Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

You know that Kindle can actually be turned off[1], right?

Arguing with low wage employees while they're having to deal with hundreds of passengers during the short pre-flight legally mandated checks makes you appear like an arsehole. They don't know every device on the market, nor whether that device is using 3G or wifi or is just sleeping or is off. And they don't need to know, they've been told to make sure that everything is turned off and that there are serious consequences if it doesn't happen.

The fact that the regulations are idiotic is not the fault of the busy, underpaid, low-skilled, attendants.

[1] https://kindle.s3.amazonaws.com/Kindle_User%27s_Guide_Englis...

Page 20

> Power switch — puts your Kindle to sleep, wakes it up, and turns your Kindle on or off. The power switch is located just to the right of the micro-USB/power port. To put your Kindle to sleep, slide and release the power switch; the screensaver appears on the display. While your Kindle is asleep, other keys and buttons are locked so that you don’t accidentally change the place in your reading. For Kindle with Special Offers, the center of the 5-way controller is not locked while your Kindle is asleep. To turn your Kindle off, slide and hold the power switch for seven seconds until the screen goes blank and then release.



Low wage does not always imply low skill. You can find low wage employees who are extremely skilled at what they do. Their problem is that their skill, however high, is common, and so the laws of supply and demand drive their wage down.


> Arguing with low wage employees > ... > low-skilled, attendants

I down-voted this comment because I found it to be condescending. I don't know anyone who works as a flight attendant nor have any relationship to the airline industry that I know of.

What you said is simply mean-spirited. Not everyone is an engineer. Not everyone understands technology. Not everyone needs to. How much they earn and how skilled they are at technology is no measure of a person. That's really offensive.

I know many people who are virtually poor and uneducated who are better human beings --by far-- than some PhD's I've come across in my life. Why must some in technology behave as though these people are beneath them? This is shameful. What a horrible thing to say.


Agreed. Not to mention, those low wage, low skilled attendents have quite a bit of training that can save your life if you are ever in an airplane accident. They may not know about the latest gadget from Amazon, but they do know their stuff.


You make a very good point. I'd like to apologize for my poor choice of words.

> Not everyone understands technology. Not everyone needs to.

This is more what I meant, and what I should have said. I agree that "low skilled" is really offensive.


I'm glad you see it this way. This could easily be the result of shooting off a post without taking a moment to read what you've written.

You are not the first person to do that, nor the last. I've done it plenty of times. Life goes on.

Sometimes I think these fora need to have a selectable posting delay setting. Let the user choose whether posting is immediate or not. I would probably set mine to at least a 15 minute delay. I'd sure save me from making an ass of myself on occasion.


Sometimes I think these fora need to have a selectable posting delay setting. Let the user choose whether posting is immediate or not. I would probably set mine to at least a 15 minute delay. I'd sure save me from making an ass of myself on occasion

Actually there is (at least here) look for the "delay" setting in your user page. It's the number of minutes between hitting submit and a post going live.


RTFM. Funny, I guess I never paid attention to that.


Fortunately, Hacker News has a setting called "delay" (which you can set by clicking on your name) which does just what you are describing.


And you know that the Kindle uses the same amount of energy when off as it does when it's "on" right?


I'm pretty sure that's actually not the case. If so, why does my kindle switch itself 'off' after not using it for a few minutes? While the screen might take no energy to keep an image, I think it keeps other parts active to be ready to flip to the next page, and turns these off when, well, off.


It switches itself "off" to avoid unintentional page turns and other undesired user input. In addition, the mechanism you describe must still be active when "off" to listen to the power switch anyways.


This can be said of any soft power switch.


Because the backlight is still on for a while. If they wanted, when they turn off the backlight, they could leave the page you were reading visible. They choose to show an "off" image, though.


Really? Whispernet and wifi and etc are using the same power when the machine is on, and when the machine is sleeping, and when the machine is off?




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: