There are many devices out there that use 2 1.5V cells. I found that a single Li-Ion cell in series with a diode works great as a replacement (the diode drops the voltage by 0.7, giving just about 3V).
The other advantages of the Li-Ion cells for me are: - cheap; I scavenge them from Li-Ion laptop battery packs. - long-lasting; they hold a lot of charge - quick to charge - no self-discharge; this is one of the more annoying properties of NiMH. I cannot afford a bank of trickle chargers to keep a dozen NiMH batteries ready.
One disadvantage is the DIY "look" of the device with a rigged battery pack. I wonder what the airport security people would say to a duct-taped handheld GPS with a red and black wire running along it.;)
Another trick some people do is to use old/broken cell phones as complete battery+charger solutions. Rip out everything but the battery and the minimum required contact pins, rig a way to power some desired device like GPS or camera, and the charger is free.
If I buy a Ford, and the Firestone tire fails under warranty, you better believe I will be going back to the Ford dealership to take care of the problem, and not Firestone.
You have a serial port? What luxury! In my country we learned if we keep our heads real close to the motherboard and think really hard, we can modulate appropriate electrical signal changes on the memory bus and thus fake the inputs.
It's not that simple. Do you have an add-on Ethernet card in your PC? Aren't you afraid the built-in one will quit on you? How about a PCMCIA wireless card for your laptop?
Good points. Now that we're doing car analogies again, note that most cars won't start unless the shift selector is in Park, or won't let the user move the selector out of Park unless the brake pedal is depressed. Sounds like the Fox author is a weenie.
I don't even agree that software sucks, I'm perfectly happy with most of it. In fact, what am I even doing here reading this?
The problem is that all these policing measures in the name of anti-terrorism won't really do much to stop terrorist attacks, while they keep eroding the freedoms that make this country great. The country in the time of the founding fathers faced far greater threats than a bunch of these fundie twits.
Microsoft throwing away backwards compatibility? Tell me it's not true. I can see how people would be more likely to switch to OpenOffice just because the interface is more familiar. I wonder if MS will eventually backpedal and publish a classic-interface patch.
You're thinking about "Surely You Are Joking, Mr. Feynman," and not only was he frequently smoking pot, he was dead set against LSD or other hallucinogens. Basically he was afraid of LSD's potential for brain damage.
The lawful good attitude is fine, but what bugs me is the irrationality of the laws. Now that we're discussing nuclear technology, your policy would have Richard Feynman fired-- and then perhaps lead him to *really* commit treason and go do research in a country without these silly puritanical hangups. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
It brings up an interesting point... if it's anything like the oldschool ship engines, this one will need to use a different fuel to start up because it can't burn the heavy oil when it's cold. This is why when big ships set out to sea, at some point you see a huge cloud of black smoke come out when they switch to heavy oil.
They might have compared talking on such phones, but I doubt the phone which requires manual input is not more distracting than the one that doesn't require taking eyes off the road.
I don't know, it seems that mouse + mousepad + wire is more annoying than mouse + wire. There is also the additional need to keep the mouse on the mousepad, so if I need to make room for a coffee mug I need to move everything.
Slashdot Mirror
A couple of No-Doz pills chased with a nice cold glass of Manhattan Special.
Please don't move until I sequentially activate a few hundred thousand micromirrors!
'nuff said.
There are many devices out there that use 2 1.5V cells. I found that a single Li-Ion cell in series with a diode works great as a replacement (the diode drops the voltage by 0.7, giving just about 3V).
;)
The other advantages of the Li-Ion cells for me are:
- cheap; I scavenge them from Li-Ion laptop battery packs.
- long-lasting; they hold a lot of charge
- quick to charge
- no self-discharge; this is one of the more annoying properties of NiMH. I cannot afford a bank of trickle chargers to keep a dozen NiMH batteries ready.
One disadvantage is the DIY "look" of the device with a rigged battery pack. I wonder what the airport security people would say to a duct-taped handheld GPS with a red and black wire running along it.
Another trick some people do is to use old/broken cell phones as complete battery+charger solutions. Rip out everything but the battery and the minimum required contact pins, rig a way to power some desired device like GPS or camera, and the charger is free.
Jobs is a robot!
If I buy a Ford, and the Firestone tire fails under warranty, you better believe I will be going back to the Ford dealership to take care of the problem, and not Firestone.
I thought their operation was legal under Swedish law, the recent police raid notwithstanding. How come the sudden change of heart?
Good point. In fact, even the most introverted slashdot readers sleep with millions of women at the same time every day!
On Mars, you already have Mars as the desktop background. On Earth, we don't have that luxury and hence the need for a GUI.
You have a serial port? What luxury! In my country we learned if we keep our heads real close to the motherboard and think really hard, we can modulate appropriate electrical signal changes on the memory bus and thus fake the inputs.
Wii always wiiiins!
*rimshot*
It's not that simple. Do you have an add-on Ethernet card in your PC? Aren't you afraid the built-in one will quit on you? How about a PCMCIA wireless card for your laptop?
Well, when some bozo blows up a building and leaves fingerprints, they'll be able to find out his passport #! Yay!
I said "most cars" exactly because I have foreseen your reply ;)
Good points. Now that we're doing car analogies again, note that most cars won't start unless the shift selector is in Park, or won't let the user move the selector out of Park unless the brake pedal is depressed. Sounds like the Fox author is a weenie.
/backtowork
I don't even agree that software sucks, I'm perfectly happy with most of it. In fact, what am I even doing here reading this?
...undisturbed 802.11a networking!
The problem is that all these policing measures in the name of anti-terrorism won't really do much to stop terrorist attacks, while they keep eroding the freedoms that make this country great. The country in the time of the founding fathers faced far greater threats than a bunch of these fundie twits.
Microsoft throwing away backwards compatibility? Tell me it's not true. I can see how people would be more likely to switch to OpenOffice just because the interface is more familiar. I wonder if MS will eventually backpedal and publish a classic-interface patch.
Interesting post, thanks! My account of the fuel switching is mainly from living nearby a Eastern European harbor.
You're thinking about "Surely You Are Joking, Mr. Feynman," and not only was he frequently smoking pot, he was dead set against LSD or other hallucinogens. Basically he was afraid of LSD's potential for brain damage.
The lawful good attitude is fine, but what bugs me is the irrationality of the laws. Now that we're discussing nuclear technology, your policy would have Richard Feynman fired-- and then perhaps lead him to *really* commit treason and go do research in a country without these silly puritanical hangups. Oh well, nothing is perfect.
*whoooosh*
Btw, the F-250 seems to get about 0.11 hp/kg, while the wartsila gets about 0.04 hp/kg just for the engine (not counting the ship).
I guess that really tells you something about the efficiency of long distance travel.
It brings up an interesting point... if it's anything like the oldschool ship engines, this one will need to use a different fuel to start up because it can't burn the heavy oil when it's cold. This is why when big ships set out to sea, at some point you see a huge cloud of black smoke come out when they switch to heavy oil.
This engine is about twice the power of the (also two stroke) engines found on rail locomotives.
Are you sure? Locomotives have in the ballpark of 6.000 hp, while this engine has around 100,000 hp.
Also, look at the photo of the finished engine in the article. That thing is enormous!
They might have compared talking on such phones, but I doubt the phone which requires manual input is not more distracting than the one that doesn't require taking eyes off the road.
I don't know, it seems that mouse + mousepad + wire is more annoying than mouse + wire. There is also the additional need to keep the mouse on the mousepad, so if I need to make room for a coffee mug I need to move everything.