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Comment eddy current braking (Score 2) 26

I wonder if it would be feasible to attach very long conductive ribbons to the objects to be de-orbited so that eddy currents could be induced in the conductor as it cuts through changes in the earth's magnetic field creating a net drag. Yes, the force would be small, but multiple and very long conductive ribbons could be used.

Comment Re:I blame Plaid (Score 1) 225

I've spent years educating users to only use their credentials only on the specific system they are accessing, and never any 3rd party asking for their unrelated credentials. There are even systems like Shibboleth that allow for this sort of thing safely, but Plaid took the most stupid route possible. I'm right there with you...screw Plaid with a chainsaw sideways without any bar lube, and screw the banking industry as a whole for standing by and allowing it.

Comment Does it overwrite the first 128GB? (Score 1) 44

I've seen ultra cheap TB SD cards sold online that will gladly accept the rated storage capacity, but in reality they just overwrite a much smaller capacity over and over. While I think the tech the OP cites is legit, there will almost certainly be knockoff products that are not.

When it comes to your data, never trust. Always verify.

Comment enablement uncertainty (Score 1) 10

From reading the typical information-sparse marketingspeak on T-Mobile's website, it is not clear as to whether this thing activates dynamically whenever cell towers cannot be reached, or if it based on a known map of dead zones known to T-Mobile. Is it of any use offshore? What about areas where a cell tower has just failed? What about overloaded areas such as in the aftermath of a hurricane?

We need details and better technical information. Also, a lot of us would like to know, can we use this for sensor projects in remote locations for affordable realtime data connectivity? It's probably just a matter of time before someone around here will want to mount one on a shark.

Comment Tried GPT and Llama to write regexps... (Score 1) 68

Nope, and more nope. AI seems to fail pretty miserably as writing regular expressions for all but the simplest tasks. They generate really nasty and needlessly complex regexps that don't quite work and are nearly impossible to debug except through chatting about it, which generally turns into a waste of time.

Comment Implications for Open Source software (Score 2) 89

Here's the text of the bill, https://legiscan.com/TX/text/S.... The issue I see here is it very broadly defines "app store" to include any online distribution mechanism, which would include github or any website with downloadable code, and "mobile device" pretty much includes anything not chained to the floor. I'm not so keen on providing my personal information to prove my age just to download a piece of open source software. This isn't just a slippery slope, it's 360 degree hot metal slide (Texans know what I'm talking about) with an alligator-filled moat around it! The text of this seems to most certainly covers distribution of OSS, not just the walled gardens of Google and Apple. (disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. I'm just a concerned software engineer)

Comment alternatives (Score 1) 15

For setting up a solid web-based alternative, Leaflet is a great tool for viewing many different tile/vector sources. If you're looking for a more hardcore GIS tool, there's always ATAK, but it has a steep learning curve. If you simply need maps on your device and be self-contained, Google Maps on Android lets you save maps offline.

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