Re: TI-H: MPG's and Misc Ideas

To: ti-hardware@lists.ticalc.org
Subject: Re: TI-H: MPG's and Misc Ideas
From: Holli Johnson <matt.johnson@wmich.edu>
Date: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 19:13:29 -0400
Delivered-To: ti-hardware-outgoing@towerguard.unix.edu.sollentuna.se
Reply-To: ti-hardware@lists.ticalc.org

I think you are incorrect in saying that a portable solid state digital
music "box" is way ahead of it's time. About three to four years ago I saw
a report on Beyond 2000, a technology TV show, about a company (I think it
was Panasonic) that was working on such device. At the time they were
comparing the portable solid state devices with portable CD player's that
had three seconds of anti shock memory. On the show they were using a
working solid state music "box". The only thing that was preventing them
from marking the device, was the amount of memory. At the time the company
was developing a new 256 megabyte memory chip that was the same size as
conventional memory.

Some of the advantages to the device:
	Shock resistant, unlike a HDD or CD-ROM, there are no moving 		parts which
means you could play baseball with it and cause 		only case damage. You
could really take it with you when 		you go jogging!

	Small, the whole thing was the same size as a cassette tape!

	Download stations, you could by your music at download stations 24 	 
hours a day (much like an ATM machine), No Waiting for the 		store to open
after a holiday weekend.

disadvantage
	The memory has not been invented yet (as far as I know anyway).

BTW a gasoline engine's Max efficiency is 30%. That efficiency is dependent
on the internal combustion temperature, so if you raise the internal temp.
you raise the efficiency, and that is were high temp. ceramic materials
come in. Also, if you could dynamically vary the compression ratio, you
increase the efficiency to 75% or greater, with a Max of about 95% (I
think). 
Another advantage to the dynamically variable compression ratio engine is
that  you would have a "Power Ban" through out the entire RPM range, much
like an electric motor.

-matt <matt.johnson@wmich.edu>

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bryan Rittmeyer <bryanr@flash.net>
> To: ti-hardware@lists.ticalc.org <ti-hardware@lists.ticalc.org>
> Date: Tuesday, June 09, 1998 10:43 AM
> Subject: Re: TI-H: MPG's and Misc Ideas
> 
> 
> >
> >Well, I don't think MPEG3 has much future as an audio standard. Those
> >compression nuts are pumping out new stuff all the time... and as
> >computers get more advanced so will the compression algorythms.
> >I think a portable, digital audio player is a bit ahead of its time,
> >seeing as how you can't simply walk into a normal music store, plug
> >in your digital player and have the latest DMB CD downloaded to it in
> >thirty seconds and your credit card charged $18.95 or whatever.
> >Sure, you may have ten thousand mp3s on DAT tape but the vast majority
> >of the population has never even downloaded an MPEG3 player, whereas
> >almost everyone has a cheap analog tape player/radio. As BETAMAX,
> >SCSI, and so many other failed "awesome" standards have showed us,
> >numbers do matter more than quality in the electronics business.
> >
> >The gas vending idea is a good one, but I think they should just get
> >rid of gasoline powered automobiles in favor of electric ones. Gas
> >engines are at best 20% efficient... good electric cars can do about
> >60%. I'm no environmentalist, but it doesn't make sense to waste
> >energy.
> >
> >Man, now I'm way off topic.
> >
> >Bryan
> >
> >John Malluck wrote:
> >>
> >> I see the possibility of making a small fortune of of a portable mpg
> >> player! Damn, I'd gladly part with $300 to buy one.
> >>
> >> Good Ideas for the day:
> >> 1. Digital Radio. If your going to make a mpg for the car why not
> >> include a unit for processing digital radio? Cd quality radio! Or you
> >> could set up a system where you could pay for commercial-less radio
> >> (encoded data). Who knows...
> >>
> >> 2. Gas vending machine. Why not cross a gas pump with a vending
machine.
> >> Feed it $5 and get $5 dollars worth of gas metered out. More
efficient!
> >> No night staff needed at gas stations!
> >>
> >> Just some ideas I needed to get out into the mainstream....
> >>                                 -Michael Malluck
> >
> >--
> >Bryan Rittmeyer
> >mailto:bryanr@flash.net
> >http://www.bridges.edu/horizon/
> >