Why did you post AC? I miss a /. friend now :-)

I think the thermal inertia of a big metallic rail must be, say,10000 times the one of a tree leaf.
Or maybe 100 000 ?

While I'm concerned about everything Google (and concerned I'm, deeply), I fear during all your years of study you just didn't allow yourself to consider the level and kind of sensors Google has thrown in: they currently restitute no less than the entire surrounding, in 3D and real-time.
I'd dare say all other automotive OEMs preferred baselining much, much simpler sensors, à la magnetic detector following buried mag loops, or radars to follow the previous vehicle, all things giving monodimentional, extremely minimal input.
Which is why they end in considering only dedicated expressways, etc.
Google's bet is they'll just skip these steps.
And, maybe you don't see it, but the mere fact Google car exists now, *prevents* them to happen. Which mayor would invest in a complex dedicated driveway when 80% of his electorate will *believe* Google cars would be better? (I intentionally stressed 'believe', because it's enough for an election)

Not specially. It depends on the satellite altitude. For low orbits, a 1-m telescope is vastly sufficient for 25-cm resolutions.
Maybe you are confused with Geostationary orbits, where indeed enormous mirrors would be required to get hi-res (GEO stays interesting because of its permanence : only from tyere you can get a "movie"; from low orbits it's images "on the fly")

I work in Europe and we happen to apply patents, the most important of which are extended in the US, China and various countries according to our competition.
Earlier this year, I had an issue with extending one of my patents to China.
I got a formal letter in perfect english (not in Chinese mind you), raising an issue within the submitted text that indeed rendered it not really patentable.
With the approbation of our IP expert I proposed a redacted text, recognizing the issue and suggesting our new redaction would solve it.
Just two weeks after I got a second, more elaborate reply, still in an english better than mine, that commented my text more in detail and still pointed up a non-patentable point. We prepared a second comment. (at that point, in China like in most other places, if the patent is still rejected there is no more appeal)
One week later, our patent was accepted in China —with a wording much better than in any of the other countries we applied for, including the original language.

I don't wish to conclude on the Chinese potential, on Communist government handling of things vs ours, or whatever.

But some comparisons are telling...

Thanks. Just this, thanks, but sincerely.

not always just in highly secure facilities.
In France the bank associated to the national post office -one you wouldn't expect recruiting geniuses- does present such a variable keypad when you want to access your account, and even more: you must move the mouse over each digit without clicking, basically following a path (a bit like on some phone unlock interfaces) but one that is different each time...

Very well replied. Now I think imminent changes in the Gulf Stream are more difficult to actually check Comparing this to the remark above (some more warm days will make or kill the growing season), we are facing a hard time...

A couple of years ago I talked with a swedish meteorologist that explained me it's quite difficult to shame people in his country about their impact on global warming, because definitely when you spend a very large part of the year with few sunny hours and one meter of snow at your door stop, "a bit warmer" definitely doesn't sound this bad.
I expect this applies to Swedish farmers as well...

Simple. He got an idea, and developed it into convincing customers to give him $ 750 000 in less than two years.
Some consequences are
- it may be that his idea is interesting
- he certainly is more geek than you and me
- he also is most probably better organized.
I for one have tried to follow him for one year, but I completely missed the crowdfunding campaign, which incidentally tells a lot about my inconsistancy...

This quote is more than an overgeneralisation. To me it's definitely on the verge of open racism.
You doubt? Just replace "Germans" with "Arabs"...

so you can switch them on and off without even reaching for the wall switch ;-)
http://www.engadget.com/2014/0...

But last I searched details on this, the actual progress and software availability was close to pathetic...

Initially, going to Europa indeed was a joint project between NASA and Europe's ESA, named EJSM ( Europa Jupiter System Mission):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...

Then a couple of years ago ESA announced that any talks with NASA being unconclusive (not bringing commitment), Europe would move alone; the mission was simplified, now called Jupiter Icy Moon Explorer (JUICE), fully European-funded, and scheduled for 2020.
It *is* developing right now.

IMHO there is still room for cooperating here.

The classic version is to be shut down. That is one issue.
The original issue, though, is the new interface has forgotten all our efficiency at filtering comments and getting compact, long threads, and when contacted on this the new owners seem to depend on an existing system that won't, and can't, evolve this way.

As for me, if I lose the capability to filter my way, the very essence of /. disappears.
It's not even that I'll decide to come back or not: there will be no place to come back...

I fully understand the aim for the new owners: getting more readers for the ads to pay more, via a nicer, cleaner interface. They will get this. But there will be no more posters.
At this moment they are betting that a viable part of us will continue posting. I won't belong to this part, simply because it doesn't bring anything more to me. They may win the bet anyhow. They will just step out of my world, and to me it's a dire loss.