I suspect if you were to look around closely at the first generations of a lot of technologies, you'd find a lot of things like this; design decisions made for possibilities that just didn't pan out, but were left there anyway.
Like multiple camera angles on DVDs? There's even a 'camera' button taking up space on my remote.
The National Retail Federation coined this phrase, apparently.
We've discussed this obvious attempt at boosting sales before, and the consensus was that there's no need for a "cyber monday" - the reasons for the Black Friday bricks-and-mortar sales just don't apply to the online world. This is nothing more than a grab for some extra sales before Christmas, and the media are falling for it.
Imagine a message on your TV telling you it's time to start the laundry!
If that's the best example they can come up with, then I don't have high hopes for this technology. Seriously guys, if you want to get consumers to buy all-new networked home appliances then at least present us with a decent reason why.
The Himalayan country of Bhutan only started recieving television in 1999. This was followed by a drastic increase in crime (including murder) in the tiny nation. It would be interesting to see if there's also an increase in autism, as this study would suggest.
All they really did is replace the fans with passive heatsinks (and a heat pipe). The 'ionic' part is one of those negative ion generators which do very little and cost a lot. Really, this is nothing to get excited about.
how hard can it be? I could rig up a basic voting system in an afternoon and it would work "pretty good". A large company, on a multi-million-dollar contract, with years of work should be able to produce a flawless machine for something as simple as tallying some votes.
All I can say is, those secret election-rigging backdoors must take a lot of work, because what else have their developers been working on?
What the hecks? Australia and NZ are completely western and the only way we can be considered part of Asia is by some vague geographical classification. We certainly associate ourselves much more closely with the US and UK than any country in Asia.
This is like saying "massive chasm in public sector IT spending between the US and Mexico!!" - well... yeah, what do you expect?
I read the article, but it didn't make it very clear - what will be the advantages of paid use of their quantum computer? Unless it's going to be faster than other supercomputers, I can't see the point. Is there some other advantage I'm not aware of?
I'd be very suprised if their quantum computer will be faster than conventional computers by next year. 20 years away, maybe.
In Australia nearly all ISPs have a limited download quota, with penalties for going above the quota. The reason is that ISPs have to pay for the data to be pulled across the undersea cables.
I would love for this to happen. I would even prefer a "Microsoft Records" to Sony Records, if only because of the competition with "Google Records" et al.
At the moment all the record labels are in a cartel so they're (essentially) free to fix prices and treat artists like dirt.
Well, of course, a "properly licensed operating system" doesn't have to cost money. I'm guessing they will just install linux, probably Red Flag Linux.
Some could even see this as an attempt by the Chinese government to increase Red Flag usage over pirated (American) Windows.
Having your cell phone connected through VoIP while at home is all well and good, but what about your phone number? When someone calls your cell number, it's going to have to get switched over to the internet (rather than the cellular network) to get through to your phone. That's going to require help from the carriers, and they probably aren't too happy about this.
I wonder how long until the word "nanotech" falls out of favour because it becomes associated with dangerous "science gone too far".
We aren't even nearly at the stage of nanomachines ("grey goop"), yet I imagine the public is beginning to feel that everything with the nano-prefix is dangerous. Soon companies and scientists will start using other words to describe the technology. This is fine with me - I actually think that a lot of "nanotechnology" could be better described with other words (same with AI).
With Verizon wireless broadband it could sit in my backpack/briefcase and, via skype, serve as a cell phone.
One problem with that is you can't recieve calls to your laptop while it's not on (obviously), and you can't leave a laptop on inside a briefcase/backpack.
Over the last 10-15 years there's been a huge increase in the numbers of self-help books being published. Most of them are "chicken soup for the soul" type of stuff, and I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is books that push a controversial viewpoint about (say) medicine. The best example is Kevin Trudeau and his book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About.
Honestly, there is really nothing stopping me writing a book claiming that "prescription medicine is CAUSING DISEASE!!!" and selling thousands of copies - the publicity is self-generated because of the controversy, and I believe it's the sort of information that a lot of people want to hear.
I could even put the letters "MD, PhD" after my name. Sure, critics will point out that these degrees are from non-accredited universities, but that won't stop sales of the book one bit. In the end I make megabucks while spreading false information.
I've now formed the opinion that you should simply not read non-fiction books unless you really know what you're doing. You can't trust 'em.
The article mentions the 'oven' has refridgeration capability - this means it can keep your uncooked food somewhat fresh while you're at work, and when you know you're going to be home soon you can instruct the device to switch into 'oven' mode.
Pretty clever, I think, although I almost never use the oven when I'm cooking dinner - it's all saucepans and frypans. How often do most people cook roasts?
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Like multiple camera angles on DVDs? There's even a 'camera' button taking up space on my remote.
The National Retail Federation coined this phrase, apparently.
We've discussed this obvious attempt at boosting sales before, and the consensus was that there's no need for a "cyber monday" - the reasons for the Black Friday bricks-and-mortar sales just don't apply to the online world. This is nothing more than a grab for some extra sales before Christmas, and the media are falling for it.
Rather, an unrealistic expectation. It's difficult to sell 100,000 of anything, let alone through a grassroots campaign like this.
1. Buy phone that you like
2. Take SIM card out of your current phone and place it in your new phone
3. (Carriers don't) profit!!!
Imagine a message on your TV telling you it's time to start the laundry!
If that's the best example they can come up with, then I don't have high hopes for this technology. Seriously guys, if you want to get consumers to buy all-new networked home appliances then at least present us with a decent reason why.
The Himalayan country of Bhutan only started recieving television in 1999. This was followed by a drastic increase in crime (including murder) in the tiny nation. It would be interesting to see if there's also an increase in autism, as this study would suggest.
Just connect to Wapedia with your phone/PDA.
Seriously, that's the only reason I ever use the internet on my phone.
All they really did is replace the fans with passive heatsinks (and a heat pipe). The 'ionic' part is one of those negative ion generators which do very little and cost a lot.
Really, this is nothing to get excited about.
Wind-powered boats?
How appropriate that the demonstration video ends in a draw...
how hard can it be? I could rig up a basic voting system in an afternoon and it would work "pretty good". A large company, on a multi-million-dollar contract, with years of work should be able to produce a flawless machine for something as simple as tallying some votes.
All I can say is, those secret election-rigging backdoors must take a lot of work, because what else have their developers been working on?
What the hecks? Australia and NZ are completely western and the only way we can be considered part of Asia is by some vague geographical classification. We certainly associate ourselves much more closely with the US and UK than any country in Asia.
This is like saying "massive chasm in public sector IT spending between the US and Mexico!!" - well... yeah, what do you expect?
I read the article, but it didn't make it very clear - what will be the advantages of paid use of their quantum computer? Unless it's going to be faster than other supercomputers, I can't see the point. Is there some other advantage I'm not aware of?
I'd be very suprised if their quantum computer will be faster than conventional computers by next year. 20 years away, maybe.
If you're after biology news, try http://biologynews.net/
"Bloghackers"
That is just so Web 2.0, isn't it?
What is this, digg?
I wasn't aware that NASA had to be informed about EVAs in space. If the Russians want to allow it, who's to stop them?
In Australia nearly all ISPs have a limited download quota, with penalties for going above the quota. The reason is that ISPs have to pay for the data to be pulled across the undersea cables.
I would love for this to happen. I would even prefer a "Microsoft Records" to Sony Records, if only because of the competition with "Google Records" et al.
At the moment all the record labels are in a cartel so they're (essentially) free to fix prices and treat artists like dirt.
Well, of course, a "properly licensed operating system" doesn't have to cost money. I'm guessing they will just install linux, probably Red Flag Linux.
Some could even see this as an attempt by the Chinese government to increase Red Flag usage over pirated (American) Windows.
Having your cell phone connected through VoIP while at home is all well and good, but what about your phone number? When someone calls your cell number, it's going to have to get switched over to the internet (rather than the cellular network) to get through to your phone. That's going to require help from the carriers, and they probably aren't too happy about this.
I wonder how long until the word "nanotech" falls out of favour because it becomes associated with dangerous "science gone too far".
We aren't even nearly at the stage of nanomachines ("grey goop"), yet I imagine the public is beginning to feel that everything with the nano-prefix is dangerous. Soon companies and scientists will start using other words to describe the technology. This is fine with me - I actually think that a lot of "nanotechnology" could be better described with other words (same with AI).
With Verizon wireless broadband it could sit in my backpack/briefcase and, via skype, serve as a cell phone.
One problem with that is you can't recieve calls to your laptop while it's not on (obviously), and you can't leave a laptop on inside a briefcase/backpack.
Over the last 10-15 years there's been a huge increase in the numbers of self-help books being published. Most of them are "chicken soup for the soul" type of stuff, and I don't have a problem with that.
What I do have a problem with is books that push a controversial viewpoint about (say) medicine. The best example is Kevin Trudeau and his book Natural Cures "They" Don't Want You To Know About.
Honestly, there is really nothing stopping me writing a book claiming that "prescription medicine is CAUSING DISEASE!!!" and selling thousands of copies - the publicity is self-generated because of the controversy, and I believe it's the sort of information that a lot of people want to hear.
I could even put the letters "MD, PhD" after my name. Sure, critics will point out that these degrees are from non-accredited universities, but that won't stop sales of the book one bit. In the end I make megabucks while spreading false information.
I've now formed the opinion that you should simply not read non-fiction books unless you really know what you're doing. You can't trust 'em.
The article mentions the 'oven' has refridgeration capability - this means it can keep your uncooked food somewhat fresh while you're at work, and when you know you're going to be home soon you can instruct the device to switch into 'oven' mode.
Pretty clever, I think, although I almost never use the oven when I'm cooking dinner - it's all saucepans and frypans. How often do most people cook roasts?