I have a bunch of LED lights, and they are not a replacement for CFLs or regular light bulbs quite yet: too dim and not really full spectrum.
I replaced a couple PAR-type lamps with Enlux LED lamps. They use an array of colored LEDs to produce white light. They are very bright and the color rendering is phenomenal. One points at my chopping block and carrots under it look like they're glowing brilliant orange. I believe the 20W rating on the lamp to be accurate, just from the feel of it while running. They are also really bright, brighter than the 75W incandescents next to them.
I believe these were discussed on Slashdot last year. Their only real drawback is the very high price: $90 per lamp. I only tried them with the hope that the price would come down, but so far no luck there. They also prefer a sine-wave dimmer but seem to tolerate being on a triac dimmer as long as there are some incandescents sharing the circuit with them.
My fiancee and I would like to reduce the amount of meat in our diet. However, she has a severe allergy to nutritionally significant amounts of soy protein (especially tofu), and a serious (but not as severe) allergy to most other legumes (peanuts being least serious, but even then, she could not subsist on peanut protein alone). How would she go about getting the proper amounts and kinds of protein into her diet without soy or legumes?
I guess she could try Seitan, if she's not allergic to wheat as well. There are also some mycoprotein-based meat substitues available now (sold in US as "Quorn").
But she may not be a very good candidate for vegetarianism with the legume allergy. The traditional vegetarian method of getting a "complete" protein (all the essential amino acids) in one dish usually involves a legume, e.g. rice & beans, beans & tortilla, hummus & pita, etc. You try to combine a grain protein and bean protein source in a single food to be eaten together. If that's not possible due to allergies it could really be tough for her to go veggie. Good luck.
What's the manufacturing/engineering/economic reason that so many things use external power bricks instead of internal transformers?
Glad you asked. The main reason is safety regulations. Devices that plug in to your household power need 3rd party certification (e.g. UL approval in US). Power supply design is a specialty, and although any EE could do it, not all can do it well, quickly and cheaply. If you (as designer) spec an external transformer, then you don't have to worry about the approval. You just buy an approved transformer and design your device to work on low voltage. This saves you thousands of dollars and many man-hours of time per design by not having to hire an independent lab to verify your safety compliance.
As an additional benefit, you can sell you product to work with different AC voltages just by supplying the appropriate transformer for each market. Plus, when you buy an external transformer, you get economies of scale because it can power not only your devices but many others built by thousands of other firms.
I would call these "animatrons" since they are merely animated to have the appearance of animals. But I would not classify them as robots. They are no more robots than Battlebots are robots. They are not autonomous at all.
That may be true, but it would make a lousy headline.
Nor do they have any "servo" function. That is where they would sense something in their environment, perform some analysis of that information, and respond according to the analysis.
I didn't design the robot (sorry, animatronic) deer, but I would guess they are using a hobby or industrial "servo" to move its parts. That position of that "servo" is controlled by an external electrical signal. External to the servo -- not necessarily external to anything else. Whether or not the controller unit itself is within or without the animatronic deer is not important. The positioning device is still referred to as a servo. But why are we even worried about that?
. . . PreacherTom and those like him are doing Slashdot a favor by pointing out articles that are more interesting, more relevant, and more informative to the slashdot readers than what they themselves are able to contribute. Would it be better if slashdot readers simply remained ignorant of everything that businessweek et. al publish?
Either we get ignorance of these interesting articles or ignorance of the submitter's interest in the story?. I believe that's what's called a "false dilemma". All I would ask for is disclosure. A paid WSJ submitter is up front about it, why not PreacherTom and Business Week? Would that be better? Aye.
"PreacherTom is an astroturfer for BusinessWeek magazine"
No, not really.
He's what in the "old media" world we would call a "crier." He directs traffic to a given site, by saying how interesting it is. The fact that a given article actually is interesting should not be based in any way on who submits it -- be it a bored geek or a profit-seeking crier.
So are you saying "No, not really: there is no such thing as astroturfing" or "No, not really: I know PreacherTom, and he's neither a paid shill or a figment of the imagination of a Business Week marketeer"? Because if he has a financial/business interest in the story he's submitting, that should be disclosed. As you say, an interesting story is still interesting even if hyped by a "crier", disclosure notwithstanding, right?
Actually, it was a travesty. But players were just happy to have Donkey Kong, so they enjoyed it anyway. Sort of like the 2600 Pacman.;)
Both games were simple but engrossing enough to transcend low-res graphics, blinkity-blinkitiness and the fact that TVs are wide rather than tall. I never noticed the "wrong side" issue on Donkey Kong -- not that my Colecovision owning friends would ever let me get my hands on its runty little joystick.
I had every Atari cartridge system through the Jag, and just recently disposed of them on eBay, hopefully they're still being played somewhere. I didn't really enjoy the Jaguar, with its Japanese-style joy(less)pad thingy. I've tried recent games and PS2 and XBox and tyring to remember to A,A,B,B,square,triangle,fire,up,up,down seems too much like drudgery to me. Maybe someday the joystick will make its comeback.
A modern Windows PC in skilled/sensible hands is safe enough, but so many are in less than optimal hands...
I don't disagree with you at all, but I'm compelled to add this:
The thing is, computers are ubiquitous -- and omnipresent -- these days, and the bulk of them are running MS Windows of some version. They're as common as stereos, but as touchy as a Stradivarius (or a crappy Strad copy). It's not really a valid assumption that all computer users are experts at using computers. They buy them to shop, do embroidery, type phone lists into spreadsheets, watch porn, keep in touch with relatives, etc. They don't want to be computer experts in order to do these things any more than I want to learn to play bass or drums or violin just to listen to some music.
So if Microsoft wants ordinary people to be able to continue using Windows PCs in a networked world, security has got to be easier. If the only secure computer is one that is managed by an IT Pro, then the potential market for personal computers (and PC operating systems) is only businesses. And that would be bad news for MS.
The original 'innovation' for Palm was the fact that it had a modular bay allowing accessories to be added to it.
Wasn't it Handspring that developed the accessory port? Sure they've since merged back together and split a different way in the meantime, but I believe it was the Visor that first sported add-on bay.
Which part of "there are cases" and "certain aspects" is unclear to you?
The part where you give an example, or a list, or a description, or even a general idea or gist of the aforementioned "cases" or "aspects". You rebut an argument by saying "certain aspects" and still don't give any suggestion about what you're talking about.
Maybe you don't have any examples in mind, because you don't have intimate knowledge of utility regulation. That's OK, but you can't just restate "there are cases" again without expecting someone to ask -- particularly when you literally beg the question with "which part of . ..".
So, please put up. Tell us what "certain cases" you're referring to. Describe them as specifically or generally as you want. Don't just give us that O'Reilly-style belittling and condescension ("heard of it?"). That's not a counter-argument, that's just just being mean. It's certainly not the "nuance" you implied with: "I don't see the world in black and white".
There are cases where even "evil monopolists" should be left to do certain aspects of their business without regulators messing in it.
Like running a telephone/cable/data line over or under my neighborhood but not offering me service becuase we live where they "wouldn't sell"? We're giving these guys rights-of-way -- they're suckling at the public teat. I understand their goal is to maximize profits by socializing the costs and privatizing the revenue, but we don't have to agree with it or accept it just because they say they want it.
there is some speculation that we have reached peak copper. High-grade copper may in fact be a precious metal ere long.
Copper's got a long climb to get there. It's about $3 a pound, compared to nearly $14/oz for silver (~$166/lb). And there are alternatives to copper for most purposes. If I had a nickel for every "peak XXXX" pamphlet I get, I could melt and recycle them for big bucks.
Read up on administrative law. Administrations created by congress (FAA, FCC, SEC, Mint, etc) can pass rules that are binding as federal law. It is part of their charter as federal administrative bodies.
Umm, ya, I think I'll take a pass on that and go with my original assumption that they pulled it directly out of their asses. In the meanwhile, I melted a 1975 and 1995 penny for comparison. The '75 globbed up into a nice copper bead with just a little scale on the surface that was etched away quickly with acid. The 1995, with its mostly zinc composition, melted into a nasty pile of slag.
If the bible thumpers cant take a joke and realize its JUST A DAMNED GAME, then screw them.
According to TFA it's liberal and progressive Christians that are protesting the sale of the game, not the bible thumpers. A 'Bible Thumper' is, according to the American Heritage Dictionary: "Used as a disparaging term for a Christian, especially a fundamentalist or evangelical Christian, considered to be overly zealous in haranguing or censuring others." Bible thumpers are the presumed audience for the game.
His skill at turning someone with zero musical performance skill into something entertaining and presentable shows he could get a job as a pop music producer. Hell, he can't do any worse than the pimps who churn out the pop tarts we see on stage today!
I think that's his point. That the 'musician' in much of today's recorded music is actually the producer/editor and not the person you hear singing/playing the notes that make up the music. The music is the editing, the editing is the music.
I can understand an investigation that specifically centers around sales in the US, but it sounds like this has an international side to it. I thought that US regulators couldn't do much internationally . ..
From TFA:
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said it had been served with subpoenas by regulators in the U.S., South Korea and Japan, while Sharp Corp. and Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp. were contacted by the Japan Fair Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), they said. Taiwan's Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. said a subsidiary in the U.S. was also contacted by the DOJ.
Article doesn't say that US is doing this alone. It's an international regulatory effort. I just hope Dubya doesn't learn that were cooperating with foreigners.
Slashdot Mirror
I replaced a couple PAR-type lamps with Enlux LED lamps. They use an array of colored LEDs to produce white light. They are very bright and the color rendering is phenomenal. One points at my chopping block and carrots under it look like they're glowing brilliant orange. I believe the 20W rating on the lamp to be accurate, just from the feel of it while running. They are also really bright, brighter than the 75W incandescents next to them.
I believe these were discussed on Slashdot last year. Their only real drawback is the very high price: $90 per lamp. I only tried them with the hope that the price would come down, but so far no luck there. They also prefer a sine-wave dimmer but seem to tolerate being on a triac dimmer as long as there are some incandescents sharing the circuit with them.
Disclaimer: I have no interest in Enlux lighting.
I guess she could try Seitan, if she's not allergic to wheat as well. There are also some mycoprotein-based meat substitues available now (sold in US as "Quorn").
But she may not be a very good candidate for vegetarianism with the legume allergy. The traditional vegetarian method of getting a "complete" protein (all the essential amino acids) in one dish usually involves a legume, e.g. rice & beans, beans & tortilla, hummus & pita, etc. You try to combine a grain protein and bean protein source in a single food to be eaten together. If that's not possible due to allergies it could really be tough for her to go veggie. Good luck.
They've gone from regular villainy to cartoonish super-villainy.
Glad you asked. The main reason is safety regulations. Devices that plug in to your household power need 3rd party certification (e.g. UL approval in US). Power supply design is a specialty, and although any EE could do it, not all can do it well, quickly and cheaply. If you (as designer) spec an external transformer, then you don't have to worry about the approval. You just buy an approved transformer and design your device to work on low voltage. This saves you thousands of dollars and many man-hours of time per design by not having to hire an independent lab to verify your safety compliance.
As an additional benefit, you can sell you product to work with different AC voltages just by supplying the appropriate transformer for each market. Plus, when you buy an external transformer, you get economies of scale because it can power not only your devices but many others built by thousands of other firms.
And his actions were to shoot a fake deer.
That may be true, but it would make a lousy headline.
I didn't design the robot (sorry, animatronic) deer, but I would guess they are using a hobby or industrial "servo" to move its parts. That position of that "servo" is controlled by an external electrical signal. External to the servo -- not necessarily external to anything else. Whether or not the controller unit itself is within or without the animatronic deer is not important. The positioning device is still referred to as a servo. But why are we even worried about that?
I'll leave that to you to prove. Or will I ? . . . You tell me what I'm thinking.
Either we get ignorance of these interesting articles or ignorance of the submitter's interest in the story?. I believe that's what's called a "false dilemma". All I would ask for is disclosure. A paid WSJ submitter is up front about it, why not PreacherTom and Business Week? Would that be better? Aye.
Anyway, back to the name. How about "shill"?
So are you saying "No, not really: there is no such thing as astroturfing" or "No, not really: I know PreacherTom, and he's neither a paid shill or a figment of the imagination of a Business Week marketeer"? Because if he has a financial/business interest in the story he's submitting, that should be disclosed. As you say, an interesting story is still interesting even if hyped by a "crier", disclosure notwithstanding, right?
Both games were simple but engrossing enough to transcend low-res graphics, blinkity-blinkitiness and the fact that TVs are wide rather than tall. I never noticed the "wrong side" issue on Donkey Kong -- not that my Colecovision owning friends would ever let me get my hands on its runty little joystick.
I had every Atari cartridge system through the Jag, and just recently disposed of them on eBay, hopefully they're still being played somewhere. I didn't really enjoy the Jaguar, with its Japanese-style joy(less)pad thingy. I've tried recent games and PS2 and XBox and tyring to remember to A,A,B,B,square,triangle,fire,up,up,down seems too much like drudgery to me. Maybe someday the joystick will make its comeback.
I don't disagree with you at all, but I'm compelled to add this:
The thing is, computers are ubiquitous -- and omnipresent -- these days, and the bulk of them are running MS Windows of some version. They're as common as stereos, but as touchy as a Stradivarius (or a crappy Strad copy). It's not really a valid assumption that all computer users are experts at using computers. They buy them to shop, do embroidery, type phone lists into spreadsheets, watch porn, keep in touch with relatives, etc. They don't want to be computer experts in order to do these things any more than I want to learn to play bass or drums or violin just to listen to some music.
So if Microsoft wants ordinary people to be able to continue using Windows PCs in a networked world, security has got to be easier. If the only secure computer is one that is managed by an IT Pro, then the potential market for personal computers (and PC operating systems) is only businesses. And that would be bad news for MS.
Wasn't it Handspring that developed the accessory port? Sure they've since merged back together and split a different way in the meantime, but I believe it was the Visor that first sported add-on bay.
It's probably pining for the fjords.
The part where you give an example, or a list, or a description, or even a general idea or gist of the aforementioned "cases" or "aspects". You rebut an argument by saying "certain aspects" and still don't give any suggestion about what you're talking about.
Maybe you don't have any examples in mind, because you don't have intimate knowledge of utility regulation. That's OK, but you can't just restate "there are cases" again without expecting someone to ask -- particularly when you literally beg the question with "which part of . . .".
So, please put up. Tell us what "certain cases" you're referring to. Describe them as specifically or generally as you want. Don't just give us that O'Reilly-style belittling and condescension ("heard of it?"). That's not a counter-argument, that's just just being mean. It's certainly not the "nuance" you implied with: "I don't see the world in black and white".
Like running a telephone/cable/data line over or under my neighborhood but not offering me service becuase we live where they "wouldn't sell"? We're giving these guys rights-of-way -- they're suckling at the public teat. I understand their goal is to maximize profits by socializing the costs and privatizing the revenue, but we don't have to agree with it or accept it just because they say they want it.
. . . around the Moon.
Only because someone made him use at least one numeral.
Copper's got a long climb to get there. It's about $3 a pound, compared to nearly $14/oz for silver (~$166/lb). And there are alternatives to copper for most purposes. If I had a nickel for every "peak XXXX" pamphlet I get, I could melt and recycle them for big bucks.
Umm, ya, I think I'll take a pass on that and go with my original assumption that they pulled it directly out of their asses. In the meanwhile, I melted a 1975 and 1995 penny for comparison. The '75 globbed up into a nice copper bead with just a little scale on the surface that was etched away quickly with acid. The 1995, with its mostly zinc composition, melted into a nasty pile of slag.
I just checked scrap zinc prices at the London Metals Exchange, it's about $2.00/lb. A sandwich penny is only about 2.5g, and so I figure 1.1 cents.
I don't believe that they can, except in their own minds. I don't remember voting for my mintmessperson last November.
According to TFA it's liberal and progressive Christians that are protesting the sale of the game, not the bible thumpers. A 'Bible Thumper' is, according to the American Heritage Dictionary: "Used as a disparaging term for a Christian, especially a fundamentalist or evangelical Christian, considered to be overly zealous in haranguing or censuring others." Bible thumpers are the presumed audience for the game.
That sound you heard going over your head was an African Swallow.
I think that's his point. That the 'musician' in much of today's recorded music is actually the producer/editor and not the person you hear singing/playing the notes that make up the music. The music is the editing, the editing is the music.
From TFA:
Article doesn't say that US is doing this alone. It's an international regulatory effort. I just hope Dubya doesn't learn that were cooperating with foreigners.