That issue has nothing to do with IBM. This issue with controlling source redistribution has a been a longstanding and challenging issue with RedHat going back more than 10 years. It just came to a head recently when RH stopped pushing their spec files to git. Several RH folk are on record as saying this move was not influenced in anyway by anyone in the parent company. In fact they didn't even inform IBM execs of this nor would they have needed to since they are their own business unit.

Can't blame IBM for a controversial business policy that goes back many years.

Apple spent $10 billion on the car project.

I don't know the NRE expenses for the AVP, but Apple spends $70B annually on R&D. It's reasonable to assume a good chunk of that was on the AVP.

EDIT: Here's a link that says they spent $20 billion to develop it. It's from a VC, and they never lie.

There were no chains or whips. But an Apple sales rep sits with you and guides you through the script. There is no ability to just try stuff on your own.

But the demo is cool. You should make an appointment and go see it. It's amazing technology.

At half the price and half the weight, it'd be a huge hit.

I'll buy one eventually.

The price is a big problem. I considered buying one but decided to wait for the next version at a (hopefully) lower price.

But another reason I decided to wait is Apple would let me try it. Dropping $3500 on a product I'm not allowed to test isn't gonna happen.

I did the in-store demo, but it is totally scripted and 100% focused on consuming content. Going off-script is a big no-no.

The demo does not include using the AVP with a keyboard and mouse or integrating with a MacBook.

I also wanted to try using the AVP while reclining or lying down. Not allowed.

The generators are cheap. Stick two pieces of metal in a bucket of water.

Running them is not cheap because they are voracious consumers of electricity.

But what we are talking about is when electricity of FREE or has a NEGATIVE price.

If you make H2 in California, selling it to a fertilizer factory in New Jersey isn't gonna work.

More than 1,200 professions are licensed in at least one state, but only 60 are licensed in all states. Eliminating 95% of the licensing requirements would have little negative consequence.

In California, you need a license from the state to make yogurt.

The excessive licensing requirements are often caused by regulatory capture: Incumbents like the requirements because fewer competitors can afford to enter the business.

Supply and demand. Millions of gender-selective abortions have messed up the ratio of men to women, so women can be picky.

The birth dearth has exacerbated the problem. Men often prefer a younger woman, while women often prefer an older, financially settled man. As birth rates fall, more people are in the older cohort than in the younger cohort.

That makes the problem even worse. But lots of men are also dropping out.

California restricted non-compete agreements in 1872 and banned them in the 1940s.

The ban is one reason the Silicon Valley phenomenon happened in California. Startups can hire with fewer restrictions, ideas spread faster, and employees are more productive because they can easily move to a better-fitting job.

California does a lot of stupid stuff, but got this right.

Part of the reason they are acting so carefully is that they do not have a ground-based analog of the voyager craft to test with, according to what I read a while back.

If you read the fine article you'll get answers to all your questions. It's an interesting story.

Yes some of the onboard memory is faulty.

Nope it doesn't work that way. Practical engineering did a fantastic video on this subject recently. Everyone interested in the topic of solar and wind on the grid needs to watch that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The problem is that inverters need a stable grid to synchronize to when feeding power back to the grid. They cannot help stabilize the grid like base-load generators do. There are research groups working on developing more advanced inverters that can simulate a generator's inertia. But it's going to require a much smarter grid to enable solar to contribute to grid stability when demand starts pulling the frequency down. By the way the same issues exist with battery storage too, so the problems with inverters will have to be addressed before fossil-fuel base-load plants can just be shut down. We will get there but it's going to take a lot longer than you think.

It's all in assembly, but the program is small.

There are three RCA-1802 CPUs onboard.

They are 8-bit processors. The instruction set is straightforward. It's not difficult to program.

The RCA-1802 is notable for being the first CMOS CPU and was likely picked for that reason since CMOS uses much less power than NMOS, which was the prevailing technology at the time.

There are rad-hard RCA-1802s, but I don't know if Voyager used those. Rad-hard semiconductors are fabricated with depleted boron, which has a much smaller neutron cross-section.

640 bytes ought to be enough for anyone.

I think the GPP meant Tesla producing sodium batteries for grid or home storage, not for vehicles.

Sodium doesn't make sense for vehicles.

But if we use sodium for static storage, a lot more lithium will be freed up for EVs.