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User: beanpoppa

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Comments · 243

  1. Re:Fake "survey" is fake on One In Ten Americans Thinks HTML Is a Type of Sexually Transmitted Infection · · Score: 1

    I don't even know about that anymore. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim.

  2. Re:Still a ways to go...until we get where? on Sulfur Polymers Could Enable Long-Lasting, High-Capacity Batteries · · Score: 3, Insightful

    At the risk of sounding 'Applely', Think different. Right now, I have to stop to 'recharge' my ICE car for 5-10 minutes, once a week. That's, on average, about 6 hours a year I wait for my car to 'recharge'. If I had an electric car, I would be plugging it in every night. For most weeks of my commuting year, it would eliminate any time waiting at the gas pump.

  3. Re:Just in time on The Next Keurig Will Make Your Coffee With a Dash of "DRM" · · Score: 1

    You did read the part where they said the 'next' Keurig machine, right? It doesn't come out until the fall. No reason not to buy the patent-expired Keurig 1.0 machine that you were interested in up until this news broke.

  4. Re:Go ahead and shoot yourself in the foot on The Next Keurig Will Make Your Coffee With a Dash of "DRM" · · Score: 1

    I have a mini-refillable k-cup. Costs about 10c in coffee per cup, and no waste. Sure, it's not a gourmet cup of coffee, but thankfully, I'm not a coffee snob. I'm also not an audio snob, a wine snob, etc. Saves me a lot of money, and I can still be happy.

  5. Re:It's not a 'fear' it's simple reality on Tesla Touts Cross-Country Trip, Aims For World Record · · Score: 1

    Yes, and your case is so typical. Therefore, there is no use case for anyone to buy an electric cars. And I need to carry my 3 kids in the back seat of my car about 2 times a week, so obviously there is no market for 2-door sports cars, which explains why no manufactures make any of those

    If only 80% of two-car households replaced one of their cars with an electric car, it would be a huge savings

  6. Re:Chevy Volt on Tesla Touts Cross-Country Trip, Aims For World Record · · Score: 1

    I think the best thing about the Volt platform is that in a few years, when battery technology has improved 10 or 20%, and prices have been reduced by 50%, they can drop the gas engine to lower the price and save weight (thus improving range and space- really wish it could seat 5). So then you could buy a Volt LE with a 70 mile range for $30k, or spend $40k and buy a Volt HE with a 130 mile range (no ICE, more room for batteries), or spend $40k for a Volt Classic and get 60 mile range with the ICE range extender for people with range anxiety.

  7. a does nothing for coverage on Old-school Wi-Fi Is Slowing Down Networks, Cisco Says · · Score: 1

    In our office and campus environment, we load up on access points in open office areas so you are never more than 30 feet from an AP in open air. 802.11an is the preferred protocol. But in my house, I have lots of plaster walls, ceilings, etc. I don't fell like wiring up an AP in each room, so 802.11g is my preferred protocol. There is nothing wrong with 2.4Ghz in my house. There is very little interference from my neighbors, as they are at least 30 feet beyond my walls and I can allocate non-adjacent channels. It's far desirable to a 5Ghz frequency that will be cut by 2/3 when it passes through the first wall. Sure, I could upgrade to 802.11gn, but I easilly get 30M to my AP, and my FiOS is only 10M so why bother? My servers and other things that matter are all wired anyway.

  8. Re:Units sold or already out? on Apple Devices To Reach Parity With Windows PCs In 2014 · · Score: 1

    I'd say 2 years is probably a good estimate. Most people replace their iPhone after 2 years. Some of them will put their old phones in a drawer and forget about them, while others will give them to their kids (as a phone with service, or as a WiFi only iPod), while others will trade-in or sell their old phone which will keep it in circulation even longer. That would make the average life longer than 2 years, but 25% of iPhones don't even make it to 2 years.

  9. Re:I'm torn... on Supreme Court To Hear Aereo Case · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It's basically Tivo, in the cloud. I could put a Tivo box in my house, hooked up to my antenna, and play Tivo $13/mo and watch/time-shift broadcast TV. Or, I can pay Aereo $8/mo for their DVR in the cloud, and do the same exact thing. What's the difference if the DVR is in my house, or remote? The difference with Aereo is that when I am away from my house, I can still watch my DVR. If Tivo+Slingbox is legal (which the courts have said is) then Aereo should be legal.

  10. Re:Target needs to be sued on Target Admits Data Breach May Have Up To 110 Million Victims · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not sure why you think credit card companies don't care about fraud. They invest a lot in systems that study CC usage to flag transactions for possible fraud. In the last year, I've had 3 situations where a transaction has been declined until I contact the CC to verify that they are legitimate transactions. You might not feel that they do enough, but they certainly have an effort. There is just a point of diminishing returns where they've decided that it's not worth the extra effort to get fraud down below a certain level.

  11. Re:Target needs to be sued on Target Admits Data Breach May Have Up To 110 Million Victims · · Score: 2

    I think the US card companies are actually going backwards. The Amex Blue card that I got 4 years ago had an RFID chip in it. The replacement I just received upon its expiration no longer has a chip.

  12. Re:More data to mine for their advertisers & t on Google Testing Smart Appliance, Would Compete With Nest Thermostat · · Score: 1

    They don't need a thermostat for most of this. They know when I wake up, because that's when I pick up my phone and check my gmail. And I go to bed when I turn off my GoogleTV and set my phone on the charger.
    What's wrong with getting cold medicine ads when you may have a cold? It's beats the heck out getting flooded with ads that provide nothing useful to me. When my furnace is running non-stop, I want to see ads with great deals on flights to Miami.
    Now, as for selling that info to health and life insurance companies- sure. But please point me to ANYTHING that indicates that Google has done something along those lines.

  13. Re:Unrealistic cost on Electric Cars: Drivers Love 'Em, So Why Are Sales Still Low? · · Score: 1

    Ever hear of credit cards? Swipe your credit card, then recharge your car at a 20% premium over standard electric rates. The land owner can either get a cut of that, or can lease out the spaces to companies that install the charging stations and take the premium. One of the benefits to EV is that the fueling infrastructure can be very easy to build compared to what it took for gasoline. The electric grid is everywhere, and it's relatively trivial to turn parking spaces into refueling stations, compared to what it takes to build a gas station.

  14. Re:Sandy Wasn't a Hurricane on As Hurricane Season Looms, It's Disaster-Preparedness Time · · Score: 1

    Actually, Sandy was technically not tropical, and therefore not a hurricane or a tropical storm when it made landfall. It was "Post-tropical cyclone Sandy". The "Superstorm" designation was more catchy, but also attributed to the fact that Sandy had merged with another low pressure system (which is what caused it to make the very unusual sharp turn West).

  15. Re:No. on Can GM Challenge Tesla With a Long-Range Electric Car? · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Well, most people are idiots. There are PLENTY of two-car households that could replace one of their 'commuter' cars with an all-electric car that has 100-200 mile range. Most people drive 50 miles, round-trip, for work. They plug in nightly, and are fine for their commute. Their other car can either be a regular ICE, or a hybrid, or a range-extended hybrid (if it would be justified), and would serve as the car to use when they have a long family road-trip.

    People who think that electric cars are useless unless they can meet the needs of every car (300+ mile range and 5 minute recharge) are being silly. I need a car big enough to carry suitcases and seat my 6 person family, but only one of my cars has to meet this need. The other car only needs to be big enough and efficient to take me to work and back.

  16. Wasn't an advertised feature on Google Breaks ChromeCast's Ability To Play Local Content · · Score: 2

    I bought one right after the initial announcement, as soon as they went on sale. I bought it for the only two announced features- direct streaming from the cloud for Netflix, Play, and Youtube, as well as the ability to Tab-cast other things like HBO-Go. The 'Allcast' features that Koush demonstrated only made it better. So, I ordered another for my main room, where I currently have a Logitech Revue GoogleTV. The Revue falls short in local video playback, so I was hoping to replace it with the Chromecast. With the removal of local video playback capability, I've cancelled my order, and will once again look for a solution from other platforms.

  17. Re:you know what they say: you cant trust google on Google Posts Images, Binaries For New Nexus 7 · · Score: 1

    Every supermarket, drug store, most modern gas station pumps, etc, all use NFC readers on their credit card machines, and I use them all the time with Google wallet on my GS3. You see, unlike Apple which requires merchants to adopt something special to work with their walled garden, Google wallet with NFC works with the eco system that's already out there.

  18. Re:What will they be saying... on Hurricane Sandy a 1-in-700-Year Event Says NASA Study · · Score: 2

    They aren't saying that they don't expect a storm as damaging, or as strong, to occur every 700 years. They are saying that they don't expect a storm to approach with this type of path, at this time of lunar cycle, at this time of day more than once in 700 years. That doesn't mean that we can't or won't get Nor'easter, blizzard, or hurricane with an equally high level of destruction- it's a different type of storm.

  19. Re:We need a new class of 'ultralight' cars on Volkswagen Concept Car Averages 262 MPG · · Score: 1

    Not only this, but the high cost of repair for crashes in a modern car arises from the cost to replace things like 18 air bags, seatbelt tensioners, etc. The cost to repair the body/frame damage plus replace all the deployed safety devices, plus the bump in depreciation is almost as much or higher than the cost to replace the whole car. The old car isn't simply thrown in the trash. All of the salvageable parts are resold. Very little goes to waste.

  20. Vacation community on In Sandy-Struck NJ Town, Verizon Goes All Wireless, No Copper · · Score: 1

    The area that they are talking about is very much a seasonal residence. Most people I know in those areas don't have landline service anyway. They cut the cord on that years ago. It's not worth the investment if only 30% of the residences will take up the service anyway.

  21. Re:Retailers went too far on The End Is Near for GameStop · · Score: 1

    I think you underestimate the desires of manufacturers to get rid of the first sale doctrine. They have pushed the courts to restrict FSD whenever possible, including potentially eliminating FSD for 'imported' goods. Considering most things we buy are made abroad, if they are successful, FSD could be all but eliminated. Omega vs. Costco

  22. Re:Retailers went too far on The End Is Near for GameStop · · Score: 1

    Depreciation on a car is a lot different than a video game. A car has a usable life of 10-15 years/150k miles before it becomes more expensive to maintain than replacing. If I'm buying a 5 year old car, then the price reflects that half of its life has been consumed. In buying a used game, once I've confirmed that it isn't scratched, its usable life is hardly affected from when new. That being said, I am often willing to pay $50 for a new game, knowing I can sell it for $25+ on eBay later on. When I buy downloadable games, I am generally paying a LOT less.

  23. Re:Apple - the phone for your parents on Woz Says iPhone Features Are 'Behind' · · Score: 2

    I guess this is why every time I pass an Apple store, it's wall-to-wall with people waiting for a genius to give them 'hip' support. It's not tech support.

  24. Re:I'm curious to see how many retailers actually on Credit Card Swipe Fees Begin Sunday In USA · · Score: 1

    Exactly this. There is a cost to handling cash. If everyone paid cash, that slows down transactions, lengthens the time required to close out a register at the end of the shift/day, and then if you are handling large amounts of it (which would happen if they start penalizing their cash customers) you have high expense for transporting/insuring. Also, credit card users usually spend more. JCR Even at a gas station- I pull up, hand my credit card, and say 'fill it up'. Cash users generally pull up, and say "Give me $40 of...." If a retailer wants to encourage cash, it's a short-term gain, long-term bad idea.

  25. Re:Missing the point. on Using Technology To Make Guns Safer · · Score: 1

    If she left a loaded gun where a three year old could pick it up, and died as a result, then she should have been nominated for a Darwin Award.

    The fact that she was shot by her child removes her from Darwin Award eligibility.