October 30, 2013
How HealthCare.gov Was Supposed to Work and Didn’t
The Obama administration has announced that the federal health exchange Web site, which has been plagued by software problems from the start, would be fixed by the end of November.
This is a well documented and visually pleasing piece by The New York Times. For America’s sake, I hope Obama gets this website up and running ASAP.
The Cost Of Internet In America Is Way Too High
The report found that, for U.S. consumers, the best price available for a 150 Mbps connection is Verizon’s FiOS, which goes for $130 per month in the small group locations where it’s even available. Most international cities were offering comparable service for about $50 a month. Over the summer, Verizon rolled out a new 500 Mbps service in select in American cities for the hefty price tag of $300 a month. By contrast, someone in Paris could get the same level of service for a mere $86. (All dollar figures in the report are adjusted for the cost of living in the cities measured.)
The price of Internet service in Canada is also way too high. Our “Big 3” Internet providers all pretty much charge around the same amount. We essentially get around 25 Mbps down with an 80GB bandwidth for $54 a month.
His advice to me: Don’t be in so much of a rush. Be easier on yourself. Comparing yourself to what others are doing is a waste of time.
Life has a new chapter for us at any age.
Apple Makes Big Tablets Beautiful All Over Again
The iPad Air may be a lightweight device physically, but it’s a heavyweight when it comes to performance. Benchmarks tell only one side of the story, and the one that most users will be more interested in is around how the tablet work under normal, everyday usage conditions. Put simply, Apple’s latest iPad soars.
It’s unanimous. The new iPad Air is a clear winner. I will be picking one up this Friday.
Adobe: Hacker attach much bigger than previously disclosed
Adobe Systems Inc. said on Tuesday that the scope of a cyber-security breach disclosed nearly a month ago was far bigger than initially reported, with attackers obtaining data on more than 38 million customer accounts.
The software maker also said that hackers had stolen part of the source code to Photoshop editing software that is widely used by professional photographers.
This ongoing crisis at Adobe is heading even more south. Terrible news for industry professionals.
Inevitability has caught up with us. We’ve pushed hard to keep modularity around as long as possible. I’ll certainly miss it, as I’m currently typing this article on a computer that’s quite literally a pile of parts on my desk.
But in the end, it’s the right step. I’d rather make improvements to speed, power consumption, size, and cost than keep the bottleneck of modularity around. Apple has made one of the first large steps away from modular computing, and while it’s certainly not their first time doing so, they’re going to have an uphill battle initially. At some point though, modular computers and devices simply wont be able to keep up with specs of closed systems. Precision factory manufactured machines will outperform what home builds are capable of.
Interesting perspective. I know people would prefer one or the other. One group is always fascinated with being able to tinker and upgrade parts of their computers when need be. On the other hand, I know professional photographers and designers who don’t know or want to know how to do these things. They just want to crush and push their computers to the limits as much as they can.