OK, so we just frame the whistle blower as the prosecution. Snowden is trying to prosecute little old NSA and certainly doesn't have the proof to back it up, because they burned it all. Or just labeled it all "Top Secret" so that it can't be shown in court.
And once that falls flat, the NSA can charge snowden with Slander, Libel, corporate fraud or whatever else they can think up. His claims were baseless, obviously, as the NSA got off scott free. And all this time he spent trying to prove it has wasted government resources. Throw the book at him.
Well, it would depend on the method by which humans are "printed," I suppose.
If the printer just has a list of all the chromosomes and all the viable possibilities, and just rolls the dice (kinda like real life) then yes, I suppose you could just print print print all your people. But I was working under the assumption that either the printing material would be somewhat limited and/or you'd have people pre-programmed into the printer as the only ones it knows how to print.
Who knows what this hypothetical printer will actually be capable of, but I'm guessing we'll still have to use our own built-in factories for turning gametes into zygotes
Aside from the engineering side of things though, there's the social aspect. We humans have very strong mental ties toward protecting our offspring. Having offspring to protect might help us overcome whatever obstacles we encounter while trying to settle this strange alien world
I thought that was the basic concept. Spend 500 years traveling, and when you arrive, print out a bunch of 20-30 year old scientists, engineers, mechanics, etc. to start building the colony. Once you've printed a large enough group to be viable, they can make more the old fashioned way.
... the question should be "Why would Ubi want you to?"
Yes, we consumers have choice. But the companies should be trying to woo customers into using their service. I seriously doubt it was Ubi's intent to make a storefront that was actively user-hostile. The fact that people are choosing to use a non-ubi storefront to buy an Ubi game that's going to require the Uplay anyway (for DRM purposes) should be a good indication that UPlay is junk.
Which, as I mentioned earlier, is the actual problem. UPlay is junk and we're forced into it.
I admitted it my post because it's true. Computers are stronger in some areas, humans are stronger in others. My point is simply that the vast majority of day-to-day driving falls into the areas where computers are stronger. And the more computer-driven cars that join in, the more heavily computers are favored. And your possible problem of ducks and unbuckled children is actually a problem of HUMAN error, not computer. Put a seatbelt on the kid (as is required by law) and the issue is resolved.
As for liability, Google has already proposed exactly what you suggested. And all the current test vehicles are this way. Google is fully liable for any incident caused by their tech. The problem is all the other car companies. Ford, Chevy, etc don't want to take on that risk. Even if they're not making automated cars yet, they're desperately trying to prevent the car company from being liable in case they ever do. And those big car companies have purchased a lot of congress-critters, so there's a LOT of push back.
One key fact that TFS seems to miss is the concept of choice
X-Men comics are used to explore rasism, homophobia and other such biases partly because mutant powers aren't a choice. In the books, people are just born different, and it's all about learning to accept that as a culture.
The other key difference is inherent harm. Having super senses, the ability to fly, read minds, etc... these do not actively cause harm without intent. Sure, some powers allow for a LOT of damage to be done, if the intent is there, but very few powers (there are a few) can hurt people around you, simply by existing.
By contrast to both of those, getting vaccinated (or not getting vaccinated) is an active choice you make, for yourself and your children. You aren't just born vax or non-vax. You decide. And if you decide to go without (for yourself or your kids) you cause harm everyone around yourselves. Your very presence is dangerous whether you mean to or not.
A self driving car can simultaneously look in every direction around the car and never have to blink. If an object is detected and the car needs to stop, it takes a person time to physically lift their foot from one pedal and press the other(s). Not much time, sure, but in a sudden stop scenario, every little bit helps.
Humans have much better non-linear thinking. We can navigate dirt roads, or unmapped territory. But for day to day commuting on established roads, automation is the way to go. Computers never get sleepy, they don't get distracted and they can be programmed to obey speed limits. Google's test vehicle is already well above the safety record of an average driver, with nearly half a million miles, safe and sound.
He didn't think to try Steam? Or Origin? Or Amazon.com? Or, heck, picking up a DVD from GameStop or Best Buy? This is a big release. It's not exactly hard to find.
Isn't that kinda the problem? He's trying to by an ubisoft game through ubisoft's digital distribution method, and it's (apparently) not exactly user friendly.
And maybe the guy is just an idiot, which is certainly plausible. But think about all the sales Ubi is missing out on by excluding idiots from their storefront.
To be fair, UPlay is a right pain in the ass, even when it works properly. Even worse, it's automatically baked into every Ubi product these days, even games purchased on Steam or as a physical box require a network connection, creating an account (which requires registering an email), downloading and installing the UPlay java apple, etc. That's right Steam users: Dual DRM.
I could maybe get behind UPlay as a digital distribution method that also acts as a DRM for products purchased through its own channels. But trying to force its way in as nothing but DRM on the physical box/disk I went and purchased at the store. Fuck right off.
Depends on what the teachers are trying to teach. I can see computers having a huge impact on rote memorization. Learning the dates when of WW2, or learning your multiplication tables are somewhat less impactful in the days of smart phones. I not only have a calculator handy at all times, but access to google, Wikipedia and the entire Internet.
However I don't really see this as a bad thing. Going forward, computers are only going to get smaller, faster, easier to access and more ubiquitous. Having students memorize facts will be a much less important skill than having students learn to gather data.
Beyond that, we will be able to spend more time analyzing data, instead of just memorizing the facts. Of course, this will probably upset teachers though, particularly lazy ones. It's a lot easier to grade homework that consists of a couple dozen math problems, or fact checks. Much harder will be grading a child's actual understanding of a subject matter and ability to convey information.
The commercials were supposed to be the revenue generator, so that you could watch all the basic cable channels free of charge.
How's that workin out? Companies figured that they could double-dip, so they did. You think appliances will be any different?
If anything, the current price for a non-advert fridge will be the default price for the new shiny Ad-Enabled appliance, and you'll have to pay a 50% premium on top of that to disable ads. Actually, scratch that, it'll be a monthly fee to keep the ads away. Why get paid once, when you can get paid forever!
The story, imo, is simply "Computer based crime committed, appropriate punishment served."
That there wasn't some major freakout is newsworthy in an of itself. An "IT Pro" was tried, convicted and sentenced without (to the best of my knowledge) over bearing law enforcement trampling all over his rights or leaning on him so hard that he follows Aaron Schwartz is somewhat remarkable.
Because the Roku isn't physically embedded with the television.
If Roku suddenly tries to pull a fast one later on, I can simply unplug it any use a different device. Most gaming consoles, BluRay players, or HTPCs can easily play all the same features as a Roku.
In case the point was missed, Weev is a well renowned troll.
We have every reason to believe that the whole tirade was a setup to get people on that emotional roller coaster of "YEAH, he's right, the government is totally... wait, what?? Who?"
Teenage protagonists wouldn't be all that bad, honestly. Mark Hammil and Carrie Fisher were only in their early 20s when A New Hope released, and that panned out alright. Just make sure to get good actors, instead of Teen Heart-throb of the Month
It's certainly be a lot better than trying to have the original 3 actors just trying to rehash their original roles, to appease the old fanbase. Don't get me wrong, they're all great actors, but I can just see the new film trying to shoe-horn 75 year old Harrison Ford back into the same Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder that he was 40 years ago. And he's simply not that character anymore. Harrison has grown and changed over the last 40 years. Han would have too.
Also, if you look back on the original 3.. sure, they were considered SciFi, but the Sci part only existed to serve the story. They never stopped to explain the actual science behind ANYTHING. How do light sabers work? No one cares, they're laser swords. Why did that guy just vanish when he died? And how is the dead guy talking? Because he's awesome. Shut up and watch the movie. How does The Force work? Midocl-NO... no one cares, they're space wizards, just go with it. And we did, and it was awesome. The Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12-parsecs... that made ZERO sense and NO ONE CARED. That some fans wanked out some way for it to sort of make sense didn't help the story at all.
You want to save Episode VII? Here's how: Have Luke, Leia and Han present, but only enough to help introduce the new characters (be they teens, 20s, or whatever) and then move on. They can hang out in the background, but should not be the main focus past the first third of the movie. Better yet, kill one of them. Have Luke go out Obi-wan style (that is, an active choice of self sacrifice) to save the new hero kid. Oh don't worry, Mark Hammil can float around as a Force Ghost if we need. But let his death inform the audience that this is not his story. That story is over. Oh, and if my previous paragraph wasn't a hint, skip the science part. Do what needs to be done for a good story, and if anyone needs an explanation, just say "because fucking space wizards."
Oh and one more thing. No obvious big twist "I am your father" moment. We expect it, we'll be waiting for it. The bigger twist is for it to NOT go for the obvious. If you absolutely MUST have some twist or gut punch, dig deep and make it a good one. Think: 24 season 3. Ending with Keifer just breaking down in the car. Something no one sees coming.
The sad thing is that 1-3 actually has a very compelling story that they're trying to tell. A beautiful deconstruction of Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey," which a lot of people associate strongly (and wrongly) with the original 3 movies
The prequels start out with a very simple "Chosen One" story arc. QuiGon was so completely convinced that Anakin was this ONE of prophecy that he (and later Obi Wan) completely ignored the fact that their Chosen One was a complete head case and spent all his time with someone who couldn't possibly be more obviously evil if they started twirling a Snidely Whiplash moustach.
The whole prequel series is a thesis to why Prophecy or Destiny takes should be handled with copious skepticism. And that ties in perfectly with the original three which actually bucked the prophecy.
Even in Luke's time, the Jedi leadership (Obi and Yoda) is still on the chosen one kick. Only now Luke is the chosen one, and their entire plan is "Teach him strongest kung fu, send him to kill evil Kung fu master." And they're so tunnel-vision locked into this plan that they'd rather just let Luke's friends (and sister) die on cloud city while like finished his training. And they definitely never even considered the plan that ultimately saved the day: redemption. Even if Luke had been strong enough to take Vader in a straight up fight (he wasn't) Palp still would've killed or turned Luke, wiped out the rebels, roll credits.
All sux movies practically scream "Prophecy bad!" and the prequels seem to reinforce this. The only problem is that they were horribly scripted, had terrible pacing, over relied on CGI, used flat out racist characters, and a host of other problems... but I think there was a nugget of a good story buried in there. Somewhere.
Slashdot Mirror
OK, so we just frame the whistle blower as the prosecution. Snowden is trying to prosecute little old NSA and certainly doesn't have the proof to back it up, because they burned it all. Or just labeled it all "Top Secret" so that it can't be shown in court.
And once that falls flat, the NSA can charge snowden with Slander, Libel, corporate fraud or whatever else they can think up. His claims were baseless, obviously, as the NSA got off scott free. And all this time he spent trying to prove it has wasted government resources. Throw the book at him.
That last bit works about the same in the US, except it's along rich/poor lines, instead of smart/stupid.
"People so poor they actually pay taxes"
Those who fall into the not paying taxes end of that spectrum would probably argue that our two quotes are synonymous.
Well, it would depend on the method by which humans are "printed," I suppose.
If the printer just has a list of all the chromosomes and all the viable possibilities, and just rolls the dice (kinda like real life) then yes, I suppose you could just print print print all your people. But I was working under the assumption that either the printing material would be somewhat limited and/or you'd have people pre-programmed into the printer as the only ones it knows how to print.
Who knows what this hypothetical printer will actually be capable of, but I'm guessing we'll still have to use our own built-in factories for turning gametes into zygotes
Aside from the engineering side of things though, there's the social aspect. We humans have very strong mental ties toward protecting our offspring. Having offspring to protect might help us overcome whatever obstacles we encounter while trying to settle this strange alien world
I thought that was the basic concept. Spend 500 years traveling, and when you arrive, print out a bunch of 20-30 year old scientists, engineers, mechanics, etc. to start building the colony. Once you've printed a large enough group to be viable, they can make more the old fashioned way.
... the question should be "Why would Ubi want you to?"
Yes, we consumers have choice. But the companies should be trying to woo customers into using their service. I seriously doubt it was Ubi's intent to make a storefront that was actively user-hostile. The fact that people are choosing to use a non-ubi storefront to buy an Ubi game that's going to require the Uplay anyway (for DRM purposes) should be a good indication that UPlay is junk.
Which, as I mentioned earlier, is the actual problem. UPlay is junk and we're forced into it.
I admitted it my post because it's true. Computers are stronger in some areas, humans are stronger in others. My point is simply that the vast majority of day-to-day driving falls into the areas where computers are stronger. And the more computer-driven cars that join in, the more heavily computers are favored. And your possible problem of ducks and unbuckled children is actually a problem of HUMAN error, not computer. Put a seatbelt on the kid (as is required by law) and the issue is resolved.
As for liability, Google has already proposed exactly what you suggested. And all the current test vehicles are this way. Google is fully liable for any incident caused by their tech. The problem is all the other car companies. Ford, Chevy, etc don't want to take on that risk. Even if they're not making automated cars yet, they're desperately trying to prevent the car company from being liable in case they ever do. And those big car companies have purchased a lot of congress-critters, so there's a LOT of push back.
P.S. Buckle up your freaking kid.
One key fact that TFS seems to miss is the concept of choice
X-Men comics are used to explore rasism, homophobia and other such biases partly because mutant powers aren't a choice. In the books, people are just born different, and it's all about learning to accept that as a culture.
The other key difference is inherent harm. Having super senses, the ability to fly, read minds, etc ... these do not actively cause harm without intent. Sure, some powers allow for a LOT of damage to be done, if the intent is there, but very few powers (there are a few) can hurt people around you, simply by existing.
By contrast to both of those, getting vaccinated (or not getting vaccinated) is an active choice you make, for yourself and your children. You aren't just born vax or non-vax. You decide. And if you decide to go without (for yourself or your kids) you cause harm everyone around yourselves. Your very presence is dangerous whether you mean to or not.
It's not about judgement. It's about abilities.
A self driving car can simultaneously look in every direction around the car and never have to blink. If an object is detected and the car needs to stop, it takes a person time to physically lift their foot from one pedal and press the other(s). Not much time, sure, but in a sudden stop scenario, every little bit helps.
Humans have much better non-linear thinking. We can navigate dirt roads, or unmapped territory. But for day to day commuting on established roads, automation is the way to go. Computers never get sleepy, they don't get distracted and they can be programmed to obey speed limits. Google's test vehicle is already well above the safety record of an average driver, with nearly half a million miles, safe and sound.
And that's just the prototype.
Nintendo's fans aren't just the ones making the videos. There are also millions and millions of fans watching
Being supportive of the streaming players helps to get more people interested in Nintendo properties. (or whichever game they're playing)
next-gen consoles.*
I think you're asterisk should have been
*for various definitions of "next-gen." Seriously, these things push a worse resolution than my phone.
He didn't think to try Steam? Or Origin? Or Amazon.com? Or, heck, picking up a DVD from GameStop or Best Buy? This is a big release. It's not exactly hard to find.
Isn't that kinda the problem? He's trying to by an ubisoft game through ubisoft's digital distribution method, and it's (apparently) not exactly user friendly.
And maybe the guy is just an idiot, which is certainly plausible. But think about all the sales Ubi is missing out on by excluding idiots from their storefront.
To be fair, UPlay is a right pain in the ass, even when it works properly. Even worse, it's automatically baked into every Ubi product these days, even games purchased on Steam or as a physical box require a network connection, creating an account (which requires registering an email), downloading and installing the UPlay java apple, etc. That's right Steam users: Dual DRM.
I could maybe get behind UPlay as a digital distribution method that also acts as a DRM for products purchased through its own channels. But trying to force its way in as nothing but DRM on the physical box/disk I went and purchased at the store. Fuck right off.
Depends on what the teachers are trying to teach. I can see computers having a huge impact on rote memorization. Learning the dates when of WW2, or learning your multiplication tables are somewhat less impactful in the days of smart phones. I not only have a calculator handy at all times, but access to google, Wikipedia and the entire Internet.
However I don't really see this as a bad thing. Going forward, computers are only going to get smaller, faster, easier to access and more ubiquitous. Having students memorize facts will be a much less important skill than having students learn to gather data.
Beyond that, we will be able to spend more time analyzing data, instead of just memorizing the facts. Of course, this will probably upset teachers though, particularly lazy ones. It's a lot easier to grade homework that consists of a couple dozen math problems, or fact checks. Much harder will be grading a child's actual understanding of a subject matter and ability to convey information.
Is there any reason for reverse compatibility at the moment?
Are there Steam games for Mac that don't have a Windows version?
We tried that once already, with Cable TV.
The commercials were supposed to be the revenue generator, so that you could watch all the basic cable channels free of charge.
How's that workin out? Companies figured that they could double-dip, so they did. You think appliances will be any different?
If anything, the current price for a non-advert fridge will be the default price for the new shiny Ad-Enabled appliance, and you'll have to pay a 50% premium on top of that to disable ads. Actually, scratch that, it'll be a monthly fee to keep the ads away. Why get paid once, when you can get paid forever!
Or chicken.
The story, imo, is simply "Computer based crime committed, appropriate punishment served."
That there wasn't some major freakout is newsworthy in an of itself. An "IT Pro" was tried, convicted and sentenced without (to the best of my knowledge) over bearing law enforcement trampling all over his rights or leaning on him so hard that he follows Aaron Schwartz is somewhat remarkable.
It shouldn't be, but it is.
And the next question is something like "Anyone got a $5 wrench?"
Because the Roku isn't physically embedded with the television.
If Roku suddenly tries to pull a fast one later on, I can simply unplug it any use a different device. Most gaming consoles, BluRay players, or HTPCs can easily play all the same features as a Roku.
In case the point was missed, Weev is a well renowned troll.
We have every reason to believe that the whole tirade was a setup to get people on that emotional roller coaster of "YEAH, he's right, the government is totally... wait, what?? Who?"
For the lulz
As a 26 year old, I choose to believe that 26 is still "early 20s"
Teenage protagonists wouldn't be all that bad, honestly. Mark Hammil and Carrie Fisher were only in their early 20s when A New Hope released, and that panned out alright. Just make sure to get good actors, instead of Teen Heart-throb of the Month
It's certainly be a lot better than trying to have the original 3 actors just trying to rehash their original roles, to appease the old fanbase. Don't get me wrong, they're all great actors, but I can just see the new film trying to shoe-horn 75 year old Harrison Ford back into the same Scruffy Looking Nerf Herder that he was 40 years ago. And he's simply not that character anymore. Harrison has grown and changed over the last 40 years. Han would have too.
Also, if you look back on the original 3.. sure, they were considered SciFi, but the Sci part only existed to serve the story. They never stopped to explain the actual science behind ANYTHING. How do light sabers work? No one cares, they're laser swords. Why did that guy just vanish when he died? And how is the dead guy talking? Because he's awesome. Shut up and watch the movie. How does The Force work? Midocl-NO ... no one cares, they're space wizards, just go with it. And we did, and it was awesome. The Falcon made the Kessel Run in less than 12-parsecs ... that made ZERO sense and NO ONE CARED. That some fans wanked out some way for it to sort of make sense didn't help the story at all.
You want to save Episode VII? Here's how: Have Luke, Leia and Han present, but only enough to help introduce the new characters (be they teens, 20s, or whatever) and then move on. They can hang out in the background, but should not be the main focus past the first third of the movie. Better yet, kill one of them. Have Luke go out Obi-wan style (that is, an active choice of self sacrifice) to save the new hero kid. Oh don't worry, Mark Hammil can float around as a Force Ghost if we need. But let his death inform the audience that this is not his story. That story is over. Oh, and if my previous paragraph wasn't a hint, skip the science part. Do what needs to be done for a good story, and if anyone needs an explanation, just say "because fucking space wizards."
Oh and one more thing. No obvious big twist "I am your father" moment. We expect it, we'll be waiting for it. The bigger twist is for it to NOT go for the obvious. If you absolutely MUST have some twist or gut punch, dig deep and make it a good one. Think: 24 season 3. Ending with Keifer just breaking down in the car. Something no one sees coming.
Well yeah. And I'm looking forward to a lower price for my 24" computer monitor (1920x1200) than my 55" TV(1080)
fine by me But lets be honest. This is obviously a rough draft proposal, guessing at how things might pan out. Time will tell.
Yes, but imagine the outrage the first time a Velicoraptor eats a small child.
The sad thing is that 1-3 actually has a very compelling story that they're trying to tell. A beautiful deconstruction of Joseph Campbell's "Hero's Journey," which a lot of people associate strongly (and wrongly) with the original 3 movies
The prequels start out with a very simple "Chosen One" story arc. QuiGon was so completely convinced that Anakin was this ONE of prophecy that he (and later Obi Wan) completely ignored the fact that their Chosen One was a complete head case and spent all his time with someone who couldn't possibly be more obviously evil if they started twirling a Snidely Whiplash moustach.
The whole prequel series is a thesis to why Prophecy or Destiny takes should be handled with copious skepticism. And that ties in perfectly with the original three which actually bucked the prophecy.
Even in Luke's time, the Jedi leadership (Obi and Yoda) is still on the chosen one kick. Only now Luke is the chosen one, and their entire plan is "Teach him strongest kung fu, send him to kill evil Kung fu master." And they're so tunnel-vision locked into this plan that they'd rather just let Luke's friends (and sister) die on cloud city while like finished his training. And they definitely never even considered the plan that ultimately saved the day: redemption. Even if Luke had been strong enough to take Vader in a straight up fight (he wasn't) Palp still would've killed or turned Luke, wiped out the rebels, roll credits.
All sux movies practically scream "Prophecy bad!" and the prequels seem to reinforce this. The only problem is that they were horribly scripted, had terrible pacing, over relied on CGI, used flat out racist characters, and a host of other problems ... but I think there was a nugget of a good story buried in there. Somewhere.