I recently read that 1 pound (weight) of nuclear material yields roughly the same energy as does 8,000 tons of coal. That's amazing. However, it made me wonder whether this incredible fact distracts everyone involved from the fact that nuclear plants create permanent (for all intents and purposes) poison as a waste by-product. (Humans are good at focusing on one, not-so-important fact.) And it's apparent that our feckless, ever-changing, governmental administrations aren't handling that waste properly, even if it ever could. I wonder whether it's worth it, especially since we seem to be one battery-technology leap away from an energy revolution.
Remember when we complained about foreign tech. support? Well welcome to 2018, where there is none, even if you're paying. This "disconnect" seems to be how life goes in this so-called Information Age. Everything is SO optimized for profit today, that getting assistance for anything is getting closer and closer to being non-existent. We were sucked into it when we were given free web browsers, etc., that came with no user's manual. I understood, since the stuff was (beer) free. Fine. But these days, I run into trouble and get no help, even if I'm paying. So the digital wall of fine print that the OP ran into doesn't surprise me at all.
Yes, I am nuts; but that aside, mouse cleaning completely depends on the environs. At work (a shop), I have to quickly wipe the bottom of it almost weekly; the internal axes need cleaning every other month. At home, every other month requires the bottom wiping - several months or more for the axes.
It may sound silly to deal with, but using 5 times more energy and creating 5 times more pollution for the same functionality that we had before sounds silly to me. Before you balk at the low amount of power a mouse uses, consider that there are billions of them being used globally every day.
Did you know Microsoft's ball mouse uses 1/5th the power the optical ones do? It might be better for laptop/batteries. (I'm still using a 10+ year old Microsoft ball mouse at work.)
A) Not delicate
B) Easily recordable
C) Re-recordable
D) Portable
E) Inexpensive
F) Small storage size
G) Trade-able (without DCMA fears)
H) No computer required at any step
I) Was a universal format (bought and played anywhere)
J) Can leave in car
K) Good enough for most situations
Are MP3s better today? Probably. But "garbage"? Eh...
Magnavox Odyssey 2 came out in 1978 and offered computer programming modules, wiping out the Intellivision claim of "first to be a dedicated game console and home computer."
Which may be the reason I'm sitting here as a firmware engineer today.
Also, I can't find the exact dates with a quick Googling, but the O2's voice module supposedly came out in 1982 as well.
I made an indie video game that was published and put into retail stores nationally. It didn't even pay for itself, since it took me years of time to make. I hope you didn't take a copy for free from me.
I think we're at the point of a recycling tax for e-waste. That is, not only does their purchase incur a sales tax but also a recycling tax, so that when the item is recycled (mandated by law), funds have been set aside for their handling/recycling, and/or the person who turns it in gets a return deposit, perhaps.
Also, I'm still waiting to hear about a very useful IoT device that didn't exist 5 years ago. Whenever I hear someone rave about some new purchase, I poke a hole in it within a minute when we walk through the realities of its use.
Don't fight your conscience; stupid is stupid - call it out. Although, you will be labeled: "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
To the GP, I believe in most cases that "IoT" stands for "Internet of Toys".
Most of the readers of this site understand how well, that is, not well, such a feature works in reality when it comes to dealing with the infinite complexities of driving. The average person though, after hearing "auto-pilot" and drinking the Kool-Aid of the media repeating how great autonomous vehicles are going to be (Slashdot is not an exception to this) will not think twice about putting human lives completely in such a feature's digital hands.
"Rich people"? Please. How many people replace their functional cell phone every few years? How many people revamp rooms in their homes just because they no longer like the style? 'Tube TVs - that's not hip; throw them all out and buy a smart one (which will only last half as long)!' 'Alexa is sooooo helpful; gotta have one of those! Hell, one for each room!' 'My commute is monstrously long; but what can I do about it?' 'And I sit in stop-and-go traffic, which I can avoid by going in early and doing something (personally) productive, but I don't want to shift my sleeping pattern by an hour.' 'I could buy this in town on the way home from work, but Amazon Amazon Amazon!' 'I'll replace my working appliance/HVAC because I assume the new ones are soooo much more energy efficient - the guy selling it to me said so!'
I could go on and on, but now I'm just wasting energy.
And no, recycling is still wasteful, just not as much as the landfill.
I'd like to see some unbiased data regarding refrigerators using 1/3 the energy today versus back then. Insulation is not that different today, and pumps are still pumps. (Disclaimer: I work in the pump industry.)
I expect these vehicles to slow down traffic all over the place as they get befuddled by road obstacles that any child could understand. But now that there's (sadly) been a death, when will Waymo cause its first?
If I were them, I'd wait even longer - let the whole industry shake out and make its mistakes. Personally, I'm not convinced there's a huge market now anyway, especially after all the governmental subsidies are withdrawn.
Slashdot Mirror
I recently read that 1 pound (weight) of nuclear material yields roughly the same energy as does 8,000 tons of coal. That's amazing. However, it made me wonder whether this incredible fact distracts everyone involved from the fact that nuclear plants create permanent (for all intents and purposes) poison as a waste by-product. (Humans are good at focusing on one, not-so-important fact.) And it's apparent that our feckless, ever-changing, governmental administrations aren't handling that waste properly, even if it ever could. I wonder whether it's worth it, especially since we seem to be one battery-technology leap away from an energy revolution.
Remember when we complained about foreign tech. support? Well welcome to 2018, where there is none, even if you're paying. This "disconnect" seems to be how life goes in this so-called Information Age. Everything is SO optimized for profit today, that getting assistance for anything is getting closer and closer to being non-existent. We were sucked into it when we were given free web browsers, etc., that came with no user's manual. I understood, since the stuff was (beer) free. Fine. But these days, I run into trouble and get no help, even if I'm paying. So the digital wall of fine print that the OP ran into doesn't surprise me at all.
I didn't RTFA, but shouldn't it be "The other arrest is of a 49-year-old DJ who allegedly strangled a schoolteacher in 1992."?
Think of the children's...energy prices. All that unnecessary encrypting costs electricity, times billions of pages per day.
Yes, I am nuts; but that aside, mouse cleaning completely depends on the environs. At work (a shop), I have to quickly wipe the bottom of it almost weekly; the internal axes need cleaning every other month. At home, every other month requires the bottom wiping - several months or more for the axes.
It may sound silly to deal with, but using 5 times more energy and creating 5 times more pollution for the same functionality that we had before sounds silly to me. Before you balk at the low amount of power a mouse uses, consider that there are billions of them being used globally every day.
Did you know Microsoft's ball mouse uses 1/5th the power the optical ones do? It might be better for laptop/batteries. (I'm still using a 10+ year old Microsoft ball mouse at work.)
Did you know optical mice use ~ 5 times the power of roller-ball mice?
Brainfuck?
Good point.
A) Not delicate
B) Easily recordable
C) Re-recordable
D) Portable
E) Inexpensive
F) Small storage size
G) Trade-able (without DCMA fears)
H) No computer required at any step
I) Was a universal format (bought and played anywhere)
J) Can leave in car
K) Good enough for most situations
Are MP3s better today? Probably. But "garbage"? Eh...
A) Downloading ROMs is illegal and arguably unethical.
B) Money I got, time I don't.
Magnavox Odyssey 2 came out in 1978 and offered computer programming modules, wiping out the Intellivision claim of "first to be a dedicated game console and home computer."
Which may be the reason I'm sitting here as a firmware engineer today.
Also, I can't find the exact dates with a quick Googling, but the O2's voice module supposedly came out in 1982 as well.
The percentage of my frustration: 42.
I made an indie video game that was published and put into retail stores nationally. It didn't even pay for itself, since it took me years of time to make. I hope you didn't take a copy for free from me.
I think we're at the point of a recycling tax for e-waste. That is, not only does their purchase incur a sales tax but also a recycling tax, so that when the item is recycled (mandated by law), funds have been set aside for their handling/recycling, and/or the person who turns it in gets a return deposit, perhaps.
Also, I'm still waiting to hear about a very useful IoT device that didn't exist 5 years ago. Whenever I hear someone rave about some new purchase, I poke a hole in it within a minute when we walk through the realities of its use.
Don't fight your conscience; stupid is stupid - call it out. Although, you will be labeled: "The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it." - George Bernard Shaw
To the GP, I believe in most cases that "IoT" stands for "Internet of Toys".
Are you using blockchain technology? I would like to subscribe to your newsletter.
Most of the readers of this site understand how well, that is, not well, such a feature works in reality when it comes to dealing with the infinite complexities of driving. The average person though, after hearing "auto-pilot" and drinking the Kool-Aid of the media repeating how great autonomous vehicles are going to be (Slashdot is not an exception to this) will not think twice about putting human lives completely in such a feature's digital hands.
Are the victims called "suckerbergs"?
"Rich people"? Please. How many people replace their functional cell phone every few years? How many people revamp rooms in their homes just because they no longer like the style? 'Tube TVs - that's not hip; throw them all out and buy a smart one (which will only last half as long)!' 'Alexa is sooooo helpful; gotta have one of those! Hell, one for each room!' 'My commute is monstrously long; but what can I do about it?' 'And I sit in stop-and-go traffic, which I can avoid by going in early and doing something (personally) productive, but I don't want to shift my sleeping pattern by an hour.' 'I could buy this in town on the way home from work, but Amazon Amazon Amazon!' 'I'll replace my working appliance/HVAC because I assume the new ones are soooo much more energy efficient - the guy selling it to me said so!'
I could go on and on, but now I'm just wasting energy.
And no, recycling is still wasteful, just not as much as the landfill.
I'd like to see some unbiased data regarding refrigerators using 1/3 the energy today versus back then. Insulation is not that different today, and pumps are still pumps. (Disclaimer: I work in the pump industry.)
So if I embrace it, it would be "my GNUschia"?
It's probably not just the external stresses.
I expect these vehicles to slow down traffic all over the place as they get befuddled by road obstacles that any child could understand. But now that there's (sadly) been a death, when will Waymo cause its first?
If I were them, I'd wait even longer - let the whole industry shake out and make its mistakes. Personally, I'm not convinced there's a huge market now anyway, especially after all the governmental subsidies are withdrawn.