Sprint has the cheapest, fastest internet and pretty good coverage as well.
I had Sprint (aka the Comcast of the cell phone world) for a few years. Couldn't wait for the damn contract to run out. Every month it was something else I had to call them on: overbilling, fraudulent charges, supposed video downloads on a phone that doesn't support video, SMS spam that they would charge me 25c each for when I had unlimited text messaging, unintelligible customer support... no thanks. You can have them.
I am NOT a fan of Apple Computer, but I wanted a reasonably smart phone. I was looking for something I could maybe develop some apps for without having to get into the Mac world, a place I don't want to be. I hack Windows code for a living nowadays, and frankly I didn't want to be there either. Consequently, I went out a couple months ago and picked up a G1 from T-Mobile. Yeah, they don't like tethering and that irks me (I suspect that at some point they're going to have to give in on that, because it's something a lot of customers seem to want) but I've had ZERO problems with either the phone, the service or T-Mobile's support. Since the recent Cupcake update I've been especially pleased. The thing has never crashed, I've never had to reboot it (unlike every Windows Mobile user I know.) Sure, many of the apps aren't as polished as the iPhone's (yet) but that's not a primary consideration for me. The GUI also has some nice features. In any event, there are some specific things I wanted my phone to do, and the G1 performs them admirably.
Why should it be appropriate now when there is no reasonable scenario that approaches that level of danger and destruction?
Because after a while, nobody really believed that the Russians would bomb us. You can't maintain yourself in an adrenalized state forever. Also, the Soviet Union was a distant, impersonal threat, which by the mid-sixties we had more-or-less grown to accept (remember Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb?) People stopped building bomb shelters in their back yards, quit stockpiling food, water and Geiger counters. Besides, most of us back then believed that if the Reds ever launched on us, we'd take them with us. That was important: we could give as well as we got, we felt our government and our military were keeping us as safe as possible. And that was true, so far as it went. Russia never fired a nuke at us, we never launched on them, nobody ever invaded us.
Terrorism, in and of itself, doesn't terrify people if they don't feel personally threatened. Even the Timothy McVeigh-style bombings didn't scare people that much... okay, a nutjob set off a bomb, but hey they caught the guy didn't they. Big deal. Nothing likely to affect me.
But the knowledge that there's numerous large, organized groups of Muslim mass-murderers out there willing to die to kill large quantities of the hated Westerners puts a different spin on it for many people. I think most of us intrinsically understand that if a terrorist organization really wants to nail us, they will and there's not much our government can do about it.
Also, realize that an unprecedented number of American citizens are almost completely innumerate and lack even a rudimentary capacity for critical-thinking: they simply can't make a rational decision in such matters. They just don't know how, and terrorism aside, that's a huge problem for our society.
Granted, this doesn't mean you're any more likely to be killed by some Middle Eastern headcase... but it allows the Feds to much more easily manipulate our collective fear. We're also seeing that it's very, very hard to take these guys down, that there will be no easy resolution, no Empire to collapse to make the world safe, once again.
Then stop being afraid! Terrorism isn't dangerous if you compare it to your normal daily lives, like going in a car. Or eating. Or breathing air. Or having breasts or a prostate.
{sigh} No, I'm not going to bother, other than to say I wasn't claiming we should all be afraid of terrorists. Quite the opposite. God, I wish you people could read past the first line.
Cancer and heart disease have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of ten million people in the past ten years. Over a million people died in accidents in the past decade; about 400,000 of those were killed in motor vehicle accidents.
BigSlowTarget already made this argument (one that I agree with, by the way.) Still, at the risk of repeating myself, let me point out that I said real terrorism, in an effort to distinguish it from the mongered fear of terrorism to which we're constantly exposed. It also wasn't the thrust of my argument, which was more along the lines of "the Feds have an agenda, and we shouldn't take their claims at face value." I don't know why everyone is harping on my first statement, and missing the real point. Ah well.
Simply because because this is where you find the most terrorists in places like the USA.
Regardless of their motivations or politics, I think calling these people "terrorists" doesn't really describe what they're all about. It's just a generic term for what they do (i.e kill some people and scare a lot more) which is, at best, just a means to an end. In reality, "psychopathic killer" or "mass murderer" probably comes closer to the mark, because that's what they are. The mere fact that murdering hundreds or thousands of human beings is justifiable in their minds, for the reasons they typically offer, indicates a major malfunction. These people are sick. I don't know if the condition is treatable, though, other than by a couple rounds through the head.
Restrictions of liquids on a plane seem arcane too, but not only is there an explosive threat which chemicals that wouldn't likely be detected by the chemical sniffers, but there is a poisoning threat there two.
I'd feel better about that if they didn't just throw all the various containers of potential explosives and poisons together into a big trashcan right next to the security checkpoint. Better an explosion or poison gas cloud when you're on the ground, I suppose. Still, if you're going to have security theater it's best to have some good props.
Well, you rather missed the point. In an attempt to avoid a response like yours...
Dude, you're on Slashdot. There's no point being careful with your language: nobody's going to read your posts anyway, they just scan them for keywords and spout kneejerk rants.
True... but then again, when they do I get to go all virtuous on them and make them feel bad because they didn't listen. Win-win, any way you look at it.
The Japanese. I think they're the only one left, but with the kind of demographic beating they're taking, it's doubtful that they'll remain so for much longer.
Well, and there's the French, who have been for a long, long time, but wish they weren't.
Really? Most of us are justifiably afraid of terrorism? Some Americans are not cowards and...
Well, you rather missed the point. In an attempt to avoid a response like yours, I specifically said real terrorism. As opposed to the mere threat of terrorism which we're constantly subjected to by our government and news media, and the tremendous cost of dealing with that (ahem!) "threat." I simply want people to note that our government is generating more fear among the populace than any number of actual terrorists. Also, assuming that the threat is severely overblown, I want to know why they're doing it. Is it just the usual rationalization for a massive power-grab, or is it something else?
I might be less critical of such actions if it weren't for the fact that "security" isn't being improved or actually even being addressed.
The measure they have taken seem to be aimed more at people who are here in the U.S. legally (like citizens and all) than illegals.
Most of us are justifiably afraid of real terrorism. That's why it's called terrorism.
Most of us are equally justified in being afraid of the people in big government who spend billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars making life harder for everybody but the real terrorists.
That being the case... what, exactly, are they afraid of?
I have mentioned this before, but it strikes me as wasteful in modern car engines that the engine is run hot enough to cause the burning of nitrogen.
The greater the thermal differential between the input and output sides of a heat engine, the more energy you can extract from the fuel. Run the engine significantly cooler, and you may decrease some emissions (and increase others) but you'll lose some conversion efficiency.
<quote><p>I wish the anti-government types would realize just how many free market failurs there out out there.</p></quote>
<p>The free market's whole point is to kill failures, so no doubt there is many. The parent's point was when the government leads a "helping" hand to failures that it only hurts consumers in the end.</p></quote>
Excuse me, but why are you paying money you don't owe, when they're the ones committing fraud? Isn't there some agency in your country that investigates and fights this sort of fraud? Aren't there any media willing to give lots of attention to companies screwing over honest customers for hundreds of dollars?
You should have nailed them to a cross, publicly shamed them and sued them for everything they're worth. Instead you're rewarding them for their crime.
Seriously, hundreds of dollars? I'd make an issue out of this for tens of dollars. Why pay through the nose to reward someone who criminally screws you over?
The problem comes in if you care about your credit rating. These companies report directly to the major credit bureaus, and they have you over a barrel. It doesn't matter if they're lying or incompetent... if you don't pay they knock your rating down a few points. It's wrong, sure, and the Feds really should go after them for this since it's hurting a lot of people. But there it is.
I had a similar experience (well, several similar experiences) with our local telco when SBC bought them out. They were great up 'til that point. All of a sudden, my landlines go off. All of them. So I call up what was now being passed off as "customer service" and was told that there was no problem on my account, that my bill was current. I asked the lady again, why are my phones off!, and was told that they weren't, the problem must be in my house, and they'd have to schedule a service call. So the tech comes out, finds nothing wrong other than that there's no dial tone, and tells me I must not have paid my bill (??!!!.) So I call back, and I'm told that maybe I should talk so someone in collections. Collections! Well, so I do, and it took this person three days to figure out that it was my father's phone bill, from his old house. He passed away in '96, and I guess the remaining balance never got paid. It was also in his name, under his Social Security number. Suddenly, by magic, days after the SBC takeover, and it was my SS number on his account, and they wanted me to pay some $300 plus a couple grand in late fees. Bastards. My attorney took care of it, but that was just insane not to mention criminal.
Bloodsuckers. I don't know if it's just incompetence, or outright fraud, but either way it really pisses me off.
Some of my co-workers have been using T-Mobile for years, and they've likewise been happy. Me too, so far. My bills have been clear and error-free. And yes, the G1 is pretty cool. I've been having a lot of fun with it. Still waiting for my Cupcake update, though.
Slashdot Mirror
Sprint has the cheapest, fastest internet and pretty good coverage as well.
I had Sprint (aka the Comcast of the cell phone world) for a few years. Couldn't wait for the damn contract to run out. Every month it was something else I had to call them on: overbilling, fraudulent charges, supposed video downloads on a phone that doesn't support video, SMS spam that they would charge me 25c each for when I had unlimited text messaging, unintelligible customer support ... no thanks. You can have them.
I am NOT a fan of Apple Computer, but I wanted a reasonably smart phone. I was looking for something I could maybe develop some apps for without having to get into the Mac world, a place I don't want to be. I hack Windows code for a living nowadays, and frankly I didn't want to be there either. Consequently, I went out a couple months ago and picked up a G1 from T-Mobile. Yeah, they don't like tethering and that irks me (I suspect that at some point they're going to have to give in on that, because it's something a lot of customers seem to want) but I've had ZERO problems with either the phone, the service or T-Mobile's support. Since the recent Cupcake update I've been especially pleased. The thing has never crashed, I've never had to reboot it (unlike every Windows Mobile user I know.) Sure, many of the apps aren't as polished as the iPhone's (yet) but that's not a primary consideration for me. The GUI also has some nice features. In any event, there are some specific things I wanted my phone to do, and the G1 performs them admirably.
Sprint. Gagh.
Why should it be appropriate now when there is no reasonable scenario that approaches that level of danger and destruction?
Because after a while, nobody really believed that the Russians would bomb us. You can't maintain yourself in an adrenalized state forever. Also, the Soviet Union was a distant, impersonal threat, which by the mid-sixties we had more-or-less grown to accept (remember Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb?) People stopped building bomb shelters in their back yards, quit stockpiling food, water and Geiger counters. Besides, most of us back then believed that if the Reds ever launched on us, we'd take them with us. That was important: we could give as well as we got, we felt our government and our military were keeping us as safe as possible. And that was true, so far as it went. Russia never fired a nuke at us, we never launched on them, nobody ever invaded us.
... okay, a nutjob set off a bomb, but hey they caught the guy didn't they. Big deal. Nothing likely to affect me.
... but it allows the Feds to much more easily manipulate our collective fear. We're also seeing that it's very, very hard to take these guys down, that there will be no easy resolution, no Empire to collapse to make the world safe, once again.
Terrorism, in and of itself, doesn't terrify people if they don't feel personally threatened. Even the Timothy McVeigh-style bombings didn't scare people that much
But the knowledge that there's numerous large, organized groups of Muslim mass-murderers out there willing to die to kill large quantities of the hated Westerners puts a different spin on it for many people. I think most of us intrinsically understand that if a terrorist organization really wants to nail us, they will and there's not much our government can do about it.
Also, realize that an unprecedented number of American citizens are almost completely innumerate and lack even a rudimentary capacity for critical-thinking: they simply can't make a rational decision in such matters. They just don't know how, and terrorism aside, that's a huge problem for our society.
Granted, this doesn't mean you're any more likely to be killed by some Middle Eastern headcase
As if it ever was.
Then stop being afraid! Terrorism isn't dangerous if you compare it to your normal daily lives, like going in a car. Or eating. Or breathing air. Or having breasts or a prostate.
{sigh} No, I'm not going to bother, other than to say I wasn't claiming we should all be afraid of terrorists. Quite the opposite. God, I wish you people could read past the first line.
Cancer and heart disease have killed somewhere in the neighborhood of ten million people in the past ten years. Over a million people died in accidents in the past decade; about 400,000 of those were killed in motor vehicle accidents.
BigSlowTarget already made this argument (one that I agree with, by the way.) Still, at the risk of repeating myself, let me point out that I said real terrorism, in an effort to distinguish it from the mongered fear of terrorism to which we're constantly exposed. It also wasn't the thrust of my argument, which was more along the lines of "the Feds have an agenda, and we shouldn't take their claims at face value." I don't know why everyone is harping on my first statement, and missing the real point. Ah well.
Simply because because this is where you find the most terrorists in places like the USA.
Regardless of their motivations or politics, I think calling these people "terrorists" doesn't really describe what they're all about. It's just a generic term for what they do (i.e kill some people and scare a lot more) which is, at best, just a means to an end. In reality, "psychopathic killer" or "mass murderer" probably comes closer to the mark, because that's what they are. The mere fact that murdering hundreds or thousands of human beings is justifiable in their minds, for the reasons they typically offer, indicates a major malfunction. These people are sick. I don't know if the condition is treatable, though, other than by a couple rounds through the head.
Restrictions of liquids on a plane seem arcane too, but not only is there an explosive threat which chemicals that wouldn't likely be detected by the chemical sniffers, but there is a poisoning threat there two.
I'd feel better about that if they didn't just throw all the various containers of potential explosives and poisons together into a big trashcan right next to the security checkpoint. Better an explosion or poison gas cloud when you're on the ground, I suppose. Still, if you're going to have security theater it's best to have some good props.
Dude, you're on Slashdot. There's no point being careful with your language: nobody's going to read your posts anyway, they just scan them for keywords and spout kneejerk rants.
True ... but then again, when they do I get to go all virtuous on them and make them feel bad because they didn't listen. Win-win, any way you look at it.
The Japanese. I think they're the only one left, but with the kind of demographic beating they're taking, it's doubtful that they'll remain so for much longer.
Well, and there's the French, who have been for a long, long time, but wish they weren't.
You have a better chance of dying in the bath. Not me. I don't take baths.
Me neither. I have, however, almost killed myself a few times in the shower.
I'm going to go with: everything because they are weak individuals, both intellectually and emotionally. Did I win the prise?
Yep. Here you go. It's all yours.
The culture that brought us the April 15th "tea party" "protests". Whatever it's called. Illiteracy I think?
No offense, but ... what does this mean?
Really? Most of us are justifiably afraid of terrorism? Some Americans are not cowards and ...
Well, you rather missed the point. In an attempt to avoid a response like yours, I specifically said real terrorism. As opposed to the mere threat of terrorism which we're constantly subjected to by our government and news media, and the tremendous cost of dealing with that (ahem!) "threat." I simply want people to note that our government is generating more fear among the populace than any number of actual terrorists. Also, assuming that the threat is severely overblown, I want to know why they're doing it. Is it just the usual rationalization for a massive power-grab, or is it something else?
Otherwise, I agree with your sentiments.
I beg to differ: both mexicans and afghanis are very mixed.
A better question would be, what cultures are left on this planet that aren't racially mixed?
I might be less critical of such actions if it weren't for the fact that "security" isn't being improved or actually even being addressed.
The measure they have taken seem to be aimed more at people who are here in the U.S. legally (like citizens and all) than illegals.
Most of us are justifiably afraid of real terrorism. That's why it's called terrorism.
... what, exactly, are they afraid of?
Most of us are equally justified in being afraid of the people in big government who spend billions of hard-earned taxpayer dollars making life harder for everybody but the real terrorists.
That being the case
That's the whole point of the EU; concentration of power.
One question: where have all of history's greatest Empires come from?
Geez, what's with the anti-Linux sentiment among the mods in this thread?
That would only be true it government departments never close down, so obviously it isn't.
They close down a lot less frequently because of poor management, than businesses fail (for any reason.) The GP's point is valid.
I have mentioned this before, but it strikes me as wasteful in modern car engines that the engine is run hot enough to cause the burning of nitrogen.
The greater the thermal differential between the input and output sides of a heat engine, the more energy you can extract from the fuel. Run the engine significantly cooler, and you may decrease some emissions (and increase others) but you'll lose some conversion efficiency.
<quote><p>I wish the anti-government types would realize just how many free market failurs there out out there.</p></quote>
<p>The free market's whole point is to kill failures, so no doubt there is many. The parent's point was when the government leads a "helping" hand to failures that it only hurts consumers in the end.</p></quote>
Can you say, "Amtrak"?
Funny, I had one of those myself as a kid, and it lasted a good six years before it got lost in a move. Though perhaps mine was treated somehow?
Perhaps it had been irradiated.
Your sig is all wrong. In Soviet Russia, the government IS the commerce. It's the free economics you retarded Americans always dreamed of!
Now, now ... no need to sling epithets around, you foreign prick.
One does not simply walk into Myanmar
Sure one does. It's the walking out part that makes for the real trick.
Some primal termite knocked on wood.
And tasted it, and found it good.
And that is why your Cousin May
Fell through the parlor floor today.
-- Ogden Nash
Excuse me, but why are you paying money you don't owe, when they're the ones committing fraud? Isn't there some agency in your country that investigates and fights this sort of fraud? Aren't there any media willing to give lots of attention to companies screwing over honest customers for hundreds of dollars?
You should have nailed them to a cross, publicly shamed them and sued them for everything they're worth. Instead you're rewarding them for their crime.
Seriously, hundreds of dollars? I'd make an issue out of this for tens of dollars. Why pay through the nose to reward someone who criminally screws you over?
The problem comes in if you care about your credit rating. These companies report directly to the major credit bureaus, and they have you over a barrel. It doesn't matter if they're lying or incompetent ... if you don't pay they knock your rating down a few points. It's wrong, sure, and the Feds really should go after them for this since it's hurting a lot of people. But there it is.
I had a similar experience (well, several similar experiences) with our local telco when SBC bought them out. They were great up 'til that point. All of a sudden, my landlines go off. All of them. So I call up what was now being passed off as "customer service" and was told that there was no problem on my account, that my bill was current. I asked the lady again, why are my phones off!, and was told that they weren't, the problem must be in my house, and they'd have to schedule a service call. So the tech comes out, finds nothing wrong other than that there's no dial tone, and tells me I must not have paid my bill (??!!!.) So I call back, and I'm told that maybe I should talk so someone in collections. Collections! Well, so I do, and it took this person three days to figure out that it was my father's phone bill, from his old house. He passed away in '96, and I guess the remaining balance never got paid. It was also in his name, under his Social Security number. Suddenly, by magic, days after the SBC takeover, and it was my SS number on his account, and they wanted me to pay some $300 plus a couple grand in late fees. Bastards. My attorney took care of it, but that was just insane not to mention criminal.
Bloodsuckers. I don't know if it's just incompetence, or outright fraud, but either way it really pisses me off.
Some of my co-workers have been using T-Mobile for years, and they've likewise been happy. Me too, so far. My bills have been clear and error-free. And yes, the G1 is pretty cool. I've been having a lot of fun with it. Still waiting for my Cupcake update, though.