The worst component of diesel exhaust is sulphur. Not only does it cause respitory diseases, it also makes it harder for the catalytic converter to do its work. Pn top of that, sulphur is harmful for the engine.
Diesel fuel in Europe is of much higher quality, with a sulphur content of 50ppm, against a sulphur content of up to 3,400ppm in the States. In my view it is the unwillingness of the US oil companies to do something about their sulphur content that is stopping modern diesel technology from really breaking into the US market.
I use Vonage with a different area code than the area code I live in. I've never had any trouble having food delivered to my apartment. They sometimes ask me if I am sure about the area code and I just tell them it's a business line.
I've tried explaining what the actual reason is, but that's just asking for trouble.
The Exif file format, which contains header information for JPEG images is ready for location stamps. There are tags for longitude and lattitude. Exif is embedded in JPEG images and is in use by most digital cameras.
This means that a GPS-enabled digital camera could not only store when a picture was taken, but automatically record WHERE it was taken. This could be a great asset for travelers, surveyors, journalists, etc.
Emulating the sound of tube amplifiers is not exactly new. I remember that Crate had some pretty cool amps about five years ago that used a set of DIP switches to select an emulation profile.
Also, a lot of DSP-based digital effects equipment have been offering this technique for years. The problem used to be, and perhaps still is, the quality of the signal. DSPs add a noticeable lag and tend to compress the dynamics of the signal. On digital effects this becomes evident when you compare the raw signal (guitar plugged directly into an amp) with the DSP signal with all effects switched off.
I suppose these problems will disappear as sample frequency, resolution and processor speeds increase.
The bottom line, this good be good but I would have to hear it first. Specs don't tell you everything.
There are certain distinct disadvantages to having variable length phone numbers. Since you are not pressing an "enter key" on your telephone when you are done dialling the number (mobile phones are an exception here), the exchange has to guess when you are done keying in digits. In the American situation, this is easy to do, as the exchange can just count the digits. In a variable length situation, the total length of the number depends on the digits already dialed.
Incidentally, the variable system wastes more numbers, as you need the first digits to indicate what kind of a phone number it is going to be.
Now that I am on my soapbox, I think all phone numbers worldwide should start with a "+" and should be of fixed length, just for the sake of simplicity.
Interesting perspective on the history of the 555 prefix. But those weren't banana plugs they used in the old days. Banana plugs only have one contact. The connectors with a ring and a tip contact were actually called "phone plugs" and are still in use today (check a fireman's phone handset).
Banana plugs have a curved springy side and if you use your imagination they look a little like a banana.
Western Europe is turning to ISDN in droves. Since ISDN requires a powered TA installed in your home (contrary to the US version of ISDN), the independence from the power grid is rapidly becoming a moot point anyway.
Better reasons to say that VoIP isn't ready to function as primary lines is that they rely on your ISP, which is usually not as reliable as a POTS line. Additionally, some of the VoIP services do not offer 911/112 connectivity.
Singapore Airlines is rolling out their inflight email service. And you don't even have to bring anything as it's built into your seat. They also offer limited web browsing capabilities.
I have used my (GSM) mobile phone many times aboard the high speed trains in France and Germany. These trains travel at 300km/h. Not a single dropped call! I did notice my battery drains a lot quicker when going that fast, even if I'm not on the phone. It is constantly busy signing off and on to different base stations.
Since the mobile phone system handles this scenario well, chances are it will work too at airline speeds.
It is not actually illegal to bring chewing gum to Singapore, nor is it a problem to consume chewing gum there. It is illegal however to buy or sell it there.
Not only is the sound of tubes often regarded as more pleasing to the ears than that of transistors, they also produce a lot less noise than solid-state amplifiers. This property might be more important than the sound characteristics since the amplifier is integrated in the extremely noisy electrical environment that a motherboard is.
I believe that this is the real reason tubes are used in this application.
None of this is new. Singapore has had their ERP (electronic road pricing) system for years. It uses small devices in each car that detect whenever a driver passes a toll gantry. Money is deducted from the cashcard that goes into the device. Prices are noted on big electronic signs near the toll gantries and depend on the time of day. If you don't have enough cash on your card or no ERP device at all, you will be photographed and liable to pay a fine.
This system has been in operation for years now and works very well. Wired Magazine just did an interesting article on this a couple of months ago.
You could take cold water from the tap and run it through your CPUs and then straight to the sink. Sure, it would be a waste of water, but you would not need a cooling fan to cool the water.
What a fantastic idea! We'd have the 17576 three-letter TLDs, in addition to the existing two-letter ISO 3166 country codes. This way all TLDs would be two or three letters in length.
Obviously this leaves no room for.coop or.museum type TLDs.
Slashdot Mirror
Singapore Airlines already offers in-flight SMS.
No, it should be "the Netherlands", not "The Netherlands". You don't write "The United States", do you?
The worst component of diesel exhaust is sulphur. Not only does it cause respitory diseases, it also makes it harder for the catalytic converter to do its work. Pn top of that, sulphur is harmful for the engine.
Diesel fuel in Europe is of much higher quality, with a sulphur content of 50ppm, against a sulphur content of up to 3,400ppm in the States. In my view it is the unwillingness of the US oil companies to do something about their sulphur content that is stopping modern diesel technology from really breaking into the US market.
I pay $2.99 a month for 500 messages. Not a bad deal, I'd say.
Odd Todd
Enjoy!
I use Vonage with a different area code than the area code I live in. I've never had any trouble having food delivered to my apartment. They sometimes ask me if I am sure about the area code and I just tell them it's a business line.
I've tried explaining what the actual reason is, but that's just asking for trouble.
The Exif file format, which contains header information for JPEG images is ready for location stamps. There are tags for longitude and lattitude. Exif is embedded in JPEG images and is in use by most digital cameras.
This means that a GPS-enabled digital camera could not only store when a picture was taken, but automatically record WHERE it was taken. This could be a great asset for travelers, surveyors, journalists, etc.
Emulating the sound of tube amplifiers is not exactly new. I remember that Crate had some pretty cool amps about five years ago that used a set of DIP switches to select an emulation profile.
Also, a lot of DSP-based digital effects equipment have been offering this technique for years. The problem used to be, and perhaps still is, the quality of the signal. DSPs add a noticeable lag and tend to compress the dynamics of the signal. On digital effects this becomes evident when you compare the raw signal (guitar plugged directly into an amp) with the DSP signal with all effects switched off.
I suppose these problems will disappear as sample frequency, resolution and processor speeds increase.
The bottom line, this good be good but I would have to hear it first. Specs don't tell you everything.
This was on the front page this morning (EST). I guess the secret service forced Slashdot to move it to a more obscure location...
There are certain distinct disadvantages to having variable length phone numbers. Since you are not pressing an "enter key" on your telephone when you are done dialling the number (mobile phones are an exception here), the exchange has to guess when you are done keying in digits. In the American situation, this is easy to do, as the exchange can just count the digits. In a variable length situation, the total length of the number depends on the digits already dialed.
Incidentally, the variable system wastes more numbers, as you need the first digits to indicate what kind of a phone number it is going to be.
Now that I am on my soapbox, I think all phone numbers worldwide should start with a "+" and should be of fixed length, just for the sake of simplicity.
Interesting perspective on the history of the 555 prefix. But those weren't banana plugs they used in the old days. Banana plugs only have one contact. The connectors with a ring and a tip contact were actually called "phone plugs" and are still in use today (check a fireman's phone handset).
Banana plugs have a curved springy side and if you use your imagination they look a little like a banana.
New York already does this... the 917 area code is restricted to mobile devices.
As for having a separate area code for mobiles in NYC, keep in mind that the population of the tri-state area is larger than Finland's.
Western Europe is turning to ISDN in droves. Since ISDN requires a powered TA installed in your home (contrary to the US version of ISDN), the independence from the power grid is rapidly becoming a moot point anyway.
Better reasons to say that VoIP isn't ready to function as primary lines is that they rely on your ISP, which is usually not as reliable as a POTS line. Additionally, some of the VoIP services do not offer 911/112 connectivity.
In New York the mobile numbers are on a separate area code too. You have 212/646/718 for regular lines, and 917 for mobile devices.
Singapore Airlines is rolling out their inflight email service. And you don't even have to bring anything as it's built into your seat. They also offer limited web browsing capabilities.
And, yes, in economy class too.
I have used my (GSM) mobile phone many times aboard the high speed trains in France and Germany. These trains travel at 300km/h. Not a single dropped call! I did notice my battery drains a lot quicker when going that fast, even if I'm not on the phone. It is constantly busy signing off and on to different base stations.
Since the mobile phone system handles this scenario well, chances are it will work too at airline speeds.
It is not actually illegal to bring chewing gum to Singapore, nor is it a problem to consume chewing gum there. It is illegal however to buy or sell it there.
Not only is the sound of tubes often regarded as more pleasing to the ears than that of transistors, they also produce a lot less noise than solid-state amplifiers. This property might be more important than the sound characteristics since the amplifier is integrated in the extremely noisy electrical environment that a motherboard is.
I believe that this is the real reason tubes are used in this application.
I don't care much for the discs, but I do like those Altoid-style tins they come in lately. Keep 'em coming!
None of this is new. Singapore has had their ERP (electronic road pricing) system for years. It uses small devices in each car that detect whenever a driver passes a toll gantry. Money is deducted from the cashcard that goes into the device. Prices are noted on big electronic signs near the toll gantries and depend on the time of day. If you don't have enough cash on your card or no ERP device at all, you will be photographed and liable to pay a fine.
This system has been in operation for years now and works very well. Wired Magazine just did an interesting article on this a couple of months ago.
You could take cold water from the tap and run it through your CPUs and then straight to the sink. Sure, it would be a waste of water, but you would not need a cooling fan to cool the water.
What a fantastic idea! We'd have the 17576 three-letter TLDs, in addition to the existing two-letter ISO 3166 country codes. This way all TLDs would be two or three letters in length. Obviously this leaves no room for .coop or .museum type TLDs.