trumptman

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trumptman
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  • New 30% U.S. tax on solar cells threatens jobs, Apple's renewable energy efforts

    Regardless of what you think about the tariff, you can't help but note the irony of the contradicting arguments being made by the same people on the left.

    First of all a tariff is a tax. It is a tax on an import. Point blank no way around it. Like all taxes, it changes the price of that item.

    So basically when you talk about anyone on the left about taxes the argument is that it will just be passed along and be baked in and become part of doing business and it won't change any decisions or alter any economic outcomes. That is always the reasoning unless of course you talk about tariffs or sin taxes in which case all economic activity will clearly lower or stop if that is the desire.

    So tax cigarettes, soda or solar panels and of course people will buy fewer of those and it will have an economic impact.

    Tax income, investments, savings and of course sales tax....well that won't alter anything. People will just do what they have to do and life will be the same.

    Does anyone not notice the irony here?

    Trump just CUT the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20%. We are told this is just blowing a hole in the budget and no corporation is really going to make any decision different than they would have before. The rich will just get richer and the the poor will be unable to be helped by the government and corporations will keep more of their money and everyone else will suffer.

    Take that 35% rate and make it a 30% tariff and suddenly everyone seems to understand......wait prices will go up. People will make different decisions based on those prices. They may even forgo the economic activity all together or may shift it to different countries where there isn't a 30% tariff raising prices. The increases in price will TRICKLE DOWN and put all sorts of installers, support techs and small businesses out of work or at a minimum it will harm them.

    I just can't understand the blind spot here. The reasoning is the same in both cases. If you think the Trump tariffs are wrong because they will distort the market, cause all manner of unintended and harmful consequences and won't actually alter any outcomes then....welcome to fiscal conservativism because if you apply this to the rest of our economy now with your opened eyes then you finally get it.
    georgie01racerhomie3spacekidchaickaboltsfan17patchythepirateJWSCrwx9901brucemccornchip
  • Apple Watch's heart rate sensors alert man to undiagnosed atrial fibrillation

    deminsd said:
    You don't know your heart rate is racing at 161bpm until an Apple Watch alerts you?
    Not with atrial fibrillation you often don't. I was treated for it and was part of the 50% that could feel the irregular rhythm and the fast heartbeat. However another gentleman I met never felt it, had his heat in afib for three days and suffered a minor stroke.

    I have had a cardiac ablation to fix my afib but it is a real thing and while not often life threatening can raise risk of stroke.
    SoliGeorgeBMacwatto_cobra
  • Steve Jobs wanted ultra-optimized US manufacturing, Apple vets say

    mac_dog said:
    sirozha said:
    My town is inundated with H1B-visa Indians who have replaced 50% or more of American IT personnel. About 35% of doctors are Indian on H1B visas. They have pushed Americans out of the jobs here, and these are not manufacturing jobs. These are high-tech and medical jobs. As a result, housing prices are  through the roof. These temporary Indians are buying several houses each on interest-only loans, knowing full well that they are going to have to leave within 5-6 years and can simply abandon their houses (if the market turns down) with no consequences. Their monthly mortgage payments are significantly lower than apartment rentals because of the ARM-type loans that they take out.  In the meantime, they are collecting rents on the multiple houses that they purchased with no credit history and no permanent status here. How can a temporary worker buy a house in the US on a mortgage is beyond comprehension. We have not learned anything from the 2009 housing crash. 

    If we don't want to manufacture anything, we don't want to build anything, we don't want to work in agriculture, we don't want to study sciences, we don't want to work as engineers, we don't want to be doctors, what the hell are we good for? Are we going to be pigs for the rest of the world to raise until we get fat enough to be slaughtered? 

    We can have robotic factories built in the US and train our citizens to maintain and program robots. If we don't know how to do this, let's invite Chinese, Japanese, and Germans to help us out, pay them handsomely, and learn how to make our own crap efficiently by leveraging the latest robotic technologies for manufacturing. This could not be done three decades ago, but with the advance of technology, it is now possible. 
    We’re already too fat. Seriously, though. Companies hire the best. Period. We don’t even have an adequate school infrastructure. This is what happens when you have 10x the amount of money pouring into the military. You leave nothing for educating the masses. The irony about Indians is that they modeled their school system after our public system of the 60’s & 70’s. 
    Are you seriously suggesting that countries like China and India spend more on their education system than the United States does? It isn't the money, it is the model. Good luck trying to teach to any sort of mastery in the United States or even trying to fail a student. Since PBIS good luck even trying to discipline a child for profoundly terrible behavior that stops not just their own education, but the education of all others.
    macseeker said:
    When I was certifying with the American Production and Inventory Control Society, we were taught that W. Edward Deming taught the principles of Statistical Process Control to Japanese scientists and engineers when American manufacturers, flush from victories in WWII, were arrogantly unenthusiastic about applying SPC to our own factories. That was between 1945 and 1950, though the principles of SPC were known here since the 1920's. You might say they took somethng we invented and discarded, then spanked us with it over the sixty plus years.
    That plus the school system this days doesn't teach the necessary 3 R's anymore.  The kids can't think right these days.  Plus these days the school systems are in the esoteric touchy feely subjects that absolutely have no use what so ever in the REAL world.
    All the Common Core curriculum has been terrible. Gloss over everything and learn almost nothing.
    dewmedocno42
  • Garmin takes on Apple Watch with OLED-based Venu, Marvel wearables

    I'm surprised by this.   Garmin has always targeted serious exercisers / athletes rather than general purpose smart watches.  And, as such, they have been consistently valued by those athletes as superior to the Apple Watch -- and that superiority rested on three main things:
    -- Better software for tracking exercise
    -- Active buttons that are (easily) used to control the exercise trackers -- say to start and stop it during track workouts
    -- Superior battery life -- mostly due to not having to deal with the power requirements of an OLED display.

    And, one of the main complaints by those serious athletes against the Apple watch has been that it's battery can't last through a long race such as a 4 hour marathon.

    Garmin is claiming 6 hours -- but I wonder how they got there with an OLED display?   Could it be the 1/2" thick watch let them drop a bigger battery in?

    It will be interesting to see where they are going with this:   Is it meant as a general addition to their line of exercise trackers or are they trying to break into the generalized smart watch market?   Either way, it is likely to be mostly a niche product, but nevertheless, a worthy and capable competitor.
    Garmin still is targeting serious athletes both with this watch and their other lines. You note a few points. I'll address them and add others.

    Better software...here is just a few of the items added via software to this watch that will be a continuation of the Vivoactive 3 line and with also be shared with Vivoactive 4 lines which is also launched at the same time as this watch but without the OLED screen.

    – Added hydration tracking to manually track liquid intake with widget and app
    – Added Estimated Sweat Loss post-workout
    – Added Respiration Rate for all-day and sleep metrics (and certain workout types)
    – Added Breathwork Exercises (way different than simple breathing stress features)
    – Added Workout Animation functionality: For Strength, Cardio, Yoga, Pilates
    – Added new Yoga and Pilates Built-in workouts: Includes step by step animations
    – Added ability to design Yoga workouts in Garmin Connect: Complete with step by step pose animations
    – Added ability to design Pilates workouts in Garmin Connect: Complete with step by step animations
    – Added PulseOx for 24×7 blood oxygen tracking
    – Revamped health stat widget akin to latest Fenix/Forerunner models

    That is on top of all the regular sports it tracks and all of this also works via the Garmin Connect website and app on your iPhone.

    Active Buttons...while it comes with a touch screen it also has two hardware buttons. Top right allows you to start and stop an activity and bottom right is the lap button. The chief complaint on the Apple Watch is there is no easy way to hit a lap button or advance training, etc during an activity.

    Superior Battery Life.....Garmin has added music but it seems to really hurt their battery life. If you just use GPS tracking then you get 20 hours of tracking. So it will be able to get through that marathon just fine.

    GeorgeBMac
  • MagSafe replacement comes to Apple's 15" MacBook Pro with Vinpok Bolt-S USB-C adapter

    As someone who owns the 2016 15 inch Macbook Pro, I don't miss it. USB C connections both on the laptop and power supply make the cord pull out pretty easy if you trip over it. I haven't had a problem and love being able to charge from any port on any side. It was a good trade off/trade up.
    pscooter63welshdogsphericlorin schultz
  • A public reluctant to use Apple Pay is being enticed by the Apple Card

    I love Apple Pay and use it whenever I can. I keep my bank card attached to my iPhone via a stick on pocket. I hate taking the card out and using it. I prefer just using Apple Pay.

    That said.... I don't see why things like PINS or signatures should still be required when using Apple Pay. It takes away from the magic and seems antiquated and stupid. I mean if I've used my fingerprint or face to prove I am me, what the hell is a four digit number of signature that no one looks at or that isn't mine anyway (since it is on a 3 inch digital surface) would prove about me being me.

    I wish there was some way Apple could force retailers to remove the requirement for a PIN or signature when using Apple Pay. That would dramatically increase adoption in my opinion. Watching people in front of you wave a watch or phone and then just move on while you take out a hunk of plastic and enter a five digit PIN are dramatically different experiences. Waving the watch and then waiting to enter the same PIN....not so dramatically different.
    space2001patchythepiratewatto_cobra
  • Picture-in-picture, Wireless Audio Sync debut in tvOS 13 beta 2

    I use Zwift on my Apple TV. If I could Zwift while having an app play video PIP then it would be a dream come true. Netflix and hill climbing for the win!
    AppleExposedlolliver
  • Apple to face class action over MacBook butterfly keyboard

    macmarcus said:
    Apple's voluntary repair program blunts most of the claim BUT these lawyers appear to be asking for a LOT more - like a recall and full refund. This isn't a defective Pinto that causes death or something so seems a bit much given Apple standing behind their product (and I've had issues with the butterfly keyboard unfortunately so am glad Apple made it easy to get a repair). I'm sure what the lawyers REALLY want is to be able to conduct discovery to see the extent of the issue knowing that Apple won't want to provide it. My personal opinion is that Apple has done the right thing and has done enough with its repair program to address the concern. Just greedy lawyers at this point...Apple gots the deep pockets.

    The reality going forward is that Apple is replacing the keyboards with the exact same keyboard so the same issue will remain and there are no alternative means of addressing the bad design. You can't have the keyboard serviced. You can't install a third party keyboard that will compensate for the problem. You can't even service the keyboard without replacing half the computer. It's a bigger issue.
    cgWerks
  • Microsoft mulling Apple TV competitor in slimmed-down Xbox One, report says

    Actually I had the thought this week of selling my Apple TV. It is third generation and the least used streaming box in the entire house. The two Fire TV sticks and the older Roku box all get significantly more use. No Amazon app really makes it useless for me.
  • Review: Powerbeats3 with Apple W1 chip are the most reliable Bluetooth headphones we've ev...

    I'll never buy these and this is coming from a guy who owns two sets of bluetooth headphones and uses them daily.

    These are simply not worth $200. The Apple or Beats premium isn't worth that in my view. Perhaps the predecessors were priced at that but like many things Apple related lately, Apple stands still and the world moves on.

    The high end for bluetooth headphones is around $100 right now and there are loads of great sounding headphones in the $20-40 range.

    These are items that are sweated on. The earbuds can get pulled off. They can simply get misplaced or lost. In the past you sucked it up perhaps and gave Apple $30 for a new pair of wired headphones when everyone else was charging half that. Now not so much.

    Beats were so hot a few years ago. I don't think I've seen a kid wearing a pair in the last year though.