In fact, Toshiba have a li-ion which charges in minutes and has negligible degradation even after thousands of charges. At around 300 miles per charge and thousands of charges we have vehicles which will travel half a million miles, a million miles before the batteries are an issue. The *batteries* are no longer the problem.
That would be great except the batteries you talk about are exorbitantly expensive to manufacture on the type of scale and size needed for an automobile the size of a Honda Civic.
Actually, an even better method is to impose excise taxes on engine displacement and/or physical vehicle size like they do in Europe and Japan. That right there will quickly encourage auto manufacturers to come up with more efficient vehicles; indeed, if you look at the Honda Fit/Jazz and Civic models the shape and engine displacement of both models are determined by Japanese and European excise tax laws.
Japan always had a lot of fuel efficient cars, thanks to the so-called Kei-class vehicles that limit engine size to 0.65 liters (it used to be 0.55 liters). Indeed, the original Japanese version of the Toyota Prius used a 0.65-liter I-4 engine, and it was only when the Prius was exported to the USA that they switched to a 1.5-liter I-4 engine and a larger battery pack.
I remember reading some research done by Audi in the late 1970's that showed it's actually more fuel efficient to run the air conditioner than to open the window of your car if you drive faster than 70 km/h (43.5 mph). That's because open windows on a car cause considerable aerodynamic drag at high speeds, which can severely cut into fuel efficiency. Besides, today's automotive air conditioners are far more efficient in design, so they impose far less a drag on the engine than in the past.
Actually, Japan has to confront the issue of sea levels all the time due to the fact the country sits on one of world's most geologically active areas with both earthquake and volcano dangers, which puts much of Japan's coastline at risk. Also, Japan built up quite a lot of housing on landfill out to sea, and given the unstable geology of the country, it's small wonder why sea levels are closely monitored in that country.
After all, Japan always had to import 100% of their petroleum needs, hence the reason why they've always emphasized high energy efficiency. That's why Japan has such excellent public transportation and why Toyota embarked on that research project in the early 1990's that resulted in the groundbreaking Prius hybrid drivetrain vehicle.
Also, because of Japan's very high population density and its huge demands on water, it's also the country where much of today's water-efficient plumbing originated. After all, it was the Japanese plumbing fixture company TOTO that helped originate the concept of not only low-flush toilets, but also toilets where you can choose the amount of water to use per flush for even higher water efficiency.
I think Apple's arrogance in not allowing end users to change the rechargeable battery will hurt them in the long run.
After all, virtually all digital still cameras use rechargeable batteries that can be replaced by the end user; why can't Apple go this route on future iPod models?
One big LCD plus: power consumption.
on
Are CRTs History?
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· Score: 1
I think while LCD's aren't perfect yet (though they're getting close if you're willing to pay the price for higher-end models), one big advantage of LCD's over CRT's is the fact that power consumption of an LCD is small fraction of that of a CRT monitor. That adds up quickly in power savings if you have an office with a lot of computer workstations.
I think using cellphones for Internet access is not exactly a great idea, given the relatively low data transfer rates (150 kbps download speeds max) and latency issues.
The ultimate solution will come with the rollout of WiMax 802.16/802.20 long-range wireless networking in 2006. Unlike WiFi 802.11 variants, WiMax can handle thousands of users per antenna array up to line of sight, which means installing a relatively small number of WiMax antenna arrays to cover a whole metropolitan area. It also means that broadband access is now available in many rural areas not within reach of cable or xDSL lines.
Actually, what I really want are smaller system cases that take advantage of the mini-ATX form factor motherboards (let alone BTX!). Of course, the XPC form factor pioneered by Shuttle Computer is nice, but the problem is you can't easily upgrade the motherboard....
I can't wait till NASA launches the Terrestrial Planet Finder system to look for Earth-sized planets circling around nearby stars. If TPF does find these planets--and discovers that the atmosphere of discovered planet has a strong oxygen/ozone/water vapor presence--then the chances of life existing on that planet will be very high indeed.
Right now, the big mission that will determine if there is life on other planets is the Mars Science Laboratory lander/rover that will arrive at that planet early in 2010. Equipped with very sophisticated instrumentation to find lifeforms on Mars, if MSL determines that life exist on Mars now, then the chances for life existing on Earth-sized (or somewhere close in size) planets orbiting other stars increase dramatically.
I've been using Maxthon since early this year, so I do have good experiences with that program. The best part about turning on AD Hunter is that web pages frequently load a lot faster because you don't download those advertisements!:-)
As a user of Maxthon 1.2.5, I won't be missing Internet Explorer 7.0 when that upgrade occurs. Not only does Maxthon offer tabbed browsing, but it has the very powerful AD Hunter function that allows you to block most online ads, which drastically reduces the chances of loading adware/spyware!:-)
Indeed, with Maxthon, you essentially have most of the functionality of Firefox anyways.
I think one of the best things happening recently is that the competition between nVidia, ATI and Intel has resulted in vastly-improved on-board video on the motherboard, something really needed for today's more multimedia-oriented environments.
Sure, you can get extremely high performance from an AGP 8x or PCI-E graphics card, but how many people out there really need such hardware, especially since most of their computing needs are for business programs, surfing the Internet and light graphics work?
Now, if we can just get VIA to improve their on-board video....
When that day comes, and they're distributed among all of the bars, restaurants, coffee shops and libraries in a a given area, no one will worry about the one or two Wi-Fi moochers in their establishment at a given moment.
However, it won't be WiFi (802.11x variants) that will make wireless Internet access available pretty much everywhere. It will take WiMax (802.16/802.20) for the ability to access the Internet wirelessly on a truly large metropolitan scale.
But then, it raises new issues: imagine being able to access broadband Internet at every food eating establishment through WiMax--you're going to have big trouble trying to kick people out of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and so on because they're hogging seating in eating establishment accessing the Internet through a laptop.
If you find the right store, you could get a Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard and a Logitech MX500 mouse pointer (one I use and really like!) for under US$50. (In my case, thank you, eBay!:-) ).
I don't see the point of wireless keyboards and mouse pointers under the system box is far away from where you put your monitor, keyboard and mouse pointer.
Please Mr. Lucas, let the universe go. Spend the remainder of you professional life as an executive producer who lets others write and direct, whilst you approve and fund.
If you remember my posts from the last Star Wars message thread, I suggested that Gendy Tartakovsky (the creator of the wonderful Clone Wars animated series for Cartoon Network) be given free reign to do Episodes VII-IX as animated features. Pair Tartakovsky with writers experienced in doing animated features, provide a big budget for high-quality 2-D animation, and have Lucas himself be Executive Producer/script consultant; the potential is there for an awesome series of movies.:-)
What you've said was true in the past, but today's better conventional mouse designs from Microsoft and Logitech has pretty much eliminated most of the advantages of trackballs.
I myself use a Logitech MX500 mouse pointer, one that fits your right hand very comfortably and has very accurate and fast mouse pointer movements. It's pretty easy to adjust the mouse pointer software so you don't need a huge amount of desk space for the mouse pointer to work normally.
Fortunately, MacOS 8.6 and later support multibutton/scroll wheel mouse pointers through the USB port connection. Is it small wonder why the online Apple Store sells the Logitech MX500?
I'd still like to know why Apple still thinks a one-button mouse is a good idea, especially since modern Macs support multi-button/scroll wheel mouse pointers out of the box.
Re:Been using a MX510 since it came out
on
Top Mice Compared
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· Score: 1
As a user of a MX500, I do agree that the MX5xx series of mouse pointers are excellent units. Sturdily built and with up to five buttons that can be re-assigned in terms of functionality, they are probably one of the most popular Logitech "wired" mouse pointers.
By the way, unless you play certain high-end games, the MX500 is more than sufficient for most users.
I like to use "wired" pointers because you avoid the problem have making sure you have sufficient battery power on the wireless mouse and also avoid RF interference problems that that sometimes plague wireless mouse functionality.
Re:Ugh... "smooth" scrolling mousewheels suck
on
Top Mice Compared
·
· Score: 1
The ability to get tactile feedback on the scroll wheel is why I like my Logitech MX500 mouse.:-)
The MX500 has a "hefty" feel compared to the smaller Wheel Mouse Optical, but you can't beat the ability to re-assign up to five extra buttons for special functionality. Besides, very few people need the higher DPI resolution of the MX510 and MX518 models, so the MX500 is an excellent choice. Indeed, you can even get the MX500 at the online Apple Store, which means the MX500 has fans even on the Macintosh side, too.
This metal covering is also dangerous!
on
Tinfoil Hat House
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· Score: 1
I think folks forget that the last rainy season we had two very strong storms complete with tornadoes (!) go through the South Natomas area of Sacramento. That house covered in all that metal "shielding" would be an extremely dangerous hazard in such a storm, since the metal pieces will be picked up by the strong winds and become a very serious projectile hazard.
No, this is not a crazy idea. The reason is simple: the Clone Wars TV series Genndy Tartakovsky did for Cartoon Network, which in many ways is vastly superior storytelling to the first two prequel films.
Make George Lucas Executive Producer and script consultant, pair Tartakovsky with a group of good writers experienced in doing animated features, and give it a big budget to do high-quality 2-D animation. The result could be a potentially awesome series of films. =)
We should consider Episodes VII-IX as animated films, and produce them all at the same time so the three movies come out in yearly installments.
Far-fetched and crazy? Not if you have Genndy Tartakovsky at the helm. After all, the Clone Wars animated series he did for Cartoon Network was in many ways vastly superior storytelling to The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones; if you have Tartakovsky work with a decent team of writers and with money available for high-quality 2-D animation it could be a potentially awesome movie series. =)
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In fact, Toshiba have a li-ion which charges in minutes and has negligible degradation even after thousands of charges. At around 300 miles per charge and thousands of charges we have vehicles which will travel half a million miles, a million miles before the batteries are an issue. The *batteries* are no longer the problem.
That would be great except the batteries you talk about are exorbitantly expensive to manufacture on the type of scale and size needed for an automobile the size of a Honda Civic.
Actually, an even better method is to impose excise taxes on engine displacement and/or physical vehicle size like they do in Europe and Japan. That right there will quickly encourage auto manufacturers to come up with more efficient vehicles; indeed, if you look at the Honda Fit/Jazz and Civic models the shape and engine displacement of both models are determined by Japanese and European excise tax laws.
Japan always had a lot of fuel efficient cars, thanks to the so-called Kei-class vehicles that limit engine size to 0.65 liters (it used to be 0.55 liters). Indeed, the original Japanese version of the Toyota Prius used a 0.65-liter I-4 engine, and it was only when the Prius was exported to the USA that they switched to a 1.5-liter I-4 engine and a larger battery pack.
I remember reading some research done by Audi in the late 1970's that showed it's actually more fuel efficient to run the air conditioner than to open the window of your car if you drive faster than 70 km/h (43.5 mph). That's because open windows on a car cause considerable aerodynamic drag at high speeds, which can severely cut into fuel efficiency. Besides, today's automotive air conditioners are far more efficient in design, so they impose far less a drag on the engine than in the past.
Actually, Japan has to confront the issue of sea levels all the time due to the fact the country sits on one of world's most geologically active areas with both earthquake and volcano dangers, which puts much of Japan's coastline at risk. Also, Japan built up quite a lot of housing on landfill out to sea, and given the unstable geology of the country, it's small wonder why sea levels are closely monitored in that country.
After all, Japan always had to import 100% of their petroleum needs, hence the reason why they've always emphasized high energy efficiency. That's why Japan has such excellent public transportation and why Toyota embarked on that research project in the early 1990's that resulted in the groundbreaking Prius hybrid drivetrain vehicle.
Also, because of Japan's very high population density and its huge demands on water, it's also the country where much of today's water-efficient plumbing originated. After all, it was the Japanese plumbing fixture company TOTO that helped originate the concept of not only low-flush toilets, but also toilets where you can choose the amount of water to use per flush for even higher water efficiency.
I think Apple's arrogance in not allowing end users to change the rechargeable battery will hurt them in the long run.
After all, virtually all digital still cameras use rechargeable batteries that can be replaced by the end user; why can't Apple go this route on future iPod models?
I think while LCD's aren't perfect yet (though they're getting close if you're willing to pay the price for higher-end models), one big advantage of LCD's over CRT's is the fact that power consumption of an LCD is small fraction of that of a CRT monitor. That adds up quickly in power savings if you have an office with a lot of computer workstations.
I think using cellphones for Internet access is not exactly a great idea, given the relatively low data transfer rates (150 kbps download speeds max) and latency issues.
The ultimate solution will come with the rollout of WiMax 802.16/802.20 long-range wireless networking in 2006. Unlike WiFi 802.11 variants, WiMax can handle thousands of users per antenna array up to line of sight, which means installing a relatively small number of WiMax antenna arrays to cover a whole metropolitan area. It also means that broadband access is now available in many rural areas not within reach of cable or xDSL lines.
Actually, what I really want are smaller system cases that take advantage of the mini-ATX form factor motherboards (let alone BTX!). Of course, the XPC form factor pioneered by Shuttle Computer is nice, but the problem is you can't easily upgrade the motherboard....
I can't wait till NASA launches the Terrestrial Planet Finder system to look for Earth-sized planets circling around nearby stars. If TPF does find these planets--and discovers that the atmosphere of discovered planet has a strong oxygen/ozone/water vapor presence--then the chances of life existing on that planet will be very high indeed.
Right now, the big mission that will determine if there is life on other planets is the Mars Science Laboratory lander/rover that will arrive at that planet early in 2010. Equipped with very sophisticated instrumentation to find lifeforms on Mars, if MSL determines that life exist on Mars now, then the chances for life existing on Earth-sized (or somewhere close in size) planets orbiting other stars increase dramatically.
I've been using Maxthon since early this year, so I do have good experiences with that program. The best part about turning on AD Hunter is that web pages frequently load a lot faster because you don't download those advertisements! :-)
As a user of Maxthon 1.2.5, I won't be missing Internet Explorer 7.0 when that upgrade occurs. Not only does Maxthon offer tabbed browsing, but it has the very powerful AD Hunter function that allows you to block most online ads, which drastically reduces the chances of loading adware/spyware! :-)
Indeed, with Maxthon, you essentially have most of the functionality of Firefox anyways.
I think one of the best things happening recently is that the competition between nVidia, ATI and Intel has resulted in vastly-improved on-board video on the motherboard, something really needed for today's more multimedia-oriented environments.
Sure, you can get extremely high performance from an AGP 8x or PCI-E graphics card, but how many people out there really need such hardware, especially since most of their computing needs are for business programs, surfing the Internet and light graphics work?
Now, if we can just get VIA to improve their on-board video....
When that day comes, and they're distributed among all of the bars, restaurants, coffee shops and libraries in a a given area, no one will worry about the one or two Wi-Fi moochers in their establishment at a given moment.
However, it won't be WiFi (802.11x variants) that will make wireless Internet access available pretty much everywhere. It will take WiMax (802.16/802.20) for the ability to access the Internet wirelessly on a truly large metropolitan scale.
But then, it raises new issues: imagine being able to access broadband Internet at every food eating establishment through WiMax--you're going to have big trouble trying to kick people out of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and so on because they're hogging seating in eating establishment accessing the Internet through a laptop.
If you find the right store, you could get a Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard and a Logitech MX500 mouse pointer (one I use and really like!) for under US$50. (In my case, thank you, eBay! :-) ).
I don't see the point of wireless keyboards and mouse pointers under the system box is far away from where you put your monitor, keyboard and mouse pointer.
In short, why bother.
Netscape 8.0 is major bloatware; you can do far better with the current versions of Firefox and Thunderbird.
Please Mr. Lucas, let the universe go. Spend the remainder of you professional life as an executive producer who lets others write and direct, whilst you approve and fund.
:-)
If you remember my posts from the last Star Wars message thread, I suggested that Gendy Tartakovsky (the creator of the wonderful Clone Wars animated series for Cartoon Network) be given free reign to do Episodes VII-IX as animated features. Pair Tartakovsky with writers experienced in doing animated features, provide a big budget for high-quality 2-D animation, and have Lucas himself be Executive Producer/script consultant; the potential is there for an awesome series of movies.
What you've said was true in the past, but today's better conventional mouse designs from Microsoft and Logitech has pretty much eliminated most of the advantages of trackballs.
I myself use a Logitech MX500 mouse pointer, one that fits your right hand very comfortably and has very accurate and fast mouse pointer movements. It's pretty easy to adjust the mouse pointer software so you don't need a huge amount of desk space for the mouse pointer to work normally.
Fortunately, MacOS 8.6 and later support multibutton/scroll wheel mouse pointers through the USB port connection. Is it small wonder why the online Apple Store sells the Logitech MX500?
I'd still like to know why Apple still thinks a one-button mouse is a good idea, especially since modern Macs support multi-button/scroll wheel mouse pointers out of the box.
As a user of a MX500, I do agree that the MX5xx series of mouse pointers are excellent units. Sturdily built and with up to five buttons that can be re-assigned in terms of functionality, they are probably one of the most popular Logitech "wired" mouse pointers.
By the way, unless you play certain high-end games, the MX500 is more than sufficient for most users.
I like to use "wired" pointers because you avoid the problem have making sure you have sufficient battery power on the wireless mouse and also avoid RF interference problems that that sometimes plague wireless mouse functionality.
The ability to get tactile feedback on the scroll wheel is why I like my Logitech MX500 mouse. :-)
The MX500 has a "hefty" feel compared to the smaller Wheel Mouse Optical, but you can't beat the ability to re-assign up to five extra buttons for special functionality. Besides, very few people need the higher DPI resolution of the MX510 and MX518 models, so the MX500 is an excellent choice. Indeed, you can even get the MX500 at the online Apple Store, which means the MX500 has fans even on the Macintosh side, too.
I think folks forget that the last rainy season we had two very strong storms complete with tornadoes (!) go through the South Natomas area of Sacramento. That house covered in all that metal "shielding" would be an extremely dangerous hazard in such a storm, since the metal pieces will be picked up by the strong winds and become a very serious projectile hazard.
No, this is not a crazy idea. The reason is simple: the Clone Wars TV series Genndy Tartakovsky did for Cartoon Network, which in many ways is vastly superior storytelling to the first two prequel films.
Make George Lucas Executive Producer and script consultant, pair Tartakovsky with a group of good writers experienced in doing animated features, and give it a big budget to do high-quality 2-D animation. The result could be a potentially awesome series of films. =)
We should consider Episodes VII-IX as animated films, and produce them all at the same time so the three movies come out in yearly installments.
Far-fetched and crazy? Not if you have Genndy Tartakovsky at the helm. After all, the Clone Wars animated series he did for Cartoon Network was in many ways vastly superior storytelling to The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones; if you have Tartakovsky work with a decent team of writers and with money available for high-quality 2-D animation it could be a potentially awesome movie series. =)