8 Miles is on the battery alone. There is still the gas tank. This is a start.
That said, 78% of people in the US drive less than 40 miles per day (numbers from chevy). 8 miles is a fairly sizable reduction in gas consumption for a lot of people.
Just one more thing the electric car fanboys ignore: our existing electric grid can barely support its current peak loads. Good luck with even 2% of the populace adopting plug-ins. All those cars charging in Silicon Valley when the State Operator declares an emergency, I can see it now! You missed somethings.
1) Not all places are stressed at peak loads. California is one, but they are pretty much in the minority.
2) The prime charging time for these vehicles will be AT NIGHT, when the loads are at their least.
Good point. Then again, from the AOA calculator my dad is moderately overweight, but he doesn't look like it. I usually think of fat as bulging waste line, which I guess would qualify as 'obese', not 'overweight' under their calculations.
Well, Britain has banned gun and sword ownership and you can barely open the newspaper without reading about the latest shooting, stabbing or armed robbery.
And in Switzerland, just about everyone has a gun, and they still have less of a problem than the U.K. Of course, looking at the latest from BBC, there is news of a triple homicide by being beaten to death, so I don't see lack of weapons leading to a lower crime rate either.
They're expensive, because they have more money.
They are expensive because they have little land.
Every country has laws regarding political campaigning. Would you rather the media was filled with political propaganda leading up to an election?
Isn't that what we already have? As opposed to only a select few being able advertise themselves? The more limits you place on how people can publicize themselves, the more you give a stranglehold to a select group of candidates.
then I'd say their relatively low crime rate (and ridiculously low rate of gun crime)
That's what you get when the commoners have been barred from owning guns and swords for a few hundred years.
low unemployment
5.2%. Not ridiculously low, just a good number. Could stand to go lower.
And a bit higher that the U.S. high median income,
Couldn't find anything on this, got a link? Also, ever notice how much apartment rents are in Japan?
and the fact that they haven't been involved in a major war since WWII
You do remember that the U.S. forced the Japanese after WWII, in their Constitution and military protection treaties, to have an exceedingly small military that is only good for self defense, and that it would need the U.S.'s help if they ever got into an actual war.
They also have a falling population, as the death rate is now higher than the birth rate.
Maybe we could learn a thing or two from their political process? Is is serving us in any way, shape or form to have presidential election campaigns that are now 2 years long? That's what internet campaigning has done for us...
On the other hand, they are restricting the free speech of the candidates. Possibly also the speech of third party groups (think unions/associations in the U.S.) (they didn't say, so I can only guess). Also, the web is a relatively cheap communications medium, this levels the playing field with well funded candidates. Do you really want it so that only candidates with a lot of money can publicize themselves? The candidates also are barred from campaigning for about two weeks prior to the election. Do you really want that as well?
The free speech portion of the first amendment is supposedly for political speech as the number one motivator behind it. Do you really want a law that blatantly, drastically and unreasonably infringes on it?
The story though seems focused on burning DVDs rather than ripping them. I wouldn't be surprised if there was more ripping than burning. As hard drives get bigger, there's less reason to burn to DVD and more to keeping it on a video server. More hard data on this particular research would be nice.
Cost is still an issue. I have a decently large DVD collection (550+ disks). At an average of 4GB (probably low), per disk, that comes out to 2.2TB (rounding here, people). That's an expensive video server, so I doubt people are just ripping DVDs. They might be shrinking them with DivX, that would help with the space a lot.
For most cds (By volume sold, aka pop crap), the labels get money from the discs, not from shows the artists sing (so far as I know). So, taking that into account, the artist doesn't care much about the CDs, just he concerts. The labels care about the CDs, not the concerts, as they don't get money from them, except as extra CDs sold. Then there is the radio revenue, but I don't think that helps much.
Off hand, I think part of the high cost of music is the shotgun approach labels use. Movie studios tend to be more selective, given the high cost of one now a days.
Easy to DoS someone like that. All you need to do is clog up the narrowest pipe between the internet and the computer. I doubt the entire infrastructure of the company allows 40Gbps between the public internet and her. More likely, there is a bottleneck somewhere that we could choke.
And you apparently missed what the second sentence means. Use of the song, as in the tune, still require payment for use. He doesn't need to get a license, he can use the standard "compulsory licensing" that is out there in the music industry. The song writers get a specific amount, the lyric writers get a specific amount. The writer of the melody, under copyright law, still owns 50% of a song with lyrics.
I mean, Weird Al does derivative performances that copy nearly exactly the music of some artists (he usually alters only the lyrics) and every time he does a M. Jackson song he gets sued by MJ, and he always wins. What's the difference here?
He still has to pay royalties to the song writer. Note, by this I mean the person who wrote the music, not the original lyrics.
I can see a lot more people than the DoD being interested in this technology if it gets developed. Think about it, if the batteries are rechargeable, how useful this could be in cars.
From Wiki: Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 600 mm (24 in) of annual moisture.
Last I checked, not much of the U.S. had a tropical or sub tropical climate. This is funding research for plants that can actually be grown in the U.S.
Hydrogen, while clean burning, has other problems. Primarily, storage. Hydrogen Gas will leak through anything. The best thing for storage I have seen so far was using aluminum to react with water to separate the hydrogen out. Even that still has some way to go.
Ethanol works without having to change out the entire system. In the end, it's probably going to be a combination of things that replaces gasoline.
Even the most efficient converters from sunlight to sugar or ethanol aren't even close to what we have for solar cells.
Yeah, but if it costs half as much per end unit of energy as solar cells, it's still more cost effective. Solar cells DO wear out after time. Bacteria is self reproducing.
With Ethonal BP can make money with its current infrastructure, keep positive press about their company, and develop alternatives that will never truly be able to replace fossil fuels.
Solar panels, while a good converter, can't supply a car's full power load on an interstate, unless you make them much larger than the car.
We call them cooperatives here. I personally think cooperatives tend to be better for _everyone_ (customers, society) as a whole.
Seconded. Although, I don't get why they are more common here in the USA. (Are you in Canada or another country?) It's easy to find them here.
But you don't get mega payouts here. In fact, the stingy bunch don't even give you full resale value of your car (they do something like go through classifieds and look for the cheaper prices for that model - not exactly I guess but seems that way to me ).
I think those mega buyouts are rare. I don know anyone who's been on either end of one. Then again, I usually think people that are doing that are trying to scam the insurance company.
Well, I can go over this for USAA as my dad got his car totaled last month. Most payouts are based on the Blue Book value of the car. My dad's came out to about $8.5K from them, except it had been in an accident previously. The insurance company gave ~$7.5K. The only hard part in all this was finding out when the tow-truck was going to take the car away. Car was totaled in that it would cost more to fix than it's value, car was still drivable in that it would run.
Never had a problem here with them trying to cheat us.
Also, for the past couple years (if I'm remembering correctly) Manitoba Public Insurance has issued rebates - I got about $120 back from last year. Not a lot, but I don't think private insurance does things like that.
Depends on the insurance company, i guess. I have USAA. It is owned by the customers (i.e., me, among others). They give out rebates whenever they make a bit more than they need for standard operating expenses. I also pay under $700 USD/year driving a 3 year old car with a $500 deductible.
Most states give you the option of either buying insurance of paying several hundred per year to be legally uninsured. In Virginia, it is $400 to drive around legally uninsured.
I'll just copy and paste a response I gave elsewhere for this.
You know, there is a third option between for-profit and government run. For Banks, we call them Credit Unions in the US. For Insurance, the only one I know of off the top of my head is called USAA. They are owned by the shareholders who happen to be the customers. So, everything is for the benefit of the customers and not some outsiders. No problems with embezzlement, either. Also, if the Credit Union or USAA happens to make a bit more money than they need, everyone gets a credit/rebate as well.
I pay under $700 USD per year for insurance. I drive a 3 year old car. How much do you pay per year?
The free-market lie is exposed. For goods/services where a high level of consumer choice is not important, public will always outperform private because there is no requirement for a profit margin.
Lets see. You pay $87/month. That comes out to $1044/year CND. I pay $698/year USD and use a company that is owned by the customers (private, not for profit). Todays exchange rate is about 1.00USD to 1.0634CND...I pay $742.25CND in insurance per year. Yeah, free market never works.
You know, there is a third option between for-profit and government run. For Banks, we call them Credit Unions in the US. For Insurance, the only one I know of off the top of my head is called USAA. They are owned by the shareholders who happen to be the customers. So, everything is for the benefit of the customers and not some outsiders. No problems with embezzlement, either. Also, if the Credit Union or USAA happens to make a bit more money than they need, everyone gets a credit/rebate.
A well regulated market has many useful places in society, but financial services is not one of them.
Sorry, but I don't believe this with all my experience in banking and such. Oh yes, I pay under $700 in Auto insurance PER YEAR.
The "Papers Please" bullshit is when the GOVERNMENT does it, NOT a company. I've been wondering when the credit card issuers are going to start having photos on Credit Cards to cut down on stolen cards being used. I'd support this to cut down on credit card fraud.
At least in the USA, merchants are prohibited from requiring photo identification from credit card customers. Your signature is your identity.
Incorrect. Several times I have been asked for photo ID when I have used a credit card, there is no law against it. The drivers license has become a proof of identity, not just for driving.
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8 Miles is on the battery alone. There is still the gas tank. This is a start.
That said, 78% of people in the US drive less than 40 miles per day (numbers from chevy). 8 miles is a fairly sizable reduction in gas consumption for a lot of people.
1) Not all places are stressed at peak loads. California is one, but they are pretty much in the minority.
2) The prime charging time for these vehicles will be AT NIGHT, when the loads are at their least.
Good point. Then again, from the AOA calculator my dad is moderately overweight, but he doesn't look like it. I usually think of fat as bulging waste line, which I guess would qualify as 'obese', not 'overweight' under their calculations.
And what places in the US do you look around? Everywhere I've been, that fat people are the minority.
Well, Britain has banned gun and sword ownership and you can barely open the newspaper without reading about the latest shooting, stabbing or armed robbery.
And in Switzerland, just about everyone has a gun, and they still have less of a problem than the U.K. Of course, looking at the latest from BBC, there is news of a triple homicide by being beaten to death, so I don't see lack of weapons leading to a lower crime rate either.
They're expensive, because they have more money.
They are expensive because they have little land.
Every country has laws regarding political campaigning. Would you rather the media was filled with political propaganda leading up to an election?
Isn't that what we already have? As opposed to only a select few being able advertise themselves? The more limits you place on how people can publicize themselves, the more you give a stranglehold to a select group of candidates.
Sounds like what the representatives do in the U.S., state and congress. They go door to door where I live (Northern, VA).
then I'd say their relatively low crime rate (and ridiculously low rate of gun crime)
That's what you get when the commoners have been barred from owning guns and swords for a few hundred years.
low unemployment
5.2%. Not ridiculously low, just a good number. Could stand to go lower.
And a bit higher that the U.S. high median income,
Couldn't find anything on this, got a link? Also, ever notice how much apartment rents are in Japan?
and the fact that they haven't been involved in a major war since WWII
You do remember that the U.S. forced the Japanese after WWII, in their Constitution and military protection treaties, to have an exceedingly small military that is only good for self defense, and that it would need the U.S.'s help if they ever got into an actual war.
They also have a falling population, as the death rate is now higher than the birth rate.
Maybe we could learn a thing or two from their political process? Is is serving us in any way, shape or form to have presidential election campaigns that are now 2 years long? That's what internet campaigning has done for us...
On the other hand, they are restricting the free speech of the candidates. Possibly also the speech of third party groups (think unions/associations in the U.S.) (they didn't say, so I can only guess). Also, the web is a relatively cheap communications medium, this levels the playing field with well funded candidates. Do you really want it so that only candidates with a lot of money can publicize themselves? The candidates also are barred from campaigning for about two weeks prior to the election. Do you really want that as well?
The free speech portion of the first amendment is supposedly for political speech as the number one motivator behind it. Do you really want a law that blatantly, drastically and unreasonably infringes on it?
The story though seems focused on burning DVDs rather than ripping them. I wouldn't be surprised if there was more ripping than burning. As hard drives get bigger, there's less reason to burn to DVD and more to keeping it on a video server. More hard data on this particular research would be nice. Cost is still an issue. I have a decently large DVD collection (550+ disks). At an average of 4GB (probably low), per disk, that comes out to 2.2TB (rounding here, people). That's an expensive video server, so I doubt people are just ripping DVDs. They might be shrinking them with DivX, that would help with the space a lot.
For most cds (By volume sold, aka pop crap), the labels get money from the discs, not from shows the artists sing (so far as I know). So, taking that into account, the artist doesn't care much about the CDs, just he concerts. The labels care about the CDs, not the concerts, as they don't get money from them, except as extra CDs sold. Then there is the radio revenue, but I don't think that helps much.
Off hand, I think part of the high cost of music is the shotgun approach labels use. Movie studios tend to be more selective, given the high cost of one now a days.
Easy to DoS someone like that. All you need to do is clog up the narrowest pipe between the internet and the computer. I doubt the entire infrastructure of the company allows 40Gbps between the public internet and her. More likely, there is a bottleneck somewhere that we could choke.
And you apparently missed what the second sentence means. Use of the song, as in the tune, still require payment for use. He doesn't need to get a license, he can use the standard "compulsory licensing" that is out there in the music industry. The song writers get a specific amount, the lyric writers get a specific amount. The writer of the melody, under copyright law, still owns 50% of a song with lyrics.
I mean, Weird Al does derivative performances that copy nearly exactly the music of some artists (he usually alters only the lyrics) and every time he does a M. Jackson song he gets sued by MJ, and he always wins. What's the difference here?
He still has to pay royalties to the song writer. Note, by this I mean the person who wrote the music, not the original lyrics.
I can see a lot more people than the DoD being interested in this technology if it gets developed. Think about it, if the batteries are rechargeable, how useful this could be in cars.
From Wiki:
Sugarcane cultivation requires a tropical or subtropical climate, with a minimum of 600 mm (24 in) of annual moisture.
Last I checked, not much of the U.S. had a tropical or sub tropical climate. This is funding research for plants that can actually be grown in the U.S.
Hydrogen, while clean burning, has other problems. Primarily, storage. Hydrogen Gas will leak through anything. The best thing for storage I have seen so far was using aluminum to react with water to separate the hydrogen out. Even that still has some way to go.
Ethanol works without having to change out the entire system. In the end, it's probably going to be a combination of things that replaces gasoline.
Even the most efficient converters from sunlight to sugar or ethanol aren't even close to what we have for solar cells.
Yeah, but if it costs half as much per end unit of energy as solar cells, it's still more cost effective. Solar cells DO wear out after time. Bacteria is self reproducing.
With Ethonal BP can make money with its current infrastructure, keep positive press about their company, and develop alternatives that will never truly be able to replace fossil fuels.
Solar panels, while a good converter, can't supply a car's full power load on an interstate, unless you make them much larger than the car.
We call them cooperatives here. I personally think cooperatives tend to be better for _everyone_ (customers, society) as a whole.
Seconded. Although, I don't get why they are more common here in the USA. (Are you in Canada or another country?) It's easy to find them here.
But you don't get mega payouts here. In fact, the stingy bunch don't even give you full resale value of your car (they do something like go through classifieds and look for the cheaper prices for that model - not exactly I guess but seems that way to me ).
I think those mega buyouts are rare. I don know anyone who's been on either end of one. Then again, I usually think people that are doing that are trying to scam the insurance company.
Well, I can go over this for USAA as my dad got his car totaled last month. Most payouts are based on the Blue Book value of the car. My dad's came out to about $8.5K from them, except it had been in an accident previously. The insurance company gave ~$7.5K. The only hard part in all this was finding out when the tow-truck was going to take the car away. Car was totaled in that it would cost more to fix than it's value, car was still drivable in that it would run.
Never had a problem here with them trying to cheat us.
Also, for the past couple years (if I'm remembering correctly) Manitoba Public Insurance has issued rebates - I got about $120 back from last year. Not a lot, but I don't think private insurance does things like that.
Depends on the insurance company, i guess. I have USAA. It is owned by the customers (i.e., me, among others). They give out rebates whenever they make a bit more than they need for standard operating expenses. I also pay under $700 USD/year driving a 3 year old car with a $500 deductible.
Most states give you the option of either buying insurance of paying several hundred per year to be legally uninsured. In Virginia, it is $400 to drive around legally uninsured.
I'll just copy and paste a response I gave elsewhere for this.
You know, there is a third option between for-profit and government run. For Banks, we call them Credit Unions in the US. For Insurance, the only one I know of off the top of my head is called USAA. They are owned by the shareholders who happen to be the customers. So, everything is for the benefit of the customers and not some outsiders. No problems with embezzlement, either. Also, if the Credit Union or USAA happens to make a bit more money than they need, everyone gets a credit/rebate as well.
I pay under $700 USD per year for insurance. I drive a 3 year old car. How much do you pay per year?
The free-market lie is exposed. For goods/services where a high level of consumer choice is not important, public will always outperform private because there is no requirement for a profit margin.
Lets see. You pay $87/month. That comes out to $1044/year CND. I pay $698/year USD and use a company that is owned by the customers (private, not for profit). Todays exchange rate is about 1.00USD to 1.0634CND...I pay $742.25CND in insurance per year. Yeah, free market never works.
You know, there is a third option between for-profit and government run. For Banks, we call them Credit Unions in the US. For Insurance, the only one I know of off the top of my head is called USAA. They are owned by the shareholders who happen to be the customers. So, everything is for the benefit of the customers and not some outsiders. No problems with embezzlement, either. Also, if the Credit Union or USAA happens to make a bit more money than they need, everyone gets a credit/rebate.
A well regulated market has many useful places in society, but financial services is not one of them.
Sorry, but I don't believe this with all my experience in banking and such. Oh yes, I pay under $700 in Auto insurance PER YEAR.
The "Papers Please" bullshit is when the GOVERNMENT does it, NOT a company. I've been wondering when the credit card issuers are going to start having photos on Credit Cards to cut down on stolen cards being used. I'd support this to cut down on credit card fraud.
Such as the courts, who keep upholding them...
At least in the USA, merchants are prohibited from requiring photo identification from credit card customers. Your signature is your identity.
Incorrect. Several times I have been asked for photo ID when I have used a credit card, there is no law against it. The drivers license has become a proof of identity, not just for driving.