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Comment Re:Unions (Score 1) 77

One nice solution to this is to introduce a third party, usually the government. In some of the Nordics and in Japan the government negotiates with employers for annual baseline salary increases and on conditions, effectively acting like a union. The actual unions are also involved.

It creates a bit more balance. Not perfect of course, but much better than what most countries have.

Comment Re:Preaching to the choir (Score 1) 81

The problem is that people inevitably run into some problem with their distro, and their choice is either try another distro and hope it is broken in a different way, or run some command line copy/paste stuff and hope that doesn't bugger things up.

There's a new video like this every week: https://youtu.be/T2bZ2L4e_dw

Guy had an older Thinkpad, one of the best machines for Linux because it has compatible hardware and great community support. Still immediately ran into issues.

The great exodus of people from Windows 10 just isn't going to happen. Many will try it, 99% will give up and go to Windows 11.

Comment Re:Definitely worth to look further into this. (Score 1) 81

Android just goes to show why GNU/Linux will never become mainstream. It fixes the main issues - stable and sane APIs, security that users can actually understand and take advantage of, software distribution and availability.

The fact that it's Linux underneath is hardly even relevant, given that the actual Android APIs have been ported to other operating systems such as Windows.

Comment Re:no shit? (Score 1) 74

What's worrying is that they all seem to have stalled when it comes to things people really care about - better cameras, better batteries. Google is the same, the Pixel line used to be about the best cameras in the industry, but the last few years they have stalled with only marginal improvements.

Only the Chinese brands seem to be innovating now, with massive camera sensors and better optics, and new battery chemistry to fit more energy into the same space.

Comment Re:Just speculating. (Score 1) 230

Cheap EVs can drive for 4-5 hours before needing a short stop to charge. Before I bought my current one I looked at some potential journeys, like a 9 hour one from one end of the country to the other. It would need 2x 10 minute and 1x 20 minute stops.

Or rather, the car needs fewer comfort breaks than I do. The battery can outlast my bladder.

Outside of some very niche situations, there really is little point to PHEVs. You get all the disadvantages of a fossil, and the smaller battery limits the benefits you get from the EV side. They aren't even any cheaper to make up for it.

Comment Re:Just speculating. (Score 2) 230

They do that in the UK too. It's been over-hyped, as with most stories about China.

I bought my last car "pre reg", meaning that the dealer bought it and registered the car in their name, and I bought it "second hand" with only a few kilometres on the clock. And when I got it, the dealer hadn't even bothered to register it to themselves, so I am the first and only owner.

It's just the way they discount new cars to fudge the numbers, very very common here. They can shift sales into different months, deal with over-stocking issues at storage locations, that kind of thing. Like all retail businesses, sometimes they need the throughput, sometimes they need the higher margin.

Comment Re:Linux is cool now (Score 1) 111

Not just that, but if you want anything other than GNOME you are kinda on your own when it comes to compatibility and sorting out the inevitably issues that comes up.

One of the biggest problems with Linux is the diversity. It's good that people have a choice, but with that comes a huge number of compatibility problems. Not just software compatibility, but support compatibility. Something doesn't work, you need to find a solution for your specific configuration, your obscure variant of Debian, and also the specific version because the instructions for last year's distro won't work now.

Even for technical people it's a pain. Go look up how to control GPIO pins on a Raspberry Pi. There are multiple APIs, most of them depreciated, multiple CLI tools, and a general level of confusion about the whole thing.

Comment Re:Excellent (Score 1) 123

The point is that you can't just look for a USB cable with a specific conductor size and expect it to automatically be a good one. Maybe they just stuck a chunky aluminium conductor in there.

Read the actual tests that have been done with calibrated equipment under controlled conditions at the link I sent, and buy one of those.

Submission + - China tests world's first megawatt-level airship to capture high winds (interestingengineering.com)

fahrbot-bot writes: Interesting Engineering reports (also here) that China has successfully completed the first flight of its home-designed floating [in the air] wind turbine, the S1500, in Hami, Xinjiang.

The S1500 is a megawatt-scale commercial system that floats in the sky like a giant Zeppelin. Measuring approximately 197 feet long (60 meters), 131 feet wide (40 meters), and 131 feet tall (40 meters), it is by far the largest airborne wind-power generator ever built, according to Beijing SAWES Energy Technology Co., Ltd., one of the developers.

Unlike traditional turbines, the S1500 does not need a tower or deep foundation. This reduces material use by 40 percent and cuts electricity costs by 30 percent. The entire unit can be moved within hours, making it suitable for deserts, islands, and mining sites.

The S1500 features a main airfoil and an annular wing that together form a giant duct. Inside this duct are 12 turbine-generator sets, each rated at 100 kW. These rotors capture steady high-altitude winds and convert them into electricity. The power is transmitted to the ground via a tether cable.

High-altitude winds between 1,640 and 3,281 feet (500 and 10,000 meters) above the ground are stronger and steadier than surface winds. These winds are abundant, widely available, and carbon-free.

The physics of wind power makes this resource extremely valuable. “When wind speed doubles, the energy it carries increases eightfold, triple the speed, and you have 27 times the energy,” explained Gong Zeqi, a researcher from AIR.

This exponential growth shows why high-altitude turbines like the S1500 can generate much more power than conventional land-based systems.

SAWES also envisions the platform for rapid disaster response. The system can be deployed quickly after earthquakes or floods to supply electricity to lights, radios, and life-saving equipment.

“The airborne platform can be launched quickly after an earthquake or flood to keep lights, radios and life-saving equipment running,” said Weng Hanke, chief technology officer of SAWES.

Comment Re:Excellent (Score 1) 123

Stranded has higher resistance because the strands are longer due to being twisted, compared to the solid wire.

If you think the connectors don't matter... I don't know what to tell you. They are one of the main reasons why crap cables are crap.

Comment Re:Excellent (Score 1) 123

While true, if you actually compare wires with the same size conductors you will find that there is in fact huge variation.

It's due to thinks like the number and size of strands, how they are wound, the type of conductor and its purity, and of course the USB connectors and the soldering play a huge part in it too.

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