Nahh they'll just throw you in jail on suspicion of being a terrorist, and a judge will claim contempt until you give them the encryption keys.
IANAL but I've been told by one that it is often to your benefit in certain situations to plead the 5th, refuse to testify, or if they won't allow for that claim ignorance that you have fogotten even though you will end up with some type of punishment or contempt in court.
But only if the punishment of what the crime is if it outweighs the charge of contempt.
The truth of the conversation was whether or not it was ok to refuse to take a breathalyzer test. If you refuse to take it, you can get your license supsended up to 12 months, but if you take it and were convicted of drunk driving you could face jail time plus 5 years suspension...
Now don't everyone go refusing breath tests now because these laws vary state to state, but the lawyer also told me without hard evidence it is easier to me off (errr don't ask) with a judge or jury because beyond reasonable doubt means there is real evidence that you commited a crime... Not hearsay that since you refused the test that you must be drunk.
However... Like I said before talk to your lawyer if you really want to know about the rules of this in your state (some states have refusal means a lot more)
So to apply to this situation and the moral of this situation... If you ever find yourself in a room full of FBI agents demanding your encryption keys... Explain to them it is your constitutional right (the 5th) to remain silent and you wish to speak to your lawyer so he can advise you how to proceed.
If a judge is ordering your encryption keys to be released, then have a frank discussion with your lawyer over whether or not the information that is contained on those drives will get you more jailtime if convicted than jailtime for refusing to comply.
Although... If you find yourself strapped on a table with a room full of NSA or CIA agenents with one of them weilding a cattle prod and other asking for those keys in a stern german accent... Well... Best of luck then.
Although, I get teary eyed everytime I want FF:Advent Children mostly over Aeris's death. I think that is the only game that has ever made me cried.
For some reason FFVII made me very emotional throughout the game, but I don't know if it was because I was young or if it was the first game to do that.
Agreed. My first thought was, "Who let Dvorak out of his cage?"
To be fair, Dvorak did guess the x86 switch for Apple.
Although, by guess... I'm sure he was smoking something in the process and throwing darts at a live target with the words Alpha, PPC, x86, and Cell strapped to the victims chest.
No one is going to pay $20 for a pack of AAAs that you can get for $4 and just have to replace in six months.
Personally, I have found myself buying those new 5 year light bulbs that cost 5 times as much as a normal light bulb because I was just sick and tired of getting on a ladder every time the hall way light went out.
Given the choice of having to constantly do something (like change light bulbs, batteries, etc) and buying something once and then forgetting about it, people will eventually go with the route that requires them to do less labor.
Now if I could get one of those new LED light bulbs and I'll never have to put forth physical effort in my house ever again.
8)There is a certain arrogance to the notion that consumers can't be trusted to act in their self-interest but require government's "help" to be protected.
And there is a certain arrogance to the notion that consumers can't be trusted to vote in politicians who do these very things as well...
If a car company makes cars that kill people and I take this issue up with my senator because not only does this car kill those who buy it, but others who avoid the product like the plague then it is our duty and right.
The problem is that many libertarians assume the solution to everything is to let the market sort it out. Well... Guess what... People voting for politicians who pass laws on the market is also a part of the market. Federal rates... Consumer protection laws... Environmental protection... These actions have direct and indirect effects on the American consumer market.
If we didn't have government stepping in... We'd would have death trap cars like the 50's and we have toxic waste in our back yards and slave labor with kids in the factories. Heck... And I consider myself right wing when it comes to government interference with business, but there are certain aspects of life that conflicts with businesses desire to make money for their shareholders and our health and well being and freedom as individuals.
So if you are saying that we are to vote with our dollars instead of our rights and obligation as citizens to vote for politicians that enact our will, then you are dead wrong. We need to do both.
Of course... I'm also quite skeptical of our current government since it appears to be more in the line of supporting certain interest groups rather than doing what the populace voted them into to do... You know... serve the interest of the public and protect the rights of the minorities.
I believe it is the duty for government to protect the rights and freedoms of the individual regarldess of whether or not it is bad for business and even losses jobs because in the end if the corporations strip our freedoms away in the market place then it is just as bad as a dictator in goverment stripping the rights of the people away.
The internet should be netural and ISPs should not be content providers or police... Or the next thing you know they will be censoring traffic that is bad for their business and we'll get censorship like we do in China and the consumer will loose out in their wallets and in their daily freedoms of what they can say to others and what they can do in their actions.
So this is not a toy, and I believe it. But why make it look like a toy? And a very ugly toy, at that?
I know this has been stated a great deal of times, but the ugly child like colors are to discourage people from stealing them from the kids. First most theives wouldn't find it appealing to own and second if they did steal it other people would notice a full grown adult using this laptop vs a normal black or silver laptop.
"Only the stupidest dolts in the universe?" Aside from being a little insulting, it's just not true. Many intelligent people believe these reports simply because, as the article points out elsewhere, because it is repeated the lie becomes truth.
I don't mean to be semantic, but would not a truly "intelligent" being be able to be able to tell the truth from propaganda, exagerations, and lies? As in your mental capabilities has been fully developed to discern social engineering?
Otherwise, they wouldn't they wouldn't fit the text book of what intelligence is. A truly intelligent person would be able to know when someone is lying to him or at least take everything with a bit of disbelief. Perhaps a key feature of intelligence is its relationship with skepticism.
Of course an intelligent being can still go along with lies for other reasons such as the lie suits his needs or he simply chooses to ignore the lies because it doesn't apply to him.
Of course the devil advocate in me says even the most book smart person can be duped in a field that isn't related to him. As in... Sure I can do amazing things with computer technology, but I'm hard pressed to follow my car mechanic's description of my cars problems and be able to discern if the work he is suggesting really needs to be done. That of course doesn't make me a mindless idiot or dolt in my real line of work.
However, on the same token, if I was a car mechanic and a car parts person was trying to sell me the anti-mal-oil add-ons and I buy it without question and any real car mechanic worth his salt knows that is a waste of money then I am a certified dolt in my profession.
That's true, but in most cases they're only in business because they give good service.
Explain Microsoft then.
I'm not joking or being a troll, but I don't really equate Microsoft with quality service. They make products that I have to use (and they work most of the time and help me make a living), but I don't really see them as the poster boy for "world's best customer experience".
Same with oil and gas companies... I can't remember the quality of service I got at the last gas station because human interaction isn't required any more for me to buy gas. They simply make products I have to have.
I suppose the same could be said about Google. If I didn't have access to Google, I'd be seriously crippled in the things I could do... Kind of like not having a car. I could survive, but it wouldn't be pretty.
I cannot think of any law which you cannot tie directly or indirectly to morality.
Corporate tax laws.
IANAL, but being a small business owner they are dense and too many with no other reasons than formalities. I could name a few, but most of those do nothing other than take money from corporation or help with tax avoidance. Oh and residential and commerical zoning laws... More of a niceity than anything else. Industrial zonging is a bit towards saftey...
One of the fundamental moral objections to cloning is that it would create a world in which people were genetically engineered to conform to their expected role in society. Nobody wants a geek. Instead, we would have a monoculture in which everyone had "optimal" characteristics - i.e., non-geeky, sports-loving, beer-swilling, do-as-your-told types. The geek would become even more marginalized as an outcast.
Well that is nice and dandy for society, but I could care less... I'll be dead and gone by then and the world will have to take care of itself and make this choice on their own. However, if transhumanism takes off... By at least 2075, cloning will be a moot point. Having kids... Will be a moot point.
Having organic bodies and being limited by our chemicals that exist in our brains will be a thing of the past and cloning and eugenics will be pointless when you can just manufacture a synthetic body and copy memories from machine.
Of course... We might have a bit more to worry about in 2075... But I digress... Most people take a look at a theoretical technology and takes what our society would do with it now (say... theoretical cloning) which won't be available until sometime in the future.
Its kind of like giving an atomic bomb to the Confederates of the American Civil War with no instructions or payload method (ICBM or B52). Sure it is the most powerful weapon and could turn the tide of the war in an instant, but their society could not comprehend heads or tails of this.
Are humans even qualified to decide who deserves to live, and who doesn't?
No, but we've been doing it since the dawn of time and it is safe to say we'll do it to the end of time or at least until death no longer is a feature of a mankind.
If so, how do you determine who? Destruction of the embryo to save other lives is akin, in this argument, to saying that you determine the person to toss overboard by evaluating their life and determining which one has the fewest friends and family who will miss them, or alternatively by which is least capable of fending off the forced toss.
Its not only that, but the fact that an unborn person is really just theoretical. If we let this guy die and his family miss him, but yet... That unborn child may or may not be a saint. He could be the next Hitler for all we know. But we are with the understanding the personal alive is not a mass murder and isn't doing those things.
I know that is quite a pre-judgment, but that is the key difference between a theoretical person and an alive person is that we already know the person that is alive has proven himself to be a better person.
Secondly, the unborn person doesn't care at that point if he lives or dies... Until you gain a state of sentience you could care less. You have no emotions nor knowledge to care. Truth is... Ignorance is the ultimate form of happiness. If you know nothing about existence, what do you care about death.
Sentience is the key feature on this issue... The only thing that always made me wonder about the Religious take of the issue.
If you abort a child he goes to heaven right? If he is born, then there is a 50/50 change he will either follow god and go to heaven or become evil and not go to hell.
So wouldn't it be better for these souls if they died young and didn't have a chance to become evil? Therby saving their souls by default?
Unless of course god sends aborted children to hell? Who would follow an evil god like that though?
"Survival of the Fittest" doesn't take into account existenisal risks. As in... Meteor impacts, gamma ray bursts, or climate change.
Otherwise the dinosaurs would still be around. Once could say mammals adapted and were the fittest but if you look at humans you will realize we aren't built to survive major disastors and even cold weather. The only reason we were able to survive the past 100,000 is our brains and our tools.
Our only salvation in the future is not genetics, but our technology.
As they say... "The reason the dinosaurs died out is because they didn't have a space program."
Aren't there any areas we should stay away from _even_ if they would help us cure diseases?
I'm not sure myself. Why don't you get back to us when you or a loved one has a terminal or highly disabilative illness.
Or just perhaps when you or a loved one have an accident and become a quadrapalegic... Once you've gone through something like that perhaps you can better answer your own question.
"So, how does a maker of B-quality DOS and console games go on to become the single most successful videogame company in the history of the world?"
So, how does one go about considering Lord of The Rings (the old game) and Lost Vikings B Quality?
Now this was the Lord of the Rings way back when when it was cool... I used to wear the ring and sneak past the guards at the mill and blow up the machines at the get go and it kept pretty much to the books are at least in plot.
I think that more recent discoveries are being commercialized at least as quickly as before. But it will be 2020 before we see the cutting-edge discoveries of 1980 widely available, and 2046 before today's ideas are fully realized.
Really? Can you explain cell phones? The internet? MRI advances? Moore's law?
The truth of the matter is technological advances are exponential. Most views that get modded up are very pessimistic about advances because they are looking at everything in linear. Of course it would take 1980's research team 40 years to acheive break through results in 2020... If they never updated their computers or their research equipment or hired newer minds to the research team.
When they mapped the human Genome, it took 7 years to map only 5%, but then as technology improved in DNA mapping and processing they mapped the rest in another 7 or so years...
Knowledge is cumlative and our tools for research are constantly being doubled in capability as well as our economic factors.
Sure only a small fraction of our population is devoted to these breakthroughs, but as a whole when the rest of the society is benefited by these advanced we get stimulus (economically and socially) to improve in these areas. (you know... iPods, PS3s, Xbox360's and so on) which lead to more advances our a scientific scale (as in using PS3 cell processors for scientific research)
But I suppose it depends on what you consider break through... Growing up in the 80's with old lan lines and NES consoles, I consider cell phones and Xbox360s break through. We just don't consider them to be as much because these things are happening all the time.
But the hypocrisy from the left and its venomous supporters like TripMaster Monkey with respect to Fox news is disgusting in its own right...no pun intended.
What is this "left" you speak of and what news channels to they own? Seriously, I'd like to think of myself as center-right, but being a free thinking Republican isn't compatible with being a member these days so I register myself independant these days.
Please show me examples of this "left" conspiracy... Are these some type of "untermen" out there that have some conspiracy to thrawt the President and his heroic executive staff?
Or do all Republicans call anyone a "liberal" or "leftist" that simply disagrees with them as it makes them some type of subhuman enemey they can write off without coming up with a valid argument for their position.
Its people like you that made me hate myself for voting Bush in 2000. For god sakes... There isn't a conspiracy. These are just people critically thinking for themselves and have come to the conclusion based on facts or opinions of facts they have found that put the President in a bad light. Simply calling them evil people will not suffice as an argument to make the Republican party look any better or support their policies.
Otherwise... If you can't see what Fox News and all the other TV stations are... (hint: they feed on paranoia and people's fears and anger to sell ads and make money) and if you can't see what the administration has done with all the mounting evidence (WMDs... Downing street memo... the fact that Osama Bin Laden is still alive and well) then I or anyone else cannot help you.
The best thing any anyone can do is remain critical of all sources of news and all political parties... Yes some have more of an agenda than others and some political parties are worse than each other (although they are all crappy... just some get us into wars and the other spend on pork barrel... well i'd rather vote for the one that make it so I don't have to pretend I'm Canadian when I travel abroad)
The real reason you are getting modded flamebait is because you are making personal attacks (ad hominem) against TripMaster Monkey (you know... calling him venomous etc) instead of making a logical argument.
1. Would you prefer one "super device" to clean everything, or an assortment of appliances each tailored to a specific task?
I'd like a robot to do my laundry and clean the bathroom so I assume because of the complicated tasks those require that it would require a multi-purpose device, but I'd settle for one robot for laundry and one robot to clean the bath room. And by doing the laundry I mean pick up the cloths, sort, throw into the washer and dryer and then folder and put away. Yes... I can do it easy, but I could be scrubbing my clothes by hand.
2. Do you agree with TFA that this "super device" is still "decades away", or is iRobot's PR department simply spinning? Specifically: how many years until we can buy Rosie from the Jetsons?
5 years, but it won't be sarcastic as Rosie and it will be only available in Japan for $20,000.
Slashdot Mirror
I'm holding off buying games til I get the DS Lite.
Nahh they'll just throw you in jail on suspicion of being a terrorist, and a judge will claim contempt until you give them the encryption keys.
IANAL but I've been told by one that it is often to your benefit in certain situations to plead the 5th, refuse to testify, or if they won't allow for that claim ignorance that you have fogotten even though you will end up with some type of punishment or contempt in court.
But only if the punishment of what the crime is if it outweighs the charge of contempt.
The truth of the conversation was whether or not it was ok to refuse to take a breathalyzer test. If you refuse to take it, you can get your license supsended up to 12 months, but if you take it and were convicted of drunk driving you could face jail time plus 5 years suspension...
Now don't everyone go refusing breath tests now because these laws vary state to state, but the lawyer also told me without hard evidence it is easier to me off (errr don't ask) with a judge or jury because beyond reasonable doubt means there is real evidence that you commited a crime... Not hearsay that since you refused the test that you must be drunk.
However... Like I said before talk to your lawyer if you really want to know about the rules of this in your state (some states have refusal means a lot more)
So to apply to this situation and the moral of this situation... If you ever find yourself in a room full of FBI agents demanding your encryption keys... Explain to them it is your constitutional right (the 5th) to remain silent and you wish to speak to your lawyer so he can advise you how to proceed.
If a judge is ordering your encryption keys to be released, then have a frank discussion with your lawyer over whether or not the information that is contained on those drives will get you more jailtime if convicted than jailtime for refusing to comply.
Although... If you find yourself strapped on a table with a room full of NSA or CIA agenents with one of them weilding a cattle prod and other asking for those keys in a stern german accent... Well... Best of luck then.
If it turns out that her years were the ones that built the foundation on which a renewed greatness was built, will anybody remember?
That is kind of illogical.
It seems more logical that the company improved because of her firing.
And she did almost kill the company with the merger with compaq... Then ended up doing away with most of that corpse before they were able to recover.
Oblivion nor FFVII can hold a candle to FO2.
Although, I get teary eyed everytime I want FF:Advent Children mostly over Aeris's death. I think that is the only game that has ever made me cried.
For some reason FFVII made me very emotional throughout the game, but I don't know if it was because I was young or if it was the first game to do that.
Agreed. My first thought was, "Who let Dvorak out of his cage?"
To be fair, Dvorak did guess the x86 switch for Apple.
Although, by guess... I'm sure he was smoking something in the process and throwing darts at a live target with the words Alpha, PPC, x86, and Cell strapped to the victims chest.
No one is going to pay $20 for a pack of AAAs that you can get for $4 and just have to replace in six months.
Personally, I have found myself buying those new 5 year light bulbs that cost 5 times as much as a normal light bulb because I was just sick and tired of getting on a ladder every time the hall way light went out.
Given the choice of having to constantly do something (like change light bulbs, batteries, etc) and buying something once and then forgetting about it, people will eventually go with the route that requires them to do less labor.
Now if I could get one of those new LED light bulbs and I'll never have to put forth physical effort in my house ever again.
8)There is a certain arrogance to the notion that consumers can't be trusted to act in their self-interest but require government's "help" to be protected.
And there is a certain arrogance to the notion that consumers can't be trusted to vote in politicians who do these very things as well...
If a car company makes cars that kill people and I take this issue up with my senator because not only does this car kill those who buy it, but others who avoid the product like the plague then it is our duty and right.
The problem is that many libertarians assume the solution to everything is to let the market sort it out. Well... Guess what... People voting for politicians who pass laws on the market is also a part of the market. Federal rates... Consumer protection laws... Environmental protection... These actions have direct and indirect effects on the American consumer market.
If we didn't have government stepping in... We'd would have death trap cars like the 50's and we have toxic waste in our back yards and slave labor with kids in the factories. Heck... And I consider myself right wing when it comes to government interference with business, but there are certain aspects of life that conflicts with businesses desire to make money for their shareholders and our health and well being and freedom as individuals.
So if you are saying that we are to vote with our dollars instead of our rights and obligation as citizens to vote for politicians that enact our will, then you are dead wrong. We need to do both.
Of course... I'm also quite skeptical of our current government since it appears to be more in the line of supporting certain interest groups rather than doing what the populace voted them into to do... You know... serve the interest of the public and protect the rights of the minorities.
I believe it is the duty for government to protect the rights and freedoms of the individual regarldess of whether or not it is bad for business and even losses jobs because in the end if the corporations strip our freedoms away in the market place then it is just as bad as a dictator in goverment stripping the rights of the people away.
The internet should be netural and ISPs should not be content providers or police... Or the next thing you know they will be censoring traffic that is bad for their business and we'll get censorship like we do in China and the consumer will loose out in their wallets and in their daily freedoms of what they can say to others and what they can do in their actions.
Censorship by proxy is still censorship.
Money rules the market.
;)
If money rules the market, then we'd all be using Packard Bells with Cyrix Processors today.
So this is not a toy, and I believe it. But why make it look like a toy? And a very ugly toy, at that?
I know this has been stated a great deal of times, but the ugly child like colors are to discourage people from stealing them from the kids. First most theives wouldn't find it appealing to own and second if they did steal it other people would notice a full grown adult using this laptop vs a normal black or silver laptop.
"Only the stupidest dolts in the universe?" Aside from being a little insulting, it's just not true. Many intelligent people believe these reports simply because, as the article points out elsewhere, because it is repeated the lie becomes truth.
I don't mean to be semantic, but would not a truly "intelligent" being be able to be able to tell the truth from propaganda, exagerations, and lies? As in your mental capabilities has been fully developed to discern social engineering?
Otherwise, they wouldn't they wouldn't fit the text book of what intelligence is. A truly intelligent person would be able to know when someone is lying to him or at least take everything with a bit of disbelief. Perhaps a key feature of intelligence is its relationship with skepticism.
Of course an intelligent being can still go along with lies for other reasons such as the lie suits his needs or he simply chooses to ignore the lies because it doesn't apply to him.
Of course the devil advocate in me says even the most book smart person can be duped in a field that isn't related to him. As in... Sure I can do amazing things with computer technology, but I'm hard pressed to follow my car mechanic's description of my cars problems and be able to discern if the work he is suggesting really needs to be done. That of course doesn't make me a mindless idiot or dolt in my real line of work.
However, on the same token, if I was a car mechanic and a car parts person was trying to sell me the anti-mal-oil add-ons and I buy it without question and any real car mechanic worth his salt knows that is a waste of money then I am a certified dolt in my profession.
Some of these firms should really start looking at warehouses in Detroit.
Do bullet proof vests come included?
That's true, but in most cases they're only in business because they give good service.
Explain Microsoft then.
I'm not joking or being a troll, but I don't really equate Microsoft with quality service. They make products that I have to use (and they work most of the time and help me make a living), but I don't really see them as the poster boy for "world's best customer experience".
Same with oil and gas companies... I can't remember the quality of service I got at the last gas station because human interaction isn't required any more for me to buy gas. They simply make products I have to have.
I suppose the same could be said about Google. If I didn't have access to Google, I'd be seriously crippled in the things I could do... Kind of like not having a car. I could survive, but it wouldn't be pretty.
But what happens if we get to the point where all of science is automated by computer?
We get a Technological Singularity.
I cannot think of any law which you cannot tie directly or indirectly to morality.
Corporate tax laws.
IANAL, but being a small business owner they are dense and too many with no other reasons than formalities. I could name a few, but most of those do nothing other than take money from corporation or help with tax avoidance. Oh and residential and commerical zoning laws... More of a niceity than anything else. Industrial zonging is a bit towards saftey...
One of the fundamental moral objections to cloning is that it would create a world in which people were genetically engineered to conform to their expected role in society. Nobody wants a geek. Instead, we would have a monoculture in which everyone had "optimal" characteristics - i.e., non-geeky, sports-loving, beer-swilling, do-as-your-told types. The geek would become even more marginalized as an outcast.
Well that is nice and dandy for society, but I could care less... I'll be dead and gone by then and the world will have to take care of itself and make this choice on their own. However, if transhumanism takes off... By at least 2075, cloning will be a moot point. Having kids... Will be a moot point.
Having organic bodies and being limited by our chemicals that exist in our brains will be a thing of the past and cloning and eugenics will be pointless when you can just manufacture a synthetic body and copy memories from machine.
Of course... We might have a bit more to worry about in 2075... But I digress... Most people take a look at a theoretical technology and takes what our society would do with it now (say... theoretical cloning) which won't be available until sometime in the future.
Its kind of like giving an atomic bomb to the Confederates of the American Civil War with no instructions or payload method (ICBM or B52). Sure it is the most powerful weapon and could turn the tide of the war in an instant, but their society could not comprehend heads or tails of this.
Are humans even qualified to decide who deserves to live, and who doesn't?
No, but we've been doing it since the dawn of time and it is safe to say we'll do it to the end of time or at least until death no longer is a feature of a mankind.
If so, how do you determine who? Destruction of the embryo to save other lives is akin, in this argument, to saying that you determine the person to toss overboard by evaluating their life and determining which one has the fewest friends and family who will miss them, or alternatively by which is least capable of fending off the forced toss.
Its not only that, but the fact that an unborn person is really just theoretical. If we let this guy die and his family miss him, but yet... That unborn child may or may not be a saint. He could be the next Hitler for all we know. But we are with the understanding the personal alive is not a mass murder and isn't doing those things.
I know that is quite a pre-judgment, but that is the key difference between a theoretical person and an alive person is that we already know the person that is alive has proven himself to be a better person.
Secondly, the unborn person doesn't care at that point if he lives or dies... Until you gain a state of sentience you could care less. You have no emotions nor knowledge to care. Truth is... Ignorance is the ultimate form of happiness. If you know nothing about existence, what do you care about death.
Sentience is the key feature on this issue... The only thing that always made me wonder about the Religious take of the issue.
If you abort a child he goes to heaven right? If he is born, then there is a 50/50 change he will either follow god and go to heaven or become evil and not go to hell.
So wouldn't it be better for these souls if they died young and didn't have a chance to become evil? Therby saving their souls by default?
Unless of course god sends aborted children to hell? Who would follow an evil god like that though?
"Survival of the Fittest" doesn't take into account existenisal risks. As in... Meteor impacts, gamma ray bursts, or climate change.
Otherwise the dinosaurs would still be around. Once could say mammals adapted and were the fittest but if you look at humans you will realize we aren't built to survive major disastors and even cold weather. The only reason we were able to survive the past 100,000 is our brains and our tools.
Our only salvation in the future is not genetics, but our technology.
As they say... "The reason the dinosaurs died out is because they didn't have a space program."
Aren't there any areas we should stay away from _even_ if they would help us cure diseases?
I'm not sure myself. Why don't you get back to us when you or a loved one has a terminal or highly disabilative illness.
Or just perhaps when you or a loved one have an accident and become a quadrapalegic... Once you've gone through something like that perhaps you can better answer your own question.
"So, how does a maker of B-quality DOS and console games go on to become the single most successful videogame company in the history of the world?"
So, how does one go about considering Lord of The Rings (the old game) and Lost Vikings B Quality?
Now this was the Lord of the Rings way back when when it was cool... I used to wear the ring and sneak past the guards at the mill and blow up the machines at the get go and it kept pretty much to the books are at least in plot.
I think that more recent discoveries are being commercialized at least as quickly as before. But it will be 2020 before we see the cutting-edge discoveries of 1980 widely available, and 2046 before today's ideas are fully realized.
Really? Can you explain cell phones? The internet? MRI advances? Moore's law?
The truth of the matter is technological advances are exponential. Most views that get modded up are very pessimistic about advances because they are looking at everything in linear. Of course it would take 1980's research team 40 years to acheive break through results in 2020... If they never updated their computers or their research equipment or hired newer minds to the research team.
When they mapped the human Genome, it took 7 years to map only 5%, but then as technology improved in DNA mapping and processing they mapped the rest in another 7 or so years...
Knowledge is cumlative and our tools for research are constantly being doubled in capability as well as our economic factors.
Sure only a small fraction of our population is devoted to these breakthroughs, but as a whole when the rest of the society is benefited by these advanced we get stimulus (economically and socially) to improve in these areas. (you know... iPods, PS3s, Xbox360's and so on) which lead to more advances our a scientific scale (as in using PS3 cell processors for scientific research)
But I suppose it depends on what you consider break through... Growing up in the 80's with old lan lines and NES consoles, I consider cell phones and Xbox360s break through. We just don't consider them to be as much because these things are happening all the time.
Sounds like you need to go take some history classes. Cars were fairly common in the 1920s
If you lived in the States in a fairly populated area... Then yes cars were common.
But say... Russia... Asia, Africa, or South America... Well... Very few and far between.
"In all honesty, how has your life changed in the past five years? HAS it?"
I had problems at the airport once because my first and last name (and middle intitial) matched someone who was on the "Do not fly" registry.
But the hypocrisy from the left and its venomous supporters like TripMaster Monkey with respect to Fox news is disgusting in its own right...no pun intended.
What is this "left" you speak of and what news channels to they own? Seriously, I'd like to think of myself as center-right, but being a free thinking Republican isn't compatible with being a member these days so I register myself independant these days.
Please show me examples of this "left" conspiracy... Are these some type of "untermen" out there that have some conspiracy to thrawt the President and his heroic executive staff?
Or do all Republicans call anyone a "liberal" or "leftist" that simply disagrees with them as it makes them some type of subhuman enemey they can write off without coming up with a valid argument for their position.
Its people like you that made me hate myself for voting Bush in 2000. For god sakes... There isn't a conspiracy. These are just people critically thinking for themselves and have come to the conclusion based on facts or opinions of facts they have found that put the President in a bad light. Simply calling them evil people will not suffice as an argument to make the Republican party look any better or support their policies.
Otherwise... If you can't see what Fox News and all the other TV stations are... (hint: they feed on paranoia and people's fears and anger to sell ads and make money) and if you can't see what the administration has done with all the mounting evidence (WMDs... Downing street memo... the fact that Osama Bin Laden is still alive and well) then I or anyone else cannot help you.
The best thing any anyone can do is remain critical of all sources of news and all political parties... Yes some have more of an agenda than others and some political parties are worse than each other (although they are all crappy... just some get us into wars and the other spend on pork barrel... well i'd rather vote for the one that make it so I don't have to pretend I'm Canadian when I travel abroad)
The real reason you are getting modded flamebait is because you are making personal attacks (ad hominem) against TripMaster Monkey (you know... calling him venomous etc) instead of making a logical argument.
1. Would you prefer one "super device" to clean everything, or an assortment of appliances each tailored to a specific task?
I'd like a robot to do my laundry and clean the bathroom so I assume because of the complicated tasks those require that it would require a multi-purpose device, but I'd settle for one robot for laundry and one robot to clean the bath room. And by doing the laundry I mean pick up the cloths, sort, throw into the washer and dryer and then folder and put away. Yes... I can do it easy, but I could be scrubbing my clothes by hand.
2. Do you agree with TFA that this "super device" is still "decades away", or is iRobot's PR department simply spinning? Specifically: how many years until we can buy Rosie from the Jetsons?
5 years, but it won't be sarcastic as Rosie and it will be only available in Japan for $20,000.
Come back when there is a consistent practice of knocking down people's doors just for buying The Anarchist Cookbook.
By then it will be too late to do anything about it.
Much less be able to talk about it on a public forum.