Seemingly trivial things that intrigue you

First.Aspect

Speaking of efficiency, I am still intrigued by the perpetual motion machines that are plug in or self charging hybrids.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54170207

Basically, looks to me that more mass works the engine harder when electric is not available and uses the electricity more rapidly when it is available. Only just offset by all the energy harvesting and charging at using the engine at its most efficient that can be achieved.

rjsterry

First.Aspect said:

Speaking of efficiency, I am still intrigued by the perpetual motion machines that are plug in or self charging hybrids.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54170207

Basically, looks to me that more mass works the engine harder when electric is not available and uses the electricity more rapidly when it is available. Only just offset by all the energy harvesting and charging at using the engine at its most efficient that can be achieved.

I think the point with these is that they are designed to be charged regularly by the owners with petrol as a backup but in reality people don't bother to charge them, and so are just driving very heavy petrol cars.

morstar

How fricking stupid some people are...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-54217327

briantrumpet

morstar said:

How fricking stupid some people are...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-54217327

The only surprise is that she wasn't the driver...

FreddieVonRost

morstar said:

How fricking stupid some people are...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-54217327

Oh, those sweet karma w80re points and Instagram likes. Innit.

Pross

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

pinno

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

pblakeney

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

joenobody

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

Also, cloud infrastructure and services. They're divesting (or have done so already) a number of their software products - commerce has gone, martech has gone - and are focusing in other areas. Even Watson isn't transforming their business as they'd hoped it would.

rick_chasey

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

briantrumpet

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

...and keeping rigid control of what happens under the bonnet? https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/15/21292203/apple-app-store-ios-apps-billings-revenue-517-billion-2019-antitrust-regulation

rick_chasey

briantrumpet said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

...and keeping rigid control of what happens under the bonnet? https://www.theverge.com/2020/6/15/21292203/apple-app-store-ios-apps-billings-revenue-517-billion-2019-antitrust-regulation

Well yeah, you can do that if you have the hardware, right?

I get the point, eventually the power of the phones and hardware will be so far beyond what is required it will become commoditised and it'll be about the operating systems etc that differentiates, but we're a while off that for now.

bompington

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

I think Apple have basically managed to defy gravity by a) clever marketing that has persuaded a lot of people that somehow they're better than all the rest and b) locking willing victims into the ecosystem.

For now: Apple, too, are trying their hardest to get into content, or else why would they be spending so much of their cash pile on it?

rick_chasey

bompington said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

I think Apple have basically managed to defy gravity by a) clever marketing that has persuaded a lot of people that somehow they're better than all the rest and b) locking willing victims into the ecosystem.

For now: Apple, too, are trying their hardest to get into content, or else why would they be spending so much of their cash pile on it?

Gotta spend it on something, but yeah. People spend a lot on hardware still.

briantrumpet

bompington said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

I think Apple have basically managed to defy gravity by a) clever marketing that has persuaded a lot of people that somehow they're better than all the rest and b) locking willing victims into the ecosystem.

For now: Apple, too, are trying their hardest to get into content, or else why would they be spending so much of their cash pile on it?

What I haven't been able to understand is how Apple have got away with not being aggressively forced to split up, as Microsoft were.

TheBigBean

briantrumpet said:

bompington said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

I think Apple have basically managed to defy gravity by a) clever marketing that has persuaded a lot of people that somehow they're better than all the rest and b) locking willing victims into the ecosystem.

For now: Apple, too, are trying their hardest to get into content, or else why would they be spending so much of their cash pile on it?

What I haven't been able to understand is how Apple have got away with not being aggressively forced to split up, as Microsoft were.

But Microsoft seem to have gone back to doing the things that they got in trouble for before e.g. instead of forcing Internet Explorer on everyone, they are now forcing Edge on them.

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

pinno said:

Pross said:

Seeing IBM adverts on the ITV Tour coverage made me wonder who still uses their kit. Back in the 90s every bit of computer kit in the public sector seemed to be IBM but I haven't seen one of their computers in possibly 20 years. I assume they still do stuff in more specialist environments like medical and research?

Software innit.

Money hasn't been in hardware for quite some time.
It only exists as a holder for the cash cow.

I may be a mug here but isn't apple the biggest company in the world off the back of, primarily, its consumer hardware?

With which you get the chance to use their software, Apps and iCloud. The best of which come at a cost. They then offset the low cost stuff by over pricing the hardware.
They are an outlier.

dennisn

The impossible has happened. A rider in the TDF wins the race on a bike equipped with rim brakes. How is this even possible? After all that's been written by the disk brake worshippers on this site? Must be a photoshopped picture.

orraloon

dennisn said:

The impossible has happened. A rider in the TDF wins the race on a bike equipped with rim brakes. How is this even possible? After all that's been written by the disk brake worshippers on this site? Must be a photoshopped picture.

He had a hidden motor. The UCI bloke targetted the wrong Slovenian. Simples.

Pross

dennisn said:

The impossible has happened. A rider in the TDF wins the race on a bike equipped with rim brakes. How is this even possible? After all that's been written by the disk brake worshippers on this site? Must be a photoshopped picture.

I think you are getting sites confused. I've never seen a disk brake worshipper here, some think they're better and some think they aren't.

rick_chasey

I don’t think the riders braked once in the final TT.

orraloon

FWIW I have rim, mech disc and hydraulic disc. Disc and partic the hydraulic disc is fxxx yeah, and I am in no way riding at anything like the speeds and conditions that pro riders do.

First.Aspect

dennisn said:

The impossible has happened. A rider in the TDF wins the race on a bike equipped with rim brakes. How is this even possible? After all that's been written by the disk brake worshippers on this site? Must be a photoshopped picture.

He won *despite* rim brakes.

Hope that helps.

dennisn

First.Aspect said:

dennisn said:

The impossible has happened. A rider in the TDF wins the race on a bike equipped with rim brakes. How is this even possible? After all that's been written by the disk brake worshippers on this site? Must be a photoshopped picture.

He won *despite* rim brakes.

Hope that helps.

I like that.

Stevo_666

Now if somebody wins a mountain biking race with rim brakes, then I'd sit up and take notice

webboo

I once won a mountain bike race with a bike with rim brakes.

pblakeney

webboo said:

I once won a mountain bike race with a bike with rim brakes.

Braking is losing. 😉

Stevo_666

webboo said:

I once won a mountain bike race with a bike with rim brakes.

What year was that?

TheBigBean

I can't see the point of disc brakes on a road bike, but I can on a mountain bike. Brakes always used to get clogged up with mud.

briantrumpet

TheBigBean said:

I can't see the point of disc brakes on a road bike, but I can on a mountain bike. Brakes always used to get clogged up with mud.

Unless it's really tipping down, I've not had problems stopping using rim brakes either - if anything, usually I have to be cautious, especially in dry weather, that I don't grab them too hard.