hatcravat

Are there embedded linux distributions that work without a memory management unit? I ask is because it looks like the Stellaris doesn't have one. The Memory Protection Unit allows the OS/monitor/etc. to limit access to specified regions from unprivileged processes, but it does not appear to have any sort of remapping facility.

It completely depends on one's typical ride. If you're climbing 10% grades all day in lycra, then 5 lbs makes an enormous difference. If, on the other hand, you're carrying a 10 lbs lock and 40 lbs of stuff in your panniers, then, yeah, the weight of the bike won't matter that much. In the latter case a heavier bike may actually be better.

As much as everyone obsesses over weight, it's not the only difference between a $500 bike an a $5000. The more expensive components are also going to have more-difficult-to-quantify benefits like fit and finish (i.e., look prettier). The higher-end components also work better: shifting will be much more consistent, bearings will roll more freely, brakes won't require as much force, etc.

This is analogous to a car magazine complaining about how a particular model has a "mushy gearbox." You can still drive it, but the experience isn't as nice.

And don't trust doctors.

The problem is many bikes are legitimately sold for well below MSRP. When a bicycle manufacturer sponsors a college team, they typically sell just-released models to team members for less than wholesale. The members will sell the bike the following year (when the frame is still considered a current model year) for the same as they paid and buy another new one.

Hmm... it seems like the really sweet spot for this type of thing is one that could supply power while you drive. If it could deliver about 7 kW (a little more than the mains plug for a domestic dryer or oven or range), it would supply around 50% to 70% of the car's freeway power requirements. That would double or triple the range, from ~250 miles to ~750 miles.

Depending on the engine computer (or lack thereof), a couple seconds of throttle lag isn't unreasonable. One of the things my flight instructor made a point to show me while learning to fly small planes (with carbureted engines, so the effect was magnified compared to what you'd see on a modern fuel-injected auto) was throttle lag on a balked landing (go-around). Most aircraft engines directly drive the propeller, so there are no transmission effects to confusing things. Shoving the throttle from idle to wide-open can actually cause a dip in RPM as the higher manifold pressure condenses formerly vaporized fuel and the fuel system tries to catch up.

I don't think the state even needs to go that far. Just have a (gradually increasing) number of press conferences where serious-looking men in uniforms talk gravely about the dangers of Bitcoin and how it is used by criminals to facilitate drugs/human-trafficking transactions. Then have a think-tank with a respectable-sounding name release a report saying that very few law-abiding people use Bitcoin and that there are $X billion of criminal transactions annually. Then a concerned politician can sponsor a bill that makes owning Bitcoins prima-facie evidence of criminal intent to sell drugs/contriband/whatever as part of his/her "tough on crime" initiative.

This will result in a positive feedback loop: The utility of Bitcoins for "regular" people will fall and for "criminals" remain about the same, increasing the criminal fraction of the Bitcoin economy. It won't kill Bitcoin outright, but it will prevent Bitcoin from being anything more than a marginal player.

Do you feel that in this case the charges of sexism are legitimate?

Amex does have a few cards without an annual fee... at least the Blue series do not, and possibly others. Blue cards are more like a credit card than a charge card, though.

> Shannon's law tells us that higher frequencies are capable of more bandwidth than the lower frequencies, which means high-frequency RF could transfer a lot more information than low-frequency RF systems [4].

Almost: Shannon's law sets a limit on the amount of information that can be transmitted through a channel with a given signal-to-noise ratio and a given BANDWIDTH (it's bandwidth * log(s/n) ). Now, it happens to be the case that systems operating at higher frequencies often (nay, usually) do have higher bandwidth for a number of reasons, but Shannon's law doesn't care what carrier frequency your channel uses.

Leap seconds only occur at the end of a month, so an NTP client that accepted such leapseconds would be non-compliant.

Hmmm... I think you're still missing the point, so let me try.

The point was that for most TV shows the viewer is likely going to watch the entire series not just the current season. The GP's point was not that the back catalog is available for free in a clunky way, but that that most viewers won't care about old episodes. `

>But there are reams of math and many fields of science (astronomy, paleontology) that have no practical utility.

Really? Just how do you think ships (and airplanes while over water) navigated before GPS? How do you think the radius (and from that and the density, the mass) of the earth was determined? Would you be able to drive your car to work if not for the effort of paleontologists (many of whom work for the oil industry)?

Sure, but you can get an MSP430 dev kit (stripped down IDE for C; USB dev board with a programmer and a few buttons and LEDs; a couple devices in DIP packages) from TI for $4.30 plus shipping.

Also, most microcontroller companies provide all the specs you need to roll your own end-to-end software for the device. Aside from specifying the machine language (so you can write your own compiler), they also have app notes for programming the onboard flash via JTAG or another interface. With programmable logic, it seems like the only parts that don't require the vendor's own programmer and synthesis software are legacy SPLDs like 22v10s.

16 GB shared among 4 CPUs is different from 4 CPUs which each access 4 GB of private memory.

I'm not sure if you're being a troll, but I'll bite anyway.

This is about consumer choice: Motorola clearly does not have any device which effectively competes with the iPhone. Further, allowing Motorola to pick and choose who it competes against (remember, they are arguing that, as the holder of a patent required to implement a standards-compliant device, they get to play gatekeeper for the mobile phone market) is plainly against the interests of the consumer.