TECHPopuli

Battery University

Batteries are all in the news lately. The Lion battery in my Mac Powerbook died long ago. It no longer will take a charge. I attribute this to years of leaving it plugged into AC power constantly, which I've since learned is a bad thing.

Here's a very interesting looking resource on all-things battery:

Battery University is an on-line resource that provides practical battery knowledge for engineers, educators, students and battery users alike. The papers address battery chemistries, best battery choices and ways to make your battery last longer.

Battery University

Apple recalling laptops now

CNN.com:

Apple is recalling 1.8 million battery packs for its iBook and PowerBook notebook computers due to an overheating problem, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Thursday.

The iBook G4 and PowerBook G4 models are the two Apple products affected by the recall.

The No-Name Aviation Podcast

A couple of friends and I have started to publish a bi-weekly podcast about flying. Eventually it will have a real name, but for now it's called the "No-Name General Aviation Podcast"

The No-Name General Aviation Podcast

Jeb Burnside, Dave Higdon, Jack Hodgson and the rest of the NNGAP gang.

News & conversation about the world of General Aviation flying.

Every two weeks the NNGAP gang will gather to talk about all things GA. You can listen-in as some of General Aviation's most knowledgable, opinionated, and plain-spoken characters do some online, hangar-flying. Show-notes can be found at www.aroundthefield.net.

You can listen to the first episode here. Eventually it should be available through the iTunes Music Store and other podcast portals. But for now you should be able to subscribe via this feed.

Verizon trying to block municipal fiber system

Verizon is forcing this municipal fiber optics system to put in new phone poles to string their lines. New poles are being put in next to existing ones.

To me this looks like a transparent attempt by Verizon to block the competition of the muni system.

For years I've been saying that an internet wire to every home should be part of the public infrastructure like roads, sewers, and the water supply.

YouTube is down???

Just got this message when trying to look at a YouTube video:

We're currently putting out some new features, sweeping out the cobwebs and zapping a few gremlins.

We'll be back later...

They're doing maintenance in the middle of the day? What's up with that?

The Greatest Software Ever

Charles Babcock presents his analysis of the 12 greatest pieces of software ever. He makes interesting arguments for a lot of software which is not thought of so often.

I've thought for a long time that Microsoft Excel, one of his choices, was one of, if not the #1 most important piece of software ever. Its combination of power, being well-written, and its wide usage, seems to me to make it one of the greats. It is far and away the best thing MS has ever produced. Maybe the only good thing ever.

Babcock makes a good case for his #1 choice. No spoiler here, read his article.

Even if you don't agree with all his choices, his essay is an interesting perspective on the history of computing.

[ via digg.com ]

Goodbye Automobile Gas Caps

Ford has announced that it has begun to phase-out the twist-off gas cap:

Replacing the caps will be a flap that opens under pressure from the gas pump nozzle. The flap will fit snugly to the nozzle to stop fumes from escaping, company officials said.

Read more...

Andy I. ponders what was unspoken

Well, it just occurs to me that it wasn’t necessary to point out that this demo wasn’t complete. Nor was it necessary to offer an explicit reason. When Steve is on a keynote stage, he’s a consummate showman…and just as when you’re watching a magic show, it’s the moves that are apparently unnecessary that should attract the closest scrutiny.

Read it all...

Open Road Tolling

I had never heard of "Open Road Tolling" before my recent trip to Wisconsin. They're putting them in all over the Chicago area. Some are already operational.

The conversion from traditional toll plazas to a barrier-free system, the first in the nation, is allowing I-PASS users to travel at highway speeds on the mainline while their tolls are collected electronically by a monotube overhead, reducing congestion and travel times. As a rule, each plaza will have as many Open Road Tolling lanes after conversion as there are mainline lanes leading into or exiting the plaza. Vehicles without I-PASS will keep to the right to pay cash to toll collectors in smaller toll plazas, which will not impact the free-flow of traffic on the mainline. Separating I-PASS traffic from vehicles paying cash will also improve safety at toll plazas.