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Robert Hall

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Everything posted by Robert Hall

  1. Makes sense in that use case. Alas, the only time I have a car that I can connect my iPod or phone to is when I have a rental (a downside of having the newest cars at home being 13 years old, though I can use the old iPod cassette adapter).
  2. I still use iTunes as I keep all of my music on my iPod Classic. I have used Google music to stream my collection to my laptop (and then use Airplay to the office sound system on occasion). I guess as long as I have an iPod I have no reason to play music on my phone.
  3. It is surprising they haven't made a larger screen model, considering what the competition is doing..the market is definitely skewing towards larger phones.
  4. Something about the roofline looks odd to me, but I can't really put my finger on it. The C-pillar shape reminds me of the 1st gen Saturn Vue.
  5. I'd agree just from the initial pics...current gen, I liked the Chevy front end more...but don't like the strange tabs on the side lights on the new Chevy...maybe in person it will look better...
  6. I don't use cases on my phones, but do agree the iPhone does feel good..very solid..I like the solidity of the metal body, even more than the Kevlar back on my Razr...plastic phones just feel cheap, IMO.
  7. It's not a common term, at least in American English...(the non-car slang, non-golf usage). ('shower caddy' was the only such usage I could think of, thought it was pretty obscure).
  8. My Dell Studio XPS died after a couple of years...I replaced it earlier this year w/ a Toshiba Satellite, works pretty well though Windows 8 is pretty awful. Still have my 5 year old personal Mac Book Pro, my work Mac Book Pro is almost 2 years old now though it's been upgraded to 16 gb ram. I've been ambivalent about Macs in the past, but I really do like using one on a daily basis..even though the aluminum case gets warm and it is heavy, it's very reliable (and of course has unix command line goodness inside).
  9. Hmmm...shiny and new... the front light cluster on the Chevy is very strange, with the tabs on the side for the parking/turn signal lights. I like the dash treatment.
  10. I've been carrying an iPhone 5 since late last year for work, I don't really like the small screen compared to my Motorola Droid Razr Maxx..but it does charge very quickly when plugged into my Mac Book Pro. I've found the iPhone to be more stable than the Droid--apps on the Droid frequently hang or crash. The iPhone audio quality is better, but that may be an AT&T vs Verizon thing. Not sure what my next phone is, still have about 8 months until the 2 year mark w/ the Razr Maxx...probably will stick w/ a Motorola model, or maybe a Nexus. I like the larger screens, easier to use. Though I don't play videos on them...basically, I use a phone to call, read Twitter and Facebook, do a bit of web surfing in down time when I'm not near my computer or tablet.
  11. Yes, like a carrier or container. Been called that for decades in Europe..probably would need a different name for NA.
  12. What's shameful is how wholey mercedes is chasing sales volume. Lots of reasons, though.. With Smart confined to microcars and no other car divisions, they don't have a choice except to expand downward as far a volume. Same w/ BMW--Mini has a limited niche. Also, small premium cars in theory will attract younger buyers, the way the 3-series attracted young professionals 20-30 years ago. It's also a side effect of the mainstreaming of all things 'premium'..even Apple is slumming these days w/ cheaper products. Consumers don't want cheap, stripped down cars anymore--they want their inexpensive cars loaded with modern cabin tech and preferably w/ a premium badge.
  13. But that breaks down w/ the 1 series--which has 2dr, 3dr, and 5dr models (though the 2dr models will soon be come the 2-series, I think), and the 6 series which has 2- and 4-dr models..Then there is the Audi scheme...where the odd and even don't correspond to the door count...
  14. Saw a dark red '14 Cherokee tonight on the freeway...lights on, semi dark. Michigan plate. Looks...different.
  15. Mostly listening to NPR in the car on the commute and tech podcasts on my iPod whilst working lately, but at home I've been chilling out and de-stressing recently by listening to variety of artists in glorious surround sound---Pink Floyd (mid '70s and mid '90s mostly), Brian Eno's ambient albums, retro-60s style from Stereophonic Space Sound Unlimited, and 80s style retro electronica from Lazerhawk, College, Kavinsky and others..
  16. The Caddy would be a nice competitor for the Transit Connect and the Transporter would go well against the other Euro vans here from M-B, Ford, and Ram, I think...
  17. Saw a very clean mid '70s Mercury Comet 4dr...typical period color (kind of a butterscotchy-orange) w/ a white top and body color rings on the hubcaps...looked very original...
  18. I don't think that was ever part of the plan...it's almost like this car is an afterthought, like Chevy is tolerating it but not embracing it, afraid to sell sedans that don't fit the vanilla FWD sedan mold...
  19. In a unintentional sort of way, these fastbacks remind me of an homage to the late '40s-early 50s era when GM had 2dr and 4dr sedans in notchback and fastback form.
  20. computer engineers might be the only engineers making 75k out of school. when my sister graduated electrical engineering back in the mid-late eighties, i think she had been expecting and got around a 40k start. in 2013, at least in my field the starting electrical engineers don't make much more than that, if. 25 years since and the same pay. I'm sure it's changed over the years, when I got out of grad school in '97 as a software engineer my starting salary was $56k....a little over 2 years later I was making almost $90k and then 2 years after than over $100k... boy did i make a bad choice. I had a girlfriend in college who was a math / comp sci double major. I think part of the reason she dumped me is because she figured out that she was in a good money field and I would never be.......women are wise that way........ computer industry by and large still has relatively good pay scales, if your job doesn't get outsourced...... Software engineering is one of those fields where to excel you really have to enjoy it...often long hours and intense schedules..but I get to work with a lot of smart people..I love writing code, debugging systems, designing complex systems, learning new things...my experience w/ outsourcing is that the work produced by outsourced groups is often crap and has to be redone....I've had a couple of down periods (mid '01-mid '02 and mid-08) but I find there is always demand, even in a relative tech dead zone like Arizona.. I've bounced around between being an employee, independent contractor, w2 contractor, and working for consulting companies...it's been a fun ride the last 16 years. As far as teaching goes, I taught math (algebra, calculus) and intro CS courses while in grad school....my sister trained to be an elementary teacher, but went into hr, then management and then management consulting instead...our parents were both educators--Dad was a teacher then a principal then a superintendent, Mom was an elementary school teacher..
  21. Actually, there are plenty of FWD cars in racing...in the US the Mazda 6, Honda Civics, VW Golfs, etc are seen in some series...and the Chevy Cruze has won the WTCC several times...
  22. computer engineers might be the only engineers making 75k out of school. when my sister graduated electrical engineering back in the mid-late eighties, i think she had been expecting and got around a 40k start. in 2013, at least in my field the starting electrical engineers don't make much more than that, if. 25 years since and the same pay. I'm sure it's changed over the years, when I got out of grad school in '97 as a software engineer my starting salary was $56k....a little over 2 years later I was making almost $90k and then 2 years after than over $100k...
  23. Saw a 2014 Camaro base convertible yesterday...silver, black top in a restaurant parking lot...first '14 Camaro I've seen, looked good...
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