Is this really news to most people?? Of course big companies that sell stuff analyze what their customers purchase. Why wouldn't they? The only problem I have with this story is that it's probably only the very tip of the iceberg of what kind and how much data companies have about us.
I agree with most of what you're saying however you're missing one important point. You're placing the blame for all of this on the government, when in reality our government is a worthless puppet that is incapable of doing much of anything without some sort of outside force pushing and prodding it (e.g. legalized bribery... err lobbying).
Wow. I didn't think it would happen this quickly but anyone who's a fan of Maemo / Meego definitely saw this coming. It really is too bad that Elop is just another short sighted CEO interested in making a quick buck at the long term expense of the company.
The problem here is that these machines (and the ones like them at the airports) were never about public nor personal safety. They were always about creating the appearance that we are safer and making a few people with ties to the TSA quite wealthy. Until we actually fix the military-industrial-complex-like problems that plague our government at almost every level, we will increasingly have to deal with these stupid issues.
This will be just another dog and pony show. Since when have these hearings done anything other than create the appearance that congress gives a shit about what "the people" want?
I'd be willing to bet it starts a lot younger than 45. I'm in my 30's and I've definitely noticed a difference in the last 10 years. Not a huge difference but a difference nonetheless.
Think about it from an evolution perspective. After we find a mate, have offspring, and make sure they're able to at least somewhat fend for themselves, what do we need sharp cognition for anymore?
Or does it really seem like our country is going straight down the toilet at an accelerating rate? I mean I know I've only been alive for so long and I've only been paying attention to this stuff for a shorter period of time, but the events that occurred over the course of the last decade (and especially the last few years) combined with the policies that have been set up over the last 30 years or so is really starting to make me think we're in serious trouble. I mean real. serious. trouble.
Am I way off? Has our country been in a situation like this before where all the powers-that-be seem to be working together for their benefit, at the expense of everyone else's freedoms, liberties, and way of life?
We really need to start thinking about things like mesh networks, with the proposed censorship bills and monopolistic ISPs doing with us as they please. I realize this is not exactly feasible at the moment, at least outside of densely populated areas, but we need to start thinking of alternatives to the current status quo.
No I didn't. But I do have to listen to a guy who sits by me at work talk to his 4S over and over while getting increasingly frustrated. And no, he doesn't have an accent.
Unless someone can make voice recognition actually works no amount of behavior altering is going to help. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem like voice recognition software has come a whole lot farther than where it was when I first started playing with it over a decade ago.
The summary is a little misleading. This is not a "major upgrade," it is a complete rewrite of the MyFord Touch system. You see, for their first attempt, Ford decided to outsource the project to a company called BSQUARE who put the UI together using Adobe Flash Lite. For some reason, the results were slightlylessthanstellar.
Anyway, Microsoft itself is supposedly helping with the rewrite and Ford is doing the rest in-house (without Flash) so those of us who have been dealing with this awful system for the last year are at least a little hopeful.
These robots they're developing are cool and everything but their usefulness seems very limited until someone can come up with a suitable power supply. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem like we're anywhere close to something that could fit inside this robot and power it for any significant length of time.
Slashdot Mirror
It's pretty much my favorite optical remote sensing technology.
Is this really news to most people?? Of course big companies that sell stuff analyze what their customers purchase. Why wouldn't they? The only problem I have with this story is that it's probably only the very tip of the iceberg of what kind and how much data companies have about us.
The Worst In the Business?
I need to search for Santorum and click on the first link today!
I agree with most of what you're saying however you're missing one important point. You're placing the blame for all of this on the government, when in reality our government is a worthless puppet that is incapable of doing much of anything without some sort of outside force pushing and prodding it (e.g. legalized bribery... err lobbying).
Wow. I didn't think it would happen this quickly but anyone who's a fan of Maemo / Meego definitely saw this coming. It really is too bad that Elop is just another short sighted CEO interested in making a quick buck at the long term expense of the company.
How many articles are we going to have about this?
We're FREE here in 'Murica!!!! [fingers in ears] *la la la la la la la la la....*
Because 'disrupt' is the hip new buzzword. And we all know that buzzwords make the things they're describing much better.
Who's investigating the Police for offensive investigations?
The problem here is that these machines (and the ones like them at the airports) were never about public nor personal safety. They were always about creating the appearance that we are safer and making a few people with ties to the TSA quite wealthy. Until we actually fix the military-industrial-complex-like problems that plague our government at almost every level, we will increasingly have to deal with these stupid issues.
This will be just another dog and pony show. Since when have these hearings done anything other than create the appearance that congress gives a shit about what "the people" want?
I'd be willing to bet it starts a lot younger than 45. I'm in my 30's and I've definitely noticed a difference in the last 10 years. Not a huge difference but a difference nonetheless.
Think about it from an evolution perspective. After we find a mate, have offspring, and make sure they're able to at least somewhat fend for themselves, what do we need sharp cognition for anymore?
Or does it really seem like our country is going straight down the toilet at an accelerating rate? I mean I know I've only been alive for so long and I've only been paying attention to this stuff for a shorter period of time, but the events that occurred over the course of the last decade (and especially the last few years) combined with the policies that have been set up over the last 30 years or so is really starting to make me think we're in serious trouble. I mean real. serious. trouble.
Am I way off? Has our country been in a situation like this before where all the powers-that-be seem to be working together for their benefit, at the expense of everyone else's freedoms, liberties, and way of life?
Please tell me I'm wrong...
"Fuck the TSA."
...or something like that.
Yeah. You'd think.....
We really need to start thinking about things like mesh networks, with the proposed censorship bills and monopolistic ISPs doing with us as they please. I realize this is not exactly feasible at the moment, at least outside of densely populated areas, but we need to start thinking of alternatives to the current status quo.
No I didn't. But I do have to listen to a guy who sits by me at work talk to his 4S over and over while getting increasingly frustrated. And no, he doesn't have an accent.
Unless someone can make voice recognition actually works no amount of behavior altering is going to help. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem like voice recognition software has come a whole lot farther than where it was when I first started playing with it over a decade ago.
The summary is a little misleading. This is not a "major upgrade," it is a complete rewrite of the MyFord Touch system. You see, for their first attempt, Ford decided to outsource the project to a company called BSQUARE who put the UI together using Adobe Flash Lite. For some reason, the results were slightly less than stellar.
Anyway, Microsoft itself is supposedly helping with the rewrite and Ford is doing the rest in-house (without Flash) so those of us who have been dealing with this awful system for the last year are at least a little hopeful.
http://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/302967000
BEES!!!
It looks like things are proceeding exactly as planned...
Sign the white house petition here: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!/petition/stop-e-parasite-act/SWBYXX55
These robots they're developing are cool and everything but their usefulness seems very limited until someone can come up with a suitable power supply. Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't seem like we're anywhere close to something that could fit inside this robot and power it for any significant length of time.