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Gold/Mining/Energy : Gold Price Monitor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (8161)	3/9/1998 8:53:00 AM
From: Bucky Katt	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116912

What you described with the phone is a direct result of the computer revolution. It is zero cost to them, the tele-loop is already in place. It seems prices are headed much lower from here. Wonder when it will hit inflated housing???????????? Low oil prices will also mean big global conflicts coming. So, figure war to upset this nirvana. Is this the real reason we have a troop build-up in the mid-east???

To: Bobby Yellin who wrote (8161)	3/9/1998 8:34:00 PM
From: Bobby Yellin	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 116912

somebody I really respect wrote this to me..in rebuttal to what I said..thought it was quite valuable so I asked if I could post it and was given the okay "I took time this morning to check out some of the posts on various threads including the gold price monitor thread and noted your comments and several of those posted to you. I thought I would take time to offer a few different views and ask a question or two. First, I find it hard to believe that anyone that uses a computer would support Microsoft. I seems to me that their policies are about as anti-competitive and customer be dammed as you can get. They have a monopoly on the operating system and use it to their advantage. And, they treat customer's like dirt. They depend on customers to debug their software and never make customers aware of problems (and solutions) unless you call and identify the problem. I've been the guinea pig for many of their bugs and, on several occasions, stumbled on to fixes that they hadn't published. I don't know how many years they have taken off my life but it is several. It is not clear to me that the interface of the operating system is as well defined as it should be to assure that other providers of software can use it without problems. I know that there are a lot of conflicts between different software packages provided by others and it has never been clear to me, when I encountered such an incompatibility, whether it was a Windows problem or the fault of one of the venders. Most conflicts were solved by removing some software. Perhaps my ignorance has led me down the wrong path but, if Microsoft's operating system development business were controlled and separated from the rest, the potential for such problems would be minimized or, at least, reduced. In addition, they work with Intel to assure the need to update your PC without any real benefit to customers/users. I really don't understand why Justice hasn't gone after this effort. In fact, Intel is nearly as bad as Microsoft. No, I don't like to penalize companies that achieved success by being the best but, when a company achieves the position that Microsoft has, something has to be done. In my opinion, our system only works well when there is real competition and companies can be a greedy as possible. I don't think you can expect company executives to be "nice guys" and not take advantage of every opportunity. It is contrary to human nature. AT&T types did their best to take advantage of their monopoly in the past but the Bell System was a regulated monopoly. I'm still not convinced that breaking it up was, on balance, good for the consumer. However, it is clear to me that there is no middle ground. In every situation where we have tried to regulate without complete separation, I think there have been problems. In the deregulation of the telephone industry, they said telcos could set up separate subsidiaries where they were entering a competitive market and expected the subs to function as separate companies. No way! Not only do this not work but it puts executives in positions where they are sure to do things that may result in their being sent to jail. More work for parasitic attorneys. It is not surprising the Explorer has capabilities that aren't available with Netscape. Microsoft assures that Netscape will be at least a step behind. However, I am in the process of deciding whether to jump to Explorer. I haven't because of the many users that have told me of problems up grading to Exp. 4.0. I had almost decided to upgrade to Netscape 4.0 but maybe I should reconsider. Maybe the bugs are out of Exp. 4.0. Is there something that I might use that would make Exp. 4.0 superior? As you can see, I love Microsoft. Actually, I several very good friends in responsible positions in Microsoft. Second: You have mentioned favorably the economic policies of France several times. I guess I have a somewhat opposite view. I've spent a lot of time in France and love the people. I have attended meetings in all parts of the country and used to spend week ends in France while attending meetings in Geneva. The Country is still somewhat of mystery to me because the standard of living is so poor for most and yet citizens are more nationalistic than in any other Country that I know. There is also a wealthy class in France but I don't know how they managed to accumulate or hold wealth. I have been told that there is corruption beneath the surface that supports some but I have never seen anything that confirms this. I know the Presidents of several major electronics companies in France and none are very well off. They all complain about the taxes and the control exerted by the Unions but none talk about moving out. The engineers that I know (at all levels in France Telecom an other companies) all appear to be of modest means by comparison to those with equivalent jobs in the US. And, while they are guaranteed survival money when they retire, it is no more than survival money that and they apparently aren't permitted to work supplement their income. As I'm sure you have heard, the French solution to the unemployment problem is to reduce the work week - spread the pain, rather than changing the system to eliminate the pain, The situation if Germany is apparently worse. They are rapidly moving towards a situation where each nonworker is supported by fewer than two workers. Their system must be changed or it will fail. The social programs in both countries have trained generations how not to work. The Bruits were just a bad but Thacher actually succeeded in turning the clock back but I think this change may be transitory. Third, what do you mean by "since people are using gold as a proxy for inflation instead of a safe haven for all the currency meltdowns..can you imagine how many more countries are going to get into trouble with the low energy prices..(natural gas seems stronger)"? I don't understand either the first statement or the conclusion. I'm sorry to be so thick. In addition, I would like to understand your following statement: "also heard that there are double the cars out there in US than in the sixties..but maybe they run on "something else"..it is just the parking places that are in short supply.. I would have guessed that there are more than twice and many cars out there using about the same amount of fuel. My car in the 60s got from 12 to 15 miles per gallon. Today, my larger car gets 25 to 28 miles per gallon and most cars on the road do at least as well (I think). Does this explain the "something else" or have I missed you point entirely. I will get back to giving a view on this later, if I have time: "Who was it that posted the article saying actually how much a crude barrel costs when you factor in all the military intervention and possible bailouts..the bottom line is who pays for all those hidden costs? Who really benefits in the end and who suffers in the end?" Your telephone experience is evidence of the benefit/adverse impact of a free market. "(anybody experience this one..friend called me when my line was busy and phone company cut in and said if you pay so much since the line is busy..we will call you back when line is free or something like that..another time my answering machine was off and phone company cut in and said for 75 cents or something like that we will relay the message...just mentioning that one to show all the temptations and the grabbing at money..etc..."impulse shopping anyone?)" The computer revolution that Jepson refers to in his response to you is not the stimulant but rather it is also the benefactor of the advances in semiconductor technology. These advances have made it possible to do almost anything the human mind can dream up and, for each idea, there is a marketing type that thinks of a way to make some money on it. I only wish we could get laws in place that would prevent companies from bugging me with offers of services and things I don't want. I never answer my office telephone anymore and let all the calls go to my answering machine to avoid the telemarketing calls. Last, you can imagine what I think of this idea; though I'm not sure that explorer would win. " (another aside..just wrote email to Microsoft saying they should have a contest between their explorer and Netscape to see which performs better..certain nothing will come of it..but I tried)"