Posts by jphn37

White House to bung electric car industry $4.5bn in loans

Re: Electric car grants

The entire grid NEEDS a massive upgrade. It's very vulnerable to massive months-long blackouts, cyber attack, and more.

UK's climate change dept abolished, but 'smart meters and all our policies strong as ever'

But a "Smart" meter would be able to communicate with your fusebox at your choosing and turn on a breaker or the device itself when prices drop to $0.0X per kwh. That's what current rollout meters do not do, but which wouldn't even be hard to program; trigger a relay when a datum point is reached?

Anyhow, that's how I'd do it if I had the skills. Six or eight programmable relay leads and IoT protocols for those who want a "wired" (WiFi) house.

And I'm American, so I don't know Mrs. Commswonk, but we'd ask her son, or granddaughter to do it for her, right?

Anyhow, please don't "shoot" me. I'm just thinking aloud. I just haven't heard of a good, robust, secure SMART meter yet, and it's 2016, which just kinda strikes me as ridiculous as Comcast set-top boxes.

This forum has continually argued against these meters (mostly) because they are technologically deficient. Yep. Hit the reset button, and without the EU update your meters to 21st Century standards (which aren't yet set). So make a standard that's exportable, please, because the whole rest of the world is going to get "Comcast"-ed into buying set-top boxes that are deficient in every way.

But you gotta admit, it's time to update electrical meters. A KW hour at 1 pm is worth more than a KW hour at 1 am.

First successful Hyperloop test module hits 100mph in four seconds

Re: Los Angeles to San Francisco route comes in at $6bn

There may be problems. That's what the startup are for: to iron out the problems with the tech. But what's with the massive negativity?

Yes, of course it wouldn't be only $6bn. Nothing ever comes in at budget, but the high-speed rail California has started to build is projected at many times that amount.

The tubes are not at complete vacuum. The tubes have magnetic propulsion at regular intervals that can also be used for braking. The pods could also have braking built in somehow. I believe they also have some kind of drive mechanism planned that could limp the pods to a place for evacuation. The energy to evacuate the air to a semi vacuum is negligible. Pods also have an air supply.

This is a concept vehicle. They are currently prototyping, with private money. Jeez Louise. Perhaps you're one of those folks who hates all buses, subways, trains, and bike lanes?

Get thee behind me, Satanic mills! Robert Owen's Scottish legacy

WORSTALL! Please expound . . .

Carnegie and Rockefeller also were philanthropists, like Bill Gates. But they built that on anti-competitive and monopolistic enterprises. I actually "admire" Bill Gates for creating a defacto monopoly in the modern era. So, is the free exercise of monopoly worth it for the X% of actors who will turn philanthropic?

And what about companies that have social responsibility at their core? Ben and Jerry's perhaps?

What are the economic drivers? What makes it possible or not?

This is a fellow (*company, his heirs) who/that *could have gone on to buy Singer, or invested heavily in Westinghouse, etc. Was the greater good in worrying about his employees? or would the profits from the profitable mill, by the free power source, have been better used in creating wealth for investors and them/himself?

It's both a specific example and a generalized philosophical viewpoint.

Are today's companies ignoring their employees' needs to the detriment of their own future?

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV: The new common-as-muck hybrid

Re: Curious about break lights

haha, oops. Hadn't finished that first cupa at the time. :)

Curious about break lights

"These are not to change the gears – . . . – but to enhance the aggression of the regenerative braking though five levels. One is normal, five really throws the anchors out when you take your foot of the throttle."

Like the subject says, do break lights come on if you're in regenerative one? That would probably be overkill. But it sounds like they sure ought to if you're in regenerative five, which presumably is a significant step above normal engine breaking.

Hey, bacteria: Resistance is FUTILE – boffins grow new super-antibiotic

Past, learn from, uh...duh...huh?

Just an idea. Maybe we'll want to ban the use of these antibiotics in animal feed???

AT&T to FTC: I'd like to see YOU install 1Gbps fiber across the US. Which we're still doing

They don't have the business acumen to do . . . What?!?!?

"Rather, AT&T simply cannot evaluate additional investment beyond its existing commitments until the regulatory treatment of broadband service is clarified."

It's beyond their business acumen to take the existing business environment, change one variable, and project an either/or scenario to their financial risk? What an obvious and disingenuous lie!

Great Firewalled?

Great Firewalled?

Has El Reg been blocked by the Great Firewall?

Or is this just a local issue in Yantai, Shandong, China?

Posted via my VPN.

Cheers

Phones for the elderly: Testers wanted for senior service

Re: Great Idea - In Case of Emergency

There was a great idea - I think out of the UK - to add a contact "ICE". People react to emergencies differently, and perhaps your father has a heart condition but your mother is steady-as-she-goes. The idea was that if you got hit by bus, you had some control over which family member would be notified. I don't think this caught on, but I think it's an idea worth revisiting.

'Leccy car biz baron Elon Musk: Thanks for the $500m, taxpayers...

Re: Note that difference *loan* (with interest) versus old car maker (2nd or 3rd) bailout.

Just a factual clarification. Ford didn't take bailout money. Chrysler and GM did, with GM's biggest problem being its finance business.

Chinese 'nauts reach Heaven after 8-minute coupling

prototype

Quick factual note: This Tiangong space station module is a prototype. It won't be the hub of their space station, the replacement will.

Massive DDoS attack blasts 123-reg offline

Re: Motive?

Maybe, just a theory, it's about Chinese website branding. In China, some common portals are hao123, kuku123, and haokan123. So, if citizens search for 123 and get a foreign, money making business, heaven forbid!

Microsoft COO: Our greatest enemy is old Windows

old school is cool

And yet, Microsoft Word 6.0 was all I ever wanted. Everything they've done since only makes me go into options to turn off.

Big new wind turbines too close together, says top boffin

complimentary turbulence?

Just a thought, what would the effect on windflow if these huge turbines were interspersed with smaller ones? The turbulence from them might compliment one another and make it economic to place them closer together.

Aerodynamics boffins, if you chose to accept this mission . . .

Standard smartphone charger to dominate in two years

yes, to EU regulators

Thank you EU.

The US has such an unnatural aversion to regulation of industry that there's no way a common standard would have developed on its own. Proprietary connections look good to the CEO types, but they ultimately end with disappointment. iProducts will end up needing two connection points for years and years now. They've painted themselves into a corner. And to think, they could have freely licensed their connector to any and all . . .

Article deleted

hooyah

Okay, so this will be my dream tonight.

"Paris Hilton may have been keeping her head down recently."

Microsoft unveils 'do not track' option for IE9

Corporate responsibility? Oxymoron?

". . . that we are far better off developing solutions and choices as an industry than if we allow the government to do it for us.”

If only more corporations would adopt this attitude. For instance, in the US, if the health insurance industry had this attitude in the 90s there would have been no real need for the Affordable Health Care Act. If the finance industry would target obscenely high pay in public companies. If natural gas drilling companies would take ground water contamination seriously. Etc,etc., ad naseum. . .

But no. Thank goodness for government of the people, by the people, and for the people to regulate corporate bastards when they won't do it themselves.

Court strikes down Facebook probation

Damn, they're good

This kid had some good lawyers.

Paris, because she has pretty good lawyers too.

US govt cash to fund Tesla minivan?

Speaking of GM

Just today (Sept. 30) a deal fell through on the purchase of GM's Saturn unit. Seems cheaper to buy one of those production lines and convert it than to build one from scratch. If only capitalism actually worked for creative reuses. They could maybe even build upon one of their existing platforms. I mean . . . if you're throwing $365 million around . . .

Mercedes moves e-car concept closer to the forecourt

That ain't a Mercedes!

Doesn't Mercedes own any other companies? because that thing might be great, but it isn't a Mercedes. Mercedes makes luxury and performance vehicles. Performance as in speed. Mercedes should be making electric cars that have four independent motors controlling the wheels that tear into the tarmac. That thing could be a Fiat or a VW, it actually looks more like a Peugeot to me (oooh, burn!), but it isn't a Mercedes. I know there are lots of embarrassed Mercedes employees on this one.