Posts by ML1
Posts by ML1 |
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1)
Message boards :
Politics :
Climate Change, 'Greenhouse' effects: Solutions #2
(Message 1551050)
Posted 6 hours ago by  ML1
Yet another step towards using better cleaner tech: BEST BATTERY EVER: All lithium, all the time, plus a dash of carbon nano-stuff Battery capacity remains a big issue in devices ranging from phones to electric vehicles – and one of the biggest constraints is the materials used to make electrodes. A paper published at Nature Nanotechnology (abstract here), offers a promising lead for improvements as boffins say they've hit on a way to replace today's anode materials with lithium... ... the nanosphere layer is 20 nanometres thick and forms a honeycomb-like protective surface over the unstable lithium anode. The carbon is chemically stable, so it doesn't react with the electrolyte, and it's flexible enough to expand and contract during the battery's charge cycle. By providing a protective layer, contact between the anode and electrolyte (which causes heat and sometimes battery fires) is minimised, improving battery safety. So far, the researchers say the Coulombic efficiency of the battery – the ratio of input charge to output – is over 99 per cent at 150 cycles, but their ultimate target is 99.9 per cent. "Of all the materials that one might use in an anode, lithium has the greatest potential. Some call it the Holy Grail,"... And there is a lot more that can be done yet. Why stay old and dirty and polluting?... All on our only one planet, Martin |
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2)
Message boards :
Politics :
Climate Change, 'Greenhouse' effects: DENIAL (#3)
(Message 1551046)
Posted 6 hours ago by ML1
All a part of the building a storm of disaster? Torrential rain and flash flooding cause travel chaos Homes were evacuated and people left stranded in their cars as lightning, hail, heavy rain and flash flooding hit east and south-east England. The freak weather brought roads and railway services to a standstill in parts of Sussex, Essex and London. More than half the average total rain for England in July fell in an hour in some areas... ... The hailstorm was so fierce it left ice on roads and pavements across Sussex... ... The A40 near Hillingdon Station, west London, looked more like a river after the deluge... ... west London, said the downpours lasted for about 45 minutes... MPs bicker over IPCC report on causes of climate change MPs have endorsed the findings of a UN climate panel that says humans are the dominant cause of global warming. Members of the Energy and Climate Change Committee said there was "no reason to doubt the credibility of the science" of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But two MPs, known for their sceptical views, voted against... Russia to appeal $50bn Yukos shareholder payout Russia will appeal a court decision ordering it to pay $50bn (£29.5bn) in damages, the biggest compensation package ordered to date. Russia was told to pay the money to former shareholders in the now defunct oil producer Yukos. The Hague court said Russian officials had manipulated the legal system to bankrupt Yukos, and jail its boss... ... "The majority shareholders of Yukos Oil were left without compensation for the loss of their investment when Russia illegally expropriated Yukos."... All very corrupt for the sake of oil money? And yet the physics and the real world remain uncorruptible. We increase the level of CO2, we make directly for more violent storms and extreme weather. We for the longer term change the very climate and oceans for our planet upon which we depend for our life. How soon or how long?... How much do you want to gamble with your world?... And for everyone else?... All on our only one planet, Martin |
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3)
Message boards :
Politics :
Climate Change, 'Greenhouse' effects: DENIAL (#3)
(Message 1551040)
Posted 6 hours ago by ML1
I watched a documentary on the 1930's dust bowl today. Not sure what you mean by that exactly... The USA 1930's dust bowl disaster was mainly due to an early Agribusiness pushing farmers into very bad farming practices that then created a disaster waiting to happen. The wait for the right weather to cause such a disaster soon came... That example may not have been a climate thing. However, since then, we have been very much changing the climate. This time, rather than our farming being poisoned by the requirements of Big Agribusiness profits and senseless overuse of "fertilizers", we have our very atmosphere being industrially poisoned by the Big Old Dirty Fossil Fuels suppliers. We really do need a disaster for history to repeat? All on a GLOBAL scale??! All on our only one planet, Martin |
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4)
Message boards :
Politics :
Windows8: The Beginning of The End? Or... Win9 v soon!?
(Message 1550742)
Posted 23 hours ago by ML1
Is this the best Pi Microsoft can make? Pre-Order Microsoft's Sharks Cove Developer Board Microsoft’s Michael Fourre announced ... the company’s answer to the Raspberry Pi, the Sharks Cove developer board, ... preorder for $299... One very apt comment: hannibal , July 29, 2014 12:20 PM If this is Raspberry Pi alternative, then the price is quite steep... about 10 times... IT is what we make it... Martin |
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5)
Message boards :
Politics :
I have been slimed..
(Message 1550738)
Posted 1 day ago by ML1
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/07/30/5-food-writers-subpoenaed-in-pink-slime-lawsuit/ Hopefully they will suffer the Streisand effect...? All in our only one world, Martin |
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6)
Message boards :
Politics :
I have been slimed..
(Message 1550734)
Posted 1 day ago by ML1
China's turn For myself, certainly not and never have. There looks to be amazing continued history from: McLibel case The McLibel Trial McLibel is the story of two ordinary people who humiliated McDonald's in the biggest corporate PR disaster in history... McLibel (2005) documentary film The postman and gardener who took on McDonald's and won. McLibel: Longest case in English history To my mind, amazing they are still in business. Then again, are their customers so mindless?! All very sad, And all in our only one world, Martin |
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7)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1549606)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
In the Linux world, IT very much can be what you want it to be, for the users. Very much agreed. Which is where I would not advise Gentoo for someone's first try into the world of FLOSS and GNU/Linux. I'd recommend others such as Mageia, Kubuntu or Ubuntu for example. Unfortunately for those lost in the world of Microsoft or Apple, there are huge hurdles of IT/computer illiteracy and system lock-in to overcome. There is also a lot of Marketing psychology to overcome for products that are quirky and unpredictable and yet they are marketed as though they are so easy and 'intuitive' to use that they are "child's play" to use and no training needed. The "no training needed" innuendo appeals to businesses for the assumption that there are no training costs. The "no training needed" also keeps certain users in a state of petrified fear in that if the damnable thing they are suffering is so cantankerous and scary, what must anything else be like but worse still! There is an old joke about how Microsoft has so lowered user expectations... We already have most people using Linux so easily they do not even realize they are using Linux in their everyday technology. From that there is only a very small step to undo all the adverse Marketing... After all, there are some very big businesses developing and selling Linux systems... HP invests $1 billion in open-source cloud computing Note that is not that long after IBM made a similar announcement of investing a further $1 billion in open-source development. IT is very much what we can make it if we take an interest... Martin |
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8)
Message boards :
Science (non-SETI) :
CERN
(Message 1549603)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
I sincerely hope that it will do William. There are times that I see little benefit in our present lives. But if we are actually paving the way for a better future for mankind, then that has to be the way forward, Shame you and I won't see it. You never know... You just might... Keep searchin', Martin |
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9)
Message boards :
Science (non-SETI) :
Dark matter/Dark Energy
(Message 1549593)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
... These pseudo tech mags like the Huff and the Register earn their living by sensationalising every story like the downmarket tabloid press. Beats me why people read them. For The Register, if you do know a little about the subject, their irreverence can be hilariously good fun. Often, the comments are better than the articles! The only negative is that I read the articles from the editor(?) Lewis Page[*] on my own assumption that he has been blatantly paid off by the Fossil Fuel's industry. All cleverly done in that he puts forward their FUD but in such an outlandish guffaw that no sane reader with more than one neuron could possibly believe it. If you are interested by one of the articles, you then go off to the deadpan source material to get the real detail. Also: Beer can help ;-) Keep searchin', Martin [*] He gained some redemption in my contempt for the one example for the way he was able to so authoritatively leave John Humphreys(?) stammering on air on BBC Radio 4 with no option but to try to defend the government over the farce of our UK aircraft carriers! Speechless and priceless!! (BBC Radio4 Today program 10/05/2012) |
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10)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1549576)
Posted 3 days ago by ML1
the software that is prepared for them is held in personally digitally signed repositories. And people personally care about that So... The usual bored-old-codger guffawing and trolling?... Care enough yourself to look? https://packages.gentoo.org/ Note on there how for every lump of software (a software 'package'), there is a human name. Those human names will also be verified by a chain of trust which digitally signs those software packages. As far as I know, that system has never been broken. And it goes far far further: What is Gentoo? ... Gentoo is more than just the software it provides. It is a community built around a distribution which is driven by more than 300 developers and thousands of users... The Philosophy of Gentoo Every user has work they need to do. The goal of Gentoo is to design tools and systems that allow a user to do that work as pleasantly and efficiently as possible, as they see fit. Our tools should be a joy to use, and should help the user to appreciate the richness of the Linux and free software community, and the flexibility of free software. This is only possible when the tool is designed to reflect and transmit the will of the user, and leave the possibilities open as to the final form of the raw materials (the source code.) If the tool forces the user to do things a particular way, then the tool is working against, rather than for, the user. We have all experienced situations where tools seem to be imposing their respective wills on us. This is backwards, and contrary to the Gentoo philosophy. Put another way, the Gentoo philosophy is to create better tools. When a tool is doing its job perfectly, you might not even be very aware of its presence, because it does not interfere and make its presence known, nor does it force you to interact with it when you don't want it to. The tool serves the user rather than the user serving the tool... Gentoo Social Contract ... Gentoo in itself is a collection of free knowledge. Knowledge in this context can be defined as documentation and metadata concerned with concepts or domains relevant to operating systems and their components, as well as free software contributed by various developers to the Gentoo Project... ... Gentoo is and will remain Free Software... There are real people behind all that. There is also a lot of deep personal pride for something that works very well. That has a lot of implication for robustness, security, honesty, and quickly getting things fixed. The world of "proprietary" cannot begin to compete with that on equal terms. And what does all that look like? For Gentoo at least: Gentoo Linux Screenshots Gentoo Linux Screenshots 2011 Don't be put off by the weird far-out looks. There are still icons and task bars and bits to click with your mouse on those screens, just like for any "Graphical User Interface" as explored by Xerox in the 1970's and 'copied' by everyone ever since. If you really want for some reason, you can even make the desktop look like Apple or Microsoft! (Try Zorin Linux for example. You can even have some Marketing thrown in if you really really want!) In the Linux world, IT very much can be what you want it to be, for the users. IT is as ever what we allow it to be... Martin |
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11)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1548677)
Posted 5 days ago by ML1
I had 1, and only 1 Linux in my life. I got so angry at it, I smashed it real hard, broke the harddrive I think... No Linux ever again for me... Good you had a brief look. Two things to note are that: Anything run on old hardware is still going to be limited by that old hardware. Linux is more forgiving of old hardware than certain other operating systems, but even Linux cannot always raise old hardware from the dead. And note that Linux is NOT Microsoft Windows. Indeed it is deliberately not Unix! Hence the GNU/Linux bit... What you do get is a robust and flexible operating system that offers a choice in how you use it. Typically, that means you get a desktop and a cursor that allows you to click things with a mouse just like you would expect. The main difference is a lack of Marketing and Marketing coercion, and some of the application names are a little different. Otherwise, you should be able to enjoy computing cleanly and efficiently without the annoying Marketing pop-ups. Unfortunately, you still get the Marketing mess when surfing the internet. Then again, there are now an army of add-ons to clean up the mess from your web browser screen... Give Linux a look-see on YouTube for what others have done? Find a friendly Linux user to get you going? Or if you feel that you have no need to change and that Microsoft Outlook is the only world you want to see, then that is fine also. I have some users like that and they seem to live in an angry fear and dread of computers! (But that is one for a Microsoft thread.) IT is what we make it for ourselves... Martin |
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12)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1548675)
Posted 5 days ago by ML1
... I posted here years ago that this fragmentation was one of the major factors holding Linux back. Doesn't seem to be. Indeed, the wealth of choice and customization is still fueling great expansion and development all round! A Linux program should run on "Linux". The user should not have to wait until the developers of "X Flavour" Linux get around to updating their repository so a version of Program Y, that has been customised for that distro, can be run. Usually there's no wait unless you are going for something really obscure. And if you are going really obscure, then you'll already be interested enough in making contact with the distro people to either have it added or to lead you through how to add it for yourself. But in any case: ANYTHING compiled that includes static libs for your type of computer will run fine. Note that is how Boinc programs run! Some distros are notoriously slow updating their repositories. Which is why you have a choice of distros... You have a choice of whether you stay ultra-reliable current or alternatively for how far ahead of the rest of the world you wish to explore. IT is very much what we make it! Martin |
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13)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1548670)
Posted 5 days ago by ML1
Software center?! So you like corporate tracking and data mining. I thought you said this was FLOSS. Perhaps you need to get real? Very good trolling there... One of the reasons that GNU/Linux systems suffer so little (if any?) malware is that for each "Linux distribution" (which is why they are called "distros"), the software that is prepared for them is held in personally digitally signed repositories. And people personally care about that, so you tend not to get any 'malware silliness'. Those repositories can be accessed directly. Or you can use a nice friendly graphical tool with nice friendly names that is in a more familiar language for those that have gained their education from Marketing material or from just using other systems. You have a choice. You even have the freedom to design and shape your own installer tool. And that is all in the open so that you can look and see for yourself what happens and how. As for how your internet service provider monitors you and for how various websites and web advertisement panels track your every mouse click... That is for another thread. IT is what we allow it to be, Martin |
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14)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1546616)
Posted 8 days ago by ML1
SNORT. They can't even agree on an executable format. Every program has to be re-compiled for every version and flavor. No "make" no "config" no "yum" and no command line. Chaos reigns... snort... There's a FLOSS program called that... ;-) Sounds just like your usual trolling. Compare and contrast with this pretty demo here for installing software on a Linux system: Ubuntu Software - How to Get It Chaos? Really? All looks easy enough. The only chaos is perhaps the pretty picture being used as the desktop background in the YouTube vid. Oh, and just because Martin will scream, I'm typing this on a UNIX(r) system. That 100% compliance with the standards does make a difference. No scream... (There's another FLOSS program called that! :-) ) Just smirking at your feeble trolling. And yes, standards are good just as cooperation is good and greatly profitable for the community and the world. Shame that is often not done in the proprietary world... IT is what we make it... Martin |
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15)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1546569)
Posted 9 days ago by ML1
Meanwhile, Linux is here and welcoming to all those willing to try an uncluttered non-Marketing-advertising-infested experience of computer freedom. The "Linux developers" would be very happy for that to happen, but they are not going to do that for you and they are not going to do that for Microsoft. There is also a very big "no-no" in that my understanding is the Microsoft licensing is incredibly draconian and restrictive so as to stop that from happening. You do have the WINE environment on Linux that directly supports a good range of 'well behaved' Windows programs/applications. Note that usually you will need to have bought the necessary Windows software licensing from Microsoft still and be mindful of any restrictions. And you can always run Windows on a Linux Virtual Machine as is done in many datacenters! (Note that Microsoft has contributed a lot of code into the Linux kernel for running virtual machines for Windows...) Just to clarify, I use Linux EVERY day to surf the web and send emails on a PC I just haven't got round to re-installing windows on(just for fun) because its free, works fine for that,ask it to run any of my games or paid for software and it fails big time. For paid-for games, take a look at Steam and also the various Indie Bundles? And you can buy software for Linux if you wish, including support. There are even some multibillion dollar companies that are primarily Linux only. IT is what we make it... Martin [edit] OK, here goes with a first page selection from Google (just another of those small companies that built itself up on Linux)... Why Linux is Better - Nicely graphical for at-a-glance comment. Could also be made into a card game! Why Arguing That Windows is Better Than Linux Makes You Look Silly Why Linux trumps Windows every time [/edit] |
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16)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1546560)
Posted 9 days ago by ML1
And here's a giant leap for freedom and freedom of information: UK government officially adopts Open Document Format Microsoft insurgency fails... The United Kingdom government has formally adopted the open document format (ODF) as the standard format for government documents... There's some pointed language in the announcement, which includes a canned quote ... to the effect that “Using an open standard will mean people won’t have costs imposed on them just to view or work with information from government.” That language can easily be interpreted as a not-so-veiled swipe at Microsoft, which tried to mobilise its UK partners to oppose the ODF push on the grounds that open source tools can already handle Redmond's preferred OpenXML format. ... a decision to go with ODF means citizens can get their hands on free software designed to work with ODF, rather than having to purchase commercial products. Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude's canned quote says “We have listened to those who told us that open standards will reduce their costs and make it easier to work with government”. The new standards came into effect immediately... Aside: Note that "OpenXML" is so convoluted and turgid that even Redmond does not fully support it! To my mind, with the difficulty in implementing "OpenXML", the 'Open' description is very dubious also... (Also, "OpenXML" was previously known as "ooxml"... Another Marketing shift for the name change?...) In comparison, I see the "ODF" format as a far more focused and truly open and dedicated document format. IT is very much what we allow it to be... Martin |
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17)
Message boards :
Politics :
Linux hits the world (cont #2)
(Message 1546556)
Posted 9 days ago by ML1
... And that is my point. When by some miracle Linux gets 80% of the market I would hazard a guess that they to will be hacked into left and right. Linux systems have a scary majority of the market in the important areas of IT and the internet including near 100% for the world's top supercomputers and again close to 100% for the other extreme at the bottom end for network devices such as routers and wireless access points. All on fundamentally the same Linux kernel. All beautifully clean to maintain and develop. There is very strong Marketing and over a decade of perceptions to overcome for the one last bastion of Microsoft on the desktop, and the big push to "mobile computing" and "cloud computing" may well make that area irrelevant... Meanwhile, Linux is here and welcoming to all those willing to try an uncluttered non-Marketing-advertising-infested experience of computer freedom. (I've recently been having to do some development work involving Windows 8 and I'm amazed people put up with the intrusive Marketing and advertising and overt branding 'notifications' on there - incredible normal people get any useful work done!) IT is what we make it, Martin |
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18)
Message boards :
Politics :
The Israel and Palestine conflict
(Message 1546469)
Posted 9 days ago by ML1
... just about every country around this area but does not meantion the Saudis and yet that is where Mecca is .Boy they have done a great job on all of us and how quick we forget All a Game of Tribes? ...And of Shifting Sands? (To misname a popular and ruthless TV series...) All in our own little world, Martin |
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19)
Message boards :
Politics :
Climate Change, 'Greenhouse' effects: DENIAL (#3)
(Message 1546431)
Posted 9 days ago by ML1
And now for an unfortunately typical example of journalistic ignorance and sensationalist negativity. Or might this even be an example of sponsored rank stinking FUD and propaganda? Seals turning offshore wind farms into killing fields for prey ... And one such reason that seems to be adversely affecting marine life in particular is wind turbine. A latest report seems to have come out with damning report about the impact of wind turbine on the marine life in many parts of the world. A latest research has come out with finding that offshore wind turbines are new hunting grounds for seals... So... Seals have 'strangely' found abundant fish around offshore wind turbines... Could that not be a good example of how the turbines are acting to stand guard to create a marine reserve from marauding trawlers destroying the marine environment? Might it not be the the wind turbines are providing a whole new habitat?... From that, ALL the marine life benefit, including the seals. And especially the world for less pollution and more life. All on our only one planet, Martin |
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20)
Message boards :
Politics :
Climate Change, 'Greenhouse' effects: DENIAL (#3)
(Message 1546360)
Posted 9 days ago by ML1
A lot of hot air into yet more denial? And the climate games are already divorced from a sensible reality: Dispute over 'bonkers' EU energy savings plan EU commissioners are meeting today to agree an energy savings target... Several countries, anxious over the security of their Russian gas supplies, are pushing for a tough, binding goal. But EU officials are reluctant to agree... ... The review also pointed out that the costs of going for these targets would be dramatically offset by gains in employment from all the insulation jobs that would be created plus the reduction in fuel consumed... ... Energy suppliers are reluctant to push for a policy that would cut demand for their product... All a continued stupid game of politics and brinksmanship by those unaware of the real world about them... Or can the real world shout loud enough? All on our only one planet, Martin |
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