Slashdot Mirror
Spheral Solar Technology Approaching Reality
CactusMan writes: "A technology previously owned by Texas Instruments and then Ontario Hydro, Spheral Solar Technology is 'a low-cost alternative [to conventional solar cell technologies] involving flexible, lightweight solar cells comprised of thousands of tiny silicon spheres in an aluminum foil, which can be "formed and applied to virtually any curved or flat surface."' Automated Tooling Systems has just received $29.5 million (Canadian) to bring the technology to commercial viability. Read the article here or go directly to the Spheral site."
I've always dreamed of travelling to the sun in a sphere.
Karma: Good (despite my invention of the Karma: sig)
hereis the article. It discusses the implications of this technology and potential dangers.
GiraffeSville, a place anyone can call home
How are things in the civilized world? You probably don't know who I am. That's
;).
okay. I'm here to inform you of my mission, what I've found, and what I hope to
teach all of you.
I work for the United Christians Food for Poor Kids Foundation, and let me tell
you, there's a lot of poor kids in Afghanistan. As in most countries in the
Middle East, most people are unemployed, and therefore poor. And where there's a
lot of poor people, UCFPKF is needed.
UCFPKF always has the latest in technology. In this instance, we had access to
some Pentium 4's(r) 2GHz. Obviously, we needed an operating system that could
handle the power of Intel's beast. Unfortunately, we didn't have any computer
experts on hand up to the task, so it was going to be trial and error.
We'd heard good things about Linux and its "ACL's". Little did we know of its
incompatibility with modern hardware. It didn't even support Token Ring
networking, the newest form of Ethernet(r), which we require to always keep
in contact between bases. Also, it didn't seem to use SSE optimizations, which
when processing food amounts, are also very important. Also, there were
homo-erotic implications in the structure of Linux, which is strictly
unallowable in a Christian organization such as ours.
The next obvious step was to install Windows. We hesitated because we knew that
it was common knowledge that Windows crashed incessantly. Our experience was
less than stellar. It also didn't support Token Ring networking. Security is
important in this region because many people try to steal food, but "Windows
2000" (which I hear didn't even come out in 2000) doesn't even allow you to
have seperate permissions. Once again, the SSE optimizations were not used.
I was in a situation that seemed impossible. The two most famous operating
systems had failed me. I walked around the base in a dazed stupor. What was I
going to do for our ultra-important network? A boy saw me pouting and sighing,
and asked me what was wrong. I said nothing, but we exchanged names, and little
did I know, that young Junis had a gift for computers.
Junis saw me the next day, slaving away at the sparse terminal that "Windows
2000" makes you type in. He asked what I was doing with that primitive OS. I
laughed and told him that I was doing inventory. He ran to his village, into his
hut, and pulled out a box I had never seen before. The box said "SCO Xenix" the
front. I had never seen or heard of this Xenix before. But I soon learned that
Junis was a computer genius.
All we had to do was put the Xenix CD into the computer, and everything worked
like magic (not the devil's magic... good magic:) ). Our Token Ring network
integrated flawlessly with it. And it even used SSE optimizations. Well, me and
Junis are now on a new mission. We're spreading the word. It might not be the
word of the lord, but then again, maybe it is
SCO Xenix: The Unix of Tomorrow.
Janet Milman
Network Administrator, UCFPKF
Afghanistan base
- posted by poopbot: because even your grandmother can use lunix
sUkFzMOK0y Post #277
wife: "honey, shut the computer down, the power meter's at low" husband: "christ, i just bought a fusion power plant too, and i was gonna blow it up and reak havoc all over my city" wife: "well your the damn moron who spent all his money on these stupid solar power cells"
Righteousness postpones the inevitable
http://burningaureole.caveism.net
An urgent matter of national security has come to my attention. A devious Iranian twink with an ego to match Rob Malda's is exercising a reign of terror on irc.slashnet.org. In this essay I will detail where Emad El-Haraty ("Emad") came from, how he created his power-base, and what he intends to do with it. Some of the content may shock you. Though used to paranoia, faggotry, and blatant egoism, trolls are not used to dealing with issues of international terrorism. Hopefully this essay will prepare you before it's too late.
Personal Background
Emad was born in a donkey stable in Mustfuq, Iran, in 1982, shortly after the beginning of the heated Iran-Iraq war. His parents were lowly dung farmers, and Emad was destined to inherit his father's trade. However, six years later the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on a tour of the nation celebrating the Iranian "victory" over Iraq, took a liking to six year old Emad. The Ayatollah demanded that the child become a page in his entourage.
Apparently being a page in the Ayatollah's entourage meant lots and lots of gay sex with his Holiness, and Emad was soon introduced to Iranian faggotry. Six year old Emad was forced to stroke the Ayatollah's beard and jack him off while whispering "I love you, Holy Grandfather," in the Ayatollah's ear. Upon ejaculation Emad would to lick the Ayatollah's seed from the ground and snowball it into the Ayatollah's mouth.
When, in 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini passed into the next world, Emad was shattered. Being only seven he couldn't understand why the love of his life had left him. Emad became depressed and left the holy court in an attempt to quench his faggot thirst for beards and hard uncircumcised cocks.
Technology Beckons
In 1993, after years of hard life on the streets of Iran's dirtiest cities and whoring his hairless young body at the drop of a sheckle, eleven year old Emad met up with a group of Iranian hackers. Being fat and smelling typically like armpits, these hackers hadn't had sex in years. Young Emad, his smooth body full of promise, seemed to be the answer. They offered him room and board so long as he would feed any sexual urges the hackers had.
Emad picked up computer skills alongside the scat parties held by the lonely hackers. Between sucking farts and eating spicy Iranian turds directly from the hackers' asses, Emad learned Linux userland utilities. For every time Emad's anus was stretched and his rectum torn by eager gay faggot Iranian hacker cock, he learned a new Linux kernel compile option. Every quart of semen that found its way to Emad's stomach cooresponded to a deluge of Linux lingo and elitist thought. And by the time 1997 rolled around, Emad was virtually one of the hackers, save that he could take the largest of dark meat in his ass with nary a gasp or twitch. It was then that Emad was told the Iranian Secret.
The Great Satan
America, Emad was told by the Iranian Linux hackers, was the Great Satan, the enemy of all the virtues and truths and graces of the Muslim religion. It was a Jihad, Emad was further told, to destroy America and all it stood for. This was the reason why Linux was created, and this was the reason why the Iranians had adopted it as their OS of choice and trained legions of hackers. Emad's eyes grew wide and lit up as the truth washed over him. Years of taking dick in every orifice available finally meant more than just the pleasure he gained from it. Emad knew he could destroy America through its own faggot underground and the Linux skills he had learned.
Emad was on a plane days later, ready to take on America and make its hackers pay.
Enter Slashdot
By 1999, the Year of the Beast, Emad had been living in squalor in Long Island, in the midst of Jews. He had been trying to hook himself up with the anti-American faggot hacker underground, but so far had just been successful in luring men, mostly Jews, back to his economy apartment for round after round of scat sex. The turds weren't as spicy in America, as they always said, but the lack of pork grease in the Jewish brownmeat was a welcome change from what he knew. And then one day, while cleaning up his diarhea-splattered walls and piss-soaked sheets and pillows, he found a piece of paper that had fallen out of his partner's pocket. It contained only the web address http://slashdot.org/.
Minutes later Emad was logged in and turned on. He had found his means to take down America; he had found America's gay homosexual cock-lusting faggot hacker culture.
irc.slashnet.org
After posting frequently to Slashdot, Emad became aquainted with its Rogues' Gallery of editors: Rob Malda, Editor-in-Chief, terrible speller, and Faggot Supreme; Hemos, the bitchboy of Open Source and Free Software leaders; Emmet, the fat, sweaty Steve Jobs wannabe; Timothy, gullible Timothy, who made it feel alright to buy the hype; and Michael Sims, faggot Nazi editor / censorer and minion of ESR. Emad was elated! He could fit right into this circle-jerk of talentless ego and maniacal homosexuality! A few emails later, he and Rob Malda had worked out a plan. Something was brewing at the Geek Compound, and Emad seemed to be the right man for the job. Slashdot was launching its own IRC network. And IRC networks need IRC Operators, supreme authorities of the chat servers.
Soon after, irc.slashnet.org went live, to the jubilation of gays and slashbots everywhere. Now they could interact in real time, while sitting naked and stinky in the safety of their own basements!
Emad's Gang
To Emad, his job was not work. It was joy. He got to kick, ban, devoice, password protect, and kline to his heart's content. He was a regualr in #gay as well as #Slashdot, and (ab)used his power as IRC Operator to hook himself up with new and exciting sexual partners. There was dwiii, the skinny, transparently-skinned faggot who likened himself a tech-elitist. He was hairless save for his genitals and his shoulders sloped near the top: a real twink! XirHo, whose name means "taker of dick in mouth joyously" in Mandarin, and who liked to play gay online email games, was another of Emad's favorites and soon had Emad hooked on trading gay erotica. DrDink was yet another depraved individual who had cleverly invented what is now know as "Chocolate Milk" in gay circles: after sucking off a huge throbbing gay dick, one would retain the semen in his mouth long enough to mix it with several squirts of diarhea happily supplied by a fellow scat-loving donor. Emad was turned on by this and became fast friends with DrDink.
It wasn't long before Emad and his above he-bitches had a stranglehold on Slashnet, as he and Rob Malda had planned, and Slashnet was soon turned to promoting homosexuality. When individuals that fought for freedom and righteousness logged on, they were harassed and eventually banned from the server.
The Banned
Casualties in the war against Emad today include Vladinator, Slashdot enemy and admin of Geekizoid; Trollaxor, labelled subversive due to his attempts to proclaim the truth in public forums; and Error 808, who was considered too dangerous to allow on the server. To this day these heroes are still klined from irc.slashnet.org-- censorship in practice!
Summary
Hopefully you realize the depth of what I have just revealed to you. Emad is a desperate homosexual who has gathered a band of like-minded loser techie faggots and rules irc.slashnet.org with an iron fist in an attempt to undermine American values. His team, along with Slashdot, Open Source, and Free Software are slowly spreading STDs and homosexual thought among the youth of America's hacker culture. Unite before it's too late! You are now armed with the knowledge. Protect yourself and fight for freedom before you, too, become one of the censored!
GiraffeSville, a place anyone can call home
A billion geeks walking around in aluminum foil hats powering their wearable electronic tools and toys.
So why didn't Orwell see that one?
Everything in the Universe sucks: It's the law!
An urgent matter of national security has come to my attention. A devious Iranian twink with an ego to match Rob Malda's is exercising a reign of terror on irc.slashnet.org. In this essay I will detail where Emad El-Haraty ("Emad") came from, how he created his power-base, and what he intends to do with it. Some of the content may shock you. Though used to paranoia, faggotry, and blatant egoism, trolls are not used to dealing with issues of international terrorism. Hopefully this essay will prepare you before it's too late.
Personal Background
Emad was born in a donkey stable in Mustfuq, Iran, in 1982, shortly after the beginning of the heated Iran-Iraq war. His parents were lowly dung farmers, and Emad was destined to inherit his father's trade. However, six years later the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on a tour of the nation celebrating the Iranian "victory" over Iraq, took a liking to six year old Emad. The Ayatollah demanded that the child become a page in his entourage.
Apparently being a page in the Ayatollah's entourage meant lots and lots of gay sex with his Holiness, and Emad was soon introduced to Iranian faggotry. Six year old Emad was forced to stroke the Ayatollah's beard and jack him off while whispering "I love you, Holy Grandfather," in the Ayatollah's ear. Upon ejaculation Emad would to lick the Ayatollah's seed from the ground and snowball it into the Ayatollah's mouth.
When, in 1989, the Ayatollah Khomeini passed into the next world, Emad was shattered. Being only seven he couldn't understand why the love of his life had left him. Emad became depressed and left the holy court in an attempt to quench his faggot thirst for beards and hard uncircumcised cocks.
Technology Beckons
In 1993, after years of hard life on the streets of Iran's dirtiest cities and whoring his hairless young body at the drop of a sheckle, eleven year old Emad met up with a group of Iranian hackers. Being fat and smelling typically like armpits, these hackers hadn't had sex in years. Young Emad, his smooth body full of promise, seemed to be the answer. They offered him room and board so long as he would feed any sexual urges the hackers had.
Emad picked up computer skills alongside the scat parties held by the lonely hackers. Between sucking farts and eating spicy Iranian turds directly from the hackers' asses, Emad learned Linux userland utilities. For every time Emad's anus was stretched and his rectum torn by eager gay faggot Iranian hacker cock, he learned a new Linux kernel compile option. Every quart of semen that found its way to Emad's stomach cooresponded to a deluge of Linux lingo and elitist thought. And by the time 1997 rolled around, Emad was virtually one of the hackers, save that he could take the largest of dark meat in his ass with nary a gasp or twitch. It was then that Emad was told the Iranian Secret.
The Great Satan
America, Emad was told by the Iranian Linux hackers, was the Great Satan, the enemy of all the virtues and truths and graces of the Muslim religion. It was a Jihad, Emad was further told, to destroy America and all it stood for. This was the reason why Linux was created, and this was the reason why the Iranians had adopted it as their OS of choice and trained legions of hackers. Emad's eyes grew wide and lit up as the truth washed over him. Years of taking dick in every orifice available finally meant more than just the pleasure he gained from it. Emad knew he could destroy America through its own faggot underground and the Linux skills he had learned.
Emad was on a plane days later, ready to take on America and make its hackers pay.
Enter Slashdot
By 1999, the Year of the Beast, Emad had been living in squalor in Long Island, in the midst of Jews. He had been trying to hook himself up with the anti-American faggot hacker underground, but so far had just been successful in luring men, mostly Jews, back to his economy apartment for round after round of scat sex. The turds weren't as spicy in America, as they always said, but the lack of pork grease in the Jewish brownmeat was a welcome change from what he knew. And then one day, while cleaning up his diarhea-splattered walls and piss-soaked sheets and pillows, he found a piece of paper that had fallen out of his partner's pocket. It contained only the web address http://slashdot.org/.
Minutes later Emad was logged in and turned on. He had found his means to take down America; he had found America's gay homosexual cock-lusting faggot hacker culture.
irc.slashnet.org
After posting frequently to Slashdot, Emad became aquainted with its Rogues' Gallery of editors: Rob Malda, Editor-in-Chief, terrible speller, and Faggot Supreme; Hemos, the bitchboy of Open Source and Free Software leaders; Emmet, the fat, sweaty Steve Jobs wannabe; Timothy, gullible Timothy, who made it feel alright to buy the hype; and Michael Sims, faggot Nazi editor / censorer and minion of ESR. Emad was elated! He could fit right into this circle-jerk of talentless ego and maniacal homosexuality! A few emails later, he and Rob Malda had worked out a plan. Something was brewing at the Geek Compound, and Emad seemed to be the right man for the job. Slashdot was launching its own IRC network. And IRC networks need IRC Operators, supreme authorities of the chat servers.
Soon after, irc.slashnet.org went live, to the jubilation of gays and slashbots everywhere. Now they could interact in real time, while sitting naked and stinky in the safety of their own basements!
Emad's Gang
To Emad, his job was not work. It was joy. He got to kick, ban, devoice, password protect, and kline to his heart's content. He was a regualr in #gay as well as #Slashdot, and (ab)used his power as IRC Operator to hook himself up with new and exciting sexual partners. There was dwiii, the skinny, transparently-skinned faggot who likened himself a tech-elitist. He was hairless save for his genitals and his shoulders sloped near the top: a real twink! XirHo, whose name means "taker of dick in mouth joyously" in Mandarin, and who liked to play gay online email games, was another of Emad's favorites and soon had Emad hooked on trading gay erotica. DrDink was yet another depraved individual who had cleverly invented what is now know as "Chocolate Milk" in gay circles: after sucking off a huge throbbing gay dick, one would retain the semen in his mouth long enough to mix it with several squirts of diarhea happily supplied by a fellow scat-loving donor. Emad was turned on by this and became fast friends with DrDink.
It wasn't long before Emad and his above he-bitches had a stranglehold on Slashnet, as he and Rob Malda had planned, and Slashnet was soon turned to promoting homosexuality. When individuals that fought for freedom and righteousness logged on, they were harassed and eventually banned from the server.
The Banned
Casualties in the war against Emad today include Vladinator, Slashdot enemy and admin of Geekizoid; Trollaxor, labelled subversive due to his attempts to proclaim the truth in public forums; and Error 808, who was considered too dangerous to allow on the server. To this day these heroes are still klined from irc.slashnet.org-- censorship in practice!
Summary
Hopefully you realize the depth of what I have just revealed to you. Emad is a desperate homosexual who has gathered a band of like-minded loser techie faggots and rules irc.slashnet.org with an iron fist in an attempt to undermine American values. His team, along with Slashdot, Open Source, and Free Software are slowly spreading STDs and homosexual thought among the youth of America's hacker culture. Unite before it's too late! You are now armed with the knowledge. Protect yourself and fight for freedom before you, too, become one of the censored!
DA dee da doo dar
GiraffeSville, a place anyone can call home
What's the time to market for a cap with a solar powered beanie propeller?
I searched up and down on the site and found some really cool stuff. It's very light and very durable, but no specs. Normally when someone talks about a new solar panel, they mention the efficiency. I'm worried it might be really low, so they hid it.
I've been wishing for low cost solar panels all my life.
'SBEMAIL!' is better than a goat!!
In that case, read "Sundiver" by David Brin. Good book, first of the first Uplift Trilogy. (Though IMHO the second book, "Startide Rising" was better, and the third, "The Uplift War" was somewhat weak.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
if they aren't as efficient as conventional cells, if they are a lot cheaper to produce, and more durable, useful in more environments, etc.... then it works out.
The problem isn't so much the efficiency of current cells as it is the cost.
Watts per dollar is the make-or-break decision for individuals. If the price is right then why should I care if the whole house needs to be covered in PV tiles? I need to put tiles on the roof anyway.
Energy input is very important at larger scales. Normal PV has an energy payback period of around ten years (maybe a bit less now). ie. The PV device takes ten years to make the energy it toook to make the damn thing. Standard PV gets cut from highly purified wafers which take tens of hours to make, then dope and cure, at high temperatures. We're talking lots of energy. Think now. Say congress etc decided to convert 5% of the USA's electricity to solar in one year - bugger the cost. That would need 50% (ie. 5% * 10 years) of the USA's entire electricity prodiuction. In an age of rolling blackouts that would mean first building a whole bunch of power stations. The power to achieve the conversion just is not available. Lets say though that the this new Spherical stuff has an energy pay-back of 1 year. Suddenly that 5% only needs 5% of the energy production - much more achievable. This spherical stuff could well be much lower in energy use since it does not use wafer technology.
The stupid thing about PV research is that more money gets put into chasing the percentages with wierd compounds rather than trying to achieve something that is useful.
The Aussies have the solar challenge - a showcase for PV. Unfortunately, again, the focus is on spending bazzillions of dollars in making expensive cars - which does not help make PV a real-world energy solution.
High efficiency, high cost PV cells are useful, in two applications: (1) on spacecraft, and (2) in concentrator systems with high (500x, say) concentration factors. For the latter you want to get as much energy as you can to defray the cost of the optics and tracking hardware, so you want the PV cells to be as efficient as possible (and since the concentration is so high you can afford to spend a lot per unit cell area.)
Gallium arsenside is also useful in space because it can be made much thinner (hence, lighter) than silicon, and because it doesn't lose efficiency so quickly as it gets hot (for spacecraft on solar orbits bringing them closer to the Sun than 1 AU).
... or were there others that thought there was spelling error in the title?
/. too long :-)
I have been on