XPost: rec.arts.sf.written, rec.arts.sf.science   
   From: leszek.karlik@gmail.com   
      
   On Wed, 15 Jan 2014 02:20:45 +0100, J. Clarke    
   wrote:   
      
   [...]   
   >> Everything benefits from better batteries. I remember first laptops,   
   >> with 2 to 3 hours of operating time on a single charge. Now the laptop   
   >> I'm using has up to 5 hours on a small battery, with vastly better   
   >> performance, and consumer   
   >> portables frequently have 8+ hours of battery time.   
   >   
   > Don't assume that the difference is better batteries.  A Core 2 Duo   
   > processor released in 2006 consumed about 35 watts of power.   
      
   "Core 2 Duo"? I wrote "I remember first laptops". My first laptop had a 486   
   processor. It consumed less than 3 watts of power. It had less than 3 hours   
   of battery time.   
      
   Seriously, "Core 2 Duo" as an "old laptop processor". Snicker. Young   
   whippersnappers ;-)))   
      
   [...]   
   > Batteries can be free and the short range and long charge time will   
   > still make the electric car a niche product.   
      
   With self-driving public transit, the charge time is pretty much irrelevant   
   for trips within a city. When a self-driving municipal "taxi" needs to   
   charge, it goes to a charging station and charges.   
      
   It's like saying that "having to sleep for at least 8 hours a day   
   makes a car with a driver a niche product, which is why no city is   
   going to have a taxi service". Well, no, large cities simply have   
   lots of cars with drivers for hire, so the downtime of some of them   
   does not interrupt the availability of the service.   
      
   [...]   
   > So how is an electric car more convenient and less expensive than a   
   > gasoling powered car, leaving aside the difference in energy cost that   
   > is mostly the result of different taxes being applied to electricity and   
   > gasoline.   
      
   The difference in electricity prices and gasoline prices does not stem   
   only from taxes, I'm afraid.   
      
   --   
   Leszek 'Leslie' Karlik   
   http://leslie.hell.pl/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)