• Re: 'Fandango'

    From Adam Funk@a24061@ducksburg.com to alt.usage.english on Mon Jan 5 17:36:26 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2025-12-18, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Rich Ulrich <rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:57:19 -0500, Tony Cooper
    <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:



    Or - the extra cost for a more efficient refrigerator, washing
    machine, etc., is more than paid for by the cheaper electric bills.
    I pointed out that trivia to a call-in radio host back in the 1970s
    and I expect it has remained true. Still, it probably needed laws
    to get rid of incandescent light bulbs as the standard.

    Just before I sold my former home to my son, I purchased a new Kenmore
    refrigerator from Sears. Fortunately, I also added an extended
    warranty. A month after the regular warranty expired, the
    refrigerator compressor died.

    Sears repaired the refrigerator two times, but the repairs lasted a
    couple of weeks each. The third time Sears replaced the refrigerator.

    A month later the new one died. This time, my son was able to return
    the Sears unit and get a Samsung refrigerator. The compressor in it
    died a few weeks ago.

    Samsung sent a repair person who installed a new compressor. My son
    asked the repair person why refrigerators die so often now when it
    used to be that a refrigerator would last for decades.

    The repair person said that the "energy saving" compressors just don't
    last like the pre-energy saving refrigerator's compressors did. Unlike
    the Maytag repairman in the TV ads, the Samsung repair person said
    he's busy five days a week replacing compressors and ice makers.

    The electricity bills may be lower, but the overall cost seems to be
    higher with "engery saving".

    And, by the way, when a refrigerator does conk out, and a factory
    technician is required to fix it, it can take weeks to get the
    appointment for the technician to make the call. My son has a small
    "bar refrigerator"(that I bought 15 years ago) in another room that
    was used until the technician came on those calls. Not much of an
    accomodation for a family of five with hungry teenagers.


    I looked at a couple of articles.
    Here's a commentary on live-span of appliances. Some graphs.

    https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2025/03/01/do_household_appliances_reall
    y_not_last_as_long_as_they_used_to_1093575.html#:~:text=Technicians%20blame%20an%20industry%20push,and%20more%20costly%20to%20repair.


    Yep, some don't last as long as they used to. But the extra
    electronics and added features of refrigerators seem to get
    blamed for them. I did see one comment about energy-
    efficient compressors, but more comments about other stuff,
    oincluding, more plastics and less metal in construction.

    And in particular, the software needed to use that electronics.
    The always evil European Commission is brooding on Euro legislation
    to the point that if an 'intelligent' appliance is sold with software
    needed to use that 'intelligence,
    then that software -must- be maintained
    for at least some given number of years.
    Likewise, if websites are necessary, they must be kept up.

    There have been complaints about .app-s not being maintained at all,
    thereby making the appliance non-intelligent, or even unusable,

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is
    required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).
    --
    Patriotism assumes that our globe is divided into little spots, each
    one surrounded by an iron gate. Those who have had the fortune of
    being born on some particular spot consider themselves nobler, better,
    grander, more intelligent than those living beings inhabiting any
    other spot. --Emma Goldman
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Steve Hayes@hayesstw@telkomsa.net to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 04:39:48 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:36:26 +0000, Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com>
    wrote:

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is >required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).

    Good idea!
    --
    Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
    Web: http://www.khanya.org.za/stevesig.htm
    Blog: http://khanya.wordpress.com
    E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 10:43:56 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

    On 2025-12-18, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Rich Ulrich <rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:57:19 -0500, Tony Cooper
    <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:



    Or - the extra cost for a more efficient refrigerator, washing
    machine, etc., is more than paid for by the cheaper electric bills.
    I pointed out that trivia to a call-in radio host back in the 1970s
    and I expect it has remained true. Still, it probably needed laws
    to get rid of incandescent light bulbs as the standard.

    Just before I sold my former home to my son, I purchased a new Kenmore
    refrigerator from Sears. Fortunately, I also added an extended
    warranty. A month after the regular warranty expired, the
    refrigerator compressor died.

    Sears repaired the refrigerator two times, but the repairs lasted a
    couple of weeks each. The third time Sears replaced the refrigerator.

    A month later the new one died. This time, my son was able to return
    the Sears unit and get a Samsung refrigerator. The compressor in it
    died a few weeks ago.

    Samsung sent a repair person who installed a new compressor. My son
    asked the repair person why refrigerators die so often now when it
    used to be that a refrigerator would last for decades.

    The repair person said that the "energy saving" compressors just don't
    last like the pre-energy saving refrigerator's compressors did. Unlike
    the Maytag repairman in the TV ads, the Samsung repair person said
    he's busy five days a week replacing compressors and ice makers.

    The electricity bills may be lower, but the overall cost seems to be
    higher with "engery saving".

    And, by the way, when a refrigerator does conk out, and a factory
    technician is required to fix it, it can take weeks to get the
    appointment for the technician to make the call. My son has a small
    "bar refrigerator"(that I bought 15 years ago) in another room that
    was used until the technician came on those calls. Not much of an
    accomodation for a family of five with hungry teenagers.


    I looked at a couple of articles.
    Here's a commentary on live-span of appliances. Some graphs.

    https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2025/03/01/do_household_appliances_re
    all
    y_not_last_as_long_as_they_used_to_1093575.html#:~:text=Technicians%20blame%
    20an%20industry%20push,and%20more%20costly%20to%20repair.


    Yep, some don't last as long as they used to. But the extra
    electronics and added features of refrigerators seem to get
    blamed for them. I did see one comment about energy-
    efficient compressors, but more comments about other stuff,
    oincluding, more plastics and less metal in construction.

    And in particular, the software needed to use that electronics.
    The always evil European Commission is brooding on Euro legislation
    to the point that if an 'intelligent' appliance is sold with software needed to use that 'intelligence,
    then that software -must- be maintained
    for at least some given number of years.
    Likewise, if websites are necessary, they must be kept up.

    There have been complaints about .app-s not being maintained at all, thereby making the appliance non-intelligent, or even unusable,

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).

    They may not even have the source code,

    Jan
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Snidely@snidely.too@gmail.com to alt.usage.english on Tue Jan 6 15:05:01 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    J. J. Lodder speculated:
    Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

    On 2025-12-18, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Rich Ulrich <rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:57:19 -0500, Tony Cooper
    <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:



    Or - the extra cost for a more efficient refrigerator, washing
    machine, etc., is more than paid for by the cheaper electric bills. >>>>>> I pointed out that trivia to a call-in radio host back in the 1970s >>>>>> and I expect it has remained true. Still, it probably needed laws
    to get rid of incandescent light bulbs as the standard.

    Just before I sold my former home to my son, I purchased a new Kenmore >>>>> refrigerator from Sears. Fortunately, I also added an extended
    warranty. A month after the regular warranty expired, the
    refrigerator compressor died.

    Sears repaired the refrigerator two times, but the repairs lasted a
    couple of weeks each. The third time Sears replaced the refrigerator. >>>>>
    A month later the new one died. This time, my son was able to return >>>>> the Sears unit and get a Samsung refrigerator. The compressor in it >>>>> died a few weeks ago.

    Samsung sent a repair person who installed a new compressor. My son >>>>> asked the repair person why refrigerators die so often now when it
    used to be that a refrigerator would last for decades.

    The repair person said that the "energy saving" compressors just don't >>>>> last like the pre-energy saving refrigerator's compressors did. Unlike >>>>> the Maytag repairman in the TV ads, the Samsung repair person said
    he's busy five days a week replacing compressors and ice makers.

    The electricity bills may be lower, but the overall cost seems to be >>>>> higher with "engery saving".

    And, by the way, when a refrigerator does conk out, and a factory
    technician is required to fix it, it can take weeks to get the
    appointment for the technician to make the call. My son has a small >>>>> "bar refrigerator"(that I bought 15 years ago) in another room that >>>>> was used until the technician came on those calls. Not much of an
    accomodation for a family of five with hungry teenagers.


    I looked at a couple of articles.
    Here's a commentary on live-span of appliances. Some graphs.

    https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2025/03/01/do_household_appliances_re
    all
    y_not_last_as_long_as_they_used_to_1093575.html#:~:text=Technicians%20blame%
    20an%20industry%20push,and%20more%20costly%20to%20repair.


    Yep, some don't last as long as they used to. But the extra
    electronics and added features of refrigerators seem to get
    blamed for them. I did see one comment about energy-
    efficient compressors, but more comments about other stuff,
    oincluding, more plastics and less metal in construction.

    And in particular, the software needed to use that electronics.
    The always evil European Commission is brooding on Euro legislation
    to the point that if an 'intelligent' appliance is sold with software
    needed to use that 'intelligence,
    then that software -must- be maintained
    for at least some given number of years.
    Likewise, if websites are necessary, they must be kept up.

    There have been complaints about .app-s not being maintained at all,
    thereby making the appliance non-intelligent, or even unusable,

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is
    required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).

    They may not even have the source code,

    Jan

    I remember having to prepare a code snapshot to be sent to the
    copyright office. This was in the 1980s, and at some point we seem to
    have just had a corporate archive.

    /dps
    --
    "First thing in the morning, before I have coffee, I read the obits, If
    I'm not in it, I'll have breakfast." -- Carl Reiner, to CBS News in
    2015.
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Adam Funk@a24061@ducksburg.com to alt.usage.english on Thu Jan 8 18:40:15 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    On 2026-01-06, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

    On 2025-12-18, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Rich Ulrich <rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:57:19 -0500, Tony Cooper
    <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:



    Or - the extra cost for a more efficient refrigerator, washing
    machine, etc., is more than paid for by the cheaper electric bills.
    I pointed out that trivia to a call-in radio host back in the 1970s
    and I expect it has remained true. Still, it probably needed laws
    to get rid of incandescent light bulbs as the standard.

    Just before I sold my former home to my son, I purchased a new Kenmore >> >> >refrigerator from Sears. Fortunately, I also added an extended
    warranty. A month after the regular warranty expired, the
    refrigerator compressor died.

    Sears repaired the refrigerator two times, but the repairs lasted a
    couple of weeks each. The third time Sears replaced the refrigerator. >> >> >
    A month later the new one died. This time, my son was able to return
    the Sears unit and get a Samsung refrigerator. The compressor in it
    died a few weeks ago.

    Samsung sent a repair person who installed a new compressor. My son
    asked the repair person why refrigerators die so often now when it
    used to be that a refrigerator would last for decades.

    The repair person said that the "energy saving" compressors just don't >> >> >last like the pre-energy saving refrigerator's compressors did. Unlike >> >> >the Maytag repairman in the TV ads, the Samsung repair person said
    he's busy five days a week replacing compressors and ice makers.

    The electricity bills may be lower, but the overall cost seems to be
    higher with "engery saving".

    And, by the way, when a refrigerator does conk out, and a factory
    technician is required to fix it, it can take weeks to get the
    appointment for the technician to make the call. My son has a small
    "bar refrigerator"(that I bought 15 years ago) in another room that
    was used until the technician came on those calls. Not much of an
    accomodation for a family of five with hungry teenagers.


    I looked at a couple of articles.
    Here's a commentary on live-span of appliances. Some graphs.

    https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2025/03/01/do_household_appliances_re
    all
    y_not_last_as_long_as_they_used_to_1093575.html#:~:text=Technicians%20blame%
    20an%20industry%20push,and%20more%20costly%20to%20repair.


    Yep, some don't last as long as they used to. But the extra
    electronics and added features of refrigerators seem to get
    blamed for them. I did see one comment about energy-
    efficient compressors, but more comments about other stuff,
    oincluding, more plastics and less metal in construction.

    And in particular, the software needed to use that electronics.
    The always evil European Commission is brooding on Euro legislation
    to the point that if an 'intelligent' appliance is sold with software
    needed to use that 'intelligence,
    then that software -must- be maintained
    for at least some given number of years.
    Likewise, if websites are necessary, they must be kept up.

    There have been complaints about .app-s not being maintained at all,
    thereby making the appliance non-intelligent, or even unusable,

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is
    required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).

    They may not even have the source code,

    No source code -> no copyright is how it should work.
    --
    The Nixon I remembered was absolutely humorless; I couldn't imagine
    him laughing at anything except maybe a paraplegic who wanted to vote Democratic but couldn't quite reach the lever on the voting machine.
    ---Hunter S Thompson
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From Snidely@snidely.too@gmail.com to alt.usage.english on Thu Jan 8 17:19:45 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Lo, on the 1/8/2026, Adam Funk did proclaim ...
    On 2026-01-06, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

    On 2025-12-18, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Rich Ulrich <rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:57:19 -0500, Tony Cooper
    <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:



    Or - the extra cost for a more efficient refrigerator, washing
    machine, etc., is more than paid for by the cheaper electric bills. >>>>>>> I pointed out that trivia to a call-in radio host back in the 1970s >>>>>>> and I expect it has remained true. Still, it probably needed laws >>>>>>> to get rid of incandescent light bulbs as the standard.

    Just before I sold my former home to my son, I purchased a new Kenmore >>>>>> refrigerator from Sears. Fortunately, I also added an extended
    warranty. A month after the regular warranty expired, the
    refrigerator compressor died.

    Sears repaired the refrigerator two times, but the repairs lasted a >>>>>> couple of weeks each. The third time Sears replaced the refrigerator. >>>>>>
    A month later the new one died. This time, my son was able to return >>>>>> the Sears unit and get a Samsung refrigerator. The compressor in it >>>>>> died a few weeks ago.

    Samsung sent a repair person who installed a new compressor. My son >>>>>> asked the repair person why refrigerators die so often now when it >>>>>> used to be that a refrigerator would last for decades.

    The repair person said that the "energy saving" compressors just don't >>>>>> last like the pre-energy saving refrigerator's compressors did. Unlike >>>>>> the Maytag repairman in the TV ads, the Samsung repair person said >>>>>> he's busy five days a week replacing compressors and ice makers.

    The electricity bills may be lower, but the overall cost seems to be >>>>>> higher with "engery saving".

    And, by the way, when a refrigerator does conk out, and a factory
    technician is required to fix it, it can take weeks to get the
    appointment for the technician to make the call. My son has a small >>>>>> "bar refrigerator"(that I bought 15 years ago) in another room that >>>>>> was used until the technician came on those calls. Not much of an >>>>>> accomodation for a family of five with hungry teenagers.


    I looked at a couple of articles.
    Here's a commentary on live-span of appliances. Some graphs.

    https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2025/03/01/do_household_appliances_re
    all
    y_not_last_as_long_as_they_used_to_1093575.html#:~:text=Technicians%20blame%
    20an%20industry%20push,and%20more%20costly%20to%20repair.


    Yep, some don't last as long as they used to. But the extra
    electronics and added features of refrigerators seem to get
    blamed for them. I did see one comment about energy-
    efficient compressors, but more comments about other stuff,
    oincluding, more plastics and less metal in construction.

    And in particular, the software needed to use that electronics.
    The always evil European Commission is brooding on Euro legislation
    to the point that if an 'intelligent' appliance is sold with software
    needed to use that 'intelligence,
    then that software -must- be maintained
    for at least some given number of years.
    Likewise, if websites are necessary, they must be kept up.

    There have been complaints about .app-s not being maintained at all,
    thereby making the appliance non-intelligent, or even unusable,

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is
    required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).

    They may not even have the source code,

    No source code -> no copyright is how it should work.

    As noted before, in the US you were supposed to send source code to the copyright office (1980s), but I think it was simplified to having an
    archive copy at headquarters.

    And certainly if you had any hope of getting a lawyer to take your
    case, you needed that archive copy.

    /dps
    --
    I have always been glad we weren't killed that night. I do not know
    any particular reason, but I have always been glad.
    _Roughing It_, Mark Twain
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2
  • From nospam@nospam@de-ster.demon.nl (J. J. Lodder) to alt.usage.english on Fri Jan 9 11:49:06 2026
    From Newsgroup: alt.usage.english

    Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

    On 2026-01-06, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Adam Funk <a24061@ducksburg.com> wrote:

    On 2025-12-18, J. J. Lodder wrote:

    Rich Ulrich <rich.ulrich@comcast.net> wrote:

    On Sun, 07 Dec 2025 09:57:19 -0500, Tony Cooper
    <tonycooper214@gmail.com> wrote:



    Or - the extra cost for a more efficient refrigerator, washing
    machine, etc., is more than paid for by the cheaper electric bills. >> >> >>I pointed out that trivia to a call-in radio host back in the 1970s >> >> >>and I expect it has remained true. Still, it probably needed laws
    to get rid of incandescent light bulbs as the standard.

    Just before I sold my former home to my son, I purchased a new Kenmore >> >> >refrigerator from Sears. Fortunately, I also added an extended
    warranty. A month after the regular warranty expired, the
    refrigerator compressor died.

    Sears repaired the refrigerator two times, but the repairs lasted a
    couple of weeks each. The third time Sears replaced the refrigerator. >> >> >
    A month later the new one died. This time, my son was able to return >> >> >the Sears unit and get a Samsung refrigerator. The compressor in it >> >> >died a few weeks ago.

    Samsung sent a repair person who installed a new compressor. My son >> >> >asked the repair person why refrigerators die so often now when it
    used to be that a refrigerator would last for decades.

    The repair person said that the "energy saving" compressors just don't >> >> >last like the pre-energy saving refrigerator's compressors did. Unlike >> >> >the Maytag repairman in the TV ads, the Samsung repair person said
    he's busy five days a week replacing compressors and ice makers.

    The electricity bills may be lower, but the overall cost seems to be >> >> >higher with "engery saving".

    And, by the way, when a refrigerator does conk out, and a factory
    technician is required to fix it, it can take weeks to get the
    appointment for the technician to make the call. My son has a small >> >> >"bar refrigerator"(that I bought 15 years ago) in another room that >> >> >was used until the technician came on those calls. Not much of an
    accomodation for a family of five with hungry teenagers.


    I looked at a couple of articles.
    Here's a commentary on live-span of appliances. Some graphs.

    https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2025/03/01/do_household_appliances
    _re
    all
    y_not_last_as_long_as_they_used_to_1093575.html#:~:text=Technicians%20bla
    me%
    20an%20industry%20push,and%20more%20costly%20to%20repair.


    Yep, some don't last as long as they used to. But the extra
    electronics and added features of refrigerators seem to get
    blamed for them. I did see one comment about energy-
    efficient compressors, but more comments about other stuff,
    oincluding, more plastics and less metal in construction.

    And in particular, the software needed to use that electronics.
    The always evil European Commission is brooding on Euro legislation
    to the point that if an 'intelligent' appliance is sold with software
    needed to use that 'intelligence,
    then that software -must- be maintained
    for at least some given number of years.
    Likewise, if websites are necessary, they must be kept up.

    There have been complaints about .app-s not being maintained at all,
    thereby making the appliance non-intelligent, or even unusable,

    IMO copyright law should require full source code for copyrighted
    executables to be lodged with the national copyright agency, which is
    required to invalidate the copyright and publish the source code the
    minute the copyright holder stops maintaining or supporting it
    (incuding security updates for operating systems).

    They may not even have the source code,

    No source code -> no copyright is how it should work.

    Why would they want a copyright to begin with?
    The .app or site was nothing but a trick for selling more TVs,
    or whatever overpriced 'smart' appliance.

    Jan
    --- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2