It takes a government to save every village in the world...
Ideas that work well... oftentimes only apply to the specific area which was studied.... charitable development needs to stop thinking big and start working incrementally, village by village
But wait! Homogenizing problems is what the government excels at! It's "too hard" to examine all of the individual situations*, and they'll all match up in the wash, so let's come up with a single, proven solution that solves things for everyone, everywhere, always. Any Unforeseen Consequences, if they exist, have a short Half-Life.
I really hadn't considered that NGOs had succumbed to this, I thought it was just something in the culture in D.C. and elsewhere. (Space aliens from Mars with their mind control, still pining for our Earth women, maybe.)
So is this a self-limiting thing of politics, the gathering of people and ideas together for a common cause? In order to reach a consensus you have to flatten out the facts SO MUCH that in some situations you miss the problem completely or even aggravate it?
(This does not bode well for the upcoming One World Government. Maybe the Illuminati invented the internet for this very reason?)
---------
*) Unless one of the members needs to profit from a particular situation; then we'll make an exception.
Supremes: a bunch of senile old luddites.
Lesser judges... judge du jour
Now now, be very careful there or someone'll attempt to go all GitMo on your a$$.
Why? Because you might be telling the truth there. And then they'll escort and torture (sorry, "interview") you until you finally tell them exactly what they want to hear.
Understand? Not what you said -- or not even perhaps the truth as you know it -- but what they expect and want you to say; the truth that they want to hear.
And then they'll stop -- who continues to torture a person once they've finally told everything they know?
(Because if they did, you might change your story yet again and that might make them ACTUALLY upset with you.)
They were either a CATV system or not a CATV depending on the way the... judge du jour
So: the judges weren't all consistent with each other throughout the legal system. I'd like to sue them over this but unfortunately I have no standing to do so, and even if I tried the courts wouldn't even begin to listen to me.
If only there were a company around that had a nonsensical judgement against them that could perhaps start working on this (... if only they weren't broke.)
It shows the authorities how TOR can be used in their favor...
But... but... what if we want to waterboa^H^H^H chat with the "informant"?
After all, if he's willing to betray his friends, how can we continue to trust him without sharing a little drink once in a while?
Back on topic: yes, but you assume that the people in control (a) WANT Tor in a good light, (b) don't want their department to get tainted with the "evil Tor" stigma, and (c) actually understand what's going on.
Strike that last one, the people right UNDERNEATH the people on top know how things work; the people on top know how people work.
--------------
Paranoid? I'm not paranoid.... Why do you continue to look at me like that?:-)
Well in California, Yes now means "Yes". I'm afraid that it's only "off" in some context you don't (aren't meant to) understand. But it's OK, it's Apple, after all --they're just backing up all of your keystrokes and swipes to the iCloud in case you forget them. After all: you might forgot how to reenable it and they only want to help.
OTOH, I've got a current Onkyo amp with a bright blue OFF light. It recently confused a friend of mine who was trying to turn off the stereo. She couldn't get both the light and the speakers off at the same time and complained that it was broken.
Seriously, what's so broken about X? Is it just a pain in the ass for developers to work with?
I thought I'd take a look at X. And suddenly it became easy to get the interface to behave *exactly* the way I wanted instead in somebody else's idea of what I should want.
And the documentation was complete, correct, and easy to follow.
Here's a transcript of a video call I recently had with a Lead Mir Developer(*): Ahhh! Geez, over here -- it's another luzer. Look, using this is just so obvious it's painful. We write wonderful, self-documenting code and haven't had a bug in months! And it's completely compatible with X -- here, let me show you.
See? It starts up and looks and responds completely like X, but it's got our better code and much better responsiveness. All you have to do it is read the simple documentation that Joe is writing by looking at his personal copy of the source code once he finishes up with his editor. The physical book will be placed on Amazon's self-publishing area shortly for a small pittance once we finally release the production code to the world. We'll be sure to keep releasing new books as the interface changes so you can expect an continual enjoyable reading experience.
Once you see what great things we've done for you you'll just wonder how you ever put up... Hmm, what? Joe isn't here anymore? Did he quit? No, he died?? No problem, we'll get Indu to pick up right where Joe left off; he's almost done with that nightly beginning English class. We'll let him write the SystemD hooks too, it'll be good practice for him to actually write some code for once.
Well OK, so never mind all that, it'll be out shortly. Let me show you the software: I start my system and Mir wakes up and responds exactly like X does, and you can't even tell the... WOULD YOU STOP LOOKING over my...what do you mean I forgot to start the Mir daemon and this actually *IS* X? Oh well duh, you're right.
So, we restart our display server and... what the HELL is THIS? What is that screen tearing bit and that looks like the top half of a line of text with the corrupted bottom half way over there. Who wrote this junk, it just looks horrible on... What do you mean, this is our current production code?
Ummm, yeah, it'll all be great once we're completely finished, though, it's over 90% done -- you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Yeah, well, umm -- BRB, OK?
---
(*) and if you believe this, I've got an guaranteed Ebola cure to sell you. Only $19.95 -- order now and get the second days' dose for free!
So if a TSA person frisks someone with Ebola, does he pass it on to all of their subsequent "customers?"
I think NOT, because it's the bodily fluids that pass it on, and they're groping but not kissing all the passengers -- at least usually. If the one who's going to scan me is doing that, I want a DIFFERENT agent just on general principals.
You're NOT contagious until you're actively showing symptoms, and then you have to somehow get it on someone else. It's not going to chase down an uninfected person like a tiger on Nat Geo or magically float thru the walls like a ghost.
"The best means of prevention are similar to those you would practice to prevent the common cold or the flu, and it starts at your bathroom sink. Thoroughly washing your hands, and practicing good hygiene with soap and water, is a good first step to preventing infection."
The early signs and symptoms of the Ebola virus include:
Fever
Severe headache
Joint and muscle aches
Chills
Weakness
Symptoms may become increasingly severe over time, the Mayo Clinic said, with additional symptoms present, including:
Nausea and vomiting
Diarrhea (may be bloody)
Red eyes
Raised rash
Chest pain and cough
Stomach pain
Severe weight loss
Bleeding, usually from the eyes, and bruising (people near death may bleed from other orifices, such as ears, nose and rectum)
Well then I guess I'm a racist cunt too, because I agree with him (amiga3D (567632)) and I think he's right on the money: friends, Mecca, NSA, Patriot Act and all.
We'll both go take our racism over there, out of your way. Have fun chatting with the highly enthusiastic Religion of Peace supporters -- but I'm afraid you'll need a piece handy if you'd like to continue the conversation for an extended period of time.
May I point you to this highly charged and offensive picture and article here. His point is that this picture is designed to offend nearly everyone, yet no one has died from it -- that's been reported. But add a picture of "Allah" in there and things mightget interesting. But I'm sure all of those Muslims were all just innocently sitting in a circle singing Kumbaya because that's all they ever do, right?
ISIS would like me dead (not personally) because I'm an atheist. Yep, they're extremists. So is most everyone (I assume) at Westboro Baptist Church, but at least they haven't killed anyone.
Maybe cockroaches should inherit the Earth -- we don't seem to be doing too hot of a job lately.
Islam at the top religion in the US in 10 years is just silly talk. It would require MASS conversion.
Alternatively, just reduce the number of non-Muslims in the country. And 13 years ago they started the job, if you get my drift.
Oh, you didn't? The radicals (ultra-conservatives?) want to kill the infidels. ALL of them. (Us, presumably. Or if nothing else, ME -- I'm an atheist and won't convert. [Well, I'd hope.]) They don't want to meet and chat, not have an election, nor tweet about it. You'll either convert, or you'll die, and I'm sure they'll be watching the newly converted for a decade or two.
WARNING! OFFENSIVE RELIGIOUS CARTOON PICTURE FOLLOWS! Don't click or view if you're under the age of majority in your location (usually 18-21, I think.) Gee, you're responsible for your own actions -- what a concept!
"Following the publication of the image above, in which the most cherished figures from multiple religious faiths were depicted engaging in a lascivious sex act of considerable depravity, no one was murdered, beaten, or had their lives threatened... Though some members of the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths were reportedly offended by the image, sources confirmed that upon seeing it, they simply shook their heads, rolled their eyes, and continued on with their day."
Just wait until the self-driving cars get on the road in mass. They'll be 100% empty!
No? Right now I can email Pizza Hut and have them make me a pizza for pick-up. Automate the billing (I use a credit card to pay -- oh noes, how am I ever going to get that to them?) and have the (correct) pizza inserted in the car window, which then drives itself back home. Delivery? No thanks, I'll have my car do it. Hell, add a Coke (NOT Pepsi!) to that and I'll have the dual A/C cool it while keeping the pizza piping hot.
Upscaling that via Sams Club (Cosco), Staples, and others: right now you can place your order by internet and have it waiting on you for pickup. Now just pay a little extra for handling to have it placed in your car for you.
Why on Earth would I want to waste my time shopping (for standard items) when I can pay a small extra amount and not go at all?
Note: It'll be a cold day in hell before the self-driving car is accepted on the road for one simple reason: Liability Insurance. (Read: lawsuits and punitive damanges for the owner of the killer car, the mechanic who last worked on it, the car company that designed and built it, the programmers who worked on the software, and the sensor manufacturers. The parent/spouse of the first person hurt or killed by a self-driving car will win a large fraction of our national GDP. And if the lawyers are ambitious enough, it might even BE the GDP. My car bruised little Johnny inside who wasn't wearing a seat belt while doing an emergency stop? I don't care if the MS legal contracts say "Not for use in life-critical applications" -- you used it while building the car and software; you're libel as well.) That you might actually not be at fault has actually nothing to do with it.
And the other reason: TERRORISM! (They've won, by the way, if our government is so scared of them they're trying to control all of us.) Just think of all of the evil people who could pack the car full to the brim of explosives / radiation / anchovies and have it drive itself somewhere and explode? Think I'm joking?
Ummm: they can do that right now by adding a driver/drone who can also steer the car off-road while the car itself can't. They don't care at all about the driver; I don't think driver-LESS cars will make any difference. It'd be cheaper to buy a "normal" car and add a suicide driver than it would be to buy an "automatic" one.
Nice try, FBI and all -- but sorry, that's one's a miss. Keep trying; you can't guard against what you can't envision. Then again, remember: cost/benefit - don't guard against EVERYTHING, there is no 100.00000% safety. Ever. Anywhere. "We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security." -- Some Ignorant, Worthless Dude who Obviously didn't know Anything about Important Things.
Cool! I'll get up right now, hop into my exoskeleton and walk around some. It's pimped out with camouflage paint, A/C, a radio, AND a leather seat -- no problems for me! (No in-dash GPS though; they're too darn expensive.)
And what's more, I generate much more energy that I use when running on a treadmill!
Now if I were to ACTUALLY take this seriously, I'd be up and walking for the rest of my life since I could never sit down AGAIN. Hell, I'd better order a stand-up coffin now and avoid the rush.
Eye Problems From Space Affect At Least 21 NASA Astronauts
Oh noes! All of the future Space Pirates are now in serious trouble!
Captain: Arrr, ye matys! Let's board that tiny hauler thair before they knows what hit them. Ther'll be treasure enough for us all!
Crewmember 1: Arrr, ey, capt'in!
(Captain runs to the gangway in order to board the other ship.) "Open port -- board and attaaaack!"
Crewmember 2: Ey ey, capt'in!
Crewmember 1: But Capt'in! Ey -- my ey! I can't see the controls to dock us!
(Door slides open. Entire problem shortly solved.)
Thus, Global Warming continues unabated. The world is doomed. News at 11. And now, a word from our sponsor: LensCrafters is now selling asbestos-tinted glasses with cutlass frames. Hurry before supplies run out!
She doesn't care about patent licensing, but just wants to watch a movie easily....
My wife is fine with respecting copyright and paying for entertainment. She just expects that entertainment should not be the reward for solving a puzzle of compatibility.
OK, so seriously: since you ordered it from Amazon (but it wasn't in your physical possession yet), why not download it and watch from TPB in the meantime?
Or if that offends your sensibilities (since you didn't actually have the physical media and thus you haven't yet legally executed any shrink-wrap agreements), then put that copy up on the shelf and let someone else rip and encode it for you. THEY might not have a license to use or distribute, but YOU have a license to watch -- literally. Your wife wants convenience? That pirate copy will play on your Roku, Plex, HDMI, VGA, or even CGA. (You reallly want to look at that last link, it's funny.)
Going out on a limb here, you do need to purchase the show before watching it (which you've done.) But the actual device you watch the show on is immaterial, rather it be a 3" smart watch, a 11" tablet, or your brand new 19,720" TV
And if you feel you must watch your exact particular copy of bits, then visit: SlySoft which can generate a file that will (once again) play thru anything you have. Burning a new unprotected physical DVD and leaving the original untouched is what it's designed for, but I think more people (I know that *I* do) rip their copies and use the computer as a giant movie jukebox instead. The original DVDs stay in a box in the basement while the bits I actually use are getting dizzy spinning around on disks.
(And we won't even mention the evilness of this. It's a free NetFlix-like "publicly provided" movie source where the only thing missing (I think) is the legal license to distribute the source material to start with.)
I'm not even 100% convinced that the ideal of universal access to information is an unalloyed good
That's actually an interesting question, I've always assumed that it is. That being said, I've always assumed the information is correct or can be verified correct, or can be eventually demonstrated as incorrect and then repaired.
Remember the pseudo-joke about how "unwritten laws are the worst to change, because they're not written down in any one place?" Rumors and hearsay are hard to correct, because maybe they're right, maybe they're only partially right, maybe they were right once but not now, maybe they'll be right AGAIN, and maybe "THEY" want to keep it secret from you. Oh, and it might just be someone's misunderstanding or compete total BS as well.
Now, it's impossible to ALWAYS check EVERYTHING out FULLY -- there's just not enough time. So you have to trust someone, and realize that THEY'RE trusting someone as well. Everyone ends up with information sources: some trustworthy, some not-so-much, and some completely worthless. And some actually less than worthless since they can cause confusion, angst, and dispute the common wisdom. (Anyone remember 'Question authority?') And it's also obvious that heavy things fall faster than light ones. And the Sun moves around the Earth, which is Flat -- all common wisdom at the time.)
Unless you're in math, I think it's a never-ending, never-settled topic. *I* think we landed on the moon; other people think we did not. We both have "truth" on our side, but seemingly I've got positive records (technology, written records, pictures, etc.) while other people have something similar, only I think pointing to a conspiracy.
So: did we go, or not? Make up your own mind. Or you can have your mind made up for you by a prominent scholar like this one: "there needed to be standards to prevent users from dangers such as 'immoral and inhumane' videos and photos, rumors, and espionage." This is coming from a man of high moral standards who have been vouched for by other people.
Oh, and the same leader says "mobile... and broadband internet [are] morally wrong", too. I'm still confused if 300-baud is moral or not. After using it decades ago, I think I'd classify it as immoral -- but for a different reason.
Information is Power; that's why the powerful (Church, Governments, individuals, etc) want to control the flow (spin) if not the actual information itself.
Slashdot Mirror
Colossus absolutely was general purpose ...
No, it wasn't
So which of you two are going to tell Colossus that?
Eliza says: "So you say you feel the need to worship me. Tell me more."
GLaDOS says: "Well it's about bloomin' time. Go reattach that part that fell off me already."
Clippy says: "You appear to be writing a holy book. Would you like to change my appearance to one of my 666 skins before I begin to hel...p? "
Researchers have unearthed highly advanced malware ... spy on a wide range of international targets in diverse industries
Oh my! Evil people are actively breaking into computers! Just imagine what they could do if they actually had the source code to what the targets run.
It's only by using proprietary software are we able to keep ourselves safe like this.
Ha! Appropriate /. tagline while reading: Pound for pound, the amoeba is the most vicious animal on earth.
Ideas that work well ... oftentimes only apply to the specific area which was studied. ... charitable development needs to stop thinking big and start working incrementally, village by village
But wait! Homogenizing problems is what the government excels at! It's "too hard" to examine all of the individual situations*, and they'll all match up in the wash, so let's come up with a single, proven solution that solves things for everyone, everywhere, always. Any Unforeseen Consequences, if they exist, have a short Half-Life.
I really hadn't considered that NGOs had succumbed to this, I thought it was just something in the culture in D.C. and elsewhere. (Space aliens from Mars with their mind control, still pining for our Earth women, maybe.)
So is this a self-limiting thing of politics, the gathering of people and ideas together for a common cause? In order to reach a consensus you have to flatten out the facts SO MUCH that in some situations you miss the problem completely or even aggravate it?
(This does not bode well for the upcoming One World Government. Maybe the Illuminati invented the internet for this very reason?)
---------
*) Unless one of the members needs to profit from a particular situation; then we'll make an exception.
They all must be blocked.
No no, you quoted it wrong: "They should all be destroyed."
(The laughter at the end there needs a LOT more bass, and a whole lot more "Ha"s. He got it wrong too.)
Supremes: a bunch of senile old luddites. Lesser judges ... judge du jour
Now now, be very careful there or someone'll attempt to go all GitMo on your a$$.
Why? Because you might be telling the truth there. And then they'll escort and torture (sorry, "interview") you until you finally tell them exactly what they want to hear.
Understand? Not what you said -- or not even perhaps the truth as you know it -- but what they expect and want you to say; the truth that they want to hear.
And then they'll stop -- who continues to torture a person once they've finally told everything they know?
(Because if they did, you might change your story yet again and that might make them ACTUALLY upset with you.)
Innovation?
No ... Lesser judges wouldn't let them.
"There's nothing new under the sun."
--- Proverb
... "and it's our job to make sure it STAYS that way."
--- entrenched corporate interests.
"...unless we own or can completely control them."
--- entrenched corporate interest lawyers.
They were either a CATV system or not a CATV depending on the way the ... judge du jour
So: the judges weren't all consistent with each other throughout the legal system. I'd like to sue them over this but unfortunately I have no standing to do so, and even if I tried the courts wouldn't even begin to listen to me.
If only there were a company around that had a nonsensical judgement against them that could perhaps start working on this (... if only they weren't broke.)
It shows the authorities how TOR can be used in their favor...
But ... but ... what if we want to waterboa^H^H^H chat with the "informant"?
... Why do you continue to look at me like that? :-)
After all, if he's willing to betray his friends, how can we continue to trust him without sharing a little drink once in a while?
Back on topic: yes, but you assume that the people in control (a) WANT Tor in a good light, (b) don't want their department to get tainted with the "evil Tor" stigma, and (c) actually understand what's going on.
Strike that last one, the people right UNDERNEATH the people on top know how things work; the people on top know how people work.
--------------
Paranoid? I'm not paranoid.
are you trusting that "off" means off.
Well in California, Yes now means "Yes". I'm afraid that it's only "off" in some context you don't (aren't meant to) understand. But it's OK, it's Apple, after all --they're just backing up all of your keystrokes and swipes to the iCloud in case you forget them. After all: you might forgot how to reenable it and they only want to help.
OTOH, I've got a current Onkyo amp with a bright blue OFF light. It recently confused a friend of mine who was trying to turn off the stereo. She couldn't get both the light and the speakers off at the same time and complained that it was broken.
I agreed.
Seriously, what's so broken about X? Is it just a pain in the ass for developers to work with?
I thought I'd take a look at X. And suddenly it became easy to get the interface to behave *exactly* the way I wanted instead in somebody else's idea of what I should want.
And the documentation was complete, correct, and easy to follow.
Here's a transcript of a video call I recently had with a Lead Mir Developer(*): Ahhh! Geez, over here -- it's another luzer. Look, using this is just so obvious it's painful. We write wonderful, self-documenting code and haven't had a bug in months! And it's completely compatible with X -- here, let me show you.
... Hmm, what? Joe isn't here anymore? Did he quit? No, he died?? No problem, we'll get Indu to pick up right where Joe left off; he's almost done with that nightly beginning English class. We'll let him write the SystemD hooks too, it'll be good practice for him to actually write some code for once.
... WOULD YOU STOP LOOKING over my ...what do you mean I forgot to start the Mir daemon and this actually *IS* X? Oh well duh, you're right.
... what the HELL is THIS? What is that screen tearing bit and that looks like the top half of a line of text with the corrupted bottom half way over there. Who wrote this junk, it just looks horrible on ... What do you mean, this is our current production code?
See? It starts up and looks and responds completely like X, but it's got our better code and much better responsiveness. All you have to do it is read the simple documentation that Joe is writing by looking at his personal copy of the source code once he finishes up with his editor. The physical book will be placed on Amazon's self-publishing area shortly for a small pittance once we finally release the production code to the world. We'll be sure to keep releasing new books as the interface changes so you can expect an continual enjoyable reading experience.
Once you see what great things we've done for you you'll just wonder how you ever put up
Well OK, so never mind all that, it'll be out shortly. Let me show you the software: I start my system and Mir wakes up and responds exactly like X does, and you can't even tell the
So, we restart our display server and
Ummm, yeah, it'll all be great once we're completely finished, though, it's over 90% done -- you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. Yeah, well, umm -- BRB, OK?
---
(*) and if you believe this, I've got an guaranteed Ebola cure to sell you. Only $19.95 -- order now and get the second days' dose for free!
If he was IN the moon, he's either an Evil Genius in his hidden lair, or a guy struggling to breathe for a multitude of reasons.
Either way, I'd still want to know about him. ("One MILLION Dollars...")
So if a TSA person frisks someone with Ebola, does he pass it on to all of their subsequent "customers?"
I think NOT, because it's the bodily fluids that pass it on, and they're groping but not kissing all the passengers -- at least usually. If the one who's going to scan me is doing that, I want a DIFFERENT agent just on general principals.
link
"The best means of prevention are similar to those you would practice to prevent the common cold or the flu, and it starts at your bathroom sink. Thoroughly washing your hands, and practicing good hygiene with soap and water, is a good first step to preventing infection."
The early signs and symptoms of the Ebola virus include:
Symptoms may become increasingly severe over time, the Mayo Clinic said, with additional symptoms present, including:
Be careful, but not frightened.
Well then I guess I'm a racist cunt too, because I agree with him (amiga3D (567632)) and I think he's right on the money: friends, Mecca, NSA, Patriot Act and all.
We'll both go take our racism over there, out of your way. Have fun chatting with the highly enthusiastic Religion of Peace supporters -- but I'm afraid you'll need a piece handy if you'd like to continue the conversation for an extended period of time.
May I point you to this highly charged and offensive picture and article here. His point is that this picture is designed to offend nearly everyone, yet no one has died from it -- that's been reported. But add a picture of "Allah" in there and things might get interesting. But I'm sure all of those Muslims were all just innocently sitting in a circle singing Kumbaya because that's all they ever do, right?
ISIS would like me dead (not personally) because I'm an atheist. Yep, they're extremists. So is most everyone (I assume) at Westboro Baptist Church, but at least they haven't killed anyone.
Maybe cockroaches should inherit the Earth -- we don't seem to be doing too hot of a job lately.
Mr. Cuntness signing off.
Islam at the top religion in the US in 10 years is just silly talk. It would require MASS conversion.
Alternatively, just reduce the number of non-Muslims in the country. And 13 years ago they started the job, if you get my drift.
... Though some members of the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths were reportedly offended by the image, sources confirmed that upon seeing it, they simply shook their heads, rolled their eyes, and continued on with their day."
Oh, you didn't? The radicals (ultra-conservatives?) want to kill the infidels. ALL of them. (Us, presumably. Or if nothing else, ME -- I'm an atheist and won't convert. [Well, I'd hope.]) They don't want to meet and chat, not have an election, nor tweet about it. You'll either convert, or you'll die, and I'm sure they'll be watching the newly converted for a decade or two.
I'm not sure what the Islamic moderates actually think, but I'm fairly sure they're scared of the radicals too. But what matters is what they actually do. "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." --Edmund Burke, maybe. It also applies to the Westboro Baptist Church.
WARNING! OFFENSIVE RELIGIOUS CARTOON PICTURE FOLLOWS! Don't click or view if you're under the age of majority in your location (usually 18-21, I think.) Gee, you're responsible for your own actions -- what a concept!
It's here.
"Following the publication of the image above, in which the most cherished figures from multiple religious faiths were depicted engaging in a lascivious sex act of considerable depravity, no one was murdered, beaten, or had their lives threatened
Once your data leaves your direct physical possession, it's no longer yours.
You either better hope that you're not interesting or any encryption lasts for the lifetime of the data, neither of which is forever.
What was the saying a decade or so ago? "Don't publish it if you don't want to see it on the front page of tomorrows' newspaper."
(For you youngsters: "Newspaper", noun: a massively printed and delivered blog written by multiple people that other people paid for.)
"I'm sorry," and then under his breath "... that I got caught."
Louder: "There, I said it. They can just file a Google 'Forget about me' form and then it's all better. Can I go home now?"
I see a lot of cars driving around 80% empty.
Just wait until the self-driving cars get on the road in mass. They'll be 100% empty!
No? Right now I can email Pizza Hut and have them make me a pizza for pick-up. Automate the billing (I use a credit card to pay -- oh noes, how am I ever going to get that to them?) and have the (correct) pizza inserted in the car window, which then drives itself back home. Delivery? No thanks, I'll have my car do it. Hell, add a Coke (NOT Pepsi!) to that and I'll have the dual A/C cool it while keeping the pizza piping hot.
Upscaling that via Sams Club (Cosco), Staples, and others: right now you can place your order by internet and have it waiting on you for pickup. Now just pay a little extra for handling to have it placed in your car for you.
Why on Earth would I want to waste my time shopping (for standard items) when I can pay a small extra amount and not go at all?
Note: It'll be a cold day in hell before the self-driving car is accepted on the road for one simple reason: Liability Insurance. (Read: lawsuits and punitive damanges for the owner of the killer car, the mechanic who last worked on it, the car company that designed and built it, the programmers who worked on the software, and the sensor manufacturers. The parent/spouse of the first person hurt or killed by a self-driving car will win a large fraction of our national GDP. And if the lawyers are ambitious enough, it might even BE the GDP. My car bruised little Johnny inside who wasn't wearing a seat belt while doing an emergency stop? I don't care if the MS legal contracts say "Not for use in life-critical applications" -- you used it while building the car and software; you're libel as well.) That you might actually not be at fault has actually nothing to do with it.
And the other reason: TERRORISM! (They've won, by the way, if our government is so scared of them they're trying to control all of us.) Just think of all of the evil people who could pack the car full to the brim of explosives / radiation / anchovies and have it drive itself somewhere and explode? Think I'm joking?
Ummm: they can do that right now by adding a driver/drone who can also steer the car off-road while the car itself can't. They don't care at all about the driver; I don't think driver-LESS cars will make any difference. It'd be cheaper to buy a "normal" car and add a suicide driver than it would be to buy an "automatic" one.
Nice try, FBI and all -- but sorry, that's one's a miss. Keep trying; you can't guard against what you can't envision. Then again, remember: cost/benefit - don't guard against EVERYTHING, there is no 100.00000% safety. Ever. Anywhere. "We will bankrupt ourselves in the vain search for absolute security." -- Some Ignorant, Worthless Dude who Obviously didn't know Anything about Important Things.
Cool! I'll get up right now, hop into my exoskeleton and walk around some. It's pimped out with camouflage paint, A/C, a radio, AND a leather seat -- no problems for me! (No in-dash GPS though; they're too darn expensive.)
And what's more, I generate much more energy that I use when running on a treadmill!
Now if I were to ACTUALLY take this seriously, I'd be up and walking for the rest of my life since I could never sit down AGAIN. Hell, I'd better order a stand-up coffin now and avoid the rush.
Eye Problems From Space Affect At Least 21 NASA Astronauts
Oh noes! All of the future Space Pirates are now in serious trouble!
Captain: Arrr, ye matys! Let's board that tiny hauler thair before they knows what hit them. Ther'll be treasure enough for us all!
Crewmember 1: Arrr, ey, capt'in!
(Captain runs to the gangway in order to board the other ship.) "Open port -- board and attaaaack!"
Crewmember 2: Ey ey, capt'in!
Crewmember 1: But Capt'in! Ey -- my ey! I can't see the controls to dock us! (Door slides open. Entire problem shortly solved.)
Thus, Global Warming continues unabated. The world is doomed. News at 11.
And now, a word from our sponsor: LensCrafters is now selling asbestos-tinted glasses with cutlass frames. Hurry before supplies run out!
She doesn't care about patent licensing, but just wants to watch a movie easily. ...
My wife is fine with respecting copyright and paying for entertainment. She just expects that entertainment should not be the reward for solving a puzzle of compatibility.
OK, so seriously: since you ordered it from Amazon (but it wasn't in your physical possession yet), why not download it and watch from TPB in the meantime?
Or if that offends your sensibilities (since you didn't actually have the physical media and thus you haven't yet legally executed any shrink-wrap agreements), then put that copy up on the shelf and let someone else rip and encode it for you. THEY might not have a license to use or distribute, but YOU have a license to watch -- literally. Your wife wants convenience? That pirate copy will play on your Roku, Plex, HDMI, VGA, or even CGA. (You reallly want to look at that last link, it's funny.)
Going out on a limb here, you do need to purchase the show before watching it (which you've done.) But the actual device you watch the show on is immaterial, rather it be a 3" smart watch, a 11" tablet, or your brand new 19,720" TV
And if you feel you must watch your exact particular copy of bits, then visit: SlySoft which can generate a file that will (once again) play thru anything you have. Burning a new unprotected physical DVD and leaving the original untouched is what it's designed for, but I think more people (I know that *I* do) rip their copies and use the computer as a giant movie jukebox instead. The original DVDs stay in a box in the basement while the bits I actually use are getting dizzy spinning around on disks.
(And we won't even mention the evilness of this. It's a free NetFlix-like "publicly provided" movie source where the only thing missing (I think) is the legal license to distribute the source material to start with.)
Give me a Debian box over Ubuntu any day [for stability.]
But I want to stay employed! Give me a Windows box instead.
I'm not even 100% convinced that the ideal of universal access to information is an unalloyed good
That's actually an interesting question, I've always assumed that it is. That being said, I've always assumed the information is correct or can be verified correct, or can be eventually demonstrated as incorrect and then repaired.
... and broadband internet [are] morally wrong", too. I'm still confused if 300-baud is moral or not. After using it decades ago, I think I'd classify it as immoral -- but for a different reason.
Remember the pseudo-joke about how "unwritten laws are the worst to change, because they're not written down in any one place?" Rumors and hearsay are hard to correct, because maybe they're right, maybe they're only partially right, maybe they were right once but not now, maybe they'll be right AGAIN, and maybe "THEY" want to keep it secret from you. Oh, and it might just be someone's misunderstanding or compete total BS as well.
Now, it's impossible to ALWAYS check EVERYTHING out FULLY -- there's just not enough time. So you have to trust someone, and realize that THEY'RE trusting someone as well. Everyone ends up with information sources: some trustworthy, some not-so-much, and some completely worthless. And some actually less than worthless since they can cause confusion, angst, and dispute the common wisdom. (Anyone remember 'Question authority?') And it's also obvious that heavy things fall faster than light ones. And the Sun moves around the Earth, which is Flat -- all common wisdom at the time.)
Unless you're in math, I think it's a never-ending, never-settled topic. *I* think we landed on the moon; other people think we did not. We both have "truth" on our side, but seemingly I've got positive records (technology, written records, pictures, etc.) while other people have something similar, only I think pointing to a conspiracy.
So: did we go, or not? Make up your own mind. Or you can have your mind made up for you by a prominent scholar like this one: "there needed to be standards to prevent users from dangers such as 'immoral and inhumane' videos and photos, rumors, and espionage." This is coming from a man of high moral standards who have been vouched for by other people.
Oh, and the same leader says "mobile
Information is Power; that's why the powerful (Church, Governments, individuals, etc) want to control the flow (spin) if not the actual information itself.