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Comment Re:Are the two networks truly separated? (Score 2) 113

We do, but this aero doesn't do all that electrons stuff. I deal with the magic that makes thousands of pounds magically levitate; it's the EEs that magically make disembodied human voices come out of nowhere and blinky lights obey the commands of hidden daemons. ;-)

Comment Re:Alternative Idea for Landing (Score 1) 342

These are gut reactions, based on a career in engineering structures spanning 25 years including 8 of those with NASA directly, 2 with Orbital Sciences Corporation, and 15 in private practice as a licensed professional engineer. I also happen to build and fly amateur (well, high-power, technically and I don't formulate my own propellant) rockets as a hobby.

Comment Re:Worth it. (Score 1) 482

A good deal in the first year, but it's an ongoing expense. Now $70k will get you a shit-ton of options to choose from for lower level job hiring, but anyone looking to hire in at a higher salary is going to know that there isn't as much headroom in the budget for the overall salary cap. It may work; it will certainly gain him at least a huge short-term morale boost (unless you were already making 63-69k, in which case, not so much) in addition to the press.

Its still a nice gesture, even if it's a calculated publicity stunt.

Comment Re:Alternative Idea for Landing (Score 5, Informative) 342

The forces required are enormous, and even 10m away the rocket thrust would toast most materials. It still has to be caught in a specific orientation to minimize stresses, which means stabilization. As for stopping further, a 10m fall would probably far outstrip the capacity of the structure. (For comparison, more heavily built high power / amateur rockets are designed for touch down forces equivalent to a drop of about 2 meters). The fuel difference is near zero since the full motion of the rocket must be arrested prior to that final "fall".

It also means that the rockets could never land on an arbitrary location, which would be a future goal. Solving it now is a Good Thing (TM).

Comment Re:Hmmm ... Inventor software ... (Score 1) 46

There is, and it tends to be expensive for the hobbiest. I have simple simulation programs and they cost several hundred to a couple thousand dollars, plus an annual maintenance fee in the 10-20% of the original purchase price. The thing is - the more complete and automatic you would like it, the more background programming is necessary, such that the most automated and simple programs often cost the most (i.e. - they allow less skilled users to produce more complete output).

OTOH, I assume structural analysis programs like NASTRAN, as well as programs in similar fields, have open source or free as in beer versions out there. It's brace and bit or hand file vs CNC machining/3D printing, but you can get just as good results (possibly even better) with enough know-how and effort. But time is money, as they say, so you decide which time is valuable and which is not.

Comment Piece of cake (Score 1) 365

It's only taken us 150 years to go from happenstance discovery of oil on the earth surface to deep water rigs, and we were working with non-fossil fuels back then. Somehow, I think 50 years would be more than sufficient to bring us back to where we are given that political stability existed, and 20-25 might be more realistic.

Comment Re: Anyone else want bigger batteries... (Score 1) 39

Really, because this is pretty damned close to what the G3 has. Replaceable battery - check; uSD - check; wireless charging - check; f1.8, no, but the lens is f2.4, the individual photosites are 25% larger than on the G4. Up until now, I'm not aware of any phone which has a maximum aperture larger than 2.2.

Comment Re:Honestly (Score 2) 126

The paid reviewer mark would be an ideal checkbox. It allows them to declare, can make Amazon enforce purchase from that user, and can ban reviewers who violate the terms. They can even use that to weight the reviews differently vs paid and unpaid. I presume they already weight the Amazon vs non-Amazon verified purchasers. (And if the feedback is good, a paid reviewer isn't necessarily a bad thing).

Comment Abraham Lincoln's quote on internet truth (Score 4, Informative) 126

" every reviewer would state their skillset and experience with similar products"

That's often evident from the reviews. 2-4 star reviews tend to be the most helpful, and there are often good points made in them. Expecting all of them to be useful or applicable to your situation would be like expecting all the /. story comments to be insightful, or to have a MS or Apple thread without trolls and fanbois in the mix. It just ain't gonna happen.

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