"I agree and actually didn't (intend to) say that. I was more lamenting the lack of choice than anything else." - Point well taken.

"Bill Gates is a perfect example of an absolute bastard who fucked over many people, now trying to get perceived as a good guy (while still actually fucking people over)." - He's just taking a page right out of the Robber Baron's playbook. This is the same thing that Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, and J.P. Morgan did. They spent their whole lives fucking people over and accumulating vast sums of wealth. They gave some money away at the end and that is mostly what they are remembered for.

"You're not trying to suggest that there's any such thing as a US politician that isn't corrupt are you?' - Not in the least. I think that there are some honorable politicians but once they get to the top of the heap all the morals are left behind. Having said that, it doesn't excuse Clinton's behavior by saying that everyone else is corrupt. That's just a cop out.

Yes but this time Hillary really stepped in it. Whether you are a Republican or a Democrat it is impossible to overlook what she has done in recent times. The whole email server fiasco. The slippery dealings with the Clinton Foundation. The worst case scenario is that she has broken several laws. The best case scenario is that it looks really, really suspect.

This is not just some right wing conspiracy. She broke rules at the State department by storing official government correspondence on a private email server in her home. Then, if that wasn't enough, she destroys all the evidence.

The Clinton Foundation stinks to high heaven. Millions of dollars flowing in from foreign governments while Bill gets huge speaking fees followed by contracts being approved. All within the space of a few days. Not just once but many times over the course of her tenure at the State department. The Clinton Foundation now has to refile tax returns going back 5 years because of misstated donation amounts and donations not recorded at all. Only 10% of the money the foundation collects actually goes to the charitable causes they support. 10%. Where did the other 90% of the money go? If you are a doner how would you feel knowing that only 10% of the money you donated actually reached the source? This completely invalidates the claim that the donations were simply humanitarian in nature. Obviously the money was to curry favor. The doners could care less what happened to the money as long as they get their quid pro quo.

Carly has a specific role for the Republicans. Her job is to go after Hillary Clinton. If any of the male Republican candidates went after Hillary they would be accused of being "sexist" or some other form of "ist". Carly can get away with it because she is a woman. Sadly this is the world we live in.

Fiorina is the official attack dog for the Presidential campaign. It matters not whether she makes it through the Republican primary. If she succeeds in weakening Clinton then her job is done.

If Fiorina plays this right she might end up as the Vice Presidential nominee paired with whomever ends up winning the Republican nomination. These days, the VP ends up playing attack dog in the Presidential campaigns. The President is seen as being above the fray while his surrogates dish out all the dirty politics. Nobody will care about her failed HP ventures as a VP nominee. They will only see that she is a woman on the ticket and the Republicans will get points for that.

I was under the impression that much of what IBM does involves very large projects and often with packaged software such as SAP or even some of their own software.

Typically in packaged software like SAP or Oracle they deliver functionality that you can build upon to suit the customers requirements. But it has to be built upon using frameworks that they provide and - more importantly - it has to be done in a way that doesn't break what is delivered. These systems contain literally millions of lines of code. Any time you try to bolt something on to it you run the risk of breaking something. Often in very unpredictable ways.

As a result these projects need to be managed in a very formal fashion. Agile just doesn't lend itself well to this sort of thing in my experience. Maybe some sort of hybrid model but certainly not Agile as I know it.

Just on the face of it "IBM" and "Agile" could not be further apart.

never going to fly. Why? Because it sounds too much like everyone gets the same quality of education in that scenario. Rich and upper middle class families don't want that. Why? Because they paid lots of money to buy a home in a neighborhood with other wealthy home owners. High value homes pay higher property tax and more property tax means more money for schools. Which means that Jr. gets an unfair advantage (one of many, but that's another issue) over kids in less wealthy families. And the folks with money are going to do everything they can to keep it that way. End of story.

I think that all mobile operating systems are suffering from this now. Mobile has matured to the point that phones now do just about everything we need them to do. So the problem now becomes, why buy a new phone?

I'm actually faced with this problem. My contract is up in September and my year and a half phone is still good. It has a 1080p display. It's fast. Lots of storage. The newer phones are better but only marginally.

So given that the hardware has matured the only other option is to add more things to the OS. Some of which will require a newer phone to use. That way, people have to upgrade the phone to use that shiny new feature.

Personally, I think this is part of the reason that so few phones now allow you to replace the battery. The battery is likely the first component to go so by making it non-replacable some people are likely to just get a new phone rather than a new battery.

The question is not will energy costs go up over time. They will. The question is how much. Solar City doesn't know. Neither do I. Neither do you. Yet SC is presenting their numbers as facts. They are projecting savings to potential customers that are pure speculation. That's what I take issue with.

I'm all for renewables, don't get me wrong. I want a clean environment as much as the next guy.

That's how Musk makes his money. By selling over priced panels supported by dodgy break even calculations. Buying your own panels is the way to go. I know people that have done it and it's not that difficult.

"Not installing solar now because you're worried that solar is going to get better is just depriving yourself of the benefits that you enjoy by doing it sooner" - What benefits? Not economic, that's for sure. The numbers Solar City gave me showed a net savings of $30 a month. That's it - 30 bucks a month. And that is assuming you buy into their calculations - which I don't. As I mentioned, they cannot control the rates that the utility company pays for the power you sell them back and the rate increases are merely speculation on their part.

the economics don't add up. Others on this thread have already done the math for us. If you're off the grid or have a remote cabin somewhere this could be a great idea, combined with solar panels. But for the typical on the grid residential customer it just doesn't add up.

Part of the problem is the off peak rates that are part of the equation. The power companies are already pushing back on the amount they are willing to pay solar customers for excess power that is sold back to them from solar customers. A lot of people that bought panels were counting on those rebates and now their payback period is going to be much longer. Same thing will happen to off peak rates if this battery idea takes off.

What happens if you buy this battery and a year or two down the road someone comes out with a battery that is twice as efficient as the one you have? You're stuck with old technology that you can't trade in or sell easily. This is the exact question I asked Solar City when I was considering solar panels for my house. They told me you can't trade up to the newer panels. You have to pay off the first panels and then lease or buy the new ones. Their payoff calculation for the panels is based on two things that Solar City cannot control - the amount that the utility company will pay you for excess power and the amount of money that utility rates will rise in the future. No thanks.

It's kind of like buying a new computer or TV. You know that next years model will be better and cheaper. Except that instead of a $1000 computer you are taking about $20,000 solar panels. Or $6,500 batteries.

is that Americans will always drive big cars and trucks. We like big roads and wide open spaces. We like the space and utility that a truck offers. We like the feeling of security that driving a big hulking SUV offers.

Hybrids and electrics are a nice idea but for many people they are wholly impractical. Too small, too expensive compared to a gas powered equivalent, limited hauling capability. The high mileage ratings are for city driving. Once you get out on the freeway the advantage is lessened. For a lot of Americans, their daily commute is on the freeway.

Frankly, if I was looking for a vehicle that got great gas mileage I would buy a diesel. Better highway mileage, less complex than an hybrid, proven long term reliability.

The decades long crap-opoly that the TV networks have enjoyed is crumbling down before them. Netflix IS the future of TV. The networks know this. But like every other monopoly they are trapped by their business model. If they try to pivot towards the streaming trend they risk losing revenue from their current business model. CEO's, and shareholders, are rewarded based on current earnings. CEO's, despite what they might say, are concerned about this quarter not what is happening 5 years from now. If they fail to deliver THIS QUARTER they are out on their ass. So they continue to milk the monopoly cow and let someone else deal with 5 years from now.

The only real remedy they have is the court system. They will litigate and litigate and litigate until the little guy gives up.

But Netflix isn't going to give up. Even after the shakedown from Verizon (forced to pay up so that Verizon won't slow them down) they are still doing fine. The original content is brilliant - right out of the HBO playbook. And you know what? Their original programming is excellent. I think that House Of Cards is the best show on TV. That alone is worth the $9 a month.

Compared to what the networks charge per month a Netflix membership is an absolute steal. Not only do they have excellent choices but it is geared towards what I want to watch, not the slop served up by network TV.

For years these pricks have been ripping off their customers with deceptive pricing and dealer networks that are nothing more than a middle man. They want you to believe that you have to bring your car to the dealer for service but if you read the fine print you will see that any competent neighborhood mechanic can service you car and not void the warranty.

Then along comes Tesla and Uber and others that threaten their monopolies. So instead of changing their business to suit the way consumers want it they double down and try to lock you in. Right out of the playbook of the movie studios and cable companies and utilities. They will litigate and use political pressure to force you to play the game the way they want it played. Same old same old.

They must be including the value of the land in that calculation, which Lucas already owns.