Anybody Buying Yet? Where’s the Bottom?

[SAJ-99]

Let's face it, we all hate slavery (1800s) but are just fine with it in 2020s if it builds iPhones, Teslas, etc.

This may be shocking to some, but all the brands discussed are made in the same country. That shouldn’t be a limiting factor.

The funny part is the anti-Apple people I have talked to seem to be the same people who buy into stuff like government surveillance. Apple has literally gone to court to keep the government from getting into individuals phones and half the third party stuff they don’t support is because it is “watching” and “listening” to you. Pay the extra $.

 

[BigHornRam]

In my SIL's Cyber warfare school, all the instructors had Mac hardware; they ran Linux, but thought Mac best designed HW.

Let's face it, we all hate slavery (1800s) but are just fine with it in 2020s if it builds iPhones, Teslas, etc.

One of those cognitive dissonance things; horrible if earlier generations profited from it, great if I do.

ESG for everyone but me!

 

[bwanakubwa]

This may be shocking to some, but all the brands discussed are made in the same country. That shouldn’t be a limiting factor.

The funny part is the anti-Apple people I have talked to seem to be the same people who buy into stuff like government surveillance. Apple has literally gone to court to keep the government from getting into individuals phones and half the third party stuff they don’t support is because it is “watching” and “listening” to you. Pay the extra $.

Seems like you're okay with slavery & child labor. I guess what do I know, I'm not an over educated Atlantic reader

 

[SAJ-99]

Seems like you're okay with slavery & child labor. I guess what do I know, I'm not an over educated Atlantic reader

Nope. Just let me know how to avoid it and I will strongly consider.

 

[Devilscrown]

Nope. Just let me know how to avoid it and I will strongly consider.

In my experience there is no way to avoid it, unfortunate price of economics and power structure. I have watched kids in Jordan sewing rugs in exchange for education, kids sewing shoes in Asia for cents per day, exploited field workers in America and the list goes on and on. Not all “slavery”, but gross exploitation in my opinion…

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Seems like you're okay with slavery & child labor. I guess what do I know, I'm not an over educated Atlantic reader

 

[hank4elk]

View attachment 258016

Just registered here, for the tax cuts and losses. All are made in China companies. Including Faux...LOL

 

[HONEYBADGER]

This may be shocking to some, but all the brands discussed are made in the same country. That shouldn’t be a limiting factor.

The funny part is the anti-Apple people I have talked to seem to be the same people who buy into stuff like government surveillance. Apple has literally gone to court to keep the government from getting into individuals phones and half the third party stuff they don’t support is because it is “watching” and “listening” to you. Pay the extra $.

Sorry but this is nonsense. Apple has made it appear publicly they care about privacy, but they are the same as Google when it comes to discretely working with the government.

I handle forensic exams on average of around 15 phones a month. There is little difference in quality of security between Apple and Google. Just different tools used for each.

Magnet Graykey | Mobile forensic access tool

Magnet Graykey is a forensic access tool designed for same-day, lawful access and extraction of encrypted data from mobile devices.

www.grayshift.com

Home

Cellebrite’s Digital Intelligence Suite of Solutions empowers law enforcement, governments, and enterprises to collect, review, analyze and manage digital data.

cellebrite.com

Either one of those tools will have you in any consumer grade phone on the market in minutes. Ever since the mass shooting by terrorists in California who used phones that gave the government trouble things changed. There is no trouble anymore. Hard to believe but that was 8 years ago.

Anyone the government wants to surveil electronically will be surveilled, there is no magic bullet available to general consumers.

I am just a low level mope with his name on his shirt. I can only imagine what capabilities those without names on their shirts have.

 

[SAJ-99]

Sorry but this is nonsense. Apple has made it appear publicly they care about privacy, but they are the same as Google when it comes to discretely working with the government.

I handle forensic exams on average of around 15 phones a month. There is little difference in quality of security between Apple and Google. Just different tools used for each.

Magnet Graykey | Mobile forensic access tool

Magnet Graykey is a forensic access tool designed for same-day, lawful access and extraction of encrypted data from mobile devices.

www.grayshift.com

Home

Cellebrite’s Digital Intelligence Suite of Solutions empowers law enforcement, governments, and enterprises to collect, review, analyze and manage digital data.

cellebrite.com

Either one of those tools will have you in any consumer grade phone on the market in minutes. Ever since the mass shooting by terrorists in California who used phones that gave the government trouble things changed. There is no trouble anymore. Hard to believe but that was 8 years ago.

Anyone the government wants to surveil electronically will be surveilled, there is no magic bullet available to general consumers.

I am just a low level mope with his name on his shirt. I can only imagine what capabilities those without names on their shirts have.

There are now tools to open any phone. It’s just technology and the government has deep resources, I.e money and talent. Apple has posted such on its website. I agree there is probably not much difference, but when you say “discreetly working with government” I think it requires the nuance, even if you’re a low level mope.
Lastly, it was a casual response meant to show the Apple allows you to turn on and off certain tracking features other tech companies use. Maybe too casual as you called me out for it. What the hell would the government want to track me for, or you? I’m just trying to get rid of the ads.

Customer Letter - FAQ - Apple

Answers to your questions about Apple and security

www.apple.com

 

[BigHornRam]

And solar installations have jumped. Maybe Putin has done more to shift to alternatives than the entire US green-energy industry. I like Spain’s approach of relying heavily on decentralized rooftop solar. We should do the same.

Which EU country installed the most solar power in 2022?

No other energy source is growing as quickly or reliably as solar, a new report reveals.

www.euronews.com

We? Do you have roof top solar? It snows a lot here in Montana and snow covered panels don't produce electricity. Solar is expensive and unreliable.

Sun Power looks to be the most reputable solar panel manufacturer. They don't look like a solid investment pick at this time, even with all the government subsidies to buy their product. What panel manufacturer do you recommend? What company would you invest in?

 

[SAJ-99]

We? Do you have roof top solar? It snows a lot here in Montana and snow covered panels don't produce electricity. Solar is expensive and unreliable.

Sun Power looks to be the most reputable solar panel manufacturer. They don't look like a solid investment pick at this time, even with all the government subsidies to buy their product. What panel manufacturer do you recommend? What company would you invest in?

Got a bid in MT and a bid in WA this summer. Prices continue to fall, for the panels at least. Labor to install is higher. It was still reasonable with a breakeven of 7-8yrs. Most of the power is in the summer obviously. Snow is a problem but the low angle of sun in winter is the main factor.

By ‘we’ I meant US. I would rather see rooftop solar and parking lots covered than huge swaths of public land taken under the “multiple use” argument. It is obviously cheaper to install huge fields, but obviously I don’t like the idea.

 

[BigHornRam]

Got a bid in MT and a bid in WA this summer. Prices continue to fall, for the panels at least. Labor to install is higher. It was still reasonable with a breakeven of 7-8yrs. Most of the power is in the summer obviously. Snow is a problem but the low angle of sun in winter is the main factor.

By ‘we’ I meant US. I would rather see rooftop solar and parking lots covered than huge swaths of public land taken under the “multiple use” argument. It is obviously cheaper to install huge fields, but obviously I don’t like the idea.

I'm not sure how 30k in solar panels, accessories, and labor would be break even in 7 to 8 years, at least for me. I would like to see the math on it.

 

[noharleyyet]

The solar array just south of 287 on the outskirts of Amarillo mirages a big lake. Fooled me more than once. Huggers that don't see the irony are vexing...but that's none of our business. The forest of turbines begin just west of the same city limits and parallels I-40 to the sunset.

 

[noharleyyet]

@SAJ-99
Give us your gist/take on the kickstarter marketing mechanism.

 

[Sytes]

@SAJ-99
Give us your gist/take on the kickstarter marketing mechanism.

I've experienced Kickstarter from an online gaming perspective. Yes, my attempt to exhale from the work grind. It's a brain dead, enjoyable separation from the daily grind and joined with others that age from 30-80
https://forums.oldtimersguild.com/

Over the decades of game creation, many developers of MMORPGs (Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games) have broken free of the Producer big name companies, such as Activision, Electronic Arts, etc, to venture on their own. Free of the whips that make them drive to release a game due to the demand of the almighty ROI.
These developers have found crowd funded games (Kickstarter, etc) as their $$$ to correctly (developers intent) create and release an MMORPG. Example:

From ashes to empires. Your journey will shape the face of Verra.

Experience an MMORPG where everything is permanently impacted by your actions – explore, trade, build, and let the world take form. From your imagination through your will and into everyone's reality, what you create will be the cornerstone of the next explorer’s ambition.

ashesofcreation.com

This is merely my observation of crowd funded games: Sure, it frees the developers from the chains of big company ROI demands to release, A.S.A.P. A game can be released under crowdfunding with many less bugs and cater a market desperate for the true niche of "Old School Gamers" versus the current cookie cutter, impulse desire players of current game models (New World, World of Warcraft, etc)
HOWEVER, what I've personally experienced, without accountability (corporate whip) to release, MANY MMORPG crowdfunded games are merely pipedreams of the developer because they don't have constraints to release... There is no actual demand to get the project completed with *manageable bugs. Thus developers constantly fall on their own sword and those who paid into the game creation are left with eh, dust in the wind.

For instance, the above mentioned game, AOC, Crowd funding began in 2017. Intent to release the game 2019-2020. Now? They've halted projects for release date. AND they are STILL in Alpha One stage of creation (Base creation, Alpha 1, Alpha 2, Beta 1, Beta 2, Release)! What has happened? New visual engines created, new developer productions released to enhance graphics and computer gaming speed (FPS, etc.) They keep chasing those *manageable bugs and find updates to improve the creation of their game.

In AOC's case, there's still a demand to see it completed, mainly attributable to the head honcho Developer, who's well respected from "Old School" MMOs (Dark Age of Camelot, etc) he's created under the big company's whip ROI. This demand is waining though as the release date is more and more distant...

Most crowd funded MMO games are pipe dreams that do not reach fruition because it lacks the share holder vested interest to release.

NOW, IF there was a return of a percentage of crowd sourced funds, say, held in an escrow account, if creation intervals are not met by certain dates, I believe that whip would still be present AND developers would be driven to complete THEIR vision of a game, based on their timeline presented when initially soliciting funding.

Meh, my direct experience with crowd sourced funding.

First 12 hours: broke $750K with 19,000 people.
First month: broke $3.2 million.
This is from the start in May, 2017.
They halted Kickstarter once it exceeded $3.2million, now collect via in house funding. As it's not public, they do not share the total value collected to date.

I hope it releases though the majority of MMO's successfully released, as expected, via crowd source is pretty slim.

Long story though meh, YMMV.

 

[SAJ-99]

@SAJ-99
Give us your gist/take on the kickstarter marketing mechanism.

Not sure I can help much. I did kickstarter for the Blink camera security system about 10yrs ago. There were different series of funding rounds. Don’t quote me, but I think the first round you got a small equity piece. The rest just got the hardware and gave feedback to improve the system. For the company, it is a good way to sell a new product to people who don’t expect the product to work perfectly.

Keep in mind therekis still a lot of dry powder ($) out there for these ideas. If they chose kickstarter because they wanted to crowd-fund, ok. If they chose it because they had no other option I would be suspicious.

 

[SAJ-99]

I'm not sure how 30k in solar panels, accessories, and labor would be break even in 7 to 8 years, at least for me. I would like to see the math on it.

With the median buyer saying they are staying 18yrs, it makes sense even if the numbers are off. With nat gas prices going from $2 to $7, increases electricity rates will soon follow. A lot of BE depends on your location and your electricity price.

In Billings, I googled installation companies and got a good, thorough report from the company I contacted. No cost, ez peasy. They don’t even come to your home. They can look at a satellite photo and figure out most the numbers.

In WA, they are using direct sales with people walking around and knocking on doors. Two companies have been by in the last 6 months. One I met with wouldn’t send me a numerical analysis. I hate that. Eventually I will do some more research here.

You know I’m not a fan of individual companies, even more in a space like this. I would just say look at ETF like TAN.

 

[BigHornRam]

With the median buyer saying they are staying 18yrs, it makes sense even if the numbers are off. With nat gas prices going from $2 to $7, increases electricity rates will soon follow. A lot of BE depends on your location and your electricity price.

In Billings, I googled installation companies and got a good, thorough report from the company I contacted. No cost, ez peasy. They don’t even come to your home. They can look at a satellite photo and figure out most the numbers.

In WA, they are using direct sales with people walking around and knocking on doors. Two companies have been by in the last 6 months. One I met with wouldn’t send me a numerical analysis. I hate that. Eventually I will do some more research here.

You know I’m not a fan of individual companies, even more in a space like this. I would just say look at ETF like TAN.

Last century vacuum cleaner salesman came door to door. This century apparently its solar panel salesmen lol.

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost? (Jun 2024)

A typical residential solar panel system costs $12,000 to $30,000 (or more)

www.consumeraffairs.com

Just so you know 6-kw system won't do much for you.

 

[Sytes]

Someone mentioned Southwest Airlines... I wouldn't bite just yet though given the setting, pre earnings looks like their next outlook might shine a rosier future. Looks like a good options play.

Southwest Airlines Cancels Thousands Of Flights (NYSE:LUV)

Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights over the Christmas holiday. Click here to find out why LUV stock is still a buy.

seekingalpha.com

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Last century vacuum cleaner salesman came door to door. This century apparently its solar panel salesmen lol.

How Much Do Solar Panels Cost? (Jun 2024)

A typical residential solar panel system costs $12,000 to $30,000 (or more)

www.consumeraffairs.com

Just so you know 6-kw system won't do much for you.

View attachment 258083

Isn’t 6-kW close to the average household usage… especially if you’ve done other energy efficiency stuff, LEDs, appliances, insulation, etc?

We used ~5300 kWh last year.