Yes, mailgate was a big fiasco and the Democrats wasted no time in flogging the administration over the lost e-mails. Funny how things turn around now 7 years later and everybody is aghast that the Republicans would now be yelling about the same thing.
Here's a solution for our branches of government, instead of every dept. having its own e-mail systems, get one and everybody use it. Set up default retention policies and eDiscovery mechanisms and then we won't have this kind of "lost" e-mail issue in the future. Of course they'll get CSC, IBM and Assenter to manage it and it'll cost the taxpayers billions but no longer will we have lost e-mails in the Federal Government. Come on they built a web site thingy, yeah that failed but with more money it was fixed, sort of.
Since the NSA is supposed to be monitoring threats to the US, this request implies that the NSA is targeting the IRS or members of its staff as a potential threat.
Actually before RIM came out with the Blackberry Microsoft with Windows Mobile was doing quite well. When Blackberry took off it eroded the corporate space that Windows Mobile dominated because it was superior in terms of battery life and enterprise features. To this day Blackberry has the best enterprise integration and features, sure it's hella expensive and complex but it works. Now comes the iPhone and Android which erodes both Windows Phone and Blackberry. That's the evolving landscape of this throw away society we have. In 10 years you may see the iPhone and Android go by the wayside for something else.
Now, while we may think that Microsoft is a 'wet blanket' on innovation, it's a company like all others with the rights to innovate or acquire patents. Don't hate just because they got there before Google or Apple did, that was a savvy business play and like other savvy plays getting somebody to pay licensing royalties gives you leverage when it comes to knocking on another door. Also don't hate because unlike some entities, Microsoft is a practicing entity they have products, phones and technology that they develop. They just don't choose to give it away.
All Patents have a useful life and depending on when these were submitted most should be getting close to end of life of nearly there over the next few years. That's the silver bullet as it were for patents, there's a built in life expectancy much like Replicants.
The problem arises in what happens after a patent is acquired by another party and then by another. In some cases quite a few prior patent owners can fog up who actually owns it. In one personal case something I invented and was patented was owned by 8 different companies until it's wound up with the current owner. That's where the mystery comes in and Microsoft does have the right to not disclose any licensing deals with third parties. So it may have licensed to Google for $10 per device while Nikon for $1, but that's the nature of business, which is to make money. If that means inhibiting competition then that's all part of the game.
PST files usually are the local store for some other storage system, like Exchange which should have had an archive/backup system in place. The excuse that "her PC broke" is bullshit. There are backup tools that handle it just fine and ways of exporting the data, it's not exactly a dark art.
All major corporations have e-Discovery teams and tools that capture these kinds of things. This is because in the public sector lawsuits are common and these kinds of tools and techniques are there to preserve evidence. All it takes is a missing record or e-mail and a judge won't have any sympathy for a defendant. Since it's the IRS, the biggest of the jackbooted Fed Thuggeries we have and they seem to not need to adhere to e-mail preservation and not adhering to the presidential directive to do so. How convenient, just what I'd expect from corrupt scumbags. Of course the average American goes along blissfully unaware that an organization that can seize your assets without due legal process is incapable of keeping track of an important person's documents. The IRS has to operate beyond reproach and work to the highest ethical standard, unfortunately with the 501c fiasco, it's clear that the Obama Administration is trying to cover up the situation either by culpable acts or by gross incompetence in the IRS. In either case the American public should be screaming.
the government has to prove that the 100m in bitcoin were used in illegal activities, that's for a court to decide not the police or the prosecutors. It's not like bitcoins can be impregnated cocaine residue to prove their connection to illegal activities. Nor does the possession of those indicate that something was done illegally. If that were the case we'd all be guilty of drug trafficking.
That's all well and good assuming Ulricht was actually claiming ownership over the said bitcoins
You know that's a good point but something a trial would surely explain. In this case the feds are acting the the role of judge and jury, sure if the evidence is there that Ulricht is the Dread Roberts and they can prove that the bitcoins are associated with illegal activities, forfeiture can occur. For all we know he was probably stealing the bitcoins from mgtox.
Well that's the seizure portion of it and the recent Supreme Court ruling, one of the worst in history, doesn't say anything about the sale of those assets. That decision is so horrible because a lot of prosecutor's budgets are funded by seized assets creating a conflict of interest and violating the 5th and 6th amendments. We've seriously gone to far on the war on drugs and the police state mentality in this country and it has to stop. If this guy is convicted then the assets obtained illegally should be forfeit, agreed but wait until the fucking trial is at least concluded and guilt or innocence is determined. Defendants also must have the right, as written in the 6th amendment to choose their own counsel and that requires funds to provide an adequate defense. If the assets are seized, then you have no right to chose your counsel creating a no win situation. That's a secondary consideration but as a citizen I'm very concerned that something like this could happen to me or my family and while I'm fighting in court the government is just selling everything off that we've worked our entire lives to acquire and protect. Right now the government has built a case but it's only been seen by a grand jury in the Ulricht case, that doesn't mean a conviction and selling the assets is a violation of his 5th amendment rights.
Yeah everybody want's your SSN and here's the trick folks, don't give it to them unless you absolutely have to. I'm finding it harder and harder these days to start to trust any companies with sensitive information like this. What's needed is an abstract number like a disposable e-mail address to start protecting our anonymity. Once it's used to verify if the customer is "sponge-worthy" it disappears and the requester can't use it again.
I recently bought a new car at the same dealership where I'd previously purchased another one, about 5 years ago, and when going through all the paperwork found that they had my SSN and other financial data on file from the last time from that transaction. Needless to say I went ballistic and asked a few WTF questions of the management. They agreed that after the transaction was concluded that those details would be erased. I've since filed a complaint with the state attorney general, the state consumer affairs and the feds because none of this was disclosed 5 years ago and I don't know who has seen this data or my SSN.
I don't want to get into the "is it money" argument but since this case is still pending isn't it a bit premature to be selling assets of any kind until guilt is proven in a court of law? I guess we've completely trampled on the constitution here especially the fifth amendment.
Okay, quick breakdown we have the three branches of government. Law enforcement reports up through the DOJ to the President. Actually all federal government functions except those of congress, and the judiciary are run from the White House. Here's a little graphic that shows this. The FBI is under the white house. Now, they're supposed to be independent and work within the law, but in the past we know that the FBI has done some underhanded things. Things like the whole Whitey Bulger affair.
Yeah the biggest windfall to the health insurance companies, the hospitals, doctors and big pharma. A license to print money. In the movie "The Graduate" the hero gets some advice "One Word: Plastics." Screw that, it's not plastics, get into healthcare and screw patients over and print money. And now we have all those new IRS agents with nothing to do but stick their thumbs up their asses all day or wait..., this in, I just got an IRS letter today questioning 30 dollars from 5 years ago. W00H00 yeah, what a great fucking retarded mess the ACA is.
I've had my worst cab experiences going either to or from an airport from a safety related perspective. I find the "safety" arguments from the CPUC ridiculous and only put there to preserve their licensed monopoly on airport access to cabs, hired cars (limos) and shuttle vans. Make no mistake, airports get a lot of revenue for letting these companies onsite and don't want to see that revenue disappear.
Here's just a few safety issues I've had:
1) trying to catch an early morning flight, the driver fell asleep twice at the wheel and ran a red light. 2) pickup from an airport to go to a meeting, unfortunately it was snowing and the driver felt that the ride was "too short" for the amount of time he'd spent in the cab line. Still, it was a $30 fare but he nearly crashed into two cars on the slick roads because he was mumbling under his breath about how he had sat there blah blah... 3) pickup from the airport and made the guy stop before we left the airport, why? His car was clunking so bad it was driving like a clown car you see in parades, it's like it had oval rear tires. 4) Shuttle ride to Dulles one time, driver was late so he was speeding and was pulled over by a cop on the Dulles toll road.
I can't possibly see how Uber or Lyft can be much worse.
With all the lobbying going on in Congress it's no wonder that their approval rating is in the dumps. This is another example of something getting held up in committee rather than being submitted for a vote. The committees control everything in congress and if the chairman decides to pull a piece of legislation they can pretty much do it. In this matter the Republican controlled House passed legislation but the Democratic Senate is caught in its own red tape. NPEs are a threat to our economic development and certainly there are an over abundance of useless, frivolous patents that have been awarded. Regrettably the US Patent system has let us all down in letting these things become a "patent" and unfortunately unless there's litigation it never can be settled. NPEs don't want to go to trial, they want you to settle, pay them their protection money. It's like the Mafia and paying for protection but unfortunately in this case you have multiple gangs all coming to your door asking for their cut. Literally it's like the death of 1000 cuts.
Since I'm not in Vermont, can somebody there kick their Senator in the nuts for me? Thanks.
Maybe not an idiot but somebody who doesn't follow computer history that much. These arguments sound vaguely familiar as those pushed by Sun and Microsoft in the 90s.
"The new phonebook's here! The new phonebook's here!" "Page 73, Johnson, Naven R. I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book every day!" "This is the kind of spontaneous publicity, your name in print that makes people!" "Things are going to start happening to me now."
Well China is number one in CO2 emissions but per capita you're correct the US is higher per capita than China in CO2 emissions. Now, GHG is one variable in the multidimensional entity you reference but also look at PM10 concentrations which really can screw up your health and surprisingly, Mongolia is the worst at 284, China 82, the US 18. But there are worse offenders such as Saudi Arabia 108, Botswana 199 and I was surprised to see the UAE at 132. Living in those places will definitely shorten your lifespan.
because outside of maybe an hour a day, they do maintain themselves. Pastures, water troughs.. It's not hard to imagine that. They'd get along fine without us too.
Good points but still, nothing guaranteeing privacy in terms of rights even with the 10th however the 4th where you quote:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Has been narrowly applied to in your possession, in your home/office. What you share with third parties which includes all of the Internet isn't covered because you're sharing it with that third party. Even the US Postal Service snaps a photo of every piece of mail it delivers so the government if they wanted to could mine your network from on-paper correspondence as well.
The only way to ensure privacy is to write it into the constitution and since members of congress are now contemplating a new amendment to prohibit nameless, deep-pocketed spending on political campaigns/issues right now, it seems that this would be a good time for them to get off their asses and protect our privacy even with third parties, written and electronic communications and data storage should be held in the same regard as things in our homes or in our possession. Also don't forget unwarranted dumping of your cell phones, strip searches for minor offenses and of course DNA swabs for same.
Actually for a time I did have a couple of hay burners, groomed/washed them regularly and did all the feeding / vet things and had the horseshoe guy come around every 2 to three months. The hay guy every month and damn mice always in it and what always goes in, comes out. I didn't raise them per say, we bought them when one was three the other five. It's like having a swimming pool though, a lot more maintenance than actual usage; they spent most of the time running around the five acres we had. And the analogy of a Boat, bust out another thousand, pales in comparison to a hay burner. Also I don't think a car ever bit me, literally speaking.
I did have pause one time to observe a rancher down the road who had to deal with a dead horse one time, good thing he had a lot of acreage and a backhoe. Come to think of it he did the same thing for dead cows.
Naw, I'd put Sprint as dead last both from my friends, coworkers and family with T-mobile slightly ahead of them them in terms of customer service. I had Sprint for years, disconnected calls, no network access, slow network and then 3 years ago I cancelled. After 6 years with them they sent a $400 nasty gram saying I had 10 days to pay or they'd turn it over to collections even though my bill was current. The $400 was for a smartphone and early termination of that. I then went with T-Mobile who I'd been with before Sprint. When T-Mobile filed for bankruptcy it really went south from there. Although the network performance was better customer service sucked badly, so instead of dealing with that I switched to Simple Mobile which uses T-Mobile's network and I don't have all the bullshit. So consumers will have the worst coverage unless your in major metro areas and with spending $32 billion for T-Mobile I doubt Sprint will have the resources to build out the network further, much like when they acquired Nextel.
Verizon's problem is, well they're Verizon and you're not. Their terms and conditions/business practices are recognized as the worst but their customer service and network are top notch. For my business accounts I use Verizon, personal stuff SimpleMobile.
The obvious problems here is #3/#4 merging meaning less consumer choice and higher prices and worse customer service ahead. Not that Sprint and T-Mobile aren't the worst already in customer service but this is a lose, lose all way around. I also can't help to think how Sprint's acquisition of another carrier, Nextel, didn't bode well for subscribers on that network either. I seriously doubt that the DOJ or the FCC will block it though since T-Mobile has been up for sale for quite awhile. Oh well folks, get ready for three Wireless Carriers in the US dominating your choice for the next few decades. I wonder if T-Mobile will re-run their cowboy ads showing the fourth hung from an old oak tree?
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Yes, mailgate was a big fiasco and the Democrats wasted no time in flogging the administration over the lost e-mails. Funny how things turn around now 7 years later and everybody is aghast that the Republicans would now be yelling about the same thing.
Here's a solution for our branches of government, instead of every dept. having its own e-mail systems, get one and everybody use it. Set up default retention policies and eDiscovery mechanisms and then we won't have this kind of "lost" e-mail issue in the future. Of course they'll get CSC, IBM and Assenter to manage it and it'll cost the taxpayers billions but no longer will we have lost e-mails in the Federal Government. Come on they built a web site thingy, yeah that failed but with more money it was fixed, sort of.
Since the NSA is supposed to be monitoring threats to the US, this request implies that the NSA is targeting the IRS or members of its staff as a potential threat.
I could agree with that.
Actually before RIM came out with the Blackberry Microsoft with Windows Mobile was doing quite well. When Blackberry took off it eroded the corporate space that Windows Mobile dominated because it was superior in terms of battery life and enterprise features. To this day Blackberry has the best enterprise integration and features, sure it's hella expensive and complex but it works. Now comes the iPhone and Android which erodes both Windows Phone and Blackberry. That's the evolving landscape of this throw away society we have. In 10 years you may see the iPhone and Android go by the wayside for something else.
Now, while we may think that Microsoft is a 'wet blanket' on innovation, it's a company like all others with the rights to innovate or acquire patents. Don't hate just because they got there before Google or Apple did, that was a savvy business play and like other savvy plays getting somebody to pay licensing royalties gives you leverage when it comes to knocking on another door. Also don't hate because unlike some entities, Microsoft is a practicing entity they have products, phones and technology that they develop. They just don't choose to give it away.
All Patents have a useful life and depending on when these were submitted most should be getting close to end of life of nearly there over the next few years.
That's the silver bullet as it were for patents, there's a built in life expectancy much like Replicants.
http://www.uspto.gov/inventors...
You can't keep patents secret, that by its nature is contrary to the patent process. You have to disclose how the invention works.
The problem arises in what happens after a patent is acquired by another party and then by another. In some cases quite a few prior patent owners can fog up who actually owns it. In one personal case something I invented and was patented was owned by 8 different companies until it's wound up with the current owner. That's where the mystery comes in and Microsoft does have the right to not disclose any licensing deals with third parties. So it may have licensed to Google for $10 per device while Nikon for $1, but that's the nature of business, which is to make money. If that means inhibiting competition then that's all part of the game.
It's never to late to procrastinate.
PST files usually are the local store for some other storage system, like Exchange which should have had an archive/backup system in place. The excuse that "her PC broke" is bullshit. There are backup tools that handle it just fine and ways of exporting the data, it's not exactly a dark art.
All major corporations have e-Discovery teams and tools that capture these kinds of things. This is because in the public sector lawsuits are common and these kinds of tools and techniques are there to preserve evidence. All it takes is a missing record or e-mail and a judge won't have any sympathy for a defendant. Since it's the IRS, the biggest of the jackbooted Fed Thuggeries we have and they seem to not need to adhere to e-mail preservation and not adhering to the presidential directive to do so. How convenient, just what I'd expect from corrupt scumbags. Of course the average American goes along blissfully unaware that an organization that can seize your assets without due legal process is incapable of keeping track of an important person's documents. The IRS has to operate beyond reproach and work to the highest ethical standard, unfortunately with the 501c fiasco, it's clear that the Obama Administration is trying to cover up the situation either by culpable acts or by gross incompetence in the IRS. In either case the American public should be screaming.
the government has to prove that the 100m in bitcoin were used in illegal activities, that's for a court to decide not the police or the prosecutors. It's not like bitcoins can be impregnated cocaine residue to prove their connection to illegal activities. Nor does the possession of those indicate that something was done illegally. If that were the case we'd all be guilty of drug trafficking.
That's all well and good assuming Ulricht was actually claiming ownership over the said bitcoins
You know that's a good point but something a trial would surely explain. In this case the feds are acting the the role of judge and jury, sure if the evidence is there that Ulricht is the Dread Roberts and they can prove that the bitcoins are associated with illegal activities, forfeiture can occur. For all we know he was probably stealing the bitcoins from mgtox.
Well that's the seizure portion of it and the recent Supreme Court ruling, one of the worst in history, doesn't say anything about the sale of those assets. That decision is so horrible because a lot of prosecutor's budgets are funded by seized assets creating a conflict of interest and violating the 5th and 6th amendments. We've seriously gone to far on the war on drugs and the police state mentality in this country and it has to stop. If this guy is convicted then the assets obtained illegally should be forfeit, agreed but wait until the fucking trial is at least concluded and guilt or innocence is determined. Defendants also must have the right, as written in the 6th amendment to choose their own counsel and that requires funds to provide an adequate defense. If the assets are seized, then you have no right to chose your counsel creating a no win situation. That's a secondary consideration but as a citizen I'm very concerned that something like this could happen to me or my family and while I'm fighting in court the government is just selling everything off that we've worked our entire lives to acquire and protect. Right now the government has built a case but it's only been seen by a grand jury in the Ulricht case, that doesn't mean a conviction and selling the assets is a violation of his 5th amendment rights.
Yeah everybody want's your SSN and here's the trick folks, don't give it to them unless you absolutely have to. I'm finding it harder and harder these days to start to trust any companies with sensitive information like this. What's needed is an abstract number like a disposable e-mail address to start protecting our anonymity. Once it's used to verify if the customer is "sponge-worthy" it disappears and the requester can't use it again.
I recently bought a new car at the same dealership where I'd previously purchased another one, about 5 years ago, and when going through all the paperwork found that they had my SSN and other financial data on file from the last time from that transaction. Needless to say I went ballistic and asked a few WTF questions of the management. They agreed that after the transaction was concluded that those details would be erased. I've since filed a complaint with the state attorney general, the state consumer affairs and the feds because none of this was disclosed 5 years ago and I don't know who has seen this data or my SSN.
I don't want to get into the "is it money" argument but since this case is still pending isn't it a bit premature to be selling assets of any kind until guilt is proven in a court of law? I guess we've completely trampled on the constitution here especially the fifth amendment.
Okay, quick breakdown we have the three branches of government. Law enforcement reports up through the DOJ to the President. Actually all federal government functions except those of congress, and the judiciary are run from the White House. Here's a little graphic that shows this. The FBI is under the white house. Now, they're supposed to be independent and work within the law, but in the past we know that the FBI has done some underhanded things. Things like the whole Whitey Bulger affair.
Yeah the biggest windfall to the health insurance companies, the hospitals, doctors and big pharma. A license to print money. In the movie "The Graduate" the hero gets some advice "One Word: Plastics." Screw that, it's not plastics, get into healthcare and screw patients over and print money. And now we have all those new IRS agents with nothing to do but stick their thumbs up their asses all day or wait..., this in, I just got an IRS letter today questioning 30 dollars from 5 years ago. W00H00 yeah, what a great fucking retarded mess the ACA is.
I've had my worst cab experiences going either to or from an airport from a safety related perspective. I find the "safety" arguments from the CPUC ridiculous and only put there to preserve their licensed monopoly on airport access to cabs, hired cars (limos) and shuttle vans. Make no mistake, airports get a lot of revenue for letting these companies onsite and don't want to see that revenue disappear.
Here's just a few safety issues I've had:
1) trying to catch an early morning flight, the driver fell asleep twice at the wheel and ran a red light.
2) pickup from an airport to go to a meeting, unfortunately it was snowing and the driver felt that the ride was "too short" for the amount of
time he'd spent in the cab line. Still, it was a $30 fare but he nearly crashed into two cars on the slick roads because he was mumbling under
his breath about how he had sat there blah blah...
3) pickup from the airport and made the guy stop before we left the airport, why? His car was clunking so bad it was driving like a clown car you see in
parades, it's like it had oval rear tires.
4) Shuttle ride to Dulles one time, driver was late so he was speeding and was pulled over by a cop on the Dulles toll road.
I can't possibly see how Uber or Lyft can be much worse.
With all the lobbying going on in Congress it's no wonder that their approval rating is in the dumps. This is another example of something getting held up in committee rather than being submitted for a vote. The committees control everything in congress and if the chairman decides to pull a piece of legislation they can pretty much do it. In this matter the Republican controlled House passed legislation but the Democratic Senate is caught in its own red tape. NPEs are a threat to our economic development and certainly there are an over abundance of useless, frivolous patents that have been awarded. Regrettably the US Patent system has let us all down in letting these things become a "patent" and unfortunately unless there's litigation it never can be settled. NPEs don't want to go to trial, they want you to settle, pay them their protection money. It's like the Mafia and paying for protection but unfortunately in this case you have multiple gangs all coming to your door asking for their cut. Literally it's like the death of 1000 cuts.
Since I'm not in Vermont, can somebody there kick their Senator in the nuts for me? Thanks.
This Google Engineer is a certified idiot.
Maybe not an idiot but somebody who doesn't follow computer history that much. These arguments sound vaguely familiar as those pushed by Sun and Microsoft in the 90s.
So now I can spend another 3700 hours on the game on lightweight hardware. w00t!
"The new phonebook's here! The new phonebook's here!"
"Page 73, Johnson, Naven R. I'm somebody now! Millions of people look at this book every day!"
"This is the kind of spontaneous publicity, your name in print that makes people!"
"Things are going to start happening to me now."
- The Jerk
Well China is number one in CO2 emissions but per capita you're correct the US is higher per capita than China in CO2 emissions. Now, GHG is one variable in the multidimensional entity you reference but also look at PM10 concentrations which really can screw up your health and surprisingly, Mongolia is the worst at 284, China 82, the US 18. But there are worse offenders such as Saudi Arabia 108, Botswana 199 and I was surprised to see the UAE at 132. Living in those places will definitely shorten your lifespan.
because outside of maybe an hour a day, they do maintain themselves. Pastures, water troughs.. It's not hard to imagine that. They'd get along fine without us too.
Good points but still, nothing guaranteeing privacy in terms of rights even with the 10th however the 4th where you quote:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Has been narrowly applied to in your possession, in your home/office. What you share with third parties which includes all of the Internet isn't covered because you're sharing it with that third party. Even the US Postal Service snaps a photo of every piece of mail it delivers so the government if they wanted to could mine your network from on-paper correspondence as well.
The only way to ensure privacy is to write it into the constitution and since members of congress are now contemplating a new amendment to prohibit nameless, deep-pocketed spending on political campaigns/issues right now, it seems that this would be a good time for them to get off their asses and protect our privacy even with third parties, written and electronic communications and data storage should be held in the same regard as things in our homes or in our possession. Also don't forget unwarranted dumping of your cell phones, strip searches for minor offenses and of course DNA swabs for same.
Actually for a time I did have a couple of hay burners, groomed/washed them regularly and did all the feeding / vet things and had the horseshoe guy come around every 2 to three months. The hay guy every month and damn mice always in it and what always goes in, comes out. I didn't raise them per say, we bought them when one was three the other five. It's like having a swimming pool though, a lot more maintenance than actual usage; they spent most of the time running around the five acres we had. And the analogy of a Boat, bust out another thousand, pales in comparison to a hay burner. Also I don't think a car ever bit me, literally speaking.
I did have pause one time to observe a rancher down the road who had to deal with a dead horse one time, good thing he had a lot of acreage and a backhoe. Come to think of it he did the same thing for dead cows.
Naw, I'd put Sprint as dead last both from my friends, coworkers and family with T-mobile slightly ahead of them them in terms of customer service. I had Sprint for years, disconnected calls, no network access, slow network and then 3 years ago I cancelled. After 6 years with them they sent a $400 nasty gram saying I had 10 days to pay or they'd turn it over to collections even though my bill was current. The $400 was for a smartphone and early termination of that. I then went with T-Mobile who I'd been with before Sprint. When T-Mobile filed for bankruptcy it really went south from there. Although the network performance was better customer service sucked badly, so instead of dealing with that I switched to Simple Mobile which uses T-Mobile's network and I don't have all the bullshit. So consumers will have the worst coverage unless your in major metro areas and with spending $32 billion for T-Mobile I doubt Sprint will have the resources to build out the network further, much like when they acquired Nextel.
Verizon's problem is, well they're Verizon and you're not. Their terms and conditions/business practices are recognized as the worst but their customer service and network are top notch. For my business accounts I use Verizon, personal stuff SimpleMobile.
The obvious problems here is #3/#4 merging meaning less consumer choice and higher prices and worse customer service ahead. Not that Sprint and T-Mobile aren't the worst already in customer service but this is a lose, lose all way around. I also can't help to think how Sprint's acquisition of another carrier, Nextel, didn't bode well for subscribers on that network either. I seriously doubt that the DOJ or the FCC will block it though since T-Mobile has been up for sale for quite awhile. Oh well folks, get ready for three Wireless Carriers in the US dominating your choice for the next few decades. I wonder if T-Mobile will re-run their cowboy ads showing the fourth hung from an old oak tree?