When AI can teach itself how to use a programming language from documents found on the internet or solve a long unsolved mathematical puzzle, that'll be something to talk about.
1) World class applications that are cheap and/or free 2) *nix commands on OS 3) Platform that integrates with my mobile device 4) Very responsive customer service
Apple is not perfect–you can find stuff to bitch about–but on the whole I believe it to be the superior, most reliable ecosystem. Sure, there's a lot of hype behind Apple, but that's because there's a good reason for it.
Things I like: 1) Notifications on wrist. #1 use of device. Makes it worth the cost. 2) Super easy to see upcoming events/meetings. I just look at watch face and tap the tap the calendar in the lower right. Brilliant. 3) Paying with your watch for a coffee at McDonald's. Sometimes I'll just go there to buy a coffee just to impress the people behind the counter. 4) Looking at temperature and weather at a glance. See #2. 5) Design is nice. 7) Health tracking feature.
Annoyances: 1) Most apps are totally worthless. By the time you find and launch an app that does anything useful on your watch, you could have the real deal on your phone. Only the simplest of apps make sense like the stop watch or the timer. 2) Siri is worthless. It's very unreliable and only good for the simplest of requests. 3) Taking phone calls on the watch is kind of ridiculous. Very hard to hear what someone is saying unless you are in a quiet room and it's a hassle to hold your arm in the air to talk and listen for any length of time. Again, it's just much easier to whip the phone out. Though I will say it has saved me when phone is in the other room and an important call has come in. 4) Battery life is a joke if you use the exercise tracking feature over the course of the day. Then you'll be lucky to get to bed with it still charged. 5) Nothing is more annoying then when you go to look at your watch and it doesn't turn on and you have to tap it with your other hand.
Basically. It's all about finding the suckers willing to sweat the most for the masters above them. But don't worry, if you're really lucky and you know the right people and have a penchant for manipulating people into doing your bidding you, too, can be a master.
If something sounds too crazy to be true without substantial evidence to back it up, it probably is. I take everything I read on the Internet with a very fine grain of salt.
Sorry, I was scrolling up and down the page, got distracted, and copied the answer from the wrong question. Here's what they say:
"How will you replace damaged panels in a highway?
Since our system is modular, repair will be much quicker and easier than our current maintenance system for asphalt roads. We've learned that in the U.S., over $160 billion is lost each year in lost productivity from people sitting in traffic due to road maintenance.
Each of the panels contain their own microprocessor, which communicates wireless with surrounding panels. If one of them should become damaged and stop communicating, then the rest of the panels can report the problem. For instance, "I-95 mile marker 114.3 northbound lane, third panel in, panel number A013C419 not responding".
Each panel assembly weighs 110-pounds. A single operator could load a good panel into his/her truck and respond to the scene. The panel could be swapped out and reprogrammed in a few minutes. The damaged panel would then be returned to a repair center. Think of how this compares to pot hole repair!"
The government borrows money from itself all the time. Not a big deal, especially if this is rolled out over a few decades. And clearly, I was exaggerating the amount to make a point.
We just spent $4 trillion on a couple of wars over 10 years. Where there is a will to find the money, there is a way.
"What are you going to do about traction? What's going to happen to the surface of the Solar Roadways when it rains>
Everyone naturally pictures sliding out of control on a smooth piece of wet glass! Actually, one of our many technical specs is that it be textured to the point that it provides at least the traction that current asphalt roads offer - even in the rain. We hesitate to even call it glass, as it is far from a traditional window pane, but glass is what it is, so glass is what we must call it.
We sent samples of textured glass to a university civil engineering lab for traction testing. We started off being able to stop a car going 40 mph on a wet surface in the required distance. We designed a more and more aggressive surface pattern until we got a call form the lab one day: we'd torn the boot off of the British Pendulum Testing apparatus! We backed off a little and ended up with a texture that can stop a vehicle going 80 mph in the required distance."
Not sure how true or relevant this is but they do address it.
Cost doesn't matter if they pay for themselves. "If" being the operative word here. But if it's true, it makes no difference how much more expensive they are than asphalt.
Even if they do cost more than asphalt after factoring in the electricty they produce, how do you place a cost on avoiding all the human misery that will come about from climate change?
Let's exaggerate the cost $100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Let's also say at the end they pay for themselves and then some. You could take out a loan to pay for them and pay the money back with the energy they produce. So does cost really matter if, in fact, they pay for themselves?
Who the hell wants to be bothered with cumbersome upgrades of an operating system just to get modest and often questionable improvements? Your average consumer is basically left with the option of buying a new computer to upgrade their OS.
I'm so glad I switched to a Mac over five years ago. I'd rather not have to worry about my OS these days. Upgrades are free. Can't beat that.
You don't need a wifi hotspot at all. There are SD cards that transfer images directly to the phone instantly. The SD card has a wifi router built into it which the phone can use to transfer the images. Then you use the phone's data connection to upload the image.
Slashdot Mirror
Or this website to write inane comments on.
When AI can teach itself how to use a programming language from documents found on the internet or solve a long unsolved mathematical puzzle, that'll be something to talk about.
What's a matter? Don't know Perl/Python/*nix commands that you can run on a Mac?
1) World class applications that are cheap and/or free
2) *nix commands on OS
3) Platform that integrates with my mobile device
4) Very responsive customer service
Apple is not perfect–you can find stuff to bitch about–but on the whole I believe it to be the superior, most reliable ecosystem. Sure, there's a lot of hype behind Apple, but that's because there's a good reason for it.
I should hasten to add that replying to text messages with a simple message is great.
Things I like:
1) Notifications on wrist. #1 use of device. Makes it worth the cost.
2) Super easy to see upcoming events/meetings. I just look at watch face and tap the tap the calendar in the lower right. Brilliant.
3) Paying with your watch for a coffee at McDonald's. Sometimes I'll just go there to buy a coffee just to impress the people behind the counter.
4) Looking at temperature and weather at a glance. See #2.
5) Design is nice.
7) Health tracking feature.
Annoyances:
1) Most apps are totally worthless. By the time you find and launch an app that does anything useful on your watch, you could have the real deal on your phone. Only the simplest of apps make sense like the stop watch or the timer.
2) Siri is worthless. It's very unreliable and only good for the simplest of requests.
3) Taking phone calls on the watch is kind of ridiculous. Very hard to hear what someone is saying unless you are in a quiet room and it's a hassle to hold your arm in the air to talk and listen for any length of time. Again, it's just much easier to whip the phone out. Though I will say it has saved me when phone is in the other room and an important call has come in.
4) Battery life is a joke if you use the exercise tracking feature over the course of the day. Then you'll be lucky to get to bed with it still charged.
5) Nothing is more annoying then when you go to look at your watch and it doesn't turn on and you have to tap it with your other hand.
That part only comes out when society is broken. That's why it's called CIVILization.
If there's on thing that will be the downfall of Western Civ, it's fucking libertarian conspiracy nuts like you.
What's next? Earth isn't flat?
It's about sharing the spoils, spreading the rewards of what is gained so they don't just go to those at the top which is what's happening.
To suggest that his requires "living off the economic grid" is a straw man argument.
What do you do with the kids who don't thrive in a competitive environment? That would be the vast majority of them.
Basically. It's all about finding the suckers willing to sweat the most for the masters above them. But don't worry, if you're really lucky and you know the right people and have a penchant for manipulating people into doing your bidding you, too, can be a master.
Anyway, we're all fucked anyway. We've frittered already for too long.
It's a lot easier to address a 3F increase than a 6F increase. Drastic action is needed. It's not time for shoulder shrugging.
It's 1.5 deaths per 100 million miles.
Death isn't the only risk, however. Getting paralyzed, getting disfigured, etc. are pretty serious consequences that don't end in death.
If something sounds too crazy to be true without substantial evidence to back it up, it probably is. I take everything I read on the Internet with a very fine grain of salt.
Sorry, I was scrolling up and down the page, got distracted, and copied the answer from the wrong question. Here's what they say:
"How will you replace damaged panels in a highway?
Since our system is modular, repair will be much quicker and easier than our current maintenance system for asphalt roads. We've learned that in the U.S., over $160 billion is lost each year in lost productivity from people sitting in traffic due to road maintenance.
Each of the panels contain their own microprocessor, which communicates wireless with surrounding panels. If one of them should become damaged and stop communicating, then the rest of the panels can report the problem. For instance, "I-95 mile marker 114.3 northbound lane, third panel in, panel number A013C419 not responding".
Each panel assembly weighs 110-pounds. A single operator could load a good panel into his/her truck and respond to the scene. The panel could be swapped out and reprogrammed in a few minutes. The damaged panel would then be returned to a repair center. Think of how this compares to pot hole repair!"
The government borrows money from itself all the time. Not a big deal, especially if this is rolled out over a few decades. And clearly, I was exaggerating the amount to make a point.
We just spent $4 trillion on a couple of wars over 10 years. Where there is a will to find the money, there is a way.
They address this on their website:
"What are you going to do about traction? What's going to happen to the surface of the Solar Roadways when it rains>
Everyone naturally pictures sliding out of control on a smooth piece of wet glass! Actually, one of our many technical specs is that it be textured to the point that it provides at least the traction that current asphalt roads offer - even in the rain. We hesitate to even call it glass, as it is far from a traditional window pane, but glass is what it is, so glass is what we must call it.
We sent samples of textured glass to a university civil engineering lab for traction testing. We started off being able to stop a car going 40 mph on a wet surface in the required distance. We designed a more and more aggressive surface pattern until we got a call form the lab one day: we'd torn the boot off of the British Pendulum Testing apparatus! We backed off a little and ended up with a texture that can stop a vehicle going 80 mph in the required distance."
Not sure how true or relevant this is but they do address it.
Cost doesn't matter if they pay for themselves. "If" being the operative word here. But if it's true, it makes no difference how much more expensive they are than asphalt.
Even if they do cost more than asphalt after factoring in the electricty they produce, how do you place a cost on avoiding all the human misery that will come about from climate change?
Let's exaggerate the cost $100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000. Let's also say at the end they pay for themselves and then some. You could take out a loan to pay for them and pay the money back with the energy they produce. So does cost really matter if, in fact, they pay for themselves?
That is, in fact, their plan.
Read about it on the "Vision" page of their website: http://www.solarroadways.com/v...
Who the hell wants to be bothered with cumbersome upgrades of an operating system just to get modest and often questionable improvements? Your average consumer is basically left with the option of buying a new computer to upgrade their OS.
I'm so glad I switched to a Mac over five years ago. I'd rather not have to worry about my OS these days. Upgrades are free. Can't beat that.
You don't need a wifi hotspot at all. There are SD cards that transfer images directly to the phone instantly. The SD card has a wifi router built into it which the phone can use to transfer the images. Then you use the phone's data connection to upload the image.
So you think bomb threats should be legal now?
Uh, no. Somehow I sleep a little better knowing my money is backed up by the FDIC if I keep it in a real bank.