Well, it maybe hard for a machine to visually identify a traffic light, but that's hardly the only way. In the "Internet of Things" vision, traffic lights are one of the first things to be connected to the network for traffic shaping. Hence, autonomous networked cars will be actually aware of not only the closest traffic light, but of all traffic lights in a certain radius. Assuming John Leonard lives another 30 years, I find it hard to believe, that similar functionality won't be implemented by then. Then again, one could argue that networked traffic lights won't span the globe, and thus autonomous cars will be bounded in certain geographical areas. That was true for a lot of modes of transportation originally though, and eventually it will be minimized.
The thing is that 3G adds complexity and power requirements to support higher speeds. It is designed from the ground up for higher bandwidth. The majority of IoT applications need long battery life and long range communications, not high link speeds. Using 3g for IoT is re-purposing technology engineered for something else: Sure it might work, but it's hardly optimal
Actually the problem with 3G is not the size of the module at all, but the fact that 3G drains the battery very fast, and the costs from the providers are vastly higher compared to other technologies. Sure 3G for Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication might make sense since the yearly cost in a car is far higher than the cost of 3g connection and there's plenty of electricity to go around, but for smart meters? No way. Especially for industrial applications with thousand of devices, the costs rack up pretty fast, especially when you want your IoT-network to last years, not months. There are other technologies out there that are far more suitable for these kind of things (802.15.4 protocols, SIGFOX's network, OnRamp's network etc)
That's a nice idea, but even tv's that cost less than 200£ can play mkv's and mp3's from a USB stick. My Samsung tv can stream straight from any PC in the same LAN [As long as a certain samsung app is installed in that pc].
Ok so here's a bigger picture of what led to the shut down. 1) The ERT (National Radio) was a way for decades for the goverment to reward supporters with well-payed tenured jobs. 2) As a result, there are hundreds of people working there who get payed for menial tasks. 3) The Troika has demanded that about 2500 people working for the public sector will be fired before the end of June. 150.000 before the end of 2014. 4) A large privatisation programme that was a requirement from the Troika to continue the Greek bail out failed on Monday (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jun/10/greek-gas-supplier-selloff-gazprom )
As a result shutting down ERT hits two birds with one stone: It allows them to fire more than the minimum 2500 that was required, and also distracts the public opinion from mondays failure that is sure to bring more austerity measures. The goverment claims that the shutdown was justified because of the corruption and thriftlessness of the organization, while the governing party was the one that helped create them.
They better design the network to be able to withstand the extra load that an emergency situation would create. Imagine the panic when a disaster happens and noone can reach anybody for help or to make sure they're ok.
Am I the only one worrying about having a device that emits signals at 2.45GHz stuck directly on my skull all day long? Sure, the intensity may not be big enough to damage brain tissue immediatly, but I' would wait till I can see some long-term effects.
When deep space exploration ramps up it'll be the corporations that name everything... the "IBM Stellar Sphere", the "Microsoft Galaxy", "Planet Starbucks".
...after CES everyone was saying "Your next TV will likely be 3D, whether you like it or not", but this year everyone is classifying 3D TV as a passing fad, and an unimportand factor when it comes to consumer. I'm pretty sure that unless touchscreens enhance by a signifant degree the user experience, we'll see the same thing happening again.
Just because manufacturers have found a new gimmick to sell, don't mean that we have to follow them around like sheep
It is possible right now. It's a concious decision of the publishers to release "bare" e-books with no added content, and i think this is the main reason that e-books have not yet taken off. The DRM plays a big role too of course.
And by that I don't mean pdf, mobi or whatever else is around. I mean a format that combines the text with abilities that can't be found in classic paper books. Imagine reading a military history book with animated maps showing the movement of troops. Or a thermodynamics book where you can scroll, move and change the attributies of a graph so that you understand how they fit together. Imagine a book about electromagnetism where you can actually see the field lines and how they change when you move the coils or whatever. That would be the equivalent of a killer app in my book. Of course, those are indeed genre books, but I'm sure there are appropriate uses for general fiction books.
The publishers don't really seem to try these things. They basically give you only a pdf of the printed book, no added value. The only things I have enjoyed reading in my tablet are comics, because the color image translates well and there is fewer text on the screen. And I believe that is true for a lot of people, and that's part of the reason the comic publishers have tried new things while the majority of the publishing industry just tries to cling on the old ways.
...P.R. departments have managed to argue that down "is, in its way," the new up, black " is, in its way" the new white and that a weird, distracting, unsettling and akward experience is a good thing. Yay!
In a response to Ars, Humble Bundle co-founder John Graham assured users the company will "never stop creating Humble Indie Bundles... and the other bundle types we've successfully launched this year. But we’re also eager to see if our pay-what-you-want plus charity model meshes with critically acclaimed AAA content as well."
Graham said the new THQ bundle did not represent a permanent departure from the company's indie roots, and that the company may even release a third indie bundle this year. "This year has also been a year of many experiments for us that fall outside the traditional Humble Indie Bundle framework," Graham told us. "We’re very excited to be able to offer the gaming community a massive sale with blockbuster content and raise money for charity at the same time. We will of course continue to support indies content as a core of our business."
Regarding the lack of Mac and Linux ports this time around, Graham said plainly that, "in the case of this promotion, it would not have been possible for us to deliver this blockbuster content via other means." But Graham also promised the Humble Bundle "will not cease in our quest to bring awesome content to Mac and Linux and Android," and pointed out that the Humble eBook Bundle contained the first digital publication of Neil Gaiman's graphic novel Signal to Noise.
Even with prior convictions taken into account we are talking for a financial crime here not a violent one. I wonder if 15 years in prison has any correctional value for someone like him.
What is the purpose here? To secure the community from the evil he represents or to make sure the producers profit what they should? It seems like he is made to be an example and nothing else.
For some reason, i can't help but think that this could only happen in the US of A.
Keep in mind though, that apps made for windows 8 "metro-style" will be compatible with windows RT. So the ecosystem will build up anyway. I see them changing the marketing direction after a couple of versions down the road. "Bussiness" for those needing old x86 compatibility and "Home User" for those who just use the latest version of an app
The frequencies involved are too low to be ionizing. Dielectric heating could be a problem, but not at the power levels involved. That leaves what? The tumor gremlins who live in every Samsung handset?
You are correct about ionizing, but since cancer mechanism are not only based on molecular bonds breaking down, this is not definitive. That's one of the reasons the WHO has classified cell phone radiation as "possibly carcinogenic" http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf
i understand what you're saying, and agree with you mostly. But we must be extra careful when we use the term "science" to include every funded research. It is importand to note that the subject is still open scientifficaly, with no definite corellation found but with no definite proof pointing that cell phones are safe either. Also there were many documented cases in the past were funder research was just another way for corporation to gather data to manipulate for propaganda.
TFA is a bit lacking in the arguments in favor of correlation, but just because they are not mention we shouldn't start crying about witchunts.
"The evidence was based on studies conducted between 2005-2009 by a group led by Lennart Hardell, a cancer specialist at the University Hospital in Orebro in Sweden. The court said the research was independent and “unlike some others, was not co-financed by the same companies that produce mobile telephones.”
I suppose this marks a turning point in public opinion. Not as a time that correlation between cell phones and cancer was proven, but for the time people started distrusting researches concluding that "no link has been found". I can only think this is a good thing. We've been down this road before with cigarettes.
From the reviews i've read (ars technica has one but i can't be bother to find the link, sorry), it seems that win 8 is a good touch based UI, but still lacking in lot's of areas, even in tablets. Especially the parts of the os that are not touch-optimised (like certain parts of Office unfortunately) can be a huge bother. Working with a touch screen, and a keyboard and a mouse is the only way to be always happy, but then again that doesn't seem like an improvement.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, it maybe hard for a machine to visually identify a traffic light, but that's hardly the only way. In the "Internet of Things" vision, traffic lights are one of the first things to be connected to the network for traffic shaping. Hence, autonomous networked cars will be actually aware of not only the closest traffic light, but of all traffic lights in a certain radius. Assuming John Leonard lives another 30 years, I find it hard to believe, that similar functionality won't be implemented by then.
Then again, one could argue that networked traffic lights won't span the globe, and thus autonomous cars will be bounded in certain geographical areas. That was true for a lot of modes of transportation originally though, and eventually it will be minimized.
The thing is that 3G adds complexity and power requirements to support higher speeds. It is designed from the ground up for higher bandwidth. The majority of IoT applications need long battery life and long range communications, not high link speeds. Using 3g for IoT is re-purposing technology engineered for something else: Sure it might work, but it's hardly optimal
Actually the problem with 3G is not the size of the module at all, but the fact that 3G drains the battery very fast, and the costs from the providers are vastly higher compared to other technologies. Sure 3G for Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication might make sense since the yearly cost in a car is far higher than the cost of 3g connection and there's plenty of electricity to go around, but for smart meters? No way. Especially for industrial applications with thousand of devices, the costs rack up pretty fast, especially when you want your IoT-network to last years, not months. There are other technologies out there that are far more suitable for these kind of things (802.15.4 protocols, SIGFOX's network, OnRamp's network etc)
That's a nice idea, but even tv's that cost less than 200£ can play mkv's and mp3's from a USB stick. My Samsung tv can stream straight from any PC in the same LAN [As long as a certain samsung app is installed in that pc].
Ok so here's a bigger picture of what led to the shut down.
1) The ERT (National Radio) was a way for decades for the goverment to reward supporters with well-payed tenured jobs.
2) As a result, there are hundreds of people working there who get payed for menial tasks.
3) The Troika has demanded that about 2500 people working for the public sector will be fired before the end of June. 150.000 before the end of 2014.
4) A large privatisation programme that was a requirement from the Troika to continue the Greek bail out failed on Monday (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/jun/10/greek-gas-supplier-selloff-gazprom )
As a result shutting down ERT hits two birds with one stone: It allows them to fire more than the minimum 2500 that was required, and also distracts the public opinion from mondays failure that is sure to bring more austerity measures. The goverment claims that the shutdown was justified because of the corruption and thriftlessness of the organization, while the governing party was the one that helped create them.
They better design the network to be able to withstand the extra load that an emergency situation would create. Imagine the panic when a disaster happens and noone can reach anybody for help or to make sure they're ok.
Am I the only one worrying about having a device that emits signals at 2.45GHz stuck directly on my skull all day long? Sure, the intensity may not be big enough to damage brain tissue immediatly, but I' would wait till I can see some long-term effects.
When deep space exploration ramps up it'll be the corporations that name everything... the "IBM Stellar Sphere", the "Microsoft Galaxy", "Planet Starbucks".
...tastes like crap
...after CES everyone was saying "Your next TV will likely be 3D, whether you like it or not", but this year everyone is classifying 3D TV as a passing fad, and an unimportand factor when it comes to consumer. I'm pretty sure that unless touchscreens enhance by a signifant degree the user experience, we'll see the same thing happening again.
Just because manufacturers have found a new gimmick to sell, don't mean that we have to follow them around like sheep
It is possible right now. It's a concious decision of the publishers to release "bare" e-books with no added content, and i think this is the main reason that e-books have not yet taken off. The DRM plays a big role too of course.
And by that I don't mean pdf, mobi or whatever else is around. I mean a format that combines the text with abilities that can't be found in classic paper books. Imagine reading a military history book with animated maps showing the movement of troops. Or a thermodynamics book where you can scroll, move and change the attributies of a graph so that you understand how they fit together. Imagine a book about electromagnetism where you can actually see the field lines and how they change when you move the coils or whatever. That would be the equivalent of a killer app in my book. Of course, those are indeed genre books, but I'm sure there are appropriate uses for general fiction books.
The publishers don't really seem to try these things. They basically give you only a pdf of the printed book, no added value. The only things I have enjoyed reading in my tablet are comics, because the color image translates well and there is fewer text on the screen. And I believe that is true for a lot of people, and that's part of the reason the comic publishers have tried new things while the majority of the publishing industry just tries to cling on the old ways.
...P.R. departments have managed to argue that down "is, in its way," the new up, black " is, in its way" the new white and that a weird, distracting, unsettling and akward experience is a good thing. Yay!
I suppose in the future, developers will think twice before using gamespy.
From ArsTechnica:
UPDATE
In a response to Ars, Humble Bundle co-founder John Graham assured users the company will "never stop creating Humble Indie Bundles... and the other bundle types we've successfully launched this year. But we’re also eager to see if our pay-what-you-want plus charity model meshes with critically acclaimed AAA content as well."
Graham said the new THQ bundle did not represent a permanent departure from the company's indie roots, and that the company may even release a third indie bundle this year. "This year has also been a year of many experiments for us that fall outside the traditional Humble Indie Bundle framework," Graham told us. "We’re very excited to be able to offer the gaming community a massive sale with blockbuster content and raise money for charity at the same time. We will of course continue to support indies content as a core of our business."
Regarding the lack of Mac and Linux ports this time around, Graham said plainly that, "in the case of this promotion, it would not have been possible for us to deliver this blockbuster content via other means." But Graham also promised the Humble Bundle "will not cease in our quest to bring awesome content to Mac and Linux and Android," and pointed out that the Humble eBook Bundle contained the first digital publication of Neil Gaiman's graphic novel Signal to Noise.
Even with prior convictions taken into account we are talking for a financial crime here not a violent one. I wonder if 15 years in prison has any correctional value for someone like him.
What is the purpose here? To secure the community from the evil he represents or to make sure the producers profit what they should? It seems like he is made to be an example and nothing else.
For some reason, i can't help but think that this could only happen in the US of A.
Keep in mind though, that apps made for windows 8 "metro-style" will be compatible with windows RT. So the ecosystem will build up anyway. I see them changing the marketing direction after a couple of versions down the road. "Bussiness" for those needing old x86 compatibility and "Home User" for those who just use the latest version of an app
The frequencies involved are too low to be ionizing. Dielectric heating could be a problem, but not at the power levels involved. That leaves what? The tumor gremlins who live in every Samsung handset?
You are correct about ionizing, but since cancer mechanism are not only based on molecular bonds breaking down, this is not definitive. That's one of the reasons the WHO has classified cell phone radiation as "possibly carcinogenic" http://www.iarc.fr/en/media-centre/pr/2011/pdfs/pr208_E.pdf
i think it was just a figure of speech. We should also note that this has been translated from Italian.
i understand what you're saying, and agree with you mostly. But we must be extra careful when we use the term "science" to include every funded research. It is importand to note that the subject is still open scientifficaly, with no definite corellation found but with no definite proof pointing that cell phones are safe either. Also there were many documented cases in the past were funder research was just another way for corporation to gather data to manipulate for propaganda.
TFA is a bit lacking in the arguments in favor of correlation, but just because they are not mention we shouldn't start crying about witchunts.
How egotistic would USA readers be, for this clarification to be necessary?
"The evidence was based on studies conducted between 2005-2009 by a group led by Lennart Hardell, a cancer specialist at the University Hospital in Orebro in Sweden. The court said the research was independent and “unlike some others, was not co-financed by the same companies that produce mobile telephones.”
I suppose this marks a turning point in public opinion. Not as a time that correlation between cell phones and cancer was proven, but for the time people started distrusting researches concluding that "no link has been found". I can only think this is a good thing. We've been down this road before with cigarettes.
From the reviews i've read (ars technica has one but i can't be bother to find the link, sorry), it seems that win 8 is a good touch based UI, but still lacking in lot's of areas, even in tablets. Especially the parts of the os that are not touch-optimised (like certain parts of Office unfortunately) can be a huge bother. Working with a touch screen, and a keyboard and a mouse is the only way to be always happy, but then again that doesn't seem like an improvement.
So you get software no one likes in hardware no one would pay for. That sounds like a recipe for success.
just remember Dice: if it ain't broken, don't try to fix it