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Hello,
We have had DirecTV in our small medical facility for over four years and have no real complaints until recently. With a planned HDTV upgrade, I called to inquire about switching from SD to HD receivers. I was surprised to find that doing so would cost $200 for the basic HD unit. Multiply this by three receivers and the bill comes in at $600! To get some comparison, I called Dish Network and was quoted about $100 (free installation with a two year contract and basic programing). WTF?
I have been around the block a few times and am extremely cautious when something looks too good to be true (like my first wife). I plan to research exactly what channel package we want and then get the quote in writing before I proceed. I will also take the time and pain to my brain to read all the fine print. In the meantime, any comments and/or links to safety tips here? There seems to be an equal number of customer complaints and scams about both companies via the Internet.
"Technological change is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal." (Albert Einstein, 1941),
Dr. Z.
We have had DirecTV in our small medical facility for over four years and have no real complaints until recently. With a planned HDTV upgrade, I called to inquire about switching from SD to HD receivers. I was surprised to find that doing so would cost $200 for the basic HD unit. Multiply this by three receivers and the bill comes in at $600! To get some comparison, I called Dish Network and was quoted about $100 (free installation with a two year contract and basic programing). WTF?
I have been around the block a few times and am extremely cautious when something looks too good to be true (like my first wife). I plan to research exactly what channel package we want and then get the quote in writing before I proceed. I will also take the time and pain to my brain to read all the fine print. In the meantime, any comments and/or links to safety tips here? There seems to be an equal number of customer complaints and scams about both companies via the Internet.
"Technological change is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal." (Albert Einstein, 1941),
Dr. Z.
9 Replies
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2708 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Sometimes a thread gets so many posts in it that is can cause issues for the server so that why today we introduce The Song Name Game Part 3!
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
So let the game continue!
The last song was added by Bobby who posted...
One Meat Ball - Andrews Sisters
CONTINUE ON AND HAVE FUN! WELCOME HOME TO SATELLITEGUYS.US!
Here are the original rules for the game as posted by WebbyDude back in 2006. http://www.satelliteguys.us/threads/68645-Song-Name-Game
Just name a song title and the band who performed it. The next person does the same thing, but needs to list a song title or band name which includes a word from the previous entry. Pick songs from any genre.
Example:
Long Live Rock and Roll -- Rainbow
Rainbow in the Dark -- Dio
Another example:
Ride the Lightning -- Metallica
Lightning Strikes -- Ozzy Osbourne
Get it?
An additional note: we all know that song titles, sometimes, use profane words. Because this is a family friendly website it is advised that you clean up that title up a bit. This is accomplished by using something like sh!t instead of the real word. Thanks....
68683 Replies
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2681530 views
Staff member
HERE TO HELP YOU!
Cutting Edge
Some of the channels start next week.
investor.siriusxm.com
SiriusXM Delivers the Soundtrack to the Holidays with Its Festive Lineup of 25 Handcrafted Seasonal Music Channels
Lineup features channels produced and presented by celebrated personalities and iconic brands, including Jimmy Fallon, Hallmark,…...
investor.siriusxm.com
4 Replies
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173 views
Pub Member / Supporter
Lifetime Supporter
I figured some of the guys would be looking here for an answer. You'll need to use this link
I'll mention what happened over there. I don't want to cause Scott any issues or put him in a bad spot.
I'll mention what happened over there. I don't want to cause Scott any issues or put him in a bad spot.
7 Replies
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244 views
Now I have to go check out what happened now. Lol!I figured some of the guys would be looking here for an answer. You'll need to use this link
I'll mention what happened over there. I don't want to cause Scott any issues or put him in a bad spot.
Went and looked, not too bad...
Just let people know the address is satelliteretailer.com as DishRetailer.COM is not working.
Just let people know the address is satelliteretailer.com as DishRetailer.COM is not working.
I sent you a PM Scott. Doesn't really make any sense to me BUT....I've never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer....though I just might be the most persistent.
Its an automated bot. Explained it to you in the PM.I sent you a PM Scott. Doesn't really make any sense to me BUT....I've never claimed to be the sharpest knife in the drawer....though I just might be the most persistent.
Pub Member / Supporter
America’s Fastest-Growing EV State Isn’t California—Not by a Long Shot
New data shows electric vehicle adoption is increasingly driven by state policies, electricity prices and charging access—not federal incentives
www.autoweek.com
The number-one US state for EV growth, according to the June 22 Yardi report?
Oklahoma.
It has no ZEV mandates and "minimal" incentives, Yardi says, but also has cheap electricity, high multi-car household rates (so, for example, a non-Lightning Ford F-150 pulls their trailers), and a consumer base willing to switch.
117 Replies
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1150 views
tomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net)
This author has chosen to make their posts visible only to people who are signed in.
bsky.app
Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.
So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.
GM Is Coming for Tesla, Rivian, and China, on Your Phone and in the Car
GM’s latest tech preview details autonomous highway driving plans, AI-powered OnStar features, and new LMR batteries for future EVs.
GM said its next-generation vehicle architecture will provide 40 times more computing power and 30 percent less wiring than before and will expand from the 2028 Cadillac Escalade IQ to its high-volume SUVs, trucks, crossovers, and fourth-generation EVs, which will be powered by lithium manganese-rich (LMR) prismatic batteries
Despite the politicization and perceived consumer pivot away from EVs in America, GM needs to remain globally competitive, so it's doubling down on its fourth generation EVs, with energy-dense, cheaper-to-manufacture LMR batteries, more efficient motors, and state-of-the-art centralized computing architecture. With a stated goal of cutting the traditional four- to five-year concept-to-production time in half, GM is clearly challenging the concept of "China speed," which in the Chinese automotive industry can be as quick as 18 months from design to start of production. In the AI space, GM is smartly collapsing all of its marque-specific apps under the familiar OnStar brand, while providing more features—both on the phone and in the car—than it ever has before.
T
That's how Ford did it- vertical integration. He even set up a rubber plantation in S. Americatomwellborn3rd (@wellborn.net)
This author has chosen to make their posts visible only to people who are signed in.
Never realized that Tesla is losing to BYD at manufacturing too, which IMO is Tesla's biggest accomplishment and area of innovation. Nice writeup about the state of play and how we got here though. I have no faith that we're moving any productive direction though sadly, most changes and efforts feel reactionary rather than rooted in making use of the time being bought by tariffs, with few exceptions.
So: how are the cars so cheap, and what is being cut to get there? The best public accounting comes from the Rhodium Group, which compared BYD, Geely, and Leapmotor against Tesla's Chinese operation, a fair comparison because it removes labor costs and shipping from the equation entirely. Their estimate is that BYD builds a car for about $4,700 less than Tesla builds a Model 3 in Shanghai, roughly 15 percent of the Model 3's price. The breakdown is the interesting part. Direct government grants account for about $292 per vehicle, which is 5 percent of the gap. The biggest single factor is vertical integration: BYD makes about 80 percent of its top-tier components in-house, against 37 percent for Tesla, and that eliminates roughly $2,369 per vehicle in supplier markups. Lower overhead, meaning cheaper engineering talent and administrative cost spread across enormous volume, accounts for another $1,719. And BYD pays its suppliers on 155-day terms, against Tesla's 60, which is worth about $214 per car in float. When people say the Chinese advantage is subsidies, the per-vehicle number says otherwise. When people say it is slave wages, the Tesla Shanghai comparison says otherwise too. The advantage is mostly that BYD decided, twenty years ago, to make its own batteries, its own motors, its own power electronics, and its own semiconductors, and Western automakers decided the opposite.
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX2rbpCdM8M
Direct YouTube Link - Untitled Linux Show 277
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX2rbpCdM8M
Direct YouTube Link - Untitled Linux Show 277
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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4 views
Lon.TV
Time for another AWESOME video from Lon Seidman of LON.TV!
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxxD1-9EW3I
Direct YouTube Link - Rivulet on Apple TV is a Game Changer! Dolby Vision FEL, Lossless Audio
The Official LON.TV Website
Lon on Facebook
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxxD1-9EW3I
Direct YouTube Link - Rivulet on Apple TV is a Game Changer! Dolby Vision FEL, Lossless Audio
The Official LON.TV Website
Lon on Facebook
0 Replies
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5 views
I have Dish Hopper and Hopper Plus and also have Alexa Echo. I link the Alex skill to Dish and it asks me to enter the pairing code shown on the TV. I go into Dish Settings and there is no Alexa shown. Not sure what to do.
18 Replies
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873 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/soDYno5meV4
Direct YouTube Link - Google Renamed NotebookLM—Again? Why Its Product Names Confuse Everyone #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/soDYno5meV4
Direct YouTube Link - Google Renamed NotebookLM—Again? Why Its Product Names Confuse Everyone #shorts
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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4 views
TWiT Tech Podcast Network
Time for another AWESOME video from the TWIT Network!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iMg97Dp1i5s
Direct YouTube Link - Amazon Echo Event: 5 New Smart Home Devices Revealed
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/iMg97Dp1i5s
Direct YouTube Link - Amazon Echo Event: 5 New Smart Home Devices Revealed
TWIT's Website
TWIT Live Feed
0 Replies
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6 views
iJustine
Time for another AWESOME video from iJustine!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UB8LxIX5pj4
Direct YouTube Link - Halloween Pokemon Center Haul
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/UB8LxIX5pj4
Direct YouTube Link - Halloween Pokemon Center Haul
The official iJustine Website's Website
Buy her book!
0 Replies
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9 views