* Posts by lidgaca-2

13 publicly visible posts • joined 15 Jun 2022

3D printer purchases could require background checks under proposed law

lidgaca-2

Todays's history lesson ...

Try searching on El Reg for 'lewis page gun' ... for Lewis's old articles about the absurdity of 3d printed plastic guns.

Come on back Lewis, El Reg needs you !

-- Chris

New information physics theory is evidence 'we're living in a simulation,' says author

lidgaca-2

'He said the fact that physical systems show a tendency towards declining disorder showed "excess information is removed" and "resembles the process of a computer deleting or compressing waste code to save storage space and optimize power consumption. And as a result supports the idea that we're living in a simulation." '

Sounds (smells ?) like dingoes kidneys to me ...

Switch to hit the fan as BT begins prep ahead of analog phone sunset

lidgaca-2

The coverage maps

It's all very well and good saying that we can just move to a mobile connected world, but out here in the wild outlands (in a village all of 15 bloody miles from Sheffield ...) my mobile signal sucks rocks. I'm lucky to get a usable voice signal in the upper floor of my house, and don't ever get any kind of data signal. 2g / 3g / 4g or any bloody g ...

What's worse is the the coverage map tells me (and whichever telco I choose to use ...) that my signal is fine, and I have nothing to worry about. Consequently the telecos have no interest in upgrading / changing / modifying the infrastructure and I'm basically stuck with no signal.

After numerous phone calls (on my landline ...) to the telecos, there seems to be no way out of this, because the coverage maps show the signal to be good. End of story.

-- Chris

Hide and seek in outer space highlights a battle here on Earth

lidgaca-2

Anonymous Coward wrote

You can't really replace the voyagers unless you're doing it for your children" ...

Well you can't really replace the Voyagers for another ~ 130 years ... The Voyager program was specifically designed to use a rare planetary alignment that allowed the craft to transit the outer planets via gravity assist.

Delta Vee is still a problem.

-- Chris

This upstart is selling tickets for a SpaceX trip to the world's first private space station

lidgaca-2
Mushroom

"... and fasten the tray table to the seat in front of you.

In the unlikely event of a rapid unscheduled disassembly, please remain in your seats and listen for the ..."

-- Chris

Miniature nuclear reactors could be the answer to sustainable datacenter growth

lidgaca-2

Re: What about the operational costs?

> What happens when the .com that owns the data centre goes bust, who is responsible for the SMR safety and decommissioning ?

To be honest I'm worried about the bit before that ... What happens when the .com that owns the data centre has to train it's staff in operating a SMR. The thought of a fresh-outa-college kid, a 35 MW reactor, and a loose-leaf folder en-titled 'How to handle a reactor scram' does not fill me with a lot of confidence.

I'm *very* pro nuclear power in general, but handing out reactors like laptops is not a recipe for gaining the public's trust. Lets do nuclear, but lets be sensible about it.

-- Chris

FTX CTO and Alameda Research CEO admit fraud, pair 'cooperating' with Feds

lidgaca-2

Re: FTX CEO, CTO and Alameda Research CEO

Or No 23 from my local takeaway ...

Look like Bane, spend like Batman with Dyson's $949 headphones

lidgaca-2
Coat

Dyson's suck ...

Oh wait a minute.

Catching a falling rocket with a helicopter more complex than it sounds, says Rocket Lab

lidgaca-2

Are helicopters really the best solution for this ?

I would have thought a C-130 fitted with one of those 'catcher' rigs that the US developed for bringing people up from the ground would be a better fit. The C-130 would be a lot faster and so capable of getting into position easier, and provided the parachute cable is long enough, altitude selection by the pickup machine should be less critical.

But I'm not a rocket scientist :(

-- Chris

'Last man standing in the floppy disk business' reckons his company has 4 years left

lidgaca-2
Boffin

Re: Speaking Of Ancient Storage Methods .....

When last I heard (OK probably 10 years ago now ...) the UK gov still had a lot of 9 track geophysical data in storage. I would be surprised to hear that all of that data had been re-archived onto a newer medium.

Hell, I'd bet that if you looked you'd still find a *really* interesting TIAC 21 track tape or two ... But finding a drive that would read that would take you some time :)

-- Chris

California to try tackling drought with canal-top solar panels

lidgaca-2

Re: 13GW from four thousand miles of solar panels...

I'd like to know where you get your wind turbines from ...

I thought the largest ones in the world that have been commercially deployed were rated at about 10 MW ...

Nuclear power is the climate superhero too nervous to wear its cape

lidgaca-2

Re: I have been on about this since I was a teenager

"+ the storage required"

You will need to elaborate on this mythical "storage" ...

-- Chris

Coinbase CEO cuts 1,100 jobs, warns of 'crypto winter'

lidgaca-2

Re: In past crypto winters

Well if you look at the figures, from Dec 2017 (~ $16,000 +) to Dec 2018 (~ $3,500) that's a loss of nearly 80% of value. That's bigger the current plunge mid Nov 2021 (~$65,000) to mid Jun 2022 (~ $20,000) of ~70% ... Admittedly that's over a longer time, and this one may still be on the down escalator.

But trust me, If you held bitcoin them, you'd think it was winter.

Two bubbles in 5 years is not a good basis for fiscal stability.