The 120F tent cities seems a bit much, has anyone ever died from that?
Yes, it is easily possible to die from 120F - dehydration and heat stroke are common causes. I am not sure anyone has dies of such causes in Tent City, though (New Times would have published such a story if it had). It's only a matter of time, I suppose.
You see, these tents have *no* air conditioning - not even a swamp cooler. Inside the tents, you have hot and stifling air (they are surplus military tents - heavy canvas things with little ventilation), outside, blinding sun and dirt with hardly any shade. Mix in 1000+ inmates and only a few (3-5, IIRC) guards and you have the making of a disaster.
Now, I am not saying jails and prisons should be comfortable places - but the majority of people in Tent City are there awaiting trial - that is, this is a holding area for presumably innocent people. These people (all people - including bona-fide convicted prisoners) have rights - among those rights are to be treated in a humane manner, not to be faced with "cruel and unusual" punishment. There is a reason Sheriff Joe's Tent City and jail system is on Amnesty International's list of most abusive prison systems worldwide (yeah, it ranks right up there with some dictatorship's prisons - hoo boy!).
Sheriff Joe's antics have not been cheap for the taxpayer - I cannot recount how much taxpayer money is going out in the form of lawsuits the county has lost (somewhere around 15-20 million, IIRC). He is popular with the voters, though I can't imagine how, given the abuses his organization has doled out to the innocent, presumed innocent, and guilty alike - not to mention his shady financial dealings, along with that prostitution sting f'up last year where it was found out his deputies were getting serviced by the women they were supposed to be arresting - leading to the County Attorney having to throw out all of the arrests (kinda difficult to prosecute such a case, dontcha know)...
Arizona residents who vote for this man are either stupid, blind or both.
Please - go and tell that to Scott Norburg and his family - oh wait, you can't tell Scott - he's DEAD. Heck, you can't even talk to his family - they settled out-of-court with Maricopa County for millions of dollars (taxpayer dollars, at that!).
IIRC, Scott hadn't had his day in court (he was being detained after being arrested), so in theory, they killed an innocent man...
If you read some of the recent past New Times articles on Sheriff Joe, you will find that the local Republican Party is actually (finally!) disgusted with his antics as sheriff, and aren't going to endorse him this coming election (at least, that is what I have read)...
Arpaio never met a reporter he didn't like, nor a PR stunt he wouldn't pull.
Oh, you mean like talking with John Dougherty of New Times? I cannot tell you the number of time Mr. Dougherty has tried and tried for an interview with Joe Arpaio for New Times, but each and every time, Arpaio (or more accurately, his press agent) rebuffs his requests.
Joe Arpaio is scared to be asked and having to answer real and tough questions - for instance, how is it that a Maricopa County sheriff, with just his salary and his DEA pension, is able to purchase $800,000 worth of property here in Arizona? Why is it that the financial records of these transactions, which are supposed to be publically accessible, are "missing"? Furthermore, where has all the money from various fund raising events (such as the sales of "pink underwear") gone to - where is an independent audit?
I seriously hope that this November the residents of Arizona wake up and vote this scum of a politician out of office. Whoever inherits the mess of Joe Arpaio, they have my pity...
Re:If I was in prison I would WANT jailcam
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Judges Junk Jailcam
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There are cameras in Maricopa County jails - in fact, a while back one was taping an area near one of Sheriff Joe's restraint chairs (or was it a cell?), where an inmate was being mistreated by the prison deputies (I can't remember if this was part of the Norburg case, or some other case). The camera, unfortunately, didn't have a direct view, but it was possible to see people walking by it. When New Times went to get a copy of the tape, via a public records request, all copies of the tape mysteriously "disappeared" (there were allegations that some higher-ups in Sheriff Joe's organization were involved and on that tape)...
HMD's are still being built and designed - jump over to Kaiser Electro-Optics to see recent designs (well, actual products if you have the cash) that will make you drool.
Unfortunately, then as now, the tradeoff is still field-of-view (FOV) vs. resolution. Increase one, decrease the other. Furthermore, if you seek to increase the FOV while maintaining "focus at infinity" (which is essential for reducing - but not eliminating - eyestraing), the type and quality of the optics are raised (no simple fresnel lenses) - leading to higher costs. If you want to keep the resolution nice, you need to have high-resolution displays (LCDs, mainly, to keep weight down - but I expect OLEDs to replace these in the future), that also have to be really tiny (to keep nose and general weight down) - 1" or less diagonal.
There also isn't an application yet that has people wanting to jump to using HMD's, with all of their issues (simulation sickness, low resolution, tracking resolution, eye fatigue, etc). If more gamers could experience DOOM 3 or something in a fully immersive environment (with a large FOV and great resolution, coupled with head/body tracking and hand/gun tracking) - they would give their left...ahem...so to speak to have the system at home.
Currently, if you want to get into VR with an HMD, you will have to cobble together your own, or buy one used (I have managed to snag two different pro-level HMDs from Ebay in the past 3 years for under $500.00 each). Head and hand tracking are a completely different story - very difficult to do on a low budget - if you wanted to spend a little money (sub-$3000.00) - a Polhemus system with two sensors would be the way to start...
I believe that native windows support for PostgreSQL is essential, not necesarily to deploy apps in that enviroment but to test and develop them.
Every place I have worked has had at least one or two (if not more) old PCs lying around doing nothing (and when I mean "old", I mean a couple of gens old - not dirt old). Simply waiting in the wings acting as spares. Furthermore, at all of my jobs there have been at least one *nix box.
So, turn that unused hardware into something useful - drop BSD or Linux on it (or some other *nix, or scrounge on Ebay for an old Sun box or something else cheap), and drop PostgreSQL on it - ODBC drivers on your Windows boxen and there you go: an easy, cheap (maybe even free) PostgreSQL development environment.
Just because you develop under Windows doesn't mean all of your development tools have to be under Windows...
Recently (July 23rd), Maricopa County's (AZ) illustrious sheriff department, headed by lauded sheriff Joe Arpaio (heh, Amenesty International just *loves* this guy), decided to conduct a raid in an upscale Ahwatukee neighborhood. This neighborhood was your typical "cookie-cutter-houses-crammed-together"-type place. They had basically conducted this raid on the house because a "friend" of one of the occupants (who was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for traffic citations), who was arrested for theft of automatic weapons and armor-piercing bullets, told the authorities that his friend here was in the same mess, and was getting ready to "do something". That sent the sheriff's gang into high gear.
Without discussing the matter or letting anyone in the Phoenix police department know what was going on (they had jurisdiction, not the sheriff), they raided the house. Neighbors noticed an unmarked white Suburban and men putting on flak jackets and helmets - all unmarked (as far as the neighbors could see). They surrounded the house, then fired tear gas shells into the house. Parked in front of the house (somehow out of the line of sight of the neighbors) was the sheriff's assault tank. With the shots of tear gas, and the unmarked everything, neighbors were most definitely frightened. One called 911, and found out what was going on, and told not to worry, that everything was OK. The tear gas caused most of the occupants to come outside, where they were slammed to the ground and handcuffed, but the suspect stayed inside, holed up in the attic.
At this point, a fire started. The occupants of the house claim it was the tear gas cannisters, fire department officials claim it was a candle that was knocked over in the confusion (whatever the case, it is obvious that a fire likely wouldn't have broken out had such heavy handed tactics not been employed). A dog inside tried to come out after the fire (the occupants who were outside were calling and crying for their dog), but was shooed back in with a fire extinguisher by one of the deputies. The occupants of the house pleaded with the deputies for their dog, but the deputies just laughed at them. The suspect heard the dog (it was his dog), and decided to come out, but he couldn't find the dog, and eventually exited the house, where he was handcuffed. The dog ended up burning alive in the house. The house was totally destroyed.
So, here we have a blaze in a crowded neighborhood (which could have set the entire neighborhood ablaze, given the close proximity of nearby houses), a scared neighborhood, people handcuffed in suspicion of owning illegal weapons for who-knows-what purpose, an assault tank on the scene - and what is the outcome?
The man under arrest doesn't have *any* such weapons - his only crime was the bench warrant, plus he legally owned (but were presumably burnt up) an antique shotgun and a 9mm pistol. About the tank? Deputies didn't set its parking brake properly, it rolled down the hill and smashed into a parked car, causing $4000.00 worth of damage to the neighbor's vehicle. Said neighbor and owner of the vehicle had just parked and exited the vehicle with her daughter, and ran into the house after hearing the shots of the tear gas shells...
This is what our laws and elected officials do to us. This is the end result of things like the Patriot Act and shows like Cops and America's Most Wanted (you should see the re-election commercials for Arpaio here in Phoenix where John Walsh endorses our sheriff, advocating the need for such police officers like him - I suppose if resurrecting the Brownshirts and creating more Tent City gulags is what you want). This is but yet another in a long, long series of criminal-like actions this man and his rowdy gang of deputies have committed over the years. From outright (but paid off) murders of individuals in restraint chairs to jail systems that make Amnesty International livid, I sincerely hope that the people of Arizona and Maricopa County wake up and see what a shambles Sheriff Joe has made of the judicial system and send him packing this coming November.
It offers a very well reasoned argument as to 1) why the technological singularity must occur, and 2) why SETI is likely a failure. Actually, I would suggest reading Vernor Vinge's writings on the singularity, then read Kurzweil's work above.
One should then read the story (posted at k5?) called "The Metamorphisis of Prime Intellect".
Finally, read Albert-Laszlo Barabasi's book "Linked" (network theory), Kevin Kelly's "Out of Control" and Steven Johnson's "Emergence" (emergence theory), and Stephen Wolfram's "A New Kind of Science" (The Principle of Computational Equivalence).
There are many more references, both fictional and non-fictional (for entertainment purposes only, I also suggest the anime "Serial Experiments: Lain") - but these which I have listed detail a staggering breadth of information which, after you have digested it and left it to simmer in your mind, just might change your opinions and worldview in radical directions.
Lastly - a plea for help: Does anybody here know of any papers or references from reputable sources which discuss why the singularity can't occur, or is wrong in some manner? I have only read one side of the debate, and I would like to hear the other.
I see what you're saying - looking at the Sun tech paper shows that the "connections" are at the edges of the chip, and face-to-face is needed (that is, the connections don't go through the silicon substrate). Infineon's tech is true stacking - so I wonder if the two techs couldn't be combined in some manner? That is, allowing the capacitive "connecting" surfaces (I know they are truely connected, just a capacitive junction, like is used in audio and rf) to be placed on top and bottom surfaces of the chip substrate (whereas now they are only on the "top" surface).
I also wasn't thinking of "50 watt CPUs" for this technology - but rather something like silicon-based neurons - where a 3D approach is needed for maximum number of interconnects. Running in parallel, but at modest speeds, a "cube" of such "neurons" wouldn't put out much heat at all (and Infineon does claim good heat disipation). I am looking at the idea of hardware neural net CPU's - not serial "Von-Neumaan" architectures.
Of course, your last line is telling - in that not much progress or use has been made with any of this technology. In time, though, it will - it has to (or something else - but this seems like the most logical course so far), to help continue the exponential increase in speed and power (flops) for CPU's (at least, that is the current trend)...
If this is really one of the "first" (I know it isn't *the first* attempt, but another attempt) attempts to take CPU and supporting chipsets "3D"? That is, manufacture the IC chips (the bits of silicon), then "stack" them aligning the connectors (or whatever) on the edges to allow for more processing power in the same (or nearly same) space? It may not be this, exactly, but perhaps the technology developed will help lead to this?
Re:I think this is the cruxt of the matter...
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Moving To Linux
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AC, I never said it never crashes, nor was I drinking when I made that post. I have seen Linux crash hard a couple of times - where I couldn't even telnet in (even though I knew I had telnetd running). But most of the time when it "crashes", it is just an application or something crashing - and it doesn't bring the entire system down. I can just go in, kill the process, restart it, and continue on. If X dies, it dies - it doesn't take the entire machine with it (most of the time, anyhow). Windows, on the other hand - if the GUI falls over, how do you get back in to restart it (well, you can't, because if the GUI dies, it takes the kernel with it *every time*, because the GUI is part of the kernel)?
First off I want to note that I have read a lot about theory of the coming "singularity event". Personally, I think this event or process of change is inevitable. I have yet to find any convincing argument that says it won't happen (but I am open to all suggestions). There is a lot of evidence that it will happen: the rate of change is increasing exponentially - everything having to do with technology is increasing exponentially. It seems to be the next step for evolution, from bio to techno.
So, how would software patents come into play, should such an event become more likely? Would it matter? Could an AI be patented, or violate patents simply by existing? If so, what would be the remedy?
We are thinking in the here-and-now, not bothering to realize that next year may be vastly different from this year, because we are thinking of change as a linear progression, rather than exponential. How many advances in technology and other fields have happenned, just this year, that would have seemed like science fiction only a few years ago? What will next year bring? How about the next 10 years? If the theory of singularity is true, the next 20 years are going to be an insane and very bumpy ride. The next 10 years after that may open the door to possible immortality, if we transition from meatspace to "virtual" space.
Something that people seem to forget is that hardware and software are exactly the same! Any emulator can show you that. In theory, hardware is not needed (and according to ANKOS, for all of its insights and flaws, this seems to be one of the conclusions of Wolfram). Furthermore, our bodies, our cells, our DNA - is a vast, distributed, emergent computational system - we seem to think we are special, when it seems that in reality, we are nothing more than patterns of energy which have gained consciousness and bodies.
If the theory of singularity is true, patents on software will do nothing but attempt to hold back and stifle the inevitable. I don't know about you, but I would like to be alive if (when?) the singularity arrives...
Not laser, but if you look up the RONJA system, it uses large bright arrays of LEDs - I am pretty sure it is IP based.
I know that commercially, there are systems like AirFiber that use lasers...
The biggest problems with lasers is that they really don't shoot very far, unless you can get them into watt range (not milliwatt) - and those aren't cheap. I think with a standard red laser pointer, and some good optics and alignment, you might be able to get a few km distance - but not much more (and alignment will be a real pain). Of course, I would love somebody to prove me wrong, and I support the idea of P2P wireless freenets...
You need to do some googling on the Constitutional "right to travel" - there have been a few documented court cases regarding this, cases that were won by the defendent.
Unfortunately, most people who have cars do not in fact own them, even when they have been fully paid up. If they don't have a loan (or have paid the loan off), they still don't have the original MSO (manufacturer's statement of origin), which is the invoice that proves the automobile is your property (this is not the same as the invoice you get from the dealer). The dealer sends the MSO to the state DMV. The only way I know of to get the MSO is to pay cash (or the equivalent) at the factory (ie, don't go through a dealer) for the vehicle.
At one time, licenses didn't exist - they were snuck in, under the Constitutional radar. But the fact is you do not need a license or the State to tell you how or when you can travel. Read up about the cases, check out the actual transcripts. You will find that this issue really riles judges, because they know they are trumped by savvy individuals and Constitutional lawyers, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it (short of an amendment).
I think this is the cruxt of the matter...
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Moving To Linux
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I am going to assume it was entirely the poor driver's fault. Now that I'm running linux, I see the artsd segfault all the time.
While no piece of large scale software (especially an operating system) will ever be free from bugs, Linux gives you the advantage most of the time over Windows precisely because you can see the bugs happen. Log files, proc, etc - all give you an "inside" look at what your OS is doing - or not doing - and maybe that information might be enough to fix it, or at least find a fix for it (if it is a common bug). Rather than "assuming" what the problem might be, you can know - even if that knowledge is "no fix for you kernel/distro - you need to upgrade to ???". From there you can make a decision on what to do, rather than just "wonder what caused that".
Also, while it isn't impossible (I have seen it happen, almost every Linux using geek has), generally the kernel won't die when an application dies. Mozilla falls over, everything else continues to work. Does it take X with it? Virtual console (or telnet/ssh) in to the box, and kill the task. There is always a way back in without a complete reboot (though sometimes, a complete reboot may be called for). Linux (as a whole) doesn't just "bluescreen" leaving you only the reset button to get back to where you were. Generally, there are several other avenues to try before resorting to the "final solution".
That isn't to say Windows hasn't gotten better - I think XP is pretty stable (most of the time), but at times I get annoyed when something happens to it, and I don't have the tools and logs (like I have under Linux) to check out the basics to see what really went wrong - it feels like a guessing game toy at that point. Even so, it is a damn sight better than the Windows 9x days...
Can't afford DARPA's latest offering? Then don't enter!
Instead, check out SRS/SERVO Magazine Robo-Magellan contest. All you have to do is traverse 300 (straight line) feet - 300 grueling, twisted, Seattle Center obstacle covered feet. Of course, actual covered distance may be longer...
If it hasn't been done yet (and if it has, please, sombody give me a title), you have just described one hell of a scifi plot, as well as a great title!
How often do you hear car alarms go off? I hear them all the time, everyone else does to, and hardly anyone *ever* pays attention. Who cares about "stealthily" stealing a car when you can bust the window and be gone, knowing no one cares and no one is looking (and even if they were, they wouldn't do anything because they are too afraid to get involved).
While not autonomous (or wireless, though it could be made so), and not as maneuverable, this site shows how to build as small or smaller submersibles, from PVC pipe and other off-the-shelf (OTS) parts...
Slashdot Mirror
Yes, it is easily possible to die from 120F - dehydration and heat stroke are common causes. I am not sure anyone has dies of such causes in Tent City, though (New Times would have published such a story if it had). It's only a matter of time, I suppose.
You see, these tents have *no* air conditioning - not even a swamp cooler. Inside the tents, you have hot and stifling air (they are surplus military tents - heavy canvas things with little ventilation), outside, blinding sun and dirt with hardly any shade. Mix in 1000+ inmates and only a few (3-5, IIRC) guards and you have the making of a disaster.
Now, I am not saying jails and prisons should be comfortable places - but the majority of people in Tent City are there awaiting trial - that is, this is a holding area for presumably innocent people. These people (all people - including bona-fide convicted prisoners) have rights - among those rights are to be treated in a humane manner, not to be faced with "cruel and unusual" punishment. There is a reason Sheriff Joe's Tent City and jail system is on Amnesty International's list of most abusive prison systems worldwide (yeah, it ranks right up there with some dictatorship's prisons - hoo boy!).
Sheriff Joe's antics have not been cheap for the taxpayer - I cannot recount how much taxpayer money is going out in the form of lawsuits the county has lost (somewhere around 15-20 million, IIRC). He is popular with the voters, though I can't imagine how, given the abuses his organization has doled out to the innocent, presumed innocent, and guilty alike - not to mention his shady financial dealings, along with that prostitution sting f'up last year where it was found out his deputies were getting serviced by the women they were supposed to be arresting - leading to the County Attorney having to throw out all of the arrests (kinda difficult to prosecute such a case, dontcha know)...
Arizona residents who vote for this man are either stupid, blind or both.
IIRC, Scott hadn't had his day in court (he was being detained after being arrested), so in theory, they killed an innocent man...
If you read some of the recent past New Times articles on Sheriff Joe, you will find that the local Republican Party is actually (finally!) disgusted with his antics as sheriff, and aren't going to endorse him this coming election (at least, that is what I have read)...
Oh, you mean like talking with John Dougherty of New Times? I cannot tell you the number of time Mr. Dougherty has tried and tried for an interview with Joe Arpaio for New Times, but each and every time, Arpaio (or more accurately, his press agent) rebuffs his requests.
Joe Arpaio is scared to be asked and having to answer real and tough questions - for instance, how is it that a Maricopa County sheriff, with just his salary and his DEA pension, is able to purchase $800,000 worth of property here in Arizona? Why is it that the financial records of these transactions, which are supposed to be publically accessible, are "missing"? Furthermore, where has all the money from various fund raising events (such as the sales of "pink underwear") gone to - where is an independent audit?
I seriously hope that this November the residents of Arizona wake up and vote this scum of a politician out of office. Whoever inherits the mess of Joe Arpaio, they have my pity...
There are cameras in Maricopa County jails - in fact, a while back one was taping an area near one of Sheriff Joe's restraint chairs (or was it a cell?), where an inmate was being mistreated by the prison deputies (I can't remember if this was part of the Norburg case, or some other case). The camera, unfortunately, didn't have a direct view, but it was possible to see people walking by it. When New Times went to get a copy of the tape, via a public records request, all copies of the tape mysteriously "disappeared" (there were allegations that some higher-ups in Sheriff Joe's organization were involved and on that tape)...
Unfortunately, then as now, the tradeoff is still field-of-view (FOV) vs. resolution. Increase one, decrease the other. Furthermore, if you seek to increase the FOV while maintaining "focus at infinity" (which is essential for reducing - but not eliminating - eyestraing), the type and quality of the optics are raised (no simple fresnel lenses) - leading to higher costs. If you want to keep the resolution nice, you need to have high-resolution displays (LCDs, mainly, to keep weight down - but I expect OLEDs to replace these in the future), that also have to be really tiny (to keep nose and general weight down) - 1" or less diagonal.
There also isn't an application yet that has people wanting to jump to using HMD's, with all of their issues (simulation sickness, low resolution, tracking resolution, eye fatigue, etc). If more gamers could experience DOOM 3 or something in a fully immersive environment (with a large FOV and great resolution, coupled with head/body tracking and hand/gun tracking) - they would give their left...ahem...so to speak to have the system at home.
Currently, if you want to get into VR with an HMD, you will have to cobble together your own, or buy one used (I have managed to snag two different pro-level HMDs from Ebay in the past 3 years for under $500.00 each). Head and hand tracking are a completely different story - very difficult to do on a low budget - if you wanted to spend a little money (sub-$3000.00) - a Polhemus system with two sensors would be the way to start...
Every place I have worked has had at least one or two (if not more) old PCs lying around doing nothing (and when I mean "old", I mean a couple of gens old - not dirt old). Simply waiting in the wings acting as spares. Furthermore, at all of my jobs there have been at least one *nix box.
So, turn that unused hardware into something useful - drop BSD or Linux on it (or some other *nix, or scrounge on Ebay for an old Sun box or something else cheap), and drop PostgreSQL on it - ODBC drivers on your Windows boxen and there you go: an easy, cheap (maybe even free) PostgreSQL development environment.
Just because you develop under Windows doesn't mean all of your development tools have to be under Windows...
I am soooo sorry...
Recently (July 23rd), Maricopa County's (AZ) illustrious sheriff department, headed by lauded sheriff Joe Arpaio (heh, Amenesty International just *loves* this guy), decided to conduct a raid in an upscale Ahwatukee neighborhood. This neighborhood was your typical "cookie-cutter-houses-crammed-together"-type place. They had basically conducted this raid on the house because a "friend" of one of the occupants (who was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for traffic citations), who was arrested for theft of automatic weapons and armor-piercing bullets, told the authorities that his friend here was in the same mess, and was getting ready to "do something". That sent the sheriff's gang into high gear.
Without discussing the matter or letting anyone in the Phoenix police department know what was going on (they had jurisdiction, not the sheriff), they raided the house. Neighbors noticed an unmarked white Suburban and men putting on flak jackets and helmets - all unmarked (as far as the neighbors could see). They surrounded the house, then fired tear gas shells into the house. Parked in front of the house (somehow out of the line of sight of the neighbors) was the sheriff's assault tank. With the shots of tear gas, and the unmarked everything, neighbors were most definitely frightened. One called 911, and found out what was going on, and told not to worry, that everything was OK. The tear gas caused most of the occupants to come outside, where they were slammed to the ground and handcuffed, but the suspect stayed inside, holed up in the attic.
At this point, a fire started. The occupants of the house claim it was the tear gas cannisters, fire department officials claim it was a candle that was knocked over in the confusion (whatever the case, it is obvious that a fire likely wouldn't have broken out had such heavy handed tactics not been employed). A dog inside tried to come out after the fire (the occupants who were outside were calling and crying for their dog), but was shooed back in with a fire extinguisher by one of the deputies. The occupants of the house pleaded with the deputies for their dog, but the deputies just laughed at them. The suspect heard the dog (it was his dog), and decided to come out, but he couldn't find the dog, and eventually exited the house, where he was handcuffed. The dog ended up burning alive in the house. The house was totally destroyed.
So, here we have a blaze in a crowded neighborhood (which could have set the entire neighborhood ablaze, given the close proximity of nearby houses), a scared neighborhood, people handcuffed in suspicion of owning illegal weapons for who-knows-what purpose, an assault tank on the scene - and what is the outcome?
The man under arrest doesn't have *any* such weapons - his only crime was the bench warrant, plus he legally owned (but were presumably burnt up) an antique shotgun and a 9mm pistol. About the tank? Deputies didn't set its parking brake properly, it rolled down the hill and smashed into a parked car, causing $4000.00 worth of damage to the neighbor's vehicle. Said neighbor and owner of the vehicle had just parked and exited the vehicle with her daughter, and ran into the house after hearing the shots of the tear gas shells...
Want to read more?
This is what our laws and elected officials do to us. This is the end result of things like the Patriot Act and shows like Cops and America's Most Wanted (you should see the re-election commercials for Arpaio here in Phoenix where John Walsh endorses our sheriff, advocating the need for such police officers like him - I suppose if resurrecting the Brownshirts and creating more Tent City gulags is what you want). This is but yet another in a long, long series of criminal-like actions this man and his rowdy gang of deputies have committed over the years. From outright (but paid off) murders of individuals in restraint chairs to jail systems that make Amnesty International livid, I sincerely hope that the people of Arizona and Maricopa County wake up and see what a shambles Sheriff Joe has made of the judicial system and send him packing this coming November.
At least, until they change the law...
The Law of Accelerating Returns by Ray Kurzweil
It offers a very well reasoned argument as to 1) why the technological singularity must occur, and 2) why SETI is likely a failure. Actually, I would suggest reading Vernor Vinge's writings on the singularity, then read Kurzweil's work above.
One should then read the story (posted at k5?) called "The Metamorphisis of Prime Intellect".
Finally, read Albert-Laszlo Barabasi's book "Linked" (network theory), Kevin Kelly's "Out of Control" and Steven Johnson's "Emergence" (emergence theory), and Stephen Wolfram's "A New Kind of Science" (The Principle of Computational Equivalence).
There are many more references, both fictional and non-fictional (for entertainment purposes only, I also suggest the anime "Serial Experiments: Lain") - but these which I have listed detail a staggering breadth of information which, after you have digested it and left it to simmer in your mind, just might change your opinions and worldview in radical directions.
Lastly - a plea for help: Does anybody here know of any papers or references from reputable sources which discuss why the singularity can't occur, or is wrong in some manner? I have only read one side of the debate, and I would like to hear the other.
You throw them out? Where is this at (city/state)?
I also wasn't thinking of "50 watt CPUs" for this technology - but rather something like silicon-based neurons - where a 3D approach is needed for maximum number of interconnects. Running in parallel, but at modest speeds, a "cube" of such "neurons" wouldn't put out much heat at all (and Infineon does claim good heat disipation). I am looking at the idea of hardware neural net CPU's - not serial "Von-Neumaan" architectures.
Of course, your last line is telling - in that not much progress or use has been made with any of this technology. In time, though, it will - it has to (or something else - but this seems like the most logical course so far), to help continue the exponential increase in speed and power (flops) for CPU's (at least, that is the current trend)...
If this is really one of the "first" (I know it isn't *the first* attempt, but another attempt) attempts to take CPU and supporting chipsets "3D"? That is, manufacture the IC chips (the bits of silicon), then "stack" them aligning the connectors (or whatever) on the edges to allow for more processing power in the same (or nearly same) space? It may not be this, exactly, but perhaps the technology developed will help lead to this?
AC, I never said it never crashes, nor was I drinking when I made that post. I have seen Linux crash hard a couple of times - where I couldn't even telnet in (even though I knew I had telnetd running). But most of the time when it "crashes", it is just an application or something crashing - and it doesn't bring the entire system down. I can just go in, kill the process, restart it, and continue on. If X dies, it dies - it doesn't take the entire machine with it (most of the time, anyhow). Windows, on the other hand - if the GUI falls over, how do you get back in to restart it (well, you can't, because if the GUI dies, it takes the kernel with it *every time*, because the GUI is part of the kernel)?
So, how would software patents come into play, should such an event become more likely? Would it matter? Could an AI be patented, or violate patents simply by existing? If so, what would be the remedy?
We are thinking in the here-and-now, not bothering to realize that next year may be vastly different from this year, because we are thinking of change as a linear progression, rather than exponential. How many advances in technology and other fields have happenned, just this year, that would have seemed like science fiction only a few years ago? What will next year bring? How about the next 10 years? If the theory of singularity is true, the next 20 years are going to be an insane and very bumpy ride. The next 10 years after that may open the door to possible immortality, if we transition from meatspace to "virtual" space.
Something that people seem to forget is that hardware and software are exactly the same! Any emulator can show you that. In theory, hardware is not needed (and according to ANKOS, for all of its insights and flaws, this seems to be one of the conclusions of Wolfram). Furthermore, our bodies, our cells, our DNA - is a vast, distributed, emergent computational system - we seem to think we are special, when it seems that in reality, we are nothing more than patterns of energy which have gained consciousness and bodies.
If the theory of singularity is true, patents on software will do nothing but attempt to hold back and stifle the inevitable. I don't know about you, but I would like to be alive if (when?) the singularity arrives...
I know that commercially, there are systems like AirFiber that use lasers...
The biggest problems with lasers is that they really don't shoot very far, unless you can get them into watt range (not milliwatt) - and those aren't cheap. I think with a standard red laser pointer, and some good optics and alignment, you might be able to get a few km distance - but not much more (and alignment will be a real pain). Of course, I would love somebody to prove me wrong, and I support the idea of P2P wireless freenets...
Unfortunately, most people who have cars do not in fact own them, even when they have been fully paid up. If they don't have a loan (or have paid the loan off), they still don't have the original MSO (manufacturer's statement of origin), which is the invoice that proves the automobile is your property (this is not the same as the invoice you get from the dealer). The dealer sends the MSO to the state DMV. The only way I know of to get the MSO is to pay cash (or the equivalent) at the factory (ie, don't go through a dealer) for the vehicle.
At one time, licenses didn't exist - they were snuck in, under the Constitutional radar. But the fact is you do not need a license or the State to tell you how or when you can travel. Read up about the cases, check out the actual transcripts. You will find that this issue really riles judges, because they know they are trumped by savvy individuals and Constitutional lawyers, and there isn't a damn thing they can do about it (short of an amendment).
While no piece of large scale software (especially an operating system) will ever be free from bugs, Linux gives you the advantage most of the time over Windows precisely because you can see the bugs happen. Log files, proc, etc - all give you an "inside" look at what your OS is doing - or not doing - and maybe that information might be enough to fix it, or at least find a fix for it (if it is a common bug). Rather than "assuming" what the problem might be, you can know - even if that knowledge is "no fix for you kernel/distro - you need to upgrade to ???". From there you can make a decision on what to do, rather than just "wonder what caused that".
Also, while it isn't impossible (I have seen it happen, almost every Linux using geek has), generally the kernel won't die when an application dies. Mozilla falls over, everything else continues to work. Does it take X with it? Virtual console (or telnet/ssh) in to the box, and kill the task. There is always a way back in without a complete reboot (though sometimes, a complete reboot may be called for). Linux (as a whole) doesn't just "bluescreen" leaving you only the reset button to get back to where you were. Generally, there are several other avenues to try before resorting to the "final solution".
That isn't to say Windows hasn't gotten better - I think XP is pretty stable (most of the time), but at times I get annoyed when something happens to it, and I don't have the tools and logs (like I have under Linux) to check out the basics to see what really went wrong - it feels like a guessing game toy at that point. Even so, it is a damn sight better than the Windows 9x days...
Instead, check out SRS/SERVO Magazine Robo-Magellan contest. All you have to do is traverse 300 (straight line) feet - 300 grueling, twisted, Seattle Center obstacle covered feet. Of course, actual covered distance may be longer...
Think you can do it?
If it hasn't been done yet (and if it has, please, sombody give me a title), you have just described one hell of a scifi plot, as well as a great title!
Bravo.
How often do you hear car alarms go off? I hear them all the time, everyone else does to, and hardly anyone *ever* pays attention. Who cares about "stealthily" stealing a car when you can bust the window and be gone, knowing no one cares and no one is looking (and even if they were, they wouldn't do anything because they are too afraid to get involved).
Very interesting stuff...
These are R/C, thus wireless (but not autonomous)...sorry.
While not autonomous (or wireless, though it could be made so), and not as maneuverable, this site shows how to build as small or smaller submersibles, from PVC pipe and other off-the-shelf (OTS) parts...