On top of that, the California rebate for electric vehicles almost certainly will be exhausted by March when my car arrives, so I’d be out that $5K incentive. The federal $7.5K rebate was apparently only approved in the last-minute tax deal passed in the lame duck session of Congress, except that the IRS doesn’t even recognize its existence any more and I can’t find any definitive statement that it was included in the last minute tax deal. The registration fee for the car would be based on the full purchase price, which makes it cost $400/year to register it.

I read the Nissan warranty on the batteries, and while they cover the batteries for 8 years against catastrophic failure, they do not cover the gradual degradation of batteries that they expect to happen over time. After five years, the batteries will probably only have 70-80% of their capacity, which limits the range to only 70-80 miles (not even two commute days for me).

The navigation system and battery monitoring system is dependent upon a subscription for a cellular data plan for the car. Nissan covers that for three years but after that you have to pay Carwings (no price has been announced). The last thing I want is another data plan.

The only real reason I was planning to get the car was because I wanted to have single-occupancy HOV stickers for my commute. When you add up all the costs, it is going to cost me over $40K for three years. The more I think about this deal, the less attractive it sounds to me. I always knew it was more of a social statement than a wise purchase, but this is starting to look sillier with every day.

This is a supposedly reputable “scientific society” whose sole purpose seems to be to lock up publications behind a pay firewall and spam potential members to encourage them to join. These clowns even throw in a “Free World Clock Calculator”. Is that the kind of professional society you want to belong to?

Here is the latest spam. I am posting it in the hope that it will encourage spammers to spam them.

We have an important chance for you to join ACM, including a world clock calculator, if you respond at:

https://campus.acm.org/public/qjstuwithbook/joinacm2.cfm?client_no=%27%2B%3C%27%2FPL7%2B3%20%20%20%0A&promo=PSAP28SVL

As a member of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery, you will have access to a host of career-enhancing benefits including the newly re-launched “Communications of the ACM” magazine, the most trusted source on advanced computing.

Essential reasons to read “Communications” each and every month:

* News, analysis and insights from the computing world’s leading authorities on the cutting edge of technology
* Balanced and accessible coverage
* Broad and in-depth technical analysis
* Serious and insightful commentary
* Access to an active global community of computing professionals
* Full, real-time, website access to additional content, tools and resources

ACM members are raving about the fully redesigned publication:

“A must-read from cover to cover”
“More articles relevant to my work and interests”
“A top scientific journal”
“Quality technical content”
“More engaging”
“An exciting layout”
“A vastly better magazine”

Learn more about all of the additional benefits of ACM membership, including access to thousands of online books and courses, by visiting:

https://campus.acm.org/public/qjstuwithbook/joinacm2.cfm?client_no=%27%2B%3C%27%2FPL7%2B3%20%20%20%0A&promo=PSAP28SVL

Join ACM today and receive a 15% discount plus an ACM Free World Clock Calculator!

I hope you will take a moment to consider how valuable an ACM membership and “Communications of the ACM” magazine can be to your career!

Sincerely,
Lillian Israel
Director of Membership
ACM
acmhelp@acm.org

ACM Member Services Department
1-800-342-6626 (U.S. and Canada)
1-212-626-0500 (Global)
======================================
To be excluded from future offers of ACM Membership and services, please reply
to unsubscribe-sig@acm.org with the following line in the “Subject” field:

UNSUBSCRIBE

ACM will never sell or rent your email address.
======================================

1. We would have four different internets, with gateways that restricted what could flow through them.
2. You would have to buy your computer from your ISP, and you couldn’t switch ISPs and keep the same computer unless the remainder when you divided the MAC address by four was equal to the remainder when you divided the third octet of your IP address by four. (did you get that?)
3. Packets between ISPs would be billed at the rate of $125/megabyte if they carried email.

I’m hoping to see some of this change during my lifetime.

Several people have asked me for my impressions about the phone, and naturally you should be suspicious of my opinions since my employer has a vested interest in the success of android. Here are a few observations:

• The phone hardware itself is pretty nice. I really really like the idea of a qwerty keyboard, because while I would never consider this as a primary computer, it’s very important to occasionally be able to enter data. I found the iPhone virtual keyboard to be almost useless for this in the few minutes that I used it.
• The software environment is just what I was hoping for, though it’s a bit immature so far. I really like the variety of applications that are available, and the ability to tailor it to my taste. I’ve also been writing code for android, and from a software developer’s perspective it’s great. I started trying to write code for android a year ago, and at the time it wasn’t ready. Now it’s relatively easy to write applications, and there is a rich library of utilities to make this easy.
• The service from T-Mobile is surprisingly good in my area (silicon valley) and the 3G service makes for snappy and useful performance. During my 30 minute commute, my AT&T phone used to drop calls several times during the drive home, but the T-Mobile service almost never drops calls during this route. Service coverage is something that needs to be judged for each user, but luckily T-Mobile has a good web site to scope out your most important locations.

So I guess the question is – would I buy a G1 if I hadn’t been given this phone by my employer? The sad truth is that I would not. The reason has nothing to do with the hardware or the software or the service itself. It has to do with terms of sale. I would be quite willing to pay $400 for the piece of hardware (or maybe $500), but I am not willing to change my carrier, and I am not willing to pay the cost of a monthly data plan. You might think this is weird, since most of the functionality of the phone is dependent upon having an internet connection. I claim that 98% of my usage of the data plan would be covered by the WiFi coverage at work, in hotels, and in my home. I don’t want to pay $25 per month for something that I don’t need.

In the past, I have used internet service occasionally for things like google maps on my personal phone in the past, but AT&T would bill me by the kilobyte and that was fine with me. I ended up using this feature about twice a year at a total cost of $10 per year, which seemed like a reasonable tradeoff. I know that lots of people would say that “I’m missing out” by not wanting to have constant internet connectivity available to me at all times, but I have yet to see enough value in my life for a constant cost of $25/month.

I’m sure that T-Mobile and HTC came to the conclusion that this is the way to maximize their revenue, and eventually I expect to be able to find a nice phone that isn’t tied to a long term contract. Until that happens, I’ll be happy to wait. This seems to be a trend with some pieces of hardware (the other notable examples are Digital Video Recorders, which are only available if purchased with a monthly plan). I say no thanks.

I guess I’ll have to look for other aggregators. We need some competition. Can anyone suggest something with a more sane layout? My yahoo?

I booked a flight for my family a month in advance, paid a market price for the tickets, and tried to reserve seats. Since I don’t have any premier status with United, my request for a seat assignment was declined. This has been a long standing practice in the industry, to try and favor “frequent fliers” over other customers. I’ve come to expect it, but it’s always a little disincentive to switch to a new airline.

A week before the trip I tried again to reserve seats for my flight, but was denied. Then 24 hours before the flight I finally managed to get seats for the flight to Hawaii, but was denied seats for the return trip. Here we go again. We enjoyed our vacation, and when I tried 24 hours before the return flight to get seats for the return trip, I was denied again. We show up to the airport expecting to have four seats scattered through the airplane, and request seats now two hours before the flight. They said no, but they offered me the chance to purchase an upgrade to “economy plus” at $64 per seat. I responded “no thanks” to the $256 price increase, so they sent me to the gate to get seat assignments. By the time we arrive at the gate, it’s 45 minutes until the flight but they still won’t give seat assignments. Apparently they are still looking for the suckers to pay the extra $256. Finally 30 minutes before the flight they call me up to give me economy plus seats (which are really economy seats anyway).

Why the long story about a seemingly routine travel experience? For me it was a reminder of two interesting things:

1. companies look all over the place for ways to use price discrimination. By separating customers according to what they are willing to pay, they expect to maximize their revenue, and economists have long studied this phenomenon to say that it works well.
2. companies that treat their customers as adversaries will get exactly what they ask for.

I recently read an excerpt from the book “Wikinomics” (link not included) in which the author pointed out that in the new economic world we live in, it’s important for companies to instill trust among their customers. At the same time, I repeatedly encounter a few old world companies that continue to treat their customers as disposable commodities. There are a few companies in the US that excel in this:

• AT&T & Verizon, which results in customers jumping back and forth like bunnies
• Comcast and DirecTV, which solidifies the piracy market
• all airlines

Personally I don’t mind being experimented upon, or being subject to such arbitrary pricing mechanisms. I just remember it, and act accordingly when given a choice. This is yet another example where the fuck you button would be useful.

previously: $399 + 24 * (20 + 39.99) = 1838.76.

new plan: $199 + 24 * (30 + 39.99) = 1878.76.

I love how marketers come up with these schemes to make you pay more but hide it in a bunch of tiny charges spread over time. It’s an art to hide the total cost of ownership from the consumer, but I don’t think it increases the customer loyalty toward AT&T.

Our military services operate for two purposes. The primary role (as defined by the Department of Defense) is to defend the country against attack, or to mitigate the effects of such attack. All Americans share their pride in the military for fulfilling this role, and we are united in honoring the service of our military. Those who take up arms in defense of the country are owed a debt of gratitude that we should all pause to contemplate.

Unfortunately, the political leadership (if you can call it that) in the United States has repeatedly eroded the honor of those who choose to serve in the military. The controversy and divisions within the United States arise from disagreements about the proper role of military force in our foreign policy. More often than not in the past 60 years, the military forces of the United States have been used as an instrument of aggression, often subtly disguised under the subterfuge of calling it defensive. The history of misrepresentation is telling:

1. the domino theory, used to justify invasions in Korea, Vietnam, and Nicaragua.
2. the misrepresentation of the Iraqi regime as having been somehow involved in the attack on the United States in 9/11
3. the assertion that Iraq would use weapons of mass destruction against the US

This is not to say that threats do not exist – they certainly do. Our need for a military defense is unquestioned. Unfortunately our foreign policy has repeatedly eroded our ability to defend ourselves, and has also eroded our moral standing and claim of defense. Moreover, by repeatedly engaging in aggression against foreign lands. we encourage other nations to follow our lead by using their weapons against us. It’s a recipe for failure in the defense of our nation.

It’s unfortunate that our nation’s foreign policy sullies the role of the military in defense of our country. The military signs up to follow the orders of their leaders, and they don’t have the liberty of deciding which of these orders to follow. They are getting a raw deal, and this heightens my sense of debt to their honor.

So on this Memorial Day, support your troops, but evict your government. Let’s restore the honor of those who serve in the defense of our country by using them for defense instead of aggression.

I went to have my wife “check in” for a flight today. They say they offer online checkin – the reality is that it’s just a come-on to try and get more money for specific seats. When we went to select a seat, the options were:

1. pay $140 more for a first class seat. No thanks…
2. pay $29 more for “economy plus”. That’s $6 per inch. Not much, but since my wife is all of 5’2″ it’s not really an issue for her to have more leg room. So we decided to pass.

Then you get to find out that they won’t actually release any seats for her to check in on. So it turns out that the entire online checkin thing was just a marketing opportunity. This is the moment when you realize that the airline is not using information technology to streamline their business – they are using it to piss of their customers and build negative loyalty. Good luck with your next bankruptcy guys.