ncbill's Techdirt Profile

ncbill

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  • Mar 02, 2010 @ 07:20am

    Efficiency, cost are fuel cell advantages

    The efficiency for just electrical power production should be roughly twice that of a conventional generator.

    Since solid-oxide fuel cells operate at high temperatures, using the heat produced can get overall efficiencies up to 80% (heat used for space, water heating).

  • Jun 24, 2009 @ 03:35am

    Kindle is...OK

    I have the Kindle 2.

    It is very convenient if you buy a lot books on impulse, or are addicted to NY Times bestsellers ($9.99 each), or must have a major daily newspaper that is not sold locally (e.g. NY Times, LA Times, Financial Times)

    For just reading books it's a very expensive platform.

    The contrast of the e-ink display is nowhere near that of a printed page, and needs a strong light source (ideal outdoors, even in full sun)

    Graphics are...very muddy and essentially worthless on the display as it is now.

    In summary, a convenient platform to hold hundreds of books, but you pay a heck of a price for that convenience.

  • Sep 19, 2007 @ 05:41am

    Play sports, or get involved with some other team function.

    No matter how good technically you are as a computer scientist, economist, or engineer, if you plan on advancing in your career, most of your job will be as a manager.

    At that point, you'll need the people skills to coordinate your people, leveraging their technical skills to complete the assigned projects.