Comment Do you get to pick the donor? (Score 2) 221
I mean, who wouldn't want to be able to choose one? That opens up all kinds of possibilities.
In Historic Turn, CO2 Emissions Flatline In 2014, Even As Global Economy Grows 283
mdsolar sends this report from Forbes:
A key stumbling block in the effort to combat global warming has been the intimate link between greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth. When times are good and industries are thriving, global energy use traditionally increases and energy-related carbon dioxide emissions also go up. Only when economies stumble and businesses shutter — as during the most recent financial crisis — does energy use typically decline, in turn bringing down planet-warming emissions.
But for the first time in nearly half a century, that synchrony between economic growth and energy-related emissions seems to have been broken, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, prompting its chief economist to wonder if an important new pivot point has been reached — one that decouples economic vigor and carbon pollution. The IEA pegged carbon dioxide emissions for 2014 at 32.3 billion metric tons — essentially the same volume as 2013, even as the global economy grew at a rate of about 3 percent. Whether the disconnect is a mere fluke or a true harbinger of a paradigm shift is impossible to know. The IEA suggested that decreasing use of coal in China — and upticks in renewable electricity generation there using solar, wind and hydropower — could have contributed to the reversal.
But for the first time in nearly half a century, that synchrony between economic growth and energy-related emissions seems to have been broken, according to the Paris-based International Energy Agency, prompting its chief economist to wonder if an important new pivot point has been reached — one that decouples economic vigor and carbon pollution. The IEA pegged carbon dioxide emissions for 2014 at 32.3 billion metric tons — essentially the same volume as 2013, even as the global economy grew at a rate of about 3 percent. Whether the disconnect is a mere fluke or a true harbinger of a paradigm shift is impossible to know. The IEA suggested that decreasing use of coal in China — and upticks in renewable electricity generation there using solar, wind and hydropower — could have contributed to the reversal.
Comment Obviously not familiar with HTML (Score 1) 757
And the huge volumes of crappy code upon which the entire shaky foundation of internet is built.
Comment But people want to know how it works (Score 2) 107
People would still want to know how it all works so they aren't stuck going to the dealer for service. So how do you reconcile the two?
Comment Two code fragments enter... (Score 2) 93
One fragment leaves.
Comment Innovation vs. Commodity (Score 4, Insightful) 392
Apple has never been a commodity computer company. Herd mentality always seems to head in the direction of the cheapest tech out there even though there are far superior offerings out there. Just look at how VHS won out over Beta. That's video tape for those of you too young to know or care how we got where we are.
Comment Techno-fragmentation (Score 1) 292
Things were so much simpler 25 years ago. If you knew C, C++, and/or Pascal and were willing to relocate, you could find a job fairly easily. Nowadays, there are so many niche tools, APIs, and languages that universities can't teach a broad enough curriculum to allow graduates options.
Comment It's not climate change... (Score 1) 279
It's all the hot air coming out of Sacramento. Ironically, they keep yammering on about climate change so they really only have themselves to blame.
Comment Groan (Score 1) 187
At least western sci-fi writers make a little effort to conceal their socialistic beliefs.
Comment Only $50K? (Score 1) 79
Puhleeze.... With all the money they government takes in in legal settlements for violation of the do-not-call list, they can surely afford a few million dollars.
Comment Suprious correlation... (Score 0) 152
Should be mandatory reading for...well...everyone.
Comment Google and robotics (Score 1) 247
There's an interesting article in today's WSJ (03/06/15) about a current DARPA contest involving humanoid robots. A Tokyo-based company lead the early trial run. That company was just bought by Google who then withdrew that robot from the competition. Google has been quietly acquiring similar companies including Boston Dynamics. It appears that Google is trying to flex some moral muscle to keep robots out of military hands. Sure, there will be other companies that will fill the void but I'd venture to say that Google is going to try to sue them all for patent infringement.
Comment Re:Have Settled Charges? (Score 1) 97
It means that the company gets screwed for millions of dollars all of which magically disappears into the black hole of the federal government general fund. Meanwhile, you, dear victim, will get discount coupons for cellphone accessories for obsolete phones. It's a little bit like the government promising you a tax "credit" in return for actual money paid by some private entity. You can only make use of this "credit" if you meet certain specific criteria e.g. tax bracket and taxes owed combined with astrological sign and body mass index which most people don't meet.
Comment Latex filament (Score 1) 61
With the rapidly increasing volume of 3D printers, all that's needed is for somebody to come up with an extruder and latex filament. Which sounds dirty but I didn't mean it that way.
Comment I never understood the recent patent reform (Score 1) 99
Switching from "first to invent" to "first to file" makes no sense to me. If you're working on something for several years and some asshat hacks your computer, copies all the data, then files the patent, why should they get credit for it? Beyond that, I don't understand how some filers seem to be able to get patents in a few months while others take YEARS to even get reviewed. Something doesn't smell right here. And then there's the patent troll problem. Why has nobody put forth legislation that requires the patent holder to also be the applier of the technology? Nobody likes campers in a MMO game. IMHO, if you own a patent, you should be required to create a real product with it and sell it in order to benefit from the patent protection.
