It's a good thing you left.  It kept you from wasting time making new thre--

Wait, what?

Zigfried Sucks Ghostbusters Is As Fun As Janskeet.

With wild green hairy lipped squid.

On the positive side, Sarah Palin is thrilled they have closed the borders.*

*Joke stolen from Jimmy Fallon

*Give it back.

I don't know.

The big bookshops like Borders initially made it impossible for many of the small bookshops to stay open, supermarkets selling best sellers cut price cut into the big shops market, sites like Amazon etc cut into the markets of both large and small shops.

E-Readers aren't really an issue, the economic downturn the increased costs in keeping large buildings open, maintaining and transporting stock and staffing them coupled with the uptake in internet sales are more key (it has the same effect on DVDs, music and games).

With the large bookshops out of the way maybe the smaller shops will have a better chance to provide something different than just best sellers.

People still like the physical shopping experience and still like physical books and small shops are cheaper to run especially on the now largely abandoned high streets of where I'm living.

Don't encourage Ghostskeet by discussing his topic!  Remember?  He wants our help in helping him leave the forum....hmmm, maybe I should PM Moth3r after all.

Although I have to assume he's read one of Ghostskeet's threads at this point and is just letting the show go on for a while...

I was responding to Warb's post and Warb certainly isn't Ghostfaced.

If he get's banned he get's banned so long as the thread isn't in of itself offensive I can't see why it would be locked and it is a subject of possible interest.

I was just making light of GS's supposed attempts to leave the forum, Bingo.  Figured I didn't need a winky...*

Bingowings said:

I don't know.

The big bookshops like Borders initially made it impossible for many of the small bookshops to stay open, supermarkets selling best sellers cut price cut into the big shops market, sites like Amazon etc cut into the markets of both large and small shops.

E-Readers aren't really an issue, the economic downturn the increased costs in keeping large buildings open, maintaining and transporting stock and staffing them coupled with the uptake in internet sales are more key (it has the same effect on DVDs, music and games).

With the large bookshops out of the way maybe the smaller shops will have a better chance to provide something different than just best sellers.

People still like the physical shopping experience and still like physical books and small shops are cheaper to run especially on the now largely abandoned high streets of where I'm living.

 Totally agree with you here. I've felt for the longest time that large big box book stores have ruined the American landscape as far as diversity is concerned. I realize the small town Andy Griffith-esque days are over, but with Borders closing a huge chunk of stores maybe it will open up these smaller family owned businesses***. I still go to these small bookstores whenever I have a chance, but I hardly ever buy any books, unless they are graphic novels about zombies and hookers.

While we are at it, lets close down Walmart, too.

For the record, I own a Kindle. Love it. Extremely convenient, especially with the job I do. I should feel the same way about Amazon as I do about Walmart and Borders, but I'm biased.

I just know my local one closed recently. Such a shame, I have fond memories of buying manga there during my horrible middle school phase.

I was paying £25 per month for an up to 8mb connection when it was supposed to be an unlimited usage connection until they changed it. You can get up to 24mb broadband now for around £6.99 per month if you take the providers phone package too, but you only get the cheaper faster service if you phone exchange has been enabled. If it hasn't then you are stuck with the slower more expensive providors

CP3S said:

ricardo said:

While we are at it, lets close down Walmart, too.

Hells yeah! Free markets be DAMNED!!! WOoOOOOOOoOOOO!!!

Wal-Mart sucks ass! I absolutely HATE getting things cheaper and being able to have my oil changed while I wait for a prescription while I shop for groceries, a new pair of work boots, shampoo, tools, light bulbs, the latest DVD I wanted to buy, and anything else I might need all in one stop. Saves way too much time! Who the hell wants to get an entire days worth of errands done in the course of an hour giving them more time to spend doing what they want with their extra free time while wasting less increasingly expensive gas driving all over town in the process? Ridiculous! Lets close that bitch DOWN! YEAH!

That's why no one else shops there and they don't make any money.

I think my sarcasm detector just exploded.

I understand the US is known for having slow internet despite having you know, invented it. Still, mine's usually fast enough for me (except when it RANDOMLY DROPS OUT, Time Warner...). I'm pretty sure we pay way too much for it, though.

CP3S said:

adywan said:

I was paying £25 per month for an up to 8mb connection when it was supposed to be an unlimited usage connection until they changed it. You can get up to 24mb broadband now for around £6.99 per month if you take the providers phone package too, but you only get the cheaper faster service if you phone exchange has been enabled. If it hasn't then you are stuck with the slower more expensive providors

Thanks, Adywan.

Okay, so with the current exchange rate, 25 quid is $40.61 in US dollars. Six pounds ninety-nine would actually be just about exactly one third of what I pay, and 24mb is definitely faster. So looks like Ghostbuster is not only right, but spot on with the one third thing, at least for some parts of the UK.

 You forgot to convert British mbaud to American mbaud.  They only have 7 and 1/3 bits in their bytes, so it's roughly a 1.6:1 ratio.  Also, the distances are actually longer since they use KM in lieu of miles, so you have to factor that in as well.

By my math, that means that their 24mb is actually the same as our -5.4mb.  Assuming that they're still using imperial seconds, that is.

xhonzi said:

 You forgot to convert British mbaud to American mbaud.  They only have 7 and 1/3 bits in their bytes, so it's roughly a 1.6:1 ratio.  Also, the distances are actually longer since they use KM in lieu of miles, so you have to factor that in as well.

By my math, that means that their 24mb is actually the same as our -5.4mb.  Assuming that they're still using imperial seconds, that is.

Well if your 5.4mb can download a 4.5gb iso in around 20 minutes then yes it is the same ;)

We're just getting 100mb fibre optic broadband here so i'm preying that BT get their finger out of their ass and start laying some optics in places other than the southern regions

xhonzi said:

CP3S said:

ricardo said:

While we are at it, lets close down Walmart, too.

Hells yeah! Free markets be DAMNED!!! WOoOOOOOOoOOOO!!!

Wal-Mart sucks ass! I absolutely HATE getting things cheaper and being able to have my oil changed while I wait for a prescription while I shop for groceries, a new pair of work boots, shampoo, tools, light bulbs, the latest DVD I wanted to buy, and anything else I might need all in one stop. Saves way too much time! Who the hell wants to get an entire days worth of errands done in the course of an hour giving them more time to spend doing what they want with their extra free time while wasting less increasingly expensive gas driving all over town in the process? Ridiculous! Lets close that bitch DOWN! YEAH!

That's why no one else shops there and they don't make any money.

 hahahhaha!!!! That's why I shop Amazon. Plus all the vehicle burglaries, robberies, purse snatching, assaults, etc that tend to congregate in the parking lot tend to keep me away from such a sordid place.

That and I'm lazy.