Tag: You’re Doing it Right

High Speed Low Drag RAM

A company named G.Skill is releasing RAM for operators who like to operate in Call of Duty. Supposedly the RAM is supposed to look like a rifle but I only seem a slight resemblance honestly. With that said it does have some neat benefits:

According to G.Skill, the new Sniper series was designed in ultra-low voltage, particularly 1.25V. This feature alone points to a possible power savings of up to 10-percent, allowing PC gamers to push other components without having to worry about overheating issues with the memory. G.Skill said it performed extensive compatibility tests across a wide range of Intel and AMD platforms to “guarantee the best performance, quality and reliability for user’s gaming needs.”

Whenever a component manufacturer can reduce the amount of power a component uses while keeping good performance it’s a good thing. Power consumption means heat which is a pain in the ass. Hell you should see the heat sinks of my Mac Pro’s RAM, damn FB-DIMMs have heat sinks large enough to be mistaken for rectangular processors.

Sprint and Google Voice Integration

The nerd news just keeps rolling in. It seems Sprint has setup a deal with Google that allows customers to have their Sprint number work on Google Voice:

First, Sprint customers will be able to use their existing Sprint mobile number as their Google Voice number and have it ring multiple other phones simultaneously. So now, calls to your Sprint mobile number can easily be answered from your office or your home phone, or even your computer through Gmail. Calls from Gmail and text messages sent from google.com/voice will also display your Sprint number. This basically gives Sprint customers all the benefits of Google Voice without the need to change or port their number.

This is an announcement I’m actually excited about. Although I have an AT&T account I’ve kept my Sprint account active mainly because I like having a 4G phone and everybody has my Sprint number. If I could have my Sprint number ring my AT&T phone without having to pay Sprint’s call forwarding fee I’d practically be in Valhalla. Likewise it would be nice to have my Sprint number contact my Sprint phone when I’m down in Southeastern Minnesota where AT&T has no coverage. Frankly I can’t wait for this feature to be activated.

Sprint to Get the Nexus S

It looks like Sprint is finally getting another decent phone, the Nexus S with WiMax capabilities:

Recently, we introduced Nexus S from Google, the first phone to run Android 2.3, Gingerbread. In addition to the UMTS-capable Nexus S, today we’re introducing Nexus S 4G from Google, available for Sprint. Nexus S 4G is part of the Nexus line of devices which provide a pure Google experience and run the latest and greatest Android releases and Google mobile apps.

When Google released the Nexus S I was pretty ho hum about it and still am. But the fact of the matter is Google provides frequent updates for their developer phones which means it’s the only platform that you can expect bug fixes with any consistency. Likewise having WiMax on a phone with stock Android would be a huge plus over the current 4G offerings (nothing like HTC Sense to help ruin a perfectly good phone).

It will be nice having an Android development platform available for Sprint.

So Much for the Evils of Corporations

Although I run most Apple electronics at this point the company does a lot of things that really piss me off. It’s a dick move to restrict the distribution of applications for a product to a single source just so Apple can get a 30% cut. Requiring approval from Apple in order to sell an application through that sole source is also dickish. Apple’s war against Flash is idiotic (and this is coming from a man who hates Flash).

But it’s hard to get too mad at the company when they do things like this. Basically Apple is doing whatever they can to help out their employees in Japan including paying for hotel rooms and transportation for those who wish to risk the trek home. Apple also told employees they may leave the area or country and their job will still be waiting for them when they return.

I’m sure Apple isn’t the only company doing things like this but they’re the only one I have information on. It’s great to see an “evil greedy” corporation treating their employees so well. It’s a far different picture than ones painted by socialists, communists, and union supporters who claim corporations are evil and will always treat their employees as poorly as possible unless government intervenes.

New Hampshire is Doing it Right

Wow New Hampshire seems to be on a role. The state’s motto is “Life Free or Die” and apparently they are taking that pretty seriously as of late. The New Hampshire house just passed three very interesting bills. The first is a bill that would turn New Hampshire into the fifth state to abolish the requirement of a permit to carry a firearm in the state.

The second bill passed is one that will prevent police from arresting people who are recording their actions. This has become a big problem in some states where it’s illegal to record the actions of law enforcement even if they are in public places where you or I couldn’t expect the same (it’s legal to record anybody whom lacks a “reasonable expectation of privacy” in most states).

The third bill I found interesting is the one that will allow jury’s to be notified and exercise their right to nullify. If put into law it would require the courts to inform juries of their right to nullify which is far different than many places where judges have actually arrested people trying to inform jury members of this right. Arguably this is the most important bill of the three (which is saying a lot as I’m saying this bill is more important than the right to carry one) as it would allow the citizens of New Hampshire to abolish laws they found unjust.

Because Bigger is Better

There is one universal rule, bigger is always better. Because of this Guncrafter Industries decided the Glock needed a .50 GI conversion kit. For those of you unaware the .50 GI is a .50 cartridge that was originally invented to bring .05 more inches to the 1911. Why? It’s fucking awesome that’s why!

Now you can turn your Glock into an impractical Desert Eagle wannabe for the low low price of $595.00. Oh and the cost of .50 GI which I’ve never seen before so I’m guessing is going to be equally expensive.

Avoiding Bankruptcy Without a Government Bailout

When General Motors and Chrysler were facing bankruptcy our government stepped in, handed both companies a ton of our money to reward them for failing, and then allowed them to pay back these “loans” with money obtained through a different tax payer funded scheme.

There is another way companies can void bankruptcy and it doesn’t involve stealing money from the tax payers. This method, although hardly known, is to produce a better product. A recent story I came across talks about Rovio, the makers Angry Birds. It seems before publishing their title that everybody and their grandmother has probably played they were facing bankruptcy:

First they had to save a company in crisis: at the beginning of 2009, Rovio was close to bankruptcy. Then they had to create the perfect game, do every other little thing exactly right, and keep on doing it.

Now the company has something like $50 million on hand. What an amazing concept, a failing business bringing itself back from the brink by offering a product or service that people want. It’s such a novel concept.

History Class in Utah About to Get More Accurate

It seems the government of Utah is sick and tired of people claiming our country is a democracy and have passed legislation that will require Utah teachers to be accurate and call the United States a republic. Teachers will also be required to go over different form of government:

HB220 would require schools to teach students that the U.S. is a compound constitutional republic and about other forms of government such as pure democracy, monarchy and oligarchy along with political philosophies and economic systems such as socialism, individualism and free-market capitalism. The Senate passed the bill with no dissenting votes Monday.

This would be great as most students don’t even know what a fascist or socialist state even is. Sadly most students just yell fascist when the police are abusing their power and then talk about socialism as a great system we need to adopt in this country. Hopefully the Utah requirements involve teaching the fact that the United States no longer runs on a free-market system and that is our biggest economic problem besides spending more than we take in.

The Beretta Mx4 Storm

I have a Beretta Cx4 Storm in .45 and absolutely love it. Beretta released the Cx4 Storm as a “patrol rifle” (the label given by police for rifles incorrectly called “assault rifles” by anti-gunners, it makes the polices’ rifles sound less scary) and shares magazine commonality with similarly chambered Px4 Storm pistols. I’ve always been curious why Beretta hasn’t released a select fire version of the Cx4 Storm as it would make a sweet little submachinegun. After long last they have released one, the Mx4 Storm.

I think it goes without saying that I want one. Sadly as a lowly peasant I can’t legally own such a rifle.