Quotulatiousness

September 3, 2009

AT&T may be happy to end exclusive iPhone deal with Apple

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 18:32

According to Henry Blodget, AT&T may be willing to see the end of their exclusive deal with Apple to support the iPhone, as the traffic is “Crushing AT&T’s Cell Network”:

  • Performance issues will likely hasten the end of AT&T’s exclusive on the iPhone (which is scheduled to end next year anyway). At this point, it would actually be in AT&T’s interest to spread the network demand around.
  • AT&T will have to spend a lot of money and rush to upgrade the network before its reputation gets any worse (a third of people who don’t buy iPhones don’t buy them because of AT&T)
  • This is GREAT news for the future of the mobile web: Now that the iPhone has created a compelling mobile online experience, mobile usage is finally exploding. This is already leading to the growth of a whole new industry based on mobile apps and gadgets.
  • This is great news for the iPhone: If people are willing to put up with performance this lousy, it shows how much they love their iPhones.

Was Fukuyama correct after all?

Filed under: China, Economics, History — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 18:28

Scott Sumner has an interesting post up about Francis Fukuyama’s “end of history” thoughts of the late 1980s:

So the obvious choice for most successful prediction is Francis Fukuyama’s 1989 claim that “history was ending,” that the great ideological battle between democratic capitalism and other isms was essentially over, and that henceforth the world would become gradually more democratic, peaceful, and market-oriented.

[. . .]

I get very annoyed when I see people say “the Chinese case proves that economic development doesn’t inevitably lead to political liberalization.” There are so many problems with this sort of statement that one hardly knows were to begin. China has seen incredible political liberalization since 1978, indeed even some progress since 1998. But what about western-style democracy? To answer that question, consider the list above. I would argue that China most resembles Thailand. Both have similar per capita GDPs, both have a huge split between the urban elite and the rural poor. My hunch is that consciously or subconsciously, the urban residents of China are not thrilled by the idea of a pure democracy that would effectively turn the country over to the rural poor. But wait a few decades, when China goes from being 60%-70% rural, to 60%-70% urban, and from mostly poor to mostly middle-income, and from mostly undereducated to mostly educated. Then let’s see how Fukuyama’s thesis holds up.

History is still ending. Or maybe I should say “his story” is ending, the story of war, revolution and voyages of discovery. The Illiad and the Odyssey. And “her story” is beginning. A world focused on improving education, health care, cuisine, leisure time, the arts, communication, animal rights, the environment, etc.

QotD: “The red-headed step-child of the environmental movement”

Filed under: Environment, Quotations, Railways, Technology — Tags: — Nicholas @ 16:48

As a practical matter, we’d probably get more environmental benefit (and save more wear-and-tear on our roads) from improving our freight rail system, like the abysmal mess in Chicago, than from high speed passenger rail that is very unlikely to carry more than a handful of Americans on any regular basis. . . But this does not attract one eightieth of the interest that you see in HS(P)R. As I understand it, there is finally some actual progress on Chicago, but it’s still bogged down in process, and it’s not clear to me whether it’s really enough. It seems clear to me that switching freight to rail whenever possible should be a policy priority, but it’s the red-headed stepchild of the environmental movement. We need freight cars that look more like pandas.

Megan McArdle, “Rail: It’s Not Just for Passengers”, Asymmetrical Information, 2009-09-03

Alabama belatedly bans “indecent” wine

Filed under: Bureaucracy, USA, Wine — Tags: , — Nicholas @ 13:01

Three years after it started being sold in the state, Alabama decided that this is indecent:

Cycles_Gladiator_label

Slashfood reports:

Wine and scantily clad women may sound like some cad’s idea of a good time, but the combo spells trouble in Alabama, which last week banned the sale of a California-made wine bottle adorned with a naked nymph — helping boost its sales elsewhere in the nation.

Pursuant to the state’s administrative code, the Alabama Beverage Control Board ordered Hahn Family Wines to remove its Cycles Gladiator wines from shelves throughout the state, calling its label “immodest.” According to Hahn president Bill Legion, a small state board in Alabama rejected the artwork last year, but the ruling did not catch Legion’s eye. His apparent defiance of the state’s decision — he claims the paperwork “fell through the cracks” — led to the ban.

“It’s turned out to be a great thing for us,” laughs Legion, who says he’s received calls of support from oenophiles around the world.

I haven’t tried the Cabernet Sauvignon, but I did have a few glasses of their Pinot Noir last week . . . very nice, although rather more full bodied than traditional Pinot (Burgundy, where pinot noir is the primary red wine grape, is a cool climate zone, as are most of the other well known pinot producer regions).

That’d better be a really, really good concert

Filed under: Humour — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 10:23

Colby Cosh reposts a very odd craigslist posting (well, I’m assuming that it’s not representative of typical craigslist postings . . .)

Tarvaris Jackson on the trade block?

Filed under: Football — Tags: , , — Nicholas @ 09:19

Last month I wrote,

Sage Rosenfels and Tarvaris Jackson try to avoid saying anything newsworthy to the media. Hard to blame them . . . they’ve each just had their best chance for professional success kicked out from underneath them. I’m sure each is thinking “it’s only a one-year deal . . .”

Of course, there’s the other aspect: most NFL teams only carry three quarterbacks into the regular season — who’ll be the odd man out? Rosenfels played well in the pre-season opener, and was brought in for a 4th round draft choice. Jackson was a 2nd round pick, but still hasn’t shown that he’s able to be consistent. Booty is still the total unknown. Who will be given their walking papers?

The answer is apparently Tarvaris Jackson:

The Vikings have called teams to see what they would be willing to offer in exchange for backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson, according to a league source.

The Vikings have four quarterbacks on their roster, which must be trimmed to 53 players by Saturday. Coach Brad Childress said recently the team possibly could keep four quarterbacks, but it seems more likely that it will trade or release one.

Jackson has been the subject of trade rumors since Brett Favre arrived. However, it remains unclear which direction the Vikings will go if they are unable to trade Jackson.

I’m not surprised, but I am disappointed. Jackson has the potential to be very, very good, as he demonstrated in the second pre-season game. Unfortunately, he’s not been as consistent as he needed to be. It’s likely he’ll be picked up by another team, but not many teams are looking at adding players right now: mandatory roster cuts are looming (teams must be down to 53 players by Saturday).

1939: Britain declares war on Germany

Filed under: Cancon, Europe, History, WW2 — Tags: — Nicholas @ 08:54

The German invasion of Poland two days earlier triggered the French and British governments’ guarantee to Poland, so after the expiry of the ultimatum, war was declared. Here’s British PM Neville Chamberlain’s announcement of the state of war (RAM file, not WMV).

Unlike the situation in 1914, where Canada was automatically at war when Britain went to war, in 1939 Canada was able to decide whether and when to go to war. It wasn’t until a week later, on September 10, that Canada was formally at war with Germany.

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