> It costs a lot of money to deliver power to rural customers
Utilities (generally) have a universal service obligation.
If someone can cherry-pick just the denser areas with lower distribution costs, of course they could "undercut" the utility with the requirement to serve everyone.
(I'm not saying that PG&E couldn't be better managed. I'm saying that there's a much, much deeper policy issue at stake here.)
This is true in many, many places: as zoning, safety, access, and environmental rules evolve most older buildings become not buildable under current rules.
Our national housing stock is FULL of places with narrow winding stairs, lead paint, full flow toilets and shower heads, untempered glass, single pane windows, uninsulated walls or ceilings, ungrounded outlets, undersized plumbing, sketchy chimneys, springy floors, etc.
I'm surprised the number isn't closer to 80-90%, especially with the recent energy efficiency rules.
Involving SMS in the authentication process raises the bar significantly for script kiddie attacks using password databases. It also forces a larger and more detailed forensic trail for any attack.
> "The only good use cases that come to mind is if there is some particular reason for you to evade the conventional and easier systems of communication and storage."
* Nailed it *
I've long said the killer app for blockchain already exists: international money laundering and untraceable transfers.
This also happens to be the precise use case where folks want to "evade conventional and easier systems".
This is a great example of "it's not my preferred mode, so it must not be anyone else's."
Dictation is widely used in medical transcription.
Dictation is a killer way to write a first draft quickly, transcribe rough written notes after a meeting, etc. Also, about half of my emails are dictated, and I know I'm not the only one. It takes some time to get used to, but once you're there (like touch typing!), you can't go back.
I thought about that. The real issue I’m running into is page rendering time: I think the processor on it is only 50 or 80 MHz, and modern software generates some pretty elaborate print files.
I’ve been meaning to explore server-side rendering, but haven’t got that far down my todo list.
Related: I have a HP 4000 with duplex, which is an absolute unit (beast) of a small workgroup laser printer. It's 20+yrs old, still going strong and parts are easy to get.
BUT, it's compute bound with modern print jobs, and is missing modern protocols like Bonjour.
What if someone open sourced a legacy printer? I'd love to re-brain this printer.
Latency matters a lot, and it's one of the least-appreciated aspects of UX design.
I (accidentally) dropped my desktop Linux system into pure console mode the other day and realized how much FASTER it felt just because of the improvement in keyboard latency.