CATEGORIES

Moving Silicon Valley to Cleveland

Dawg Pound

Matthew Yglesias has a provocative column in Slate in which he suggests that some of the Silicon Valley giants like Apple and Google should move to a place like Cleveland. It’s really an indictment on the Valley, particularly the issue of affordable housing. In many ways, Silicon Valley is no longer hospitable for many people and is only exacerbating the divide between the haves and the have-nots.

Meanwhile, places like Cleveland could thrive and grow a substantial startup community if several larger tech companies made a commitment to the region.

Of course Yglesias is just trying to make a point, and many of these companies have a presence several hours away in Coloumbus, but it’s a point worth noting. The large tech companies will need to start thinking about new ways to expand, as the Valley is getting way too crowded.

Portman backs budget deal

stacking coins

Rob Portman is starting to re-establish his moderate credentials. Or at least his reputation for some sanity.

The bi-partisan budget compromise struck by Paul Ryan and Patty Murray

Portman has decided to support the budget. With that he’s clearly aligning himself with the establishment Republicans against the Tea Party groups who want all-out war with the Obama administration. This GOP rift is going to play out in 2014, and hopefully more Senators and Congressmen will be with Portman and Speaker Boaehner. Of course, Boaehner has talked tough before only to succumb to the Tea Party crazies, but hopefully this time he’s serious.

Which 2013 smartphone is the best for gaming?

man using smartphone

Any time new technology comes onto the market, it may take a bit for consumers to learn about the implications of the new device. As this information is learned, the demand for the devices often increases. This has been the case with smartphones. When they were originally introduced, their ownership wasn’t as widespread as it is now. Today, consumers are realising how valuable these tools really are. Many smartphone owners use their device as a gaming console. With so many online games being offered, including online casinos like http://www.luckynuggetcasino.com, smartphones make it possible to enjoy gaming anywhere you are.
According to gamers, one of the best smartphones for gaming is the HTC One. Certain specifications make a particular smartphone better for gaming than others. With the HTC One, owners get a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad core processor. While have a speedy processor is important, it must also be accompanied with a sufficient amount of RAM. Without enough RAM, the processor cannot fully do its job. For gaming, it is recommended that phones have at least 1 GB of RAM. With the HTC One, gamers get twice that amount, 2 GB. With these two components combined, the HTC One scored well when it underwent tests for speed that were conducted by independent panels.

When playing games online, they can use a variety of methods to be accessible to smartphone users. One of these is by using certain browser plug-ins. Java Script is one such plug-in that may be used by a gaming site. The HTC One is one of the best smartphones that can use Java. Expect any game running on Java Script to be quite responsive and fast operating. The screen is also an important part of a gaming phone. The HTC One has a display that measures 4.7 inches which is on the larger end for smartphones.

Ohio Tea Party upset with Ohio Republicans

Disputes between lawmakers and Tea Party zealots is leading to a potential split within the Ohio GOP. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as these types of fights are going on all over the country between true believers and more pragmatic Republicans who would like to win another presidential election some day, but recent events have made the battle particularly intense here in Ohio.

But as Republicans look to take back the White House in 2016, the Buckeye State does not appear to be cooperating. Instead, Republicans in Ohio have slipped into an all out civil war, with a Tea Party faction threatening to break away from the GOP machinery.

Their complaints? A Republican senator, Rob Portman, after campaigning last year on his support for marriage being defined as between a man and a woman, abruptly reversed course once his son came out as gay. A Republican governor, John Kasich, pushed to expand Medicaid under Obamacare, despite remaining a vocal supporter of repealing the entire bill. An executive director of the Ohio Republican Party, elected after a bitter intraparty dispute, once worked as a lobbyist for Equality Ohio, a gay-rights group formed after the state voted to outlaw same-sex marriage. And never mind that House Speaker John Boehner, long a scourge of Tea Party types, is also an Ohioan, representing a southwest slice of the state.

It remains to be seen just how far the Tea Party types will go and whether this can hurt Kasich in 2014, but the signs right now point to some serious trouble.

Still, the GOP needs to wake up and start catering to the majority rather than the lunatic fringe, so this is a battle that needs to be fought.

Kasich accepts Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion

This is pretty big news on the national level, as many GP governors have resisted the Medicaid funds. John Kasich will be running for re-election soon, so it’s not too surprising that he went in this direction.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich announced Monday that he will accept the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act, becoming the fifth Republican governor to embrace the provision of the health care reform law that the Supreme Court made optional.

The governor unveiled the decision as part of his budget proposal.

“We are going to extend Medicaid for the working poor and for those who are jobless trying to find work,” Kasich said at a press conference in Columbus. “It makes great sense for the state of Ohio because it will allow us to provide greater care with our own dollars.”

This makes sense, and only those politicians who are obsessed with partisan politics are resisting these dollars.