Would you call the difference between a 486 and a core i7 substantial? There's plenty of information out there about jet engines, and certainly a talented individual could build one. But to build an engine that has 35,000+ lbs thrust and can withstand temperatures of 3500+ F, amongst other things, is not exactly trivial.

I use and like JMP from SAS. They offer a free 30 day demo and I think it does a good job at data visualization and statistical modeling, or as they call it, discovery. It will interface with SAS, R, Excel along with various database packages for additional capability that may not exist in the core product. I found it pretty easy to pick up with a fairly active user base to help get started.

If you listen to music in headphones and are looking for simple audio control, look at the headsets with integrated microphone. They typically include a mute button which when pressed when music is playing you can play, pause, and skip next by single or double clicking.

Depends on where you live. In the USA and Canada, black is hot.

It isn't allowed because it has potential to do things other than being a calculator during a test. One could load an entire text book, take photos of tests and email questions, surf the web, and any other number of activities that would be construed as cheating. It's much easier to require a real calculator, no matter how overpriced or limited they are.

Industrial gas turbines hooked up to a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) are barely 60% thermally efficient for the latest technology, most are in the 40-55% range. The turbine alone might be 30-35%. Micro gas turbines are between 25-35% and they are not hooked up to an HRSG.

What they do have going for them is a high power to weight ratio, comparable efficiency, and lower emissions because of the fuels they can run on. According to this other article, you're saving 220 lbs when comparing to a similarly powerful ICE.

The manufacturer of the turbines in this car is Bladon Jets.

I've gotten a ticket for running a red light in my town. It had 2 photos, one of me in front of the stop line with the stoplight visible, and a counter that says the red light has been red for x.xx seconds. The second photo was me in the middle of the intersection about a half a second later.

You can get alternative drivers/software for the Magic Mouse, so it only makes sense that 3rd parties would enhance the Magic Trackpad even if apple doesn't. MagicPrefs is the one I use currently.

Municipal power grids have nukes that put out 1500 MW. 104 MW is chump change in the power industry.

The speed of the aircraft is somewhat irrelevant. The components inside the engine can move at speeds of 1800 kph while the plane is standing still. In the fan and compressor sections of a modern engine, abrasives like ash will erode material, making the aerodynamics worse and possibly causing liberation of moving parts. Once the ash makes it past the compressor, the 2500 F firing temperature melts the ash, which then deposits on the turbine section, causing poor aerodynamics, vibration, and other not so pleasant outcomes.