I know a few nearby areas where there is no OTA reception, in spite of being within 20 km of a transmitter that's on top of a 3,000 m mountain top.
Me too. I live in such an area right now (actually, since the digital switchover, most of the places I've lived have been unable to get OTA signals).
Nonetheless, it still sounds like a terrible deal. $20/mo to get broadcast stations is far, far too expensive even if the alternative is not getting broadcast stations at all.
I don't see Linux gaining a significant part of the desktop market in the foreseeable future. And, as an avid Linux user, I think that's a great thing.
I don't want Linux to get so popular. Getting that popular brings two really terrible things with it: more attention from hackers, and a more rapid degradation of the operating system as it tries harder to cater to everybody.
Plus the 2 hour time buffer you need for TSA purposes.
Seriously, in most of the flights that I've taken since the turn of the century, the actual time in flight hasn't been where most of the time required for travel is.
I do. You can't compete with Amazon (or big box retailers) on selection, and it's clearly suicidal to try.
However, small mom-and-pop retailers do have advantages that Amazon can't even hope to have: namely, to provide real customer service.
For example, I can't tell you the number of times I've gone into a small shop looking for something to solve a problem I have, but not knowing what would be best. The shop owner, who knows the related product space, then gives me honest advice -- even if the advice is to buy a product that the store doesn't even carry. That's real customer service, and that shop has guaranteed that I'll come back to buy stuff they do, in fact, carry.
Also, small shops get to know their customers. Not in the creepy, spying way that big companies seem to think counts as "getting to know their customers", but in the neighborly way you get to know somebody by, you know, having casual conversations with them over time. Those shops then do things like set aside stuff they know I'll want, or even order things they wouldn't ordinarily carry, knowing that I'll buy it if it's there, etc.
It's pretty much the difference between small companies and large companies in every industry: small companies make it possible, large companies make it cheap. There's a legitimate role for both, and the two can and do coexist.
I don't see how the Echo Spot is appreciably different.
It's different in two ways -- I imagine that most people don't have their phones propped up so the cameras can actually see the bed. They're probably lying flat on a nightstand where they have a great view of the ceiling.
Also, most people's cell phones aren't operated by or in constant communication with Amazon.
I don't know, do you purposefully position clocks so you cannot rad them?
Before my phone took the place of my alarm clock, I always kept the alarm clock in my bedroom faced away from my bed. I rarely need to know what time it is when I'm in bed, so there was no reason to have the glow of the clock shining on me all night.
Technically true, but there are two facts that make this a moot point.
1) The US stopped "declaring war" in a Constitutional sense quite a long time ago. If I remember correctly, the last time we declared war was WW2.
2) Congress has handed the ability to initiate hostilities to the Presidency. In this, they've abdicated their Constitutional responsibilities and made the President effectively the one who declares war.
Arbitration has a huge advantage for individuals though - the cost is very low which significantly promotes access to justice.
Only if the arbitration results in justice. I argue that, by design, it does not when it's used for this sort of thing.
Arbitration only works when the two parties are about equally powerful and the arbitrator is actually independent. With arbitration as people usually encounter it, neither of those things tend to be true.
Arbitration is a scam used to remove even more power from ordinary people.
Yeah, the read/write nature of hard drives isn't really the problem with using them for long-term storage. The real problem is that they're relatively fragile.
You can certainly get wireless earbuds that sound good -- but those aren't going to be cheap (certainly not $20!). But even they have the problem of uselessly short battery life.
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I know a few nearby areas where there is no OTA reception, in spite of being within 20 km of a transmitter that's on top of a 3,000 m mountain top.
Me too. I live in such an area right now (actually, since the digital switchover, most of the places I've lived have been unable to get OTA signals).
Nonetheless, it still sounds like a terrible deal. $20/mo to get broadcast stations is far, far too expensive even if the alternative is not getting broadcast stations at all.
I don't see Linux gaining a significant part of the desktop market in the foreseeable future. And, as an avid Linux user, I think that's a great thing.
I don't want Linux to get so popular. Getting that popular brings two really terrible things with it: more attention from hackers, and a more rapid degradation of the operating system as it tries harder to cater to everybody.
The "launch signature" for this would be very different than that of missiles. It would be trivial to tell the difference.
It produces water and carbon dioxide. Water isn't a big deal, but CO2 is.
Plus the 2 hour time buffer you need for TSA purposes.
Seriously, in most of the flights that I've taken since the turn of the century, the actual time in flight hasn't been where most of the time required for travel is.
I seriously can't imagine a method of inter-city travel that would be worse for the global environment.
I don't see any way for retail to win here
I do. You can't compete with Amazon (or big box retailers) on selection, and it's clearly suicidal to try.
However, small mom-and-pop retailers do have advantages that Amazon can't even hope to have: namely, to provide real customer service.
For example, I can't tell you the number of times I've gone into a small shop looking for something to solve a problem I have, but not knowing what would be best. The shop owner, who knows the related product space, then gives me honest advice -- even if the advice is to buy a product that the store doesn't even carry. That's real customer service, and that shop has guaranteed that I'll come back to buy stuff they do, in fact, carry.
Also, small shops get to know their customers. Not in the creepy, spying way that big companies seem to think counts as "getting to know their customers", but in the neighborly way you get to know somebody by, you know, having casual conversations with them over time. Those shops then do things like set aside stuff they know I'll want, or even order things they wouldn't ordinarily carry, knowing that I'll buy it if it's there, etc.
It's pretty much the difference between small companies and large companies in every industry: small companies make it possible, large companies make it cheap. There's a legitimate role for both, and the two can and do coexist.
I can't imagine that would sell. People who are concerned about privacy aren't buying one of these things in the first place.
I don't see how the Echo Spot is appreciably different.
It's different in two ways -- I imagine that most people don't have their phones propped up so the cameras can actually see the bed. They're probably lying flat on a nightstand where they have a great view of the ceiling.
Also, most people's cell phones aren't operated by or in constant communication with Amazon.
I don't know, do you purposefully position clocks so you cannot rad them?
Before my phone took the place of my alarm clock, I always kept the alarm clock in my bedroom faced away from my bed. I rarely need to know what time it is when I'm in bed, so there was no reason to have the glow of the clock shining on me all night.
I just want the alarm in the morning.
People who are OK with these sorts of devices in their home probably aren't bothered by the addition of cameras, no matter where they are placed.
Net neutrality does not affect a service provider's ability to properly manage congestion.
Shh! Don't tell them that! I find it very handy that there are so many give-away code phrases, and want them to stay in use.
I'm not surprised, but man -- AT&T sure does hate the internet.
Congress declares war
Technically true, but there are two facts that make this a moot point.
1) The US stopped "declaring war" in a Constitutional sense quite a long time ago. If I remember correctly, the last time we declared war was WW2.
2) Congress has handed the ability to initiate hostilities to the Presidency. In this, they've abdicated their Constitutional responsibilities and made the President effectively the one who declares war.
Arbitration has a huge advantage for individuals though - the cost is very low which significantly promotes access to justice.
Only if the arbitration results in justice. I argue that, by design, it does not when it's used for this sort of thing.
Arbitration only works when the two parties are about equally powerful and the arbitrator is actually independent. With arbitration as people usually encounter it, neither of those things tend to be true.
Arbitration is a scam used to remove even more power from ordinary people.
Unlike 1971, in 2017 most people actually live in cities and they get high quality 1080p HDTV over the air signals.
It depends on where in the city you live. Cities are full of shadow areas where digital reception is pretty much impossible.
Some people live in low-lying areas and can't get a signal
Also, in urban centers there are numerous areas where you can't get a signal.
At our very first glance, it seemed like a pretty good deal
What are they smoking? At first glance, it looked like a terrible deal.
Are they earbuds or headphones? I'm talking about earbuds (I can't stand wearing headphones when I'm not at home).
Nobody ever left anything important in the cloud.
Nobody with a competent and adequately funded IT department (even if it's just one person) ever left anything important in the cloud.
Yeah, the read/write nature of hard drives isn't really the problem with using them for long-term storage. The real problem is that they're relatively fragile.
For some reason manufacturers seem to have forgotten this over the years.
They didn't forget, they just realized that they didn't need to do quality beta testing in order to make the product a commercial success.
You can certainly get wireless earbuds that sound good -- but those aren't going to be cheap (certainly not $20!). But even they have the problem of uselessly short battery life.
I never thought of it in those terms, but you're right. That's precisely what it is.