“Project Maven” being shut down is a publicity stunt
Citation needed. This sounds like speculation. Your link failed because the article was written before the Maven non-renewal announcement.
That article is from 2018, when Google was still working project Maven. After protests, Google opted not to renew the contract.
Google did the right thing in that case, unless you know of some operation for Google to stealthily continue the contract (which is what happened with Google's anti-immigration ICE contract).
Employees at Amazon and Microsoft have petitioned both companies to drop their contracts with ICE and the military, but neither company has caved to the demands.
That's very typical of those two companies. MS & Amazon simply flips the middle finger to their employees, routinely. They don't even pretend to give a shit.
Google is a bit different. Google usually listens to their employees, and they back out when there's enough pressure (e.g. project Maven). But I know of one case where Google got caught secretly going back to work on a project that they publicly renounced. So Google can be sneaky and it's unclear to me how often Google just goes into stealth mode amid PR maneuvering. It can't be easy for them to keep a whole project or contract secret.
I've not read the article in detail yet but will be interesting to see what Google is involved in.
Comparison of 5 entry-level tool kits
| tool | Lumintrail TL810E $60 | CyclingDeal SC-168A $55 | Bike Hand YC-737 $50 | Venzo VZ-F33-075 $40 | Luna $39 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bottom bracket & headset lock ring tool | n | y | n | n | n |
| bottom bracket cup tool (adjustable) | n | y | n | n | n |
| bottom bracket tool (cartridge) | y (Shimano + ISIS) | y (Shimano) | y | y (Shimano + ISIS) | y |
| chain rivet extractor & assembler (adjustable, Shimano compatible) | y (HG/UG) | y | y | y (6-10 spee |
(E-bikes) power tool batteries vs. e-bike batteries (cost per unit capacity compared)
Which batteries give the most juice for the money?
Power Tool Batteries
| make/model | tech | V | amphours | watt hours | warranty | net cost | price/Ah | price/Wh | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | DSANKE (Black&Decker) | Li-Ion | 18v | 5 Ah ||| $29 | $5.8 | $0.32 | | generic (Ryobi) | Li-Ion | 18v | 6 Ah ||| $33 | $5.5 | $0.31 | | Powerextra (Porter Cable) | Li-Ion | 20v | 5 Ah ea. || 1yr | $63/2 | $6.3 |$0.35| | TenHutt (Ryobi) | Li-Ion | 18v | 9 Ah ||| $64 | $7.11 |$0.40| | Swidan (Greenworks) | Li-Ion | 40v | 5 Ah ||| $66 | $13.2 |$0.37| | Waitley (DeWalt) || 20v | 9 Ah ||| $70 | $7.78 |$0.43| | Lotive (Greenworks) | Li-Ion | 40v | 6 Ah || 30 days | $69 | $11.5 | $0.32 | | Epowon (Greenworks) | Li-Ion | 40v | 5 Ah || 1yr | $73 | $14.6 | $0.41 | | Waitley (DeWalt) || 20v | 6 Ah ea. ||| $76/2 | $6.33 |$0.35| | Ryobi | Li-Ion | 18v || 28 Wh ea.| 90day | $78/2 | ? |$1.39 | | Waspt | Li-Ion | 40v | 6 Ah ||| $82 | $13.67 |$0.38| | Elefly | Li-Ion | 40v | 6 Ah || 1yr |
mid-drive motor kits are only for people taller than 5'9"
In the search for a mid-drive motor kit I've found that most distributors neglect to state the size of the crank arm. The few that do have chosen a size that's optimum for people 5'9" or taller.
The average US woman is 5'4", and the average Asian man is 5'7". These groups are being discriminated against in the market of DiY mid-drive motor kits.
It's a one-size fits ~20% of the population scenario, roughly, and only one size is offered. Some kits are standard enough that it's possible to buy a separate aftermarket crankset, but the specs are undocumented and this also entails spending $100+ more and then wasting the stock cranks after spending upwards of $500 on the kit. The industry needs to get its shit together.
| model | bottom bracket req. | crank size | optimum rider height | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFT | n/a (straps to frame) | n/a | n/a | shitty tor-hostile site |
| Bafang BBS02 | 68-73mm | ? | ? | |
| Bafang BBS |
Other Belgium forums -- and why lemmy's c/belgium exists
| site | issue |
|---|---|
| Easy Expat | Intrusive registration mandates disclosure of nationality and forces new users to solve a Google reCAPTCHA (thus req. running non-free s/w and feeding a privacy abuser) |
| EU Forums | Ethical registration, but no Belgium-specific forum and lots of stale/junk posts. |
| Eupedia | Site jailed in CloudFlare's centalized walled-garden of privacy and netneutrality abuse |
| expat.com | Registrants must be on Facebook or be willing to solve a Google reCAPTCHA -- so all users must volunteer to be a victim of privacy abuse |
| Just Landed | Registrants must solve a Google reCAPTCHA (thus req. running non-free s/w and feeding a privacy abuser) |
| Lonely Planet | Site runs on Fastly (tech giant), stale posts, and first post requires solving a Google reC |