I'm not talking about portable installations. I'm going with the idea that the mad craving for efficiency can lead to dangerous machinery. Using the batteries as the example. Small efficient batteries can't dissipate the heat so well. We have plenty of empty land. In fact most of it is empty. Very unsuitable for human habitat, or agriculture. I'm more inclined to go with simplicity and serviceability and the use of cheap, possibly locally available materials. Without the extreme temps, these machines seem more likely to fulfill these goals.
The idea behind making it simple to service is to make it cheap and less labor intensive to service. It reduces by orders of magnitude the risk of breakage.
For me it's not a nerd thing. It's a business issue. It's not worth the time and risk. Besides, those are very tiny screws, which I doubt even space ants can handle. And lets not forget all the tape and glue either. There's no reason to make a computer in such a fashion, until you remember that lack of serviceability is more of a fashion statement than anything else. I could even accept it if they put it under the keyboard instead of burying it in one of the most inaccessible spots they could find. Absolutely outrageous.
Exactly, It's the only reason I cannot recommend it to any of my customers. An easy to service machine is much cheaper and takes much less time to uh...service, and I have run into a lot of crappy drives recently. A 20 dollar job shouldn't cost hundreds of dollars along with the increased of breaking something. That's something I simply can't afford. Best to keep my hands(and my reputation) clean and send them off the the Apple store.
You mean, you can actually get the HD out without tearing the machine apart into a million pieces now? Well, that's a pleasant surprise. When did this start happening? Because I still haven't seen this.
That may be the price of avoiding extreme temperatures and pressures. The relative safety and reliability seems worth it to me. Efficiency isn't the only game in town. "Efficient" batteries in cell phones and laptops are a case in point.
I fully expect them to break down, but the cost is easy to figure in, and replacement parts for a Stirling can be very cheap and easy to...replace. The thing is that you can probably build the thing from old junk you might already have lying around the property. Making a gazillion solar panels might not be so environmentally friendly, plus it could create a shortage of needed materials. Then we go to war with the country that has the most... We're already at war for petrol and opium. We don't need any more of that.
The old glass cells suffered no such loss. I would consider that 1% a year to be unacceptable because I want to live in comfort with at least 10KW. For the stereo.
What's really nice about the Stirlings is that it needs no exotic materials, clean rooms, and whatnot to build. And we won't have to hear about how we're robbing some African country to get those materials. If you have one of those old C/Ku band dishes and a lathe and a drill press, you could probably build one damn near from scratch yourself in your garage. You would probably still have to buy the generator or alternator and inverter. For efficiency, I suppose DC motors are best, so you won't need big inverters.
Why Bruce, if you are the real Bruce Perens, I've never seen you get so political, and off topic:-)
Now, as for these super efficient solar panels, my question is, How long will they last before the power starts dropping off? I can't remember where I saw it, but I believe I read something about 40-50 year old rigid panels, the only kind available then, are putting out as much power as when they were new. Can we expect the same from these? Even if the initial price goes down, if you have to buy new ones every 5 or 10 years, they could still be very expensive to maintain. Besides, while I think PV power is great for mobile installations, but for small fixed power plants, I think things like Stirling engines are much better, moving parts and all.
We have government appeasing big business interests, nothing more. This is similar to private weather companies trying to restrict access to weather satellites. Somewhere in Slashdot there is a story about it.
Sorry about this, but I gotta add that this should remind us how insignificant we are, and that we are living out our lives like those kids in "Lord of the Flies"
Slashdot Mirror
There's two parties?? When did that happen?
Exactly! who the hell needs Facebook? Jeeze! People act like that's the only site on the net.I hope they're hosted offshore, out of reach.
I'm not talking about portable installations. I'm going with the idea that the mad craving for efficiency can lead to dangerous machinery. Using the batteries as the example. Small efficient batteries can't dissipate the heat so well. We have plenty of empty land. In fact most of it is empty. Very unsuitable for human habitat, or agriculture. I'm more inclined to go with simplicity and serviceability and the use of cheap, possibly locally available materials. Without the extreme temps, these machines seem more likely to fulfill these goals.
The idea behind making it simple to service is to make it cheap and less labor intensive to service. It reduces by orders of magnitude the risk of breakage.
For me it's not a nerd thing. It's a business issue. It's not worth the time and risk. Besides, those are very tiny screws, which I doubt even space ants can handle. And lets not forget all the tape and glue either. There's no reason to make a computer in such a fashion, until you remember that lack of serviceability is more of a fashion statement than anything else. I could even accept it if they put it under the keyboard instead of burying it in one of the most inaccessible spots they could find. Absolutely outrageous.
Exactly, It's the only reason I cannot recommend it to any of my customers. An easy to service machine is much cheaper and takes much less time to uh...service, and I have run into a lot of crappy drives recently. A 20 dollar job shouldn't cost hundreds of dollars along with the increased of breaking something. That's something I simply can't afford. Best to keep my hands(and my reputation) clean and send them off the the Apple store.
You mean, you can actually get the HD out without tearing the machine apart into a million pieces now? Well, that's a pleasant surprise. When did this start happening? Because I still haven't seen this.
Will it cure my asthma too? I think I'll save my money and just buy a can of Turtle Wax
That may be the price of avoiding extreme temperatures and pressures. The relative safety and reliability seems worth it to me. Efficiency isn't the only game in town. "Efficient" batteries in cell phones and laptops are a case in point.
I fully expect them to break down, but the cost is easy to figure in, and replacement parts for a Stirling can be very cheap and easy to...replace. The thing is that you can probably build the thing from old junk you might already have lying around the property. Making a gazillion solar panels might not be so environmentally friendly, plus it could create a shortage of needed materials. Then we go to war with the country that has the most... We're already at war for petrol and opium. We don't need any more of that.
Notice anything...?
Everybody's driving on the wrong side of the road...Definitely photoshopped.
The old glass cells suffered no such loss. I would consider that 1% a year to be unacceptable because I want to live in comfort with at least 10KW. For the stereo.
What's really nice about the Stirlings is that it needs no exotic materials, clean rooms, and whatnot to build. And we won't have to hear about how we're robbing some African country to get those materials. If you have one of those old C/Ku band dishes and a lathe and a drill press, you could probably build one damn near from scratch yourself in your garage. You would probably still have to buy the generator or alternator and inverter. For efficiency, I suppose DC motors are best, so you won't need big inverters.
Who ever thought that the China was so capitalist? Well, Welcome to the club.
Why Bruce, if you are the real Bruce Perens, I've never seen you get so political, and off topic :-)
Now, as for these super efficient solar panels, my question is, How long will they last before the power starts dropping off? I can't remember where I saw it, but I believe I read something about 40-50 year old rigid panels, the only kind available then, are putting out as much power as when they were new. Can we expect the same from these? Even if the initial price goes down, if you have to buy new ones every 5 or 10 years, they could still be very expensive to maintain. Besides, while I think PV power is great for mobile installations, but for small fixed power plants, I think things like Stirling engines are much better, moving parts and all.
We've already nuked earth several times. Hasn't seemed to change its trajectory much.
But weren't those guys married?
But I like this better.
Yes. I save them in notepad.
Best answer so far. Thank you. It's just that I couldn't find it in the picture. Maybe that's a good thing.
She's got it
Yeah, baby, she's got it
I'm your Venus, I'm your fire
At your desire
Um, I meant in the picture. All I saw were a bunch of tiny dots. And surely, I expected a more snappy answer to a stupid question. You're no fun.
We have government appeasing big business interests, nothing more. This is similar to private weather companies trying to restrict access to weather satellites. Somewhere in Slashdot there is a story about it.
Sorry about this, but I gotta add that this should remind us how insignificant we are, and that we are living out our lives like those kids in "Lord of the Flies"
You are here
With the exception of the spacecraft we sent out, and RF from our radio and TV, everything about us is on that tiny little grain of sand
I know I'm going to hate myself for asking, but where's Uranus?
Unbelievable? Bush was elected twice. And if Jeb was on the ticket, he would get elected twice. Nothing is unbelievable anymore.