It’s really not that new of an idea. Companies for years made a base model that you could add upgrades to and pay extra for them; and in some cases things like wiring for them was already installed, all that was missing was some hardware. The difference was they were hardware and thus a subscription model didn’t work. In others, the build order could be changed in software to add features

BMW let you pay once to add the feature if you wanted, and a subscription model can be beneficial to the consumer. If you live somewhere where you don’t need heated seats but may drive occasionally to somewhere where it would be useful, it can be cheaper to pay a one month fee than buy the option out right. In addition, if you don’t keep a car very long, a subscription model may be cheaper than paying for a feature up front, depending on the initial vs monthly cost break even point.

The problem is people feel like they are being charged extra for something built in to the car, rather than seeing it as a discount from the higher price they’d pay if it was standard. I suspect, if BMW charged X more for a feature and offered to turn it off for X and let users subscribe if the wanted or to later add it back it would not have been as controversial but seen as a good deal.

One big advantage for me was the back catalog of shows like Black Adder, Allo Allo, etc. that simply were not available on streaming and buying them was cost prohibitive. Rentals made it possible to watch them.

Because well crypto, blockchain , AI, bro. Seriously, building a company relying on free data always being free to is a bad business model. As soon as it became obvious the data had value the banks would charge for it. Now you want the same government that you said should not regulate you regulate the banks because it is your interest.

Soldered RAM is standard for Intel's Lunar Lake lineup and for most AMD's Strix Halo APUs. I can't speak to how well Lunar Lake works but I have deployed some AMD HX 370 systems and they were absurdly nice for ~$750 mini PCs.

I'm not defending the practice of building systems that way but it seems to be an architectural choice by the CPU manufacturers rather than a defect of particular notebook models.

I have nothing but good things to say about the 14" T, X and P series Thinkpads I've bought and supported, even though there is a clear difference in build quality between the T61 I had 20 years ago and the P14s I have now. If nothing else, Lenovo has gradually stepped up its display game in a way IBM definitely never even considered and even without the titanium frame, it's still better made than a Precision 5490.

My thoughts exactly I don’t want them remembering stuff. I just want an answer and have them forget I asked.

Making it more practical to walk and more people will walk. I spend time in a major European city and mostly walk unless it is a long distance say 2 or more kilometers or later at night.

Not necessarily. Companies can get lists of graduating seniors and reach out to those they are interested in at least interviewing. I heard form several companies while in graduate school that I had not sent a resume or otherwise applied.

Thanks for the clarification. I understood the part that sd:

The 13-year-old girl arrested in August 2023 had been texting with friends on a chat function tied to her school email at Fairview Middle School, which uses Gaggle to monitor students’ accounts.

just to mean she signed up using a school email and the school had access to what was otherwise a private account, not a service run on behalf of the school. TFA was somewhat vague about the exact circumstances. But yea, they over reacted.

Apple had a product called AppleLink which they opened to end users in the late 80's. The original one was an ihouse/partner/developer system that ran on GEIS machinery, but they partnered with Quantum Computer Services and Steve Case, who was running a service for Commodore 64s. Apple beta tested AppleInk for a while, I still have my TShirt and mug. AppleLink eventually morphed into AOL and the rest is history. In 1991, STS-43 sent the first email from space using a Mac portable and AppleLink.

So in it's own way.Apple was responsible for Eternal September...

Very true, but looking at the test mule Chevy used there are a lots of areas that could be improved without making the truck look like a Aptera. For example the headlights, rear view mirrors, front fascia angle, wheel arches. Even incremental changes that lowers the Cd would be helpful.

So long as people want their cars and SUVs to look like, well, cars and SUVs, the laws of physics dictates that increased battery capacity is the only change they can realistically make. Everything else about modern EV drivetrains is already pretty damn efficient.

While I agree on the perception issue, respectfully disagree that aerodynamics can't be addressed while maintaining how some think a vehicle should look. Incremental changes over time that aren't radical will reshape the idea of what a truck, SUV or car looks like as well.

Cars have been sold without spares for years as a weight saving device to get better CAFE results. While I agree the effort is far from real world conditions, improving aerodynamics vis things such as hidden windshield wipers. lower drag front ends instead of a billboard perpendicular to airflow, etc. will be key to EV mileage advances without having to wait for better batteries.

I suspect if they or a family member received that treatment they would not say the same thing. Where I live the parents would lawyer up a lawsuits start flying; so the school district would never pull that stunt. What I don't get is why does teh school have access to their social media accounts? If a school asked for it they's get a big F off it's none of your business. I suspect many kids ahve the 'offical' account and a real account. What happens when a bunch of students decides to monkey wrench the system and flood the zone or someone hacks an account and post something for the laughs?

Since airlines know exactly how much revenue each mile generated, they can control how much money they make on each redemption and easily change the price of a ticket at any time. High demand routes as well as high load factors allow them to bump up the miles they demand for a seat; and let them have sales where there is excess capacity. In addition, many never get redeemed so they get essentially free money for them; plus they can also sell thngs like lounge access, drinks on flights and in the lounge, etc. that have large profit margins as well..

Yea, and TFA didn't have details on the discount. It seems like a move to grab at a chance to lock in the feds on AWS. The big playersa re making moves to stifle competition. Oracle and OpenAI made similars move with chatGPT:

The GSA announced a similar deal last month with cloud rival Oracle . The agency also reached an agreement with OpenAI on Wednesday that will give federal agencies access to ChatGPT for $1 through the next year.

From what I see, it's a big announcement but not a whole lot of change; I suspect as you do that it only involves FedRamp due to Federal security requirements. As for AWS, this could also be the tech equivalent of the drug dealer giving you your first hit for free. Once agencies are tied tightly to AWS it will be harder for competitors to gain traction, and after 2028 AWS can start raising prices as a result.