Another great thing about the Census is that much of the information is feeding into the Encyclopedia of Life project (www.eol.org) with the content being shared under a Creative Commons license.
Agreed. Publishers just need to embrace a new business model that has them highlighting these types of services. For instance, they could provide a cool, online writing environment that helps authors visualize their work as it progresses. A whole host of digital services could be envisioned. Of course, other things like advertising, connections to retailers, etc. are also an important part of their contribution.
True, but at least it is twice as efficient (apparently) as using the same fuels to produce power at a traditional power plant. Of course, as others have pointed out, there are also losses in the transmission of power from traditional plants.
There's an interesting read by Erik Sherman in his blog that ponders the question of whether Google might buy a bunch of these and start selling the extra power as a utility.
Interesting timing, since now they have the go ahead to do so...
I would gladly pay 3k to power my home and help reduce CO2 emissions. I realize there is also the cost of fuel but that can be bio fuel among others. In addition, the fuels are not being combusted.
Even leaving out tax incentives, it should be noted that these calculations on non-mass produced versions. Driving the costs of manufacturing is certainly the key here but should be doable...
Someone always has to pay a higher upfront cost on new technology to make it widespread. Look at flash drives...
It would be interesting to see how much fuel the eBay units are consuming although I suppose someone could calculate that based on their claimed savings and percentage of power they are getting from 5 units.
The question was asked about other possible new understandings being brought to light via new media. What about magnetic motors? Supposedly impossible according to current physics theory, does this guy's evidence (scattered over a number of utube postings) spur more research?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyAX9corOuQ&feature=channel_page
The answer is likely a bit more subtle than many suggest. Sure, technology can benefit people who have the skills to take advantage of what it offers but perhaps even then, there might be some unexpected consequences. For example, doing things the "hard way" may be slower and less efficient but how do our brains make use of that extra time? How does not having time to reflect affect our learning outcomes? In this age of instant answers is there a danger of being inundated with so much information so fast that we don't have the time to ponder various solutions? I suspect there is value in scheduling some "down time" for reflection.
So, I've been thinking of this idea to help reduce this kind of landfill-feeding stupidity. What about a scheme where companies are forced to pay a tax on the percentage of a product they produce that is not recyclable. For example, let's say a DVD is 100% non-recyclable. The company would then have to pay an n% tax on 100% of their selling cost (or some similar scheme). Sure, they could pass the cost on to customers, but companies who made "greener" products could then sell for less. What say ye?
So, the PETA X-Prize discussed yesterday was all about creating meat in a lab. Looks like this technology (organ creation) requires the same techniques... Will be interesting to see if the efforts to grow hearts, etc. also lead to lab steaks.
I've always thought that cell cultures to produce products such as milk would be a more realistic and attainable starting point. Easier to implement since you don't need to worry about building up all of the complicated tissue structures and cell types in a typical piece of meat.
However, there seem to be some great advances in attempts to grow organs so maybe similar technology could be used here.
Slashdot Mirror
So I asked my iPhone "Mystic Mirror" if Hollywood studios are clueless about consumer choice... Answer: "Without a doubt" Classic.
Another great thing about the Census is that much of the information is feeding into the Encyclopedia of Life project (www.eol.org) with the content being shared under a Creative Commons license.
Agreed. Publishers just need to embrace a new business model that has them highlighting these types of services. For instance, they could provide a cool, online writing environment that helps authors visualize their work as it progresses. A whole host of digital services could be envisioned. Of course, other things like advertising, connections to retailers, etc. are also an important part of their contribution.
True, but at least it is twice as efficient (apparently) as using the same fuels to produce power at a traditional power plant. Of course, as others have pointed out, there are also losses in the transmission of power from traditional plants.
Interesting timing, since now they have the go ahead to do so...
Nicely put! Couldn't agree more. We haven't even begun to understand the real costs of our current energy systems.
I would gladly pay 3k to power my home and help reduce CO2 emissions. I realize there is also the cost of fuel but that can be bio fuel among others. In addition, the fuels are not being combusted.
Even leaving out tax incentives, it should be noted that these calculations on non-mass produced versions. Driving the costs of manufacturing is certainly the key here but should be doable... Someone always has to pay a higher upfront cost on new technology to make it widespread. Look at flash drives... It would be interesting to see how much fuel the eBay units are consuming although I suppose someone could calculate that based on their claimed savings and percentage of power they are getting from 5 units.
The question was asked about other possible new understandings being brought to light via new media. What about magnetic motors? Supposedly impossible according to current physics theory, does this guy's evidence (scattered over a number of utube postings) spur more research? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyAX9corOuQ&feature=channel_page
we'll be able to cloak our flying cars before we can actually buy them? I'm just saying...
The idea is to recombine the O2 with H back to water, making it a closed loop system.
The radically new part is splitting the oxygen off efficiently into O2. Despite your PhD it seems that you missed this important point.
The answer is likely a bit more subtle than many suggest. Sure, technology can benefit people who have the skills to take advantage of what it offers but perhaps even then, there might be some unexpected consequences. For example, doing things the "hard way" may be slower and less efficient but how do our brains make use of that extra time? How does not having time to reflect affect our learning outcomes? In this age of instant answers is there a danger of being inundated with so much information so fast that we don't have the time to ponder various solutions? I suspect there is value in scheduling some "down time" for reflection.
So, I've been thinking of this idea to help reduce this kind of landfill-feeding stupidity. What about a scheme where companies are forced to pay a tax on the percentage of a product they produce that is not recyclable. For example, let's say a DVD is 100% non-recyclable. The company would then have to pay an n% tax on 100% of their selling cost (or some similar scheme). Sure, they could pass the cost on to customers, but companies who made "greener" products could then sell for less. What say ye?
So, the PETA X-Prize discussed yesterday was all about creating meat in a lab. Looks like this technology (organ creation) requires the same techniques... Will be interesting to see if the efforts to grow hearts, etc. also lead to lab steaks.
I've always thought that cell cultures to produce products such as milk would be a more realistic and attainable starting point. Easier to implement since you don't need to worry about building up all of the complicated tissue structures and cell types in a typical piece of meat. However, there seem to be some great advances in attempts to grow organs so maybe similar technology could be used here.