Comment: Re:How about a non-exploding nuke? (Score 1) 311
The Van Allen belt only extends ~40k miles from the earth's surface. I'm not sure how they're relevant to something occuring 86 million miles away?
Comment: Re:How about a non-exploding nuke? (Score 1) 311
I don't think you're thinking about how big space is.
A nuke is bad for space equipment? We're talking hitting an asteroid moving say... 60,000 mph (which travels 1.44 million miles a day) months before it hits earth.
Even detecting the successful ignition of the device with equipment pointed straight at it might be difficult.
Sam
Comment: Re:A so-called "Hydrogen Economy" is petroleum fue (Score 1) 559
You forgot the most important comparison: Lithium Ion = 400 Wh/l
So hydrogen has no better energy density than batteries, and requires an additional (and very expensive... platinum ftw) fuel cell, has much lower cycle efficiency (the most efficient production method is to make it from natural gas @ ~80% efficiency, the cell itself yields around 50%, so your cycle efficiency is about 40%), and still requires fossil fuels... eg: natural gas. It's also stored under intense pressure (5-10kpsi), the tanks have to be replaced periodically due to pressure cycling and hydrogen embrittlement. Oh, and you can't stop it from seeping out of tank seals, so it also "self discharges."
Oh, and don't forget, 30 minutes to fill for a 150 mile range http://www.caranddriver.com/features/pump-it-up-we-refuel-a-hydrogen-fuel-cell-vehicle-the-half-hour-fill-up-page-2 . The exact same rate as a Tesla supercharger.
I've never understood why anyone ever looked at hydrogen as a panacea to solve electric car ills.
Sam
Comment: Re:Not good enough (Score 1) 800
That should be a setting in the BIOS. Look for something like "Wake on USB."
Both my media machine and laptop have this enabled, and a simple tap of the spacebar wakes them up.
Sam
Xbox One Used Game Policy Leaks: Publishers Get a Cut of Sale 379
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the times-are-a-changin' dept.
from the times-are-a-changin' dept.
Chewbacon writes "Details about the used-game policy on Microsoft's newly-announced Xbox One console have been leaked. The policy explains how used-game retailers can survive Xbox One destroying the used-game market as we know it: they have to agree to Microsoft's terms and conditions to do so. In summary, the used game retailer can still buy the game from the consumer, but they must report the consumer relinquishing their license to play the game to a Microsoft database. They must also sell it at a market price (35£ in the UK), but the publisher will get a cut of the price. The article goes on to explain how Xbox One will phone home periodically to verify a player hasn't sold the game according to the aforementioned database."
A big downside is that we're likely going to see the end of cheap, used games. A potential upside pointed out by Ben Kuchera at the Penny Arcade Report is that this would unquestionably boost revenue for game publishers, giving the smart ones an opportunity to step away from the $60 business model and adopt pricing practices seen on Steam and iTunes (neither of which allow the purchase of "used" games/media). Also, it's worth noting that even if the policy leak is 100% correct, it could change before the console actually launches.
Comment: Re:It's about time! (Score 1) 446
Your COMMENT is a huge
Curiosity Rewarded: Florida Teen Heading to Space Camp, Not Jail 241
Posted
by
timothy
from the this-time-my-pretty dept.
from the this-time-my-pretty dept.
Kiera Wilmot, the Florida high school student who was expelled from her school after an unauthorized science experiment was misperceived as a weapon (at least for purposes of arrest and charging), won't be going to jail. She will, though, be going to Space Camp, thanks to a crowdfunding campaign started by author and former NASA engineer Homer Hickham. All charges against her have been dropped.
Comment: Re:Controlling infestations (Score 2) 250
Diatomaceous earth also works wonders. Get a bag of "food grade" (yes, it's often mixed into the food you eat) DE and sprinkle around the baseboards where they're coming in. Avoid "pool grade" for your lung health.
It works like moon dust works on astronauts: it's sticky and microscopic and gets into the joints and cuts up the ants, resulting in their eventual death by dehydration.
Sam
Comment: Re:I can't wait to see this battle (Score 1) 716
A thought experiment:
You have wireless internet at home, not "out whereever."
You use this MS app to download Youtube videos to watch later, when you don't have internet access.
This seems like time-shifting.
It gets more fuzzy say... you have now a mediocre 3G internet connection with a 200mb monthly cap (common).
Now you want to download the video to watch later, where you technically have internet access, but due to slow speeds it would take a long time, and eat up 1/3 of your total monthly bandwidth. You're network-shifting?
Sam
Review: Star Trek: Into Darkness 514
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the to-boldly-flare-where-no-lens-has-flared-before dept.
from the to-boldly-flare-where-no-lens-has-flared-before dept.
J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot of Star Trek was wildly successful. It raked in hundreds of millions at the box office, and revitalized the Star Trek franchise, which had languished for 7 years without a new film and 4 years without a TV presence (after 18 consecutive years of new shows). It also did something no Trek movie had done before; it made Star Trek ‘cool’ in the public consciousness. Combined, those factors ensured Abrams would get another turn at the helm of a Trek movie, and sooner rather than later. With today's release of Star Trek: Into Darkness, that trend is very likely to continue. It's a movie with all the same strengths and weaknesses of its predecessor, and if it worked before, it'll work again. Read on for our review.
Linux is an Obvious Choice for Automating the Beer-Brewing Process (Video) 112
Posted
by
Roblimo
from the beer-beer-beer-for-my-loyal-men-and-women! dept.
from the beer-beer-beer-for-my-loyal-men-and-women! dept.
Linus Torvalds, Jon 'maddog' Hall, and many other names closely associated with Linux are also closely associated with beer. (Ed. note: I have personally watched them associate with beer, and may have even joined them.) It comes as no surprise, therefore, when Linux advocate and LinuxAutomation.org founder Kurt Forsberg talks about using Linux to control his beer brewing. Kurt is a strong believer in Linux Automation who talks about home thermostats, sprinklers, and many other application, "anything you can automate..." but, he adds, "we spend all our time brewing beer so we haven't explored many of those yet." He says this with a big smile, of course. And if you want to keep up with Linux Automation on Faceboook, go ahead; like everyone + dog they have a Facebook page.
Firefox 21 Arrives 246
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the can-now-legally-drink dept.
from the can-now-legally-drink dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Mozilla on Tuesday officially launched Firefox 21 for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android. Improvements include the addition of multiple social providers on the desktop as well as open source fonts on Android. In the changelog, the company included an interesting point that's worth elaborating on: 'Preliminary implementation of Firefox Health Report.' Mozilla has revealed that FHR so far logs 'basic health information' about Firefox: time to start up, total running time, and number of crashes. Mozilla says the initial report is pretty simple but will grow 'in the coming months.' You can get it now from Mozilla."
Comment: Re:confused (Score 1) 329
I sure wish the mod system went higher than 5.
DoD Descends On DEFCAD 496
Posted
by
timothy
from the where-there's-a-whip-there's-a-way dept.
from the where-there's-a-whip-there's-a-way dept.
First time accepted submitter He Who Has No Name writes "While the ATF appears to have no open objection to 3D printed firearms at this time, the Department of Defense apparently does. A short while ago, '#DEFCAD has gone dark at the request of the Department of Defense Trade Controls. Take it up with the Secretary of State' appeared on
the group's site, and download links for files hosted there began to give users popups warning of the DoD takeover."
Well, that didn't take long.
Note: As of this writing, the site is returning an error, rather than the message above, but founder Cody Wilson has posted a similar message to twitter. At least the Commander in Chief is in town to deliver the message personally.
Update: 05/09 21:17 GMT by T : Tweet aside, that should be Department of State, rather than Department of Defense, as many readers have pointed out. (Thanks!)
Facebook To Introduce Video Ads 180
Posted
by
Soulskill
from the just-what-everyone-wanted dept.
from the just-what-everyone-wanted dept.
another random user writes "Facebook is reportedly introducing video advertisements to News Feeds this summer. Reports in the Financial Times (registration required) say that the clips will last for around 15 seconds, and the first one users see each day will play automatically. The first video will apparently play without audio, and restart if the account holder chooses to activate sound. Facebook is yet to officially confirm the move, but the report claims that the social network will gradually introduce video advertising to minimize user disruption. The company's most lucrative marketing partners, including American Express, Coca Cola, Ford, Diageo and Nestle, are expected to be the first brands to make use of the feature. Facebook is said to have implemented the strategy in a bid to take a slice out of TV ad revenue by undercutting the sector."