Slashdot Mirror


User: otis+wildflower

otis+wildflower's activity in the archive.

Stories
0
Comments
2,584
First seen
Last seen
Profile
(view on slashdot.org)

Comments · 2,584

  1. Translucent OLED, stereo cams, tracking, etc on Oculus Hiring Programmers, Hardware Engineers, and More For VR Research Division · · Score: 1

    Seems to me that the ideal headset:
    * has dual high-res cams located above the eyes, or quad cams above and below, which can 'average' out to eye level
    * Is translucent/transparent with an electrochromic backplate
    * has pupil sensors on the inside
    * is wireless, perhaps with a battery 'pendant' that incorporates some UWB connection to the host computer
    * integrated mic on the bottom of the goggle frame as well as noise-cancelling mic on top
    * face cams can recognize fingertips, physical cues (like a laser mouse) to handle fine head orientation
    * possibly incorporate hardware neural net coprocessors for support features as well as image/pattern recognition

    Awhile back, hopefully suitable for 600+dpi displays:
    http://www.oled-info.com/trans...

    And a consumer level version of this might be cool:
    http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us...

  2. Re:Cheaper drives on Solid State Drives Break the 50 Cents Per GiB Barrier, OCZ ARC 100 Launched · · Score: 1

    Samsung's 840 EVO 500GB dipped below $0.5/GB unformatted on Newegg a couple weeks ago, with coupon.. IIRC the Crucial M550 512GB at newegg is below $0.5/GB without coupon..

  3. Haven't cared in 5 years, don't care now on KDE Releases Plasma 5 · · Score: 0

    Meh, KDE really fucked me over in the 3.5->4 transition, getting rid of a bunch of features that I really liked.

  4. Stunt ship on Scientists Have Developed a Material So Dark That You Can't See It · · Score: 1

    Time for Disaster Area to build a stunt ship out of it...

  5. English is fun on Teaching Creationism As Science Now Banned In Britain's Schools · · Score: 4, Funny

    With just one little comma...

    "Teaching Creationism, As Science Now Banned In Britain's Schools"

  6. GM already did it.. on New Car Can Lean Into Curves, Literally · · Score: 1

    .. 30+ years ago?

    http://www.maxmatic.com/ttw_le...

    (Saw it at EPCOT very many years ago...)

  7. PRISM, LFTR on US Nuclear Plants Expanding Long-Term Waste Storage Facilities · · Score: 1

    Consume spent fuel and waste, and turn it into power:

    http://gehitachiprism.com/what...

    Though I think avoiding sodium (in a LFTR, for example) is a safer choice, given its behavior when wet..

  8. Tweaking the Greentards on Dump World's Nuclear Waste In Australia, Says Ex-PM Hawke · · Score: 1

    He's doing it for the lulz, to tweak the particularly strident greentards that infect Australia.

    That said, if Australia went full-bore into PRISM and LFTR development (by, perhaps, providing some funding but mostly just expediting red tape and silencing greenies/NIMBYs) they could very well build a 11- or 12-figure industry around it instead of leaving it to China or India.

  9. Re:You call this science? on Rising Sea Level Could Put East Coast Nuclear Plants At Risk · · Score: 1

    If, as the best estimate suggests, the water rises about 8 inches by the year 2100, do we still plan on running 1970's reactors?

    I doubt they'd PLAN for it, but with greenies and NIMBYs it would not be beyond the realm of possibility.

  10. Replace them all with LFTRs on Rising Sea Level Could Put East Coast Nuclear Plants At Risk · · Score: 1

    LFTRs would take up less space, be more efficient, and rather than consuming water for cooling they could use low-grade leftover process heat to desalinate water. So, instead of being a massive freshwater sink it would be a freshwater source for piping inland (or, depending on the site, a river could be reversed for that task?)

  11. Re:Okay, Fusion is cool but... on Fusion Power By 2020? Researchers Say Yes and Turn To Crowdfunding. · · Score: 1

    Indeed, between PRISM to burn existing nuclear waste, and LFTR, the world can have centuries if not millennia of linear energy growth, and by which time fusion may even be practical.

  12. H2 fuel cells are a nonstarter, SOFCs may not be on Future of Cars: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Or Electric? · · Score: 1

    No nation is going to build an entire network of H2-dedicated pipelines and other infrastructure, so any sort of mass fueling of H2 will come from electrolysis (consumes freshwater and is expensive for power) or (most likely) reformation of natural gas piggybacking on the already-existing NG infrastructure.

    So, how efficient would an H2 fuel cell vehicle be per mpg equivalent worth of reformed H2 from natural gas? How much is the net fuel cost per mile?

    Now, IMO a more promising path would be using solid-oxide fuel cells that accept hydrocarbons directly, but IFF they can get at least 16-20kWh out of a gallon of gasoline, its volume and mass are comparable to an I4 or V6 engine, and the cost comes down to 5-10 cents per Watt.

  13. Re:Ion Audio on Ask Slashdot: Which VHS Player To Buy? · · Score: 1

    That's been discontinued, and AFAIK only has PC drivers. Their replacement is just a composite -> USB box, but it does have OS X drivers.

    Dunno if either has OSS support, alas.

    I like the VCR2DVD deck idea, assuming one can be found that does a quality job. I reckon finding a higher-end (S) VHS deck (with 4+ heads, stereo, auto tracking, maybe jog/shuttle knob) and testing it with a few sacrificable tapes is the way to go for OP. For 8mm video I'd recommend finding a Digital8 deck or camera, since it internally converts analog 8mm/Hi8 to digital before sending it up the firewire link.

  14. Billing by the hour? on Ask Slashdot: System Administrator Vs Change Advisory Board · · Score: 1

    If you're billing by the hour, this should be a GODSEND.

    Otherwise, start updating your resume..

  15. Re:How could you do it? on Interviews: Ask J. Michael Straczynski What You Will · · Score: 1

    I'd recommend reading these:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...
    http://www.amazon.com/Writing-...

    And understanding the Hollywood screenwriting and production process a bit better before blaming JMS for that. Plus, if you don't have a credit in the movie, you don't get residuals, and professionals get paid.

  16. Re:Pleeeeeeeease? on Interviews: Ask J. Michael Straczynski What You Will · · Score: 2

    I'd buy the crap out of this, but IIRC the CGI would have to be redone from scratch with little-to-no access to original digital assets.

  17. Re:Take a look at Synology's DSM on Ask Slashdot: Best Management Interface On an IT Appliance? · · Score: 2

    Synology is busybox-based, with md/lvm tools etc., and for the most part behaves properly. The GUI is handy for remote access and management (with self-signed cert), and is pretty functional for all but the corneriest of corner cases.

    This past week I needed to ssh in in order to e2fsck my storage prior to lvextending it. Kinda disappointed I had to do that, but the fact is that I could and did. Also, since the RAID is in software, in theory I could pull my 7 drive RAID out and stick it in another linux box and vg(im|ex)port it.

    My 1812+ has adequate power for pushing ~100+MB/s with its dual-core Atom and 3GB (it took a spare laptop SO-DIMM), and runs at a pretty low wattage rate vs. a handbuild mid tower. It can't transcode, but I have WDTV Live boxes that support most codecs fairly well for that.

  18. CGI? 1994 called... on White House Reportedly Dismissing Key Healthcare.gov Contractor · · Score: 1

    WTF they writing stuff in CGI at this point anyways? /sarc

  19. Re:Hey dawg.. on Chinese Icebreaker Is Stuck In Ice After Antarctic Research Vessel Rescue · · Score: 1

    If we're rescuing YOU.. Then who's rescuing US?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjRd4qmnuc0&t=2m30s

  20. No Hurd option? on Free Software Foundation Endorses a "Truly Free" Laptop · · Score: 1

    Is there a Hurd installer?

  21. Is there an OSS player that will do iTunes libs? on Ask Slashdot: Best FLOSS iTunes Replacement In 2013? · · Score: 1

    At one point, one of the OSS iTunes replacements could actually properly handle an iTunes Library XML file, assuming you regex replaced the pathing appropriately, but at a certain point it became an unsupported feature. I think it was in early builds of Songbird with iTunes plugin.

    Are there any OSS apps that play nice with a live iTunes Library file with playlists, count, rating, etc. support? I currently migrated my iTunes repo to my home NAS and repointed my Macs to it by option-starting iTunes. I'd like to be able to point an OSS app on Linux (or even Windows!) to that same NAS repo and have it Just Work Properly.

    Any recommendations on something that actually works well and isn't some buggy pre-beta kludgefest?

  22. EOM

  23. Excelsior! on Stan Lee Celebrates 90th Birthday · · Score: 1

    'Nuff said.

  24. Re:Progress! on Lockheed, SpaceX Trade Barbs · · Score: 1

    Err, there's a reason luxury vehicles are RWD.. FWD overburdens the front wheels with both steering and propulsion tasks, which can lead to lower peak traction in emergency situations, oversteer and torque steer. Weight distribution is also a factor that affects handling as well. FWD was far more useful in snow and ice prior to the advent of traction control, and having an unbalanced-heavy front helps in that situation at the expense of driving dynamics in normal conditions. FWD also provides more interior room typically, which makes it ideal for building lower-cost vehicles (less material for the same space).

    IMO the ideal vehicle would be driven by an under-the-floor rear electric motor (or separate electric motors in the rear and front for AWD) along with under-the-floor high-capacity batteries, and a gasoline-powered SOFC, turboshaft or optimized 1l H6 motor (scaled-down Gold Wing, say) with direct injection, a turbo and variable cycle capabilities. Keep all the weight as low as possible, and with batteries you can spread them out to get perfect weight distribution.

  25. Plenty of xenon.... on Where Has All the Xenon Gone? · · Score: 1

    ... as a fission product. With LFTR, it can be collected as it bubbles out of the core.