@Fruzion I have to agree. I owned a slider (a Samsung Rant) as a personal phone, and it was a nice phone. But the freezing up, the lack of a good screen and the fact that it was a near-smartphone (a.k.a dumbphone w/better features) meant that things didn't just work. The Bolt Browser was a pain to use on the Rant; it was also hard to use on the WinMo phones my former job provided to me for business. And the WinMo phones, while beautiful because of their flexibility in app use, often just didn't work (unlike my Vista-based laptop which, despite all the hate for Vista, just does the job).

I've toyed with Android phones; most are just plain ugly (save for anything from HTC that isn't called G1 or Nexus One; they are the bomb in terms of design). The apps are cool, but I don't use many apps save for Bolt, WordPress and UberTwitter; most of the apps are just toys to me and sort of meaningless (and the key word here, is for me; I greatly appreciate how others are in love with apps). The iPhone always seemed more show pony than workhorse to me (I also hated the lack of cut/copy-and-paste). As for the Pre: Undoubtedly beautiful, but the keyboard just plain sucks; the keys are way to small for even my long, thin piano-player fingers.

The Curve, which I just got two weeks ago, is the atomic bomb. The design is sexy but not fussy; the keyboard is great for one- or two-hand typing; the screen is neither too big nor too small for my tastes; and the OS works like a business-oriented phone OS is supposed to work. I haven't been this excited about a smartphone ever (and I even considered buying a Pre and an iPhone when each initially came out) — and haven't been as excited about a phone since I got the Rant (which, among the feature phones, remains better than the Rumor/Exclaim crap out there).

The browser needs work (this is why I have Bolt) and I do wish RIM would allow for apps to embed on the MicroSD instead of the phone (better memory allocation). And I can understand why some would want RIM to push for more app development and redesign the UI (the OS is perfect). But RIM isn't meant for fun. It's for getting things done. Fun is why I own a Flip Mono, an iRiver, an iPod Touch and an XBox 360.

Theory of the day: Obama will stab the House in the back by abandoning reconciliation after they pass the Senate bill

posted at 6:52 pm on March 4, 2010 by Allahpundit

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Jeffrey Anderson pushed it out this morning, then Lowry picked it up, now Ace is on it. I don’t buy it, but it’s so sinister and Machiavellian that it simply must be blogged.

All of the talk about “reconciliation” seems to have distracted people — like a red herring — from a simple but crucial fact: If the House goes first, as now appears to be the plan, and passes the Senate health-care overhaul, the president would then have a bill in hand that had passed both houses of Congress, and — whether reconciliation subsequently succeeded or failed in the Senate — we would have Obamacare.

Reconciliation would then be like the exhibition ice skating in the Olympics after the medals have been awarded: interesting to some, but wholly irrelevant to anything that really matters.

Right. That’s why the House fencesitters are all leaning no unless the Senate figures out a way to fix Reid’s bill first. If Pelosi goes first by passing Reid’s bill, which is detested by both Blue Dogs (because of the cost and the lack of abortion language) and progressives (because of the “Cadillac” tax provisions and lack of a public option), the only assurance they have that that won’t be the final bill is Obama’s and Reid’s promise to proceed to reconciliation afterwards. But for a million different reasons, reconciliation is politically unappealing. So what’s stopping The One from signing the House bill into law, then having a sudden “change of heart” about the Senate fix?

Aside from the fact that Barack Obama is a man of his word, I mean.

Ace on why the Senate might have a “change of heart” too:

First of all, the Senate bill is the Senate bill, of course. Among themselves — and they have some loyalty to their fellow Democratic Senators; some, at least — they have collectively agreed that this is the bill they can all live with.

So, right off the jump, they’d be changing the Senate bill from one they’ve collectively approved of to one they don’t necessarily collectively approve of. They lack motivation to change much, if anything…

There’s another factor: All Democrats, liberal or moderate, want this issue over with. Over and done. They want an exit strategy. Every day they are talking about health care is a day they lose, politically. This bill is not only unpopular with independents — it’s actually pretty unpopular with the nutroots true believers, who view it as a sell-out to insurance companies and not nearly Canada-y enough for their liking…

Now, as my reader notes — given this dynamic, where most of the point of this is to take the issue off the table of active, live issues and quickly as painlessly as possible — don’t Senate Democrats have an incentive to intentionally fail on reconciliation as soon as humanly possible? To give it a half-assed college try (call it a mail-order college try), fail immediately, and just let the bill sit as it stands?

Sure do. But look: These people have to work with each other. And because the filibuster is what it is, the House is going to have to bend more often than the Senate. If Reid and Obama stab Pelosi in the back by ditching the fix after she moves heaven and earth to get 217 votes, their relationships will turn so poisonous that she’ll never get the House to bend on anything again — ever. If you think there’s gridlock now between the parties, let them try this and see what gridlock looks like within the parties. Beyond that, every last House Democrat who loses his seat in November will turn around and blame it on The One and Dingy Harry, on the moronic theory that if only they’d passed the “fixed” bill, things would have been different. That’s insane, of course — arguably, skipping reconciliation will improve the Democrats’ reelection chances by avoiding a procedure that the public despises — but the point isn’t whether it’s true or not, it’s how hard the House’s feelings will be over the betrayal. Ultimately, to pull this move, Obama would be sacrificing his ability to govern for the rest of this year in order to pass O-Care. Which, given his willingness to sacrifice control of Congress, doesn’t seem like a huge deal, but The One needs to be able to push some stuff through before 2012.

Here’s the amazing thing about this, though. Evidently there’s enough distrust of him and Reid in the House that some Democratic fencesitters think this is a real possibility. Imagine that. Either they think Obama won’t go to bat for them if Reid balks or they think he simply lacks the political capital anymore to change Reid’s mind even if he does go to bat for them. Hopenchange 2010: It’s come to this.

Update: I missed Ed’s post on this subject earlier today. Apologies to my esteemed colleague.

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17/08/2005

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17/12/2007

A tres vite

Last week, Facebook was affected by a glitch that sent what appear to be thousands of private messages to the wrong people — a very alarming security breach given the amount of data 400 million users have entrusted to the service. News of the bug hit the press, Facebook issued a typically vague statement saying very few people were affected and that an investigation was looking into the matter, and that was that.

Most people probably just shrugged their shoulders at the news, but it’s yet another blemish against the company’s security record. This isn’t the first time Facebook has run into security issues, and I’ve grown increasingly concerned that the company might be playing fast and loose with its quality assurance policies because it doesn’t want to sacrifice the rapid iteration it’s famous for.  With this in mind, I reached out to Facebook late last week to ask about their protocol for deploying code and how the bug made it through in the first place. The company responded to some of my questions, and refused to answer others.

At least, Facebook eventually answered some of my questions. At first, the company sent me a vague statement reiterating that they were investigating the issue, and that they “maintain industry-leading quality assurance and security systems, and the reliability of Facebook is our top priority.”

In response, I reminded the Facebook spokesperson that it had just sent thousands of messages to people who weren’t meant to receive them, which would seem to indicate that it is not, in fact, on the bleeding edge of online security. I restated my questions and the company got back to me with this more detailed overview of its QA and code deployment policies, found below. Note that it begins with a general statement Facebook provided, along with more direct answers to my questions (which are in bold).

Facebook hires the most qualified and highly-skilled engineers we can find – most from industry or from top universities. Upon joining the company, every engineer and engineering manager participates in a six-week intensive ‘boot camp’ training. Our code review process is rigorous, and we phase out changes and test them before they go live for real users to detect any potential issues. During code pushes, our engineering, user support, and operations teams work cross-functionally to monitor the state of the push and to identify any problems early. We also have the capability to quickly push code updates to all of our datacenters worldwide, and to enable or disable critical features of the site if there is a problem.

All of these checks worked together on Wednesday, as designed, to limit the impact of the error and stopped it within minutes. We were able to swiftly disable access to the users who received messages and remove those messages from Facebook, although we were unable to prevent email notifications from being sent to affected users. It is important to recognize that no system is perfect and no company avoids mistakes all of the time. However, we would like to take this opportunity to sincerely apologize to all affected users and ensure them that we are committed to investigating Wednesday’s issue and to learning from it.

What are your protocols for pushing code?

We have staged rollout changes that go through multiple phases before going to end users, so we can proactively detect any problems. As the changes get rolled out to users, a set of support, engineering, and operation leaders are actively engaged to monitor the state of the push. As soon as any issue is identified, we have multiple tools to quickly disable critical features. The combination of these mechanisms dramatically limited the exposure related to Wednesday’s issue.

Are there multiple people reviewing all code that gets pushed?

Yes, we have a rigorous code review process and no code goes live on the site unless it has been reviewed and approved by a skilled engineer.

What changes are you making to ensure that this does not happen again?

We cannot discuss specific improvements, but we take privacy and security very seriously and are continually improving our code standards, processes, and systems to help us build high quality products quickly.

When do you expect to conclude your investigation, because I will certainly be following up for the details about it?

As a general practice, we do not comment on investigations like this.

While interesting, none of this is particularly surprising. And because Facebook isn’t commenting on the outcome of the investigation, we’ll probably never find out what caused the bug (or if company protocol was even followed in this case).  But hey, at least they say they’re doing the right things.

It’s worth pointing out that Facebook is by no means the only company affected by such issues.  Last year, I wrote a post called the Sorry State of Online Privacy, where I detailed some of the security lapses that had hit Facebook, Twitter, and Google (and of course there’s the recent Google Buzz fiasco). All of these companies would likely claim to have state of the art testing and security measures, yet such problems seem to pop up every few months.  I’m aware that it’s impossible to have a fully secure system, but that doesn’t mean engineering teams should be treating these problems as inevitabilities.  To reiterate what I wrote last year, the word ‘private’ should not mean “this will remain hidden until we accidentally break something”.

Original material is licensed under a Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution.

Assurance malus

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16/10/2008

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15/06/2009

A bientôt

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05/06/2008

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03/07/2006

A tres vite

If all motorcycles had the sheer power of the 2009 BMW HP2 Sport, competition really would be on a level playing field. BMW's engineers managed to pull 130 horsepower out of the HP2's boxer twin engine for 2009, making it one of the most fun, beautiful, sexy machines on the road or the track today. BMW names this motorcycle the carrier of the most powerful boxer twin engine that has ever been designed by BMW Motorrad. Don't believe it? Pull up to one at a stoplight if you can find one and listen to the exhaust note. The engine practically breathes fire and dares you to try to beat it. The 2009 BMW HP2 Sport wasn't designed for Saturday night rides across country, though. You're far more likely to see this motorcycle gripping the inside lanes at your local speedway than you are to see it at a bike-night showdown, and that's what BMW engineers designed the 2009 BMW HP2 Sport for- competition and track day.

Race breeding means that all the finest technology that BMW engineers have access to found their way into this super sport motorcycle. Quickshifter technology reduces the time between shifts, a fully adjustable Ohlins sport front and rear suspension keep the tires planted firmly on the tarmac, and powerful, quick-acting Brembo brakes ensure only the most pleasant of trips through the curves. This is a motorcycle that practically begs to be raced, and though beginners might find a better mount in one of the more inexpensive Japanese sport bikes, the BMW HP2 Sport is a more advanced machine for more experienced riders.

The BMW HP2 Sport is centered around an Air/oil cooled flat twin with two camshafts and four valves per cylinder producing just over 133 horsepower at 8,750 RPM, and 85 lb/ft of torque. The BMW HP2 Sport features Electronic intake pipe injection, a BMS-K digital engine management system with overrun fuel cut-off. All this sits snugly in a tubular steel space frame of which the front and rear are self-supporting carbon. You'll find milled cast aluminum wheels, ABS optional with a deactivation function and brake pressure detection.

Unfortunately, the 2009 BMW HP2 Sport is available only in Alpine white, and is BMW's most expensive motorcycle at $25,375, with ABS optional at $1000. No doubt if you're going to pony up for this fastest of BMW motorcycles, you're going to want to check out the BMW accessories catalog for some matching leathers.

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A tres vite

Hi

If your interested in this article, you'll also like: Car That Could:, The: The Inside Story of GM's Revolutionary Electric Vehicle

Tesla motors has delivered a working protoype of it much acclaimed Tesla Roadster, proving that they are not only legitiamte but serious about producing a ecofriendly supercar. If you haven't heard of Tesla Motors or the roadster be sure to checkout Tesla Motor's Roadster: A Super-Sleek, Super-Green, 100% Electric Sports Car. The claims are stunning.

Tesla Motor's CEO and co-founder Martin Eberhard released news of the Tesla Roadster in the summer of 2006. He claimed to be able to produce 2,500 pound roadster with a 248 horsepower 100% electric (not hybrid) powerplant beneath the hood. The plug-n-play roadster uses a modifed chasis courtesy of Lotus' Elise to deliver a quick but nimble weekend toy perfect for cruising through the backroads outside of town. Even more impressive is the energy usage, which is the equivalent of 135 miles per gallon ( recently upgraded from 125mpg) or a measly $.01 per mile.

What's the key to it's performance? In one word–torque. According to Tesla's website, “The Tesla Roadster delivers full availability of performance every moment you are in the car, even while at a stoplight. Its peak torque begins at zero rpm and stays powerful beyond 13,000 rpm.” Gas powered have to wait for until the correct rpm range is entered before delivering peak torque.

Until recently, the Tesla Roadster was just a promise– a highly anticipated one. A working prototyes can be seen cruising the streets of California, a display to the American public that the little San Carlos start really means business. Photos have been popping up of the roadster cruising California higways and test tracks. Even the Uber-governator himself has been snapped taking a ride in it. Only one had been shiped from the factory in England, another nine more will be delivered shortly, with two of them to be used for crash tests.

However, there is still a waiting time for potential buyers. What's the hold up? The initial production run has already sold out. Assuming you can pony up the $92,000 base price, 2008 model years are being offered for reservation on Tesla Motors website. The two-teired reservation system requires a $30,000 or $50,000 reservation down payment, the price depends on where you'll be placed in line. See Tesla Motor's Roadster: A Super-Sleek, Super-Green, 100% Electric Sports Carfor an explaination on the price.

For related info, checkout : Electric and Hybrid Cars: A History

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15/08/2009

Assurances malus :

Pour chaque sinistre Assurances malus dont la responsabilité vous incombe à 100 %, votre prime  augmentera de 25 %. En revanche, Assurances malus pour chaque accident partiellement responsable, votre cotisationn’augmentera que de 12,5 %. Le malus Assurances malus max est de 350 % par rapport à votre prime de référence (depuis le 13/05/2008 par exemple). Si vous n'avez pas de sinistre à votre tort deux années consécutives Assurances malus, vous reviendrez au tarif classique. Assurance Malus En cas de changement de véhicule, vous conserverez votre coeff de bonus ou de malus assurances malus.

23/02/2005

Si vous n'avez pas de sinistre à votre tort deux années consécutives Assurances malus, vous reviendrez au tarif de reference. En cas de changement de véhicule, vous conserverez votre coefficient de bonus ou de malus assurances malus.

Source : Assurances malus

Salut tout le monde !

Définition assurance malus

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Le malus assurance jeune conducteur est un système de calcul qui permet à l’assureur de faire varier le montant de votre cotisation annuelle en fonction du nombre d'accrochages déclarés au cours de l’année précédente.
Ainsi, si vous n’avez pas eu assurance voiturette de sinistres, vous bénéficiez d’une réduction du montant de votre cotisation annuelle (bonus). En revanche, si vous avez eu un ou plusieurssinistres, le montant de votre prime annuelle sera augmenté (malus).
Les règles applicables à ce système du Assurance auto malus malus sont déterminées par un arrêté ministériel (annexe de l’article A.121-1 du code des assurances). Elles sont donc les même pour tous en théorie de l'assurance malus.

A+

Source : assurance malus

Welcome…

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++

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English speaker are welcome

A bientôt

04/04/2007

Pour chaque accident dont la faute vous incombe à 100 %, votre cotisation  augmentera de 25 %. Mais, pour chaque accident en partie responsable, votre cotisationn’augmentera que de 12,5 %. Le malus maximum est de 350 % par rapport à votre cotisation de référence (depuis le 01/04/2006 par exemple). Si vous n'avez pas de sinistre à votre tort deux années consécutives, vous reviendrez au tarif classique. Assurances malus En cas de changement de véhicule, vous conserverez votre coefficient de bonus ou de malus.

13/11/2005