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Comment Re:A real problem? (Score 1) 125

Monthly salary for a teaching assistant in Sweden: 19 500 Swedish kronor = 2 835.456 U.S. dollars

(source: http://www.thelocal.se/discuss/index.php?showtopic=14142)

Cost of GPS widget: 25 U.S. dollars

(source: http://www.focalprice.com/ERW21B/Mini_GPS_Personal_Locator_Tracking_Device_Black.html?utm_source=CS&utm_medium=GM_UK&utm_campaign=CS_GM_UK_ERW21B)

If it saves 2 hours a year per child (2835 / month ~= 100 a day ~= US$ 25 for 2 hrs) , it's worth it.

Comment Re:Einstein replied "Check your measurements, son" (Score 5, Informative) 1088

It may still be a consistent measurement fault, but they've repeated it 15000 times. FTFA: "The team measured the travel times of neutrino bunches some 15,000 times, and have reached a level of statistical significance that in scientific circles would count as a formal discovery."

Comment Re:How do you figure the US can't compete? (Score 2) 598

First delivery of A380: 2007, delivered so far: 56, over 4 years is about 14 a year, so far, on average, for this model. Outstanding orders (your numbers): 236

First delivery of 747: 1970, delivered so far: 1400, over 41 years is about 34 a year, so far, on average, for this model. Outstanding orders (your numbers): about 214

Note that Boeing's cashcow *really* is the venerable 737 (6819 built since 1968, 158 a year) and Airbus's cashcow *really* is the A320 (4760 built since 1988, 206 a year)

These planes are about equal size and compete in the same market.

Airbus isn't doing too bad.

Comment also disables news (Score 2) 440

This will *also* disable any early / current news access. The London bus bombings a few years ago were widely reported on by people carrying cellphones w/ photo or video capability. News will still come out, eventually, but if it trickles out *as it happens* both citizens and law enforcement might also get an early heads-up.

Comment Re:As a former Nokia/Symbian engineer... (Score 1) 63

> but they still push more phones into the market than any other company Loads of low-end phones that don't make much profit.

In it's heyday Nokia pushed out over *50* different, new phone models a year. Roughly 30% of those were Symbian phones. Apple pushes out *ONE* model with minor variations. Even with significant re-use, juggling several source trees, porting patches back and forth between them, building multiple releases of the OS with different feature sets is more of a headache than razorsharp focus on *ONE* good phone.

As a software engineer I've tried to make the point that, maybe, people don't want to choose between 19 different models that are minutely different. (Do I want a qwerty keyboard? If I buy the business version it (used to) come with a 2.5mm socket and my standard headphones won't fit. Do I want the business version? Which of the 19 available Nokia qwerty phone models should I get? -- have a play: http://www.nokia.co.uk/find-products/all-phones)

Comment soaks up excess grid capacity (Score 3, Interesting) 271

This is not as stupid as it sounds at first.

The problem with generating electricity is that you can't (normally) store electricity -- so generating capacity is dimensioned for the peak load. A lot of excess capacity is available at night -- some of which you can't just shut off. It takes a long time to power up a coal/nuclear power plant. In mountainous regions the night excess is used e.g. to pump water uphill, back into a lake that is part of a hydroelectric plant.

Charging the car at night when rates are low makes sense, and running a few lightbulbs or a TV set doesn't use the amount of power you need for driving.

Comment Why not ask for donations so more can be build? (Score 3, Insightful) 106

The service is worth something to me, running out of power on your phone while on the go is annoying, so I wouldn't mind paying a small amount for it. Why not add a cashbox to it -- if you like the charging tree and appreciate the service, please leave a donation so we can build more.

There's no problem with it being free -- but this would be a way to make the idea spread. Some of the components will cost money to buy, some of the installation work might need to be done by a qualified installer / builder. If the first one allows you to keep some cash, it can be reinvested -- more can follow and more people would be able to enjoy the service.

Science

Submission + - MIT Printed Solar Panels Fold 1000X, Still Produce (mit.edu)

smitty777 writes: MIT Press is reporting on a breakthrough in solar panel production and technology. From the article:

"In order to create an array of photovoltaic cells on the paper, five layers of material need to be deposited onto the same sheet of paper in successive passes, using a mask (also made of paper) to form the patterns of cells on the surface. And the process has to take place in a vacuum chamber. The basic process is essentially the same as the one used to make the silvery lining in your bag of potato chips: a vapor-deposition process that can be carried out inexpensively on a vast commercial scale."

You can also see a direct link to a video of the researchers folding the material into a paper airplane connected to a meter, without a drop in voltage.

Politics

Submission + - Study: Fair use drives large part of US economy (computerworld.com.au)

angry tapir writes: "Industries that rely on fair use exceptions to U.S. copyright law have weathered the recent slow economy better than other businesses, according to a new study released by a tech trade group. The fair use industries, including consumer device makers, software developers, search engines and news organizations, had US$4.5 trillion in revenue in 2009, up from $3.4 trillion in 2002, according to the study, commissioned by the Computer and Communications Industry (CCIA) Association. Fair use businesses make up about 17 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, according to the study. The study shows the importance of fair use exceptions in copyright law, said Ed Black, CCIA's president and CEO."

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