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User: dbitter1

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Comments · 161

  1. Re:Future Business Case Study on VW Says the Next Generation of Combustion Cars Will Be Its Last (bloomberg.com) · · Score: 1

    No big deal. Plenty of space in the physical pipeline between refinery and consumption that the electricity replaces to put a HV powerline. Just replace the refinery with whatever, and the end of the pipeline with an electric substation.

  2. I have a 1+ 6. Unlockable bootloader, with NO drama. (And, hence, easily rootable). First phone with dual sim, nice for overseas travel. Great coverage of the LTE bands, pretty much everything other than Verizon, who hates customers anyway.

    The only other real candidate for a drama-less unlock is Google (Pixel)... and they don't have expandable storage or removable battery either. Came from a LG G6, with plenty of firmware bugs... never going back to them as they cherry pick what they will let you unlock. If I'm paying for the hardware, it better not be crippled.

    I'd rather have the Chinese listen to me [effortlessly] than the rest of the world.

  3. Re:It may be a deal breaker on Google Is Latest Company To Ditch Headphone Jack In Its Newest Smartphones (cultofmac.com) · · Score: 1

    Whoops... looks like LG joined the non-removable battery train with the V30. Sad.

  4. Re:It may be a deal breaker on Google Is Latest Company To Ditch Headphone Jack In Its Newest Smartphones (cultofmac.com) · · Score: 1

    I might find myself getting a S8+ or an LG V30 over the Pixel 2 XL, which will end my multiple-years of buying a phone directly from Google and having stock android.

    Get the EU version of the LG's (try an EU version of Amazon).... stock android, no carrier lock, and unlockable bootloader. Plus, as you know, a replaceable battery and SD slot.

  5. Re: Been there with Secure Boot on Android Oreo's Rollback Protection Will Block OS Downgrades (androidpolice.com) · · Score: 1

    From 'Murica, probably not. I bought my last phone- a LG G4- from British Amazon, and got the unlockable EU version. Unlocked SIM to start, with NO spyware apps, just a vanilla android install. Enter a (legally obtainable) dev code, poof, unlocked boot loader, and the rest is easy. Often times (not sure if this is still the case today) you also get a phone with the capability to use more bands than the just-US ones the carriers sell, so they can save $.05 while they overcharge you. Also +1 for removable/replaceable battery. LG FTW.

  6. This is pretty simple on Windows 10 Will Cut Off Devices With Older CPUs (pcworld.com) · · Score: 1

    To all those older PCs (and their owners) that still do what the owners need them to just fine, but want to keep getting needed security updates, not handing over HD streaming telemetry and everything that happens in their houses, etc...

    Welcome to Linux.

  7. Obviously never saw Tesla 8.0 media player UI on Ford's Buggy Infotainment System Referred To By Engineers As 'Polished Turd' and 'Unsaleable' (computerworld.com) · · Score: 1

    Absolutely worst thing ever. I'd take a 8 track player over it. Hopefully their developers die a slow and painful death.

  8. Re:You should be able to sue... on Before I Can Fix This Tractor, We Have To Fix Copyright Law (slate.com) · · Score: 1

    I very quickly found out that the last update that was pushed to my phone

    LOL, you left OTA updates on. Bet you won't do that again!

  9. Re:Chase cards text and email on When Fraud Detection Shuts Down Credit Cards Inappropriately · · Score: 1

    Nope, I think they are the worst, by far. To wit:

    I get a call from them saying that my card was compromised, used at Walmart.com for some big screen TVs or whatever INCLUDING the proper CVV code. Mind you this is my UA Visa, which sits in my locked desk unless I'm flying that airline and only for that airline... and I haven't flown in several months. But OK, whatever, bad things happen once and awhile. They send me out a new card.

    I get my new card, and my first purchase is to get a cell phone from an overseas merchant (yay, unlocked phones for no surcharge!). I activate the card, and even expecting this to go south, put in the travel plans section the UK. Place my order, and... denied. OK, still not too bad, I'd agree the transaction LOOKS suspicious. Call them up, give all my secret details (so now, hope the NSA is taking care to encrypt their notes, as they've skimmed everything someone needs for identity theft from my cell phone conversation) , and they reassure me my security permissions have been adjusted and to go ahead and retry the purchase.

    Fine, no big deal other than... grr... merchant killed my account so I have to spend 5 min re-typing in all my information. Then... bam! Denied again! Call them back up, livid... same game again "oh sorry sir, we've adjusted your security settings..." and retype everything and boom... still denied.

    Kept the Chase droid on the line this time, and he talked with his supervisor, and whatever, same game... and finally got the card to go through.

    Unfortunately the merchant flagged it this time as suspicious (which, now, it was... no fault of theirs) and wanted me to fax my credit history over... politely told them it wasn't worth the effort and sorry to bother them.

    ---

    I've also had Chase reject multiple large transactions from the same store, with card present... like when you are at a closeout appliance sale and want to purchase more than one item, but want to put each one in your vehicle to figure out how full you are...

    I guess the most insulting thing, as a former merchant, is that the MERCHANT gets screwed if fraud is passed on, not the bank... so the bank is just making my life difficult... I did not ask for high-risk treatment. At 1-3% of the transactions, they make a LOT of money on me each year, even after the rewards are paid out... so my love for this terrorist treatment is unwelcome, and the new card (from another bank) is in the mail...

  10. Re:With stock tires on my local road? on "Ludicrous Speed" For Tesla's Model S Means 0-60 MPH In 2.8 Seconds · · Score: 1

    Here's the deal: From 0-~30MPH, the car (a P85D) is limited by friction grip on the road. Note that they have decent size wide tires as a stock item, and the car weighs about 4700 lbs, so the grip is pretty solid. You *WILL* feel the slightest road imperfection- gravel, potholes, water, anything that causes any slip on a high acceleration "launch". The car does a great job of recovering and keeping the other wheels moving you forward (rather than careening into a ditch).

    The existing 3.05s time has been verified many times over. (3.2s is for the original models; there was a software upgrade to take off 1.5 s).

    Above 30, the car is software limited to save the hardware- it can't dissipate heat safely enough to keep up the max current draw that opening it up all the way would do. What this update does is replace the contactors and safety hardware to allow a higher draw so that the car can keep the limit very close to frictional limit all the way up to 60 without burning up any of the electric drivetrain. (400V/1200A -> 1500A)

    Although I have not seen the 2.8s 0-60, I assure you the performance is real. It is an incredible piece of engineering. (source:I own a P85D). Search Y/T for videos of "P85D insane mode" and watch the dashcam to see people's reactions- unless you are a fighter pilot or something, it is a feeling like nothing else.

    Also note that since the car is silent, you can often launch right in front of a cop while he eats his doughnut, and if you lay off the throttle by the time you hit the speed limit the radar gun won't catch how fast you accelerated.

  11. How are we supposed to know what add-ons you use?

    Work for the NSA?

  12. The sweet spot is 22kW.

    Pffft. LOL. "Sweet" = Tesla Superchargers, at ~120KW. Do it right. The masses will compare filling up at the dead-dinosaur-juice pump to filling up at the electric station, it should at least be a fair battle. The fact that it is *FREE* at the superchargers seals it.

    Her answer of 3.3KW nearly made me spray my screen in laughter... I have a single induction burner with 3.8KW capacity.

  13. Re:Oh good Lord on Chevrolet Unveils 200-Mile Bolt EV At Detroit Auto Show · · Score: 1

    Wow... Mr AC, you are missing so many aspects of Tesla. I don't disagree... they DO have style... but there are other aspects...

    The P85D has a 3.2s 0-60. The "launch" as it is called is, literally, breathtaking... there are no jumps as you'd grind through gears on a standard transmission, and the only noise is a quiet hum. You are smashed into your seat with about 0.9 - 1.3G acceleration (depending on whose equipment you are using) for nearly the whole time. Yes, there are ICE vehicles that destroy that, but they cost ~$800+K. Please... someone show me a mass manufactured ICE for $140 that does that.

    The car gets software updates for new features and functionality- most for FREE. Some for safety... a small concern with an isolated battery fire, and they retrofitted the fleet with titanium armor on parts of the battery pack. Yes, it is an armored car.

    If you get the "tech package" option you can adjust suspension automatically. Bottom out on a parking ramp? Fix it once, the car will remember to raise itself via GPS the next time you are there.

    The high end cars are all racing for autopilot... take a look at what Tesla has done. The street vehicles don't have all the parts, but the hardware is there, and they are getting closer each day.

    See my comment above on the Supercharger network. Free power, at an obnoxiously high charge rate (up to ~120KW), at hundreds of places around the world. Road trips are no problem, without ever setting foot in a gas station.

    And to your point the Model S qualifies for the highest end "Luxury" category of Uber in cities that do it (like LA).

  14. Re:Auto Dealerships to distribute the Big 3 autos. on Chevrolet Unveils 200-Mile Bolt EV At Detroit Auto Show · · Score: 4, Informative

    which seems poised to place this vehicle in front of more potential customers than the Tesla.

    Meh. Tesla sells every single car it makes and has a waitlist backlog months (or years for the M/X) long. That is with NO advertising. Whoopdy do, more eyes.

    Additionally, Tesla has the (current) checkmate of the supercharger network. I know that likely won't be free to the M/3, but I assure you it does a great job of squelching range anxiety... something the other guys remain hobbled by.

    And for the commuters... I welcome *ANY* (safe) electrical vehicle at any price range. We will fix the coal/gas power plants later, and it will be transparent. Lets get these ICE cars out of here. WAAAY too much energy lost in the ICE reaction. Especially for city driving, regenerative braking is a lifesaver... think of not only individual vehicles, but city busses... large vehicles ideally suited for high torque electrical motors, where regenerative braking can recover a lot of that.

  15. Re:Another State Incentive on Tesla vs. Car Dealers: the Lobbyist Went Down To Georgia · · Score: 3, Informative

    I have a Tesla, and I assure you I paid my share of state AND city taxes.

  16. Re:environment on Montana Lawmakers Propose 85 Mph Speed Limit On Interstates · · Score: 1

    Just out of curiosity, what were you driving?

    It makes the point that some cars are safer at 120MPH+ than others are at 50. Even driving on the... uh... high end of US limits in my car (A4 3.2) was night and day in feel and road handling from driving my wife's car (embarrassing Honda) at half the speed. I would shudder to drive something like a Cadillac where everything is hidden from you in handling; I'd be dead in a ditch before I broke 75.

  17. Re:IL tollway needs to be 70 or more on Montana Lawmakers Propose 85 Mph Speed Limit On Interstates · · Score: 1

    That's one of the changes our new Gov is putting in place now that crybaby Quinn is done. It passed either the house or the senate and is headed to the other.

    Soon. >:)

  18. Re:Montana used to have no speed limit at all... on Montana Lawmakers Propose 85 Mph Speed Limit On Interstates · · Score: 1

    In the days of no [Montana] speed limit, it was enforced... a $5 "excess fuel consumption" ticket. You could only get one a day, and you'd tape it to your window to let the other fine law enforcement folks know you'd paid your tax for the day.

    But to answer your question, yes, there is a buffer. The amount varies by jurisdiction, and of course, you can spend time fighting any ticket if you want. One famous example was a person busted by Laser radar, and they took it to court... the device was not calibrated. They had them point it at a wall, and it read "3 MPH". The defense attorney asked the prosecuting attorney to go touch the wall and verify that it was indeed, not moving. Case dismissed.

  19. Re:It is all pork barrel politics on US Revamping Its Nuclear Arsenal · · Score: 1

    Sure, customs wouldn't bother scanning the yacht, but that's because the CIA would have intervened before it even got anywhere near the US.

    And that works so well for the War On Drugs, I'm sure we'd never let "Illegal" stuff into the country like that...

  20. Re:Pretty obvious on Feds: Red Light Camera Firm Paid For Chicago Official's Car, Condo · · Score: 1

    LOL. You must not live here, or be really obtuse.

    First... the three seconds thing... nope, they aren't actually 3s. "somehow" they are slightly shorter:

    http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago...

    Next... the "majority" of situations are, technically, illegal... but I'd take a lot more reservation than you do about "dangerous and inconsiderate". Nearly all the violations are right-hand-turn-on-red. It is .... uh... coincidental how many of the RLC-protected intersections have NTOR signs... and very seldom ever do they not. I suppose you could argue this is for "safety", but it is still very coincidental. Most of them are VERY easy intersections, where you can clearly see traffic coming with no complications whatsoever.

    The whole RLC deal stinks. The speed cameras are worse. Yes, they may improve safety in some situations. But in the majority, it is a revenue grab.

  21. Re:They do. on Navy Creates Fuel From Seawater · · Score: 1

    then you've got a bunker ship that never needs to return to port...

    If only you didn't have to power (feed) the people running it...

    (Ex Navy Nuke here)

  22. Oh, this wasn't on Amazon: We Can Ship Items Before Customers Order · · Score: 1

    Wow, I thought /. was finally getting around to posting about Amazon Yesterday Shipping:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA_gwzx39LQ

    Guess it was slightly different...

  23. Re:last days of broadcast tv on ABC Kills Next-Day Streaming For Non-Subscribers · · Score: 1

    Have you seen https://www.simple.tv/ ? Not free, yes, but breaks the bonds of Tivo, and a great start to commercializing the concept of a custom DVR. Easy enough for my mom to understand.

    (And I have no ownership interest in the company nor do I get any commissions from saying this. Just want to help nail the lid on cable TV)

  24. Re:$454 million?? on Chicago Transit System Fooled By Federal ID Cards · · Score: 1

    "Twice" ?!

    Actually, the saying is "vote early, vote often". And yes, that applies to dead people too.

    (Yes, I am a Chicago resident) (And yes, Ventra could suck the chrome off a trailer hitch)

  25. Windows is for kids on What Marketers Think They Know About You and What They Really Do · · Score: 2

    Did anybody who RTFA read this WITHOUT the elipsis?

    I haven't owned a Windows computer in a long time ... we are not interested in children's items.