Except when the only thing I'd wind up using the service for over the course of 5 years (as if that were even an option with Apple) would be for a battery replacement. I've never had a screen crack, and the one time I've had a phone develop a dead pixel line after 3 years of use (Samsung Infuse 4g) I had my upgrade to use anyway; I've never had a phone just stop working; I've never dropped my phone in a puddle, let alone a toilet; and I've never had to call customer service to troubleshoot a phone. I have, however, had to get a new battery for a phone about every year to year and a half. More often than not a battery replacement came not because of any difference in how long it kept a charge, but in performing my normal monthly inspection of the battery (which can't be done on a sealed battery) visible swelling had occurred.

Now in getting a battery replaced, I'd be plopping $20-50 on a replacement battery either online or at RadioShack or BatteriesPlus, having it within a few days if not immediately, and then inserting it in my phone and plugging it up overnight. I'd be without a phone only as long as overnight; which is fine because I do not accept calls after 9pm as a rule, anyway. Compare that with what would happen with AppleCare: I'd have to take a day off from work to drive the phone to Atlanta during Apple Store business hours(nearest Apple Store location, about 2 hours drive time). Have the Condescending Hipster behind the counter inspect the device to make sure that it hasn't been exposed to too much humidity (welcome to Georgia) and thus valid for the replacement battery (as opposed to charging me the deductible for a replacement phone in the event that I let the phone sweat too much), having him keep the phone for him to send it out to get the battery replaced (about a week) after which I'd have to make another drive up to Atlanta to pick it up. In the mean time, if I didn't have a spare phone to use, I'd be SOL for getting calls in that time, because of course they don't offer loaners. So actually you're right; not only is it essentially $99 for the battery, but it's also the opportunity cost of 2 days off from work, half a tank of gas, 8 hours worth of travel time, and a week without a phone; just for a stinking battery.

Read the argument that I indicated was the straw man. Read it carefully. Now read the way I tore it down. I only said the government would be hard pressed to make a decisive override, not that they couldn't. To point out, Shakrai made the direct question [paraphrased to include context] "Can Uncle Sam override some States' decisions as a matter of public policy not to engage in public solid waste collection but rather to rely on the private sector for such services?" To answer the question in Shakrai's favor to the argument he is trying to make, the answer would be "No."

My response tears down the half of the argument that tries to make a 1:1 comparison between solid waste disposal within state boundaries and municipal internet services that by definition create interstate commerce. Your argument that through tonal interpretation seems to come as a defense to Shakrai in an attempt to berate me actually pulls down the rest of his argument as a house of cards. Your argument shows that in using Federal Regulatory policies and procedures over solid waste disposal, Uncle Sam actually can, in fact, override any decision the States' have made in whether they can rely on the private sector for the services.

In essence, with your help, we have shown Shakrai that yes, the Federal Government can and often does override decisions made by the States, and that his argument held no ground whatsoever to stand on. So, the argument was definitely a Straw Man. I chose not to tear it completely down. You did that for me.

To summarize: Through the EPA, the Federal Government can regulate and override decisions that states can make regarding solid state waste management, including whether or not public entities can use private companies for management or that it must manage waste itself. Through the FCC, the Federal Government can dictate and override decisions that states can make regarding internet connectivity, including whether or not public entities can build out their own networking infrastructure to connect to the internet; which the FCC now says that they must be allowed to.

Objection: Straw Man Argument!

There is nothing that has to cross state lines when it comes to solid waste collection, so the Government would be hard pressed to prove that interstate commerce is affected by the state deciding a private company can manage their trash. With the Internet, however, you cannot set up a municipal network and not immediately be connected to infrastructure that links that community with the rest of the world, let alone every other state in the nation. This alone give the Federal Government the ability to regulate and override state laws regarding the creation of such networks.

If on the other hand a municipality was creating a network just for its own borders and does not have the potential to be able to communicate over the Internet, then this the state could regulate without having to worry about the Feds coming down on them (in theory anyway; Feds would probably still try and then it would be decided in the courts, which have a tendency to side with the Feds using Article 1 Section 8 clause 3 of the Constitution.

By the way... For all these people saying that the FCC is overstepping its bounds with this decision and that Congress will overturn this ruling: The only way Congress can do that at this point is by dissolving the FCC because this is exactly the sort of thing that Congress created the FCC to regulate in the first place... and by its creation, Congress gave the FCC its current authority to regulate interstate communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. And do you seriously think that Congress will vote to abolish a government revenue stream such as the FCC?

Kinda like speedy IBM...

Actually, the light from the events in question reached us and were recorded on film to be released to the public with added dramatization scenes for a better narrative in 1977, 1980, and 1983. Unfortunately, the initial events that alerted our scientists to these epic space battles could only be documented and not captured on film due to limitations of technology at the time. This led to the events being reproduced roughly 20 years later instead of being a live broadcast, leading to a degradation in the narrative... Kinda like Rescue 911.

I've seen worse Icon schemes than what Win10 promises.

I was doing the conversion for the parent's benefit. The Wings are 1800cc advertised flat 6 (1832 cc official displacement) and my Venture Royale is 1300 cc advertised V-4 (1298cc official displacement). There. Feel better now?

You're probably right. It's missing about 100cc to be a Wing.

Goldwing? The one's I've ridden feels too much like a two wheeled car for my taste. I prefer the 1st Gen Yamaha Venture Royales. The 79ci Vmax motor has plenty of power for it and it still feels agile enough for me to comfortably say it's a bike. To each their own.

Yes.

If you fail, do you just not even care? Or do you get a twinge of frustration with yourself and proclaim that you will do better tomorrow? If the former, then what even motivates you to get out of bed, let alone self improve? If it's the latter, that frustration...that anger... you feel is aggression. Without it, there is no improvement.

I guess maintaining integrity from start to finish has become far too much for anyone to expect out of today's companies? I'm sorry, but whatever happened to "you only get one chance"? Much as the many facets of Sony have garnered the "this bridge must now burn" hatred from me due to actions from 10 years ago, so too has Lenovo now entered this hated realm. They will not have a single dollar from me, ever, and I pray they crash and burn.

Dude! How did you get away with leaving a blank post?