Thorry84

@Thorry84@feddit.nl

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Transparent solar cell technology could allow smartphones and cars to self-charge⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  Did a simple calculation to see how long it would take for such a tiny solar panel to charge the phone. And that’s not using the phone (turned off) and without concern for overheating the phone by putting it in direct sunlight. The efficiency of regular solar panels are bad, this transparent thing is cool but way worse than regular panels. In an optimized scenario (not realistic) it would take 60 hours for a full charge. Since there aren’t usually 24 hours of sunlight (let alone full direct sunlight) it would probably take a week to charge.

  Self charging phones using solar isn’t a thing that’s practically possible.

  Even at high efficiency (which isn’t possible) it isn’t practical since phones don’t do well in the sun and are usually stored in pockets, bags and often have covers over them. Plus they are mostly used inside where there isn’t sun, or outside where most of the times there also isn’t a lot of sun.

  Just put a solar panel on the roof, that’s the best place for solar panels.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Closing the car boot on your head will now kill you in Pacific Drive⁩ ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩:

  I’ve closed the boot on my own head at least a thousand times in this game. The hitbox is janky AF.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨The Hacker Who Hunts Video Game Speedrunning Cheaters⁩ ⁨⁨2⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah I can’t read his name without hearing the “keeper of TASbot” right after it.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft open sources MS-DOS 4.0⁩ ⁨⁨6⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Dosbox runs just fine on a Raspberry Pi or similar

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Microsoft's sneaky KB5001716 Windows 10 update pushes Windows 11⁩ ⁨⁨7⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I would really like to see an EU law for manufacturers to make them only provide security updates and not also feature updates.

  I’ve lost features on my phone and TV because an ‘update’ removed them or made them not work properly. Both Apple and Samsung have fucked over older phones I had by ‘updating’ it to a new version of the OS which runs slow as fuck and drains the battery in 3 hours. Microsoft keeps fucking with all their settings and menus, so you have to guess where everything will be that day. Not to mention randomly breaking stuff.

  When I choose to buy a product, it’s because of all it’s specs and features, not only the hardware but also the software. The manufacturer shouldn’t be able to change any of that retrospectively. Also they should allow for the exact functionality to be preserved if they update the user agreement and you chose to not accept. Usually this just disables the device or some features. Once the product is sold, the agreement is done, I can’t change my part of the agreement (like the amount of money I paid), so they shouldn’t be able to anyways.

  I don’t know why we let companies get away with all this BS nowadays. And don’t tell me free market bullshit, because all big companies pull that shit, the choice is an illusion.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Be amazed by the uses of Tech...⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Hundreds of millions would be a lot. I think you overestimate the demand for something like Starlink a lot. People who can afford to pay and would consider paying for Starlink tend to live in well developed countries. These countries typically have internet connections which are better than wat Starlink offers. Statistically most people live in cities, which also typically have good internet. People who live in lesser developed countries and don’t live in cities tend to not be able to afford or willing to pay for Starlink. Usually there are other cheaper options available, even though they would offer less bandwidth than Starlink. So the total market would not be hundreds of millions.

  Starlink also offers poor bandwidth and latencies compared to local solutions. People who just use things like Facebook would rather have a low latency and low bandwidth solution than a high inconsistent latency and high bandwidth solution. Starlink is getting better, but the latency, especially in regions with few base stations (which is their best use case) will be inherently poor compared to wired or local wireless solutions.

  Starlink themselves thought they would have 20 million subscribers in 2022. In reality they managed just about 1.5 million. (It’s not clear how accurate these numbers are and if they include non paying customers) They could get more people on board if they lower pricing, but then they need more customers to get the same revenue. Since the costs of building and launching the satellites, managing them and maintaining the ground part of the system are fixed and high, they need to generate a lot of revenue to turn a profit.

  There may be large parts of underdeveloped areas in the US for example where people have the need for high bandwidth internet and are able to afford it and local solutions are lacking. But you end up with only 50 potential customers for one area of which maybe 5-10 people actually sign up. As soon as you hit something like a town, local wired and wireless internet solutions will outcompete Starlink easily. In a poorer country there may be more people to be found in rural areas, but if you only make the equivalent of $5000 a year, you probably won’t spend more than $1000 for Starlink. For those people the budget they have for internet would be more like $50 a year max.

  And remember even if Starlink starts to operate at a profit, they aren’t out of the woods yet. They have had huge upfront starting costs, much more than they expected. Those costs need to be covered before investers actually get anything.

  All the while they are competing with local internet solutions which are being rolled out fast all around the world. Something like 5G is rapidly cutting into the need for something like Starlink. As soon as subscriber count starts dropping instead of rising, it’s all over.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Be amazed by the uses of Tech...⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yes this helps with positioning and orbital decay. Almost every satellite has this, it isn’t special to Starlink stuff. I know Elon makes it sound like they’ve invented the wheel here, but much of what they do has been done in one way or another.

  There are a couple of factors which impact the lifespan of these satellites:

  • Technological progression. As they refine the technology and techniques they need to update the satellites with the latest and greatest. This means of course removing the old satellite and replacing it with a new one. Especially in the early days (now) this is a huge factor in replacing their stuff.
  • Failure rates. This is mostly due to radiation, but may also be due to other factors. The network is only as good as it’s nodes, so failing nodes need to be replaced fast. Radiation hardening is expensive and usually adds weight. This is a trade off between launch costs, the number of satellites they can fit in a Falcon 9 and lifespan of the stuff. Things like solar storms can have a huge impact, as Starlink found out the hard way.
  • Fuel consumption. Exact positioning is important for Starlink and with their VLEO orbits drag is a big factor. The satellite have very cool engines that help them stay in place, but only a limited fuel supply. There is a safe minimum fuel as regulation requires them to de-orbit safely, which takes a lot of fuel. So just running it till it’s empty is a no go, they need a good safety margin. They also don’t want to start any kind of Kessler syndrome kind of deal, so old spots need to be cleared out before new stuff can go in.

  There are other factors, but these are the big ones. Starlink say they are aiming for a total replacement every 5 years, but in practice it’s more like 3 years. This is mainly due to the first batches being more prototype like, getting nearer to a final design recently.

  With the proposed 11.000 unit constellation and the 5 year replacement rate, they would need more than 1 Falcon 9 launch each week. The costs are literally astronomical and the revenue has been only a fraction of what Elon sold the investors. I would be surprised if the plug is pulled on the whole Starlink thing.

  People seem to think Starlink is the first and only one to try this, but it has been tried for decades and almost all have failed. The only success is with companies targeting niches, where there is little to no competition and premium rates can be had. For example reporters in the field broadcasting from a van to a satellite to be live on TV was a big niche. So far Starlink hasn’t delivered on a lot of the promises made by Elon and is destined to fail unless something big changes.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Be amazed by the uses of Tech...⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Well Starlink is yet to turn a profit, so I’m not sure it has any place to actually exist. I think it’s mostly there to fill up the SpaceX launch schedule. Especially since the Starlink stuff de-orbits in like 3 years, so they have to keep on launching.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Be amazed by the uses of Tech...⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  Yeah that’s true!

  But the cables aren’t exactly running in a straight line I think, so I would need to do some math and research to figure out if the circumference actually matters. Someone get on this!

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Be amazed by the uses of Tech...⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  While the general message of this meme is true, almost none if the internet actually goes through satellites. There are huge cables all around the world connecting the whole thing. And while launching rockets and deploying satellites is really cool, I think ocean crossing cables are impressive all on their own. Image a cable not only long and strong enough to cross an ocean, but also resting on the ocean floor, exposed to the environment and expected to work for decades. And to think the first of these cables was deployed back in 1858.

• ⁨Comment⁩ on ⁨Do guys that tip cam models hundreds of dollars week after week think that model actually likes them?⁩ ⁨⁨11⁩ ⁨months⁩ ago⁩:

  I don’t think a blanket statement about parasocial relationships are warranted at all based on some outliers.

  Being in a parasocial relationship is fine as long as both people are aware of this and feel comfortable with the position I’m in. It’s only when this isn’t the case it becomes a problem, this isn’t inherent to parasocial relationships and applies to a lot of relationships.

  I have a parasocial relationship with a certain Twitch streamer. I have no delusions about what that relationship is or isn’t. I pay/donate because I value what this person adds to my life in the form of content and a community. The streamer is only vaguely aware of my existence and that’s fine. I do not want to be a part of his life except as a community member in general and all he brings to my life is the entertainment and a cool place to hang out. I see this as a win-win scenario.

  Of course there are always whales who pay big bucks, but I feel most of them are like me, they just pay what they feel the value is. If I have a shitty week and the provided entertainment cheers me up, I might donate $10. If a rich whale has a shitty week and they get cheered up they might donate $100 bucks. But there is no notice me senpai aspect or expectation this changes anything in the relationship.