Comment Finally (Score 4, Funny) 182
I was beginning to think this was Starcraft Forever
Comment Re:Is Wal-Mart a 3rd World Country? (Score 1) 958
Yes, it does.
Comment Re:Unscaled photo link (Score 1) 229
Fine, call it an electrograph then.
Comment Re:Uptime (Score 4, Insightful) 596
Yikes! Guess he got lucky and picked a circuit on the same phase? Or did he check with a meter that each conductor of both circuits had 0V potential between them. Kids, Do not try this at home! Guess wrong (50% or 33% chance, depending on single-phase or 3-phase service), and best case scenario (240V short across both circuits) you pop a breaker and take down not only your machine, but also anything else on one or both circuits. Just accept that you are going to lose your Frogger hi-score, and unplug the damn machine.
Windows 7 RCs Shut Down To Force Updates 414
nk497 writes "The release candidate for Microsoft Windows 7 will expire June 2010, and the software giant will let users know they need to pay to upgrade by shutting down the system every two hours for three months. According to Microsoft: "The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you'll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You'll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use.""
Developing World Is a Profit Sink For Web Companies 203
The NYTimes is running a piece on the dilemma faced by Web entrepreneurs, particularly in social media companies: the developing world is spiking traffic but not contributing much to revenues. The basic disconnect when Web 2.0 business models meet Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East is that countries there are not good prospects for the advertisers who pay the bills. "Call it the International Paradox. Web companies that rely on advertising are enjoying some of their most vibrant growth in developing countries. But those are also the same places where it can be the most expensive to operate, since Web companies often need more servers to make content available to parts of the world with limited bandwidth. And in those countries, online display advertising is least likely to translate into results. ... Last year, Veoh, a video-sharing site operated from San Diego, decided to block its service from users in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, citing the dim prospects of making money and the high cost of delivering video there. 'I believe in free, open communications,' Dmitry Shapiro, the company's chief executive, said. 'But these people are so hungry for this content. They sit and they watch and watch and watch. The problem is they are eating up bandwidth, and it's very difficult to derive revenue from it.' ... Perhaps no company is more in the grip of the international paradox than YouTube, which [an analyst] recently estimated could lose $470 million in 2009, in part because of the high cost of delivering billions of videos each month."
Comment Re:48VDC pros/cons (IMHO) (Score 2, Interesting) 287
A. You won't get zapped from 48VDC. If you are extremely sweaty you might feel a slight tingle, but nothing to get excited about.
2. Just wire up some big batteries in parallel and you don't have to worry about voltage drop under load. As long as the rectifiers can keep with the current needed to float the batteries at 48V (really more like 52V in practice) you're fine. As stated by an earlier poster, this is proven technology in use by telcos for a very long time.
D. This whole article is about datacenters. I hope Joe Twelvepack hasn't just slurpped down 7 Bud Lights and wandered in to wire up some servers, but if he has I doubt a dedicated power connector is gonna keep him from fouling something up. There already exist standard 48VDC connectors. They're called lugs. Just remember, the positive terminal goes to ground. Actually I have seen modular plugs for this purpose, but any tech worthy of working near such equipment should be able to terminate a color-coded cable easily enough.
