Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean that sort of thing doesn't happen. In 1998 Percy Schmeiser was sued by Monsanto, and lost. Admittedly the courts didn't rule that he had to pay royalties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Schmeiser
This is the problem with solar power, it's mostly home owners who are buying them and the systems cost so much it takes decades to break even (if purely doing it for cost reasons, not CO2).
So once a better technology comes along you have to junk the old tech and you may never break even.
As others have suggested, that depends on where you live, how much you pay for electricity, how much the panels cost, whether the electricity company pays you for electricity you export to the grid, and so on.
We've just had solar panels installed on the office (in Australia), after a lot of research and number crunching. Break even is less than 5 years. Panels are guaranteed for 25 years, and expected to last up to 40 years. The inverter will probably need to be replaced in maybe 15 years, but by then they should be pretty cheap. Projection is that the electricity company will pay us about $500 over the first 12 months, for the energy we export to the grid. We don't expect any electricity bills for at least 10 years (maybe 20, depends on inflation etc assumptions), and even then the bills will be for part of the "supply charge". The company that did the install mostly does large installs on commercial/educational/etc buildings, and they are flat out.
So your comments may be true for where you live, but there are plenty of places where it does make sense to install solar power now. And a lot of people aren't even considering it, because they've heard someone say that it takes decades to break even, and they don't realise that may not apply to them.
Because so many people are installing solar here, prices are coming down rapidly. I read a little while ago that panel prices have dropped by half since 2009. So if you're interested in maybe installing solar, I suggest you look into it. If it isn't right for you at the moment, wait 3 or 4 years and look into it again.
And now ebook publishers are doing the same thing.
I have an ebook addiction. I am happy to pay for them. I want the publisher and the author to get money, so I can get more ebooks. I even put up with the ebooks having DRM.
But most of the major publishers decided, as of April 1 this year (and no, it wasn't an April Fools), to exert a ridiculous level of control over retailers. Most of the books I want are now "not available in your country". So after spending a good sum of money on ebooks over the last year or so, the publishers have decided my money isn't good enough.
Before April, I had never downloaded a possibly-illegal ebook. Now I have two choices: somehow get over my addiction, or download free non-DRM copies.
Sellers/publishers of electronic stuff, be it ebooks, games, movies, tv shows, music or even software, really need to wake up. If they refuse to sell people what the people want, people will look for other ways to obtain it. And that carries the risk that people will stop paying any attention to what is available for sale.
I am allergic to several types of pollen. I am also allergic to some perfumes, and to cigarette smoke. I don't think I should be allowed to sue anyone for growing grass or crops, or wearing perfume.
Even if he could prove he is allergic to the claimed types of EM radiation, he shouldn't be allowed to sue.
Slashdot Mirror
There's a nice summary here: http://theconversation.edu.au/neutrinos-and-the-speed-of-light-not-so-fast-3513 As usual, the media is reporting this as far more certain than the scientists think it is. As the article says "[the scientists] seem to be the only ones not jumping to conclusions just yet."
Just because you haven't heard of it doesn't mean that sort of thing doesn't happen. In 1998 Percy Schmeiser was sued by Monsanto, and lost. Admittedly the courts didn't rule that he had to pay royalties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Schmeiser
This is the problem with solar power, it's mostly home owners who are buying them and the systems cost so much it takes decades to break even (if purely doing it for cost reasons, not CO2).
So once a better technology comes along you have to junk the old tech and you may never break even.
As others have suggested, that depends on where you live, how much you pay for electricity, how much the panels cost, whether the electricity company pays you for electricity you export to the grid, and so on.
We've just had solar panels installed on the office (in Australia), after a lot of research and number crunching. Break even is less than 5 years. Panels are guaranteed for 25 years, and expected to last up to 40 years. The inverter will probably need to be replaced in maybe 15 years, but by then they should be pretty cheap. Projection is that the electricity company will pay us about $500 over the first 12 months, for the energy we export to the grid. We don't expect any electricity bills for at least 10 years (maybe 20, depends on inflation etc assumptions), and even then the bills will be for part of the "supply charge". The company that did the install mostly does large installs on commercial/educational/etc buildings, and they are flat out.
So your comments may be true for where you live, but there are plenty of places where it does make sense to install solar power now. And a lot of people aren't even considering it, because they've heard someone say that it takes decades to break even, and they don't realise that may not apply to them.
Because so many people are installing solar here, prices are coming down rapidly. I read a little while ago that panel prices have dropped by half since 2009. So if you're interested in maybe installing solar, I suggest you look into it. If it isn't right for you at the moment, wait 3 or 4 years and look into it again.
And now ebook publishers are doing the same thing.
I have an ebook addiction. I am happy to pay for them. I want the publisher and the author to get money, so I can get more ebooks. I even put up with the ebooks having DRM.
But most of the major publishers decided, as of April 1 this year (and no, it wasn't an April Fools), to exert a ridiculous level of control over retailers. Most of the books I want are now "not available in your country". So after spending a good sum of money on ebooks over the last year or so, the publishers have decided my money isn't good enough.
Before April, I had never downloaded a possibly-illegal ebook. Now I have two choices: somehow get over my addiction, or download free non-DRM copies.
Sellers/publishers of electronic stuff, be it ebooks, games, movies, tv shows, music or even software, really need to wake up. If they refuse to sell people what the people want, people will look for other ways to obtain it. And that carries the risk that people will stop paying any attention to what is available for sale.
I am allergic to several types of pollen. I am also allergic to some perfumes, and to cigarette smoke. I don't think I should be allowed to sue anyone for growing grass or crops, or wearing perfume. Even if he could prove he is allergic to the claimed types of EM radiation, he shouldn't be allowed to sue.