Is there anywhere else? Ebay used to be 'the garage sale to the world'.
There are plenty of online auction sites including Amazon. That's why it doesn't mean much if eBay wants people to use PayPal. If people don't like it they can go to another online auction service.
Oh, and as for "garage sales", I'm pretty sure there are people who do what my sister used to do. She'd go to garage or yard sales to see if she could find things to buy she thought she could sell for a profit on eBay.
I really hate the fact that the site is swamped with commercial vendors rather than people selling stuff they don't need any more. eBay needs to be split into a marketplace where you can go to buy new things (like Amazon), and the good old auctioning of used personal stuff.
We need more regulations? You may want some but I don't. eBay has commercial venders because it works for them. A person can unload old items they have, and make some money at it. Once people start making money from selling stuff on eBay they'll sell more and more until they reach the point where they need to decide if they want to turn it into a business or just keep it on the sideline. Are you proposing that if a person does want to start a business they need to move to a commercial auction site, and perhaps require a business license as well? If so have you thought about the potential ramifications? People sell on eBay because they can sell for profit while buyers buy from eBay because they can get good prices as well. It's good for both parties. If those who sell in volumes have move to commercial auction sites, who's going to be their buyers?
By moving down the path towards requiring only Paypal - and nobody can argue that's not where they're leading - they're just trying to take a bigger cut of each sale while eliminating competition at the same time. I guess eBay doesn't want me as a customer anymore.
Both buyers and sellers are free to try other auctioners, heck Amazon also as auctions just as there are other online auctions. If eBay tries to get everybody to use Paypal, then like you others may stop using eBay.
Besides if your dealing on the net the protection of a CC is a must
CCs only protect buyers not sellers. A buyer can always dispute a charge on their credit card, which is a good thing as credit cards or their numbers can be stolen. But it's bad for sellers, they may not get paid. And if they have too many chargebacks their merchant account can be canceled. As for paying with checks or money orders, banks will stop payments on checks and the buyer can get a refund with their money order receipt.
I'm afraid you've heard wrong, or you heard the requirements for air or sea entry, which could be different. However, here in upstate New York, it is common to cross into Canada by land, which is how all of my crossings have been into Canada for the past several years.
Maybe I did hear wrong, perhaps some of those I heard it from thought it was flying. Thing is is some I heard it from were from Seattle driving into BC. Maybe where you cross the border determines whether a passport is needed. I don't know, I haven't been to Canada since the month before 911.
from what I've read of him, he seems more like a lazy and bitter malcontent than a real revolutionary
Though I didn't say it in that post Paine was more than a lazy malcontent. He wrote the line "These are the times that try men's souls" as well as various tracts in support of democracy while serving under General George Washington during the revolution.
I myself do not like the French Revolution
I support the French Revolution, that is I would have back then. What I would not support is the measures used, the ends do not justify the means. The Terror or Reign of Terror was stupid. Actually Paine was one of the victims of The terror. He spent almost a year in a Luxembourg prison when an "American minister, James Monroe, secured his release."
I wonder if the typical efficiency ratings are referring to % of *visible* light, and this one gets extra points for also handling UV? I dunno. The math worries me greatly, whether it's % or x. (well, no WAY it's x)
I wonder if we'll ever find out. I'd love to see an increase in efficiency but won't hold my breath.
he astonishing thing is not that the kid is so bright and supported by his parents, mentors and teachers (all of these things are true, amazing and good for all of them), but that no other serious scientist pursued this sort of design yet.
While I applaud this kid, he wasn't the first to come up with 3d solar cells.
500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells
Uhm, no. FAIL.
Still, if he's getting money, there's likely something good going on here, but the reporting on this is completely ridiculous. It's enough to make me curious as to the REAL figures.
I'm wondering if the reporter saw 500% then translated it to 500x. There's still a problem though, even with 500%. The typical PVs are about 12% efficient, so this would make them 60% efficient. However there are PVs available that have an efficiency of about 19.5% which would bring the new efficiency to 97.5%.
No currently installed PV system makes economic sense if grid power is available if the subsidies are removed.
AH but if you're going to remove the subsidies solar gets then you also should remove the subsidies conventional energy sources get. Even coal, which provides most of the US's electricity gets subsidies.
there is only one short term solution. We need an Apollo type national commitment to building Nuke plants.
Nuclear isn't a short term solution, unless you call 5 years short term and can build one that quickly. However a 5 megawatt wind turbine can be erected in weeks. Erect 20 a month and in one year you'll add more than a gigawatt of power*. Apply an Apollo project to wind and you could produce more power quicker than you could with nuclear.
As Texas oil Billionaire T Boone Pickens has intimated in his plan for wind farms, the Rocky Mountains alone contain enough potential wind energy to supply almost if not all of the 48 contiguous states with electricity. If that's not enough all along the Pacific coast then through AZ and NM to Texas there's more. Then there's the Mid Atlantic states on up to Maine. For instance the wind potential between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras is estimated to be 330 Gigawatts.
Quite simply wind beats nuclear.
Falcon
*I use 1 gigawatt because in California 4 reactors, 2 each in 2 power plants, generate 4.324 Gigawatts. That's just over a Gigawatt per reactor. It's the same in Alabama, 5 reactors generate just over 5 Gigawatts.
Our attitudes towards raising educated kids, and supporting the really smart ones, has changed a lot since I was in 7th grade. We didn't even have anything like the MESA club this kid was part of.
I don't know about this MESA club but when I was in school more than 30 years ago I was in a model rocketry club. What I found weird is that this was in Mass but when I move back to Florida, an hour's drive from the Cape, there wasn't any club like it. Because it's close to the Cape I'd expect at least some people to be interested in rocketry.
How do people that young get access to tools to build these things?
Both of his parents are engineers at Intel. And he has some mentors "including a California engineer, professors at Portland State University and the University of California-Berkeley".
It certainly does have something to do with it. Walking pass a target you scan their ID, then you go to your buddy, who's corrupt and works in a fatherland office. Using the "unique number" he then looks up the target and changes the photo.
What's to figure out? It is probably just an unencrypted number that identifies your record in the database. When you cross the border it does a lookup and displays your photo and other info. Picture doesn't match? You don't get to cross. No point in faking the RFID.
Only until you find an employee in the Department of Fatherland, er, Motherland, er Homeland Security who can edit the database who's corrupt. Forgers would love this. As does all the businesses that sell the equipment and software needed to run it.
When you travel across borders a lot,you will likely have more on then a swimsuit, so having your passport with you is not a real serious problem.
I don't know, if I lived near the border I might want to cross over and not have planned it. When I visited Detroit I could drive across a bridge into Windsor without a passport. I don't know about you but I wouldn't keep my passport in my car or carry with me all the tyme. Last I heard though Canada is now requiring them.
Slashdot Mirror
Is there anywhere else? Ebay used to be 'the garage sale to the world'.
There are plenty of online auction sites including Amazon. That's why it doesn't mean much if eBay wants people to use PayPal. If people don't like it they can go to another online auction service.
Oh, and as for "garage sales", I'm pretty sure there are people who do what my sister used to do. She'd go to garage or yard sales to see if she could find things to buy she thought she could sell for a profit on eBay.
Falcon
Credit card companies will NOT reimburse payments made through Paypal as that is a 3rd party.
I wouldn't expect a credit card company to do anything with PayPal, unless PayPal incorrectly charges the card.
I agree, paypal should be regulated like a bank.
PayPal is not a bank and shouldn't be treated like one. And we don't need more regulations, we need less.
Falcon
I really hate the fact that the site is swamped with commercial vendors rather than people selling stuff they don't need any more. eBay needs to be split into a marketplace where you can go to buy new things (like Amazon), and the good old auctioning of used personal stuff.
We need more regulations? You may want some but I don't. eBay has commercial venders because it works for them. A person can unload old items they have, and make some money at it. Once people start making money from selling stuff on eBay they'll sell more and more until they reach the point where they need to decide if they want to turn it into a business or just keep it on the sideline. Are you proposing that if a person does want to start a business they need to move to a commercial auction site, and perhaps require a business license as well? If so have you thought about the potential ramifications? People sell on eBay because they can sell for profit while buyers buy from eBay because they can get good prices as well. It's good for both parties. If those who sell in volumes have move to commercial auction sites, who's going to be their buyers?
Falcon
By moving down the path towards requiring only Paypal - and nobody can argue that's not where they're leading - they're just trying to take a bigger cut of each sale while eliminating competition at the same time. I guess eBay doesn't want me as a customer anymore.
Both buyers and sellers are free to try other auctioners, heck Amazon also as auctions just as there are other online auctions. If eBay tries to get everybody to use Paypal, then like you others may stop using eBay.
Falcon
Besides if your dealing on the net the protection of a CC is a must
CCs only protect buyers not sellers. A buyer can always dispute a charge on their credit card, which is a good thing as credit cards or their numbers can be stolen. But it's bad for sellers, they may not get paid. And if they have too many chargebacks their merchant account can be canceled. As for paying with checks or money orders, banks will stop payments on checks and the buyer can get a refund with their money order receipt.
Falcon
I'm afraid you've heard wrong, or you heard the requirements for air or sea entry, which could be different. However, here in upstate New York, it is common to cross into Canada by land, which is how all of my crossings have been into Canada for the past several years.
Maybe I did hear wrong, perhaps some of those I heard it from thought it was flying. Thing is is some I heard it from were from Seattle driving into BC. Maybe where you cross the border determines whether a passport is needed. I don't know, I haven't been to Canada since the month before 911.
Falcon
from what I've read of him, he seems more like a lazy and bitter malcontent than a real revolutionary
Though I didn't say it in that post Paine was more than a lazy malcontent. He wrote the line "These are the times that try men's souls" as well as various tracts in support of democracy while serving under General George Washington during the revolution.
I myself do not like the French Revolution
I support the French Revolution, that is I would have back then. What I would not support is the measures used, the ends do not justify the means. The Terror or Reign of Terror was stupid. Actually Paine was one of the victims of The terror. He spent almost a year in a Luxembourg prison when an "American minister, James Monroe, secured his release."
Falcon
I wonder if the typical efficiency ratings are referring to % of *visible* light, and this one gets extra points for also handling UV? I dunno. The math worries me greatly, whether it's % or x. (well, no WAY it's x)
I wonder if we'll ever find out. I'd love to see an increase in efficiency but won't hold my breath.
Falcon
he astonishing thing is not that the kid is so bright and supported by his parents, mentors and teachers (all of these things are true, amazing and good for all of them), but that no other serious scientist pursued this sort of design yet.
While I applaud this kid, he wasn't the first to come up with 3d solar cells.
Falcon
500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells
Uhm, no. FAIL.
Still, if he's getting money, there's likely something good going on here, but the reporting on this is completely ridiculous. It's enough to make me curious as to the REAL figures.
I'm wondering if the reporter saw 500% then translated it to 500x. There's still a problem though, even with 500%. The typical PVs are about 12% efficient, so this would make them 60% efficient. However there are PVs available that have an efficiency of about 19.5% which would bring the new efficiency to 97.5%.
Falcon
I wish more companies would use the foveon x3 than just Sigma, I looking at you Canon, and that Foveon made a full frame sensor.
It's not really the same. This kid has towers on the cell to absorb different wavelengths.
Falcon
being a jealous curmudgeonly skeptic, i have to ask: what are the careers of his parents?
Intel engineers.
i tend to observe suspicious correlations between kids that win science fairs and kids with parents that are scientists or engineers.
I wish all smart kids could have the mentors this kid has.
Falcon
I can't believe any 7th grader would write this:
Why?
Falcon
The only way to get power in that kind of quantity is harnessing the atom.
The US has enough potential wind energy to supply the 48 contiguous states with electricity. And wind can be developed faster than nuclear power.
Fslcon
No currently installed PV system makes economic sense if grid power is available if the subsidies are removed.
AH but if you're going to remove the subsidies solar gets then you also should remove the subsidies conventional energy sources get. Even coal, which provides most of the US's electricity gets subsidies.
Falcon
there is only one short term solution. We need an Apollo type national commitment to building Nuke plants.
Nuclear isn't a short term solution, unless you call 5 years short term and can build one that quickly. However a 5 megawatt wind turbine can be erected in weeks. Erect 20 a month and in one year you'll add more than a gigawatt of power*. Apply an Apollo project to wind and you could produce more power quicker than you could with nuclear.
As Texas oil Billionaire T Boone Pickens has intimated in his plan for wind farms, the Rocky Mountains alone contain enough potential wind energy to supply almost if not all of the 48 contiguous states with electricity. If that's not enough all along the Pacific coast then through AZ and NM to Texas there's more. Then there's the Mid Atlantic states on up to Maine. For instance the wind potential between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras is estimated to be 330 Gigawatts.
Quite simply wind beats nuclear.
Falcon
*I use 1 gigawatt because in California 4 reactors, 2 each in 2 power plants, generate 4.324 Gigawatts. That's just over a Gigawatt per reactor. It's the same in Alabama, 5 reactors generate just over 5 Gigawatts.
Our attitudes towards raising educated kids, and supporting the really smart ones, has changed a lot since I was in 7th grade. We didn't even have anything like the MESA club this kid was part of.
I don't know about this MESA club but when I was in school more than 30 years ago I was in a model rocketry club. What I found weird is that this was in Mass but when I move back to Florida, an hour's drive from the Cape, there wasn't any club like it. Because it's close to the Cape I'd expect at least some people to be interested in rocketry.
Falcon
His parents are probably professional solar panel engineers or something like that.
No, his parents are engineers at Intel. And as TFA I linked to says he has other engineers as well as professors mentoring him.
Falcon
Daddy wanted press, so he had little Billy say he came up with it.
Daddy, and Mommy, is an Engineer with Intel.
Falcon
In skimming TFA I didn't see anything about the kid's patent.
His parents are engineers at Intel. Besides them he has other engineers and professors who mentor him.
Falcon
How do people that young get access to tools to build these things?
Both of his parents are engineers at Intel. And he has some mentors "including a California engineer, professors at Portland State University and the University of California-Berkeley".
Falcon
Which has absolutely nothing to do with RFID.
It certainly does have something to do with it. Walking pass a target you scan their ID, then you go to your buddy, who's corrupt and works in a fatherland office. Using the "unique number" he then looks up the target and changes the photo.
Falcon
What's to figure out? It is probably just an unencrypted number that identifies your record in the database. When you cross the border it does a lookup and displays your photo and other info. Picture doesn't match? You don't get to cross. No point in faking the RFID.
Only until you find an employee in the Department of Fatherland, er, Motherland, er Homeland Security who can edit the database who's corrupt. Forgers would love this. As does all the businesses that sell the equipment and software needed to run it.
Falcon
When you travel across borders a lot,you will likely have more on then a swimsuit, so having your passport with you is not a real serious problem.
I don't know, if I lived near the border I might want to cross over and not have planned it. When I visited Detroit I could drive across a bridge into Windsor without a passport. I don't know about you but I wouldn't keep my passport in my car or carry with me all the tyme. Last I heard though Canada is now requiring them.
Falcon
Most people die one way or another and are then packaged and sold to any willing buyer including Government entities.
Gotta love those green chips.
Falcon