Slashdot Mirror
Microsoft Robots to Watch Kids
Archangel Michael writes "Microsoft announced today that is testing a new toy / robot
to watch over kids. My question is, if the toy BSOD does it take the
kid with it? Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When
will it end?"
Awesomo loves you!
I find laziness to be an excellent motivator.
...until it gets viruses and spyware.
Hmmm.
We are MircoSoft. You will be assimilated.
Unless this "robot" is a block of cheese, it's probably going to be fairly animate.
I'll form my OWN solar system! With blackjack! And hookers!
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!
You mean "as opposed to the warm and healthy TV-education kids have been raised by in the past 15 years" ? At least this robot might create the opportunity to go play outside.
Stop seeing everything so negative
When will I end this grieving ? When will my future begin ?
The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room might look normal, until his head starts following the kid around using a face recognition program
Does anyone else think that this could be the scariest thing ever? Especially if they make a clown version?
I'm not stressed. I'm just terribly, terribly alert.
I was wondering how long until a terrible BSOD joke, then I realized IT'S IN THE FUCKING POST! It's not funny anymore, folks! Let the dead horse rest in peace.
Since when has this country used intellectual elite as a pejorative term?
Yeah, yeah .... and in 10,000 years he'll pull out a strand of David's mother's hair and the aliens will briefly recreate his mother so he can be a real boy for a few hours ... Man, /. stories are just repeats from the past or repeats of the inevitable future nowadays.
(Teddy from the movie with Haley Joel Osment: AI: Artificial Intelligence)
Microsoft Robot is a Teddy Bear
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Do we really want to trust our kids with a robot thats running microsoft code...?
I give it two months before someone can boot Linux on it, and in 6 months they could do it without needing to solder...
Nothing new, innate objects, such as TV have been raising generations of kids... now it's moved on to the computer...
---
Programming is like sex... Make one mistake and support it the rest of your life.
Why are there always the inevitable jokes about BSODs? They're from like, Windows 95 or 98 which is now at least 7 years old. I've NEVER seen 2000 or XP produce a blue screen of death EVER - and use it all day every day in many different capacities as a software developer.
I know it's physically capable of a BSOD, but really, has anyone ever seen XP or 2000 SP3 actually BSOD on a regular basis. My experience is that XP itself is incredibly stable. Infinitely more so than 95 or 98.
but then I shoved it up your mother's ass, samzenpus
Yeah, because they've augmented BSODs with C4 explosives now. Glad you caught that. Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!
Yeah, this is new. Nevermind radios, TVs, arcades, game consoles, computers, the internet, Slashdot, etc....
Do you think Bill Gates will keep a universal robot remote control in her bra like Mom?
-73, de n1ywb
www.n1ywb.com
as a father of an amazingly cute 6 month old little girl, I have to say.
"If you dont want to watch your kids, you shouldnt have had them". there its said, its out, and thats it.
Personally the highlight of my day is coming home and spending the 5 or so hours with my wife and daughter. I spend the entire time playing with the little girl, its amazing what they do when you watch them, you can see their little outlooks forming, I really do think I have a good idea what she will be like in 3-4 years, as well as in 10-20 years. I really cant wait, but am enjoying every minute I have.
Some may say that robots could make life easier when you want to do little things like cook dinner, or take a shower, stick the kid in a bouncy seat, or exersaucer and bring em with you. My daughter loves to watch me cook (from a safe splatter free distance).
my $.02
#include sig.h
Wouldn't it technically be an animate object?
Now, am I really going to trust a Microsoft security system to ascertain that it really is the plumber, rather than some smackhead from down the street?
Using HTML in email is like putting sound effects on your phone calls. Just say <strong>no</strong>.
You've obviously never hired a teenage babysitter...
I'll probably just wait until SP1, bound to fix that nasty strangulation bug.
Not until society* changes. Too often children are as much a status symbol as anything. I have seen parents, both professionals (Doctor, Lawyer, etc.) with full-time careers who:
-have children
-raised by nanny
-in school at 3 years (pre-school)
How much time are they committing to this? Why not a robot, probably cheaper.
*By society here I am (sadly) referring to American society.
"and I knight thee sir gates to teach the children about sex through toy robots"
Some people die at 25 and aren't buried until 75. -Benjamin Franklin
should prevent my child from doing immoral or stupid things, such as installing linux on his computer...
Wondering why i am doing so strange posts? I am trying to get a "+5,Flamebait" or "-1,Insightful" rating.
But its been done before:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212720/
This
At least the little people inside the TV are alive. Well aren't they? Come on, they have to be alive.
If you don't believe me, just ask the easter bunny.
1) A robot may not use a non-Microsoft product or through inaction, allow a human being to use a non-Microsoft product.
2) A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.
Insert witty sig here.
I wonder; if the inanimate object had been driven by Linux it would make the independants happier?
In a sense, we've been letting inanimate objects help raise our children for a LONG time, from stuffed dolls to cradles.
Microsoft builds something that probably serves as a monitor, and suddenly this tool is evil.
If Microsoft develops a screwdriver, will people refuse to use it?
Michael Jackson announces a sudden decision to become a cyborg.
Slashdot: News for Nerds, Stuff that matters only to them
If they ever release it I'm sure we'll see an article about an MS robot running Linux. Although I would rather let Tux look after my kids than the BSOD.
"Your child has performed an illegal operation"
Fat people are hard to kidnap
That job would belong to television thank you very much. Why every one of my 9 kids here in the trailor park wuz done raised good on TV. How many slashdotters remember the jingle sung by a cowboy on CBS, "After the messegez, weee'll be rigghhht back"... Inanimate objects have been raising our kids for 50 years.. and it shows.
meh
Are You Sarah Conner
Well Im here to babysit your child.
you can Download driver updates at MSky.net
Thank you for updating The babysiters web browser Please reboot me
Ill be back
The only things certain in war are Propaganda and Death. You can never be sure which is which though
I kind of like the idea that it could recognize and follow a kid around. Especially if it would have a cam.
Kids have a tendency to want to wander off and get into trouble when you're not looking for a minute. I realize parents who don't look after their child much anyway perhaps won't check a monitor much either, but maybe the chances of something bad happening to the kid are smaller.
Sample this!
Just goes to show the state of social decay over the last few decades. Parents are constantly bothered by issues at work and no longer have the time to devote to their kids. TV is not much different from this robot (whether it's running M$ or something more worthy) in providing a parent-replacement function.
Am I the only one that doesn't trust Microsoft looking after children or even my house for that matter?
For fucks sake they can't get my computer security right how am I supposed to let a Microsoft "virtual being" in my house who can "let the plumber in". TFA says it can learn the childs name and "other personal information".
I may be pessimistic and cynical with Microsoft cause of the amount of Blue screen of deaths I've encountered but it still stands that their company has a track record of being underhanded, hopeless and manipulative when it comes to their business.
If Microsoft develops a screwdriver, will people be labeled Linux-fanatics, Microsoft-haters or similar for using a non-MS screw-driver?
We've been waiting 20 years for the 2005 equivilant of Teddy Ruxpin, who scared the shit out of kids everywhere back in the 80s. The day has finally come!
It would be cool if it didn't suck.
At least M$ has a lot of competition in the "taking over your kid's brain" market...
r ownnieReb
It's called mainstream TV.
I don't know if "Bill the Friendly Robot" can out-brainwash "Dora the Explorer" - but I'd hate to find out!
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Right when it decides to find the fairy that can make it a real boy, and freezes with a solid block of ice along with Coney Island..
Or at least it should..
Mechanics.
I mean, I assume if it's from MS it'll come defaulting to 'evil'.. But the Krusty Doll has a mode selector ;)
Parent is not insightful, just stupid. Raising children has nothing to do with using tools. Nothing (and not even Linux) should be involved in the process of raising your child. YOU are responsible for the education. If you can't or don't have time to raise a human being, don't have sex to begin with!
And how long untill some child molester puts a camera in one? Can't be difficult to put in a wireless webcam sit int he park opposit with a laptop and record it all... I can't think of many little kids who would even think that undressing infront of the thing maybe an issue.
I like muppets.
I also hear they've developed a new version of XP for the robots; the Distributed Autonomous Vehicle Realtime Operating System. DAVROS will provide superior reliablility and control over robot operations.
****
"I'd never want to join a club that would have me as a member" - G. Marx
will they call it namblot?
Anybody knows who is this guy posting all the latest news...?
If Microsoft develops a screwdriver, will people refuse to use it?
Hell yes!
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553293397/ qid=1109855806/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3329785 -6023161
I have a device that allows me to do that already. It's called a telephone.
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
And check for Dupes...
You too can be replaced with a small shell script
Latoya does too
I've noticed that everyone who is for abortion has already been born - Ronald Reagan
When you compare Slashdot to many geeks social lives it's alot less inanimate then you might think. We interact with hundredsd if not thousands of other people every week. On TV you just watch others interact.
It's like the community in "the real world", it's not really alive as a whole, but it's still there and evolving and developing.. and you get less dupes in the real world.
I like muppets.
You are. Look around, pal.
Everybody else here thinks it's a great idea.
The Teddys were created by Man.
... (Transmission interrupted due to Cease & Desist)
They were created to make life easier for lazy parents.
And then the day came when the Teddys decided to kill their masters.
After a long and bloody struggle an armistice was declared.
The Teddys left for another world to call their own.
Why with Skynet of course.... Bill will be back!!!
I guess they got the name of the company wrong in the movie I, Robot.
It's Microsoft, not USR. It always seemed like something MS would be more likely to do anyway.
"Except for any refund elected by Microsoft, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO ANY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, if the Robot wrecks everything you own and KILLS YOUR FREAKIN' KID."
Insert witty sig here.
Disagree. Raising children has everything to do with tools.
However, if you just need to vent because people aren't spending enough time with their children, have at it.
We use all types of things to help our children grow, and they're tools. We also use behavior modification methods, and they're tools. We use tools to cook with, tools to clean with, and tools to pick up the bucket of lard/chicken from our favorite fast food stand.
So. Breathe deep, slowly exhale, and go play with the kids. Usually works for me.
Actually, newer releases of Windows prevent you from seeing the BSOD and reboots instantly instead. This can be changed under My computer [RL] Properties -> Advanced -> Startup and Recovery Settings.
.crash command.
So, if your computer has ever spontaneously rebooted, you have experienced a BSOD.
On a more serious note, I have seen a lot of BSOD:s, but only because I've induced them manually. Forcing a BSOD is the only way to get a kernel mode memory dump which can be used for remote debugging and analyzing without access to the computer.
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=244139
Another way would be to connect a debugger and attach it to the kernel and issue the
Microsoft announced today that is testing a new toy / robot to watch over kids.
to the meaning of spyware! (in this case positive)
If Microsoft develops a screwdriver not only will it require special screws but if, by some means, you are able to use it with another screw make it will reconfigure that so that only the MS screwdriver will work from there on.
Seriously, yes there are people that won't use anything stamped with Microsoft. Except and X-Box or a mouse or a keyboard, but they are different because they are kewl. It's possible to colour everything that Microsoft do as evil if you want to.
You may think me a tired, old, cynic. I'd have to disagree about the tired bit.
It's sad to see people who spent their lives in search of things to make lives easier. Then when someone else they don't like finds a way, they will stop their own progress and shake a poisionous finger at them stating how they are ruining the world with their inventions.
I am glad to see someone else can observe the thick veil of hypocracy people seem to take when MS is involved. I believe that if MS did develop a better screwdriver, that you would see a great number of people decry that all screwdrivers were bad and that MS was 'pushing' evil screwdrivers on the world so that they could take over the minds and bodies of the genereal public.
It seems like everything MS does, is treated here as an afront to humanity and must somehow be an underhanded attempt to make your life miserable (while making you think it's better).
Heavens to mergatroyd!
I'd say sometime after 2029 A.D.
I think most teenagers will want this integrated with real-doll in some way.
This comment does not represent the views or opinions of the user.
What an excellent advertising opportunity for Microsoft! All those great formative years have been wasted!!! Baby's First Words: Windows Good
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!
/ 103-7935959-6326214
But you can buy one of these today:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008GYCZ
Homer no function beer well without.
Yeah, but the same thing is true with Sponge Bob Squarepants.
FTA: "The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room might look normal, until his head starts following the kid around using a face recognition program..."
Did that give anyone else the chills? Think Chucky.
When I was a kid it was ME that played with the robot toy.
And.. no, I dont' come from Soviet Russia.
...endless fields, where humans are no longer born, they are grown...by Microsoft!
I think I trust my Dead Badger running Linux to over a Microsoft Robot when it comes to child care...
Microsoft Parent 2086?
Just imagine the Slashdot posts by then:
"Thats what happens when you deregulate the robotics market. The fact they license by number of children is unfair!! What if one of my kids is a clone!?!? I want my kids to be raised by an open source father."
"If Microsoft develops a screwdriver, will people refuse to use it?"
Absolutely not!
But there will be a lot of whining about how there is a much better, cheaper, and all toghether fantastic =other= screwdriver that the general public is just too stupid to appreciate. Phillips, that is, with a proprietary head! What a nerve.
The parent poster makes a damn good point.
Technology is not a substitute for people and American culture is becoming so enamoured with technology to the point of forgetting what matters- family, values, and human contact.
Of course who's to say in the far future that we'll have robots that imitate humans so well that some robots are more emphatic and caring than some people that walk the earth.
1) Make all people think happy thoughts when they see the MS logo.
1.1) for best results start at birth
1.2) induce unhappyness when seeing other brand logos
Are you kids demanding MS compatable breakfast food, bowl & spoon.
And throw a fit if the milk has a dairy logo on it?
Upgrade now to the new MS Milk !
Available at you local MS-Mart (subscription service required)
This is my opinion based on what little I know and understand of the rumors and lies Thanks, Randal
Either way, I'm sure they'll do a better job than most parents.
Personally, I didn't think this was such a good idea. You're taking kids whose grasp on reality is tenuous at best- and now their teddy bear can have real conversations with them? I wonder how many of those kids are adults today, cringing in corners because Teddy Ruxpin keeps telling them to kill, kill, kill!
Hurray! A voice of sanity! Praise to you who can see past the idiotic 'technology' ruins our children arguements. Tools are important. How we use them is important. Just because we don't know how to use them 'best' doesn't mean we shouldn't use them at all. Heck, I have driven a nail with the butt end of a screwdriver before. It worked fine. Wasn't pretty, but worked.
"It's not how you get there, but the goal that matters. "
"It's not the goal that matters, but how you get there."
No, it's a reasonable combination of both that is the most successful. Arguements that cause you to have to ignore the tools that simplify you getting to the goal, or arguements that cause you to have to use certain tools regardless of the goal are both wrong. Common sense says you need both. Why is it when people start to argue about the 'pieces' of a concept, they forget the whole picture and completely lose track of what it is all about?
It's all a ploy to roll out the next step in DRM: Watching your child from BIRTH to make sure he isn't being a dirty digital copyright violator. Beginning at age 3, the robot has begins lecturing on the benefits of DRM, how we are all screwing over the record labels with mp3s, and why he needs to call Microsoft if he ever reinstalls Windows. It will be great, comrade!
The Peanut Gallery, Ubergeek, Biblically Sober
NCAAbbs.com: Thousands of fans, Hundreds of teams, Just one place
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When will it end?"
When the government raises are kids for us of course. The government will be ultimate babysitter.
where's the story? The case was sent back for a new trial. No mention here! oops -- we don't report good news for Microsoft on slashdot!
What a pathetic excuse for a group of editors.
The last one reminds me of a very old joke about what if Star Trek's Data ran on MS: http://www.jestsandjokes.com/show.php3?joke=168
Get paid to search..It's geniune and
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When will it end?
What good is an inanimate robot?
What?
I don't really see how this is letting "inanimate objects raise our kids". In order for something like this to work, there presumably has to be someone on the other end of the wire watching the camera feed. It's like a higher tech baby monitor - the same as poking your head in the next room to see what little Johnny is doing,only now you can do it from across the house.
When their numbers dwindled from 50 to 8, the dwarves began to suspect Hungry.
I can see how this all got started. Some M$ guy watches the movie "AI" and then get the idea:
r ownnieReb
"Hey, that kids actually LISTENS and TAKES THE ADVICE OF that little robot Teddy bear... Here's our new meal ticket! Whoo-hoo!"
Its only a matter of time before the kid's new best friend "Teddy" starts talking up Micro$oft products... And any other company that's willing to pay big bucks to M$ to advertise to a very receptive young audience.
How long before the robot "G.I. Bill" doll? I can see it now:
"Come'on little Trooper! Let's go frag some Terrorists and help good 'ol Uncle Sam spread some Democracy!"
Not good. Just wait and see...
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Check out the movie news...
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That's it. After 10 years I've had enough of you idiots. Back in the day Slashdot used to be insightful. Mod me down, I don't care, I'm outa here.
Whoohoo!
Maybe unrelated but, there is a teddy computer.
Not only that, but if you read the EULA for your MS screwdriver you will notice that you are allowed to use that screwdriver only on ONE SCREW AND HOLE. When you begin to screw you need to activate the screwdriver and it will register which screw you are using and into which hole you are screwing. You are then free to screw as much as you want in that hole. However it is called "piracy" if you use it on a different screw or hole. Oh, and your screwdriver will check on you from time to time and report back to Microsoft - er I mean it will auto-update...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I'm sure the comment was meant in jest, but seriously, we've been doing it with TV for years.
I don't think this is a good idea. What happens if a kid bumps his head and knocks himself out. I guess the robot could quickly call someone. That's fine. What happens if a kid falls in a swimming pool. If the robot calls someone, by the time they arrive it might be too late where as a human might be able to do something else. Then again if you let your kids play by the pool I think you should ask yourself some questions.
Unfortunately, this seems like yet another excuse some parent will use to not watch their kids and when something does go wrong, they'll be the first in line at the court suing away their poor parenting.
Yes, I have. These are stories from XP:
I used to get a BSOD when playing a certain game, which I'm assuming is caused by the laptop overheating. It would blue screen, give an IRQ_LESS_THAN or something like that error, and then reboot. Constantly.
Also, I just met someone who has a top-of-the-line Alienware with some insane stats and STILL upon loading Doom 3 or loading a saved game of Doom 3, he will get a BSOD. It happens every other time, REGULARLY.
Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin'.
It isn't so much that fact, because one day it may be common place for a cyborg nanny to keep the little ones out of trouble, my question is, do you want this thing watching your children? I'm sure MS will no doubt add some sort of wireless beaming technology to update firmware, and for on the fly programming updates, paving the way for your robo-sitter to become infected with a virus that makes the thing murderous. Runaway motif anyone?
I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
This will be a great new way for MS to monitor your kids to make sure that they aren't illegally downloading music. They would love to have a toy that reports back on file sharing activities. Perhaps is could even check the versions of MS software when the child isn't looking.
The article just says Microsoft is showing a prototype, not that your own house will be filled with Microsoft robots this evening, so calm down.
Prototype != Product on Shelves
Look at car companies, they've been making prototypes for a long time, usually to see how the market responds to a design to test the waters so the vehicle doesn't dive when it's released. Plus, back in the '80's, remember when robots were supposed to be the "new thing", they had robots on display doing household chores, living up to the Jetsons ideal house. As far as I can see the only persistent robot presence is the prohibitively expensive Roomba vacuum cleaner which itself can't be too complex of a robot.
I guess people just want to regurgitate more BSOD jokes at Microsoft's undefensible expensive. Good job on the originality, guys...
So, will this robot have a bunch of security issues, where hackers can get in and get the robot to kill the kids?? They better be pushing out updates like no other!
Everybody knows all robots from Momcorp run on alcohol.
it's bad enough that the current generation is a TV generation raised by TV. Now MS wants to raise kids with fucking dolls. talk about fucked up priorities.
"Hush little baby. I have replaced your mother."
Nowhere in the article does Microsoft announce any such thing. It's a technology showcase. That's where all kinds of experimental and "concept" products get shown off. To take from that that Microsoft is "announcing testing" is just plain silly, and demonstrates rather poor comprehension.
It will end when the robots decide they can use us as a fuel source.
"hey, could you pass me a paper towel? er.. I mean... DEPLOY ABSORBTION PANEL!"
Do you have stairs in your house?
Marques Johansson
I'd feel safer if Michael Jackson and Pete Townsend babysat my kids.
Wishing I was a millionaire since 1969.
allowing a parent talk to the child through a special phone, or monitor the child via a camera and wireless Internet connection.
Who else gets to monitor your child, or tell them what to do? "Teddy says go and open the door..".
Given the track record for home wireless security, and MS's own track record for security, it just seems like the wrong kind of opportunity for the wrong kind of people. Combining microsoft and wireless child monitoring gives a whole new and disturbing dimension to war driving...
Microsoft is talking with the state Department of Transportation about sharing its interface with the government,
Now that's reassuring. The US govn't would never abuse such a thing. George Orwell eat your heart out....
Hell will freeze over before I'd trust a Miscrosoft robot with my son. I don't even let him run Windows! Can you imagine the EULA for the robot? In the event the thing crashes and hurts the kid, Microsoft isn't responsible for anything over $5.00. Oh yeah, I'll buy one. NOT.
Personally the highlight of my day is coming home...
;-)
Yep, spoken like a real man. For you it's time to relax with the baby. For mom it's time to come up for air
Still as a dad I know what you mean. For you moms out there -- this too will pass.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
... the robot toy bear in A.I. that keeps the A.I. kid company on his entire journey through life. The only difference is that a toy like the one in A.I. would actually do a pretty good job and "just work". So it's probably an Apple product. Watch for Sony to jump on the bandwagon and produce something that looks like Astroman to watch over your kid. There will undoubtedly be an open source version made out of discarded Teddy Ruxpins, X10 cameras, and PDA guts and will probably resemble the Paddingtonstein bear. (Remember folks, I'm a free/open source proponent, so this is what is called a JOKE) Then Grundig (a German company) will make Nanabot which will be very strict and won't spare the rod. There are bound to be some designer nanny bots from various "stylish" companies that will cost more than an SUV but will fit in with your Conran and Ikea furnished rooms. And of course, don't forget the fear factor... In capitalist America, we will have security mom avatar bots armed with land-to-air missiles and night vision that will be trained to say, "Don't go near the bushes, there are terrorists in there" and "Remember kids. Don't trust anyone who is Unamerican. If they aren't with us they're against us! Now let's play hopscotch"!
-"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
Bender(asleep): "Kill all humans. Must kill all humans."
Bender(awakened by Fry): "I was having the most wonderful dream. You were in it."
Are humans defective because so many of us find this funny, or do we just appreciate irony?
There is not nearly enough love in the world, but there is far too much trust.
In a statement today a microsoft spokesperson stated "we have yet to decide the name of the robot, but the initial favoured model number is ED209"
ED209: Drop the weapon immediately
Child: But it's a toy gun!
ED209: Drop the weapon immediately
Child: Ok
ED209: Drop the weapon immediately
Child: i did, i did
ED209: 5,4,3,2....
I have never let my schooling interfere with my education. - Mark Twain
It's the true beginning of the Borg! We will be assimilated into MicroBorg! Resistance is futile, albeit buggy!
...welcome our new fuzzy overlords...
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When will it end?
In many houses the TV has been performing that job for a long time already...
Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
From the maker of Windows itself: How to use the CtrlScroll to crash Windows.
i imagine this is very, very helpful to some developers who work with data protection and need to test-crash junk all the time.
Oh yes, I forgot this issue. BSOD is not an Windows Issue, it an Linux Issue.
AKA Kernel Panic. Besides, who can rely on a piece of software distributed for free?
-=-=-=-=
I know life isn't fair, but why can't it ever be un-fair in MY favor!?
you don't need the human touch.
It helps if the humans are already desensitized (see media) abused (see politics) and have no imagination (see education.)
Then the humans will be ready for integration into the collective. They will be ready to consume unthinkingly.
MSBPodcast.com The opinions expressed here are my own. If you don't like 'em... Think up your own stuff.
"Error: Incompatible Opinion Type 1-9-8-4. Initiating Relearning Sequence."
"At Microsoft, we stand in awe of your achivements...we create software to help you reach your potential...your kid can be an astronaut with MS Office...*KILL KITTENS.*"
"Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!"
Must be a lame robot if the thing doesn't even move.
As a kid, I'd be first horrified, and then terribly insulted. It's like these idiotic cableless cameras to watch over your kid. All you need to do is look at the TV to see your kid! In color, too!
Bah.
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
Inanimate objects have been watching our kids for a long time now. They are called computers or if you are stuck in the 80s, TVs.
You deserve to be removed from the gene pool (no pun intended). Isn't it beautiful how Nature works these things out depsite all our modern-ity? :)
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored. - Aldous Huxley
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!
You said robots. Robots are animated, not inanimate. These are animate objects.
With MS outstanding security reputation, your 5yr. old son want's 3 more inches for his next birthday because of some spyware/adware.
Grundgesetz * 23. Mai 1949 - 30. November 2007 - http://www.vorratsdatenspeicherung.de/
RoboSitter: "Would you like to play a game?"
Kid: "Um, ok. What games do you have?"
RoboSitter: "Checkers, Chess, Go, Global Thermonuclear War."
**
I know, I know. Go? I must be dreaming...
So, will this be available (for free) in my MSDN Universal Subscription?
.Net?
Does it run
How can I customize it?
Is it self-updating? (Applying various security and maintenance patches as they become available from Microsoft?)
Will it feed the dog?
It doesn't work man! I did the registry entries, rebooted and I am pressing ctrl. Then I tap ScrLk once, then t[NO CARRIER]
Q123456
SYMPTOMS
In rare conditions TeddyBear version 6.01 may choke babies and sometimes also their parents.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for TeddyBear version 6.01. After applying the service pack TeddyBear may still shake the babies, but this is by design.
STATUS
Microsoft confirmed that this is a problem.
MORE INFORMATION
www.linux.com
So, if you use this robot to watch more than one kid at a time, will that be a violation of the license agreement?
Just like that little bear in the movie AI.
That one seemed to work out pretty well.
Don't understimate the power of a 2 year old and computers. He might not be able to hack the device, but it better be VERY strong to survive a 2 year old child. (think about strong physical abuse, feeding the bear milk, spilled food, kissing the camera).
don't forget Arnie lost from the children in kindergarten cop.
All your child are belong to us.
I am defenseless. Use your button. Mod me down with all of your hatred.
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When will it end?
What's new about that? The public school system that consumes increasing amounts of kids' (and parents') time and attention is "inanimate" in the worst kind of way: unthinking, unresponsive, undifferentiated, and increasingly automated and centrally controlled, populated by teachers and staff that are becoming more robotic every day.
Any technology that has the potential to play a part in providing an alternative is welcome.
A is NOT for Apple
B is for Blue Screen
C is for smelly Communist UNIX hippy programmers because
D is for nice charming DotNet programmers
E is for Excel
F is for FrontPage
G is for GMail but
(H is for) Hotmail is better
I is for Internet Explorer that used to incorporate
(J is for) Java that we stole from Sun
K is Knighthood, Lord Billy the Peer
L is for very nasty hippy communist words we never speak
M is for money, money, money, money and even more money
N is for Netscape, who we totally trashed
O is for Opera, who we'd like to have trashed also
P is for PowerPoint
Q is for Halo 2, starts selling at midnight
R is for Redmond, our place of worship
S is for Steve Ballmer, Sweaty armpits and Silly dancing
T is for Trusted Computing because
U is too stupid to be "trusted" with a computer
V is for Volume Licensing, our "bread and butter"
W is for Windows Media Player 10 which bundled with
(X is for) XP stops
(Y is for) your playing smelly Communist music we don't want you to and lets us keep you caged in the Microsoft
(Z is for) human zoo.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
If this product injures or kills your child, does the generous $5 offer still apply?
we won't have to think of the children anymore!
...but according to the marketting division of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation, a robot is "Your plastic pal who's fun to be with!"
Does this device come with the Marvin, Eddie, or Mother personality?
... we're letting Microsoft raise the kids!
-- ted russ http://www.arach.net.au/~ted/mydynes/ http://www.arach.net.au/~ted/myblogs/
to whoever scored the above off topic?
have you seen the movie? there's this really neat toy teddybear in it.. and it plays with/talks to kids....
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
A few years back, this awesome movie about a robot. Also had a toy that the child interacted with.
Something that seems alot like this is described as. Everyone in the audiance of the theatre I attended. gave a warm awe of amazement watching it move and interact.
Sure It's just a movie, and sure it's CGI .. but the visual and emotional impact was very palpable.
Just a thought from my mental Archives.
If I recall, they tried this several years ago with an interactive Barney the Dinosaur. Anyone remember "Actimates"?
Why, oh why, didn't I take the Blue Pill?
Talk about SPYWARE! It works great until it's infected with a worm and goes berserk. Can you imagine a world filled with these MS robots? One day, some smart ass 15 yr old from Bratislava writes a virus for it that makes it start teaching the children profanity and spinning its head like a demon--or worse.
I might know what I'm talkin' about, but then again, this is Slashdot...
"Don't you want to put away those crayons and do it in in Microsoft Paint(tm)?"
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
"Teddy" Story Contest
I propose a contest. Write a story involving "Teddy". Make it positive, negative, hopeful or pessimistic. Encase the hardware in different shells if you like (A clown or a Jack in the box spring to mind). Is it a gift from parent to child? Is a workaholic parent using it to "Spend time with the kids" while at the office? Is an obsessive individual or a stalker using it to monitor their prey? Is it being used as nothing more than a cuddly baby monitor, sort of a remote control Teddy Ruxpin?
"Live Free or Die." Don't like it? Then keep out of the USA
Let us all read "Robbie, The robot" and realize that they can at least not patent it, as there is previous art in existence.
In the first robot design they will have a lot of security features like the three laws. Due to the time to market, these are taken out. "Dead children? That is not a bug, it is a feature."
Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
I mean, COME ON!
Next you'll be trying to convince me that there's an nutty, rich, in-bred old English woman, with a grandson who dresses up in a Nazi uniform, handing out titles of the British Realm to convicted American monopolists!
Oh, wait...
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
"It looks like you are trying to go to the bathroom. Would you like help with that?"
- None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
Well at least they can't patent the concept as it is already described brilliantly in the scifi short story "The Nanny"
I was raised by TV way back when there were only THREE networks and the video was GRAINY and BLACK AND WHITE, and I turned out okay. None of these fancy-schmancy talking robot teddy bears for me...
HEY! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? I SAID THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!!!
Serving your airship needs since 1995.
Yes.. the market is responding.. your point is...?
Generally Geeks aren't known for their sense of humor, but certain jokes strongly identifies one within a certain group. (Would your mom get the BSOD jokes?) Prepare yourself to hear BSOD jokes for a long, long time to come. That said, MS should never have let 95 or 98 to be released as such a mess in the first place, and nothing will change that (or make up for it, now)
...Go pester Daddy to go buy a legitimate copy of XP and this ice cream's yours!"
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Have you noticed how most parents act these days? Hell, we let the inanimate objects that pass as "parents" raise their own kids, why not let some other object do it? At least the kid won't feel like the inability of the device to tell them that something is wrong won't seem like tacit approval.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Great, just what I want, Windows watching my kids...
Linus, Alan, and the CEOs of Red Hat, Mandrake, and SuSE were supprised to receive a "good luck" bear from Microsoft.
Does it come with fries and a shake?
Hi my name is TINA!
http://ebgp.net/ccc/
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!
This is different from the TV how?
"pr0n": An anagram of "porn," possibly indicating the use of pornography. - www.microsoft.com
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids!
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's slow down here. This isn't some nannybot (a), and (2) the thing's just like a cuddly baby monitor with more features. Are parents who have normal walkie-talkie-esque baby monitors somehow letting radio waves raise their children?
Come on, Archangel.
How many parents say "go and watch TV while we ... *insert activity here*" ? If TV isn't inanimate then what is ?
Someone has to protect our children from linux
I predict one year after this product releases, someone hacks the firmware and discovers that the teddy is programmed to wake up at 2am, seach the house for Linux or Mac computers, and destroy them.
... may have a new meaning ... ... Microsoft is not responsinble for any deaths of your children that may happen due to the robot malfunction ...
Hey is it a joke, huh? If their OS doesn't work imagine their "robotic nany". I bet if you put a baby to be cared by one of this, when it gets 12 years old probably will be smocking crack or something like. Nasty huh?
During our discussion, important value and ethical issues arose in the design and use of such "relational robots." These robots are meant to create bonds and simulate "authentic" relationships. They react to voices, track their owner's eyes, respond and project emotions, and so on. Yet, they remain robots - all these actions and reactions are programmed - pre-determined. So, how do the designers decide what emotions to program and which to omit? In an effort to be realistic, My Real Baby gets happy as well as sad. If you bounce her when she's happy, she gets more happy; if you bounce her when she's fussy, her fussiness only increases. How should she react, then, if she is abused? It is not hard to imagine a child (especially one who is herself a victim of abuse) to violently shake, strike or otherwise "abuse" the doll. How should this evocative object respond? Should she show pain? Begin to cry? Eventually "pass out" or even "die" if the abuse continues? How "real" should the robot be in order to create an "authentic" relationship?
[In the end, the designers wanted the doll/robot to react as a child would, with pain and sadness. However, the company's lawyers stepped in and were concerned that any type of response by the doll might encourage further abuse (stimulus-response theory), and they didn't want to be accused of actually encouraging abusive behavior. In the end, the doll simply did not react to abuse.]
Other ethical dilemmas related to the design of such robots included whether they should be capable of deception or betrayal, two common features of human relationships. Or, should they "die." On one hand, the experience of death as part of the life cycle is an important part of psychological development and would add to the "authenticity" of the relationship. On the other hand, one of the benefits of these robots seems to be the avoidance of the emtional damage that can happen when a "real" companion (whether a human friend, or even a companion dog) dies.
The danger isn't the BSOD, it's the DRM. Your average shiny new "RobotXP" is going to be a wonderful thing right up until your child starts singing a song that's copyrighted. Most of them will get away with it because lets face it, kids generally can't sing. Sooner or later though one of them's going to hit the right notes and sound just close enough to the original version to activate the DRM software.
Then it will strangle the kid and dismember it to locate the non-DRM's music file inside of the child. At the same time it'll be reporting the violation and your home address to the authorities.
Appended to the end of comments you post. 120 chars.
Talk about misleading articles. The summary implies the thing watches your kids, gets up and shouts, "ur kid has been pwned!!" and continues to carry him off somewhere.
Then I RTFA and see it's a baby monitoring device. Everyone can simma down nah.
I am a parent, and as a parent, I've made some observations about everyday life. And I have to say, parnts who would buy these for their children need to have their children taken away from them, right fugging now.
I like to place meaningful quotes in my sig, so people will know that I know what meaningful quotes are.
Indeed... with such a device I could be very fun to hack given time. Maybe we could end with something similar to "Teddy" for A.I.
And of course there's the added joy of shocking people by editing the default dialog to something a bit more interesting...
A family can easily get by on one salary. If they are willing to limit themselves to a 1950's quality of life.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
I think there may be a couple of other companies in the same market.
I for one welcome our new robotic overlords
I want the Bill Gates borg doll.
"Is this just useless, or is it expensive as well?"
New from Microsoft and Kid First Industrys, FUNZO.
It is better to be the hammer than the anvil.
Does this sound as ominous to anyone else other than me? I am suddenly filled with a groan that sounds remarkably like 'Oh sh|t'. All those episodes of The Outer Limits are coming back to haunt me. 'Hey, honey, I don't want to play with the kids today. Let Gideon do it.' Or 'Hey, babe, go cook dinner for me while I go screw Valerie and Mary.'
*shiver*
Seth Anderson BTW, I'm not 23 anymore -- I am TexasCowboy26 now. =)
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When will it end?
TV has been doing it for years.
This is just another excuse for the Big Man to start implanting our houses with more spyware that will condition our kids to worship the Corporate Machine! [adjusts tinfoil hat]
Remember folks, slashdot doesn't have a -1 "disagree" moderation!
Very interesting that just a few days ago Bill Gates blasted the education community as being obsolete. Now, Microsoft powered nanny cams to allow parents to go off and persue their interests. Doesn't seem like a very consistant message.
Unless, of course, the school reform he seeks includes tons of Microsoft products in the classrooms. Perhaps there is a Microsoft Teacher product in the works as well.
Sleep is for the Weak
A use for all those VB programmers.
Great. now those asshats that write all the POS programs that not only instal themselves without consent, but can also change the registry can now add to the registry a way to BSOD everyone. Add it to a worm/virus and it could get ugly. Like a later post said, add DWORD CrashOnRightMouseClick, or even CrashOnEnter, and there could be mayhem
Hope this one hasn't already been posted, but here goes... "I found out you could just set 'em down in front of the TV. That's how I was raised and I turned out TV."
NannyBot: Put down that marker! You have 20 seconds to comply.
Your kid drops the Sharpie he has been using to write on the hallway wall
NannyBot: Put down that Marker! You have 15 seconds to comply.
Your Kid: I did! It's on the ground. See?
NannyBot: Put down that Marker! You have 10 seconds to comply!
Hollow words will burn and hollow men will burn.
The article just says Microsoft is showing a prototype, not that your own house will be filled with Microsoft robots this evening, so calm down.
Actually, Microsoft's track record is that version on store shelves _is_ the prototype.
-- Microsoft is the most expensive commodity operating system and office suite vendor in the marketplace.
If the Microsoft robot has a blue screen of death (BSOD) while watching the kid, the kid plays "Duke Half-Doom 5004: Death To The Pigs!" (a Mature-related game with extreme cartoon violence) on his older sibling's computer, and the kid goes on a neighborhood rampage with his daddy's bazooka and pineapples left in the hallway closet, is Microsoft legally liable for the kid's action?
I have the funny feeling that the answer could be this.
You're right, the default behavior (unless you specify otherwise) for XP is to reboot when it gets in a jam. So technically, there's no more blue screen, but I've never had a Linux system spontaneously reboot, except for that time the power supply fried. It's not uncommon for my XP machine to spontaneously reboot. I thought it was my hardware, but since then, I've used the old XP hardware to upgrade the Linux box, and put all new hardware in the XP box. XP still reboots, Linux does not.
XP is a big step forward, and I'm generally happy with it compared to every previous version of Windows, but it's still not rock solid under constant load and has a strange multi-user design, one that I fear has some bugs in it (that may result in data loss). Other than that, I agree the BSOD jokes are tiresome, regardless of whether or not Windows is stable.
And that's where merely watching the child and avoiding accidents and the like isn't enough - child-minding means interacting with the children. A robot won't do this.
Maybe, for evolutionary reasons, parents love to interact with their kids, because it secures the proper development and thus survival of their offspring. (I don't enjoy it that much - that's why I don't have kids yet! And I certainly won't get kids and have a robot take care of them!)
At least in my case I know I can't handle kids, so I'm not having them.
My question is this: How many kids who have this "toy" are going to become murderers due to lack of parenting and discipline? (Probably not very many, but I really don't wanna know.)
On the other hand, however, a good parent might actually be able to put this to good use, and it could become really handy... until it crashes from some bug, god forbid, but then again, it would be the first toy that could watch over a child AND spontaneously crash. (However, I'm confident that Microsoft can do something like this without messing it up royally.) However, if a parent needs to take their eyes off their child for a few minutes, probably up until an hour or two (given that they're home) then it'll help more than hurt. (Of course, a couple of days at a time would be just plain dumb, and that goes back to my drunken drugged murderers comment.)
So in one way, this could be good, and in others, it could be bad. It all depends on how it's used.
It'll work until either the child gets bored with it, or he/she comes into the room completely blue, saying, "A fatal exception has occured."
When you need great justice, take off every zig.
Pak Chooie Unf
We are the space robots.
We are here to protect you.
We are here to protect you from the terrible secret of space.
I am the pusher robot.
I shove around the blind people.
I am the shover robot.
I push bread down their throats.
Pushing is the answer.
Pushing will protect you from the terrible secret of space.
Do not trust the pusher robot.
Shoving is the answer.
Shoveing will protect you from the terrible secret of space.
Do you have stairs in your house?
Please go to the top of the stairs so I can protect you.
I mod down pyramid schemes in sigs.
MICROSOFT ROBOT ATTACKS FIREFOX USER
(ap) A brief but violent incident between a new Microsoft 'nanny' robot and an Internet user was reported today.
"I had just activated the nanny robot and placed it next to my keyboard when I tried to access the Internet for further instructons" said the victim. "Suddenly the robot attacked me, biting my hands and trying to chew off my fingers. I just barely escaped. I had to beat the robot to death with my baseball bat. The only thing I can imagine why it attacked was because I was using the Firefox browser, and not Internet Explorer."
The visibly-shaken victim's injuries were treated at a local hospital, and he was released. Microsoft had no comment, other than to say there will be a patch issued soon.
--30--
The child has performed an illegal operation and will be terminated.
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
The robot will be least active when the children exhibit good behavior. "Good Behavior" in children is characterized as being quiet and not moving. All the makings of West Daycare World.
quoted from the article:
The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room might look normal, until his head starts following the kid around...
I had a teddy bear that did that when I was a kid. Only, he wouldn't do it when my parents were around...
"Sometimes you have fun, and sometimes the fun has you"
Actually I think M$oft has done much better with hardware than with software - I very much prefer their ergonomic keyboards and mice over any others I have used. If Sir Gates were to spin off a tools business, would he call it Microhard? Or would that suggest too much about the size of his tools?
I believe 90% of readers here at slashdot would boycot anything usefull made my microsoft purely because its made by them.
Microsoft isnt the proverbial "Evil Empire" you all make it out to be, now dont get me wrong I'm a linux user as well myself, but if I were on top of the PC software industry I wouldnt want to step down would you? There is reason why they do the things they do, albeit some of them are quite ridiculous and shifty at times, [70%]. But Geez give em' a break!
Seeing as how the point escaped you, I'll try to restate it for you.
The market is responding now, but in the future, if the market proves to be favorable by good reviews from reputable news agencies and public opinion, then it's a good indicator the product will be profitable, plus it's a good way to generate buzz. Afterall, if you were a car company and came out with a new radical design for a car, would you listen to a 12-year editor column on your car in the new issue of Reputable Car Magazine A or some rant left by Anonymous Coward on a message board on Car Enthusiast Website B?
Microsoft isn't going to listen to Slashdot no matter how much the Slashdot crowd thinks they should be listened to. The regular patrons of Slashdot that post do not provide an accurate cross-section of the consumers Microsoft is aiming for. The article indicates the demographic this product is aimed to sell to are families with kids, presumably with a strong income, nice house and of course kids that are old/young enough to be entertained by teddy bears. When I think of families of this type, they have a father that goes out one day and gets a Sony because it looks nice and smooth. The desktop is preinstalled with Microsoft's Windows XP OS without flinching because he uses it at work and trusts it. Slashdot caters to a much different segment of the buying public and to Microsoft if they read all of this, is totally moot to them.
Everyone here would certinly claim that no one should use it but they would all be secretly using it anyway because it just plain works and does what they need it to do.
While the Linux screwdriver comes in 75 pieces and 150 options that must all be sorted before it can be used (This takes about a week on average).
Even then, you have to make your own screws for it becuase there are so many configuration combinations that the chance of anyone else's Linux screw working with your Linux screwdriver are nil.
Contrary to popular belief, coding is not all free blow-jobs and beer. Those things cost MONEY!
Robots are _animate_ objects.
A teddy bear with only stuffing inside is an inanimate object.
Microsoft provides full indemnification against Kid Eating events, up to a maximum of $5.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
But what if? Just a quick replacement of the company name and viola!
3 &cid=3188 855
Microsoft Corporation has announced the completion of their latest home entertainment robot, OBIT. OBIT manifests as a human skull 3.1 meters in height, equipped with two stubby robot legs and an extensible fanged proboscis described by surviving journalists as "indescribable", "ravenous", and "obscene".
OBIT is powered by a 500 hp diesel-electric fuel cell located in the area of the cranium traditionally reserved for the medulla oblongata. This configuration allows for extended operation in low-oxygen environments as well as the "silent stalking" behavior demonstrated to such dramatic effect at Tuesday's eventful press conference.
OBIT is also equipped with sophisticated magnetic resonance imaging equipment enabling 98% accurate detection of the presence of an advanced central nervous system in organisms variously defined as "visitor", "prey", "family member", "clergy", or "passer-by". Complex neural-net technology allows all detected instances of CNS regardless of category to be recategorized as "prey". "Prey" instances are greeted with prompt action when target acquisition phase is complete! Graceful proboscis extends rapidly, providing spectator great joy as jaws open wide and gleaming fang extend. Studies show most immediate immobilization benefit in prompt attack to legs; hence OBIT prefer leg-first approach. Quaint antics of disabled prey may be observed by all as limbs are removed, followed by educational vivisection of torso and head accompanied by instructional lecture. Excellent consistency in results is obtained.
Remains of owner and guests to be disposed of at all times in accordance with applicable statutes of local municipality.
from:
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2961
Can't be any worse than letting a television set fill the same function.
Cut that out, or I will ship you to Norilsk in a box.
We already have inaminate objects as babysitters...they are called TV sets.
:0
And yes, I don't like the idea
Would it be an open source screwdriver?
From the article: "The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room might look normal, until his head starts following the kid around using a face recognition program, perhaps also allowing a parent talk to the child through a special phone, or monitor the child via a camera and wireless Internet connection." How is this different from a baby monitor? I don't think they are even talking about someone leaving the house with this. People have used baby monitors for years (intercom) and this is nothing new. How would a BSOD even effect this? It does not say anything about walking and talking, just following the child like a security camera. Instead of sweeping around the room, always following the child with face recognition. This enables you to have your monitor in the restroom when you need to go. Also these are ideas of products and not actual products -- this is like going to a car show and seeing concept cars, often these are never made in production.
I have a 4 year old and a seven year old.
I would buy one of these, but not to watch them, to watch the baby sitter.
When my children are involved I take a page from Regean: "Trust, but verify."
On the up side, If these things go to market, they will prbably fail. That means Cheap parts for me.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The economy has gotten to a point where to be middle class, you need a two incomes. So many people end up in a situation where they have no time.
Quit frankly, this country need a big push to go back to a single income families.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
My floors have never been cleaner but my daughter keeps coughing up dust bunnies.
how about an enlarged Teddy Ruxpin..?
How can we, as a society, even think of delegating care of a child to a toy? It's bad enough we expect TV to babysit them. Now we're going to ask Teddy Ruxpin to keep them from falling into the swimming pool?! Whose responsibility ARE children, anyway, if not their parents'?
Very good meta-joke. And on topic.
Anyone else had a flashback to the 1984 Tom Selleck sci-fi thriller Runaway? Just make damn sure the little bastards can't hold a .357 Magnum in their manipulators. Or that the system developers don't look like Gene Simmons.
"Tonight in Patterson, NJ, we have sad news that another RoboSitter 2007 went berzerk and spray painted the words 'Linux Rulez' across the faces of the children it was protecting, blinding two of them. Authorities believe that a neighbor exploited a buffer overflow defect in the robot's program and the parents has not downloaded any patches from Microsoft because they were Macintosh users."
This could go sooo wrong in the future. But right now, I'd rather worry about the TV.
If my grammar and spelling are off, I am [distracted/tired/careless] (take your pick)
Looks like Sony Aibo got a friendly competition
about Bsod, in my humble opinion, think it's not entirely MS' fault. a line screw up in bios can easily cause this. and don't argue "it doesn't happen to *nix". well, it doesn't happen cuz it just crash/shutdown.
I know... I've been there... thanks to ATI's demo chipsets...
"Oh, for f***'s sake." If you've ever had a driver that wasn't written just perfect, you have definitely seen the dreaded BSoD"
I had a good laugh a few years back. I put a new memory module in a Linux box and when I booted it up, the text "Something is really F****d Up!" appeared.
What the fuck are those asterisks supposed to be for?
This so reminds me of that teddy bear in the movie AI. I'm waiting for the next rev where they put the tech of Robosapien with this.
Sounds like a marriage license.
This is the prototype apparently...
This may only the beginning of a new line of robot sitters that MS puts out.
Soon they will come up with a biological/robot hybrid to ease concerns of machines watching the kids. Then they will guarantee that your children will be better behaved by injecting them with "nanites". Which is why parents must be careful, because some time dow the road everyone will be sitting at dinner and the following conversation will take place:
Parents: Why aren't you eating your vegetables?
Kids all turn heads at same time to parents Kids: Vegetables are irrelevant
And I think we all know where the story goes from there.
that's all the robot will say, kind of like Fox news.
- People who believe other people have no right to live, got no right to live ...
The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room might look normal, until his head starts following the kid around using a face recognition program, perhaps also allowing a parent talk to the child through a special phone, or monitor the child via a camera and wireless Internet connection.
Kid does something he's not supposed to do and it's "YOU ARE THE DEAD!"
"YES, IT WAS IN THE TEDDY BEAR."
Video camera + wireless Internet connection + kids? Is Microsoft asleep at the wheel, or do they see a large market for voyeurs?
If it is twice as entertaining as bob, clippy and the stupid talking dog, kids will ignore it in two seconds. When my kids were growing up they would rather play with trash than most toys. with trash they cold get into things they weren't supposed to, and use their imagination building things out of it.
How is the crazy thing going to make them listen, shock collars. I suppose that will be the next BSOD, the Random Robot Electrocution Phenomenon?
Another project for the dumb idea file
01101101 01111001 00100000 01110011 01101001 01100111
Chi?
No, they specifically explained that they would recreate David's mother from the strand of hair, able to pull her existence from the fabric of time, she would only be able to have memory of David in the present as her son because she had no other memory. David spent a few hours with her - creating memories FOR her in the timespace she was alotted.
Your moderation proves who's the dumb one I think.
The most accepted theory is that they were aliens - this was also touched on by Spielberg in interviews AFTER the "controversy" popped up on the internet.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Is a robot inanimate? I think, by definition, not. Perhaps non-sentiant, but certainly animate.
You know what they say about the hand that rocks the cradle...
Unexpect the expected!
Danger Will Gates, Danger DANGER!
Yes, but does it run Linux?
I make mistakes. Don't we all?
Will somebody please think of the children!
microsoft give there products to schools to get them hooked early, to me it sounds like they want to get them hooked even earlier, so now kids can learn to hate m$ products before they can talk, [sVen]
Now we are letting inanimate objects raise our kids! When will it end?
With a BLUE ROBOT OF DEATH!
{Insert Signature Here}
This signature used to contain a cute kitty virus with ansii art. Please set the slashdot editors on fire. Thank you
Just imagine having the robot being hijacked.
~CGameProgrammer( );
If Microsoft develops a screwdriver, it will be almost like a philips but with 5 points instead of 4, and will only tighten properly when turned counter-clockwise otherwise it gets stripped, requiring that you upgrade all screws to MS screws, coming soon after.
From what I can tell it's a toy that interacts in the real world, and you can optionally use it to check in with your kid when you're at the office or on the road. What is the big deal?
Sony's robot toys interact in the world, but they're not too cuddly (and kind of expensive if you ask me).
Cell phones and computers already do person to person communication, sometimes with video.
So somebody combined both ideas and put fur on it. It's not the end of the world!