I had the same experience a lot of people are describing here with STATS - just too expensive out of the box. If you need real-time data, they're your only option, but if you need weekly updates or historical data, I may be able to help.
Playerfilter (http://www.playerfilter.com) is built on top of an API that we are looking to expose to the public (use can see it being used in the URL hash). API support isn't live yet but we are working with beta testers. Basically, we return data for players, seasons and games over any time period since 1970. Please check it out and drop us a line if you'd be interested in more details.
In my opinion, this is an opportunistic money grab by the Turkish government (legitimate or not, I can't say). Turkey has historically had a serious problem collecting taxes and has been trying to clamp down recently. This is based on my own anecdotal evidence as a first-generation Turk living in the US - I wish I could provide statistics, but a quick search did not bring anything up for me.
There is a large 'informal' economy consisting of shopkeepers, street vendors and other small businesses that are not registered and avoid paying taxes completely. In the last few years, Turkey has been trying to cut down on this by requiring all businesses (including street vendors) to produce a receipt that shows they charged tax. They regularly send 'undercover' government officials to make purchases from these vendors to test if the business offers a receipt and give heavy fines if they do not.
One time, after I tried to purchase a bottle of water and declined a receipt, the shopkeeper grabbed my arm, shoved the receipt into my palm, and demanded I take it. After that, I got into a conversation with him about taxes (he said less than 10% of citizens pay, although that seems low) and, when I described the IRS and how it was a crime in the US not to pay taxes, he was shocked and wished Turkey had a similar system. He laughed out loud when I said you could go to jail for not paying taxes.
I think every site out there needs to fully expect to have their ideas stolen and operate as if their competitors could duplicate their functionality tomorrow. If you have built anything worthwhile, it's going to happen.
A key to success is staying competitive and always improving on what's available to your marketplace.
That's weird - I see 3.6 MB, not 8 MB, when I click into the article (Apr 30, 3:24 EST):
"A simple “Hello World” app created in Flash and compiled to work on the iPhone is substantially larger in file size, and it would take up 3.6 MB when it should be no larger than 400K when made with Xcode, according to James Eberhardt, a mobile developer who has tested iPhone Packager."
No, it's a preview of an article appearing in this upcoming Sunday's NY Times Magazine (5/2). Bottom of the page reads: "A version of this article appeared in print on May 2, 2010, on page MM38 of the Sunday Magazine."
"... with Release 33-9117, the SEC is considering substitution of Python or another programming language for legal English as a basis for some of its regulations."
If this was actually implemented, it'd be incredible. No more ambiguity when you have to define all the parameters and outcomes explicitly!
I have an Aeron at work and I love it. It's absolutely worth the cost over time. There's no 'wow' factor when you first sit, but you'll still feel comfortable in it after many hours, which is not the case with most chairs. I also have had some lower back issues recently and sitting in the chair actually makes me feel much better.
At home, I have a Steelcase Think plus lumbar support. I wanted something a bit less expensive and nicer looking for my bedroom. It's also great - I don't spend as many hours on it as I do on the Aeron and it's done a wonderful job so far - no back pain at all.
Before that, I used a $10 Ikea chair for two years, and I felt serious back pain after a few months. It's absolutely worth it to invest in a quality chair. Even though the price tag is depressing, make the purchase once. Your chair / back pain will become a solved problem for at least a decade.
Somewhat off-topic question: what are you guys using for your forums? Did you build it yourself or are you using a packaged solution? They're very nice.