cstross

23 ms·

241.
by cstross 7y ago
This is why I like to draw a distinction between space exploration and space colonization . The former is definitely within the realm of possibility, using existing technology (never mind the Superheavy/Starship system). But Musk, w
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by cstross 7y ago
Starships sitting on Earth are under compression. Starships hanging from one another's nose via a tether are presumably under tension, unless the tether is somehow anchored to the engine support structure at the base of each vehicle. S
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by cstross 7y ago
This is a spectacular gamble, however Musk has a track record and I think Superheavy/Starship will pay off with unpredictable dividends. But the elephant in the room that Musk appears to be ignoring is the life sciences side of things.
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by cstross 7y ago
Oh dear Cthulhu, I'd totally forgotten about the Hamsterdance!
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by cstross 7y ago
The "wheel of reincarnation" is a thing in multiple sub-fields of computing: where there are two approaches to an architectural solution, an arms race between competing models often develops. (In the 1960s-2000s in computer graphi
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by cstross 7y ago
More than a million produced as of 2012. Compare volume to the Monobloc chair, with over a billion out there. Anything produced in million-up quantities can be said to be successful, but some are more successful than others!
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by cstross 7y ago
If you squint at it the right way, the UK's Black Arrow launch vehicle was steam-powered; it used HTP (85-98% hydrogen peroxide) as an oxidizer, which decomposes to oxygen plus superheated steam on its way into the engine (the oxygen w
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by cstross 7y ago
Start here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aneutronic_fusion (TLDR version: proton-boron fusion is a less energetically efficient alternative to 3He fusion, but with the howlingly significant advantage that boron -- the
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by cstross 7y ago
Someone's been watching Knight Rider re-runs, amirite? (Thinking particularly of the tractor/trailer rig they use as K.I.T.T.'s mothership.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Rider_%281982_TV_series...
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by cstross 7y ago
Not better for anyone who ends up being stalked and/or raped as a result of a badly monitored/regulated dating app, though. There's a public safety issue here: dating requires interpersonal negotiation for personal intimacy w
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by cstross 7y ago
Speaking of which, there is a modern incarnation of that form factor in the shape of the Cosmo Communicator (and it's 1st gen predecessor, the Gemini PDA): https://www.www3.planetcom.co.uk/cosmo-communicator (I have bo
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by cstross 7y ago
You forgot Palm! Palm screwed up by failing to replace their ageing OS in time. IIRC they bought the remains of BeOS, built a next-gen PalmOS on top, then panicked in the face of short term cash-flow, sold the development group, tried somet
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by cstross 7y ago
"Do not stare into laser beam with remaining eyeball." Seriously, this sort of project is dangerous . While there's a big fat disclaimer and warning on their home page, the wiki info about exhaust filtration is sketchy at be
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Atari Transputer Workstation (1989)(en.wikipedia.org)
2 points by cstross 7y ago|0 comments
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by cstross 7y ago
Mind you, the original Mac came out in 1984; the standard PC operating system was MS-DOS (3.0 and 3.1 came out that year), IBM introduced the PC-AT that fall, and Windows ... Windows 1.0 was still in development hell (it saw public release
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by cstross 7y ago
What is the cost (for Apple) in straight up R&D dollars of building a new model of Mac? And how much does it cost them to tool up for manufacturing and create the logistic chain to put it in customers' hands? Remember that Apple ai
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by cstross 7y ago
The 777X is a program, covering two (or more) models: the 777-8 and 777-9. The one that flew yesterday was the first 777-9 -- a replacement for the 777-300ER, with significantly increased range, a stretched fuselage (it's slightly long
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by cstross 7y ago
So every cloud has a silver lining! (Even the fiery mushroom cloud surrounding the fireball burning your face off a few years later ...)
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by cstross 7y ago
I was really disappointed that the OP wasn't talking about the UGM-133 Trident: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UGM-133_Trident_II (Alas, I think they'll be around for a few decades more, unless someone is
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by cstross 7y ago
It's almost a textbook case of institutional failure -- multiple interlocking institutions took a remediable mistake (the first arrest) and doubled-down on it. Almost as if the failures are an emergent property of the institutional arc
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by cstross 7y ago
I am sympathetic your outrage — but I think you're insufficiently cynical if you can't figure out why he's stuck in that concentration camp despite everyone agreeing he's innocent. To release him now would be an admissio
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by cstross 7y ago
Interestingly, Shenzhou isn't a Soyuz derivative -- it's significantly larger and has other divergent features (its orbital module can allegedly stay docked to another vehicle even after the crew capsule detatches for re-entry). S
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by cstross 7y ago
> Due to the end of the Space Shuttle program, Soyuz is now the only spacecraft capable of carrying a crew into orbit So I'm guessing the Shenzhou program doesn't count? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenzh
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by cstross 7y ago
Speaking as a working author, Goodreads is a dumpster fire. One author of my acquaintance has been the victim of someone who has created at least six fake accounts in her name (taking her name and profile pics), in an attempt to trash her r
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by cstross 7y ago
I suspect you don't grasp the sheer size of the NHS. 2.15 million staff (of whom, 1.4M doctors, nurses, and medical specialists), at least 350 hospitals (depending on definitions) ... in terms of employment, this is the fifth large
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by cstross 7y ago
Correct. You can't get a contract without marketing/sales interaction with the customers. Customers at a high enough level to sign off on a payment with 7-9 zeroes following the number are not generally programmers (or, if they
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by cstross 7y ago
As a reminder? Those Marine "amphibious assault ships" are larger than the carriers operated by most other navies. (Russia, China, and India each have one carrier that's larger than an America -class; the UK has two. The
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by cstross 7y ago
D'oh, I think you might just possibly be right!
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The Submersible Nuclear Ramjet: Part Nuclear Bomber, Part Submarine (2018)(nationalinterest.org)
54 points by cstross 7y ago|59 comments
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by cstross 7y ago
Article blows it around the third para by asserting that publishers could/should make ebooks much cheaper than paper ones (because obviously paper costs money, right?). Then asserts that the retail price for the paper edition is the po

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