> Ironically, non-battery consumer electronics would face similar > infrastructure challenges as (pure) electric cars do. > There is little insentive to duplicate the existing infrastructure to > accomodate a new technology.
Small cylinders of butane (around 80gm) can be purchased in drugstores and grocery stores right now.
> For non-gearheads: If you need to fill 'er up with a mix oil+gasoline, > you got yerself a 2-stroke.
True only for small two-cycle gasoline engines that use the crankcase as a compressor. Large marine and stationary diesels have been mostly two-cycle for about 100 years. These engines have, if anything, lower emissions than equivalent four-cycle engines.
> Excellent idea for packing a lot of power into a small space, but there's > nothing about where the exhaust goes. How much does it produce? What about > hundreds of these little turbines running at the same time in a > closed-atmosphere, like a plane?
"Closed atmosphere"? A typical airliner cabin sees at least ten complete air changes per hour.
Do they allow you to bring anything on board now? I thought that after you stripped and underwent a body-cavity search that the only thing you could take on with you was your government-issue orange coverall with PASSENGER stenciled on your back.
> If there is a moral it's that hybrid cars are f*ing stupid if you can get > much better efficiency from a tiny little gas engine than from a battery.
The article does not claim that the engine is more efficient (or even as efficient) as a battery. It just has a much better power to weight ratio and can be refueled in seconds from a bottle instead of requiring hours plugged in to a power outlet to recharge.
> If they had thought to require a photo for the front of the card then it > would be a 3 stage process, and pretty hard to circumvent in a store > situation.
Clerks rarely check pictures[1].
> Even ATMs have CCTV these days, so they could use some image recognition > software to match your image against the registered image before giving you > cash.
And the software would screw up about 10% of the time, keeping your card and your money.
[1] I knew a guy who spent part of his stint in the Navy sneaking on board warships with an ID card bearing the likeness of a gorilla.
> Allowing programmers to name serious 'flagship' Linux applications is right > in line with letting marketing write them.
I assume you are referring to Free Software applications. Who is going to "not allow", management? Who is going to do the naming instead, marketing?
If you know of some "serious 'flagship' Linux applications" that are, in your opinion, misnamed, why don't you just fork them and give the better names?
You don't seriously believe that they copy the DOB down from the ID and then cross-check it against the forms where they ask for it for authentication, do you?
If I found it necessary to do business with an organization that stupid I would certainly not give them my correct Mother's maiden and DOB. You can invent unique and secret authenticating information for each organization (the bank does need your correct SSN, of course.)
toncho/~ 0 apt-cache show kturtle Package: kturtle Priority: optional Section: devel Installed-Size: 862 Maintainer: Debian Qt/KDE Maintainers Architecture: i386 Source: kdeedu Version: 4:3.5.4-2 Depends: kdelibs4c2a (>= 4:3.5.4-1), libc6 (>= 2.3.6-6), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.0), libqt3-mt (>= 3:3.3.6), libstdc++6 (>= 4.1.0), kdeedu-data (>> 4:3.5.4), kdeedu-data ( 4:3.5.5) Suggests: khelpcenter, kdeedu-doc-html Filename: pool/main/k/kdeedu/kturtle_3.5.4-2_i386.deb Size: 381878 MD5sum: 88ec516db2abab703369de307e0174d8 SHA1: 93abdc7475fa524a82ec9cb8d7bdbfa1791e552c SHA256: a40ba73447632db958ad1b1782a96b5a4e1bf830359dd2c585 acb9fdc2bb39eb Description: educational Logo programming environment
KTurtle is an educational programming environment using the Logo
programming language. It tries to make programming as easy and
accessible as possible. This makes KTurtle suitable for teaching
kids the basics of mathematics, geometry and programming.
.
The commands used to program are in the style of the Logo programming
language. The unique feature of Logo is that the commands are often
translated into the speaking language of the programmer.
.
KTurtle is named after "the turtle" that plays a central role in the
programming environment. The user programs the turtle, using the
Logo commands, to draw a picture on the canvas.
.
Note that this version of Logo is only focused on the educational
qualities of the programming language and will not try to suit
professional programmers' needs.
.
This package is part of KDE, as a component of the KDE education module.
See the 'kde' and 'kdeedu' packages for more information. Tag: devel::ide, interface::x11, role::sw:utility, uitoolkit::qt, use::learning, x11::application
I recently received a number of automated calls from a doofus by the name of John Murtha who evidently thinks he belongs in the Wisconsin legislature. You can guess the impact on my vote.
> A microscopic black hole either dissipates or it doesn't. If it does, great. > If it doesn't, we have a problem. It may take millennia to become a serious > problem, but....
Make that billennia. The holes they are talking about are so small that they would pass right through atoms without doing more than sometimes picking off a subatomic particle or two.
> Let's get real. Why they need my private information in first place?
They don't, but they would like to have it. If any substantial fraction of their customers took their business elsewhere rather than give it to them they would quit pretending they need it.
> And why do some give that info to them?
They give it because, despite their protestations, they value whatever miniscule advantage they gain more than they value their privacy.
Because most customers don't care about privacy. They'll yammer on about it when surveyed and will support legislation when they don't see it as costing them anything, but they won't do anything about it. If they did, the companies would damnsure care. A lot.
> Why keep running on something like a Commodore 64? Even considering legitimate > reasons for continuing to use it, I don't see how sticking with something > exceedingly obsolete can be functional when viewed alongside semi-modern > systems.
Perhaps he was not interested in doing any semi-modern things. There are people whose computers are not important parts of their lives. I suspect that the police will find nothing interesting.
> Data that has been deliberately or accidently been tampered with to generate > results that deviate greatly from a result you would get with normal data.
Data that deviates greatly will just be discarded. Keep it within a few standard deviations of the norm.
Slashdot Mirror
> Ironically, non-battery consumer electronics would face similar
> infrastructure challenges as (pure) electric cars do.
> There is little insentive to duplicate the existing infrastructure to
> accomodate a new technology.
Small cylinders of butane (around 80gm) can be purchased in drugstores and grocery stores right now.
> For non-gearheads: If you need to fill 'er up with a mix oil+gasoline,
> you got yerself a 2-stroke.
True only for small two-cycle gasoline engines that use the crankcase as a compressor. Large marine and stationary diesels have been mostly two-cycle for about 100 years. These engines have, if anything, lower emissions than equivalent four-cycle engines.
> Excellent idea for packing a lot of power into a small space, but there's
> nothing about where the exhaust goes. How much does it produce? What about
> hundreds of these little turbines running at the same time in a
> closed-atmosphere, like a plane?
"Closed atmosphere"? A typical airliner cabin sees at least ten complete air changes per hour.
Do they allow you to bring anything on board now? I thought that after you stripped and underwent a body-cavity search that the only thing you could take on with you was your government-issue orange coverall with PASSENGER stenciled on your back.
> If there is a moral it's that hybrid cars are f*ing stupid if you can get
> much better efficiency from a tiny little gas engine than from a battery.
The article does not claim that the engine is more efficient (or even as efficient) as a battery. It just has a much better power to weight ratio and can be refueled in seconds from a bottle instead of requiring hours plugged in to a power outlet to recharge.
> If they had thought to require a photo for the front of the card then it
> would be a 3 stage process, and pretty hard to circumvent in a store
> situation.
Clerks rarely check pictures[1].
> Even ATMs have CCTV these days, so they could use some image recognition
> software to match your image against the registered image before giving you
> cash.
And the software would screw up about 10% of the time, keeping your card and your money.
[1] I knew a guy who spent part of his stint in the Navy sneaking on board warships with an ID card bearing the likeness of a gorilla.
> Allowing programmers to name serious 'flagship' Linux applications is right
> in line with letting marketing write them.
I assume you are referring to Free Software applications. Who is going to "not allow", management? Who is going to do the naming instead, marketing?
If you know of some "serious 'flagship' Linux applications" that are, in your opinion, misnamed, why don't you just fork them and give the better names?
You don't seriously believe that they copy the DOB down from the ID and then cross-check it against the forms where they ask for it for authentication, do you?
> Those 3 pieces of information are NOT secret...
If I found it necessary to do business with an organization that stupid I would certainly not give them my correct Mother's maiden and DOB. You can invent unique and secret authenticating information for each organization (the bank does need your correct SSN, of course.)
> So, let's hit 'em in the pocketbook.
Yes. By taking our business elsewhere.
toncho/~ 0 apt-cache show kturtle5 acb9fdc2bb39eb
Package: kturtle
Priority: optional
Section: devel
Installed-Size: 862
Maintainer: Debian Qt/KDE Maintainers
Architecture: i386
Source: kdeedu
Version: 4:3.5.4-2
Depends: kdelibs4c2a (>= 4:3.5.4-1), libc6 (>= 2.3.6-6), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.0), libqt3-mt (>= 3:3.3.6), libstdc++6 (>= 4.1.0), kdeedu-data (>> 4:3.5.4), kdeedu-data ( 4:3.5.5)
Suggests: khelpcenter, kdeedu-doc-html
Filename: pool/main/k/kdeedu/kturtle_3.5.4-2_i386.deb
Size: 381878
MD5sum: 88ec516db2abab703369de307e0174d8
SHA1: 93abdc7475fa524a82ec9cb8d7bdbfa1791e552c
SHA256: a40ba73447632db958ad1b1782a96b5a4e1bf830359dd2c58
Description: educational Logo programming environment
KTurtle is an educational programming environment using the Logo
programming language. It tries to make programming as easy and
accessible as possible. This makes KTurtle suitable for teaching
kids the basics of mathematics, geometry and programming.
.
The commands used to program are in the style of the Logo programming
language. The unique feature of Logo is that the commands are often
translated into the speaking language of the programmer.
.
KTurtle is named after "the turtle" that plays a central role in the
programming environment. The user programs the turtle, using the
Logo commands, to draw a picture on the canvas.
.
Note that this version of Logo is only focused on the educational
qualities of the programming language and will not try to suit
professional programmers' needs.
.
This package is part of KDE, as a component of the KDE education module.
See the 'kde' and 'kdeedu' packages for more information.
Tag: devel::ide, interface::x11, role::sw:utility, uitoolkit::qt, use::learning, x11::application
> Do those things really work?
Sure. They convinced me to vote against the guy who used them.
I recently received a number of automated calls from a doofus by the name of John Murtha who evidently thinks he belongs in the Wisconsin legislature. You can guess the impact on my vote.
Nothing in the article indicates that these molecules react to the direction of a magnetic field: just the intensity.
I suspect that this is an irrelevant side effect and the animals make no use of it at all.
You imagine wrong. One of these black holes passing through you would be imperceptible.
> Wouldn't that change the atom in question into a different element?
It might.
> Possibly in a measurable way
It would take a lot of these holes in one place to produce a noticeable effect, and how are you going to keep them in one place?
> A microscopic black hole either dissipates or it doesn't. If it does, great.
> If it doesn't, we have a problem. It may take millennia to become a serious
> problem, but....
Make that billennia. The holes they are talking about are so small that they would pass right through atoms without doing more than sometimes picking off a subatomic particle or two.
> Yes, and in many counties, so is the amount of property tax you paid...but one
> has to go and look for it.
Heh. My tax bill includes that information for every taxpayer in the township. I need look no farther than my filing cabinet.
But yet you stay with Facebook. Makes it pretty clear just how much you really value your privacy.
> Let's get real. Why they need my private information in first place?
They don't, but they would like to have it. If any substantial fraction of their customers took their business elsewhere rather than give it to them they would quit pretending they need it.
> And why do some give that info to them?
They give it because, despite their protestations, they value whatever miniscule advantage they gain more than they value their privacy.
> "Why don't companies care about privacy?"
Because most customers don't care about privacy. They'll yammer on about it when surveyed and will support legislation when they don't see it as costing them anything, but they won't do anything about it. If they did, the companies would damnsure care. A lot.
"Associated with" is a very convenient line of argument. It can be used to justify denouncing just about anything you wish.
> Oddly enough, many Toronto residents for some reason don't qualify for a SSN.
This is true. They have to make do with SINs.
> Why keep running on something like a Commodore 64? Even considering legitimate
> reasons for continuing to use it, I don't see how sticking with something
> exceedingly obsolete can be functional when viewed alongside semi-modern
> systems.
Perhaps he was not interested in doing any semi-modern things. There are people whose computers are not important parts of their lives. I suspect that the police will find nothing interesting.
> Data that has been deliberately or accidently been tampered with to generate
> results that deviate greatly from a result you would get with normal data.
Data that deviates greatly will just be discarded. Keep it within a few standard deviations of the norm.