They complain if they are advertised as unlimited. I complain when they tell me my download speed that I am buying is the theoretical max and basically never gets that high. I don't think they would complain though if there were competition to go against it.
I don't really mind caps on my mobile data. It makes sense that mobile infrastructure is harder and more expensive - so bandwidth and data are limited.
I do get tired about this fight over the numbers all the time though. I think consumers would be happier if they had consistent pricing schemes to look at. I can't blame someone for getting upset when carriers change TOS all the time, change pricing plans all the time, change phone subsidies all the time - and then essentially require you to sign a 2 year deal in order to reasonably do business with them. When you finally find a plan structure you like you have to safeguard your phone so that it'll last forever because new technology requires new contracts, new activation fees, new plans.
While it gets annoying to hear people complain, there really is serious lack of competition when it comes to the way we buy our phone and internet services. It's frustrating to deal with fees, plans and plan options, requirements by the carrier, and taxes when you are just trying to buy something within budget. I have to come up with an activation fee, phone price, and prorated service on the first bill, but then my plan will be somewhere within 10 bucks of this number on the second bill...
I can't blame people for wanting to complain about something like this because it seems to be a source of continual frustration. After dedicating a serious chuck of my budget to phone and internet plans that I feel like I am getting married too, carriers complaining that I'm using too much data, service that doesn't seem to be what I thought I was going to get, I see these same guys throwing political money around on many of the political issues that matter to me but from the other side - I see them trying to buy content companies that I think would be a bad idea - and I see my public dollars and public throughways being held ransom from other companies that might provide me better/cheaper service
Yeah, I like to complain, but it's not about a free lunch. I just want a fair lunch where neither side feels like they're getting screwed.
Psh. Noob. I liquid cool and overclock my snapdragon to 4.5 GHz. The battery life is only about 30 seconds but it's worth it to play mobile crysis at 200fps.
Why do you rate Windows the worst and Linux the best? What makes Windows so horrible to maintain?
AV Antirivus Pro, Windows Security Pro, and all the people-management time it takes to try and get them to NOT click on the flash player update that comes from "Your facebook friend" that sent you a video.
All you have to do is pop-in a CD and install.
And then run windows update/microsoft update 7 times (last time I did it) with reboots between each.
After that the system usually has everything the user needs (web browser, Microsoft Office, etc).
Again, providing you've run the updates, installed office, passed the genuine advantage for windows and then registered Office successfully. That is assuming you have a VLK and don't have to talk to a call center somewhere and read them a crazy long string of numbers hoping they don't ask you about the machine that crashed or you otherwise don't use the license on anymore.
And what makes Linux so easy? In my experience it's a pain in the ass - for example my Linux laptop refuses to execute flash websites (like disney.com or tv.com). And I can't get it to talk to my Netscape ISP.
Then you're doing it wrong. I can stick an ubuntu CD in any Dell or lenovo we have sitting around here, run the updates once, and have a fully functional, up-to-date system.
I wish people would stop quoting large percent increases. They get the math wrong more often than not, so it is hard to tell what is intended.
Regardless of the percentage increase, I wish people would at least give a scale to measure that percentage against. Since I don't buy journals for myself, I don't know what they generally cost. A 400% increase on $50 might be hard to get upset about, but a 400% increase on $4,500 is a different matter
This is true of course. He wants to change the world from one in which he has less money into one in which he has more money.
I have to disagree. I believe he's in in to change the world. We all would like to change the world. He's not concerned about money because he's young and already made more money than the normal person can spend in a lifetime.
After you've started one of the most popular things in the world, been banned by numerous oppressive regimes, annoyed everyone that can be annoyed by you, and moved your company to the country of your choice... what is left but saying you're in it for the good of the world?
Actually, it will be the opposite. No longer will textbook manufacturers have to update so quickly in order to make the books obsolete. From now on, the book is YOUR edition
YOU will own the book meaning nobody else can have it. It will have no resale value because you paid for in on your account and nobody else will be able to use it unless they can sync a kindle/ipad/ereader on your account.
Profs might actually like this better because books might change less, and book publishers might even give you updates for free/cheap, but everyone will have to buy it.
Of course, some kids will pirate, but many "value-added" features on websites will require a registered key to work. Or they might give you a cheaper "rental" option that expires after the semester.
was it an accident? A good friend of mine works for a defense contractor and they used to do this as part of a security audit. Every once in a while they would just drop USB keys in the parking lot and then notify everyone that had a computer that got infected by it after a few days.
My biggest concern would be IT security guys that will stick a generic USB drive in their computer without scanning it first. Shame on anyone that goes to a security conference and trusts the graft to be virus-free.
Actually you don't know about the aqua-terrorists because we've always been adequately protected by our marine protectors. Terrorists only make headlines when the security measures fail and it becomes a public incident.
The reason they reveal this to the world now is because BP has been used in a dastardly plot to kill our marine-mammal-soldiers. This oil slick will not only provide cover, but the "dead-zone" created by the spill/microbes/plumes will provide the perfect opportunity for them to swim right up to our beaches in FL, AL, MS, and TX.
You haven't heard of them yet, but soon you will see that we will invade/save the country/people/militant group that did this to us, killed our fishes, and put our oil in jeopardy!
I can see this being news because it was paid for by federal stimulus money, but is it news otherwise? I have quite a few friends that attend a private college that have been doing this for years. They keep attendance for every class this way, as well as a number of "extra-curriculars" that are required throughout the year. There is some sharing of keys, but it also is your key to the dorm and gets swiped when you want to buy food from student funds.
This of course is creepy, but when you live at a college and you go into knowing what is going to happen it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. The story is about a publicly funded university, and so it's the gov't collecting this data, but how much different is this than the ever present student ID card that accumulates most of the same data in a less easy way?
Or maybe we aren't there yet. He also mentions that the latest song or a new lecture might be seen around the world on these devices. Sure, that is technically capable now, but we have structured ourselves in such a way to try and prevent that from happening (I'm looking at you ACTA).
But cell towers are a terrible way to design a system. Sure, they are the best method we have for overcoming signal quality and bandwidth requirements now, but a central station like Tesla envisions would be much better. Just like people laugh about the 4 watt suitcase cell phone from 1990, people might be laughing about the "There's a map for that" commercials from 2010.
Plus I believe that we won't get down to wristwatch size without some leap in innovation. Even Star Trek had big wrist mounted devices because your fingers can't get any smaller.
That depends. They will be in a large room like you describe if they use Verizon. If they use AT&T they will be able to work and collaborate at the same time and thus won't need to leave home, saving a fortune in overhead. Companies will then have to make a decision on whether to hire employees that can work and talk at the same time from a very small geographic market, or hire employees that will need to physically come into an office to collaborate from a geographic market that is 5x's as large at ATTs.
Plus people are getting better at computer and spending more time with them. A younger generation is more adept at working with video editing, gaming, and more advanced computer functions that simply weren't accessible a few years ago. Nobody is going to have a workstation at home to check email, but my phone is not replacing my need for a computer, but expanding it. Now I get relevant email almost all hours of the day. I don't need a workstation to read it, but it's nice to have a desktop to organize it every once in a while.
I realize my phone can take a video and upload it to youtube, but it's a ways away before I can create a mashup of different movie scenes, edit myself into them, create a lightsaber duel, and upload it on my phone.
That day will probably come, but I imagine by then we'll have thought of new cool things to do that needs a machine or decent size.
Also from the op... 12 inch screen... a 23 inch 1080p monitor is like 150 bucks, come on.
yeah, but it sucks to have that extension cord stung along just to watch a movie on a larger screen than a laptop normally has. I mean, he could buy a 23 inch laptop, but that wouldn't fit in a backpack like a 12 inch would.
Does anyone have a 12 inch screen on a desktop? Can you buy that?
I'm increasingly convinced that "consumers" do not associate DRM problems with DRM itself -- rather, they view it as one manufacturer's problem, or even just a flaw in the DVD mastering. When the same DVD plays perfectly on another DVD player, that just "validates" that the DVD player was at fault, not the DRM.
As such, wide-scale problems like this aren't viewed as *DRM problems*, just a DVD player problem.
Terms like DRM are thrown around, but I don't see them sticking in the minds of most consumers. It's just another 3-letter-acronym that tech people like to use so much.
I disagree completely. DRM does stick in the mind of consumers in a case like this, and they do not blame the players, but do blame the disc.
As soon as one disc doesn't work, they stick another disc in to see if it works. When the previously owned disc works just fine, and the new one does not, they blame the new disc. I imagine quite a few get upset, return the disc in exchange for another just like it. Then they get frustrated when two in a row don't work, call their IT Guy/Friend/Teenager and ask why. I/they explain DRM to them, how they must wait for an update to come out to play the disc, and nobody is happy.
Even if they ask "do I need to buy a new player?" The best answer I have is "Who knows? A new one might have a better firmware, might not."
"The CNC machine told me it was infected with viruses. I did an update, rebooted it, and then put ANTIVIRUS XP PRO on and it cleared up 78 viruses! It is annoying now that it is networked, since these viruses keep popping up in the middle of production runs, but ANTIVIRUS XP PRO clears off 70-80 viruses a day! If only IT would improve their firewalls on the server, I wouldn't have to go to these lengths clearing off viruses every day."
Sorry, just daydreaming about our production equipment being on the network...
I agree as well. All this unregulated gambling is what caused the problem in the first place. If it had been regulated and open to the public, then we probably wouldn't have had to worry about credit default swaps destroying the entire economy. I mean, I know I can play the penny markets anytime I please, but the big money is being gambled by the big firms using games most people have never heard of.
If the government took 8% of every wager that Citigroup or Lehman Brothers had placed than there might have been some money in reserve to help them out when times got bad...
While I agree that IT can't be the people that get senior managers fired, I don't believe they can't do anything. I mean, if I'm suspicious about it I would think you could at least use OpenDNS to block straight porn sites. Sure, it isn't anywhere near bulletproof, but most managers that spend 8 hours a day looking at porn aren't that savvy.
If they try and go to a porn site and see a company or official logo from the OpenDNS page with a message that says it was blocked for pornography, most get the picture. Most don't want to confront you about it either.
It might not have been their job to get someone fired (who gets fired from a gov't position anyway, besides teachers?) but an IT dept could do something to help that situation out without stirring the pot.
Not to mention that HAMs are a primary target group to be trained as weather spotters. Most people can't call in a tornado and be taken seriously unless they have pictures to feed to the local news. In crazy weather a ham can call in over VHF to make a credible severe weather report.
Not to mention the liberating feeling you have knowing that you can control your own means of communication. I can talk to my father using a cheap radio and a string of wire when he is 90 miles away and there is no company trying to control it, charge me, or move me into some contract. With some cheap solar panels and a few car batteries we can talk even if the grid is down.
When we had some windstorms a few years ago the cell towers were either damaged or overloaded and it took almost 3 days for reliable cell communication and over a week for power to be restored in my suburban neighborhood!
Hams are also allowed to carry police scanners in their cars when nobody else can, RACES and ARES members can drive on the roads when others aren't allowed, and can play a vital role in rescue efforts in areas that cell phones and business class radios just can't cut it.
I've got decent quality CFL's throughout my entire house. I do get headaches if I read by a CFL as opposed to an incandescent. I wish you did have more time to point out studies that show that sensitivity is crap. I consider myself a scientist, and it would be nice to know why the headache I get by reading by a CFL is crap. I'd love to use one if it didn't give me a headache.
I do have a problem with them warming up. In outside lighting during the winter I had to try 3 different models before I found one that would reach a decent brightness in a reasonable number of seconds as opposed to minutes. I have 4 candelabra base bulbs in my bedroom ceiling fan that cost more than the ceiling fan itself. They take about 2 minutes to warm up. For the first 30 seconds or so they are so dim that it's not worth turning them on if you just want to get something out of the closet.
The move to CFL isn't going to happen until the technology catches up to the price. I've been nearly all CFL for 2 years, and had 5 bulbs die. That's about 20-25 bucks I've wasted. I've had 3 incandescent in that time that are still going. I figure I have an average of about 2-3 bulbs on for around 4-5 hours a day. I'm not sure that I've saved any money. I've tried 2 different types of $5 led bulbs that both died in a number of months and had terrible light. Neither I, nor most the people I know, can afford to spend $20/bulb to light their house.
For the same reason that I don't want them keeping a copy of my bank records on file. Sure, they wouldn't have my money, but they would have something that I don't share with people, and be able to use it without understanding it.
Sure, it might only be used for murder investigations first, and I wouldn't be concerned. However, they decide it would be good for all sorts of identifying purposes. We wouldn't even know how reliable or unique it is until we've collected all the information and gov't officials already are convinced its full-proof. Suddenly I'm hauled in for trial/audited by the IRS/dealing with credit issues/etc because someone is similar to me/is a partial match/used my unique "fingerprint" in a way that was less than legal.
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They complain if they are advertised as unlimited. I complain when they tell me my download speed that I am buying is the theoretical max and basically never gets that high. I don't think they would complain though if there were competition to go against it.
I don't really mind caps on my mobile data. It makes sense that mobile infrastructure is harder and more expensive - so bandwidth and data are limited.
I do get tired about this fight over the numbers all the time though. I think consumers would be happier if they had consistent pricing schemes to look at. I can't blame someone for getting upset when carriers change TOS all the time, change pricing plans all the time, change phone subsidies all the time - and then essentially require you to sign a 2 year deal in order to reasonably do business with them. When you finally find a plan structure you like you have to safeguard your phone so that it'll last forever because new technology requires new contracts, new activation fees, new plans.
While it gets annoying to hear people complain, there really is serious lack of competition when it comes to the way we buy our phone and internet services. It's frustrating to deal with fees, plans and plan options, requirements by the carrier, and taxes when you are just trying to buy something within budget. I have to come up with an activation fee, phone price, and prorated service on the first bill, but then my plan will be somewhere within 10 bucks of this number on the second bill...
I can't blame people for wanting to complain about something like this because it seems to be a source of continual frustration. After dedicating a serious chuck of my budget to phone and internet plans that I feel like I am getting married too, carriers complaining that I'm using too much data, service that doesn't seem to be what I thought I was going to get, I see these same guys throwing political money around on many of the political issues that matter to me but from the other side - I see them trying to buy content companies that I think would be a bad idea - and I see my public dollars and public throughways being held ransom from other companies that might provide me better/cheaper service
Yeah, I like to complain, but it's not about a free lunch. I just want a fair lunch where neither side feels like they're getting screwed.
Psh. Noob. I liquid cool and overclock my snapdragon to 4.5 GHz. The battery life is only about 30 seconds but it's worth it to play mobile crysis at 200fps.
Why do you rate Windows the worst and Linux the best? What makes Windows so horrible to maintain?
AV Antirivus Pro, Windows Security Pro, and all the people-management time it takes to try and get them to NOT click on the flash player update that comes from "Your facebook friend" that sent you a video.
All you have to do is pop-in a CD and install.
And then run windows update/microsoft update 7 times (last time I did it) with reboots between each.
After that the system usually has everything the user needs (web browser, Microsoft Office, etc).
Again, providing you've run the updates, installed office, passed the genuine advantage for windows and then registered Office successfully. That is assuming you have a VLK and don't have to talk to a call center somewhere and read them a crazy long string of numbers hoping they don't ask you about the machine that crashed or you otherwise don't use the license on anymore.
And what makes Linux so easy? In my experience it's a pain in the ass - for example my Linux laptop refuses to execute flash websites (like disney.com or tv.com). And I can't get it to talk to my Netscape ISP.
Then you're doing it wrong. I can stick an ubuntu CD in any Dell or lenovo we have sitting around here, run the updates once, and have a fully functional, up-to-date system.
According to Wikipedia:
For a human eye with excellent acuity, the maximum theoretical resolution is 50 CPD (Cycles Per Degree). A rat can resolve only about 1 to 2 CPD.
I guess "rat-ina display" didn't sound as good to Apple marketing :-)
But really, so it may be 18 inches for "true" retina display versus 12 inches. Ok... Big deal.
It's only a big deal if you think Apple should be honest in it's marketing
I wish people would stop quoting large percent increases. They get the math wrong more often than not, so it is hard to tell what is intended.
Regardless of the percentage increase, I wish people would at least give a scale to measure that percentage against. Since I don't buy journals for myself, I don't know what they generally cost. A 400% increase on $50 might be hard to get upset about, but a 400% increase on $4,500 is a different matter
I just don't trust the guy.
Don't trust the man behind facebook? I'm sorry, but when I read that I started laughing so hard my boss thought I wasn't working
Zuckerburg: Tell me everything about you and I'll sell it to advertisers
Person on the street: What's in it for me?
Zuckerburg: I'll let you see information about people you already know for free!
Person on the strees: Free!?!?! I'm in!
This is true of course. He wants to change the world from one in which he has less money into one in which he has more money.
I have to disagree. I believe he's in in to change the world. We all would like to change the world. He's not concerned about money because he's young and already made more money than the normal person can spend in a lifetime.
After you've started one of the most popular things in the world, been banned by numerous oppressive regimes, annoyed everyone that can be annoyed by you, and moved your company to the country of your choice... what is left but saying you're in it for the good of the world?
I like to feel like the world needs me too...
The thing is... what's the story behind this very name? Why Caffeine?! :p
because Acai Berry generally gets caught in the spam filter
So much for a fair trial.
So by now, who hasnt wiped their ass off with the bill of rights?
In Ohio the officers might not be trained to operate the Bill of Rights...
Actually, it will be the opposite. No longer will textbook manufacturers have to update so quickly in order to make the books obsolete. From now on, the book is YOUR edition
YOU will own the book meaning nobody else can have it. It will have no resale value because you paid for in on your account and nobody else will be able to use it unless they can sync a kindle/ipad/ereader on your account.
Profs might actually like this better because books might change less, and book publishers might even give you updates for free/cheap, but everyone will have to buy it.
Of course, some kids will pirate, but many "value-added" features on websites will require a registered key to work. Or they might give you a cheaper "rental" option that expires after the semester.
was it an accident? A good friend of mine works for a defense contractor and they used to do this as part of a security audit. Every once in a while they would just drop USB keys in the parking lot and then notify everyone that had a computer that got infected by it after a few days.
My biggest concern would be IT security guys that will stick a generic USB drive in their computer without scanning it first. Shame on anyone that goes to a security conference and trusts the graft to be virus-free.
All else being equal, 60% of the time, statistical tests work every time.
Actually you don't know about the aqua-terrorists because we've always been adequately protected by our marine protectors. Terrorists only make headlines when the security measures fail and it becomes a public incident.
The reason they reveal this to the world now is because BP has been used in a dastardly plot to kill our marine-mammal-soldiers. This oil slick will not only provide cover, but the "dead-zone" created by the spill/microbes/plumes will provide the perfect opportunity for them to swim right up to our beaches in FL, AL, MS, and TX.
You haven't heard of them yet, but soon you will see that we will invade/save the country/people/militant group that did this to us, killed our fishes, and put our oil in jeopardy!
I can see this being news because it was paid for by federal stimulus money, but is it news otherwise? I have quite a few friends that attend a private college that have been doing this for years. They keep attendance for every class this way, as well as a number of "extra-curriculars" that are required throughout the year. There is some sharing of keys, but it also is your key to the dorm and gets swiped when you want to buy food from student funds.
This of course is creepy, but when you live at a college and you go into knowing what is going to happen it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. The story is about a publicly funded university, and so it's the gov't collecting this data, but how much different is this than the ever present student ID card that accumulates most of the same data in a less easy way?
But cell towers are a terrible way to design a system. Sure, they are the best method we have for overcoming signal quality and bandwidth requirements now, but a central station like Tesla envisions would be much better. Just like people laugh about the 4 watt suitcase cell phone from 1990, people might be laughing about the "There's a map for that" commercials from 2010.
Plus I believe that we won't get down to wristwatch size without some leap in innovation. Even Star Trek had big wrist mounted devices because your fingers can't get any smaller.
That depends. They will be in a large room like you describe if they use Verizon. If they use AT&T they will be able to work and collaborate at the same time and thus won't need to leave home, saving a fortune in overhead. Companies will then have to make a decision on whether to hire employees that can work and talk at the same time from a very small geographic market, or hire employees that will need to physically come into an office to collaborate from a geographic market that is 5x's as large at ATTs.
I realize my phone can take a video and upload it to youtube, but it's a ways away before I can create a mashup of different movie scenes, edit myself into them, create a lightsaber duel, and upload it on my phone.
That day will probably come, but I imagine by then we'll have thought of new cool things to do that needs a machine or decent size.
Also from the op... 12 inch screen... a 23 inch 1080p monitor is like 150 bucks, come on.
yeah, but it sucks to have that extension cord stung along just to watch a movie on a larger screen than a laptop normally has. I mean, he could buy a 23 inch laptop, but that wouldn't fit in a backpack like a 12 inch would.
Does anyone have a 12 inch screen on a desktop? Can you buy that?
I'm increasingly convinced that "consumers" do not associate DRM problems with DRM itself -- rather, they view it as one manufacturer's problem, or even just a flaw in the DVD mastering. When the same DVD plays perfectly on another DVD player, that just "validates" that the DVD player was at fault, not the DRM.
As such, wide-scale problems like this aren't viewed as *DRM problems*, just a DVD player problem.
Terms like DRM are thrown around, but I don't see them sticking in the minds of most consumers. It's just another 3-letter-acronym that tech people like to use so much.
I disagree completely. DRM does stick in the mind of consumers in a case like this, and they do not blame the players, but do blame the disc.
As soon as one disc doesn't work, they stick another disc in to see if it works. When the previously owned disc works just fine, and the new one does not, they blame the new disc. I imagine quite a few get upset, return the disc in exchange for another just like it. Then they get frustrated when two in a row don't work, call their IT Guy/Friend/Teenager and ask why. I/they explain DRM to them, how they must wait for an update to come out to play the disc, and nobody is happy.
Even if they ask "do I need to buy a new player?" The best answer I have is "Who knows? A new one might have a better firmware, might not."
Sorry, just daydreaming about our production equipment being on the network...
If the government took 8% of every wager that Citigroup or Lehman Brothers had placed than there might have been some money in reserve to help them out when times got bad...
If they try and go to a porn site and see a company or official logo from the OpenDNS page with a message that says it was blocked for pornography, most get the picture. Most don't want to confront you about it either.
It might not have been their job to get someone fired (who gets fired from a gov't position anyway, besides teachers?) but an IT dept could do something to help that situation out without stirring the pot.
Not to mention the liberating feeling you have knowing that you can control your own means of communication. I can talk to my father using a cheap radio and a string of wire when he is 90 miles away and there is no company trying to control it, charge me, or move me into some contract. With some cheap solar panels and a few car batteries we can talk even if the grid is down.
When we had some windstorms a few years ago the cell towers were either damaged or overloaded and it took almost 3 days for reliable cell communication and over a week for power to be restored in my suburban neighborhood!
Hams are also allowed to carry police scanners in their cars when nobody else can, RACES and ARES members can drive on the roads when others aren't allowed, and can play a vital role in rescue efforts in areas that cell phones and business class radios just can't cut it.
I do have a problem with them warming up. In outside lighting during the winter I had to try 3 different models before I found one that would reach a decent brightness in a reasonable number of seconds as opposed to minutes. I have 4 candelabra base bulbs in my bedroom ceiling fan that cost more than the ceiling fan itself. They take about 2 minutes to warm up. For the first 30 seconds or so they are so dim that it's not worth turning them on if you just want to get something out of the closet.
The move to CFL isn't going to happen until the technology catches up to the price. I've been nearly all CFL for 2 years, and had 5 bulbs die. That's about 20-25 bucks I've wasted. I've had 3 incandescent in that time that are still going. I figure I have an average of about 2-3 bulbs on for around 4-5 hours a day. I'm not sure that I've saved any money. I've tried 2 different types of $5 led bulbs that both died in a number of months and had terrible light. Neither I, nor most the people I know, can afford to spend $20/bulb to light their house.
Sure, it might only be used for murder investigations first, and I wouldn't be concerned. However, they decide it would be good for all sorts of identifying purposes. We wouldn't even know how reliable or unique it is until we've collected all the information and gov't officials already are convinced its full-proof. Suddenly I'm hauled in for trial/audited by the IRS/dealing with credit issues/etc because someone is similar to me/is a partial match/used my unique "fingerprint" in a way that was less than legal.