Supporting Windows XP means modifying it to deal with changes in hardware and patching bugs, especially security problems. That requires on-going effort on the part of Microsoft, so it is understandable that they will not keep at it indefinitely. (You would, I imagine, justifiably feel ripped off if a year after XP came out Microsoft dropped support.) Keeping a game playable in the sense required by the bill just requires the publisher either to keep the server running or to distribute a version that allows players to run their own server. Neither of those requires the kind of ongoing effort that continued support for an OS would.

Since about the mid 2010's trolls have been winning too often. Cults based on morons are forming. Morongeddon.

So many really wanted the Musk vs. Zuck cage match. Too late? Is there a "both lose" betting category?

It will have a "Bible Mode" to toggle between definitions.

I guess entertaining villains are better than boring villains.

Hayes' real problem was that clones got cheaper, as they usually do. Hayes tried to stay ahead of the curve by making ever faster modems, but when the ISP ceiling that you mentioned hit, they couldn't use that curve anymore, and were stuck competing on price alone, the clones' forte. The premature "56" model mistake was just icing on the death cake.

China's R&D into EV's has paid off and now they are the lowest-cost-producer and have the most EV IP. China even invested in factory robots, making it hard for Japan to compete on labor costs by using robots.

Yes, the Chinese gov't subsidized much of the R&D, but it appears to have worked.

Detroit is also probably F'd. They can live on gasoline laurels for a few decades, but will probably gradually shrink. Most small cars will be EV such that gas stations will gradually close shop, making gas cars ever less practical. (Diesel might be slower to fade.)

The US is putting up big trade barriers to Chinese EV's right now, but that can't last forever, because when Americans see how cheap EV's are getting in the rest of the world, they will be frustrated with high car prices at home. EV's are cheaper to manufacture because they have about half the parts of an equivalent ICE engine. The batteries have been the bottleneck of costs, but get roughly 5% to 10% cheaper every year.

Sorry gas lovers, but gas looks doomed. Detroit & Japan have a hard road ahead, pun half intended.

Chips and storage are getting more expensive, reversing Moore's-Law-like trends. I know, technically that's not the definition, but the "feel" is a reversal of the usual gradual price drops per unit of computing or storage over time.

Eroom's Law: Bubbles f$ck things up.

Yeah, the joke I was expecting, but thanks anyway. Slashdot favors low-hanging fruit these years?

You could have mentioned the robots. Mostly thinking about those Chinese robots, but the critical question is when the robots are capable of building enough infrastructure needed for a factory to produce more robots.

Beware the paper clips!

YOB stands for YUGE Orange Buffoon because I don't like the brand. You guessed correctly even with the minimal context and I have no doubts about your reference.

Heck, at this point I don't even want to use the word as a verb. But you might prefer to think of a different word for B depending on the context and your sentiments.

But mostly disappointed (again) that the active discussion failed to produce any jokes. Or perhaps the moderation failed again. But a day-old discussion is effectively dead on Slashdot and I don't want to search for the possible jokes that might be lurking around here somewhere...

I've been driving EVs since I first got a used Tesla S (2014 P85D). I have a 2020 Chevy Bolt EV I use as my daily driver right now. I recently rented a 2025 Toyota Camry Hybrid, which seems to be in high demand and very highly rated/recommended out there.

My experience was ... disappointing. Now granted, it delivered on the fuel economy part. I drove it several hundred miles over a few days' time and when I went to refuel it before the rental return, it only needed 6 gallons of gas to fill it back up. But the whole driving experience felt like a big step back from any EV I'd driven. You had the constant sensation of a gas engine turning on and off at various times, and a constant reminder the battery pack in the vehicle was tiny and only a part of a more complicated system. (You could put the car in "EV mode" to make it drive only on battery, but it would only allow it at very low speeds, like driving around parking lots.) Ultimately, it was just a car lugging around all the things required for an internal combustion engine AND electric vehicle parts at the same time. Double the complexity and a rolling compromise. (Better interior than I'm used to seeing w/Toyota though.)

I'm kind of confused w/Honda. Their "EV strategy" seemed to me like it was basically about trying to sell that Prologue which was really a GM designed car getting rebranded as a Honda product + hand-waving that they'd do cooler stuff soon.

Truthfully? I think one of the big challenges with EVs across the board is trying to mask the high cost of the battery pack, motors and other electronics involved. You can "do it right" by not caring and slapping a high price tag on it. Then you get an EV that still maintains people's expectations for "fit and finish", a nice interior, and really good handling. The BMW i4 eDrive 40 is a great example here, or even the Porsche Taycan EV. But most people just want a cheap car that's reliable, avoids the need for gas fill-ups and oil changes, while still handling well and feeling like corners weren't cut on the build quality, interior and exterior. That doesn't really seem to be doable, yet? Tesla sure doesn't. They just design vehicles that few people think look great on the outside. but "wow" them with all the infotainment / computer capabilities on the inside. Keep the interior really bare-bones but put that big touch-screen front and center to distract them. Spend enough on the seats so they're really comfortable, but use a real basic "skateboard" suspension and frame across the whole product line. It goes fast enough in a straight line so they'll ignore other handling issues.

Don't get me wrong. I like Tesla vehicles. I'm just being real about what one is and isn't. I don't think an established brand like Honda is comfortable making all those compromises, and they're just not seeing a profit margin in converting what they build now into a full EV?

No one in America really wants them (EVs).

But that's not to say they shouldn't keep trying for markets that do want them....parts of the EU seem really hungry for them.

Wanting America to lose a war we had no business starting in the first place by the President of the United States of Israel isn't TDS. The swing voters in the middle were voting for the person who stood against wars and kept America out of it the first time. After the three entirely fake assassination attempts (his ear is 100% fine folks. He could have at least surgically removed a chunk to make it believable), it's clear this was a very long con game. I think Trump knew he'd go to war in his lame duck term for his handlers and the Epstein class that truly runs the world. It was just deferred by 4 years, and who knows, maybe that whole pile of bullshit was wagging the dog too.

Wow...just....wow.

You might want to get your meds checked man...seriously.

Are the voices telling all this...or is it the tree in the neighbors yard that tells you this when it stops humming?

But Xi still wants some samples of the American products to know where the Chinese products are in relative terms. The better to set higher targets.

Still wondering what sort of trap he'll spring on the YOB. The tricky part is that Xi can't pull too hard on the buffoon's strings or everyone will notice. Has to let the YOB think it's really his latest brilliant idea. Even though Xi has been rehearsing with the YOB's GAIvatar for weeks already...

Rather disappointing this juicy story didn't get any Funny.