How to solve:

1. Rent DVD.
2. Rip.
3. Put on 5th Gen iPod.
4. Give Apple finger.
5. Move on.

I worked in retail for about 5 years in Toronto, where there was always the possibility for counterfeit bills. Hardly anyone knew -any- of the ways to check a bill. Some thought you had to have a UV light, but wouldn't really know what to look for.

One day when taking the deposit to the bank, I realized that bank tellers can tell almost instantly if something is fake, and so I just asked them. There's 2-3 incredibly easy ways you can determine a counterfeit and all without a UV light. I don't know how many times I repeated that info in the next few years to others who had no clue.

At least, that's with Canadian dollars, but I assume Euros are no different for ways to determine counterfeit.

@ #12: I had this happen to a friend with Rogers last year. She was using Limewire and Azureus, and they put her service on hold and notified by phone. They told her if it "happened again" they'd cancel her service.

Although I personally never use Limewire, I do use Azureus and have never had a problem with getting "caught." I also use PeerGuardian but I have no idea if it really works or not. Though pre-PeerGuardian I did get a threatening email from Rogers as per NBC for downloading an episode of The Office.

I've been told by a friend who works for a company involved in the throttling, that essentially the situation is ISPs not wanting to upgrade the "pipes" and thus punishing anyone who is making the current situation difficult for them.

In a way, it'd be like a fast food restaurant only having 2 tills open, but when the line-ups go through the door, the restaurant blames the customers for the delay instead of just upgrading the facilities and hiring more staff.

It's just about profit.

I think someone giving up on Macs over this is a little harsh. If you're at all tech-savvy and bought any DRM-ridden tracks/videos from iTunes then you get what you deserve.

Otherwise it's like suing McDonald's for coffee being too hot.

Afterall, as has been posted several times, if you're not buying anything from iTunes, then the Apple DRM restrictions doesn't affect you. It's wrong, sure, but that's why I don't buy anything from iTunes in the first place.

A lot of people didn't read the letter.

- An exit row is not an aisle seat, but the row in which the emergency exits are located. These rows have superior leg room compared to other rows. This can be a major comfort issue for someone taller then 5'8" and if someone is able to get this row there is no reason for them not to try.

On that note, the flight was from NYC to Kansas City, which is a 3+ hour flight. It's no transatlantic, but it's still 3 hours. Whether paying $100 or $400, you deserve to get the best for your dollar, especially if an exit row and a 'normal' row cost the same price and you prefer the exit row.

- The problem is not that he "didn't get what he wanted" but that he didn't get what he was told he was getting. If they didn't want to give him a seat in that row, they could've not given it to him but at least told him at the counter that they couldn't accommodate that request.

- For the $25 voucher, although he mentions a free trip would be ideal, he also points out that the problem with the voucher is it's just a credit. Even a $25 cheque/refund would've been preferred because he would be getting reimbursement on the flight already flown. The voucher requires him to buy another flight. On top of that, if the flight is a $200+, saving $25 is hardly any kind of reimbursement.

I've found salespeople (at least in terms of computers, electronics, cars) essentially obsolete ever since I first got internet in '96.

Something like this at Circuit City wouldn't have any effect on how I go about purchases. In fact, something that I've come to dislike about smaller chain electronics stores is that they haven't properly adapted to the online era.

For me it's a store's website that is the best salesperson. A lot of the smaller chains will never have my business because I can't be bother to travel around to 4-5 other non-chain stores or listen to salespeople go through something I'd rather read myself (it's like being forced to listen to a book on tape) all for a product that likely will not be cheaper then Best Buy.

You can find out so much about a product from the internet, including reading multiple detailed reviews on products (perhaps from sites that you've developed a trust for instead of a random clerk at -any- store), check prices, and form your own opinion.

It burns all the same.

Its all about consumer freedom and how threatening it is to corporations.

I just picked up Saul Williams' latest album last week. I voluntarily paid $5 for a legal download.

This is an artist that I found out about through a friend, and who was also supported by a band I've liked for years (Nine Inch Nails) and who I saw on tour with them in 2006.

He 'leaked' two of his own tracks via P2P, then offered the album for either free download at 192kps or a paid download at a choice of 192kps, 356kps, or lossless FLAC. All DRM-free, even the free version. It included cover art and a 33-page PDF booklet.

The point is, here is an artist with no local radio support, no corporate support, who I found out through a friend (who found out through the net) and is currently heavily supported by a major 'band' who has just gone label-free. He offered his album for free, or for a cost that offered CD-quality DRM-free music for a respectable cost of only $5.

If I was a suit, I'd be scared of that becoming the norm too.