Forgot your password?

typodupeerror

Comment: Wait, so what they're saying.... (Score 1) 99

by mark-t (#43817311) Attached to: White House: Use Metric If You Want, We Don't Care

... is that it's okay for Americans to go up to signs that are in imperial, rip them down, and replace them with ones that are in metric?

I mean, if it's really supposed to be entirely voluntary.... isn't that what that means?

Of course, conversely, they could rip down any metric signage that they see and replace them with imperial too...

I'm seeing a rather glaring problem with this notion of "voluntary" as it applies to what kinds of units the country uses.

Comment: Re:Start here (Score 1) 99

by mark-t (#43817273) Attached to: White House: Use Metric If You Want, We Don't Care

When Canada was switching to metric, dual signage was common. The km/h value was shown first, and the mph was shown in a smaller (but still quite readable) font below it. Usage of "km/h" or "mph" was explicit, to ensure there was no ambiguity.

This transition period lasted for quite some time, and after a while, the signs were ultimately replaced with speed limits listing strictly in km/h (and often the "km/h" was no longer present as well).

Comment: Re:Depends on what the initial contract says.... (Score 1) 298

by mark-t (#43815887) Attached to: AT&T Quietly Adds Charges To All Contract Cell Plans
Personally, I'd only agree to a contract plan that can guarantee that all of the rates and fees that I am paying will remain as they are, and not grow or be added to for the duration of the contract.

And fwiw... I actually do go to the trouble of getting this information when I sign up for a contract, and if I don't see it in the terms of service, I will get it in writing from a manager.

Comment: Depends on what the initial contract says.... (Score 1) 298

by mark-t (#43812177) Attached to: AT&T Quietly Adds Charges To All Contract Cell Plans
Unless the initial contract states that they can add surcharges onto a customer's plan at their option, then it seems to me that one can just call them up and cancel. End of story. Calling it a "surcharge" is irrelevant to the fact that they would have actually changed their cell phone plan without prior approval by applying that surcharge onto the phone bill when it was not previously there and was not part of what one had originally agreed to pay.

If one agreed to a contract that explicitly allows them to add a surcharge onto the bill at any time, without any prior agreement on what that surcharge would be... that's just... unfortunate.

Comment: Re:Electric cars are just not going to take off... (Score 1) 432

by mark-t (#43799767) Attached to: Tesla Motors Repays $465M Government Loan 9 Years Early

But wouldn't people who can afford luxury cars also be less likely to be concerned about the price of the gasoline in the first place?

I realize this is going to be far from universally true, but one of the major reasons to go with an electric car is because it's cheaper to run than a gas-powered vehicle. That advantage sort of shoots itself in the foot when the vehicle itself costs a significant premium above what a person who is likely to be concerned about fuel economy is able or willing to pay.

Comment: Re:here's an idea (Score 2) 271

by mark-t (#43799521) Attached to: 3D Printers For Peace Contest

First all, reprap doesn't print a printer. It prints a kit which you can assemble into a printer. Sure a kit can be useful, but it's not the same thing as printing an actual usable printer.

Secondly, reprap prints only the plastic parts of the printer,but misses out on the electronics and few metal components which are actually required to make a complete functional device, and which must be purchased separately.

Passwords are implemented as a result of insecurity.

Working...