Articles written by Bill Stone

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About me - Bill Stone

I am one of Helium's Site Stewards, assisting you in the Telephones Sub-Channel of the Computers and Technology Channel.

I'm what you call a "gadget geek." I'm one of those people who had tech before it becomes popular (example: I owned a first-generation Archos

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Computers & Technology > Phone Technologies & Issues Should cell phone use be banned while driving?: 4 of 112
Our first instinct in this country is to turn to "new laws" to correct the poor behavior of other people. That's okay; laws are designed to protect us from the poor choices of others. However, the knee-jerk reaction of "ban it!" should be tempered with common sense and logic. There is no need for a new law specifically regard... More..
Computers & Technology > Phone Service Providers Should cell phone providers be allowed to hold customers to long service contracts?: 2 of 46
The argument for long service contracts says that providers should be able to hold you to a service contract in order to recoup their investment (or their subsidy) in the hardware which they provided to you at low or no cost.By way of explanation, the handset subsidy is the fee that the cellular carrier pays to purchase the h... More..
Health & Fitness > Substance Abuse Should marijuana be legalized?: 8 of 132
Let me start off by saying that I'm not for full legalization, yet. There are still kinks that need to be worked out in order to allow that to happen. However, I am fully in favor of having cannabis moved from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule II drug.First, a little history. Cannabis has been used for many thousands of years, ... More..
Computers & Technology > Phone Technologies & Issues Will Apple's iPhone revolutionize mobile computing?: 1 of 16
Time Magazine named the iPhone the "Invention Of The Year." They did so because they, like many others, believe that the iPhone does things that have never been done before in a cellular phone, and they simply love it. I like it very much as well, but it's far from revolutionary. And one only needs to look at history to see h... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Elections (Other) Should the Electoral College be abolished?: 2 of 23
Many people point to the election of 2004 and call it a failure of the Electoral College system. "The people spoke! They chose a President, and he wasn't elected!" In hindsight, however, it is only the Electoral College that forces Presidential candidates to appeal to both sides of the aisle in order to win enough states to g... More..
Computers & Technology > Cell Phone Reviews Comparing Apple's iPhone, LG's Voyager and Blackberry's Curve: 1 of 10
The latest in cellular technology is geared more towards cellular data applications than actual talking. Yes, they all allow you to call people and for them to call you, but today's phones are about far more than just talking. These electronic powerhouses will do everything from allowing you to surf the full Internet to strea... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Political & Economic Theory Can a boycott by the American public affect gas prices?: 1 of 5
Gas prices are painfully high right now, and only expect to get worse. It hurts not only the gas-buying consumer, but it hurts food prices, since these are shipped by trucks which must pay more for their fuel. Nearly every commodity which is shipped over the road in trucks is seeing price increases due to the rising cost of f... More..
Politics, News & Issues > Politics, News & Issues (Other) Should the US government fund new lines of embryonic stem cells?: 1 of 5
There is a great deal of controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells, and a good deal of the controversy stems from a lack of knowledge about the subject.People claim that only embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are "pluripotent," or have the ability to change into cells from all three "germ layers" within the body. In contrast, th... More..
Computers & Technology > Smartphones & PDA Phones Will smartphones running Google's new Android mobile software eventually replace the iPhone?: 1 of 5
I don't think anything can ever "replace" the iPhone; it's in a class by itself. But I do think that Android (and Google's integration with it) will be yet another revolution in smartphone design and use.Now, as anyone who knows me will attest, I'm no iPhone fanboy. I'm not even an iPhone apologist. But I don't think that any... More..
Politics, News & Issues > US Economy Should the federal government create an entity that will take over banks' bad debt?: 3 of 14
I work in the computer industry.I do not work in the mortgage industry.I do not wish to work in the mortgage industry.But I do.I'm buying cheap sub-prime mortgages from irresponsible companies who issued these mortgages to irresponsible homeowners.Why would I be doing such a thing if I already said I did not want to?Because C... More..