We have seen the future & it is delightfully dull

Palo Alto to Las Vegas in a self driving Audi A7.



http://www.wired.com/2015/01/rode-500-miles-self-driving-car-saw-future-boring/

http://jalopnik.com/autonomous-audi-a7-drives-from-sf-to-vegas-probably-no-1677737814

http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1029470_autonomous-audi-a7-concept-steers-itself-from-san-francisco-to-las-vegas-for-ces / Los Angeles driving down I-5 at the wheel sleek Audi A7 SUV waved with both hands safety hazard I hadn’t touched the steering wheel in more than an hour stickers on the car I was piloting Audi’s latest autonomous vehicle prototype designed handle the monotony of highway driving driving preparation day of training in Arizona ream of paperwork bureaucratic wrangling state of California issuing me a license to operate an autonomous vehicle riding along car of tomorrow autonomous road trip from Palo Alto California to Las Vegas Nevada Audi is showing off autonomous tech showrooms end of the decade Audi piloted driving German sedan cruising six radars three cameras two light detection and ranging LIDAR units computers analyze the road choose the optimal path maintaining a safe following distance smooth lane changes pass slower vehicles controlled by carbon-based life forms sophisticated grab the wheel tap the brake to immediately resume control Audi’s robo-car robot driver designed specifically for highway driving developing autonomous tech works only on the highway autonomous vehicles prototype doesn’t even have a steering wheel Google glorified version of adaptive cruise control lane departure warning autonomous A7 prototype technology production cars every major automaker experimenting with autonomous driving tech technology regulatory issues insurance questions consumer acceptance cars that drive themselves in all places at all times progressive slower timeline gives everyone time to accept the technology 2009 autonomous TTS 130 mph Bonneville salt flats winding course to the summit of Pikes Peak car controlled TTS lapped Thunderhill Raceway Park in 2012 autonomous RS7 150 mph Hockenheimring F1 track October controlled environment CES park itself drive itself through stop-and-go traffic Parking Pilot Traffic Jam Pilot Highway Pilot robot /

Formula E, round 5, today, 14 March 2015 — video — update

Credit: HybridCars

Miami, USA
Round 5 - Saturday 14 March 2015
Practice 1 - 08:15-09:00
Practice 2 - 10:30-11:00
Qualifying - 12:00-12:55
Race - 16:00
All times are Miami local time

Update

Qualifying


Race
http://www.fiaformulae.com/ / Formula E all electric racing series fourth 4th race Buenos Aires, Argentina ePrix stadium races F1 FIA electricity sport electric vehicles EV terrific acceleration pass passing possible tracks with tight corners technology range race organizers identical cars Spark-Renault SRT_01E built French company Spark Racing Technology carbon fiber aluminum chassis Dallara electric powertrain electronics McLaren Electronics Systems Williams Advanced Engineering building 200 kiloWatt battery pack batteries powertrain generate 270 horsepower five-speed paddle shift gearbox fixed gear ratios Michelin 18 inch tires wet dry conditions sound 80 decibel whine full grid 20 cars FIA Formula E strategy street courses dedicated circuits tire wear grip management battery life charge prematurely testing drivers learn knowledge teams construction constructors constructing FanBoost pit stop second fully charged car advances in battery technology battery swaps charging battery Renault Michelin DHL Qualcomm Richard Branson Virgin Racing team Leonardo DiCaprio Venturi team lithium ion LiIon battery charge recharge range battery management system BMS battery management system /

How to maximise your free storage space on every cloud service

Lots of free storage in the cloud from Dropbox, Google, Box & others. Once you have an account, there a few things you can do to increase storage, depending on the provider.

Another option for more storage, is to just sign up with another service. There are quite a few listed in the linked articles, & below.

https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2015/03/how-to-maximise-your-free-storage-space-on-every-cloud-service/

Something to consider before taking up time-limited storage, such as the Dropbox offer of 48GB of space for two years with a new Samsung or HTC phone. What will you do at the end of the two years? Start paying? Abandon your files?

If you want more security, a less-well-known service, called SpiderOak, may be for you:

https://www.cloudwards.net/spideroak-vs-dropbox-is-it-time-to-switch-for-better-security/

https://spideroak.com/ / Between Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive services cloud storage best ways to get extra free space service cloud storage provider promos extra storage space promotions new customers freebies providers bonus storage extra space invite a friend up to 16 GB extra storage adds 500 MB of space your account complete get started guide 250 MB bit of extra space install Carousel 3GB bonus for enabling auto upload your photos promo installing the Carousel app Android iOS install Mailbox 1GB similar promotion Mailbox app logging in once space permanently Apple store deauthenticate device link your Facebook Twitter accounts 125MB each social networks extra space little extra space connecting your accounts invite other users social sites device bonuses promotional offers 48GB of space for two years log in new Samsung HTC phone get more space page link check your personal account settings Google Drive your data syncing folders your desktop default 15GB upload data doesn’t count against your storage limit use play music store audio Play Music Google’s storage locker for your music bumped storage limit up to 50,000 tracks convert your documents Google Drive format Drive store your documents converting automatically convert documents upload Google Docs uploading crop photos below 2048×2048 upload an unlimited number of photos rule video below 15 minutes check your storage settings taking up space delete or convert some of your files purchase certain devices complete tasks Security Checkup promo Box 10GB of free storage basic plan pad that out OneDrive Microsoft’s OneDrive bonuses earn Camera Roll bonus link Office 365 subscription 1TB work school personal use refer a friend activated OneDrive backup photos with Camera Roll 3GB OneDrive app Android iOS Windows Phone automatically backup your pictures service enable disable integrated directly most-used desktop operating system sync unlimited space BitTorrent Sync service just launched 2.0 software folder workaround space on a server Amazon Cloud Storage Prime unlimited photo backup MEGA MegaUpload security end-to-end encryption Wuala breaks files into segments stores different servers combined over 100GB storage /

Vale Terry Pratchet ― update

Credit: The Telegraph

AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUST WALK TOGETHER.

— Terry Pratchett (@terryandrob) March 12, 2015

“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”

“The Universe contains everything ... & nothing ... but there is very little everything & more nothing than you can possibly imagine.” ― Truckers

“If cats looked like frogs we'd realize what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That's what people remember.” ― Lords & Ladies

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― A Hat Full of Sky

“In the beginning there was nothing, which exploded.” ― Lords & Ladies

“If you have enough book space, I don't want to talk to you.”

“I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it.”

“There is a rumour going around that I have found God. I think this is unlikely because I have enough difficulty finding my keys, and there is empirical evidence that they exist.”

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31858156

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/11467770/Terry-Pratchett-dies-reaction-and-tributes-live.html / Sir Terry Pratchett fantasy author creator Discworld series dead death died aged 66 eight years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease Larry Finlay publishers Transworld author home surrounded by his family cat sleeping on his bed wrote more than 70 books completed his final book last summer enriched the planet Discworld satirised the world great skill enormous humour constant invention Terry faced Alzheimer's disease embuggerance bravely his legacy will endure for decades to come wife Lyn daughter Rhianna announcement of his death Sir Terry's Twitter account Thursday afternoon last few tweets were sent with shaking hands and tear-filled eyes campaigning for assisted suicide diagnosis Sir Terry's publishers did not take his own life his death was entirely natural and unassisted go at a time of his own choosing fellow author and friend Neil Gaiman paying tribute to Sir Terry on his website nobody like him actor Sir Tony Robinson friend urban cowboy clothes very shy Death The Discworld series started in 1983 flat world four elephants giant turtle publishing more than three books a year suffered a stroke very rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's disease phantom stroke knighted in 2009 AT LAST, SIR TERRY WE MUST WALK TOGETHER /

If global warming is real, why is this (northern) winter so cold?

Credit: How Stuff Works

Weather happens over hours, days & weeks. Climate happens over years & decades. The atmosphere is a heat engine, which moves heat around the Globe. Oceans too, redistribute heat around the Earth. While some parts of the Earth are becoming hotter, others are becoming colder.

In parts of the northern hemisphere, cold weather is being experienced. Unusually hot weather is being experienced in parts of the southern hemisphere.

“Global warming” & “climate change” are terms used to summarise the ideas in the paragraphs above.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/03/economist-explains-2

http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/science/cold-snow-climate-change.html#.VQA8PlVW-iw

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/global-warming-will-make-our-winters-colder-9819825.html / James Inhofe senator Oklahoma threw snowball America upper chamber man-made climate change threat President Barack Obama chairman Senate’s environment committee United States of America USA four unusually freezing winters succession cold Earth climate global warming climate denier deny contrarian skeptic sceptic climate weather weather patterns develop change over hours days weeks climate changes over years decades American landmass surface of the globe temperatures well below average world abnormally warm connection between climate change colder winters parts of the northern hemisphere link Arctic region poles colder equator air streams north south equalise temperatures northern hemisphere flow jet stream rotation of the Earth stream turns right as the planet spins flows wavy line around the pole northern hemisphere jet stream warmer air from the south more temperate weather northern regions flows Arctic warming faster Earth temperatures at the north pole risen temperate latitudes difference between the poles equator moderating effect northern weather Jennifer Francis Rutgers University northern hemisphere westerly wind speeds weaken weak weakened flow faltered undulations of the jet stream gentle waves bigger loops low-pressure areas cold air build up polar vortices freezing weather patterns America northern Siberia Arctic warms cools Dr Francis’s Nature Geoscience retreat of the Arctic sea ice doubled probability severe winters Europe Asia researchers Elizabeth Barnes Colorado State University statistical links changes Arctic jet stream scientific controversy climate change global warming skeptic sceptic /

New MacBook 12”

Apple’s new MacBook (no Air, no Pro, just MacBook) has more lighter, more thinner, more smaller, plus a retina display.

● 13.1 mm (0.52”) thick
● 920 grams (1 pound)

Other features:
● edge-to-edge keyboard
● 12 inch retina screen (2304 x 1440)
● no fan
● touchpad no longer clicks — tactile feedback is generated by vibration motors & managed via a system of force sensors & software
● includes what Apple calls "Force Click" which allows the touchpad to respond to a range of pressures to, for instance, vary the speed of video

Inside
● new "butterfly mechanism" keys
● “terraced” battery allows shaping to more closely fit around the other components, saving space
● consumes 30 percent less power than previous displays
● which has facilitated the elimination of fans & longer battery life

Many things have been reduced, including weight & size. Another is the number of ports: the new MacBook has just 2:
● USB C (the new, reversible standard)
● 3.5 mm audio

Apart from audio, USB C provides all i/o, including video if an external display is used, plus charging (USB C provides 100 Watts of power, up from 10 Watts available previously).

While the new MacBook is lighter & smaller, the list of things you will need to carry won't be:
● SD card reader — no SD card reader in the new MacBook
● USB C to USB 2/3 adapter
● USB C multiport adapter, when they become available

Need to carry a proprietary charger will be reduced, but not until USB C power supplies become more widely available.

Apple will sell you the adapters — not only is the laptop lighter, but your wallet too:
http://techcrunch.com/2015/03/09/apple-releases-the-adapters-youll-need-for-the-new-macbook/





http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/9/8175329/new-macbook-specs-features-release-date-price

http://www.macworld.com.au/news/apples-radical-12-inch-macbook-is-the-slimmest-lightest-macbook-ever-136184/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Event+-+103&utm_content=Event+-+103+CID_863e73f9468cc83ead0f46167763445c&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=Read%20on#.VP6EXWSUcrO / update MacBook 2 pounds 12 inches MacBook Air models 24 percent thinner 11 inch MacBook Air measuring 13.1mm thickness all-new keyboard full width new MacBook butterfly mechanism better much more precise typing experience individual LED lighting for each key device that little bit thinner 12-inch screen Retina display family 2304 x 1440 resolution consumes 30 percent less power touchpad four force sensors one in each corner click feel managed by software pressure sensitivity pressing harder fast-forward QuickTime make a video play faster Force Click new USB Type-C connector upgraded reversible USB internal redesign logic board 67 percent smaller previous generations most dense densest no fan required computer Intel Core M Broadwell CPU battery life nine hours web browsing 10 hours movie playback new MacBook silver space gray stunning gold shipping begins April 10th most energy-efficient notebook laptop EPA US Environmental Protection Agency MacBook no extra name /

Solar powered round-the-world flight — update

At 07:12 Abu Dhabi time (03:12 GMT) Andre Borschberg took off on the first leg of a round-the-world flight in a solar powered plane, Solar Impulse 2. First stop Muscat, Oman, 12 hours away. The aircraft is single seat — Borschberg will be alternating pilot duties with fellow Swiss, Bertrand Piccard.



Part of the journey will be at night. Crossing the Pacific, between Nanjing (China) & Hawaii, is projected to take 120 hours (5 days) non-stop. With only one source of energy, the Sun, it is essential to store electricity in the 633 kg of lithium ion battery during the day, to power the plane at night.

Inherent in an aircraft, is another energy storage system: altitude. In addition to charging the battery, the plane will climb during daylight to around 3,000 metres (10,000 feet). At night, energy stored in the battery can be supplemented by allowing the aircraft to glide to a lower altitude. This works well in the Solar Impulse 2: it has been designed on sailplane principles & so has a glide ratio over 40 (how many metres it moves forward for each metre of altitude it loses)¹. At that glide ratio, 3,000 metres of altitude can be turned into 3,000 * 40 = 120,000 metres = 120 km (74.5 miles) of forward progress.

By contrast, a Boeing 747, with a glide ratio around 12 moves forward 3,000 * 12 = 36,000 metres = 36 km for a loss of 3,000 metres².

Update: 06 April, @solarimpulse tweeted: "#Si2's pilot climbs up to the height of Mt. Everest, 8,500 m (28,000 ft), in an unpressurized cabin!" At a glide ratio of 40, 8,500 metres = 8,500 * 40 = 340,000 metres = 340 km = 211 miles.

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/mar/08/swiss-pilots-attempt-worlds-first-around-world-solar-flight

http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-31772140
_______________

¹ "Gliding flight" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gliding_flight#Examples

² "747 Family Technical Characteristics" http://www.boeing.com/boeing/commercial/747family/pf/pf_400_prod.page / Swiss pilot pilots first ever attempt fly around the world propelled the Sun André Borschberg compatriot Bertrand Piccard take turns piloting single seater seat Solar Impulse 2 21,747 miles 35,000 km kilometre 12 legs including gruelling five- to six-day stints across the Atlantic Pacific oceans entire journey will take five months Borschberg took the controls takeoff take off take-off Al-Bateen executive airport Abu Dhabi early on Monday first destination Muscat in Oman pilots roughly 250 hours each inside narrow cockpit no oxygen temperature control temperatures outside range between -40 degrees C to 40°C falling asleep flight need constant attention Piccard Borschberg survive 20-minute naps every two to four hours pilots will practise yoga stave off the physical discomfort remaining confined seat for days at a time Borschberg biggest challenge maintaining concentration Piccard psychiatrist team 1999 first circumnavigated globe non-stop balloon taught techniques of self-hypnosis meditation maintain concentration time duration in the present moment the only way is to be present almost a spiritual experience entire journey circumnavigating Earth in a family car aircraft weighs the same as a Volvo sedan comparable speeds SI2 top speed 87m/h 140km/h pilots conserve battery power limiting plane half cockpit only slightly larger average car contain life support systems food oxygen supplies reclining pilot’s seat triples bed chair toilet fly both day and night no fuel powered by 17,000 solar panels set on its wings wider Boeing 747’s fuselage 633kg bank of lithium batteries quarter weight store energy run motors overnight journey early days intercontinental flight enormous speed range jet engines Qantas fly Kangaroo Route Sydney to London hopping Darwin Singapore Kolkata Karachi Cairo Tripoli en route Borschberg success Solar Impulse project first solar-powered plane fly through the night first to fly between two continents primitive step toward zero-carbon jumbo combustion fossil fuels dominated powered flight 19th century dirigible aviation burns the most carbon per passenger per kilometre of any mode of mass-transport and, despite efforts to limit emissions, remains the fastest growing anthropogenic source of greenhouse gases sector climate change toughest major emissions source to decarbonise solar flight seeks remains decades away Wright Brothers Charles Lindbergh deputy editor Aerospace magazine Bill Read solar flight commercial flights solar cells generate power fly Solar Impulse fly using solar power constructed very light weight light-weight lightweight huge wingspan solar cell technology power source aircraft advances project real-world uses today fly Sun day and night build an aircraft extremely energy efficient technologies energy efficiency used in your home your car appliances four motors power aircraft generate heat energy efficiency single cheapest way reduce carbon emissions across the world technologies challenge energy environment pollution natural resources /