I use WeChat-pay, which is more-and-more accepted in America. It is not tied to a particular phone vendor or OS, and the data is stored in China where it is safe from the prying eyes of American corporations and government agencies. For purchases under $150, it is free of fees for either the customer or vendor. Peer-to-peer transfers are very easy.
I think that was the point he was trying to make -- Amazon has reached a level similar to government services.
But why is that a bad thing? I would rather get my services from a corporation than from the government. A corporation has a clear motivation to provide high quality service in order to keep my business. The government has no such incentive.
Just out of curiosity, why do you assume that it was one employee and many bad reviews?
Given a paragraph written by one of my co-workers, I can usually guess who wrote it. People tend to have patterns in their writing structures, have idiosyncratic choices in words and phrases, and even have patterns in their grammatical errors.
Your writing is like a fingerprint. That is how they caught the Unabomber.
Rather than good reviews for their own company, they could generate anonymous bad reviews for their competitors. That would still give them a comparative recruiting advantage, but would be much harder to track to its source.
Only housing is 400% more expensive. Gas is about 20% more. Most other things are about the same. Fresh produce is cheaper.
If you are getting a high California salary, and willing to live cheaply, you can save a ton of money.
When I moved to Silicon Valley, I lived in my van for two years. Then I got a private office, and slept on a roll-up mat. After a year of that, I had enough for a downpayment on a house, and rode the California real estate rollercoaster from there.
Beans cause farts because they contain oligosaccharide which is difficult to digest, and reaches the lower intestines intact, where it is metabolized by bacteria.
Donuts are the opposite. They contain simple sugars and refined starch that rapidly breaks down in the upper intestines. There is little left for the bacteria.
... but perhaps I just don't understand the average European.
I think not. I have many European friends, and I am occasionally surprised by their lack of concern about individual rights that are taken for granted in America. They are way more willing to accept censorship to suppress "hate speech", burqa bans, etc.
With such a wide gap in perspectives, conversations are almost pointless, so I just try to avoid talking about these issues with Europeans. Even with Americans, before discussing individual rights, I aways ask "What do you think of motorcycle helmet laws?"
At the same time, people who have been accused of one thing and subsequently "convicted" on a lesser count (or nothing at all) deserve to have the original charge properly tagged with the resolution of the case.
Why should that be the responsibility of a search engine?
So Yelp is allowed to keep going but medical professionals who impact lives instead of serving food are allowed to "be forgotten?"
There are Yelp reviews for medical professionals. A rude receptionist is by far the most common reason for a doctor to receive a poor Yelp review. I have never seen a Yelp review mention the quality of care.
Interesting. I once heard here that recidivism is lower in Nordic countries which relocate convicts, upon release, to a location far from where they used to live. The theory was that if they're separated from their old criminal friends and contacts then they're less likely to reoffend.
I just did some googling, and was unable to find a single citation for any Nordic country doing this. To the contrary, as an inmate nears release, Norway offers weekend releases to ease the reintegration with their family and community.
What makes you think the majority of data scientists have any relevant training?
Because it is so easy to do. Most of the courses are available for free on Youtube. I started watching Bayesian statistics and Tensorflow tutorials on Friday afternoon. By Monday morning, I was a data scientist.
Quoting the Slashdot story summary: "The US imprisons more people than any other country in the world."
It is more correct to say, "The US imprisons a higher percentage of its people than any other country in the world."
Either is correct. America is the world leader both in percent and absolute number of prisoners. China is the only other country that even comes close. China imprisons about a quarter as many people as a percentage, but even if you include the "re-education" camps in Xinjiang they are still below America in absolute numbers.
Prison is a big, profitable business in the United States. The companies that manage prisons are paid up to $70,000 per prisoner, per year.
Private prisons are a problem, and in my opinion should be shut down. But prison unions in government run prisons are also a big problem. The California prison union was a big financial supporter of the "three strikes" law that caused prison populations to soar, locking up thousands of non-violent geriatric geezers that should be in nursing homes instead of prison cells.
Private prisons and prison unions both work to not only lock up more offenders and lengthen sentences, but also to increase recidivism. It is well known that prisoners that keep in touch with their families and friends are more likely to successfully reintegrate with society. So the prisons actively work to prevent that, by moving prisoners out-of-state, denying visits for capricious reasons, and making phone calls expensive and infrequent.
It is a rotten corrupt process, and we all pay the price.
The point of a justice system is to punish people for what they have done, not for what they may do.
That is your opinion, but it certainly is not a universal viewpoint.
Many of us believe that prisons should not be for vengeance or punishment, but precisely for what you say they are not for: Preventing future crimes.
If someone is unlikely to be a physical threat to society, then they shouldn't be incarcerated. We can use techniques like ankle trackers and RFID to monitor them while they work, contribute to the economy, and pay restitution to their victims. By locking them up, not only are they more likely to reoffend upon release, but their children are also more likely to grow up to be criminals.
Despite spending far more on incarceration than any other country, America has a horrible record of recidivism. Other countries do far better. Even within the USA, states that spend more on prisons, and lock up more people, have worse outcomes by any measurable criteria. Louisiana is rock bottom.
America's penal system is extremely inexpensive, and a counter-productive breeding ground for future crime. But it does provide lots and lots of punishment.
It may be discrimination, but it is not illegal. Anti-discrimination laws apply to employment, housing, and lending. They don't apply to buying products.
There is no general law against discrimination. There are only laws against discrimination in specific situations against specific protected classes of people.
Slashdot Mirror
What does mobile payments provide to me that cash or card does not?
3FA instead of 1FA. To make a payment with my phone requires:
1. Physical possession of my phone
2. My fingerprint to login to the phone
3. My 4 digit PIN to authorize the transaction.
To use cash or CC (at least in America) requires:
1. Physical possession of the cash or card.
Cash theft is a big problem. Credit card fraud is common. Mobile payment fraud is nonexistent.
so NFC readers are slower to work down into retail
You don't need NFC. Most cashless transactions around the world are done with an app that scans a barcode using your cellphone's camera.
Guess what, not everyone has a smartphone
Phoneless people are either extremely poor, incarcerated, or a tiny idiosyncratic minority.
It is not worthwhile for companies to cater to any of these groups.
I use WeChat-pay, which is more-and-more accepted in America. It is not tied to a particular phone vendor or OS, and the data is stored in China where it is safe from the prying eyes of American corporations and government agencies. For purchases under $150, it is free of fees for either the customer or vendor. Peer-to-peer transfers are very easy.
I think that was the point he was trying to make -- Amazon has reached a level similar to government services.
But why is that a bad thing? I would rather get my services from a corporation than from the government. A corporation has a clear motivation to provide high quality service in order to keep my business. The government has no such incentive.
But was starts with a "w".
That doesn't make it a correct literary reference.
Dr Seuss's ABC book.
The present tense is correct. It is "is".
Just out of curiosity, why do you assume that it was one employee and many bad reviews?
Given a paragraph written by one of my co-workers, I can usually guess who wrote it. People tend to have patterns in their writing structures, have idiosyncratic choices in words and phrases, and even have patterns in their grammatical errors.
Your writing is like a fingerprint. That is how they caught the Unabomber.
Rather than good reviews for their own company, they could generate anonymous bad reviews for their competitors. That would still give them a comparative recruiting advantage, but would be much harder to track to its source.
I doubt you are earning 400% more, but sure...
Only housing is 400% more expensive. Gas is about 20% more. Most other things are about the same. Fresh produce is cheaper.
If you are getting a high California salary, and willing to live cheaply, you can save a ton of money.
When I moved to Silicon Valley, I lived in my van for two years. Then I got a private office, and slept on a roll-up mat. After a year of that, I had enough for a downpayment on a house, and rode the California real estate rollercoaster from there.
Homer isn't your typical human.
You don't get flatulence from donuts.
Beans cause farts because they contain oligosaccharide which is difficult to digest, and reaches the lower intestines intact, where it is metabolized by bacteria.
Donuts are the opposite. They contain simple sugars and refined starch that rapidly breaks down in the upper intestines. There is little left for the bacteria.
Any idea how much methane gets out in one rip?
A typical human fart is about 100ml and is about 7% methane. That is about 0.0003 mole, or about 0.005 grams.
There were no Neanderthals 56 million years ago.
Our direct ancestors from that epoch were lemurs.
... but perhaps I just don't understand the average European.
I think not. I have many European friends, and I am occasionally surprised by their lack of concern about individual rights that are taken for granted in America. They are way more willing to accept censorship to suppress "hate speech", burqa bans, etc.
With such a wide gap in perspectives, conversations are almost pointless, so I just try to avoid talking about these issues with Europeans. Even with Americans, before discussing individual rights, I aways ask "What do you think of motorcycle helmet laws?"
At the same time, people who have been accused of one thing and subsequently "convicted" on a lesser count (or nothing at all) deserve to have the original charge properly tagged with the resolution of the case.
Why should that be the responsibility of a search engine?
So Yelp is allowed to keep going but medical professionals who impact lives instead of serving food are allowed to "be forgotten?"
There are Yelp reviews for medical professionals. A rude receptionist is by far the most common reason for a doctor to receive a poor Yelp review. I have never seen a Yelp review mention the quality of care.
Interesting. I once heard here that recidivism is lower in Nordic countries which relocate convicts, upon release, to a location far from where they used to live. The theory was that if they're separated from their old criminal friends and contacts then they're less likely to reoffend.
I just did some googling, and was unable to find a single citation for any Nordic country doing this. To the contrary, as an inmate nears release, Norway offers weekend releases to ease the reintegration with their family and community.
You must have enjoyed The Minority Report.
I enjoyed the movie, but completely disagreed with the conclusion.
The way "the system" worked in the movie:
1. Identify potential offenders
2. Intervene to prevent the crime
3. Incarcerate them for life
#3 is stupid, since the "offender" didn't actually do anything. But the moral of the movie is that #1 is the problem.
How about:
1. Identify potential offenders.
2. Intervene to prevent the crime
3. Offer them some counselling services.
Like the fines for GDPR violations
Not really the same. Facebook has a huge presence in the EU, with offices in many countries.
They have only a handful of employees in Russia, and (I believe) no office there.
Russia has little leverage to enforce a fine.
What makes you think the majority of data scientists have any relevant training?
Because it is so easy to do. Most of the courses are available for free on Youtube. I started watching Bayesian statistics and Tensorflow tutorials on Friday afternoon. By Monday morning, I was a data scientist.
Do you understand the difference between "justice system" and "prison system"?
I live in America, where there is no difference.
Do you have an idea what the word "justice" in "justice system" means?
Yes, I know what a euphemism is.
Quoting the Slashdot story summary: "The US imprisons more people than any other country in the world."
It is more correct to say, "The US imprisons a higher percentage of its people than any other country in the world."
Either is correct. America is the world leader both in percent and absolute number of prisoners. China is the only other country that even comes close. China imprisons about a quarter as many people as a percentage, but even if you include the "re-education" camps in Xinjiang they are still below America in absolute numbers.
Prison is a big, profitable business in the United States. The companies that manage prisons are paid up to $70,000 per prisoner, per year.
Private prisons are a problem, and in my opinion should be shut down. But prison unions in government run prisons are also a big problem. The California prison union was a big financial supporter of the "three strikes" law that caused prison populations to soar, locking up thousands of non-violent geriatric geezers that should be in nursing homes instead of prison cells.
Private prisons and prison unions both work to not only lock up more offenders and lengthen sentences, but also to increase recidivism. It is well known that prisoners that keep in touch with their families and friends are more likely to successfully reintegrate with society. So the prisons actively work to prevent that, by moving prisoners out-of-state, denying visits for capricious reasons, and making phone calls expensive and infrequent.
It is a rotten corrupt process, and we all pay the price.
The point of a justice system is to punish people for what they have done, not for what they may do.
That is your opinion, but it certainly is not a universal viewpoint.
Many of us believe that prisons should not be for vengeance or punishment, but precisely for what you say they are not for: Preventing future crimes.
If someone is unlikely to be a physical threat to society, then they shouldn't be incarcerated. We can use techniques like ankle trackers and RFID to monitor them while they work, contribute to the economy, and pay restitution to their victims. By locking them up, not only are they more likely to reoffend upon release, but their children are also more likely to grow up to be criminals.
Despite spending far more on incarceration than any other country, America has a horrible record of recidivism. Other countries do far better. Even within the USA, states that spend more on prisons, and lock up more people, have worse outcomes by any measurable criteria. Louisiana is rock bottom.
America's penal system is extremely inexpensive, and a counter-productive breeding ground for future crime. But it does provide lots and lots of punishment.
Do women pay more for used cars?
If so, is this discrimination?
It may be discrimination, but it is not illegal. Anti-discrimination laws apply to employment, housing, and lending. They don't apply to buying products.
There is no general law against discrimination. There are only laws against discrimination in specific situations against specific protected classes of people.
> I'm trying to think of something else that's deeply computer integrated and has remained largely unchanged in the past 20 years.
RS-232 hasn't changed since 1960. Most modern computers don't offer an external port, but there are usually serial port pins on the motherboard.
You can also use an RS-232 to USB adapter to talk to a 60s-era teletype machine.
Multiple-assertion citations required.
Current best processes for water electrolysis (PEM or alkaline electrolysis) have an effective electrical efficiency of 70–80%. Hydrogen fuel cells have an efficiency of 70-80%. So best case is 0.8*0.8 = 64%. Plus you need copious energy to compress or liquify the hydrogen for storage, which lowers the effective efficiency even more.
Vanadium-redox has a RTE of 65-75%.
Pumped storage has an RTE of 70-80%.
In practice, compressed air has an RTE of about 70%.