incomethax

So I work in the energy sector, and you are correct. The method we use for pricing power at a grid level is "local marginal pricing" - this is a price that is based on the location, the demand for power, and the ability for us to get the power across constraints (that is across a power gradient). It is often uneconomical to transmit power great distances, and loss factors are not insignificant. Not sure about Bhutan's grid, or who they can interchange to, but there are frequently wind farms in TX that have to take a loss to generate power simply because they are forced to generate power, and there is no demand for power in the region, and the buses (power lines) are congested. Also stranded hydropower is common the world over - it's easy to generate that power but difficult to build grid and interconnects to transmit that power - the line losses would be too high. For other types of generators - typically nuclear, often times ramp times for them are in the months, so turning up and turning down power is often difficult which is why an application that is passive, droppable, and can withstand latency is ideal to consume such power.

Sort-of. Transmission for HTHV lines (745kV single circuit cost $2.5-4M/mile with ~1% line loss; 345kV single circuit will cost ~$1.5-2M/mile with 5% line loss). For 1MW solar capacity you typically need about 4 acres. 100GW of solar would require 400k acres of land - and come at a cost of about $3 billion for the panels, not to mention the price of land or entitlements. Add in cost of substations and transmission you’re realistically looking at a $10+ Billion project. Which while doable would not profitability compete with other grid solutions. If panels drop by another 30% and power densities improve the grid will naturally tend towards that direction.

This could be a really BIG deal for healthcare if you do it well. I would love to have a completely encrypted db that I could setup dynamic failover and replication. Also an amazing additional feature would be if it contained built-in access logging.

If you were to do that, HIPAA becomes MUCH easier for other healthcare IT startups using your db.

Can you handle apps with background tasks? In my experience, the backend systems basically end up being a large repository of jobs that need to get backgrounded, and handed off to other systems.

I would be even more excited if you could find some way to create and manage those effectively.

I think the issue isn't that the media is getting worse at it - rather they're just as good as they used to be (not very) but it's a lot easier to catch them when they're bad at it, so they just don't do it as much anymore.

What about gravity waves in spacetime? Now you're getting into star trek technology.

I live not too far away myself. Anyone taking @syedkarim up on his offer, I would love to help out!

I agree. I wouldn't however mind a successor series in spirit. Something with an entirely new cast in the same universe as Firefly/Serenity. It would be especially cool if done with tie-ins to the events we're familiar with.

The idea of sharing computation cycles certainly did, however, converting those computation cycles into currency so it can fuel other "real" work is most definitely a by-product of bitcoin.

This could be an interesting model to do out in the open. Rather than covertly mine cryptocurrency, say that the app is free if you contribute hashes to a pool, or you can buy the premium version that doesn't.

Almost like the "slow" version vs the "fast" version of an app.

This is basically supplemental insurance (think Aflac) - the caveat with those insurance companies is that their incentive is to not pay anything out unless a very specific set of circumstances is met.

What struck me from the article:

>For example, successful copyright plaintiffs usually win attorneys' fees if they have a registered copyright.

That means that the MAFIAA gets their legal fees back if they sue the 9-yr old down the street and win?

IMO that's pretty messed up.

How are you planning to handle network security configurations on AWS? I.e. If I wanted to run an iptables config on my servers?

I was thinking the same thing. What I found more annoying than even that, was by the time I read the blurb, other stories had taken over my back button, and I had to click four of five times to navigate back to the frontpage.

Please, let's keep to a minimum of not breaking my back button.

With the frequency that this comes up, I'm a little surprised that no one has tried to build a start-up around this. I'm sure there's enough latent demand for customer service for Google that you could probably charge a fee for it - not sure how much it would be but still something.

Also you've probably got a willing acquirer in Google, providing you can prove out the model.

Only thing is you would need to have plenty of connections into the inner workings of Google to actually be able to serve your customers.

From any one of the many security experts that hang out here - can you give us an assessment of how secure this actually is?

Presumably the OP has an address where he sent his iPhone. Not sure as IANAL, but he theoretically could sue a Doe at a given address and subpoena for an identity.

Maybe it's just a result of us being in the Midwest, but most of the snacks displayed here aren't all that cheap to me. I can get things cheaper if I go to Woodman's (local grocery store) or Costco.

So it's essentially like sailing, except in a glider/aircraft.

That's pretty cool. Are there any directions that you would essentially end up "in irons" like with sailing?

You could actively petition your friends and neighbors locally and try to change your local representation. Especially in elections for Alderman, niche issues like cable monopolies can carry weight, especially because voting is based on the issues raised by a vocal minority. In some places being elected to city council is not that difficult and can be managed in addition to a full time job. Anecdotal evidence but - a friend of mine works as a VP of a local consulting firm and also manages to do a great job as an Alderman.

I've often thought about a basic computer literacy course I would give my parents. I've never really been able to define what that would actually be, given that for me, all of the things have become an internalized second nature, and I myself don't really know how to "dumb it down" far enough that we can share a common vocabulary for most basic computing.

I can't help but thinking that with all the focus on teaching people how basic code works is just too different from what they need. It seems to me that most people actually need to be able to make small improvements in their computer use habits, like utilize tabbed browsing more effectively by learning how to install addons, learning how to learn about which programs and tools are better for their needs than just "something that my local techie" recommended.

IMO think the entire Jeff Atwood "controversy" has gotten blown out of proportion. It's helpful for people to learn how a computer thinks (ie learn to code), but its much more necessary for people to learn how to use the code that is often already out there.

Exactly. In the app gold rush, the ones selling pickaxes are Apple and Google with iOS and Android.

Not quite yet...

http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20120504153813681

It's a Sunday. HN is usually slow on a Sunday. On one hand it's nice to see stories that wouldn't make it to the front page, on the other there isn't the same amount of conversation as on a weekday.

Please link directly to the RT article mentioned on slashdot

Here it is for easier access http://rt.com/usa/news/cispa-bill-sopa-internet-175/

The term sheet is a negotiated instrument. In rare cases (Facebook, Google, etc.) VCs don't have the leverage to have these terms in the deal and still get the deal. In those circumstances their fiduciary responsibility is to try and get in on the deal they know will likely go big, even if they can't get everything they want.

Point is, traction and growth are very sexy for a VC.

That's exactly what Doctorow is arguing. He says that we don't actually have a way to make a computer capable of only running specific applications, we just have general purpose computers that are loaded with spyware/malware to prevent running every program as an approximation to a specialized computer.

IMO the only way to prevent SOPA passing would be Google/Facebook/Wikipedia going the "nuclear option" and putting up a click through page - short of that I doubt something this widely supported would get stopped.

Is there a cached version? The site seems to be down.

Madison, WI - Rails Developer - healthfinch.com

We're a Healthcare IT startup working on developing apps and tools that add-on to EMRs to improve patient safety, reduce administrative overhead on clinical staff, and save organizations time and money.

We've just finished raising our Series A, and we're looking to hire a couple developers with the right fit.

We'll hire an intern for the spring, but only if you're able to go full-time after your internship ends.

For developers, knowledge of Rails/Javascript/Coffeescript is a requirement; Interest in working with large amounts of data and analytics is a plus.

Nice to haves: Starcraft APM 50+; experience integrating with EMRs; working knowledge of HL7; experience designing and testing RESTful APIs.

You can email me and my co-founder directly: jobs at healthfinch.com

Please include "HN" in the subject line.