tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-91745372024-03-08T05:18:21.143+10:30Bruno's Rants... wherein the author vents his proverbial spleen about things that irritateBrunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-35257271767157198712019-02-08T21:46:00.001+10:302019-02-08T21:53:17.212+10:30<h2>Redirecting in 10 seconds...</h2>
<h3>Note: You are about to be redirected to the new home of this blog.</h3>
<p>Future posts <em>may</em> appear at the following location:</p>
<h3><a href="http://rants.bruno-andrighetto.online/">http://rants.bruno-andrighetto.online</a></h3>
Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-89744617612655355702009-03-28T20:02:00.006+10:302009-03-28T21:55:22.953+10:30Microsoft promoting Hewlett Packard - Why?Why has Microsoft made a 60 minute advertisemnt showing someone buying a Hewlett Packard Notebook?<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=621NMj9_SR4">Windows Laptop Hunters $1000 - Lauren "Not cool enough to be a Mac"</a></blockquote><br />If I was CEO of one HP's competitors, say Dell, Lenovo, Asus, etc., I'd be screaming down the phone to Microsoft's CEO, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvsboPUjrGc">Steve Ballmer</a>.<br /><br />On the surface, the ad appears to be a clever retort to Apple's "I'm a Mac" ads, but digging a little deeper reveals a lot of murky issues:<br /><ul><br /><li>Lauren will have to live with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Vista">Vista</a>;</li><br /><li>Lauren could save even more money if she didn't have to pony up for a Vista licence. If she wanted to install Linux, or dare I say, turn her laptop into a <a href="http://www.hackint0sh.org/">hackintosh</a>, that Vista licence is a double-waste;</li><br /><li>MacBook Pros are arguably better machines, and come with an arguably better Operating System;</li><br /><li>Sticker price always neglect the <a href="http://www.apple.com/business/macatwork/tco/">total cost of ownership</a>, where Macs are generally considered to provide <a href="http://www.macsimumnews.com/index.php/archive/macs_more_expensive_not_if_you_consider_tco/">better long term value</a>.</li><br /></ul><br />Of course, other people have already commented on these and other issues: e.g. that "<a href="http://9to5mac.com/microsoft-ad-is-a-fake">the ad was staged</a>", and that <a href="http://daringfireball.net/linked/2009/03/26/new-microsoft-ads">the theme of the commercial seems to be “PCs: Computers for Losers”</a>.<br /><br />Another thing this ad shows is that Microsoft willingly ignores generally accepted rules of advertising. For example, according to the panel of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gruen_Transfer">The Gruen Transfer</a>, the acknowledged leader in a market should never mention lesser rivals by name in its ads. Doing so lends credibility to the the challengers. That explains why Pepsi (number two cola maker) refers to Coke (number one cola maker), and never the reverse. And Telstra (number one telco in Australia) never mentions its rivals by name, whereas Optus (the second biggest telco in Australia) deliberately compares itself to Telstra in its ads.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-42156104290777802202009-02-07T22:05:00.001+10:302009-02-07T22:05:38.033+10:30Heatwave Ends (Hopefully)The maximum temperature in Adelaide today was 41.5 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit). A cool change blew in this afternoon, and tomorrow's forecast is a more pleasant 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit). Hooray!<br /><br />We've had 14 days of temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). As I mentioned yesterday, I returned (resorted?) to posting rants here in response to the heat. Now that the heatwave is over, I can give up this self-enforced rant-a-day madness. It's been an interesting experiment, but I look forward to posting less often and with more preparation.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-37595273572776319542009-02-06T23:15:00.001+10:302009-02-06T23:17:04.219+10:30Ranting is a Poor Substitute for CodingAfter deciding that I had been reading too many "serious" books in recent years, and given that summer TV is usually pretty bad, I had hoped to spend evenings working on my own programming projects. Until the recent heatwave, this plan had been going quite well. But the heat has made it hard to concentrate and write decent code. Posting rants on this blog has been an alternative way to occupy my evenings, and let off some steam (literally and figuratively?).<br /><br />However, the results have been mixed. I've been happy with the range of topics and the general structure of the rants, but my words have come out a bit muddled than I'd like. Maybe it's the heat? While that may be a factor, it's more likely that I haven't given myself the luxury of "sleeping on it" and reviewing before publishing. This approach served me very well at Uni when writing essays. It's also been useful when preparing technical documentation for work.<br /><br />I guess I could go back and revise the rants to make my message clearer. But this is not a professional blog, it's just an excuse to write about things that interest me. I'm not expecting to make a career out of it. I enjoy programming too much ;)<br /><br />So, don't expect as much activity on this blog once the weather becomes more bearable. But if something irks me enough, I still hope to write a rant about it.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">The extreme heat returned to Adelaide today. The maximum temperature was 43.9 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit)!</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-46674062448584507002009-02-05T20:53:00.010+10:302009-02-06T22:07:06.403+10:30My Saga Buying a CameraToday I finally got a new digital camera. It's nothing special, just the model above the basic Canon model. But it has been a frustrating experience, so I feel the need to vent...<br /><br />I'd seen the camera I wanted advertised on special for Christmas last year ($128 down from RRP of $159). When I went to buy it in late December, they'd sold out. So I went around to other stores to see if anyone had it in stock at a reasonable price. But no luck: I couldn't find it anywhere. Looks like it was a popular model last Christmas.<br /><br />I tried again on the day after New Year's, and found one store that had the camera on sale for $143. Good enough, so I went to the counter to try to buy it. Unfortunately, the display model was the only one they had, and it wasn't for sale. However, I could order one and "it should arrive at the warehouse at the end of next week". I decided I'd spent enough time, so I agreed to order one in. As I was filling out the paperwork, I was told that a $10 deposit was not enough. Since it was a "warehouse" order, the manager informed the shop assistant that I needed to pay the full $143 up front! I knew I should've backed out right there, but it was a reputably chain of stores, and it wouldn't be more than a week or so, right?<br /><br />The first week passed, and I didn't hear from the store. Another week passed, still no news. Finally, after almost three weeks I headed into the city to find out what's happening with the order. Apparently Canon was experiencing delays in supplying product. I was tempted to cancel the order and ask for my money back. I had seen the same camera advertised and in stock at other stores. But I decided to give them another week.<br /><br />As I may have mentioned, it's been a hot couple of weeks in Adelaide lately, so I had to put of going back to the store until the weather was cool enough. Today was the day, but before going to the store I thought I'd check if another store had the camera. Yep, sure enough, I saw the exact model in stock and on sale for $128. So my mind was made up: if my camera had not come in yet, I would cancel my order at the first store and go buy it at the other store. And that's how it turned out. The consolation was that I ended up saving $15 at the end of the process.<br /><br />While the delay may not have been their fault, what really ticked me off was that the store didn't keep me informed of the progress of the order. They just quietly kept rolling over the expected delivery date. There were apparently six other people in a similar situation, all waiting for the order to arrive. I wonder how long those people will wait before giving up? Not a good way to make your customers happy.<br /><br />I guess I learned a couple of lessons:<br />1. Don't expect a store to actually have an advertised sale item in stock.<br />2. Only place an order for something if you're willing to put up with delays.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Adelaide's maximum temperature reached 35.6 degrees Celsius (96 degrees Fahrenheit) today.</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-6832775766783993172009-02-04T23:55:00.001+10:302009-02-05T00:31:45.382+10:30Windows 7 and Movie DVDs: Examples of Price DiscriminationApparently Windows 7 (like its predecessors Vista and XP) will give users a choice of multiple versions. See "<a href="http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/03/windows-7-skus-announced-yes-your-worst-nightmare-has-come-to/2">Windows 7 SKUs announced: your worst nightmare has come to pass</a>" for information about the versions and their distinguishing features.<br /><br />On the surface, this "choice" gives users the ability to pay only for the features they want. But, what it actually represents, is an example of what economists call "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination">price discrimination</a>". Now, this term sounds bad, but conceptually it's not necessarily a "bad thing". The point I'm trying to make is that the reason for the different versions is not so much to give consumers greater choice, but more simply to maximise the profits of the producer.<br /><br />In particular, Microsoft is employing a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination#Premium_pricing">premium pricing</a> strategy. The cost of developing Windows 7 is essentially sunk, and so can be spread out over all the versions (refer: "<a href="http://oz.stern.nyu.edu/io/pricing.html">Pricing Information Goods, Price Discrimination, Pricing Digital Goods</a>"). Therefore, the cost of supplying an additional copy of "Windows 7 Starter" is essentially the same as the cost of supplying an additional copy of "Windows 7 Ultimate" (I'm assuming minimal differences is packaging and number of discs). From the Wikipedia article on price discrimination: "by providing a choice between a regular and premium product, consumers are being asked to reveal their degree of price sensitivity (or willingness to pay) for comparable products." Other examples include bewildering choice of drinks at coffee chains and the pricing of business class airline tickets.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">An aside: "Hey, your an Apple fanboy - what about the two versions of Mac OS X: Client and Server?" The comparison is not really applicable, as these variations are clearly aimed at different types of installation. The Client version actually corresponds to all six flavours of Windows 7: it is intended for an individual's workstation. The Server version is intended to drive backend (i.e. server) systems, and corresponds to the separate Windows 200x Server products.</span>]<br /><br />For a detailed explanation of how price discrimination increases profits, I suggest you consult <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination#Explanation">Wikipedia</a> or an introductory economics book (e.g. <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Undercover-Economist/dp/0345494016">The Undercover Economist</a></span> or <span style="font-style:italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Naked-Economics/dp/0393324869">Naked Economics</a></span>). I'll try giving the gist. In a free market for a product, there is a single price that applies for all units sold. This price represents the point where demand equals supply. Suppliers will continue to sell units of the good as long as the price matches or exceeds the (marginal) cost of producing that additional unit. Now, different consumers value the benefits of the product differently, so some would actually be willing to pay more than the market price if they had to. Those who aren't willing to pay the price miss out altogether. If the seller could charge different prices according to the class of consumers (e.g. by marketing a premium version), it could increase its revenue on the same total volume of sales. This in turn increase profits.<br /><br />The case of "Windows 7 Home Basic", which is only available in emerging markets, is an example of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination#Third_degree_price_discrimination">third degree price discrimination</a>, where "price varies by location or by customer segment, or in the most extreme case, by individual customer".<br /><br />Those familiar with region coding of movie DVDs should recognise a similarity here. According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DVD_region_code#Purpose">Wikipedia</a>: "Price discrimination is especially applicable to movies, because the marginal cost of selling one copy (or viewing) is quite small, giving the seller great flexibility in pricing. There is great disparity among the regions of the world in how much a person is willing to pay for a DVD, and region encoding allows a publisher to sell a DVD for less money in the regions where the demand is low and more where the demand is high."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">Note:</span> I haven't mentioned the more contentious issue of Microsoft's predatory pricing through OEM distribution. See "<a href="http://thismatter.com/articles/microsoft.htm#tq9">Predatory Pricing - Microsoft's Modus Operandi</a>" for an interesting discussion.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Adelaide's maximum temperature was only 33.0 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) today. The temperature continues to fall, but the humidity is increasing.</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-65003969925169128892009-02-03T23:45:00.005+10:302009-02-06T22:06:36.809+10:30Falling Interest Rates: Not Everyone's A WinnerAustralia's official interest rate was reduced by 1 percent today: "<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/02/03/2481148.htm">RBA slashes rates to 3.25pc</a>". Good news for some I'm sure, but for people relying on investment income to pay their bills, it's another shock to deal with. Not only have they seen the value of their investments (e.g. shares and property) fall thanks to the global financial crisis, but in the past few months they've seen returns on their bank deposits plummet.<br /><br />What irks me is that parts of the media focus only on the "good news" side of the story, and neglect to mention the consequences on self-funded retirees and other people who rely on interest from their money. Remember, people who <span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">save</span> money (rather than borrow and spend it) provide the capital needed to finance economic growth.<br /><br />And the suggestion by some finance experts/talking heads that the Reserve Bank should go even further, citing the near-zero rates in the United States, must surely be joking. They do know what a <a href="http://www.123exp-business.com/t/04254266834/">Liquidity Trap</a> is? The US looks like it's going to suffer a similar fate to that which stalled the Japanese economy in the early 1990s. Investment evaporated, economic activity actually <span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">fell</span> even further (i.e. the recession deepened) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deflation#Deflation_in_Japan">deflation</a> set in.<br /><br />Let's hope governments around the world learn from the lessons of the past. Cutting interest rates to zero won't be enough to get us out of this jam.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Adelaide's maximum temperature was only 36.3 degrees Celsius (97 degrees Fahrenheit) today. Unfortunately the temperature looks likely to rise before we get a real change.</span>]<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">Update:</span> <a href="http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/about-that-deflation-risk/">About that deflation risk</a> (by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman">Paul Krugman</a>).Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-62332006097882034292009-02-02T22:55:00.001+10:302009-02-02T22:57:30.769+10:30Example of Poor Restaurant ServiceA couple of weeks ago I had dinner with a cultural studies group. The venue was a suburban restaurant. I'll spare the guilty by not naming the place. I'm not a food critic and, in any case, the restaurant has probably lost enough custom as it is.<br /><br />The group was scheduled to meet at 7pm, and I was the first to arrive. I usually don't eat much at night, so I was happy to wait until the rest of the party had arrived before ordering.<br /><br />As people started arriving, our waiter asked for our drink orders. Some people selected drinks from, but I and a few other people just wanted water. The non-free drinks arrived rather promptly, but the water took a little longer.<br /><br />When everyone in our group had arrived, we ordered our meals. This was about 7:45pm. Within about 20 minutes food started arriving. I was getting hungry at that stage, and a meal was placed in front of me. But alas, this was brought to me by mistake - apparently is was the <span style="font-style:italic;">entrée</span> ordered by someone else at our table, so it was whisked away from me in a flash. A couple other entrées were served at the same time. Hmmm, okay, it would've been nice if the waiter asked us when we were ordering if we wanted the entrées and mains brought out at once. Hopefully the "mains" wouldn't take long to be served.<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;font-weight:bold;">Over one hour later</span>, our mains had yet to be served. People were getting a bit restless. The waiter kept coming around asking if we wanted more drinks, but oddly never offered us more water. I was now both hungry and quite thirsty by this stage. Not good.<br /><br />During his visits to take more drinks orders, the waiter failed to notify us that our mains would be delayed. When people started replying that we were more worried about our meals than more drinks, the waiter didn't think of apologising for the delay.<br /><br />By about 9:30pm, I couldn't wait any longer. I needed to eat some food. I had a headache (which often occurs when I need to eat), so I walked out of the restaurant to clear my head and decide what to do. Should I try to cancel my order and leave to get something somewhere else? I knew that I would still have to pay for the meal if I cancelled the order, so I thought maybe I can grab a bite somewhere else until my meal arrived. As I was walking and thinking I noticed a Chinese restaurant, so I thought I'd grab some spring rolls. I walked in and placed a takeaway order. A few minutes later, I got my spring rolls and ate them as I returned to the first restaurant. Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say.<br /><br />When I got back, my meal had finally been served. I started eating it, but found the wait had not been worth it. In disgust, I excused myself, letting my fellow diners know that I was going to pay my part of the bill and leave early. As I paid for the meal, I complained about the tardy service and the fact that the meal wasn't that good. No offer of discount or refund was made, but rather I got a rather weak reply that they were "a bit busy that night". I didn't buy it, and neither did anyone else at our table that night.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Adelaide's maximum temperature was only 38.8 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) today. It's still hot, so I'll continue ranting for a little longer.</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-84239916655476380962009-02-01T21:45:00.004+10:302009-02-01T23:14:30.377+10:30A "Wooded" Ville? Sadly, NoAs you may know, Adelaide is sweltering as "<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/4414203/Southern-Australia-endures-worst-heatwave-for-150-years.html">Southern Australia endures worst heatwave for 150 years</a>".<br /><br />But the hot weather is not a novelty for Adelaide. So you'd think that authorities would make plans with this in mind? Today's rant is about my local council's failure to think ahead.<br /><br />I live on an "avenue". According to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avenue_%28landscape%29">Wikipedia</a>: "traditionally, an avenue is a straight road with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side." If only my street could actually live up to the "avenue" part of its name! On days like today I'd be able to walk down it and benefit from some shade. Trees would also keep the bitumen roads from absorbing and radiating large amounts of heat.<br /><br />What makes the dearth of trees even more ironic is that my council used to be called "Woodville". The intention was for the area it to be a "wooded" ville, i.e. a place with lots of trees. Generally, councils in the western suburbs seem averse to planting trees. Adelaideans living east of the city are fortunate to have had councils with enough foresight to have planted trees many years ago.<br /><br />Late last year the council finally started a serious tree-planting project down my street. Unfortunately, it could be a while before I can expect any significant benefits on days like today.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">A slight bit of relief today in Adelaide. The maximum temperature was only 40.6 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit)!</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-60304625078442509142009-01-31T21:46:00.006+10:302009-02-01T11:03:37.245+10:30Jobs/Apple Speculation FrenzySome of the wild speculation surrounding the health of Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, has been shameful. He's a human being, and now that he's stepped aside as Apple CEO for a while, he deserves some level of privacy and respect. The speculation about Apple's future has also been rather bizarre, and I'll be discussing some of that in this rant.<br /><br />The revival at Apple since Steve Jobs returned as CEO has been in large part due to his efforts, both direct and indirect. He's assembled a great team of talented people, for example: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ive">Jonathan Ive</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_D._Cook">Tim Cook</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_W._Schiller">Phil Schiller</a>. Obviously, having such an influential CEO stand aside will have an impact on Apple's day-to-day operations. But there are about 35,000 other employees who've had a hand in producing great products too.<br /><br />Some may point to what happened to Apple after Jobs was ousted in 1985. There are several factors that need to be considered, however: Jobs went on to start <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT">NeXT Inc</a>, <span style="font-weight:bold;font-style:italic;">"taking several Apple employees from the SuperMicro division with him"</span> [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NeXT">Wikipedia</a>]. Then-CEO John Sculley didn't waste time <a href="http://lowendmac.com/orchard/06/1002.html">reorganising (de-Jobsing?) Apple</a>. Other top Apple personnel also left around that time (notably chief Macintosh engineers <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Hertzfeld">Andy Hertzfeld</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrell_Smith">Burrell Smith</a>). And in 1987, co-founder <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wozniak">Steve Wozniak</a> left Apple. Quite a brain-drain, I'd say.<br /><br />The current situation is quite different. Jobs has stepped aside, but his hand-picked team remains in place. As has been noted recently, "<a href="http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/12/23/analyst_says_steve_jobs_spirit_has_been_institutionalized.html">although the co-founder has been critical to the company's resurgence, his spirit and drive have since been instilled in thousands of other Apple employees</a>".<br /><br />Perhaps a more appropriate guide is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixar">Pixar</a>. Steve Jobs is no longer CEO of Pixar, yet WALL·E (released last year) did rather well. "It grossed $521 million worldwide, won the 2009 Best Animated Film Golden Globe Award and is nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Animated Feature" [<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E">Wikipedia</a>]. After the acquisition of Pixar by Disney in 2006, most of Jobs' creative team has retained control.<br /><br />In stark contrast, Microsoft's situation does seem to have greatly deteriorated since founder Bill Gates left the company. The past few years have been rather underwhelming for the company: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Windows_Vista">Vista</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune">Zune</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Ring_of_Death#Three_flashing_red_lights">Xbox 360's "red ring of death"</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_Personal_Objects_Technology">SPOT</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Mobile">Windows Mobile</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultra-Mobile_PC">Origami/UMPC</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PlaysForSure">PlaysForSure</a> (to name a few problems, failures and missteps).<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Would you believe, another hot day in Adelaide. Today's maximum temperature was 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit)!</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-54307490431585953252009-01-30T22:36:00.007+10:302009-01-30T23:27:19.368+10:30SMS - It's been great but ...According to various sources, it's clear that SMS/text messages are very popular: "<a href="http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2141912/sms-sales-ring-50bn-2010">SMS revenue to ring up $50bn by 2010</a>". I accept that they can be convenient and good value, but every time I send one I'm reminded of how frustrating they can be, especially when compared to e-mail.<br /><br />Here's a list of some of my grievances:<br /><ul><br /><li>Entering the text is a pain on a standard phone. True, T9 (predictive text entry) is cool, but it depends on how good your dictionary is, and sometimes I want to use a different language. I'm sure I can change the appropriate setting, but that takes time. Also, I hate how my mobile uses T9 by default in some places, and multi-tap in others (e.g. phone book search).</li><br /><li>You don't get (free) notifications of receipt/failures.</li><br /><li>They're limited, not so much in length, but in content. E-mail is obviously much richer. And don't even talk to me about MMS! I hope ubiquitous mobile net access finally renders MMS redundant.</li><br /><li>Messages can only be stored on the mobile (either on the SIM card or the phone's memory). So I have to constantly vet the messages to free up space. E-mail messages need not be stored on the device, and messages stored on a server can be accessed by other devices.</li><br /><li>Messages can (ordinarily) only be read on mobile phones. (Yes, I'm aware that you can <a href="http://www.developershome.com/sms/#quickGuideNonDevelopers">jump through hoops to use a PC to send/receive messages</a>, but these techniques are not as simple and widely-known as e-mail).</li><br /><li>They cost money. Sure, it's only 25 cents in Australia, but e-mail is free.</li><br /></ul><br />Another silly thing with my phone is that it doesn't filter phone numbers to prevent accidentally sending messages to a non-mobile number.<br /><br />SMS messaging hearkens back to a time when internet access was tied to desktops. It's been a great technology, but I can't wait to see e-mail usurp its role.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Yet another day of extreme heat in Adelaide. Today's maximum temperature was 43.1 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit)! I hope the above 40C heatwave ends soon, otherwise I'll run out of things to complain about.</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-89860903067942611402009-01-29T23:47:00.004+10:302009-01-30T00:10:56.131+10:30Inefficient Medicare Cheque Payment ProcessIn Australia we are lucky to have a universal health system. You can go to any doctor and the government will cover the scheduled fee. Many doctors "bulk-bill", that is, they send the bill directly to the government and charge only the scheduled fee. The government will pay the doctor directly. Very cool.<br /><br />However, sometimes a co-payment is necessary. Ok, this is understandable to cover doctor's admin costs and prevent abuse of the system. But an extra hassle is introduced for the patient. He or she pays the co-payment to the practice, then the practice makes an application for payment to Medicare for the scheduled fee. A few days pass, then the patient (yes the patient), receives a cheque made out <span style="font-weight:bold;"><span style="font-style:italic;">in the doctor’s name</span></span>. So then the patient has to forward the cheque onto the doctor! Why involve the patient again? Also, in the modern era of electronic funds transfer, the use of cheques sounds arcane.<br /><br />And here's something I just found out while researching this post: if the patient doesn't forward the cheque within 90 days, the doctor can apply to Medicare to get the money owing <span style="font-weight:bold;">via EFT</span>! So obviously Medicare is willing and able to use EFT, so why not skip the cheque-handling and 90-day provision?<br /><br />If you're unfamiliar with Australia's Medicare system, check out this page: "<a href="http://www.medicareaustralia.gov.au/public/register/how-works.jsp">How does Medicare work?</a>"<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">Another day of extreme heat in Adelaide. Today's maximum temperature was 43.4 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit)!</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-73585164434650692732009-01-28T22:32:00.008+10:302009-01-28T23:08:37.421+10:30DVD Anti-Piracy Measures = Anti-ConsumerWhy do movie studios insist on forcing legitimate viewers to watch those anti-piracy spots after a DVD is loaded? I personally find it a bit insulting that someone would insinuate that I would want to pirate a movie.<br /><br />The irony, of course, is that people who actually watch pirated DVDs don't even see these ads! Pirates would obviously exclude them from the copies. Anti-piracy? More like anti-consumer.<br /><br />To rub more salt into the wound, some DVDs now play previews of other films after the anti-piracy ad. Aargh! More precious time wasted! Please, just let me watch the movie I want to watch.<br /><br />I know, this is not exactly an original complaint, e.g. "<a href="http://economics.com.au/?p=972">Intrusive anti-piracy</a>". But I just wanted to get it out of my system.<br /><br />Perhaps they could at least make the ads more interesting. For example, make them funny and/or in the style of the content they precede? For example, <a href="http://www.idkwtf.com/videos/latest-videos/amusing-anti-piracy-ad">here's one from the opening of The IT Crowd</a>. <a href="http://www.karlhungus.com/2008/02/anti-piracy-ads-are-good-reason-to.html">Other suggestions</a> have been put forward. <br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">The extreme heatwave in Adelaide continues. Today it was 45.7 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit)!</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-73335481267566120812009-01-27T21:56:00.006+10:302009-02-01T11:03:54.564+10:30Kings of Leon? - Meh!The Australia Day tradition continued at alternative youth radio station Triple-J, with the annual countdown of the previous year's "<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/hottest100/default.htm">Hottest 100</a>" songs as voted by the listeners.<br /><br />Obviously 2008's hot band was the Kings of Leon:<br /><blockquote>#1 - Kings of Leon - Sex on Fire<br />...<br />#3 - Kings of Leon - Use Somebody<br />...<br />#24 - Kings of Leon - Closer<br />...<br />#70 - Kings of Leon - Crawl</blockquote><br />Once I was at a record store and the song "Sex on Fire" was playing. Not knowing who it was, I assumed it was the latest single from Australian idol alumnus Shannon Noll, or perhaps some other graduate of that "music" franchise. Whoever it was, it actually made me fell quite nauseous.<br /><br />Later when I found out it was that supposedly credible alternative band Kings of Leon, I was shocked. Maybe it was a one-off concession to the mainstream taste for overblown drivel? But no, hearing "Use Somebody" confirmed my dislike for the music of these alternative darlings.<br /><br />I'll have to put it down to outgrowing Triple-J's target market. Some great alternative music from 2008 didn't even get a look in: Mogwai, The Raconteurs, Elbow, Goldfrapp and Portishead all failed to make the top 100. At least Nick Cave and Sigur Ròs managed to get a song each on the chart.<br /><br />[<span style="font-style:italic;">This is the first rant in over six months - blame it on the extreme heatwave we're experiencing in Adelaide at the moment. Today it was 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit)!</span>]Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-63130340949734900402008-07-16T20:24:00.001+09:302008-07-16T20:24:38.888+09:30Tanks A Lot, AFLRegardless of whether or not Carlton "tanked" to win last year's wooden spoon, there appears to be a perverse form of incentives working in the Australian Football League (AFL).<br /><br />Let's see: Carlton finished bottom of the table last year. This automatically entitled them to first pick in the player draft. As an added bonus, the club only has to play last year's top team, Geelong, only once this season. And that match was played at their home ground (admittedly shared with other clubs, but Geelong is not one of them).<br /><br />With rewards like that, the AFL is not only a fight for the top position, but it looks like a race to the bottom as well.<br /><br />How do bottom-placed teams fair in the top leagues of the premier football code around the world?<br />* In the English Premier League, Watford finished bottom and was relegated (along with the two other worst-performing teams).<br />* In Italy's Serie A, Messina finished bottom and was relegated (along with the two other worst-performing teams).<br />* In Spain's La Liga, Gimnàstic de Tarragona finished bottom and was relegated (along with the two other worst-performing teams).<br /><br />Detect a pattern?<br /><br />Why does the AFL reward poor performance? A team can consistently under-perform for a few years to build up its roster, then suddenly "switch on".<br /><br />By providing such perverse incentives, the outcomes of matches come under question. Given the level of gambling, er sports betting, in Australia, I'm sure a lot of punters would be concerned by this. Consider this hypothetical: the top team is playing a potential bottom team the week before the finals. The top team must win to secure a home final. A loss for the cellar-dwellers would ensure a last place finish and all the benefits that would accrue. The top team doesn't want any injuries either, but would like a nice hit out to toughen them up. If only the two clubs could conjure a mutually-acceptable arrangement...<br /><br />I'm not suggesting this has happened, but it could. The threat of relegation would help make sure all teams remain competitive for as long as possible. Resting players or experimenting could jeopardise the club's final position.<br /><br />The AFL wants to expand from 16 teams to 18 teams. Why not make it 20 teams, but separated into a first and second division? Each team could play each other at least twice, removing the complaints for lop-sided schedules. The threat of relegation and reward of promotion would keep clubs honest and help prevent both mediocrity and the temptation to "tank".<br /><br />But somehow I doubt the AFL has the guts to do it.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-2467318421142442022008-07-14T22:55:00.000+09:302008-07-14T22:55:22.621+09:30Money as Debt ... as Fact, or Fiction?"<a href="http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-9050474362583451279">Money as Debt</a>" by Paul Grignon is an interesting documentary about money, banking and debt creation. It points out some facts about money, but unfortunately, it has a few flaws.<br /><br />Firstly, I want to commend a couple of points where it quite rightly challenges popularly-held views:<br /><br />1. "Money", as in a currency in our wallets, is <span style="font-weight:bold;">not<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> backed by the equivalent amount of gold held by banks or in places like Fort Knox. This is true. (See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Representative_money">Wikipedia article: Representative money</a>).<br /><br />2. Most of the money in an economy is <span style="font-weight:bold;">not<span style="font-style:italic;"></span></span> the result of governments printing notes, but rather from the money creation activities of banks and other credit providers. This is also true. (See <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_supply">Wikipedia article: Money supply)</a>.<br /><br />The general public should be made aware of these common misconceptions, so that people can be better informed about how the economy really works. However, I cannot entirely accept the description of the money creation process as depicted in the video. Nor can I accept the suggestion that the money (or debt) is conjured completely out of thin air.<br /><br />According to the example in the documentary, a bank can have only $1,111.12 in reserves and use that to loan $10,000 to a borrower. Huh? How can the borrower use the credit (an asset for the bank) when there is no corresponding deposit (a liability for the bank). This would violate double-entry accounting. That's Enron-style voodoo accounting. How does the bank account for the $8,888.88 that has been conjured out of thin air, as the documentary asserts? For the bank to be able to lend out $10,000 it would need to have initially raised that amount of money from somewhere, as either startup capital from investors or deposits from the general public.<br /><br />While it is true that banks create money, the ratio of 90:1 suggested by the documentary is plain wrong. $1,111,12 cannot create $100,000 of money. If the required reserve requirement ratio is 1:9, then the credit creation multiplier is 9:1. The bank would need $10,000 of initial capital, not $1,111,12. For a more accurate example of the money creation process, check out the description of the Fractional reserve system in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_creation">Wikipedia article: Money creation</a>.<br /><br />The second major issue I have is the idea that debt (and therefore money) exists independently of the real assets in the economy. Again, double-entry accounting suggests this is not possible. Somewhere along the line, a mortgage of say $100,000 requires equivalent assets as collateral. Otherwise the bank shouldn't hand over its depositors' funds to the borrower. That would be irresponsible.<br /><br />While I accept that these days the traditional (and rather conservative) credit system of banks has been usurped by all manner of credit providers. These sources of credit have much looser regulatory requirements, and I would argue that here lies a potential problem for the economy.<br /><br />Another concession I would make is that the total debt in the economy may actually exceed the real value of the assets acquired with the money borrowed. Any such mismatch can cause real problems for the economy. Bubbles can lead to prices that have lost touch with the real value of assets. Remember the Tech bubble, the sub-prime fiasco, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_bubble">and so on</a>? If the bubble bursts, borrowers could be in the unenviable position of holding assets worth <span style="font-style:italic;">less</span> than the debt owed to acquire them. These borrowers may no longer be able to meet their obligations, and so could be forced to sell the assets if, for example, the bank forecloses on their mortgage. The flow-on effects throughout the economy can be disastrous, as many people are experiencing as part of the sub-prime crisis.<br /><br />I must admit I stopped watching the video about half-way through. Therefore I don't know where the argument was ultimately leading. Unfortunately, the two flaws I've identified make me question the documentary as a whole. A basic requirement of a logical argument is that it must be built on premises that are not false. False premises render any conclusion inferred by those premises to be unsustainable.<br /><br />If the documentary maker wanted to prove that most money is created by banks and other credit providers (i.e. not by governments), and that out-of-control debt creation can cause economic problems, then I would have to agree. But unfortunately he has sabotaged his efforts by introducing serious flaws in his argument. One day if I get time I might watch the rest of it to see what the conclusions are. In the meantime, I cannot give it an unqualified recommendation. I would suggest viewers interested in the issues raised by the documentary seek more authoritative sources before accepting any conclusions presented.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-13598022308402213702008-06-09T17:08:00.000+09:302008-06-09T17:08:11.141+09:30Aussies = World Championship WhingersWe Aussies like to make a big deal about how well we do in the world sporting arena. Out media loves the line that we "punch above our weight".<br /><br />Well, here's another world title Aussies, in particular our high-quality commercial media, can surely claim: World Championship Whingers!<br /><br />As everyone is (or at least should be) aware, world oil prices have been at record highs lately. This is translating to record high prices at the petrol station. Of course, this is a bad thing for the average consumer and transport worker. But the way the media is bleating, it seems that the Australian government can actually do something about the problem. It's an easy way for them to show how much they're supporting the "Aussie battler".<br /><br />But, in fact, they're just using this as a way to drum up patronage. They don't bother taking the time to explain the often complicated reasons for the price rise, as more serious media organisations attempt to do. For example:<br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7255447.stm">"Who knows why oil prices are so high?"</a> [BBC]<br /><br />They also conveniently neglect to mention that Australians tend to pay less for petrol than many other industrialised nations:<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_usage_and_pricing#Average_gasoline_prices_around_the_world">Average gasoline prices around the world</a> [Wikipedia]<br /><br />For example (as at May 2008), Aussies pay on average US$1.48 per litre, while western Europeans pay between US$1.88 and US$2.74 per litre!<br /><br />Given this is an Olympic year, I propose a new event: Whinging. The Australian media would surely give the Poms a run for their money in that category.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-77648384514189894662008-05-03T20:25:00.000+09:302008-05-03T20:25:57.698+09:30May Day = Bizarro DayA couple of days ago I got the familiar feeling that I'd woken up from the wrong side of the bed, twice.<br /><br />Firstly, heading off to work I got to the bus stop to find nobody else there. This didn't look good, because that probably meant I'd just missed the bus. I looked up the road to confirm my fears, but I didn't see a bus on that 1.5 km stretch. It must've come very early. Oh well, the next bus should be along in the next 15 minutes or so (according to the timetable). If only. It finally did arrive 30 minutes later , closely followed by another bus! So, the bus I wanted to catch but missed was at least 5 minutes early, the next one was 15 minutes late and the one after that was on time. It would be nice if bus drivers followed the schedule a bit more closely. Perhaps people may have more confidence in public transport and use the system more.<br /><br />Anyway, I finally got to work a bit later than I'd hoped. I worked through to lunch time quite productively. Then went over to eat my lunch at a nearby snack bar. I ordered lasagna with salad, specifically requesting no chips. Time passed. More time passed. Eventually, I overheard someone say that the chips were ready. Oh no, I thought, I'm going to get chips with my meal. Not only that, but the chips that I specifically did not want were the reason for the delay in getting the lasagna and salad that I did want! And trying to eat those chips used up even more time that I wanted to use on getting my work done. I hate having to throw away food, but there was no way I could eat all the chips without getting sick.<br /><br />Fortunately, when I got back to work I managed to complete all the tasks I wanted to for the day. As they say, <a href="http://www.answers.com/all%27s+well+that+ends+well&r=67">all's well that ends well</a> :)Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-76971800708923947742008-04-25T23:58:00.003+09:302008-04-26T12:52:39.981+09:30.docx Considered StupidRecently I received an email with a ".docx" file attached. This is the new format for Microsoft Word 2007 documents. I won't even start about how annoying it is to get Word documents attached to emails. Unfortunately it's something you have to put up with.<br /><br />Being a Mac user and not having the latest and *cough* greatest word processor from Microsoft, I had to figure out how to read this document. I found out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_XML_formats">.docx file format</a> is actually a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZIP_%28file_format%29">zip</a>ped directory tree containing xml files.<br /><br />Ok, first step was to unzip the .docx file via the command line. This resulted in eleven files in a handful of directories. So far, so good.<br /><br />Next step was to find which file contains the actual text of the document and not just metadata. Looking through the filenames, I found one called "document.xml" which appeared promising. So I opened it up in my trusty text editor, <a href="http://macromates.com/">TextMate</a>. Suddenly my computer began grinding to a crawl as the file was loaded. It turned out that the entire file consists of two lines: the first line containing the xml version, and the second line contained the entire xml markup for the document! No wonder TextMate struggled, since it dutifully created a 70,000+ character line for the document. Why couldn't the xml file have newlines to make it more manageable? Anyway, on to the final step...<br /><br />My plan was to write a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regexp">regexp</a> search-and-replace to strip out all the xml markup so I could read the content of the document. But then I discovered that the markup is peppered with <w:proofErr w:type="spellStart"/> tags around almost every single word! I should mention that the contents of the document were in a foreign language, hence all the spelling "errors". For some bizarre reason, Microsoft Word marks up spelling mistakes in docx files, not just on-screen. Why? Shouldn't it be left to the individual application (and platform) loading the document to decide whether or not words are misspelled? I can accept all the other hassles with the docx format: zipped xml files and incredibly long lines, but the encoding of spelling errors is crazy stuff.<br /><br />After all that I gave up trying cleaning up the xml to read the file. Luckily, I found a web site that offers free conversion of docx files: <a href="http://www.zamzar.com/">zamzar.com</a>.<br /><br />PS: It turns out that Word documents created using MS Office 2007 do not conform with their own OOXML standard!:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.griffinbrown.co.uk/blog/PermaLink,guid,3e2202cd-59a3-4356-8f30-b8eb79735e1a.aspx">OOXML and Office 2007 Conformance: a Smoke Test</a></blockquote>Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-61007923706238358312008-04-10T21:10:00.001+09:302008-04-10T21:10:05.973+09:30Our Precious Gold MedalsAustralia loves it's sporting heroes. But I think they sometimes deserve to have their egos pricked every now and then.<br /><br />With the Tibet and other human rights issues spurring some people to suggest a boycott of the Olympic Games:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23513807-421,00.html">Swimming legend to boycott Olympics</a></blockquote><br />some Australian sports "stars" won't have a bar of it:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/22/2196581.htm">Hackett dismisses Olympics boycott</a></blockquote><br />It's interesting that these people, who are heavily subsidised by (our) public money to swim up and down a pool all day easily dismiss the political protests of their fellow Australians.<br /><br />If they financed themselves solely using their own money, then they can do whatever they want. But, according to this report:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/180_02_190104/mit10271_fm.html">Olympic medals or long life: what’s the bottom line?</a></blockquote><br />Australia spent $280 million on its athletes during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Each medal cost $4.82 million!<br /><br />The medals are not the only benefits that athletes can receive. They get lucrative sponsorship deals and jump to the head of the line for plum jobs in the sports media.<br /><br />I'd like to see athletes self-finance their activities more. Maybe they should contribute using schemes such as those that exists for tertiary education in Australia (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tertiary_education_fees_in_Australia">HECS/HELP</a>)? The money raised could go to helping the underprivileged or into the general health system. Isn't it ironic that at a time when Australia performs so well in international sport, the country is going through an unprecedented obesity epidemic.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-16448046227324028402008-04-08T21:12:00.001+09:302008-04-10T20:39:53.187+09:30Reality Bites and the ABC of Crime InvestigationI know it sounds like a broken record: the state of television programming is getting worse. Too much reality TV is a given. Arguably, the genre has reached its nadir with the aptly-named <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Moment_of_Truth_(US_game_show)">"The Moment of Truth"</a>.<br /><br />When someone hits on a winning formula, everyone else seems to react by producing copycat programs. Witness the recent resurgence of the murder investigation genre: CSI, NCIS, Law & Order: SVU/CI, etc ad nauseum. Networks and producers are more willing to exhaust a "winning" formula than take a chance on something truly original.<br /><br />What can be done? The average viewer doesn't have a lot of choice. All we can do is vote with our feet. I've decided to leave the TV turned off unless there's a program I think is worth watching. No more flicking through the channels in the hope of finding something interesting. The time saved not settling for mediocre viewing can then be spent on reading books, listening to music, writing, coding and blogging :)Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-78412664375421674742008-03-11T22:20:00.001+10:302008-03-12T20:50:49.657+10:30Cramped Seating on BusesAustralians are apparently getting physically bigger:<br /><blockquote><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6494117.stm">Obese Aussies get big ambulances</a></blockquote><br />So why do bus seats seem to get smaller and more cramped?<br /><br />On my bus trip home tonight I made the mistake of sitting on one of the face-to-face seats. The bus became rather packed, and someone had to sit directly opposite me. We had to place our legs in uncomfortable positions to avoid knocking each other's knees.<br /><br />It's not just the face-to-face seats that are cramped. Other seating configurations cause different types of cramping. For example, seats over wheel arches require passengers to raise their knees (on the window side), or have one leg higher than the other (in the aisle side). And the seats behind the barriers near the exits allow barely enough room for your feet. Those with long legs and big feet can try sitting sideways, but that's difficult if the bus is packed and you have to share the seat.<br /><br />The larger bags and other accessories that people carry around with them just makes things worse.<br /><br />We should be trying to get as many as people as possible to leave their cars at home and use public transport. But making the seats uncomfortable is not the way to do it.<br /><br />PS: To rub salt into the wound, another bus came past a few minutes later and was practically empty! Maybe the bus I caught was running late, and so was taking on additional passengers. If the buses ran on time, I probably wouldn't have had to feel like a sardine. Buses not following schedules is a topic for another rant :)Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-70885240866873064552008-02-13T21:04:00.000+10:302008-02-13T21:04:08.406+10:30Mobile Phone Blues, Episodes 451 and 452Last week, before recharging my mobile phone (A Sony Ericsson 310), I notice the battery had become rather swollen. Since the phone was getting on a bit (I got it in mid-2003) I decided to get a replacement battery and not to risk leaking, a fire or even an explosion.<br /><br />This lead to a series of disappointments (not surprising since I've been generally disappointed by my phone, which I'll identify shortly). First, finding someone in Adelaide that sells replacement batteries for Sony Ericsson phones is not easy. Next, when I found a place stocking batteries for my phone, the price was $40! Each! Yes, I know there are places online that provide batteries for much less, but I'm a bricks-and-mortar kind of shopper when it comes to electronics.<br /><br />Ok, did I want to spend $40 on a new battery for a phone I'm not overly happy with (Plan A)? Or should I buy a brand new phone (Plan B)?<br /><br />Before discussing the options, I'll list the grievances I have with my current phone:<br />* Loooong startup time<br />* Silly joystick navigation<br />* Unresponsive user interface<br />* Battery compartment opens too easily when phone falls<br /><br />I had hoped that getting a new phone would at least solve some of these issues. So Plan B looked like a goer, until I actually started shopping around. This triggered another series of disappointments ...<br />1. Mobile phone salespeople are pushy, and want to sell you things you don't want<br />2. There are so many models to choose from<br />3. Not all vendors stock all the models<br />4. Phones come with all sorts of stuff that I don't want: cameras, radios, GPS, younameit<br />5. Basic phones exist but are often tied to plans (which are confusing)<br />6. Generally buying phones outright is still too expensive<br />7. Most importantly, you don't get the opportunity to try out a phone's user interface before you buy it<br /><br />The last point was the main source of disappointment with my current phone. Had I been able to use it beforehand I would probably have chosen another model.<br /><br />Some people think all this choice is great for consumers. But I would argue that is not the case. Anyone who has read "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paradox-Choice-Why-More-Less/dp/0060005696">The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less</a>" by Barry Schwartz, will be well aware of the problems with too much choice. I've ranted about this before in "<a href="http://bruno-rants.blogspot.com/2006/11/too-much-choice-considered-harmful.html">Too Much Choice Considered Harmful</a>" and <a href="http://b-list.blogspot.com/2006/11/paradox-of-choice.html">written about the book in another blog</a>, so I won't repeat myself here.<br /><br />Another nagging concern is that all this "choice" is illusory because vendors and telcos seem to select particular combinations of plans and models, making it difficult to compare. Looks like there are opportunities for cartel-like behaviour to me.<br /><br />So, after pounding the concrete for a few days, and getting increasingly frustrated with the ordeal of buying a new phone, I decided to go for Plan A. I bought a replacement battery for my existing phone. I resented having to pay such an an exorbitant price, but at least ...<br />* I won't risk the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyer's_remorse">buyer's remorse</a>" of getting something that fails to satisfy<br />* I won't have been responsible for the waste caused by manufacturing a brand new phone <br />* I save some money, at least in the short term<br /><br />I'll probably get a new phone eventually, but at least I will have had time to prepare a little in advance. I can ask to try out the user interfaces of other people's phones. Technology can only improve (right?), and who knows, Apple may release an iPhone mini in Australia by then :)<br /><br />Finally, some advice: Check your mobile phone battery often before you recharge it.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-20107187562848082132008-01-12T20:35:00.000+10:302008-01-12T20:37:39.858+10:30Time Out of JointWe're surrounded by appliances that tell us the time: VCRs, stereos, ovens, clock radios, etc. Unfortunately, the times displayed often get out of touch with reality.<br /><br />Power outages will leave appliances flashing 12:00 (or 0:00). And switching to/from daylight saving can be a pain twice a year. A third problem is that the timing mechanisms in the devices have varying degrees of accuracy. So from time to time you will have to go around setting the correct time on various appliances.<br /><br />Battery backups help solve the power outage problem. But batteries eventually go flat and cost money to replace. And they won't help much if you want to totally power down appliances to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<br /><br />After all these years, and the production of millions of appliances, you'd think manufacturers could have come up with a solution. Why haven't they taken some cues from the computer and telecommunication industries, which make use of time services and protocols (e.g. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_Time_Protocol">Network Time Protocol</a>) to allow automatic time synchronisation. Appliance manufacturers could add some simple circuitry to perform a similar function over power lines. The cost of the circuitry would eventually become negligible thanks to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economies_of_scale">economies of scale</a>. In fact, manufacturers could save money by removing batteries and other parts.<br /><br />Of course, this solution would require power companies to transmit a time signal over the power lines. Surely this couldn't be a huge cost? Telephone companies transmit the time and date as part of Caller ID information.<br /><br />PS I don't claim to have come up with the phrase "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Out_of_Joint">time out of joint</a>". Philip K. Dick used it for the title of a novel, and William Shakespeare used it in <span style="font-style:italic;">Hamlet</span>.Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9174537.post-77534560329436400372008-01-08T22:20:00.000+10:302008-01-08T22:20:45.875+10:30Four-Wheel Drives: Car Park NuisancesFour-Wheel Drives (4WDs) or "four by fours" (4x4s), by whatever name, are nuisances. Especially in shopping centre car parks. I'm talking about the hulking, big, "can't see through or around them" type of things.<br /><br />Getting in and out of the car parks is tricky enough, with mad shoppers coming out of nowhere and darting around the place. Being parked next to a big behemoth makes it scary to reverse out of a parking space. At least with normal cars you can see through their windows to gauge any potential hazards. But with those big 4WDs, all you see is painted metal.<br /><br />Sure, in the past you had to deal with the occasional van that would block your sight. Nowadays, with 4WDs apparently accounting for almost 20% of new car sales in Australia, you're more likely to get stuck next to one (or more) of these nuisances.<br /><br />How about this for a solution? Quarantine all big off-road vehicles in a special parking area. Preferably far away from normal, practical cars. And since they're built for going off-road, there's no real need to clear and pave the ground to accommodate the 4WDs. In fact, leave it rough-and-ready with mounds and ditches, so their owners can at least get their cars' wheels dirty and make use of the special tyres and suspension :)Brunohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00104852494930352521noreply@blogger.com