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Comment Re:Bendgate (Score 2) 27

Yes, the -gate habit comes from the Watergate scandal. Watergate was during Richard Nixon's second term as president, in 1972-4. He was a Republican, and resigned the presidency before he could be impeached. The name comes from an attempted break in at the Democratic Party headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington DC that ended up uncovering a whole pile of shady stuff Nixon had been up to.

Are Americans actually this ignorant of their own history?

Comment Re:Would be better if the UV light was converted (Score 2) 38

You can use the UV light. You need different material with a different bandgap. Basically a whole other panel, stacked on the first. But before you go after that 5% UV you're going to want to go after the blue, and probably the red and some of the near IR.

They're called multijunction solar cells and they're used in places where you need maximum efficiency, like in space. For regular use, single junction cells are much more popular because a single bandgap panel absorbing at the maximum solar emission is going to be more efficient price-wise than a multijunction cell where the extra bandgaps are in lower emission ranges.

Comment Re:I think the lesson to be learned here. (Score 1) 60

Oh dear, I'm sorry I didn't read this before replying above.

Zuck was one of several government projects along the same lines back then, and he got lucky, that's all.

So is he a CIA operator indoctrinated from birth a la The Bourne Identity, a genetically programmed clone, or a straight up android?

Comment Re:I think the lesson to be learned here. (Score 1) 60

"Free market" is a stupid propaganda cliche that is devoid of meaning.

Uh huh. Is this one of those "propaganda I don't believe" Instagram slideshows?

Free markets exist and are pretty widespread. They require government intervention to maintain. Adam Smith himself called that one of the primary functions of government in the economy. American corporatism isn't the only system in the world, and authoritarian "democratic oversight" as suggested by the OP is definitely not a good alternative.

Comment Re:I think the lesson to be learned here. (Score 0) 60

Free market capitalism has as a core principle the importance of market forces. That is, democracy.

Zuckerberg gained control of billions of dollars because he correctly judged that the people wanted to play hot or not with pictures of their friends and would accept psychological manipulation in return. He spent billions on VR because he thought it would work even better.

If you're American, "democracy" has had lots of opportunities to spend money on health care and does so to considerable excess.

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