I agree. Something like the "potato clock," implanted inside a person, and drawing electricity the same way, makes more sense to me.
BTW, last winter the combined electronic devices of my roommate and I generated so much heat that we almost never needed our heater. Of course now, in summer, our electricity bill is $120.
If I had written "The Matrix" (wish I had), I wouldn't have used humans as a power source for exactly the reasons you two have mentioned. So, as a writer who doesn't want to violate the laws of thermodynamics, but still wants to write a kick-ass screenplay, where does that leave you?
My story would have been something like this. The machines (programs) were about to eradicate humans, when they realized that the human brain -or better yet many brains networked together- was far superior to any existing computer technology. They then decide not to eradicate us, but to use us to build the ultimate computer network on which they they can exist. Then you simply say that they use the "bandwidth" of our subconscious, but had to create the illusion of the Matrix, to keep us from going crazy or shutting down or whatever.
I actually think this would be more ironic in that we not just support the machines that are our masters, but they exist in our own minds.
PS: I can't believe I'm making such a deep literary analysis of "The Matrix"
I guess you're right. When I first saw "AC", I thought it said "Ass Cadillac." BTW, my first thought was "is the pornographic industry tat big in the UK"
The artist, of course will have to find alternative means of getting their music out to the masses. Good thing there is this internet thingy. Here, here. This seems like one of those laws that are both ill-intentioned and self defeating. The record industry is more concerned about losing the rights to songs from the 1960s, than losing out on the rights to songs from the 2010s. I say pass this law. Hell, I say give the "Britney Spears" and "Backstreet Boys" stuff to them permanently, and leave real artists no choice but to distribute their music (or movies or whatever) over freer channels.
If you need to access your computer and can't bear to get your butt off the couch, you've got bigger problems than not having a flat surface handy. In that case, you can always use the top of your belly. After all, it works so well as a place to set your beer and your cheetos, why can't it double as a desk.
Air mouse - What? What? What!!?!! Has this jerk-off seen the Wii? Great for gaming, but try this exercise, pick up your mouse, wave it in the air as if you were mousing on your screen. Now, imagine doing that all day at work. STOP!!! Did I say put the mouse down, keep it up. I'll let you know when you can put the mouse down. BOOT CAMP PT TORTURE EXERCISE!!! Actually, the article seems to be describing some sort of squishy ball that fits in your hand, through which you manipulate the cursor by squeezing and rubbing it; allowing you to leave your arm on the armrest, or wherever. However, although sitting around all day rubbing and squeezing a soft, squishy ball may sound very appealing to about half the population, I don't see how it makes an easier way to control a cursor.
Pixelate faces, good idea. As far as anything visible through a window, I have discovered one of the most wonderful inventions. They are called "blinds." I am using them right now. The way I have them adjusted, they let in light, but people walking by can't see me, it's incredible.
The old saying goes, "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones." The new saying should be, "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't have wild sex orgies with farm animals."
I like the idea. It would be sort of like the scene in "The Devils Advocate" where he walks out onto one of the major avenues of New York in the middle of the day and it's completely deserted.
That was my first thought. The point of Street View isn't to take pictures of people anyway, they just happen to be in the way. Just blur them out and there's no problem. I bet they wouldn't even have to hire interns; they could probably create some AI that could do it. Might as well do it in the US and everywhere else too. I wouldn't be too happy to find a picture of me stumbling home from the bar on Google Maps either, even if there is no law against it here.
How many laws are there that require you to spend money out of your own pocket? You're required to have car insurance, if you have a car, in every state I know of (strangely enough, most states require you to have uninsured motorist coverage as well). You're usually required to have your home inspected before you sell it, in many states you're required to purchase a helmet if you want to ride a motorcycle. And don't get me started about homeowners associations and municipal zoning laws. They require you to have this many trees in your yard, and that many square feet of grass, etc...
Not that I think all of these laws are a bad idea, or unnecessary, but many of them are just stupid, and the only reason the gov't ever passed them is because they won't be footing the bill (actually, they usually create a new source of income in the form of fines for noncompliance).
Actually providing the authorities with a history of the data is not their job and should only be the acquired by the authorities with their own equipment and only under a court order. Actually, that is the new trend in law enforcement -forcing businesses to enforce the laws so the police don't have to. This frees up the police for more important things, like going after the businesses for not adequately enforcing the laws.
Brick and mortar businesses are required to make sure that their customers don't smoke or drink in the wrong places, that they aren't buying for someone who is underage, that they are not selling drugs, or even whether their driver's license is expired. If you own a business, you can be fined or worse for not enforcing these laws. Why shouldn't the ISPs also be turned into unwilling, unpaid police officers.
Yeah, just turn on the bodies of water layer and you will see that it is terrible. It will show the outline of a body of water way off from what you can clearly see is the actual edge of the body of water. sometimes completely outside it.
We had a policeman knock on our door a few years ago. A car vaguely matching the description of ours was seen leaving the scene of a grass fire. He was quite friendly, explained why he was there, asked if we'd been anywhere recently (I assume he would have put his hand on the bonnet of the car too just to check), chatted about the weather, and then left. Just the way it should be. You're right, that's "Just the way it should be."
I assume you're from the UK, because you used the word "bonnet." I've heard about your friendly neighborhood constables. Unfortunately, in the US, most (not all) cops are on a power trip, and are more interested in harassing whomever they have an excuse to harass, than gaining the respect of the (generally) law abiding public, and preventing real crime.
Trent Reznor is the only true member of NIN. He records everything himself, and only has a band for live shows. That's one thing I love about Reznor; he decided he didn't need a band, and then he decided he didn't even need a record label, he just created his own. Anyone reading this who is in high school and has a garage band with dreams of making it big, should use Trent as an example. He has clearly seen where the music industry is headed for a good fifteen years now, well ahead of everyone else.
Who moded this person a troll, without posting a response? Everything they said went about a mile over my head, and I consider myself somewhat informed about this subject. Just because you don't understand the post, doesn't make it a troll.
No, string theory is about as plausible as epicycles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicycles. Just keep adding dimensions (instead if circles), and you can make it match results.
Slashdot Mirror
They also repel tigers. Send me $19.99 and I'll send you one.
I agree. Something like the "potato clock," implanted inside a person, and drawing electricity the same way, makes more sense to me.
BTW, last winter the combined electronic devices of my roommate and I generated so much heat that we almost never needed our heater. Of course now, in summer, our electricity bill is $120.
Or the same as adding 15 minutes of gardening to your daily routine, according to http://www.healthstatus.com/cgi-bin/calc/calculato r.cgi.
If I had written "The Matrix" (wish I had), I wouldn't have used humans as a power source for exactly the reasons you two have mentioned. So, as a writer who doesn't want to violate the laws of thermodynamics, but still wants to write a kick-ass screenplay, where does that leave you?
My story would have been something like this. The machines (programs) were about to eradicate humans, when they realized that the human brain -or better yet many brains networked together- was far superior to any existing computer technology. They then decide not to eradicate us, but to use us to build the ultimate computer network on which they they can exist. Then you simply say that they use the "bandwidth" of our subconscious, but had to create the illusion of the Matrix, to keep us from going crazy or shutting down or whatever.
I actually think this would be more ironic in that we not just support the machines that are our masters, but they exist in our own minds.
PS: I can't believe I'm making such a deep literary analysis of "The Matrix"
I guess you're right. When I first saw "AC", I thought it said "Ass Cadillac." BTW, my first thought was "is the pornographic industry tat big in the UK"
and by the way, it's "gubmit," not "gummint."
We pronounce "Labor" the way it's spelled, as opposed to only bothering to pronounce the first four letters.
Pixelate faces, good idea. As far as anything visible through a window, I have discovered one of the most wonderful inventions. They are called "blinds." I am using them right now. The way I have them adjusted, they let in light, but people walking by can't see me, it's incredible.
The old saying goes, "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones." The new saying should be, "people who live in glass houses, shouldn't have wild sex orgies with farm animals."
I like the idea. It would be sort of like the scene in "The Devils Advocate" where he walks out onto one of the major avenues of New York in the middle of the day and it's completely deserted.
That was my first thought. The point of Street View isn't to take pictures of people anyway, they just happen to be in the way. Just blur them out and there's no problem. I bet they wouldn't even have to hire interns; they could probably create some AI that could do it. Might as well do it in the US and everywhere else too. I wouldn't be too happy to find a picture of me stumbling home from the bar on Google Maps either, even if there is no law against it here.
How many laws are there that require you to spend money out of your own pocket? You're required to have car insurance, if you have a car, in every state I know of (strangely enough, most states require you to have uninsured motorist coverage as well). You're usually required to have your home inspected before you sell it, in many states you're required to purchase a helmet if you want to ride a motorcycle. And don't get me started about homeowners associations and municipal zoning laws. They require you to have this many trees in your yard, and that many square feet of grass, etc...
Not that I think all of these laws are a bad idea, or unnecessary, but many of them are just stupid, and the only reason the gov't ever passed them is because they won't be footing the bill (actually, they usually create a new source of income in the form of fines for noncompliance).
Brick and mortar businesses are required to make sure that their customers don't smoke or drink in the wrong places, that they aren't buying for someone who is underage, that they are not selling drugs, or even whether their driver's license is expired. If you own a business, you can be fined or worse for not enforcing these laws. Why shouldn't the ISPs also be turned into unwilling, unpaid police officers.
Yeah, just turn on the bodies of water layer and you will see that it is terrible. It will show the outline of a body of water way off from what you can clearly see is the actual edge of the body of water. sometimes completely outside it.
I assume you're from the UK, because you used the word "bonnet." I've heard about your friendly neighborhood constables. Unfortunately, in the US, most (not all) cops are on a power trip, and are more interested in harassing whomever they have an excuse to harass, than gaining the respect of the (generally) law abiding public, and preventing real crime.
There's nothing to see in the Sahara. No wonder nobody has taken hi-res photos of it.
I've always thought the guy who wrote that book was kind of nuts.
Trent Reznor is the only true member of NIN. He records everything himself, and only has a band for live shows. That's one thing I love about Reznor; he decided he didn't need a band, and then he decided he didn't even need a record label, he just created his own. Anyone reading this who is in high school and has a garage band with dreams of making it big, should use Trent as an example. He has clearly seen where the music industry is headed for a good fifteen years now, well ahead of everyone else.
Sorry, somehow didn't see the other responses. I guess this discussion is way over my head, I'll just go to bed now.
WTF?
Who moded this person a troll, without posting a response? Everything they said went about a mile over my head, and I consider myself somewhat informed about this subject. Just because you don't understand the post, doesn't make it a troll.
No, string theory is about as plausible as epicycles http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicycles. Just keep adding dimensions (instead if circles), and you can make it match results.
It's the 2nd amendment, dumbass. Are we a little dyslexic.