The autonomous vehicle in the headline is actually just an advanced cruise control / driver assist system according to the synopsis. It doesn't surprise me that this is all this is (proper autonomous vehicles are a pipe dream for at least a few decades if not more) but it does make me wonder how a headline and description can be so far apart.

I remember sending my first email over a modem in the early 80's. By the time I was in college 10 years later Usenet, BBS'es, MUDs, and the like were old hat to me, but the general public had no real use for computers and even many of my classmates still used actual typewriters to write their papers. It wasn't until the Dot-Com era was in full swing that the general public started to pay attention to computers and the Internet. Even then, though, many people of my generation and older smirked to refer to themselves as "Roadkill on the Information Superhighway." That only really disappeared around 2005 when social media started to take off.

So the point is, from the perspective of the general public there is a significant lag between when a transformative technology changes the world and when your average Joe wakes up to the fact that a revolution has already happened. I suspect it will be much the same with 3D printing, and the other significant, significant technologies that are birthing now such as wearable computing or implantable electronics, RFID or the "Internet of Things."

However in this case the real transformation is not technical, but psycho-social. Getting people to transform from the brain-dead, passive consumers they've been conditioned to be the past 100 years to the self-directed, creative makers 3D printing and these other technologies will enable them to be (at a lower barrier to entry than before, naturally), will take a lot longer than the 30 years it's taken the Information Revolution to get truly underway. That does mean early adopters will enjoy a significant, significant competitive advantage for a generation because now more than ever they can talk to other like minds via the Internet and multiply their native talents. And, now more than ever, they can say who gives a shit if Joe Sixpack next door doesn't get it? I can run circles around him before he even knows there's a race on.

Amid the totalitarian shadow of the NSA and the counter-revolutionary tendencies of the Powers-That-Be, it's the one thing that gives me hope for the future.

$0.34/kwh is already what we pay ConEdison in NYC. So we're already at break-even here. ConEdison has raised rates double-digit percentages every year for the past 10 years. The price per watt solar panel installation has fallen to $2, and that's dropping quickly. With those two trends we don't need any government intervention to produce a sea-change from centralized- to distributed power generation in this country in the next decade.

There is also the not inconsiderable effect Hurricane Sandy had on hearts and minds in the northeast US, where most financial and political power in this country is concentrated. People were quite upset to be without power and gasoline for weeks and weeks. So even from a climate resilience perspective there is a keen and growing will to move to distributed power generation.

Just how badly do these people want to be lynched by angry mobs? Are they daring us to stand up to them? Or do they live in such a bubble that they think the American people will take their abuse forever?

The real reason is their solar panels are not just efficient. They're ruthlessly efficient.

Sometimes cost isn't the only determining factor. Space and weight could be equally important considerations. e.g. maybe the difference in efficiency between two devices means one is compact enough to stick into a backpack and charge a phone/laptop in a reasonable amount of time and the other one isn't. Even if it costs more money, it may be the only viable option.

That could explain a lot about both Parkinson's and Tourette's...

I wonder if they realise a significant proportion of humanity have internal clocks based on a lunar cycle?

He has violated the Constitution of the United States tens of thousands of times, without repercussions. He has consistently lied to Congress and the American people. He has created a rogue agency that threatens our very democracy and therefore represents a Clear and Present Danger to our freedom. I fear him and his lackies far more than Al Qaeda.

He and his followers are the ones who should be super max for the rest of their lives. Or executed. Either works for me.

I bet that even as we speak there are bots operating which are scraping every single publicly available comment and photo in anticipation of the day in 10 years when it might prove commercially valuable to sell that info to potential employers, newspapers, governments, or political parties.

Please don't listen to Truthers.

The 9/11 Comission did trace the orders back the investors and figured out what information motivated them to place the orders and what motivated the source of the information in the first place..

Slower. For a time. Chances are it would provide the motivation for someone to optimize it even more.

I didn't say that or even imply it. No need to be defensive. The simple fact is that a model S is like a distributed computer on wheels and without access to the diagnostics and other computer systems a mechanic's ability to do anything with the car is extremely limited. They might be able to change some parts of the drivetrain, but they couldn't calibrate them, test if they were working within operating parameters or anything else. Their ability to do anything to the car is probably limited to things like wheels, brakes, bulbs etc.

I would much, much rather see Washington DC pay a very high, very personal price for their rampant criminality and violations of the Constitution, as in all of them swinging from the trees that line the national mall and DC itself burnt to the ground with large letters scored in the ground with a bulldozer that say, 'Don't Tread On Me! ---The American People"

An angry speech by the president of Brazil is nice, but there need to be real consequences for these criminals.

I doubt a Tesla vehicle will require less repairs. It has plenty of things that could go wrong, break, or be subject to periodic servicing. I bet Tesla will be more than happy to fleece drivers as readily as any dealer would. Furthermore, due to the nature of the vehicle, people would be compelled to take them authorised service centers for all but the simplest of maintenance.

Anyway I assume Tesla would have to build out servicing centers and most probably they would be franchises. I see no reason that existing motor dealerships couldn't operate these centers.