I think the locking part is more for IMEI blacklisting. The network has the ability to block known stolen phones via an IMEI blacklisting. But each carrier has their own blacklist (there is some sharing - but not international AFAIK). So at the moment - a thief can just take the phone to another network (especially out of country), and just use it.

Having the phone locked to the network for the first few months, means if a thief gets their hands prior to activation, then it's a brick.

If the sim lock is auto removed after 3-6 months then I see this as a GOOD change overall, as the incentive to steal phones is reduced.

Yes - there are many options, pretty much for every network - but the best ones are mainly the MVNOs

I use an iPhone on AT&T networks - via H20Wireless, paying
5c/min voice
5c/ text
10c / mb

The best summary web site I've found for deciding what carrier / prepaid plan to be on :
http://www.prepaidphonenews.co...

It's updated whenever carriers plans change - so while the URL might make you think it's 4+years out of date - was last modified July 29th 2015.

I think red tail lights are better - as it's easier on the eyes at night. Amber would ruin a lot of peoples night vision.

What screws it up for me - is in the US - the red lights can mean 1 of 3 things:
1. Tail Light
2. Brake Light
3. Turn Signal.

Thankfully as more cars are designed for global market, rather than just US - 3 different uses for a light seems to be fading from use.

I grew up in a country where the turn signals MUST be amber - and now when I drive in the US it always takes just that fraction longer to decide the car in front is braking, and not turning. No issue for me - as I was taught the 2 (dry)/4 (wet) second rule - so I have plenty of stopping distance.

I was shocked when my girlfriend had no clue about the 2 second rule... and after asking around the office - nobody else had a clue what I was talking about.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

Crap - Forgot to login...

it makes it easier to compare/compute savings between different usage rates. If gas is $2 / litre and you look at a car 5.3L per 100km - then you know $10.60 to go 100km. If you current car is 6.3l/100lm - then it will be $12.60. This is very simple math. With MPG more calculations - even with cheating here an making the number nice, it's still more work. Say $4 gallons and your current car gets 20mpg, how many MPG to go 100miles = 100/20 = 5 * price = $20 to go 100 miles. New car = 33mpg = 100/33 gallons= 3 gallons = $12. People generally care about how much the car is going to cost to run to a certain place (cost per distance), than how far they can go on a single tank (MPG).

the difference in the MPG will be cause by the difference in gallon sizes between USA and the rest of the world. US Gallon approx 3.78 litres Imperial Gallons: approx 4.54 Litres. so - and imperial gallon is 1.2 the size of US gallon. 313MPG/1.2 = 261MPG. And this is why the US should move to the damn metric system, or at least use the same size gallon as the rest of the world.

Actually - I read his statement as they would use the standard spec for 18months, not the length of time the machine that met that spec would be used for. Big difference. That would mean approx 2-3 specs would be in use at any one time after a 4-5 year period. This is how most businesses operate.

That said - 1000 machines is a huge build it yourself task that probably doesn't make sense to do. People always look at the price being paid to outside companies and go 'thats cheap, we'll do that', but forget about the details they will now have to deal with. Basic assembly is probably going to average 20-30 mins each to do safely/correctly 4-500 hours of work- this is 2-3 man months of work - or All the extraneous packaging materials that you will end up with will require disposal, let along all the ongoing support issues as you wont have hardware support from an outside vendor.

If you are going to go down this path - please, please, please build a few sample machines first, and let the users use them for a month before sinking the $$ into 1000 machines. Cause if there turns out to be problems with the machines - its your job going bye bye.

How it worked in New Zealand when we got rid of 1c + 2c coins (early 1990's)

Cash Transaction:
The transaction total was rounded to the nearest 5c mark. This wasn't law, but basically all retailers followed the practice.

Electronic/Cheque (Checks for Americans) Transactions:
Exact Amount.

As NZ got rid of it's 5c pieces mid last year, it's become a little more confusing for cash transactions:

Each retailer has different methods of rounding when the amount ends with 5c - Some round up, some round down, which has lead to some strange situations. Sending a standard letter by post is 45c here. So if you went into a post shop to buy 1 45c stamp, you end up paying 50c. But if you bought a 45c stamp, and a 5c stamp, again you spend 50c (after doing this enough, you end up with enough to send another letter for 'free'). It's not really a big deal, as most people buy the books of 10 stamps, and avoid the issue completely.