Netizen

More Like Fiscal Sausage

In short, the fiscal cliff was “averted” the way that Jay-Z “retired” in 2003.

the ugly fiscal arithmetic and political dysfunction that produced the cliff in the first place will remain...... A deal nearing completion in the Senate would make permanent the tax cuts first enacted by George Bush in 2001 and 2003 and due to expire on December 31st, except for the wealthy. The marginal rate for individuals earning more than $400,000 and couples earning more than $450,000 would rise from 35% to its pre-2001 rate of 39.6%, while deductions would be curbed for some people earning as little as $250,000. Estate taxes would go up, but not to pre-2001 levels, while rates on capital gains and dividends, now 15%, would go up to 20%, still less than their pre-2001 levels. Tax credits for families, workers and college students first introduced in Mr Obama’s stimulus plan will be extended for five more years. ...... Republicans, because they are being asked to approve the first increase in tax rates in two decades while getting no spending cuts in return. (Update: the senate approved the agreement early Tuesday by a vote of 89 to 8. The house approved it late Tuesday 257 to 167, with 85 Republicans joining nearly all the Democrats.) ..... It leaves in place significant short-term austerity while doing nothing to change the long-term trajectory of debt. It doesn't reform taxes or entitlements. And it doesn't deal with several key components of the cliff. ...... For his part, Mr Boehner never seemed sure of what his own members could accept, which made for unproductive negotiating sessions ...... Higher taxes on the rich will reportedly raise about $600 billion over a decade, an “inconsequential” sum, noted Bob Corker, a Republican senator. Indeed, it is almost a rounding error against a ten-year projected deficit of $10 trillion on current policies, or 5% of GDP. “The fact that the president won’t challenge his party on spending cuts is disgusting,” said Steven LaTourette, a Republican congressman.

Tablets Have Their Limitations

Image representing iPad as depicted in CrunchBase

Image via CrunchBase

When the iPad first came out I did not think it was a laptop substitute at all.

iPad
The iPad
Da iPad
Finally The iPad Has Competition

I still feel the tablet is not a laptop substitute. The Chromebook is.

The Seven Incher

Difference Engine: Smaller still is smarter

Last year, your correspondent was one of the millions who hoped an iPad would meet all his online needs. He was thrilled with everything about the device except its size. After a month of ownership, he went back to taking a laptop on his travels. The iPad has since been relegated to doing casual duty in the living room...... one cannot help but think that the late Steve Jobs—had he ever been persuaded (doubtful) to bless a four-fifths-sized iPad—would not have allowed the Mini out of the door in its present state. Nor, for that matter, would he have permitted a half-baked product like Apple Maps to see the light of day. Perhaps there is some truth in the claim that, in the absence of Jobs, Apple is now more interested in litigation than innovation. If so, it is a sad day for all who have championed the company for its creativity and pursuit of excellence. ..... In the meantime, the Nexus 7—with its flawless multitasking, top-notch notification scheme and more than adequate apps—will do just nicely, thank you.

Bono M

Bono on How Technology Can Transform the World

52-year-old Irishman (born Paul Hewson) is also a technology investor and an activist who cofounded the ONE and (RED) organizations, which are devoted to eradicating extreme poverty and AIDS. He has spent years urging Western leaders to forgive the debts of poor nations and to increase funding for AIDS medicines in Africa. ..... antiretrovirals, a complex 15-drug AIDS regimen compressed into one pill a day (now saving eight million lives); the insecticide-treated bed net (cut malaria deaths by half in eight countries in Africa in the last three years); kids’ vaccinations (saved 5.5 million lives in the last decade); the mobile phone, the Internet, and spread of information—a deadly combination for dictators, for corruption. ...... In Africa, things are changing so rapidly. What’s been a slow march is suddenly picking up pace in ways we could not have imagined even 10 years ago. Innovations like farmers using mobile phones to check seed prices, for banking, for sending payments … to the macro effect we saw with the Arab Spring thanks to Facebook and Twitter. ......... Great ideas to me are like great melodies. They are instantly recognizable, memorable, and have some sort of inevitable arc ........ In the tech world, it’s hard to imagine there being any better form or function to a lot of Apple’s products. ........ The Apollo program in its day was 4 percent of the federal budget. All U.S. overseas assistance is just 1 percent, with 0.7 percent going to issues that affect the poorest people. I believe that extreme poverty is the biggest challenge we have. ........ You could boost farming productivity in Africa, which is twice as effective at reducing poverty as anything else. ..... Corruption is deadly, but there’s a vaccine for that too—it’s called transparency. Daylight. ....... we can end a few things that just don’t belong in the 21st century. Like AIDS, like malaria, like polio. ....... social movements are the things that make the real difference, people from different walks of life coming together to stand up for what they believe in. Whether they do it by marching, by writing, by tweeting, by posting, by singing, or by going to jail. ........ Collecting more data and more open data so we can drill down further on knowing what to do ..... Hundreds of thousands marched in the “Drop the Debt” campaign, and now an extra 51 million kids in Africa are going to school because of monies freed up by debt cancellation—it’s a staggering number

Beaming Satellite Internet Into China

For China To Achieve Double Digit Growths Again
Sergey Brin's Is The Right Stand

I have been curious. And Quora has the answer. As suspected, the technology is there, it is the law that seems to be the problem. My definition of free speech in the 21st century is unfettered internet access.

The US bombarded Libya. Beaming satellite internet into undemocratic countries fits my definition of nonviolence beautifully. And I am guessing it is way cheaper than warfare.

Another would be the ring of fire concept. You would beam satellite internet along the border of a country and, oops, sorry some of it spilled over into your country.

Why hasn't anyone beamed satellite-based internet service to China to undermine the Chinese firewall?

There is satellite Internet service available in China - however it's generally subject to the same restrictions, and costs significantly more. In order to get a license to broadcast the signal over the country, the satellite ISP's usually need to either route the traffic through that country (which is transparent to you - i.e.: doesn't show up on a trace route), or support lawful/legal intercept/wiretapping by the country in question. See news last month RIM and India - even though it wasn't satellite, the Indian government wasn't satisfied until RIM put servers in country to allow the government to do lawful/legal intercept.

Due to international rules + regulations, you can't just 'Beam Satellite signals' into a country without their permission.

Satellite Internet access
Internet in China

Data Centers And Light Phones

World map depicting Asia Esperanto: Mondmapo bildiganta Azion Español: Ubicación de Asia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If the data centers are pervasive enough and powerful enough, your phone can be light as light. The two extreme ends feed on each other. Larry Ellison is right. There is no cloud. What we refer to as cloud is really these data centers. I am surprised Google lags so far behind in Asia. And I am guessing it lags even further behind in Africa and Latin America. Come on, Google, you can do better than this.

New Google Asia servers expected to bring 30% speed boost when they go live later this year

the new servers could provide up to a 30 percent improvement in the speed of Google services in Asia .... Google already operates seven data centers in the US and facilities in Finland, Belgium and Ireland, but the lack of an Asia center has likely inhibited the company’s potential for growth in the region