551–560 of 667 posts
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You don't think gas stations have an internet connection?
I don’t think they require one to function. Gas stations, including ones where you pay at the pump, functioned fine without Internet before the Internet.
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This is what always happens when I bring up product problems about EVs. Everyone on HN who owns a luxury car Tesla in SV or some major metro with their six figure plus salary gets all bent out of shape, and ask "omg why can't everyone do this!" It's tone deaf and out of touch. EVs simply are not there yet. They're ludicrously expensive, inconvenient to refuel, don't offer utility like ICE trucks/SUVs, can't be charge…
"EVs simply are not there yet." How do we know this? Despite tax breaks we still have to pass laws telling people they will have to buy them! If they were ready I'd be able to buy one locally, have it serviced locally and take a trip without needing to plan stops to charge. "It's tone deaf and out of touch" Amen. As someone who lived in a city and did the commute and left it all, I've realized that many people can't…
I think that most people would prefer a short walk to work. You can stop at a local shop and buy groceries on the way home. Stop at the coffee shop on the way in. This is the life that most people should be advocating for.
I feel that electric vehicles are a suburban dream. That you can have your suburb, and not feel bad about all the driving that you're doing. It's green washing.
My problem is renting apartments. If you ask the strata or the building managers about charging points in the carpark, they look at you like you're speaking Klingon. This is true of even very recently completed buildings in well-off areas of relatively wealthy western countries. Heck, I just walked past three Teslas in my building's car park, one of which is new and wasn't there last week! Do people... not plan ahead…
Don't know if the new regulation is just following the tech, if it's too little too late, etc...
But it's pretty obvious, looking at advertisement on French TV, that car dealers now have incentives to sell EV/hybrids.
Will they follow them as strongly as they (unfortunately) did with the SUVs ?
Frightening is the power of the sales department. Wonder if this will be "democratized" at some point.
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> I get the same vacant expression when I talk to network engineers about IPv4 exhaustion As long as there is a free market to buy/sell addresses, we'll never run out of them.
Perhaps not but we are at the point now where it is not economically viable to buy new IPv4 blocks. Many smaller (and more recently established ISPs) ISPs have given up on buying IPv4 addresses and are now running CG-NAT behind the handful of IPv4 addresses they still own. Even big (especially older) ISPs with large IPv4 blocks are experimenting with CG-NAT (e.g. I know one large ISP who is doing it only for wireless…
That's about half a year away!
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Credit cards are not widely accepted in Germany. Germans generally use cash or EC/Maesto debit cards, and you can't get an EC card if you're not an EU resident with an EU bank account (which can be hard for Americans, and, to a lesser extent, any foreigner, I'm sure). I used to have a Maestro-branded debit card (in the US) when I was younger. I have no idea if it's the same system and/or if they're compatible. I chec…
MasterCard owns Maestro, so would MasterCards work there?
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A staggering amount of buildings are built to code, and nothing more. If code says that there needs to be 1.5 parking spaces per bedroom for the complex, and the complex has 80 bedrooms, you can bet there will be 120 parking spots. Apartment managers will be dragged kicking and screaming into offering chargers for cars. The best way to get chargers into apartment buildings is going to be a local mandate that they hav…
I disagree with this. Retro installs maybe, yes. But new construction, which I consult heavily on, most of the developers I work with are motivated to install them. They’re revenue sources and attract the kind of tenants they want occupying their new building. The answer to retro installs (which is always about money anyway) is to not force the hand of property owners, but make the install cost a no brainer with tax…
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Having never used or even seen a super charger, I have no idea why one would need a friggen internet connection. Don’t you just plug them in and swipe your card like a gas station?
You just plug in, no card. The car identifies itself. It needs an internet connection to report the usage so it can be charged to the correct account. Gas stations obviously need a network connection of some kind too for card swipes to work. Otherwise you'd have to fall back to cash or manually writing down card numbers (is that even allowed anymore?) Almost all Superchargers are unmanned so no cash.
EV chargers often still require internet, however, as payment is via app or their own RFID card/dongle. Putting credit card readers directly on the chargers is a relatively recent (and not yet universal) improvement.
Another reason for internet is so that chargers can report their availability status. In-car navigation or charging apps can direct you to locations with available chargers, avoiding ones that are fully occupied or out of service.
EVs currently have high enough utility in the wealthy suburbia where you own your garage and have the capability to charge overnight. If you are a euro-peasant living in a third floor apartment, street parking and commuting to work, then an EV has very little utility to offer. You cannot expect that people will go on a regular basis to charge stations and spend an hour to charge their car. You cannot also have a reas…
Agree with your points. I believe this may be a solution to #1: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jan/19/electric... I wonder what’s the dynamic with the chargers in Norway, as I assume if the demand is there the charging stations will pop up.
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Quick charging is a just in case solution and probably shouldn’t be relied on. It’s more efficient and likely much easier on the battery to slow charge it overnight.
The problem with that is that in many places (i.e. most European cities) you don't have a dedicated parking spot, so to park overnight you would need to put charging spots on every street every five meters. The task is possible, but gargantuan.