they're running frikken WINDOWS

Story: Maker of Smart-Grid Control Software HackedTotal Replies: 10
Author Content
tuxchick

Sep 28, 2012
1:33 AM EDT
Dear all the deities in the universe, SMITE these fools! *headpound headpound headpound*

I recall a friend who hacked his electric bill to zero by going into the unlocked closet in his apartment building where the self-reporting meters resided, and disconnecting the phone cable for his meter. Just a simple phone jack. He lived there three years and never paid a cent, and they never noticed That was over twenty years ago, and it seems the same duhhh mentality persists to this day.
tracyanne

Sep 28, 2012
2:26 AM EDT
no surprises there.

carla I sent you a pm
Ridcully

Sep 28, 2012
8:45 AM EDT
Y'know carla and tracyanne, every time I see something like this, I am thankful that 27 years ago my other half and I took the decision to go solar power as a stand alone installation. It's worth the slight inconvenience of having to check battery levels every 2-3 months.......and replacing the battery bank every 8 years. Wouldn't have mains power if you paid us to have it put on.
tuxchick

Sep 28, 2012
12:47 PM EDT
Ridcully, I'm seriously looking at going independent in my next home. Wind and solar are still ridiculously overpriced for small installations, and all the incentives go to big centralized power farms just so they can repeat the mistake of cluttering up the landscape with solar grids, wind farms, and miles of inefficient, ugly transmission lines which lose power every inch of the way. But independence would be nice, and I am tired of electric utilities which never seem to grasp the concept of "extreme conditions is when customers really need their power on."
Bob_Robertson

Sep 28, 2012
1:34 PM EDT
TC, I'd be curious just how much of that "ridiculously overpriced" comes from the subsidies that utilities get.

I would hardly be one to nay-say the joy and other benefits of independence in whatever way the individual desires.
tracyanne

Sep 28, 2012
4:47 PM EDT
Carla, I can second Tony's independence mantra. Partner and I are now travelers (don't call us grey nomads, we don't mind trailer trash though), and our motor home is fully equipped with solar, we can park almost anywhere for indefinite periods of time.
Ridcully

Sep 29, 2012
12:05 AM EDT
Nope Tracyanne, I think "trailer trash" is a little harsh. I shall wax poetic - how about:

"Wandering waifs in the woodlands wet" ? :-) (With apologies to Kenneth Graham of course, although his version is not quite the same.)
BernardSwiss

Sep 29, 2012
1:25 AM EDT
Go British; it's not a "motor-home", but a "caravan" -- and you're not "trailer-trash", but "gypsies".

Problem solved.

Fettoosh

Sep 29, 2012
11:38 AM EDT
More like HighTech nomad :-)



tracyanne

Sep 29, 2012
6:28 PM EDT
Tony partner loves wandering waifs... but i worry about getting bogged in the woodlands wet.

Bernard we sometime refer to ourselves as Gypsies, but as not all Gypsies, these days are travelers, I think Travelers is a better description, definately high Tech though.
Ridcully

Sep 29, 2012
9:32 PM EDT
Okay......how about "Peripatetic Possums"........Now that one I really DO like. I left a note on your personal emails about Goomeri and a superb place for home made cooking..

Incidentally, on the topic of solar electrical systems, there is more info coming out all the time about the concern the big power distributors have about all the power that is being "reverse moded" back into distribution networks that are not designed for two-way power flows from people with solar installations that are just designed to feed back into the mains. And always there is the same problem: these 240volt dependent solar arrays are not designed for and cannot assist with peak power demands.....they turn off as the sun goes down, just as everybody comes home and wants to cook, shower, play games, watch tv. It's the heck of a problem.

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