The whole point of running high voltages like 25kV is so you don't have hundreds of amps of current flow.
Your typical electric locomotive is about 4000 hp. 1 hp is 746 watts. So that's 2984kW output at max power. Allowing for inefficiency, it's actually more like 4000kW used. And the line has to be engineered for more than one locomotive. I can easily see 160 to 300 amps being available from overhead wires, even at 25kV.
Steel wheels rubbing on steel track at 200+ mph tends to make things wear out rather rapidly. Since the Maglev has no metal-to-metal contact at speed, wear, and therefore maintenance costs may well be lower.
Because it would not be competitive with jet travel over long haul routes like that.
If it could maintain even 250mph average with stops, it could compete with jets on the 1000-mile market. Remember that this would take you directly into a center city, and also stop along the way. Kind of hard to do that with any conventional jet. You might have NYC to LA with most people going NYC to Chicago, or Salt Lake to LA.
Imagine how wonderful it would be to have such a system between, say, JFK airport and Grand Central Station. But that makes way too much sense, from almost any view, to ever have a chance of actually happening in my lifetime.
The real question is: why in the name of (deity of choice) didn't they extend the *subway* out to JFK and the PATH out to Newark rather than making people change to another train to get into NYC? There was no good engineering reason for this decision -- I suspect it was due to infighting between the MTA, Port Authority, and NJ Transit. Stupid-stupid-stupid.
In the cases of attempted copper theft on open tracks...I have some pretty gory stories that usually start with "what's that smell?"
This is a problem even with regular trains -- people have either tried to steal overhead wires, or, in one case in my town, some kids tried to touch them with a stick on a dare. Let's say that 25,000V at hundreds of amps is nothing to joke with.
personally trust the people at Google more than I trust the people and products responsible for our internal mail solution (which is also available as web mail). Especially with regards to competence (as opposed to integrity). So I would love for us to switch.
Not so fast there....
If you're hosting mail/servers in-house, the people running them have responsibility to one company, if they're directly employed. Contract that to Google, which has hundreds of millions of customers. Losing one or two isn't a big deal to them -- a sysadmin losing his job IS a big deal for him. Plus, he works for people whom he knows face-to-face, so he might actually WANT to do a good job for them.
What about NOT damaging the boot? Basically, spot-weld a hemispherical "hubcap" to several places on the wheel rim. This will make the boot just slide off and be unable to grip the wheel. And it's probably illegal for them to attempt to remove something that's an integral part of the wheel. Then again: they could just tow you:/
I liked how the bit where you made the blanket statement that Chinese people are evil and got modded +5 Insightful. Speaks volumes to the mentality of the moderation around here these days.
I *never* said the people were evil. I said the government was evil in the worst way, since it was mistreating its own people (to whom its responsible). And I never got modded +5...
PS- if you ever want to flak for the Chinese government, I'm sure there's a PR/Lobbyist job waiting for you.
Not if they brick the DRM functions and from there on its use as a music device. That is something they are entitled to and capable of. There is jackshit you can do about that one legally.
So someone will come out with an aftermarket player software with a BETTER interface than iPod that'll play straight, un-DRMed MP3s. If they're not bought from iTunes, it's Apple's (and the Industry's) loss, not necessarily the users' loss!
Not if you don't update using iTunes. If it's not on ATT's network, how will Apple have access to it? Besides, deliberately bricking devices would be very bad PR for Apple as well as possibly being illegal (since unlocking a phone to operate it on a legal cell network has been ruled to be legal, and you buy the phone without a contract; only getting one during activation).
Actually, Apple can/will just flash your firmware via iTunes and you'll be right back to no third party apps after the update.
You have to give permission for flashing. Besides, there'll soon be applications that'll allow loading calendar/contacts/music directly from a network share. This will obviate the need for iTunes bloatware entirely.
And Apple will continue to fail as long as they ship locked phones with no native SDK.
Locking or not, SDK or not, there are already plenty of 3rd-party applications out for it, and it's only been out for about two months. Installation has become pretty much a point-and-click affair: search for AppTapp Installer. Pick up a 4GB iPhone for $300 or a used one on EBay for $250 or so. Play with it -- you'll like it. It's a lovely piece of hardware with a great UI, and Apple will be forced to open it to third-party developers once everyone realizes what they can do with it!
It sounds better than the other two phones I've had -- Siemens SK65 and Nokia 3120. It's a pretty good phone, though it could do with voice dialing if you drive a lot and need to dial whilst driving. Me, I don't drive much, so it's fine.
With T-Mobile, you can get 600 minutes, with unlimited nights and weekends for $40, and unlimited internet (including hotspot access) for $20.
You have to pay an additional $7/mo for unlimited mobile-to-mobile, and $5/mo for SMS as you said. And no rollover minutes. Six one way, a half dozen the other, honestly. I'm personally probably going to switch my unlocked iPhone to T-Mobile before the 30-day "get out of jail free" on the AT&T contract (and, no, you don't have to return the phone) expires. That way I'll have a working iPhone without visual voicemail and with no contract. It doesn't say on the website, but I spoke to two reps who said that if you bring your own phone, you can go month-to-month.
I think the key has to do with marketing, particularly positioning against the treos, which are highly capable PDAs, more capable than the locked iPhone in that category.
But the application-unlocked iPhone is MORE capable. And I think that Apple deliberately made unlocking for 3rd party apps easy...
It won't matter to me what his prices are. An incredibly short-sighted error, IMHO. I'm good for five of them (three kids and my SO.) But no connectivity, no buy.
I unlocked mine using anySIM so I can use it with a local SIM in.pl and.uk when I go there. They're relatively easy to unlock, both for installation of third-party applications and for foreign SIMs. The new unlocking software doesn't require disassembling the phone or any electronic modifications.
I think Apple deliberately made the iPhone "easy" to make it as open as possible whilst still giving lip service to AT&T's locking and security requirements.
As far as using it with Verizon/Sprint, those carriers use a totally different system, so it makes sense that Apple didn't make two different versions of the iPhone (GSM is the more popular system in the world).
It allows us to convict criminals more readily whether they be senators who solicit sex in bathrooms or football players who kill dogs.
You don't WANT criminal conviction to be easy. And plea bargaining has another unintended effect: it causes people to plead guilty to stuff that they didn't do. Let's say if you were falsely arrested for murder, and didn't have money for an attorney other than a public defender. "You can either cop to manslaughter and get 10 years, or we try you for murder and there's a chance you'll fry." Which choice would you take? Sure? Even if you weren't too educated and considered yourself powerless against the State? Plea bargaining is often used as a way to bully people into pleading guilty for something, and therefore the prosecutors can be seen to be closing cases, even if the wrong person is convicted.
Also, plea bargaining, as I said before, encourages higher (and generally unfair) initial charges. If DAs knew that the higher charges would go to trial and generally not stick, they'd be less likely to levy them. Remember, even if a felony charge gets dropped, it can stay on your record as an arrest.
I may add that juries should be allowed three verdicts: guilty, not guilty, and malicious prosecution -- under which a higher court would have the option of investigating the conduct of the arrest and trial.
I think that if the Chinese government had lost power during the June Fourth Movement, their country would have experienced similar hardships, on a larger scale, and would not be the world power that they are today.
Do we WANT China to be a world power?!? As bad as some of the things which the USA has done, at least there's some accountability and a fairly open media. Information about abuses Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib Gaol was leaked fairly quickly. If China had the same power in the world, you'd see more abuse with more secrecy added to the game. A fun thought for some, no doubt, but I'd rather not live in a world like that.
No, I much prefer not to be apprehended in the first place, and that the feds arrest more perpetrators and fewer suspects.
Mistakes happen -- not all incorrect arrests are malicious. It would be good if mistakes are able to be cleared as early as possible. Remember, being arrested and charged doesn't presuppose guilt.
Do people get released because of clean background checks? Truly?
Well, if you happen to look like a certain felon, and your fingerprints don't match those at any of the crime scenes... You'd want to be exonerated as quickly as possible, no?
Want to know where your freedom has gone, America? Overzealous prosecutors with political aspirations and gung-ho macho cops.
And the solution is very simple: abolish plea bargaining and require a speedy jury trial on anything that anyone is charged with. If the State actually has to try all charges, the practice of charging people guilty of minor offenses with everything on the books that MIGHT stick will stop very rapidly.
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Your typical electric locomotive is about 4000 hp. 1 hp is 746 watts. So that's 2984kW output at max power. Allowing for inefficiency, it's actually more like 4000kW used. And the line has to be engineered for more than one locomotive. I can easily see 160 to 300 amps being available from overhead wires, even at 25kV.
-b.
-b.
If it could maintain even 250mph average with stops, it could compete with jets on the 1000-mile market. Remember that this would take you directly into a center city, and also stop along the way. Kind of hard to do that with any conventional jet. You might have NYC to LA with most people going NYC to Chicago, or Salt Lake to LA.
-b.
The real question is: why in the name of (deity of choice) didn't they extend the *subway* out to JFK and the PATH out to Newark rather than making people change to another train to get into NYC? There was no good engineering reason for this decision -- I suspect it was due to infighting between the MTA, Port Authority, and NJ Transit. Stupid-stupid-stupid.
-b.
This is a problem even with regular trains -- people have either tried to steal overhead wires, or, in one case in my town, some kids tried to touch them with a stick on a dare. Let's say that 25,000V at hundreds of amps is nothing to joke with.
Not so fast there....
If you're hosting mail/servers in-house, the people running them have responsibility to one company, if they're directly employed. Contract that to Google, which has hundreds of millions of customers. Losing one or two isn't a big deal to them -- a sysadmin losing his job IS a big deal for him. Plus, he works for people whom he knows face-to-face, so he might actually WANT to do a good job for them.
-b.
-b.
Might be cheaper to cut off the boot with an oxy-acet, and just eat the cost of one new wheel. "What boot?"
I *never* said the people were evil. I said the government was evil in the worst way, since it was mistreating its own people (to whom its responsible). And I never got modded +5 ...
PS- if you ever want to flak for the Chinese government, I'm sure there's a PR/Lobbyist job waiting for you.
Cheers,
-b.
So someone will come out with an aftermarket player software with a BETTER interface than iPod that'll play straight, un-DRMed MP3s. If they're not bought from iTunes, it's Apple's (and the Industry's) loss, not necessarily the users' loss!
-b.
Not if you don't update using iTunes. If it's not on ATT's network, how will Apple have access to it? Besides, deliberately bricking devices would be very bad PR for Apple as well as possibly being illegal (since unlocking a phone to operate it on a legal cell network has been ruled to be legal, and you buy the phone without a contract; only getting one during activation).
-b.
You have to give permission for flashing. Besides, there'll soon be applications that'll allow loading calendar/contacts/music directly from a network share. This will obviate the need for iTunes bloatware entirely.
-b.
If you MUST buy new, buy used anyway. You can get something nice and in decent shape for $5000-6000. Try that with a new car!
-b.
Locking or not, SDK or not, there are already plenty of 3rd-party applications out for it, and it's only been out for about two months. Installation has become pretty much a point-and-click affair: search for AppTapp Installer. Pick up a 4GB iPhone for $300 or a used one on EBay for $250 or so. Play with it -- you'll like it. It's a lovely piece of hardware with a great UI, and Apple will be forced to open it to third-party developers once everyone realizes what they can do with it!
-b.
It sounds better than the other two phones I've had -- Siemens SK65 and Nokia 3120. It's a pretty good phone, though it could do with voice dialing if you drive a lot and need to dial whilst driving. Me, I don't drive much, so it's fine.
-b.
With another phone, you'll still be paying contract unless you're planning to NOT have a cell phone sometime in the next year and 1/2.
-b.
You have to pay an additional $7/mo for unlimited mobile-to-mobile, and $5/mo for SMS as you said. And no rollover minutes. Six one way, a half dozen the other, honestly. I'm personally probably going to switch my unlocked iPhone to T-Mobile before the 30-day "get out of jail free" on the AT&T contract (and, no, you don't have to return the phone) expires. That way I'll have a working iPhone without visual voicemail and with no contract. It doesn't say on the website, but I spoke to two reps who said that if you bring your own phone, you can go month-to-month.
-b.
But the application-unlocked iPhone is MORE capable. And I think that Apple deliberately made unlocking for 3rd party apps easy...
-b.
Buy one and SIM-unlock it. It's not that hard -- there are several free software-only unlocks around already.
I unlocked mine using anySIM so I can use it with a local SIM in .pl and .uk when I go there. They're relatively easy to unlock, both for installation of third-party applications and for foreign SIMs. The new unlocking software doesn't require disassembling the phone or any electronic modifications.
I think Apple deliberately made the iPhone "easy" to make it as open as possible whilst still giving lip service to AT&T's locking and security requirements.
As far as using it with Verizon/Sprint, those carriers use a totally different system, so it makes sense that Apple didn't make two different versions of the iPhone (GSM is the more popular system in the world).
-b.
You don't WANT criminal conviction to be easy. And plea bargaining has another unintended effect: it causes people to plead guilty to stuff that they didn't do. Let's say if you were falsely arrested for murder, and didn't have money for an attorney other than a public defender. "You can either cop to manslaughter and get 10 years, or we try you for murder and there's a chance you'll fry." Which choice would you take? Sure? Even if you weren't too educated and considered yourself powerless against the State? Plea bargaining is often used as a way to bully people into pleading guilty for something, and therefore the prosecutors can be seen to be closing cases, even if the wrong person is convicted.
Also, plea bargaining, as I said before, encourages higher (and generally unfair) initial charges. If DAs knew that the higher charges would go to trial and generally not stick, they'd be less likely to levy them. Remember, even if a felony charge gets dropped, it can stay on your record as an arrest.
I may add that juries should be allowed three verdicts: guilty, not guilty, and malicious prosecution -- under which a higher court would have the option of investigating the conduct of the arrest and trial.
-b.
Do we WANT China to be a world power?!? As bad as some of the things which the USA has done, at least there's some accountability and a fairly open media. Information about abuses Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib Gaol was leaked fairly quickly. If China had the same power in the world, you'd see more abuse with more secrecy added to the game. A fun thought for some, no doubt, but I'd rather not live in a world like that.
-b.
Mistakes happen -- not all incorrect arrests are malicious. It would be good if mistakes are able to be cleared as early as possible. Remember, being arrested and charged doesn't presuppose guilt.
-b.
Well, if you happen to look like a certain felon, and your fingerprints don't match those at any of the crime scenes ... You'd want to be exonerated as quickly as possible, no?
-b.
And the solution is very simple: abolish plea bargaining and require a speedy jury trial on anything that anyone is charged with. If the State actually has to try all charges, the practice of charging people guilty of minor offenses with everything on the books that MIGHT stick will stop very rapidly.