thebruce44

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Well, except he did. So there's that.

I'm not an expert in this field by any means, but what you are saying seems to go against everything I've ever read or seen written about lately. Am I being lied to? Do you have some sources to back this up? How is Google able to offer so much for so little and still turn a profit? And if these companies really are just scraping by, that's an issue too, especially when you compare us to the rest of the world in terms of speeds and pricing. Just today, I'm seeing this interview posted at every major tech site talking about what a problem this is and how the ISPs are charging too much for what they provide. http://www.theverge.com/2013/2/11/3976546/susan-crawford-on-the-internets-deepening-inequality I can't agree with this at all. Sure, I can for the most part stream Netflix without issue since I pay $60 a month for service, but I should be able to do that for a whole lot less. And, there are tons of uses for faster service even if you don't think you need it now because you aren't aware of it. Cloud storage and services are going to revolutionize business and media consumption as Netflix/Spotify have proven. Its potentially one of the most disruptive advances to consumer tech we've seen in a while. Why stop with streaming movies and tv shows though? I want to be able to work in CAD programs on my companies network from home. I want to be able to skype and have meetings to collaborate with clients at a higher resolution and frame rate. It makes a huge difference when looking at detailed plans. I want all of my HDs to be backed up constantly. I want to have a new video game system every year, meaning I want to pay a monthly fee so that my system sits in a data center and is upgraded over time along with new games added without me going to Gamestop. Here is an expert from an article talking about why the first step (ISPs actually upgrading their services) is so important: And if I'm my parents and all the stuff I just talked about is confusing and scary, then I want them to be able to do the things they do now for a reasonable price. They shouldn't be paying $60 a month to have my mom call me every time Pandora "wont work" because their speeds get bogged down for no reason.

I hope this doesn't venture into something that should be on the political board, but the situation is really bad. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/510176/when-will-the-rest-of-us-get-google-fiber/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20130205 http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/02/cable-companies-make-97-margin-on.html

I'd just like to say that if you (and this is directed at everyone) can, cancel your cable. I just did and have gone to all streaming and downloading. Cable companies aren't going to start offering better service until their subscribers start leaving. Of course, they are now putting internet caps in place to combat this.

I pay more for less here in Chicago. Sadly, we are all pretty much at the mercy of the big cable companies in this country. My only suggestion would be to switch to a digital phone service, I think some of those go for like $5-$10 per month and you would still have your same number.

Amen. As much as I would love to have Lawrie and his potential in our lineup for the next decade, I would rather have taken the sure thing 2011 NL Central championship, Morgan's walkoff Game 5 hit and the NLCS appearance. You could make a strong case against this. Lawrie replacing Fatty McGee would have probably helped the team more than Marcum replacing whoever in the pitching rotation.

I've been using mlb.tv for a few seasons now as I got tired of how bad Comcast's broadcasts were. I've used my PS3 in the past which looks fantastic. This upcoming season I will be using my the HTPC I just made since I'm cancelling cable.

I think he is good at 2nd, he just let his offensive struggles effect him in the field last year. I would expect him to be average to above average at 2nd going forward and don't see him moving.

You should checkout the Asus lineup with their docking keyboards. They are pretty easy to type on, similar to a Netbook. It also has its own battery that will recharge the tablet when docked. Its a pretty sweat add on.

Apple really does have great advertising, especially when compared to the Verizon Droid line. Great, the latest Motorola phone can shoot a hole in a concrete wall...I still don't know anything about it. Meanwhile Apple touted the noise canceling microphone on the iPhone5. Its a feature thats been in cell phones for years now, yet I had a guy tell me how great it was to have a noise cancelling microphone on his new iPhone. Most people don't know about their phone's features because of terrible advertising. Why not tell people about your product.

What I was getting at is that without the extra base hits, and by extension power, he had this year, I don't think he can keep his BABIP so high. He isn't fast, so even as a line drive hitter its going to be hard for him to carry a BABIP around 0.340. For example, if his BABIP was 0.300 last year, he would have batted in the 0.280s. In the end, I care about his OBP, which I think will always stay around 0.340 one way or another. I'd love for him to prove me wrong though and be a perennial 300 hitter.

Take a look at these stills after you see Skyfall: http://unrealitymag.com/index.php/2012/11/15/the-beauty-of-skyfall/

Beautiful is the best word I can think to describe it. 100% worth seeing in the theater. I'll be seeing Lincoln tonight after I managed to talk the girlfriend out of Les Mis but not into Django.

I hope that we are now going to see Google have this kind of pull going forward. The Nexus4 has been a much bigger success than anticipated and if their next unsubsidized MotoX phone has LTE and sells well, its going to make the carriers pay attention. Of course you can always just unlock and root your phone, then do whatever you want to it...but I don't know how many people are comfortable with that. For me though, I wouldn't want Apple sully-ing my device which is why I like the options Android presents. Sorry, this is getting way off topic and I'm going to take it even further. Has anyone purchased a Surface?

Its going to be very difficult for him to repeat his ISO from this past season. I think .280 is very realistic.

I'm currently setting up a Chromebook for my parents, except that it will be running ChromiumOS, the open source variation. Long story short, they are going on a month long vacation to a condo in Florida where they will have free wifi and they don't want to take their desktop. I have my girlfriend's old Netbook which is more or less worthless at this point as WindowsXP is just too slow and recourse intensive. I could probably give Windows8 a shot on it, as it seems pretty lightweight on my desktop but I figured I would give Chromium a try and it hasn't disappointed. Its super fast, and it will do everything my parents need. If you are interested in playing around with the OS, you can do what I did and make a bootable USB drive with Chromium. It took about 10 minutes. In terms of the privacy concerns, I really don't get it. I know a lot of people were up in arms when Google updated their TOS back in the spring, but most of the people who were upset didn't seem to really know what was changing in the TOS, just that a lot of other people were upset. All Google did was make it so that information could be shared between their platforms, hardly as big of an issue as a lot of the other large internet companies who are tracking us in ways that could actually be detrimental (Facebook). I use most of Google's products, so its been very beneficial for me. I like that GoogleNow can pull tracking numbers from my Gmail and tell me when things will arrive, or tell me when a concert is going on in Chicago for an artist I searched for a few months back, or when my friend's flight is delayed based off me searching for it the day before. Its pretty awesome actually.

Well yes, in the end I care about if it works, not how it works. That being said, resolution and storage are probably the most important aspects for a tablet...resolution being #1 by far. Form factor and battery life I guess are key as well, though I tend to be able to plug my tablet in a lot more than my phone. With resolution (PPI) and price being most important in my mind, I stand by my post about getting more from the Nexus line. It will be interesting to see if iPhones and iPads buck the "Retina" buzzword and keep up on resolution going forward. Again though, if you love iTunes and all your iPhone apps, its a big deal to switch.

Correct, the Nexus program is essentially Google partnering directly with a manufacturer to release a flagship that is unlockable. It started as one phone a year, but the program has been enhanced greatly in 2012. Part of the reason was that they released a 7" and 10" tablet, but the other part is that it seems they are done working with the cell phone carriers. Verizon's Galaxy Nexus (which I have and still consider to be the best phone on the market) was released with some bloatware and all updates have been constantly stalled by Verizon. It would appear that going forward Google will try to sell their Nexus products directly to consumers without subsidizing them. They may also be looking at starting their own service with Dish Network which would hopefully blow up the current system. This means the newest aspect of the Nexus program is that they are selling hardware near cost. Its win-win for the consumer, especially when it comes to tablets which are often purchased unsubsidized anyway. That being said, I still can't recommend anyone go outside their current ecosystem, but you get a lot more for your money with the Nexus tablets than Apple's products.

The Nexus 7 is super awesome. That said, if you already have an iPhone it probably doesn't make sense to go outside of your current ecosystem unless you are interested in a switch across the board. I got a tablet (Transformer Prime 10.1") last spring for my dad to use when he was in the hospital for a month. Once he got out, I took it figuring it was time to give one a shot. I was completely surprised at how often I used this "toy" over my desktop, laptop, or even phone. I also got the laptop dock so it has a keyboard and I can use it for work too.

Came out December 2011. That was my favorite from last year though. Easily. Ha, I think I put it on my top 10 post last year even though it wasn't out yet.

MU could very well be a #1 or #2 next year. In the country or in the conference? No way they are a number one in the country type team. They will need a pg and big man if Otule doesnt get a 6th year. Even if he does someone wont be able to come back because they wont have enough schollies. Blue, Gardner, Wilson is nice but not elite. they have a very nice incoming class but that is a lot to ask for freshman I see that you meant number 1 or 2 seed and there is no way I see that either, but I guess if the freshman are even better than advertised there is a chance that could be a top 15 type team Yea, #1 or #2 seed. Last I checked, early projections from Value Add had them as the #7 team in the country. Their recruiting class is sick and they should have the most balanced roster in the country. They will also have 5 seniors in Blue, Gardner, Otule, Thomas, and Wilson. Sure its early and a lot can change, but it looks like Blue will be even better than the projections.

MU could very well be a #1 or #2 next year.

Everyone thought we had a good to great bullpen last year. Its awfully hard to predict. Regardless, not signing a SP probably increases the chances more money is spent on the bullpen.

Except of course for last year, when we eventually went with a rotation of all young guys and competed. Last time I checked that wasn't for a full season. And we also had Marcum for part of that run. I'm talking about a full 6 months with a young rotation. It's highly unlikely. Not impossible, but not likely. You can bring up the A's from last year, but they also had a bullpen that performed. Right now our bullpen is looking weak too. That's also just one example. I'm sure they can all pitch to the level of a solid 4 or 5 starter, but I'm skeptical about them all holding up for a full season and pitching well enough to keep us competitive. The Cardinals and Reds are both better right now within the division alone. Last time I checked, you didn't need to be hot for a whole season to compete. And its not like we have 5 guys who haven't ever pitched 200 innings. We've got enough young arms that guys can be subbed in and out to get the necessary innings. We've got: Gallardo (200+) Estrada (170) Peralta (200) Fiers (200) Rogers (160) Narvdog (100?) Thornburg (160) Now, I think they still add a AAAA type guy to team with the rest of the AAA rotation and be ready to come up if needed, but thats a rotation that "could" compete when combined with this offense. To say we have "no chance to compete" is just flat out wrong, especially given what we saw from a very similar rotation last year.