Age in Italy it arose the age of Comuni (commune in english) when free municipalities were ruled by commandants elected by the people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_city-states#Communes
Republic of San Marino in italian peninsula is the last comune republic still in life today.
It is the first and more ancient democratic republic in the world.
Its constitution (still valid today) is last from 1600 predating any other Constistution Chart worldwide.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_marino
In Swiss, since 1500 people votes in public assembiles, where all citizens decide voting for laws by raising or lowering their swords, an ensable of the fact that all Swiss citizens are ready to defend their land against all enemies.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landsgemeinde
Swiss is the only modern state to pratice the Direct Democracy as were used too native peoples of America.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_in_Switzerland
In 1700 England (as the state in Great Britain) and then France created the modern philopsophy of Illuminism that then lead and inspired first American Revolution and then even France Revolution and the "Declaration of the Rights of Man".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Rights_of_Man
Speaking of facts, the democracy in United States was born with natural attitude of english people to kept their privileges as freemen and yeoman's, enriched with viking instituitions precedents, tempered with experience of american natives in pow-wow and public assemblies in which Chiefs of the indian nations were elected by the people of the tribe, and also aerican democracy got its laws, rules and precedents by using even rules, political terms, (and so on) from ancient Greece, and european modern age illuminism, that made part of the cultural inheritage of American Patriots.
So please NejinOniwa, first than saying that "either" Europe has not an history of democracy just has it had not Italy too, I think you must got some information first.
Can we please stick to the topic? ><
This is why it's good to avoid the topic of politics... if not for civility... for the sake of being on-topic.
There also appears to be a bit of misunderstanding...
Regardless, the discussion is off-topic and should really be steered more towards the proposed internet tax.
Hate to say this, but...
Microsoft might have the right idea. Just a bad way of going about it.
I would kill bill gates... that better never happen
Hey, this is the man who decided that software wouldn't be free.
Before him, pretty much, everyone thought that intangible software would be free: until Bill Gates built a monopoly around charging for software. But freeware did come along, so...
Don't forget: Steve Ballmer is running the show now. Gates is only a little bit more involved in MS now than Paul Allen is.
And as I mentioned before, this is the same company that suggested open-sourcing the .NET framework.
Therefore, I propose that Ballmer is bipolar, or something.
The guy suggesting that must have had a word with the Norwegian government. They put a tax on everything and then they put another tax on top again just to make sure...