Hacker News: benj111

New comment by benj111 in "Sales of sub-€25,000 electric car models set to rise sevenfold"

benj111 — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:28:17 +0000

The tariffs are anti dumping measures.

So you put the tariff on Chinese imports to make the price comparable to domestic manufacturers so they can compete, then give the 10k euro on all EVs sold.

New comment by benj111 in "Sales of sub-€25,000 electric car models set to rise sevenfold"

benj111 — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:25:29 +0000

I don't know why they don't just tax electricity?

Do it like taxes, have a low rate for the first X kwhs then increase after. Great aunt Mildred gets to heat her home, your neighbour that has a massive house, EVs, jacuzzi etc etc pays more.

EVs are always going to be an outsized user of electricity, and it's unclear to me why someone's jacuzzi should be heated vat free.

New comment by benj111 in "Sales of sub-€25,000 electric car models set to rise sevenfold"

benj111 — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:20:08 +0000

I agree with what you're saying, I also suspect that governments will tax ics at a certain point, not only to get rid of them but also because they can get away with it because the whole population isn't impacted.

So I'm concerned about a time where the rich have EVs, the poorest haven't, and the government are taxing ics.

I'd like to see some kind of Keighley car standard to get cheaper EVs on the market. Here in Europe we have quadricycles, but the speeds are limited to only make them useful for cities.

New comment by benj111 in "Nissan's third generation e-POWER powertrain"

benj111 — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 12:06:48 +0000

I don't think that's the only element.

We saw the same kind of thing with electronics. I'm old enough to remember Sony being the brand to have. But they never really made to jump to digital (or wherever you want to draw the line).

Problem is, EVs are disruptive. Many car companies don't want them because it involves too much change to how they want to do business. They'll try to change when it's too late.

New comment by benj111 in "Nissan's third generation e-POWER powertrain"

benj111 — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 12:02:11 +0000

Your point? In some countries it's easier to get a cross bow.

New comment by benj111 in "Nissan's third generation e-POWER powertrain"

benj111 — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:57:05 +0000

20kw would be enough to maintain the battery though? So you could halve that and 'only' double the range in the worst case.

New comment by benj111 in "SpaceX's Starship launching to orbit for first time ever today"

benj111 — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 11:15:42 +0000

Well considering the point of it is the make orbit, it would be a bit useless if it didn't.

Would HN describe a huge program that didn't do the thing it was designed to do a "feat of engineering"?

New comment by benj111 in "What California is learning from solar panels built over irrigation canals"

benj111 — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 07:34:06 +0000

? So everyone around the Mediterranean has a tan because they're sunbathing?

New comment by benj111 in "Samsung is expected to more than double output of its HBM4 and HBM4E DRAM"

benj111 — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:30:18 +0000

Surely we'd have had the same issue during the Spanish flu? Any examples?

BBC removes 11 Mitchell and Webb comedy sketches from iPlayer

benj111 — Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:50:30 +0000

Article URL: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6jdvpr30k8jo

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49789802

Points: 4

# Comments: 0

New comment by benj111 in "US interest rates raised for first time in three years"

benj111 — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 08:19:40 +0000

Meanwhile Bessent is buying long dated bonds and selling short dated, betting the yields will go down.

Dear US, try not to take the rest of the world with you when. You implode.

New comment by benj111 in "WangNet – 1.8 MB, zero-dependency Numberwang adjudication in 11 languages"

benj111 — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 09:03:32 +0000

No it's a bug. Numberwang returns NaN and this obviously hasn't been handled correctly.

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Tue, 15 Sep 2026 07:58:45 +0000

The question is about energy payback. Generating the energy required to create it.

Your comment, if I'm looking at the correct one refers to electricity prices.

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:43:42 +0000

No? I'm a Brit, it's a British newspapers.

It's equivalent to saying it's "disgustingly cheap"

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:40:39 +0000

iPhones are made in china...

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:36:54 +0000

Do you think they haven't always needed to predict a cold snap?

Here in the UK they needed to watch the TV because a break or end of a large football match would cause a spike in demand.

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:33:01 +0000

How is buying energy from a probably unsavoury regime 'participating' in the economy?

Not sending that money to said regime allows you to spend it locally.

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:30:33 +0000

1 to 3 years payback for energy.

New comment by benj111 in "'Offensively cheap': solar power is looking up"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 16:27:34 +0000

>That and the subsidy, rare earth, power output decrease, and China manufacturing problems (them undermining the market with intentionally low prices to kill US solar

But solar panels last a long time. If china starts turning the screws tomorrow, current panels will still work.

You're basically complaining about a Chinese subsidy, and potential issues that we will have years to address, if they become issues.

New comment by benj111 in "Where has Construction Automation been successful?"

benj111 — Mon, 14 Sep 2026 15:59:43 +0000

You could use the metaphor of sealed units in modern cars that can't be repaired.

And houses are expected to last longer than cars.

I'm not saying you're wrong person se, but I disagree with the analogy