I think generally when people say "using Skype," they mean using it for video or voice, as those are the specific functions that set it apart from the countless ways people can send text messages to and from each other.
In practice, what sets Skype apart from other messaging apps is that it uses a Microsoft account, not an AOL.com account like AIM, a Google account like Hangouts, a Facebook account like Facebook Messenger, or a Yahoo account like Yahoo Messenger.
If someone asks you to use your phone, I expect that you'd be put out if they used it to scrape off their boots, even though that could be described as "using the phone."
To me, the difference between Skype (voice) and Skype (text) is more akin to the difference between borrowing a phone to place a voice call and borrowing a phone to send SMS. Both are still "using the phone" for its intended purpose.
the last thing anyone on a plane wants is some asshole nearby using Skype.
Even in text mode? The vast majority of my Skype time over the past three months has been with text, not voice, and definitely not video. I'm mostly using it as a successor to MSN Messenger.
I believe some Android devices have a similar option but I don't think it is in the core OS but rather something that a few OEMs have added.
It's in Android 4.4 and 5.1 on my first-generation Nexus 7 (grouper) tablet, so I'm pretty sure it's part of the core OS. Android on Nexus devices is pretty much just the core OS and Google Play. You need to go to the list of SSIDs (can't give exact wording; my tablet isn't in front of me right now) and mark one of them as metered (may be called "Mobile hotspot" in Android 4).
Few things outside of internet gaming and VOIP require low latency, neither of which should be done on a plane.
Examples of these few things include X11 to your applications at work, RDP to your applications at work, and VNC to your applications at work. Is there a good reason why none of these "should be done on a plane"?
Imagine if computers had the same capabilities, the same CPU speed, the same RAM, the same form factor, the same monitor resolutions, as they did in 2008
CPU speed hasn't improved much since the 3 GHz wall, and PC monitor resolutions have flattened out with the economies of scale of 1366x768 and 1920x1080 panels. And the form factor for a PC with a preinstalled multi-window OS hasn't changed much because adult human hands haven't changed much. There were 9 to 10 inch netbooks in 2008, and there are 10 inch detachable laptops in 2015.
but cost a lot more
An industry-wide move toward Secure Boot could easily lead to exactly this. As of Windows 10, PC makers are allowed to lock down the UEFI's Secure Boot feature to run only Microsoft operating systems. If most major manufacturers of Windows laptops take this option, the only way to run a multi-window Linux OS will be a more expensive System76 or Apple laptop.
If they lowered the price, you'd bet your ass more people would pay it. They'd make the same money per flight if 10 people paid $1 or if 1 person paid $10.
You're assuming that demand is unit elastic. The featured article states that demand is less elastic than what you imply. This allows Gogo to increase revenue by raising the price level, as it doesn't cause a proportional number of people to not buy.
The featured article addresses that. Gogo tied up certain airlines with decade-long exclusive contracts. JetBlue instead signed with ViaSat, which entered the market later with a more affordable service that the airline can just bundle into the ticket price.
And who the hell decided I should have to pay the employees who are digging the trench and laying the fiber?
Why should a fiber run require a whole new trench, not just blowing fiber through an existing conduit that the city buried last time it dug a trench?
The only thing holding back everyone else from competing is spending the billions of dollars to dig up everyone's lawns and streets
That and regulations requiring a newcomer to serve absolutely everyone from day one, rather than starting by laying infrastructure in the most profitable area and growing from there once that infrastructure has been paid for.
They did away with the 25% overhead of 8N1 framing when they switched to ATM framing, but some ISPs still count ATM framing, IP header, TCP header, and TCP retransmits against the user's cap.
They like to demand all sorts of "documentation" that you're running... gasp... a corporation
Does your cable company make this requirement for "documentation" and a list of acceptable "documentation" available to the public? I'd be interested to read the actual policy against use by, say, a sole proprietorship.
Not everybody has access to a carrier that offers unmetered 4G data; some 4G subscribers have to pay $10 to $15 per GB. My point is that people who subscribe to both cable Internet for use at home and metered 4G data for use away from home may choose to shift some of their usage from 4G data to cable Internet subscribers' hotspots, which saves $10 for each GB shifted.
Your 5 year old laptop only supports up to an OpenGL version that was released 13 years ago? Either the GPU is truly awful or you've got driver issues.
It's a GMA 3150, which is only a modest improvement over the GMA 950. Intel sucked back then; the joke was that it stood for "Graphics My Ass". It didn't start to stop sucking until Intel replaced GMA with HD Graphics. I remember some 3D Flash games; I'm not sure if they used some sort of software rendering or fixed-function OpenGL.
Xfinity (Comcast's home brand) applies a 300 GB/mo cap in some markets. I'm told the next step up for your home office is Comcast Business, which applies no cap.
How does that work now that more and more sites are moving to HTTPS? Do ISPs require subscribers to install the root certificate of the ISP's HTTPS proxy? Or are they giving free colo space to CDNs?
How is that relevant? I pay for a phone and data service that gives me very good coverage.
How much are you paying for gigabytes of data that you could shift to a cable company's public hotspot, either immediately or by waiting a reasonable time until you're in coverage?
Xfinity wants me to pay to run their infrastructure for a network that gives me zero net gain over what I already have.
In theory, the "net gain" would be dollars that you don't have to pay to your 4G carrier because you are using Xfinity Wi-Fi instead.
Plus with service that fast you'll blow through your bandwidth cap in 40 seconds.
I did the math, and it was 40 minutes, not 40 seconds. 300 GB/mo is 2400 gigabits per month, and 2400 gigabits per month divided by 1 gigabit per second is 2400 seconds per month, or 40 minutes per month.
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I think generally when people say "using Skype," they mean using it for video or voice, as those are the specific functions that set it apart from the countless ways people can send text messages to and from each other.
In practice, what sets Skype apart from other messaging apps is that it uses a Microsoft account, not an AOL.com account like AIM, a Google account like Hangouts, a Facebook account like Facebook Messenger, or a Yahoo account like Yahoo Messenger.
If someone asks you to use your phone, I expect that you'd be put out if they used it to scrape off their boots, even though that could be described as "using the phone."
To me, the difference between Skype (voice) and Skype (text) is more akin to the difference between borrowing a phone to place a voice call and borrowing a phone to send SMS. Both are still "using the phone" for its intended purpose.
A video game is a copyrighted audiovisual work, and streaming a video game without permission from the game's publisher is copyright infringement. How do Twitch and YouTube Gaming either obtain this permission or provide a means for members to apply to publishers to obtain this permission?
X11 and VNC aren't bastions of internet security at the best of times
Even when IP-restricted to allow connections only over an SSH or VPN tunnel?
For someone switching from VNC to RDP to access Linux boxes, is xrdp any good?
For someone switching from VNC to RDP to access OS X boxes, is iRAPP worth $79?
Agreed. My issue was largely with Luthair's assertion that anybody using Skype software is necessarily an anus.
the last thing anyone on a plane wants is some asshole nearby using Skype.
Even in text mode? The vast majority of my Skype time over the past three months has been with text, not voice, and definitely not video. I'm mostly using it as a successor to MSN Messenger.
I believe some Android devices have a similar option but I don't think it is in the core OS but rather something that a few OEMs have added.
It's in Android 4.4 and 5.1 on my first-generation Nexus 7 (grouper) tablet, so I'm pretty sure it's part of the core OS. Android on Nexus devices is pretty much just the core OS and Google Play. You need to go to the list of SSIDs (can't give exact wording; my tablet isn't in front of me right now) and mark one of them as metered (may be called "Mobile hotspot" in Android 4).
Few things outside of internet gaming and VOIP require low latency, neither of which should be done on a plane.
Examples of these few things include X11 to your applications at work, RDP to your applications at work, and VNC to your applications at work. Is there a good reason why none of these "should be done on a plane"?
Imagine if computers had the same capabilities, the same CPU speed, the same RAM, the same form factor, the same monitor resolutions, as they did in 2008
CPU speed hasn't improved much since the 3 GHz wall, and PC monitor resolutions have flattened out with the economies of scale of 1366x768 and 1920x1080 panels. And the form factor for a PC with a preinstalled multi-window OS hasn't changed much because adult human hands haven't changed much. There were 9 to 10 inch netbooks in 2008, and there are 10 inch detachable laptops in 2015.
but cost a lot more
An industry-wide move toward Secure Boot could easily lead to exactly this. As of Windows 10, PC makers are allowed to lock down the UEFI's Secure Boot feature to run only Microsoft operating systems. If most major manufacturers of Windows laptops take this option, the only way to run a multi-window Linux OS will be a more expensive System76 or Apple laptop.
If they lowered the price, you'd bet your ass more people would pay it. They'd make the same money per flight if 10 people paid $1 or if 1 person paid $10.
You're assuming that demand is unit elastic. The featured article states that demand is less elastic than what you imply. This allows Gogo to increase revenue by raising the price level, as it doesn't cause a proportional number of people to not buy.
Hey if you think that you can provide a better, cheaper service, you're free to do so.
Unless Gogo has all your potential clients tied up for a decade with exclusive contracts.
The featured article addresses that. Gogo tied up certain airlines with decade-long exclusive contracts. JetBlue instead signed with ViaSat, which entered the market later with a more affordable service that the airline can just bundle into the ticket price.
Latency is only really an issue with certain applications like on-line gaming or VOIP.
Or remote desktop solutions such as VNC, RDP, or X11.
And who the hell decided I should have to pay the employees who are digging the trench and laying the fiber?
Why should a fiber run require a whole new trench, not just blowing fiber through an existing conduit that the city buried last time it dug a trench?
The only thing holding back everyone else from competing is spending the billions of dollars to dig up everyone's lawns and streets
That and regulations requiring a newcomer to serve absolutely everyone from day one, rather than starting by laying infrastructure in the most profitable area and growing from there once that infrastructure has been paid for.
They did away with the 25% overhead of 8N1 framing when they switched to ATM framing, but some ISPs still count ATM framing, IP header, TCP header, and TCP retransmits against the user's cap.
They like to demand all sorts of "documentation" that you're running ... gasp ... a corporation
Does your cable company make this requirement for "documentation" and a list of acceptable "documentation" available to the public? I'd be interested to read the actual policy against use by, say, a sole proprietorship.
If you can't get a lift from family or friends and there is no bus service then a controller doesn't help you either
I'll admit I forgot something. A controller and a bicycle are cheaper than a car and insurance.
I have unlimited 4G data.
What exactly is your point?
Not everybody has access to a carrier that offers unmetered 4G data; some 4G subscribers have to pay $10 to $15 per GB. My point is that people who subscribe to both cable Internet for use at home and metered 4G data for use away from home may choose to shift some of their usage from 4G data to cable Internet subscribers' hotspots, which saves $10 for each GB shifted.
Your 5 year old laptop only supports up to an OpenGL version that was released 13 years ago? Either the GPU is truly awful or you've got driver issues.
It's a GMA 3150, which is only a modest improvement over the GMA 950. Intel sucked back then; the joke was that it stood for "Graphics My Ass". It didn't start to stop sucking until Intel replaced GMA with HD Graphics. I remember some 3D Flash games; I'm not sure if they used some sort of software rendering or fixed-function OpenGL.
300GB cap on my top level plan
Xfinity (Comcast's home brand) applies a 300 GB/mo cap in some markets. I'm told the next step up for your home office is Comcast Business, which applies no cap.
Caching, proxying
How does that work now that more and more sites are moving to HTTPS? Do ISPs require subscribers to install the root certificate of the ISP's HTTPS proxy? Or are they giving free colo space to CDNs?
How is that relevant? I pay for a phone and data service that gives me very good coverage.
How much are you paying for gigabytes of data that you could shift to a cable company's public hotspot, either immediately or by waiting a reasonable time until you're in coverage?
Xfinity wants me to pay to run their infrastructure for a network that gives me zero net gain over what I already have.
In theory, the "net gain" would be dollars that you don't have to pay to your 4G carrier because you are using Xfinity Wi-Fi instead.
I get great 4G coverage and don't need to use the very sparse coverage offered by [the cable company's] home routers.
How much do you pay per month for that "great 4G coverage"? I imagine that it's more than "just a few cents a month."
The topic has nothing to do with the government.
Even when government regulations deter startups from attempting to compete with Comcast?
Plus with service that fast you'll blow through your bandwidth cap in 40 seconds.
I did the math, and it was 40 minutes, not 40 seconds. 300 GB/mo is 2400 gigabits per month, and 2400 gigabits per month divided by 1 gigabit per second is 2400 seconds per month, or 40 minutes per month.