Driver to drive?

[Jasen Betts]

On 2013-03-31, John Larkin <jjlarkin@highNOTlandTHIStechnologyPART.com> wrote:

On 31 Mar 2013 05:27:30 GMT, Jasen Betts <jasen@xnet.co.nz> wrote:

On 2013-03-31, bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com <bloggs.fredbloggs.fred@gmail.com> wrote:
On Saturday, March 30, 2013 9:50:17 PM UTC-4, Sylvia Else wrote:

There are various takes on exactly what the OP was concerned about. My

take was that he was concerned about how connecting a conventional

transformed in an auto-transormer configuration can manage to increase

its power rating.


The answer is it doesn't increase the power rating of the
transformer. Analysis is what tells you the required transformer power
handling capability in the buck/boost configurations a lot more than
any fundamental physics. Maybe take it up a notch and declare a N:1
stepdown xfrmr can be used in buck/boost circuits with loading up to
Nx KVA rating of the transformer.

A 1kVA 1:1 transformer can be used as a 2kVA stepdown
auto-transformer.

Schematic?

eg: take a isolating transformer and put the secondary in series
with the primary, doubles (or halves) the voltage and can still
handle full current

T1: 1KVA 120V:120V

___________
| |
| * |
____|___ ||| ___|
_)|||(_
_)|||(_
120V _)|||(_
16⅔A _)|||(_
_)|||(_
________)|||(___
| |||
| * 240V
| 8⅓A
|___________


* indicates start of winding.

As Phil Allison pointed out this only works if you run the
windings at their design voltage. As with any transformer
if you run it under voltage you get less VA.

--
⚂⚃ 100% natural


--- news://freenews.netfront.net/ - complaints: news@netfront.net ---

 

[Fred Abse]

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:16:43 -0700, langwadt@fonz.dk wrote:

several of AAA type services here garantee something like max one hour to
come
change a flat tire

Depends where you are.I can think of places that are more than an hour
from any habitation.

And where you'd be lucky to get any cell coverage.

--
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence
over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."
(Richard Feynman)

 

[mpm]

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013 1:32:42 PM UTC-5, Michael Terrell wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:



On Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:08:28 -0700 (PDT), "lektric.dan@gmail.com"

lektric.dan@gmail.com> wrote:



*MY* favorite (actually, most hated...) "how not to" is the spare tire

carrier on domestic (Ford, GMC, etc.) full-size trucks. My folks had

a car repair and tire place. I've cursed out loud in front of my

mother while trying to remove/replace a tire under a truck. A

(slightly) better design is the chain hoist system used on some

smaller imports. I hope there's a special place in hell for the

Mercedes-driving engineer that designed this thing (you know HE never

changed a flat in his life!).



My former 1983 Dodge D50 pickup had a chain hoist spare tire under the

bed. Great idea until I blew a rear tire and high centered the rear

axle while driving on a dirt road on the way to a mountain top radio

site. In order to lower the tire, a long hand crank was provided. The

problem was that I was backed up against a hillside, and could not get

the long crank into the hole. I had to dig out part of the hillside

for it to fit. In order to remove the spare tire, I had to jack up

the pickup bed about 3 ft off the ground, and crawl under the raised

bed to release the toggle link holding the tire to the chain. Of

course, with the tire lowered, the toggle link is UNDER the tire on

the ground. I raised it with a bottle jack and a rather unstable pile

of rocks. While replacing the blown tire, the pile of rocks and jack

did partially collapse. Perhaps in your parents tire store, it might

work, but on a dirt road, it's not easy.





I carried some scarp pieces of 2x12 in my '79 Dodge pickup. If I had

a flat, I would stack them against the flat tire and pull the truck up

on top of them to be able to get the factory jack under the tire.

Without the extra height, you couldn't get the jack to the jacking

points on the frame.



--



Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is

enough left over to pay them.



Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week.

A respected engineering colleague of mine refuses to carry a spare tire in the trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

Should be noted, he drives a couple boat anchors: both early 70's Eldorado's.
Mileage even without the spare is probably not worth bragging about....

 

[mpm]

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013 4:57:18 PM UTC-5, Tom Hoehler wrote:

If

you're wondering why you're seeing the same broken user interfaces

repeated ad infinitum, this is why.



Lesson learned: Innovative user interfaces are risky.



OK. End of yet another rant...



--

Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com

150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com

Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com

Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558



Rant noted and seconded. I've seen aftermarket auto radios that required you

to hold-two-buttons to turn the power off. Now what the hell were they

thinking? And this wasn't some cheap unknown brand, it was made by Pioneer.

Don't the designers know that complexity in a vehicle environment can lead

to dangerously distracted driving? Or do they give a damn?

Tom

And right behind this is test equipment that features a "LOCK CONTROLS" button. Turns out, those hold features rarely include the ON/OFF button!

If you think about it, that the ONE BUTTON you probably don't want to accidentally hit!

I guess they do it to tamp down warranty repair issues, when users unknowingly lock and device and then realize they can't turn it off.

 

[mpm]

On Monday, March 25, 2013 1:56:15 PM UTC-5, DaveC wrote:

In the future, I expect things to become more and more complicated. I

also see devices, like printers, engaging in a dialog with the user

and with other devices, to determine what the user wants to do. It

then negotiates the parameters and settings automatically between

devices. Put the iPad and printer next to each other, yell "connect

me", and they will. Send the printer some data, and it's a fair

assumption that one wants it to power on in preparation for printing.

Don't do anything for a few minutes, and it's a fair assumption that

the printer should power down. AI (artificial intelligence) was the

big thing in the late 1970's, but where is it today?



Ok, I've had my rant.

[Jeff L.]



A YouTube'r I like to watch is mikeselectricstuff. He's a brilliant engineer

and is always reviewing and taking stuff apart.



His reviews -- more often than not -- end with this conclusion: the hardware

is excellent and the UI firmware/software/design is crap. He points out how

potentially fabulous this bit of kit could be if the UI was halfway

competent.



Here's a couple of good examples:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzHZFcVofUg&list=UUcs0ZkP_as4PpHDhFcmCHyA&inde

x=2



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJv2iCieeeM



IMO, user interface is designed by people who probably wouldn't use the

product.



When I worked at Apple (tech writer, decades ago) we would do a draft of a

manual and then get a prospective customer -- "target audience" -- (someone

from HR or such in this example) and put them in a room with a new product,

in box, and let them go to it, videotaping the experience. The feedback is

what made Apple's documents receive awards on top of awards.



If companies (ANY manufacturer) would do this for their UI, most issues would

be resolved before the product hit the shelf. But being "a race to the

bottom", I don't hold much hope.

Personally, I think the most horrific example of a User Interface is the entire Microsoft Office product line after the 1997 release. Who's idea was that "ribbon" interface anyway? It's stupid and unusable - particularly when you are in a hurry to get something done! Plus, there was nothing wrong with the "old" way of doing it. Ditto for PhotoShop, Skype and hundreds of others "upgrades".

 

[Jamie]

langwadt@fonz.dk wrote:

On Mar 31, 9:46 pm, mpm <mpmill...@aol.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013 1:32:42 PM UTC-5, Michael Terrell wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:08:28 -0700 (PDT), "lektric....@gmail.com"

lektric....@gmail.com> wrote:

*MY* favorite (actually, most hated...) "how not to" is the spare tire

carrier on domestic (Ford, GMC, etc.) full-size trucks. My folks had

a car repair and tire place. I've cursed out loud in front of my

mother while trying to remove/replace a tire under a truck. A

(slightly) better design is the chain hoist system used on some

smaller imports. I hope there's a special place in hell for the

Mercedes-driving engineer that designed this thing (you know HE never

changed a flat in his life!).

My former 1983 Dodge D50 pickup had a chain hoist spare tire under the

bed. Great idea until I blew a rear tire and high centered the rear

axle while driving on a dirt road on the way to a mountain top radio

site. In order to lower the tire, a long hand crank was provided. The

problem was that I was backed up against a hillside, and could not get

the long crank into the hole. I had to dig out part of the hillside

for it to fit. In order to remove the spare tire, I had to jack up

the pickup bed about 3 ft off the ground, and crawl under the raised

bed to release the toggle link holding the tire to the chain. Of

course, with the tire lowered, the toggle link is UNDER the tire on

the ground. I raised it with a bottle jack and a rather unstable pile

of rocks. While replacing the blown tire, the pile of rocks and jack

did partially collapse. Perhaps in your parents tire store, it might

work, but on a dirt road, it's not easy.

I carried some scarp pieces of 2x12 in my '79 Dodge pickup. If I had

a flat, I would stack them against the flat tire and pull the truck up

on top of them to be able to get the factory jack under the tire.

Without the extra height, you couldn't get the jack to the jacking

points on the frame.

--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is

enough left over to pay them.

Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week.

A respected engineering colleague of mine refuses to carry a spare tire in the trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

Should be noted, he drives a couple boat anchors: both early 70's Eldorado's.
Mileage even without the spare is probably not worth bragging about....


afair a Citroen C4 come with no spare, just a can of tire fixer
and I think you can for some models buy one of those small emergency
spares

several of AAA type services here garantee something like max one hour
to come
change a flat tire

-Lasse
My last two Sante fe's spare tire got used 6 times total between the

two. I still have the 2006. Just changed all the tires, not totally
because they were worn out but because they have been fixed too many
times.

For what ever reason, a tire would pick road garbage like rusty screws
and nails. I swear the wheels must of had some supper conductive
magnetics on them. The last time, the front passenger tire picked up an
allen (Hex Key) wrench!

Jamie

 

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 17:02:17 -0500, Jamie
<jamie_ka1lpa_not_valid_after_ka1lpa_@charter.net> wrote:

langwadt@fonz.dk wrote:
On Mar 31, 9:46 pm, mpm <mpmill...@aol.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013 1:32:42 PM UTC-5, Michael Terrell wrote:

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:08:28 -0700 (PDT), "lektric....@gmail.com"

lektric....@gmail.com> wrote:

*MY* favorite (actually, most hated...) "how not to" is the spare tire

carrier on domestic (Ford, GMC, etc.) full-size trucks. My folks had

a car repair and tire place. I've cursed out loud in front of my

mother while trying to remove/replace a tire under a truck. A

(slightly) better design is the chain hoist system used on some

smaller imports. I hope there's a special place in hell for the

Mercedes-driving engineer that designed this thing (you know HE never

changed a flat in his life!).

My former 1983 Dodge D50 pickup had a chain hoist spare tire under the

bed. Great idea until I blew a rear tire and high centered the rear

axle while driving on a dirt road on the way to a mountain top radio

site. In order to lower the tire, a long hand crank was provided. The

problem was that I was backed up against a hillside, and could not get

the long crank into the hole. I had to dig out part of the hillside

for it to fit. In order to remove the spare tire, I had to jack up

the pickup bed about 3 ft off the ground, and crawl under the raised

bed to release the toggle link holding the tire to the chain. Of

course, with the tire lowered, the toggle link is UNDER the tire on

the ground. I raised it with a bottle jack and a rather unstable pile

of rocks. While replacing the blown tire, the pile of rocks and jack

did partially collapse. Perhaps in your parents tire store, it might

work, but on a dirt road, it's not easy.

I carried some scarp pieces of 2x12 in my '79 Dodge pickup. If I had

a flat, I would stack them against the flat tire and pull the truck up

on top of them to be able to get the factory jack under the tire.

Without the extra height, you couldn't get the jack to the jacking

points on the frame.

--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is

enough left over to pay them.

Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week.

A respected engineering colleague of mine refuses to carry a spare tire in the trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

Should be noted, he drives a couple boat anchors: both early 70's Eldorado's.
Mileage even without the spare is probably not worth bragging about....


afair a Citroen C4 come with no spare, just a can of tire fixer
and I think you can for some models buy one of those small emergency
spares

several of AAA type services here garantee something like max one hour
to come
change a flat tire

-Lasse
My last two Sante fe's spare tire got used 6 times total between the
two. I still have the 2006. Just changed all the tires, not totally
because they were worn out but because they have been fixed too many
times.

For what ever reason, a tire would pick road garbage like rusty screws
and nails. I swear the wheels must of had some supper conductive
magnetics on them. The last time, the front passenger tire picked up an
allen (Hex Key) wrench!

I've never used the ("full sized") spare on my truck. After seven or
so Vermont Winters, it would have taken a cutting torch to get it out
of there anyway (a garage once offered to remove it for $100 - no
possibility given of repair, though). I've never used the spare in my
wife's car, either. I think there is one (donut) under the trunk mat.
I did run over some road debris, though I was on an Interstate right
next to an exit with a dealership. ...and I have had the tires
patched a number of times.

 

[langwadt@fonz.dk]

On Mar 31, 9:46 pm, mpm <mpmill...@aol.com> wrote:

On Tuesday, March 26, 2013 1:32:42 PM UTC-5, Michael Terrell wrote:
Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Tue, 26 Mar 2013 01:08:28 -0700 (PDT), "lektric....@gmail.com"

lektric....@gmail.com> wrote:

*MY* favorite (actually, most hated...) "how not to" is the spare tire

carrier on domestic (Ford, GMC, etc.) full-size trucks.  My folks had

a car repair and tire place.  I've cursed out loud in front of my

mother while trying to remove/replace a tire under a truck.  A

(slightly) better design is the chain hoist system used on some

smaller imports.  I hope there's a special place in hell for the

Mercedes-driving engineer that designed this thing (you know HE never

changed a flat in his life!).

My former 1983 Dodge D50 pickup had a chain hoist spare tire under the

bed.  Great idea until I blew a rear tire and high centered the rear

axle while driving on a dirt road on the way to a mountain top radio

site.  In order to lower the tire, a long hand crank was provided. The

problem was that I was backed up against a hillside, and could not get

the long crank into the hole.  I had to dig out part of the hillside

for it to fit.  In order to remove the spare tire, I had to jack up

the pickup bed about 3 ft off the ground, and crawl under the raised

bed to release the toggle link holding the tire to the chain. Of

course, with the tire lowered, the toggle link is UNDER the tire on

the ground.  I raised it with a bottle jack and a rather unstable pile

of rocks.  While replacing the blown tire, the pile of rocks and jack

did partially collapse.  Perhaps in your parents tire store, it might

work, but on a dirt road, it's not easy.

   I carried some scarp pieces of 2x12 in my '79 Dodge pickup.  If I had

a flat, I would stack them against the flat tire and pull the truck up

on top of them to be able to get the factory jack under the tire.

Without the extra height, you couldn't get the jack to the jacking

points on the frame.

--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is

enough left over to pay them.

   Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week.

A respected engineering colleague of mine refuses to carry a spare tire in the trunk.  His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money.  He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat.  The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

Should be noted, he drives a couple boat anchors:  both early 70's Eldorado's.
Mileage even without the spare is probably not worth bragging about....

afair a Citroen C4 come with no spare, just a can of tire fixer
and I think you can for some models buy one of those small emergency
spares

several of AAA type services here garantee something like max one hour
to come
change a flat tire

-Lasse

 

[Phil Allison]

"John Larkin"
Jasen Betts

A 1kVA 1:1 transformer can be used as a 2kVA stepdown
auto-transformer.

Schematic?

** Huh ?

It's so obvious.

Primary and secondary in series ( in phase) and the centre is the output.

Supply voltage can now be doubled while the current in each winding is the
same.

So a 1kVA 120:120 iso makes a 2kVA 240:120 auto step-down.



.... Phil

 

[Jamie]

Phil Allison wrote:

"John Larkin"
Jasen Betts

A 1kVA 1:1 transformer can be used as a 2kVA stepdown
auto-transformer.

Schematic?



** Huh ?

It's so obvious.

Primary and secondary in series ( in phase) and the centre is the output.

Supply voltage can now be doubled while the current in each winding is the
same.

So a 1kVA 120:120 iso makes a 2kVA 240:120 auto step-down.



... Phil

I must admit, I slip on that one..





+------------
| +
| |
| + 120AC OUT
+---+. ,+---+----------------------+
)|(
)|( +
+' '+--+-----------------------
| | IN/OUT
240AC | |
| |
+----------+ +
IN 240AC


For once Phil, I can say you tripped me up.

Jamie

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 14:23:13 -0700, Fred Abse
<excretatauris@invalid.invalid> wrote:

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 13:23:57 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

That's NOT what happened.

I guess you don't recognize the reference.

I recognized it. Mythbusters did a fair attempt at replicating it,
after a few tweaks:
<http://dsc.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/videos/barrel-of-bricks-minimyth.htm>
My changing the tire on my pickup, did not resemble the story in any
way. I didn't see the connection, so I added some detail.

It was an attempt at humor.

Sorry. I'm now doing my taxes. My sense of humor will be temporarily
impaired until the ides of April, or when I'm done, whichever cometh
first.

There are plenty of good (and bad) ideas on how to build a flat proof
tire.

The most tire related problems I ever had were when I had a BMW 540, with
run-flat tires.

You're still alive, so I guess the run-flat tires did their job.

Hint: A real engineer is always looking for better ways to do things.
In the USA, there are about 220 million flat tires per year, many of
which result in accidents. It would be nice if a better design could
reduce the numbers:
<http://excelmathmike.blogspot.com/2011/04/phooey-on-flats-part-i.html>


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

On Sunday, March 31, 2013 7:57:36 PM UTC-4, Jamie wrote:
Please view in a fixed-width font such as Courier.

..
..
..
..
..
.. o----------- +
.. )
.. )
.. | I )
.. | - ) 120VAC
.. | 2 )
.. v )
.. ) I
.. | --->
.. 240VAC CT +-------------.
.. | |
.. )+ |
.. ^ ) -----
.. | I ) |LOAD | 2X KVA XFMR
.. | - ) 120VAC -----
.. | 2 ) |
.. ) |
.. ) |
.. o-------------------------'
..
..
..
..

 

Per P.A.'s observation:


Please view in a fixed-width font such as Courier.

..
..
..
..
..
.. o----------- +
.. )
.. )
.. | I )
.. | - ) 120VAC
.. | 2 )
.. v )
.. ) I
.. | --->
.. 240VAC CT +-------------.
.. | |
.. )+ |
.. ^ ) -----
.. | I ) |LOAD | 2x KVA XFMR
.. | - ) 120VAC -----
.. | 2 ) |
.. ) |
.. ) |
.. o-------------------------'
..
..
..
..
.. I 1 KVA, LOAD KVA,LOAD
.. KVA,XFMR= 120 x - = 120 x - x --------- = --------
.. 2 2 120 2
..
..
..
.. I
.. ---->
.. -------------
.. )+ |
.. ^ ) |
.. | ) |
.. | I ) 120VAC | 240VAC
.. | ) |
.. ) |
.. ) |
.. | -----
.. o-----------+ CT |LOAD | 2x KVA XFMR
.. | -----
.. )+ |
.. | ) |
.. 120VAC | I ) |
.. | ) |
.. v ) |
.. ) |
.. ) |
.. o-------------------------'
..
..
.. KVA, LOAD KVA,LOAD
.. KVA,XFMR= 120 x I = 120 x --------- = --------
.. 240 2
..
..

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

mpm wrote:

A respected engineering colleague of mine refuses to carry a spare tire in the trunk. His reasoning is that in the long run he will save money. He claims to have only had a couple flats in his driving career and each time was inconvenienced only briefly while AAA fixed the flat. The missing full-size spare also frees up room for his bike(s) when he and a friend might go out on the trail.

Should be noted, he drives a couple boat anchors: both early 70's Eldorado's.
Mileage even without the spare is probably not worth bragging about....

The only vehicle where I didn't carry a spare was my '73 Chevy
Stepvan. You needed an air impact wrench, and a large jack to change a
tire. The one time I had a blowout, I had to wait six hours for a tire
truck to show up and overcharge me for a low grade 'General Tire'.

I've worked too many places where a service truck couldn't get in, or
they refused to drive on soft ground. Time was not only money, but
arriving on time was a part of my professional reputation.

--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week.

 

[Michael A. Terrell]

"langwadt@fonz.dk" wrote:

several of AAA type services here garantee something like max
one hour to come change a flat tire.

Only for passenger vehicles & light trucks.


--

Politicians should only get paid if the budget is balanced, and there is
enough left over to pay them.

Sometimes Friday is just the fifth Monday of the week.

 

= KVALoad/(N+1) so you can use it with loads up to (N+1)x KVAXfmr , for boost. For buck the factor is VLine(1-1/N), so it can be used up to loads of (N-1)xKVAXfmr. Which makes sense because for the same KVA load, the current is greater for buck, but the transformer voltages always run at line.

Looks like you can squeeze a few extra percentage points out of buck mode by wiring it like this :
Please view in a fixed-width font such as Courier.

..
..
..
.. I
.. --->
.. o----------------------------
.. )+ |
.. ) |
.. 240 ^ I ) |
.. --- | --- ) N -----
.. 1 | N+1 ) |LOAD | N+1 x KVA,XFMR
.. 1+ - ) -----
.. N ) |
.. | |
.. 240VAC +-------------
.. |
.. )+
.. )
.. 240 | NI )
.. --- | --- ) 1
.. N+1 v N+1 )
.. )
.. )
.. o--------------
..
..
..
..
.. 240 N 240 N KVA,LOAD KVA,LOAD
.. KVA,XFMR= --- x --- x I = --- x --- x --------- = --------
.. N+1 N+1 N+1 N+1 240 N+1
.. ---
.. 1
.. 1+ -
.. N
..
..

It comes out close enough for a 240 to 208 conversion using standard stepdowns.

 

[josephkk]

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:54:48 -0700 (PDT), mpm <mpmillard@aol.com> wrote:

On Monday, March 25, 2013 1:56:15 PM UTC-5, DaveC wrote:
In the future, I expect things to become more and more complicated. I

also see devices, like printers, engaging in a dialog with the user

and with other devices, to determine what the user wants to do. It

then negotiates the parameters and settings automatically between

devices. Put the iPad and printer next to each other, yell "connect

me", and they will. Send the printer some data, and it's a fair

assumption that one wants it to power on in preparation for printing.

Don't do anything for a few minutes, and it's a fair assumption that

the printer should power down. AI (artificial intelligence) was the

big thing in the late 1970's, but where is it today?



Ok, I've had my rant.

[Jeff L.]



A YouTube'r I like to watch is mikeselectricstuff. He's a brilliant engineer

and is always reviewing and taking stuff apart.



His reviews -- more often than not -- end with this conclusion: the hardware

is excellent and the UI firmware/software/design is crap. He points out how

potentially fabulous this bit of kit could be if the UI was halfway

competent.



Here's a couple of good examples:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzHZFcVofUg&list=UUcs0ZkP_as4PpHDhFcmCHyA&inde

x=2



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJv2iCieeeM



IMO, user interface is designed by people who probably wouldn't use the

product.



When I worked at Apple (tech writer, decades ago) we would do a draft of a

manual and then get a prospective customer -- "target audience" -- (someone

from HR or such in this example) and put them in a room with a new product,

in box, and let them go to it, videotaping the experience. The feedback is

what made Apple's documents receive awards on top of awards.



If companies (ANY manufacturer) would do this for their UI, most issues would

be resolved before the product hit the shelf. But being "a race to the

bottom", I don't hold much hope.

Personally, I think the most horrific example of a User Interface is the entire Microsoft Office product line after the 1997 release. Who's idea was that "ribbon" interface anyway? It's stupid and unusable - particularly when you are in a hurry to get something done! Plus, there was nothing wrong with the "old" way of doing it. Ditto for PhotoShop, Skype and hundreds of others "upgrades".

They were much too busy listening to idiot managers of idiot employees and
those groups ideas of how to make a better interface. Way too much
worthless automation and near complete loss of any useful configurability.

?-(

 

[John Fields]

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 11:28:35 -0700, DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno
<DLU1@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote:

In transformer speak:

"series complimentary" for "auto-transformer boost configuration".

---
"Series complimentary" is nonsensical:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compliment

and while it's conceivable that "series complementary" could be used,
it's kind of ambiguous.

The correct term is, I believe, "series aiding".

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_9/5.html


--
JF

 

[DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUn]

On Mon, 01 Apr 2013 08:03:41 -0500, John Fields
<jfields@austininstruments.com> wrote:

On Sun, 31 Mar 2013 11:28:35 -0700, DecadentLinuxUserNumeroUno
DLU1@DecadentLinuxUser.org> wrote:


In transformer speak:

"series complimentary" for "auto-transformer boost configuration".

---
"Series complimentary" is nonsensical:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/compliment

and while it's conceivable that "series complementary" could be used,
it's kind of ambiguous.

The correct term is, I believe, "series aiding".

http://www.allaboutcircuits.com/vol_2/chpt_9/5.html


Here.. maybe this will help you.

"Series, Phase Complimentary"

Or...

"Series, Phase Opposed"

Winding phase, not electrical phase.

It makes perfect sense... "I believe".
I don't know... maybe you are right. Maybe it would be ambiguous to
others. I seem to have a mild asperger's thing going... maybe...
I doubt it, but I suppose it is possible. I think all this autism stuff
is us trying to make the next evolutionary step.

Sit at a winding machine and wind up a few tens of thousands of
bobbins. Maybe the terms would then make more sense out of the gate.

 

On Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:11:10 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
<mike.terrell@earthlink.net> wrote:

"langwadt@fonz.dk" wrote:

several of AAA type services here garantee something like max
one hour to come change a flat tire.


Only for passenger vehicles & light trucks.

Isn't that what we're discussing? I don't use an 18-wheeler to
commute.