Comment Re:I love Samsung's smartphones, but... (Score 1) 153
Android locks me with Google. It baffles me there are people *here on
Seriously -to me this is a sign
Android locks me with Google. It baffles me there are people *here on
Seriously -to me this is a sign
On the very earliest Apollo missions, experiments were done with a rather basic rope linking the reentry capsule and the LEM, or the supporting module section, I don't remember. The whole was spun *manually* and with analog devices of course.
It should be simple to plan such a move even with small interplanetary devices, rather than starting with ambitious internal spinwheels.
The only issue in such a case is maintaining a location where an Earth-facing antenna wouldn't move, but rotating around the Earth direction allows such points...
Just some weeks ago I was ready to pay a premium to get a Jolla phone (with Sailfish); I went up to registering into Sailfish newsgroups etc.
Honestly, and it's sad to say: the OS looks cool but there are just no applications at all. Not even a decent email, not even an ad-filter.
I sincerely hope Jolla succeeds, but I cannot invest now hoping next year the phone will work.
In contrast the enormous size of Samsung (an issue of its own) may at least bring a machine that works upon switchon...
But I'll definitely keep an eye on both
What for?
For not being locked in a single App market. Like Apple's. Like Google's.
In a word : to avoid monopolies.
That's very stubborn, I know. But I suffered a lot from this, in many areas, so now I can see them very well...
Well, for me seeing an operational open-source OS on a phone would indeed *trigger* my first buying of a Samsung phone.
I own an Openmoko, have carefully reviewed the Jolla phone recently (alas: not operational, IMHO) and believe Samsung indeed is capable to succeed here.
Fairphone, http://www.fairphone.com/
And, the specs go much beyond just avoiding 'conflict metals'. For instance, the battery is replaceable, and there are two SIM slots that make the phone much more interesting to reuse in developing countries when you'll be tired of it.
And, they considered a lot of 20000, then sold them all, then extended to 25000, then sold them all again.
So, things are going well for them.
(I'm patiently waiting for them to become compatible with the open-source Sailfish OS, and then will be ready to pay twice the current cost.)
This means you consider that because you don't see black light, it doesn't damage your eyes.
I for one clearly fear it does, but without you being aware of it --that is : in a much more critical way. A bit like IR light, for instance.
I think the risk here, like already in recent german models, is the smaller optics that the laser will allow.
It seems that to designers, it's cool and dandy to sport very small headlights with a lot of power anyhow.
Now, if you consider what happens in your eye at the other extremity of the beam, this basically means the same power than before, save now it's concentrated within much fewer "pixels".
In other words, save new regulations, you burn your eye much faster.
But yeah, to the buyer it's cool and dandy, isn't it.
Last time I checked, TiddlyWiki was the best out of three "single-file-based" I found. The other two were Lively, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lively_Kernel#Lively_Wiki and Stick Wiki (from "you'll have it on an USB stick"), http://stickwiki.sourceforge.net/
I think only Tiddly has an efficient search function, for instance.
Then if you want "serious notetaking that scales up", I fear you'll have to abandon the single-filers.
But then there are many other wikis still -search in the related "lists" on Wikipedia for instance, only avoiding the ones that didn't evolve recently...
The first Apple webcam did feature a mechanical obturator, that closed the diaphragm in a very visible way (also shutting off the LED).
That was at the time cams were external and big (even though Apple's was twice smaller than the rest).
Now, Apple's way of doing is close to the tablets way: the cam just should not even be visible, and not bother me.
And I agree with that.
I'm not paranoid about the cam light being shut; I even sincerly think anyone spending time about this is wasting a time that would better be used to think about open source and linux alternatives to Apple.
Tell me about Mint vs Ubuntu, not about minuscule cam-LED features, I'll follow you more carefully...
Well, I did try it when they were launched, 10+ years ago here in Europe.
The difference was, my ordinary VW car ran longer with higher octane, and in my actual test, over months, on the same average daily commutes, things was about equilibrate: go refill less often but paying a bit more each time -at the time of my test that was indeed equivalent.
I kept on with lower octane (refilling slightly more often) because I feared high-octane prices would raise faster. But I'm not even sure this happened, indeed.
Maybe I need another test...
I remember the time in Apple when there was only one model of (desktop) Macintosh, with a B&W screen; Apple at this time announced switching to color screen was definitely useless to the customers.
Indeed, switching to color screens was maybe the only step they took well behind "Windows"...
This works, but provides verrry small torques or forces.
FWIW, a couple of years ago, with my (european space industry) employer and a neighbor astronomy lab we designed a device involving a large and rough telescope concentrating light on mobile smaller mirrors, so as to provide torques or even forces, but very low, to light and very slowly moving spacecrafts. We wanted to deploy a flock of these, coordinating them to form a very large, multipart space telescope. Then, well, money went on missing. This will certainly come back some day.
Also, as mentioned around here, when in low earth orbit the multiple eclipses per day raise a situation where you lose control too often : this is really for when you're quite far from Earth.
I own a camper van whose underlying truck is a Mercedes. Fine craft, with among others a fuel-based heater that can preheat the motor (and the rest) before ignition when weather is cold.
Some day, years ago, a guy in Mercedes told me I could activate the heater even without switching the contact, just for heating the "van" side (and myself) automatically at night for instance. Boy was I interested. Setup just had to be modified, and this was very easy.
Only, at one point in time, the guy told me he was now waiting for Mercedes Germany Central to approve the software setup change, which had to be *signed* by them before being accepted by my truck's computer.
The change took 10 mn plus some hours before Germany Central accepted and numerically signed it.
So, what Renault does is in part what Mercedes have done for years. That's only the bit about refusing battery loading that's new, and I see this much more related to the presently enormous cost of the batteries (that imposes renting, which in turn moves responsibility from you to the battery owner, who in turn definitely wants them not to overpass some boundaries after which his own insurance company won't follow)
The day batteries are cheap enough we'll just buy them to the first auto maker that will sell them, and Renault will quickly follow with a Zoe-2 model
And, mind you, that day may not be so far away: I already own an electrical bicycle with a 800W motor plugged to a 17A-36V battery, that gives me some 60 Km autonomy *in mountains*. It just costed me twice more than a normal bicycle, and this I can afford.
Real Programmers don't write in FORTRAN. FORTRAN is for pipe stress freaks and crystallography weenies. FORTRAN is for wimp engineers who wear white socks.