Slashdot Mirror


User: GiveBenADollar

GiveBenADollar's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
239
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 239

  1. Re:anime may be a bad sample subject on Piracy Boosts Anime Sales, Says Japanese Government Study · · Score: 1

    I dunno, without pirated copies of Eva and Trigun I would never have gotten into anime. I've purchased a few box sets that I would otherwise have not known about. Same is true with music. Without MP3s I would never have gotten interested in music. I dunno if I'm the norm or the exception, but in my own life pirating things has directly led to purchases that otherwise would not take place.

  2. Re:Radiators on US Team Seeks To Top Steam-Car Speed Record · · Score: 2

    Some steam engines did refill by scoop. There was a long water trough that the engine would go by with its scoop out and pick up what it needed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_locomotive#Condensers_and_water_re-supply There were also engines that could only refill at water towers.

  3. Re:Radiators on US Team Seeks To Top Steam-Car Speed Record · · Score: 1

    Condensing steam engines didn't catch on because there was already and infrastructure for refilling water, condensing locomotives were more expensive, and there was also the potential problem of oil in the condensate (which leads to boiler fouling). By the time the benefits started outweighing the costs we had diesel locomotives. Look at Stanley Steamers if you want more information on steam powered cars, at least one of the models was condensing.

  4. Re:It is just data! on Internet Kill Switch Back On the US Legislative Agenda · · Score: 2

    Name one thing you know firsthand is connected to the Internet and could result in casualties if attacked. Sure banks computers could crash, sure amazon could go down, but ICBMs are not going to launch and the power grid wont go down. If anything that could actually cause casualties is connected to the Internet then it shouldn't be.

  5. Re:MWe on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 4, Informative

    MWe = Megawatt electric

  6. Re:Man up! on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 1

    Actually when you factor the cost of both the new uranium and the old fuel disposal, reprocessing comes out way ahead.

  7. Re:I wonder why underwater? on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 1

    Depending on depth it would be incredibly secure. Who is going to dive to 500ft to somehow hurt a big metal tube? How would you hurt it anyway, explosives? So we need an EOD diver/Navy seal who has extreme deepwater training, proper equipment and can find the damn thing. Yup, still secure. Also, what do you think nuclear proliferation means?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_proliferation

    Nice troll though.

  8. Re:I wonder what would happen... on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 1

    Great plot for a Michael Bay film, but pretty boring reality. In the unlikely (very unlikely considering the whole thing is a pressure vessel and heat sink) event of a leak to the environment the actual fallout would be minimal. Nuclear submarines have been lost before under bad circumstances and you don't see huge amounts of wildlife killed or huge amounts of contamination. Some contamination would settle out within a couple hundred feet of the leak and the rest would be diluted so quickly it would be undetectable a quarter mile away. But hey, truth never stopped a good movie plot.

  9. Re:I wonder why underwater? on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 2

    Ahem. You are looking at the electrical production of submarines, not the thermal output of the reactor. Electrical production is around 10% and the main engine takes the other 90%, if you remove the main engine and substitute a huge generator set a couple hundred megawatts should be easy.

  10. Re:Man up! on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 1

    The biggest thing that can be done to reduce the bad nuclear waste is fuel reprocessing. Take spent fuel refine it and remove the poisons then re-burn it. We'd be doing it today but Carter was afraid of terrorist attacks on recycling plants, so we still recycle fuel domestically just not fuel from the US.

  11. Re:heat generated would dissipate into the ocean on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not every location that needs power has a body of water that can be used as a heat sink. Some power plants have cooling lakes built just for them. Some have cooling towers for the same reason. The most efficient is to be able to use the water of a running river or ocean, but they aren't always availible. Note that this is not just nuclear power plants but fossil fuel as well.

  12. Re:I wonder why underwater? on Underwater Nuclear Power Plant Proposed In France · · Score: 1

    Well there are some benefits. It's inherently secure against nuclear proliferation or terrorist attack. It is likely to be much safer in an nuclear accident because it is surrounded by a almost limitless heatsink, also because it's surrounded by water it doesn't need anywhere near as much shielding. That's where the benefits end though. It will be completely automated which has been a disaster before in the nuclear industry, it will need to be removed for any maintenance, and it will be transmitting power underwater for extended distances which leads to high losses. Might be cost effective, but it's doubtful. The navy doesn't use nuclear reactors on aircraft carriers and subs because it's cheaper they do it because those ships don't have to refuel or use air for the engines. This looks like a similar pipe dream to the buried reactor design that's supposed to supply neighborhoods with electricity.

  13. Re:Here's my model on Michigan Governor Wants 'Open Source' Economic Model · · Score: 1

    Here's my model:

    1. Spend less than you take in.
    2. When cutting spending, try cutting big ticket items first.
    3. Pay down more than the minimum payment on debts.
    4. Round expenses up and round revenue down.

    Here's the reality:

    Spend as much as you can. People love it when you spend on new programs.

    When the stupid people want you to cut spending cut to police and fire first so they will think twice about asking for cuts the next time.

    Pay down debts?! Debts show your development! Every successful government is in debt. The more debt the more successful!

    Always underestimate the cost of programs to make them look appealing, then overestimate the revenues from anything you do! It makes you look good!

  14. Re:avoid more orbital clutter on Canadian Firm Plans 78-Satellite Net Service · · Score: 2

    More like vaporized in the atmosphere. Not really a big deal.

  15. Re:I Wish America Hated Censorship on The iPad Will Get Playboy In March · · Score: 2

    Ahem. Freedom is also having the right to sell or not sell what you please. I may not agree with Apple or Walmart in regards to what they won't sell, but I do respect their right to choose what they won't sell. You always have other alternatives and always will unless the government bans them. Self censorship is and should always be allowed, without it we may as well have the government force a christian book store to sell playboy or a doughnut shop to sell salads.

  16. Re:Sure, but the USPS doesn't have caps on Mail Service Costs Netflix 20x More Than Streaming · · Score: 1

    Yeah but the latency sucks. I'm still waiting to re-spawn using IPoAC to play CSS and it's been 2 weeks. I only use my wired connection for slashdot.

  17. Re:Playboy isn't Porn on The iPad Will Get Playboy In March · · Score: 2

    Why wait, just get an android tablet. AHEM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IraQfhlMwi4

    And they support flash too!

  18. Re:My psychic prediction on Open Source More Expensive Says MS Report · · Score: 1

    Much as I am a fan of open source, isn't that just a variation of the 'broken window' fallacy?

    Not really. We are talking about money that will be spent with a closed source application vs a programmer, if the OP was talking about hiring a programmer and installing open source software vs no software then you would be correct.

  19. Re:Why was it ever relevant? on Sony, Universal Hope To Beat Piracy With 'Instant Pop' · · Score: 1

    Sorry, just using her as an example of overexposure, guess I could have made that more clear. Couldn't think of annother example offhand because I haven't had my morning coffee.

  20. Re:Shifting definition of "piracy" on Sony, Universal Hope To Beat Piracy With 'Instant Pop' · · Score: 1

    Have you noticed that this radio executive has unilaterally expanded the definition of "piracy" to include recording a broadcast?

    Yeah, this got me too. I guess if I hum a few bars of the latest pop music I'm also engaging in piracy.

  21. Re:Why was it ever relevant? on Sony, Universal Hope To Beat Piracy With 'Instant Pop' · · Score: 1

    Also in the old days music was good. I'm not talking about the generational gap and how all the music today sucks, I'm just saying that most music today is assembly line corporate crap. It's designed to be catchy, it's designed to be universal, and in the end it's bland. Real musicians/songwriters still exist, but the record labels make more money of a one hit wonder band that they create compared to a band with actual talent and staying power. The problem is that a one hit wonder gets annoying after a few weeks of overexposure. Remember when Titanic was in theaters and EVERY radio station played 'My Heart will go on' sometimes at the same time? Made you want to shoot your radio and did not make you need to buy the album. So marketing had to change, and it has little to do with piracy.

  22. April fools? on Microsoft Seeks Do-Let-The-Bed-Bugs-Bite Patent · · Score: 1

    April 1st already?

  23. Re:Real Reason on Is Samsung Blocking Updates To Froyo? · · Score: 2

    Sadly it's not just samsung phones. Their TV and blue ray firmware is hit or miss too. If you have a good firmware version that does what you want it to then you keep it and only upgrade when forced.

  24. Re:I know the fix on Is Samsung Blocking Updates To Froyo? · · Score: 1

    Most phones are easily rooted and there are all sorts of forums where you can find the proper android install to use. When it comes time to flash your device you need to be extra careful and find as much information as possible, but it is doable. Just don't be the first person to try something or you might end up with a paperweight.

  25. Re:Not Samsung... T-Mobile on Is Samsung Blocking Updates To Froyo? · · Score: 1

    This actually makes sense. I have a couple t-mobile phones and they are far from stock firmware, as such I expect them to lag behind android releases so the custom crapware can be upgraded to work properly. When I get fed up enough I'll flash my phones and update, but it hasn't come to that yet. One of my biggest complaints with custom firmware is removal of features, haven't noticed any issues on my current phones, but on my razor they took away the dynamic backlight. I guess if something is to complicated or potentially troublesome for the tech support lines they just remove it.