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Comment Re:Just got one (Score 1) 205

by morcheeba (#24935311) Attached to: Hacking Esquire's E-ink Cover

My point is that you don't get free energy... you could eliminate those extra batteries, but to get the same life, you'd need to replace them with a single larger battery. That single larger battery probably wouldn't fit in the cover as well as the lots of little ones.

An example: The CR2016 batteries used are 90mAH, 1.6 mm thick, and 20 mm diameter. Replacing this with a DC/DC converter (at a very generous 80% efficiency - at currents this low, the power taken by the generator is significant - the real efficiency would probably be in the 40-50% range) would be a single 675 mAH battery. That's a CR2450 battery -- 5 mm thick (3x thicker) and 24mm in diameter.

Pricewise, CR2016's are $0.18 each, qty 5000 (Esquire ordered 1.4 million batteries). I didn't find bulk 2450's, so I compared the same manufacturer from the same vendor - the price was 2.66x the cost of the 2016 -- so, I'd guess $0.48. The savings is 6*0.18 - 0.48 = $0.60. At 40% efficiency (two 2450's), the savings is $0.12 -- minus, of course, the cost of the converter, which is non-trivial. You need the driver chip (usually not cheap) and a pair of capacitors (high quality, or else you'll get EMI).
Transportation

NASA Tests Hypersonic Blackswift 487

Posted by timothy from the for-a-romantic-honeymoon-cruise dept.
dijkstra writes "Blackswift was previously rumored to be a super secret hypersonic scramjet-based aircraft co-named HTV-3X, essentially a 21st century version of the SR-71. Today NASA has unveiled the real Blackswift (video link), which uses pulse detonation engines (PDEs). A PDE is essentially a modern version of the old V-1 buzz bomb engine. This engine requires significantly fewer moving parts and achieves much higher efficiency than a turbofan, and is technically able to go hypersonic without any kind of 'dual-stage' engine."
Robotics

Robotic Camera Extension Takes Gigapixel Photos 102

Posted by timothy from the ale-and-hugin-together-robotically dept.
schliz writes "Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a device that lets a standard digital camera take pictures with a resolution of 1-gigapixel (1,000-megapixels). The Gigapan is a robotic arm that takes multiple pictures of the same scene and blends them into a single image. The resulting picture can be expanded to show incredible detail."
Communications

US House Rejects Telecom Amnesty 614

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the some-no-votes-just-because-it-wasn't-firm-enough dept.
The US House has just approved a new bill that rejects the retroactive immunity to telecommunication businesses and denies most of the new powers for the US President to spy on citizens without a warrant. "As impressive as the House vote itself was, more impressive still was the floor debate which preceded it. I can't recall ever watching a debate on the floor of either House of Congress that I found even remotely impressive -- until today. One Democrat after the next -- of all stripes -- delivered impassioned, defiant speeches in defense of the rule of law, oversight on presidential eavesdropping, and safeguards on government spying. They swatted away the GOP's fear-mongering claims with the dismissive contempt such tactics deserve, rejecting the principle that has predominated political debate in this country since 9/11: that the threat of the Terrorists means we must live under the rule of an omnipotent President and a dismantled constitutional framework."
Government

White House Email Follies 205

Posted by kdawson from the exchanging-notes dept.
Presto Vivace forwards a link detailing a recent House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform hearing on the White House missing emails mess. David Gewirtz's report, carried in OutlookPower and DominoPower (in 6 parts, keep clicking), makes for scary reading. "If, in fact, the bulk of the White House email records are now stored in bundles of rotting PST files, all at or above their maximum safe load-level, that ain't good in a very big way... I object to using the inaccurate and inflated claim of excessive cost as a reason to avoid compliance with the Presidential Records Act."
Privacy

White House Says Phone Wiretaps Will Resume For Now 262

Posted by Soulskill from the can-we-hear-you-now dept.
austinhook brings us news that the U.S. government has resumed wiretapping with the help of telecommunications companies. The companies are said to have "understandable misgivings" over the unresolved issue of retroactive immunity for their participation in past wiretapping. Spy agencies have claimed that the expiration of the old legislation has caused them to miss important information. The bill that would grant the immunity passed in the Senate, but not in the House.
Transportation

100-MPG Air-Powered Car Headed To US Next Year 449

Posted by kdawson from the x-prize-fodder dept.
An anonymous reader sends us to Popular Mechanics for word on a New York automaker with plans to introduce a US version of the air-powered car, with which India's Tata Motors made a splash last year. Zero Pollution Motors plans a sub-$18,000, 6-passenger vehicle that can hit 96 mph and gets over 100 MPG, using an untried dual engine — the air-powered motor being supplemented by a second (unspecified) engine that would kick in above 35 MPH. The company estimates that "a vehicle with one tank of air and, say, 8 gallons of either conventional petrol, ethanol, or biofuel could hit between 800 and 1000 miles." The vehicle could be introduced to the market as early as 2009.
Government

White House Must Answer For Missing Emails 256

Posted by Soulskill from the show-me-the-deleted-emails dept.
Lucas123 writes "A District Court judge this week ruled in favor of a Washington-based watchdog group, allowing them to question White House officials about missing emails involving controversial issues. The subjects include the release of the identity of a former CIA operative, the reasons for launching the war in Iraq and actions by the US Department of Justice. The group had filed suit [PDF] last May against the White House Office of Administration, seeking access to White House email under the federal Freedom of Information Act. The discovery ruling is bringing to light issues of email retention in businesses and other private organizations. We've previously discussed the White House's difficulties with email."
Privacy

US Senate Votes Immunity For Telecoms 623

Posted by kdawson from the not-even-a-wrist-slap dept.
Ktistec Machine writes to let us know that the telecom companies are one step closer to getting off the hook for their illegal collusion with the US government. Today the US Senate passed, by a filibuster-proof majority of 67 to 31, a revised FISA bill that grants retroactive immunity to the telecommunications companies that helped the government illegally tap American network traffic. If passed by both houses and signed by the President, this would effectively put an end to the many lawsuits against these companies (about 40 have been filed). The House version of the bill does not presently contain an immunity provision. President Bush has said he will veto any such bill that reaches his desk without the grant of immunity. We've discussed the progress of the immunity provision repeatedly.
Government

EPA Asserts Executive Privilege In CA Emissions Case 390

Posted by Zonk from the interesting-use-of-term-executive dept.
Brad Eleven writes "The AP reports that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has invoked executive privilege to justify withholding information in its response to a lawsuit. The state of California is challenging the agency's decision to block their attempt to curb the emissions from new cars and trucks. In response, the EPA has delivered documents requested by the Freedom of Information Act for the discovery phase of the lawsuit — but the documents are heavily redacted. That is, the agency has revealed that it did spend many hours meeting to discuss the issue, but refuses to divulge the details or the outcomes of the meetings. Among the examples cited, 16 pages of a 43-page Powerpoint presentation are completely blank except for the page titles. An EPA spokesperson used language similar to other recent claims of executive privilege, citing 'the chilling effect that would occur if agency employees believed their frank and honest opinions and analysis expressed as part of assessing California's waiver request were to be disclosed in a broad setting.'"
Privacy

US Policy Would Allow Government Access to Any Email 516

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the what's-the-date-again dept.
An anonymous reader writes "National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell is currently helping to draft a new Cyber-Security Policy that could make the debate over warrantless wiretaps seem like a petty squabble. The new policy would allow the government to access to the content of any email, file transfer, or web search."
Transportation

$2500 Tata Nano Car Unveiled in India 625

Posted by CmdrTaco from the powered-entirely-by-curry dept.
theodp writes "After months of rumors and tantalizing leaks, Tata Motors has finally unveiled the Tata Nano, its already legendary $2,500 car that promises to change the face of not only the Indian car market, but the global auto industry. The tiny car is a four-door, five-seat hatch, powered by a 30 hp engine that gets 54 miles per gallon."
Biotech

Gene Found to Explain Repeated Mistakes 299

Posted by CmdrTaco from the oh-wait-for-the-joke dept.
palegray.net writes "A December 6th article in Nature explores the relationship between a specific gene and those of us prone to repeatedly making the same mistakes. From the article: "Drug addicts, alcoholics and compulsive gamblers are known to be more likely than other people to have this genetic mutation ..." The gene results in the development of fewer D2 receptors in the brain, a condition which the study has shown leads to a lessened ability to learn from experience." So no complaining about dupes and typos: it's genetic!
Businesses

What If Yoda Ran IBM? 205

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the and-green-gene-was-born dept.
Esther Schindler writes to mention that one IT leader who came from big business found himself in quite another world when he transitioned into a smaller business, specifically with respect to the amount of attention from their vendors. He presents an amusing approach with a familiar twist. "Not only are the IBMs of the world leaving money on the table, they're also risking future sales. The IT leaders at small organizations will in many cases be employed by larger organizations someday. Why alienate them? Vendors could engage IT leaders in small organizations now and build brand loyalty. How could they make such a business model work? Let's imagine (with apologies to George Lucas) what Yoda might do if he were running a large consultancy."

Comment Worth it for adoptees (Score 1) 451

by jan de bont (#21561897) Attached to: $999 For a Complete DNA Scan, Worth it?
It is damn sure worth it for my wife, who is adopted. We've tried the family research - dead end. No family history for disease. Genetic profile to get that same info would be great. Nice to see the price falling.

I need to do research to see if this individual service is the best price/performance out there. Within that "best deal" framework, the general idea is desperately needed and very worthwhile.

Heck, I've spent $1000 on a hobby in a day. To save my wife's life, or even just know the risks, it's cheap at twice the price.

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