Comment Re: As a parent... (Score 1) 39
Thanks for attempting to steer the discussion back on track.
Comment Re:spend less than $500 to drive correctly.. (Score 1) 39
I reviewed the footage (much of which I shot) and you should realize that while some crashes/contact is shown, the race is one part entertainment. We pull out the exciting parts and compile the video so you get a taste of the action, but crashes are not as common as you may think. It should also be mentioned that these vehicles are slapped together at hackerspaces, usually using whatever free or cheap parts we can find, and are not precision machines. The endurance portion of the race is 75 minutes long, which really puts these vehicles to the test. Motors overheat, the vibration of driving shakes controllers loose, batteries wear out. There is some serious engineering that goes into these things, though you might not see it in a short promo video.
Arduino Project Upgrades With 2 New Boards 113
EqualSlash writes "The Arduino Project is releasing two new boards — Arduino Uno to replace Duemilanove and Arduino Mega 2560 to replace the existing Arduino Mega board. With Uno, the board is not just getting a new pronunciation-friendly name but also has a custom-made USB-serial converter to replace the older FTDI chipset, thereby removing the need to install drivers (they now have their own USB Vendor ID). It now has a logo and stylish packaging, and soon will have its own branded web store. A new Ethernet integrated board and a tinkering toolkit will be made available shortly."
Nuclear Energy Now More Expensive Than Solar 635
js_sebastian writes "According to an article on the New York Times, a historical cross-over has occurred because of the declining costs of solar vs. the increasing costs of nuclear energy: solar, hardly the cheapest of renewable technologies, is now cheaper than nuclear, at around 16 cents per kilowatt hour. Furthermore, the NY Times reports that financial markets will not finance the construction of nuclear power plants unless the risk of default (which is historically as high as 50 percent for the nuclear industry) is externalized to someone else through federal loan guarantees or ratepayer funding. The bottom line seems to be that nuclear is simply not competitive, and the push from the US government to subsidize it seems to be forcing the wrong choice on the market."
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The flow chart is a most thoroughly oversold piece of program documentation. -- Frederick Brooks, "The Mythical Man Month"
