Posts by Matthew Taylor

Old already?

I'm not keeping up with the times. I still thought the A380 was new-fangled.

Lego pirates.

35,000 euros? So... one high end Lego Technik set?

Warn?

Setting aside our current collective mental illness that leads us to think that race and sex don't exist, why is it surprising that people of different races have visible differences in their skeletal makeup? It seems obvious that that would be the case. And why is it a problem?

Very well written

I enjoyed that article, it's not often you see things written so well these days. Nice one.

Tracking

No doubt the head tracking can be recorded and transmitted to our "benevolent" dictators, so they can know if we're watching a screen or not.

They should charge more

$1000 a month would still be steal, for the use of such a wondrous machine.

Deflection from Google spokesman

The Google spokesman said nothing, and promised nothing. Fancy that.

Their neutral words won't remain neutral for long. Words' meanings evolve and settle through use, and by how they describe reality - not through diktat.

Reducing our 30% cut from the Apple store will not only cause Global Warming and Covid 19, but may well cause the Earth to crash into the sun. Won't SOMEONE think of the shareholders, err I mean children?

Jesus, can we ever be rid of that guy?

Oh good

Another method for being interrupted every 5 seconds.

To save us from the virus

Such half-baked measures will never be effective enough! No - I propose the whole citizenry be fitted with tracking ankle bracelets immediately! Also electric shock collars ("Enhanced feedback mechanisms") Purely to enforce social distancing. You'll all be thankful when you don't die of the virus!

"Strict oversight and a thirty-day limit on the use of the tools is promised." Oh yes, hahaha, good, very good... hahahaaa.

Software to the rescue

So now there will be a filter to black out people's eyes to avoid stalkers. That will make for pleasant viewing. Or better still, a more advanced filter to replace the reflections with a sponsored product logo, while leaving the eyes intact.

Tooth and nail

The UK's deep state REALLY doesn't want us to leave the EU, does it? For the sake of "Democracy", of course...

click

Click goes the ratchet, up another notch - "don't worry, we're not USING the data!" Perish the thought. Then, in 6 months, wait for the talking heads to tell us how it's "crazy that we don't cross reference data in this connected digital world!"

"equipping hundreds of animals with miniature satellite transmitters". I don't think "Equipping" is the right word, it implies the animals are in on the scheme. Who knows, if this works maybe UK citizens will soon be similarly "Equipped".

Stop right there tide!

Paging King Canute, please come to the beach phone...

Don't let a good crisis go to waste

Of course the silver lining (for the depraved upper echelons who dread having their eyes-wide-shut parties exposed), is that any incriminating pics or video can now be blamed on teh deepfakez, and brushed off.

Here's to swearing

When the West falls, I hope the niceness police will be held up as primary architects of its demise.

Though this footage doesn't have a Brian Cox voice over, so that's a plus

Not a science

The study of algorithms and the programming of computers is not a science. The theoretical algorithmic elements are a branch of Mathematics, and the writing of software is an engineering discipline. To discard the writing of programs from the curriculum is incomprehensible.

Of course... but maybe

Sounds like one of Louis CK's "Of course but maybe" bits.

Of COURSE we throw away the reverse model that removes the bikinis from the women - it has to be deleted, the hard drive set on fire, and all copies hunted down and destroyed, to preserve the sanctity of the female body outside the confines of marriage. Of course... of course.

It turns out that...

This will sound like a silly nitpick, but I dislike the phrase "It turns out that..." - especially when used in science articles. A few years ago it "turned out that" black holes were doughnut shaped, now it "turns out" they're like a fountain. Both times, the phrase implies that now we've finally got it right, and the job is done. It's not done, science is never done, and it's extra definitely not done when studying something like black holes.

(Not to take anything away from the actual research discussed here, which is excellent and fascinating).

No.

"Can you trust an AI trust not to slurp your data"? No. You can't. They will slurp it all. All of it. Every last byte. Every time.

Quotation

"If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him." Cardinal Richlieu.

Logie Baird's "stupid" ideas.

"He also came up with some stupid ideas: like trying to make diamonds by heating graphite, designing a glass razor (which shattered) and inventing a pair of pneumatic shoes whose internal balloons burst."

How are any of those things stupid ideas? Okay, they didn't pan out - but they all seem plausible enough to me, and precisely the sort of ideas a creative, inventive mind might come up with.

"Smart" faucet

"Alexa, informed by this model, could in theory hear if you left the water running in your kitchen and might, given the appropriate Alexa Skill, take some action in response, like turning off your smart faucet."

If the only way of telling that a smart faucet is on, is listening for the sound of running water, it doesn't sound terribly smart. Please give us some more brilliant reasons why we should welcome 24/7 audio monitoring of our private living space.

His own idea?

In these paranoid times, one can't help but worry that Linus is withdrawing at gunpoint. Hopefully the impetus for this change came from within, and just reflects Linus wishing to mellow out and manage his blood pressure as he gets older.

Good intentions

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, though reading drivel like this, it must be at least a 6 lane motorway.

Star Citizen?

Can I play the final release of Star Citizen on my Magic Leap?