spctrvl's recent activity
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Comment on Is a meat-free diet really as healthy as vegetarians claim? in ~health
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Comment on Volfefe index in ~finance
spctrvl Link ParentAuthoritarian is the more fitting term, I think. Totalitarianism is rather specific, and doesn't really describe the modern American government- that's actually why the term inverted...Authoritarian is the more fitting term, I think. Totalitarianism is rather specific, and doesn't really describe the modern American government- that's actually why the term inverted totalitarianism was coined, and Trump fulfills its tenets to a much greater extent.
6 votes -
Comment on Democracy devouring itself: The paper predicting the end of democracy in ~science.social
spctrvl Link ParentYeah, Rosenberg seems to have an unbelievably rosy view of elites. Maybe this isn't an entirely fair reading, but I got the distinct impression of victim blaming from his argument. Almost like an...Yeah, Rosenberg seems to have an unbelievably rosy view of elites. Maybe this isn't an entirely fair reading, but I got the distinct impression of victim blaming from his argument. Almost like an abusive spouse, the elites saying "Well maybe if you loved us enough to keep us in unquestioned positions of power, we wouldn't have to take away your democracy! You did this to us!".
1 vote -
Comment on Democracy devouring itself: The paper predicting the end of democracy in ~science.social
spctrvl LinkNot sure how you could look at struggling democracies and come away with the conclusion that insufficient elite rule is the problem. If anything, it seems to me that the rise of right wing...Not sure how you could look at struggling democracies and come away with the conclusion that insufficient elite rule is the problem. If anything, it seems to me that the rise of right wing populism, while not the first choice of most elites, has their tacit endorsement, since it offers false solutions to the fundamental problem of the socioeconomic inequality that they are the benefactors of, that don't seriously threaten their position at the top of society. The same energies of discontent could just as easily, if not more easily, be channelled into a revival of social democracy IMO, but that's fought against tooth and nail because it would erode elite power.
18 votes -
Comment on Librem 5 Shipping Announcement in ~tech
spctrvl Link ParentTizen's not completely free software though, it's got proprietary bits in the SDK and there's some restrictions on patent licensing, and Purism are very much of the GNU/FSF mindset when it comes...Tizen's not completely free software though, it's got proprietary bits in the SDK and there's some restrictions on patent licensing, and Purism are very much of the GNU/FSF mindset when it comes to that sort of thing, so that'd never fly. And they are building on Plasma Mobile, in addition to their GNOME based UI. As for Ubuntu Touch, I wasn't aware it was still around after Canonical pulled the plug; that one is a bit more confusing. I also now totally want to get my hands on one of their supported phones and give it a go. Wonder if there are any Nexus 4s or 5s left without shot batteries...
4 votes -
Comment on Librem 5 Shipping Announcement in ~tech
spctrvl Link ParentThey aren't doing it from scratch or anything though, it's essentially Debian tweaked for mobile use. As far as I'm aware, there aren't any ready-to-go mobile Linux distros since Ubuntu Touch...Though a close runner-up is how they are designing their own operating system instead of starting with any number of existing options.
They aren't doing it from scratch or anything though, it's essentially Debian tweaked for mobile use. As far as I'm aware, there aren't any ready-to-go mobile Linux distros since Ubuntu Touch died, so I'm not sure what else they could've done on that front. I guess technically Android's an option, but using it practically defeats the point of the phone, and would put a lot more burden on Librem in the long run, since they'd basically be in an ideological war against their upstream developer.
As for the hardware, I don't think having the latest and greatest has ever been a priority of the project. The CPU they picked uses Cortex A53 cores, which have been shipping in phones since 2014. And that's an upgrade over their original choice, the i.MX6, with Cortex A9 cores that are just ancient. I don't think an extra year or two is gonna make a difference, especially since they're developing their distro and associated software with that chip in mind.
7 votes -
Comment on Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained in ~news
spctrvl Link ParentI think we're close enough to fusion at this point that building a power plant is more an engineering than a physics problem. Tokamak designs are pretty much already where they need to be in terms...I think we're close enough to fusion at this point that building a power plant is more an engineering than a physics problem. Tokamak designs are pretty much already where they need to be in terms of performance, it's just a matter of building them in a cost effective manner. MIT's ARC and SPARC concept reactors are the best way forward in that regard IMO, since they reach ITER levels of performance for a fraction of the size and cost.
1 vote -
Comment on Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained in ~news
spctrvl Link ParentI dunno, consumers sure don't tend to ask those questions when it comes to other things with minimal marginal costs, like SMS or mobile data caps. As long as it's cost competitive, I doubt they'd...I dunno, consumers sure don't tend to ask those questions when it comes to other things with minimal marginal costs, like SMS or mobile data caps. As long as it's cost competitive, I doubt they'd care. Because of the rent seeking potential there, I'd totally prefer a nationalized approach like that.
Well fusion gets peanuts because when it comes to waiting 10-15+ years for a viable energy source (or unknown time frame), vs putting existing tech up in space or making existing tech more efficient/cheaper, I think it makes sense to gravitate towards the existing tech.
I think the causal arrows are reversed there: fusion research takes so long because it's underfunded. We've known the basic principles of net gain fusion for years, it's just that nobody wants to pay up for the tokamaks big enough to do it. ITER, a project funded by a dozen or so of some of the world's richest counties, barely managed to scrape together two weeks of US military funding for a 20 year program.
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Comment on Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained in ~news
spctrvl Link ParentI disagree, there's plenty of money to be made in SBS, with high barriers to entry and minimal ongoing costs. The failure of capitalism to develop this industry is a lot more to do with high up...It's a "bad investment", which is why it will never come to fruition under capitalism.
I disagree, there's plenty of money to be made in SBS, with high barriers to entry and minimal ongoing costs. The failure of capitalism to develop this industry is a lot more to do with high up front costs, and the near inability of markets to prioritize long term investment over short term gains. Same reason fusion research gets peanuts when we're sinking billions into new coal plants.
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Comment on Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained in ~news
spctrvl Link ParentGotta say, that Blue Origin presentation earlier this year got me pretty hyped: finally, a New Space CEO that's read O'neill! It's too bad there's not a spaceflight company or group that has...Gotta say, that Blue Origin presentation earlier this year got me pretty hyped: finally, a New Space CEO that's read O'neill! It's too bad there's not a spaceflight company or group that has SpaceX's rockets but Blue Origin's vision. Starship is a brilliant rocket, but using it to colonize Mars instead of developing cislunar space is a big mistake, that comes from a rather dated and unrealistic idea of space colonization as the business of settling and terraforming planets.
I'm still decently optimistic though. SpaceX still needs to turn a profit by selling flights to third parties, and there's gonna need to be something big going on up there if those Starships aren't just going spend most of their time sitting on the ground between Martian synods. Even if New Glenn doesn't work out to be particularly economical, BO can presumably charter SpaceX's fleet to move massive amounts of cargo.
2 votes -
Comment on Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained in ~news
spctrvl Link ParentYeah, using Lithium-ion instead of saltwater or flow batteries for grid storage is almost criminally wasteful, especially with a fleet of however many hundreds of millions of cars that still needs...Yeah, using Lithium-ion instead of saltwater or flow batteries for grid storage is almost criminally wasteful, especially with a fleet of however many hundreds of millions of cars that still needs to be electrified.
If you're gonna go to the trouble of setting up a bunch of space infrastructure though, space based solar is really where it's at in the long run. It's arguably even better than fusion, since it's simpler, requires no fuel once set up, and beaming in power as microwaves produces only a fraction of the waste heat that running a steam turbine does. But since the CEO of the current leading space development company also makes a lot of money selling batteries, it might take a little while to get there.
4 votes -
Comment on Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained in ~news
spctrvl Link ParentThat's only the case when disregarding the cost of energy storage, which isn't something that should be done when talking about fully decarbonizing the power grid. Current prices for utility-scale...That's only the case when disregarding the cost of energy storage, which isn't something that should be done when talking about fully decarbonizing the power grid. Current prices for utility-scale battery installations seem to be a bit over $300/kWh (pdf warning). So for a hypothetical 1GW solar installation to maintain its power output for even four hours of unproductive conditions, you would need a storage facility costing over $1.2 billion. If you want anything approaching base load reliability, you get into and above nuclear price territory fast. Because of this, at present, rather than batteries you get nice, carbon spewing peaker plants.
It's true that there are workarounds and options besides batteries, like pumped hydro, and it's also true that batteries are still getting better, but at present it's not quite as financially clear cut as solar and wind just being out and out cheaper, not when you're looking at using them to power the whole grid.
5 votes -
Comment on Project Gemini: A new internet protocol which is heavier than Gopher, lighter than the web, and takes user privacy very seriously. in ~comp
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Comment on Android Q is officially named Android 10 in ~tech
spctrvl Link ParentYeah, getting X and X applications working is pretty much the key thing, sorry if I've been vague about that, and that's why I'm so interested in the PinePhone and Librem 5. I've got a terminal...I would imagine you would have difficulty getting X to work because every mobile GPU is basically a black box.
Yeah, getting X and X applications working is pretty much the key thing, sorry if I've been vague about that, and that's why I'm so interested in the PinePhone and Librem 5. I've got a terminal emulator on my phone, and I've used it a bit, but while it provides a familiar experience, it's super impractical. What I'm going for is access to the full software library of an ARM Linux distro, or at least as much as can be adapted for use on a touchscreen. And while it would be great if I could somehow manage to do that through android, I'd still much prefer to run a regular, honest-to-god Linux distro, since the experience would be more cohesive, performance would be better, and I wouldn't be running an OS developed by an advertising company.
1 vote -
Comment on Android Q is officially named Android 10 in ~tech
spctrvl Link ParentI wasn't aware of userLAnd. Not sure it's quite what I'm looking for, but I'll definitely take a look. Anyway, I'm quite aware android runs the Linux kernel, I said true Linux because I blanked on...I wasn't aware of userLAnd. Not sure it's quite what I'm looking for, but I'll definitely take a look.
Anyway, I'm quite aware android runs the Linux kernel, I said true Linux because I blanked on the term GNU/Linux. What I want is basically to just have a standard GNU/Linux distribution on my phone, and all that entails in terms of customizability, openness, software updates, and performance.
4 votes -
Comment on Android Q is officially named Android 10 in ~tech
spctrvl Link ParentI'm probably not going to be downgrading myself any time soon, but I'm watching the development of true Linux smartphones very closely. If the PinePhone or Librem 5 have proper carrier support in...I'm probably not going to be downgrading myself any time soon, but I'm watching the development of true Linux smartphones very closely. If the PinePhone or Librem 5 have proper carrier support in my area, I'm jumping ship without a second thought.
7 votes -
Comment on Android Q is officially named Android 10 in ~tech
spctrvl Link ParentOne of the ones I don't see brought up much was making the battery monitor awful in Lollipop (and later releases). Back in KitKat, the battery monitor would show you a breakdown of what apps and...One of the ones I don't see brought up much was making the battery monitor awful in Lollipop (and later releases). Back in KitKat, the battery monitor would show you a breakdown of what apps and processes had used what percentage of the discharged battery. So if you were sitting at 70%, and half of your power usage had been the screen, it would read: Screen: 50%. Now it shows percentage of the total battery capacity, so in the same scenario, it would read: Screen: 15%. Throw in cutoffs for low percentages, and it becomes pretty difficult to find out what apps are using the most power unless you let your phone discharge completely. Even then, there's usually a full 30% or more that's totally unaccounted for.
9 votes -
Comment on Inside the Virgin Galactic spaceport sending the mega rich into space in ~space
spctrvl Link Parenthttps://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1094797169565921280 Launch cost of Falcon 9 is <$3000/kg, Musk is targeting a cost per kg of around 1/10 that of the Falcon 9. And it could absolutely happen,...https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1094797169565921280
Launch cost of Falcon 9 is <$3000/kg, Musk is targeting a cost per kg of around 1/10 that of the Falcon 9. And it could absolutely happen, that's nowhere near just the cost of fuel, which would account for less than 4% of that $300, with a rough cost of $1M per launch in fuel.
1 vote -
Comment on Inside the Virgin Galactic spaceport sending the mega rich into space in ~space
spctrvl Link ParentEh not necessarily. If Starship gets anywhere close to its stated design goals of <$300/kg, an orbital flight could be done at less than $250k a passenger, and sub orbital hops could be done on...Eh not necessarily. If Starship gets anywhere close to its stated design goals of <$300/kg, an orbital flight could be done at less than $250k a passenger, and sub orbital hops could be done on the same hardware for even less. I suppose what I meant to say is that dedicated sub-orbital hardware is a dead end, especially at that price point.
1 vote -
Comment on Inside the Virgin Galactic spaceport sending the mega rich into space in ~space
spctrvl LinkWhile it'd definitely be nice to see Virgin Galactic finally start regular tourist service, it's hard to see fifteen minute suborbital hops at this late date as anything but a dead end....While it'd definitely be nice to see Virgin Galactic finally start regular tourist service, it's hard to see fifteen minute suborbital hops at this late date as anything but a dead end. Development's taken so long that even without further delays, they're likely to be leapfrogged by orbital tourist flights inside three to five years. Hell, if SpaceX's Starship keeps anything close to its development timelines, we might have Lunar orbital space tourism by that time.
2 votes
Vitamin B12 is the big one. It's in eggs, so vegetarians have a common source, but the only vegan food I know of that has it naturally is tempeh.