I still don't understand people's fascination with the iphone. It's not a terrible device as far as I can tell, but it's not the only phone in town. There are numerous Android devices which offer matching or superior performance, without all the BS restrictions apple has.
It seems like I can't read an article about phones services without hearing a mention of it. I was just reading one about T-Mobile, and it included something to the effect of "T-Mobile launched the iphone in germany earlier, but was unable to say whether it would come to the US". Like it is so damned important if it does, like it is the only phone that really matters. T-Mobile has several great Android devices, including the G2, that make the question of the iphone irrelevant.
It's mostly a product of apples marketing, and the fact people are morons. Most people are too stupid to realize that the iphone isn't the only smartphone in existence and as such is the only one they known about. They make it easy because there is only one or two devices you ever need to know about. As far as I am concerned, if you are too stupid to be able to handle more than 2 phones, you probably shouldn't be using one in the first place.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Japan Nuclear Situation, Update
So far, Japan is not yet at the Chernobyl level. My educated guess is that it won't ever get that bad, even in the worse case. However, things do seem to be deteriorating. Information from Japanese authorities conflicts with that from American Nuclear experts. I know it's a stereotype, but the Japanese aren't exactly known for being open when things go wrong, like they don't want to admit it. See the Toyota recall for an example. I certainly hope this is not the case here, but it sure seems like it.
Interesting to note that it sounds like much of the damage may not have been from the quake as I assumed, but from the ensuing tsunami. It sounds like the plant largely survived the quake. Then, the wave swamped the plant, killing their backup generators. This caused the reactors to overheat out of control, bringing us to the current situation. The plant appears to be built on the shore, which doesn't seem like the best of ideas in a place prone to earthquakes and consequently tsunami.
This situation is still surreal. This is not some shoddy Soviet design, but what appears to be a reasonably safe design that was pushed far beyond it's limit.
Also, please, stop comparing this to Three Mile Island. That was a non-event as far as disasters are concerned, and almost no radiation was released. Unfortunately, the comparisons to Chernobyl might be gaining accuracy.
Interesting to note that it sounds like much of the damage may not have been from the quake as I assumed, but from the ensuing tsunami. It sounds like the plant largely survived the quake. Then, the wave swamped the plant, killing their backup generators. This caused the reactors to overheat out of control, bringing us to the current situation. The plant appears to be built on the shore, which doesn't seem like the best of ideas in a place prone to earthquakes and consequently tsunami.
This situation is still surreal. This is not some shoddy Soviet design, but what appears to be a reasonably safe design that was pushed far beyond it's limit.
Also, please, stop comparing this to Three Mile Island. That was a non-event as far as disasters are concerned, and almost no radiation was released. Unfortunately, the comparisons to Chernobyl might be gaining accuracy.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Nuclear Power
I originally wrote this last night but did not post until now:
In the wake of the recent Japanese earthquake, there has been a lot of discussion on nuclear power. Several countries have made immediate statements and even have taken actions to shutdown their reactors. This is a perfect example of mob thinking, which is exacerbated by the media and frequently seems to be the primary driving force behind the policy decisions of governments. The point is that, in my opinion, the collective knowledge of nuclear dangers has not changed as a result of this event. If it took this disaster for these countries to realize the dangers of nuclear power, they clearly didn't understand these dangers and as such should not been pursuing it in the first place.
Nuclear power can be very dangerous, or very useful if properly controlled. If you asked me at any point (going back years) if I thought nuclear power in Japan was a good idea, I would have told you "no". Why? For the simple reason that it is a very earthquake prone region. I'd have given them some credit in that I would assume they would have taken that into account and designed accordingly. Still, it always seemed like a bad idea to me. I have a strong interest in nuclear power and as such have had this opinion for years. I have known for a long time that Japan has many reactors, and always thought this wasn't the best idea.
Put a different way, they built a potentially dangerous thing in a dumb place. This should have little to no effect on the policy of the same thing built in an intelligent place. The problem here is not the inherent danger of nuclear power, it is that they didn't understand this danger.
There is a nuclear station about 60 miles south of where I live, give or take, a major metro area. The local utility wanted to build another reactor there, which would have been the first in many years in the US. I think this is a good idea because it will offset some of our use of coal in the area. Now, who knows if it will happen. Thing is, it is a very safe place geologically for such an installation. Where I live is a downright "earthquake free" area due to the fact we are sitting on a giant slab of solid rock.
A subtopic, which in this case can partly be blamed on Japanese authorities, is that news outlets don't give any sense of scale of the danger in this situation. This is the same news media that will mention both Three Mile Island and Chernobyl in the same conversation as though they are comparable. Chernobyl was a nuclear nightmare caused be a malfunction in a horribly designed plant, where Three Mile was a major malfunction that only allowed a tiny amount of radiation to escape. For the Japanese reactors, they talk about the radiation that has escaped, but people freak out when they hear "radiation" and don't realize that the amount is important. It can be the difference between a light tap on the shoulder and getting shot in the face with a .44. Right now, they seem to be in the tap phase.
Before I'm done, I want to add that the nuclear situation in Japan is teetering on the edge right now, and has the potential to get way worse. A few of the reactors have lost coolant ability, which is like crossing the streams on the danger scale. I hope for their sake that they get it under control and wish them the best.
In the wake of the recent Japanese earthquake, there has been a lot of discussion on nuclear power. Several countries have made immediate statements and even have taken actions to shutdown their reactors. This is a perfect example of mob thinking, which is exacerbated by the media and frequently seems to be the primary driving force behind the policy decisions of governments. The point is that, in my opinion, the collective knowledge of nuclear dangers has not changed as a result of this event. If it took this disaster for these countries to realize the dangers of nuclear power, they clearly didn't understand these dangers and as such should not been pursuing it in the first place.
Nuclear power can be very dangerous, or very useful if properly controlled. If you asked me at any point (going back years) if I thought nuclear power in Japan was a good idea, I would have told you "no". Why? For the simple reason that it is a very earthquake prone region. I'd have given them some credit in that I would assume they would have taken that into account and designed accordingly. Still, it always seemed like a bad idea to me. I have a strong interest in nuclear power and as such have had this opinion for years. I have known for a long time that Japan has many reactors, and always thought this wasn't the best idea.
Put a different way, they built a potentially dangerous thing in a dumb place. This should have little to no effect on the policy of the same thing built in an intelligent place. The problem here is not the inherent danger of nuclear power, it is that they didn't understand this danger.
There is a nuclear station about 60 miles south of where I live, give or take, a major metro area. The local utility wanted to build another reactor there, which would have been the first in many years in the US. I think this is a good idea because it will offset some of our use of coal in the area. Now, who knows if it will happen. Thing is, it is a very safe place geologically for such an installation. Where I live is a downright "earthquake free" area due to the fact we are sitting on a giant slab of solid rock.
A subtopic, which in this case can partly be blamed on Japanese authorities, is that news outlets don't give any sense of scale of the danger in this situation. This is the same news media that will mention both Three Mile Island and Chernobyl in the same conversation as though they are comparable. Chernobyl was a nuclear nightmare caused be a malfunction in a horribly designed plant, where Three Mile was a major malfunction that only allowed a tiny amount of radiation to escape. For the Japanese reactors, they talk about the radiation that has escaped, but people freak out when they hear "radiation" and don't realize that the amount is important. It can be the difference between a light tap on the shoulder and getting shot in the face with a .44. Right now, they seem to be in the tap phase.
Before I'm done, I want to add that the nuclear situation in Japan is teetering on the edge right now, and has the potential to get way worse. A few of the reactors have lost coolant ability, which is like crossing the streams on the danger scale. I hope for their sake that they get it under control and wish them the best.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Errr, Huh?
http://www.usr.com/
Yep, it's the same US Robotics we all new and loved in the 90s for their dialup modems.
...
Which is apparently still their main business.
How is this possible? How is it possible that 56k analog modems are still profitable?
WTF?
It doesn't so much surprise me that 56k modems are still available as it does that a major name in 56k modems... is still a major name in 56k modems a decade after they started to become obsolete. They were an innovator in the late 90s, and today they make the same shit they did in the late 90s.
My laptop actually has a 56k modem. No idea if it works, never tried it. I actually had to go check just now to confirm it was there. Really, it isn't crazy to have a "lowest common denominator" option, but to be a name brand who's business is largely based on obsolete technology? Strange. It's one thing for it to be integrated into the chipset or for it to be from a no name maker, but wtf.
Even weirder is that POTS* seems to be dying out; a large number of people have their phone service over their internets, not the other way around. Even AT&T UVerse phone works this way - it basically is DSL, and thusly over an old skool phone line, which has high speed data "ghetto rigged" on top of it. And they use the DSL for IP phone service now.
On top of all of that, my CELLPHONE can get 4-5 MBps real world speed. I used it all afternoon today working in a motorhome away from any wired connection. You would not have known it was over a cell if I didn't tell you; it was at DSL/cable speeds.
*Plain Old Telephone Service
Yep, it's the same US Robotics we all new and loved in the 90s for their dialup modems.
...
Which is apparently still their main business.
How is this possible? How is it possible that 56k analog modems are still profitable?
WTF?
It doesn't so much surprise me that 56k modems are still available as it does that a major name in 56k modems... is still a major name in 56k modems a decade after they started to become obsolete. They were an innovator in the late 90s, and today they make the same shit they did in the late 90s.
My laptop actually has a 56k modem. No idea if it works, never tried it. I actually had to go check just now to confirm it was there. Really, it isn't crazy to have a "lowest common denominator" option, but to be a name brand who's business is largely based on obsolete technology? Strange. It's one thing for it to be integrated into the chipset or for it to be from a no name maker, but wtf.
Even weirder is that POTS* seems to be dying out; a large number of people have their phone service over their internets, not the other way around. Even AT&T UVerse phone works this way - it basically is DSL, and thusly over an old skool phone line, which has high speed data "ghetto rigged" on top of it. And they use the DSL for IP phone service now.
On top of all of that, my CELLPHONE can get 4-5 MBps real world speed. I used it all afternoon today working in a motorhome away from any wired connection. You would not have known it was over a cell if I didn't tell you; it was at DSL/cable speeds.
*Plain Old Telephone Service
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