This may change when you want to purchase one. While these warranties are only required in California, because of economies of scale, and competition, some auto makers next year may extend their EV battery guarantees to match in other states.

Keep in mind these policies, set by the California Air Resources Board (CARB, or ARB for short) apply based on Model Year, starting with the 2026 Model Year. So some cars sold next year will have the new guarantees, and others may not. It is unclear if any auto makers will extend this to 2025 Model Year cars sold in 2026, to prevent confusion.

2026 Model Year – 70% capacity guaranteed for 10 year / 150,000 miles, whole battery. Per pack must retain 70% for 8 year / 100,000 miles.

(This initial change will harmonize CARB BEV cars with plug-in hybrid / PHEV cars, which already have a 70% / 10 year / 150,000 mile warranty).

2030 Model Year – 80% capacity guaranteed for 10 year / 150,000 miles, whole battery.

2031 Model Year – Per-pack guarantee bumps to 75% for 8 year / 100,000 miles.

Technical Implications

You might ask about things like Structural Pack. Tesla, and soon other auto makers to follow, use “just one big battery” that becomes part of the car’s frame.

The good news is, Tesla thought ahead of these requirements, and divides the structural pack into group segments, that then can be tested separately. It remains unclear what remedy Tesla has if a structural pack unit falls below 70/75% capacity. Likely they would still have to tear apart most of the car. This may explain why Model Y charges so slowly right now… they are throttling charge, to ensure longevity.

(Tesla does offer a battery health status on their touchscreen, but it gives no information other than “healthy” or “service recommended” – and is not useful in measuring how close a battery is to these thresholds).

CARB has ordered auto makers to provide some consumer-friendly way to check battery capacity. Ideally this will be available via a setting screen on the car. Today, it’s a mess. BMW requires you to enter Service Mode, and decrypt odd strings of text. GM and Tesla require you to go to a dealer, and pay them to check. Tesla won’t even tell you the capacity numbers (GM will), only if the battery passes muster or not.

Hopefully by next year, they will not fight the spirit of these regulations, and offer the same battery capacity check tools that most smartphones are now embracing… another industry that was slow to reform in this regard.

Market Impact

As of today, there are no indications PHEV battery warranties will change. Despite recent shifts towards most cars becoming PHEV, at least for the next several years, the CARB warranty will remain 70% capacity for 10 years and 150,000 miles. But this is less essential, seeing as a reduction in EV range for a PHEV is less harmful to the consumer, as they can still drive on gasoline and recharge the PHEV battery at even 30-50% of the original capacity. Most PHEV batteries don’t fail until around 25% to 33% capacity remaining, depending on the manufacturer.

One important thing to note is that most PHEV makers still are only honoring CARB warranties in California. This was a major debacle for BMW i3 owners, when early batteries started to fail quite early in their lifespan. Those in California were protected, but only if they had the i3 REx (PHEV) variant. BMW would not match the warranty for BEV/EV-only versions of the i3, leaving those customers in a far worse state.

Hopefully with greater consumer awareness, there will be more pressure on EV makers to take these warranties nationwide. This is a reasonable threshold that just should be the warranty term on these cars. Otherwise, people will have a new reason to hate BEVs… premature battery replacement.

The post Explaining Upcoming BEV / EV Electric Car Battery Warranties In California – And Possibly Elsewhere first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

He fought for our freedom, and even after the Holocaust was laid bare to all, was still treated like crap by some of his fellow citizens.

That man taught me to debate, mostly because we didn’t agree at all on economic matters. He was a Keynesian and I was a classical economist by age nine (not trying to brag, ask any Keynesian). He wasn’t wealthy, and he didn’t control American media. He taught me that some Americans will always be stupid, but we as a society have to be better than that. That we can be the best society in the world, if we push back against hate.

For years, I’ve pointed out that the Nazi party was left-wing fiscally and right-wing socially. With communism rising, it fractured the democracy/republic movement, and forced people to “pick a side” against an opponent that was both very similar – and very different. I’ve spent a lot of time sorting out how the slotting of evil allowed Nazism to rise and almost destroy freedom in Europe – if not the world.

Those that describe Nazis as “far left” or “far right” do a disservice to the whole political dialogue today. Both sides need to avoid embracing the authoritarian evils within. If you think your side is immune to that, you’re sadly mistaken.

I will not support anyone that doesn’t stand in the face of that, and decry moves to tip either party towards that movement. I couldn’t live with myself otherwise. You can’t support antisemitism, and support Israel. It doesn’t work, and anyone that tries – is going to look very stupid after an election.

The post On The Subject of Hate first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

They aren’t losing money on $1.50. Hot dogs in bulk are under $0.50/each. Probably under $0.40 to Costco. Soda? Maybe $0.20, including the cup… and the straw.

They’re making two times margin, instead of the usual four times margins on an item that requires you usually to have a membership, and walk a quarter mile to obtain from the parking lot. So the people buying them, are people already being profitable members, who already are making more profits purchasing stuff. Costco doesn’t have any loss leaders. Even if you use a membership to its fullest of perks, save for return fraud/abuse, you’re making them a lot of money.

The only exception are locations where the food court is outside… but who cares. Certainly not the blog writers who have an article quota, and a deadline, and a sympathetic PR contact offering them a free VIP press pass to CostcoWorld (that’s not a thing… yet).

Bottom line, it’s not a loss leader. This is just Costco PR making no news into good news, for them.

The post Costco Keeping Their Hot Dog Meal At $1.50 Is No Big Deal first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

McDonalds published a list of the 600 or so stores selling it, but that isn’t very useful for travelers. So I tasked Google’s bots with turning it into a map.

Here it is on Google Maps

Note: The terminal locations at DFW Airport are not included, because Map Maker doesn’t handle that edge case well.

And no, I haven’t tried it. None are near where I travel these days unfortunately.

The post Introducing the McPlant Locator first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

If you had one of these Shim accounts, you were one of the first people to get free HBO GO, which became HBO MAX. The following plans are affected:

• AT&T Unlimited Plus
• AT&T Unlimited Choice
• AT&T Unlimited Choice Enhanced
• AT&T Unlimited Plus Enhanced

With DIRECTV now a separate company, and HBO being spun off to Discovery, AT&T is cleaning house with all the free accounts. They clearly only want to pay Discovery for people actually using it, and they don’t want to pay DIRECTV for a bunch of $0 Shim accounts.

Credit goes to /u/ZootZephyr for finding the solution.

Step 0: Open a web browser. Do not use Brave. Even with shields off, Brave(ry) is not for this task.

Step 1: Log in to HBO MAX. This is your hbomax.com account – not your DIRECTV Stream or myAT&T account.

Step 2: Go to Account -> Subscriptions. It will say something to the effect of, “your subscription has expired” – which it thinks so – because the DIRECTV Stream Shim is discontinued.

Step 3: Click Learn More. You will be given a myAT&T Login. Use the myAT&T account attached to your Unlimited Plus/Choice plan.

Step 4: Look in the center of the screen. The HBO MAX panel now has a new Activate Now button, that it did not previously. Click it. It will confirm saying HBO MAX is now active.

Step 5: Log out of HBO MAX. Log back in to HBO MAX. If you do not have access, clear all cookies and cache from your browser, and do it again. Do not use Incognito window or Private Browsing.

The post How To Get HBO MAX Back with Legacy Unlimited Plus or Choice (Enhanced) Plans first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

Yesterday, GameWorks announced it was closing all its remaining locations. The joint venture with Sega brought Japanese-style mega arcades to the United States. It was the model for Dave & Busters, eventually matching their restaurants too.

It’s extremely tragic. GameWorks was my favorite destination in Las Vegas. COVID hit right as arcades were finding ways to innovate. Now they are back to square one.

With VR tech, arcades absolutely can survive. But we need to do more. We need new technology, new solutions, and the ability to assure customers that games are above what they can do at home – while being safe at the same time.

As we look to 2022, Console Enterprises will be refocused on these tasks. You still won’t hear its name much, but by operating as a boutique design consultancy – we’ll be working to make sure the arcade can come back – and be better than ever.

The post With GameWorks Demise, It’s Time to Rethink The Arcade first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

Some group of students and/or faculty purporting to be from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, thought it would be a good idea to plant spam posts with “phishing links” on many social media pages. Particularly on Reddit. [Because of how Reddit works – this is far from a complete list of removed posts]…

Immediately dozens of users and moderators had to act to take down their posts, which violate social media platform rules.

The individuals behind this (and possibly the University of Colorado itself) work now possibly face lifetime banishment from social media platforms – for really stupid Terms of Service violations.

On the back of the Linux university bugging scandal, this seems to be a lesson that should have already been learned.

Sadly, it hasn’t. Being edgy, and bold is one thing. Just not without the consent of others.

Update: Shortly after notifying Reddit staff, the user account linked above was wiped of all posts. The account doesn’t appear banned formally, but may have been shadowbanned by admins.

The post University of Colorado Thought Spamming Sites With Phishing Links Would Be Smart (It Wasn’t) first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

The spring mechanisms are the same, but the plastic has been replaced with the newer plastics on the latest MacBook models. Hopefully they don’t have to resubmit for FCC recertification… Kidding. Mostly.

The largest difference is the color – it’s gray, not black. Very dark gray, but not pitch black like the old keyboard.

Personally, I prefer the older plastic as it was softer. This looks more durable, and probably won’t oil over as easily. But it is rougher on the hands.
For comparison, I present my Late 2015 MacBook Air, which had the same keyboard as the Late 2013 in keycap design:

They were the same, and are now definitely different.

Also finally, the trackpad is more flush than past units. The bottom of the pad is not even a measurable fraction of a millimeter offset. Aside from the line, my finger cannot tell there’s a difference. In the old unit, there was a fraction of a millimeter sinkage around the entire pad.

This means they went back and calibrated even after my last top case replacement in 2018 (the battery was built in mid-2017, but my receipts say I got it in early 2018). They’re applying modern MacBook assembly standards and techniques, to spare parts on a machine 5+ years old.

Unfortunately a lot of people won’t get this now, since the only machines still eligible are the 2014 and 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro’s. I presume since they share a top case, Apple felt the revisions would get some added usefulness.

The post Mildly Interesting: New Late 2013 MacBook Pro Top Case Has Plastics Matching Newer MacBook Models, Improved Trackpad Alignment first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

First Stallman said he was also resigning as head of GNU (which has been a de-facto subsidiary of FSF)… then hours later he took it back.

I’ll say my standard RMS boilerplate about Mr. Stallman; he is a brilliant man with well documented social issues. He has not publicly shared any form of diagnosis, but there’s no question he is not socially well adjusted. His early contributions to FOSS (Free Open Source Software) are without question, and deserve great respect.

But, his behavior to others is just as harmful, and damaging to the community. And, it finally, led to his downfall.

It is no secret either that while I love FOSS, my feelings toward the FSF have been integrally tied to their steadfast implementation of RMS’s feelings and attitudes. Starting with their insistence that anyone who defines the word “free” in front of software, any way other than they do, is somehow wrong. I’m not going to dive deeply into those today – in large part because the FSF is under new management – and I sincerely hope that’s a positive thing.

The Problem

The FSF is in a pickle.

GNU Project, as the de-facto software development subsidiary of the FSF, relies on FSF to exist today. FSF has washed its hands of RMS. Except, it hasn’t. GNU was created, and is still led by Stallman. It’s fairly self-evident in how this is playing out that the FSF legally cannot fire RMS from GNU. I suspect he only stepped down from FSF due to some threat in a loss of funding – funding that probably kept it operational for many years. Just a guess, possibly from some firm in Mountain View…

The FSF has put out a public call to the open source community on what to do about this. RMS staying at GNU is problematic, but separating GNU from FSF could be problematic – if not impossible. We know the GNU and GPL are owned by FSF – but only the very rough bylaws to FSF are public (and difficult to read, I might add – literally – the PDF is presented horizontally).

We have some known unknowns about this process. We don’t know if FSF can fire Stallman from GNU Project or not. It’s possible when Stallman set up FSF he contractually obligated GNU work to stay under his oversight. That would make Stallman, as the press sometimes say “not easily removable” from FSF fully.

It’s also not clear if FSF can simply jettison GNU Project from the organization, and throw it at Stallman on his way out the door. It seems that FSF would at least get to maintain control of the GNU GPL – but again – that is not even perfectly clear. It would also be difficult for FSF to assert the license with it legally called GNU Public License – and yet remove GNU Project from it. However, any name change to the GPL also could/would have serious legal implications. The GPL can compel old software to accept new versions of the GPL. A worst-worst-case scenario would be if Stallman asserted GNU Project ownership (and dredged up some document to that effect), while FSF also asserted ownership to the GPL.

Accepting these unknowns, without further ado, is my submission:

I would strongly encourage FSF to first do a ground-up review of its policies and standpoints. Far too much weighed heavily on the views of one individual.

Before FSF decides what is next in its relationship with GNU, it should perform a top-down review of its policies and viewpoints.

The worst case scenario would be to decide to firm up relations with the GNU, only to find GNU (RMS) throwing animus back on the FSF for changes in opinion shortly thereafter.

The post My Response to FSF’s Call for Suggestions first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.

I’ve decided to jot down a quick primer guide I can link to that (thoroughly) explains what LTE frequencies your phone should have in the United States, in the year 2019.

Here we go!

AT&T – AT&T uses LTE Bands 2/4/5/12/14/29/30/46*/66

Additionally, AT&T is testing a national roaming agreement with Verizon, so you will also want Band 13 on your phone too if you want to use all available Verizon roaming potential.

What each frequency does – LTE Bands 12 and 14 are AT&T’s extended range LTE frequency (700 MHz), as well as Band 5 (850 MHz). Bands 2 and 30 are their fastest frequencies, but with much shorter range. Band 29 is a speed enhancing band only. Band 4 midrange is preferred by the network and also nationwide. Band 66 is similar to Band 4, but regional.

What about Band 17? I see a lot of places that say I really need Band 17!

Band 17 was a subset of Band 12. It doesn’t exist anymore, though some phone debug screens will still refer to AT&T’s Band 12 coverage as Band 17. All Band 12 phones can work on AT&T’s network today, and older AT&T phones with Band 17 can also use AT&T’s Band 12 coverage.

However, it is important to note, that this doesn’t work the other way around. An AT&T Band 17 phone cannot work on, for example, T-Mobile Band 12. This is because T-Mobile’s Band 12 extends beyond the boundaries of Band 17.

The bottom line, if your phone says you have Band 12, you’re fine. If it says you only have Band 17 – and not Band 12 – it’s probably so old that you may not want to use it… as it’s probably missing out on other key frequencies too.

Is Band 14 exclusive to public safety and first responder devices?

The answer is simple: No. Band 14 was traded to AT&T in agreement to construct the FirstNet public safety network core. In some rare circumstances, Band 14 access could be reduced in a public safety emergency. Otherwise, consumers have the same access to Band 14 that every first responder has.

Also see the note about HPUE at the end of the article, related to LTE Band 14.

* Additionally, see the note about LAA (Band 46) at the end of this article.

Sprint – Sprint, except in Puerto Rico (see below), uses just three Bands: 25/26/41.

Band 25 is their oldest 1900 MHz high frequency spectrum (the “PCS” in Sprint PCS, if you were around back then). Band 26 is their extended-range SMR 800 MHz spectrum, acquired from their merger Nextel. Band 41 is their extremely fast LTE spectrum, partly acquired from their merger/acquisition of Clearwire.

However… Sprint has secured a five-year roaming deal with T-Mobile, which gives free roaming on their network. This is already live, and will continue in effect even if the merger fails.

For that reason, you are strongly encouraged to seek out a phone that also has T-Mobile bands 2/4/5/12/66/71.

See the note about HPUE at the end of the article…

Oh, and then there’s Puerto Rico… In the new Softbank Era, Sprint did manage to buy Open Mobile in Puerto Rico. While Verizon bought up all of LTE Band 13 onshore, Open Mobile (and now Sprint) controls LTE Band 13 in Puerto Rico. Meaning, if you want good LTE coverage in Puerto Rico on Sprint, you need to also have Band 13.

T-Mobile – As just mentioned above in the Sprint section, T-Mobile uses LTE Bands 2/4/5/12/66/71

This little carrier has the broadest, most diverse spectrum of them all. Band 71 is 600 MHz, the lowest, extended-range frequency of all four carriers – and is still being deployed nationwide. It could be awhile before Band 71 appears in your area, so you may want to confirm its presence before rushing out to buy a phone. But when available – it will greatly improve coverage.

As with other carriers, Band 66 is regional.

The remaining bands, 2/4/5/12 represent the bulk of T-Mobile nationwide coverage. Band 12 is their backbone extended range LTE.

You should also consider that if the Sprint merger is approved, Sprint roaming will likely become free even before the networks are combined. A savvy shopper may want to seek out a phone that also has Bands 25/26/41, with a preference toward Band 41 (and HPUE) – as B41 will likely have the largest impact (as a speed boost) for T-Mobile users.

Brief Update: As part of the merger conditions announced by the Department of Justice, New T-Mobile will be required to divest Band 26 to Dish Network – should the merger go through. While you may get B26 roaming for some period… long term Dish will use the spectrum.

Verizon – Verizon uses Bands 2/4/5/13/46*/66

However… as mentioned above, Verizon is deploying a roaming deal with AT&T. So, you may want to also have Band 12 & 14 on your phone for better reception, and Bands 29 & 30 for faster speeds (when roaming). Verizon recently has begun adding those bands to their phones as an optional support – after years of locking out Band 12 on their devices.

Band 13 is right next door to Band 12 and represents all of Verizon’s extended range LTE, though as they shut down their CDMA network, Band 5 850 MHz coverage will become more useful. Band 5 can aggregate with Band 13, though Verizon does not currently allow both to be used simultaneously – this is likely to change after CDMA is shut down next year.

Bands 2 & 4 are Verizon’s fast lanes for speed, and Band 66 as mentioned a couple of times is regional, but can be Verizon’s least congested spectrum in areas that have it.

* Additionally, see the note about LAA (Band 46) at the end of this article.

Q&A

What if I just want them all for fun?

All combined, US carriers use Bands 2/4/5/12/13/14/25/26/29/30/41/66/71

And then there’s LAA…

Additionally, all four carriers have committed to using LAA which is often labeled as Band 46.

LAA uses LTE over 5 GHz, typically used by modern 802.11 Wi-Fi. LAA will only be useful when there aren’t a lot of 5 GHz Wi-Fi interference (by default, LAA cell sites allow Wi-Fi signals to have priority).

LAA is in its infancy. It has to be deployed very close to where you are located (typically street-side). Only AT&T is using LAA aggressively as of mid-2019.

Should you get a phone with LAA? Ideally all phones will eventually “just have it” but generally my personal take is that it’s not very beneficial today. Your typical scenario for using LAA will be walking down a busy urban street as you casually pass by an LAA base station – a few minutes here and there. Though if you live in a very urban area, and do that daily… it can be beneficial.

What is HPUE? What does it have to do with Bands 14 & 41?

HPUE is a power enhancement. Basically, the power limits that apply to most LTE signals were re-evaluated, and were given permission to use more power than what is deemed safe and compatible for other LTE frequencies.

HPUE must be added to a phone/handset/modem by the manufacturer. There is no “setting” to turn it on or off for the user.

In Band 41’s case, Sprint spent millions lobbying for this. When Softbank decided not to invest in more lower-frequency spectrum, exhaustive efforts were done to improve Sprint’s reception. This led to Magic Box hardware, and HPUE “technology” in handsets and modems.

LTE Band 14 also has HPUE available. It was added as part of Band 14’s emphasis on safety (but as noted above, consumers can use it too). However, it is less beneficial, because Band 14 is much lower frequency spectrum – it is much less likely to make a signal viable, but may enhance the speed of a fringe-viable signal.

There are some arguments that HPUE is not necessary at all. Some devices like the standard Moto G6, which lacks HPUE, have been tested to perform nearly as well as variants that have HPUE, like the (ironically lower-end) Moto G6 Play. The G6 Play was sold on Sprint retail channels, and Sprint pushed Lenovo to add HPUE to the Play variant. However, it didn’t make a huge difference.

Other phones like Essential Phone PH-1 tend to have weaker Band 41 performance, and probably would have benefited greatly had HPUE been built into the phone.

Ideally, a manufacturer will note HPUE support in their specifications, next to Band 14 and 41. From my experience, Lenovo has been the best at this, though no manufacturer today officially has said they are using HPUE on Band 14. It may be they are and just aren’t promoting it, as most people think Band 41 is where all the HPUE action is.

End of the day, deciding to get HPUE or not may make a large difference, but it also may not if your device maker is very skilled at radio antenna design. Think of it as added assurance you’re getting the most powerful signal possible.

One more question, what’s MFBI and why do I see it sometimes in service info?

Not totally related to the original question, but I get it a lot. MFBI stands for Multi-frequency Band Interface. The good news is, you don’t need to buy anything involving it.

Basically, it’s just a way of the network optimizing how it feeds signal to phones, when two signals it broadcasts are right next to each other – or in some cases – overlapping.

The one thing that makes MFBI “stand out” is that it can trick your phone into reporting a frequency other than what you are using. The most common is where MFBI will cause a phone to report that it is using Band 66, when in fact it is using Band 4. This will help you understand why your phone may report it is using Band 66, even if a carrier doesn’t have a Band 66 license in your particular area.

What’s Band 48 and why aren’t you mentioning it?

Band 48, also known as CBRS, stands for Citizens Broadcast Radio Service. I don’t mention it because no wireless carrier is using it yet. Verizon has filed petitions to deploy it however.

The main reason I don’t mention CBRS is that it works very similar to LAA. CBRS has two portions, a licensed slice and an unlicensed slice (about 50/50). The licensed portion is meant for WISPs and small business internet systems to be able to use LTE and LAA-like technologies for wireless broadband.

Very, very few non-niche devices support B48 today. And it is not likely that you will get a huge speed bump from it for years to come.

Why do the wireless carriers want to use the unlicensed portion of B48? That’s debatable. The least generous argument would be that the carriers will be selling 5G home internet services, in direct competition with WISPs. Every bit of interference the carriers can make on Band 48, thwarts competition without running afoul of any antitrust laws.

The most generous argument you can make is that it helps augment LTE when 5G small cells are deployed by using all available spectrum the carrier. The true reason, as with all things, lies somewhere in between the two.

The post What LTE Frequencies Should My Phone Have in the United States, 2019 Edition first appeared on ChristopherPrice.net.