Didn't somebody predict that computers would bring about the "four day work week"? Yeah, that's not happening.
I think we have a compulsive desire to fill our time with something useful and/or creative; actually getting things accomplished and obtaining a sense of meaning in our lives. Or, at least, enough of us do that this will never work.
If we were ever to get to the point where this were technologically feasible, I think there would be an insurmountable social barrier to cross. How would we ever get past the tension and attitude of contempt between those who do and those who benefit during the transition?
Of the things you mentioned, very little of it has made our lives better (arguably, they've made our lives worse)
Chiclet keyboards? Godawful, malformed, unworkable, cheap pieces of shit. My keyboard's not a fashion statement, it's for typing, damn it. They might not be so bad if the layout wasn't a literal clusterfuck.
Tablets? One-way consumption devices that pacify us, make us dumber and spy on us by default. Basically cable TV for the 21st century.
16:9 screens? My laptop used to be something I could comfortably put on my LAP (get it??), now it's this oversized, unwieldy slab that's difficult to balance and requires delicate handling (but, hey no black bars while watching the occasional movie, whoopdie-fuckity-do). Oh, it also used to NOT be a shiny thief magnet (my non-techie brother told me the other day that my $1400 ThinkPad didn't look like a high end machine... and that's a *good* thing)
Smart TVs... have you actually used these things? Badly, lazily, half-ass engineered, restricted crap.
Social networking? Yeah, I want to see every bit of minutia and inanity of everyone I know (and everyone I don't). Bonus, the service provider will creep on you and rat you out to the applicable authorities without hesitation!
Web 3.0? What the fuck does that even mean? Other than the a semantic minefield of buzzword bullshit, that is. The web is still just servers talking to clients, with some nice bolt-ons like AJAX, CSS3, etc.
Windows 8... do I even need to explain?
You do not have a fear of technological change. Like me, you probably see new things and weigh their worth rationally, taking the time to decide whether it's change for the better or just the next great gimmick.
You ALWAYS challenge a ticket. Even if it's a waste of your time and money, it's also a waste of the court's time and money.
If enough people contest their tickets, they might just create a DDoS on the system that causes it to be more expensive for the system than it's worth.
Which is why I said it would arouse suspicion and a cop with a bent (which is a lot of them these days) is going to be an ass for you daring to question his authoritay.
I could be wrong, but I think it already has. I've tried accessing certain sites with a US proxy and they'll consistently time out. Switch off the proxy and they'll magically work.
Maybe were you live. Some places are so severely restrictive that even such a simple request will arouse suspicion.
In fact, where I live, it's actually a *criminal offense* to refuse an officer's demand for a chemical sobriety test (breathalyzer or blood test). Yes, they can legally compel you, even if they know they're full of shit. Simply saying "no" will get you in cuffs and in jail. We have check stops here too, usually during holidays when it's common to go out for drinks, where they stop *everyone* going through a certain point.
And nobody dared protesting it when the a law was changed in this way because, well, that would be supporting drunk driving, of course!
No, the government, as usual, took one or two rare freak examples as an excuse to cash more of our rights in for more bad laws. Bad examples make for bad policy.
This is like medieval animal trials and nearly as ridiculous.
Algorithms are not sentient beings, nor are they created with malicious or slanderous intent. They are, perhaps, imperfect, but you'd have to be a complete moron to legislate or judicially mandate perfection (oh, wait...)
If history is any indication, I shudder at the thought that it could be centuries before have even remotely sane tech policy.
Obviously not in the US, otherwise she'd have been branded a sex offender and hauled off to prison at some point when a kid happened to glance through her window... oh, wait, lesbian, um, err... the cops would probably be too busy getting their own rocks off... or maybe... er, I can't decide.
You paint him as the bad guy, and legally speaking, I suppose he was. But, c'mon, we have to stop giving these shitbag corporations legitimacy.
Laws of humanity do not and cannot supercede the inviolable laws of nature (because nature, bitch) and it continually astonishes me how so many in industry and legal can jab their fingers in their ears going "la la la I can't hear you!"
You're deluding yourself if you think a backdoor is a good thing.
No, this is overall a bad thing: Apple is able and willing to break the encryption on an iPhone, presumably through a backdoor or brute force.
Then again, we could all be mistakenly conflating "encryption" with "lock screen", which really speaks to the level of (in)competence on the part of law enforcement.
Hmmm, maybe this is a good thing (just not quite in the way you were thinking)
"He's concerned that just about anyone with access to those products can arm themselves by tearing out sharp edges as makeshift knives. 'Terrorists can make these knives and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free, and that is something that is really dangerous... it must be regulated when it comes to making knives. He says background checks, requiring serial numbers and even registering them could be part of new legislation that he says will protect the public. Yee added, 'This particular knife has no trace whatsoever.'"
Look, honorable dumbass, just because it's technological doesn't give you a free pass to enforce your own personal brand of oppression.
Just because it's not (easily) traceable doesn't automatically mean they'll get away with it, it just means that police might have to do some actual detective work rather than having the techno-nanny hold their hand. Shocking, I know.
We cannot expel these xenophobes from office soon enough.
The alternative being a system where open standards should support our freedom rather than bow to a selection of equally oppressive options? No, it's not better than the alternative.
Wow, really? That's still a ripoff (though cheaper overall, pay as you go plans are typically shitty value for money, because they jack up the rates to entice you into contracts).
I have my smartphone on a monthly plan, but no contract. Same price as it would be with a dumbphone on the same plan with a contract.
Slashdot Mirror
Right, because we all know Hollywood is just the epitome of accuracy.
Didn't somebody predict that computers would bring about the "four day work week"? Yeah, that's not happening.
I think we have a compulsive desire to fill our time with something useful and/or creative; actually getting things accomplished and obtaining a sense of meaning in our lives. Or, at least, enough of us do that this will never work.
If we were ever to get to the point where this were technologically feasible, I think there would be an insurmountable social barrier to cross. How would we ever get past the tension and attitude of contempt between those who do and those who benefit during the transition?
Of the things you mentioned, very little of it has made our lives better (arguably, they've made our lives worse)
Chiclet keyboards? Godawful, malformed, unworkable, cheap pieces of shit. My keyboard's not a fashion statement, it's for typing, damn it. They might not be so bad if the layout wasn't a literal clusterfuck.
Tablets? One-way consumption devices that pacify us, make us dumber and spy on us by default. Basically cable TV for the 21st century.
16:9 screens? My laptop used to be something I could comfortably put on my LAP (get it??), now it's this oversized, unwieldy slab that's difficult to balance and requires delicate handling (but, hey no black bars while watching the occasional movie, whoopdie-fuckity-do). Oh, it also used to NOT be a shiny thief magnet (my non-techie brother told me the other day that my $1400 ThinkPad didn't look like a high end machine ... and that's a *good* thing)
Smart TVs ... have you actually used these things? Badly, lazily, half-ass engineered, restricted crap.
Social networking? Yeah, I want to see every bit of minutia and inanity of everyone I know (and everyone I don't). Bonus, the service provider will creep on you and rat you out to the applicable authorities without hesitation!
Web 3.0? What the fuck does that even mean? Other than the a semantic minefield of buzzword bullshit, that is. The web is still just servers talking to clients, with some nice bolt-ons like AJAX, CSS3, etc.
Windows 8 ... do I even need to explain?
You do not have a fear of technological change. Like me, you probably see new things and weigh their worth rationally, taking the time to decide whether it's change for the better or just the next great gimmick.
You ALWAYS challenge a ticket. Even if it's a waste of your time and money, it's also a waste of the court's time and money.
If enough people contest their tickets, they might just create a DDoS on the system that causes it to be more expensive for the system than it's worth.
Downloading Firefox now
... when you're target is corporate or government.
Which is why I said it would arouse suspicion and a cop with a bent (which is a lot of them these days) is going to be an ass for you daring to question his authoritay.
Now they'll have the anti stem cell AND anti cloning nutjobs to deal with.
They're going to build the matrix!
I could be wrong, but I think it already has. I've tried accessing certain sites with a US proxy and they'll consistently time out. Switch off the proxy and they'll magically work.
Maybe were you live. Some places are so severely restrictive that even such a simple request will arouse suspicion.
In fact, where I live, it's actually a *criminal offense* to refuse an officer's demand for a chemical sobriety test (breathalyzer or blood test). Yes, they can legally compel you, even if they know they're full of shit. Simply saying "no" will get you in cuffs and in jail. We have check stops here too, usually during holidays when it's common to go out for drinks, where they stop *everyone* going through a certain point.
And nobody dared protesting it when the a law was changed in this way because, well, that would be supporting drunk driving, of course!
No, the government, as usual, took one or two rare freak examples as an excuse to cash more of our rights in for more bad laws. Bad examples make for bad policy.
This is like medieval animal trials and nearly as ridiculous.
Algorithms are not sentient beings, nor are they created with malicious or slanderous intent. They are, perhaps, imperfect, but you'd have to be a complete moron to legislate or judicially mandate perfection (oh, wait...)
If history is any indication, I shudder at the thought that it could be centuries before have even remotely sane tech policy.
As far as Microsoft has announced, they don't mine your messages for advertising's sake
Right, except that they do.
I was chatting with my boss via Skype about hard drives and after a minute or two, there is a contextual ad about hard drives in the Skype UI.
Not mining for ad purposes, my ass.
You don't have to use those channels of course.
Great, what popular IM and VoIP client that everyone and their grandmother uses do you suggest instead?
Obviously not in the US, otherwise she'd have been branded a sex offender and hauled off to prison at some point when a kid happened to glance through her window... oh, wait, lesbian, um, err... the cops would probably be too busy getting their own rocks off ... or maybe ... er, I can't decide.
Is grass green? Is the sky blue? Does shit stink?
You paint him as the bad guy, and legally speaking, I suppose he was. But, c'mon, we have to stop giving these shitbag corporations legitimacy.
Laws of humanity do not and cannot supercede the inviolable laws of nature (because nature, bitch) and it continually astonishes me how so many in industry and legal can jab their fingers in their ears going "la la la I can't hear you!"
Yeah, it's not like it would be an investment in the future or anything.
to do the stuff you elected them to do
When was the last time *that* happened?
Mostly, they either are doing favors for their corporate cronies, pandering to a vocal minority or cowtowing their own corrupt personal slants.
... three times as long* ...
Derp on me.
You're deluding yourself if you think a backdoor is a good thing.
No, this is overall a bad thing: Apple is able and willing to break the encryption on an iPhone, presumably through a backdoor or brute force.
Then again, we could all be mistakenly conflating "encryption" with "lock screen", which really speaks to the level of (in)competence on the part of law enforcement.
Hmmm, maybe this is a good thing (just not quite in the way you were thinking)
So that users don't have to wait three times as to load every page?
"He's concerned that just about anyone with access to those products can arm themselves by tearing out sharp edges as makeshift knives. 'Terrorists can make these knives and do some horrible things to an individual and then walk away scott-free, and that is something that is really dangerous ... it must be regulated when it comes to making knives. He says background checks, requiring serial numbers and even registering them could be part of new legislation that he says will protect the public. Yee added, 'This particular knife has no trace whatsoever.'"
Look, honorable dumbass, just because it's technological doesn't give you a free pass to enforce your own personal brand of oppression.
Just because it's not (easily) traceable doesn't automatically mean they'll get away with it, it just means that police might have to do some actual detective work rather than having the techno-nanny hold their hand. Shocking, I know.
We cannot expel these xenophobes from office soon enough.
The alternative being a system where open standards should support our freedom rather than bow to a selection of equally oppressive options? No, it's not better than the alternative.
Wow, really? That's still a ripoff (though cheaper overall, pay as you go plans are typically shitty value for money, because they jack up the rates to entice you into contracts). I have my smartphone on a monthly plan, but no contract. Same price as it would be with a dumbphone on the same plan with a contract.