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User: CityZen

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  1. Re:That's Newtonain Physics on The Speed Of Gravity Revealed · · Score: 1

    > "Information" cannot have a speed greater than light, but theoretical travel at faster than light is possible, so long as the speed stays below that of light.

    Hmm, to my simple mind, that means that traveling faster than light requires taking a short-cut.

  2. Re:Ahem. on Serial ATA, Here and Now · · Score: 1

    Not only that, but the ATA/SATA comparison they did was between drives from different manufactureres. It's non-sensical to conclude that SATA is slower based upon this kind of comparison.

  3. Re:It's thought to be a hoax on The Joystick Is The Root of All Evil · · Score: 1

    I'm hoping it will follow in the path of Young People Against Heavy Metal T-shirts (YPAHMTS).

    Check out the SoundPrint piece on it. It's pretty good.

  4. Re:Look at where the pilot's torso is positioned.. on Personal Jet Pack for X-mas! · · Score: 1

    No, the jet's output is out the back. The jet exhaust is used to power a fan (just a regular fan) that blows downward.

  5. Re:Some details missing? on Personal Jet Pack for X-mas! · · Score: 1

    No, you still aren't understanding the design.

    The purpose of the jet is not to make lift, but to power the big fan blades. The big fan blades blow regular, unheated air, downward.

    The jet fires out the back. The heat from the exhaust should not be an issue for the user (though he shouldn't land next to dry foilage).

  6. Re:Some details missing? on Personal Jet Pack for X-mas! · · Score: 2, Informative

    It seemed like from the design that the heat goes out the back, not down. The turbine is used to drive a fan. The turbine will fire out around the bottom perimeter of the fan, and the fan blows just air downward.

  7. Re:Sheesh! on When Sysadmins Go Bad · · Score: 1

    If I had mod points, I'd up the parent.

    I think this is perhaps one of the most important security policies, and it applies quite universally, even among countries on the planet.

    Unfortunately, the idea of respectful treatment seems counter to the idea of making the most money possible, which is the overriding force in business and politics.

  8. Re:Imagine... on Miyamoto vs. Everyone Else · · Score: 1

    The American public typically associates a "cartoonish" look with kiddy and G-rated, thanks to Disney and the American cartoon industry. In Japan, however, this is not the case. There you can find all kinds of subject matter done in the anime style.

    It's the American public who needs to realize that style and content can be orthogonal. Right now in most US video games, there is an increasing drive towards a realism. People think that increased realism makes a game better. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. The same kind of thinking leads to movies with great special effects, but no plot.

    Just like with a movie, a great "plot" can lead to a great game (exception: Tetris). Engaging and intuitive gamplay is also a must. What the graphics need more than realism is a consistency of style and just enough expression to convey the mood of the character, where necessary. Beyond that is just eye candy (which of course, is certainly good to have, but not necessary).

    But as we can see, game publishers and movie houses alike prefer to make money by offering quantity, not quality. It's a safer bet.

  9. Re:The high price tag of theft on DIRECTV Broadband Shuts Down · · Score: 1

    Actually, they've made some significant (though maybe temporary) leaps in shutting down piracy. When they transitioned away from the "H" card this year, they cut off a significant percentage of the pirates, and from what I've been reading, there currently isn't any "just plug it in and it works for a long time" DirecTV hacking method.

    In addition, the legal action they've been pursuing against end hackers now seems to be keeping a lot of people from pursuing this avenue.

  10. Re:Not *quite* the ultimate system on Linux-Powered PVR/Satellite Machine · · Score: 1

    You can get a box that takes DiSEqC 1.2 commands and uses them to control a big dish actuator. I've seen several for sale (one is called Vbox), and they go for around $50 or so. Here's a link:

    http://store.yahoo.com/hightech/vboxdispos.html

  11. Re:Wireless? on Motorcyclists To Get Wearable Airbags · · Score: 1

    Yeah, that's what I thought of too. I hope the company realizes the importance of a good security scheme.

  12. Re:Not *quite* the ultimate system on Linux-Powered PVR/Satellite Machine · · Score: 1

    In their forum postings, DiSEqC 1.2 is mentioned as being supported. So there's your positioner control.

  13. Re:Satellite == DVB == European Only on Linux-Powered PVR/Satellite Machine · · Score: 1

    Dish's LNBFs are standard. Their old multi-satellite switches are non-standard. Their new (DishPro) multi-satellite switches are DiSEqC 2.0 (very new standard, not yet widely adopted).

    But presumably, with this box, you could use standard switches. You wouldn't have to use Dish switches.

  14. Re:Why bother? on Linux-Powered PVR/Satellite Machine · · Score: 1

    Because the Dish PVR only works with Dish Network. But there are lots of other DVB sources out there. Check out www.lyngsat.com for details (this site describes ALL satellite signals).

  15. So many false assumptions! on Cable Companies Despise PVRs · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Gary Lauder's arguments are remarkably full of false assumptions.

    Many of his points are a comparison of VOD vs. PVR. The main problem here is that these are two different things. A PVR will let you control everything you watch, while I'm sure VOD will only be used for movies and events. Arguing that you should do one instead of the other is silly, since the consumer would do best to have both.

    Lauder comments on PVR noise. My friend recently got a new Dish 508 PVR. When he turned it on, I heard absolutely nothing. Zero. The hard drive was running, and it was dead silent. Credit new hard drive technology.

    The 508 also has a fan, but I never heard it running (after it was on for a good while). Just because one box (the Replay he mentions) isn't well-designed for heat output, doesn't mean they all are like that. Again, this is an issue fixed by technology.

    Lauder also says "Disk size limitations mean obsolescence, esp. with HDTV". Is there ANY device that's going to handle the transition to HDTV gracefully? The size issue is not really an issue if the disk is "big enough" to begin with. I think that at 40-80GB, we're at "big enough" for most people. In any case, the obsolescence argument applies to VOD servers just as well.

    Lauder's only arguments that have any bite are:
    - Moving parts break more often
    - Box complexity means more crashes & customer support costs

    The crashing issue is more a reflection on poor software engineering (and probably that due to poor scheduling) than anything else, however. PVR software could be made bulletproof, in time.

    Customer support is always going to be an issue wherever you add new features. So this argument will apply to ANY new features added, not just PVR.

    Lauder's "basic thesis ... that PVRs + Satellite will eat cable's lunch" should be an argument for cable to add PVRs. At least, that's the obvious conclusion that I see.

    His comment that "if a Supreme Court case was brought on the legality of each feature of PVRs were brought, some would lose" is just a swipe. There's very little that a PVR does that a VCR doesn't let you do already. The only difference is the spontaneity and the time you have to wait before you can watch. The only questionable features are those added by the newest Replay box (trading programs over the net), which are not core PVR features. If lobbyists make politicians make VCRs illegal, then perhaps there may be a case.

    Lauder's final comment regarded commercials. It should be pointed out that even with a PVR, you cannot skip commercials while watching live TV. Doing so requires planning head to watch delayed TV. If you're going to sit down and flip channels, you're still limited to watching live TV.

    Lauder thinks consumers should pay for commercials skipped. If that makes sense, then what about paying consumers for commercials watched repeatedly? That makes sense too, right?

  16. Re:Powering from the rails on The Evolution Of The Cost-Effective TrainCam · · Score: 1

    As far as I know (which isn't very far on this topic), a DC voltage multiplier turns the DC into AC, runs it through a transformer (which can easily multiply AC), then rectifies it again. At least, that's one way to do it.

  17. Re:I drove a VW Diesel on 239 MPG Car · · Score: 1

    Noisy and quiet are all relative. I'm sure there are many current gas-engined cars that are noisier than the Jetta TDI, as well as many that are quieter. The point is that, on average, modern diesels aren't any noisier than gas engines. This is a change from the past, when diesels very obviously stood out from gas engines.

  18. Re:Dawn demo looks awesome on Nvidia GeForceFX(NV30) Officially Launched · · Score: 1

    Naw, it just means they'll all become mo-cap actors instead.

    Just because the rendering is computerized doesn't mean the acting is too.

    Of course, given the talents of some p0rn stars, perhaps that step won't be too far behind.

  19. Re:shuttle cases on Nvidia GeForceFX(NV30) Officially Launched · · Score: 1

    You might need a power supply mod as well. In any case, add up the amps and compare before you flip the switch.

  20. Re:Slot Cooling on Nvidia GeForceFX(NV30) Officially Launched · · Score: 1

    The stuff on the die is smaller, but in this case the die itself is actually larger. Larger die with more transistors = more heat.

  21. Re:cooling excess... on Nvidia GeForceFX(NV30) Officially Launched · · Score: 1

    I suppose people who try to stuff this card into their Shuttle SFF computers may have something to complain about.

  22. Re:Just wait a lil and the dust problem will go aw on Nvidia GeForceFX(NV30) Officially Launched · · Score: 1

    You still gotta cool the water, and unless you pump the heat into the ground or a river, you'll probably use air for that.

  23. Re:Isn't broadband expensive in AU? on Xbox Live Goes Online · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You've heard of TCP/IP, I hope?

  24. Re:ObPenny-Arcade on Xbox Live Goes Online · · Score: 1

    Is that the problem he was talking about?

  25. Re:Standard Oil on Microsoft Loses $177m on Xbox in Three Months · · Score: 1

    No, you obviously didn't read my other posts. I'm talking about basic costs of making VLSI circuits that are larger than 200 mm^2 in area. Fact is, at the time, such chips cost over $100 to make, and the PS2 had two of them.

    These chips were larger than all except certain high-end server CPUs at the time. How much did competitive CPUs cost then? A lot more than a PS2 did.