In a way, taxes, or the lack thereof, have been used to drive (or alter the preferences of) consumerism for a long time. Consider tariffs--taxes on imports to raise the price of foreign products, in order to encourage the consumer to buy domestically produced products.
Not that I approve of this use, mind you--just pointing out that it can and does happen.
Truth is a defense for libel. So long as the blogger in question has not made any actual false statements, and has couched all opinions as such, rather than as facts--then he should STFU and GBTW.
But then, if he's a patent troll, he's rather defined as "not being able to STFU and do something useful," now, is he?
How much of that lack of downloading is due to the stigma attached vs. actual desire? If one could have one's fill of music for $5/month--and you were paying it as a tax, as it were--then one would perhaps listen to more music. This would, in turn, provide more impetus to buying CDs and the like, hypothetically.
I like the base concept behind this--rather passes by the whole RIAA bullfertilizer, but I dare say that many people (who will, doubtless, claim to be 'upright and upstanding citizens' or something like that) will whine about how "I never would share music! Why should I have to pay?"
Guided projectiles can be shot down or intercepted or confused with chaff or flares or electromagnetic interference. Unguided projectiles, by their very nature, are not subject to being interfered with--and at such high speeds, it's unlikely the target would be able to see it coming. It'd take 2.2 minutesish to go the 220 mile range, so while it may not be very easy to snipe a mobile target, shore emplacements and the like would be sitting ducks.
If I had such a boat, I would use it against shore batteries, harbor fuel tanks, and other such targets--unless it had some -really- good stealth on it, in which case a bit of close-in sniping might work.
Yes, I've considered it--not nearly enough by a factor of 4. I need at least an hour's worth of battery time with this thing, and there's no reason why I should have to keep swapping batteries...
With as little a battery life as that thing has, what real practical use could you get out of it?
Or are they anticipating the availability of those new high-capacity batteries with the nanosilicon structures in 'em?
It seems more and more apparent that the limitations of our technology are not so much money and materials, but power consumption. Much like Tim Taylor, we're always looking for 'MORE POWER!'
At which point, once they take up arms, they're conveniently reclassifying themselves as irregular enemy combatants. If they had only stayed calm and awaited further instruction from our occupying forces, robotic or otherwise, this sad scene could have been avoided. We're just trying to be as humane as possible; is it our fault if they aren't going to follow directions?
I'd think that it'd be more effective to attack infrastructure--things like power stations, traffic control systems, that manner of thing--than to go after civilians directly.
For one thing, what's the point of taking over a territory if there's nobody there to rebuild and to use as a resource?
For another, it looks a -lot- better on the international PR scene if your robots decidedly ignore the civilians and only go after inanimate strategic targets--at least, up until the point that they get attacked. With that sort of programming, you could make the case that you're "seeking to avoid all unnecessary casualties" etc. etc.
Mowing down a civilian populace does sow terror, of course, but keeping the civilians intact (if in the dark and without water) can be argued to be more effective.
If you've got battlebots, why not have one against another to resolve international conflicts, rather than destroy infrastructure and the like?
It'd probably take a mountain of treaties and the like, and of course any organization used to judge the battlebot contest would be rife for corruption and whatnot, but it couldn't be that much worse than what happens around the World Cup and the Olympics...
More on topic, I wonder what difference this will make to the study of seismology? Don't different densities refract the pressure waves from seismic events? Perhaps this new model will improve the ability to measure the location of earthquakes?
First thing I thought of. And isn't it in the building codes that you are required to install smoke detectors?
So now, apparently, you have to pay the cops for the smoke detectors that you're required to have. Reeks of corruption, even before the privacy and information dissemination concerns are addressed.
I do know that there's a proposed standard for Bluetooth specifically for medical devices--there are some pacemakers and ICDs out there (most of 'em these days, I understand) that have bluetooth built into 'em so that the doctors can read information off of 'em without having to place electrodes and whatnot--and also so that they can patch the firmware, if necessary.
This is why they're using bluetooth, I think, rather than something else--because it's already used for similar medical device communications.
For some reason, I get the impression that a 1-mm cable really wouldn't have the rigidity needed to get past the 'puckering' and make its way up to where it needed to look.
However, the Adult Novelty Toy industry would probably be interested in this "spinning" function...
I'd probably freak out a bit if I felt this "bouncing back and forth" inside my throat or stomach. I prefer to swallow inanimate objects, thank you; I may be a geek, but I don't go for goldfish swallowing.
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In a way, taxes, or the lack thereof, have been used to drive (or alter the preferences of) consumerism for a long time. Consider tariffs--taxes on imports to raise the price of foreign products, in order to encourage the consumer to buy domestically produced products.
Not that I approve of this use, mind you--just pointing out that it can and does happen.
Truth is a defense for libel. So long as the blogger in question has not made any actual false statements, and has couched all opinions as such, rather than as facts--then he should STFU and GBTW.
But then, if he's a patent troll, he's rather defined as "not being able to STFU and do something useful," now, is he?
I hate people that think something is immoral simply because it is against the law.
Sadly, that's how most people tend to think.
How much of that lack of downloading is due to the stigma attached vs. actual desire? If one could have one's fill of music for $5/month--and you were paying it as a tax, as it were--then one would perhaps listen to more music. This would, in turn, provide more impetus to buying CDs and the like, hypothetically.
I like the base concept behind this--rather passes by the whole RIAA bullfertilizer, but I dare say that many people (who will, doubtless, claim to be 'upright and upstanding citizens' or something like that) will whine about how "I never would share music! Why should I have to pay?"
Guided projectiles can be shot down or intercepted or confused with chaff or flares or electromagnetic interference. Unguided projectiles, by their very nature, are not subject to being interfered with--and at such high speeds, it's unlikely the target would be able to see it coming. It'd take 2.2 minutesish to go the 220 mile range, so while it may not be very easy to snipe a mobile target, shore emplacements and the like would be sitting ducks.
If I had such a boat, I would use it against shore batteries, harbor fuel tanks, and other such targets--unless it had some -really- good stealth on it, in which case a bit of close-in sniping might work.
Yes, I've considered it--not nearly enough by a factor of 4. I need at least an hour's worth of battery time with this thing, and there's no reason why I should have to keep swapping batteries...
With as little a battery life as that thing has, what real practical use could you get out of it?
Or are they anticipating the availability of those new high-capacity batteries with the nanosilicon structures in 'em?
It seems more and more apparent that the limitations of our technology are not so much money and materials, but power consumption. Much like Tim Taylor, we're always looking for 'MORE POWER!'
There is no such thing as overkill. There is only "still firing" and "out of ammo."
At which point, once they take up arms, they're conveniently reclassifying themselves as irregular enemy combatants. If they had only stayed calm and awaited further instruction from our occupying forces, robotic or otherwise, this sad scene could have been avoided. We're just trying to be as humane as possible; is it our fault if they aren't going to follow directions?
Think like an evil overlord, man!
I'd think that it'd be more effective to attack infrastructure--things like power stations, traffic control systems, that manner of thing--than to go after civilians directly.
For one thing, what's the point of taking over a territory if there's nobody there to rebuild and to use as a resource?
For another, it looks a -lot- better on the international PR scene if your robots decidedly ignore the civilians and only go after inanimate strategic targets--at least, up until the point that they get attacked. With that sort of programming, you could make the case that you're "seeking to avoid all unnecessary casualties" etc. etc.
Mowing down a civilian populace does sow terror, of course, but keeping the civilians intact (if in the dark and without water) can be argued to be more effective.
If you've got battlebots, why not have one against another to resolve international conflicts, rather than destroy infrastructure and the like?
It'd probably take a mountain of treaties and the like, and of course any organization used to judge the battlebot contest would be rife for corruption and whatnot, but it couldn't be that much worse than what happens around the World Cup and the Olympics...
So is that why our nights are so long?
More on topic, I wonder what difference this will make to the study of seismology? Don't different densities refract the pressure waves from seismic events? Perhaps this new model will improve the ability to measure the location of earthquakes?
First thing I thought of. And isn't it in the building codes that you are required to install smoke detectors?
So now, apparently, you have to pay the cops for the smoke detectors that you're required to have. Reeks of corruption, even before the privacy and information dissemination concerns are addressed.
Not if I get to the patent office first! Then -YOU'LL- be the infringing one! HaHAH!
Especially as it was five miles meandering, with mazy motion. ;-p
Unless you're talking about the whole of it, not just the river, which would be 10 miles in diameter...
More or less...all the meta-levels get a little odd after a while.
Quite seriously, though, what sort of judicial review exists in Switzerland? Is there anything in place to hold these people accountable?
So who is it that should prosecute the prosecutors?
I do know that there's a proposed standard for Bluetooth specifically for medical devices--there are some pacemakers and ICDs out there (most of 'em these days, I understand) that have bluetooth built into 'em so that the doctors can read information off of 'em without having to place electrodes and whatnot--and also so that they can patch the firmware, if necessary.
This is why they're using bluetooth, I think, rather than something else--because it's already used for similar medical device communications.
Like how long his legs are, or how many steps he's taken?
For some reason, I get the impression that a 1-mm cable really wouldn't have the rigidity needed to get past the 'puckering' and make its way up to where it needed to look.
However, the Adult Novelty Toy industry would probably be interested in this "spinning" function...
I'd probably freak out a bit if I felt this "bouncing back and forth" inside my throat or stomach. I prefer to swallow inanimate objects, thank you; I may be a geek, but I don't go for goldfish swallowing.
They didn't make backups beforehand? What kinda incompetent sysadmins do they have over there anyway?
Shush, I'm trying to put together a business model based on that idea. Don't go blabbing it everywhere! ;-p
Well, if you have enough of it, you can get to be president...