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If there's no spinning platter then they have to be using a laser to read data. As to whether or not this will be viable, and when, who knows? 5 years is an eternity in the computer business. Who knows what speeds SSDs will be capable of by then, especially if they're interfaced directly to...

It would probably be easier to do with compressors, at least in terms of reaching temperatures like that, but it would also be much harder to control the temperature precisely. IIRC R12 and R134a should be good for around -50°F or so if you can get your low-side pressure low enough. R134a...

Electronics going into taxis. I needed to reach temps they might encounter in Alaska. Actually, -40°F probably would have been enough, but I figured why not overdesign the chamber for a little more fun? Yes, those kind of temps are a whole other degree of cold. Putting my hand in for a short...

And I've actually come pretty close to -60°F in my test chamber (chamber temp is large number on top left, lower number is set temperature): For anyone who complains about the cold, be glad you don't live here.

Trust me, you get used to the cold pretty fast. Funny how the first day when it's 50°F in the fall I'll be freezing but by January I can stay out all day in 10°F. One thing I can't get used to is heat. By the end of the summer I'm so worn out from the heat I think I'd die if cooler weather...

Congratulations! I've long thought that hooking up with the right person was really the only thing that mattered, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Once you find that special someone, you'll have the motivation to make everything else in your life work out. It's also reassuring...

It looks like SSDs will beat the density of magnetic disks in 2009 Price to be announced....

We did something similar here on a few of the worst streets. Instead of a chalk outline, they put up a sign saying a pedestrian was killed here. The thing that annoys me most are the politicians who'll harp on the number of pedestrian deaths without distinguishing between those who were killed...

Not really but I can't afford a new mattress right now. At least I made it tolerable by putting one of those foam pads on it. Down the road I plan to buy something like a Tempurpedic, hopefully when the price comes down to earth.

I'm sleeping on a mattress older than you! ;) Seriously. It was purchased when we first moved here in June 1978.

It's just a spec for now. I think 5 years is actually optimistic for a 2TB SD card but they'll be cool whenever they come out. Heck, if you can get 2TB in an SD card, then that means you'll probably get 50TB in a 2.5" drive. Can't wait, but I'm sure I'll be well into my 50s when it happens.

I caught the repeat on my local PBS station about 2 weeks ago while I had the flu. It was broadcast in HD no less. Very interesting stuff to say the least. And I think sometime in our lifetimes we may well be able to recover memories and do other fun things. Of course, there are ways it can...

The memory cells have an extremely small capacitance relative to the circuitry used to change their state. Therefore, when erasing they'll end up pretty close to whatever state represents a zero. For example, let's say for a single level cell 0 to 1V is considered zero while 2 to 3V is...

No. The cells in an SSD can be in one of two states (or four in the case of MLC). Once you overwrite the entire drive with zeroes, all the cells are all flipped to the "zero" state with no residual memory of the previous state. The best analogy I can think of is discharging a capacitor to...

It sounds more like Merc's problem is similar to mine-he doesn't even get to the point where he's able to talk himself down. Once I got out of high school, I pretty much stopped meeting members of the opposite sex I found even remotely interesting. College forget it. Work even more so. The...

Looks like the prices are back to normal-$129.99 for the 7200 RPM Samsung, $169.99 for the Seagate. The 5400 RPM Samsung has been deactivated. No, I didn't buy it. I figure by the time I really need the space I'll either be able to get a larger drive for the same price, or the same size for...

Title says it all. Less than $0.10 per GB. Both models are on sale: 5400 RPM 7200 RPM Why get the 5400 RPM over the 7200 RPM if the price is the same? Reading the reviews, it runs cooler, uses less power, makes less noise, and should have higher reliability. It isn't as slow as the speed...

Vote libertarian. Libertarians basically won't interfere in either social or financial issues. My favorite part of their platform is getting rid of the income tax. I sincerely hope the GOP adopts that as part of their platform. I think if they had it would have put them over the top this...

I hate to say this but in a way I think this is the best possibly outcome. The last bit of ammunition about blacks still suffering the effects of slavery is gone forever with the election of our first black President. Granted, he's only half black but in the minds of most that's good enough. I...

The figures per mile are closer to $30 million than $1 billion. See here. Admittedly, they're much higher when building in dense urban areas, but that's only a small portion of the run. I'd say offhand the US needs about 50,000 miles of HSR to provide a comprehensive national network. That...

We're never going to raise GDP if we continue with this idiotic service-based economy and consumerism. We need to get real manufacturing back in this country and also have an economy based on capitalism again, not consumerism. There is a difference between the two. Capitalism is getting a...

http://www.palinaspresident.us/ Be sure to click on the items multiple times!

This is because as a general rule the people in the other countries don't lead the kinds of unhealthy lifestyles Americans do. If you have a population where 50% are chronically ill with the effects of obesity/lack of exercise/poor diet it's going to cost more no matter what your system. Also...

I pretty much agree with most of what you wrote, especially the parts about indexing monetary-based laws for inflation and ending the passage of new laws (perhaps require taking two laws off the books for every new one passed ;) ) Your take on Medicare/Medicaid was interesting: I submit that...

Googling the numbers here's what I came up with (year 2007): Social Security: $581 billion Medicare/Medicaid: $561 billion Defense: $549 billion Other discretionary: $493 billion Other mandatory: $309 billion Interest on the debt: $237 billion TOTAL: $2730 billion What can be cut? Get rid of...

Who said anything about gold? I know gold is too high right now. So is silver. Platinum is ridiculous. Palladium right now is only about $180 an ounce. It's been over $1000 an ounce back in 2000 when gold was $300. Maybe that's something to get into. As for gold, I suspect it will fall...

Why not cut expenditures instead? I fully agree the national debt should be reduced. In fact, it should be brought down to zero (that's never happened according to that chart), and then the US should constitutionally never, ever be allowed to spend more than it takes in again. But the best...

The other banks aren't giving enough of a difference to make the switch worthwhile. As far as insuring deposits, if enough banks fail the FDIC won't be able to cover it. And 75% of those banks don't even have branches local to be anyway. Besides all that, I feel sooner or later there's going...

I'll also add to my previous post that there definitely are certain things probably better left in the hands of government. Obviously national defense and the justice system come to mind. It could also be argued that government should take a larger role in transportation, power generation, and...

The biggest problem with GWB and the Republicans is the almost mindless faith they have in free markets to do everything better. As we've seen, without regulation free markets devolve to the least common denominator, and concentrate wealth in the hands of fewer and fewer people. The mess we're...

Here's the problems with reverting to the old rates: 1) Lots of people will end up getting hit with the AMT, a tax which was originally only meant for the rich but thanks to inflation can now affect the middle class. 2) The inheritance tax exemption will revert back to its original $600,000...

Actually, if Obama does what he says, namely let the Bush tax cuts expire, then he'll raise taxes on just about everyone. Of course, that doesn't count as a tax increase in his book even though the end result is the same. While they're at it, why not just bring taxes back to what they were...

Earlier this year the Burg Dubai surpassed all previous height records, including those for radio transmission masts. As of October 8, it stands at 720.1 meters (2362.5 feet) and still rising. Actual final height is still a secret, but 818 meters (2683.7 feet), or over half a mile, looks...

Interesting article: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/outside-view-the-end-of-capitalism-as-we-know-it-799494.html

I'm pretty much in the same situation as Merc right now. The only money I have in the stock market are IRAs which I probably won't be touching for 25-30 years. There's a reason for keeping money in a relatively low interest account-safety. I'm not sure I'd touch any of those banks on the list...

CityK, Reading through your post one thing horribly bad occurred to me-I didn't understand half of it because I'm totally unfamiliar with how all that works. In fact, I'd say that's the root of the problem here. Institutions are commoditizing and repackaging financial instruments like...

Fed orders emergency rate cut to 1.5 percent Well, I'm glad they've finally stopped mincing words. 6 months ago I felt we were on the verge of something like 1929. At least now that we've admitted it to ourselves maybe we can start doing something constructive such as reviving the WPA...

CDSs from what I understand are fine, if say one bank makes a loan to IBM and another issues a CDS against it. IBM is a known entity with known risk. The bank issuing the loan is simply insuring against the highly unlikely event of IBM defaulting on the loan. The problem was issuing CDSs...

Maybe but I think making the credit default swaps worthless is a good idea. These people gambled on a system they gamed, and well, sometimes you lose when you gamble. And I'm seriously considering withdrawing every dime from my accounts and buying something tangible like gold. The money will...

Another article on credit default swaps I tend to agree with the author's solution to the problem:

I've been saying this for a long time but people just don't believe it. One way to see how low prices will probably go before stabilizing is to correct housing prices from maybe 30 years ago for inflation. That's historically where they should be. In most markets, especially big city markets...

Unless you're one of the early adopters who absolutely always must have the latest and greatest (and is willing to lose tons of money beta testing new technology), the best thing to do is play the waiting game. The situation today with SSDs is what existed with power LEDs 3 years ago. Luxeon...

The problem is any business which depends largely upon loans is based on a poor business model. In your example the answer is simple-buy new cars to sell only when you have accumulated enough sales profits to do so. And don't start the business at all if you can't afford to buy the initial...

It is flash memory-see this article.

I haven't been following that case but weren't the charges stuff like breaking and entering? How could you get life for that?

Another thing which needs to be addressed is why so much of the economy is so dependent upon credit. I know people who bought houses 20 or more years ago. They should own those houses free and clear by now. Instead many took out every dime in equity to finance a lifestyle well beyond what...

The Long Road to Slack Lending Standards

Anyone remember this thread on SR? :mrgrn:

Thanks to members of both sides of the aisle acting like infants, the bailout bill failed to pass. San Fran Nan of course had to give her partisan "blame" speech, and in turn the House Republicans acted like a bunch of insulted children and helped vote the bill down (along with 40% of...

I guess I'm the apathetic middle then. Honestly, I think whoever gets elected will be a disaster for the US. McCain will try to gut things like public transportation exactly at a time when we need them to get us off oil. He might involve us in yet another war the US can't afford, this time...