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hwertz

Member since: Aug 18th, 2007

hwertz's Latest Comments

Blog Activity
Blog# of Comments
Engadget Mobile1 Comment
ComicsAlliance2 Comments
Switched1 Comment

Recent Comments:

DC's Blog Closes Comments, Gives Up On Even Trying To Talk to You Jerks (ComicsAlliance)

Mar 19th 2011 12:40PM Well, obviously it's superman.Just kidding! Seriously, how could people get into a rampant flamewar over this? Not because it's "just a comic" or something (I can perfectly well see getting into a flamewar over comic, movie, or book minutiae), but just because there's NO INFORMATION to argue over. Both have been shown going very fast, but it's not like they were clocked on radar, shown next to something else where a speed could be estimated (other than "very fast"), etc.

Racists Totally Freak Out Over Idris Elba Playing Norse God in 'Thor' (ComicsAlliance)

Dec 22nd 2010 2:24AM I'll reserve judgement until the movie's out. But, it's true, Norse gods were Norse. I think some people are troubled by it because they're racists, but I think others are troubled by it in the same way they'd be troubled if Babe Ruth were cast as a black person or conversely Jackie Robinson was white.

If the Council of Conservative Citizens (who do sound like real racists) want to be REALLY pissed off they should watch Matantei Loki Ragnarok. The Norse gods are all Japanese 8-). Others should watch it too because it's entertaining.

AT&T intros USBConnect Lightning for 7.2Mbps service (Engadget Mobile)

Nov 13th 2009 10:37AM "Wait so if "3G is a waste" like you said. That means your running edge speed on whatever Clear is."
Nope! Clear is 4G, they use WiMax.
I'm lucky, I got a data plan BEFORE the 5GB cap.

Bridge Collapse: Why Did Cell Phones Fail? (Switched)

Aug 18th 2007 8:28PM WPS indeed. For those that don't follow the link, it is EXACTLY for the situation this is about. The missing piece, I have no idea how anyone actually gets a phone with WPS enabled (thus the crews in Minnesota probably not having it.) Anyway, what it does, it gives someone with a WPS phone (emergency crews and the like) priority; instead of getting an "all circuits busy", fast busy, or simply failed call, they will get first priority on the next open circuit and the call will get through.

As for the rest -- good phone companies do have contigency plans, COW (cell on wheels), generators, etc. It simply takes a while to put it in place -- it'd cost a fortune to build out every cell network with 10x the capacity it "needs" just in case an emergency happens there. (Verizon has COWs, and I think Cingular as well.) Some provider that charges $20-40 for unlimited calls... not so likely.

Finally, the FCC does have something in the works -- look up info on the 700mhz auctions. The plans are real muddled, but they're going to give a bunch of spectrum for safety use, plus at least one of the 700mhz licenses for a new provider (probably more cell phones I guess) requires some spectrum set aside for public safety plus priority use of the rest if needed.