There's nothing magical about AC-DC conversion, and NEWS FLASH, it's much more efficient to transmit AC over long distances than DC. That's HALF THE REASON we use AC. The other half is that it's extremely easy to convert to other forms of AC and DC.
I'm afraid my degree is in physics, though I've done more engineering than pure research oriented work. In my understanding, long distance transmission efficiency is mainly about high voltage, not AC per se. It's true that you need some AC stages for voltage conversion, so the conversion part is more efficient if you only use AC. However, AC will bleed energy via induction in some cases such as undersea cables, making DC more efficient overall even after conversion losses. In addition, phase matching is an issue you won't have with DC. Then you also have the age-old facts about peak vs. average voltage that make DC easier for things like insulation, so the future of power transmission is actually going more in the way of DC, even if end users still see AC.
Frankly, this entire discussion has little to do with AC vs. DC, it's mostly about the dependence on the grid. I agree we should use more nuclear power, and perhaps educate the people a bit more to end the irrational fears about anything that has the word "nuclear" in it.
This is just like making fancy top level domain names like "fish" or calling security vulnerabilities "Shellshock". A professional engineering standard is ruined with cute hipster stuff.
True. A really professional engineering standard should include the fish allergy symbol as a TLD.
The use of systemd by default in Debian, along with pretty much every other major Linux distro (sorry, Slackware, you're a relic; Gentoo, you're impractical) has driven away the best Linux admins and developers there are.
That's some interesting logic. So, most Linux distros are going down the drain because they use systemd, and I quite agree with that. And then those that don't use systemd, they are also doomed by definition?
I used NetBSD for a while around 2002, and I loved the pure Unix way after using all these Fisher-Price Linux distros. However, it was seriously lacking in hardware support and software availability. Fortunately, I soon discovered Gentoo that combined everything that was great in both Linux and BSD, by modelling after BSD Ports but using the Linux kernel and GNU userland. So it's strange getting such a comment from the BSD camp, while Gentoo is one of the closest to BSD style of all Linux distros.
I like to think of insurance as reverse lottery. People pay small amounts to participate in the game, and then hope they don't win the jackpot. So when insurance companies invest this money around, it kind of balances out.
I guess it depends on what you're used to. I practically grew up with laptops, so I always type numbers with the upper row, even if a numeric pad is available. I also think the number pad is a matter of space and reach, even on a desktop, but especially on a laptop where keys are already crammed. I'm sure a lot of proficient typists also appreciate a centred keyboard on a laptop.
My keyboard has two Ctrl keys in a rather symmetric orientation, and I like them that way, much like the two Shift keys. If the left Ctrl were in the place of Caps Lock, then its right counterpart would have to replace Enter.
It's not that I like having a Caps Lock around doing nothing, but it's not exactly a great place for a modifier which generally comes in symmetric pairs.
In my understanding, one main reason for this secrecy with FPGAs is a kind of DRM. A lot of gadgets out there use FPGAs, and they contain some proprietary design in the form of the bitstream. If this format were open, anyone could copy and modify the design, much more easily than copying actual hardware design of a chip. Thus the secrecy is in the interest of major FPGA users, not the manufacturers themselves.
IIRC, some FPGAs even provide a kind of encryption for bitstreams, but then there's your usual DRM problem of having the keys available somewhere.
I can't imagine the twins seriously think that Bitcoin is going to go mainstream at this point in time. If anything, Bitcoin is fading from public view.
Please tell this to all these investors. I'm sure you know something they don't.
You should probably contact this site on the origin of names. Let them know that Fred (short for Frederick) is not really an ancient Germanic name, but a modern American invention.
I understand the point with sun hats, I sometimes wear one myself. But besides the extreme weather, I hate wearing hats and hoodies. Most people here seem to favour comfort over businesslike style, and I understand that to mean something relatively loose and light. A baseball cap just doesn't fit into that kind of equation for comfort. Besides, a cap that doesn't cover your ears is useless for some of the basic things a hat should provide, i.e. protection from the sun and staying warm in the winter.
I don't know about vendor lock-in, but the Areva reactor in Finland has become a subject of national jokes and shame, with cost and construction time at least tripled from the planned numbers. We might as well consider the project STUK forever.
Bitcoin may not be the perfect solution for everything, but if you want a cashless payment technology with the anonymity of cash (i.e. not perfect, but much better than the alternatives), then Bitcoin is already here, been for a few years and spreading in adoption quite nicely. You can keep waiting for your perfect solution, or you can start using Bitcoin now.
A sibling post already explains one key issue. When you're carrying something, it usually puts an asymmetric load on you, causing all kinds of strain over time. It's very different from lifting weights, which is more controlled and dynamic, and usually done for a limited amount of time, not all day. I presume you don't have that much experience carrying laptops (along with all other crap you might need with you).
Also, lifting weights is a very different setting overall from a business day. Small weights might not make you sweat all that much at the gym, where you're probably wearing something light, and you take a shower soon afterwards. But if you carry those weights all day wearing something businesslike and trying to look fresh, good luck.
Lifting weights will probably help you endure that static, asymmetric strain of carrying a little better. But it won't take away the energy expenditure with its associated heat and perspiration.
Of course, the whole premise is kind of wrong -- this is not the kind of business laptop you'd generally carry around for presentations.
Slashdot Mirror
There's nothing magical about AC-DC conversion, and NEWS FLASH, it's much more efficient to transmit AC over long distances than DC. That's HALF THE REASON we use AC. The other half is that it's extremely easy to convert to other forms of AC and DC.
I'm afraid my degree is in physics, though I've done more engineering than pure research oriented work. In my understanding, long distance transmission efficiency is mainly about high voltage, not AC per se. It's true that you need some AC stages for voltage conversion, so the conversion part is more efficient if you only use AC. However, AC will bleed energy via induction in some cases such as undersea cables, making DC more efficient overall even after conversion losses. In addition, phase matching is an issue you won't have with DC. Then you also have the age-old facts about peak vs. average voltage that make DC easier for things like insulation, so the future of power transmission is actually going more in the way of DC, even if end users still see AC.
Frankly, this entire discussion has little to do with AC vs. DC, it's mostly about the dependence on the grid. I agree we should use more nuclear power, and perhaps educate the people a bit more to end the irrational fears about anything that has the word "nuclear" in it.
Yep, I guess you were referring to bracelets that are already used by people with certain conditions such as epilepsy.
I'm afraid armbands for ethnic minorities in Germany went out of fashion a while ago.
This is just like making fancy top level domain names like "fish" or calling security vulnerabilities "Shellshock". A professional engineering standard is ruined with cute hipster stuff.
True. A really professional engineering standard should include the fish allergy symbol as a TLD.
It's a wonder the name is human readable at all.
Did you just misspell "BSD"? *ducks*
The use of systemd by default in Debian, along with pretty much every other major Linux distro (sorry, Slackware, you're a relic; Gentoo, you're impractical) has driven away the best Linux admins and developers there are.
That's some interesting logic. So, most Linux distros are going down the drain because they use systemd, and I quite agree with that. And then those that don't use systemd, they are also doomed by definition?
I used NetBSD for a while around 2002, and I loved the pure Unix way after using all these Fisher-Price Linux distros. However, it was seriously lacking in hardware support and software availability. Fortunately, I soon discovered Gentoo that combined everything that was great in both Linux and BSD, by modelling after BSD Ports but using the Linux kernel and GNU userland. So it's strange getting such a comment from the BSD camp, while Gentoo is one of the closest to BSD style of all Linux distros.
Sounds like EPR needs CPR.
I like to think of insurance as reverse lottery. People pay small amounts to participate in the game, and then hope they don't win the jackpot. So when insurance companies invest this money around, it kind of balances out.
Expressed more rigorously
I see what you did there.
I guess it depends on what you're used to. I practically grew up with laptops, so I always type numbers with the upper row, even if a numeric pad is available. I also think the number pad is a matter of space and reach, even on a desktop, but especially on a laptop where keys are already crammed. I'm sure a lot of proficient typists also appreciate a centred keyboard on a laptop.
My keyboard has two Ctrl keys in a rather symmetric orientation, and I like them that way, much like the two Shift keys. If the left Ctrl were in the place of Caps Lock, then its right counterpart would have to replace Enter.
It's not that I like having a Caps Lock around doing nothing, but it's not exactly a great place for a modifier which generally comes in symmetric pairs.
As with any new 'pewter tech,
this one is also based on alloyed tin.
In my understanding, one main reason for this secrecy with FPGAs is a kind of DRM. A lot of gadgets out there use FPGAs, and they contain some proprietary design in the form of the bitstream. If this format were open, anyone could copy and modify the design, much more easily than copying actual hardware design of a chip. Thus the secrecy is in the interest of major FPGA users, not the manufacturers themselves.
IIRC, some FPGAs even provide a kind of encryption for bitstreams, but then there's your usual DRM problem of having the keys available somewhere.
I can't imagine the twins seriously think that Bitcoin is going to go mainstream at this point in time. If anything, Bitcoin is fading from public view.
Please tell this to all these investors. I'm sure you know something they don't.
Ah, REAL money. The kind that can be inflated willy-nilly by banks, and generally based on secrecy instead of math, open source and a public ledger.
You should probably contact this site on the origin of names. Let them know that Fred (short for Frederick) is not really an ancient Germanic name, but a modern American invention.
I understand the point with sun hats, I sometimes wear one myself. But besides the extreme weather, I hate wearing hats and hoodies. Most people here seem to favour comfort over businesslike style, and I understand that to mean something relatively loose and light. A baseball cap just doesn't fit into that kind of equation for comfort. Besides, a cap that doesn't cover your ears is useless for some of the basic things a hat should provide, i.e. protection from the sun and staying warm in the winter.
n/t
4. Misuse of "begging the question"
5. Profit!
I don't know about vendor lock-in, but the Areva reactor in Finland has become a subject of national jokes and shame, with cost and construction time at least tripled from the planned numbers. We might as well consider the project STUK forever.
There are other forms of dating used for fossils though.
And that's how I met your mother.
My password is 'gullible', so it should be safe.
Bitcoin may not be the perfect solution for everything, but if you want a cashless payment technology with the anonymity of cash (i.e. not perfect, but much better than the alternatives), then Bitcoin is already here, been for a few years and spreading in adoption quite nicely. You can keep waiting for your perfect solution, or you can start using Bitcoin now.
A sibling post already explains one key issue. When you're carrying something, it usually puts an asymmetric load on you, causing all kinds of strain over time. It's very different from lifting weights, which is more controlled and dynamic, and usually done for a limited amount of time, not all day. I presume you don't have that much experience carrying laptops (along with all other crap you might need with you).
Also, lifting weights is a very different setting overall from a business day. Small weights might not make you sweat all that much at the gym, where you're probably wearing something light, and you take a shower soon afterwards. But if you carry those weights all day wearing something businesslike and trying to look fresh, good luck.
Lifting weights will probably help you endure that static, asymmetric strain of carrying a little better. But it won't take away the energy expenditure with its associated heat and perspiration.
Of course, the whole premise is kind of wrong -- this is not the kind of business laptop you'd generally carry around for presentations.