Ironically, the latest studies show that obesity is now more prevalent than starvation worldwide. And it is frequently linked with low income (not just in western countries).
That's because in a wonderfully ironic twist of fate, it's more difficult and costly to buy healthy foods than foods rich in fat and sodium.
All of us who wear glasses? We should have been culled. All these people developing diabetes from eating too much sugar? Selected against. Asthma? You get the picture.
You're making the assumption that our ability to "think" and "create" to overcome these biological constraints should be discounted. Even in the "animal kingdom" you could argue that animals use items in their environment to overcome biological constraints/difficulties. For example, there's a type of monkey that eats certain types of leaves to cure worm infestations that would otherwise end up killing it. So why shouldn't we be using our abilities to overcome as well? It still amounts to natural selection.
The US Department of Homeland Security has worked with Microsoft to create a button in MSN Messenger that reports your neighbor's suspicious behavior. A top official with Homeland Security has suggested placing your webcam in a window facing your neighbor so that video surveillance can be transmitted at the same time.
by the same logic we should be concerned about probably 99.9% of all medical devices as they could be put to other unsavory purposes... for example, crutches could be used to club someone, needles could be used to inject toxins, bandages could be bunched up and stuffed into nostrils and mouth causing suffocation... i was going to suggest going back to leeches, but: (a) it's already being done, and (b) leeches could be made to carry infectious diseases
games are meant to be enjoyed by children of all ages, where's the government to legislate against this kind of perversion... for god's sake won't someone think of the children?
TV is not now nor was it's primary intent ever to be first and foremost a way of entertaining people. The intent has always been to sell stuff, the way to sell stuff is to (hopefully) keep you entertained and amused long enough to sit through the advertising. Right from the get-go products were hawked by the same hosts that presented the various shows.
If you want to be entertained without commercials read a book and let your mind create whatever commercial free images you want.
So what's the big deal if Netflix isn't everybody's cup of tea? Quite frankly as a consumer I like the idea of having a series of choices about how I acquire a product or service. Granted, I've never used Netflix, but I use both the traditional bricks'n'mortar video store as well my cable company's video-on-demand service. It really all depends on the situation... if I'm out and about say at the liquor store I might just drop by the video store next door and pick something up. On the other hand, if I'm at home languishing on the couch and too lazy to make a trip out I'll see what's on VOD. And if Netflix does offer a whole set of films that will never make it to the store or VOD then that's another option I have. Same holds true for books... sometimes I order online and sometimes I like to go to a store and just browse around -- the point is that it's my choice.
"...I'd be interested in what practical input solutions Slashdot has..."
clearly you've come to the wrong place for pactical solutions... however, if you need someone to tell you that you should avoid all input devices in general since the government is tracking your every move then i'm sure you'll find what you're looking for
Slashdot Mirror
and on what scientific basis have you reached that conclusion? the "facts" that the american media presents?
Ironically, the latest studies show that obesity is now more prevalent than starvation worldwide. And it is frequently linked with low income (not just in western countries).
That's because in a wonderfully ironic twist of fate, it's more difficult and costly to buy healthy foods than foods rich in fat and sodium.
All of us who wear glasses? We should have been culled. All these people developing diabetes from eating too much sugar? Selected against. Asthma? You get the picture.
You're making the assumption that our ability to "think" and "create" to overcome these biological constraints should be discounted. Even in the "animal kingdom" you could argue that animals use items in their environment to overcome biological constraints/difficulties. For example, there's a type of monkey that eats certain types of leaves to cure worm infestations that would otherwise end up killing it. So why shouldn't we be using our abilities to overcome as well? It still amounts to natural selection.
The US Department of Homeland Security has worked with Microsoft to create a button in MSN Messenger that reports your neighbor's suspicious behavior. A top official with Homeland Security has suggested placing your webcam in a window facing your neighbor so that video surveillance can be transmitted at the same time.
by the same logic we should be concerned about probably 99.9% of all medical devices as they could be put to other unsavory purposes ... for example, crutches could be used to club someone, needles could be used to inject toxins, bandages could be bunched up and stuffed into nostrils and mouth causing suffocation ... i was going to suggest going back to leeches, but: (a) it's already being done, and (b) leeches could be made to carry infectious diseases
games are meant to be enjoyed by children of all ages, where's the government to legislate against this kind of perversion ... for god's sake won't someone think of the children?
TV is not now nor was it's primary intent ever to be first and foremost a way of entertaining people. The intent has always been to sell stuff, the way to sell stuff is to (hopefully) keep you entertained and amused long enough to sit through the advertising. Right from the get-go products were hawked by the same hosts that presented the various shows. If you want to be entertained without commercials read a book and let your mind create whatever commercial free images you want.
So what's the big deal if Netflix isn't everybody's cup of tea? Quite frankly as a consumer I like the idea of having a series of choices about how I acquire a product or service. Granted, I've never used Netflix, but I use both the traditional bricks'n'mortar video store as well my cable company's video-on-demand service. It really all depends on the situation ... if I'm out and about say at the liquor store I might just drop by the video store next door and pick something up. On the other hand, if I'm at home languishing on the couch and too lazy to make a trip out I'll see what's on VOD. And if Netflix does offer a whole set of films that will never make it to the store or VOD then that's another option I have. Same holds true for books ... sometimes I order online and sometimes I like to go to a store and just browse around -- the point is that it's my choice.
"...I'd be interested in what practical input solutions Slashdot has..." clearly you've come to the wrong place for pactical solutions ... however, if you need someone to tell you that you should avoid all input devices in general since the government is tracking your every move then i'm sure you'll find what you're looking for