There is commercial benefit to being able to take someones voice. I can see an app that turns Siri's voice into James Earl Jones, your wife's voice, or "pick your favourite celebrity" for $x a month... Actually probably not your wife's voice- no man wants to hear that more than he can get away with... but the chick that guy is stalking... probably.
They're over half way there with this thing- it's only a matter of time before they can synthesize your voice- once the metrics are out there- even if apple don't get access to your voice- hackers eventually will.
Get ready in a years time when your buddies hack your voice to call your wife to say- "Sorry Hon, gonna be home late tonight- I'm boinking a sheep in McGruber's field."
Are they fracking anywhere near the nuclear power plant? If not- I wouldn't worry. If they are- there may be cause to not frack near sensitive sites- even though any quakes likely to be caused are expected to be extremely minor and not even noticable by mankind (except by hyper-sensitive equipment designed to detect them).
Groundwater is usually not affected- and there are non-toxic technologies available that we should concentrate on.
Geothermal's great. I'm all for geothermal energy. Realistically though- private entities are going to go where the profits are- and that is in fossils NOT renewables yet. Until we get our renewable situation sorted out- we shouldn't be cutting off the natural gas.
It is not clean- but it is much cleaner than the alternatives. We use more coal than anything else- and coal is about as bad as you can get.
The difference with this new plan and borrowing from the library is that this skips the library. Kindle lets you borrow direct from Amazon now for free... well kinda for free- you only get one a month and you have to be paying $80 a year for Amazon Prime. Libraries buy copies with your tax money. Amazon is a private company.
I don't see why the publishers should complain if Amazon buys "x" number of licenses to rent out the books. Publisher gets paid the same if Amazon loans the book that they paid for- or if the Library does.
The main thing is probably that the publishers don't like anything that makes e-books more viable to more people. There is a lower startup cost to becoming an e-book publisher than a paper book publisher.
If the physical book dies- publishers essentially face stiffer competition. Anyone can publish e-books.
Let's point out that the earthquakes were so small they can not be felt by man, are barely detectable, and these size quakes happen all the time naturally too.
As for groundwater pollution- this has happened, albeit doesn't usually- and there are non-toxic equivalents to the toxic chemicals that are *sometimes* used. Fracking need not use toxic chemical.
Natural Gas, whereas it is no "solar" or "wind farm", is overall much cleaner than oil or coal. (or at least can be if they regulate the chemicals used when fracking).
Anything which gets us away from coal (which is extremely destructive and polluting) is a good thing. Yes, we want renewables- but natural gas works today and is cost effective today. Trying to stop people collecting natural gas is not doing the environment any favours- because people will turn from gas to coal, which is much worse.
You get one free book rental a month with no due date if you're a member of prime.
If you read a lot and really quickly that probably won't be enough... if you're like me where you don't always have the time- this is about right and I'll read free classics in between.
eBooks are not cheap- they're bloody expensive for what they are. I got a kindle thinking it would save money- but the average new ebook is more expensive than the average paperback.
Lucky for me I like classics and older books just fine- most of which are free- if not from Kindle then from Gutenberg... Occassionally Kindle has special deals- 99cent books etc which include one or two newer books.
This won't be all books available for check-out, but apparantly will number in the thousands and include some new releases.
This might actually push me to Amazon prime- I've already considered it due to movies/tv shows and increased shipping. A book a month (if consider they're about $10 to $15 a pop if you buy the newer ebooks) makes prime even more usefull.
You can read on apple's own website that Siri learns your voice and gets better at understanding your voice/dialect/inflections with repeated use. It stands that if it learns your voice- it stores the schematics and qualities of your voice. It has to.
If they can do that- the rest is just an easy natural extension.
No more scary than the fact that Siri learns the schematics of YOUR voice- and so now Apple has your vocal qualities on file.
You talk- Apple will soon be able to identify you. Yet another source of anonymity eroded.
Don't believe it? 5 years ago who'd have thought Facebook would have facial recognition? Apple HAS to store this data to learn your voice so your Siri will understand you- they will map your voice if they can.
Soon- Siri will be able to speak WITH your voice. Anyone that hijacks your phone will be able to make Siri talk WITH your voice. Should make for some interesting crimes.
Your Siri learns your voice and learns to understand you. The schematics of your individual voice is mapped.
So now in this privacy-free world- facebook can pick your face out of a crowd and identify you and Apple can hear your voice and identify you. Not long ago there was stories about software that can identify you by your walk.
Scary- there is no anonymosity anymore...... except on slashdot- and I have ways of finding out who Anonymous Coward really is.
I like fuzzy folder structures where I can tag, or label files and find them in any tag/label.
Like one does with g-mail or photo managing software. If I have schematics for the pentagon- I want to be able to tag those files as "Pentagon" and "Schematics" and "Operation Zesty Lemon". No matter which tag I look under I can retrieve my files easily.
That may be the case for that, and other individuals- but I have read articles where they have run tests in various scenarios on this subject: giving one group a placebo- one group nothing- and a third group sugar and noting that no overall difference in activity levels.
There could have been a medical condition for the admin assistant- or it could have been an emotional thing- she was excited when eating the sugar- and got depressed when she no longer had it to look forwards to.
I'm not sure if it is purely an American social phenomenon linking sugar to hyperactivity- I've only ever heard Americans talking about "Sugar Highs"- certainly never heard the expression when growing up until moving to the US- and our bodies should handle our sugar levels... but there could also be a level of self-fullfilling prophecy here. If you expect to get a sugar high- you exhibit the symptoms of one; like experiments where people are served non-alcoholic beverages and told they have alcohol in them- they will show symptoms of having consumed alcohol.
Bubba comes in many shapes and sizes (mostly rotund). Bubba likes to shoot and shiny objects that Uncle Sam sets up alongside the road.
Bubba works for the good of mankind by filling full of holes things like street signs, street lights, and traffic cameras.
A speed limit sign, or deer-crossing sign you can just about still use even when it is full of holes. Speed cameras are pretty much useless after the first shot.
People don't get more hyper-active after eating sugar- or if they do, it is not because of the sugar per-se than the stimulating environment that often surrounds times we eat sugar. Kids at b'day party get hyper because it is a b'day party- not because they ate cake.
Most people (kids included) who don't have insulin-related problems don't undergo any kind of wild mood swings due to eating sugary foods.
In pseudo-democratic Russia it is a complex situation. On the surface it appears that you fail at these jokes- however, under the thin veneer of democracy it appears the jokes may still fail you.
I'm just willing to accept scientific evidence rather than dismiss it because it is politically inconvenient.
"The earth is warming- and evidence points towards man likely being responsible"
- that is not a political statement- that is a scientific observation.
A political statement would be:
"Pass legislation to prevent CO2 emissions" or "Do nothing to correct global warming because it would cost more to fix than to adapt to"
There is a difference. You don't have to be a lefty or a communist to accept man is likely responsible for global warming.
How you act on it is the political response.
Unfortunately "do nothing" can come across as sounding callous- so rather than sound callous people bury their heads in the sand and pretend it isn't happening- or try to convince themselves it isn't.
I'm holding my breath for a manufacturer to ship a phone with ubuntu on it.
[gasping] OK... now I'm not.
Interesting- but for the near future at least, I can't see phone manufacturers shipping phones with Ubuntu on them- If you want Ubuntu on your phone you'll need to remove an existing operating system.
How many people will actually remove iOS or Android to get Ubuntu?
Actually, as with all major changes- it's not the rich that will suffer the most- it is the "poor"- those that are financially weak and less able to change.
The worst hit will be- those in Africa for whom weather patterns in a warming world will result in less rain.
Those in Bangledesh where over 50% of the farmland will be ununsable.
Those in regions that can not afford to handle the spread of tropical diseases. The poor local farmer worldwide who can't adapt his infrastructure for change and for new crops that will/won't grow.
The rich investor can easily trade money from industry that collapses due to climate change to industry that booms because of climate change.
The rich investor can afford to buy a house out of a new-flood zone.
I don't think those of us in the US will see as much lifestyle change from global warming than some of those elsewhere.
The +1/-1 should not be about "I agree" or "I disagree".
I would agree he deserves a +1 for pointing out it should be peer reviewed, etc. I probably disagree with him about whether warming is happening or not as I suspect he doubts it- but it is not about whether he is right or wrong- it's whether he contributes to the conversation- which he does.
Whereas I agree that this should be peer reviewed for accuracy- the same findings have been found over and over again.
The whole thing of interest here is that an industry with a vested interes in disproving global warming.
They hired the few respected/semi respected names they could find that disbelieved in global warming.
The fact that one would run away from the facts when they found what they've been denying for years (despite all the existing evidence) is of no surprise.
These are people that have denied global warming despite all the major evidence we've found over the years. People who probably let religion rather than science decide what they want to believe.
Slashdot Mirror
There is commercial benefit to being able to take someones voice. I can see an app that turns Siri's voice into James Earl Jones, your wife's voice, or "pick your favourite celebrity" for $x a month... Actually probably not your wife's voice- no man wants to hear that more than he can get away with... but the chick that guy is stalking... probably.
They're over half way there with this thing- it's only a matter of time before they can synthesize your voice- once the metrics are out there- even if apple don't get access to your voice- hackers eventually will.
Get ready in a years time when your buddies hack your voice to call your wife to say- "Sorry Hon, gonna be home late tonight- I'm boinking a sheep in McGruber's field."
Are they fracking anywhere near the nuclear power plant? If not- I wouldn't worry. If they are- there may be cause to not frack near sensitive sites- even though any quakes likely to be caused are expected to be extremely minor and not even noticable by mankind (except by hyper-sensitive equipment designed to detect them).
Groundwater is usually not affected- and there are non-toxic technologies available that we should concentrate on.
Geothermal's great. I'm all for geothermal energy. Realistically though- private entities are going to go where the profits are- and that is in fossils NOT renewables yet. Until we get our renewable situation sorted out- we shouldn't be cutting off the natural gas.
It is not clean- but it is much cleaner than the alternatives. We use more coal than anything else- and coal is about as bad as you can get.
Kindle can borrow from the library too (now).
The difference with this new plan and borrowing from the library is that this skips the library. Kindle lets you borrow direct from Amazon now for free... well kinda for free- you only get one a month and you have to be paying $80 a year for Amazon Prime. Libraries buy copies with your tax money. Amazon is a private company.
I don't see why the publishers should complain if Amazon buys "x" number of licenses to rent out the books. Publisher gets paid the same if Amazon loans the book that they paid for- or if the Library does.
The main thing is probably that the publishers don't like anything that makes e-books more viable to more people. There is a lower startup cost to becoming an e-book publisher than a paper book publisher.
If the physical book dies- publishers essentially face stiffer competition. Anyone can publish e-books.
Let's point out that the earthquakes were so small they can not be felt by man, are barely detectable, and these size quakes happen all the time naturally too.
As for groundwater pollution- this has happened, albeit doesn't usually- and there are non-toxic equivalents to the toxic chemicals that are *sometimes* used. Fracking need not use toxic chemical.
Natural Gas, whereas it is no "solar" or "wind farm", is overall much cleaner than oil or coal. (or at least can be if they regulate the chemicals used when fracking).
Anything which gets us away from coal (which is extremely destructive and polluting) is a good thing. Yes, we want renewables- but natural gas works today and is cost effective today. Trying to stop people collecting natural gas is not doing the environment any favours- because people will turn from gas to coal, which is much worse.
You get one free book rental a month with no due date if you're a member of prime.
If you read a lot and really quickly that probably won't be enough... if you're like me where you don't always have the time- this is about right and I'll read free classics in between.
eBooks are not cheap- they're bloody expensive for what they are. I got a kindle thinking it would save money- but the average new ebook is more expensive than the average paperback.
Lucky for me I like classics and older books just fine- most of which are free- if not from Kindle then from Gutenberg... Occassionally Kindle has special deals- 99cent books etc which include one or two newer books.
This won't be all books available for check-out, but apparantly will number in the thousands and include some new releases.
This might actually push me to Amazon prime- I've already considered it due to movies/tv shows and increased shipping. A book a month (if consider they're about $10 to $15 a pop if you buy the newer ebooks) makes prime even more usefull.
You can read on apple's own website that Siri learns your voice and gets better at understanding your voice/dialect/inflections with repeated use. It stands that if it learns your voice- it stores the schematics and qualities of your voice. It has to.
If they can do that- the rest is just an easy natural extension.
No more scary than the fact that Siri learns the schematics of YOUR voice- and so now Apple has your vocal qualities on file.
You talk- Apple will soon be able to identify you. Yet another source of anonymity eroded.
Don't believe it? 5 years ago who'd have thought Facebook would have facial recognition? Apple HAS to store this data to learn your voice so your Siri will understand you- they will map your voice if they can.
Soon- Siri will be able to speak WITH your voice. Anyone that hijacks your phone will be able to make Siri talk WITH your voice. Should make for some interesting crimes.
Not just that- they voice profile you.
Your Siri learns your voice and learns to understand you. The schematics of your individual voice is mapped.
So now in this privacy-free world- facebook can pick your face out of a crowd and identify you and Apple can hear your voice and identify you. Not long ago there was stories about software that can identify you by your walk.
Scary- there is no anonymosity anymore... ... except on slashdot- and I have ways of finding out who Anonymous Coward really is.
I like fuzzy folder structures where I can tag, or label files and find them in any tag/label.
Like one does with g-mail or photo managing software. If I have schematics for the pentagon- I want to be able to tag those files as "Pentagon" and "Schematics" and "Operation Zesty Lemon". No matter which tag I look under I can retrieve my files easily.
That may be the case for that, and other individuals- but I have read articles where they have run tests in various scenarios on this subject: giving one group a placebo- one group nothing- and a third group sugar and noting that no overall difference in activity levels.
There could have been a medical condition for the admin assistant- or it could have been an emotional thing- she was excited when eating the sugar- and got depressed when she no longer had it to look forwards to.
I'm not sure if it is purely an American social phenomenon linking sugar to hyperactivity- I've only ever heard Americans talking about "Sugar Highs"- certainly never heard the expression when growing up until moving to the US- and our bodies should handle our sugar levels... but there could also be a level of self-fullfilling prophecy here. If you expect to get a sugar high- you exhibit the symptoms of one; like experiments where people are served non-alcoholic beverages and told they have alcohol in them- they will show symptoms of having consumed alcohol.
Yeah a robot called "PET MAN" that kneels and has no head.
This robot must have been designed by a woman.
A military robot that can kneel?
Our military robots should kneel to no man (or bot). If it is going to kneel- can it least learn how to bake eclaires too?
Then you should always practice safe driving and consult with your doctor before taking a passenger.
That's interesting- I didn't know that. I really did figure we didn't have detection devices like that because they'd get shot.
Fortunately South Carolina has Bubba.
Bubba comes in many shapes and sizes (mostly rotund). Bubba likes to shoot and shiny objects that Uncle Sam sets up alongside the road.
Bubba works for the good of mankind by filling full of holes things like street signs, street lights, and traffic cameras.
A speed limit sign, or deer-crossing sign you can just about still use even when it is full of holes. Speed cameras are pretty much useless after the first shot.
Actually getting "hopped up on sugar" is a myth.
People don't get more hyper-active after eating sugar- or if they do, it is not because of the sugar per-se than the stimulating environment that often surrounds times we eat sugar. Kids at b'day party get hyper because it is a b'day party- not because they ate cake.
Most people (kids included) who don't have insulin-related problems don't undergo any kind of wild mood swings due to eating sugary foods.
Interesting- the list of recently listened to artists could just as easily be a list of artists I recently listened to.
Does that make me part nerd? Is that the correct label I should now apply to myself?
In pseudo-democratic Russia it is a complex situation. On the surface it appears that you fail at these jokes- however, under the thin veneer of democracy it appears the jokes may still fail you.
Based on that knowledge- it is my scientific opinion then that the progress rockets are not safe for man.
So many comments bashing China for improvising designs based on Western products.
Perhaps rather that criticising China for "stealing" our technology we should take a look at our OWN patent system.
Y'know, the phrase about standing on the shoulders of giants... not the one about them thinking you have stinky blood and eating you- the other one.
All todays technology is built on technology discovered by someone else. We need more companies in this country "stealing" from each other.
I consider my political beliefs to be right wing.
I'm just willing to accept scientific evidence rather than dismiss it because it is politically inconvenient.
"The earth is warming- and evidence points towards man likely being responsible"
- that is not a political statement- that is a scientific observation.
A political statement would be:
"Pass legislation to prevent CO2 emissions" or "Do nothing to correct global warming because it would cost more to fix than to adapt to"
There is a difference. You don't have to be a lefty or a communist to accept man is likely responsible for global warming.
How you act on it is the political response.
Unfortunately "do nothing" can come across as sounding callous- so rather than sound callous people bury their heads in the sand and pretend it isn't happening- or try to convince themselves it isn't.
I'm holding my breath for a manufacturer to ship a phone with ubuntu on it.
[gasping] OK... now I'm not.
Interesting- but for the near future at least, I can't see phone manufacturers shipping phones with Ubuntu on them- If you want Ubuntu on your phone you'll need to remove an existing operating system.
How many people will actually remove iOS or Android to get Ubuntu?
Can you dual boot a phone?
Actually, as with all major changes- it's not the rich that will suffer the most- it is the "poor"- those that are financially weak and less able to change.
The worst hit will be- those in Africa for whom weather patterns in a warming world will result in less rain.
Those in Bangledesh where over 50% of the farmland will be ununsable.
Those in regions that can not afford to handle the spread of tropical diseases. The poor local farmer worldwide who can't adapt his infrastructure for change and for new crops that will/won't grow.
The rich investor can easily trade money from industry that collapses due to climate change to industry that booms because of climate change.
The rich investor can afford to buy a house out of a new-flood zone.
I don't think those of us in the US will see as much lifestyle change from global warming than some of those elsewhere.
The +1/-1 should not be about "I agree" or "I disagree".
I would agree he deserves a +1 for pointing out it should be peer reviewed, etc. I probably disagree with him about whether warming is happening or not as I suspect he doubts it- but it is not about whether he is right or wrong- it's whether he contributes to the conversation- which he does.
Whereas I agree that this should be peer reviewed for accuracy- the same findings have been found over and over again.
The whole thing of interest here is that an industry with a vested interes in disproving global warming.
They hired the few respected/semi respected names they could find that disbelieved in global warming.
The fact that one would run away from the facts when they found what they've been denying for years (despite all the existing evidence) is of no surprise.
These are people that have denied global warming despite all the major evidence we've found over the years. People who probably let religion rather than science decide what they want to believe.