And that's the trick. It's easy to block all the telemetry by simply blacklisting all the MS servers at the firewall. The issue is that also blocks updates.
Pick your poison....
Of course you ask what/.ers do. They don't run Windows in the first place!
Ever phoned Microsoft for "support"? how'd that go for you? If you're lucky they told you to re-install. more likely you couldn't even find a human to talk to.
People talk about commercial software having support, but it doesn't (Unless you're an enterprise license with thousands of seats, and even then you pay dearly for very little in the way of support). The forum posts you can find for any linux distro offer far more support than anything any commercial software company produces.
You do realize that the average selling price of a new car in the US is $32,000 right? and that in an EV you'll save $10,000-20,000 or more in gas alone over the life of the vehicle, not including the savings from less brake wear, no transmission service, no oil changes, no spark plug replacements, etc.
So wait and buy a used one like you do your current cars. at $12k you are either buying used, or you're buying garbage. Not to mention, with a fuel savings of about $10,000 over 6 or 7 years, you wouldn't pay a couple dollars more for the EV? Keep in mind that the Chevy Bolt, and the Tesla Model 3 are within a few dollars of the average selling price of a new vehicle in the US.
Life: Tesla vehicles so far have had minimal degradation of the batteries over that type of mileage. The warranty is 8 years unlimited mileage, and why would you replace it? How much does it cost now to replace the engine in your car? how long does it really last? No reason to worry about the battery, they're holding up fine. Also imagine how many oil changes you save over 100-200k miles, how many transmission services, brakes, spark plugs, any of the many, many maintenance items on an internal combustion vehicle that you will simply never need to do on an EV.
Sure, early adopters pay more, prices for EVs are coming down all the time. Get a Chevy Bolt then, it's about that price, or but a Model 3, or wait for the rumoured Model Y, and so on.
I didn't address price, because it wasn't a stated concern.
Why waste 5-10 minutes standing at a fuel pump, and then go to a washroom, and then to a restaurant. Plug it in, go eat, it will be ready before you get back, every time. 5 adults that are 6' tall and 2 that are 5'10" or so, it's more spacious than just about any other SUV out there.
The electric infrastructure, even if powered 100% by coal, is still far better for the environment than gasoline powered vehicles. It takes more energy, and generates more pollution just to refine the gasoline, than it does to move the EV. and that doesnt' even take in to account extraction, transportation, or actually burning it in your car.
You're asking the wrong questions. The only thing the EV is still missing is selection of vehicles (which is improving every day) and actual charge locations (which are relatively plentiful now, and improving daily)
You also don't realize how freeing it is NEVER having to look for a gas station around town, never waking up in the morning wondering if you have enough gas for the round trip to work. You wake up every single morning with a "full tank". The only time you ever spend time refuelling is on road trips, when you already have to stop to eat and use the restroom anyway.
Do you never sleep? The vast majority of my charging is done overnight while I'm unconscious. The rest, while I'm on road-trips, is done while I'm eating and using the washroom. It now takes me LESS time to refuel than when I had an internal combustion engine. as it's now effectively zero.
So let me fix it for you again: "The main barrier is PERCEPTION of charge time"
I see you've never bought new technology as an early adopter.
Yes, it's expensive. But the price is dropping dramatically. See the Chevy Bolt or the Tesla Model 3. They're about the same price as the average new car sold in the USA.
Well, the Tesla Model X already seats 7, plus storage space, has over 300 miles of range (which I guarantee you is larger than the bladder capacity of the smallest of those 7 passengers). recharges faster than you can feed the whole family (which you also probably do a few times on your trip). and has a battery warranty of 8 years and unlimited millage.
So basically, your arguments are either already addressed, or artificially created.
As someone who drives an EV, it is better in every single way than my previous internal combustion vehicles. EVERY way.
EVs will win eventually with or without government intervention (which, by the way, I'm against) because they are far superior to internal combustion vehicles.
The EV is more powerful, more comfortable, has better driving performance, less maintenance. The Internal combustion vehicle has... an established user base, and more fuelling stations.
So really the ONLY advantage an internal combustion vehicle has is more charging stations, and that "advantage" is being eroded quickly as more charging stations are being built every day, and even without them they aren't needed as much as you wake up every morning to a "full tank"
Tesla is somewhat wrong on this. The main barrier is PERCEPTION of range.
Everyone thinks they need to drive 10,000 miles on a charge. Nobody actually does. Current range of a Tesla is plenty (assuming there's supercharger coverage in the direction you want to go). Unfortunately, until you actually drive one, you won't believe me. I didn't believe me until I bought one.
When I bought my Tesla, I assumed we'd have to take my wife's car on any long road trips. I was wrong. We take the Tesla on all the road trips because it's more convenient, and more comfortable. I just didn't believe that road-tripping in an EV would be practical.
I think the only way to fix this perception problem is over time as more people have these vehicles and share their own experiences with others, and as more and more charging stations are rolled out.
I regularly travel hundreds of km in my EV (Tesla Model S) The time loss from mid-trip recharges is approximately zero. I can't drive 10 hours without eating or using the restroom, there's no reason the car can't charge while I do so.
And a ranch in the middle of nowhere with no electricity is a rather niche application. Most people don't do that. If his ranch had electricity, I guarantee that there's an EV that can do the round trip. For that matter, 490 miles is more range than a lot of internal combustion vehicles have, so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison.
I live in Calgary, I drive a Tesla. I regularly make trips to Vancouver, Kelowna, Merritt, etc. all of which are hundreds of km away and require recharging.
If you don't think an EV can be used in Canada you're living in the past.
Now take the number that ARE available in the US, and quarter it, that's approximately how many are available in Canada. There are no EVs available in Canada that aren't also available in the US, but there are many available in US CARB states that are not available in Canada.
The OP held Canada up as being so much better than the US, but in fact we are way behind the US in EVs. I'm not saying that the US is ideal, but to hold Canada up as an example of being better is ridiculous.
As someone who drives a Model S in Canada every day, and who's last road trip was over a thousand km long at temperatures as low as -36c I can say without hesitation that you don't have the faintest clue what you are talking about. Electric vehicles are far superior in the winter to internal combustion engines. They always start without hesitation, you get heat in the cabin nearly instantly without having to wait for the engine to warm up first, and the electric drivetrain allows for far superior traction control to deal with the icy conditions. Winter is when electrics really shine.
Then spend the money countering child abuse, researching childhood illnesses, attacking child poverty, heck do something extremely radical like providing health care to children!
Show me a law making EVs available in every province like you stated.
Show me where I can buy an eGolf in Canada
Show me this proof that you think that Canada is somehow further ahead than the USA in electrification of transport when in fact we're about a decade behind.
I've researched this pretty heavily, Canada is SCREWED when it comes to EVs, don't hold us up as a shining beacon of hope to the USA when Americans can buy far more EVs, for lower prices, than Canadians can, and get a federal tax subsidy to boot (also not available in Canada)!
Phone conversations USED to be private and the authorities couldn't listen in, of course that was when people still thought the constitution meant something, so it's no surprise nobody still believes in such quaint ideas.
Enjoy your encryption while it lasts, I figure we only have a few years left before anyone using encryption that isn't intentionally backdoored will be labelled a criminal and arrested.
The Republicans won't make noise about this because they want it just as much as the Democrats.
You seem to think there's an actual difference between the 2 parties on issues like this, there isn't. Both parties want a full on police state, politics is all about control, nobody in politics wants less control, they all want more.
We have limited financial resources, if spending those same resources on a different problem will save more lives, doesn't it make sense to put the money where it will do the most good? Fighting terrorism costs a fortune, and has a track record of being extremely ineffectual. There are many more places where many more lives could be saved for a fraction of the cost, and all without giving up all our civil liberties in the process.
I live in Canada, there are very few models of EV available for purchase here compared to any CARB state in the US.
There is also no requirement that EVs be sold at all anywhere in the country, unlike the US where CARB states require the sale of EVs.
So let's revise what you said: models available: nope Required to be sold in every province in Canada? nope.
I can purchase locally the following EVs: Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Nissan Leaf and BMW i3. That's the entire list. If I go to another city I can add Smart ED, Kia Soul EV, and Mitsubishi MiEV. (theoretically the chevy spark and ford focus electric are also available, but I've been unable to find anywhere selling them)
I can not buy the following EVs anywhere in Canada despite their availability in the US: Fiat 500EV eGolf Mercedes B Class Electric Scion iQ EV Honda Fit EV
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And that's the trick. It's easy to block all the telemetry by simply blacklisting all the MS servers at the firewall. The issue is that also blocks updates.
Pick your poison....
Of course you ask what /.ers do. They don't run Windows in the first place!
Ever phoned Microsoft for "support"? how'd that go for you? If you're lucky they told you to re-install. more likely you couldn't even find a human to talk to.
People talk about commercial software having support, but it doesn't (Unless you're an enterprise license with thousands of seats, and even then you pay dearly for very little in the way of support). The forum posts you can find for any linux distro offer far more support than anything any commercial software company produces.
You do realize that the average selling price of a new car in the US is $32,000 right? and that in an EV you'll save $10,000-20,000 or more in gas alone over the life of the vehicle, not including the savings from less brake wear, no transmission service, no oil changes, no spark plug replacements, etc.
So wait and buy a used one like you do your current cars. at $12k you are either buying used, or you're buying garbage. Not to mention, with a fuel savings of about $10,000 over 6 or 7 years, you wouldn't pay a couple dollars more for the EV?
Keep in mind that the Chevy Bolt, and the Tesla Model 3 are within a few dollars of the average selling price of a new vehicle in the US.
Life: Tesla vehicles so far have had minimal degradation of the batteries over that type of mileage. The warranty is 8 years unlimited mileage, and why would you replace it? How much does it cost now to replace the engine in your car? how long does it really last? No reason to worry about the battery, they're holding up fine.
Also imagine how many oil changes you save over 100-200k miles, how many transmission services, brakes, spark plugs, any of the many, many maintenance items on an internal combustion vehicle that you will simply never need to do on an EV.
Sure, early adopters pay more, prices for EVs are coming down all the time. Get a Chevy Bolt then, it's about that price, or but a Model 3, or wait for the rumoured Model Y, and so on.
I didn't address price, because it wasn't a stated concern.
Why waste 5-10 minutes standing at a fuel pump, and then go to a washroom, and then to a restaurant. Plug it in, go eat, it will be ready before you get back, every time.
5 adults that are 6' tall and 2 that are 5'10" or so, it's more spacious than just about any other SUV out there.
The electric infrastructure, even if powered 100% by coal, is still far better for the environment than gasoline powered vehicles. It takes more energy, and generates more pollution just to refine the gasoline, than it does to move the EV. and that doesnt' even take in to account extraction, transportation, or actually burning it in your car.
You're asking the wrong questions. The only thing the EV is still missing is selection of vehicles (which is improving every day) and actual charge locations (which are relatively plentiful now, and improving daily)
You also don't realize how freeing it is NEVER having to look for a gas station around town, never waking up in the morning wondering if you have enough gas for the round trip to work. You wake up every single morning with a "full tank". The only time you ever spend time refuelling is on road trips, when you already have to stop to eat and use the restroom anyway.
Do you never sleep?
The vast majority of my charging is done overnight while I'm unconscious. The rest, while I'm on road-trips, is done while I'm eating and using the washroom.
It now takes me LESS time to refuel than when I had an internal combustion engine. as it's now effectively zero.
So let me fix it for you again: "The main barrier is PERCEPTION of charge time"
I didn't say short range compliance cars were already there, I said EVs were.
You need a real one. like the Chevy Bolt which has 200 miles of range.
Except the average sale price of a new car in the USA is $32,000 not $12,000 and the Model 3 is even less than that after rebates.
I see you've never bought new technology as an early adopter.
Yes, it's expensive. But the price is dropping dramatically. See the Chevy Bolt or the Tesla Model 3. They're about the same price as the average new car sold in the USA.
Well, the Tesla Model X already seats 7, plus storage space, has over 300 miles of range (which I guarantee you is larger than the bladder capacity of the smallest of those 7 passengers). recharges faster than you can feed the whole family (which you also probably do a few times on your trip). and has a battery warranty of 8 years and unlimited millage.
So basically, your arguments are either already addressed, or artificially created.
As someone who drives an EV, it is better in every single way than my previous internal combustion vehicles. EVERY way.
EVs will win eventually with or without government intervention (which, by the way, I'm against) because they are far superior to internal combustion vehicles.
The EV is more powerful, more comfortable, has better driving performance, less maintenance. The Internal combustion vehicle has... an established user base, and more fuelling stations.
So really the ONLY advantage an internal combustion vehicle has is more charging stations, and that "advantage" is being eroded quickly as more charging stations are being built every day, and even without them they aren't needed as much as you wake up every morning to a "full tank"
Tesla is somewhat wrong on this. The main barrier is PERCEPTION of range.
Everyone thinks they need to drive 10,000 miles on a charge. Nobody actually does. Current range of a Tesla is plenty (assuming there's supercharger coverage in the direction you want to go). Unfortunately, until you actually drive one, you won't believe me. I didn't believe me until I bought one.
When I bought my Tesla, I assumed we'd have to take my wife's car on any long road trips. I was wrong. We take the Tesla on all the road trips because it's more convenient, and more comfortable. I just didn't believe that road-tripping in an EV would be practical.
I think the only way to fix this perception problem is over time as more people have these vehicles and share their own experiences with others, and as more and more charging stations are rolled out.
I regularly travel hundreds of km in my EV (Tesla Model S)
The time loss from mid-trip recharges is approximately zero. I can't drive 10 hours without eating or using the restroom, there's no reason the car can't charge while I do so.
Others go 300...
And a ranch in the middle of nowhere with no electricity is a rather niche application. Most people don't do that. If his ranch had electricity, I guarantee that there's an EV that can do the round trip.
For that matter, 490 miles is more range than a lot of internal combustion vehicles have, so I'm not sure it's a fair comparison.
And yet, after rebates, no more so than the average new vehicle being sold today...
I live in Calgary, I drive a Tesla.
I regularly make trips to Vancouver, Kelowna, Merritt, etc. all of which are hundreds of km away and require recharging.
If you don't think an EV can be used in Canada you're living in the past.
Now take the number that ARE available in the US, and quarter it, that's approximately how many are available in Canada. There are no EVs available in Canada that aren't also available in the US, but there are many available in US CARB states that are not available in Canada.
The OP held Canada up as being so much better than the US, but in fact we are way behind the US in EVs. I'm not saying that the US is ideal, but to hold Canada up as an example of being better is ridiculous.
As someone who drives a Model S in Canada every day, and who's last road trip was over a thousand km long at temperatures as low as -36c I can say without hesitation that you don't have the faintest clue what you are talking about.
Electric vehicles are far superior in the winter to internal combustion engines. They always start without hesitation, you get heat in the cabin nearly instantly without having to wait for the engine to warm up first, and the electric drivetrain allows for far superior traction control to deal with the icy conditions. Winter is when electrics really shine.
Then spend the money countering child abuse, researching childhood illnesses, attacking child poverty, heck do something extremely radical like providing health care to children!
Be my guest.
Show me a law making EVs available in every province like you stated.
Show me where I can buy an eGolf in Canada
Show me this proof that you think that Canada is somehow further ahead than the USA in electrification of transport when in fact we're about a decade behind.
I've researched this pretty heavily, Canada is SCREWED when it comes to EVs, don't hold us up as a shining beacon of hope to the USA when Americans can buy far more EVs, for lower prices, than Canadians can, and get a federal tax subsidy to boot (also not available in Canada)!
Phone conversations USED to be private and the authorities couldn't listen in, of course that was when people still thought the constitution meant something, so it's no surprise nobody still believes in such quaint ideas.
Enjoy your encryption while it lasts, I figure we only have a few years left before anyone using encryption that isn't intentionally backdoored will be labelled a criminal and arrested.
The Republicans won't make noise about this because they want it just as much as the Democrats.
You seem to think there's an actual difference between the 2 parties on issues like this, there isn't. Both parties want a full on police state, politics is all about control, nobody in politics wants less control, they all want more.
Why must something be done?
We have limited financial resources, if spending those same resources on a different problem will save more lives, doesn't it make sense to put the money where it will do the most good? Fighting terrorism costs a fortune, and has a track record of being extremely ineffectual. There are many more places where many more lives could be saved for a fraction of the cost, and all without giving up all our civil liberties in the process.
Where do you get your information?
I live in Canada, there are very few models of EV available for purchase here compared to any CARB state in the US.
There is also no requirement that EVs be sold at all anywhere in the country, unlike the US where CARB states require the sale of EVs.
So let's revise what you said:
models available: nope
Required to be sold in every province in Canada? nope.
I can purchase locally the following EVs: Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, Nissan Leaf and BMW i3. That's the entire list. If I go to another city I can add Smart ED, Kia Soul EV, and Mitsubishi MiEV. (theoretically the chevy spark and ford focus electric are also available, but I've been unable to find anywhere selling them)
I can not buy the following EVs anywhere in Canada despite their availability in the US:
Fiat 500EV
eGolf
Mercedes B Class Electric
Scion iQ EV
Honda Fit EV