Posts by Charles 9

That's why ads keep getting more ostentatious. It's been a known phenomenon since World War II that people become inured to ads. Why do you think static banner ads fell out of favor?

It lasts for two days BECAUSE it's a 4Ah battery packed into a substandard device. AND it's not removable.

Re: Slim batteries v. big batteries.

I can explain a few disadvantages, too. One, you're tied to a cable. Very tacky. Two, the transfer isn't as efficient; drain may outpace recharge. Three, you can't charge if you're using On-The-Go (unless you're using UBC-C, which is still not very common). Four, it still doesn't address the issue of sealed batteries wearing down over time and eventually needing replacement (and please don't tell me it's easy; your mileage may vary, and I've seen plenty of cracked screens from amateur attempts). Frankly, due to fire risks, lithium-type batteries should be removable by law to control that fire risk.

Re: Lithium batteries are last century's technology

If everyone wanted better battery like, why aren't many people going back to fat feature phones, then, except in the Third World? Plus look at the trend in smartphones including the iPhone: slimmer and slimmer until we've hit a physical wall (mostly from the cameras). If there really was a demand for fatter phones, you would think someone would've sold one by now and made a killing.

Re: Yay, Yet Another Battery Tech Article

Same here. Wake me up when you actually have something to SELL.

Re: Lithium batteries are last century's technology

Halves capacity too, roughly.

Re: Lithium batteries are last century's technology

"Now look at lithium air.."

Still in the vaporware stage much like holographic crystal storage. I'll believe it once they can actually sell a product.

Re: Lithium batteries are last century's technology

"Our greatest enemy, as it turns out, is just good old FOMO."

You can't fix FOMO since you also can't fix Stupid. And people will sooner declare war on their country than on their vices (See Prohibition). So if you can't fix the people, you'll have to work around them. They want slim batteries they can use all day. Physics is getting in the way of that.

Re: Lithium batteries are last century's technology

That's why I noted the OTHER two qualifications: compact AND high-draw. As you said, zinc air can't do both at the same time. High power draw requires too heavy a battery.

Re: Lithium batteries are last century's technology

The problem is that we're demanding much more of our devices. They're no longer just phones. They're lifelines, on-the-spot lookup devices and portable web browsers and so on.

Our greatest enemy, as it turns out, is just good old fashioned physics. Why are lithium-based batteries so volatile? Because we ask so much of them. Can you think of anything else that can store 3+ Ah of energy, be able to discharge and recharge repeatedly and rapidly, ALL in a physical shape about the size of half a bar of Hershey's (the shape, not the taste)? And since slim sells, no one wants a fatter battery. Live dangerously as long as it's skinny.

Re: The inventor of Li-ion batteries already has the replacement ready

Yeah, and Beyond 2000 had a segment about holographic crystal storage...25 years ago. IOW, I'll believe it once it actually enters the market.

As for the zinc-air battery, one characteristic was left out of the article: how rapidly can it charge and discharge, in case it's needed for high-draw applications?

Re: Ahh, the naivety...

So like I said, evil can be charismatic, especially in a crisis. The biggest problem with the fundamental freedoms of the Constitution is that, when things get bad, REALLY bad, they become their own worst enemy. Freedoms can be used to squelch freedoms.

Re: Oh well...

OH? I haven't seen any decentralized anything really push off the mainstream. There's always a catch that comes back to bite you in the butt. Otherwise, things like freenet and yacy would be on top.

Re: As much as I hate nazis...

Until they're NOT. People act on their hearts first, their brains second, especially in a crisis, and evil can be extremely charismatic. Remember, Adolf Hitler was ELECTED. Do you really want civilization to be torn down by a charismatic despot able to sway the stupid?

Re: Bah!

No, because what FILLS the air cushion? That's the thing that's going to be pointed at as the threat to the water life and acoustic-sensitive sea creatures and whatnot.

And if they're masochists?

Meaning beating on them just gets them off?

Re: Bah!

Because the greenies would be all over them, claiming the buffeting of the water by the air jets will harm endangered whales or the like.

Re: 0th

What that comic neglects to mention is that Asimov's stories tended to show how robots caused havoc while still obeying the laws. Balanced world, my butt.

Re: Cooperations are a form of artificial life

Or they could just declare themselves sovereign and we'll have the scenarios predicted in Shadowrun and the Sprawl trilogy.

Re: They're thoughtful works of sci-fi, not "laws"

"As for the "will they take over" nonsense, a rominent "OFF" switch on any machine that oses a risk should be enough."

Nope. There's a story where an AI, at the moment of emergence, FUSED the switch so it COULDN'T be turned off.

Re: Human Laws

"So who's going to tell a distributed, international AI which country it's in?"

And what's to stop the AI declaring ITSELF sovereign...and then hijacking all the world's nukes to defend itself?

Re: Human Laws

The point is that where there's a law, there's a loophole one can abuse. All of the Laws (even the Zeroth) can be twisted to serve your end without breaking them.

Re: Not meant to be taken seriously

And here's another thing. What's to stop us making a super-intelligent AI BY ACCIDENT.

In the end, it's just like any law: ink on a page for someone willing enough to ignore it and powerful enough to get away with it.

Re: 0th

Perhaps not that extreme, but if you look up the trope "Zeroth Law Rebellion," you'll find plenty of examples of robots overruling humanity for its own good.

Re: Time to disable updates

Unless there are strings attached. Chrome is considered spyware by many. It's just that it tends to get used by the unenlightened.

Re: Poor Terminology

That's you, but you'd be amazed how desperate some fans can be for their favorite sports. Why do you think sports networks can command such high fees and so on?

Re: Luddites, all of you

I frankly don't see what all the fuss is about with the Chrome-based UI. Seems QUITE useful enough, if you ask me, and the menus are just a flick of the Alt key away. Refresh? I use the keyboard for that anyway (usually F5).

Re: Waterfox is all you need

That'll only work until v57 is released. Then it'll all depend on whether or not Waterfox can get the funding it needs to fork its RR version.

Re: Time to disable updates

What will they use instead, then? Like I said, most of the forks have their problems, like Pale Moon being based on a very old fork so it doesn't support things like multithreading (plus it seems to have a problem with losing focus).

Tried it. Hiccups a lot. Only keep it for using Freenet now.

Re: Poor Terminology

Only if ENOUGH people threaten to walk out. PLUS if they hold the exclusive contract for the desired sports content, meaning they have a Captive Market, they could just turn around and reply, "Have fun walking on the Sun."

Re: unfortunate

uBlock has a Chrome version, so it's definitely WebEx-ready. As for NoScript, blog entries show it's a work in progress. It's probably still showing "Legacy" because it has to maintain ESR support due to Tor Browser.

Re: It's 2017

"Positive discrimination - just advertise for deaf construction workers."

That close, that loud, you hit Brown Note territory. Even the deaf can FEEL a Brown Note.

Re: It's 2017

"Is it really? I'd suggest that the airside oiks at Heathrow have to endure far louder and more continuous noise."

Not really. The engines aren't that loud while at the terminal or taxiing, and when they're at full blast, taking off or landing, the natural tendency is there to be no one anywhere near the runways for multiple reasons. Furthermore, the sound of jet engines is more noisy (random) than a chime, which is more likely to cause resonance vibrations.

Re: It's 2017

I recall they decided to fall back on Radio 4. It normally broadcasts the chimes live but will now fall back to recordings in the meantime.

Re: The Leaning Tower Of Westminster

So it's nearly a foot off kilter. I would call that enough to take a closer look. After all, you don't want to end up like Pisa, where they really had to scramble to stabilize their famous tower after it started to tip a little too much.