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User: rsborg

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  1. This is Alamo Drafthouse - makes sense on Theater Chain Bans Google Glass · · Score: 0

    As someone who wears glasses I know that if glass was near universally banned then I wouldn't buy it, but I would happily chose a different movie theatre or bar if some bars ban it and others don't.

    Sure. Maybe AMC, Cinemark or Regal might not want to displease you as a discriminating minority, but people go to Alamo for an experience, and a trivial thing like changing out your Glass for other eyewear isn't likely to change your mind about Alamo.

    Props to Alamo. Nothing sensational, just put away (and silence) the smartphone and take off the Glass when the lights go down.

  2. I called Comcast to turn off the xfinity-wifi on Comcast Converting 50,000 Houston Home Routers Into Public WiFi Hotspots · · Score: 1

    For one, I don't want random people in their cars hanging out in front of my house - as we don't have a very large setback and wifi coverage is OK from the street.

    Secondly, this signal interferes with my Airport Extreme I have sitting behind it. Once I upgraded to the new modem (only because the old one finally quit on me), I immediately called Comcast to disable the wifi (you can't do that with a button), as I was getting a whole lot of disconnects and failures to connect on wake on my MBPr.

    Now it's all copacetic. If they didn't allow me to opt-out, I'd be furious. Typical of Comcast to turn your home into a wifi hotspot - it's so ill designed and inconsiderate. If they ran it outside for folks outside, that'd be much better.

  3. Re:Learns AFFLUENT, social-butterfly riders' rhyth on 'Pop-Up' Bus Service Learns Boston Riders' Rhythms, Creates Routes Accordingly · · Score: 3, Informative

    It sounds like if you don't have a smartphone--or don't use it to check into every damn silly little place you visit--then your transportation needs are going to be underrepresented.

    You jest. Smartphone penetration in the US populace is quite high. Our babies' nanny has an iPhone5S. Nearly every construction worker on every gig at my property in the past 2 years has had a smartphone, even the ones that looked like they couldn't afford one. Many folks in the doctor's office that I go to have one (older folks tend to have tablets).

    Smartphones are way too useful to be niche any longer. YOU may use them to play solitaire or listen to podcasts, but everyday folks use them to shop, text their SOs, plan their daily lives and conduct business.

    The smartphone is way more personal than a personal computer, and it's way more affordable than a PC for actually useful things where you need it.

  4. Re:meet the new Bus, same as the old bus on 'Pop-Up' Bus Service Learns Boston Riders' Rhythms, Creates Routes Accordingly · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Won't get fooled again. Um this is what bus planners have always done with the best available data, in setting routes.

    Sure, but if a bus got me close enough to my commute pattern that it was more comfortable than driving (and all that entails: driving in traffic, finding parking, keeping my car maintained, paying for gas), then I'd be very interested.

    Of course, with increased flexibility, I could find myself not on their route next month or next year due to residence moves, job changes, or office re-locations.

  5. Re:Need to be able to use without looking at it on Driver Study: People Want Fewer Embedded Apps, Just Essentials That Work Easily · · Score: 2

    For any in car control - I need to be able to use it without looking at it.

    Too many things fail at this.

    This is the single reason that I think Google (and later Apple) have developed always-listening voice interfaces "Hey Google/Siri" with no button clicks is about as look and even touch free as you can get. Of course, if voice control were more mature yet, it'd probably be the preferred interface over fingers (see: Star Trek).

  6. Time to switch to TMobile on AT&T Charges $750 For One Minute of International Data Roaming · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I switched from Verizon when they screwed me like this (in that case, they refused to reverse a $300 overage charge). I switched to AT&T where I got "rollover minutes" so going over my minutes wouldn't result in that kind of overage. I still ended up paying for random data roaming (which I learned to have turned off before international trips), and when my wife accidentally used my line to call her family overseas. Plus AT&T started finding ways to charge us an extra allotment of data for my wife's cell that would suspiciously jump over the 250MB data line at around the 27th day of billing.

    Now I'm on TMobile, where I don't pay overage for minutes (unlimited!), I have unlimited data (if I use my 2GB high speed, I go to EDGE unless I authorize more data - no overage). I pay no overage for roaming data, or texts. My wife pays $10/mo for being able to call her mom in europe on her cell, again unlimited.

    All in all, we get 5 lines on our TMO account for what we were paying for 2 lines on either AT&T or Verizon. And the quality and coverage is better in almost every way (yes, smaller towns and inside museums/warehouses will result in bad/no coverage for TMO - I don't land in those situations very often at all).

  7. Reverse Merger on Big Telecom: Terms Set For Sprint To Buy T-Mobile For $32B · · Score: 1

    The Nextel merger worked out pretty poorly for Sprint. Remember why? Because their two networks were incompatible, yet Sprint was required to keep it operating. It didn't get 3G upgrades, yet they had to keep operating until quite recently. There was a massive customer exodus, and Sprint was left holding the bag.

    T-Mobile, similarly uses a different and incompatible 3G cellular standard than Sprint, and on entirely different frequencies. Yet Sprint is out to do this all again.

    This is going to be Apple buying Next, not Sprint buying Nextel - it's said that most of the TMO execs will be holding the reins..

  8. Poe's Law in effect on US Secret Service Wants To Identify Snark · · Score: 1

    At what point does snark become reality and vice-versa? Does observation of snark change it's state? Perhaps the USSS should really look into funding some more quantum mechanics fundamental research. Either that or have the President declare a "War on Sarcasm", list snark as a WMD, and invade the UK to relieve them of this dangerous substance.

  9. Desk Accessories? 1984. on Apple WWDC 2014: Tim Cook Unveils Yosemite · · Score: 1

    No, he didn't "steal" them from copeland. Hell, even AmigaDOS had desktop widgetry by late 1986. And more.

    The point is, it wasn't an Apple innovation by any stretch of the imagination.

    Um Desk Accessories, circa... 1984? Apple wins again.

  10. Don't forget Hypercard on Apple Announces New Programming Language Called Swift · · Score: 1

    Apple developped Dylan and later NewtenScript long long before MS had its 'own' language.

    Real apps were written in HyperCard. It was VB before VB existed.

  11. Re:8.1 !=Start Menu.. Why Win8 was doomed... on Microsoft Won't Bring Back the Start Menu Until 2015 · · Score: 1

    Any list that leaves out Win98SE (the only really decent Win9X) and Win2000 (took me a while to move to XP) isn't valid.

  12. Disagree - controls matter on I Want a Kindle Killer · · Score: 1

    It's a book reader, only two things matter: screen quality and the ease of getting books on it.

    I like the Kindle3 when I use it - the hardware buttons are problem free and easily accessible for a very important function -turning pages. I hear the Kindle touch can sometimes glitch and give you the wrong response... for something as frequent as turned pages, that sounds like a big factor.

    I wonder how the other eReaders fare on that front - it'd be a big deal for me.

  13. What about a Kindle3 on I Want a Kindle Killer · · Score: 1

    My problem with the Kindle Touch that changing pages frequently invokes some unwanted function. It is infuriating to change page and get the Change Font, or Annotate, or Save Clipping dialogs. I understand that some users like these functions. I don't, I hate them. I wish I could switch them off.

    Have you tried the Kindle3 without touch controls? The side tabs work quite well - of course, I don't use my Kindle at all anymore, and my mom who reads voraciously prefers her iPad Mini - even though I gave her my Kindle due to it's lack of use on my part, she gave it back and said no thanks.

    On the sales front, this is the first time I'm even hearing about sales numbers - do they include Kindle Fires? IIRC, Amazon never gave out numbers for their eReader Kindles alone. Even assuming it's 40M eReaders alone, Apple, last year alone, sold over 40M iPads (which have iBooks and Kindle.app).

    Should we even consider 40M considered a success given the competition?

  14. Amazon "lose $ on each book, make it up on volume" on Fiat Chrysler CEO: Please Don't Buy Our Electric Car · · Score: 0

    How are they going to do that without cost controls?

    Uh, economies of scale? Using technology advances to lower price? Increased cost of gas? Remember when people complained that Amazon lost money on every book and that they'd make it up on volume (as a joke)? Look at Amazon now.

  15. Don't forget the lobbyists on NSA Surveillance Reform Bill Passes House 303 Votes To 121 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We need to fire everyone in Washington DC and reform the crap out of everything. Both sides are wrong here - why vote for a flawed by design bill? It only exists for political posturing for elections.

    Remember, term limits and "voting out the bastards" doesn't really mean much if lobbying (aka Bribery) is still funding their replacements. We need to fire everyone, and then keep moneyed interests from simply installing newly-bought idiots.

  16. So what's the California RMV? on California Opens Driverless Car Competition With Testing Regulations · · Score: 1

    I assume it's the Rancho Mission Viejo?

  17. Re:I'll take the USPS over Comcast on Congress Unhappy With FCC's Proposed Changes To Net Neutrality · · Score: 1

    Please stop reading posting this lie.

    Go read the laws, they were not required to pre-finance for 75 year, the 75 years is what is required by the government for calcuating future needs it is for ACCOUNTING purposes only, no money has to saved based on this. The 75 years is used by other governent organizations ranging from IRS, DoD, HUD, CIA, FBI ,etc, etc,etc. .

    So let's get this straight - a non-governmental, Private company like the Post Office which doesn't receive any funding from the US Government (for over 3 decades) is held to the same standards as completely subsidized government organizations like the IRS?

    They did take a multi-billion dollar loss and hit to their finances for years once that ruling was put in place (2006).

    Don't call it a lie, no other non-govenrmental private company is held to this standard. And yet the USPS's costs are low enough for UPS and FedEx to piggyback on their offerings and still profit for sending to remote US locations.

  18. Re:better question... on Google Foresees Ads On Your Refrigerator, Thermostat, and Glasses · · Score: 1

    ...would you be willing to receive a brand new $2000 frig/freezer for free IF it showed ads on it?

    that's the real issue...i think alot of people would...hell I probably would.

    More like a $100-300 discount. There is no way that advertising on a fridge can offset the $2000 retail price. Especially when it can be easily defeated with firewalls or duct tape.

    Or I could just wait till black friday.

    Even then, if you keep your fridge for 10 years wouldn't you curse it every time it showed you something you'd already seen 100x before? I'm pretty sure that even if I were gullible enough to take delivery of such a fridge on a moment of weakness, after a few months I'd be wanting to launch it into space (or at least put it on the curb). Maybe I'm just a dying breed? I don't think so.

  19. Then why did Google set it up to fail? on Why I'm Sending Back Google Glass · · Score: 1

    Glass is primarily a notification tool coupled with a navigator and a quick-draw smartphone.

    If the battery was known to be inadequate for video recording and playback, why did Google tack that bullshit onto the beta product when simple performance testing could have shown them a useless (i.e., 3-4 hr) battery life when used to it's full capabilities - that's no-go levels of charge for a "wearable". I had a Palm/Fossil watch a while back - was sweet except that it kept needing a charge every 4 hrs.

    I would be 10x more interested in Glass if it had no video recording capabilities (hell, I don't even think a camera is needed).

  20. I'll take the USPS over Comcast on Congress Unhappy With FCC's Proposed Changes To Net Neutrality · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Riddle me this... do you want the US postal service to run your internet?

    To be honest the post office has been stellar in terms of last-mile delivery. In fact, UPS and FedEx rely on USPS for many hard-to-reach delivery spots. USPS has relatively low rates for postage, and price increases have been incredibly low over time.

    Compared to Comcast who has every incentive to screw me over repeatedly every year in order to get more profits and blame companies like Netflix/Hulu for poor performance, I'll take the USPS. Even if it means slower rates.

  21. Re:Meanwhile, they've been replaced on Controversial TSA Nudie X-Ray Machines Sent To Prisons · · Score: 1

    Meanwhile, in airports they've been replaced by new machines that achieve exactly the same ends using slightly different technology.

    But the traveling public has gotten used to it, and complaints have died down, so the new terahertz wave nudie scanners are the new normal.

    Maybe in your neck of the woods, but I've done a bit of traveling over the past several months, and my experience is that the TSA agents have a pitch ready and part of that pitch is "This is not backscatter. No danger to you. No nudie pics can be stored. Please don't ask to be pat down. Please!", which I continued to ignore and tell the man "I don't trust your bosses to tell the truth anymore. Grope away".

    That, or they're using the plain old metal detectors, pre 9/11.

    So I don't think tetraherz scanners are widely used, and even so, people are aware and fear them because of the backscatter insanity.

  22. Re:How do you pull over a driverless car? on Driverless Cars Could Cripple Law Enforcement Budgets · · Score: 1

    Would it pull over if it sees the blinking lights / siren behind it?

    Could you spoof it with a bunch of blinking xmas lights on the side of the road?

    Actually a very interesting question - makes me wonder if driverless cars will have some law-enforcement override (some remote "pul over" switch) that's required for their usage.

  23. Why not both? on ANTVR - China's Answer To Oculus Rift Is Raising Funds · · Score: 1

    So the question is will people be more afraid of this Chinese device spying on them or Facebook's Occulus Rift.

    You presume these organizations don't share/sell data to each other then? Only winning move in this scenario is simply not to play.

  24. Apple used to be hot/premium - where did they go? on Should Tesla Make Batteries Instead of Electric Cars? · · Score: 1

    I think that a major difference is that right now the 'Tesla' brand name is seen as hot/premium

    Yeah, it's like just a brand, right? I mean, if GM really thought it was worthwhile, they'd make cars as sexy and high-rated as the Model S! No engineering or innovation involved, really.

  25. Free? Keep in mind they'd lose Intel Payola on AMD Preparing To Give Intel a Run For Its Money · · Score: 2

    Compaq was afraid to use AMD chips given out for free, because Intel would "retaliate", ok?
    What kept AMD's market share low was not "clever marketing" of its competitor, it's crime.

    Back in P4 Prescott times, Intel's more expensive, more power hungry, yet slower chip outsold AMD's 3 or 4 to 1.
    Not being able to profit even when having superior products, it's really astonishing, to see AMD still afloat.

    Intel's Payola [1] (which basically kept Dell profitable for several quarters of the past decade) is something you have to factor in when looking at these "deals". I'm just sad that Intel didn't pay a bigger price for their purely anticompetitive corrupt practices.

    [1] http://www.theatlantic.com/tec...