jhandl's comments

jhandl | 11 years ago | on: Possible unconventional computing techniques of the future

You'd pay for speed-ups that come from reworking algorithms to make them more efficient, but how do you avoid someone adding wait loops in strategic places and then selling you the software again after taking them out? IBM sells you an increase in processing power for your mainframe by enabling processors that were already there the whole time but disabled by configuration. I don't think I like that business model.

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: LinkedIn is not using email contacts to find people who have an account already

> I guess I use it as another online CV.

> I don't think the network should be reporting views to profile owners. Of course I'm spooked by this.

So you're essentially freaked out that a prospective employer or business contact is looking at your CV.

> Not finding employees.

HR departments are paying for those premium accounts because they use it to find employees. Are you suggesting they don't know what they are doing?

> Not finding work. Can I even separate my contacts into people-that-can-see-that-im-looking and people-that-shouldnt nowadays?

You can update your profile without broadcasting the change to your contacts, and you can answer job offerings privately too.

A lot of people use it as the de-facto rolodex: you can learn a lot about who you're going to meet without being "stalkish" because people expect to be searched (well, not you apparently). You can use it to contact people in specific positions (cold call), I've done it with great success to get past unresponsive customer services.

Many people don't agree with their growth tactics, but few would say it's useless.

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: Weightless Project

Although the basic idea sounds great, I can't help but think this is a scam. I watched the video and bolted out in disgust.

Starting with irrelevant video footage: big-city homelessness and world hunger are different problems; a healthy newborn baby is hardly an example of a malnourished child; several scenes attempt to associate being black with hunger but show well fed kids instead, one even being fed with a spoon by an overweight caregiver...

Then, the video never explains how the system works. Could have explained the idea while you had me watching.

Not to mention that world hunger is not something you can simply throw cash at. It's been done, doesn't work. This is a very complex problem, involving distribution costs, poverty, corruption and many other factors.

And Deepak Chopra? Seriously? You lost any credibility you might have had.

The whole thing reeks of "for every forwarded email Bill Gates will pay $1 to X". Except Deepak gets that $1.

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: Coin

Hmm. No offense, but that looks like somthing my 12 year-old son would use. I can't be seen with that! :)

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: Coin

Answered elsewhere but the Coin is not a good idea for reasons also answered elsewhere (merchants wouldn't take it, your account could be flagged, etc).

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: Coin

I carry two government-issued ids; one driver's license; two medical ids; three credit cards, two debit cards and two coordinate cards (two-factor auth) related to three bank accounts; my mother's two debit cards and one medical id (she's elderly and I take care af all her needs); and one medical emergency info card. That's 16. Membership and discount cards are the non-essential ones.

I do have all of those cards scanned and stored in dropbox with 1password, but I don't have good 3g coverage so I carry them just in case.

I carry my fat wallet in a fanny pack. Not very elegant, but incredibly practical.

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: Coin

I love the idea behind Coin but what I need is a fat wallet.

I carry 19 cards, of which 16 are essential. Some of them are not for swiping so they wouldn't benefit from Coin. The solution for me is a wallet that can hold 20 to 30 cards, but as far as I can tell there's no such thing.

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: New FAA Guidelines Permit More Device Use

I think of flight attendants as firemen (or firewomen) serving us drinks and food. Because that's what they are. They will be the ones saving your ass if the situation comes to that.

jhandl | 12 years ago | on: Poking holes in the "Gravity" trailer with NASA's help

I agree with some of the liberties they took, for example the ISS, the shuttle+hubble and a chinese space station being next to each other, but I'm not so sure about staying in micro-gravity during acceleration phases. Was it because they didn't think the public would understand what acceleration looks like?
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