samedi 26 avril 2014

Incredibly Stupid Phone Promotion: Smash Your Current Phone!

Remember that viral video of the guys smashing his phone and the battery spraying chemicals everywhere (audio heard at the end is the best)? Apparently these guys saw it and thought it was a great idea. I get they want to generate attention, and that phone smashing gets lots of hits, but this is just stupid.




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OnePlus announced its first Android handset this week, the One, but the phone won’t be available to consumers next month. However, 100 lucky winners of the company’s Smash promotion will have the opportunity to smash their old handset and receive a 16GB One Plus One handset for just $1. The company on Friday announced the official launch of the contest, saying that interested buyers can apply on the company’s special Smash page to be selected. Lucky winners will also receive three invites, which they can give to friends interested in buying the phone.



Aside from people jumping the gun and misunderstanding the contest, partly because they rolled out the contest rules in the same manner they've rolled out this phone (very slowly), it is just wasteful. Sell your phone and someone else can use it, and you will get probably just as much money (only recent flagship phones apply).



Otherwise the phone has incredible stats at a dirt cheap price.




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First, the list of phones on here is limited to mostly high-end phones that you could sell and actually make a buck or two from. For example, Verizon’s low-ball trade-in site will give you $300 for an iPhone 5c. Most of the Android phones are closing in on $150-$200, through there as well. If you sold it yourself on a site like Swappa, you could fetch anywhere from $250-$400 for a 2-year old Galaxy Note 2. Sell your phone, then just buy a OnePlus One whenever (if) it is ever available.



Second, wasn’t it just Earth Day on Tuesday? Not exactly the best timing here. And I know they are only asking 100 people to smash their phones, but those phones have chemicals galore in them, especially in the battery. Remember this video? Also, glass? Sharp objects? If you really don’t want your phone, donate it to a good cause.



Third, since you can only smash really good phones in order to receive your new OnePlus One, I’m wondering if it’s really worth it. You would be destroying a perfectly good phone from a manufacturer you trust, for a phone from a manufacturer you know nothing about. We don’t know when updates will ever rollout to the OnePlus One, if anything they have done with the phone is any good in real life use, or if this company will even be around in two years.



Linky.




vendredi 25 avril 2014

Petition: Competitive Bidding - Military Satellite Launches

I’ve created a White House petition requesting competitive bidding for the launches of military satellites. Recently only the United Launch Alliance was considered by the Air Force for a new long term contract. SpaceX is apparently not in the clique, despite ULA using Russian engines.



There is a requirement of 150 signatures before the petition is publicly viewable on the open petitions page. Until then only those who know a URL can sign.



Short URL: http://wh.gov/lf4vb

Long URL: http://ift.tt/1nOP6rF



The requirement for a White House response is 100,000 signatures by May 25th. Please consider signing, and then making others aware through email or social media.




Google+ is dead, Thank God

http://ift.tt/1nO2VGH



I have always hated Google+. Google+ treats users with contempt.



Big companies have always fantasized about locking their customers into walled gardens. They keep failing. But walled gardens are incredibly profitable, so they keep trying.



Dumb users want to stay in a walled garden. Dumb users don't know where to go, so they want everything in one place. But users don't stay dumb forever.



Eventually users figure out more than one way to do things. And then they start making choices. When people want to contact me, they can call me, text me, email me, or even knock on my door. Each of these choices has a different function. Why go through Google for every one of them?



Just when Google started trying to bundle everything together like Facebook, Facebook found their own users were unbundling themselves into WhatsApp and Twitter and Instagram. Google was fighting yesterday's war.



I'm not a dumb user, but there are a lot of them. And if Google+ succeeded the market would be catering to them and not me. So today, score one for the smart users.




Does Russia plan to start WW3?

The Ukrainians say they do. How would a war with Russia in Europe go? Americas at its weakest and Putin might feel this would be a good time to start such a war.




Consciousness from different substrates

If one had a limitless number of light switches, wire, and rheostats (and an electric current to run through it all), would it be possible to wire it up in such a way that the system would be conscious, and could be called a "mind"?



ETA: forgot to add there's no shortage of volunteers to flip the switches and turn the rheostats




Chinese firm 3-D prints 10 houses in 24 hours

I thought this was interesting.



http://ift.tt/1pzw510




Amway Business Math?

I came across this blog and while I've seen similar posts by Amway business owners, this one was interesting because of the detail and the passion the blog author has. In a nutshell, he lost money in Amway but calls it success because after he received his tax refund, he's now claiming to have a net profit. It's amazing what these Amway/WWDB leaders can get people to believe.



https://transparencyofadreamer.wordp...sing-in-amway/



Below are excerpts. The blog owner claims to have made a net gain due to a tax refund. He doesn't explain how he arrived at that refund but apparently his losses in Amway lowered his tax liability for whatever income tax was already withheld from either his paycheck (job) or from paying estimated taxes in advance for a business or some other venture. It's quite scary and illustrates how some people can hang on in Amway for so long even when suffering losses. The IBO's are programmed to "think" they actually made money!




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Based on what they have taught me, even though I barely had any increase in my overall organization (ie: I was pathetically lazy, didn’t put any work in and barely increased the size of organization – #sadface) I STILL DID NOT LOSE MONEY!




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2013 total Cost Run Down:

Communikate: $443.40

Digital Delivery: $300.00

Premier Membership: $599.40

Major Functions: $595.00

Major Function Hotels: $750.00

Business Support Materials: $240.00

Total Business Cost: $2927.80



Lets bring it all together here, folks.



Total Amway Payout in 2013: $2112.36

Total Cost To Run Business: -$2927.80

= $-815.44




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Just like I said last year – “Oh No! I’ve been scammed! I’ve lost money! My upline lied to me! I didn’t put in any work to sponsor anyone this last year and its everyone’s fault but mine! The business doesn’t work! What a total scam!!!”



Hold on now Mr. Negative – Due to running my own business in a country that incentivises business owners to run their own business I received tax benefits that entitled me to a refund for the 2013 year in the amount of $2409.76. Lets do this again, shall we?



Total Amway Payout in 2013: $2112.36

Total Cost To Run Business: -$2927.80

Total Tax Refund For 2013: $2409.76

= $1594.32




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So, as I wrap up I hope I made my point very clear – you will not lose money running your own Amway Business powered by World Wide Dreambuilders…. IF you are diligent with your finances, if you don’t blow your budget your coach sets with you. You WILL lose money running your own Amway Business powered by ANY training system IF you don’t have a budget, if you don’t ask for help to set a budget, if you ignore your budget etc.




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If your potential sponsor is affiliated with WWDB and is doing what they are taught, you should be educated on some of the numbers I shared above in regards to cost for access to your training and mentorship system.