Except that Vista does graceful caching and cedes RAM when an application wants it. Forgot that part, hm?
So does XP, Linux, and most Unix variants. That has nothing to do with the central complaint. Vista uses far more memory than it should to achieve a unit of work. Much of which is held by the OS and/or the GUI.
Specifically, this is one of the items Windows 7 should address. So your casual effort to make Windows look good completely ignores the fact your comment is not topical in the least and altogether ignores the central complaint.
Just the same, the point remains. The US legal system is completely fucked. I understand the legal basis for arresting her. I wasn't surprised to hear the outcome in the least. Just the same, if common sense, reason, or even simple logic had been applied, she would not have been arrested.
You arrest people so they can be in the system and ensure they are properly addressed by the government. It is not reasonable for someone attempting to go above and beyond their civic duty to be arrested. In the end, this did nothing but waste tax payer's money and valuable court/police time. No justice was done. And a person with good intent was punished.
Ultimately, that's part of the problem. Law enforcement and courts do not see the mere act of being arrested or being forced to go through the legal system as a punishment in the least. Contrary to their ignorant position, simply having to react is a form of punishment. Locating and retaining an attorney can cost significant time, lost wages, vacation time, and thousands of dollars before a lawyer even touches a phone on your behalf. According to the courts, that's tough shit - deal with it.
Given the teacher immediately turned everything over to the police I would think there is no risk of being charged... Its not, after all, illegal to report a crime..
It is illegal to be in possession of child pornography, regardless of knowledge of possession or intent. That's the law.
If I secretly copy some to your computer and then anonymously turn you in, you can be arrested and go to jail; your life forever destroyed.
Actually, most such laws have clauses so that people who discover the material and turn it in to the police immediately cannot be charged with possession.
Yes, but AFAIK, this isn't one of them.
Here's a real story for you. Women is walking down street. She is offered pot. Being a good citizen, she buys the pot and immediately goes to the police station. She turns over the pot and informs the police she would like to file a complaint and testify against the person who sold her the pot. She is arrested on the spot. I didn't hear what happened to her after that. Likely she got a slap on the wrist, but arresting her in the first place is a serious sign of a broken legal system. And given the US' fine tradition of punishing people after they have already been punished, it will likely cause additional problems for her until she dies.
Granted, she was naive to say the least, but should she really have been arrested? As I said, "Never confuse, justice, punishment, common sense, or even simple reason and logic with the US legal system." If you do, far more often than not, you'll lose.
I'm no expert on American law, but wouldn't this evidence be inadmissible in a court case, as there was no warrant, and therefore the search of the phone was illegal?
It's pretty easy to argue they had a reasonable expectation of privacy for the data held on their phone. Thankfully, since the justice system works so well here, bankruptcy is a fairly common occurrence in order to pay for establishing such grounds.
Heck, thanks to the wonderful justice system here, simple tort cases can bankrupt families despite the fact the case has no reasonable basis. Heck, lottery winners of less than $4-million often spend a huge chunk, if not all of it, fending off law suites from claimants who have no credible claim to their winnings. That was a statistic from the company that runs 80% of the world's lottery systems.
Sad fact is, the legal system in the US is completely fucked. Reasonable assumptions should never be made. And far too often, victory means financial devastation for a decade.
The US has more prisoners than any other country in the world. The fastest growing government service is prisons and prison related services. In the US, both civil and criminal courts are big business.
Never confuse, justice, punishment, common sense, or even simple reason and logic with the US legal system. Why else do you believe the US has more lawyers than any other country in the world - and still has a shortage?
Maybe, one day, in my life time, The People will actually get their legal system back - and the genocide of lawyers will begin. I just had to throw that last part in.;)
Technically, according to US law, the person discovering the pictures on the phone can be charged with possession of child pornography (they legally took possession of the phone) as simple possession is all that is required. You don't even have to be aware you are in possession or have any intent of such material to have your life destroyed by this law.
If the courts were worth anything at all, they would toss the DA into jail for 30 days while fining him for lost court time while he's sitting in jail, and remind him this is an issue for families, not courts. If more judges did the "Right Thing" many of these problems wouldn't be a problem at all.
Jeppesen is one of the primary providers of aviation databases and is used in pretty much all Garmin handheld and panel mount GPS units.
Jeppesen is paid to maintain the data and certifies it is IFR quality.
The data is/was publicly available at one point. Some of the map makers bitched and moaned about how unfair it was public data was available to the public. There was intent to charge a fee for the data but I'm not sure what happened. Regardless, the data is publicly held.
Holy Crap man! Now you have me wanting to play. I have not tried, but I have heard that a 8 or 16 gig micro-sd will work in them, do you know if that is true? If so, I may give this a shot...mostly because it just sounds fun.
I have a 16GB micro-SD card in my phone right now. I also have busybox installed. I also have a 32MB swap file set up on the SD card. You can do some pretty cool things with this phone.
EABI is a family of specifications. Android does not strictly comply to EABI. You'll often see ARM-EABI and Linux-EABI. If you have a choice, you want Linux-EABI.
That is, you got some APIs, but ultimately, you could compile actually native code (unlike Android)
Significant correction here. You CAN compile native code for android. I've done it. It's not that bad. It's just not officially supported - yet strangely enough, JNI is officially supported and it seems there is also a backdoor (unsupported) into the VM for fast native code calls.
The good and the bad is, Android is a platform which is not tethered to a specific CPU architecture. Thusly applications written to the VM will run on all systems to which Android is supported. Applications which use native code may not run on these platforms without a platform specific recompile and release.
Given a good reception for something you may carry on your person, simple GPs can still provide ~12+m resolution which is more like, this house or that house, or even a specific house.
Can I buy an unlocked iPhone for a reasonable price, yet?
Yes.
How about deals with networks other than AT&T?
Yes. AT&T is the only question mark. I'm currently using my Android phone on AT&T.
Can I install custom software yet?
Have been able to since day one. It's never been an issue; unlike the issues surrounding the iPhone.
Maybe I'll make it run in the background, so I can have something play music while users do something else... Nope, not allowed.
That's only an issue for iPhones. Creating background services on Android is trivial. Of course, constantly running stuff in the background is going to destroy your battery life.
Yes, it's prettier.
That's a matter of opinion. I actually like my android phone.
There is no question of that -- there will be killer apps written for Android, even for Windows Mobile, which cannot be ported to the iPhone because of Apple's restrictions.
This is already true. Some very cool applications which are available free are impossible on the iPhone.
With some half dozen or more Android phones looming just over the horizon from various carriers and even Garmin, a new comer to phones (first link I found) bringing an Android phone to market, options will be aplenty. Already whole lines of phones are being developed specifically to target the Android platform.
To add insult to injury, the G1 already has superior hardware but sadly, is held back waiting for an Android software update. This of course places Android owners in a superior position whereby an iPhone owner's only recourse is to purchase a whole new phone to obtain hardware parity.
Ya, I read about that requirement. I also read US planes which pass into Canada or Mexico also require 406 ELTs. Last I heard, there may be some push back on the Mexico requirement. I'm not sure which direction it will take.
The only concession is a long-standing ban on ELTs using LiSO3 batteries has been liften
I hadn't heard about that. Any idea if that includes the US?
And no, a PLB or SPOT device isn't suitable.
In the US, the PLB and SPOT is an option strictly so long as you have a functioning 121.5 ELT as that's what the regs require. The PLB/SPOT option is strictly at a pilot's discretion.
From what I've been told, few units actually have 406 capabilities. The larger Wings (Texas, California, etc) are getting this capability first. I don't believe all planes will be so equipped until the end of this year and likely ground crews won't be fully equipped until the end of next year. They are afforded this timetable because of the 121.5/406 ELT dual requirement (at least I've been told it's a requirement) and because 121.5 isn't leaving us anytime soon.
This statement doesn't make a lot of sense in light of the fact that the FAA recently made it even easier to get a pilot's license.
The FAA has actively been lying to Congress, in cahoots with the airlines, to force private pilots to pay the airline's share of taxes (literally) while also increasing fuel taxes paid by piston pilots. Furthermore, the FAA has been lying to Congress so as to force private pilots to pay a per use fee for entering airspace, receiving weather briefings, obtaining flight following (VFR service), filling a flight plan (VFR and IFR), activating a flight plan, or flying an instrument approach. This effectively prices many pilots out of the game while simultaneously increasing risk to all aircraft in the sky.
At the same time, the FAA is trying to convince Congress they would be better funded (their own numbers show this to be a lie) by increasing taxes and per use fees while being out from under Congress' oversight, in turn allowing them to better develop a relationship with the airlines. In other words, the airlines would run the FAA, private pilots would pay much the airline's taxes, and the pilots who continued to fly would often do so without official briefings and without separation services so as to save money. This in turn likely means many more illegal instrument approaches which increases the chances of mid airs or crashes into houses, buildings, towers, and mountains. This in turn means vastly increased chances of weather accidents, mid air collisions, and increased dangers of commercial airlines from them calling the regulatory shots with the FAA - with Congress no long having any oversight.
Made worse, the FAA is unable to account for some 20 million dollars yet they are demanding Congress let them control their own books, make their own rules, and squeeze funding (which has independently shown to make far, far less than existing funding measures) from pilots who are already paying their fair share.
You can indeed buy a used plane for $15000. However, to use the requisite car analogy, it'd be the equivalent of buying a $500 car - it's a car, and it'll run - mostly.
Not true at all! The analogy isn't even in the ballpark.
The big difference is YOU can work on a car yourself; the FAA mandates only a certified aircraft mechanic (A&P) work on a certified aircraft
Again, not true at all. Preventative maintenance can be performed by an aircraft owner. Additional work can be performed under the supervision of a certified A/P. Many A/Ps are more than happy to do this. And supervision doesn't mean babysitting. It means someone knowledgeable to talk to, periodically verify the work, and sign off the work was performed properly when completed. If you have a good relationship with your A/P, many will do this gratis for most non-major work.
A private pilot license will cost about $6000 and take six months if you really get after it
Again, mostly not true. Price varies greatly depending on the part of the country your in, the airport you train out of, the type of plane you train in, and how often you fly to obtain your license. A license can be had for $2500-$3000 if you really work at it, fly an older C172 or especially an older 150/152, and train out of a smaller, less busy airport. If you must train in a brand new C172SP, at a larger, busy airport, especially at places near New York or Washington DC, expect a $6000 bill.
your mandatory airplane annual will be a good $500-$800 - assuming it doesn't uncover any problems.
Price varies greatly depending on the plane and quality of care given to it between annuals. Expect $300-$1500 per annual. Owner assisted annuals are commonly done. These typically cut the cost of an annual in half or two thirds.
You'll want to keep your new baby in hanger - expect $50/mo to well over $500/mo depending on how far in the sticks you live.
Those prices are accurate yet many planes are not hangared. It really depends on the part of the country your in. If you live in a hail prone area, a hangar is strongly advised.
Of course you'll want a good GPS ($2k for a lower-end handheld,
Simply not true in the least. GPS is absolutely NOT required. In fact, primary training you're taught to fly using WWII technology and simple maps. High quality, large display, having excellent aviation features, GPS units can be had for less than $500. Smaller display units can be had for less than $300. You want high end bells and whistles (weather radar, forecasts, lightning, etc, then you're talking about a couple thousand, plus a monthly XM Satellite subscription.
In fact, my Lowrance 2000C GPS is a fraction of the overpriced Garmins and provides superior situation awareness and has a terrain/obstacle database. There are plenty of quality hand held GPS options so long as you're willing to not be a GPS snob. Despite having a 530, I always use my 2000C to compliment it. Simply put, no need to be a Garmin snob. Better units with equal or better features are available for the same, if not less than the high end Garmins. Much of what you buy with Garmin is the name.
I do agree a $15,000 plane isn't going to be a coast to coast machine, but plenty of good aircraft can be had in the $15,000 - $30,000 range. Avionics make up a significant portion of any plane purchase. If you're willing to cruise at 100-125mph with one or two old radios, one VOR and maybe a DME, no auto pilot, or perhaps an original wing leveler, with one or two passengers, and a range of 400 miles or less, there are plenty of good, older planes to be had in the above price range.
That being said, one needs to think long and hard about the type of flying they want to do. Brush flying? Tooling around near your airport? Flying to see family 500 miles away on a regular basis? Flying alone? Flying with family? Need much luggage? What type of weather is common in your area? Will you need to commonly leave and arrive in IMC (poor visibi
They should only cost maybe $300 tops and be legal for any licensed A&P to install, but because of artificially imposed bureaucratic bullshit the avionics makers and installers are forced to go thru, these new ELT's instead cost thousands of dollars to purchase and have installed.
Most people simply don't understand. The only thing preventing the light piston GA from becoming safer is the FAA! If the FAA's certification process were slimmed such that it actually made sense, allowing for competition to boot, owners would be more than happy to have the latest and greatest safety equipment in their planes. Many of the certification requirements date back to the late 50s and 60s, which predate computers and many technological advances. Until such time, the FAA and Congress is squarely responsible for maintaining the status quo for piston aviation safety.
If you must blame someone for many categories of aviation accidents and fatalities, look no further than the FAA! The sooner the public at large realizes the FAA is in fact the problem, the sooner they can be revamped allowing for increased safety.
It is an understatement to say, piston aviation safety has increased over the years in spite of the FAA. The FAA will tell you otherwise. The economics of aviation and owners will tell you the truth.
- The increased precision required of aviation units.
Doesn't exist unless you're talking about units which support WAAS. Most units do not support WAAS. Besides, extra precision can be had for the cost of an extra GPS-IC; something less than $50 to the total cost of the unit.
- Added features such as standby power that are unique to aviation.
No such thing.
- The fact that they are programmed with all sorts of aeronautical information (positions of beacons, approach patterns, etc). It costs money to license this information and include it in each unit.
The information is government owned and as such, does not require licensing. In fact, it is public information.
- Additional cost to ensure each unit complies with FAA regs.
Bingo! Because it is aviation related, lawyers needlessly cause every component to cost 2x-4x its actual retail cost. Because it's aviation related, the FAA incurs an additional 2x-4x cost. Even then, Garmin is making money hands over fist because at $10,000 per unit, they have some $7,000+ profit per unit.
Don't forget, we live in a world where a $10 clock costs $150 thanks to lawyers and the FAA.
For most owners, it doesn't work like that. You're basically asking, why isn't paying 1-10 extra payments, all at once a big deal? Many owners have to critically balance annuals, surprise repairs, oil changes, and normal wear and tear with fuel just so they can fly.
How about you suddenly spit up 10x your current car payment, all in one payment for an optional piece of equipment which has questionable value? The vast majority of light GA piston owners are NOT wealthy people. Rather, they are your lower to upper middle class people who choose to spend their hobby money flying.
Many owners are owners simply because planes are typically not financed like cars. Many planes can be financed as far out as 20 years. Many plane owners spend less in plane payment than many spend for a used car and often far, far, far less than many spend to own a bass boat.
Go tell a bass boat owner he needs to go spend 5x his boat payment on an optional piece of equipment. I bet you'll be wearing some concrete shoes pretty quick.
If you want to compare your typical plane owner with your typical boat owner, you'll find the boat owner is financially much better off.
Ya, people simply don't realize you can actually own a plane for less a month than what people often pay for a car; and way less than a used fishing boat.
People forget owners of nice fishing boats are likely are better off than many plane owners.
A bit of an odd aside, but the first thing that struck me there was how much those GPS units cost. What makes them so different to normal consumer ones?
Liability and certification. That's it. Technologically speaking, owners pay a premium for an inferior, dated product.
The common cliche associated with the FAA; "We're not happy until you're not happy". The common FAA oxymoron, "We're the FAA and we're here to help."
We don't need an additional "TAX." In the aviation world, we already pay through the nose for regulations and adding more is just complicating the burden. Once the price of the 406mhz units gets down to around the price of the 121.5mhz units, then the problem goes away. Right now, they cost 12x as much!
I'm glad you mentioned this. Most people believe pilots and plane owners are the uber wealthy, as that's what is commonly portrayed in TV and movies. As such, most don't give it a second thought when the "rich" get yet another tax. This is simply not true. The majority of commercial pilots make less than $60,000/year. In fact, many new pilots are lucky to make $40,000/year. The majority of private pilots make less than $50,000 year. And the majority of light GA piston owners make less than $80,000/year. Used planes can be purchased for less than the price of many used and new cars and can be financed out to 15 or 20 years. You do not have to be wealthy to own or fly a plane! In fact, most are not wealthy!
Why do I mention this? Because the TSA and if the FAA and airlines have their way, private pilots will be history while forcing more traffic into the major airports which forces additional delays on the air travelling public. Most don't realize how many airports there are in the US. Most do not realize these small airports save the travelling public time and money by traveling elsewhere. Furthermore, most don't realize how much money comes into the local economy from those local airports. Airport closures are on the rise. Every airport closed means lost jobs and lost dollars to your local economy. The people working at these airports are not the uber wealthy.
Also, people don't realize these pilots are an important part of your local emergency and disaster plans. For example, following the recent hurricanes which hit the US, most people don't realize some of the first to both bring supplies in and evacuees out from these areas were private pilots and their owned/rented aircraft. Without pilots and airports these missions are impossible. People widely believe only the Coast Guard and National Guard were there to help. This is simply not true.
Angel Flights serve an important role. If you don't believe me, ask many of the patients who receive critical care which would otherwise not be available to them. Without airports, these types of missions are not possible. Without pilots, these types of missions are not possible.
What's my point? If you've ever been interesting in learning to fly, go get a discovery flight. They typically cost $50 for a 30-45 minute introductory flight. You'll likely get to fly for the first time. Furthermore, if you hear about an airport closing, don't forget to support the airport. They often bring millions of dollars into your local economy and dozens to hundreds of jobs; directly or indirectly. Lastly, don't support additional taxes on pilots, aircraft, airports, and fuel. Pilots are already paying their fair share in taxes, contrary to what the FAA and airlines would have you believe.
Believe it or not, saving airports and helping pilots is actually helping your self and your community. Remember, pilots are your friends and neighbours. They are not the aristocracy portrayed in TV and movies.
In the end, the best thing to do is to simply let someone know when you're flying, where you're going, the route you're taking, and the time you expect to arrive.
Opps, that should read: In the end, the best thing to do is to simply let someone know when you're flying, where you're going, the route you're taking, and the time you expect to arrive, and the tail number of your aircraft.
Slashdot Mirror
Except that Vista does graceful caching and cedes RAM when an application wants it. Forgot that part, hm?
So does XP, Linux, and most Unix variants. That has nothing to do with the central complaint. Vista uses far more memory than it should to achieve a unit of work. Much of which is held by the OS and/or the GUI.
Specifically, this is one of the items Windows 7 should address. So your casual effort to make Windows look good completely ignores the fact your comment is not topical in the least and altogether ignores the central complaint.
I interpreted "most such laws" too broadly.
Just the same, the point remains. The US legal system is completely fucked. I understand the legal basis for arresting her. I wasn't surprised to hear the outcome in the least. Just the same, if common sense, reason, or even simple logic had been applied, she would not have been arrested.
You arrest people so they can be in the system and ensure they are properly addressed by the government. It is not reasonable for someone attempting to go above and beyond their civic duty to be arrested. In the end, this did nothing but waste tax payer's money and valuable court/police time. No justice was done. And a person with good intent was punished.
Ultimately, that's part of the problem. Law enforcement and courts do not see the mere act of being arrested or being forced to go through the legal system as a punishment in the least. Contrary to their ignorant position, simply having to react is a form of punishment. Locating and retaining an attorney can cost significant time, lost wages, vacation time, and thousands of dollars before a lawyer even touches a phone on your behalf. According to the courts, that's tough shit - deal with it.
Given the teacher immediately turned everything over to the police I would think there is no risk of being charged... Its not, after all, illegal to report a crime..
It is illegal to be in possession of child pornography, regardless of knowledge of possession or intent. That's the law.
If I secretly copy some to your computer and then anonymously turn you in, you can be arrested and go to jail; your life forever destroyed.
Actually, most such laws have clauses so that people who discover the material and turn it in to the police immediately cannot be charged with possession.
Yes, but AFAIK, this isn't one of them.
Here's a real story for you. Women is walking down street. She is offered pot. Being a good citizen, she buys the pot and immediately goes to the police station. She turns over the pot and informs the police she would like to file a complaint and testify against the person who sold her the pot. She is arrested on the spot. I didn't hear what happened to her after that. Likely she got a slap on the wrist, but arresting her in the first place is a serious sign of a broken legal system. And given the US' fine tradition of punishing people after they have already been punished, it will likely cause additional problems for her until she dies.
Granted, she was naive to say the least, but should she really have been arrested? As I said, "Never confuse, justice, punishment, common sense, or even simple reason and logic with the US legal system." If you do, far more often than not, you'll lose.
Really, with the winking emoticon too? Implying it was a joke? Really? Let's see...where is that rolling eyes emoticon at when you need it...
Let me guess, you're a lawyer, want to be a lawyer, or know someone who is a lawyer?
I'm no expert on American law, but wouldn't this evidence be inadmissible in a court case, as there was no warrant, and therefore the search of the phone was illegal?
It's pretty easy to argue they had a reasonable expectation of privacy for the data held on their phone. Thankfully, since the justice system works so well here, bankruptcy is a fairly common occurrence in order to pay for establishing such grounds.
Heck, thanks to the wonderful justice system here, simple tort cases can bankrupt families despite the fact the case has no reasonable basis. Heck, lottery winners of less than $4-million often spend a huge chunk, if not all of it, fending off law suites from claimants who have no credible claim to their winnings. That was a statistic from the company that runs 80% of the world's lottery systems.
Sad fact is, the legal system in the US is completely fucked. Reasonable assumptions should never be made. And far too often, victory means financial devastation for a decade.
The US has more prisoners than any other country in the world. The fastest growing government service is prisons and prison related services. In the US, both civil and criminal courts are big business.
Never confuse, justice, punishment, common sense, or even simple reason and logic with the US legal system. Why else do you believe the US has more lawyers than any other country in the world - and still has a shortage?
Maybe, one day, in my life time, The People will actually get their legal system back - and the genocide of lawyers will begin. I just had to throw that last part in. ;)
Technically, according to US law, the person discovering the pictures on the phone can be charged with possession of child pornography (they legally took possession of the phone) as simple possession is all that is required. You don't even have to be aware you are in possession or have any intent of such material to have your life destroyed by this law.
If the courts were worth anything at all, they would toss the DA into jail for 30 days while fining him for lost court time while he's sitting in jail, and remind him this is an issue for families, not courts. If more judges did the "Right Thing" many of these problems wouldn't be a problem at all.
Thanks, I forgot to address the TSA aspect.
Jeppesen is one of the primary providers of aviation databases and is used in pretty much all Garmin handheld and panel mount GPS units.
Jeppesen is paid to maintain the data and certifies it is IFR quality.
The data is/was publicly available at one point. Some of the map makers bitched and moaned about how unfair it was public data was available to the public. There was intent to charge a fee for the data but I'm not sure what happened. Regardless, the data is publicly held.
Holy Crap man! Now you have me wanting to play. I have not tried, but I have heard that a 8 or 16 gig micro-sd will work in them, do you know if that is true? If so, I may give this a shot...mostly because it just sounds fun.
I have a 16GB micro-SD card in my phone right now. I also have busybox installed. I also have a 32MB swap file set up on the SD card. You can do some pretty cool things with this phone.
EABI is a family of specifications. Android does not strictly comply to EABI. You'll often see ARM-EABI and Linux-EABI. If you have a choice, you want Linux-EABI.
That is, you got some APIs, but ultimately, you could compile actually native code (unlike Android)
Significant correction here. You CAN compile native code for android. I've done it. It's not that bad. It's just not officially supported - yet strangely enough, JNI is officially supported and it seems there is also a backdoor (unsupported) into the VM for fast native code calls.
The good and the bad is, Android is a platform which is not tethered to a specific CPU architecture. Thusly applications written to the VM will run on all systems to which Android is supported. Applications which use native code may not run on these platforms without a platform specific recompile and release.
Given a good reception for something you may carry on your person, simple GPs can still provide ~12+m resolution which is more like, this house or that house, or even a specific house.
What do you mean "forced to use GMail"? There's a mail app you can use to access any IMAP4/POP3/SMTP mail account that comes with the phone.
And it's very likely both K9 and the default email app will support IMAP IDLE in the near future to allow for push email notification to your phone.
Can I buy an unlocked iPhone for a reasonable price, yet?
Yes.
How about deals with networks other than AT&T?
Yes. AT&T is the only question mark. I'm currently using my Android phone on AT&T.
Can I install custom software yet?
Have been able to since day one. It's never been an issue; unlike the issues surrounding the iPhone.
Maybe I'll make it run in the background, so I can have something play music while users do something else... Nope, not allowed.
That's only an issue for iPhones. Creating background services on Android is trivial. Of course, constantly running stuff in the background is going to destroy your battery life.
Yes, it's prettier.
That's a matter of opinion. I actually like my android phone.
There is no question of that -- there will be killer apps written for Android, even for Windows Mobile, which cannot be ported to the iPhone because of Apple's restrictions.
This is already true. Some very cool applications which are available free are impossible on the iPhone.
With some half dozen or more Android phones looming just over the horizon from various carriers and even Garmin, a new comer to phones (first link I found) bringing an Android phone to market, options will be aplenty. Already whole lines of phones are being developed specifically to target the Android platform.
To add insult to injury, the G1 already has superior hardware but sadly, is held back waiting for an Android software update. This of course places Android owners in a superior position whereby an iPhone owner's only recourse is to purchase a whole new phone to obtain hardware parity.
Ya, I read about that requirement. I also read US planes which pass into Canada or Mexico also require 406 ELTs. Last I heard, there may be some push back on the Mexico requirement. I'm not sure which direction it will take.
The only concession is a long-standing ban on ELTs using LiSO3 batteries has been liften
I hadn't heard about that. Any idea if that includes the US?
And no, a PLB or SPOT device isn't suitable.
In the US, the PLB and SPOT is an option strictly so long as you have a functioning 121.5 ELT as that's what the regs require. The PLB/SPOT option is strictly at a pilot's discretion.
Many (most?) CAP planes
From what I've been told, few units actually have 406 capabilities. The larger Wings (Texas, California, etc) are getting this capability first. I don't believe all planes will be so equipped until the end of this year and likely ground crews won't be fully equipped until the end of next year. They are afforded this timetable because of the 121.5/406 ELT dual requirement (at least I've been told it's a requirement) and because 121.5 isn't leaving us anytime soon.
This statement doesn't make a lot of sense in light of the fact that the FAA recently made it even easier to get a pilot's license.
The FAA has actively been lying to Congress, in cahoots with the airlines, to force private pilots to pay the airline's share of taxes (literally) while also increasing fuel taxes paid by piston pilots. Furthermore, the FAA has been lying to Congress so as to force private pilots to pay a per use fee for entering airspace, receiving weather briefings, obtaining flight following (VFR service), filling a flight plan (VFR and IFR), activating a flight plan, or flying an instrument approach. This effectively prices many pilots out of the game while simultaneously increasing risk to all aircraft in the sky.
At the same time, the FAA is trying to convince Congress they would be better funded (their own numbers show this to be a lie) by increasing taxes and per use fees while being out from under Congress' oversight, in turn allowing them to better develop a relationship with the airlines. In other words, the airlines would run the FAA, private pilots would pay much the airline's taxes, and the pilots who continued to fly would often do so without official briefings and without separation services so as to save money. This in turn likely means many more illegal instrument approaches which increases the chances of mid airs or crashes into houses, buildings, towers, and mountains. This in turn means vastly increased chances of weather accidents, mid air collisions, and increased dangers of commercial airlines from them calling the regulatory shots with the FAA - with Congress no long having any oversight.
Made worse, the FAA is unable to account for some 20 million dollars yet they are demanding Congress let them control their own books, make their own rules, and squeeze funding (which has independently shown to make far, far less than existing funding measures) from pilots who are already paying their fair share.
You can indeed buy a used plane for $15000. However, to use the requisite car analogy, it'd be the equivalent of buying a $500 car - it's a car, and it'll run - mostly.
Not true at all! The analogy isn't even in the ballpark.
The big difference is YOU can work on a car yourself; the FAA mandates only a certified aircraft mechanic (A&P) work on a certified aircraft
Again, not true at all. Preventative maintenance can be performed by an aircraft owner. Additional work can be performed under the supervision of a certified A/P. Many A/Ps are more than happy to do this. And supervision doesn't mean babysitting. It means someone knowledgeable to talk to, periodically verify the work, and sign off the work was performed properly when completed. If you have a good relationship with your A/P, many will do this gratis for most non-major work.
A private pilot license will cost about $6000 and take six months if you really get after it
Again, mostly not true. Price varies greatly depending on the part of the country your in, the airport you train out of, the type of plane you train in, and how often you fly to obtain your license. A license can be had for $2500-$3000 if you really work at it, fly an older C172 or especially an older 150/152, and train out of a smaller, less busy airport. If you must train in a brand new C172SP, at a larger, busy airport, especially at places near New York or Washington DC, expect a $6000 bill.
your mandatory airplane annual will be a good $500-$800 - assuming it doesn't uncover any problems.
Price varies greatly depending on the plane and quality of care given to it between annuals. Expect $300-$1500 per annual. Owner assisted annuals are commonly done. These typically cut the cost of an annual in half or two thirds.
You'll want to keep your new baby in hanger - expect $50/mo to well over $500/mo depending on how far in the sticks you live.
Those prices are accurate yet many planes are not hangared. It really depends on the part of the country your in. If you live in a hail prone area, a hangar is strongly advised.
Of course you'll want a good GPS ($2k for a lower-end handheld,
Simply not true in the least. GPS is absolutely NOT required. In fact, primary training you're taught to fly using WWII technology and simple maps. High quality, large display, having excellent aviation features, GPS units can be had for less than $500. Smaller display units can be had for less than $300. You want high end bells and whistles (weather radar, forecasts, lightning, etc, then you're talking about a couple thousand, plus a monthly XM Satellite subscription.
In fact, my Lowrance 2000C GPS is a fraction of the overpriced Garmins and provides superior situation awareness and has a terrain/obstacle database. There are plenty of quality hand held GPS options so long as you're willing to not be a GPS snob. Despite having a 530, I always use my 2000C to compliment it. Simply put, no need to be a Garmin snob. Better units with equal or better features are available for the same, if not less than the high end Garmins. Much of what you buy with Garmin is the name.
I do agree a $15,000 plane isn't going to be a coast to coast machine, but plenty of good aircraft can be had in the $15,000 - $30,000 range. Avionics make up a significant portion of any plane purchase. If you're willing to cruise at 100-125mph with one or two old radios, one VOR and maybe a DME, no auto pilot, or perhaps an original wing leveler, with one or two passengers, and a range of 400 miles or less, there are plenty of good, older planes to be had in the above price range.
That being said, one needs to think long and hard about the type of flying they want to do. Brush flying? Tooling around near your airport? Flying to see family 500 miles away on a regular basis? Flying alone? Flying with family? Need much luggage? What type of weather is common in your area? Will you need to commonly leave and arrive in IMC (poor visibi
They should only cost maybe $300 tops and be legal for any licensed A&P to install, but because of artificially imposed bureaucratic bullshit the avionics makers and installers are forced to go thru, these new ELT's instead cost thousands of dollars to purchase and have installed.
Most people simply don't understand. The only thing preventing the light piston GA from becoming safer is the FAA! If the FAA's certification process were slimmed such that it actually made sense, allowing for competition to boot, owners would be more than happy to have the latest and greatest safety equipment in their planes. Many of the certification requirements date back to the late 50s and 60s, which predate computers and many technological advances. Until such time, the FAA and Congress is squarely responsible for maintaining the status quo for piston aviation safety.
If you must blame someone for many categories of aviation accidents and fatalities, look no further than the FAA! The sooner the public at large realizes the FAA is in fact the problem, the sooner they can be revamped allowing for increased safety.
It is an understatement to say, piston aviation safety has increased over the years in spite of the FAA. The FAA will tell you otherwise. The economics of aviation and owners will tell you the truth.
- The increased precision required of aviation units.
Doesn't exist unless you're talking about units which support WAAS. Most units do not support WAAS. Besides, extra precision can be had for the cost of an extra GPS-IC; something less than $50 to the total cost of the unit.
- Added features such as standby power that are unique to aviation.
No such thing.
- The fact that they are programmed with all sorts of aeronautical information (positions of beacons, approach patterns, etc). It costs money to license this information and include it in each unit.
The information is government owned and as such, does not require licensing. In fact, it is public information.
- Additional cost to ensure each unit complies with FAA regs.
Bingo! Because it is aviation related, lawyers needlessly cause every component to cost 2x-4x its actual retail cost. Because it's aviation related, the FAA incurs an additional 2x-4x cost. Even then, Garmin is making money hands over fist because at $10,000 per unit, they have some $7,000+ profit per unit.
Don't forget, we live in a world where a $10 clock costs $150 thanks to lawyers and the FAA.
For most owners, it doesn't work like that. You're basically asking, why isn't paying 1-10 extra payments, all at once a big deal? Many owners have to critically balance annuals, surprise repairs, oil changes, and normal wear and tear with fuel just so they can fly.
How about you suddenly spit up 10x your current car payment, all in one payment for an optional piece of equipment which has questionable value? The vast majority of light GA piston owners are NOT wealthy people. Rather, they are your lower to upper middle class people who choose to spend their hobby money flying.
Many owners are owners simply because planes are typically not financed like cars. Many planes can be financed as far out as 20 years. Many plane owners spend less in plane payment than many spend for a used car and often far, far, far less than many spend to own a bass boat.
Go tell a bass boat owner he needs to go spend 5x his boat payment on an optional piece of equipment. I bet you'll be wearing some concrete shoes pretty quick.
If you want to compare your typical plane owner with your typical boat owner, you'll find the boat owner is financially much better off.
Ya, people simply don't realize you can actually own a plane for less a month than what people often pay for a car; and way less than a used fishing boat.
People forget owners of nice fishing boats are likely are better off than many plane owners.
A bit of an odd aside, but the first thing that struck me there was how much those GPS units cost. What makes them so different to normal consumer ones?
Liability and certification. That's it. Technologically speaking, owners pay a premium for an inferior, dated product.
The common cliche associated with the FAA; "We're not happy until you're not happy". The common FAA oxymoron, "We're the FAA and we're here to help."
We don't need an additional "TAX." In the aviation world, we already pay through the nose for regulations and adding more is just complicating the burden. Once the price of the 406mhz units gets down to around the price of the 121.5mhz units, then the problem goes away. Right now, they cost 12x as much!
I'm glad you mentioned this. Most people believe pilots and plane owners are the uber wealthy, as that's what is commonly portrayed in TV and movies. As such, most don't give it a second thought when the "rich" get yet another tax. This is simply not true. The majority of commercial pilots make less than $60,000/year. In fact, many new pilots are lucky to make $40,000/year. The majority of private pilots make less than $50,000 year. And the majority of light GA piston owners make less than $80,000/year. Used planes can be purchased for less than the price of many used and new cars and can be financed out to 15 or 20 years. You do not have to be wealthy to own or fly a plane! In fact, most are not wealthy!
Why do I mention this? Because the TSA and if the FAA and airlines have their way, private pilots will be history while forcing more traffic into the major airports which forces additional delays on the air travelling public. Most don't realize how many airports there are in the US. Most do not realize these small airports save the travelling public time and money by traveling elsewhere. Furthermore, most don't realize how much money comes into the local economy from those local airports. Airport closures are on the rise. Every airport closed means lost jobs and lost dollars to your local economy. The people working at these airports are not the uber wealthy.
Also, people don't realize these pilots are an important part of your local emergency and disaster plans. For example, following the recent hurricanes which hit the US, most people don't realize some of the first to both bring supplies in and evacuees out from these areas were private pilots and their owned/rented aircraft. Without pilots and airports these missions are impossible. People widely believe only the Coast Guard and National Guard were there to help. This is simply not true.
Angel Flights serve an important role. If you don't believe me, ask many of the patients who receive critical care which would otherwise not be available to them. Without airports, these types of missions are not possible. Without pilots, these types of missions are not possible.
What's my point? If you've ever been interesting in learning to fly, go get a discovery flight. They typically cost $50 for a 30-45 minute introductory flight. You'll likely get to fly for the first time. Furthermore, if you hear about an airport closing, don't forget to support the airport. They often bring millions of dollars into your local economy and dozens to hundreds of jobs; directly or indirectly. Lastly, don't support additional taxes on pilots, aircraft, airports, and fuel. Pilots are already paying their fair share in taxes, contrary to what the FAA and airlines would have you believe.
Believe it or not, saving airports and helping pilots is actually helping your self and your community. Remember, pilots are your friends and neighbours. They are not the aristocracy portrayed in TV and movies.
In the end, the best thing to do is to simply let someone know when you're flying, where you're going, the route you're taking, and the time you expect to arrive.
Opps, that should read:
In the end, the best thing to do is to simply let someone know when you're flying, where you're going, the route you're taking, and the time you expect to arrive, and the tail number of your aircraft.