Nah, IMHO TNG was light years better (no pun intended).
Stewart played Picard so perfectly he really was a model of a leader: detached, confident, stubborn and strong. Kirk was good, but Shatner is/was not even 1/4 the actor Stewart is. I'm not trolling, but Stewart is truly outstanding.
No, they haven't. It's an old trick which, if I'm not mistaken, was actually outlawed in the US for broadcast TV. But no such law exists on the Internet. I don't get it... do they WANT me to mute them? - while watching hulu, I usually keep my computer closer to me than my remote control when watching tv.
I don't suppose the government should be wasting their time with writing laws for Internet ad volumes, but it's freggin' annoying.
Yeah, so you can't log in, you can't see your previous history, there are no accounts? How exactly would what you propose actually work?
This is like attacking someone for loading software on their pc because then it becomes vulnerable to attack. Without some data on the net, being on the net is pointless - you just need to secure your data correctly.
As others have pointed out, be very careful with this one because it is very un-pc by today's standards and bound to get a teacher in trouble nowadays - which is a shame, really.
This book really helped me get some kind of an idea as to what a fourth spacial dimension would really "look" like. (as far as a simple human can fathom anyway)
I don't know about that. I don't play EvE, I've never played EvE (nor any other MMO for that matter), and I've never even seen EvE, outside of a few screenshots on stories like this. But, it is still fascinating to me how a virtual world can create its own narrative like this. It illustrates the increasing complexity in online interaction and how seriously people take their online activities.
If nothing else, it's interesting because the immersion in online worlds has a very rapid upward tragectory. As a reader of Vinge, Stephenson, etc I am interested and I think those that stopped to think about the future implications of this would probably be more interested then they appear to be. If this is where we're at now, where will we be in 10 to 20 years when graphics and inputdev vastly better than what they are now?
News for nerds... I think this is indisputable - stuff that matters... I'd argue, yes.
I think I just got chicken rolled - can't believe I watched all 4 mins of that AND downloaded the ppt. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't do anything with the binary on slides 17-20.
Many in corporate America would agree with you. That's why those that can, offer severance packages, publish them, and make them well known among the employees.
I actually wouldn't mind getting laid off. I'd get many months salary and could easily find a job before the severance runs out. This is how well run businesses retain qualified workers, even during layoffs. I'm lucky enough to work for a Fortune 100 company.
So, perversely, I have no desire to leave, in the hopes that I may get laid off!
You are making a few assumptions, here are two of them: 1) The AI will see the improvement as separate and distinct from themselves, instead of an addition TO itself and 2) that an AI has any type of survival instinct at all.
It really is too bad it costs so much. I can't really fault them for it though, I suppose you've got to keep the prices high to keep the number of people maintainable. Plus, if you can afford to just drop $25K, chances are you are a person who can actually help the singularity HAPPEN from a financial support standpoint, rather than just a passive onlooker.
I hope they are courteous enough to share the course content and vids online though. That would be nice.
Outside of maintenance periods, I would be highly surprised if there were any downtime on this thing. I'd imagine it will be booked out years in advance, just like most other supercomputers - and "super" telescopes.
Agreed, this is a processing power beast, not an IO beast (at least from the details released). Tinfoil hat theory would suggest this is for "realtime" analysis of... [insert favorite conspricy here].
I'm sold. By my estimation, this is obviously not for "weather monitoring" and "climate change".
The MOST ANNOYING thing is this silly fix-it tool that MS has. The only time I've seen it on Vista is when I am seeking a network connection, and somehow my wireless card is turned off. (Turned off intermittently for some unknown reason I haven't bothered to figure out)
Instead of automatically turning my wireless card on, or even prompting me and saying "your wireless card has been turned off (for some stupid, unknown reason), do you want me to turn it back on?". It says "I've encountered a problem, click here to fix". I then click to go to fix the problem, click to accept their solution to the problem and do a couple more clicks to actually reconnect to my network.
How about a "if system is in 'x' state and user takes 'y' action, and there's only one solution the 'fix it' tool has, just display the damn fix, or under certain circumstances, do it automatically!"
Is there anything the RIAA can do to reduce illegal file-sharing without generating massive amounts of bad publicity?
No. They are fscked.
But their best bet is to:
1) Accept the fact that they will have a choice between vastly lower profit margins and no profit margins and
2) Make an attempt to implement some kind of micro royalty system, where upon you purchasing a song, it costs you... say five cents. That lower price should increase consumption, probably somewhere around the point where it will about equal revenues for the 99 cent stuff on iTunes (because right now people still do not want to pay 99 cents). This will also allow folks to say "hey, isn't this song cool, go ahead and copy it using this snazzy interface that beats any freeware crap... oh, btw the record company is going to get 5 cents for this". People can start to quickly and easily SHARE music, which is what people want to do with music. They need to know how to build good software for themselves.
Not a perfect solution, by any means, but at least it's got a chance. Right now, they're just buying themselves a few last gasps of air and suffocating people along with them. In reality, I think the RIAA is going to keep their massive fear of software development and the power will ultimately go to the musicians and recording studios. The young musicians will want to just have their music heard an appreciated by other people, and they won't get rich, unless they can draw huge crowds of people for concerts... And if that happened, I can't say I'd be too sad about it. Art should be for art's sake, and I think when it became big business, folks (including many musicians) lost track of that.
The number one question you must ask yourself whenever making an investment decision is... what's your exit strategy?
So, you own these shares in the company... so what? Do they plan on becoming publicly traded one day, and is that just a dream, or can it actually happen? When you take the shares what terms are you taking the shares under? Do you have a right to sell to whoever you want once they are yours, or do you have to sell to insiders at a set price before you can sell to outsiders. Having an asset that is worth money, but has no market (as stock does when not publicaly traded on an exchange), is not a great thing, because there's no way out. If you question this, just ask the banks holding mortgages which are technically worth $0 right now... even though they're receiving income every month by virtue of possessing the asset. Put simply, you need to ask yourself... who exactly is going to want to buy this stock one day?
Also very important... Do you know how to read a financial statement? If so, look at the balance sheet of the company. The balance sheet shows the assets of the company... for illustration, if the company has a total of 1000 shares, and $1000 in the bank, and you get 10%, you essentially own $100 after you receive the shares. If they have no real assets or cash, then take that into account. One thing to note: there is a line-item on balance sheets called "goodwill", if you've got a lot of that, it is not a good thing, because goodwill has no real tangible value and is basically BS fluff 99.99% of the time. Look it up for more details.
They implanted a module with six neural electrodes into the beetles when they were still in the pupae stage, and so the beetles mature, they have the electronics already embedded into their bodies. At that point, a battery pack and receiver are added, and by sending radio signals, the beetle can be made to take off, land, fly forwards and backwards, and steer left and right.
Alot of/. articles are so-so, some are amazing, and every once in a great while there's one that... well, kinda scares the shit out of me.
This is one of those articles. Does this article kind of creep you out?... Are you a little creeped out because you believe beetles may have some form of free will and even if it's "just a beetle" they shouldn't be flown about like some kind of "machine"? What if we managed to create a machine with the intelligence of a Beetle? Not at all an unreasonable prospect... What if instead of reading about a biological breakthrough, you were instead reading about that little thing flying about... if violating the physical, biological beetle's freewill is appalling, should it not be appalling to do the same to the (theoretical) machine we just created? What happens when this gets to human level intelligences?
Rudy Rucker has a few interesting ideas of how this will all turn out, but in the end I believe most of those scenarios are a little too idealistic (but it's ok, because it's just (really good) sci-fi).
I really question if we're ready for this as a species.
I recall reading the last few of Arthur C. Clarke's books; he mentioned, a few times, a social movement geared toward intentionally providing misleading and incorrect information about people on the web to provide for a more anonymous society... or at least one where you couldn't find everything out about someone with just a click of a mouse.
I'm actually quite surprised something like that has not actually come into being, because I believe the odds of stopping your info from going online is pretty close to zero. But if you have a bunch of other misleading stuff, at least only you and your friends know what's true and what's not.
He also couldn't use contractions... so I think Noonian Soong probably hit the bong a few times while coding data and left out some obvious bits.
It might also explain his curious occupation with fuzzy cats. ... ... ...
LOL, I just looked up the "Ode to Spot" Geez, I still miss this show...
Ode to Spot
Felis Cattus, is your taxonomic nomenclature,
an endothermic quadruped carnivorous by nature?
Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills, and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
O Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
Slashdot Mirror
Nah, IMHO TNG was light years better (no pun intended).
Stewart played Picard so perfectly he really was a model of a leader: detached, confident, stubborn and strong. Kirk was good, but Shatner is/was not even 1/4 the actor Stewart is. I'm not trolling, but Stewart is truly outstanding.
No, they haven't. It's an old trick which, if I'm not mistaken, was actually outlawed in the US for broadcast TV. But no such law exists on the Internet. I don't get it ... do they WANT me to mute them? - while watching hulu, I usually keep my computer closer to me than my remote control when watching tv.
I don't suppose the government should be wasting their time with writing laws for Internet ad volumes, but it's freggin' annoying.
Yeah, so you can't log in, you can't see your previous history, there are no accounts? How exactly would what you propose actually work?
This is like attacking someone for loading software on their pc because then it becomes vulnerable to attack. Without some data on the net, being on the net is pointless - you just need to secure your data correctly.
As others have pointed out, be very careful with this one because it is very un-pc by today's standards and bound to get a teacher in trouble nowadays - which is a shame, really.
This book really helped me get some kind of an idea as to what a fourth spacial dimension would really "look" like. (as far as a simple human can fathom anyway)
I don't know about that. I don't play EvE, I've never played EvE (nor any other MMO for that matter), and I've never even seen EvE, outside of a few screenshots on stories like this. But, it is still fascinating to me how a virtual world can create its own narrative like this. It illustrates the increasing complexity in online interaction and how seriously people take their online activities.
... I'd argue, yes.
If nothing else, it's interesting because the immersion in online worlds has a very rapid upward tragectory. As a reader of Vinge, Stephenson, etc I am interested and I think those that stopped to think about the future implications of this would probably be more interested then they appear to be. If this is where we're at now, where will we be in 10 to 20 years when graphics and inputdev vastly better than what they are now?
News for nerds... I think this is indisputable - stuff that matters
I agree. But this is likely the direction we are headed. We need India to counterbalance.
Thank you non-local Indian outsourced coder today.
Dear god, won't somebody think of the mosquitoes?!
What are you talking about? They got an all expense paid trip to the United States and a free buffet. We should all be so lucky!
I think I just got chicken rolled - can't believe I watched all 4 mins of that AND downloaded the ppt. I'm a little disappointed that they didn't do anything with the binary on slides 17-20.
01100011 01101000 01101001 01100011 01101011 01100101 01101110
Many in corporate America would agree with you. That's why those that can, offer severance packages, publish them, and make them well known among the employees.
I actually wouldn't mind getting laid off. I'd get many months salary and could easily find a job before the severance runs out. This is how well run businesses retain qualified workers, even during layoffs. I'm lucky enough to work for a Fortune 100 company.
So, perversely, I have no desire to leave, in the hopes that I may get laid off!
You are making a few assumptions, here are two of them: 1) The AI will see the improvement as separate and distinct from themselves, instead of an addition TO itself and 2) that an AI has any type of survival instinct at all.
Except this time there are graphs - there are graphs!~
It really is too bad it costs so much. I can't really fault them for it though, I suppose you've got to keep the prices high to keep the number of people maintainable. Plus, if you can afford to just drop $25K, chances are you are a person who can actually help the singularity HAPPEN from a financial support standpoint, rather than just a passive onlooker.
I hope they are courteous enough to share the course content and vids online though. That would be nice.
Outside of maintenance periods, I would be highly surprised if there were any downtime on this thing. I'd imagine it will be booked out years in advance, just like most other supercomputers - and "super" telescopes.
How much downtime does blue gene have? Hubble?
No, they're only providing the hardware with the embedded viruses and spyware to us - free of charge!
Agreed, this is a processing power beast, not an IO beast (at least from the details released). Tinfoil hat theory would suggest this is for "realtime" analysis of ... [insert favorite conspricy here].
I'm sold. By my estimation, this is obviously not for "weather monitoring" and "climate change".
I, for one, welcome my sarcastic AC overlord's comment
The MOST ANNOYING thing is this silly fix-it tool that MS has. The only time I've seen it on Vista is when I am seeking a network connection, and somehow my wireless card is turned off. (Turned off intermittently for some unknown reason I haven't bothered to figure out)
Instead of automatically turning my wireless card on, or even prompting me and saying "your wireless card has been turned off (for some stupid, unknown reason), do you want me to turn it back on?". It says "I've encountered a problem, click here to fix". I then click to go to fix the problem, click to accept their solution to the problem and do a couple more clicks to actually reconnect to my network.
How about a "if system is in 'x' state and user takes 'y' action, and there's only one solution the 'fix it' tool has, just display the damn fix, or under certain circumstances, do it automatically!"
Is there anything the RIAA can do to reduce illegal file-sharing without generating massive amounts of bad publicity?
No. They are fscked.
... say five cents. That lower price should increase consumption, probably somewhere around the point where it will about equal revenues for the 99 cent stuff on iTunes (because right now people still do not want to pay 99 cents). This will also allow folks to say "hey, isn't this song cool, go ahead and copy it using this snazzy interface that beats any freeware crap... oh, btw the record company is going to get 5 cents for this". People can start to quickly and easily SHARE music, which is what people want to do with music. They need to know how to build good software for themselves.
But their best bet is to:
1) Accept the fact that they will have a choice between vastly lower profit margins and no profit margins and
2) Make an attempt to implement some kind of micro royalty system, where upon you purchasing a song, it costs you
Not a perfect solution, by any means, but at least it's got a chance. Right now, they're just buying themselves a few last gasps of air and suffocating people along with them. In reality, I think the RIAA is going to keep their massive fear of software development and the power will ultimately go to the musicians and recording studios. The young musicians will want to just have their music heard an appreciated by other people, and they won't get rich, unless they can draw huge crowds of people for concerts... And if that happened, I can't say I'd be too sad about it. Art should be for art's sake, and I think when it became big business, folks (including many musicians) lost track of that.
concentrated power just as much as any Tzar, (to be fair, so have others - think Burlusconi, Chavez...)
I don't know much about Italian politics, but putting Burlusconi in the same sentence as Putin and Chavez is a pretty harsh comparison, isn't it?
The number one question you must ask yourself whenever making an investment decision is ... what's your exit strategy?
So, you own these shares in the company... so what? Do they plan on becoming publicly traded one day, and is that just a dream, or can it actually happen? When you take the shares what terms are you taking the shares under? Do you have a right to sell to whoever you want once they are yours, or do you have to sell to insiders at a set price before you can sell to outsiders. Having an asset that is worth money, but has no market (as stock does when not publicaly traded on an exchange), is not a great thing, because there's no way out. If you question this, just ask the banks holding mortgages which are technically worth $0 right now... even though they're receiving income every month by virtue of possessing the asset. Put simply, you need to ask yourself... who exactly is going to want to buy this stock one day?
Also very important... Do you know how to read a financial statement? If so, look at the balance sheet of the company. The balance sheet shows the assets of the company... for illustration, if the company has a total of 1000 shares, and $1000 in the bank, and you get 10%, you essentially own $100 after you receive the shares. If they have no real assets or cash, then take that into account. One thing to note: there is a line-item on balance sheets called "goodwill", if you've got a lot of that, it is not a good thing, because goodwill has no real tangible value and is basically BS fluff 99.99% of the time. Look it up for more details.
You missed the point of my post entirely. I suggest you reread it.
They implanted a module with six neural electrodes into the beetles when they were still in the pupae stage, and so the beetles mature, they have the electronics already embedded into their bodies. At that point, a battery pack and receiver are added, and by sending radio signals, the beetle can be made to take off, land, fly forwards and backwards, and steer left and right.
Source
/. articles are so-so, some are amazing, and every once in a great while there's one that ... well, kinda scares the shit out of me.
... Are you a little creeped out because you believe beetles may have some form of free will and even if it's "just a beetle" they shouldn't be flown about like some kind of "machine"? What if we managed to create a machine with the intelligence of a Beetle? Not at all an unreasonable prospect... What if instead of reading about a biological breakthrough, you were instead reading about that little thing flying about... if violating the physical, biological beetle's freewill is appalling, should it not be appalling to do the same to the (theoretical) machine we just created? What happens when this gets to human level intelligences?
Alot of
This is one of those articles. Does this article kind of creep you out?
Rudy Rucker has a few interesting ideas of how this will all turn out, but in the end I believe most of those scenarios are a little too idealistic (but it's ok, because it's just (really good) sci-fi).
I really question if we're ready for this as a species.
I recall reading the last few of Arthur C. Clarke's books; he mentioned, a few times, a social movement geared toward intentionally providing misleading and incorrect information about people on the web to provide for a more anonymous society... or at least one where you couldn't find everything out about someone with just a click of a mouse.
I'm actually quite surprised something like that has not actually come into being, because I believe the odds of stopping your info from going online is pretty close to zero. But if you have a bunch of other misleading stuff, at least only you and your friends know what's true and what's not.
It's an interesting concept.
He also couldn't use contractions... so I think Noonian Soong probably hit the bong a few times while coding data and left out some obvious bits.
...
...
...
It might also explain his curious occupation with fuzzy cats.
LOL, I just looked up the "Ode to Spot" Geez, I still miss this show...
Ode to Spot
Felis Cattus, is your taxonomic nomenclature,
an endothermic quadruped carnivorous by nature?
Your visual, olfactory and auditory senses
contribute to your hunting skills, and natural defenses.
I find myself intrigued by your subvocal oscillations,
a singular development of cat communications
that obviates your basic hedonistic predilection
for a rhythmic stroking of your fur, to demonstrate affection.
A tail is quite essential for your acrobatic talents;
you would not be so agile if you lacked its counterbalance.
And when not being utilized to aide in locomotion,
it often serves to illustrate the state of your emotion.
O Spot, the complex levels of behaviour you display
connote a fairly well-developed cognitive array.
And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,
I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.
o Data, "Schisms"
But being that a standard computer has the brain power of a bug, it isn't surprising that AI meets the hype.
I was thinking it was a clever use of the first part of the last sentence to invalidate the last part of the last sentence.