Yes, hence my choice of '*rough* equivalent'. You obviously know WAY more about this than I do, but that was about the best thing I could come up with on the fly.

This is true, but I see the reasoning behind it. It's a rough equivalent to the salary cap in team sports. If you don't do this, it's highly likely that most of the time, the championships start just rotating between two or three most well-funded teams. And this makes it boring for everyone.

Thanks for the tip, and it actually reinforces my larger point: that it's going to be the racing side of the automotive industry that drives the kind of innovation in electric cars that will eventually make them more attractive to the average buyer.

Oh yeah, I've been to MotoGP as well. I still prefer the sound of the F1 cars, but yeah, the bikes are pretty amazing, too.

I'd love to check out a Formula E race if I have a chance, and I hope the series does well. I think there's the potential for an all-electric racing series to contribute toward the technological development of powertrains in electric road-going cars, just as traditional gas-powered auto racing has with ICE road cars.

Concur. There's no amount of pedantic eco-shaming that's gonna convince me to buy and drive an utterly boring crapbox, which is the only affordable option these days. If anyone can figure out how to up the performance without sacrificing too much efficiency, it's F1. I'm excited to see them getting into this.

...The "opera" category. I'd never been to any sort of motorsports event until I experienced F1 at the Circuit of the Americas. There is nothing like hearing that banshee wail coming at you from all directions. Amazing.

That being said, hearing little but tire noise during a race would be pretty damn interesting, too. I'll definitely check it out if it comes to COTA.

OK, hot, yes, but wouldn't they need something combustible to actually erupt into flame? Or what am I missing?

...Can someone who is explain where the big fiery explosion out of the railgun is coming from, if this thing is electromagnetically driven?

Does it qualify for Super Saver Shipping?

solution.needing.problem

From the No-Shit-Sherlock dept.

I'm $ure there'$ a perfectly good rea$on for them not to u$e a $tandard U$B connector format, but I can't for the life of me figure out what it i$. Anybody?

Yes, bits are bits from a technical perspective, and it shouldn't really matter what device in the chain is doing the requesting of said bits. Unfortunately, he put his signature to a contract that (I'm guessing) defines it otherwise. Right or wrong, technically correct or not, he will have agreed to it, and (again, guessing) that's going to carry a lot more legal weight than any technical argument.

Welcome to SXSW. Hope you enjoy your stay.

Spaccarelli has admitted that he has used his iPhone to provide Internet access for other devices, a practice known as tethering, which violates AT&T's contract terms. AT&T says that means it has the right to turn off his service.

Game, set, match. I have NO love for AT&T, but if this guy admits to violating their ToS, he doesn't have much of a leg to stand on.