Every time there are arguments made like this I remember something I read in the late 90s. It was a scholarly book by a broadcaster (I believe it was about HD TV) that had a section about why Internet video wasn't going to take off. It stated things like "postage stamp-sized video," jumpyness, bad audio... all those problems that were inherent in the early versions of Quicktime and MPEG.
The flaw in the argument comes in the unspoken assumption that what they are looking at is a final version. I personally don't think bitcoin will ever "replace" monetary systems across the world and there is a lot of reasons to hope that it doesn't, but a lot of these arguments make the assumption that no adjustments will ever be made and the ideas and tech. will never improve. And that just *doesn't* happen.
Sure, but Stross isn't criticizing all cryptocurrency, just Bitcoin. (Check out the ninth comment on his blog) . To use your metaphor he is criticizing 'realmedia' not internet video.
Does the twisted logic behind this remind anyone else of MAD? I.e. Disarmament leads to war; nuclear buildup leads to peace.
I actually think this a good idea. Your average person (outside of slashdot) thinks that ads are a great trade off for free websites, and no amount of nagging them about the panopticon society is going to change that. With this proposal, a least you get to keep most of your privacy.
And, hey, no world war since the bomb. Unintuitive sometimes works.
Slashdot Mirror
Every time there are arguments made like this I remember something I read in the late 90s. It was a scholarly book by a broadcaster (I believe it was about HD TV) that had a section about why Internet video wasn't going to take off. It stated things like "postage stamp-sized video," jumpyness, bad audio... all those problems that were inherent in the early versions of Quicktime and MPEG.
The flaw in the argument comes in the unspoken assumption that what they are looking at is a final version. I personally don't think bitcoin will ever "replace" monetary systems across the world and there is a lot of reasons to hope that it doesn't, but a lot of these arguments make the assumption that no adjustments will ever be made and the ideas and tech. will never improve. And that just *doesn't* happen.
Sure, but Stross isn't criticizing all cryptocurrency, just Bitcoin. (Check out the ninth comment on his blog) . To use your metaphor he is criticizing 'realmedia' not internet video.
Does the twisted logic behind this remind anyone else of MAD? I.e. Disarmament leads to war; nuclear buildup leads to peace. I actually think this a good idea. Your average person (outside of slashdot) thinks that ads are a great trade off for free websites, and no amount of nagging them about the panopticon society is going to change that. With this proposal, a least you get to keep most of your privacy. And, hey, no world war since the bomb. Unintuitive sometimes works.
Ignore me.
I believe individual tinkerers are already putting there little satellites in space. See http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zacinaction/kicksat-your-personal-spacecraft-in-space .
Well, it has been five months since the the last numbered humble bundle came out, but I get what your saying.