To retrofit a bird you have to switch out modules/circuit boards, replace solar arrays, refuel ACS tanks, etc., etc., etc.
Generally you wouldn't have to do all of those things, just the ones that have failed. For many birds, that just means they're out of fuel, and that's the easiest thing to retrofit: you don't refill the tanks, you just attach a new one with its own set of thrusters. That's still quite difficult, but definitely technically feasible. Whether it's economically feasible is another story, which is presumably what this project is meant to determine.
If it turns out to be practical, then I expect that future satellites will be designed to allow for proper servicing.
The Griffith Observatory in LA has one of the few remaining Tesla-built Tesla coils, and they do a demonstration like that. They used to pass out fluorescent bulbs, but with the proliferation of personal electronics and (more importantly) implanted medical devices they've had to put it in a Faraday cage. They still have both fluorescent and neon lights in the cage so you can see how it works, though.
They do indeed have systems like that, if you're interested it's worth looking into how they dealt with the Sol 18 Anomaly on Spirit. Of particular note is the "Shutdown Dammit" command that they used to override everything else the rover was doing so it would stop wasting battery overnight.
Seeing as they were able to update the software on a device that wouldn't even finish booting, I imagine the procedures for doing it on a functioning device are pretty robust, even if they're still nailbiting.
It did work during the Vista fail. It didn't push (many) people toward Linux, but the loss of confidence in MS is an important contributing factor to Apple's increasing market share. I fully expect the rate of Mac adoption to increase after October.
MS has never given Linux a pass, but Android already opened the floodgates for lawsuits. Everyone knows that MS will fight this tooth and nail, which makes it all the more commendable.
I'm not sure I want to defend GP, since he had gotten into the "idealogues and zealots" argument, but it's worth clarifying how repos work.
A distro comes with its own repos preinstalled, but you are in no way restricted to just using those. Adding additional ones is trivial, effectively the same as installing something on Windows - you have to download and double click a package, and it requires an admin's password - and from that point on it is seamlessly integrated into the system updater. Google does it that way for Chrome, and I see no reason Valve wouldn't for Steam.
GP may have been ranting, but his only claim was that they wouldn't preinstall Steam's repo (something I think is unlikely, given that Skype is often now included), not that it would be difficult to get.
That only works if you're making a high number of bets, so that you gain by having the winners pay for the losers.
In this case, we're talking about someone making a single bet, so they need to have a higher confidence that it will pay out. Not guaranteed, certainly, but he it's safe to assume that he thinks it's >50%, and probably >75%.
Skyrim or Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Portal 1/2? Not a chance. Note I'm also not referring to any extra 3rd-party DRM, just the base Steam DRM.
As far as I could figure out, those games are using Steamworks. Which is a DRM system delivered by Steam and Valve, but which is optional for the developers/publishers. So we're back at their mercy.
Do you know if Valve's first party titles use Steamworks? I won't blame Valve for offering a consistent DRM to publishers, and letting the publishers shoot themselves in the foot. It's another thing if they do it themselves.
Obviously it's impractical and completely unnecessary for me to have each and every one of them installed. I only have about 20 installed at the moment. If something were to happen that prevented me from logging in to my Steam account, I have no access to those other 50 games; games that I legitimately purchased.
Inconvenient perhaps, but since I don't trust Valve to be around for as long I want to play my games, I figure it is quite necessary to make my own backups.
Thank you, that was very helpful. It'll still probably worth worth spending 10 bucks on something so I can see how it works for myself, but you've given me a better idea of what to be looking for.
Not that the Soviets didn't do any modelling and testing, but your analysis of their method overall isn't wrong - except that they never accomplished anything like the Saturn V. Even a modern Proton-M is only about 1/6 as powerful. Their N1, which was Saturn V class, blew up all 4 times they tested it and then they ran out of money. The method works with small things that you can afford to build a bunch of times, but with big expensive things it starts to be cheaper to just do the testing.
My understanding of Steam, which since I'm a Linux user comes from posts from earlier threads (e.g.), is that you don't have to launch Steam to play the games (though that's the easy way), and there's nothing stopping a game from having lan play. In fact, Valve's games usually include both lan play and the ability to host your own servers. So, yes, they can revoke your account and block you from their servers and stop you from buying new games, but they can never stop you from playing the ones you own. I also understand that you can transfer your license to someone else's account (I've seen people give away games when they ended up with multiple copies), so it doesn't even shit on first sale.
Like I said, I may be wrong, but I'm willing to find out.
GP was responding to a particularly stupid point by an AC, and just used the AC's example for rhetorical efficacy. Now, if you want to tell the original troll that he was being narrow minded, be my guest.
Have you ever heard of a 24x7 restaurant that isn't a fastfood chain?
Sure. I don't think most of those types of places are dependent on the type of setup described by the OP, though. Actually, given the description of the problem I suspect he's made it for himself by having a setup that's more complicated than required.
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I don't think millions of people around the world lose their fingernails every day doing things like this.
To retrofit a bird you have to switch out modules/circuit boards, replace solar arrays, refuel ACS tanks, etc., etc., etc.
Generally you wouldn't have to do all of those things, just the ones that have failed. For many birds, that just means they're out of fuel, and that's the easiest thing to retrofit: you don't refill the tanks, you just attach a new one with its own set of thrusters. That's still quite difficult, but definitely technically feasible. Whether it's economically feasible is another story, which is presumably what this project is meant to determine.
If it turns out to be practical, then I expect that future satellites will be designed to allow for proper servicing.
Altius is even involved in the project in TFA. Jon hasn't been able to say much about it, unfortunately, but it does seem like a promising lead.
The Griffith Observatory in LA has one of the few remaining Tesla-built Tesla coils, and they do a demonstration like that. They used to pass out fluorescent bulbs, but with the proliferation of personal electronics and (more importantly) implanted medical devices they've had to put it in a Faraday cage. They still have both fluorescent and neon lights in the cage so you can see how it works, though.
Their promotional video includes pictures of the interior. There's a lot of work that needs to be done.
They do indeed have systems like that, if you're interested it's worth looking into how they dealt with the Sol 18 Anomaly on Spirit. Of particular note is the "Shutdown Dammit" command that they used to override everything else the rover was doing so it would stop wasting battery overnight.
Seeing as they were able to update the software on a device that wouldn't even finish booting, I imagine the procedures for doing it on a functioning device are pretty robust, even if they're still nailbiting.
It did work during the Vista fail. It didn't push (many) people toward Linux, but the loss of confidence in MS is an important contributing factor to Apple's increasing market share. I fully expect the rate of Mac adoption to increase after October.
True, but CC0 gets you close enough that calling it public domain is accurate enough for most conversations.
MS has never given Linux a pass, but Android already opened the floodgates for lawsuits. Everyone knows that MS will fight this tooth and nail, which makes it all the more commendable.
I'm not sure I want to defend GP, since he had gotten into the "idealogues and zealots" argument, but it's worth clarifying how repos work.
A distro comes with its own repos preinstalled, but you are in no way restricted to just using those. Adding additional ones is trivial, effectively the same as installing something on Windows - you have to download and double click a package, and it requires an admin's password - and from that point on it is seamlessly integrated into the system updater. Google does it that way for Chrome, and I see no reason Valve wouldn't for Steam.
GP may have been ranting, but his only claim was that they wouldn't preinstall Steam's repo (something I think is unlikely, given that Skype is often now included), not that it would be difficult to get.
What does that have to do with the Olympics?
That only works if you're making a high number of bets, so that you gain by having the winners pay for the losers.
In this case, we're talking about someone making a single bet, so they need to have a higher confidence that it will pay out. Not guaranteed, certainly, but he it's safe to assume that he thinks it's >50%, and probably >75%.
If not, they'll just go to ethanol, or in the worst case methane. Given enough power, it's easy to make a hydrocarbon.
Skyrim or Deus Ex: Human Revolution? Portal 1/2? Not a chance. Note I'm also not referring to any extra 3rd-party DRM, just the base Steam DRM.
As far as I could figure out, those games are using Steamworks. Which is a DRM system delivered by Steam and Valve, but which is optional for the developers/publishers. So we're back at their mercy.
Do you know if Valve's first party titles use Steamworks? I won't blame Valve for offering a consistent DRM to publishers, and letting the publishers shoot themselves in the foot. It's another thing if they do it themselves.
Obviously it's impractical and completely unnecessary for me to have each and every one of them installed. I only have about 20 installed at the moment. If something were to happen that prevented me from logging in to my Steam account, I have no access to those other 50 games; games that I legitimately purchased.
Inconvenient perhaps, but since I don't trust Valve to be around for as long I want to play my games, I figure it is quite necessary to make my own backups.
Thank you, that was very helpful. It'll still probably worth worth spending 10 bucks on something so I can see how it works for myself, but you've given me a better idea of what to be looking for.
Not that the Soviets didn't do any modelling and testing, but your analysis of their method overall isn't wrong - except that they never accomplished anything like the Saturn V. Even a modern Proton-M is only about 1/6 as powerful. Their N1, which was Saturn V class, blew up all 4 times they tested it and then they ran out of money. The method works with small things that you can afford to build a bunch of times, but with big expensive things it starts to be cheaper to just do the testing.
My understanding of Steam, which since I'm a Linux user comes from posts from earlier threads (e.g.), is that you don't have to launch Steam to play the games (though that's the easy way), and there's nothing stopping a game from having lan play. In fact, Valve's games usually include both lan play and the ability to host your own servers. So, yes, they can revoke your account and block you from their servers and stop you from buying new games, but they can never stop you from playing the ones you own. I also understand that you can transfer your license to someone else's account (I've seen people give away games when they ended up with multiple copies), so it doesn't even shit on first sale.
Like I said, I may be wrong, but I'm willing to find out.
GP was responding to a particularly stupid point by an AC, and just used the AC's example for rhetorical efficacy. Now, if you want to tell the original troll that he was being narrow minded, be my guest.
Ask not what Amazon can do to you, ask what you can do for Amazon . . . ?
And Taco Bell.
You really did have to be there, but here you go:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCU1U8n7ZCg
> How is this a problem? If the device detects explosives then
> you are taken to a secondary more "personal" search.
How is that not a problem?
How is it not an improvement?
We'd be fools to reject progress even while still fighting to have the problem corrected entirely.
Even with the trouble I have reading shorthand, I think steganography might be a better choice here.
Heck, I work for a bank and our branches still use dial up to process CCs
Have you ever heard of a 24x7 restaurant that isn't a fastfood chain?
Sure. I don't think most of those types of places are dependent on the type of setup described by the OP, though. Actually, given the description of the problem I suspect he's made it for himself by having a setup that's more complicated than required.