Category: How Does it Work? | Scottie's Tech.Info

The Power Problem with Electric Vehicles

These days, it’s all about Going Green. And what could be more green than an electric car?

Zero emissions, baby! Well, sort of…

While the acceleration may be awesome, the range leaves something to be desired. And range is directly related to power – specifically, the available power from a battery pack.

What’s more, the power to charge the battery has to come from somewhere, and that “somewhere” is the electric grid. So what happens if all of a sudden, everyone gets an electric car?

Well, in many places, it wouldn’t be pretty. Some regions would need to DOUBLE their current grid capacity. And all that extra juice has to come from somewhere… and it ain’t coming from solar or wind power!

Can aluminum foil protect you from your phone?

There are quite a few smartphone cases, Faraday bags, and other little gizmos out there that claim to protect you from the phones RF waves.

A common method that people use is to line one (or both) sides of their phone case with good old aluminum foil.

So, the question is: Does tin foiling your phone really work? How much? And where exactly should you put the foil?

Watch to find out!

Why haven’t space suits changed much in 45 years?

When we watch sci-fi shows, we see these uber-fancy futuristic space suits.

Yet when we look at the actual real space suits in use by astronauts today, we see the same big puffy white suits that look unchanged since the Apollo missions in the late 60’s and early 70’s!

What gives? How come we don’t have fancy space suits yet?

It turns out that there are pretty good reasons. Space suits need to do specific things to protect astronauts…

Is Wi-Fi 6 really that much better?

There’s a new flavor of Wi-Fi in town: Wi-Fi 6!

In case you’re confused, I’m talking about IEEE 802.11ax, the successor to 802.11ac (which is now called Wi-Fi 5).

Are you confused yet?

While I’m not a terribly big fan of wireless stuff, Wi-Fi 6 does include several improvements that increase capacity and speed for more connected users.

The question is: does Wi-Fi 6 go far enough, or is wired still better?

No more WiFi, Part 2: Home Powerline Networking and MoCA

So you’ve read all the studies about our Wireless Wonderland, and you’d like to go wired.

You’ve also watched my first video, No More WiFi: How to wire your home for internet.

You’re not big on drilling holes and running cables everywhere, so you decide to use powerline ethernet or ethernet over coax.

Before you go that route, there are a few things you should know about these two home networking solutions.

Not only are they generally more expensive than ethernet cabling, but they’re also usually not as fast or reliable…

The Biggest threat to Privacy: Browser Fingerprints

A lot of people these days are talking about protecting their online privacy.

We have hearings going on, threats of breaking up Facebook and other Big Tech companies, data leaks, and so on.

Many people are going so far as to boycott Google (which is easier said than done).

But so far, no one – except Mozilla – is talking about the biggest threat to online privacy: Browser Fingerprints.

Nokia 2720 Flip + Why KaiOS dumbphones are truly smart

This one’s a double header!

First, I quickly review the new Nokia 2720 Flip 4G dumbphone.

Then, I talk a bit more about exactly why dumbphones that run KaiOS are really NOT smartphones.

Did I mention that the 2720’s HUGE buttons are an absolute joy to use?

Or that it’s the first phone (of any kind) that I’ve had in years that actually fits in my pocket?

Deepfakes: Should you be worried?

Yes, I confess: I was actually the star of the hit 1987 film Predator.

No, not really. But these days, with deepfake software, anyone can make a video or audio clip that shows anyone else doing/saying whatever they want!

There is a lot of angst, anxiety, and worry about deepfakes – but just how dangerous are they?

Obviously, deepfakes have been made for, shall we say, “less than wholesome” purposes such as getting revenge on an ex-lover.

And there certainly is the potential for some chaos.

HTTP/3: The internet is about to get faster for everyone

HTTP is the protocol that makes the internet go.

Recently, several large tech companies announced that version three-ish of that protocol, known as HTTP/3, was ready to rock and being rolled out.

Now, that’s nice, but why do we care?

Well, we care because the internet is about get to get zippier for everyone – for free!

Can EMF exposure ever be GOOD for you?

You all know I’m not a big fan of wireless due to the health risks.

I’ve also said before that resources should be devoted to making these wireless technologies safe – so that we don’t have to just ditch it all!

But then, the question is: Is EMF ever safe?

Better yet, are there examples of EMF / radio frequency energy being used to possibly even HEAL people?

It turns out, there are! And it’s all pretty interesting…