Forgot your password?

typodupeerror

Comment: Should read "power plants", not "nuclear plants" (Score 5, Insightful) 296

by Burdell (#39046897) Attached to: In Hot Water: The Effects of Even Modern Nuke Plants On Water

All modern power generating plants that use fuel (as opposed to hydro, wind, etc.) work basically the same way. They use a fuel to generate heat (burn coal or gas, create nuclear fission), heat water to steam, and use steam to turn turbines. The water is then cooled and returned to its source, usually a river or lake. All such power plants have problems when the incoming water is too warm or they cannot cool it sufficiently before discharging it.

The only difference between a nuclear plant and a coal/gas plant is that a nuclear plant can concentrate more generating capacity at a single location, which then can require more water.

Comment: Re:Not Nonsense. weight and options == profits (Score 1) 891

Having replaced a power window motor and (in a different car) repaired the track for a crank window, there isn't a significant difference in weight (maybe a couple of pounds per door). With a crank, you have to have a lever, a bearing, and a gearing mechanism; with a power window, you have a light-weight switch and a small motor (usually sized for direct drive). The rest is pretty much the same.

Air conditioning isn't an option in hot climates if you spend much time in the car, and efficiencies of scale (and resale value) pretty much dictate it be standard across the board. Studies have shown that driving with the windows down increases drag in modern aerodynamic cars, affecting mileage more than the engine load and additional weight of the A/C system (which again isn't all that much, less than one adult passenger by a good bit). Also, my 1977 Honda CVCC Wagon got 30 MPG with an A/C (a dealer add-on which was not designed into the car).

Modern safety features such as air bags, anti-lock brakes, and crumple zones built into the frame add weight, but I'll take that weight. If I'd been hit by a truck in that old Honda, I'd have been dead. Today, in a Honda Fit (a similar sized car), you'd have a good chance of coming out with only minor injuries. The curb weight on the old Honda was around 1900 pounds, while the Fit (with a manual transmission) is 2500. The mileage in the Fit is a little bit better than the 1977 Wagon and has lower emissions.

Comment: Re:Corporate Dead Pool 2012 (Score 5, Insightful) 169

by Burdell (#38162736) Attached to: AT&T Stops T-Mobile Merger Bid With the FCC

I expect T-Mobile will still be sold, just not to another major mobile phone provider. I wouldn't be surprised if CenturyLink ends up buying them; they are the largest telecom company without a mobile presence.

There's too many customers and too much spectrum for them to just be shut down. They're even still showing growth, just not as much as AT&T and Verizon (and not as much as Deutsche Telekom would like).

Unix

Dennis Ritchie has died

Submitted by Burdell
Burdell writes "I haven't found an obituary in English yet, but Dennis Ritchie has died at the age of 70 He was the creator of the C programming language and a codeveloper of Unix. Much of modern computing comes from his work."

Comment: Re:Disposable address (Score 1) 151

by Burdell (#37452140) Attached to: When Does Signing Up Become 'Opting In?'

It also allows you to see who sold your email and/or who has been compromised. I have a personal domain for email, and I use a different address for just about everything (and they're usually pretty unique, so not found by address harvesting). I am now getting a lot of spam at the address I gave to Linux Journal; since they went online-only and I cancelled my subscription, I killed that address.

I also had a year of free credit monitoring with one of the "big three" credit agencies (due to somebody else's database compromise), and now (shortly after the year passed and I didn't agree to pay for continuing monitoring) that address is getting spam. Either they sold it, or their database has been compromised. Either way, it gives me SUCH a good feeling about their reliability!

Prepare for tomorrow -- get ready. -- Edith Keeler, "The City On the Edge of Forever", stardate unknown

Working...