In American mass transportation circles, a 'trolley' is usually a vehicle on tracks that handles urban transit. It's not a 'train' that travels at higher speeds between cities, and it's not a bus which has rubber tires suitable for public roads. It is said that those rubber tires do as much damage to the roads as 1,000 cars.
In San Diego there are bright red buses that are shaped like trolleys and visit all the local attractions. Tourists are expected to find them inviting and similar to the transit trolleys of a bygone era.
Many US cities still have tracks buried under their main streets that were once used by trolleys. The commercialization of automobiles competed with the trolleys, so lobbyists pressured the leaders of each city to abandon their trolley system to encourage auto sales. Kinda like industry lobbyists pressure cities today not to install public internet utilities so that they can lock you in to local monopolies.
No existing software can do image recognition yet. Some can identify a face, a dog or a common item in a picture. Most pictures are far more complex.
The more accurate term would be 'pattern recognition'. A program may be able to quickly compare features of an image with those of millions of others and recognize common patterns. Unfortunately some images- CT scans, sonograms etc have such poor resolution that certainty is elusive.
"My analysis of available data suggests that around two-thirds of Amazon's domestic deliveries are made by the Postal Service."
If your 'available data' is 6 months old, than your 'analysis' is outdated. Amazon does not sit still. This year (the last 6 months) all the deliveries to my building (44 units) have been by Amazon employed drivers. Even my hot pizza was delivered by an Amazon driver. In the past there was a mix of UPS & USPS, mostly USPS.
However you can expect USPS to continue to handle rural deliveries, and possibly at a financial loss.
Yes. The human presence has been destructive... like a virus...
Now note that viruses (virii?) adapt. A big problem in the medical field.
And people adapt. You may have heard that we are becoming aware of our environmental impact. You may have heard that it is a matter of great concern in some circles. You may know that many people in many diverse fields of science and government and the private sector are taking vigorous action to correct our ignorant mistakes of the past.
... is that what we destroy, we can replace. We are at the beginning of a revolution in bioscience, the likes of which will dwarf the digital age. Plants and animals that can't adapt to the new world will be replaced with organisms that are ideal. Perhaps more importantly, we will adapt. Humans 100 years hence will little resemble ourselves. Our bodies will be much smaller and more efficient, our brains will be enhanced in several ways, our metabolism will be optimized and our lifespan will be vastly improved. We will have holo museums to show our children how primitive humans lived in the past of today.
Assuming we don't destroy the planet and ourselves first.
My Segway unicycle is an urban assault vehicle. When I lose control at 12MPH, it careens through crowds like bowling pins. LOOK OUT PEOPLE! Most city folk just take it in stride along with the sirens, helicopters and homeless. Chaos is a way of life in a proper city. As it should be.
"We have enough resources, we just don't allocate them well."
Who is this 'we' you're talking about, white man? I take it you've never been to India. And you have the nerve to quote World Bank propaganda? The same World Bank that has bankrupted most third world countries?
The current government of India is a mess, a nuclear threat and an anti Muslim sword rattler. Whatever 'we' you might imagine does not exist- they are not part of any worldwide consensus.
"grapples with inadequate roads, unprecedented growth and overpopulation," And there is more: sewage in the streets, hunger, sickness, pollution of every kind...
There is only ONE problem really. There is only one solution. Family planning. All of those little 'problems' are simply symptoms of the ONE problem. Without family planning, every one of those symptoms will get worse.
"perform basic math as needed to balance a checkbook..."
Cute; I remember checkbooks. I used one as recently as last year. Geometry? I can't recall using that in recent decades. History yes. Most of those subjects will continue to be important.
But none are a substitute for TFA. Young people need to learn what opportunities will be available to them and how to take advantage of them. It will be difficult because few teachers or school administrators know trends as well as we here do. Someone from Slashdot will have to sacrifice her $165K salary and show high school kids how the future is shaping up and how they can be part of it.
My neighbor, Robert Klark Graham, founder of the 'Nobel Sperm Bank' had a favorite slogan: "The smarter you are, the more children you should have." He would publish that as an advert in various Mensa publications. I attended some of his talks which were always uplifting and positive, but I never heard him mention the corollary to his slogan. (i.e. 'what about other people?')
In any case, we seem to have got that obvious evolutionary lesson backward. Certain populations reproduce like bunnies while the smart people are frugal in that sense. Where will this trend take us?
Or earlier. Each year review the economic realities, employment trends and future forecasts with the students. Each student must balance
Interests, Abilities and Future Potential.
Certain young people, for instance may have great Interest in a sports career. They may even have some Ability. But they need to be told about the reality that only one in a million will make those million$ that they dream of. Almost no Future Potential.
I used to date a hot girl who worked in a strip joint. She understood that her looks & skills would not last forever, so she went to college and studied Sanitation Engineering (sewer management). I'm confident that she has had a rewarding life since then. Lots of Potential, little competition.
When I went to college in the 60s I wanted to study psychology, but I kept getting turned down when I requested psych classes. One day I discovered that 30% of our students were psych majors... and it was the same across the US. Thank doG I had sense to realise that Future Potential was not there (although it may be good now).
It's all about balance and awareness and young people tend to be weak in that area. Schools can help.
I stick with Firefox because of the addons. No Flash nonsense with slide shows, popups, flashing adverts, etc. No unwanted trackers or spyware. No suspicious remote scripts. And the ability to change the format of a page: for instance, seeing Slashdot the full width of the window instead of wasting half my expensive screen space.
It seems that some of these addons are available for other browsers, but perhaps less effective. I'd experiment with other browsers but I really don't care as long as Firefox gives me a clean browsing experience. Yes, your browser may be 1.6% faster, but if it can't cut the crap from the screen I don't care. The choice of browser for me is not a religious obsession, it is simply a plea for peace of mind as I try to navigate aggressive web pages and preserve some privacy.
So, if one of these cards costs $500, and it can generate $500 in Bitcoin in 6 months, why are they selling it instead of using it? They should stop retail sales immediately and focus on making Bitcoin!
OTOH, if the card can't pay for itself, why would anyone invest in it? This is a conundrum.
It sounds very much like the TV huckster who wants to show us how to make millions in real estate. If he knows this secret, why is he wasting time with us?
This is a great opportunity for sniffer bots to be employed in warehouses. These enhanced versions of existing bots would detect ripeness or overripeness of fruits & vegetables as they cruise the aisles. They may be able to identify specific dangerous conditions in various fresh products.
This would save Amazon money, but more importantly the technology they adopt and improve could save lives worldwide starting with food banks here in the US and worldwide. I'm imagining a $10 device that attaches to a common smartphone and analyses gases emitted by fresh foods.
Without the social media to guide them, how will the defenders of the 1% find the evil terrorists? It's not like they are doing any intelligence work or police work. They need the obvious. They need people to shout online that they are angry. They need people to stand up in online public places and say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!"
Is that so? So why did they remove those kiosks years ago? What the hell are you talking about? It's possible some investors know what they're talking about but you are not one of them.
Simple enough to design shock absorbers for the wheels. A proper shock absorber reduces harmonic effects. On vehicles these devices are remarkably affordable and effective. For luggage they could be very cost effective. A simple friction device with a compressed gas cartridge would do the trick. Feel free to design & patent- I don't need the millions it will bring.
"When it comes to dining payment technology, it seems like Canada is light years away (as well as well into the future) than the US."
'All the better to see you with, my dear.' Soon the information you reveal with your 'payment technology' will be joined with your Universal ID to provide comprehensive data about your habits, your interests, your education, your health, and your disgusting eating choices. Big Brother will be very happy.
For my part, I prefer anonymous cash whenever possible. Perhaps a bitcoin type currency when it is practical.
In my fashionable neighborhood is a score of restaurants, a dozen nightclubs, 8 coffee shops, half dozen pizza & taco joints, and 1 (one) McDonalds. None of these places would survive without human servers. Not too many loner geeks or terrorists here, just fun loving people out for a good time. They're spending $30 and up for a meal, more for a night's drinking, and even at McDonalds they expect to see real humans behind the counter when they stop for their sobering up snack.
McDonalds is a small part of the scene here, but many McDs in the area have their own personalities. Near a local college, the McD is a bit cold and rushed; no time for pleasantries. My favorite suburban MdDs has for decades been warm and friendly and fast. I know the owner, the manager and most of the workers though they come and go with the tides. They are well paid, and it pays off in repeat customers. Others fall in between, just like other privately owned businesses.
YMMV at fast food: In n Out, Burger King, Wendys, etc. Some near home, some near work, some out on lonely highways where you need to stop and rest... But humans are always the best user interface. More so at real restaurants and night clubs.
I was at a store in the Lowes chain recently and noticed that at each lumber rack were the actual dimensions of the wood. Nowhere was the traditional '2X4' label used. Just to be sure I measured some samples and though my measurements were slightly different, the label was mostly correct.
As someone mentioned, long ago a 2X4 was a 2X4. If you see one from an old structure, you will note that its surface is very rough and dangerous to delicate hands. Our modern lumber is smooth and attractive to see and feel. Exactly the result you would have if you smoothed the old lumber. The smoothness is a result of planing and carefully hand sanding each piece for customer satisfaction. Of course the dimensions are slightly reduced, but which would you rather have?
I asked my brother in Brasil about lumber sizing "do they use metric?". He replied with some confusion; he said that it depends on where you buy your lumber. Different outlets will have different sizes and those could change depending on their current sources. He built his own house out in the distant suburbs of Sao Paulo using such materials. There seems to be no standard there.
The president wants to deregulate Wall Street, deregulate coal, and deregulate every corporate activity in America. So now he wants to deregulate drones and we're supposed to be surprised?
Several fast food chains had those kiosks many years ago. They were ignored by customers who went to the counter anyway. This excites investors because they have never been in a fast food joint. They didn't see the failed system of the past. They have no clue how efficient current employees are. They think that laying off employees is the road to big profit.
Does anybody here see a future where food and drinks served by robots will be more attractive than what we have now? Isn't the personal service a large part of why we go out to eat and drink?
Slashdot Mirror
In American mass transportation circles, a 'trolley' is usually a vehicle on tracks that handles urban transit. It's not a 'train' that travels at higher speeds between cities, and it's not a bus which has rubber tires suitable for public roads. It is said that those rubber tires do as much damage to the roads as 1,000 cars.
In San Diego there are bright red buses that are shaped like trolleys and visit all the local attractions. Tourists are expected to find them inviting and similar to the transit trolleys of a bygone era.
Many US cities still have tracks buried under their main streets that were once used by trolleys. The commercialization of automobiles competed with the trolleys, so lobbyists pressured the leaders of each city to abandon their trolley system to encourage auto sales. Kinda like industry lobbyists pressure cities today not to install public internet utilities so that they can lock you in to local monopolies.
"Image recognition is not AI. Sorry."
No existing software can do image recognition yet. Some can identify a face, a dog or a common item in a picture. Most pictures are far more complex.
The more accurate term would be 'pattern recognition'. A program may be able to quickly compare features of an image with those of millions of others and recognize common patterns. Unfortunately some images- CT scans, sonograms etc have such poor resolution that certainty is elusive.
"My analysis of available data suggests that around two-thirds of Amazon's domestic deliveries are made by the Postal Service."
If your 'available data' is 6 months old, than your 'analysis' is outdated. Amazon does not sit still. This year (the last 6 months) all the deliveries to my building (44 units) have been by Amazon employed drivers. Even my hot pizza was delivered by an Amazon driver. In the past there was a mix of UPS & USPS, mostly USPS.
However you can expect USPS to continue to handle rural deliveries, and possibly at a financial loss.
Sad!
Yes. The human presence has been destructive ... like a virus ...
Now note that viruses (virii?) adapt. A big problem in the medical field.
And people adapt. You may have heard that we are becoming aware of our environmental impact. You may have heard that it is a matter of great concern in some circles. You may know that many people in many diverse fields of science and government and the private sector are taking vigorous action to correct our ignorant mistakes of the past.
Assuming we don't destroy the planet and ourselves first.
My Segway unicycle is an urban assault vehicle. When I lose control at 12MPH, it careens through crowds like bowling pins. LOOK OUT PEOPLE! Most city folk just take it in stride along with the sirens, helicopters and homeless. Chaos is a way of life in a proper city. As it should be.
"We have enough resources, we just don't allocate them well."
Who is this 'we' you're talking about, white man? I take it you've never been to India. And you have the nerve to quote World Bank propaganda? The same World Bank that has bankrupted most third world countries?
The current government of India is a mess, a nuclear threat and an anti Muslim sword rattler. Whatever 'we' you might imagine does not exist- they are not part of any worldwide consensus.
"grapples with inadequate roads, unprecedented growth and overpopulation,"
And there is more: sewage in the streets, hunger, sickness, pollution of every kind...
There is only ONE problem really. There is only one solution. Family planning. All of those little 'problems' are simply symptoms of the ONE problem. Without family planning, every one of those symptoms will get worse.
offtopic
Unless you pay with cash for online purchases.
Nobody expects you to read TFA, but maybe TFS, or at least the HEADLINE:
"Ask Slashdot: How Safe, Really, Is Paying For Things Online?"
"perform basic math as needed to balance a checkbook..."
Cute; I remember checkbooks. I used one as recently as last year. Geometry? I can't recall using that in recent decades. History yes. Most of those subjects will continue to be important.
But none are a substitute for TFA. Young people need to learn what opportunities will be available to them and how to take advantage of them. It will be difficult because few teachers or school administrators know trends as well as we here do. Someone from Slashdot will have to sacrifice her $165K salary and show high school kids how the future is shaping up and how they can be part of it.
My neighbor, Robert Klark Graham, founder of the 'Nobel Sperm Bank' had a favorite slogan: "The smarter you are, the more children you should have." He would publish that as an advert in various Mensa publications. I attended some of his talks which were always uplifting and positive, but I never heard him mention the corollary to his slogan. (i.e. 'what about other people?')
In any case, we seem to have got that obvious evolutionary lesson backward. Certain populations reproduce like bunnies while the smart people are frugal in that sense. Where will this trend take us?
Or earlier. Each year review the economic realities, employment trends and future forecasts with the students. Each student must balance
Interests,
Abilities and
Future Potential.
Certain young people, for instance may have great Interest in a sports career. They may even have some Ability. But they need to be told about the reality that only one in a million will make those million$ that they dream of. Almost no Future Potential.
I used to date a hot girl who worked in a strip joint. She understood that her looks & skills would not last forever, so she went to college and studied Sanitation Engineering (sewer management). I'm confident that she has had a rewarding life since then. Lots of Potential, little competition.
When I went to college in the 60s I wanted to study psychology, but I kept getting turned down when I requested psych classes. One day I discovered that 30% of our students were psych majors ... and it was the same across the US. Thank doG I had sense to realise that Future Potential was not there (although it may be good now).
It's all about balance and awareness and young people tend to be weak in that area. Schools can help.
HackTheWeb
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-...
I stick with Firefox because of the addons. No Flash nonsense with slide shows, popups, flashing adverts, etc. No unwanted trackers or spyware. No suspicious remote scripts. And the ability to change the format of a page: for instance, seeing Slashdot the full width of the window instead of wasting half my expensive screen space.
It seems that some of these addons are available for other browsers, but perhaps less effective. I'd experiment with other browsers but I really don't care as long as Firefox gives me a clean browsing experience. Yes, your browser may be 1.6% faster, but if it can't cut the crap from the screen I don't care. The choice of browser for me is not a religious obsession, it is simply a plea for peace of mind as I try to navigate aggressive web pages and preserve some privacy.
So, if one of these cards costs $500, and it can generate $500 in Bitcoin in 6 months, why are they selling it instead of using it? They should stop retail sales immediately and focus on making Bitcoin!
OTOH, if the card can't pay for itself, why would anyone invest in it? This is a conundrum.
It sounds very much like the TV huckster who wants to show us how to make millions in real estate. If he knows this secret, why is he wasting time with us?
This is a great opportunity for sniffer bots to be employed in warehouses. These enhanced versions of existing bots would detect ripeness or overripeness of fruits & vegetables as they cruise the aisles. They may be able to identify specific dangerous conditions in various fresh products.
This would save Amazon money, but more importantly the technology they adopt and improve could save lives worldwide starting with food banks here in the US and worldwide. I'm imagining a $10 device that attaches to a common smartphone and analyses gases emitted by fresh foods.
Without the social media to guide them, how will the defenders of the 1% find the evil terrorists? It's not like they are doing any intelligence work or police work. They need the obvious. They need people to shout online that they are angry. They need people to stand up in online public places and say "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!"
That's how they nab 'em.
Is that so? So why did they remove those kiosks years ago? What the hell are you talking about? It's possible some investors know what they're talking about but you are not one of them.
Simple enough to design shock absorbers for the wheels. A proper shock absorber reduces harmonic effects. On vehicles these devices are remarkably affordable and effective. For luggage they could be very cost effective. A simple friction device with a compressed gas cartridge would do the trick. Feel free to design & patent- I don't need the millions it will bring.
"When it comes to dining payment technology, it seems like Canada is light years away (as well as well into the future) than the US."
'All the better to see you with, my dear.' Soon the information you reveal with your 'payment technology' will be joined with your Universal ID to provide comprehensive data about your habits, your interests, your education, your health, and your disgusting eating choices. Big Brother will be very happy.
For my part, I prefer anonymous cash whenever possible. Perhaps a bitcoin type currency when it is practical.
In my fashionable neighborhood is a score of restaurants, a dozen nightclubs, 8 coffee shops, half dozen pizza & taco joints, and 1 (one) McDonalds. None of these places would survive without human servers. Not too many loner geeks or terrorists here, just fun loving people out for a good time. They're spending $30 and up for a meal, more for a night's drinking, and even at McDonalds they expect to see real humans behind the counter when they stop for their sobering up snack.
McDonalds is a small part of the scene here, but many McDs in the area have their own personalities. Near a local college, the McD is a bit cold and rushed; no time for pleasantries. My favorite suburban MdDs has for decades been warm and friendly and fast. I know the owner, the manager and most of the workers though they come and go with the tides. They are well paid, and it pays off in repeat customers. Others fall in between, just like other privately owned businesses.
YMMV at fast food: In n Out, Burger King, Wendys, etc. Some near home, some near work, some out on lonely highways where you need to stop and rest... But humans are always the best user interface. More so at real restaurants and night clubs.
I was at a store in the Lowes chain recently and noticed that at each lumber rack were the actual dimensions of the wood. Nowhere was the traditional '2X4' label used. Just to be sure I measured some samples and though my measurements were slightly different, the label was mostly correct.
As someone mentioned, long ago a 2X4 was a 2X4. If you see one from an old structure, you will note that its surface is very rough and dangerous to delicate hands. Our modern lumber is smooth and attractive to see and feel. Exactly the result you would have if you smoothed the old lumber. The smoothness is a result of planing and carefully hand sanding each piece for customer satisfaction. Of course the dimensions are slightly reduced, but which would you rather have?
I asked my brother in Brasil about lumber sizing "do they use metric?". He replied with some confusion; he said that it depends on where you buy your lumber. Different outlets will have different sizes and those could change depending on their current sources. He built his own house out in the distant suburbs of Sao Paulo using such materials. There seems to be no standard there.
The president wants to deregulate Wall Street, deregulate coal, and deregulate every corporate activity in America. So now he wants to deregulate drones and we're supposed to be surprised?
Several fast food chains had those kiosks many years ago. They were ignored by customers who went to the counter anyway. This excites investors because they have never been in a fast food joint. They didn't see the failed system of the past. They have no clue how efficient current employees are. They think that laying off employees is the road to big profit.
Does anybody here see a future where food and drinks served by robots will be more attractive than what we have now? Isn't the personal service a large part of why we go out to eat and drink?