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Comment Re:I have questions... (Score 1) 72

What you pay a true premium for is when Shit Happens at 2AM and your network goes haywire, forcing the IT professional to rely on the trained technical support they paid a lot for and expect to get at 2AM in order to save their ass.

If you need trained technical support to troubleshoot an issue with a switch you aren't much of an IT Professional, IMHO.

In 20+ years in this profession I've never needed technical support on a switch for anything other than a hardware failure requiring RMA/warranty service. Cisco would certainly be less frustrating in this regard, because I wouldn't have to jump through the Tier 1 nonsense to convince them it actually is a hardware failure, as opposed to an ID10T error, but I haven't dealt with enough switch failures to justify the Cisco Premium for this scenario.

I could be a real snob and make the same statement about routers and firewalls. Admittedly a higher bar there, more that can go wrong configuration wise, still, unless we're talking super small business here, you should have enough in-house expertise to manage them with whatever configuration you need.

Comment Re:Just something else for Sony to fuck up. (Score 2) 22

We just have to hope they are willing to invest, and to fire the current show runners

Fixed that for you. ;)

Also, on a more serious note, I know it runs counter to modern day TV, but I would argue the very last thing Trek needs to be is a franchise. TNG was novel because it was all that was on the air at the time. By the time they got to ENT the franchise was burned out and ratings reflected it. I have a lot of issues with NuTrek, but I do really enjoy SNW, can find redeeming things about DSC, but if they try to make it into the Trek version of the Marvel Universe or copy what Disney has done with Star Wars they're going to burn it the fuck out.

Comment Re:A Phoneless iPhone for Andre the Giant Sized Ha (Score 3) 124

Disagree. My iPad fills two niches: I read on it, a lot, both eBooks and general web browsing. I could do these things on my significantly smaller iPhone but that hurts both my eyes and wrists after a while. The other niche, streaming video, on the road and at home when away from the TV (e.g., in bed, out on the porch, etc.) Streaming video isn't as fun on an iPad as it is on a large 4K television but I can't take the 4K TV with me on a flight or intercity rail ride, and while the iPhone could do this, the iPad is the perfect balance between screen size and portability.

Another minor niche, video calls with friends. I tend to prefer an actual laptop for this use case but if it's unavailable or I'm too lazy to go get it, the iPad is better than the phone.

I'll confess I don't understand the folks using iPads as a laptop replacement. I get illustrators who use them, I have a contingent of those at work I support, but the road warriors I see in airports using iPad Pros as a laptop replacement, uhh, why?! It's just as large as a real laptop -- hell, some of the extreme iPads are LARGER -- and a lot less flexible.

Comment Re:Did someone actually say this? (Score 1) 314

Your comment below tells me you don't understand nearly as much about this subject as you think you do. Tell me, how does shielding the radio keep an external antenna from picking up on EMI generated by your alternator? Power window motors? The drivetrain motors on an EV and regenerative braking system on EVs/Hybrids? It's shielding these disparate sources of EMI/RFI that's complicated. It's not an unsolvable problem, just one the auto industry would rather not deal with. Unless this mandate compels them to do so, you can fully expect your mandated AM radio to have incredibly lousy reception.

Comment Re:Did someone actually say this? (Score 1) 314

The alternate kit of fix-a-flat and portable air compressor that shipped with my car retails for close to the same as the spare wheel + tire + jack. If you care enough to go down the rabbit hole, this trend started in the mid 2010s, and nearly all industry watchers attribute it to the need to squeeze every last ounce of weight and fuel efficiency out of automobiles so they can meet mileage standards.

Comment Re:AM radio is nothing in terms of volts. (Score 2) 314

I suspect it's more about selling satellite radio subscriptions. They push that hard with newer cars

Who is "they"? My last three cars had satellite radio capability but aside from a few e-mail/snail mail nags, nobody ever tried to push it on me, wasn't even mentioned by the salesperson that sought every other opportunity (extended warranty, dealership financing, blah, blah, blah) to make himself some extra bank.

I'm sure the automobile makers don't mind the tiny bit of revenue sharing they get from satellite radio but how serious of a market is it these days? I would imagine that satellite radio isn't competing against AM/FM, it's competing against streaming music served via Bluetooth/CarPlay/Android Auto. How many people do you know who DON'T have a smartphone and some sort of streaming music service? If you can endure ads, they're free, and if you want to pay, well, pick your platform, they're all cheaper than Sirius XM.

About the only argument in favor of Sirius is it doesn't need Internet connectivity. Of course, neither do offline playlists with the popular music apps, but I suppose if you frequently drive through cellular dead zones Sirius might have some appeal. I drive through them rarely enough that I just go to an offline playlist and/or find the nearest NPR affiliate on AM/FM.

Comment Re:Did someone actually say this? (Score 1, Informative) 314

The need to meet mileage standards these days is so pressing that my recent vehicle purchase omitted a spare tire. Omitting the <50lbs of spare tire, jack, and associated equipment has a pretty insignificant effect on mileage, but it's not zero, and when every drop counts...

I wholeheartedly agree with you about EMI shielding, for what it's worth, but the FCC has precious little control over automobiles. The EPA and NHTSA on the other hand.... :(

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