Starcraft was released in 1998 and ran just fine on my AMD K6-233 at the time. As it hasn't been radically updated since, I don't think there's much of a need for anything more than bottom of the barrel present-day technology if Starcraft's your addiction.
Why should I listen to them? They also reported that "Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple..." and "JFK posthumously joins Republican Party...", then tried to sue themselves to retract the statements!
I was mostly being facetious. GaAs hasn't been used seriously in digital for awhile now. The real battleground is in analog, specifically RF. RFCMOS is constantly threatening to knock GaAs out of the market, primarily because of downward cost pressures. There's also the attractiveness of integrating things like the power amplifier onto the radio chip (which is already RFCMOS.)
Damn, and just when I thought Gallium Arsenide had a cost advantage over silicon! Thanks for raining on my parade, DU...now I'll have to go back to work.
I own a 5-speed Civic Hybrid and I don't find it noisy or jerky at all. As for engine/motor balance, that's all handled by the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) computer and is a function of the engine RPM and accelerator input. It's no different than the CVT in that respect. What is different is that I have a bit more control of where I am on the torque and horsepower curves. Also, admittedly, there's a certain play aspect to it. You're right about the mileage, at least in the city, but on the highway the manual is better. The CVT gets 48/47 and the manual gets 46/51. Finally, the manual is 61 pounds lighter and $1000 cheaper than the CVT.
My wife and I just went through the process of buying a hybrid, and settled on the 2003 Civic. Let me point out that I've owned both Hondas and Toyotas in the past and been very satisfied with both brands. There were a number of factors that influenced the decision, but the biggest was that the back seat is a bit bigger in the Civic which is nice when you need to haul your friends around. Some more observations on both:
The Prius is a hybrid from the ground up, the Civic is a Civic from the ground up. Toyota wants you and everyone else to know that you're driving a hybrid. If you're looking for "neato" appeal, go for the Prius. You get to watch a little cartoon of the drivetrain every time you accelerate. As for the Civic, you'd never know it was a hybrid if they took the "charge/assist" indicator off the instrument cluster. You'd just think it tended to stall at lights a lot.
The design philosophy behind the hybrid drive is dramatically different in the two cars. Toyota chose a larger motor and smaller engine than Honda. The Civic motor is integrated into the flywheel and thus the motor assist is only available with the engine running. The Prius motor is able to run independantly of the engine, allowing you to run entirely on electric power. I really liked the idea of being able to creep on electric power, but not enough to choose the Prius over the Civic.
You can get a standard transmission in the Civic. This was unavailable in the 2003 Prius, not sure about the 2004. I really like standards, so this was a point in favor of the Civic. The only thing to watch out for is that since the motor is hanging off the back of the engine, the clutch has to be engaged for the regenerative braking to work. This took some driving style changes for me as I'm used to downshifting as I stop and spend a lot of time with the clutch disengaged. I still maintain that this is a good idea because if I have to get out of a nasty situation I like to find myself in the right gear so I still have some positive control (i.e. acceleration). Unfortunately (in this case) renerative braking is a big part of the hybrid concept so I've resigned myself to staying in a high gear longer than I normally would. No biggie.
The handling on the Civic is a whole lot nicer than I expected. There's surprisingly little body roll when cornering. Still, I wouldn't exactly consider it a performance car. I can't comment on the handling of the Prius, as when we went to the dealership to test drive one the response was "We don't have one." Click. And that was that. As I said above, I've owned Toyotas and dealt with the dealerships before, and this was definitely not a typical experience.
So overall, I'm very happy with the Civic Hybrid. We didn't buy it for the mileage, though 45 MPG on my urban commute to work is nice. We didn't buy it for the geek factor, though that's nice too. We bought a hybrid to show (even though our purchase is just a drop in the bucket) that there's a market for newer, more environmentally sound technologies. Everyone will say that you can get the same mileage from a Geo Metro or a Volkswagen TDI, and for the most part they're right. But these are hardly revolutionary, and if we keep going down that road eventually the development will become asymptotic. Moore's law simply doesn't apply to internal combustion. Of course hybrid isn't a panacaea, but at least it gives the manufacturers some experience in electric drive and it keeps the gears of innovation turning.
The point of this study is not to sell off the HOV lanes, it's to establish the cost burden that the average commuter is willing to assume for a reduced commute time. One of the most difficult problems with any cost-benefit analysis is the valuation of intangibles, and I think that using eBay as a polling mechanism is an interesting solution.
Of course if you wanted to conduct a similar study, you could simply phone poll Joe Budweiser and ask "how much would you be willing to pay to reduce your commute time by ten minutes a day?" The problem with that approach is that there's no disincentive to answering "one million dollars" (pinky held to lip optional). With the eBay system, the poll participants receive a benefit from their participation and there's at least some disincentive (poor feedback or the time investment to create a dishonest eBay account) to answering falsely (bidding an excessive amount).
Of course the eBay study has its own problems, but given that it addresses a number of the problems of traditional polling methods, maybe a happy medium can be reached.
Well, the scientists initially tried to breed zebra fish and jelly fish, but both species were found to be terribly resistant to the idea. They even tried turning down the aquarium lights and pumping in some Barry White, but to no avail. Finally the scientists gave up, chalking it up to the fundamental problem that zebra fish and jellyfish just don't run in the same social circles.
The pin count problem can seem daunting, but doesn't need to be. There are FPGAs available in PLCC packages which have.05" lead pitch, pretty easily solderable without any special equipment. You can use a socket with these to increase the pitch to.1", the same as a standard DIP. As for the finer-pitch packages like PQFP and TQFP, my assembly station consisting of a nice soldering iron and a binocular assembly microscope (probably overkill, but really nice to have) cost me less than $300. You may need to do some scrounging at surplus stores to get the price down that far, but the point is that it's certainly feasible to work with these packages at home. If you've got volume concerns, that's a good problem to have. There are lots of subcontract-assembly houses out there that will be happy to work with you and will handle surprisingly small runs.
I disagree. I guess it depends on what you consider to be prohibitive and what your alternatives are, but the XC2S30 that is used in this project costs $11.55 for qty. 1. In addition, you need a configuration device (EEPROM)...the XC18V512 costs $16.40. 30,000 gates for $27.95 doesn't seem that cost prohibitive to me...sure beats a mask spin and a minimum order at TSMC. Another option, if you're using a microcontroller in your design anyway, is to get one like the 9S12A256 which has more than enough EEPROM to configure an FPGA and costs less than the Xilinx configuration device.
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Also:
TriQuint
Mobilian (part of Intel now)
ESI
Maxim
Maxtek
Microchip
Wacker Siltronic
Analog Devices
InFocus
Integrated Device Technology
Lattice
Cascade Microtek
Mentor Graphics
Synopsys
Focus Enhancements
The list goes on...
most of you Portlanders can't see past the top of Mt. Hood, so I don't expect you to know anything about Oregon's high desert.
Small wonder. Why would we want to if that's the attitude to which we will be subjected should we venture there?
Starcraft was released in 1998 and ran just fine on my AMD K6-233 at the time. As it hasn't been radically updated since, I don't think there's much of a need for anything more than bottom of the barrel present-day technology if Starcraft's your addiction.
The Swedish navy makes its big-screen debut with "Das Reboot".
OMG LOL uR CH4nD3113R 15 PWN3D!!!1!111!!!!1!
Apparently it is, since I think you mean "Work / Time".
Jeez, first the 9/11 probe, now this. Does governmental inquest know no bounds?!
The universe is shaped like a funnel, and my desk would seem to be located at the pointy end.
Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.
You're not from around here, are you?
Why should I listen to them? They also reported that "Oil slicks found to keep seals young, supple..." and "JFK posthumously joins Republican Party...", then tried to sue themselves to retract the statements!
I was mostly being facetious. GaAs hasn't been used seriously in digital for awhile now. The real battleground is in analog, specifically RF. RFCMOS is constantly threatening to knock GaAs out of the market, primarily because of downward cost pressures. There's also the attractiveness of integrating things like the power amplifier onto the radio chip (which is already RFCMOS.)
Damn, and just when I thought Gallium Arsenide had a cost advantage over silicon! Thanks for raining on my parade, DU...now I'll have to go back to work.
My only problem with the SliMP3 is the name. Slimp just sounds like a verb to me, as in:
"Zeke an' I found the poor bastard down by Root Holler Road. He was slimpin' pretty bad an' all so we put him out of his misery."
Squeezebox is much better.
I own a 5-speed Civic Hybrid and I don't find it noisy or jerky at all. As for engine/motor balance, that's all handled by the IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) computer and is a function of the engine RPM and accelerator input. It's no different than the CVT in that respect. What is different is that I have a bit more control of where I am on the torque and horsepower curves. Also, admittedly, there's a certain play aspect to it. You're right about the mileage, at least in the city, but on the highway the manual is better. The CVT gets 48/47 and the manual gets 46/51. Finally, the manual is 61 pounds lighter and $1000 cheaper than the CVT.
Depends on whether you're talking about 2WD or 4WD. They broke the numbers out separately.
My wife and I just went through the process of buying a hybrid, and settled on the 2003 Civic. Let me point out that I've owned both Hondas and Toyotas in the past and been very satisfied with both brands. There were a number of factors that influenced the decision, but the biggest was that the back seat is a bit bigger in the Civic which is nice when you need to haul your friends around. Some more observations on both:
The Prius is a hybrid from the ground up, the Civic is a Civic from the ground up. Toyota wants you and everyone else to know that you're driving a hybrid. If you're looking for "neato" appeal, go for the Prius. You get to watch a little cartoon of the drivetrain every time you accelerate. As for the Civic, you'd never know it was a hybrid if they took the "charge/assist" indicator off the instrument cluster. You'd just think it tended to stall at lights a lot.
The design philosophy behind the hybrid drive is dramatically different in the two cars. Toyota chose a larger motor and smaller engine than Honda. The Civic motor is integrated into the flywheel and thus the motor assist is only available with the engine running. The Prius motor is able to run independantly of the engine, allowing you to run entirely on electric power. I really liked the idea of being able to creep on electric power, but not enough to choose the Prius over the Civic.
You can get a standard transmission in the Civic. This was unavailable in the 2003 Prius, not sure about the 2004. I really like standards, so this was a point in favor of the Civic. The only thing to watch out for is that since the motor is hanging off the back of the engine, the clutch has to be engaged for the regenerative braking to work. This took some driving style changes for me as I'm used to downshifting as I stop and spend a lot of time with the clutch disengaged. I still maintain that this is a good idea because if I have to get out of a nasty situation I like to find myself in the right gear so I still have some positive control (i.e. acceleration). Unfortunately (in this case) renerative braking is a big part of the hybrid concept so I've resigned myself to staying in a high gear longer than I normally would. No biggie.
The handling on the Civic is a whole lot nicer than I expected. There's surprisingly little body roll when cornering. Still, I wouldn't exactly consider it a performance car. I can't comment on the handling of the Prius, as when we went to the dealership to test drive one the response was "We don't have one." Click. And that was that. As I said above, I've owned Toyotas and dealt with the dealerships before, and this was definitely not a typical experience.
So overall, I'm very happy with the Civic Hybrid. We didn't buy it for the mileage, though 45 MPG on my urban commute to work is nice. We didn't buy it for the geek factor, though that's nice too. We bought a hybrid to show (even though our purchase is just a drop in the bucket) that there's a market for newer, more environmentally sound technologies. Everyone will say that you can get the same mileage from a Geo Metro or a Volkswagen TDI, and for the most part they're right. But these are hardly revolutionary, and if we keep going down that road eventually the development will become asymptotic. Moore's law simply doesn't apply to internal combustion. Of course hybrid isn't a panacaea, but at least it gives the manufacturers some experience in electric drive and it keeps the gears of innovation turning.
The point of this study is not to sell off the HOV lanes, it's to establish the cost burden that the average commuter is willing to assume for a reduced commute time. One of the most difficult problems with any cost-benefit analysis is the valuation of intangibles, and I think that using eBay as a polling mechanism is an interesting solution.
Of course if you wanted to conduct a similar study, you could simply phone poll Joe Budweiser and ask "how much would you be willing to pay to reduce your commute time by ten minutes a day?" The problem with that approach is that there's no disincentive to answering "one million dollars" (pinky held to lip optional). With the eBay system, the poll participants receive a benefit from their participation and there's at least some disincentive (poor feedback or the time investment to create a dishonest eBay account) to answering falsely (bidding an excessive amount).
Of course the eBay study has its own problems, but given that it addresses a number of the problems of traditional polling methods, maybe a happy medium can be reached.
Well, the scientists initially tried to breed zebra fish and jelly fish, but both species were found to be terribly resistant to the idea. They even tried turning down the aquarium lights and pumping in some Barry White, but to no avail. Finally the scientists gave up, chalking it up to the fundamental problem that zebra fish and jellyfish just don't run in the same social circles.
Red Vs. Blue did a parody of the Apple "Switch" ads, except with a gamer. Good stuff.l
http://www.redvsblue.com/appleswitch.shtm
Oregon doesn't have a motor vehicle inspection program like many states. We do, however, have a biannual emissions inspection.
So how many years does one serve in purgatory for slashdotting cathedral.org?
The pin count problem can seem daunting, but doesn't need to be. There are FPGAs available in PLCC packages which have .05" lead pitch, pretty easily solderable without any special equipment. You can use a socket with these to increase the pitch to .1", the same as a standard DIP. As for the finer-pitch packages like PQFP and TQFP, my assembly station consisting of a nice soldering iron and a binocular assembly microscope (probably overkill, but really nice to have) cost me less than $300. You may need to do some scrounging at surplus stores to get the price down that far, but the point is that it's certainly feasible to work with these packages at home. If you've got volume concerns, that's a good problem to have. There are lots of subcontract-assembly houses out there that will be happy to work with you and will handle surprisingly small runs.
I disagree. I guess it depends on what you consider to be prohibitive and what your alternatives are, but the XC2S30 that is used in this project costs $11.55 for qty. 1. In addition, you need a configuration device (EEPROM)...the XC18V512 costs $16.40. 30,000 gates for $27.95 doesn't seem that cost prohibitive to me...sure beats a mask spin and a minimum order at TSMC. Another option, if you're using a microcontroller in your design anyway, is to get one like the 9S12A256 which has more than enough EEPROM to configure an FPGA and costs less than the Xilinx configuration device.