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IMPORTANT UPDATE!!!
Further to my post Is eBay about to seriously rip-off its users? CLICK HERE the ACCC has found that eBay's conduct is anti-competitive. Below is the ACCC's draft notice and eBay's action. The saga continues but the ACCC has delivered a huge blow to eBay / Paypal in their attempt to bypass the rules of the Trade Practices Act.
The ACCC notice
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has issued a draft notice proposing to revoke a notification* lodged by eBay International A.G. on 11 April 2008.
"The ACCC is concerned that the notified conduct will allow eBay to use its market power in the supply of online marketplaces to substantially lessen competition in the market in which PayPal operates," ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"PayPal currently competes with a range of other providers to supply online payment services to users of online marketplaces. If the notified conduct is allowed to go ahead, there will be no competition for the supply of such services to buyers and sellers using eBay.
"Given eBay's position as Australia's leading online marketplace, the notified conduct will substantially reduce competition to supply online payment services to users of online marketplaces more generally.
"The ACCC acknowledges that having PayPal as the only payment provider has the potential to deliver some benefits to users, such as increased buyer protection insurance in certain circumstances. However, the ACCC believes that consumers are in the best position to decide which payment method is most suitable for them.
"The notified conduct denies them that choice. Accordingly, the ACCC considers that these benefits do not outweigh the anti-competitive effects of the conduct," Mr Samuel said.
eBay proposes to implement the conduct in two stages. From 21 May 2008, all sellers on eBay were required to offer PayPal as one of their accepted payment methods. The second stage of the conduct is due to commence on 17 June 2008, with the requirement that all transactions on eBay must be paid for using PayPal or cash on pickup.
"In light of the serious competition concerns raised in the draft notice and the significant concerns raised by interested parties, I have asked eBay to delay implementation of the second stage of the conduct until a final decision is made by the ACCC," Mr Samuel said.
eBay and interested parties now have time to lodge submissions in response to the draft notice, before the ACCC decides whether to issue a final notice revoking the notification.
eBay's response is...
As you may be aware, a number of changes were scheduled to come into effect on eBay.com.au on 17 June 2008.
Most of these changes have been delayed by almost one month and are now scheduled to commence on 15 July 2008.
My Response
Hopefully this delay of one month will become permanent and this will be a win for the small guy and common sense. At least the ACCC can see it for the transparent grab for cash and power that it is.
Is eBay about to seriously rip off its users?
Sources: ACCC and eBay
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I've been having a bit of a hard time lately with too many tears and not enough laughs. So here is something to put a smile on your dial, it worked for me!
House Cat
Hip Hop Cat
Metal Cats
Stevie Wonder Cat
Stoner Chill Out Cat
Techno Cat
iCat
My apologies to those on dial up. These might not work on your computer. Techno Cat is my personal fave!
Stay cool cats...
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This is not a post about four letter words that cause outrage; the ones used to swear, curse, abuse, joke, describe or use as derogatory terms.
These are the other four words that cause far more heaviness of heart. They can change your life in a heart beat. You may hear them, think you hear them but do you really hear what is being said? Just think about what might be behind these words the next time they are spoken. As many of these words have multiple meanings you may not pick up the negativity surrounding them or the help being sought or their absolute intent. They may not always be bad when spoken but watch for the demeanor of the speaker to see what they definitely had in mind.
The old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me” is wrong. A broken leg will heal but a broken heart is far more painful and harder to treat. Real pain can be caused by words. Like:
Lies
Loss
Hurt
Over
Rift
Hate
Rape
Stop
Don’t
Help
Fear
Love
Jilt
Gone
Pain
Lost
Poor
Gone
Scar
Sick
Ugly
Used
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Almost everyone will have at least one job interview in their lives and there are some very simple tips everybody should follow, whether you are trying for a job in an office, in retail, construction or fast food. All of these may seem like common sense to some but here are some of the things I see on a daily basis that can, other than your qualifications and experience, make an enormous difference.
1. Be on time. I can’t stress this enough. Do a little reconnaissance. If you’re driving check ahead there is parking nearby and if you’re catching public transport give yourself ample time to get there including any walk to your destination from a train station etc. If you are late you have shown a lack of respect for your prospective employer - their time is valuable - and you have most likely ensured that they will give someone else the job. If you are running late due to unforseen circumstances, have the courtesy to call and explain. If you have planned properly, nothing short of an accident blocking the road or your train being cancelled should prevent you from being on time
[ Click here to read more ]
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Now I don’t consider myself even close to being old but tell that to my mind and body, who seem to have packed their bags and have headed off on a one way trip to Oldsville. I’d join them but I can’t find my keys.
I have noticed recently that my eyesight is getting pretty shabby. I used to wear glasses for distance a number of years ago and then – tada – out of the blue my vision was much better and the glasses were ditched but now it seems that going blind isn’t nearly as much fun as getting blind. Who knew? My depth perception in the dark has been ever so slightly changing so that when I’m driving at night I’m moving a little further away from parked cars because it’s getting harder to judge the distance and I have an aversion to sideswiping someone’s precious Beemer with my junky Laser
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As of 17 June 2008 eBay Australia intends to implement a ruling that buyers will no longer be able to pay by bank transfer, cheque or money order and will be forced to use PayPal. Now for those that may not know, PayPal is owned by eBay and both eBay and PayPal charge separate fees. So eBay will receive two cuts of each seller’s profits. Firstly, is that not double charging? Secondly, does forcing this change breach the current Trade Practices Act? The answer to the first question is a resounding yes and line on the second is clearly being pushed to the very limit of the law. And to further cloud the issue, it is only eBay Australia in the eBay group that is pushing for this change; so far. Is the risk of fraud higher in Australia than other countries to warrant such action?
So how is this allowed to happen? Well although eBay Australia has announced on its site that these changes will be made, the truth is they have put forward a notification of intent to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) which has yet to be ruled upon. eBay has asked for immunity against legal action from the Trade Practices Act arguing that the public benefits of the move, which in their view would be increased transaction security, outweighs any negative effect to the public that might be caused by a lessening of competition in the online payments market. The act prohibits companies from imposing restrictions on people's freedom to choose whom they deal with
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Bless their thieving little dumbarse cotton socks. This story just tickled me; a) I love hearing about thieves getting their just desserts and b) I love hearing about how technology can make our lives better and or easier. This story blends the two.
Two men were arrested in White Plains New York with $US5500 worth of stolen computers and electronic devices including iPods, TVs and game consoles after the owner happy snapped one of the thieves using her webcam remotely
[ Click here to read more ]
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The BBC technology program ‘Click’ has shown how vulnerable your personal information is on Facebook and how easily that information could easily be stolen.
Facebook allows users to add myriad applications to their profile. But as the BBC has shown, anyone with coding experience could potentially mine your personal info by creating a malicious program concealed as an application
[ Click here to read more ]
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There are some of you who may already be aware of this but if you are a comic book fan take note. On Saturday, May 3rd – the comic book industry once again celebrates
Free Comic Book Day!
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Sometimes truth is way stranger than fiction. Just for a laugh I thought I’d share some of the USA’s strangest laws that are still on the books.
In the state of Rhode Island it is illegal to throw pickle juice on a trolley. I’m guessing this means a tram and I would love to know the story behind that one
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I have decided that I am the Typhoid Mary of computers at the moment. Every one that I touch seems to come down with some sort of IT pox. My laptop has slowed to a crawl, almost every time I have tried to logon to myspace over the past few days I get a 'technical error' message leaving me unable to access my home page time after time (now I know how Dorothy felt – there is no place like home), but then to cap it off this morning I started my computer at work to find that all of my external hardware had gone on strike.
I had to get the very helpful boys from the helpdesk to spend 2.5 hours searching my computer and crawling around under my desk trying to figure out how it all went so terribly wrong. Did my computer catch bird flu or some sort of software Ebola? Not that they could find. Which leads me to the inevitable conclusion that they don't work simply because I have the computer version of Errol Flynn disease, which means basically, everything I touch I fuck
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Well Easter has come and gone but remember the chocolate lives on...on the hips, the thighs, the Homer Simpson jelly belly...Who cares, it tastes so good?
I have been invaded by pantry moths. You kill the little suckers and their offspring and like The Terminator they just keep coming back! I am currently in the process of tearing my kitchen apart to get into every nook and cranny so that I can exterminate them. I have even had to take out the shelves because they have even laid their eggs in the cracks in between and the little holes that the shelf pegs go into. I am now living in what looks like a demolition zone. But with determination, and a shitload of white vinegar and borax, I will defeat them! Sorry, just thought I'd share a little of my exciting life with you all
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