I apologize for my earlier harshness, I see your point now.
The problem seems to be that you live in a corrupt police state and cannot trust the so-called public servants to actually fulfill their roles in the public's interest.
Sadly, this seems to be a general problem in the world today.
Only if it is impossible for you to stop. You can't treat the yellow as an extended green, it's a grace period so you don't run the red because the light changed 1/10th of a second before you entered the intersection.
I am very well aware that some cities have put in extra-short yellow times, that needs to stop. But so does the perception that you have to "catch the yellow" by speeding up. If you're speeding up to catch it, you should have stopped instead.
Phew, lots of troll (or douchebag, take your pick) replies to your comment. For what it's worth, I agree with you completely. I consider myself a better than average driver, precisely because I refuse to participate in any distracting activities while I drive, I take good care of me vehicle and I make a conscious effort to improve my driving skills as often as possible.
I also do the speed limit withing +/- 5-10kph or so, depending on traffic or if I'm overtaking. I keep right except to pass and I don't try to cut off people who are trying to merge.
Listen up, fucknozzles, granny going slightly below the speed limit is NOT a carte blanche for you to act like a fucking idiot in traffic.
I'd like you to meet the numerous douchebags who have tailgated me while I was doing the speed limit in the rightmost lane (or even on single-lane roads).
Stop tailgating. It achieves nothing and endangers others needlessly. You cannot justify tailgating by using the old "but he was being annoying first!" argument. It doesn't work that way.
In my experience, Nintendo have been extremely reasonable.
My sister's DS Lite broke almost 4 years after she bought it. The hinge broke, which is a known failure point. She contacted Nintendo, they paid for shipping both ways and fixed her DS for free in less than two weeks including shipping time.
Earlier (back in the GameCube days), I got wind that there was this special anniversary edition disc of the first two Zelda games plus Ocarina of TIme and Master Quest, but I couldn't find it in any shops. I wrote Nintendo directly about it and they said "oh sure, we'll send one to you right away, you'll have to pay shipping, but that's it".
It is foolish to have the 'kill window' button too close to any other button. Kill should be on one side (e.g. right), and other functions on the left.
This is my main beef with the Windows interface (Mac OSX as well). The UI is decent enough in general on Win7. It's not perfect, there is no such thing as a UI that is perfect for everyone. But those damn titlebar buttons, they got them very nearly right in Win3 and promptly fucked them up in Win95 and every iteration since.
I'm mostly on KDE4 these days, and the very first thing I did was change the title bar buttons to minimize+maximize on the left, title in the middle and close on the right, I removed everything else. Other than that and sloppy focus+no window raise on focus change, I mostly left the Windows-clone default setup alone since it works perfectly fine for me.
We do the red+amber thing here in Denmark as well. Since a lot of people (me included) shift into neutral when stopped, it gives you a chance to get into 1st gear and be ready for the light to change to green, leading to less frustration for the people behind you.
Have you ever been to the UK outside of the very center of a major city?
No, but I've lived on Funen and in West Jutland for a total of 22 years before I moved to Copenhagen. Most of that time I used public transport. It wasn't ideal, but it was there. And I saw plenty of opportunities for improvement that would greatly benefit people living outside major cities. Some places have even implemented telebusses, which work absolutely brilliantly. They run a normal route, but you can call and request a deviation within the service area, it's the perfect mix of bus and taxi services.
I'm not arguing that cars should be abolished at all, I love cars. But I hate the idea of automated driverless cars.
More people on good, solid public transportation equals less single-occupant cars on the road equals more space for everyone.
I'm probably going to come off as a real asshole here, but all those people who died, were incapacitated or came very close? 99% certainty that it was their own damn fault.
People consistently overestimate their own skill levels and buy too powerful bikes for their own skill levels, because "I ain't riding no pussy-ass girlie bike!". A modern supersport 600cc or 1000cc bike is a ferocious beast, yet people think they can jump on and ride it perfectly right away, just because they have a license (or endorsement or whatever), without even considering the (extremely basic) MSF safety courses that are available. The very same courses that cover perhaps 5% of the material covered in a proper licensing test such as the ones in Europe.
It takes skill and respect for the abilities of the machine. A vehicle that can go 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, yet costs the same as a beater car demands undivided attention, respect and skill. That's what I love about it.
I agree with most of your points, automated cars are an all-or-nothing proposition where ever they are implemented. You cannot safely mix automated and non-automated cars.
As to the motorcycling hyperbole/sad argument, have you ever ridden a motorcycle? It is unlike anything else, the closest thing you'll likely ever get to piloting a low-flying fighter jet. The connection between man and machine is exhilarating and joyous down to every last millisecond I am riding. The easy of maintenance and the associated rituals allow me to tinker and feel a great sense of a accomplishment. Through maintenance and alterations, my bike is slowly progressing towards being more a creation of my whims and desires and less a creation of some Japanese engineer 15 years ago.
It's not for everyone, but for some people, it's everything.
Horses are allowed in traffic here, apart from motorways. They're regarded as pedestrians and subject to the same laws and regulations.
But hold on a moment, "potential killer machine" is an insane term. Do you use knives in your kitchen? Potential deadly weapon! How about drain cleaner? Publicly available deadly poison! Or even water? Potential drowning hazard!
Automated cars is just another step in the direction of a completely disregard for personal responsibility.
"Safe enough", my ass. Have some fun, live a little and stop expecting technology to cure societal problems.
Perhaps your transportation infrastructure needs to change then, and not in the direction of automated cars.
Have you ever been to London, Paris or Copenhagen? Public transportation and bicycles WORK, trains, busses and taxis are the perfect solution to congestion. By cutting down on the total number of cars, you free up the roads and make them safer for the people in rural areas where public transportation is hard to implement effectively. This also makes the roads safer for the needed delivery drivers who will deliver heavy goods that cannot easily be transported by public transport or bicycle.
I'm not talking about racing or breaking laws or acting recklessly in general, I'm talking about taking a relaxing cruise out to the beach or out in the countryside, riding around and enjoying the intricate connection between man and machine. I admit it's a simple pleasure, but even if it is just the feeling of "I'm making this happen, I'm in complete control of this finely-built and advanced piece of machinery, tremble before me for I am MAN" etc..
Relegating that to a closed track completely negates the feeling of freedom and independence that you get from just picking and random direction, setting out and seeing what's out there.
It may sound hokey, but even if personal control of my car is taken away from me, no one will ever take motorcycling away from me. I'd rather die than lose that.
It's not quite the same situation, since horseback riding is still allowed on public roads, at least where I live. Riders are regarded as pedestrians for all intents and purposes.
I cannot imagine that personally-driven cars (or horses etc. for that matter) will be allowed on public roads once automated cars are commonplace. It's a case of giving up your freedom for perceived safety, but because it involves some cool tech and image-processing, it's suddenly cool. I admit the tech is very impressive, but seriously, are we all really this lazy and feckless that we need everything to just happen automatically with the push of a button?
You're speaking only from the perspective of the commuter or the average person for whom driving is a chore.
But for a lot of us, driving is fun and enjoyable.
When driverless cars are everywhere (perhaps even legally required if you want to use any road larger than a dirt track), where will I drive just for the fun of it? Where will I ride my motorcycle?
Only on closed tracks with aggressive noise ordinances and strict time tables? Hell no.
Some of us actually want to drive. We like it, it is an enjoyable activity to us.
What happens when the laws change to only allow automated driverless cars on the roads, where will I drive my decidely non-automatic car, where will I ride my motorcycle?
On specially closed-off tracks only during specified time slots due to noise complaints from NIMBY neighbors, maximum speed of normal walking pace to ensure my safety? Fuck that.
Slashdot Mirror
Mod parent -1 Horribly NaÃve for thinking that's all the Powers That Be will do once SOPA passes.
I don't know, but it sounds delightfully dirty.
I apologize for my earlier harshness, I see your point now.
The problem seems to be that you live in a corrupt police state and cannot trust the so-called public servants to actually fulfill their roles in the public's interest.
Sadly, this seems to be a general problem in the world today.
Only if it is impossible for you to stop. You can't treat the yellow as an extended green, it's a grace period so you don't run the red because the light changed 1/10th of a second before you entered the intersection.
I am very well aware that some cities have put in extra-short yellow times, that needs to stop. But so does the perception that you have to "catch the yellow" by speeding up. If you're speeding up to catch it, you should have stopped instead.
Boo fucking hoo.
You were speeding, you got caught, pay the goddamn fine.
Good on you for challenging the tickets for things you didn't do, but don't be a fucking dick about tickets for things you clearly DID DO.
Phew, lots of troll (or douchebag, take your pick) replies to your comment. For what it's worth, I agree with you completely. I consider myself a better than average driver, precisely because I refuse to participate in any distracting activities while I drive, I take good care of me vehicle and I make a conscious effort to improve my driving skills as often as possible.
I also do the speed limit withing +/- 5-10kph or so, depending on traffic or if I'm overtaking. I keep right except to pass and I don't try to cut off people who are trying to merge.
Listen up, fucknozzles, granny going slightly below the speed limit is NOT a carte blanche for you to act like a fucking idiot in traffic.
Have some goddamn patience.
I'd like you to meet the numerous douchebags who have tailgated me while I was doing the speed limit in the rightmost lane (or even on single-lane roads).
Stop tailgating. It achieves nothing and endangers others needlessly. You cannot justify tailgating by using the old "but he was being annoying first!" argument. It doesn't work that way.
Or you could just stop on yellow like you're supposed to.
Stop breaking the law.
In my experience, Nintendo have been extremely reasonable.
My sister's DS Lite broke almost 4 years after she bought it. The hinge broke, which is a known failure point. She contacted Nintendo, they paid for shipping both ways and fixed her DS for free in less than two weeks including shipping time.
Earlier (back in the GameCube days), I got wind that there was this special anniversary edition disc of the first two Zelda games plus Ocarina of TIme and Master Quest, but I couldn't find it in any shops. I wrote Nintendo directly about it and they said "oh sure, we'll send one to you right away, you'll have to pay shipping, but that's it".
It is foolish to have the 'kill window' button too close to any other button. Kill should be on one side (e.g. right), and other functions on the left.
This is my main beef with the Windows interface (Mac OSX as well). The UI is decent enough in general on Win7. It's not perfect, there is no such thing as a UI that is perfect for everyone. But those damn titlebar buttons, they got them very nearly right in Win3 and promptly fucked them up in Win95 and every iteration since.
I'm mostly on KDE4 these days, and the very first thing I did was change the title bar buttons to minimize+maximize on the left, title in the middle and close on the right, I removed everything else. Other than that and sloppy focus+no window raise on focus change, I mostly left the Windows-clone default setup alone since it works perfectly fine for me.
More to the point: Axe the 5-10 minute long commercial interruptions. Show commercials between shows, not in the goddamn middle of them.
How is the latency on the USB NIC?
I'd assume it was worse than a dedicated PCI or onboard NIC, but I've been wrong before.
We do the red+amber thing here in Denmark as well. Since a lot of people (me included) shift into neutral when stopped, it gives you a chance to get into 1st gear and be ready for the light to change to green, leading to less frustration for the people behind you.
You're phrasing it wrong.
I'd live with the daily commute so I can still have the fun drives during the weekend. Automated cars are an all-or-nothing proposition.
"Active safety" and "skill". Look them up.
Bad drivers are the cause of traffic accidents, not cars themselves. Forcing a technological solution to a societal problem is useless at best.
Have you ever been to the UK outside of the very center of a major city?
No, but I've lived on Funen and in West Jutland for a total of 22 years before I moved to Copenhagen. Most of that time I used public transport. It wasn't ideal, but it was there. And I saw plenty of opportunities for improvement that would greatly benefit people living outside major cities. Some places have even implemented telebusses, which work absolutely brilliantly. They run a normal route, but you can call and request a deviation within the service area, it's the perfect mix of bus and taxi services.
I'm not arguing that cars should be abolished at all, I love cars. But I hate the idea of automated driverless cars.
More people on good, solid public transportation equals less single-occupant cars on the road equals more space for everyone.
I'm probably going to come off as a real asshole here, but all those people who died, were incapacitated or came very close? 99% certainty that it was their own damn fault.
People consistently overestimate their own skill levels and buy too powerful bikes for their own skill levels, because "I ain't riding no pussy-ass girlie bike!". A modern supersport 600cc or 1000cc bike is a ferocious beast, yet people think they can jump on and ride it perfectly right away, just because they have a license (or endorsement or whatever), without even considering the (extremely basic) MSF safety courses that are available. The very same courses that cover perhaps 5% of the material covered in a proper licensing test such as the ones in Europe.
It takes skill and respect for the abilities of the machine. A vehicle that can go 0-60 in less than 4 seconds, yet costs the same as a beater car demands undivided attention, respect and skill. That's what I love about it.
I agree with most of your points, automated cars are an all-or-nothing proposition where ever they are implemented. You cannot safely mix automated and non-automated cars.
As to the motorcycling hyperbole/sad argument, have you ever ridden a motorcycle? It is unlike anything else, the closest thing you'll likely ever get to piloting a low-flying fighter jet. The connection between man and machine is exhilarating and joyous down to every last millisecond I am riding. The easy of maintenance and the associated rituals allow me to tinker and feel a great sense of a accomplishment. Through maintenance and alterations, my bike is slowly progressing towards being more a creation of my whims and desires and less a creation of some Japanese engineer 15 years ago.
It's not for everyone, but for some people, it's everything.
Horses are allowed in traffic here, apart from motorways. They're regarded as pedestrians and subject to the same laws and regulations.
But hold on a moment, "potential killer machine" is an insane term. Do you use knives in your kitchen? Potential deadly weapon! How about drain cleaner? Publicly available deadly poison! Or even water? Potential drowning hazard!
Automated cars is just another step in the direction of a completely disregard for personal responsibility.
"Safe enough", my ass. Have some fun, live a little and stop expecting technology to cure societal problems.
Perhaps your transportation infrastructure needs to change then, and not in the direction of automated cars.
Have you ever been to London, Paris or Copenhagen? Public transportation and bicycles WORK, trains, busses and taxis are the perfect solution to congestion. By cutting down on the total number of cars, you free up the roads and make them safer for the people in rural areas where public transportation is hard to implement effectively. This also makes the roads safer for the needed delivery drivers who will deliver heavy goods that cannot easily be transported by public transport or bicycle.
I'm not talking about racing or breaking laws or acting recklessly in general, I'm talking about taking a relaxing cruise out to the beach or out in the countryside, riding around and enjoying the intricate connection between man and machine. I admit it's a simple pleasure, but even if it is just the feeling of "I'm making this happen, I'm in complete control of this finely-built and advanced piece of machinery, tremble before me for I am MAN" etc..
Relegating that to a closed track completely negates the feeling of freedom and independence that you get from just picking and random direction, setting out and seeing what's out there.
It may sound hokey, but even if personal control of my car is taken away from me, no one will ever take motorcycling away from me. I'd rather die than lose that.
It's not quite the same situation, since horseback riding is still allowed on public roads, at least where I live. Riders are regarded as pedestrians for all intents and purposes.
I cannot imagine that personally-driven cars (or horses etc. for that matter) will be allowed on public roads once automated cars are commonplace. It's a case of giving up your freedom for perceived safety, but because it involves some cool tech and image-processing, it's suddenly cool. I admit the tech is very impressive, but seriously, are we all really this lazy and feckless that we need everything to just happen automatically with the push of a button?
You're speaking only from the perspective of the commuter or the average person for whom driving is a chore.
But for a lot of us, driving is fun and enjoyable.
When driverless cars are everywhere (perhaps even legally required if you want to use any road larger than a dirt track), where will I drive just for the fun of it? Where will I ride my motorcycle?
Only on closed tracks with aggressive noise ordinances and strict time tables? Hell no.
Some of us actually want to drive. We like it, it is an enjoyable activity to us.
What happens when the laws change to only allow automated driverless cars on the roads, where will I drive my decidely non-automatic car, where will I ride my motorcycle?
On specially closed-off tracks only during specified time slots due to noise complaints from NIMBY neighbors, maximum speed of normal walking pace to ensure my safety? Fuck that.
Give me freedom on wheels or give me death.
Over?
Are you completely ignorant to what is happening right now in Tahrir square in Cairo?