I think you misunderstand me. It's a cool device, and for people who don't need those extra features, it's a great value. Like GPP, I was merely pointing out that it *is* missing several features that are becoming ubiquitous on tablets. If I came across as "slagging" it, then I apologize, since that wasn't my intention.
In anycase, while it is possible to hot-spot a smart phone to give a wifi-only pad internet access when on the road (I've done this many times)...
I've used my Android phone to provide Internet connectivity (through the USB cable) for my netbook and laptops, but I haven't tried to set it up as a WiFi hotspot for my Android tablet*. Honestly, I didn't know that was even possible. I'm going to have to look into doing this:)
*The tablet is 4G capable, but I've been a little too cash-strapped recently to want to spring for a data plan for both my phone and tablet, so I've only got data services on the phone (which is CDMA, so I can't use it's SIM card on the tablet).
Those devices were far overpriced. They tried to compete with the iPad at the iPad's price point with an inferior device...Most people to this point have thought that you had to spend $500 and up for one of these little tablet internet surfing thingys.
I won't argue that that's true for a large number of devices. However, it's not true for all of them. Here's a pretty good tablet starting at $299, vs. the iPad2 starting at $499. Even though the Streak's screen is a little smaller, it's actually a pretty good device -- good enough that I wouldn't be willing to pay the extra $200 for a 3-inch larger iPad2 (and while I'm not a rabid fanboy, I do like Apple's stuff).
Without a camera or mike, which I myself never use anyway on a tablet.
And without GPS. While I don't use the mike very often, I *do* use the camera on my tablet, and I certainly use the GPS. I had considered getting a Nook Color and rooting it for a $150 Android tablet, but I'm much happier with my Dell Streak 7 which includes the camera (two, actually...) and GPS and Kindle app AND Nook app.
I didn't RTFA either, but from the comments elsewhere it looks like this is indeed how they did it. Nonetheless, you're right. Anyone drinking enough coffee to power a car would no longer need the car to commute, LOL.
Not necessarily -- at least for coffee beans and the like. Search Google, and you'll see tutorials on converting your *USED* coffee grounds into fire-starter logs (like the Duraflame logs sold in grocery stores). With coffee, tea, etc., you can use the product as you normally would, then recycle the leftover grounds for your fuel source. Just imagine how much fuel you could produce by recycling the used grounds from every Starbucks and Duncan Donuts in the U.S.:)
Hmmm...that comment history almost looks like one of the AI experiments that learned to converse by parsing 4chan posts as described on./ a little while back. I'd say ole Mikey fails the Turing Test, myself. LOL.
While I agree with your overall sentiment, I think in this case, your anger is misplaced. This looks a lot more like a spam filter doing what it was supposed to do rather than government censorship. Absent any evidence to suggest that the government pressured Yahoo into blocking these e-mails, I'm not inclined to blame the Feds for this one.
Yes, I think they should shoulder more of the burden...It doesn't make sense.
In other words, you are telling me, "Even though you have stats and a source to rebuff my claims, I'm going to stick to my intuition, anyway." That's called prejudice, my friend, and that means we are at an impasse on this point. I won't waste any more time debating it, then.
I would, however, debate whether the rich or the poor benefit the most from public services. Think about it for a minute. Public schools? Not the rich; they pay taxes, but send their kids to private school. Public transportation? As if. The rich have limousines to take them where they want to go. Police? Yeah, to some extent...but the rich also hire private security firms and bodyguards, so even this service is likely to be used more by the lower and middle classes than the rich. Roads and other transportation infrastructure? That would be a tough call. Without those roads and infrastructure, no goods could get to market, which certainly would impact the rich, but I would argue that it would benefit the other classes just as much. I'd call it even. I am honestly curious, however, which public services the rich use that makes you think they are primary beneficiaries of the services paid for with their (our) tax dollars?
I ask you this: what would be the ideal tax structure in your world? How much should the various income groups and wealth groups pay and for what reason should they pay what you suggest?
Now that is a good question, and one I've spent quite a bit of time considering. I'm not dead set on an answer, but for now, at least, I'm pretty much in favor of a flat tax across the board for everyone who is at some threshold above the poverty level. That threshold would have to depend upon what the tax percentage is set at, since it wouldn't make much sense to tax the bottom tier of taxpayers at a rate such that their net income sinks below poverty level, but since their gross is above the poverty level, they don't qualify for any aid or assistance. My reasoning is thus: yes, those who can most afford to pay for public services should therefore be paying the most, and those who can least afford it shouldn't have to choose between feeding their kids and paying taxes.
I personally think that income ought to be taxed at a slightly lower rate that currently on a progressive scale...
Okay...not how I would do it, but I don't have any major criticisms of this tax structure so far.
...and instead we ought to tax non-earned income and non-business assets at a fairly high rate, with additional taxes on large profits by corporations, here or abroad (if you do business in this country, you pay for the right to do business here). That would need to be tweaked according to the realities of the those forms of income and wealth, but the overall goal is to punish hoarding and seeking out obscene profits and personal gains at the expense of the system.
But I'm not at all okay with this. Let me ask you a question...what is the difference between a tax and a fine? If you get a fine for speeding, where does that money go? To the state, or muni, or whoever pulled you over, right? And that fine is used to pay for public services, like police departments, road maintenance, etc., right? In other words, it gets used for the "public good" exactly like a tax. The only difference that I can see, is that a fine is a tax for doing something wrong, and a tax is a fine for doing something right. So what you are saying in your argument above, is that you want to fine corporations if they do well ("large profits")? And you contradict yourself -- or at least, you only address half the issue -- when you say that you want these fines^Wtaxes on corporations, whether they operat
Yeah, I had wondered about using an Arduino to deploy the parachute. I've been watching YouTube videos of a guy who builds KNO3/sugar rockets (his user name is solidskateboards, I think...something like that, anyway) and he was trying to use springs, steel balls and relays to trigger the parachute release. He had all kinds of problems working out the bugs (I think it was a bounce problem), and destroyed a number of rockets before he finally got it to work correctly. Fortunately, none of them were carrying $5K of equipment:)
You speak as if it's wrong that the wealthiest pay 85% of the taxes collected, even though they own 90% of the assets of this country.
That's my point, though! People keep saying that 85% of the taxes are owned by those who have 90% (or more) of the resources. To that, I reply: "[citation needed]". I keep posting that the group that pays 85% of the taxes, owns 66% of the resources, and I've posted a citation numerous times in this thread showing where that figure comes from. And people like you keep screaming that the rich should shoulder even more of the burden!
...they do some cool rocketry stuff which that little board fits nicely into...
Could I twist your arm into sharing? Pretty please? I've been looking at Arduino and Raspberry Pi for a few projects along those lines, and I'm really, really curious what others are doing along these lines (and how, of course).
Did you actually look at the reference I cited? The graph states that 85% of the taxes are paid by the top 25% of the wealthy, but that same group only has 66% of the income, not "...more than 85% of the wealth..." as you claim. If you want to refute that statistic, that's fine, but back it up with sources.
I am not a carpenter (or other construction worker) but I sometimes play one at home. I am well aware of the risks associated with manual labor, and that, as well as a typically higher salary, is why I chose a career in IT. But yes, it is "just a different type of work."
Slashdot Mirror
Depends upon the book :)
I think you misunderstand me. It's a cool device, and for people who don't need those extra features, it's a great value. Like GPP, I was merely pointing out that it *is* missing several features that are becoming ubiquitous on tablets. If I came across as "slagging" it, then I apologize, since that wasn't my intention.
Streak 7 or Streak 5? IIRC, the 5 *is* a phone. The 7...not so much.
In anycase, while it is possible to hot-spot a smart phone to give a wifi-only pad internet access when on the road (I've done this many times)...
I've used my Android phone to provide Internet connectivity (through the USB cable) for my netbook and laptops, but I haven't tried to set it up as a WiFi hotspot for my Android tablet*. Honestly, I didn't know that was even possible. I'm going to have to look into doing this :)
*The tablet is 4G capable, but I've been a little too cash-strapped recently to want to spring for a data plan for both my phone and tablet, so I've only got data services on the phone (which is CDMA, so I can't use it's SIM card on the tablet).
Those devices were far overpriced. They tried to compete with the iPad at the iPad's price point with an inferior device...Most people to this point have thought that you had to spend $500 and up for one of these little tablet internet surfing thingys.
I won't argue that that's true for a large number of devices. However, it's not true for all of them. Here's a pretty good tablet starting at $299, vs. the iPad2 starting at $499. Even though the Streak's screen is a little smaller, it's actually a pretty good device -- good enough that I wouldn't be willing to pay the extra $200 for a 3-inch larger iPad2 (and while I'm not a rabid fanboy, I do like Apple's stuff).
Without a camera or mike, which I myself never use anyway on a tablet.
And without GPS. While I don't use the mike very often, I *do* use the camera on my tablet, and I certainly use the GPS. I had considered getting a Nook Color and rooting it for a $150 Android tablet, but I'm much happier with my Dell Streak 7 which includes the camera (two, actually...) and GPS and Kindle app AND Nook app.
Thing is, lets face it, the people who own tablets don't read books. Of all the people I know with tablets, they never mention reading on it.
Me: Hi, my name is Mike, and I read books on my Dell Streak Tablet.
Tablet Readers Anonymous group: Hi, Mike.
It was funnier than the post you were responding to, but perhaps I lack a sense of humor as well :)
Eurotrash? I know the post was (supposed to be) in jest, but you do realize that New Zealand is nowhere near Europe, right?
Make that six states, then. I saw the aurora last night, just before midnight, in Alaska.
I didn't RTFA either, but from the comments elsewhere it looks like this is indeed how they did it. Nonetheless, you're right. Anyone drinking enough coffee to power a car would no longer need the car to commute, LOL.
Not necessarily -- at least for coffee beans and the like. Search Google, and you'll see tutorials on converting your *USED* coffee grounds into fire-starter logs (like the Duraflame logs sold in grocery stores). With coffee, tea, etc., you can use the product as you normally would, then recycle the leftover grounds for your fuel source. Just imagine how much fuel you could produce by recycling the used grounds from every Starbucks and Duncan Donuts in the U.S. :)
Hmmm...that comment history almost looks like one of the AI experiments that learned to converse by parsing 4chan posts as described on ./ a little while back. I'd say ole Mikey fails the Turing Test, myself. LOL.
At least you didn't end this post with "You're an idiot" so I'll give you props for displaying a little more originality this time =)
While I agree with your overall sentiment, I think in this case, your anger is misplaced. This looks a lot more like a spam filter doing what it was supposed to do rather than government censorship. Absent any evidence to suggest that the government pressured Yahoo into blocking these e-mails, I'm not inclined to blame the Feds for this one.
...but it's a common enough thing to be weary of.
I think you meant "wary"...although both words work in this context :D
Do you always end every post with the tag line "You're an idiot."?
If so...
You're an idiot. And annoying, to boot.
Yeah, I really do think.
Yes, I think they should shoulder more of the burden...It doesn't make sense.
In other words, you are telling me, "Even though you have stats and a source to rebuff my claims, I'm going to stick to my intuition, anyway." That's called prejudice, my friend, and that means we are at an impasse on this point. I won't waste any more time debating it, then.
I would, however, debate whether the rich or the poor benefit the most from public services. Think about it for a minute. Public schools? Not the rich; they pay taxes, but send their kids to private school. Public transportation? As if. The rich have limousines to take them where they want to go. Police? Yeah, to some extent...but the rich also hire private security firms and bodyguards, so even this service is likely to be used more by the lower and middle classes than the rich. Roads and other transportation infrastructure? That would be a tough call. Without those roads and infrastructure, no goods could get to market, which certainly would impact the rich, but I would argue that it would benefit the other classes just as much. I'd call it even. I am honestly curious, however, which public services the rich use that makes you think they are primary beneficiaries of the services paid for with their (our) tax dollars?
I ask you this: what would be the ideal tax structure in your world? How much should the various income groups and wealth groups pay and for what reason should they pay what you suggest?
Now that is a good question, and one I've spent quite a bit of time considering. I'm not dead set on an answer, but for now, at least, I'm pretty much in favor of a flat tax across the board for everyone who is at some threshold above the poverty level. That threshold would have to depend upon what the tax percentage is set at, since it wouldn't make much sense to tax the bottom tier of taxpayers at a rate such that their net income sinks below poverty level, but since their gross is above the poverty level, they don't qualify for any aid or assistance. My reasoning is thus: yes, those who can most afford to pay for public services should therefore be paying the most, and those who can least afford it shouldn't have to choose between feeding their kids and paying taxes.
I personally think that income ought to be taxed at a slightly lower rate that currently on a progressive scale...
Okay...not how I would do it, but I don't have any major criticisms of this tax structure so far.
...and instead we ought to tax non-earned income and non-business assets at a fairly high rate, with additional taxes on large profits by corporations, here or abroad (if you do business in this country, you pay for the right to do business here). That would need to be tweaked according to the realities of the those forms of income and wealth, but the overall goal is to punish hoarding and seeking out obscene profits and personal gains at the expense of the system.
But I'm not at all okay with this. Let me ask you a question...what is the difference between a tax and a fine? If you get a fine for speeding, where does that money go? To the state, or muni, or whoever pulled you over, right? And that fine is used to pay for public services, like police departments, road maintenance, etc., right? In other words, it gets used for the "public good" exactly like a tax. The only difference that I can see, is that a fine is a tax for doing something wrong, and a tax is a fine for doing something right. So what you are saying in your argument above, is that you want to fine corporations if they do well ("large profits")? And you contradict yourself -- or at least, you only address half the issue -- when you say that you want these fines^Wtaxes on corporations, whether they operat
Yeah, I had wondered about using an Arduino to deploy the parachute. I've been watching YouTube videos of a guy who builds KNO3/sugar rockets (his user name is solidskateboards, I think...something like that, anyway) and he was trying to use springs, steel balls and relays to trigger the parachute release. He had all kinds of problems working out the bugs (I think it was a bounce problem), and destroyed a number of rockets before he finally got it to work correctly. Fortunately, none of them were carrying $5K of equipment :)
Cool...thanks for the info, and good luck with your project -- and I hope the new, green kid comes up to speed quickly ;)
You speak as if it's wrong that the wealthiest pay 85% of the taxes collected, even though they own 90% of the assets of this country.
That's my point, though! People keep saying that 85% of the taxes are owned by those who have 90% (or more) of the resources. To that, I reply: "[citation needed]". I keep posting that the group that pays 85% of the taxes, owns 66% of the resources, and I've posted a citation numerous times in this thread showing where that figure comes from. And people like you keep screaming that the rich should shoulder even more of the burden!
...they do some cool rocketry stuff which that little board fits nicely into...
Could I twist your arm into sharing? Pretty please? I've been looking at Arduino and Raspberry Pi for a few projects along those lines, and I'm really, really curious what others are doing along these lines (and how, of course).
Did you actually look at the reference I cited? The graph states that 85% of the taxes are paid by the top 25% of the wealthy, but that same group only has 66% of the income, not "...more than 85% of the wealth..." as you claim. If you want to refute that statistic, that's fine, but back it up with sources.
I am not a carpenter (or other construction worker) but I sometimes play one at home. I am well aware of the risks associated with manual labor, and that, as well as a typically higher salary, is why I chose a career in IT. But yes, it is "just a different type of work."