GS: Stirling Auto-- Told ya so

REVOLT: The Segway-maker’s next move

I was just about to tuck in for the night when I came across a story about Dean Kamen's eerily similar idea to put Stirling technology in automobiles. And you know what? He's just the man to do it. He's done a couple things with Stirling engines already, such as his much-publicized water purification system, and putting one in an early Ford engine. The man must also be a fan of Ford motors-- I am as well-- as he is testing the engine in what was once a Ford prototype vehicle. And he's even taken the idea one step further-- since the Stirling engine can run on almost anything that burns, it's a great idea for third-world countries, which can use biogas or anything that's available. It's possible, if we move forward with the technology, as only then will the engine be economical enough to produce in quantity for use in poorer areas.

Let me know when I can get my hands on a General Purpose Heat Source to power my electric Stirling car. Though you'd never have to fill up at a station, just don't drive by any detectors. ;)

FPP: Beta Browsers

I'm very happy to say that there's some great beta web browsers out now. Initially, I was hesitant to early adopt. However, as time went on, my trigger finger itched and now, running beta is so addicting, it's like crack. I keep jonesing for my next fix-- what are they gonna do now? Where's this gonna go? How's this gonna get better? It's the same rush you get from politics, and almost on the same timescale.

Webkit r43000

Safari 4 is undoubtedly the fastest browser here. I've used it quite a bit, and I love it for its snappiness and minimal amounts of chrome-- that's right, I'm a fan of tabs-on-top! Why waste all that space on a useless title bar? It has some neat 3D effects, but I'd prefer not to use them. It has a lot of potential, and I hope Apple delivers. I don't have much to say on this, other than that I used Safari 4 for a few months after having abandoned it for Firefox years ago. It was alright, but after returning to Firefox, I realized where my loyalties lie.

Acid3: 100%
Sunspider: 1039.0ms +/- 1.9%

Firefox 3.5b4

For those who didn't get the memo, 3.5 is the new 3.1 for the 'Fox. A few of my add-ons couldn't find updates, but the ones I need were not affected.

Here's what I'm running:
- Adblock Plus 1.02
- NoScript 1.9.2
- Flashblock 1.5.10
- Tree Style Tab 0.7.2009042301
- Firebug 1.4X.0a14
- Google Reader Watcher 0.0.14.3

I'm somewhat conservative in the things I add, mostly due to beta testing, and partly due to speed. I'm the sort of person who needs my tabs in a hierarchical list, I open that many. I open hundreds! There's another sticking point in Webkit-- after a three day haze of hectic night-long programming sessions, you're looking up dozens of pages from the API reference, documentation from all different sources, even blogs from people doing what you're doing. Well, after those, your browser takes a beating. Where the most memory I've seen Firefox take is about 600mb, I've gotten Safari up to the big 1GB. That's when you need your Power Browser. As much as I love Webkit for its speed, I believe we all love our Firefox for its features. Besides, its Awesomebar is, indeed, rather awesome. I've heard of improved rendering times and JS optimizations, and they're noticeable, which is really great, but who cares? Nobody uses Firefox just for its speed!

Acid3: 93%
Sunspider: 1279.2ms +/- 2.7%

Chromium r14927

This isn't even beta, folks. This isn't for work, it's not even for play, this is for kicks! This is my fix for whenever I want to sate my thirst for the bleeding edge in browser development. I love to see the new stuff they add in, especially for the Mac. Judging from the state of development, the Mac build seems to be the last on the list to be released under the reputable heading, Chrome, one day to be released to the masses... They've also made quite a bit of progress since I'd last tested it a few months ago. Back then you couldn't use command-keys. Now you can do a lot, it's very usable for the most part, fast, and has some nifty animations for opening and closing tabs. You can also drag tabs out, where the rest of the Leopard chrome goes transparent, until it's placed. As for testing, Google's V8 engine is extremely fast!

Acid3: 100%, but fails linktest
Sunspider: 791.8ms +/- 3.1%

Wishlist

- I love less top-chrome. By that, I mean, less pixels between your system's menu bar and the actual page, while still having access to tabs, navigation, and status. Some people browse the internet with so many toolbars they can't see half their page on a 1280x800 screen. You know, those sort of people! You'd think Safari 4 would win this for me, but actually, no. Firefox wins the top-chrome test if you have only the navigation elements, no tabs. Is this cheating? No! My tabs are on the side! Which brings me to the next point.

- Tree Style Tab has been a world-changer for me and my 'Fox. Tabs on the side looks odd at first, and takes a little while to get used to, but if implemented well enough, it's sure to be more accessible. I mean, think about it-- modern LCD screens are wider than they are tall. However, this implementation could be even better... Next point, please.

- We need more web-application interface optimizations. I mean, think about it! For almost every application you use on your desktop that isn't already OS-related, you could use an internet equivalent. Of course, they might not do everything you're used to, or in the case of Mozilla Bespin, are in early, early beta. But if you asked me today if I could live with having no application on my hard drive other than my web browser? You bet.

- So, in recognition of this, we need what The Dock is to OS X, for web browsers. This is where they have to go next, considering that most web applications are gaining ground, both in terms of popularity and features. Check out some discussion at Aza's blog:
http://www.azarask.in/blog/post/firefoxnext-tabs-on-the-side/

- Finally, in the pursuit of less chrome, Instead of Tabs-on-top, let's have Nav-on-top! Lose the page title (that's in the tabs anyway), and put your back/forward, awesomebar, and search, just right of the red-yellow-green gumdrops! Yes, I know, it's small, but it counts.

Test your own browser!

Sunspider tests the speed of your JavaScript engine, which determines the speed of many of the more demanding sites, such as gmail, yahoo mail, and facebook. JavaScript is increasingly important in these days when applications are being moved from the desktop and onto the web.
http://www2.webkit.org/perf/sunspider-0.9/sunspider.html

Acid3 determines how standards-compliant your browser is at rendering websites-- will websites written exactly to the standard run the same on your browser as the theoretical 'perfect' browser? Moving towards this helps us website coders make sure websites look and work right for everyone.
http://acid3.acidtests.org/

Let me know what you think of your beta browser!

GS: Earth Day

As with most national holidays, it's easy to think of some as empty gestures, or having lost their meaning. Columbus Day is one example. In the years past, Earth Day ran a similar course. Not today, however. National news networks acknowledge it, the president acknowledges it, corporations and entire industries acknowledge it. Now, finally, it's time to say that the American people acknowledge this too. In spite of the encouragement of debate from the media, we are, as a nation, ready to move on from the squabbles over technicalities that prove all too trivial today than they were ten years ago.

Regardless of where we stand on the issue of climate change, it is ever more important to invest in new technologies that keep jobs in our country and reduce dependence on foreign or harmful energy. This isn't an isolationist viewpoint-- it is a viewpoint shared by many patriotic Americans who wish to create jobs here that can drive development throughout the world. What we develop here-- biofuels, wind and solar power, etc-- these technologies are just as relevant elsewhere as they are here.

I will acknowledge the problems with the 'green mentality'. As with GOP mouthpieces parroting the old Reagan-era mantras, the greenies who denounce such alternatives as nuclear power and clean coal with their own trivial technicalities need to update to the latest version, so to speak. There's better technology than scrubbers and carbon sequestration-- algae is an example where carbon is fixed into biomass, which is more beneficial than simply storing this precious resource away. Carbon is the basis for all living things, and with it, we may come to realize that our technology can coexist with nature-- the biosphere meets the Otto cycle. With the new Generation III+ reactors, which promise greater reliability, improved fuel cycles, and produce enough electricity to replace two coal power plants, there's never been a better time to invest in a nuclear infrastructure. There is no one right solution to meet all of our energy needs. Every community will find their own solutions, and it's everyone's responsibility to provide those. Answers do not come from protests-- they come from organizing communities and presenting answers.

We all work towards this together, in the things we know, in the things we say, and the things we do. We all play our part in the economic system that leads us towards progress, and it is important that we all seek to understand the implications of our work. For every use for technology, there is another degree of responsibility we must be aware of. In the long scheme of things, regulation-- such as carbon cap & trade-- will keep our industry from straying from the road, and towards a cleaner future, and perhaps create an industry of its own. For local communities, we must all be wise and aware of the ways technology is being used in our community, from the steel mill on the far side of town, to the repair shop that handles grease and oil. As for you and me, there's more we can do than just switching to fluorescent lightbulbs. Individual education in all these matters is essential. In a world where technology affects us all, prudence and wisdom on all levels is necessary to keep us doing right.

One must keep in mind, renewables will get us to energy independence in perhaps fifty years. Investing in all our options, however, will most likely get us there in half that. This is the Apollo Program for green energy we've all been asking for, and this is the time for the optimism we saw when we realized that Obama fulfilled our hopes. We need to keep confident that, through our technology to give us the means, industry to implement that means, and government regulation to keep us on track, we will find we are working towards a better tomorrow, for the generations to come.

FPP: Innovations in 3D in-browser technologies

Google Code Blog: Toward an open web standard for 3D graphics (part 2): Introducing O3D

What's interesting about this one is that JavaScript is used to develop the applications themselves. This is in-line with Unity 3D, but with better browser integration. Needless to say, this will undoubtedly compete with Flash within the 3D marketplace in the years to come. It's my hope that Flash loses the battle on this one, especially if there's integration of the 3D technologies-- O3D, C3DL, then HTML5's features such as audio and raster graphics (canvas, for textures, possibly), and finally, SVG or VML for vector graphics. An engine that provides common game functions wouldn't hurt either. It's possible... Is it sane? Let's hope so.

Preferably, there would be a framework that would 'glue' many libraries together. It would check for either library, then check for HTML5 for 2D graphics manipulation and sound, and finally, SVG or VML (such as through the RaphaelJS library).

Check this post out by a C3DL developer. I agree with many of his views, including those on integration and even on SVG. I have spent a lot of time on SVG, but like I always do, I often fall into the wrong track. I'll admit that was the case, as SVG is a very large specification-- as he mentions-- and because of this, it is very slow. Google's API does a lot, and that's great, but I appreciate the C3DL library because it's already reached 1.0 status, and I applaud its integration efforts. Hopefully more will come of this soon.

I will also investigate these implementations and see what I can come up with in the future, as well. It is my sincere hope that these technologies will come together with all the others in the years to come in order to shift application development towards the web, and onto the browser.

GS: Automotive company finds simpler gas engines are cheaper; could Stirling engines have a place in Detroit?

Fisker Eyes Simpler Engine as One Key to a Lower Cost Plug-in

This is an important realization for automakers to come to, especially when developing plug-in hybrids, however, it is also one application where a Stirling engine could be used instead.

The Stirling engine (in simplest terms, an engine powered by differences in heat) is uniquely suited for this application because of the following rationale:
- These engines have been developed and used to drive electrical generators for years, beginning in the 1970s. Recently, Stirling Energy Systems is in the process of deploying tens of thousands of units for domestic solar energy facilities.
- SES Stirling units can offer efficiencies in excess of 30%, and 25kW output.
-Stirling engines were once developed for cars, particularly by GM in the 1960s, and even resulting in a prototype 1985 Chevrolet Celebrity. One reason the program got canceled was because of the slower response and five minute warm-up period.
- Stirling engines are slow to warm up, but in the case of a plug-in hybrid vehicle, the engine can be running constantly to provide electrical energy to the system with no impact on performance.

Additional benefits of using Stirling engines were outlined in an article on Stirling engines for cars:
"The rationale for this work [on Stirling engines, back in the '60s] included the potential for high average thermal efficiency, multifuel capability, low maintenance requirements, smooth operation, and low emissions."

Of course, the history of the Stirling engine has been marred by numerous false starts, and programs that lasted 20 years, but one day got canceled. Hopefully with interest from other industries, as well as in this new environment of relevant technologies and liberal energy-related funding, Stirling power for vehicles will one day be a reality.

Brad Templeton had the same idea many years ago. Check it out at his blog, Brad Ideas.

DevOps Program Launch

It is my pleasure to announce that today, this program, known as DevOps, will provide information and commentary on the subjects following:
- Curious Contrivances: Uncommon technologies and the engineering efforts behind them.
- Floating Point Perspective: Comments on computer technologies, including those of the internet, computer hardware, game development, as well as my own endeavors.
- Green Speed: Examinations of environmentally-aware technologies, with an emphasis on the most pressing environmental concern of the past fifty years-- Where we get our energy.

This program will be headed by Developer in Chief, Alex Trujillo, in a facility several miles east of Denver, Colorado.

We work towards the future with the knowledge of the past behind us.