Technology's Breakthrough Thursday?

Three apparently amazing developments appeared in the science news on April 6, 2017. In reading these remember the key words “15” and “%.” That’s how much I understand on average of the science I read. Still, these articles seem very clear.

Double The Capacity from Solar Cells

The use of solar energy has been held back because of the low efficiency of solar cells. The best panels return only about a third of the sun’s energy as electricity and most are far below that. The low efficiency means that you need a lot of surface area to get a usable amount of electricity, and that’s not feasible in a lot of cases.

Talking to Comcast Support

Now, I know that with a title like this you’d expect the author to be Steven King.

It wasn’t that bad. Sort of.

My problem occurred when I tried to add a second wireless router to my house to get better speed on the 4^th floor – a problem since the primary router and the cable modem are on the 2nd floor. I connected the two routers via an Ethernet cable (connecting them wirelessly is a bad idea) and configured the secondary router as required so it wouldn’t conflict with its primary sibling.

This all worked well for a day or so until the network speeds dropped to almost nothing. Even the Amazon Echo Dots were gasping for bandwidth. “Can’t…talk…can’t…”  Poor Alexa.

Anyway, I tried lots of things, including new equipment. But the same thing happened. Finally, I decided the problem must be with Comcast rather than in the house. But I actually had no idea why.

So I started an Xfinity chat. If you didn’t know already, Comcast likes to be called Xfinity. Not surprising since Comcast has won America’s most hated company award for the last  -- I don’t know how many years. Ever since they began giving the award, I guess.

Changing your name is a good way to make people forget who you really are, so I can’t blame them. I mean, it worked for Whitey Bulger.

Bring Back the Ignition Key

Now, I know you’re thinking the guy who wrote the title above has to be a geezer. I mean, old guys are always whining about how things were better in “their day.”

Well, you’ve got me. I’m over 70. And I actually know what you’re talking about. In the early years of this century, my 80-ish uncle, a very smart and well educated man, regularly lamented the breakup of AT&T. Put him in charge and he’d have brought back the rotary dial phone in a heartbeat. And only in black.

Anyway, I’m different (I hope) and the reason I’m thinking about this ignition key thing is a news story reporting that thieves can steal the code from your key fob when you lock your car and then, when you’re gone, drive your car away by clicking a couple of times on a special device that’s captured and retained your code. Since vehicles are now keyless, getting in means getting going.

Moto 360 Review

by Garrison Walters

I got a Fitbit for Christmas and found it really useful. Unfortunately, the band was hard to operate and challenging to keep attached. I bought a “guard” but eventually lost the band with the very small electronic part embedded in it.

The Fitbit was my first fitness assistant device, and it gave me the bug. I really liked the information it offered and wasn’t bothered at all by having it on my arm.

So, when I saw the Moto 360 on sale at Best Buy for half the price of the iWatch, I decided to go for it.

Playing with Languages

Everyone has plans for retirement, and a key goal for me was refreshing some of the foreign languages I’d studied.

I’ve dabbled in lots of languages, including exotics like Albanian and Hungarian, but wanted to be reasonable and focus on restoring ability in the languages I knew the best:  French, Romanian, and Bulgarian.

Rental Car Journal

A Review of the Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, and Chrysler 200

During the last month, I’ve had the experience of driving three of the major entries in the American market’s fiercely competitive mid-size market. These vehicles, all of which I drove courtesy of rental companies, give an interesting window into the state of the automobile industry today.

Fitness Follies and the Apple iWatch

The iWatch is scheduled for April of 2015.

And CEO Tim Cook is telling us it will sharply improve our fitness.

And Thus Spake Google

The humanities are under attack. Enrollments are plummeting, tax cutting zombies in state legislatures are looking for more reasons to cut higher education funding and, most worrisome, a national panel of distinguished persons has published a report.

As an historian and former lesser deanlet in a college with the word “humanities” in its official title, I find the attacks discouraging. And, as someone who writes about technology, I can see further dangers. Specifically, is computer technology in general, and Google in particular, going to destroy the role of the humanities in studying foreign countries and cultures? Even foreign languages themselves? Is French writer Fabien Cazenave right to suggest Google’s Translate software as a solution to the EU’s multiplicity of languages?[i]

Cyborgs Won’t Drive Teslas

AI (Artificial Intelligence) is hot now. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is talking about it, which means it’s due to explode any time.

Musk believes that AI is a huge danger to humans and has donated $10 million to help keep AI “beneficial for humanity.” The super-entrepreneur actually thinks that AI can be evil.

Eeevil, I tell you!

Understanding the Cloud

Introduction

“The cloud” is a confusing concept to many, something that’s not surprising given that the term is used in many different contexts and often not in a consistent manner. This short essay is designed to make the concept clear enough that users can understand its application in any context.