Gas/Electric Hybrids, Air Cars in the News

hackshack writes "eCycle is developing a hybrid diesel / electric motorcycle designed to get 180 miles per gallon. The small diesel engine kicks in at speeds over 12mph, and the electric motor handles acceleration. Target retail price is $5,500. They've got a beta test program going as well. Now I can laugh at all those "gas-guzzling" Insight drivers as I zoom by!" Reader clen writes in about the Toyota Prius doing well in a road rally, and fishdan sent in a note about a pure-electric concept car called the Tango. And the air-powered car is getting a little more media attention, too.

Comments

*BSD is dying

[Anonymous Coward]

It is official; Netcraft now confirms: *BSD is dying

One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.

Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.

Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.

Fact: *BSD is dying

Re:that's great for Science Fiction

[josh crawley]

Yeah, and I'm waiting for the anally-powered car. Yuou hook up all users to the engine and feed beans till arrived at destination.

Then again, you COULD SHUT THE FUCK UP, DUMBASS.

Here's a better idea

[Anonymous Coward]

Buy a 1971 dodge dart that's been beat to fuck and back. Fill the gas tank with motor oil and tequila. Drive that bad boy from gas station to gas station, getting 5 gallons to the mile.

Fuckin a right!

Re:I strongly recommend the Civic Hybrid

[evilviper]

I'm not too impressed...

You have a dinky little lightweight car, complex as hell, practically unservicable, and you get 50 MPG. Meanwhile, my pickup is getting 35MPG, and without a doubt has a lot more power and towing capability than your car. Not to mention, unlike cars today, my truck is made of actual METAL (not plastic), is much larger than your car, and can tow 3/4 ton.

Call me crazy, but it doesn't sound like your MPG is very impressive. Considering the difference in weight, power, and technology, I would certainly expect far better gas mileage from your car.

Am I the only one who thinks vehicle manufacturers are intentionally holding back, to delay or even attempt to stop EPA vehicle guidlines?