It's not really an invalid date problem, but an incorrect conversion problem. If it's like every other Unix system (and there's no reason to believe it's not) the date and time are stored internally as an integer and converted on the fly to whatever format is required for display. However, when comparing two dates, the unconverted date (possibly plus or minus any adjustments for time zones) is used.
Unfortunately, I have an iBook that cannot do this so I am stuck hitting Control You might want to take a look at SideTrack. I've been using it for years and it works really well, especially on older laptops that don't support the right click with two fingers. However, I liked it so much that when I upgraded to a MacBook Pro I continued to use it in lieu of the built in driver.
Which is great until your kids grow up and decide to get the hell out of the podunk town they grew up in, and you only get to see them every other Thanksgiving.
Not to disparage your lifestyle, but I don't consider retiring young in a small town much to look forward to.
It's Saturday night after midnight, and I can go out to grab a late dinner with some friends, head to any number of bars and clubs, or even just go grocery shopping if I want to*. Even during the day, I have vastly more options for shopping, dining, and socializing than I ever would in a small town. Also, my career options would be drastically limited were I living outside the city I live in. Yes, I could find something to do, but I doubt it would provide me with the same sense of satisfaction I get from my current job. That's a luxury I don't think I could do without.
*Of course, I'm not doing any of those things--I'm posting on Slashdot--but that's not the point.
I personally put my options before my arguments (e.g. "ls -l ~/public_html" ), but I can see one very good argument for putting the options after the arguments. Specifically, if you type, for example,
rm -rf/tmp/*
you run the risk (however remote) of accidentally hitting enter after typing the first / and causing some serious damage to your system. Or you might be trying to remove something in/etc and end up wiping out the whole directory with one misstroke.
By putting the -rf at the end, you practically eliminate that risk.
Portability and ease of access are the main advantages for someone like you describe, I'd guess. A laptop has to be opened and set on some sort of surface to be useful. On a tablet, you just flip open the cover, turn it on, and you're good to go. You can even use it while walking around, or running to catch a plane, for example.
The RIAA has failed to adapt to a changing technological landscape. Whether or not they are actually losing sales to P2P sharing, they are nonetheless alienating their customer base by attempting to control it. In the end, I think they are shooting themselves in the foot.
We are already starting to see the backlash against them, and not just from the music buying public. We need look no further than the spate of artists who are experimenting with alternative distribution methods that circumvent the stranglehold the RIAA has on the music industry.
I just don't agree with you. The statement is pretty clear. If they wanted to say what you said, they could use phrases like "is correlated with". They did not. They wanted to show that P2P increases CD sales, and that's the claim they made.
Also, as I said before, this doesn't really prove anything. It could be that people who buy more CDs are just more likely to engage in file sharing because they are music lovers. Put in economic terms, P2P sharing and CDs can be considered substitute goods. People will choose either one, depending on which is more economically suitable at the time (taking into account such factors as a desire to own physical media, bonus material, cover art, etc.--in other words, I don't mean just the price).
Let's say there's a guy who lives in North Dakota, and it's constantly snowing. He gets sick of buying salt all the time, so he installs a de-icing system in his driveway. However, the de-icer is not 100% reliable, and it doesn't cover all the area he wants thawed. So he continues to buy salt in lesser amounts.
Compared to a guy in Florida, you could reach the same conclusion: People who install de-icers buy more salt than those who don't. That conclusion ignores the fact, however, that were it not for the de-icer, our North Dakotan friend would buy even MORE salt than he otherwise would. In any case, because he has a need or desire for thawing his driveway, he will certainly buy more than the guy in Florida. As I see it, the RIAA's argument is still valid.
I don't really agree with the RIAA's argument, but I don't think attacking the logic behind it is a constructive way of defeating it. I certainly don't think this study accomplishes that. I have the suspicion, however, that that's exactly what this study was designed to do. And that is why I doubt its methodology.
I see what you're saying, but I'm not even sure how you could pose a question like that. At least, not one that would give you reliable information upon which to base such a conclusion.
I think what they've shown here is that P2P sharing does not decrease CD sales. That is, there is not a negative correlation. In fact, there may even be a positive correlation. But claiming that one causes the other strikes me as a politically biased conclusion. In other words, they set out to prove a position, and interpreted the facts in order to support that conclusion.
In addition, I think part of their hypothesis is flawed:
H2b. People who engage in music downloading and P2P file-sharing do so partly because they wish to hear a soundtrack or an artist before buying. Thus, there is a positive relationship between P2P file-sharing and music purchasing. First, this is poorly worded. Are they asking whether everyone engages in P2P filesharing has a partial desire to preview music? Or rather that some P2P filesharers have such a desire? Second, the conclusion does not logically follow. Whether some people use P2P to preview music, it may or may not be enough to offset the number of potential people who use P2P in lieu of buying music. Therefore, proving that some people do use P2P to preview before buying does not prove that "there is a positive relationship between P2P file-sharing and music purchasing."
Again, I'm not disputing the statistical results of the study. I believe it is a reasonable conclusion that P2P file sharing does not have a significant negative impact on CD sales. What I am disputing is the conclusion that P2P sharing increases sales of CDs. It may or may not actually be true, but that fact simply does not appear to be supported by the evidence.
...among Canadians actually engaged in it, P2P file-sharing increases CD purchasing. We estimate that the effect of one additional P2P download per month is to increase music purchasing by 0.44 CDs per year. However, it is important to remember that correlation does not equal causation. It seems just as probable, if not more so, that people who buy more CDs are more likely to engage in file sharing.
I find it curious that they would phrase their results in such a manner. From the data gathered in the study, I believe it is impossible to determine causation. To me, this throws their entire credibility into question.
I think that taking courses at a community college is the best idea. In fact, take it for a letter grade. Although the grade doesn't really matter, this will give you an incentive to do the work and stay with the class.
I think it's only too easy to just pick up a math book and tell yourself you're going to do the work, only to get frustrated and abandon it a few weeks later. By having an actual class that you have to make time to attend, you're making more of a commitment and are more likely to stay with it.
Your main gripe about Maya is that you can't easily find the functions you want to use?!
You can pretty much customize Maya any way you want. Not only are there nice toolbars for you to add custom functions to, you can assign any function to any key you choose. You can put the extrude function on the e key, or command-shift-option-f11 if you really want. Maya is exceptionally flexible like that. I have yet to find something that I want to do that Maya simply doesn't have the capability to perform. Granted, it may sometimes be somewhat complicated or tricky to do, but thankfully the exceptional documentation that comes with the program usually has an answer.
Oh, and the statement
Failing that a large wifi link (you can bump up the power a crap-ton once you have a ham license) could also work. is incorrect as well. A ham radio license will only allow you to operate on the ham bands, under the terms of that license. Regardless of the license you hold, bumping up the power on wi-fi equipment (which doesn't operate on the ham band) is illegal, because there are power limits for those frequencies that are quite low, and because it is illegal to use unlicensed or modified equipment on non-amateur bands.
That's not true. You can only make radio contact with other amateur stations, but the information carried does not need to be generated by those stations. We're essentially talking about an Internet autopatch. I don't think it's practical for other reasons, though...
I don't think this is a practical solution for three reasons. One, packet radio is very slow, so there isn't much benefit to it. Two, anybody could eavesdrop on your Internet connection, so you have virtually no privacy. Three, Amateur Radio licensees are forbidden from using Ham radio for conducting business. So Amazon, eBay, or any site where you're buying or selling is verboten.
Oh yeah, and you have to keep it G-rated on Ham radio, so porn is out too.
Maybe, but I specifically said the general population. I didn't say anything about me. Perhaps I've always been afraid of the police, and I'm only noticing now that everyone else is starting to be as well. You read what you want to read, I guess.
There is a significant difference between a minority population being afraid of the government and the general population being afraid of it. Even assuming that fears of racism and homophobia are generally valid, that is a problem on a personal level. By that, I mean that it is caused by a specific trait of the party being discriminated against, relative to a value held by the person discriminating. That does not make it right or acceptable, but it is hardly indicative of a systemic flaw. Everyone has prejudices of some sort, after all. But I believe that many people who feel that they are being discriminated against (not just minorities either) unfairly blame the system for their failure, and not themselves. In my experience, there is a strong correlation between blaming one's problems on discrimination and failure. Are there challenges facing minorities that are not faced by the rest of the population? Yes. But some people manage to overcome these challenges and succeed, and you never hear them blame the system for anything. Others simply throw up their hands and say "it's too hard".
Getting back to my point, when a majority population is afraid of the government, it means something else entirely. It is no longer a problem on a personal level, but rather on the level of a government that has become too powerful, and no longer sees itself as serving the citizens but rather controlling them. That is truly scary to me.
So you see, I hope, why race or sexual preference--or discrimination, for that matter--is not relevant to this discussion. A bunch of racist, homophobic cops or bureaucrats unfairly discriminating against a member of a minority is a tragedy, to be sure. A government that sees itself as ruler and master of its population is a nightmare. And that is why I fear this tool. Although a police officer might beat a black or homosexual merely for being black or homosexual, that is considered not acceptable to society. And when it is exposed, there is at least the hope that justice can be done. On the other hand, when cops are issued tools that can cause pain with no injury--and are encouraged to use them as they see fit--there can be no justice for any victims of this government sanctioned torture, regardless of race, gender, or any other class. It is something we are already seeing with the Taser, and it's a problem that's only going to get worse.
Well, now that's just a strawman argument. I didn't say nobody should make any assumptions. I said it was unreasonable to assume from my Slashdot handle and posting history that I am white and heterosexual. Furthermore, I said that my race and sexual preference are not germane to the discussion. Why should the value of my statements have anything to do with the color of my skin or who I like to have sex with? Unless, of course, you're a racist or a homophobe.
Since you seem so curious to know, however, would it be reasonable to assume that you are?
Not every member of a minority considers him or herself to be a victim of the system. I believe it is because I refuse to think of myself as a victim that you assume I am not a minority. Says a lot to me about how you feel about minorities.
I spose you didn't see the humor in the comment. Heh. Anyway, you sounded like a Johnny Come Lately and thus a member of a privileged majority. Also, the name Guido is of Italian origin, i.e. caucasian. Nope, I only saw the self-righteousness in the comment.
And let's see here... 10326... Can't quite seem to place it. Is it Irish?
You sure do make a lot of assumptions about people. You assume because my handle on Slashdot sounds vaguely Italian, I must be a white heterosexual from a privileged family. I gather from your comments that you also assume that the entire police force--nay, society at large--is out to get you based solely on some characteristic you possess that may or may not be immediately obvious to anybody but yourself. Not all cops are corrupt, racist, and homophobic, you know.
Stop acting like your problems are caused by somebody other than yourself. Take responsibility for your life, and quit whining about how unfair the system is. You'll find that you can actually do something with your life rather than blame your failure on society.
You mean white/heterosexual people are starting feel fear? Welcome to the club. Minorities have known this for years. Are you talking to me directly?
If so, why do you presume I am white and heterosexual? If not, why do you presume that, when I speak about the way things seem to me, I am talking about the way things are for anybody else?
Besides, this has nothing to do with race or sexual orientation or any other intrinsic. We are all capable of having our liberties impinged upon, regardless of who we are. Do not think you are safe, nor especially endangered, by virtue of who you are. When one of us suffers a loss of civil rights, we all suffer.
Why are you more afraid of a fleeting, non-damaging nerve stimulation than you are choking gas, or bruising clubs and water cannons, or agitated K-9 units? You shouldn't be - those are all simply tools. Clubs, gas, water cannons, dogs--these all cause injury. It is difficult to justify the use of such weapons unless there is a clear and present danger.
You're right that it is about the rules of engagement. In many jurisdictions, however, it is department policy that a Taser can be used at an officer's discretion as a tool for enforcing compliance even against non-violent subjects. And say an officer exceeds even these remarkably permissive rules of engagement. Are the police really answerable to civilians in cases where it's the officer's word against a citizen's? The fact is that there are times where it would be justified to use such a weapon, so the general assumption by judges and politicians (at least at the municipal level) tends to be that in ANY case where a non-lethal weapon is used it is justified. Fortunately, as more and more civilians are carrying cameras with them at all times, it may start to happen that instances of police excess will be brought to light.
My concern is not really with the individual officers. Police officers, by and large, perform a difficult and demanding job, where they are forced to make split second decisions as to a reasonable and safe response to a situation. My concern is with departments that set liberal policies on the use of non-lethal force. If the use of a Taser were treated like the use of a firearm--with a legitimate investigation into the necessity of such use--my mind would be much more at ease. Of course, the standard for use of a non-lethal method is lower than the standard for use of a firearm, but there should at least be some oversight.
Once officers start to perceive this type of weapon as a routine enforcement tool, it translates their job from enforcement to punishment. All that is necessary is for an officer to feel that a suspect is impeding an investigation, and he can pull out his non-lethal pain gun and demand cooperation. Our justice system is built on checks and balances, and so concentrating such power in the hands of police officers cannot be acceptable.
In a world where the Taser is no longer considered a self defense weapon, but rather an enforcement/compliance tool, I am frightened to think what will happen when this technology makes its way out of the military sector. Every tough guy cop with a chip on his shoulder will have the power to cause limitless pain, and could justify it by saying "it causes no injury, and it prevents potential harm to innocents".
There is something wrong when the general population begins to fear the police, and I think that is starting to happen in the United States.
This will prove invaluable on construction sites. I can't count the number of times I've had to duck a board being swung wildly by my co-worker Curly, only to have the board hit me on the back of the head on the return trip when he turns to face the other direction. This device would completely prevent this type of common construction accident.
Slashdot Mirror
It's not really an invalid date problem, but an incorrect conversion problem. If it's like every other Unix system (and there's no reason to believe it's not) the date and time are stored internally as an integer and converted on the fly to whatever format is required for display. However, when comparing two dates, the unconverted date (possibly plus or minus any adjustments for time zones) is used.
Which is great until your kids grow up and decide to get the hell out of the podunk town they grew up in, and you only get to see them every other Thanksgiving.
Not to disparage your lifestyle, but I don't consider retiring young in a small town much to look forward to.
It's Saturday night after midnight, and I can go out to grab a late dinner with some friends, head to any number of bars and clubs, or even just go grocery shopping if I want to*. Even during the day, I have vastly more options for shopping, dining, and socializing than I ever would in a small town. Also, my career options would be drastically limited were I living outside the city I live in. Yes, I could find something to do, but I doubt it would provide me with the same sense of satisfaction I get from my current job. That's a luxury I don't think I could do without.
*Of course, I'm not doing any of those things--I'm posting on Slashdot--but that's not the point.
I personally put my options before my arguments (e.g. "ls -l ~/public_html" ), but I can see one very good argument for putting the options after the arguments. Specifically, if you type, for example,
/tmp/*
/etc and end up wiping out the whole directory with one misstroke.
rm -rf
you run the risk (however remote) of accidentally hitting enter after typing the first / and causing some serious damage to your system. Or you might be trying to remove something in
By putting the -rf at the end, you practically eliminate that risk.
Portability and ease of access are the main advantages for someone like you describe, I'd guess. A laptop has to be opened and set on some sort of surface to be useful. On a tablet, you just flip open the cover, turn it on, and you're good to go. You can even use it while walking around, or running to catch a plane, for example.
I think you've hit the nail on the head.
The RIAA has failed to adapt to a changing technological landscape. Whether or not they are actually losing sales to P2P sharing, they are nonetheless alienating their customer base by attempting to control it. In the end, I think they are shooting themselves in the foot.
We are already starting to see the backlash against them, and not just from the music buying public. We need look no further than the spate of artists who are experimenting with alternative distribution methods that circumvent the stranglehold the RIAA has on the music industry.
I just don't agree with you. The statement is pretty clear. If they wanted to say what you said, they could use phrases like "is correlated with". They did not. They wanted to show that P2P increases CD sales, and that's the claim they made.
Also, as I said before, this doesn't really prove anything. It could be that people who buy more CDs are just more likely to engage in file sharing because they are music lovers. Put in economic terms, P2P sharing and CDs can be considered substitute goods. People will choose either one, depending on which is more economically suitable at the time (taking into account such factors as a desire to own physical media, bonus material, cover art, etc.--in other words, I don't mean just the price).
Let's say there's a guy who lives in North Dakota, and it's constantly snowing. He gets sick of buying salt all the time, so he installs a de-icing system in his driveway. However, the de-icer is not 100% reliable, and it doesn't cover all the area he wants thawed. So he continues to buy salt in lesser amounts.
Compared to a guy in Florida, you could reach the same conclusion: People who install de-icers buy more salt than those who don't. That conclusion ignores the fact, however, that were it not for the de-icer, our North Dakotan friend would buy even MORE salt than he otherwise would. In any case, because he has a need or desire for thawing his driveway, he will certainly buy more than the guy in Florida. As I see it, the RIAA's argument is still valid.
I don't really agree with the RIAA's argument, but I don't think attacking the logic behind it is a constructive way of defeating it. I certainly don't think this study accomplishes that. I have the suspicion, however, that that's exactly what this study was designed to do. And that is why I doubt its methodology.
I think what they've shown here is that P2P sharing does not decrease CD sales. That is, there is not a negative correlation. In fact, there may even be a positive correlation. But claiming that one causes the other strikes me as a politically biased conclusion. In other words, they set out to prove a position, and interpreted the facts in order to support that conclusion.
In addition, I think part of their hypothesis is flawed: H2b. People who engage in music downloading and P2P file-sharing do so partly because they wish to hear a soundtrack or an artist before buying. Thus, there is a positive relationship between P2P file-sharing and music purchasing. First, this is poorly worded. Are they asking whether everyone engages in P2P filesharing has a partial desire to preview music? Or rather that some P2P filesharers have such a desire? Second, the conclusion does not logically follow. Whether some people use P2P to preview music, it may or may not be enough to offset the number of potential people who use P2P in lieu of buying music. Therefore, proving that some people do use P2P to preview before buying does not prove that "there is a positive relationship between P2P file-sharing and music purchasing."
Again, I'm not disputing the statistical results of the study. I believe it is a reasonable conclusion that P2P file sharing does not have a significant negative impact on CD sales. What I am disputing is the conclusion that P2P sharing increases sales of CDs. It may or may not actually be true, but that fact simply does not appear to be supported by the evidence.
...among Canadians actually engaged in it, P2P file-sharing increases CD purchasing. We estimate that the effect of one additional P2P download per month is to increase music purchasing by 0.44 CDs per year. However, it is important to remember that correlation does not equal causation. It seems just as probable, if not more so, that people who buy more CDs are more likely to engage in file sharing.I find it curious that they would phrase their results in such a manner. From the data gathered in the study, I believe it is impossible to determine causation. To me, this throws their entire credibility into question.
Yeah, I realized that after I posted it, but I was in a hurry and all hopped up on Halloween candy anyway.
All hail our robotic sea ninja overlords!
I think that taking courses at a community college is the best idea. In fact, take it for a letter grade. Although the grade doesn't really matter, this will give you an incentive to do the work and stay with the class.
I think it's only too easy to just pick up a math book and tell yourself you're going to do the work, only to get frustrated and abandon it a few weeks later. By having an actual class that you have to make time to attend, you're making more of a commitment and are more likely to stay with it.
He spelled it correctly in the body, so it would be reasonable to assume that the subject line was just a typo. So kindly go eat merde and mourez ;).
Your main gripe about Maya is that you can't easily find the functions you want to use?!
You can pretty much customize Maya any way you want. Not only are there nice toolbars for you to add custom functions to, you can assign any function to any key you choose. You can put the extrude function on the e key, or command-shift-option-f11 if you really want. Maya is exceptionally flexible like that. I have yet to find something that I want to do that Maya simply doesn't have the capability to perform. Granted, it may sometimes be somewhat complicated or tricky to do, but thankfully the exceptional documentation that comes with the program usually has an answer.
That's not true. You can only make radio contact with other amateur stations, but the information carried does not need to be generated by those stations. We're essentially talking about an Internet autopatch. I don't think it's practical for other reasons, though...
I don't think this is a practical solution for three reasons. One, packet radio is very slow, so there isn't much benefit to it. Two, anybody could eavesdrop on your Internet connection, so you have virtually no privacy. Three, Amateur Radio licensees are forbidden from using Ham radio for conducting business. So Amazon, eBay, or any site where you're buying or selling is verboten.
Oh yeah, and you have to keep it G-rated on Ham radio, so porn is out too.
Maybe, but I specifically said the general population. I didn't say anything about me. Perhaps I've always been afraid of the police, and I'm only noticing now that everyone else is starting to be as well. You read what you want to read, I guess.
There is a significant difference between a minority population being afraid of the government and the general population being afraid of it. Even assuming that fears of racism and homophobia are generally valid, that is a problem on a personal level. By that, I mean that it is caused by a specific trait of the party being discriminated against, relative to a value held by the person discriminating. That does not make it right or acceptable, but it is hardly indicative of a systemic flaw. Everyone has prejudices of some sort, after all. But I believe that many people who feel that they are being discriminated against (not just minorities either) unfairly blame the system for their failure, and not themselves. In my experience, there is a strong correlation between blaming one's problems on discrimination and failure. Are there challenges facing minorities that are not faced by the rest of the population? Yes. But some people manage to overcome these challenges and succeed, and you never hear them blame the system for anything. Others simply throw up their hands and say "it's too hard".
Getting back to my point, when a majority population is afraid of the government, it means something else entirely. It is no longer a problem on a personal level, but rather on the level of a government that has become too powerful, and no longer sees itself as serving the citizens but rather controlling them. That is truly scary to me.
So you see, I hope, why race or sexual preference--or discrimination, for that matter--is not relevant to this discussion. A bunch of racist, homophobic cops or bureaucrats unfairly discriminating against a member of a minority is a tragedy, to be sure. A government that sees itself as ruler and master of its population is a nightmare. And that is why I fear this tool. Although a police officer might beat a black or homosexual merely for being black or homosexual, that is considered not acceptable to society. And when it is exposed, there is at least the hope that justice can be done. On the other hand, when cops are issued tools that can cause pain with no injury--and are encouraged to use them as they see fit--there can be no justice for any victims of this government sanctioned torture, regardless of race, gender, or any other class. It is something we are already seeing with the Taser, and it's a problem that's only going to get worse.
Well, now that's just a strawman argument. I didn't say nobody should make any assumptions. I said it was unreasonable to assume from my Slashdot handle and posting history that I am white and heterosexual. Furthermore, I said that my race and sexual preference are not germane to the discussion. Why should the value of my statements have anything to do with the color of my skin or who I like to have sex with? Unless, of course, you're a racist or a homophobe.
Since you seem so curious to know, however, would it be reasonable to assume that you are?
Not every member of a minority considers him or herself to be a victim of the system. I believe it is because I refuse to think of myself as a victim that you assume I am not a minority. Says a lot to me about how you feel about minorities.
And let's see here... 10326... Can't quite seem to place it. Is it Irish?
You sure do make a lot of assumptions about people. You assume because my handle on Slashdot sounds vaguely Italian, I must be a white heterosexual from a privileged family. I gather from your comments that you also assume that the entire police force--nay, society at large--is out to get you based solely on some characteristic you possess that may or may not be immediately obvious to anybody but yourself. Not all cops are corrupt, racist, and homophobic, you know.
Stop acting like your problems are caused by somebody other than yourself. Take responsibility for your life, and quit whining about how unfair the system is. You'll find that you can actually do something with your life rather than blame your failure on society.
If so, why do you presume I am white and heterosexual? If not, why do you presume that, when I speak about the way things seem to me, I am talking about the way things are for anybody else?
Besides, this has nothing to do with race or sexual orientation or any other intrinsic. We are all capable of having our liberties impinged upon, regardless of who we are. Do not think you are safe, nor especially endangered, by virtue of who you are. When one of us suffers a loss of civil rights, we all suffer.
You're right that it is about the rules of engagement. In many jurisdictions, however, it is department policy that a Taser can be used at an officer's discretion as a tool for enforcing compliance even against non-violent subjects. And say an officer exceeds even these remarkably permissive rules of engagement. Are the police really answerable to civilians in cases where it's the officer's word against a citizen's? The fact is that there are times where it would be justified to use such a weapon, so the general assumption by judges and politicians (at least at the municipal level) tends to be that in ANY case where a non-lethal weapon is used it is justified. Fortunately, as more and more civilians are carrying cameras with them at all times, it may start to happen that instances of police excess will be brought to light.
My concern is not really with the individual officers. Police officers, by and large, perform a difficult and demanding job, where they are forced to make split second decisions as to a reasonable and safe response to a situation. My concern is with departments that set liberal policies on the use of non-lethal force. If the use of a Taser were treated like the use of a firearm--with a legitimate investigation into the necessity of such use--my mind would be much more at ease. Of course, the standard for use of a non-lethal method is lower than the standard for use of a firearm, but there should at least be some oversight.
Once officers start to perceive this type of weapon as a routine enforcement tool, it translates their job from enforcement to punishment. All that is necessary is for an officer to feel that a suspect is impeding an investigation, and he can pull out his non-lethal pain gun and demand cooperation. Our justice system is built on checks and balances, and so concentrating such power in the hands of police officers cannot be acceptable.
In a world where the Taser is no longer considered a self defense weapon, but rather an enforcement/compliance tool, I am frightened to think what will happen when this technology makes its way out of the military sector. Every tough guy cop with a chip on his shoulder will have the power to cause limitless pain, and could justify it by saying "it causes no injury, and it prevents potential harm to innocents".
There is something wrong when the general population begins to fear the police, and I think that is starting to happen in the United States.
This will prove invaluable on construction sites. I can't count the number of times I've had to duck a board being swung wildly by my co-worker Curly, only to have the board hit me on the back of the head on the return trip when he turns to face the other direction. This device would completely prevent this type of common construction accident.