[REC OMG] The Complex and Terrifying Reality of Star Wars Fandom

So...

::cough:: See, I have this thing where I'm highly facinated/amused by rage, part of it is intellectual admiration and part of it is envy and wistfulness.

And part of it is just because righteous outrage, done right, is beautiful. And if it's done better it's hilarious.

"My girlfriend doesn’t understand what I see in Star Wars. We’ve had several soul-crushing arguments about what exactly makes this series so important to me, and every time I have found it more and more difficult to argue my case. As the maddening years have wound on, I think I finally understand the reason for this crippling handicap.

There is a diabolical twist to Star Wars fandom, you see, that defies comprehension, and yet is the life-blood of all Star Wars fans. It is this:

Star Wars fans hate Star Wars."

And it goes on and on and ON; as only a true Star Wars fan could.

And...at the end says something that's perhaps true of *all* fans as well.

The Complex and Terrifying Reality of Star Wars Fandom

[info?] JAJAH

JAJAH is apparently a company that allows you to make free phone calls (local and international) over the internet, using your regular phone.

Has anyone tried this before? Are they reliable? Mozilla has added an extension so that you can highlight numbers in your browser to automatically dial for you. o.0 This is what they say on their site:

Enter your own phone number and the phone number you want to call on www.jajah.com, press Call: Your phone will ring - your friend's phone will ring - start talking! It's what you're used to, it's simple, it's free and it just works!

[edit: also there's JAJAH mobile which is a small program you download into your phone to operate JAJAH completely without a computer]

I mean, I know that the dot-com bust left everyone with shitloads of fire-optic bandwidth, but with this, I mean no *wonder* there's been movements to privatize the internet. Like, it could cause a coup or something, ne? ::wry:: And we can't have that.

This actually is a stronger red-flag than indication than other information services that has an internet mirror, like news reports. Mostly 'cause, I think, that the Big Broadcast conglomerates don't really comprehend completely the way that information is disseminated via internet.

But if I'm understanding what JAJAH is doing correctly, then it is using the internet as a bridge between two phones and the phone company is then just providing an address instead of both an address and a service. Soooo, I wouldn't be surprised if some small company figures out the 'address' side of that equation and cut the big company from the picture entirely. Until, that is, the big company buys out the little one.

Which, hey, would probably happen anyways in a couple years. ::wry:: Brave 'new' world?

[edit] Have just realized that Skype figured out the 'address' side. =D So if you have a Skype phone and phone number and using JAJAH, you've pretty much cut AT&T/SBC/randomphonecompany *entirely* out of the equation. DUDE. ::flails:: How AWESOME would that be?

Well, granted that JAJAH is actually reliable, which the jury might still be out on? o.0 then again, Mozilla seems to like them, Mozilla has a JAJAH extension.

[edit2] Waiiit. Who owns Skype and JAJAH? ::goes to googlesearch::

Skype owned by eBay. Ebay is a public compmany and owned by their share holders who are listed at NASDAQ here.

JAJAH owned by? ...themselves, it's looking like.

[edit3] This website has information on exactly how JAJAH works. Huh, and it looks like it actually *is* a real thing:

The trick with Jajah's flagship landline service is that it doesn't require users to download any software or invest in a computer telephone. You register for the service, key in the number you want to call using the dead simple Jajah Web interface, and click Call. Local servers running Jajah's patented VoIP codec place calls over the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to the caller's and the called party's regular phones and the two servers—Jajah calls them engines— connect over the Internet using IP.

[edit4] ::boggle:: SBC apparently owns the free 911 service.

[edit5] and vindication! this site explains why it's a threat in better words - "So far existing VoIP solutions were only popular with technically skilled users on broadband Internet connections: With JaJah Web, the international VoIP provider breaks down hardware and software barriers and introduces Internet telephony to the common computer user."

Translation: JAJAH might actually be used by the masses. ie. it's a threat. No wonder SBC called dibs on free 911 calls for VoIP.