On Mon, 29 Jun 2015 13:18:23 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
news
On Mon, 29 Jun 2015 08:47:09 -0400, "Jim Wilkins"
wrote:
So much to explain. I'm glad I didn't describe the Inca culture as
"chalcolithic".
I had my fun with those, building prototypes at Segway. The
machine
You realize how jealous all of us are for your employment there,
don't
you, Jim? you sucked
They hired me as a temporary, PTOC contractor while their lab tech
was
out for medical reasons. Like all R&D they struggled to keep
engineers
occupied after the product had been finalized, so it wasn't -that-
great a place to work, especially for a temp. It went downhill once
the principal designers left for Apple etc.
https://engineering.purdue.edu/Engr/...DEA_2015/Field
Yabbut, working inside a Big Boy's Toy Factory...
Temps weren't numbered among the core Big Boys, or invited to
contribute projects to Frog Days.
I was nominated onto a three-man Tiger Team for a hot special project
and paid the price in resentment from those not chosen.
Aren't people wonderful?
...
Just to match the motor controller to vehicle dynamics, such as
acceptable motor speed ramp-up and ramp-down rates. I've had the new
front and rear tires of a bike break loose in a corner on asphalt
when
I forgot about the mold release. I could handle it from dirt bike
experience but still I almost banged into the far curb.
Mold release? I expect to hear that during an injection molding
discussion, but not in an electrics/electronics discussion. What
meaneth thou?
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=669165
Oh, tires! Yeah, mold release. I was entirely in electronics mode in
that conversation so you threw me.
The "gas tank" was for appearance.
I forgot myself. Then it should have been a clamshell (or simply a
platform) for the laptop.
The "Industrial Designers" rather than the engineers had final say on
the appearance. Techs had no say at all.
Is that anything like "military intelligence"? Thot so.
For engineering work I prefer older, larger (heavier), more capable
business-class laptops, which approach the expandability of desktops
but are portable on internal battery or external 12V.
I programmed a voice card/telephone tree database for a guy who gave
me a suitcase computer to work on. He sold classic hotrod refurb
services. That was interesting. http://tinyurl.com/at82m8s That
was
a typical '80s business class "laptop". Your Latitude is a bit
smaller.
"Portable" means it has one or more handles, as do upright pianos. I
tried to spread the term "schleppable".
g
My Dell Latitude
Ds accept both a boot SSD and a Terabyte spinning HDD in the CD bay,
Cardbus plus ExpressCard plugins which I use for USB2 and USB3 or
more
datalogging serial ports, and a DVD or another large HDD in a
special
higher-power USB expansion bay.
http://www.amazon.com/Dell-PD01S-Ext.../dp/B001ULDYXI
Those are going for a song, wot?
I paid $25 for the D820 I loaded the CAD program on. It inherited 4 GB
of RAM from another one that went to 8 GB.
I found that the built-in 15" screen was fine for detailing the CAD
drawing of the trolley wheels and axles and I don't need to plug in
the 22" monitor.
Yeah, just mount the 22" monitor to the windshield...
In July it will be illegal to draw while driving here.
Don't laws like that burn you up? They'll certainly save the lives of
texters and sketchy people everywhere. Where's Darwin when you need
him? I understand they're padding light posts in London for that same
reason. Crom help us!
The IBM Thinkpads and Toshiba Satellites at work were similarly
capable. I happened to go with Dell at home because they are cheap
and
plentiful, including the batteries and accessories.
How's the reliability? I hear the business models have been
considerably more reliable than the consumer crap Dell puts out.
I'd hope so, as they sold for $2-5k new.
There were real and alleged problems, like burning batteries,
overheating nVidia graphics chips, mother board cracks, etc. AFAICT
only the fittest have survived. They are relatively easy to open up
and work on.
They aren't entirely suited to Windows 7 and may need suboptimal Vista
drivers. Only the final x30 models have an AHCI option and ability to
take 8GB of DDR2 RAM if you install a 64 bit OS. The fastest available
processor appears to be an overpriced Core 2 Duo 2.6GHz T9500, my best
one is 2.4GHz. The graphics are good enough for live HDTV but
reportedly not for gaming.
7? Hell, Win 3.1 had most everything we could want. ('cept memory)
http://dellwindowsreinstallationguid...dows-7-32-bit/
"This model and Operating System is not supported by Dell."
USB adapters like these connect a laptop to automotive and smart
battery electronics:
http://www.amazon.com/USB-CAN-Conver.../dp/B00FFZ8L24
How so? Not familiar with CAN bus.
http://canbuskit.com/what.php
http://www.instructables.com/id/Hack...o-and-Seeed-C/
I'll check it out. Yesterday and today each have 1.5 hours of work
for me. It's nice to relax. I have Jupiter Ascending and Last
Knights waiting for me in town at the local RedBox, too.
-jsw, waiting for the weather to clear before I set up my log lifting
equipment.
We've been toying with 100+ degree weather here for a couple weeks
now. May we borrow your rain, please?
--
Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult,
whereas I am merely in disguise.
-- Margaret Atwood