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A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

gerv.net

41–47 of 47 posts

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#41
post #5

"New computer users should find our services valuable, and a time saver. If you are an advanced computer user, you probably don't need our services. " I think they missed making that more clear, suggested rewrite: "Clueless newbies we like to rip off, everybody else is a waste of our bandwidth, so go away" Euclidinvestments/Cardtransaction.com, the company behind all this is based in the UK: Saphie Number One Limited…

That's in a very expensive (mainly residential) area in Central London called Marylebone. The asking price for an average flat in that area is around £2 million ($3.25 million) at the moment. I would be really surprised if that was the real premises of that company. Most likely they just rent a mailbox there.

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does Microsoft take liability for any of their software? The Windows XP EULA states "Except for any refund elected by Microsoft, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, if the Software does not meet Microsoft's Limited Warranty, and, to the maximum extent allowed by applicable law, even if any remedy fails of its essential purpose." It goes on to state that the only re…

And yet all Software needs to be upgraded before Microsoft stops "supporting" it. In 10 years of using their software in the industry I have never had any actual support from Microsoft.

I bet you've applied a service pack or a hotfix tho'.

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#43
post #38
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The premise of capitalism (especially capitalism as moral philosophy) is that if two parties come together & a transaction occurs, both walk away better off. Otherwise the transaction would not occur. Therefore, it cannot be considered immoral. Protection against corruption/taking advantage is built in. Don't like it? Don't buy it.

Of course the slight problem is that the underlying axioms of capitalism/free marketism is that the only possible consumer is God, as you need to have perfect information about the entire universe so that you can make the correct transactions. When your economic system is based on the idea that omniscience is required of everyone taking part, it is impossible to make statements about how fool proof the system is.

I don't think this is an axiom of capitalism.

It might be an axiom of some models of capitalism. It would be very hard for an analyst to reason about a transaction if you were required to take imperfect information into account.

Interestingly, in a different model you might factor in the cost of obtaining information about the transaction; and still determine that it was more efficient for you to pay £75 than find the free Firefox.

You would still be rational. Just very rich, or perhaps extremely lazy. But you are not required to be omniscient in that model, only able to estimate the cost of obtaining the information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_information

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"all the moral righteousness is pretty funny/sad at the same time. they're charging for access to their call center basically. I don't really see anything wrong with that." Really? Despite the fact that what the site in question is doing is blatantly predatory in nature? I would be willing to wager that it heavily depends on the naivety of new (read: probably elderly) computer users in order to make money. If you're…

monopolies only happen because of government enforcement. no price fixing has ever been maintained in history that was not supported by the government. If you have a counter example I would love to hear it because I have done considerable searching on the subject. you're talking about corporatism, plain and simple. as far as being blatantly predatory, unless the site actually lies there isn't a problem. if telling ha…

"monopolies only happen because of government enforcement." Yes, except when the government breaks 'em up. Trust-busting, anyone? See Standard Oil, or for that matter, the Sherman Antitrust Act. I'm really sick of this hearing this. It's like the unabated capitalism of the 19th and 20th centuries never occurred.

You talk as though the government arbitrarily picks which corporate entities will become powerful monopolies and which will fail. Last time I checked, the market--that mystical thing people like you so dutifully worship--renders such judgment. What you perceive should is some kind of government patronage, usually at the level of individual politicians, that allows a monopoly situation to arise in the first place, is actually corporate interests intervening in political life for the purposes of fostering a monopolistic agenda and practice. Look at any political campaign. Where does much of the funding come from? Why do corporate interests fund both parties? Simple, to gain a political foot-in-the-door, so to speak. Hell, look at many government advisorial position. Most are occupied by former (although still share holding) CEOs. And corporate directorial boards? They contain former politicians, many with considerable ties to political figures holding office.

"as far as being blatantly predatory, unless the site actually lies there isn't a problem. if telling half truths is morally wrong then you have some bigger demons to grapple with"

Your cavalier attitude toward this kind of behavior is sickening, at best. If you feel exploitation in any form is justified, then you will have to deal with whatever comes your way, chief.

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, it's not that hard to get a merchant account considering their site is very straight forward. They list their address, the site has a secure cert and numbers to the tech support. It's all the things that companies like Auth.net ask for. That being said, my computer raises all sorts of red-flags when I go to the site. Now, I just wonder how good their customer service is, 'cause if clueless newbies fall for…

You wouldn't want someone to miss out on clicking that final submit button. They're scammers, pure and simple, they should have no right to a merchant account. I don't even much care if it is legal or not, legal does not always mean 'right' and in this case 'legal' might be clearly 'wrong'. VISA et al make lots of value judgments as to which customers can have merchant accounts and which don't. So in this case they c…

It's a sad state when legit businesses get denied yet scammers make it through several "hoops" (getting a certificate/getting a merch account). Try and try again...we worked with RBS world services and they were really helpful in getting things squared away (they even provided sample sites and pointed out where ours was lacking). It's often a very simple thing that flags their "risk management" department (these are the simple things that the scammer in question did correctly).

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

monopolies only happen because of government enforcement. no price fixing has ever been maintained in history that was not supported by the government. If you have a counter example I would love to hear it because I have done considerable searching on the subject. you're talking about corporatism, plain and simple. as far as being blatantly predatory, unless the site actually lies there isn't a problem. if telling ha…

"monopolies only happen because of government enforcement." Yes, except when the government breaks 'em up. Trust-busting, anyone? See Standard Oil, or for that matter, the Sherman Antitrust Act. I'm really sick of this hearing this. It's like the unabated capitalism of the 19th and 20th centuries never occurred. You talk as though the government arbitrarily picks which corporate entities will become powerful monopoli…

please educate yourself before spouting off http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil

as for exploitation: I am an aware consumer, and everyone else should be too. relying on mommy regulation agency to protect people leads to corruption, or are you unaware of how many deaths are caused by the FDA?

Re: A Tour Of A “Pay to Download Firefox” Site

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"monopolies only happen because of government enforcement." Yes, except when the government breaks 'em up. Trust-busting, anyone? See Standard Oil, or for that matter, the Sherman Antitrust Act. I'm really sick of this hearing this. It's like the unabated capitalism of the 19th and 20th centuries never occurred. You talk as though the government arbitrarily picks which corporate entities will become powerful monopoli…

please educate yourself before spouting off http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil as for exploitation: I am an aware consumer, and everyone else should be too. relying on mommy regulation agency to protect people leads to corruption, or are you unaware of how many deaths are caused by the FDA?

The article proves my point. What if anything are you trying to get at?

Apparently, you've never heard of the Pure Food and Drug Act either, or why it was created, given the presence of adulterants common in goods at the time. People like you don't want to understand--rather, you'd like to adhere to your flawed worldview. There's no sense in arguing with people like you. I hate to say this, but it needs to be said: you're an idiot.

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