Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by tankinbeans »

That's what I was trying to think of. I'd remembered hearing about the technology required, but couldn't think of the name.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Rope-Pusher »

The Jeep was the last Army vehicle used in combat areas to require gasoline. There was a study done toward outfitting them with VW Diesel Engines, but they were getting long in the tooth anyway, they didn't really have enough cargo capacity, and their off-road mobility was limited to low-speed operation, so the call went out to contractors for a High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle and that's how the HumVee was born.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Teamwork »

Rope-Pusher wrote: What are you gonna do when you pull up to the supervcharger station and the lines are 4-deep, with each charge taking about an hour?

Owning and operating a battery-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle must be like driving one's cell phone or lap-top confuser - you keep it in the back of your mind to charge it at every opportunity, because you never know when you will need a full charge and it's too late to think about it when the occasion comes up.
Definitely foresee some growing pains; if it hasn't started already. Like I've said my office building literally has 4 plug in stations (which is probably 4 more then most) and they are constantly taken by the same 4 cars. I always see that Fusion energi, two chevy volts (one last gen/one new gen), and and a Tesla. Range anxiety is going to be a real thing because from what I've lightly read and seen so far- a lot of these range numbers are deeply hindered in real world scenarios. Something as simple as using air conditioning could impact the number moderately and I don't think the idea of 100-115 mile range is that great to begin with.
theholycow wrote:I carry extra batteries for my cell phone.
I used to do this like 5 years ago and I actually had a systematic process but with non-removable backs this has pretty much gone away.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by IMBoring25 »

Yeah, the go-to now has to be one of those plug-in backup batteries, which are inferior to carrying a spare battery in basically every way, including size, weight, and convenience (hours with the phone on an umbilical instead of a quick swap).

It's really unfortunate when we have so many competing companies they all seem determined to make minor variations on the same phone without any major differentiators. The proliferation of water resistance is great and at least the Android world pushed back when they tried to dump the SD card, but my G5 may be the last of the breed when it comes to swappable batteries and IR blasters.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by theholycow »

Oh yeah, don't get me started on nonremovable batteries, missing SD card slots, missing headphone jacks and buttons...you guys know how strongly I prefer standardized modular things. Even among phones with removable batteries I hate how they've been so unable to share a battery model when the specifications and dimensions of the batteries are SO similar.

But when you put the incompatible batteries issue together with people being intimidated by simply removing the cover to drop out the battery and pop in a new one (OMG that's so technical!), you wind up with tethering to a clunky expensive USB battery instead even if your devices all have removable batteries. It's much easier to stock, much easier to sell, much easier to support, and much simpler for the consumers/users (if not easier due to the realities of hauling around a huge battery and being tethered).

Not only do people not have to select the right battery and carry a spare for each device, but they also don't have to worry about how they will charge it. If you can't find time to charge your phone, how will you charge two batteries? What, now you're going to ask the same "OMG that's so technical!" person to buy an external charger, then have to plug that ugly thing in? Plus, now either it needs to be model-specific or that user needs to figure out a universal one - two adjustable pins for a battery with three or four contacts. Easy for me (and most of us here), scary and unrealistic for plenty of users.

All that, or the user can buy a single USB battery as spare power for all their devices. Well, it's clunky but it IS standardized, universal, and arguably modular. I have one that was given to me, though I've never needed to use it yet I still carry it...when my phone dies I swap in one of my spare internal batteries, and my other USB-powered devices have plenty of capacity or stay tethered to car or mains power.

The library at the college where I work has loaner USB batteries that are a pretty nice system. There is a stack of a dozen of them, looking like the stack of pagers that a chain restaurant gives you while you wait for seating. They have contacts on top and bottom to charge through the stack. You take one, register with your email address (I think, or maybe your student ID number), and that one turns on its USB port. I haven't used it or chatted with the librarians about it but it's been there for a couple years, I see students using them all the time, and I haven't heard any kvetching about theft nor about tech difficulties so it must be a pretty foolproof system.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by theholycow »

Teamwork wrote:Something as simple as using air conditioning could impact the number moderately and I don't think the idea of 100-115 mile range is that great to begin with.
A/C, heat, headlights, wipers, differing driving routes and traffic conditions...these things all take a bigger percentage out of an ultra-efficient electric car's energy budget than that of a combustion powered car. When there is lots of waste, you get to harvest and recover that waste to run some of those things (at least heat), and the cost for those things disappears into the margin easily. When there's little waste those same things become much more significant.

But, like I've probably said before, the idea with the current batch of range-limited battery-only electric cars isn't to have it as your only car or to use it when your trips are unpredictable. It's only meant for predictable commutes (the daily grind to the office) and low-mile in-town drivers (groceries). You leave it at home if you think you might have to go somewhere after work, you leave it at home on the weekend, and if your plans go awry then you seek alternate transportation - let your friend drive his car instead, rent a car (zipcar or traditional), catch an Uber or taxi...or you accept your limitation and say "sorry, I have to stop at home to swap cars first".

My 80 mile/day commute would be good for it. In nasty weather I'd have to leave it home if range was iffy and I couldn't charge at work. If I'm gonna give up my gasoline powered ICE and my clutch pedal, though, I might as well wait a little longer and get a self-driving electric car.

My commute alone in my car is great, but I've been commuting with my wife for a year and half now and most of the joy of driving has been chipped away by having to make reasonable concessions for a passenger...can't crank my tunes (and most days I just don't bother with music at all), can't whip it around corners, can't shift rough the way I like, can't light up a pipe or cigar, can't even take my uncivilized increasinly beat-up car most of the time so we're in her car with its nasty shift linkage and stiff ride and so then I have to further modify my driving because she's worried about her car, and since we're in her car I can't modify or even accessorize the car the ways I like...etc. Can't even stop at Harbor Freight or just get groceries because she's had enough of the day already and just needs home ASAP.

She hates driving so if we're together I drive (except rare occasions when I'm feeling particularly bad because tired/sick/etc), but when it's two hours a day like that I might as well just let a self-driving car do it so I can stick earphones in my ears and watch TV or listen to music.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by AHTOXA »

Moved out of my old apartment and into a new one 30 minutes away all within 6 hours, including 90% unpack. The packing part took 3-4 hours only over last few days.

The longest part? Getting rid of all the stiff I didn't need so I wouldn't have to move it.

Living downtown Plano now. I think I'm going to like it here.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by watkins »

AHTOXA wrote:Living downtown Plano now. I think I'm going to like it here.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Teamwork »

The common trend is dust proofing/water proofing the devices so I guess naturally that is a pretty strong contributor to the death of removable back plates. Every phone I've had before that (even pre smart phones) I pretty much ended up owning 2 batteries and switching them in and out. The batteries by the end of the 1st year would be shot but I've noticed that newer phones I haven't really been having a noticeable issue with the battery weakening over time. I bricked my S7 Edge and still had a little less then 6 months before the upgrade but I really had no qualms about that phone. The drop didn't seem bad from my perspective, didn't crack the glass, but I guess it hit just right to basically render the phone useless. Got a repair quote from an authorized dealer and it was literally over the price of buying a new one. I really liked the new LG phone this time around but my positive experience with Samsung for 2 generations now continues me onto a 3rd.

Unrelated note- I find it troubling that storage music devices have gone away. My ipod classic is now a relic and there's nothing superior to it when I purchased it finally back in 2009. I believe it has 160 GB and nothing even comes close to this capacity now. I remember reading articles how "refurbished" and 2nd hand models have actually appreciated in value since they've been discontinued. I know it's only in due time that it will die and I'm not even sure what route I will go. I was an avid CD collector in my youth and those are still sitting in shoe boxes. It was hard for me to adapt to the ipod and I was a late comer but now I don't even know what people are doing. Is it really that applicable to stream music through spotify and Pandora through your car?

My fiancée and I are shopping around for her next car as her Civic is turning out of lease early next year. There's pretty much 0 cars left with a CD player which is kind of turning my GTI in an infinite value (I think even after the refresh they ditched it too). On a side note her front runner right now is the new Mazda CX5. That car feels very German in a positive way.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by tankinbeans »

Go for the lower trim levels if a CD player is needed. I had a Mazda CX-5 GT as a rental and it didn't have one.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by RomPirate »

OT: Glad to see this thread is alive and kicking. I'll have to frequent this place more. Manuals are dying :(
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by noob5,000,000 »

Teamwork wrote:

Unrelated note- I find it troubling that storage music devices have gone away. My ipod classic is now a relic and there's nothing superior to it when I purchased it finally back in 2009. I believe it has 160 GB and nothing even comes close to this capacity now. I remember reading articles how "refurbished" and 2nd hand models have actually appreciated in value since they've been discontinued. I know it's only in due time that it will die and I'm not even sure what route I will go. I was an avid CD collector in my youth and those are still sitting in shoe boxes. It was hard for me to adapt to the ipod and I was a late comer but now I don't even know what people are doing. Is it really that applicable to stream music through spotify and Pandora through your car?
I know what you mean. I also still use my nearly 10 year old iPod (120gb, I think) for both music and even a few seasons of TV shows. It mostly functions fine, but it has this one annoying quirk; when it's set in a dock connected to the CRT tv in my bedroom via S-video (old school, I know :lol: ) the volume adjusting bar often stays on screen until I jiggle it in the dock or remove and replace it a couple times. If I jostle it after fixing it, the volume bar will pop back up and stay until I do it again. Oh yeah, the lock switch doesn't work either.

I don't like the idea of streaming everything because, a) someone other than me can decide if content is deleted/rendered unavailable and, b) what do you do when there's no service?
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Rope-Pusher »

noob5,000,000 wrote: I know what you mean. I also still use my nearly 10 year old iPod (120gb, I think) for both music and even a few seasons of TV shows. It mostly functions fine, but it has this one annoying quirk; when it's set in a dock connected to the CRT tv in my bedroom via S-video (old school, I know :lol: )

the volume adjusting bar often stays on screen until I jiggle it in the dock or remove and replace it a couple times. If I jostle it after fixing it, the volume bar will pop back up and stay until I do it again.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by theholycow »

Huh. Youtube doesn't support flash embedding anymore. Either this just changed or it's been a while since I tried to view an embedded Youtube video here on StandardShift.

I'll contact StandardShifter and let him know.
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Re: Misc Thread VI: Return of the Threadi

Post by Teamwork »

tankinbeans wrote:Go for the lower trim levels if a CD player is needed. I had a Mazda CX-5 GT as a rental and it didn't have one.
I don't even think this changes anything for most cars now. I have to admit though I haven't used my CD player much in my GTI but it's nice to still have.
noob5,000,000 wrote: I know what you mean. I also still use my nearly 10 year old iPod (120gb, I think) for both music and even a few seasons of TV shows. It mostly functions fine, but it has this one annoying quirk; when it's set in a dock connected to the CRT tv in my bedroom via S-video (old school, I know :lol: ) the volume adjusting bar often stays on screen until I jiggle it in the dock or remove and replace it a couple times. If I jostle it after fixing it, the volume bar will pop back up and stay until I do it again. Oh yeah, the lock switch doesn't work either.

I don't like the idea of streaming everything because, a) someone other than me can decide if content is deleted/rendered unavailable and, b) what do you do when there's no service?
I agree completely- my IPOD has been running well still (knock on wood) but it's battery life is pretty shot. I pretty much have to keep it constantly plugged in and the only time I have it off a car charge or a dock of some sorts is when I work out. In this time going from a full charge to the red within about an hour. I do shuffle songs quite actively but still it's aged and concerns me.

I am literally baffled that there is not even a product right now (that I am aware of) that even comes remotely close to the capability here. Literally I would have to downgrade storage space. The latest Ipod touch has a max of 128 GB but is $400 after being out forever... 500 GB should be available at this point and not at a price premium...
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A technology related that I am hopeful for- and for fast improvements though is blu tooth/wireless headphones. My dad has a cheap set that he got off amazon from a no name brand company and honestly they work pretty decent for an <30$ purchase. They don't really cut out until he's 3 rooms away from the device and the sound quality is fine with no cut outs or latency issues. I really could do without cords... I hate how mangled they get over time and they basically are the root cause of my headphone deaths forever now.
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