I have no doubt that this is really just the entry point for authorities to place a GPS unit in every car.
Forces us to decide what we really believe and want, doesn't it?
Our cars have been uniquely identified and trackable for generations... but we knew that technical limitations made it impractical for everyone to be tracked all the time. We'll have to decide if the benefits of license plates are still worth the tradeoff.
Whatever the cause, the discovery that our friends are genetically similar to us has significant implications. “The subtle process of genetic sorting in human social relationships might have an important effect on a number of other biological and social processes,” say Christakis and Fowler.
For example, germs, viruses and even information may spread more (or less) easily amongst groups that share a particular genetic background.
So we evolved a tendency to monoculture, making us more vulnerable to disease? That would seem... counterintuitive.
There was literally a line on the floor... on one side could have been a scene from the 1950s (or maybe even the 1930s): everything was dirty, crowded, dense with machinery and workers who looked pretty much as Roblimo described.
On the other side of the line, everything was new, clean, the machines were spaced farther apart, and there were eerily few workers, just a few techs calmly standing at control panels tweaking or monitoring things.
I never did find out what the deal was... I was only there to give training on a piece of equipment on the new side. Was weird and a stark contrast, though. Had to be pretty demoralizing in more ways than one for the guys on the "old" side, too.
Just one example - Wells Fargo instantly freezes the bank accounts of someone who files bankruptcy, until the bankruptcy trustee tells them to unfreeze them. WF claims that they are required by law to do this, though strangely no other major bank interprets the law that way and the feds have not prosecuted them. Lots of fun for example over a holiday weekend, for someone who is already financially in a bad way.
I had a security clearance in the military. All it meant was basically that I hadn't been caught doing anything illegal, and that I wasn't old enough to have had to file bankruptcy because of family medical emergencies and mortgages. Nor was I old enough to have pissed off any neighbors enough for them to bad mouth me:)
Being young can be an advantage for security clearances...
Change is hard for a lot of people. Yahoo Groups, unfortunately is stuck running some really ancient "forum" software that really isn't designed to be a forum at all. It's designed to be an email list.
What is (or was) nice about Yahoo Groups was the way it blended email lists and forums. Some people like to use it one way, some the other, and some use it both ways.
You could say the same about harness makers, horse grooms, etc. And you'd be right.
Nobody is saying that these changes aren't very rough in the short term - and the "short" term might be much of a person's life. What they are saying is that history teaches us that technology changes aren't a doomsday scenario.
So what is the problem? Some people will always be happy to find a time sink. If the internet didn't exist these 'addicts' would be eating, watching TV, gaming or taking illicit substances all day. So easy to blame the time sink when these problems are rooted much deeper.
Addiction is real, and is generally diagnosed based on how it affects functioning.
Does it interfere with work, family life, other obligations? It's not just what you do; it's how it affects your life.
So you're right; they would probably choose something else were the Internet not available. That doesn't make the addiction any less real.
They need a system that can identify visually, as well as with radar that can not be fouled by other radar to scan the road ahead. Because I can see scumbags setting up a radar broadcaster in their junker to cause an autoguide car to hit them for insurance money.
Oh yeah... this is a "hacker"'s dream.
"Oh, I was just trying to be helpful and find vulnerabilities, that's why I was remote controlling Grandma's car."
OLPC has organized this content into Dreams to match the aspirations of children 3-12 years old. Each dream features a potential career and related applications organized into beginner, intermediate, and advanced skill sets.
Well, the nice thing is that if you don't want to use GPLed software, you don't have to.
Sounds like there are people on both sides of the equation who want to "access other people's work". The difference may be that the GPL facilitates that access in both directions.
Every time I got into fights with the Indians it was on accident (you just touch one and they pop)
I think that was the low tech way of representing, you know, friction and misunderstandings. Just coming into contact with a strange people who don't speak your language or share any culture is risky.
Also very important to finding a job, is to not be geeky and nerdy.
Yep.
And it's not just for the interview. Unless you are a code monkey working robotic-like to the requirements that someone else makes for you, you need to have people skills for the job.
You are probably not such a good coder if you don't have people skills. Just like it's hard to be "good" in bed if you are the only one there...
I remember another early (but not quite as early) computer game, where you were a Spanish explorer. I forget the name of the game.
Sometimes the Indians that you encountered were initially friendly (if you were), and sometime not. If they were hostile (or if you had ticked them off), sometimes you could mollify them by giving them things, sometimes not.
But... if you just started slaughtering them indiscriminately, then eventually the Indians would stop fighting, and even stop running, and they would go into a really creepy sort of death dance. Freaked me out, and I never wanted to do that again!
Secret Server (or something like it) is very cool. Get the outgoing person to put all the access passwords, locations, etc. for every bleeping system in it.
No, the radio is one of the most deadly innovations because it facilitates coordination. Coordinating 5 people can result in far more damage than hundreds cooperating, assuming the right tactics.
You win the most pedantic comment of the year award!
No, I win the most didactic comment of the year award.
On #1, most libertarians with economics backgrounds take the position you take, but there is also a sort of pop-economics style of libertarianism with market-Panglossian views that's fairly widespread. That view tends to believe that unfettered markets allocate resources with optimal efficiency, and any observed problems are traceable to a state-created distortion.
Well... I know that's out there. But I'm pretty sure I see that view much more often posed as a strawman, not as someone actually holding it.
Slashdot Mirror
If plates become electronic and networked, then the question needs to be asked, why do we even need a license plate to display a number at all.
Let's someone watch the watchers?
I have no doubt that this is really just the entry point for authorities to place a GPS unit in every car.
Forces us to decide what we really believe and want, doesn't it?
Our cars have been uniquely identified and trackable for generations ... but we knew that technical limitations made it impractical for everyone to be tracked all the time. We'll have to decide if the benefits of license plates are still worth the tradeoff.
Whatever the cause, the discovery that our friends are genetically similar to us has significant implications. “The subtle process of genetic sorting in human social relationships might have an important effect on a number of other biological and social processes,” say Christakis and Fowler.
For example, germs, viruses and even information may spread more (or less) easily amongst groups that share a particular genetic background.
So we evolved a tendency to monoculture, making us more vulnerable to disease? That would seem ... counterintuitive.
Around 2000, I was in an auto parts plant.
There was literally a line on the floor ... on one side could have been a scene from the 1950s (or maybe even the 1930s): everything was dirty, crowded, dense with machinery and workers who looked pretty much as Roblimo described.
On the other side of the line, everything was new, clean, the machines were spaced farther apart, and there were eerily few workers, just a few techs calmly standing at control panels tweaking or monitoring things.
I never did find out what the deal was ... I was only there to give training on a piece of equipment on the new side. Was weird and a stark contrast, though. Had to be pretty demoralizing in more ways than one for the guys on the "old" side, too.
Banks do do stuff like this.
Just one example - Wells Fargo instantly freezes the bank accounts of someone who files bankruptcy, until the bankruptcy trustee tells them to unfreeze them. WF claims that they are required by law to do this, though strangely no other major bank interprets the law that way and the feds have not prosecuted them. Lots of fun for example over a holiday weekend, for someone who is already financially in a bad way.
Why do you think clearances are so sought after?
{...} 2) relatively few youngsters
Then again ...
I had a security clearance in the military. All it meant was basically that I hadn't been caught doing anything illegal, and that I wasn't old enough to have had to file bankruptcy because of family medical emergencies and mortgages. Nor was I old enough to have pissed off any neighbors enough for them to bad mouth me :)
Being young can be an advantage for security clearances ...
Change is hard for a lot of people. Yahoo Groups, unfortunately is stuck running some really ancient "forum" software that really isn't designed to be a forum at all. It's designed to be an email list.
What is (or was) nice about Yahoo Groups was the way it blended email lists and forums. Some people like to use it one way, some the other, and some use it both ways.
You could say the same about harness makers, horse grooms, etc. And you'd be right.
Nobody is saying that these changes aren't very rough in the short term - and the "short" term might be much of a person's life. What they are saying is that history teaches us that technology changes aren't a doomsday scenario.
So what is the problem? Some people will always be happy to find a time sink. If the internet didn't exist these 'addicts' would be eating, watching TV, gaming or taking illicit substances all day. So easy to blame the time sink when these problems are rooted much deeper.
Addiction is real, and is generally diagnosed based on how it affects functioning. Does it interfere with work, family life, other obligations? It's not just what you do; it's how it affects your life. So you're right; they would probably choose something else were the Internet not available. That doesn't make the addiction any less real.
They need a system that can identify visually, as well as with radar that can not be fouled by other radar to scan the road ahead. Because I can see scumbags setting up a radar broadcaster in their junker to cause an autoguide car to hit them for insurance money.
Oh yeah ... this is a "hacker"'s dream.
"Oh, I was just trying to be helpful and find vulnerabilities, that's why I was remote controlling Grandma's car."
OLPC has organized this content into Dreams to match the aspirations of children 3-12 years old. Each dream features a potential career and related applications organized into beginner, intermediate, and advanced skill sets.
Hmm, maybe if you are constantly having to engage in a lawlerly defense of your claims, then the problem might not lie outside of yourself ...
... nothing more definitive than some journalist saying "that doesn't offend my memory".
Oh c'mon, don't let boring reality get in your way! It's Murdoch! slashmind says must hate!
... the telescreen watches you.
Well, the nice thing is that if you don't want to use GPLed software, you don't have to.
Sounds like there are people on both sides of the equation who want to "access other people's work". The difference may be that the GPL facilitates that access in both directions.
Seven Cities of Gold?
That's the one!
Every time I got into fights with the Indians it was on accident (you just touch one and they pop)
I think that was the low tech way of representing, you know, friction and misunderstandings. Just coming into contact with a strange people who don't speak your language or share any culture is risky.
Also very important to finding a job, is to not be geeky and nerdy.
Yep.
And it's not just for the interview. Unless you are a code monkey working robotic-like to the requirements that someone else makes for you, you need to have people skills for the job.
You are probably not such a good coder if you don't have people skills. Just like it's hard to be "good" in bed if you are the only one there ...
I remember another early (but not quite as early) computer game, where you were a Spanish explorer. I forget the name of the game.
Sometimes the Indians that you encountered were initially friendly (if you were), and sometime not. If they were hostile (or if you had ticked them off), sometimes you could mollify them by giving them things, sometimes not.
But ... if you just started slaughtering them indiscriminately, then eventually the Indians would stop fighting, and even stop running, and they would go into a really creepy sort of death dance. Freaked me out, and I never wanted to do that again!
Secret Server (or something like it) is very cool. Get the outgoing person to put all the access passwords, locations, etc. for every bleeping system in it.
Then change the master password after he leaves.
No, the radio is one of the most deadly innovations because it facilitates coordination. Coordinating 5 people can result in far more damage than hundreds cooperating, assuming the right tactics.
You win the most pedantic comment of the year award!
No, I win the most didactic comment of the year award.
So, crime should be falling in the U.S. Midwest, right, since it's August and only in the 70s?
On #1, most libertarians with economics backgrounds take the position you take, but there is also a sort of pop-economics style of libertarianism with market-Panglossian views that's fairly widespread. That view tends to believe that unfettered markets allocate resources with optimal efficiency, and any observed problems are traceable to a state-created distortion.
Well ... I know that's out there. But I'm pretty sure I see that view much more often posed as a strawman, not as someone actually holding it.
Cooperation wins big time.
Yep. Look at the effectiveness of, say, police forces and armies over individual armed men.
The radio is one of the deadliest, most precise weapons ever invented. Because it facilitates cooperation.