those old machines do provide a pleasant simplicity.
Not only that, but everyone "into" computers back in the late 70s and 80s were enthusiasts. A computer show/swap in 1988 would draw every nerd in a 50 mile radius... It was great to be among such kindred spirits: nerds donning vendor t-shirts like sports fans flaunt team jerseys, nerds with nervous ticks, nerds browsing floppy drive porn, nerds diving into bins of cables/breadboards/proms, skinny nerds struggling to carry bulky XT cases across the parking lot. Sadly those days are looooonnnnngggg gone.
This happened routinely during WWII in the US with patents and forced licensing agreements for technology deemed crucial to the war effort. Even my own great grandfather's manufacturing business (springs) was confiscated due to his ethnic background.
Expand "biofuel" to oil-heavy algae, and you've got an amazing cost-reduction.
Photosynthesis has a net energy efficiency of about 1%, solar irradiance is about 1000 watts per square meter = 10 watts per meter max for any biofuel. Factor in production, harvest, processing and transportation and you get a net energy loser.
The decline curve that we're forseeing is for gasoline, not coal, not nuclear, and not natural.
The decline curve is for light sweet crude and natural gas. Both of which are irreplaceable and critical for maintaining the world's 6.5 billion people. The green revolution in farming is based on pesticides and fertilizers made from those two resources.
Fischer-Tropsch diesel from coal would actually be cheaper than the current price of diesel fuel, now that oil is close to $60/barrel.
The energy inputs to the current Canadian tar sands is cheap oil pumped from the ground; that's why it's economical to mine at $45/barrel. As a self sustained system it is a much more expensive proposition, one that would price out the average suburbanite. The NAZIs used slave labor to get their system workable.
Our ability to extract coal is entirely dependent upon cheap oil (makes/powers the mining and transportation equipment). If we pass the decline curve for oil, there will be alot of homes going without power along with other necessities.
Very convenient for those that think the end is near. They always think the end is near. The end has never been near.
You just wait another 4 billion years pal! The sun is going to go ape shit and swallow the earth in a blaze of superheated plasma... then we doom and gloomers will be right there to say "told you so!"
The computer equivilent of the people who buy sports cars to go 20 miles an hour on the freeway. It doesn't matter that you can't use it for anything, just that you have it.
Your RSA issued token access has officially been revoked due to security concerns. Please mail the token to the address below along with your account number.
Considering how the attack on science by religious conservatives has reached a fever pitch, I am not surprised that fewer people are entering the hard sciences as a career.
People aren't entering the hard sciences because the pay sucks relative to the investment in education. Why go into student loan debt becoming an engineer when you can get an MBA and have more upward mobility.
Course the real problem is that the US isn't drawing the same kind of foreign talent it used to. Up until Clinton was elected the US had a strong favorable immigration policy towards foreign PhDs and other professionals.
I was a big fan of console RPGs but I haven't picked one up in years... Chrono Trigger for the SNES was the last. You sparked my interest, what would you suggest for either the PS2 or PC?
But how do you want the gameplay "reinvented"? I often hear people request this with respect to games, but they never really seem to be able to pinpoint what specific changes they'd like. Perhaps you can offer some suggestions?
Argh!! I don't want the gameplay reinvented and I hate the new "gimmicks" that are finding there way into FPS (ex. F.E.A.R's slow motion option). The only things I want improved are enemy AI, interactive environments and for God's sake more involving stories. Call of Duty, Far Cry and HL2 are all perfect as far as gameplay is concerned.
In the ancient days of BBS's, I remember one of the "adult" nets having a series of questions to verify age on registration. Things like 60s/70s pop culture and political references that I eventually managed my way through to download @ 1200bps goodness.
... and let me tell you kids today that you are spoiled! In my day we had daily upload & download quotas with no convienent thumbnails to preview. So clicking on something like "FoFDILD.GIF" was a 45 minute committment and if you were disappointed TOO BAD, you lived with it for that night.
I have both an older Sony TiVo with a lifetime membership and my Windows machine with a Hauppage tuner. I find that the TV tuners are fine if you are willing to watch on your PC, tried setting up a dedicated MythTV system to my entertainment center but found it overkill.
TiVo advantages:
Uses much less power and runs 24 x 7 Reliable software Better UI and scheduler Better remote
TiVo gripes:
Your viewing habits are logged and sent to "marketers" Have to change your embarrassing viewing list if you have company over (yeah, I'm a Gilmore Girls fan) Channel changes are slow (maybe just an issue with the older units) Limited HDD space
Slashdot Mirror
Bastard! I just spit coffee all over my screen :-)
those old machines do provide a pleasant simplicity.
... It was great to be among such kindred spirits: nerds donning vendor t-shirts like sports fans flaunt team jerseys, nerds with nervous ticks, nerds browsing floppy drive porn, nerds diving into bins of cables/breadboards/proms, skinny nerds struggling to carry bulky XT cases across the parking lot. Sadly those days are looooonnnnngggg gone.
Not only that, but everyone "into" computers back in the late 70s and 80s were enthusiasts. A computer show/swap in 1988 would draw every nerd in a 50 mile radius
This happened routinely during WWII in the US with patents and forced licensing agreements for technology deemed crucial to the war effort. Even my own great grandfather's manufacturing business (springs) was confiscated due to his ethnic background.
Expand "biofuel" to oil-heavy algae, and you've got an amazing cost-reduction.
Photosynthesis has a net energy efficiency of about 1%, solar irradiance is about 1000 watts per square meter = 10 watts per meter max for any biofuel. Factor in production, harvest, processing and transportation and you get a net energy loser.
The decline curve that we're forseeing is for gasoline, not coal, not nuclear, and not natural.
The decline curve is for light sweet crude and natural gas. Both of which are irreplaceable and critical for maintaining the world's 6.5 billion people. The green revolution in farming is based on pesticides and fertilizers made from those two resources.
Fischer-Tropsch diesel from coal would actually be cheaper than the current price of diesel fuel, now that oil is close to $60/barrel.
The energy inputs to the current Canadian tar sands is cheap oil pumped from the ground; that's why it's economical to mine at $45/barrel. As a self sustained system it is a much more expensive proposition, one that would price out the average suburbanite. The NAZIs used slave labor to get their system workable.
There is no technical reason at the moment that it couldn't be replaced by biodesiel
It takes more energy to produce biofuel than you get from the biofuel
and/or electric power (fuel cells, etc)
fuel cells are method of storage, what are you going to "charge" them with once we are on a decline curve?
Our ability to extract coal is entirely dependent upon cheap oil (makes/powers the mining and transportation equipment). If we pass the decline curve for oil, there will be alot of homes going without power along with other necessities.
in the face of a looming energy crisis and the threat of global warming
If the world is facing "Peak Oil", then the "global warming crisis" will subside once production is on the decline curve.
From the company that perfected "nickle and diming."
Don't forget Japan for the tentacle porn
AOL still exists
Very convenient for those that think the end is near. They always think the end is near. The end has never been near.
... then we doom and gloomers will be right there to say "told you so!"
You just wait another 4 billion years pal! The sun is going to go ape shit and swallow the earth in a blaze of superheated plasma
McDonalds is introducing a 2 for 1 Chicken McNugget promotion
Why is my Big Mac linking back to a horse farm??
The computer equivilent of the people who buy sports cars to go 20 miles an hour on the freeway. It doesn't matter that you can't use it for anything, just that you have it.
Sounds like class envy to me.
Your RSA issued token access has officially been revoked due to security concerns. Please mail the token to the address below along with your account number.
Regards,
Bank President
MS resurrects XENIX
No, correlation is not causation.
I don't know, the linked graph is compelling evidence.
Considering how the attack on science by religious conservatives has reached a fever pitch, I am not surprised that fewer people are entering the hard sciences as a career.
People aren't entering the hard sciences because the pay sucks relative to the investment in education. Why go into student loan debt becoming an engineer when you can get an MBA and have more upward mobility.
Course the real problem is that the US isn't drawing the same kind of foreign talent it used to. Up until Clinton was elected the US had a strong favorable immigration policy towards foreign PhDs and other professionals.
I was a big fan of console RPGs but I haven't picked one up in years ... Chrono Trigger for the SNES was the last. You sparked my interest, what would you suggest for either the PS2 or PC?
But how do you want the gameplay "reinvented"? I often hear people request this with respect to games, but they never really seem to be able to pinpoint what specific changes they'd like. Perhaps you can offer some suggestions?
Argh!! I don't want the gameplay reinvented and I hate the new "gimmicks" that are finding there way into FPS (ex. F.E.A.R's slow motion option). The only things I want improved are enemy AI, interactive environments and for God's sake more involving stories. Call of Duty, Far Cry and HL2 are all perfect as far as gameplay is concerned.
And how are they going to verify age?
In the ancient days of BBS's, I remember one of the "adult" nets having a series of questions to verify age on registration. Things like 60s/70s pop culture and political references that I eventually managed my way through to download @ 1200bps goodness.
... and let me tell you kids today that you are spoiled! In my day we had daily upload & download quotas with no convienent thumbnails to preview. So clicking on something like "FoFDILD.GIF" was a 45 minute committment and if you were disappointed TOO BAD, you lived with it for that night.
I have both an older Sony TiVo with a lifetime membership and my Windows machine with a Hauppage tuner. I find that the TV tuners are fine if you are willing to watch on your PC, tried setting up a dedicated MythTV system to my entertainment center but found it overkill.
TiVo advantages:
Uses much less power and runs 24 x 7
Reliable software
Better UI and scheduler
Better remote
TiVo gripes:
Your viewing habits are logged and sent to "marketers"
Have to change your embarrassing viewing list if you have company over (yeah, I'm a Gilmore Girls fan)
Channel changes are slow (maybe just an issue with the older units)
Limited HDD space
Bastard! Now I'm gonna have that theme song stuck in my head the rest of the day ... the Peter Griffin version at that