Posts by Dave 126

Re: I have to use Excel at work

Why complain? You can now Alt Ctrl Del with one hand!

Re: Where is the outrage?

You must have read a different comments thread. Most of the people here are either bashing MS, suggesting how Excel should behave, suggesting that scientists should a database, defending the use of excel in this context, talking about cats, or saying things about scientific research culture.

Reading between the lines, most of the comments here are based upon an unease that scientists should have to change their way of working to fit a tool. That most here aren't expressing their unease as outrage actually speaks well of them.

( As for removing loaded, potentially offensive terms, yeah, I might differ from the majority here, but in the appropriate threads I merely suggest to them that experiments and studies have been conducted and that it's worthwhile looking at them. It's not so much offense that is an issue, but continuously and subtly perpetuating views and assumptions that do not withstand objective scrutiny. )

Re: Time to be pedantic

You would lose a lot of talent, skills, various ways of seeing the world, and thus insights, if the only people who were allowed to be scientists were IT literate to a certain level. However, there some issues to be sorted out.

In a similar vein, a good number of working scientists aren't statisticians, and can as a result fall into traps. Some universities therefore employ some full time statisticians for researchers to consult.

So perhaps the answer is to educate scientists in IT enough so that they know what they don't know, and thus seek assistance - and then provide said assistance. Of course, the learning would go both ways, with the IT specialists learning about the sort of issues in IT the scientist in his or her field might come across in their workflow*.

*And that's another thing - if you're at the cutting edge of something, you don't always adhere to an established work flow. You might carefully record data in a logbook (or Excel file) out of habit, but only discover it to be significant down the line when something surprising has happened.

Re: They are creating a database ...

You beat me to the XKCD, very relevant!

At least Polaroids are an honest record of known optics and chemistry - there are no algorithms in the middle.

Whatever it does, it should let the user know it is doing it. Minimum. Ideally, it should ask the user if it should do it.

If this issue affects gene researchers, it might also affect others. Whilst the gene researchers have, as a group, decided on a workaround, it would be sensible for MS to allow users to configure Excel to not auto-format when importing files - this way benefitting other users who might otherwise run afoul. Alternatively, have Excel bring up a dialogue box telling the user how to convert the cell type - "Hey, it looks like you might be working with dates in this column. If you wish to convert it to a date format, select the column by double clicking the header and then right click, Format Cells".

Lots of people use Excel for some pretty exotic stuff, including control and automation. That horse has bolted. Some options, clear and well communicated, would seem to be the sensible way forward. Maybe just a choice at install: Are you an accountant or an engineer?

Not desperately power hungry

"On the plus side, the extra processing power in the six-core i7 doesn’t impact battery life as much as you might expect. I averaged about six hours and 20 minutes between charges while using the machine for my everyday work of browsing the web, writing, email, Slack, and other productivity tools. That’s not especially great, but it’s also not far off from what I get with the quad-core chips found in many other 13-inch laptops."

- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theverge.com/platform/amp/2019/12/6/20997044/dell-xps-13-2019-review-six-core-intel-comet-lake-10th-gen-test-price-specs-features

This a review of a laptop with the same 14nm chip as this Dynabook. They note that it is good for multitasked tasks such as compiling, but that people doing transcoding or Photoshop would get better performance from a 4 core Intel 10nm chip with better Iris integrated graphics

Re: It's got an ethernet jack?

And with the USB C port, it only takes one cable to connected it to power, ethernet, decent keyboard and BR drive when you return to your home desk.

This also means the machine remains usuable should the barrel power port ever fail (though Toshiba, along with Apple, used to the most reliable laptop brands some years ago, according to an independent group that used a coupe of different methodologies to reach their conclusions. Apple's ratings may have been affected by their recent keyboard adventures, I daresay)

Re: And about to fall off a cliff

The first consumer ARM Mac announced is a MacBook Pro. That's a good move, using the premium name, since it distinguishes it from Microsoft's confusing Windows RT efforts which people associate with being slow and limited. A full priced, full featured ARM MacBook Pro is a statement of confidence and intent. And that's just good clear communication.

Some users may already have one that has come with their MacBook.

Anyway, it doesn't matter how much Apple might charge for it, since USB C PD (Power Delivery) is an open standard, and 3rd party chargers will are available.

People who live in an area of weaker cellular signal will see faster battery drain. People who have GPS turned on will see faster battery drain.

What works for someone living and working in a city may not work for someone in the countryside. Your milage may vary.

Re: Is this still true?

No, it's not that simple. Bottom line is that fast chargers don't damage batteries. However, the phase of charging in which fast chargers are actually faster - 0% to 50% - is most useful if the user has a fairly flat battery. It is this act of deep cycling - draining the battery below 50% - that will shorten a battery life.

After 50 % charge is achieved, fast chargers slow down to a rate similar to a conventional charger, with the phone's circuitry keeping tabs on things.

Re: I wait all night for my phone to charge

You asked for things that will potentially extend the lifetime of the phone, so giving you those things would result in fewer sales. It also results in a heavier, more expensive phone, which is an issue for many users when they are using the phone and when they are carrying the phone in a pocket or bag.

Using SD cards in phones isn't as smooth as one would wish - if a card is installed 'for keeps' then it can be encrypted and app data can be stored there without the risk of confusing the app by removing the card. However, it will still be slower than the phone's built in storage.

If the card is not encrypted then the card can be swapped out and used to share data between different devices - say a dedicated digital camera. However, there are often easier ways of doing this (such as a USB OTG card reader, or camera with WiFi).

The chief sensible use case for SD cards is for storing offline music - it doesn't need encrypting (unless you have horrendous taste in music!) and should the SD card or interface fail then it's an inconvenience and not a disaster. For many people, the 100+ GB of storage on their phone is ample for this.

Re: Why the 1Km cable?

The German company Nexan claims their superconducting cable carries current equivalent to a cooper cable that has a hundred times as great a cross-section. Colder end of lunar polar temperature is -150 Deg C, Nexan cable operating temp is -200 Deg C... I'm assuming the required cryogenic system system wouldn't have to work as hard. I'm envisioning the thermal insulation as shiny aluminised plastic film sausage skins, since it would primarily be concerned with radiated heat from the sun. Heat transfer by convection perhaps a near non issue in the vacuum? Heat transfer by conduction only by contact with the regolith that is itself shaded by the shiny sausage skin.

Could it be so well insulated that the cryogenic medium (helium?) is consumed slowly enough that the the exercise is worthwhile?

Of course the installation would more complicated (as thus likely not as reliable) than laying good old aluminium power cable.

https://www.nexans.de/eservice/Germany-en/navigate_300014/Technical_Characteristics.html

Re: Coudn't they have specified...

> their mains circuits don't really have enough oomph to power a good kettle.

If 'good' means 'fast', then yeah. Though even a slow (1000W) kettle will still get water to boiling, it'll just take longer (well, as long as it can heat the water faster than heat is lost to the environment). Most British kettles are around 2000 - 3000W, something that was lost on a builder in the pub the other day, who had it in his head that his Honda generator was poorly because it struggled to power a kettle. We all assured him that the genny was fine, and that kettles just take a lot of power.

Re: Coudn't they have specified...

I suspect the lack of air pressure on the moon will be a greater impediment to your brewing a cup of tea than the 120v DC kettle - the water will evaporate before reaching 100 deg C.

Re: Nukes on a moon?

Dust is a major headache on the moon, too. And we're not talking dust like you know it which is rounded due to weathering by wind and water, but very sharp, tiny particles, with jagged edges retained from their formation by meteorite impacts. Over time, objects on the moon accumulate this abrasive dust.

You could have the solar panels vibrate periodically to shake the dust off, akin to a DSLR camera sensor, but that means moving parts which have to engineered to withstand, yep you guessed it, the abrasive dust. Blowing it off the panels would require a gas that would have to be resupplied. Wiping the dust off would scratch the panels and would again either require a moving mechanism or else be a waste of astronauts time - and any EVA on the moon carries a risk, and causes wear to their spacesuits.

I don't know much about micrometeorites on the moon, but I know that solar panels would occupy many more square metres than a nuclear reactor of equivalent output, presenting a larger target should meteorites be a risk.

Re: Why the 1Km cable?

Yeah, I was to ask how much that cable would weigh. (Or rather, how much mass it has, lest one of you smart alecs replies: "Ooh, roughly one sixth of what it would on Earth!")

I don't know if they would use copper or aluminium cable... Copper is a better conductor but aluminium is far lighter, making nearly twice as good a conducter per kilogramme. Still, there may be factors such as ductility in extremes of temperature that favour copper.

If you have power and Luna regolith you could create your aluminium cable in situ, though smelting in the moon is a not yet developed technology.

Re: Launch and landing

I imagine the launch might be designed so that it travels over an ocean.

Re: What are they going to do with the heat?

> Trivia fact: the ship from 2001 has originally designed to have realistically sized cooling radiators, but they removed them because they worried that the audience might think they were wings.

I didn't know that, but it sounds right. Similarly, Clarke and Kubrick agreed that HAL's CPU would be the size of a shoebox, but Kubrick decided to make it room-sized so as to meet audience expectations - and HAL's CPU room providing the setting for a great scene.

Re: Here's a better option

There are reasons glass is used for the back of phones. All design is compromise.

A plastic back might deform too much and cause damage to internal components. Glass can be made fairly stiff.

Aluminium can cause headaches for the radio engineers.

Somehow the glass rear of my phone is cracked despite being kept in a case - possibly some speck of grit got between phone and case before I dropped it. Still, the crack is covered by a vinyl sticker, and the waterproofing hasn't been affected (as I discovered by falling into a canal)

Re: The case may survive, but will the internals survive the shock?..

Having dropped my S8 a lot, albeit in a case, I get the impression that the internals of modern phones are well put together with screws and glues (with adhere to a large surface area of a part rather than small screw holes - which can be 'stress risers' ). Glues can also be engineered to provide some level of shock absorption if appropriate.

It also helps that many of the internal components of modern phones are smaller and lighter than those of their forebears.

It's not just phones - Sika started out making polyurethane adhesives when automotive designers made the windscreen a structural component of cars. Ford are partnering with Downing to glue their vehicles together - it avoids stress risers, it avoids the headaches of bolting aluminium panels to steel frames, it saves weight over rivets, and the glue can be engineered to different levels of flexibility if required.

Re: Is dropping your phone common?

Even sapphire can be scratched. Chief culprits are from diamond jewellery, dust from using a diamiond cutting disc, and some anti-slip abrasives added to flooring.

Re: Is dropping your phone common?

Er, just buy a better looking case?

That's the advantage of cases, you can choose a level of drop protection vs bulk that suits you and your environment. You can also choose additional features, such as credit card holders and kick stands, should you wish. You can choose the colour and material, so that you phone won't be confused for that of others in your household, should they have the same model of phone. You can replace the case if it does get too worn and shabby.

So just what is the advantage of incorporating shock absorbing material into the phone itself rather than in a removable case?

My feet are fairly robust, but I choose the cases (shoes) I put them in according to the situation. I wouldn't choose for my feet to permenantly have the bulk and feel of a pair of walking boots.

Re: Tiresome nonsense

Trump doesn't believe it, but he knows that many in his voter base do. Just as Trump knows that many of his base are white evangelical Christians, but he himself isn't a God-fearing man.

- actually, many of the proported 'values' of the Christian Right were adopted in the seventies because they could no longer be overtly racist. Strewth, they voted in Reagan, a divorcee, over Carter who was an actual practising Christian. They've used various codes since the seventies, such as 'silent majority', but with Trump they no longer need the window dressing.

Re: Bill

There no WTF there, he's just doing a competent parody, albeit in a time when no satire or parody is as bizarre as what many nuts are saying.

However, this being the Reg, I just see it as a third-rate impersonation of Amanfrommars, whose own parody of Qanon nutters predates said nutters.

Re: Very good skeptoid podcast recently debunking this stuff

I'm sure it's a good podcast, but is it really do we require any additional information to know that 'Bill Gates uses 5G to activate a fake vaccine tracking system' is utter bollocks?

If we do decide to preach to the heathens and not the choir, there some guides online in how how to talk to conspiracy theorists. Sadly, calling them 'fucking nutters' doesn't play a constructive role in pulling them out of their hole.

Not just his own money - Gates, along with Warren Buffet, has been prominent in efforts to convince other billionaires that really, after their second private island and third Lamborghini, they can donate most of their fortune to charity with no impact upon their lifestyle.

And not just any charity, but a charity that has put some very smart minds into getting good value for the cash - ie trying to do the most amount of human good for the least money. This doesn't mean scrimping, it can mean supplying a shit ton of money immediately for 'a stitch in time saves nine' type problems such as infectious disease.

MS software has caused me X amount of frustration over the years, but I don't think anyone can claim that any amount of Windows-related annoyance can compare to the consequences of famine, illiteracy or poor sanitation. I've always been able to turn off the computer and pick up a book or go to the pub.

Re: Bill

One thing that the medical researchers appreciate about the Gates Foundation grants is that they are funded for four or five years. When a researcher is only funded for two years, half that time is spent getting a team and lab together at the start and looking around for more funding towards the end, leaving less time for actual research. Funding for longer periods is simply better value.

Re: Things we can prevent and things we can't

A previous governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, spent millions on stockpiling medical supplies and mobile hospitals - with wildfires and earthquakes in mind. His successor considered it a waste of money and got rid of the programme.

The economist and broadcaster Tim Hartford makes the point that voters approved of this 'cost saving' action at the time.