You are correct, this is merely automating a process that the police do anyhow, and making it more efficient. And I encourage anything that gets police to do their real job rather than hand out speeding tickets all day.
What troubles me is the line about misdemeanors. I'll have to read the article more what that entails, if someone can be bought in for missing a parking ticket or what not.
But more importantly, will it become a camera society like England. Because now, by reading 900 plates, they possibly have a snapshot of where those 900 cars (and presumably their owners) were at any one time. Will they keep that info?
You see, if this technology really catches on, what will happen is that the criminal will switch someone's license plate (most people won't notice if their license plate is different as long as it's the same state and not a vanity one) and then put that onto the target car shortly after stealing it. That means mostly-law-abiding people with a few misdemeanors will have to watch out.
People always focus on presidential elections, but pay scant attention to anything below that. You know who votes in schoolboard elections? Teachers. They have a direct interest in it - these are the people who they negotiate with about salaries (next time you hear whining about teachers being underpaid in the suburbs - kick them in the shins, most suburban teachers get paid extremely well and get better benefits, sickdays, and healthcare than most of us).
Anyway, most schoolboards are filled with people who have no problem spending your money on bullshit. Also, many teachers are extremely reluctant to use software they are familiar with - thus they would rather spend your money than take a day to familiarize themselves with anything different. I can't blame them, but it misses the big pictures on costs and licenses.
performs calculations for me and other such function. Sort of a floating point coprocessor for the human mind - our brains are certainly weak in some areas where we have to rely on tools such as calculators/computers to get by - maybe the next step is attaching them directly.
Sometimes I wonder if, without outside help, we are going to reach a plateau of scientific development because of our limited minds and the amount of time education takes these days (personally I think the amount learned in a 12 year public school could be reduced 8, and in a typical college reduced to 2.5 years.... but that's another issue).
I think it should be extended so much so, that eventually the descendents of the Grimm brothers can sue Disney into oblivion for infringing on their works.
You can smell a BS argument always coming because the very act of trying to define "high art" invites someone to come along and prove you wrong or for the younger generation to ignore you and flock to it. It's not even a debate worth having.
The only thing that generally seems to define what is art and what isn't is that it seems to always be a man-made somehow (not always). I think this attachment of a human ego as a creator/author/manipulator of the piece is important distinction -- you don't see too many things of nature pushed as "art." But beyond that, it's who you can convince to open their pursestrings to that "art" and for how much.
I think the only debate worth having, once a genre for that piece of art is defined, is whether that piece is to be considered at the epitome of that genre or not. This is at least somewhat productive at you are providing a service to people who do not want to sort for the gems among the countless baubles themselves.
Ebert should recognize he is in this game himself in regards to movies, and that genre was once contested as to whether it is truly an art form (long ago). Once he recognizes that, he'll begin to see how untenable his position in regards to games ultimately is.
nuclear weapons/research: Albert Einstein and many other exiles from Europe computers: John Von Neumann (Hungarian) rockets and space: America's space and rocket program was kickstarted by a nucleus of German scientists after the war bought here
That is not to say we don't have our own home grown talent - just that science is an international activity and we have been lucky enough to be able to draw the best and brightest, foreign or domestic, to our country.
Whether it remains so in the long run, I am not certain - it requires an open and free country (something we're losing) and enough wealth, of course, as cutting edge science often requires funds scientists usually don't have themselves and hence the US was a good place to find patronage.
I certainly don't browse the net or access info with my other phones, simply because it is too clunky. Of course, to be really nice, we will have to wait anywher from revision 2 to 4.
It will be interesting if Apple will ever decide to make a real portal of its own, or be content to partner with google.
You see, they look at Google and do not get jealous of Google's achievements per se, they get jealous of Google's revenue streams and hence are attacking the revenue stream (advertising) without adding value to the consumer.
Now, you may argue that this bloatware will make the OS cheaper, but what I think will likely happen over the long run (if this ever goes through) is that the cheapest OS will cost the same and people will have to buy a "premium" version to avoid the ads. If people complain, Microsoft will point out that they got the ad-supported version "free" with the OEM computer (while not mentioning the OEM also paid for that copy).
agreed. i'm 27 soon and i've only just grown a brain in the last few years. before age 24, I just had no fucking clue, and worse yet i THOUGHT i did just like others my age.
Have you maybe though that this is you and a fraction of the rest of the population? I am tired of someone's experience being expanded onto applying to everyone as a quasi-universal experience.
I know people over 50 that still act and think like teenagers. And I know teenagers that have it together without acting like they are the masters of the world.
That said, advocating passiveness of the original parent is about the dumbest idea I have ever heard of. For one, if I wanted to learn how to cook - do I stay back, observe for years, and wait to do anything? No, I absorb one thing at a time, and then try it myself. I might fail the first few times, but I will become infinitely better much sooner than somebody who becomes an armchair cook watching Rachael Ray all day.
Second, passiveness and complacency is precisely the problem with politics. Let the more experienced people take care of it. Well, we have let others take care of it. Look at our country today - two big sides of "experienced" adults mostly with rigid adherence to "their" political party despite all else, our nation with neck up in debt with several looming financial disasters in the future our politicians believe they can either borrow their way out of or don't care since they'll be long gone by then, etcetera.
Yeah, I'd rather have people in as early as possible. Yeah, they will make mistakes early on. But I figure someone inexperienced at 18 making mistakes will recover and be more willing to change their opinions than someone who is 35, observationally experienced and practically inexperienced, and set in their ways.
Let's not forget, many of the "experienced" senior citizens are also voting to look out of their interests. It could and should be counterbalanced.
*You may notice my sarcastic use of experience throughout. I believe anybody who supports a particular political party in this day and age, particularly one of the big 2, has not learned anything of value from their so-called experience. There are good people in both parties, but that is inspite of the party's best trying otherwise. Since most people of any age fall in this category, a lot of experience is not being put to use anyway. I refer you all to George Washington's farewell address.
They are not saying smoking is good for you. They are just saying nicotine may have benefits in certain circumstance. Coca leaves also may have some benefit, but no is is advocating crack as a cure-all. So may red wine, but that also doesn't mean drowning yourself in moonshine is better because it has more alcohol.
The human body is way too complicated for simplistic analysis.
BTW, I heard that if you are taking one cigarette and put it in a glass of water (cigarette tea), that drinking it can kill you. So nicotene is plenty toxic, if taken the wrong way.. But how often does a person die of 1 cigarette or even a 1,000 of them when taken the normal way.
To put things into perspective -- so far in 2007, 16th place Kubuntu has slightly higher numbers than the 1st place in 2002 -- Mandrake. And 1st Place, Ubuntu, has 5x the number of hits than Mandrake in 2002. 2003 ranking went up ever so slightly, so I don't think the site became popular overnight.
That is one metric. Not terribly scientific, but indicative of something.
Violence is nothing new to kids. Before the good graphics, games like Contra on NES were played and kids imagined the blood and guts for themselves. Before that, they would go outside and play Cowboys&Indians or GI Joe and imagine the same basic violence.
And movies have provided a nonstop buffet of violence - horror films, action films, you name it. In all ratings except G (and even then - some Disney movies have fighting afterall). And they have BEEN REALISTIC for years. Hell, it goes back to the days of the Colluseum and much earlier than that.
I don't know why the onus is on video games who are just becoming realistic the last few years. The fact is, if video games were not as such, kids would turn to other entertainment that would show/provide violence. It's ingrained within us.
The only question is if there are responsible adult around to guide them on what is right and wrong in real life and distinguish bullshit from fact.
It's the only game I need that's only for PS3. I might even wait until they port it though. $500 for one game is too expensive.
Also going to wait to see what Wii games are out this Christmas. With the immense popularity, I expect Wii will get a surge of games - but knowing that games take time to make, I wonder when it will happen. Perhaps Fall of '08.
Because nobody can appreciate the idea of building, say, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon or the Lighthouse at Alexandria using only ancient technology and materials without actually seeing them?
I can also appreciate the idea of the largest mountain in the world, but without seeing it, it misses something. Humans are very much creatures of experience. That's why learning theory from a book is vastly less powerful to most people than experiencing effects of the theory in real life.
OTOH, I have been thouroughly underwhelmed by the Colloseum. So it works both ways.
I also need to say you are an extremely jaded person. Maybe you need to get laid.
Probably worth pointing out that while speed cameras pay for themselves we don't have millions of the things on the roads yet, at least where I live.
Um no. They don't pay for themselves. The average driver, who all speed, pays for them. The robots don't produce anything of value, other than tickets. Unless you think that is a worthwhile commodity.
Speeding is overrated anyway. Most speeds for roads are set artificially low, so they can give you a ticket anytime. I'm in an area where a ton of drivers are idiots and don't follow all the other rules (turn signals, tailgating, not yielding the right of way, cutting you off). Instead of the easy metric of speeding, which is all just moneymaking, why not enforce these other laws that actually would contribute more to safety than every more speed cameras?
Most of the original seven wonders are long gone. That's why this was needed. Really, what was the original list? Just a compilation from the Greco-Roman point of view. This time this could have more international flavor.
This is also good exposure not just to the 7 winners, but to all the nominees. I certainly learn about a few sights I have not heard of before. Unless you think us Americans really ought to go to stay ignorant and go to Disneyland every year (I give no money to that company).
Slashdot Mirror
After a while? If a number turns up nothing, why should it be stored in the first place? Storing it would be the most dangerous part.
You are correct, this is merely automating a process that the police do anyhow, and making it more efficient. And I encourage anything that gets police to do their real job rather than hand out speeding tickets all day.
What troubles me is the line about misdemeanors. I'll have to read the article more what that entails, if someone can be bought in for missing a parking ticket or what not.
But more importantly, will it become a camera society like England. Because now, by reading 900 plates, they possibly have a snapshot of where those 900 cars (and presumably their owners) were at any one time. Will they keep that info?
You see, if this technology really catches on, what will happen is that the criminal will switch someone's license plate (most people won't notice if their license plate is different as long as it's the same state and not a vanity one) and then put that onto the target car shortly after stealing it. That means mostly-law-abiding people with a few misdemeanors will have to watch out.
Make everybody a criminal in theory, so it's easier is to suppress the general population.
And after having seen your second sentence, I think you should hold off the spelling Nazi comments lest a grammar Nazi comes after you.
People always focus on presidential elections, but pay scant attention to anything below that. You know who votes in schoolboard elections? Teachers. They have a direct interest in it - these are the people who they negotiate with about salaries (next time you hear whining about teachers being underpaid in the suburbs - kick them in the shins, most suburban teachers get paid extremely well and get better benefits, sickdays, and healthcare than most of us).
Anyway, most schoolboards are filled with people who have no problem spending your money on bullshit. Also, many teachers are extremely reluctant to use software they are familiar with - thus they would rather spend your money than take a day to familiarize themselves with anything different. I can't blame them, but it misses the big pictures on costs and licenses.
From your own comment "especially if their teachers prize presentation", it seems to be the teachers. I know many, adults are an inflexible bunch.
Kids couldn't give a shit.
than I will and using more polite words, but:
What type of retard would not be able to use MS Office after having used Open Office?
And are they the same retards that will have trouble handling a transition from MS Office 2003 to 2007?
Yeah, you know that, in theory, all computer languages are Turing Complete.
Still doesn't mean that I want to program in assembly rather than some higher level language.
performs calculations for me and other such function. Sort of a floating point coprocessor for the human mind - our brains are certainly weak in some areas where we have to rely on tools such as calculators/computers to get by - maybe the next step is attaching them directly.
Sometimes I wonder if, without outside help, we are going to reach a plateau of scientific development because of our limited minds and the amount of time education takes these days (personally I think the amount learned in a 12 year public school could be reduced 8, and in a typical college reduced to 2.5 years.... but that's another issue).
I think it should be extended so much so, that eventually the descendents of the Grimm brothers can sue Disney into oblivion for infringing on their works.
You can smell a BS argument always coming because the very act of trying to define "high art" invites someone to come along and prove you wrong or for the younger generation to ignore you and flock to it. It's not even a debate worth having.
The only thing that generally seems to define what is art and what isn't is that it seems to always be a man-made somehow (not always). I think this attachment of a human ego as a creator/author/manipulator of the piece is important distinction -- you don't see too many things of nature pushed as "art." But beyond that, it's who you can convince to open their pursestrings to that "art" and for how much.
I think the only debate worth having, once a genre for that piece of art is defined, is whether that piece is to be considered at the epitome of that genre or not. This is at least somewhat productive at you are providing a service to people who do not want to sort for the gems among the countless baubles themselves.
Ebert should recognize he is in this game himself in regards to movies, and that genre was once contested as to whether it is truly an art form (long ago). Once he recognizes that, he'll begin to see how untenable his position in regards to games ultimately is.
Look at:
nuclear weapons/research: Albert Einstein and many other exiles from Europe
computers: John Von Neumann (Hungarian)
rockets and space: America's space and rocket program was kickstarted by a nucleus of German scientists after the war bought here
That is not to say we don't have our own home grown talent - just that science is an international activity and we have been lucky enough to be able to draw the best and brightest, foreign or domestic, to our country.
Whether it remains so in the long run, I am not certain - it requires an open and free country (something we're losing) and enough wealth, of course, as cutting edge science often requires funds scientists usually don't have themselves and hence the US was a good place to find patronage.
Exactly. If it's open source and free, they could just fork it if it's that important, no? What is the bru-ha-ha about?
iPhone.
Right?
I certainly don't browse the net or access info with my other phones, simply because it is too clunky. Of course, to be really nice, we will have to wait anywher from revision 2 to 4.
It will be interesting if Apple will ever decide to make a real portal of its own, or be content to partner with google.
to fight Google.
You see, they look at Google and do not get jealous of Google's achievements per se, they get jealous of Google's revenue streams and hence are attacking the revenue stream (advertising) without adding value to the consumer.
Now, you may argue that this bloatware will make the OS cheaper, but what I think will likely happen over the long run (if this ever goes through) is that the cheapest OS will cost the same and people will have to buy a "premium" version to avoid the ads. If people complain, Microsoft will point out that they got the ad-supported version "free" with the OEM computer (while not mentioning the OEM also paid for that copy).
Have you maybe though that this is you and a fraction of the rest of the population? I am tired of someone's experience being expanded onto applying to everyone as a quasi-universal experience.
I know people over 50 that still act and think like teenagers. And I know teenagers that have it together without acting like they are the masters of the world.
That said, advocating passiveness of the original parent is about the dumbest idea I have ever heard of. For one, if I wanted to learn how to cook - do I stay back, observe for years, and wait to do anything? No, I absorb one thing at a time, and then try it myself. I might fail the first few times, but I will become infinitely better much sooner than somebody who becomes an armchair cook watching Rachael Ray all day.
Second, passiveness and complacency is precisely the problem with politics. Let the more experienced people take care of it. Well, we have let others take care of it. Look at our country today - two big sides of "experienced" adults mostly with rigid adherence to "their" political party despite all else, our nation with neck up in debt with several looming financial disasters in the future our politicians believe they can either borrow their way out of or don't care since they'll be long gone by then, etcetera.
Yeah, I'd rather have people in as early as possible. Yeah, they will make mistakes early on. But I figure someone inexperienced at 18 making mistakes will recover and be more willing to change their opinions than someone who is 35, observationally experienced and practically inexperienced, and set in their ways.
Let's not forget, many of the "experienced" senior citizens are also voting to look out of their interests. It could and should be counterbalanced.
*You may notice my sarcastic use of experience throughout. I believe anybody who supports a particular political party in this day and age, particularly one of the big 2, has not learned anything of value from their so-called experience. There are good people in both parties, but that is inspite of the party's best trying otherwise. Since most people of any age fall in this category, a lot of experience is not being put to use anyway. I refer you all to George Washington's farewell address.
They are not saying smoking is good for you. They are just saying nicotine may have benefits in certain circumstance. Coca leaves also may have some benefit, but no is is advocating crack as a cure-all. So may red wine, but that also doesn't mean drowning yourself in moonshine is better because it has more alcohol.
The human body is way too complicated for simplistic analysis.
BTW, I heard that if you are taking one cigarette and put it in a glass of water (cigarette tea), that drinking it can kill you. So nicotene is plenty toxic, if taken the wrong way.. But how often does a person die of 1 cigarette or even a 1,000 of them when taken the normal way.
While MS may want to lead you to believe that:), I believe there are ways, not to count the users, but to guage a relative amount.
Go to distrowatch, look at the Page Hit Rankings, and then compare it Year to Year.
http://distrowatch.com/index.php?dataspan=2002
To put things into perspective -- so far in 2007, 16th place Kubuntu has slightly higher numbers than the 1st place in 2002 -- Mandrake. And 1st Place, Ubuntu, has 5x the number of hits than Mandrake in 2002. 2003 ranking went up ever so slightly, so I don't think the site became popular overnight.
That is one metric. Not terribly scientific, but indicative of something.
Violence is nothing new to kids. Before the good graphics, games like Contra on NES were played and kids imagined the blood and guts for themselves. Before that, they would go outside and play Cowboys&Indians or GI Joe and imagine the same basic violence.
And movies have provided a nonstop buffet of violence - horror films, action films, you name it. In all ratings except G (and even then - some Disney movies have fighting afterall). And they have BEEN REALISTIC for years. Hell, it goes back to the days of the Colluseum and much earlier than that.
I don't know why the onus is on video games who are just becoming realistic the last few years. The fact is, if video games were not as such, kids would turn to other entertainment that would show/provide violence. It's ingrained within us.
The only question is if there are responsible adult around to guide them on what is right and wrong in real life and distinguish bullshit from fact.
Master Bates, Is it really you?
Wow, you have 3000+ computers and you can't afford a single PS3? It really must be that expensive:)
It's the only game I need that's only for PS3. I might even wait until they port it though. $500 for one game is too expensive.
Also going to wait to see what Wii games are out this Christmas. With the immense popularity, I expect Wii will get a surge of games - but knowing that games take time to make, I wonder when it will happen. Perhaps Fall of '08.
OTOH, I have been thouroughly underwhelmed by the Colloseum. So it works both ways.
I also need to say you are an extremely jaded person. Maybe you need to get laid.
Um no. They don't pay for themselves. The average driver, who all speed, pays for them. The robots don't produce anything of value, other than tickets. Unless you think that is a worthwhile commodity.
Speeding is overrated anyway. Most speeds for roads are set artificially low, so they can give you a ticket anytime. I'm in an area where a ton of drivers are idiots and don't follow all the other rules (turn signals, tailgating, not yielding the right of way, cutting you off). Instead of the easy metric of speeding, which is all just moneymaking, why not enforce these other laws that actually would contribute more to safety than every more speed cameras?
Most of the original seven wonders are long gone. That's why this was needed. Really, what was the original list? Just a compilation from the Greco-Roman point of view. This time this could have more international flavor.
This is also good exposure not just to the 7 winners, but to all the nominees. I certainly learn about a few sights I have not heard of before. Unless you think us Americans really ought to go to stay ignorant and go to Disneyland every year (I give no money to that company).