Broadband -might- be available ( heavy emphasis on might ) but the costs for high speed internet out there are a bit high which tends to drive most folks away from it.
Example where my parents live ( US ):
5MB down - $70.00 10MB down - $90.00 25MB down - $110.00
Internet only. Advertised speeds you may, of course, never achieve. They have exactly one provider to choose from.
Most get a better connection / price via a smartphone / hotspot. ( assuming a tower is in the general vicinity )
Here are the median home prices by State for 2018:
West Virginia $96,800 Oklahoma $121,500 Arkansas $123,600 Mississippi $124,600 Alabama $129,000 Ohio $136,700 Kansas $137,800 Indiana $139,000 Iowa $141,500 Kentucky $142,900 Louisiana $147,300 Michigan $148,100 Missouri $157,100 Nebraska $161,500 South Carolina $163,200 Tennessee $163,200 Pennsylvania $171,000 Illinois $178,000 North Carolina $179,200 Georgia $182,200 Wisconsin $183,400 South Dakota $184,400 Texas $190,400 New Mexico $191,200 Vermont $201,400 North Dakota $205,400 Wyoming $222,300 Florida $228,700 Maine $229,700 Montana $229,900 Minnesota $230,800 Delaware $232,500 Connecticut $241,700 Idaho $246,200 Arizona $246,800 Virginia $254,000 New Hampshire $271,100 Rhode Island $277,900 New York $286,200 Maryland $286,700 Nevada $287,400 Alaska $310,400 New Jersey $323,400 Utah $325,400 Oregon $339,000 Colorado $370,600 Washington $377,100 Massachusetts $402,500 California $546,100 Washington D.C. $576,100 Hawaii $620,100
Texas is roughly in the middle and homes on my street ( 3/2/2 full brick, ~2k sq ft, 1/4 acre ) are appraising at ~$150k, selling around ~$170k. So, assuming my home is paid for ( and it is ) I can choose pretty much the first dozen or so States on this list without having another mortgage.
Unfortunately, I have no desire to live in any of those States and the ones I would like to live in, fall near the bottom of the list. Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado. ( Hawaii would be nice, but that price is ludicrous ) All of which are easily double the cost of my home.
So, do I move and spend the next 15-30 years ( depending on the loan ) paying off another mortgage, or do I put that money into retirement accounts instead. . .
Standard, everyday simple portrait, street photography, gee whiz type stuff perhaps. I certainly don't whip out my smartphone when a hawk flies over, a long exposure with a tripod or even a macro shot.
Thus my disagreement about the " camera you have with you " argument.
For many situations a smartphone camera will suffice. For many others, it will not.
because of the ( usually ) falsely advertised awesomeness its camera ( with it's teeny tiny sensor )possesses, you're doing it wrong.
If you're serious about photography, buy a device dedicated to such things.
The same is true about video. Don't buy a DSLR or Mirrorless camera if your primary focus is Video. Go buy hardware that is designed for it and isn't a gee whizz afterthought on a convenient platform.
The primary reason any company even uses contractors in the first place is because they are cheaper than their own workforce. They may pay the contractor a higher wage, but they rarely see any of the benefits that a full time employee has. ( healthcare, 401k, the very rare pension, etc )
If hiring a contractor is going to cost them the same amount of money that using a full time employee does, there will be little need* for contractors. So be careful what you wish for.
*Outside of very special use cases where a contractor has some skills the employees don't.
The true question is, will the carriers have a RELIABLE, widespread 5G system upon which to use said phones ?
The low frequency spectrum of 5G should be fine, but you won't see all the super bandwidth that the tech promises at that level.
It's when you get to the high end of the 5G spectrum ( which is where all the bandwidth is ) that I have concerns about how well it's going to work considering the frequency at which it operates. ( 27 - 40 GHZ ) This area of the spectrum has serious issues when it comes to weather ( Rain, snow, fog, etc ) and has pretty much zero penetration so line of sight to the transmitter is pretty much mandatory.
The way I visualize it is thinking about the effect heavy rain has on your Satellite TV signal. All those glitches and pixelation you see are a visual representation of what's going to happen to your data at the high bandwidth end of a 5G signal when the weather goes to sh*t. ( And at millimeter wavelengths, it will take far less weather to have the same effect )
My theory anyway, some cellular engineer should chime in and tell me to STFU if I'm thinking incorrectly about all of this. ( Be sure to explain why )
Amazon promised drone delivery. Verizon promised fiber to every home. ( They also promised not to break Tumblr ) Google promised the same thing. Every new generation of politician promises to fix and clean up the system. Clapper promised the NSA doesn't spy on US citizens. Popular Mechanics promised us flying cars and jetpacks for all
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Life is full of unfulfilled promises. The sooner you understand that, the less disappointed you will be.
Satellite TV doesn't run up against some ISP's bandwidth cap. If I wanted to watch shit TV 24/7, 365 days a year I can do that.
This isn't an option for broadband connected streaming services. Your local ISP ( via your wallet ) gets to determine just how much you get to watch. If they find some competing service is cutting into their own revenue, they'll just lower the caps and exempt their own.
One of the reasons 4K hasn't taken off is because of how fast you'll hit your data caps. 8K ? Riiiiiiight. . . . Don't make me laugh. Never happen in the US.
TBH though, there really isn't much worth watching anymore anyway.
Maybe I'll go outside. Into the sunlight and see if I catch fire or not.
Since the majority of folks don't have $200k just laying around to burn on such things, this is only news for the very wealthy.
I doubt there will be much of a waiting list to get a seat after the first year. Interest will drop off and / or the remaining super rich folks aren't going to risk their lives ( and fortune ) for a simple joyride.
in light of all the cell phones that are smuggled into the prison system, why on earth are jammers not allowed within the confines of the facility ?
Before you go off the deep end and tell me they can interfere with comms outside the facility, I will say you don't need the Death Star sized Jammer that wipes out an entire Cell tower area. They do make smaller units that only have a range of $pick_your_range based on how powerful the unit is. Would be trivial to keep it inside the facility itself.
Better yet, place a local tower ( I'm sure they have plenty of Singrays laying around ) so the phones will connect to it instead. This gives them both ends of the call and / or the ability to monitor it in real time.
Perhaps it's just a problem they just don't want to solve.
Homes are already typically appraised ( guesstimates ) every year so the local government knows how to calculate your taxes so I don't quite understand why this is an issue. ( Well, Texas anyway. Is likely a different story in other States where taxes on homes are capped at the purchase price. )
Unless you're paying cash for the home, banks will typically only lend up to X amount of the appraised value of a home. ( Loan type, credit score and whatnot taken into account ) Why would they loan you an asking price of $500k for a home only worth $250k simply because the sellers think they can get it ? If you walked away from it, the bank would now be stuck with a home only worth $250k. Bad for the bank.
In that situation, the bank has no issues loaning you the $250k that the home is appraised at, but it will be on you to come up with the other $250k.
Finally, if you're about to commit to a $500k home, why would you cheap out on a third party* appraiser and / or inspector ? ( Yeah, I'm sure the real estate agent knows who to call, but it would be in your best interests to call someone they DON'T know to ensure a fair inspection )
The dealers are only looking out for their business model, nothing more. They have come to realize that dead users doth not repeat customers make.
This will sound cold but I have a hard time generating any sympathy for those who OD on opioids or any drug tbh.
If you're dumb enough to trust a substance purchased in a back alley or street corner from your local model citizen drug dealer, well. . . . Darwin has a law you should familiarize yourself with.
Even legitimate drugs have their risks and, if you bother to read the side effects, you might think twice about taking those as well.
My docs want me to start one whose potential side effects include:
Blood clots Stroke Heart Attack Cancer Death
I think I'll pass thanks.
The opioid epidemic will sort itself out especially if mixing an insanity level drug like fentanyl into the products being sold.
Eventually they're going to run out of drug users.
Lots of little critters get obliterated where I live which is bad enough, but out in the country where the rest of my family resides, deer are the biggest threat. Due to the proximity of the forest on either side of the road, you may have two seconds to take action before impact if they decide to bolt from tree cover.
Since it IS Texas, I've come to realize one reason why so many drive the oversized pickups. You hit an adult deer in one of those and it will mess up the bumper and grill a bit unless you have an aftermarket super bumper on there.
You hit a deer in anything lower to the ground ( any car ) and that deer is going to flip over the hood, go right through the windshield and become a passenger. All at 70mph.
A full sized white-tail is not a small animal and your survival will be based on luck at this point.
God help you if it's a cow or a horse that managed to get out and is standing at the top of a hill that you can't see. ( Aunt managed that one. Nearly killed her. )
Besides the usual no power, no network and everything else required for electronic transactions to happen issues. . .
If everyone went cashless tomorrow, what happens when Visa, MC, Apple Pay, etc decide they want more of a cut than they already get by raising the percentage fees per transaction ?
Do we really want so few unregulated companies with that much control over, what will be, the end cost for a consumer ?
Imagine if it were PayPal only and what kind of nightmare that would turn into.
You either live long enough to go bankrupt from the out of control US healthcare system or you die young without ever having to experience the horrors of how this country treats its elderly.
Personally, I think I would prefer the latter over the former. ( and I'm closer in age to the latter than the former )
In my experience anyway, the more " Family Friendly " a restaurant is, the louder it is likely to be. If, instead, you eat anywhere that typically requires a reservation and has a dress code, it will be nice and quiet. ( albeit, $$$$ )
A few reasons I dislike eating out these days:
1) Kids screaming / crying / going full heathen and parents refusing to remove them from the dining area 2) Multiple folks have a game running ( kiddos usually ), or live TV or music blasting from the smartphone 3) Some places have half a dozen TV's running half a dozen different stations 4) Self propagating loop in that folks need to talk louder to hear one another as background noise climbs 5) Great aesthetic designs, but poor acoustical design considerations are a real issue in new construction
Eventually, you're basically YELLING at the person sitting across from you just so you can hear one another. ( If I want that kind of experience I'll hit the local Sports Bar where it's expected )
It would be best to assume all electronic / digital communication channels to be compromised already and adjust your means of communication accordingly if you need to discuss anything sensitive.
They will never quit until they get their way. Legally or in secret.
Once the leadership at Microsoft green lights the plan to make Windows a subscription only service coupled with the fact that they can't seem to get a software update right to save their f*****g life, that stock will collapse so hard it will create a singularity.
Apple will likely fall off a cliff as well, ( just not as quickly ) due to the fact that innovation doesn't appear to be in their interests any longer and they have far too many competitors in an already saturated smart phone market.
They obviously need to quit selling cars and go to a subscription model where nothing new gets developed, no bugs get fixed and the money comes in by the truckload every month./sarcasm
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Especially in rural areas.
Broadband -might- be available ( heavy emphasis on might ) but the costs for high speed internet out there are a bit high which tends to drive most folks away from it.
Example where my parents live ( US ):
5MB down - $70.00
10MB down - $90.00
25MB down - $110.00
Internet only. Advertised speeds you may, of course, never achieve. They have exactly one provider to choose from.
Most get a better connection / price via a smartphone / hotspot. ( assuming a tower is in the general vicinity )
Well, let's look at the data:
Here are the median home prices by State for 2018:
West Virginia $96,800
Oklahoma $121,500
Arkansas $123,600
Mississippi $124,600
Alabama $129,000
Ohio $136,700
Kansas $137,800
Indiana $139,000
Iowa $141,500
Kentucky $142,900
Louisiana $147,300
Michigan $148,100
Missouri $157,100
Nebraska $161,500
South Carolina $163,200
Tennessee $163,200
Pennsylvania $171,000
Illinois $178,000
North Carolina $179,200
Georgia $182,200
Wisconsin $183,400
South Dakota $184,400
Texas $190,400
New Mexico $191,200
Vermont $201,400
North Dakota $205,400
Wyoming $222,300
Florida $228,700
Maine $229,700
Montana $229,900
Minnesota $230,800
Delaware $232,500
Connecticut $241,700
Idaho $246,200
Arizona $246,800
Virginia $254,000
New Hampshire $271,100
Rhode Island $277,900
New York $286,200
Maryland $286,700
Nevada $287,400
Alaska $310,400
New Jersey $323,400
Utah $325,400
Oregon $339,000
Colorado $370,600
Washington $377,100
Massachusetts $402,500
California $546,100
Washington D.C. $576,100
Hawaii $620,100
Texas is roughly in the middle and homes on my street ( 3/2/2 full brick, ~2k sq ft, 1/4 acre ) are appraising at ~$150k, selling around ~$170k. So, assuming my home is paid for ( and it is ) I can choose pretty much the first dozen or so States on this list without having another mortgage.
Unfortunately, I have no desire to live in any of those States and the ones I would like to live in, fall near the bottom of the list.
Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Colorado. ( Hawaii would be nice, but that price is ludicrous ) All of which are easily double the cost of my home.
So, do I move and spend the next 15-30 years ( depending on the loan ) paying off another mortgage, or do I put that money into retirement accounts instead. . .
Decisions, decisions . . . .
It depends on what you're photographing.
Standard, everyday simple portrait, street photography, gee whiz type stuff perhaps.
I certainly don't whip out my smartphone when a hawk flies over, a long exposure with a tripod or even a macro shot.
Thus my disagreement about the " camera you have with you " argument.
For many situations a smartphone camera will suffice. For many others, it will not.
Nah.
I would just make the Aussie version of WhatsApp with a fixed key of " 1 2 3 4 5 ". :D
because of the ( usually ) falsely advertised awesomeness its camera ( with it's teeny tiny sensor )possesses, you're doing it wrong.
If you're serious about photography, buy a device dedicated to such things.
The same is true about video. Don't buy a DSLR or Mirrorless camera if your primary focus is Video.
Go buy hardware that is designed for it and isn't a gee whizz afterthought on a convenient platform.
Good luck with that.
The primary reason any company even uses contractors in the first place is because they are cheaper than their own workforce. They may pay the contractor a higher wage, but they rarely see any of the benefits that a full time employee has. ( healthcare, 401k, the very rare pension, etc )
If hiring a contractor is going to cost them the same amount of money that using a full time employee does, there will be little need* for contractors.
So be careful what you wish for.
*Outside of very special use cases where a contractor has some skills the employees don't.
The true question is, will the carriers have a RELIABLE, widespread 5G system upon which to use said phones ?
The low frequency spectrum of 5G should be fine, but you won't see all the super bandwidth that the tech promises at that level.
It's when you get to the high end of the 5G spectrum ( which is where all the bandwidth is ) that I have concerns about how well it's going to work considering the frequency at which it operates. ( 27 - 40 GHZ ) This area of the spectrum has serious issues when it comes to weather ( Rain, snow, fog, etc ) and has pretty much zero penetration so line of sight to the transmitter is pretty much mandatory.
The way I visualize it is thinking about the effect heavy rain has on your Satellite TV signal. All those glitches and pixelation you see are a visual representation of what's going to happen to your data at the high bandwidth end of a 5G signal when the weather goes to sh*t. ( And at millimeter wavelengths, it will take far less weather to have the same effect )
My theory anyway, some cellular engineer should chime in and tell me to STFU if I'm thinking incorrectly about all of this. ( Be sure to explain why )
Amazon promised drone delivery.
Verizon promised fiber to every home. ( They also promised not to break Tumblr )
Google promised the same thing.
Every new generation of politician promises to fix and clean up the system.
Clapper promised the NSA doesn't spy on US citizens.
Popular Mechanics promised us flying cars and jetpacks for all
I could go on, but you get the idea.
Life is full of unfulfilled promises. The sooner you understand that, the less disappointed you will be.
I don't believe any of the laptops, tablets or even desktops I've ever owned have come with filter systems on the intakes.
to keep those White House visitor records a secret when everyone who visits is not only on camera, but matched to a database to boot.
Ban all the actual content and just show ads 24/7 :|
Satellite TV doesn't run up against some ISP's bandwidth cap.
If I wanted to watch shit TV 24/7, 365 days a year I can do that.
This isn't an option for broadband connected streaming services.
Your local ISP ( via your wallet ) gets to determine just how much you get to watch.
If they find some competing service is cutting into their own revenue, they'll just lower the caps and exempt their own.
One of the reasons 4K hasn't taken off is because of how fast you'll hit your data caps.
8K ? Riiiiiiight. . . . Don't make me laugh. Never happen in the US.
TBH though, there really isn't much worth watching anymore anyway.
Maybe I'll go outside. Into the sunlight and see if I catch fire or not.
Since the majority of folks don't have $200k just laying around to burn on such things, this is only news for the very wealthy.
I doubt there will be much of a waiting list to get a seat after the first year. Interest will drop off and / or the remaining super rich folks aren't going to risk their lives ( and fortune ) for a simple joyride.
in light of all the cell phones that are smuggled into the prison system, why on earth are jammers not allowed within the confines of the facility ?
Before you go off the deep end and tell me they can interfere with comms outside the facility, I will say you don't need the Death Star sized Jammer that wipes out an entire Cell tower area. They do make smaller units that only have a range of $pick_your_range based on how powerful the unit is. Would be trivial to keep it inside the facility itself.
Better yet, place a local tower ( I'm sure they have plenty of Singrays laying around ) so the phones will connect to it instead. This gives them both ends of the call and / or the ability to monitor it in real time.
Perhaps it's just a problem they just don't want to solve.
-shrugs-
Homes are already typically appraised ( guesstimates ) every year so the local government knows how to calculate your taxes so I don't quite understand why this is an issue. ( Well, Texas anyway. Is likely a different story in other States where taxes on homes are capped at the purchase price. )
Unless you're paying cash for the home, banks will typically only lend up to X amount of the appraised value of a home. ( Loan type, credit score and whatnot taken into account ) Why would they loan you an asking price of $500k for a home only worth $250k simply because the sellers think they can get it ? If you walked away from it, the bank would now be stuck with a home only worth $250k. Bad for the bank.
In that situation, the bank has no issues loaning you the $250k that the home is appraised at, but it will be on you to come up with the other $250k.
Finally, if you're about to commit to a $500k home, why would you cheap out on a third party* appraiser and / or inspector ?
( Yeah, I'm sure the real estate agent knows who to call, but it would be in your best interests to call someone they DON'T know to ensure a fair inspection )
That's just nuts.
The dealers are only looking out for their business model, nothing more. They have come to realize that dead users doth not repeat customers make.
This will sound cold but I have a hard time generating any sympathy for those who OD on opioids or any drug tbh.
If you're dumb enough to trust a substance purchased in a back alley or street corner from your local model citizen drug dealer, well. . . . Darwin has a law you should familiarize yourself with.
Even legitimate drugs have their risks and, if you bother to read the side effects, you might think twice about taking those as well.
My docs want me to start one whose potential side effects include:
Blood clots
Stroke
Heart Attack
Cancer
Death
I think I'll pass thanks.
The opioid epidemic will sort itself out especially if mixing an insanity level drug like fentanyl into the products being sold.
Eventually they're going to run out of drug users.
Live ones anyway.
I wish we had something like that here.
Lots of little critters get obliterated where I live which is bad enough, but out in the country where the rest of my family resides, deer are the biggest threat. Due to the proximity of the forest on either side of the road, you may have two seconds to take action before impact if they decide to bolt from tree cover.
Since it IS Texas, I've come to realize one reason why so many drive the oversized pickups. You hit an adult deer in one of those and it will mess up the bumper and grill a bit unless you have an aftermarket super bumper on there.
You hit a deer in anything lower to the ground ( any car ) and that deer is going to flip over the hood, go right through the windshield and become a passenger. All at 70mph.
A full sized white-tail is not a small animal and your survival will be based on luck at this point.
God help you if it's a cow or a horse that managed to get out and is standing at the top of a hill that you can't see. ( Aunt managed that one. Nearly killed her. )
Besides the usual no power, no network and everything else required for electronic transactions to happen issues. . .
If everyone went cashless tomorrow, what happens when Visa, MC, Apple Pay, etc decide they want more of a cut than they already get by raising the percentage fees per transaction ?
Do we really want so few unregulated companies with that much control over, what will be, the end cost for a consumer ?
Imagine if it were PayPal only and what kind of nightmare that would turn into.
You either live long enough to go bankrupt from the out of control US healthcare system
or you die young without ever having to experience the horrors of how this country treats
its elderly.
Personally, I think I would prefer the latter over the former.
( and I'm closer in age to the latter than the former )
In my experience anyway, the more " Family Friendly " a restaurant is, the louder it is likely to be.
If, instead, you eat anywhere that typically requires a reservation and has a dress code, it will be nice and quiet. ( albeit, $$$$ )
A few reasons I dislike eating out these days:
1) Kids screaming / crying / going full heathen and parents refusing to remove them from the dining area
2) Multiple folks have a game running ( kiddos usually ), or live TV or music blasting from the smartphone
3) Some places have half a dozen TV's running half a dozen different stations
4) Self propagating loop in that folks need to talk louder to hear one another as background noise climbs
5) Great aesthetic designs, but poor acoustical design considerations are a real issue in new construction
Eventually, you're basically YELLING at the person sitting across from you just so you can hear one another.
( If I want that kind of experience I'll hit the local Sports Bar where it's expected )
It would be best to assume all electronic / digital communication channels to be compromised already and adjust your means of communication accordingly if you need to discuss anything sensitive.
They will never quit until they get their way. Legally or in secret.
Once the leadership at Microsoft green lights the plan to make Windows a subscription only service coupled with the fact that they can't seem to get a software update right to save their f*****g life, that stock will collapse so hard it will create a singularity.
Apple will likely fall off a cliff as well, ( just not as quickly ) due to the fact that innovation doesn't appear to be in their interests any longer and they have far too many competitors in an already saturated smart phone market.
Call me when they have actually built it and it works as expected.
Until then I put it in the same file as all the other outrageous claims China likes to make up and / or brag about.
Tomorrow they will announce an AI controlled hand held laser that turns everyone Chinese.
that the more you treat your population like criminals, the more they act like one.
It ends in one of two ways:
Police State
Revolution
sarcasm
They obviously need to quit selling cars and go to a subscription model where nothing new gets developed, no bugs get fixed and the money comes in by the truckload every month. /sarcasm