Philips hates consumers

[SOB]

Originally posted by beet1e
Oh I wouldn't worry about that. There's no chance of the end user submitting that many hits because of limitations created by their own service providers. Where I live, I get a 1MBit connection. In Scandinavia, 10MBit is possible, so yes - if everyone had a connection like that, there could be bandwidth problems.

But in certain backward areas, they still have.... d-d-d-d-dialup!

Limitations?  Where I live, I get a 1.5 Mbit connection because I'm trying out DSL at the moment.  I'm not very happy with it though, since it's too slow (never thought I'd find 1.5 Mbit slow!), so I'll be switching back to the 6 Mbit Cable Intardnet.

My stepdad still uses dialup, and I can barely stand it when I visit, but for him it's cheap and goes as fast as he needs it to, to check his email and do his banking.

[Jackal1]

Originally posted by beet1e


But in certain backward areas, they still have.... d-d-d-d-dialup!

Yes and in certain areas of the backwoods, such as the lake area I live in, we consider it quite sufficient and also a nice trade off for not having to endure pompous, whining little pests.
At any time wireless and satellite are available.
Your point?

 I looked at that cable cost whine thread again, and out of about 25 people who replied, I counted 8 who were paying $80/mo or more. Plus there were many others who were paying far more than I pay. [/B]

[/QUOTE]

And once again , your point is what?
Like I said those that pay the price in the U.S. do it of their own free will for extended entertainment same as renting DVDs.
So now we are down to $80, huh? Another bid for Beetle equality maybe?
I don`t pay that much. What I do pay, I pay by choice.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by SOB
Beet, you're not stupid enough to believe that the programming available in the U.S. for $80 - $150 is comparable to the programming received in the U.K. for $10 license fee.  Comparing apples to oranges in a failed attempt to prove your point, you're either trolling or you've momentarily slipped your head up your ass.

Difficult to make a like for like comparison, SOB, as many of the guys in the Cable thread also get their Intardnet service with the same package. We have that here too - a company called NTL seems to lead the field in that.

Like I said, I could get around 35 channels for the same TV licence fee of ~$17/month. But I'm not really interested in the number of channels because I know I'd end up watching only 4-5 anyway. That has been Dowding's experience. ^

EN4CER summed it up in that other thread when he said "$105 for Optimum Online IO - 300+ Channels - mostly crap tho. HBO Package etc. plus Optimum Online." Personally, I'd rather have 6 good channels for $17/mo  than 300 channels of crap and a few sweeteners for $105/mo.

Jackal! Yes, I pay that TV licence fee of my own free will. If I chose not to pay it, I would also choose not to use the TV. But in your case, if you chose NOT to pay your cable company, the choice not to watch the TV would made for you.

[Jackal1]

Originally posted by beet1e
Jackal! Yes, I pay that TV licence fee of my own free will. If I chose not to pay it, I would also choose not to use the TV.  

There is no choice. You pay or in violation of your laws. Simple.

But in your case, if you chose NOT to pay your cable company, the choice not to watch the TV would made for you.

Wrong. Here, I`ll help you out again since you find it so difficult

From where I am I can throw up a 20 buck antenna and get 11 channels crystal clear. With a rotor I can get more.

You really should look into the scroll method. Try A windows tutorial perhaps.

[Jackal1]

Originally posted by SOB
Beet, you're not stupid enough to believe that the programming available in the U.S. for $80 - $150 is comparable to the programming received in the U.K. for $10 license fee.  Comparing apples to oranges in a failed attempt to prove your point, you're either trolling or you've momentarily slipped your head up your ass.

Momentarily??????
The clock stopped.

[Bruno]

EN4CER summed it up in that other thread when he said "$105 for Optimum Online IO - 300+ Channels - mostly crap tho. HBO Package etc. plus Optimum Online." Personally, I'd rather have 6 good channels for $17/mo than 300 channels of crap and a few sweeteners for $105/mo.

The choice is not between 105 USD a month or 17. Cable and satellite rates vary with the package, by region and service provider. I can guarantee you that I don't pay anywhere that much even if I combine my DSL, phone and satellite together. Like Jackal said for the cost of a good antenna you can get quite few channels.

OTOH You either pay or violate the law.

We have 'state sponsored TV' in the form of PBS which  receives money from the federal government and through fund raising and donations.

[beet1e]

Originally posted by Bruno
We have 'state sponsored TV' in the form of PBS which  receives money from the federal government and through fund raising and donations.

Yes, I used to watch the PBS stations when I lived in the US. They were the only ones worth having, IMO. I don't really have an issue with the TV licence fee - it's such a paltry amount that I don't even think of it. There are plenty of other payments we have to make - both here and in the US - which are compulsory, like income taxes and property taxes, that $17/mo is just loose change.

Hey jackal - I've just been reading in  this thread that dildos are banned in Texas. So how come you're allowed to live there?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

You see US people bash their media all the time for being biased (CNN - Communist News Network) etc. but bash europeans for having a publicly funded, unbiased news. It's the same old superiority complex bashing that these boards are filled with.

I feel sorry for most of you people, really.

[Jackal1]

Originally posted by beet1e

Hey jackal - I've just been reading in  this thread that dildos are banned in Texas. So how come you're allowed to live there?

If that`s the best you can do.................give it up.
BTW.......your facts are incorrect as usual.
You sure spend a lot of time worrying and whining about Texas....well the U.S. in general, but Texas really gets your envy goat to humpin.
Someone who comes to a U.S. based board to whine about the U.S. on such a constant level as yourself is a big enough tool, but someone who comes to a U.S. based board owned by a Texas company to whine about Texas is the true ultimate. True colors/shine through.


Your interest in dildos does seem to fit though.

[lazs2]

beet... it is easy to make an apples to apples comparisson.   You buy a TV and in order to turn it on you have to pay a tax.   Once you have paid the tax you get to see some crap BBC stuff that is broadcast over your airwaves.... If you want anything other than that you pay additional fees to cable or satalite companies and get HBO or whatever.

We buy a tv and turn it on for free (except the power to run it) normally, doing so would get you about 2-5 commercial channels VHF including very boring NPTV (BBC like) and maybe a couple more UHF.  If we want more we pay a fee and hook up to cable or satalite and pay for a basic fee between $30-150 dollars including internet.

Why not just scramble the BBC crap and sell the descrambler for those who owned a TV and wanted to get it?

And... If you go to jail for "contempt of court" for a court ordered payment of a tax/fee on TV then it is indeed your government enforcing the tax by rule of force.

lazs

[beet1e]

Lazs, you have not read my earlier posts carefully enough.

beet... it is easy to make an apples to apples comparisson. You buy a TV and in order to turn it on you have to pay a tax.

No, it will function perfectly well, whether or not the licence fee has been paid. I watched TV without paying a licence fee for about four years during my poor years. I lived in a succession of shared dwellings back then. I don't even know if anyone paid for a TV licence where I lived, but what I do know is that at no time did the landlord come to me and demand my share of any TV licence fee. And I never paid...

If you want anything other than that you pay additional fees to cable or satalite companies and get HBO or whatever.

No, I have already told you, about three times actually, that with a decoder box, you can get an extra ~30 channels. There is no additional licence fee, and no additional monthly charges for having one.

And... If you go to jail for "contempt of court" for a court ordered payment of a tax/fee on TV then it is indeed your government enforcing the tax by rule of force.

No-one is "forced" to pay for a TV licence - if you have no TV you don't need a licence. Non-payment of fines is handled the same way whatever the offence - same as it is in the US. Or are you telling me that in the US, the payment of fines for minor offences, such as parking violations, is voluntary?

Let me ask you something - if you refused to pay for your electricity - including that used to power your TV, would the electricity company lie down and take it, or would they disconnect your supply and initiate proceedings to recover the debt?

[lazs2]

beet.... you were a criminal who simply did not get caught.   You could buy a TV but if you turned it on you risked prison.

I have read what you write... It does not change what I say.   The truth is that you are paying a tax or you can't even turn on your TV without it being a criminal act.   You have allready bought the TV and the electricity to run it.

If you want any worthwhile TV you can hook up to a satalite or cable just like us no?  Can you get HBO say?

the electric company will simply shut off your electricity if you don't pay.   we do not have any debtors prisons left from english tradition other than court ordered and taxes.

And that is my problem with your system... turning on the tv sets both of those in motion.

We never agree because we don't agree on the concept of freedom... you feel that any government control that you personaly don't mind in the past and right up till this moment in time is not really.... really what?  a governmment restriction on your freedom?  on anyone elses in your country?

Socialists have allways seemed very short sighted to me... they think only of themselves and of the minute they are living in.

lazs

[beet1e]

Originally posted by lazs2
beet.... you were a criminal who simply did not get caught.   You could buy a TV but if you turned it on you risked prison.

No, we (ie. all the people living in the house) risked a fine, or maybe it was the landlord's responsibility to cover it out of the rent we paid. Whatever, it would have been such a piffling amount between 4 of us that we wouldn't even notice. Given the choice of paying the fine or facing the consequences of non-payment, most people would pay the fine. There was never any risk of prison.

The truth is that you are paying a tax or you can't even turn on your TV without it being a criminal act.

And in California, I do believe you have to register your vehicle and pay a tax which is a proportion of the value of the car before you can drive it. Of course, this does not mean that the car won't start until you have paid. Over here, the equivalent of the California vehicle registration is the tax disc - about £120 for me annually. There is no registration fee as such, but in CA I'd have to pay thousands of $$$ to register the car or face arrest.

If you want any worthwhile TV you can hook up to a satalite or cable just like us no? Can you get HBO say?

Like I said - and this is now the FOURTH time - with a decoder box, you can get an extra ~30 channels. There is no additional licence fee, and no additional monthly charges for having one.

I don't know whether HBO is available in the UK. We have SKY Broadcasting - a satellite service, and I do have the dish for that, but I don't subscribe to the service. I'd rather purchase DVDs on eBay or Amazon, and sell them on afterwards.

Debtors Prison? Oh puhleeeze - you're about 300 years behind the times. I can remember going on a school field trip to York in 1966, and one of the attractions was the Debtors Prison. (I chose the other alternative, which was the Railway Museum) The Debtors Prison is a museum, Lazs. Don't be paranoid! Here's a link for you: Debtors Prison, York

we do not have any debtors prisons

Neither do we, except places like York. ^ If you're ever over here again, I'll take you there.

Socialists have allways seemed very short sighted to me... they think only of themselves and of the minute they are living in.

From what I've seen of you in the gas price whine threads, you're a closet socialist yourself, what with all your pissing and moaning about all the (capitalist) profit being made by the evil oil companies, whose products you continue to buy, thereby INCREASING said profits.

[lazs2]

well... we see it differently... I see that if you are commiting a crime that you are a criminal...

UI see that if not paying a fine puts you in jail then you are risking jail by not paying the tax.

I base freedom on what I can do not on what I might want to do at this moment in time.

you somehow see those things as much less black and white.

And... I am not at all moaning about profit being made on fuel..... I am the anti socialist where as you are the supreme socialist.... you want to increase the price of fuel by adding even more harmfull taxation... I want it to rise based on demand.

lazs

[beet1e]

Originally posted by lazs2
well... we see it differently... I see that if you are commiting a crime that you are a criminal...

Lazs, when I moved into the house I shared in SW London in 1976, the last thing on my mind was whether anyone had bought a freaking TV licence. Wearing a seatbelt is mandatory in California, as it is here, but you have said you don't wear yours. Does this make you a criminal? If you get stopped, do you get fined? Do you pay these fines, or do you risk jail by not paying?

And... I am not at all moaning about profit being made on fuel..... I am the anti socialist where as you are the supreme socialist.... you want to increase the price of fuel by adding even more harmfull taxation... I want it to rise based on demand.

I don't like paying for road fuel any more than the next man. And I haven't proposed any new fuel taxes. But guess who has? HangTime! He wants an export tax and huge tariffs! I guess that makes him a socialist. Check him out: http://www.hitechcreations.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176340

you somehow see those things as much less black and white.

I guess we must be talking about TVs again - you're right, mine is colour!