The New York Times tech troubadour David Pogue has published a list of questions to which he has no answers. In part with answers:
* Do shareware programmers pay taxes on all those $20 contributions? They’re supposed to.
* Why don’t public sinks have foot pedals? Because it adds extra expense and maintenance costs yet little additional cleanliness.
* Five billion dollars a year spent on ringtones? What the? Convenience > *
* Why doesn’t everyone have lights that turn off automatically when the room is empty? Motion sensors are imperfect and lightbulbs can’t count.
* What’s the deal with Palm?
Doomed.
Pogue’s Imponderables [NYTimes.com]
And what’s the deal with airplane food?
Seriously, this guy sucks.
Most of Europe makes effective use of motion detectors in hallways and stairwells, which I’d love to see more of here in the States.
Re shareware programmers and $20 contributions Also – there’s a document trail; so this question might have been upgraded to “How often do the self-employed get audited?
* Why don’t public sinks have foot pedals? My understanding is that the same underlying principle – keeping septic/potentially septic hands off of public bathroom surfaces – is now being dealt with by – motion detector technology – and in larger spaces, “door-less” bathroom (using turns to maintain privacy)
* Why doesn’t everyone have lights that turn off automatically when the room is empty? They work fine in big organizations, which are beginning to use them a lot. The consumer model switches are often pricey and hard to install
Having said this much – I like Pogue quite a bit and look forward to reading his column(s).
I always report my shareware revenues and I’d be surprised if others didn’t. I’m sure the IRS knows how much my Paypal or Registrar accounts receive.
Here’s one: Why is this guy trying to be David Feldman?
(Even stealing the term “Imponderables”.)
I have to snicker at the fact that half of these *imponderables* are questions that were answered ages ago in Europe. Foot pedals? Timers on lights? Recycling??
Maybe the questions should have been phrased *why have these examples not been followed in the United States?*
I laughed the hardest at: Why aren’t laptops allowed to be used during take offs?… you’ve got to be kidding me. Why don’t they let you hand-cuff yourself to the armrests?
What an idiot.
Motion sensors are imperfect and lightbulbs can’t count
How many lightbulbs does it take to notice a change in a room?