I know, that friggin asteroid is huge! That's exactly what I was thinking when I looked at that thing. That thing would be a planet killer for sure. If something that big hit the earth with any velocity, it would immediately destroy the atmosphere.
The earth's diameter is around 7600 miles, and even a conservative estimate of the size of that asteroid would put it at no smaller than 10% of that, or 760 miles (or 1225 km) across.
Just for the hell of it, I went to http://janus.astro.umd.edu/astro/impact.html and threw in such a beast travelling at 20km/s, and the resultant impact is calculated at 109476 billion megatons.
Marvin the Martian's Conclusion: Oh dear! It looks like all Earth's oceans are boiling! Earth will have a steam atmosphere for thousands of years!
My Conclusion: They really need a new drawing to stop freaking people out.:)
Incidentally, go run the figures at the site above and look at the picture that goes with the results. Look familiar?
I wonder if there will be characters that go back in time to try to get information about the virus, so they know how to stop it in the future, and get back on top, in charge of the planet. Terry Gilliam would be so proud.
I apologize for the flamebait here - I love the idea of people whizzing around on the sidewalk at 13mph, but how hard is it to walk down to the bus station/ATM/bar?
If this is flamebait, I guess you can count me in as flamebait too, because I completely agree. I know, there have been these glass-is-half-full folks who have said that it's better than people jumping in their car to go short distances, and I suppose I can understand the lesser-of-the-two-evils argument. I also agree that there could be some specific industrial and other work-related uses for these that would make them practical.
But let's face it, what's really going to happen with these things? They're going to be used by millions of fat, lazy Americans who are unwilling to get even the most basic, minimal amount of exercise that they can, in favor of having a device that can do all the work for them. Meanwhile, people who actually do want to walk will be further hindered by inconsiderate "drivers" (oh you know they'll be out there in droves), taking up what space is left with their ridiculous techno-driving-gadgets.
The geek factor is one thing, but if these things become ubiquitous, they're not going to make the world a better place by my standards.
When you are in an emergency, I'm sure the last thing you want to do is to forget to turn on the GPS...
I think this kind of hits the nail on the head, at least as far as the purpose of tracking you in an emergency (or anytime for that matter) goes. I don't think that's a feature I'd ever want...I mean, yeah, it might be nice in an emergency, but I would certainly be willing to live without it and describe my location in an emergency instead of the alternative. I just don't want anyone to be able to track me by my phone, and as such would only want to turn on a GPS feature periodically, for my own benefit.
I guess, in general, I like some of the possibilities that a GPS-enabled phone can present; but I'm pretty damn wary of the drawbacks, and it will probably be a long while before I'll buy into something like that, if ever.
Come on! Look, I'll be the first to admit that Microsoft could do a better job with many aspects of the securing of their operating systems (like other people have mentioned, things like not turning on every last service under the sun by default, that kind of thing).
But as for your argument, windowsupdate.microsoft.com is about the easiest method I've come across for any operating system to keep your system up to date. I do hold the end user responsible for that reason, because in the age of the internet and high-speed home connections, as a user, you have an elevated responsibility over days past to keep your systems secure. It's simply a fact of life.
Every OS has holes. Linux, BSD, Solaris, Win[92XM]*, they all have 'em. Very few operating systems are designed and implemented with security as a top priority. In addition, MS OSes enjoy the massive user base and visibility, not to mention the low entry-level of computer knowledge, of no other OS, which means they're going to be more vulnerable, to some extent.
But it's definitely not rocket science to keep your MS OS patched. They make it really easy. Could they be more visible about it? Perhaps. Could everyone else? Just as arguably, yes. Does anyone else out there have better visibility for security issues/updates for their OS? With very few exceptions, I'd say no.
It's hard to imagine that the next revolution will come at all, and this particular topic exemplifies that fact.
Mass media becomes more and more pervasive with every passing year, to where people cannot even imagine life without it. The massive media machines that wield this power are telling people what to think, what to buy, how to behave. They are slowly but surely gaining control over all information, to disseminate and distort as they see fit, which mostly likely means in whatever way will keep you in line, buying their products and not questioning their ideals. And all the while, they continue to slowly eradicate any rights that you may have as an individual, in case you might one day decide to (gasp) think differently.
But do you honestly think People care? People, as in the millions upon millions of drones whose sole intellectual input comes from mass media, simply do not understand, and never will. They've been told what to think for so long that they do not know how to think for themselves.
If a revolution against this system ever formed, these same people would simply be informed that Nazi Fascist Renegades were trying to take their God Given Right to Television away, and that would be the end of that. There simply aren't enough people in the know to overcome the masses of drones out there, and that ratio is only going to get smaller with time. Buckle up for the Brave New World heading our way.
I'm not sure what you mean when you say that TV deserves to die a horrible death. Television has always been a very promising medium for educating and communicating with the masses.
Instead, the airwaves of television have turned into nothing more than a marketing tool for the corporations that plague them. And given their stranglehold on the broadcast content, we can be assured that nothing (not even the "news") that hits the airwaves is real.
Don't hate TV. Hate the people that control it. Because even if television were to die, those same people will just end up controlling the next mass communications medium that comes along.
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I know, that friggin asteroid is huge! That's exactly what I was thinking when I looked at that thing. That thing would be a planet killer for sure. If something that big hit the earth with any velocity, it would immediately destroy the atmosphere.
:)
The earth's diameter is around 7600 miles, and even a conservative estimate of the size of that asteroid would put it at no smaller than 10% of that, or 760 miles (or 1225 km) across.
Just for the hell of it, I went to http://janus.astro.umd.edu/astro/impact.html and threw in such a beast travelling at 20km/s, and the resultant impact is calculated at 109476 billion megatons.
Marvin the Martian's Conclusion: Oh dear! It looks like all Earth's oceans are boiling! Earth will have a steam atmosphere for thousands of years!
My Conclusion: They really need a new drawing to stop freaking people out.
Incidentally, go run the figures at the site above and look at the picture that goes with the results. Look familiar?
I wonder if there will be characters that go back in time to try to get information about the virus, so they know how to stop it in the future, and get back on top, in charge of the planet. Terry Gilliam would be so proud.
If this is flamebait, I guess you can count me in as flamebait too, because I completely agree. I know, there have been these glass-is-half-full folks who have said that it's better than people jumping in their car to go short distances, and I suppose I can understand the lesser-of-the-two-evils argument. I also agree that there could be some specific industrial and other work-related uses for these that would make them practical.
But let's face it, what's really going to happen with these things? They're going to be used by millions of fat, lazy Americans who are unwilling to get even the most basic, minimal amount of exercise that they can, in favor of having a device that can do all the work for them. Meanwhile, people who actually do want to walk will be further hindered by inconsiderate "drivers" (oh you know they'll be out there in droves), taking up what space is left with their ridiculous techno-driving-gadgets.
The geek factor is one thing, but if these things become ubiquitous, they're not going to make the world a better place by my standards.
When you are in an emergency, I'm sure the last thing you want to do is to forget to turn on the GPS...
I think this kind of hits the nail on the head, at least as far as the purpose of tracking you in an emergency (or anytime for that matter) goes. I don't think that's a feature I'd ever want...I mean, yeah, it might be nice in an emergency, but I would certainly be willing to live without it and describe my location in an emergency instead of the alternative. I just don't want anyone to be able to track me by my phone, and as such would only want to turn on a GPS feature periodically, for my own benefit.
I guess, in general, I like some of the possibilities that a GPS-enabled phone can present; but I'm pretty damn wary of the drawbacks, and it will probably be a long while before I'll buy into something like that, if ever.
But as for your argument, windowsupdate.microsoft.com is about the easiest method I've come across for any operating system to keep your system up to date. I do hold the end user responsible for that reason, because in the age of the internet and high-speed home connections, as a user, you have an elevated responsibility over days past to keep your systems secure. It's simply a fact of life.
Every OS has holes. Linux, BSD, Solaris, Win[92XM]*, they all have 'em. Very few operating systems are designed and implemented with security as a top priority. In addition, MS OSes enjoy the massive user base and visibility, not to mention the low entry-level of computer knowledge, of no other OS, which means they're going to be more vulnerable, to some extent.
But it's definitely not rocket science to keep your MS OS patched. They make it really easy. Could they be more visible about it? Perhaps. Could everyone else? Just as arguably, yes. Does anyone else out there have better visibility for security issues/updates for their OS? With very few exceptions, I'd say no.
Mass media becomes more and more pervasive with every passing year, to where people cannot even imagine life without it. The massive media machines that wield this power are telling people what to think, what to buy, how to behave. They are slowly but surely gaining control over all information, to disseminate and distort as they see fit, which mostly likely means in whatever way will keep you in line, buying their products and not questioning their ideals. And all the while, they continue to slowly eradicate any rights that you may have as an individual, in case you might one day decide to (gasp) think differently.
But do you honestly think People care? People, as in the millions upon millions of drones whose sole intellectual input comes from mass media, simply do not understand, and never will. They've been told what to think for so long that they do not know how to think for themselves.
If a revolution against this system ever formed, these same people would simply be informed that Nazi Fascist Renegades were trying to take their God Given Right to Television away, and that would be the end of that. There simply aren't enough people in the know to overcome the masses of drones out there, and that ratio is only going to get smaller with time. Buckle up for the Brave New World heading our way.
Instead, the airwaves of television have turned into nothing more than a marketing tool for the corporations that plague them. And given their stranglehold on the broadcast content, we can be assured that nothing (not even the "news") that hits the airwaves is real.
Don't hate TV. Hate the people that control it. Because even if television were to die, those same people will just end up controlling the next mass communications medium that comes along.