As I recall, the Chinese government has access to the Windows source code. Google's been claiming that the Chinese government launched the attacks, and security experts have backed them up. The obvious conclusion is that having the source gave the Chinese government the opportunity to develop a new attack against Windows.
While some might see this as an argument against Open Source security products, I see exactly the opposite. The closed source made it possible for the only party with the source to gain an advantage. In products where the source is available to everyone, there is no advantage to any party. Therefore the holes are found and sealed, instead of left to fester, like this one was.
I had the same thought. I'll bet they're using a similar algorithm, with Google Image Search providing the images from the tags, and the sketch providing the foreground/background information.
Hallelujah, brother! I bought a Treo, simplifying my life immensely by merging my phone and planner. My big complaint is that it's so small! I can't comfortably hold it between my ear and shoulder, and although I could get one of those BlueTooth borg adapters, it would increase my power consumption considerably (and look stupid, too).
Replaceable batteries would help, of course. But I think the best solution is to provide *bigger* phones. I want better capabilities, not thinner cases!
Laptops are a different matter. If you're lugging that thing around all day without even a handle, you want something below 5 pounds. But I think I could handle a 1- or 2-pound phone with no problem at all.
Thank you. This is exactly the same issue with fast-recharging electric cars (mine actually uses the 2/0 cable for its traction battery): you'd need a cable with a 3-foot diameter to recharge the batteries quickly.
The batteries I'm using actually LIKE a quick charge at high currents (150A or more). But I can't provide anything greater than ~13A from that little outlet on the wall.
Cars from the '70s and '80s do still need frequent oil changes. It's just a fact of life for people with "cheap" cars. Luckily, converting to electric solved that problem for me.
Polls can be wrong, and they'll vary a lot by area. But the polls consistently indicate ~20 mile commutes for Americans across the country. Granted, in rural areas, it'll be longer; in New York, probably much shorter. Perhaps this indicates a problem with using averages for this statistic, as opposed to a problem with the poll itself.
With a 30 mile commute, home-built EVs are viable. With a 60 mile commute, you'd have to shell out the bucks for something commercial. Even so, I also own a minivan for my wife's daily use and longer family trips.
Y'know, tobacco biodiesel would go a long way to help NC's farmers. I'm all for that. And I favor NiMH (as proven in the RAV4-EV) over Li. But I'll take anything that'll hold the energy, frankly.
I don't think diesels are bad, either; especially not the modern diesels. If I ever get enough money, I'm considering a "pusher trailer" to extend my EV's range, and a diesel will be my first choice.
I'm not sure I agree with the reduction math. But I'm not saying any solution is horrible, either. Let's do both. Besides pure-diesel and pure-electric options, let's provide a diesel-electric hybrid. Let the electric motor work where it's most efficient (accelerating) and the diesel where it's most efficient (cruising). We'd have a car with the long range you desire, and efficiency rivaling a pure electric car.
You were a bit snippy, but my response was, too. I think we've managed to come to an understanding. In fact, I don't think we were ever that far off.
Like many, I can't afford a new car, so I'm always driving older cars. Every 10,000 miles is unrealistic for oil changes. We used-car aficionados are looking at 3,000 miles or so.
Your 200mi EV fails in comfort and economy to my Diesel, especially if the goal is take 5 200LB adults with luggage 250 miles with no more than 20 minute brakes every 100mi.
I dunno. The Tesla Model S is pretty luxurious. In any case, "comfort" is a subjective measurement, and I'm not sure where it figures in our efficiency discussion.
At the current price of 2.19 I could drive to and from the pool about 4 times on a single gallon, 2.19/4=0.54, so yes technically I can.
I think we're going to need some numbers on this one. That's 60 miles on one gallon of diesel in your SUV. (I did specify one trip to the pool and back was 15 miles.) And this isn't highway driving; it's stop-and-go traffic lights all the way. And 54 cents is, "technically", not less than 50 cents (a high estimate of my electricity cost).
I drive about 26mi to work, most of the people I work with drive better than 50mi in a single direction, some pushing 80mi.
Then you work with a singularly unusual workforce. Polls consistently show average commutes around 20 miles or so; for example, here's a 2005 commute poll showing 16 miles average, at an average speed of about 37 mph.
Around these parts (and by these parts I mean NC, I'm from TN and my family is from MS which has no jobs except to drive to TN and work -- 60 to 120mi one way a day is normal for most Missippians), an EV is nothing but a waste of time, a diesel makes far more sense.
I used to live near Asheville, NC. 'say, neighbor?
I'm not trying to argue that EVs are for everyone. Certainly not yet. The only thing I'm saying is that EVs are about twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine vehicle. I didn't like your pointed questions characterizing my car as worthless, so I asked some of my own.
Your car is for you, and I don't question your decision. My car is for me, built specifically for my needs. I don't see why we have to belittle each others' choices to discuss efficiency.
Did I mention that I've actively lobbies for a commuter rail, and have been shot down because people don't want to ride with the "riff raff" that use public transportation? Now you see why I've switched to lobbying for diesel and domestic plant-based biofuels, notably fuel that comes from non-consumable plants like hemp or algae (but algae isn't really a plant).
No, you didn't mention, and it doesn't matter, except insofar as I'm happy you're trying to improve things. Me, too. I like biofuels; recently I attended an alternative-energy symposium where one of the projects focused on coconuts.
Personally, I'd like a self propelled electric highway transiting the entire country. Like a rail gun, only slower. I'd set it up as "individual mass transportation": you drive your car to the station, drive onto one of the induction cars, and it whisks you away quietly and quickly to your next destination. No need to mingle with the "riff-raff". If your car was electric, it would even recharge while you waited.
Such a system would be a fantastic economic benefit. Certainly a lot better than destroying stuff in another country, or propping up business models that are already failing. It's actually creating value.
Anyway -- that's a side track. (Sorry. You started it!:)) I'm not some fanatic trying to criticize or take away your SUV. Make your own choices, drive what you like. The OP thought the inefficiencies of power transmission and storage reduced EV efficiency to less than an ICE. I just pointed out that studies show otherwise.
I built *my* car for *my* needs. Which were: reliability and carrying my family around. I never have to change filters, plugs, or belts. None of my parts wear out except the wheels, and the only lubrication I require is the transmission fluid.
My car requires no maintenance, which is what I was shooting for. I happened to get efficiency, "zero emissions", silence, battery-backup for my house in disasters, the ability to refuel from any electrical outlet, and the cool factor (my kids love it, and brag about it to their friends).
Oh, and the "EV Grin": the amazing feeling you get from driving the car you built yourself.
I'd say it was worth the 7K. I'd gladly do it again.
I wish it were solar. I can't afford to put solar cells on my roof. Right now it's coming from a coal power plant.:P That's why I checked out the emission data, discovering that I'm still more efficient than a gas car.
Living in Florida, I get to see my share of flooding. The motor has no problem with being submerged; some of the electronics do. I placed them all up high and dry. I should be able to ford a 3-foot deep stream without trouble (or a snorkel).
Except the charger. I can go through a flooded street with no problem, but I have to wait for the charger to dry out before I can do it again. I won't have that problem if I just waterproof the box the charger's in.
Cold can reduce your range, depending on your batteries. I don't have to worry about it much in Florida. The folks who do design insulated battery packs or battery warmers.
Snow itself is no problem. In fact, the electric motor produces much smoother torque than a gas motor, so it should get stuck less. And traction control can be done electronically.
Sure! My sig points to my website, which contains not only Contraction Timer, but my EV Conversion Diary.
For guidance, I'd recommend the EV Discussion List (if you prefer email) or the DIY Electric Car Forums (if you prefer a web forum).
My car took about three years, all told. That includes out-of-state work by my brother, waiting on a custom part (that I probably should've just gotten machined locally), and local assembly. It also includes all the days we couldn't work on it: I've got three kids, so it wasn't even an "every weekend" project for me. More like two days a month.
If I were doing it again, and had the time to dedicate to it, I could finish a conversion in a month of effort after receiving all the necessary parts.
It should also be noted that advanced skills are not necessary. My car was built with no tools beyond a saw, a screwdriver, a drill, and a wrench. (Well, there was a big-ass wire cutter.) A ten-year-old designed the battery pack wiring.
After I become a self-sufficient millionaire, I intend to design and build my own AC motor and controller. THAT will be a serious outlay of work and skill acquisition.
So you can carry all five members of my family and their stuff 15 miles to the swimming pool and back using less than 50 cents of diesel? You can run your car for 40,000 miles without requiring oil filter, radiator fluid, air filter, spark plug, or other maintenance costs like my EV? (After 40K, I need to replace my brushes. Should've gone AC.) You can refuel from the sun or any source providing a convenient electrical outlet? If so, you've made a feat. If not your car is useless to me.
Seriously, we're talking about efficiency here, specifically well-to-wheels efficiency. You want to talk capability? We can do that, but your needs are different from mine, and the majority of commuters.
Not that I necessarily disagree with you, at least not in any substantive way... but I would really like some $1/watt solar cells. The ones you linked to are less than $1 per watt to produce, not cost to the consumer.
I'm driving a home-converted electric car right now. I didn't even choose my components for efficiency, and according to my kill-a-watt meter, I'm still running more than twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine.
There have been several studies comparing overall efficiency, including power transmission losses. The EV wins every time.
My bad. I was thinking of the smalltalk Squeek. Sorry to start you on a wild goose chase.
As for the debugger, just a "step" function would have done the job we wanted. Especially if we then had the capability to highlight objects or temporarily manipulate the camera. We were dealing with an object that should have been visible, but wasn't. Turned out it had moved such that its transparent portion was filling the viewport.
I've been trying to get my elder daughters (12 and 9 years old) interested in programming. I tried Squeek (a LOGO-like subset of Scheme), which they enjoyed... for a little while. The eldest actually started writing up routines for the entire alphabet, but eventually lost interest. Coincidentally, I found Alice about three weeks ago.
For kids, Alice has the staying power that Squeek and LOGO don't. It allows them to set up an entire 3D world and tell a story without ever making a single syntax error. They can even make their own interactive games, which is what they really want to do. No hunting for misspellings, no looking up methods or operators in website documentation, no Googling. Just programming, fast and simple. They don't even realize they're programming; they think they're having fun, and they are!
Sure, Alice has a few shortcomings. There's NO DEBUGGER. Polymorphism isn't implemented. Custom methods aren't displayed in the world view. It's hard to produce new models. But on the other hand, it's got my kids thinking like object-oriented programmers, having fun, and producing stuff they love.
I think the submitter nailed it with "Alice will be the wave of the future".
Yes, my original post was poorly worded (stop modding it up! I just referenced the original article, for the love of $DEITY!). I reserve judgement on whether this is a hoax or a problem.
If it's a problem, it's nasty.
If he's a phisher (or other scammer), I'm mildly impressed with his social engineering, but not worried for my identity.
I keep up on my security info and I do not trust ANYONE on the internet that I have not personally met in the flesh. What in the world do you do on eBay?;)
My original post was poorly worded; I reserve judgement on whether this is actually a fraud or a real problem. Ebay claims the post was a hoax.
That said, remember what Heinlein points out in Door Into Summer: we forget what people like us really ought to know. Statistics may tell us how extremely unlikely something is to happen, but it just as surely asserts that it does happen. Your info could have been swiped by other means, and this is just a coincidence.
Ebay claims in TFA that the information was incorrect. In short, it's just a fraud, a scam, an attempt to get Ebay tech support and its customers riled up.
For the record, its auto-update feature downloads the list of available plugins, then lets the local installation decide what needs to be updated. No private information required.
From experience, I can tell you that the third kid has even more snoring.:)
There wasn't quite so much screaming at my children's births. Lots of grunting and gasping. I can personally attest that using a program on my PDA made it possible for me to pay more attention to my wife. She appreciated it.
Actually, it's usable a lot more than once. (Besides the edge case where people have multiple kids.)
Not only can Contraction Timer be used for actual labor, it's useful for detecting Braxton-Hicks contractions (sometimes called "false labor"), timing kicks (10 kicks in an hour is a measurement indicating a healthy child), and keeps a record of significant events (so you can brag to/pester your kids later).
And you don't need to be somewhere that has web access, nor do you need to carry your laptop around. You just use the PDA that you probably carry all the time anyway.
Finally, several people are willing to pay for these conveniences, even if they only use them once. Or not at all. It's nice to know something is around to make labor coaching easier.
Slashdot Mirror
Although they're not on the slate for next year. :(
As I recall, the Chinese government has access to the Windows source code. Google's been claiming that the Chinese government launched the attacks, and security experts have backed them up. The obvious conclusion is that having the source gave the Chinese government the opportunity to develop a new attack against Windows.
While some might see this as an argument against Open Source security products, I see exactly the opposite. The closed source made it possible for the only party with the source to gain an advantage. In products where the source is available to everyone, there is no advantage to any party. Therefore the holes are found and sealed, instead of left to fester, like this one was.
Because the statement was in present tense, and Bush is clearly no longer in a position to lead any country anywhere?
Seriously, the knee-jerk judgments have got to stop, or we're not going to get anywhere. We really need rational discussion.
I had the same thought. I'll bet they're using a similar algorithm, with Google Image Search providing the images from the tags, and the sketch providing the foreground/background information.
Indeed; I've got 1500mAH NiMH AA batteries. Of course, that leaves off the very important question of voltage. I wonder what a cell phone uses?
Hallelujah, brother! I bought a Treo, simplifying my life immensely by merging my phone and planner. My big complaint is that it's so small! I can't comfortably hold it between my ear and shoulder, and although I could get one of those BlueTooth borg adapters, it would increase my power consumption considerably (and look stupid, too).
Replaceable batteries would help, of course. But I think the best solution is to provide *bigger* phones. I want better capabilities, not thinner cases!
Laptops are a different matter. If you're lugging that thing around all day without even a handle, you want something below 5 pounds. But I think I could handle a 1- or 2-pound phone with no problem at all.
Thank you. This is exactly the same issue with fast-recharging electric cars (mine actually uses the 2/0 cable for its traction battery): you'd need a cable with a 3-foot diameter to recharge the batteries quickly.
The batteries I'm using actually LIKE a quick charge at high currents (150A or more). But I can't provide anything greater than ~13A from that little outlet on the wall.
Phew! That's a lot to read.
Cars from the '70s and '80s do still need frequent oil changes. It's just a fact of life for people with "cheap" cars. Luckily, converting to electric solved that problem for me.
Polls can be wrong, and they'll vary a lot by area. But the polls consistently indicate ~20 mile commutes for Americans across the country. Granted, in rural areas, it'll be longer; in New York, probably much shorter. Perhaps this indicates a problem with using averages for this statistic, as opposed to a problem with the poll itself.
With a 30 mile commute, home-built EVs are viable. With a 60 mile commute, you'd have to shell out the bucks for something commercial. Even so, I also own a minivan for my wife's daily use and longer family trips.
Y'know, tobacco biodiesel would go a long way to help NC's farmers. I'm all for that. And I favor NiMH (as proven in the RAV4-EV) over Li. But I'll take anything that'll hold the energy, frankly.
I don't think diesels are bad, either; especially not the modern diesels. If I ever get enough money, I'm considering a "pusher trailer" to extend my EV's range, and a diesel will be my first choice.
I'm not sure I agree with the reduction math. But I'm not saying any solution is horrible, either. Let's do both. Besides pure-diesel and pure-electric options, let's provide a diesel-electric hybrid. Let the electric motor work where it's most efficient (accelerating) and the diesel where it's most efficient (cruising). We'd have a car with the long range you desire, and efficiency rivaling a pure electric car.
You were a bit snippy, but my response was, too. I think we've managed to come to an understanding. In fact, I don't think we were ever that far off.
I don't know what type of car you had prior
Like many, I can't afford a new car, so I'm always driving older cars. Every 10,000 miles is unrealistic for oil changes. We used-car aficionados are looking at 3,000 miles or so.
Your 200mi EV fails in comfort and economy to my Diesel, especially if the goal is take 5 200LB adults with luggage 250 miles with no more than 20 minute brakes every 100mi.
I dunno. The Tesla Model S is pretty luxurious. In any case, "comfort" is a subjective measurement, and I'm not sure where it figures in our efficiency discussion.
At the current price of 2.19 I could drive to and from the pool about 4 times on a single gallon, 2.19/4=0.54, so yes technically I can.
I think we're going to need some numbers on this one. That's 60 miles on one gallon of diesel in your SUV. (I did specify one trip to the pool and back was 15 miles.) And this isn't highway driving; it's stop-and-go traffic lights all the way. And 54 cents is, "technically", not less than 50 cents (a high estimate of my electricity cost).
I drive about 26mi to work, most of the people I work with drive better than 50mi in a single direction, some pushing 80mi.
Then you work with a singularly unusual workforce. Polls consistently show average commutes around 20 miles or so; for example, here's a 2005 commute poll showing 16 miles average, at an average speed of about 37 mph.
Around these parts (and by these parts I mean NC, I'm from TN and my family is from MS which has no jobs except to drive to TN and work -- 60 to 120mi one way a day is normal for most Missippians), an EV is nothing but a waste of time, a diesel makes far more sense.
I used to live near Asheville, NC. 'say, neighbor?
I'm not trying to argue that EVs are for everyone. Certainly not yet. The only thing I'm saying is that EVs are about twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine vehicle. I didn't like your pointed questions characterizing my car as worthless, so I asked some of my own.
Your car is for you, and I don't question your decision. My car is for me, built specifically for my needs. I don't see why we have to belittle each others' choices to discuss efficiency.
Did I mention that I've actively lobbies for a commuter rail, and have been shot down because people don't want to ride with the "riff raff" that use public transportation? Now you see why I've switched to lobbying for diesel and domestic plant-based biofuels, notably fuel that comes from non-consumable plants like hemp or algae (but algae isn't really a plant).
No, you didn't mention, and it doesn't matter, except insofar as I'm happy you're trying to improve things. Me, too. I like biofuels; recently I attended an alternative-energy symposium where one of the projects focused on coconuts.
Personally, I'd like a self propelled electric highway transiting the entire country. Like a rail gun, only slower. I'd set it up as "individual mass transportation": you drive your car to the station, drive onto one of the induction cars, and it whisks you away quietly and quickly to your next destination. No need to mingle with the "riff-raff". If your car was electric, it would even recharge while you waited.
Such a system would be a fantastic economic benefit. Certainly a lot better than destroying stuff in another country, or propping up business models that are already failing. It's actually creating value.
Anyway -- that's a side track. (Sorry. You started it! :)) I'm not some fanatic trying to criticize or take away your SUV. Make your own choices, drive what you like. The OP thought the inefficiencies of power transmission and storage reduced EV efficiency to less than an ICE. I just pointed out that studies show otherwise.
About $7000, including donor car. I estimate about two man-months of actual labor, interspersed over almost three years of real time.
But why do you ask? I thought we were talking about well-to-wheels efficiency. If you want an EV that saves money, you don't want my car. If you want a fast, long-range EV, there are better options as well (there are even really fast home-built EVs).
I built *my* car for *my* needs. Which were: reliability and carrying my family around. I never have to change filters, plugs, or belts. None of my parts wear out except the wheels, and the only lubrication I require is the transmission fluid.
My car requires no maintenance, which is what I was shooting for. I happened to get efficiency, "zero emissions", silence, battery-backup for my house in disasters, the ability to refuel from any electrical outlet, and the cool factor (my kids love it, and brag about it to their friends).
Oh, and the "EV Grin": the amazing feeling you get from driving the car you built yourself.
I'd say it was worth the 7K. I'd gladly do it again.
I wish it were solar. I can't afford to put solar cells on my roof. Right now it's coming from a coal power plant. :P That's why I checked out the emission data, discovering that I'm still more efficient than a gas car.
Living in Florida, I get to see my share of flooding. The motor has no problem with being submerged; some of the electronics do. I placed them all up high and dry. I should be able to ford a 3-foot deep stream without trouble (or a snorkel).
Except the charger. I can go through a flooded street with no problem, but I have to wait for the charger to dry out before I can do it again. I won't have that problem if I just waterproof the box the charger's in.
Cold can reduce your range, depending on your batteries. I don't have to worry about it much in Florida. The folks who do design insulated battery packs or battery warmers.
Snow itself is no problem. In fact, the electric motor produces much smoother torque than a gas motor, so it should get stuck less. And traction control can be done electronically.
Ping!
Just wanted to notify you that I responded to another post with the information you requested.
Sure! My sig points to my website, which contains not only Contraction Timer, but my EV Conversion Diary.
For guidance, I'd recommend the EV Discussion List (if you prefer email) or the DIY Electric Car Forums (if you prefer a web forum).
My car took about three years, all told. That includes out-of-state work by my brother, waiting on a custom part (that I probably should've just gotten machined locally), and local assembly. It also includes all the days we couldn't work on it: I've got three kids, so it wasn't even an "every weekend" project for me. More like two days a month.
If I were doing it again, and had the time to dedicate to it, I could finish a conversion in a month of effort after receiving all the necessary parts.
It should also be noted that advanced skills are not necessary. My car was built with no tools beyond a saw, a screwdriver, a drill, and a wrench. (Well, there was a big-ass wire cutter.) A ten-year-old designed the battery pack wiring.
After I become a self-sufficient millionaire, I intend to design and build my own AC motor and controller. THAT will be a serious outlay of work and skill acquisition.
So you can carry all five members of my family and their stuff 15 miles to the swimming pool and back using less than 50 cents of diesel? You can run your car for 40,000 miles without requiring oil filter, radiator fluid, air filter, spark plug, or other maintenance costs like my EV? (After 40K, I need to replace my brushes. Should've gone AC.) You can refuel from the sun or any source providing a convenient electrical outlet? If so, you've made a feat. If not your car is useless to me.
Seriously, we're talking about efficiency here, specifically well-to-wheels efficiency. You want to talk capability? We can do that, but your needs are different from mine, and the majority of commuters.
Not that I necessarily disagree with you, at least not in any substantive way... but I would really like some $1/watt solar cells. The ones you linked to are less than $1 per watt to produce, not cost to the consumer.
I'm driving a home-converted electric car right now. I didn't even choose my components for efficiency, and according to my kill-a-watt meter, I'm still running more than twice as efficient as an internal combustion engine.
There have been several studies comparing overall efficiency, including power transmission losses. The EV wins every time.
My bad. I was thinking of the smalltalk Squeek. Sorry to start you on a wild goose chase.
As for the debugger, just a "step" function would have done the job we wanted. Especially if we then had the capability to highlight objects or temporarily manipulate the camera. We were dealing with an object that should have been visible, but wasn't. Turned out it had moved such that its transparent portion was filling the viewport.
I've been trying to get my elder daughters (12 and 9 years old) interested in programming. I tried Squeek (a LOGO-like subset of Scheme), which they enjoyed... for a little while. The eldest actually started writing up routines for the entire alphabet, but eventually lost interest. Coincidentally, I found Alice about three weeks ago.
For kids, Alice has the staying power that Squeek and LOGO don't. It allows them to set up an entire 3D world and tell a story without ever making a single syntax error. They can even make their own interactive games, which is what they really want to do. No hunting for misspellings, no looking up methods or operators in website documentation, no Googling. Just programming, fast and simple. They don't even realize they're programming; they think they're having fun, and they are!
Sure, Alice has a few shortcomings. There's NO DEBUGGER. Polymorphism isn't implemented. Custom methods aren't displayed in the world view. It's hard to produce new models. But on the other hand, it's got my kids thinking like object-oriented programmers, having fun, and producing stuff they love.
I think the submitter nailed it with "Alice will be the wave of the future".
Yes, my original post was poorly worded (stop modding it up! I just referenced the original article, for the love of $DEITY!). I reserve judgement on whether this is a hoax or a problem.
If it's a problem, it's nasty.
If he's a phisher (or other scammer), I'm mildly impressed with his social engineering, but not worried for my identity.
My original post was poorly worded; I reserve judgement on whether this is actually a fraud or a real problem. Ebay claims the post was a hoax.
That said, remember what Heinlein points out in Door Into Summer: we forget what people like us really ought to know. Statistics may tell us how extremely unlikely something is to happen, but it just as surely asserts that it does happen. Your info could have been swiped by other means, and this is just a coincidence.
Ebay claims in TFA that the information was incorrect. In short, it's just a fraud, a scam, an attempt to get Ebay tech support and its customers riled up.
It appears that the article is mistaken, and WordPress doesn't actually send stuff like $_SERVER. You might want to go ahead and switch.
But, if you want a blog with a central, auto-updating plugin repository, try Serendipity. It uses Smarty for its templates, and has a very involved developer base. It's also light, fast, and security-conscious. It's largely compatible with Movable Type, too.
For the record, its auto-update feature downloads the list of available plugins, then lets the local installation decide what needs to be updated. No private information required.
Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern. Her characterizations and development are wonderful. And her son Todd has taken up the mantel admirably.
I only wish Elizabeth Moon could've done the same for her Ship Who Sang series.
From experience, I can tell you that the third kid has even more snoring. :)
There wasn't quite so much screaming at my children's births. Lots of grunting and gasping. I can personally attest that using a program on my PDA made it possible for me to pay more attention to my wife. She appreciated it.
Actually, it's usable a lot more than once. (Besides the edge case where people have multiple kids.)
Not only can Contraction Timer be used for actual labor, it's useful for detecting Braxton-Hicks contractions (sometimes called "false labor"), timing kicks (10 kicks in an hour is a measurement indicating a healthy child), and keeps a record of significant events (so you can brag to/pester your kids later).
And you don't need to be somewhere that has web access, nor do you need to carry your laptop around. You just use the PDA that you probably carry all the time anyway.
Finally, several people are willing to pay for these conveniences, even if they only use them once. Or not at all. It's nice to know something is around to make labor coaching easier.