DogsOfWar

542 posts
Dogs of War was born in a crossfire hurricane. He wrestles alligators in the pouring rain.

Picture of the Night

A Picture is Worth Something or Other

Picture of the night is a new feature we may occasionally post.  Tonight your job is to guess what this map is showing (other than the ol’ US of A).

Since our theme makes the header image stretched and small, here is a higher resolution image, click to enlarge.

Click the image to enlarge

Our winner is slackjawed_yoda. This map is the broadband availability as reported by BroadbandMap.gov.  Now the next time you think high speed internet access is a Dog given right just remember that if your home is in the middle of nowhere you still have very limited options for accessing Crasstalk.

 

Clouds Are Not to Be Trusted

1 comment

Did you know that your precious pictures, videos and email live in a cloud and could disappear at any time?  This week Google accidentally lost data for 40,000 to 150,000 users (reports vary) and is trying to restore the data.  Flickr is well known for deleting photos and Facebook might remove your art photos because some old cat lady is a prude who is just thinking of the poor children.  Usually photos are on your computer since you had to retrieve them from your camera, but email often exists only on your provider’s servers.  Cnet has put together a video showing how to backup your data from Gmail and some other tips for backing up your other data.

The E-Book Price War is Over – Apple Won

Who decides what an e-book book costs, the retailer or the publisher?  This is the question at the heart of the debate on e-book pricing.  Previously many publishers sold e-books to retailers for a fixed rate and the retailer decided what to charge the end user.  If the retailer wanted to make a small profit, big profit or even a loss it was up to them.  Amazon seized this model since they can sell e-books for near, at or even below cost and still make money by selling other products.  Amazon’s loss-leader strategy paid off and the Kindle is their best selling product ever.

However, Apple would rather that the publisher set the retail price and give the retailers a fixed 30% margin.  Even though this is blatantly anti-free market nobody seemed to care in this case because iPads are very shiny and people are impressed when you have one of these fondle-slabs.  Apple doesn’t sell anything at a loss or even at low margin so this model fit better with their philosophy.

Today Random House became the last major publisher to switch over to the agency model that Apple prefers.

When you listen to Apple talk about the iPad 2 tomorrow just remember what it costs you and what it costs the market.

Photo here.  Source: WSJ.

Geneva Motorshow Round-Up

The 81st International Motorshow in Geneva is kicking off this week.  Auto manufacturers are showing off new cars and concepts.  As with most auto shows it is a mix of stunning, ugly, practical, affordable and those that we can only wish to own.

If your dream has always been to own a $1M electric car then Rolls-Royce has just the limo for you.  It’s every bit as handsome, or ugly, as previous RR machines but it will get you 125 miles down the road without a recharge.  Suicide doors are standard but Grey Poupon is not included.

Rolls-Royce Phantom Electric - DailyMail

 

While the Rolls-Royce styling may not be for everyone, it’s not the ugliest car in the world.  That title now belongs to the AstroBionix Thor.  Marketed as an “Ultimate Deployment Vehicle,” this UDV is U-G-L-Y.  On the up side it does rock a 600 horse power 7.0L V8 in case you need to escape escape a mob of pitchfork carrying peasants.

AstroBionix Thor - Jalopnik

 

An electric coupe with a bit more style and affordability is the Nissan Esflow concept.  The Esflow is a rear wheel drive machine meant for two and uses the same battery pack as the Leaf that you can’t buy.  It will get you through 150 miles of driving bliss and at least a dozen nods of acceptance from anyone you pass on the street.

Nissan Esflow Concept - AutoBlog

 

A less practical coupe is the Wiesmann Sypder concept.  If Speed Racer were to choose a car from the show this would be it.  It has air intakes big enough for a 737 and headlights that could belong to an insect.  It uses a V8 with 420-horse power and has no windshield.  Bring a helmet and goggles.

Wiesmann Spyder Concept - AutoBlog

 

But the car that you’re most likely to want to take on a camping trip is without a doubt the VW Bulli.  Get your prescription card ready because the Micro Bus is back and it’s a hybrid!  Hippies everywhere are rejoicing.

 

VW Bulli Bus - Cnet
Top image here. VW Cnet.  Wiesmann AutoBlog.  AstroBionix Jalopnik.  Rolls-Royce DailyMail via Consumerist.  Nissan Esflow AutoBlog.

Chris Dodd Will Now Censor Your Movies

After deciding not to run again because of being on the receiving end of some shady mortgage deals from Countrywide, Chris Dodd (D-CT) has a cushy new job as the CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). He will replace Bob Pisano who is the acting CEO.  Pisano is a Hollywood insider who spent time at SAG, MGM and Paramount, whereas Dodd is certain that he’s seen movies but is outraged by the price of popcorn and the lack of wide parking spots.

The MPAA is the organization that determines what rating a film will receive based on how many instances of boobs, butts, peens, dirty words, violence, sex and Mel Gibson are in the film.  They don’t tell you what you can’t have in your film, but if you want it to get a R or below you know what you have to do.

Photo here.  Source: The Hill.

Simple Rules: Commenting

165 comments

These rules for commenting should help everyone have a fun, productive and enlightening time on Crasstalk. To make this clear, yes, we are oppressing you and trampling your freedoms just by having these rules.

  • Be respectful of other commenters and authors.
  • No personal attacks.
  • No promotion of illegal activities.
  • Good grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization are expected.  Yes, we all make mistakes, but that’s different than purposely ignoring the rules. Capslackers have been warned.
  • Don’t be needlessly argumentative. Going out of your way to argue with others for no reason creates a bad atmosphere and makes people not want to come back.
  • Arguments about the decisions of the moderators or admins about these rules will not be indulged.
  • Animated GIFS in the Open Thread posts go in the reply (ITR).
  • Images of bugs, snakes, etc. go in the reply (ITR).
  • No more than 2 images, or 1 image and 1 video, in top-level (OP) comments.
Any commenter who violates these guidelines will be moderated and/or receive at a minimum a 24 hour suspension from the site. We reserve the right to permanently ban anyone who, in the opinion of the site moderators and admins, doesn’t contribute positively to the overall experience of using Crasstalk.com. All decisions of the moderators and site admins are final.

Simple Rules: Winning at LinkedIn

64 comments

In this installment of the DoW’s simple rules we look at how to win at LinkedIn.

Rule 1:  You can’t win if you don’t play

  • Open an account.  Some of you may be resisting because you’re the same kind of people who are too cool for Facebook.  Get over yourself, this is for your own good.

Rule 2: Be a connector

  • Don’t wait for people to connect to you.  Initiate contact.
  • First build up your connections with people you know well.
  • Next move on to auxiliary contacts.

Rule 3: Connect early and often

  • When you meet someone send them a request shortly after your meeting.  You will be fresh in their mind and your relationship will be obvious to them.

Rule 4:  Connect with recruiters

  • LinkedIn is swarming with recruiters.  If you don’t know any ask some of your connections.  They’ll give you a list that’s appropriate to your field.
  • When a recruiter reaches out to you always respond even if you’re not interested.  You never know when you might need their help.

Rule 5:  Be complete

  • Fill out your profile with as much information as possible and use a professional looking picture.
  • Ask for recommendations and recommend others.

Those are the basics.  Sound off with your own suggestions in the comments.

Nepotism Can’t Buy You Love

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Two of Rupert Murdoch’s many problems are that nobody knows who will take over News Corp when he’s called down by the dark lord and that his daughter runs a media company that he doesn’t own.

In an attempt to solve both problems at one time, News Corp is in the final stages of talks to acquire Elisabeth Murdoch’s European television company Shine Group for somewhere around $700M.  Elisabeth is reported to have the kind of drive that the old man is looking for.  His other kids are getting passed over, though something tells me they can still live comfortably.

LA Times

It Began With a…

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Do you know how some of the companies that you use everyday got their start?

Visa – 60,000 cards were mailed by Bank of America to people in Fresno, CA.  Visa allowed other banks to issue cards and eventually turned over control in 1970 to a consortium.  In 2008 Visa was the largest IPO in US history ($17.9 billion).

UPS – UPS started as small delivery service and grew to be a package delivery company in Seattle when shoppers at Nordstrom and The Bon Marché wanted an easier way to get their purchases home.

Starbucks – You all know they got their start in a small store at the Pike Place market in Seattle.  It was just a couple people who thought coffee desered better than the swill that the WWII vets were used to.  And those better beans originally came from the Berkeley, CA coffee copmnay Peet’s Coffee and Tea.  Peet is still pissed.

Williams-Sonoma –  It was started by Charles Williams in Sonoma, CA.  I’m still now sure how they got their name though.

All of this to say that big things often start in very small ways.

Viva La Revolucion!