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Comment Re:more like (Score 1) 329

I bought a Roku to see what it was all about. Returned it after I found out that I would have to set up another fscking server on my network running Plex to host files that are already on a MythTV box. WTF? Roku wouldn't play with MythTV at all. Fortunately the Panasonic Blu-Ray player I bought (for $4 more than the Roku) had a Netflix button on the remote, and it plays my MythTV files just fine. Bye bye Roku. Some people just don't want to mess around with yet another box/system to overcome a limitation of a device.

Comment Re:Ting (Score 1) 91

I signed up for Ting last month. Brought my Galaxy S2 from Sprint (Epic 4G Touch). I was moved within 8 hours of signing up. Happy so far. My bill should drop from $87/mo to around $40. Same exact (crappy) coverage as Sprint, same exact performance as I've had the last 2 years with my phone, but half the price, no contract, same nice phone.

Comment Re:Ting (Score 1) 207

I'd forgotten about this... I have been on Sprint for 12 or so years. The coverage sucks. The price sucks. My buddy with a Verizon phone will sit there at 16 megabits download, while I have no data at all. But, I don't want to switch to an expensive phone plan, nor do I want to ditch my Sprint Galaxy S2... So I just switched to Ting. I used your code, but I'm not sure it went through properly. Hopefully you'll see the credit. I started the process this morning.... 8 hours ago I was on Sprint. Now I'm officially on Ting. My bill should drop from $87/mo to under $50.
Apple

Apple Shows Off New iOS 7, Mac OS X At WWDC 607

Nerval's Lobster writes "Apple CEO Tim Cook kicked off his company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco with a short video emphasizing the importance of design, particularly that which evokes some sort of emotional connection such as love or delight. But that sentimental bit aside, this WWDC was all business: huge numbers of developers attend this annual event, packing sessions designed to help give their apps an edge in Apple's crowded online marketplace (some 50 billion apps have been downloaded from the App Store, Cook told the audience during his keynote). Apple also uses its WWDC to unveil new products or services, attracting sizable interest from the tech press.

This time around, the company introduced Mac OS X 'Mavericks,' which includes 'Finder Tabs' (which allow the user to deploy multiple tabs within a Finder window—great for organization, in theory) and document tags (for easier searching). Macs will now support multiple displays, including HDTVs, with the ability to tweak elements between screens; Apple claims the operating system will also interact with the CPU in a more efficient manner.

On top of that, Apple rolled out some new hardware: an upgraded MacBook Air with faster graphics, better battery life (9 hours for the 11-inch edition, while the 13-inch version can draw 12 hours' worth of power). Apple has decided to jump into the cloud-productivity space with iWork for iCloud, which makes the company's iWork portfolio (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) browser-based; this is a clear response to Office 365 and Google Docs.

And finally, the executives onstage turned back to iOS, which (according to Apple) powers some 600 million devices around the world. This version involves more than a few tweaks: from a redesigned 'Slide to Unlock' at the bottom of the screen, to the bottom-up control panel that slides over the home-screen, to the 'flat' (as predicted) icons and an interface that adjusts as the phone is tilted, this is a total redesign. As a software designer, Ive is clearly a huge fan of basic shapes—circles and squares— and layering translucent elements atop one another."

Comment Re:Better than Boxee Box? (Score 1) 80

I bought a Roku 2 of some sort (cost about $90 from Amazon). I guess I gave it too much credit, it didn't work nearly as well as I'd hoped, nor interface with media streaming devices on my network as well as I'd hoped either. Neflix was OK I guess, but I decided to return it because $90 for a Netflix device is no good. My Panasonic Blu-Ray player DOES interface with my network devices, and it plays Netflix, and was only $2 more. Oh yeah, it plays Blu-Rays & DVDs too.

Comment Re:SteamOS (Score 2) 313

My son plays a lot on Steam (TF2 mostly). If there were a Steam-centric distro available right now to run on a live disc, I'd download it *tonight* and run it. I don't feel like futzing with an Ubuntu live disc right now, or stomping all over his Windows install right now. Drop in a disc and run, though, with the Steam client already installed? Sign us up.

Comment Re:The TL;DR (Score 5, Interesting) 210

Circuit breaker was not "miscalibrated". The protective relay (which is separate from a breaker) possibly had a setting in it that was too low. Protective relay settings are based on time curves (which are plotted on logarithmic paper). For, say, 300 amps, it trips after 10s or 100s of seconds of continuous operation past the setting. For 10,000 amps, it may after .03 seconds (or you may have an instantaneous setting, or a definite time delay based on cycles). That kind of curve. If the load was drawing so much current, for so long of time, then yes, it will send a command for the circuit breaker to trip. Anyhow, it's easy to screw up a protective relay setting - and yes, I've done it. That's why relay settings are always checked by a second engineer as well, just to make sure you didn't miss something. IAAPE (I am a protection engineer, and a P.E.), though we don't use S&C relays (Schweitzer here).

Comment Re:Agree 10000% (Score 1) 177

I'm in online grad school right now, registered with in-state tuition (at a state school, of course). After the technology fees (online fee of $50 per credit hour), it's about $1000-$1100 per 3 hour class total. For out of state, I'd expect it's probably $1500-ish per course. So while their price isn't totally out of line, once you reach for-pay education, your competition heats up significantly.

Comment Blame Natural Gas also (Score 1) 346

Back in 2008, natural gas prices had spiked, and it "appeared" (at least temporarily) that they might stay rather expensive. Texas is very dependent upon natural gas for electricity, so "wind power" was almost economical.

Now, in 2010, with more sources of natural gas seeming to 'pop up' due to the additional drilling in Texas over the last couple years, NG is cheap again. Wind generated electricity costs twice as much as natural gas generated electricity right now. So unless a business is just wanting to "appear green", there's no economic incentive to buy wind power right now. Would you pay twice the price for electricity just to "say" you're buying wind power?

Pickens is above all else a business man. If it won't make money, there's no point in doing it.

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