* Posts by mmeier

1326 publicly visible posts • joined 31 Jan 2013

Bill Gates: Corporate tax is not a moral issue

mmeier

Re: I don't buy it

Companies must be profitable otherwise they die. So they can not afford "moral" because that would kill them and has already killed a few. Chinas companies do not care about people or environment - and have already put quite a few western companies out of business (Solar industrie, coal mining, Shipbuilding is next)

Companies must follow the laws, that is all. The lawmakers must take moral into consideration - and then dampen it down with a healthy dose of "Realpolitik"

mmeier

Re: Bill is right this time.

Not all nations follow the US model of "pay your campaign". Most (West)European countries have a finance system and access to TV time during elections "for free". So they are less restricted there (in theorie)

This sometimes is abused by "4.95 percent" parties in germany - you get money based on the percentage/number of votes as soon as you go over IIRC 0.5 percent and you do not have to work unless you get 5 percent (or 3 direct mandates).

WW II U-boat attacks prompt new US response

mmeier

Re: Trivial factoid

Right on the Tirpitz - she was brocken up in the 1950s. The Blücher seems to be a "mostly done, let's hope the best". They got a lot of the oil out in the mid 1990s but there is still some left. (Both according to Wiki)

mmeier

Re: Trivial factoid

There are wrecks left from Jutland? I always thought the Jellicoes firecrackers turned into confetti...

WWII wrecks loosing oil is an old problem. Norway has that problem with the Blücher in Oslo Fjord and IIRC Tirpitz in Alta Fjord. And quite a few subs sunken by the RN post WWII when no longer needed are just waiting to spill their tanks.

And the british policy post WWII to dispose of poison gas by dropping it into the North Sea hurts fisherman even today. Thankfully they did NOT dispose of nerve gas the same way.

Paul Allen buys lovingly restored vintage V-2 Nazi ballistic missile

mmeier

Re: 16 V2s remaining in the world, half a dozen of them in the US.

When the Amis aquired Brown Wernher they also shipped quite a few of his KZ-inmate build A4s over to the USA so the SS missile guy could continue his work.

Should have tied him to a launch disk and fired the engines instead...

mmeier

Re: AC lol

A4, Fi103 and the jet fighters where basically all a waste of resources. The germans would have been better off producing FW190D/TA152 - good enough to kill Mustangs and B17s as well as building HE219 night fighters to kill Mosquitos and Lancasters. Lower production cost, less strategic materials and proven, rugged technology.

mmeier

Re: @Jefe

Urban renewal of Berlin. Quite a few germans still have plans. Like "Wall off, cap with concrete. Preferably while the Bundestag is in session. Would be a nice start, only 15 more cities to go after that...

Reports: New Xbox could DOOM second-hand games market

mmeier

Re: All well and good, except...

Nope. I wanted to point out that your solution is the typical stupid concept of "I restrict myself to hurt the big companies" bla bla coming from the Penguin sector. I go to a fitness studio because I am NOT willing to restrict myself to a pair of dumbbells! So they are NOT the solution. And Linux is similar "You do not need this!" is the PenguBoy mantra when stuff does not work / software does not run. Sorry but I decide what I need/want. If you can not deliver - I buy something else.

Ironically not a console - never owned one.

mmeier

Re: Game resellers as "parasites"

That is an ORIGINAL part. No problem with that IF it exists. I was refering to copys from another manufacturer.

mmeier

Re: Xbox modding / rechipping, Gamer Profile hacking...

I do not program games, never did and given my training and specialities likely never will. So nobody will pay me (or any person I know) multiple times for one copy.

mmeier

Re: Game resellers as "parasites"

You want to re-sell the bible so that is not an option.

mmeier

Re: All well and good, except...

Ah, the Penguin solution. It does about half what the real thing does in twice the time but it's free. And ugly. Thanks but I Keep with Windows and the cute aerobic teacher.

mmeier

Re: Xbox modding / rechipping, Gamer Profile hacking...

The independent developers would like to fill in for EA and others but they are busy developing fully functional OSS drivers for ATI and NVIDIA as well as Exchange and Sharepoint replacements

mmeier

Re: @Greg J Preece

Actually there is a fee on every blank tape / CDRW etc to cover a limited amount of private copy. Limited as in one "generation" only not as in Bittorrent. So the music and movie industry got their money. Same for printed media, fee is on printer / Scanner

mmeier

Re: Game resellers as "parasites"

Good luck buying visible body parts for a car that are identical in look to the originals. Not legal in the EU. Different looking ones are but if I want a simple replacement for a damaged part and not go second hand- buy original. And there are reasons to buy new namely the way some plastic parts got brittle with age

Oh and since copying a book is so simple would you mind copying the bible for me, it is only a thousand pages or so, done in an afternoon or three. Time needed is part of easy...

mmeier

Re: All well and good, except...

I have a membership in a fitness club that allows me 24/7 use of the facilities. It requires a physical token for entry so only one person at a time could use it. Still it is not transferable to my neighbour since I enter an individual contract. Same for the WoW (and likely XBox) games so I guess the stuff is legal

mmeier

Re: Worry.

EULA can be and is partially solved by stressing "download the game, buy CD as an add-on". The online platform does have a "I read the licence and agree" checkmark BEFORE the buy is done. That satisfied the "can read contract before purchase" element.

The rest can and will likely be solved by making the CD an access key rather that the software itself (at least from the legal point of view). So you can re-sell the disk but the access fee has to be repaid by the new owner. Just like cinema tickets. Optional a "split price" so the 50€ includes a "35€ admission fee" and you might even be able to order a 15€ CD without the fee and pay separatly.

mmeier

Re: Game resellers as "parasites"

@Game resellers as "parasites"

Actually used books are different from used games.

A used game is no different from a new one these days. Manuals are PDF files so there is no "missing parts", no "coffee stains" and no "pages faling out". The fifth installation still is "Condition: New". So many people who won't buy used books will buy used games.

Books can not be "copied and sold on" as easily as a game can. And they typically take longer to reach the "used book" market than games.

Used cars are not a 1:1 either since car manufacturers and car sellers actually DO make money from used cars:

+ Spare parts for maintenance and repairs (3rd party body parts have legal problems)

+ Most retailers also sell the used cars

+ Most retailers are also repair shops (at least here in germany)

+ Reputation as "sturdy" and "can still get spares after x years" helps - Just ask Crapwagen<<<Volkswagen, they relie on that for sales since 1949

Better Place electric car outfit goes titsup

mmeier

What might also work is a petrol-electric car with a constant-speed engine driving a generator that powers the electric engines. The constant-speed engine can be optimized to run in a "sweet spot" either fuel-wise or emmission wise (maybe both) as can certain components. A small batterie to equalize demand and supply would be a benefit.

The technology is not new and has been/is used in tanks, trains and IIRC some ships

mmeier

Re: Chicken, Meet Egg.

The car offered a solution for quite a few problems (Including horse apples) and was as good as (and quickly better) than a rich mans carriage and had a lot of easily visible potential like greater strength / endurance. And replacing the horse was considered progressive back then.

The E-Vehicles have none of that. They have to compete with a mature, easy to use and widly introduced / available technology without any benefit. Current cars have better range, quicker refueling, lower costs in purchase and use over 5+ years, better infrastructure

Let's take me as an example. In theorie I could use a current electric car since my daily drive is rarely greater than 50km. BUT:

I can not recharge the car at my flat since I park in a underground garage with NO power outlets (Part of the building I live in with 50 other families)

I can not recharge at my job since the parking lot is in a shared parking building without power again

Most of my friends and co-workers live similar to me (or even without a permanent parking space) - no recharge

=> Where do I recharge?

And this is not uncommon. Large corporations have parking lots/buildings with three and four digit numbers of parking spaces and the infrastructure can not support that many cars charging. Many people life in flats (More than 50 percent of the germans i.e) and have no garage nor a permanent parking place so again - no power. And the infrastructure is based on "planned/existing buildings" not on "buildings + cars" so again the switches/lines on the local level will not have the capacities

A classic car on the other hand - there is a station every 5-10km and refuelling takes mere minutes

mmeier

The "super battery" at an affordable price has been promised almost as long as fusion power. And has been there "in this decade" for almost as long.Currently the best cars (at 70.000€+) can do 350km when driven on an optimal profile. As in "driving on the right lane behind a truck" Yeah, sure! (The even costlier variant can do 450km again slowly). Driven at typical autobahn speeds the non-changeable batterie was down after less than 200km in recent tests (Tesla-S). And if I go 100km/h I can buy a LOT of fuel for the price difference between a 60HP Golf and a Tesla.

And the super battery has to be safe (the last try tended to burn), environmental-safe and cheap! If you want mass market a useable commuter car / city car must come in below 15-20.000€ for a fully useable unit with the typical stuff (air conditioning, anti lock breaks, stability systems etc) And it better lasts 10+ years / 300.000km since that is the typical lifetime of a modern car

mmeier

That's why you put the batteries in the center of the car and low. Best place to balance the weight and resonably secure in a crash.

As for heating/cooling batteries etc - that costs power that is not available for other uses. Like air conditioning - try selling a city car without one... And it adds weight and costs and maintenance problems (how to get there, how to maintain the cooling/heating system etc)

And even with good maintenance battery life is short compared to a standard car. At 2000cycles lifetime (twice a notebook) they are done after six years at the most. And batteries are either cheap lead-acid types (or lead-gel types these days) or costly "notebook style" stuff. Not to mention that batteries loose capacity over time. The more non-constant the drain the more the loss at least for some types.

Wheel motors can be resonably small IF one drops the idea of building the equivalent to a 120+ HP long range/high speed car and goes for slower, shorter ranged city vehicles and smaller engines.

mmeier

Actually there is a lot wrong with electric cars and even more with the current ones that basically replace petrol engine and tank 1:1 with electrical engine and battery. Good designs would use concepts like in-wheel engines and different security arrangements as well as "fuel" placements. Batteries in the middle of the vehicle, cargo space front and rear as crash zones etc.

Even then the battery are the problem. Cheap ones are heavy and loose capacity when cold others are very costly with shorter life cycles. They also require well managed loading cycles to get a long life. And even then we are talking 3-5 Years at best. And they are heavy. Replacement systems add contact problems and problems with sealing the battery bay against water and dust since hearty weight are best placed low

What could work is dropping the idea of electric family cars and concentrate on electric short haul trucks and delivery vans. Planned routes and loads , daily return to a depot for charging and more space. Add in lower speeds and a lotof stop, start andbreaking- idealfor electric engines

mmeier

Re: Doomed idea

The last three are all part of Volkswagen not independent companies. You can add Seat and Skoda to the list.

Same for the Freuchies Peugeot and Citroen are PSA. Or Italy [Fiat is also Lancia, Alpha and Chrysler]

The few full shared platforms [as opposed to parts like engines] are typically (Mini)vansand small transporters a market that works slightly different

The bunker at the end of the world - in Essex

mmeier

Re: Seriously creepy place

Growing up in the 1960s-80s was a time where "Worldwide Thermonuklear War" was always in the back of the mind. But like IRA / RAF / <Insert local terrorist organisation blowing up political figures>, the occasional "PLO flight to Afrika" and other elements it was background. The Red Army could be on Kurfürsten Damm in 15min and in Bonn in 6h (4 driving, 2 in a jam at Kamener Kreuz) but you could not change it if you where in "panik mode". So we lived on and lived with it.

In many ways the world was easier back then when the game of "Cowboys and Cossaks" where played on a global scale.

mmeier

Re: yes

Our sergeant (Oberfeldwebel) used terms like NEF - Nicht existierendes Feindbild / Non existing concept of the enemy for the Warshaw Pact since officially the Bundeswehr was ready to defend against enemies on all borders.

Strangely the targets at the range showed russian soldier or tank silouettes and Force Red(1) always attacked from the east and always was reported to use WP vehicles and in the end the Amis nuked everybody on a line from Hamm to Hannover or Frankfurt to Fulda.

(1) Red = Enemy and Blue = Own pre-dates NATO and WP by more than a century. Urban legend has Napoleon introduce it since some of his Marshals where illiterate

mmeier

Re: good to be able to look on this so light-heartedly

Some say the definition of a tactical nuke was: lt. exploded in germany. Our US "protectors" where a tad to free with both candy and nukes. Could not hold their alcohol or their release orders

With the Brits you could at least have a brew or a beer while discussing compensation for the Chieftain sized hole in grandmas tulips...

mmeier

Re: good to be able to look on this so light-heartedly

In 1986 we had a Bundeswehr "Jugendoffizier" at school discussing (1) Natos Pershing2/cruise missile introduction. At one point the greeny blurbt about "chances of survival". The Bundeswehr guy sadly shook his head and started:

Local powerplant, one SS20 warhead, 100KT, airburst,5 km from here

Important part of the channel systen, one SS20 warhead, groundburst, 10km

Bundeswehr airbase, multiple warheads, ground and airburst, 20km

Major railroad and railyards for loading/unloading tanks prior to the channel crossing, airburst, 2km

Your chances to survive: NONE!

The class was a tad silent and Billy looked green...

(1) Actually he showed us what a blabbering, clueless fool Billy Birkenstock was

mmeier

Re: "watch a Russian Bear bomber go overhead"

Very shortly after reunification two recently aquired MIG 29 visited the local Bundeswehr base. Quite a few peple, me included, had to fight the urge to take cover and call for the Flak when the "Iwan" came in fast and low with two smoke-free F4F(1) in hot pursuit.

(1) Afterburners on and barely under the Mach. Man what a sound mix...

mmeier

Re: Waiting for Eadon

But Windows has a General as part of the OS. So the question is "How many stars does General Failure have?"

mmeier

Re: yes

Well Moscow has a working missile defence system (Galosh) after all so the only way to take it out would be to flood the defences until the (nuclear warhead) based system runs out of missiles

Mobile tech destroys the case for the HS2 £multi-beellion train set

mmeier

Re: It will only work to move people around the UK if the tickets are cheap!@ mmeier

The "old" german system worked on three levels. A "once every 15-30minutes" local level that worked as a reliable feeder to the next major station. Either local trains, rapid transit (SBahn) or tram lines. Then a larger level net that connected the bigger hubs on a hourly level with less stops and finally the IC(E) net. Again hourly but with few stations served. The trains and lines where well maintained and resonably on time. The whole plan was integrated so even with a local train late (typically less than 5min) you still could catch the InterCity (IC) if you jogged instead of walked through the station. This was costly since maintenance was done "after x hours/kilometers OR if there is a failure(1)" not "when there is a capital damage"

In the (very) late 1990s / early 2000s that died. The local trains where "run to destruction" and in the wet/cold season trains not reaching the target (even resonably new ones) became a "expect once per week". ICE engine troubles became massive and similar stuff happened on the cargo level. And then they cut the net to pieces with local trains being sold to "local service providers" and the intermediat system being gutted as "not cost efficient"

Used trains between 1987 and 1997 on a daily base. Only during a MASSIV snow "storm" (by german standards) did the trains get delayed / did not run. And even then for only a few hours. Tried the same in the early 2000s. Was ordered to take a car after I had to call the customer three times in four weeks due to "train failed" (2)

(1) And the definition of failure was "the conductor says the train feels wrong"

(2) The type of failed where they even give you official writ that it did! Burning engine, failed brakes and once a failed coupling...

mmeier

Re: As a born-and-raised Yank....

Even subsidize does not help if you do not set the priorities right. Germany has a state owned and run rail and it still does not work. If you want to go Hamburg-Frankfurt it is a good move to take the train (1). If you do not life in one of the major "ICE train station" cities - try walking, not much slower and a lot cheaper. I.e

On a bad day I takes me an hour to get from my hometown (100.000 population) to a major city 45km away to a customer by car. On a good day 30min. That's during the rushhour! The same route by train takes at least two hours and needs a cab/taxi since the local station has no parking lot AND there is no bus from my part of the (inner!) city to the 2.5km distant station. And this is a region of germany that is considered "well developed" when it comes to rail networks and both cities are old!

But If I make it to the large town the 300km to Frankfurt will be less than two hours...

(1) Most of the time. Unless it is summer and the clima control heats the ICE "bullet train" up or winter and the heating can not keep it warm

mmeier

Re: Other projects? Well, how about a "revolutionary" train set?

Wuppertal and the Schwebebahn have done that. Other uses exist as well in the industrie (mining). Düsseldorf Airport and Dortmund University use similar systems. The main problem is the lower load/cargo weight per car compared to normal trains and maintenance of trains and rails.

mmeier

Re: Sensible hat on - a better use of £12bn

Cologne-Frankfurt is one of the few high speed railways in germany. Partially due to the costs.

And german trains have not been reliable for at least a decade. The investments are barely able to keep the situation stable. The ICE (high speed) trains have technical difficulties, mid-level train system (Interregio) was gutted and the local trains are either outsourced (and run to destruction) or 1930s technology repainted the 5th time (1). The rail system has been gutted to a rump system and many planned railroads where never build(2)

(1) Really, many local passenger wagons are from around WWII and rebuild numerous times

(2) They did build a number of new airports in the 1970s that where planned to have rail links. They still do not have them and service is by bus or storing the car on the HUGE parking lots

mmeier

Re: It's more binary than how many minutes are saved

The lack of the Concord-NT has a lot to do with the scum of the earth aka Greenies. They basically castrated the Concord with "environmental laws" restricting it's full use.

mmeier

Germany is a good example - how NOT to do it.

We have a GREAT river/channel network that actually connects most major industrial cities(1) and many large companies had harbours of their own

We had a good to great railroad network that connected the rest and had side spurs by the dozend

Then some genius level poliTicks threw it all away in three steps

1) Support cars and trucks over trains, dropping many smaller raillines and fright service

2) Listen to the screaming treehuggers and stop important channel/river projects or delay them

3) Try to make the Bundesbahn "fit for the stock exchange" by cutting costs left and right running the trains "till failiure" instead of "regular preventive maintenance"

As a result german trains are "never early, rarely on time and mostly late" IF they run at all, fright cars are worn out and loud raising more protests against new rail lines, channel / river fright is almost none and the big companies fill the roads with "Just in time" delivery trucks making "more autobahnen" a must. Going from one large (100.000+ people) to another even larger merely 30km away can two an hour by train with one stopover. It used to take 45min in the late 1930s with no stopover...

(1) And we are not talking narrowboats here, not even "Canal du Midi"

mmeier

Re: It will only work to move people around the UK if the tickets are cheap!

Honest question: What European countries have a good railroad network?

France has the TGV but if you are rural - tough luck

Germany has the Bundesbahn - tough luck

The Netherlands have bicycles

...

Microsoft: All RIGHT, you can have your Start button back

mmeier

Re: Sigh

What choices? Many toolchains simply run on Windows only and can't be / won't be ported due to costs or the integration of MS products with no replacement (Sharepoint, Exchange/Outlook, Word + Word Templates/VBA. Excel with VBA etc.)

Win8 when it comes to companies starting 2014 will run those stuff just fine and with limited training for the end user since Olav Officedrohne does NOT use an OS, he uses a program.

Microsoft: Next WinPhone 8 update to arrive this summer

mmeier

Re: Microsoft - Enter These Holy Commands

To the downvoters:

I agree, MZ (HEDP for the Amis) is not really the proper grenade against Pingufreaks. But since the Leo1 is out of service and the Rh120(mm) has no Beehive so it's the best there is short of artillery.

mmeier

Re: Microsoft - Enter These Holy Commands

Gunner, Pingufreak 12 o'clock, load MZ, fire

Oi, Google! Stop LIBELLING us Germans, fix your autocomplete

mmeier

Re: "Germans are ..."

@snake

Let me guess: German teacher and Greenie

mmeier

Re: "Germans are ..."

We have two problems:

A screaming minority that is payed by the state and has too little work to do (No, not Wellfare recipients. I am talking about teachers and other "state employee for life"(1))

Courts that are a tad or three removed from the world

The majority of the germans do not care if the name of a state officials lady and "escort" pop up together. But this is simply another step towards the "D(eutsch) Netz" that will only include pages that are

+ Fully compliant with german laws as a Commisioner for Data Protection in Northern germany reads it

+ Fully compliant with the "ethics" as the german forum of Fosstard Research defines it (heise.de)

+ Matching the ideas of the Frank Freeloader Party

Granted, this net will consist of (very few) boring static pages. But it will be ethically, safe and protect your data

(1) Der Bundestag mal voller ist mal leerer aber immer voller Lehrer

Emergency spacewalk as ISS takes a leak

mmeier

Re: "Thanks for the proof"

Linux Fanatics, Canned Man Freaks - They all get pissy and personal if you critizise their toys. To a point where it is actually FUN to poke at their toys...

mmeier

Re: @ mmeier

Off the stuff on that list two (lenses, memory foam) where based on NASA developed stuff. But NASA is not the same as developed for or due to manned space flight. Actually both make more sense for unmanned operations

mmeier

Re: "Thanks for the proof"

As a german Propaganda events have a bad taste for me. And that's all it was. OTOH given that the US program was run by a former SS Major that once requested "better material than the last batch that died to fast " to build his rocket factory so propaganda value may have been high on his agenda. And the UdSSR was even worse in that being quite willing to have people die so they get their propaganda.

From a commercial and scientific point of view the missions where useless. The gathering of probes could have been (and have been) done by robots. They send exactly ONE scientist up and that flight almost got cancelled (Apollo 17)

Don't use Google+? Tough, Google Glass will inject it INTO YOUR EYES

mmeier

Re: But there ARE uses for this!

The older AR solutions where less mobile since they typically required a workstation level computer. Glasses or a less Google-specific follow up are no longer tied to that since mobile computing has made big advances over the last years.

The same can be seen in other areas. Smartphones have been along for almost a decade but only recently have they become "mass market" items. Notebooks took a decade of development before reaching the homes.

Charity chief: Get with it, gov - kids shouldn't have to write by hand

mmeier

Re: Shall we just stop making kids do anything thats hard?

OTOH quite a few well known authors make heavy use of computers and consider it a boost to their productivity. Jerry Pournelle wrote a lot about that in his old "Chaos Manor" column back when Byte was in print.

And the writing is a two part process anyway at least in engineering and science. Generate notes and a rough outline and then polish and clean up. The latter part benefits A LOT from computers compared to pen and death, maimed trees. The former can if the right tools are used.

I still remember university when the professor went "oh, we have to add something", went three to ten pages back on his overhead projector sheets, added something and back. Basically one had to write the whole stuff "into the clean" later. The same situation today would be "scroll back, insert a space, insert the writing" using MS Journal on a penable.

mmeier

Re: BYOD? Perhaps when Hell Freezes over

As an old professor offered us" You can even go over to the library and fetch the book you need to look stuff up." Because if you could name the book / find the facts fast enough to pass the exam you had a solid understanding of the stuff and just needed some details.

So let the teachers earn their pay and write tests that check understanding instead of memory. For example no one needs to memorize the implementation details for all sorting algorithms, just that they exist and their limits. The rest is a quick lockup away.

German govt DUMPS 170 NEW PCs riddled with Conficker

mmeier

Re: @TheVogon

Actually from the german forums of "Fosstard research" aka Heise. Quite a "pro Linux" publication but even they had to admit the massively swollen permanent IT stuff and the costs that result from that.

Remember in Germany even IF you can fire an employee (the unions often have a word to say, state is typically VERDI(1)) it will cost you money AND will typically take 3 month in the "state service" from the day you hand him the "pink slip" to the day he is off your payrole. Separation pay typically is "half a month pay before taxes per year in company". And employees can (and often do) sue.

(1) A joke compared to a real union like IG Metall but they love to make waves.