a lot of medical professionals carry this opinion, or a similar one, precisely because they see, every day, what the reality is of old age.
and they dont change their minds;
So, there are a bunch of 75+ year old ex-medical professionals that are ready to die? I somehow find that hard to believe. Those same medical professionals also see, on a regular basis, 80 and 90+ year olds that live quite enjoyable lives. The 'reality of old age' differs for everyone, medical professionals should know that better than anyone.
Science is a tool used by engineers. An important one.
However many things are engineered without science, but with intuition, instead.
Insightful. And math is another tool. Technology being the state of abilities to use those tools together. Clarification of 'engineering' versus 'science' when describing developmental work is a useful distinction that often gets overlooked.
Sometimes the result is a complete loss for the VC, but more often they have a lien and can get some recovery, hold the assets for future use, and even get a tax benefit from the losses. Either way, they themselves have a lot more control along the way and many more pathways to recover investment.
But, smart VCs can impost their own requirements on the project and its management, can monitor all aspects closely and typically can decide to either continue support or cut off funding.
Such production of reporting and auditing of reports has costs and could consume significant amount of project funds.
Really? If they are not already tracking costs then they are not managing the development, its an integral aspect that cannot be separated. Reporting financial activities is not hard nor costly. If you can't keep a set of books, don't ask for money (or at least don't ask for a lot of money).
Sure, lots of people want to 'do something'. But when it comes down to which solution paths to take it all breaks down. Huge sums of money being spent thus far by many countries, but there has pretty much been a zero total sum impact. There are no models that have improved at all. What are people really willing to pay or sacrifice? What risks are they willing to accept? How stuck are they on the 'may be possible' vs the 'proven'? Unfortunately, 99% don't really understand all the elements that real solutions must consider, the technical issues, the local and global socioeconomic issues, the trade-offs that make sense and lead to faster adoption. Its easy to get large masses march, its harder to get them to take the time, learn, and understand.
The political response will be to have the appearance of doing something. Nice visible projects that can be called "green". And many of the marchers will love those politicians, regardless of actual progress that will result in a real impact on a global scale.
That was just 'an example' case, and nobody claimed it as a substitute for walking around the house. If that is the use case you are claiming does not make sense, then I'd say even the parent poster would agree, as do I.
Maybe not everyone has a trustworthy neighbor, or prefer not to inconvenience them or have the in their homes. Bottom line is, some people place more value in these conveniences or features than you do, or even I do. That doesn't make them stupid.
I said it I could see why it would be useful. Certainly how it is implemented would be a key consideration, I never said every implementation would be safe or wise.
There are simple things that can be done to significantly limit the intrusion you described. First thing, you don't need to have it operable all the time. Second, various authentication possibilities are out there. Third, not having an integral alarm.
But most of all, if the product and implementation have security flaws that have been exploited, don't buy them.
Security implications? I've considered the improbability. I think there are much more blatant indicators of not being at home that are much easier for a local person. I don't worry so much about the highly improbable. First they have to find the thermostat, find out who it belongs to and where it is, and somehow access it by obtaining my password or other means. Then they have to determine what constitutes 'being away'. Then they still have no clue as to when I will return. I worry more about the guy who drives through the neighborhood and actually observes my house.
When we start hearing reports of burglaries happening this way, I'll start being more concerned.
I think comparing with something like a TV remote setup isn't really on target. A centralized web based remote update service is a lot easier to maintain than providing software for each user.
For home automation, if it is an over internet remote access type control, an account setup is often needed just for IP address resolution and to simplify the process of device recognition, as the common customer isn't going to mess with setting up a DNS service. If it is only LAN based, then I agree, accounts bite.
Some products are not problem solvers, but rather they are enablers or enhancers. I love my remotely accessible thermostats. I can program the temperature profile from my desktop for each season. If I forget to adjust before heading out on vacation, I can adjust remotely. I can also set back to normal just before arriving home. On abnormally hot days, I can bump it up remotely, etc. For only a bit more than a normal programmable stat, it is well worth it for me. It didn't 'solve a problem' but it sure is nice.
Many other uses I agree, not likely a big benefit to turn lights on/off remotely. I think remote door lock/access control makes sense for some people.
Slashdot Mirror
Yeah, I wondered if that was just his excuse to not exercise.
a lot of medical professionals carry this opinion, or a similar one, precisely because they see, every day, what the reality is of old age. and they dont change their minds;
So, there are a bunch of 75+ year old ex-medical professionals that are ready to die? I somehow find that hard to believe. Those same medical professionals also see, on a regular basis, 80 and 90+ year olds that live quite enjoyable lives. The 'reality of old age' differs for everyone, medical professionals should know that better than anyone.
We'll see how he feels when he's 75.
Also, please post something similar to /. again in a few months. I never get tired of hearing this stuff.
Science is a tool used by engineers. An important one. However many things are engineered without science, but with intuition, instead.
Insightful. And math is another tool. Technology being the state of abilities to use those tools together. Clarification of 'engineering' versus 'science' when describing developmental work is a useful distinction that often gets overlooked.
Sometimes the result is a complete loss for the VC, but more often they have a lien and can get some recovery, hold the assets for future use, and even get a tax benefit from the losses. Either way, they themselves have a lot more control along the way and many more pathways to recover investment.
I agree, but being willing to take a risk doesn't mean you have to abandon reasonable steps to mitigate it.
But, smart VCs can impost their own requirements on the project and its management, can monitor all aspects closely and typically can decide to either continue support or cut off funding.
Such production of reporting and auditing of reports has costs and could consume significant amount of project funds.
Really? If they are not already tracking costs then they are not managing the development, its an integral aspect that cannot be separated. Reporting financial activities is not hard nor costly. If you can't keep a set of books, don't ask for money (or at least don't ask for a lot of money).
Sure, lots of people want to 'do something'. But when it comes down to which solution paths to take it all breaks down. Huge sums of money being spent thus far by many countries, but there has pretty much been a zero total sum impact. There are no models that have improved at all. What are people really willing to pay or sacrifice? What risks are they willing to accept? How stuck are they on the 'may be possible' vs the 'proven'? Unfortunately, 99% don't really understand all the elements that real solutions must consider, the technical issues, the local and global socioeconomic issues, the trade-offs that make sense and lead to faster adoption. Its easy to get large masses march, its harder to get them to take the time, learn, and understand.
The political response will be to have the appearance of doing something. Nice visible projects that can be called "green". And many of the marchers will love those politicians, regardless of actual progress that will result in a real impact on a global scale.
Regular finance account reporting of how the money is being used should be required. If you can't handle it, don't ask for money.
There are a lot of companies in addition to Apple that have a manufacturing infrastructure that would be hard for a startup to emulate.
Wave Power Fails to live up to Promise
The problem is more with the promise than with the technology. Only those who bought into the hype are disappointed....and the beat goes on.
That was just 'an example' case, and nobody claimed it as a substitute for walking around the house. If that is the use case you are claiming does not make sense, then I'd say even the parent poster would agree, as do I.
Maybe not everyone has a trustworthy neighbor, or prefer not to inconvenience them or have the in their homes. Bottom line is, some people place more value in these conveniences or features than you do, or even I do. That doesn't make them stupid.
Its all based on risk. If you assign great risk to everything, you certainly will significantly limit your options.
Basically, he or she is human, and all humans do stupid things on occasion, including me and you.
I said it I could see why it would be useful. Certainly how it is implemented would be a key consideration, I never said every implementation would be safe or wise.
There are simple things that can be done to significantly limit the intrusion you described. First thing, you don't need to have it operable all the time. Second, various authentication possibilities are out there. Third, not having an integral alarm.
But most of all, if the product and implementation have security flaws that have been exploited, don't buy them.
Security implications? I've considered the improbability. I think there are much more blatant indicators of not being at home that are much easier for a local person. I don't worry so much about the highly improbable. First they have to find the thermostat, find out who it belongs to and where it is, and somehow access it by obtaining my password or other means. Then they have to determine what constitutes 'being away'. Then they still have no clue as to when I will return. I worry more about the guy who drives through the neighborhood and actually observes my house.
When we start hearing reports of burglaries happening this way, I'll start being more concerned.
I think comparing with something like a TV remote setup isn't really on target. A centralized web based remote update service is a lot easier to maintain than providing software for each user.
For home automation, if it is an over internet remote access type control, an account setup is often needed just for IP address resolution and to simplify the process of device recognition, as the common customer isn't going to mess with setting up a DNS service. If it is only LAN based, then I agree, accounts bite.
Some products are not problem solvers, but rather they are enablers or enhancers. I love my remotely accessible thermostats. I can program the temperature profile from my desktop for each season. If I forget to adjust before heading out on vacation, I can adjust remotely. I can also set back to normal just before arriving home. On abnormally hot days, I can bump it up remotely, etc. For only a bit more than a normal programmable stat, it is well worth it for me. It didn't 'solve a problem' but it sure is nice.
Many other uses I agree, not likely a big benefit to turn lights on/off remotely. I think remote door lock/access control makes sense for some people.
These types of agreements, if put in place, will be most useful when countries want to further raise their corporate taxes.
I would like for them to prioritize whatever I am accessing at the time I am accessing it.
Good to know. Thanks.
BTSync seems to be a good candidate for this type of "buddy backup".