tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post7256337628390577694..comments2024-03-27T18:24:19.683-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: The dumbest $20 billion profit industryUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-89199687537429861552011-06-14T06:57:52.586-07:002011-06-14T06:57:52.586-07:00Is texting Aspergery? Maybe shy people hide behind...Is texting Aspergery? Maybe shy people hide behind it, but most texters seem motivated by efficiency and a notion of politeness.<br /><br />Texting increases the pleasure of personal phone calls - by, not coincidentally, reducing their frequency. Once you go mostly text, such phone calls become not more than special occasions for chatting at leisure in lieu of a visit.<br /><br />The downside to texting is developing the patience to press all those little buttons. But it's merely an issue of technic. As with any simple skill, one acquires it in decent time with practice. Some people can <a href="http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2009/06/17/Iowa-teen-wins-national-texting-contest/UPI-56421245296495/" rel="nofollow">press 'em</a> unnecessarily fast. Some of us are lucky to type 15 characters per minute.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-40875636103281334812011-06-13T15:07:16.696-07:002011-06-13T15:07:16.696-07:00I work in the business. bjddubbsss is absolutely ...I work in the business. bjddubbsss is absolutely on target. Sure, the <i>incremental</i> cost for text messaging is very low. But my employer spent many billions buying spectrum, many more billions building out infrastructure, and yet more billions maintaining it through floods, fires, hurricanes, and cousin Eddie's drunken vehicular encounter with the antenna serving your neighborhood.<br /><br />The incremental cost of an appendectomy is pretty low, too. You have a couple people cutting and blotting and stitching for, what, a half hour? I can spend $35 to have a couple of guys mow my lawn for a <i>whole</i> hour. Why should an appendectomy cost more than that?Erichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10330712047609650184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-8939345249800083162011-06-12T20:18:48.817-07:002011-06-12T20:18:48.817-07:00Texting is a very nice way to communicate with som...Texting is a very nice way to communicate with someone without disrupting the people around either you or them. It's also a nice way to coordinate some small thing--I'm much happier getting a text of the five things my wife wants from the store than having her call me (so I can write down the list)--the text is both less intrusive and more useful.NOTAnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-67293841716478907232011-06-12T10:02:33.382-07:002011-06-12T10:02:33.382-07:00"David is right. I'm pushing 60 and I jus..."David is right. I'm pushing 60 and I just started texting last year. Now I do it regularly for work and semi-regularly for social purposes. It combines the advantages of e-mail and mobility. Ask yourself this -- would you rather be in a room full of people texting or a room full of people talking on cellphones?"<br /><br />Ditto that.<br /><br />Texting capabilities lack one, very necessary thing. Some sort of preprogrammed "I'm driving now. Will read your text and answer you in a bit" message that can be sent back to the person who just texted you. It needs to be done easily, with a large, easy to see and feel, button on the outside of the phone you just push, so you don't even have to look at your phone.<br /><br />How is it that the monumental stupidity arose that this is not already available?JSMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-18443596650445672132011-06-12T09:41:34.188-07:002011-06-12T09:41:34.188-07:00By the time you dialed a number and listened to th...By the time you dialed a number and listened to the phone ring a couple times, I already sent off a text explaining everything that phone call was about. I didn't have to deal with crappy reception causing the sound to cut out and I didn't bother you.<br /><br />So, yeah, texting sucks! It just does everything more efficiently.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-33296968492902363502011-06-12T07:26:22.245-07:002011-06-12T07:26:22.245-07:00even worse, now people txt msg on those stupid tou...even worse, now people txt msg on those stupid touchscreen devices.klaoshttp://notmail.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-48409825075488916392011-06-12T01:16:31.577-07:002011-06-12T01:16:31.577-07:00Lots of businesses have high fixed costs and low m...Lots of businesses have high fixed costs and low marginal costs: software, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals.<br /><br />If you think the profit margins are too high, make a competing product, as a 1001 startups + Apple and Google are doing.<br /><br />But don't get "the government" involved.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-90965531477913653852011-06-11T20:25:10.027-07:002011-06-11T20:25:10.027-07:00Phone calls are too intrusive and inefficient, and...<i>Phone calls are too intrusive and inefficient, and nobody reads email.</i><br /><br />David is right. I'm pushing 60 and I just started texting last year. Now I do it regularly for work and semi-regularly for social purposes. It combines the advantages of e-mail and mobility. Ask yourself this -- would you rather be in a room full of people texting or a room full of people talking on cellphones?CJnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-1152261947517636422011-06-11T19:33:25.501-07:002011-06-11T19:33:25.501-07:00This post wins the "Most Likely to Be Spammed...This post wins the "Most Likely to Be Spammed in the Comments" Award. Did I tell you about the great new plan XYZ is offering. First 100 minutes are free with first-time activation, man.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-16749428477046548552011-06-11T19:09:45.691-07:002011-06-11T19:09:45.691-07:0020 billion? that's less money than carlos slim...20 billion? that's less money than carlos slim made, personally, in the last year, by having (among other things) a monopoly on the crappy mexican telephone infrastructure. think AT & T has a good profit margin? think again.<br /><br />every infrastructure industry in mexico is crappy, of course. lower tech levels, worse maintenance, slower contruction, slower repair, less competition (if any), et cetera.<br /><br />i don't know if this is true anymore, but back when i used to go into mexico a couple times a year (not in the tourist areas), if you take your US cell phone, you cannot call out of mexico, but somebody in the US can call in to you?<br /><br />that's because the US phone companies knew they often couldn't get their billed fees from mexico. but mexico knows it can bill the US company and they'll pay.jodynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-42707101513215937552011-06-11T17:48:25.414-07:002011-06-11T17:48:25.414-07:00"What if a company offered flat out free,unli...<i>"What if a company offered flat out free,unlimited text messaging,as a draw to get their phone??"</i><br /><br />Sprint's "everything" data plans include free unlimited text messaging. Of course, at that point you're paying a large (but fixed) monthly bill, plus you have to have a smart phone. So, unlimited "free" texting is available, if you are already a high end customer.<br /><br />Also you have it backwards; cell carriers are not interested in a "draw" to get customers to buy a phone; they want customers to buy their phone as a "draw" to get them to sign two year contracts so that they can make money off of monthly service charges. The phone isn't where the carriers make their money; the monthly bill and two year service contract are where they make their money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-13924073277895271512011-06-11T16:18:17.250-07:002011-06-11T16:18:17.250-07:00It's patently obvious to anyone in tech that u...It's patently obvious to anyone in tech that ultimately all that SMS stuff will go over IP, and you don't need a phone company for that.<br /><br />On an unrelated topic, there was some speculation in the comments earlier about whether Weiner was on 'roids. His office put out a statement today:<br /><br />"Congressman Weiner... has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents"<br /><br />Healthy? He looked like he was in suspiciously good shape. Maybe this is a sotto voice way of saying he was geared up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-42586872010879229232011-06-11T13:54:49.283-07:002011-06-11T13:54:49.283-07:00I am Lugash
Apparently it doesn't cost anythi...<i>I am Lugash<br /><br />Apparently it doesn't cost anything to send a text; the messages are sent in blank space of the control channel:<br /><br />http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/08/12/28/079254/What-Carriers-Dont-Want-You-To-Know-About-Texting<br /><br />I am Lugash <br /></i><br />That article only deals w/ the air interface. Text messages were originally (***) carried end-to-end in the signalling (SS7) network. About 10 years ago, I was a (the?) lead developer of a product that sat at the nexus of over 100 major European and Asian GSM networks. The main original purpose was to facilitate roaming between all the networks. Eventually, it evolved into a product in which the overwhelming amount of its resources went to managing text messages, which were absolutely swamping the SS7 links.<br /><br />The other interesting thing about texts being in the SS7 ... the 1994 telecom act was supposed to put up barriers to charging for signalling, as part of the process of breaking up the LEC monopolies. I have a vague memory of randmonly meeting, and explaing the specifics of the technology to, a lawyer who was working on some such case in DC.<br /><br />(*** not sure what the main method of transport is now, but I'd be really surprised if it doesn't involved the letters "I" and "P")JermiahJohnbalayanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-36437756692744727622011-06-11T13:41:29.329-07:002011-06-11T13:41:29.329-07:00Texts are useful where either it's nice to hav...Texts are useful where either it's nice to have the text (an address, say) or it's a short message where it's simpler to text than call (esp. where someone might not check their e-mail for awhile, but usually get texts right away).Anthonynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-25195897352151424402011-06-11T13:39:05.265-07:002011-06-11T13:39:05.265-07:00What's funny is that Steve Jobs didn't eve...What's funny is that Steve Jobs didn't even tell the carriers about iMessage (Apple's new free iPhone-to-iPhone SMS service) before it was released. The carriers used to have the whip-hand over the phone-makers. it's like Apple have just taken 10 billion from the carriers pockets, and burned it in front of them.Bennynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-83709304043686159172011-06-11T13:23:38.073-07:002011-06-11T13:23:38.073-07:00AFAIK, "texting" here isn't just SMS...AFAIK, "texting" here isn't just SMS, it's also MMS, which carries media.Sidewaysnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-60637820982116314182011-06-11T12:27:12.309-07:002011-06-11T12:27:12.309-07:00"I'm pretty sure 90% of the world's t...<b>"I'm pretty sure 90% of the world's texting is done by teenage girls. I can't account for the other 10%. Al Quedda? Saudi sheiks? 50 year old homosexual or pedo men?</b><br /><br />I'm not sure what's meant by calling it "dumb." Are you suggesting that people who use and pay for text messaging services are dumb, or that only teenage girls text?<br /><br />Because I'm in my early 30s and in my social/family circle texting is now by far the most common method of communicating. It's fast, it can be done almost anytime (even in meetings), it saves purchasing additional voice minutes, and it's a hell of a lot faster than a phone call. What will cut into the profits of phone companies is the widespread adoption of other forms of texting from which phone companies don't get a cut. Since data services are also a profit center, and since more and more people are getting smartphones, and since text messages eat up very little bandwidth, these profits will dry up very, very soon. <br /><br />For work purposes texting is also a great CYA - a soft copy of an agreement made with a boss or colleague. You can get that through email, too, but not through voice.Jack Aubreynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-13078007683917727592011-06-11T12:12:34.930-07:002011-06-11T12:12:34.930-07:00So, put Whiskey's post together with Lugash...So, put Whiskey's post together with Lugash's post, and the takeaway is that the costs involved in texting are all down to the fact that they charge for it.<br /><br />USA! USA!! USA!!!Svigorhttp://majorityrights.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-70609643434339597042011-06-11T11:09:52.241-07:002011-06-11T11:09:52.241-07:00"How much incremental bandwidth does sending ..."How much incremental bandwidth does sending 160 character ASCII text messages use on top of voice and, for a lot of people, video? One percent?"<br />Not even that much. So little bandwidth that they could modify equipment to bounce them off meteor trails (seriously).<br />http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/fg7/case_library/documents/MBC001.html<br /><br />An 80% gross margin is absurdly high (couple points higher than pharmaceuticals), the govt really should do more to control monopoly pricing.<br />"Perfecting Imperfect Competition"<br />http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1726683##beowulfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14987548132065830204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-8984727175509957442011-06-11T09:53:21.725-07:002011-06-11T09:53:21.725-07:00What if a company offered flat out free,unlimited ...What if a company offered flat out free,unlimited text messaging,as a draw to get their phone??joshnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-18962275336151788342011-06-11T09:15:36.408-07:002011-06-11T09:15:36.408-07:00>I never understood why texting was the latest ...>I never understood why texting was the latest fad, either.<<br /><br />Phone calls are too intrusive and inefficient, and nobody reads email.<br /><br />Most communications are not deserving of more than 160 characters, anyway. "Pick up milk" "OMG he dated stripper!" "Meeting changed to 1pm"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-62744947639748419792011-06-11T09:14:21.262-07:002011-06-11T09:14:21.262-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-86935885006104863242011-06-11T08:50:18.118-07:002011-06-11T08:50:18.118-07:00Their avoidance of reporting facts allows you to c...Their avoidance of reporting facts allows you to correctly fill in the blanks on your own. I read "youths" in a story and can probably guess the rest.<br /><br />http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/tribnation/chi-when-race-is-mentioned-in-the-chicago-tribune-20110610,0,136289.storyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-64592101467099473072011-06-11T08:24:47.420-07:002011-06-11T08:24:47.420-07:00My yahoo mail account can both send and receive te...My yahoo mail account can both send and receive texts quite nicely. For free (other than the distracting ads).stari_momaknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-21467198754568940492011-06-11T08:23:07.740-07:002011-06-11T08:23:07.740-07:00"It should have been the next thing invented ..."It should have been the next thing invented after Morse Code."<br /><br />It was. Ever hear of an ancient technology called the 'telegraph'?stari_momaknoreply@blogger.com