Comment "A huge percentage of the Internet sits behind us" (Score 4, Insightful) 48
Perhaps it would be better if that wasn't the case...
Comment Re:The AI gamble (Score 1) 71
Well, to be fair, it is easier to fire than it is to hire (strictly from the standpoint of judging competence).
When you hire you go from a limited set of interviews and maybe some testing and dynamics. When you fire you (hopefully) are being supported by a track record which shows that for whatever reason, it did not work out (not always, there's also blanket firing for "reasons".)
Comment Re:Use a mechanical arm to push itself upright? (Score 1) 26
That's a good option too! When I read the summary I was inclined to suggest that they bolt the experiments on the next iterations to the sides of the craft instead of the floor. Just in case, you know
Comment Not much of a commitment... (Score 1) 93
I view BO's (heh) New Shepard as roughly on par with the risk of everyday commercial air flight. Some factors increase risk, while others (like the fact that the entire spacecraft is thoroughly checked out between flights and telemetered to heck and back) reduce risk. So overall I think it's probably a wash.
It goes straight up and comes straight back down. Atmospheric re-entry heating is a fraction of that of an orbital re-entry.
The capsule is aerodynamically stable on re-entry. The part that should point forward, will always point forward.
The flight is so short that even if atmospheric conditioning failed, as long as the capsule maintains pressure, there should be plenty of breathable atmo for the duration. This is reinforced by the fact that the New Shepard crew are not required to wear pressure suits.
The LES is a simple solid rocket motor - ignite and it will burn, no valves or propellant pressurization to worry about, so it is as sure to work as about anything else in this world, to get you away from the going-boom rocket behind (plus it has already been demostrated both in tests and in a real-life booster failure).
So, I don't think it was that much of a step for JB to ride the first crewed bird, from a technical perspective. And of course there's other reasons why he might want to be on the first flight, but I'll leave it to others to expound on those aspects...
Comment Re:Brazil needs a new timezone, not DST (Score 1) 104
Minor correction there: you mixed latitude and longitude
- Oiapoque is at 4 degrees latitude North (above the equator), and
- Chui (not Sombrio) is at 34 degrees latitude South
Solar noon does not indeed vary much between them as they sit at a similar latitude (52 West for Oiapoque and 53 West Chui). What varies, immensely, is the duration of the day and night cycles, which vary little on Oiapoque (close to the equator line) and a lot in Chui (further away).
Still, the point about Brazil needing two or maybe three timezones is a valid one.
Comment Where's Spock when you need him? (Score 5, Funny) 346
Doing the Vulcan neck-pinch on the punk on the bus with the boombox was a good start...
Comment How the game is played (Score 5, Insightful) 32
Intuit has every right to ask the question (and they did, but in the form of a "demand"), and The Verge has every right to decline (which they did). That's the best possible outcome in my book, because it adds just a little bit more out there for people to see, and learn about Intuit's shenanegans.
If Intuit really thought they had a leg to stand on (they don't), the request would have come from their lawyers. But it came from the communications director - who, I'd wager, got his metaphorical wee-wee slapped after the fact for not preparing the top dog to answer that particular question in a way that would be least-bad for Intuit, which of course was bound to come up, and is now trying to save face.
I've never used a product like TurboTax. In my youth, I did my federal taxes by hand, on paper, and mailed them in. Now I use a tax professional. I can do that, but many other people can't for various reasons, and I look forward to the day when such products is legislated out of existance.
Comment just 1 year so far (Score 1) 79
iPhone's 80% Charge Cap Barely Boosts Battery Life in the first year
It's entirely possible that there will be a bigger benefit at the end of the second or third year. Maybe the year-over-year dropoff will be along the lines of 6%, 12%, 18% instead of 6%, 18%, 36%. If your battery is good enough that an 80% charge gets you through the day, it seems there's no reason not to.
Submission + - Cyberattack Reportedly Caused Hundreds of Pagers to Explode in Lebanon (securityweek.com) 1
wiredmikey writes: Hundreds of people, including Iran’s ambassador, were wounded in Lebanon after their handheld pagers exploded in what a Hezbollah official speculated was a malware attack that caused the pagers to heat up and explode. Photos and videos from Beirut’s southern suburbs circulating on social media and in local media showed people lying on the pavement with wounds on their hands or near their pants pockets.
Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border.
Officials pointed the finger at Israel in what appeared to be a sophisticated, remote attack at a time of rising tensions across the Lebanon border.
Submission + - Pagers explode injuring thousands (reuters.com)
Smonster writes: More than 1,000 people, including Hezbollah fighters and medics, were wounded on Tuesday when the pagers they use to communicate exploded across Lebanon, security sources told Reuters.
The wave of explosions lasted around an hour after the initial detonations, which took place about 3:45 p.m. local time (1345 GMT). It was not immediately clear how the devices were detonated.
Large numbers of “wireless devices” simultaneously exploded across Lebanon in an apparently coordinated attack that caused hundreds of injuries, Lebanese health officials said on Tuesday, a day after Israeli leaders warned that they were considering stepping up their military campaign against Hezbollah.
In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand at a market area. Lebanon’s crisis operations center, which is run by the health ministry, asked all medical workers to head to their respective hospitals to help cope with the massive numbers of wounded coming in for urgent care. It said health care workers should not use pagers.
The Lebanese Red Cross said more than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical staff were dispatched to help in the evacuation of victims.
The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that 80 ambulances were responding to “multiple bombings” in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as in Beirut, the capital, and Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces Directorate asked people to clear the roads so people could be rushed to hospitals.
The blasts appeared to be the latest salvo in an 11-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began last October, after Hezbollah began firing into Israeli territory in solidarity with its ally, Hamas. The conflict has largely remained contained to exchanges of missiles and rockets, but for months, leaders on either side have warned that it could expand into a war involving ground forces.
The wave of explosions lasted around an hour after the initial detonations, which took place about 3:45 p.m. local time (1345 GMT). It was not immediately clear how the devices were detonated.
Large numbers of “wireless devices” simultaneously exploded across Lebanon in an apparently coordinated attack that caused hundreds of injuries, Lebanese health officials said on Tuesday, a day after Israeli leaders warned that they were considering stepping up their military campaign against Hezbollah.
In other footage, an explosion appeared to knock out someone standing at a fruit stand at a market area. Lebanon’s crisis operations center, which is run by the health ministry, asked all medical workers to head to their respective hospitals to help cope with the massive numbers of wounded coming in for urgent care. It said health care workers should not use pagers.
The Lebanese Red Cross said more than 50 ambulances and 300 emergency medical staff were dispatched to help in the evacuation of victims.
The Lebanese Red Cross said in a statement that 80 ambulances were responding to “multiple bombings” in southern and eastern Lebanon, as well as in Beirut, the capital, and Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces Directorate asked people to clear the roads so people could be rushed to hospitals.
The blasts appeared to be the latest salvo in an 11-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began last October, after Hezbollah began firing into Israeli territory in solidarity with its ally, Hamas. The conflict has largely remained contained to exchanges of missiles and rockets, but for months, leaders on either side have warned that it could expand into a war involving ground forces.
Comment May be excellent for the home market (Score 1) 67
I have solar already, but I'm not willing to have a lithium-ion battery pack installed, those things are a bit too scary and my insurance may not approve anyway. But this new tech might just be the ticket for timeshifting my solar output. On a fixed install like this size (and weight) is less of a concern, but safety and price are paramount.
Submission + - Twitter's Grudge Against NPR Continues: 'Spam' Label On Trump's Arlington Story (huffpost.com) 1
ihavesaxwithcollies writes: Free speech is only for those the Elon wants to have free speech.
What's the difference between government censorship and corporate censorship?
What's the difference between government censorship and corporate censorship?
Comment Stock OS direct boot from SSD (Score 3, Insightful) 41
My interest in the Pi and Pi-alike boards has waned significantly over recent years due to the requirements to boot from (m)SD or eMMC, with each board apparently requiring some arcane build of U-boot to make it happen (and no two alike). In my experience, the only OSes that really work on these boards are the ones that come from the board makers (respins of Ubuntu, usually), but that add their own repos in
My interest in these Arm boards will increase again if/when it becomes common that you can slap a SATA or NVMe SSD of your choice onto the board, and install a stock *nix distribution (i.e. from the makers of the distro - Debian, OpenBSD, etc). Of course, I ain't holding my breath...
Comment Gasp! (Score 3, Funny) 134
Consequences...
Comment Alternate link (Score 3, Informative) 24
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You will lose an important tape file.
