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Comment Re:Great 5 stars! (Score 1) 203

It's already come to an end in a bunch of states. Items sold by Amazon (not just fulfilled by Amazon) are now taxed in my state. Items sold by third parties are also taxed if that third party is in the same state as the destination.

Comment Re:I wouldn't (Score 2) 557

Conduit from a central "network closet" to multiple places in each room (3 or 4) - It's future proof. Make sure a string is also ran long with the cables (especially if it's not point to point). The string makes pulling cables easy - just tie the cable and a new piece to the end and pull the other end.
Big conduit between the "network closets" on each floor.
I'd also run (4 conductor) power cables from the breaker box to each outlet/switch INDIVIDUALLY - no need to worry about not having enough power at an outlet; also doing things like home automation easier.
Also if you're having a fireplace w/ a mantle, put an outlet above the mantle (hidden) and run a conduit from above the fireplace (right above mantle) to somewhere (either network closet or space nearby) - never know when you'll want to put something AV related (or just needs power, eg christmas lights) on the mantle.
~Kenny

Comment Re:FYROM (Score 4, Informative) 36

Airspace is completely different than towers. Most airspace is actually controlled remotely. The higher up the plane is the more likely the controlling "tower" will be further away. Most airspace is inverted cone shaped - The FAA has a whole page describing the various airspace classifications in the U.S. - and the procedure for hand-offs between various control authorities. Towers have to manage things like who gets the run way and who gets what taxiway - completely different. And generally requires visual verification of what plane is where (especially ground control)

Comment Re:Uh....wow. (Score 1) 131

Not only did they solve a problem that already has an answer.. they solved a problem where multi-billion dollar implementation (no matter the actual answer) has been implemented and has proven successful

Hardware

Video SparkFun Works to Build the Edison Ecosystem (Video) 75

Edison is an Intel creation aimed squarely at the maker and prototype markets. It's smaller than an Arduino, has built-in wi-fi, and is designed to be used in embedded applications. SparkFun is "an online retail store that sells the bits and pieces to make your electronics projects possible." They're partnering with Intel to sell the Edison and all kinds of add-ons for it. Open source? Sure. Right down to the schematics. David Stillman, star of today's video, works for SparkFun. He talks about "a gajillion" things you can do with an Edison, up to and including the creation of an image-recognition system for your next homemade drone. (Alternate Video Link)

Comment Author draws a false dichotomy (Score 1) 406

"When doctors or nurses use their knowledge of anatomy in order to torture or conduct medical experiments on helpless subjects, we are rightly outraged. Why doesn't society seem to apply the same standards to engineers?" If the doctor uses their knowledge of anatomy to conduct medical experiments, do we blame the person that created the tool, the tool, or do we blame the doctor? When someone uses a weapon to kill someone, do we blame the person that created the weapon, the weapon, or the person using the weapon. Too often we will blame the doctor if they did something wrong, in modern day history if someone did something wrong it is not their fault. Its the weapon, the parents, etc. Engineers are tasked with creating an item (be it a weapon, or a car) to be safe as possible to the user. They have no moral obligation to prevent it from being used incorrectly.

Comment Good Workbench, plenty of outlets (Score 1) 174

You don't say what your budget is, but good, sturdy workbenches (like these) with plenty of outlets for power supplies, scopes, meters, etc. as well as built in drawers and cabinet space.

If you are looking for suggestions on equipment, power supplies like the Topward 6000D series or similar (multiple output, adjustable, current limiting supplies) are invaluable. Good o-scope, handheld multimeter, etc. if you don't already have that stuff.

Comment I personally saw this (Score 5, Interesting) 101

My google page did this sometime this past week. I wasn't logged in, it just randomly started doing it as part of the test... Personally, I hate it.

You know how when you normally type in things, Google "suggests" what you might be looking for? And how, sometimes, those searches are, shall we say, "interesting" to say the least, or "NSFW" or just plain old weird? (For instance, try typing in "How do I" or "how do you" and see the odd results that occur... the ones I currently see are "get pregnant" and "start selling weed").

Now, imagine having the results of those show up as you're trying to search for something else entirely.

Frustrating, to say the least, and embarrassing or potentially job-threatening on some of those more risque searches.

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