Re: long-lasting cars
Is there any link between aircraft manufacturing and car manufacturing concerning the life of the product.? Cars and aircraft can be made to last 20 or more years, but they require constant repairs. Any car can last 20 or more years, you just have to repair those parts that break. A car that has hassle free parts for 20 years is going to cost quite a bit more. Should this car that lasts 20 years be hassle free. If so, then what kind of technology is going to create a repair free car for 20 years? Seon.
Re: Re[2]: Pocket Change
That is true that people are forced to accept the Euro. However, there is alot of questioning about border countries and the effect they will have. I know that where I originate from (Northern Ireland) that people there will have to often choose which coinage they prefer. With only eleven countries participating, there are still four out there who will be cautious. People will have to use the coinage the question is whether or not they like it. We in America have had many coins fail to catch on. The whole world has had coins that dont succeed. People will have to give up the national identity that they have on their own coinage. I am not totally sure, but I had heard that there would be different types of coins as far as the print on them. This would be similar to the fifty state coins that the US is putting in business. People ! ! in Europe may not like certain coins and may decide not to carry those in their pockets because of dislike for certain countries. Its going to be tough. We can see in Russia that people do not have to accept the coinage that is in place for their country. The Euro will have to be stabilized at a reasonable level or Europeans could just as well float dollars in there stores.
Re: RU-486
To think of permitting death as a "forgone opportunity cost" does not seem to be a subject that should be discussed. Personally, I agree with the critics who cite that this drug will lead to increased abortions due to its ease of access and other factors. This will certainly be a welcome substitute for surgical abortions, yet I agree with Lynn Gray who stated that the "forgone opportunity costs" of the loss in children will always be greater than any opportunity cost associated with a drug used for indiscriminatory killing.
B2B
I came across the internet phenomena of B2B(business to business) the other day and was wondering if it is a subject that economics has looked at yet or if anyone had any comment on it. If you dont know what it is the, the idea I got was that it involves a company which purchases good directly from the manufacture and then sells those goods directly to the consumer. There is no need for warehouses as the goods are sent to the individuals and not the company. I was given the example of tires, whereby they are bought from say Goodyear and then sold to someone online and shipped to their homes. It seemed like there was something illegal about it. Anyone know any more?
Adobe and pdf files
I just read the series of correspondence considering the Xerox machine and the usage of the term "Xerox" to refer to photocopying. Now the problem I have does not have to do with the term but with the use of advertising by providing a free product. Adobe acrobat and its free reader for pdf files was the first thing that came to mind. Is it really cost effective for Adobe to provide a free pdf reader when they could possibly sell it on the open market. I know they sell other products related to pdf files, but is the advertising of the free reader really encouraging people to take advantage of their other products or is it causing people to abuse the reader and its benefits. Seon
Re: harry potter
I had the feeling that it had nothing to do with economics but was an advertising ploy. If the media gets the word out through the publishers that there is a shortage of potter books to meet the expected demand then it will be looked at as a successful launch. By duping the public into believing that there is a great demand for the book, then that in itself creates increased demand and they can continue to print after they have calculated the success of there advertising. I never have heard such an uproar for any other book, for example Monica lewinskys book, that would cause people to go buy it based on the fact that others ae buying it. ADVERTISING WORKS, when done right. This all may be false but it seems like it could be true from my standpoint. Who knows? Seon
