There's a reason for this. In large systems the need for a fast switch from utility to inverter power under full load requires that there be a battery charger constantly charging a battery bank and an inverter or rack of inverters connected to the battery bank to provide power to the load. This isn't very efficient but it works well.
I think this is partly what he was talking about. IE, instead of having a UPS which converts battery power to AC while simultaneously charging the batteries, just have a big DC power supply, float the batteries on it, and use that to power all of the servers and stuff. This does make sense; I have a similar setup with a Mini-ITX motherboard I use as a home mail server and some other things - it has the 12 volt car power supply in it, along with a small 12 volt gel cell battery for backup.
Also battery voltage can vary from about 10 V to 14.4V per battery so I don't think this is tightly regulated enough for computer components. In a large system you want to keep the DC voltage high so your I^2*R power loss is minimalized so DC voltages as high as 108 V are not unheard of.
I think there are commercial systems that operate with DC like this; I know for the telecom 48 VDC is used a lot. This is still a manageable voltage, as high voltage DC is a little more difficult to work with than AC at similar RMS voltages (though I'm sure higher voltages like 108 VDC are used too), but you don't need absolutely huge wire. Also, there are low voltage DC-input ATX power supplies available. I've seen them for 12, 24, and 48 volts. Generally they will produce a regulated output for the PC, so if the battery voltage fluctuates somewhat it's not much of a problem, provided it's within spec. Also, normal AC units usually work by rectifying the incoming line to DC, and then using a step-down converter to get the lower DC voltages. So you could probably run one directly off of 170 VDC (170 volts is around the peak of the AC sine wave).
And of course, if you have a system like this it wouldn't be that hard to throw some photovoltaics in too, which would reduce the load on the main power supply (and thus the draw from the grid).
There is some confusion here, because Linux's use in this area is mainly for visual effects, which is different from editing. Of course Linux is used on renderfarms mostly, but it is also used on the desktop for things like compositing and 3D work. In fact, work on Avatar was mostly done on Ubuntu (the article mostly talks about their render farm, but also mentions desktops).
That said, I think some high-end editing systems do run Linux, like Flame which has been mentioned here.
I have an SGI Octane II that I still use occasionally. I would love to have the Irix source, as I'm sure a lot of people who have these things around would. I'm not sure what's stopping them, though I guess it could be something to do with patents on Unix.
I suppose you could do something like allow access to only the Google services, like Gmail, normal searching, and Google Maps, but then again there could still be trouble.
One thing I've thought might be kind of interesting to do is to route traffic through Tor. Many people here have mentioned having a separate SSID for open access; with some routing you could have all Web requests on this network sent through the Tor network. It would be slower, but you are offering it for free, and it would be a good way to allow some access without worrying too much about getting raided. Then again it could also encourage people to do bad things, if word got around that you were offering free, untraceable Internet (not that other's can't download Tor, of course). And, if the authorities were sniffing the traffic on the open network they might still find a reason to raid you, but it might work.
At any rate, if you are allowing open access logging connections religiously is probably not a bad idea.
Well, I looked in to it myself. The best case scenario is you DIY, half for the fun of tinkering with it.
This is actually a good way to look at it. I'm not sure I'd make my own panel, but assembling a small battery-based system is neat and can teach you a good bit about electricity, and what you can do with solar power. You might be able to run some lights and the computer depending on your usage and how big you size the system, and you'd also have a source of backup power if the grid goes down.
I'm not sure about doing what you want with the images, but when you mentioned "guified cli" it made me think of Plan 9's GUI, rio, which is sort of like a point-and-click text terminal.
Ardour is very nice, actually. I use it regularly, both for practicing (recording myself, improvising over a loop or playing a scale to a drone note) and for recording my band occasionally. I'm not a ProTools user, but it gets the job done pretty well. Well enough that for what I do, I wouldn't consider replacing it with a commercial package. While there's always room for improvement, I wouldn't expect it to be a carbon copy of another program - same with the Gimp (though I would agree the Gimp could use more improvement).
On the other hand, audio-wise Ubuntu Studio isn't always 'stable', in that occasionally the new release doesn't ship with the realtime kernel (like 10.10...). I've had some FireWire issues with it too, but for the most part if you pick a good release it works well. (Interestingly, I had an easier time getting my FireWire soundcard working on my Gentoo machine, which is my main audio workstation, than on my laptop.)
Well, I'm not sure that the roadster really fits into that niche anyway. I mean, it's essentially a toy for rich people. It's a great way to start developing the technology, as some of those people will want to adopt it. I'm not sure that that person would fit your description.
And with hydrogen, it really depends on where the hydrogen comes from. If it's from electrolysis, it's still derived from electricity, which could be useful or might not be. (Though there are other sources too, of course.)
No, 120VAC obviously not completely harmless. However, alternating current has different characteristics to it which make dealing with it more manageable in some respects. When arcing occurs with AC it does not behave the same as with DC; for one thing, the zero crossing (every 8.3 ms at 60 Hz, for instance) makes extinguishing it easier. Thus, it's not as hard to make overcurrent protection for AC, like fuses and circuit breakers. With DC, the inductance inherent in the wiring can cause voltage spikes if the flow of current changes abruptly. So if there's a short, an arc will be a lot harder to put out. This also carries over to someone coming into contact with a high potential, as it can make it harder to "let go".
On the other hand 120 VDC can be dealt with safely; hybrid vehicles for instance tend to use higher voltages for their battery packs (though it's obviously not as exposed to the user as it might be in a home). However, using DC voltages like this would require more precautions, and electricians with training.
You can also wire a battery bank in parallel and have a built-in UPS: if the main converter fails or the power goes out, there's still power for the computers without any interruption.
The truth is, for power distribution high voltage is what you need first. Beyond that, however, DC is actually a better for going long distances - check out the Wikipedia article on HVDC, for instance. However, changing the voltage with DC is more complicated. Doing it in Tesla/Edison's time would've been done using motor-generators. Today we have switchmode electronics which are much more efficient, but it is still more difficult than using a transformer. That said, in some cases it's still the more economical option. (According to the Wiki article, they were using it for some distribution even back with the motor-generators.)
The caveat though is that DC at higher voltages (~120VDC) is dangerous, and not exactly something you want in a residential setting. You can run lower voltages, but then you need to deal with higher amperage and thus bigger wires. So the way things are now, it doesn't really make a lot of sense to go and change the infrastructure so much.
Of course, it depends on the situation; people who live off-grid with solar will tend to use DC a lot more. Before quality power inverters were very affordable people would do things like convert their washers to DC. Now a good inverter covers most things aside from something like cordless phone or wireless router. (Because if they're the only things you're running at some point, leaving the inverter on to run them is not very efficient.)
More likely, you'd pull up to a charging station that has a big industrial feed at a higher voltage so that you don't need a copper wire the size of your arm.
This. This sort of technology would be great for the "gas station" type of scenario, but in a general scenario without too much evening driving, as long as you remember to plug the car in when you're done with it for the day, you're good. No need necessarily to have it charged that quick and then just sit there for the night.
Also, I'm not sure how this new approach affects the battery's lifespan, but in general batteries last slightly longer if you don't charge them as quick. In other words, if most of your charges are slow charges as opposed to a fast one, the pack will probably last longer as opposed to having all fast charges. The quick option would still be great to have though.
That's something you have to be careful about. If you transmit to try to call out for help or to keep in touch, others may be listening in. And while you may not be saying anything that is very sensitive, the fact that you're transmitting could allow people to triangulate your position. If this happens, then someone you might not want to meet could end up knowing your location and that you have a ham radio. I suppose this isn't as much of a problem if you use a directional antenna and bounce off the ionosphere (harder for random people on the ground to pick up), but still something to think of.
On the other hand in a pinch it would be very good to have. And if nothing else, being able to listen in could be vital too. Just make sure you have a backup power source.
Actually, I would say that for power some sort of setup with a rechargeable battery would be good to have, maybe with a few solar panels for charging. It's not that expensive or difficult to put together a system that will run some lights and other things. Having a ham radio handy would be good too.
But having a generator in addition to that wouldn't be a bad idea.
Emergency communication is important, but that's really not the only reason for amateur radio. Access to these bands is a great way for people, both young and old, to be able to experiment with electronics. A lot of innovations in communication have come from hams, frequency modulation is a good example. Many experienced engineers have gotten their start messing with radio gear.
The flywheel technology looks interesting, and in theory doesn't depend much on location. (Although safety is a concern.) The flow batteries are interesting too. Renewable energy or not grid energy storage is something that we do need to develop, if only to even out demand and provide some redundancy. Research on these will continue, and they will become more affordable.
Edison wanted DC because it was what he had started working with, and he wanted to keep using it.
The ironic thing though is that high voltage DC is actually kind of dangerous to work with, more so than similar AC voltages. This is because of the way inductance and capacitances behave as the frequency increases. As the frequency increases a capacitance starts to look more like a short, while an inductance starts to look more like an open. At DC (IE, at 0 Hz), it is the opposite. In DC, an inductance will resist changes in current. This makes it harder to build DC overcurrent protection devices, as in the event of a short the inductance inherent in the wiring can cause a voltage spike which can maintain an arc. In alternating current the zero crossing (every 8.3 ms at 60 Hz) inhibits this. Lack of a zero crossing can also make it harder to "let go" if you come in contact with a live wire.
At transmission-type voltages, though, like what you'd use to get power across the country it's kind of a moot point as you don't really want to get between either of them and ground.
We currently have zero methods to store electricity that are cheap enough and effective enough for use on the grid. All electricity is generated as needed, with vast arrays of 'peaking power' generation capacity that largely sits idle. Believe me, if there were a good way to store electricity the industry would be using it already.
Pumped storage is already used quite a bit. It would be nice if it were more efficient, but utilities do make use of it for storing power at off-peak times where geography allows. Flywheels and other methods have come up; check out grid energy storage on Wikipedia. There are even some battery technologies that have been used.
Worse, while electricity can be sent large distances, it is best to generate close to the point of use because of the line losses. So even if we were willing (and shot enough enviromentalists) to cover our deserts with solar arrays we would lose most of the power heating the lines getting it to where the customers are. Same for wind, it mostly occurs in areas where there aren't many people... or more accurately windmills near populated areas attracts more environmentalists.
Generating electricity close to its point of use is a big strength for solar, at least for PV as you can put panels on roof space that would otherwise go unused. (It's difficult to do this with wind, of course, when it comes to cities or suburbs.) Regarding transmission, you're right that generating close to the load is best. However, the problem still exists everywhere in our power grid, and that's why high voltages are used (less current means less energy lost as heat).
Absolute hearing (recognizing the pitch of a note of music): my dad has always been able to do it and can't remember a time when he couldn't, nor did he understand why others couldn't. But many musicians need to train quite hard at it. To some it comes naturally after years of making music, to others it doesn't.
I think that absolute pitch has a lot to do with what you're exposed to when you're young. We're normally visual creatures, and by default I think a lot of our brain develops to process visuals. But if you train it more when you're young you can redirect that a little. This is also why there are a lot of good musicians who are blind, as their brain ends up wired differently.
Absolute pitch can be acquired, but it is very hard later in life. I'm a bass player, and sometimes when listening to music a note will pop out at me, usually an A or a Bb, but this is about it. I've known people who could tell you by ear every note sounded after you drop a rock on a piano, and generally these people have been playing since they were young. I think that if you're exposed to pitches at a young age, you start to latch onto them like you can with color. In fact, many people with absolute pitch describe it this way.
Relative pitch (like being able to identify a major 7th) on the other hand is not that hard to pick up, most musicians do in my experience even if they start at a later age. I read somewhere that part of this has to do with the way we teach and learn music in the west, but I'm not sure.
What is interesting though is that they claim to include video training. So, while they may not really have done anything with blender, they do have a new product here if you count what they've included. Their tutorials may not be that bad, and who knows, they might help people get into Blender. Depending on how you look at it, to some may be worth the $47 they're charging.
That said, they are being extremely deceptive. They could have just distributed a "Blender training CD" or something, or at the very least openly referred to the Blender site.
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There's a reason for this. In large systems the need for a fast switch from utility to inverter power under full load requires that there be a battery charger constantly charging a battery bank and an inverter or rack of inverters connected to the battery bank to provide power to the load. This isn't very efficient but it works well.
I think this is partly what he was talking about. IE, instead of having a UPS which converts battery power to AC while simultaneously charging the batteries, just have a big DC power supply, float the batteries on it, and use that to power all of the servers and stuff. This does make sense; I have a similar setup with a Mini-ITX motherboard I use as a home mail server and some other things - it has the 12 volt car power supply in it, along with a small 12 volt gel cell battery for backup.
Also battery voltage can vary from about 10 V to 14.4V per battery so I don't think this is tightly regulated enough for computer components. In a large system you want to keep the DC voltage high so your I^2*R power loss is minimalized so DC voltages as high as 108 V are not unheard of.
I think there are commercial systems that operate with DC like this; I know for the telecom 48 VDC is used a lot. This is still a manageable voltage, as high voltage DC is a little more difficult to work with than AC at similar RMS voltages (though I'm sure higher voltages like 108 VDC are used too), but you don't need absolutely huge wire. Also, there are low voltage DC-input ATX power supplies available. I've seen them for 12, 24, and 48 volts. Generally they will produce a regulated output for the PC, so if the battery voltage fluctuates somewhat it's not much of a problem, provided it's within spec. Also, normal AC units usually work by rectifying the incoming line to DC, and then using a step-down converter to get the lower DC voltages. So you could probably run one directly off of 170 VDC (170 volts is around the peak of the AC sine wave).
And of course, if you have a system like this it wouldn't be that hard to throw some photovoltaics in too, which would reduce the load on the main power supply (and thus the draw from the grid).
There is some confusion here, because Linux's use in this area is mainly for visual effects, which is different from editing. Of course Linux is used on renderfarms mostly, but it is also used on the desktop for things like compositing and 3D work. In fact, work on Avatar was mostly done on Ubuntu (the article mostly talks about their render farm, but also mentions desktops).
That said, I think some high-end editing systems do run Linux, like Flame which has been mentioned here.
Don't forget Shake and Nuke.
No, the proper way to edit video is to do it in Emacs.
Well, that could be interesting, but then again I'm not sure I want to know some of the things people use Tor for :).
I have an SGI Octane II that I still use occasionally. I would love to have the Irix source, as I'm sure a lot of people who have these things around would. I'm not sure what's stopping them, though I guess it could be something to do with patents on Unix.
I suppose you could do something like allow access to only the Google services, like Gmail, normal searching, and Google Maps, but then again there could still be trouble.
One thing I've thought might be kind of interesting to do is to route traffic through Tor. Many people here have mentioned having a separate SSID for open access; with some routing you could have all Web requests on this network sent through the Tor network. It would be slower, but you are offering it for free, and it would be a good way to allow some access without worrying too much about getting raided. Then again it could also encourage people to do bad things, if word got around that you were offering free, untraceable Internet (not that other's can't download Tor, of course). And, if the authorities were sniffing the traffic on the open network they might still find a reason to raid you, but it might work.
At any rate, if you are allowing open access logging connections religiously is probably not a bad idea.
Well, I looked in to it myself. The best case scenario is you DIY, half for the fun of tinkering with it.
This is actually a good way to look at it. I'm not sure I'd make my own panel, but assembling a small battery-based system is neat and can teach you a good bit about electricity, and what you can do with solar power. You might be able to run some lights and the computer depending on your usage and how big you size the system, and you'd also have a source of backup power if the grid goes down.
I'm not sure about doing what you want with the images, but when you mentioned "guified cli" it made me think of Plan 9's GUI, rio, which is sort of like a point-and-click text terminal.
I agree. I'm a Gnome user, but I use both Gnome and KDE apps. The compatibility isn't perfect, but it still ends up working well.
Ardour is very nice, actually. I use it regularly, both for practicing (recording myself, improvising over a loop or playing a scale to a drone note) and for recording my band occasionally. I'm not a ProTools user, but it gets the job done pretty well. Well enough that for what I do, I wouldn't consider replacing it with a commercial package. While there's always room for improvement, I wouldn't expect it to be a carbon copy of another program - same with the Gimp (though I would agree the Gimp could use more improvement).
On the other hand, audio-wise Ubuntu Studio isn't always 'stable', in that occasionally the new release doesn't ship with the realtime kernel (like 10.10...). I've had some FireWire issues with it too, but for the most part if you pick a good release it works well. (Interestingly, I had an easier time getting my FireWire soundcard working on my Gentoo machine, which is my main audio workstation, than on my laptop.)
Well, I'm not sure that the roadster really fits into that niche anyway. I mean, it's essentially a toy for rich people. It's a great way to start developing the technology, as some of those people will want to adopt it. I'm not sure that that person would fit your description.
And with hydrogen, it really depends on where the hydrogen comes from. If it's from electrolysis, it's still derived from electricity, which could be useful or might not be. (Though there are other sources too, of course.)
No, 120VAC obviously not completely harmless. However, alternating current has different characteristics to it which make dealing with it more manageable in some respects. When arcing occurs with AC it does not behave the same as with DC; for one thing, the zero crossing (every 8.3 ms at 60 Hz, for instance) makes extinguishing it easier. Thus, it's not as hard to make overcurrent protection for AC, like fuses and circuit breakers. With DC, the inductance inherent in the wiring can cause voltage spikes if the flow of current changes abruptly. So if there's a short, an arc will be a lot harder to put out. This also carries over to someone coming into contact with a high potential, as it can make it harder to "let go".
On the other hand 120 VDC can be dealt with safely; hybrid vehicles for instance tend to use higher voltages for their battery packs (though it's obviously not as exposed to the user as it might be in a home). However, using DC voltages like this would require more precautions, and electricians with training.
You can also wire a battery bank in parallel and have a built-in UPS: if the main converter fails or the power goes out, there's still power for the computers without any interruption.
The truth is, for power distribution high voltage is what you need first. Beyond that, however, DC is actually a better for going long distances - check out the Wikipedia article on HVDC, for instance. However, changing the voltage with DC is more complicated. Doing it in Tesla/Edison's time would've been done using motor-generators. Today we have switchmode electronics which are much more efficient, but it is still more difficult than using a transformer. That said, in some cases it's still the more economical option. (According to the Wiki article, they were using it for some distribution even back with the motor-generators.)
The caveat though is that DC at higher voltages (~120VDC) is dangerous, and not exactly something you want in a residential setting. You can run lower voltages, but then you need to deal with higher amperage and thus bigger wires. So the way things are now, it doesn't really make a lot of sense to go and change the infrastructure so much.
Of course, it depends on the situation; people who live off-grid with solar will tend to use DC a lot more. Before quality power inverters were very affordable people would do things like convert their washers to DC. Now a good inverter covers most things aside from something like cordless phone or wireless router. (Because if they're the only things you're running at some point, leaving the inverter on to run them is not very efficient.)
More likely, you'd pull up to a charging station that has a big industrial feed at a higher voltage so that you don't need a copper wire the size of your arm.
This. This sort of technology would be great for the "gas station" type of scenario, but in a general scenario without too much evening driving, as long as you remember to plug the car in when you're done with it for the day, you're good. No need necessarily to have it charged that quick and then just sit there for the night.
Also, I'm not sure how this new approach affects the battery's lifespan, but in general batteries last slightly longer if you don't charge them as quick. In other words, if most of your charges are slow charges as opposed to a fast one, the pack will probably last longer as opposed to having all fast charges. The quick option would still be great to have though.
That's something you have to be careful about. If you transmit to try to call out for help or to keep in touch, others may be listening in. And while you may not be saying anything that is very sensitive, the fact that you're transmitting could allow people to triangulate your position. If this happens, then someone you might not want to meet could end up knowing your location and that you have a ham radio. I suppose this isn't as much of a problem if you use a directional antenna and bounce off the ionosphere (harder for random people on the ground to pick up), but still something to think of.
On the other hand in a pinch it would be very good to have. And if nothing else, being able to listen in could be vital too. Just make sure you have a backup power source.
Actually, I would say that for power some sort of setup with a rechargeable battery would be good to have, maybe with a few solar panels for charging. It's not that expensive or difficult to put together a system that will run some lights and other things. Having a ham radio handy would be good too.
But having a generator in addition to that wouldn't be a bad idea.
Linux Mint would be a start.
Emergency communication is important, but that's really not the only reason for amateur radio. Access to these bands is a great way for people, both young and old, to be able to experiment with electronics. A lot of innovations in communication have come from hams, frequency modulation is a good example. Many experienced engineers have gotten their start messing with radio gear.
The flywheel technology looks interesting, and in theory doesn't depend much on location. (Although safety is a concern.) The flow batteries are interesting too. Renewable energy or not grid energy storage is something that we do need to develop, if only to even out demand and provide some redundancy. Research on these will continue, and they will become more affordable.
Edision wanted DC because its arguably safer.
Edison wanted DC because it was what he had started working with, and he wanted to keep using it.
The ironic thing though is that high voltage DC is actually kind of dangerous to work with, more so than similar AC voltages. This is because of the way inductance and capacitances behave as the frequency increases. As the frequency increases a capacitance starts to look more like a short, while an inductance starts to look more like an open. At DC (IE, at 0 Hz), it is the opposite. In DC, an inductance will resist changes in current. This makes it harder to build DC overcurrent protection devices, as in the event of a short the inductance inherent in the wiring can cause a voltage spike which can maintain an arc. In alternating current the zero crossing (every 8.3 ms at 60 Hz) inhibits this. Lack of a zero crossing can also make it harder to "let go" if you come in contact with a live wire.
At transmission-type voltages, though, like what you'd use to get power across the country it's kind of a moot point as you don't really want to get between either of them and ground.
We currently have zero methods to store electricity that are cheap enough and effective enough for use on the grid. All electricity is generated as needed, with vast arrays of 'peaking power' generation capacity that largely sits idle. Believe me, if there were a good way to store electricity the industry would be using it already.
Pumped storage is already used quite a bit. It would be nice if it were more efficient, but utilities do make use of it for storing power at off-peak times where geography allows. Flywheels and other methods have come up; check out grid energy storage on Wikipedia. There are even some battery technologies that have been used.
Worse, while electricity can be sent large distances, it is best to generate close to the point of use because of the line losses. So even if we were willing (and shot enough enviromentalists) to cover our deserts with solar arrays we would lose most of the power heating the lines getting it to where the customers are. Same for wind, it mostly occurs in areas where there aren't many people... or more accurately windmills near populated areas attracts more environmentalists.
Generating electricity close to its point of use is a big strength for solar, at least for PV as you can put panels on roof space that would otherwise go unused. (It's difficult to do this with wind, of course, when it comes to cities or suburbs.) Regarding transmission, you're right that generating close to the load is best. However, the problem still exists everywhere in our power grid, and that's why high voltages are used (less current means less energy lost as heat).
Absolute hearing (recognizing the pitch of a note of music): my dad has always been able to do it and can't remember a time when he couldn't, nor did he understand why others couldn't. But many musicians need to train quite hard at it. To some it comes naturally after years of making music, to others it doesn't.
I think that absolute pitch has a lot to do with what you're exposed to when you're young. We're normally visual creatures, and by default I think a lot of our brain develops to process visuals. But if you train it more when you're young you can redirect that a little. This is also why there are a lot of good musicians who are blind, as their brain ends up wired differently.
Absolute pitch can be acquired, but it is very hard later in life. I'm a bass player, and sometimes when listening to music a note will pop out at me, usually an A or a Bb, but this is about it. I've known people who could tell you by ear every note sounded after you drop a rock on a piano, and generally these people have been playing since they were young. I think that if you're exposed to pitches at a young age, you start to latch onto them like you can with color. In fact, many people with absolute pitch describe it this way.
Relative pitch (like being able to identify a major 7th) on the other hand is not that hard to pick up, most musicians do in my experience even if they start at a later age. I read somewhere that part of this has to do with the way we teach and learn music in the west, but I'm not sure.
What is interesting though is that they claim to include video training. So, while they may not really have done anything with blender, they do have a new product here if you count what they've included. Their tutorials may not be that bad, and who knows, they might help people get into Blender. Depending on how you look at it, to some may be worth the $47 they're charging.
That said, they are being extremely deceptive. They could have just distributed a "Blender training CD" or something, or at the very least openly referred to the Blender site.