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Comment Re:Ah... Telsa misses the point again. (Score 1) 700

What's needed is a standard battery pack - when its empty you turn up at a service station and some sort of automated forklift system unhooks the flat battery and slots in a freshly charged one. The system then checks the battery's built in status indicator and works out how much you owe based on remaining charge level and the amount of 'wear' on the battery since it was last changed. Solves the slow recharge problem, and also allows you to spread the cost of the battery pack over time.

(Basically, the business model used for propane tanks for boats & camping - you don't sit around at the store while they refill your tank).

I'm sorry but I don't want the business model for Propane.. If you like paying double the price for a 3/4 full bottle of propane go right ahead..
I can wait 5-10 minutes for a full tank for much less $$.

You are missing the point anyway.. It's a trade off. You trade spending $5-75 for a tank of gas and quick easy refills for spending $10 in electricity for a full range charge and planning you trip a little more. This isn't the kids of car you plan long cross country tips in anyway. (Well until the infrastructure is there). This is the one you drive every day to work and the grocery store.

Comment Re:MS's gaming strategy has been weird for years (Score 1) 404

I've not understood MS's strategy around gaming for years now. Don't get me wrong, I owned an original Xbox and liked it, I own a 360 now and like it a lot - but I've never understood why MS would choose to move into the console market.

Maybe because someone at MS realized the console is the gateway to your TV. The console isn't just about games anymore
People are moving away from cable to streaming services and the console is the perfect platform to own that market.
I have an Xbox, Wii and a Blu-Ray player at home that spend more time streaming netflix and amazon video then anything else.
We dropped Dish and put some the $$ saved into a faster internet service.

Lets face it. The streaming TV market is an open field. No one device is dominating.
Amazon Instant video, Netflix, Hulu already play on Xbox.

The next gen X-box 720 is rumored to have Blu-ray and DVR capability.

Nintendo missed a chance and didn't give the WII U even DVD playback.

Apple and Google missed by making their devices streaming only..
The last thing I want is another device and another remote to loose.

I want one box to run it all..

Comment He probably just got sick of the crap.. (Score 1) 70

Put your self in his position..
You have been with MS for 24 years.. you pull down roughly 8.5 mill a year with pay and stock options
He probably has a nice pile of cash and stock to last him a lifetime or two.

The stress may be higher than the rewards and you got that last major release off your solders.

Time to step back, have fun with the family and find a new direction.

Comment Re:Good old fashioned IT management (Score 1) 226

More likely is that it's been a revolving budget request from IT for years and years but upper management keeps pushing it down the list to fund high visibility pet projects to pad their resumes with.

Only when the shit hits the fan to these low profile projects get funding and suddenly need to be done ASAP without any proper selection process.
The bid ends up not with the best product but in the hands of the sales drone the boos is cozy with.

The lesson here is.. If you have an important project that keeps getting kicked down the road be prepared.. Have your selection and proposed budget done and ready to roll so when the boss runs in asking for ideas you cover his ass you have something to hand them.

Comment First commercial flight? (Score 1) 317

I find this odd because last month there was one sitting at the terminal in Phoenix as we pulled in.
Our pilot was on the intercom telling everyone to look out the window at it.

Maybe it was on a test run and not a regular commercial flight.

Comment Re:Eh (Score 1) 866

I don't think remembering exact details decades later is the point of HS science classes..

The point is to let you know what is possible and if needed years later you can look up the details because you know where to start looking.
If it grabs your interest and you make a carrier of it great!

Chemistry.. you learned about acids and bases right? Maybe next time the batteries in your kids favorite toy leak all over the battery compartment you'll remember Alkaline is a base and some vinegar (a weak acid) will neutralize and clean that crap right up.. Toy works. Kids is happy and maybe learned something.. Yeah Chemistry!

Comment Jump ahead 100 years to gather (Score 1) 658

My theory on time travel isn't all the exciting.. I believe that you are forever bound to your timeline.. You are stuck with the life you observe. You can travel to the past all you want but anything you do there has already happened. Try to change a historical event? you'll find you were a part of it all along. The past is fixed and unchangeable.
Going forward is follows the same path.. The future you see is yours.. If you managed to retrieve information from the future and use it the future you see will be the result of those actions.

Now I'm not dismissing the diverging timelines/ infinite parallel universe theory. I'm just saying you are rather stuck in your time line.. Moving forward and back within your track will be trivial compared to the energy needed to move out of your universe and into a parallel one. Conversation of energy might imply that to move mass into another universe would require the transfer of equivalent energy into the source universe to replace the now missing mass. Moving 1 gram would be like setting off the fat man bomb in the source universe.

Comment Re:Transmission? (Score 1) 331

Because it's a front wheel drive car it's much less work to bolt the electric motor to the stock transaxle than to build your own single speed unit.

Had they used a RWD car to start with they could have eliminated the transmission without much work..

Honestly I think the ultimate solution is 2 or 4 independent brushless wheel motors. Eliminate most of the drive train components.

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