If print drivers were to be eliminated across the board, half of our IT staff would no longer be needed. Fix the issues with stuck sensors, paper jams, etc and we'd be down to three people.
This is sort of how light carriers were built in WWII. I forget the battle, but the Japanese attacked a poorly protected American light carrier group with armor piercing rounds because they expected a heavy battleship escort. The armor piercing rounds passed right through the American ships without exploding, so the carriers were able to retreat. It's much MUCH more effective to only armor the bridge, munitions storage and a few other key systems and leave the rest up to bulkheads to prevent flooding (navy) or decompression (space) rather than armoring the whole damned ship.
I imagine AI will continue to advance quickly. If AI was developed enough and foolproof enough that you could just issue strategic commands (proceed to sector A, engage any object with a threat level above 9) and leave the tactical decisions to the drone. Any problems about not being able to change or rescind commands quickly would hold just as true for a human crew.
I imagine it would bear a resemblance to the old sailing ships. Any maneuvering would have to be done before you engaged the opponent, as it takes quite a bit of energy and fuel to maneuver inside of a vacuum. Ships would try to come at their opponent at a T while firing large mass drivers. Although lasers are more effective in space than on land, I don't think they would be nearly as effective as huge chunks of mass. Electronic launch systems would solve many of the problems with recoil. Lasers would only make sense if the fuel required to power them is more mass-efficient than the combination of fuel required to power mass drives plus the mass itself.
Fighters/bombers like we traditionally think of them probably wouldn't be used. Instead, small single-manned ships could be used to stealthily deliver a single-shot payload - they would operate more like mini-subs carrying a single torpedo.
I'm glad this doesn't apply to college. The first day of the capstone class of my major, our assignment was "I want two pages on the following topic: Why the fuck are you guys here?"
Of course, that was the sixth class I had with that particular professor, so things were a little more laid back.
Obviously you've never had a girlfriend who has sent you to buy tampons. You make damn sure you get EXACTLY what she tells you to... when she needs them is NOT the time to be making mistakes.
Waaaay back when I first got email (late 90's... I'm young, I know), our family used Juno. When creating a new account, the client gave you the option of going through a 3 minute survey so you could choose your interests and hobbies - the ad-supported client would then display relevant ads based on your survey. I thought this was a decent model for a good balance between privacy and showing me ads that I might actually be interested in.
My design's only real advantage is you could whip it together in about 10 minutes using off the shelf components. The batteries would stop charging fully within a year or two of regular use, the Foreman grill is pretty limited in how much you can cook on it and solar cells are damned expensive.
My original jest aside, these designs are pretty cool. I wanted to build a solar oven once, but I live in central and western NY where a solar oven might be useful two or three days out of the year. Now, a wind-rain-and-snow powered oven on the other hand...
So you have to change your license plate as your tires get worn down? Although I'd love to see a system that allows better drivers to drive faster (and force crappier drivers to drive slower), there's too many other variables already in the mix to try to add more. The one place I see it working best, and maybe a good place to start, is on limited access highways that are already designed for high speed and high volume.
Personally, I'd much rather force better driver training before allowing people on the road at all. The test to get your license is a joke - the road test should at least take you into an area with traffic moving above 20 mph if it's going to gauge your abilities at all.
With 10, 20 (or 30) and 50 cent coins, you would never receive more than 3 coins in change for any transaction (assuming all full dollar amounts are given in paper money). In addition to saving costs by reducing the different types of coins produced, we also would not need as many coins in total. Other than the cost of initial changeover, it seems like it would save a lot of money in the long run.
Get rid of pennies and nickels, and replace quarters with half dollar coins. All prices would then have one decimal place instead of two. There would be a lot less useless change floating around; many people discard anything smaller than a dime (or sometimes a quarter) anyway.
This would also make coin-based 3rd grade arithmetic problems much easier.
Depends on the facility. I work in a fairly large nursing home and most of the people here enjoy it. Of course, I've been in other homes where all of the residents seem miserable. Myself? I'd rather not end up in a home unless it has a fat pipe to the Net.
From an overall perspective, wouldn't it be better if people could live to be 120 and spend 80 years contibuting (20 being raised in the beginning, 20 for retirement at the end) rather than people living to 80 just to control the birthrate? I'd much rather see a much slower birthrate to compensate for people living longer rather than a higher death rate to compensate for a high birthrate.
Nonetheless, it's amazing to think there's still people still alive whom were born the century before last - saw the rise of radio, automobiles, television, two world wars and countless other things.
Personally, I enjoy it more when I don't have to get up in the morning. And who cares how fast you can read if you enjoy what you're reading? Also, I've been partially deaf since I was 5; it helps when I can turn off my hearing aids around people that ask too many questions.
Our old next door neighbors were in their 80s. Each Christmas, we would put up those 7 foot tall Santa and Frosty inflatables and each Christmas our neighbors would think someone was standing on our lawn. They enjoyed thinking they were watching someone.
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If print drivers were to be eliminated across the board, half of our IT staff would no longer be needed. Fix the issues with stuck sensors, paper jams, etc and we'd be down to three people.
This is sort of how light carriers were built in WWII. I forget the battle, but the Japanese attacked a poorly protected American light carrier group with armor piercing rounds because they expected a heavy battleship escort. The armor piercing rounds passed right through the American ships without exploding, so the carriers were able to retreat. It's much MUCH more effective to only armor the bridge, munitions storage and a few other key systems and leave the rest up to bulkheads to prevent flooding (navy) or decompression (space) rather than armoring the whole damned ship.
I imagine AI will continue to advance quickly. If AI was developed enough and foolproof enough that you could just issue strategic commands (proceed to sector A, engage any object with a threat level above 9) and leave the tactical decisions to the drone. Any problems about not being able to change or rescind commands quickly would hold just as true for a human crew.
I imagine it would bear a resemblance to the old sailing ships. Any maneuvering would have to be done before you engaged the opponent, as it takes quite a bit of energy and fuel to maneuver inside of a vacuum. Ships would try to come at their opponent at a T while firing large mass drivers. Although lasers are more effective in space than on land, I don't think they would be nearly as effective as huge chunks of mass. Electronic launch systems would solve many of the problems with recoil. Lasers would only make sense if the fuel required to power them is more mass-efficient than the combination of fuel required to power mass drives plus the mass itself.
Fighters/bombers like we traditionally think of them probably wouldn't be used. Instead, small single-manned ships could be used to stealthily deliver a single-shot payload - they would operate more like mini-subs carrying a single torpedo.
But this is Iowa. Not much in the way of international waters in Iowa.
"Google is seeking permission to place satellite antennas on land"
Not to be confused with the antennas they plan to put on water, trees and birds.
Didn't Nineteen Eighty-Four also take place in England? Right in London as I recall.
I'm glad this doesn't apply to college. The first day of the capstone class of my major, our assignment was "I want two pages on the following topic: Why the fuck are you guys here?"
Of course, that was the sixth class I had with that particular professor, so things were a little more laid back.
Obviously you've never had a girlfriend who has sent you to buy tampons. You make damn sure you get EXACTLY what she tells you to... when she needs them is NOT the time to be making mistakes.
Waaaay back when I first got email (late 90's... I'm young, I know), our family used Juno. When creating a new account, the client gave you the option of going through a 3 minute survey so you could choose your interests and hobbies - the ad-supported client would then display relevant ads based on your survey. I thought this was a decent model for a good balance between privacy and showing me ads that I might actually be interested in.
You underestimate the power of directed advertising. To give you a hint, that's what makes Facebook worth and estimated $100 billion.
That and a little common sense. In other words, don't count on it even if it is a step in the right direction.
My design's only real advantage is you could whip it together in about 10 minutes using off the shelf components. The batteries would stop charging fully within a year or two of regular use, the Foreman grill is pretty limited in how much you can cook on it and solar cells are damned expensive.
My original jest aside, these designs are pretty cool. I wanted to build a solar oven once, but I live in central and western NY where a solar oven might be useful two or three days out of the year. Now, a wind-rain-and-snow powered oven on the other hand...
Solar panel, a bunch of lead-acid batteries and a George Foreman grill and they're good to go.
At this point, if I were IBM I would be looking into hiring mercenaries to eliminate the problem. The courts might even chip in to help.
"It may be that when a new boom in nuclear power comes"
Given Joe Public's irrational fear of a nuclear explosion, "boom" may not be the best word to use...
So you have to change your license plate as your tires get worn down?
Although I'd love to see a system that allows better drivers to drive faster (and force crappier drivers to drive slower), there's too many other variables already in the mix to try to add more. The one place I see it working best, and maybe a good place to start, is on limited access highways that are already designed for high speed and high volume.
Personally, I'd much rather force better driver training before allowing people on the road at all. The test to get your license is a joke - the road test should at least take you into an area with traffic moving above 20 mph if it's going to gauge your abilities at all.
With 10, 20 (or 30) and 50 cent coins, you would never receive more than 3 coins in change for any transaction (assuming all full dollar amounts are given in paper money). In addition to saving costs by reducing the different types of coins produced, we also would not need as many coins in total. Other than the cost of initial changeover, it seems like it would save a lot of money in the long run.
Get rid of pennies and nickels, and replace quarters with half dollar coins. All prices would then have one decimal place instead of two. There would be a lot less useless change floating around; many people discard anything smaller than a dime (or sometimes a quarter) anyway.
This would also make coin-based 3rd grade arithmetic problems much easier.
Depends on the facility. I work in a fairly large nursing home and most of the people here enjoy it. Of course, I've been in other homes where all of the residents seem miserable. Myself? I'd rather not end up in a home unless it has a fat pipe to the Net.
Two of them died, the other two got old.
From an overall perspective, wouldn't it be better if people could live to be 120 and spend 80 years contibuting (20 being raised in the beginning, 20 for retirement at the end) rather than people living to 80 just to control the birthrate? I'd much rather see a much slower birthrate to compensate for people living longer rather than a higher death rate to compensate for a high birthrate.
Just don't lose your head.
Nonetheless, it's amazing to think there's still people still alive whom were born the century before last - saw the rise of radio, automobiles, television, two world wars and countless other things.
Personally, I enjoy it more when I don't have to get up in the morning. And who cares how fast you can read if you enjoy what you're reading? Also, I've been partially deaf since I was 5; it helps when I can turn off my hearing aids around people that ask too many questions.
Our old next door neighbors were in their 80s. Each Christmas, we would put up those 7 foot tall Santa and Frosty inflatables and each Christmas our neighbors would think someone was standing on our lawn. They enjoyed thinking they were watching someone.