This looks like a fantastically expensive way to move things to places where the cost of building is astronomical. The shape of the beast looks very uneconomical, though. It's rare to see this shape of pressure vessel (outside of very small pancake air compressors). It takes a lot of force to restrain a surface from becoming a sphere or tube (which is why historic ships are built the way they are, and why nearly every airplane has a circular fuselage).
This also has the disadvantage of being dynamically unstable under horizontal wind forces. If you're hit with a wind that is not perfectly horizontal, the leading edge will start to rise/fall. That increases the angle of attack and increases the rotational force. Most airships are tethered to a ballast (cargo area) from the perimeter (or nearly so), but the artists rendering does not reflect this stabilization.
I'm sure they've considered these things, but active controls are dodgy. Sure, the military goes with dynamically unstable configurations, but they do it for specific strategic advantage, and at an astronomical cost in risk, maintenance, and training.
The antenna problem isn't really a straight forward thing, and there will always be someone who "said so" that you can find before hand. Their super-secret method of testing bit them in the butt on that one.
The glass on the back not being scratch resistant bothers me, though. I have a 4, and I've got a little scratch on the back, though I've been fairly careful with it - careful enough that it shouldn't have scratched. It doesn't matter too much, since I don't use it as a fashion accessory. My issue with the phone is that it "feels" less natural than the 3 I had. Somebody definitely dropped the ball on the functionality side to try and make it look hip, and it came at the expense of usability in several ways (issues with proximity sensor, antenna, easily scratched back glass, poor vibe switch action, no reduction in bezel size, individual volume vs rocker, comfort in hand).
I suppose you could call it quality, but its quality on the engineering and development side, not really in the actual assembly and construction.
Hah, looks like some of the stuff I worked on for an unnamed entity back in the 90s. OTS parts for low volume instruments is not unusual. I used paint gun parts for some things (easily obtained, relatively inexpensive, high pressure ratings). What I assume is a battery case looks like the back end of a MagLight. Given their durability, it's probably not a bad choice.
Tell you what, though - that thing is pretty far from stealthy. I expected a small, self contained box. Guess for the duration they need surveillance and the power requirements, you really need a big battery. Esp. since you don't want to expose an agent by making him/her find a power wire to tap.
I say this after being on both sides of the table. Most people out there are bordering on a waste of oxygen - taking valuable time from the useful ones to solve inane problems. About 10% of workers are truly talented, and can solve problems independently - those are the guys you want. The next 10-15% are good - not really independent problem solvers, but reliable and honest, and would prefer a productive work day to being bored 'cause there isn't enough to keep them busy. Everybody else is just killing time for their meal ticket. An, honestly, I was a combination of the first and last groups for a lot of years. I sure as hell wouldn't have given my former self a raise of any significance. In the past three years I've been asked by several people to join their staff or lead a new department - but I've also got 8 years of running a very successful firm (~30-40% growth every year for 7 years, we'll probably drop back to about 20-25% year with the recession).
If you're not getting a raise, one of three things is happening:
1) the company really is on hard times - they're keeping you, perhaps at a loss, because you're valuable. 2) you're boss is not giving you credit for what you do, or nobody with decision authority sees your brilliance and work ethic. 3) you're in the 75-80% of people who really aren't that good.
If you're in the rare #2 slot (I'm going to put that at less than 1%; good odds are that you're really a #3), I feel for you, and you definitely need to find another job. If you're #1, you have to decide if it's worth bailing on the company who is keeping you employed. If you're #3, good luck. You'll always be disappointed.
At least on the personal level, it seems that Negroponte is on the third iteration of this scheme, without actually having to produce much in the way of actual mass manufactured goods. Proof the P T Barnum was right.
Handset customization and nickel/dime charges is exactly why Verizon doesn't have the iPhone already. Apple and Verizon have already played chicken on this issue once, and Verizon lost. Steve Jobs knows what he wants and what works. He won't let an outside vendor screw with his product. If anything, Apple is in a stronger position today that it was 4 years ago because the iPhone has been such a success. Sure, Verizon offers an added customer base, but the hallmark of Apple is that there stuff works the same everywhere. Jobs won't allow a fractured user experience.
Actually, the original contract is established fact. Speculation is that Apple has re-negotiated the contract so that they can add (or switch to) other carriers. Unless the disclosure included a provision forbidding Apple from making public notice of the change, it would be in apple's corporate interest to announce the availability on new carriers. Why? to prevent people from buying current smartphone stock and save their money (and subsidies) for the new iPhone.
It's very unlikely that a renegotiation has occured, as I'm sure there were lots of negotiations at the start. Everyone presumes that Apple has gotten the raw end of the deal, and if that's the case I would bet a dollar that AT&T is not interested in letting Apple back out.
Well, the 9 isn't out, and may not be out for another 3 months. I can't stand cords, so I'll have to wait to get this uber-cool mouse. I do CAD work, and it would be nice to have the precision-aiming function for picking on models in tight quarters without having to zoom in/out.
This is one of those rare "cool" features of Facebook. Aside from the typical long-lost friend you reconnect with, there are dozens of people I was friends with in secondary school but were not close enough to overcome large distances. These are the people you liked, but if you went out to have a beer at a bar with them today, you probably wouldn't get tot he bottom of the first glass before you ran out of stuff to talk about. With FB, you can catch up, see their kids, and find out what's up with them in manageable, unawkward snippets. It has other benefits, like getting you the inside scoop if you're traveling; often you have an acquaintance in the area you're going to, but - again - you don't want to go through that goofy "how's your life" telephone conversation. And it's kind of neat to see what these people are doing without making a "reunion" event out of it.
As for the random assignment - your shared experiences is what bonds you to others. The time you spent together _is_ the basis of that friendship, even if the meeting was not planned.
Yeah, but that will lead to teenagers asking for balloons at their birthday parties. Oh, yeah - and a couple of matches.
Most states don't firecrackers, which don't have more than 50mg of flash powder. Hydrogen balloons - even small ones - make a much nicer bang; I don't see it happening until they figure out how to make H2 non-combustible.
My "Family plan" is $60 ($50 basic + $10 extra phone) for 550 minutes; my data plan is 200MB for $15 (or 2GB for $25). Thing is, I have to pay $40-50 just to connect to the network - I've never seen a data only plan *for a phone* with more than 100-200MB/month, and they're usually about $60. It seems that its not the cost of data, but the cost of being always on the network (fixed costs).
Still, it's nice to have options. I recently was on a golf outing at a remote hotel - they had WiFi, but no cell coverage. Thanks to Skype, I didn't have to pay the phone rates on the landlines there.
Have you seen how often Facebook crashes/has problems? you have to constantly reload the thing to get anything done. Thank goodness Google Calendar doesn't have that problem or I'd probably have a thousand hits a day to my calendar page alone.
Also, FB pages tend to be pretty content-sparse. It's not uncommon for me to hit a dozen pages in 2-3 minutes if I check facebook.
Yes, their either expensive and configurable (full PC), or are cheap and have an interface which non-geeks can't just use. It's why I like apple and tivo - it requires no set up or maintenance by me, the rest of the family can figure it out without my help, and if something goes wrong, it's clearly not my fault. Apple TV will probably by worth every fucking penny Steve asks for it.
Yes, but if you steal (actually STEAL) 1 candy bar or 100 candy bars, the crime is the same, and treated as a single crime of the same magnitude. You might get a fine, or a very short jail sentence (let's call it "up to" 30 days). If you stole 100 candy bars, you would still be subject to only a maximum 30 day sentence - not 100 - 30 day sentences. That would be ridiculous.
I find that diesel fuel in the mid-Atlantic US tracks well with the price of crude oil, with a slight lag, but that the gasoline tends to track the refinery capacity. If a major refinery is taken off line due to damage or maintenance, gasoline prices rise relative to diesel. During periods of exceptionally low demand, gasoline prices fall relative to diesel.
Now, I suspect that some of the supply/demand pressure on gasoline is not seen in the diesel fuel market due to a more constant usage of diesel for goods transportation. I haven't looked to see if diesel in the October/November timeframe shifts due to the increased in goods transported for the holidays. Then again, I don't own a diesel, so it doesn't really affect me that much.
I'm convinced that D-link has been making wireless gear for this for years. I frequently find that this may be the only use for their wireless equipment.
Jobs is perfectly happy playing to the 80% of the population that doesn't give a rat's ass about what goes on behind the screen - and quite frankly doesn't want to. Google is trying to woo 100% by adding that last 20% in, but that takes a lot more effort and brains to do it well.
But can the linux user do it for less than $2000 (the high end of a small accounting software package) and support it and all bug fixes and patches for less than $500/yr (the high end of a maintenance contract)? Can you update the tax rates and schedules in all fifty states for $200 every single year?
Remember, the opportunity cost to a company is about $75-$100/hr on a typical employee. At this scale, writing custom apps is not cost effective.
It was one of the early charging designs, though the inductive coupler on the source side was a paddle that slid into a slot in the side of the car. It was an effort to get a high current, exposed electrode out of the way of human contact.
As for getting a pad for charging, the key is getting the coils close enough for efficient transfer. Others here have referenced an inverse-cubed law for RF power transmission. So for a car, you're talking a lot of energy, and you want minimal losses. Even at 15cm (to the bottom of a charging pad on a low clearance car) you'd be throwing away 15% of the energy to losses.
It's good idea, though. Excuse me, I think that's my patent attorney calling me back...
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This looks like a fantastically expensive way to move things to places where the cost of building is astronomical. The shape of the beast looks very uneconomical, though. It's rare to see this shape of pressure vessel (outside of very small pancake air compressors). It takes a lot of force to restrain a surface from becoming a sphere or tube (which is why historic ships are built the way they are, and why nearly every airplane has a circular fuselage).
This also has the disadvantage of being dynamically unstable under horizontal wind forces. If you're hit with a wind that is not perfectly horizontal, the leading edge will start to rise/fall. That increases the angle of attack and increases the rotational force. Most airships are tethered to a ballast (cargo area) from the perimeter (or nearly so), but the artists rendering does not reflect this stabilization.
I'm sure they've considered these things, but active controls are dodgy. Sure, the military goes with dynamically unstable configurations, but they do it for specific strategic advantage, and at an astronomical cost in risk, maintenance, and training.
The antenna problem isn't really a straight forward thing, and there will always be someone who "said so" that you can find before hand. Their super-secret method of testing bit them in the butt on that one.
The glass on the back not being scratch resistant bothers me, though. I have a 4, and I've got a little scratch on the back, though I've been fairly careful with it - careful enough that it shouldn't have scratched. It doesn't matter too much, since I don't use it as a fashion accessory. My issue with the phone is that it "feels" less natural than the 3 I had. Somebody definitely dropped the ball on the functionality side to try and make it look hip, and it came at the expense of usability in several ways (issues with proximity sensor, antenna, easily scratched back glass, poor vibe switch action, no reduction in bezel size, individual volume vs rocker, comfort in hand).
I suppose you could call it quality, but its quality on the engineering and development side, not really in the actual assembly and construction.
Hah, looks like some of the stuff I worked on for an unnamed entity back in the 90s. OTS parts for low volume instruments is not unusual. I used paint gun parts for some things (easily obtained, relatively inexpensive, high pressure ratings). What I assume is a battery case looks like the back end of a MagLight. Given their durability, it's probably not a bad choice.
Tell you what, though - that thing is pretty far from stealthy. I expected a small, self contained box. Guess for the duration they need surveillance and the power requirements, you really need a big battery. Esp. since you don't want to expose an agent by making him/her find a power wire to tap.
I say this after being on both sides of the table. Most people out there are bordering on a waste of oxygen - taking valuable time from the useful ones to solve inane problems. About 10% of workers are truly talented, and can solve problems independently - those are the guys you want. The next 10-15% are good - not really independent problem solvers, but reliable and honest, and would prefer a productive work day to being bored 'cause there isn't enough to keep them busy. Everybody else is just killing time for their meal ticket. An, honestly, I was a combination of the first and last groups for a lot of years. I sure as hell wouldn't have given my former self a raise of any significance. In the past three years I've been asked by several people to join their staff or lead a new department - but I've also got 8 years of running a very successful firm (~30-40% growth every year for 7 years, we'll probably drop back to about 20-25% year with the recession).
If you're not getting a raise, one of three things is happening:
1) the company really is on hard times - they're keeping you, perhaps at a loss, because you're valuable.
2) you're boss is not giving you credit for what you do, or nobody with decision authority sees your brilliance and work ethic.
3) you're in the 75-80% of people who really aren't that good.
If you're in the rare #2 slot (I'm going to put that at less than 1%; good odds are that you're really a #3), I feel for you, and you definitely need to find another job. If you're #1, you have to decide if it's worth bailing on the company who is keeping you employed. If you're #3, good luck. You'll always be disappointed.
1. Announce OLPC for low price
2. Obtain funding/donations
3. ????
4. Profit!
At least on the personal level, it seems that Negroponte is on the third iteration of this scheme, without actually having to produce much in the way of actual mass manufactured goods. Proof the P T Barnum was right.
Handset customization and nickel/dime charges is exactly why Verizon doesn't have the iPhone already. Apple and Verizon have already played chicken on this issue once, and Verizon lost. Steve Jobs knows what he wants and what works. He won't let an outside vendor screw with his product. If anything, Apple is in a stronger position today that it was 4 years ago because the iPhone has been such a success. Sure, Verizon offers an added customer base, but the hallmark of Apple is that there stuff works the same everywhere. Jobs won't allow a fractured user experience.
Actually, the original contract is established fact. Speculation is that Apple has re-negotiated the contract so that they can add (or switch to) other carriers. Unless the disclosure included a provision forbidding Apple from making public notice of the change, it would be in apple's corporate interest to announce the availability on new carriers. Why? to prevent people from buying current smartphone stock and save their money (and subsidies) for the new iPhone.
It's very unlikely that a renegotiation has occured, as I'm sure there were lots of negotiations at the start. Everyone presumes that Apple has gotten the raw end of the deal, and if that's the case I would bet a dollar that AT&T is not interested in letting Apple back out.
Well, the 9 isn't out, and may not be out for another 3 months. I can't stand cords, so I'll have to wait to get this uber-cool mouse. I do CAD work, and it would be nice to have the precision-aiming function for picking on models in tight quarters without having to zoom in/out.
This is one of those rare "cool" features of Facebook. Aside from the typical long-lost friend you reconnect with, there are dozens of people I was friends with in secondary school but were not close enough to overcome large distances. These are the people you liked, but if you went out to have a beer at a bar with them today, you probably wouldn't get tot he bottom of the first glass before you ran out of stuff to talk about. With FB, you can catch up, see their kids, and find out what's up with them in manageable, unawkward snippets. It has other benefits, like getting you the inside scoop if you're traveling; often you have an acquaintance in the area you're going to, but - again - you don't want to go through that goofy "how's your life" telephone conversation. And it's kind of neat to see what these people are doing without making a "reunion" event out of it.
As for the random assignment - your shared experiences is what bonds you to others. The time you spent together _is_ the basis of that friendship, even if the meeting was not planned.
Yeah, but that will lead to teenagers asking for balloons at their birthday parties. Oh, yeah - and a couple of matches.
Most states don't firecrackers, which don't have more than 50mg of flash powder. Hydrogen balloons - even small ones - make a much nicer bang; I don't see it happening until they figure out how to make H2 non-combustible.
Just convince some corporation that it has unobtainium.
Guess it's pretty carrier dependent.
My "Family plan" is $60 ($50 basic + $10 extra phone) for 550 minutes; my data plan is 200MB for $15 (or 2GB for $25). Thing is, I have to pay $40-50 just to connect to the network - I've never seen a data only plan *for a phone* with more than 100-200MB/month, and they're usually about $60. It seems that its not the cost of data, but the cost of being always on the network (fixed costs).
Still, it's nice to have options. I recently was on a golf outing at a remote hotel - they had WiFi, but no cell coverage. Thanks to Skype, I didn't have to pay the phone rates on the landlines there.
Have you seen how often Facebook crashes /has problems? you have to constantly reload the thing to get anything done. Thank goodness Google Calendar doesn't have that problem or I'd probably have a thousand hits a day to my calendar page alone.
Also, FB pages tend to be pretty content-sparse. It's not uncommon for me to hit a dozen pages in 2-3 minutes if I check facebook.
Yes, their either expensive and configurable (full PC), or are cheap and have an interface which non-geeks can't just use. It's why I like apple and tivo - it requires no set up or maintenance by me, the rest of the family can figure it out without my help, and if something goes wrong, it's clearly not my fault. Apple TV will probably by worth every fucking penny Steve asks for it.
...falling, with style. You might go so far as to call it a toy, just don't tell him that. He thinks he's going to save the universe.
That the treble with these kind of cases - it's hard to find a sound precedent.
Yes, but if you steal (actually STEAL) 1 candy bar or 100 candy bars, the crime is the same, and treated as a single crime of the same magnitude. You might get a fine, or a very short jail sentence (let's call it "up to" 30 days). If you stole 100 candy bars, you would still be subject to only a maximum 30 day sentence - not 100 - 30 day sentences. That would be ridiculous.
Carbon nanotubes - the new Asbestos!
I find that diesel fuel in the mid-Atlantic US tracks well with the price of crude oil, with a slight lag, but that the gasoline tends to track the refinery capacity. If a major refinery is taken off line due to damage or maintenance, gasoline prices rise relative to diesel. During periods of exceptionally low demand, gasoline prices fall relative to diesel.
Now, I suspect that some of the supply/demand pressure on gasoline is not seen in the diesel fuel market due to a more constant usage of diesel for goods transportation. I haven't looked to see if diesel in the October/November timeframe shifts due to the increased in goods transported for the holidays. Then again, I don't own a diesel, so it doesn't really affect me that much.
I'm convinced that D-link has been making wireless gear for this for years. I frequently find that this may be the only use for their wireless equipment.
...and they don't use Google apps, right?
Jobs is perfectly happy playing to the 80% of the population that doesn't give a rat's ass about what goes on behind the screen - and quite frankly doesn't want to. Google is trying to woo 100% by adding that last 20% in, but that takes a lot more effort and brains to do it well.
This smells like a case of sour grapes, imho.
But can the linux user do it for less than $2000 (the high end of a small accounting software package) and support it and all bug fixes and patches for less than $500/yr (the high end of a maintenance contract)? Can you update the tax rates and schedules in all fifty states for $200 every single year?
Remember, the opportunity cost to a company is about $75-$100/hr on a typical employee. At this scale, writing custom apps is not cost effective.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVDzuT0fXro
Sorry, it's all I can think of when I imagine "In a world..."
It was one of the early charging designs, though the inductive coupler on the source side was a paddle that slid into a slot in the side of the car. It was an effort to get a high current, exposed electrode out of the way of human contact.
As for getting a pad for charging, the key is getting the coils close enough for efficient transfer. Others here have referenced an inverse-cubed law for RF power transmission. So for a car, you're talking a lot of energy, and you want minimal losses. Even at 15cm (to the bottom of a charging pad on a low clearance car) you'd be throwing away 15% of the energy to losses.
It's good idea, though. Excuse me, I think that's my patent attorney calling me back...