Xed

9secondkox2 said:

Stabitha_Christie said:

sdw2001 said:

jpellino said:

So Twitter was the preeminent microblogging platform, doing well enough to have shareholders getting earnings.
Musk buys it and starts pulling every lever he can find, many of which were clearly marked DO NOT TOUCH THIS LEVER.
Now the company is bleeding value, invisible to the public, and got its lunch eaten by Meta in less than a week of competition. 
Oh, and a new half-billion liability based on Lever #2.

Remind me how this reflects on the legendary genius of Musk?

Twitter was an absolute disaster and a fraud. That’s why he almost canceled the deal. It was a bloated company that was all smoke and mirrors. It’s going to take a while for even him to turn it around.

Twitter was able to make a profit before Musk took ownership. So it may have been a disaster but it was certainly less of one that it currently is. Also, he didn't;t almost cancel the deal, that was smoke and mirrors as you put it. He was legally obligated to follow through the deal which is why he did. 

You really should do some fact checking rather than just blindly repeating whatever he says. 

 It was bound to happen as Twitter was a liberal echo chamber and was bought by someone with more conservative views. 

Put down the crack pipe.

sdw2001 said:

jpellino said:

So Twitter was the preeminent microblogging platform, doing well enough to have shareholders getting earnings.
Musk buys it and starts pulling every lever he can find, many of which were clearly marked DO NOT TOUCH THIS LEVER.
Now the company is bleeding value, invisible to the public, and got its lunch eaten by Meta in less than a week of competition. 
Oh, and a new half-billion liability based on Lever #2.

Remind me how this reflects on the legendary genius of Musk?

Twitter was an absolute disaster and a fraud. That’s why he almost canceled the deal. It was a bloated company that was all smoke and mirrors. It’s going to take a while for even him to turn it around.

While reading your post I was going to ask why you think Twitter a fraudulent company, but by the end I was very curious as to why you think that Musk can "turn it around", and by the end of my comment it occurs to me that Musk has already "turned it around" from being a successful platform people depended on and loved to something that absolutely sucks big monkey balls because he's nothing but a snake oil salesman.

I'm with Chadbag on this.

smalltalk-80 said:

Let me be very blunt:
This is a device for stupid people.
Anyone with a fraction of knowledge about telescopes or photography will realize this is a giant hoodwink scheme.

You’ll get faaaar superior results using a cheap digital camera, a good long digital lens and possibly an inexpensive star tracker for the same price.

Even just a good long achromatic scope and aiming your iPhone carefully into the eyepiece will be leagues ahead of this PoS.

In fact aiming a standard pair of binoculars towards the sky, and using an app like NightSky is a much better and more educational astronomical experience for the novice.

If it cost, say $300, like it looks like it should, it would still be a waste of money, but at least it would be a fun toy for a little while.

This is not a scheme, a scam, snake oil, or any other kind of skullduggery. This is about ease of use.

I have several decades experiences with telescopes and stargazing. Several of my own large (for a home) telescopes, and a lot of experience with astronomy clubs (which usually include a lot of very large home made telescopes—which I've never gotten into).

I put down a deposit for the Vespera when it was first announced, which I later got back, but not because I think Vaoinis is a fraudulent company. I just decided I didn't want it right now. So why did I want it in the first place? Because having to locate, focus, and then continually track a heavenly body is tedious.

I have basic, single axis motors on my most powerful telescopes, which helps, but it also takes some finagling. I also have a mount for my iPhone to take photos, but it’s not a great solution. Having a more advanced option that works from my iPhone to get good shots with ease doesn’t mean I’m a stupid person, or do  you also think macOS is for stupid people while all smart people use a command line-only Unix she’ll for their computing needs.

Celestron, who makes most of my telescopes, now has an option that uses an iPhone to track, which does bridge the gap a bit between Vaonis’ full package and no auto tracking, but it’s more cumbersome in all regards from the looks of it, but it is a lot less expensive.

timmillea said:

I cannot imagine why some think it is fine for trillion dollar companies pay1-2% marginal tax when poorer members of society starting out in the jobs world pay marginal rates of tax approaching 70%, e.g those paying income tax, national insurance and repaying their student fees. These companies' behaviour needs be reined in across all jurisdictions. If they make a profit, they must pay fair tax. If they make a loss, let them go bust. 

1) Paying back a student loan is not a tax.

2) I'm curious how you are in a 70% tax for the poorest people in society. I was in the highest income tax bracket in a state with a state income tax, and that never was near over 50% at the highest end of the pay scale.

3) I don't like how companies are taxed v the populace, but that's what's happens when you have corporations with deep pockets paying lawmakers to make rules that benefit where their money is coming from. I guess my only advice would be to run for office and change the laws that affect the little guy.