Additionally, many of the "smart" capabilities work against the lifespan of a device. Refrigerators are devices that I expect to last 20+ years with minimal maintenance (changing water hoses and filters, vacuuming dust on coils, etc). I don’t want to be replacing my refrigerator because the flash used by the OS fails and the device won’t function as a refrigerator anymore.

There is little value that an LCD panel brings to a refrigerator, and even less value in having it WiFi enabled. Thus, there is little incentive for me as a purchaser to go that direction. I’m already pissed at how difficult and expensive it is to replace the plastic ice chute on my current refrigerator. I don’t want to even consider replacing the board driving the “smart” capabilities of a refrigerator (or having to ensure that the firmware my refrigerator is running doesn’t have vulnerabilities).

Vectors are an important part of the overall equation. Different regions of the world have different viabilities of energy production. Some areas have lots of wind, some lots of light, some with rivers that offer a great opportunity to dam and harness the energy. Iceland currently generates nearly 100% of their electricity from renewable energy (75% hydro, 25% geothermal). It might make sense for Iceland to use their natural energy production assets to store energy in a 'vector' and export it. If that energy can go to areas where energy production is more difficult or comes at a higher environmental cost, it might be worth the efficiency loss.

This, however, doesn't mean that there aren't better options than hydrogen as the transport vector.

Where is "mod: +1 ironic" when you need it?

It has also been known for quite some time that Microsoft was working on merging the big Windows and Windows phone codebases to create a unified source tree. This is one of the reasons that I gave up on Windows phone, as the path to this integration meant that app models and compatibility kept shifting, requiring app writers to keep updating to each new platform release...something that isn't worth doing for a platform with little market share.

What I really miss from Windows Phone is the email/calendar system. Android and iOS don't even come close to what you can do on the Windows Phone.

With all of that liquid helium for cooling, it might be a good place to setup a datacenter. The latency would be pretty bad, but you pretty much get superconductivity for free.

What I find strange here is that it is the moderates that pretty much determine the outcome of elections, especially right now when neither the Democrats or Republicans have a large enough base to take an election.

The fact that Trump has any followers, let alone that he is leading the pack with Republicans, is very disconcerting. Mostly because of the animosity many Republicans have towards President Obama - if they really want to have a Republican in office in 2017, they really need to prop a candidate that moderates could support.

But maybe the Republicans have a dark horse they aren't showing right now that will actually get the nomination. Trump has already baited the other current contenders to appeal to the fringe, and there is no way these current candidates can come back to a more centric position during the general election. There is already too much of a record of stupid and scary statements that have been made by the Republican candidates.

And I can't imagine how frothing at the mouth the right will become if Hillary is elected because Republicans couldn't back a reasonable candidate.

I hereby facetiously give permission to all of the black hats out there to push malware to these televisions. The more damage you can do, the better.

I've been trying to shop around for a 4K 'television' that is really just a monitor, and the only available options at any reasonable price are "Smart" TVs. The fact that manufacturers are coupling the content playback engine with the display is just stupid. This article is the main reason why: It is very hard to create a Smart TV that is always up to date and has the latest capabilities for content. So manufacturers are left trying to create a revenue stream post sale by spying or selling content, or just not updating the OS with latest security and features.

Instead of Smart TVs, I wish they would make 4k displays with DisplayPort inputs that can drive 4K at higher than 30FPS. A TV is a product that should last 15-20 years. The devices that I hook up to the TV (PC, Tivo, cable box, xBox, whatever) are all components that have shorter life expectancies at this time because a ton of changes are happening in that area of the market. TVs just need to be dumb and simply display the content.

The Catalyst Control Center thing isn't a bug. Windows removes the display driver on upgrade (and thus CCC if installed), and downloads the latest driver from Windows Update after the upgrade. There are potentially scenarios where the OEM posted the Win10 driver to WU without CCC bundled, but otherwise most users will get the latest driver with CCC enabled.

So what happened here? Is this like the cubic centimeter limits for motors where if you go over a size limit new rules go into effect? Like you don't have to pay to register your supercomputer if it is under 2.000 "petfalops" (whatever the hell that is)?

...or did someone realize after it was built that Excel had been rounding on them, and they were 113 processors short of the 2 "petfalops" system specified in the bid?

I could be wrong, but I was assuming this was because it was being tracked by a Chrome plugin that much of the activity outside of the web browser was not captured.

I personally use caps lock all the time when typing SQL queries. Outside of that, I rarely use it.

You could always use it to make a smelting crucible to melt tantalum hafnium carbide into.

:)

USB VID and PID is typically the IHV Vendor and DeviceID information, and is rarely changed when integrated into an OEM system. I understand that the OEM can update these values, but most often they don't.

PCI is the only bus type you listed that includes OEM information embedded in the device identifier (using the subsystem VendorID). USB doesn't, and for the most part, neither does ACPI.

Additionally, OEMs don't typically certify device drivers through WHQL. It is usually the IHV that certifies the component/driver, and the OEM certifies the system consisting of components from different IHVs.

What I have found is that the kind of driving I am doing matters a lot when listening to audio books. If there needs to be any frontal cortex decision making (route planning, looking for unexpected obstacles, driving in the city), then audio books aren't an option. There is simply no way to pay attention to both at the same time.

My work commute is about 15 minutes each way, and is on the highway. With this kind of driving I have no problem listening to a book while driving.

Mundane chores are also a good time to listen. I can unload the dishwasher, fold laundry, weed the garden, etc. while listening to a book.

I recommend a service like Audible that enables you to listen to books on your phone or other mobile device. This way you can have it near while on the toilet, in the car, doing the dishes....

Everyone is different, so what works for me may not work for you.

You might give audio books a try. The only books that I read these days are reference books on demand, but I listen to all kinds of literature for enjoyment.