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Comment Re:Terribly engineered for actual customers (Score 1) 810

The best solution would be to have a low power gas turbine (5-10hp) that can charge the car's battery slowly. This way you eliminate range anxiety by allowing the person to realize that they don't have enough juice to complete the journey so they kick in the turbine (or automatically when they set a destination that is beyond the battery's range) which will buy more range.

(snip)

And a 5hp turbine charger would be like living in the future.

It looks like you're not the first person to think of this, and you may not have to wait all that long...

Comment Re: 64-bit BS (Score 1) 512

It's not like Apple is artificially engineering obsolescence.

Care to explain why the first and second-generation Mac Pro aren't supported by Mountain Lion, then? After being supported throughout the beta period? They ripped out working code, just to get people to buy new machines. That's just one instance...

Comment Re:Windows8 can be tamed, but why should you have (Score 1) 1010

seems a large number of people have the dock set to autohide and getting it to show up remotely can be a pain, not to mention the window min/max animations are always horridly laggy... but i digress.

Command-Option-D (Windows-Alt-D remote from a PC) will activate or deactivate autohiding of the dock. And on Mac, don't ever use the yellow minimize button: just use Command-H to hide the window, bring it back again by clicking the appropriate dock icon.

Now your remote OS X sessions ought to be a bit more bearable.

Comment Re:You've come to the right place. (Score 4, Informative) 164

You know, I honestly did spend some time searching Google without coming up with useful results. I certainly could have spent a lot more time searching, but sometimes, it's a lot easier to ask someone with expertise and experience. I debated asking the question here, but I also found it interesting (and perhaps news and discussion-worthy) that ISPs are rolling out IPv6-only deployments (on synchronous 100Mbit fiber, even!), and thought others here might find that interesting, as well.

Submission + - Home server on IPv6-only Internet connection? (deutsche-glasfaser-hs.de) 1

RandyOo writes: I've recently learned that our neighborhood is getting a fiber optic network, with a 100Mbps connection in each subscriber's home. IPv6 connectivity is included, but unfortunately, the only IPv4 connectivity they offer is Carrier Grade NAT (CGN), due to the exhaustion of IPv4 addresses in RIPE.

I travel a lot, and I've become accustomed to accessing my home network via SSH, VNC, etc. It appears uPNP and PMP are unsupported by CGN. So, without a publicly-routed IPv4 address, I'll be unable to reach devices on my home network from an IPv4-only connection, such as the one provided by my cellular carrier. (which also appears to be behind some kind of NAT, by the way)

If the ISP isn't willing or able to sell me an IPv4 address, what alternatives do I have? I'd be willing to pay a small monthly fee for, say, a VPN service that would allow me to accept incoming connection requests on a range of ports on their internet-facing IPv4 address. Does such a service exist?

Comment Re:The chicken and egg problem all over again (Score 1) 252

Cats are carriers. Rodents are part of their life cycle. Rodents infected with these parasites tend to be "more brave", some even to the point of taunting a cat to attack them.

Humans are just unintended side show for the parasite, but since these affect behaviour in mice brains, it is not surprising these parasites affect human brains too.

Maybe there aren't many humans being preyed upon by felines nowadays, but has that always been the case?

Parasite Rex is an excellent book, by the way, if the subject holds any interest to you at all.

Comment Re:Is the judge a member of Anon? (Score 1) 325

Nobody chooses Android over Apple because it's cooler. They do so because they like the apps, or because they believe in slightly less closed platforms, or because they prefer the way it works, or because they see the iPad as hipsterish (where being "cool" is actually harmful).

I think you forgot "because it's cheaper", which is probably the most important consideration to the majority of consumers.

Comment Re:Is this a poor mans self driving car? (Score 1) 469

...your system disables when you need it the most, when you're building up speed on a straightaway while you're asleep?

Uh, yeah. I didn't find that out until I'd already bought the car... I'd change it myself, but I'm just a bit leery of trying to hack this sort of system. I'm assuming that the problem the auto-shutoff was supposed to solve was people simply relinquishing control completely, and reading a book, texting, or otherwise intentionally diverting their attention from the road. While I'm disappointed, I have to say that the system is still nice. While driving on the highway, it gives a feeling of "tracks" on the highway, so it feels like the road is guiding you, yet it's very easy to overcome, if necessary. And again, crossing a lane marker OR the disabling of the system is accompanied by chimes and blinky-lights, so hopefully that would be enough to rouse a dozing driver. Then again, you don't really belong on the road if you're drowsy, lane-keeping system or not.

I have the Accord Tourer, the closest US model is the Acura TSX Sport Wagon. (bought it mainly for safety for the wife and kids) Mine is diesel, though, and there are quite a few differences in the feature packages. Coming from a pair of '98 Accords (Coupe and Sedan), I'd call this wagon "sportier" than the Coupe: tight steering, stiff suspension... it's lacking in HP, but it handles curves quite nicely.

Comment Re:More Crapware by Software "Engineers" (Score 2) 469

If the system malfunctions I can't sue anybody, because it was provided "AS-IS" and "WITHOUT WARRANTY" or "FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE".

I have to assume that the sue-happy culture of the USA is probably part of the reason why this system isn't already being sold on a mainstream vehicle in North America. (I own a 1.5-year-old vehicle with a very similar system)

Slightly off-topic: After growing up in the USA, then spending some time living in Europe, I've often been shocked by some of the seemingly dangerous things that are allowed here, compared to the USA. I guess they expect people to exhibit some common sense here, rather than go crying to the courts when didn't make it all-but-impossible for them to injure themselves...

Comment Re:Winter (Score 1) 469

As I mentioned in a previous comment, the LKAS system installed in my vehicle is very picky about what sort of lane markings it accepts before the system is active.

Beyond that, in my vehicle, the system is disengaged by default. Every key cycle, you're forced to manually enable the lane-keeping assistance system. Disabling is always a steering-wheel button-press away, but since the power it exerts is so small, it's hard to imagine a scenario where it would be necessary...

Comment Re:Is this a poor mans self driving car? (Score 2) 469

In my dreams... I'm sure we'll get there eventually. :)

I have a vehicle with a similar system: a European Honda Accord with LKAS (Lane-Keeping Assist System). It seems to have a watchdog timer in place that checks for input on the steering wheel, and if it doesn't detect anything with circa 14 seconds, the lane-keeping system automatically disables itself (with chimes and flashing yellow warning light on the dash). It's immediately re-enabled the moment you apply any force to the wheel. (It's actually a bit of a pain on a long straightaway, where you don't *need* to make any corrections for that long.)

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