Posts by Charles 9 16605 publicly visible posts • joined 10 Jun 2009
"I'm quite certain that unless they have some DMCA-type technology to only allow their own capsules to work, that some enterprising bods will find a way to reverse engineer the system and tweak the recipes / substitute their own capsules."
Or the machine requires a certain formulation of yeast or other compound...to which LG holds the patent (and no complaining this time as it's a real, physical thing here) so can sue any copycats to extinction.
No, because "Never Again" is usually the cause of many wars. Someone who gets jackbooted long enough or gets cornered finds no recourse but to retaliate, things escalate, and things get ugly. Worse, wars caused by oppression are the more likely to go to extremes, especially the kind of "Well, if that's the way you want it..." where MAD becomes an acceptable scenario.
"We could also recognize that THE foundational freedom of liberal democracies, from which all other freedoms flow, is Freedom of Speech."
At the same time, we also have to recognize that this (and thus ANY) freedom has to have limits. That's why United States v. Schenck (the "fire in a crowded theater" decision) is cited so often. The problem comes from setting those limits because they're inherently subjective and impossible to fit for everyone.
That's you, but for many others, just because something is there doesn't mean someone's going to intuit what you're supposed to do with it. Plus, even if the tool is at hand, there's the matter of knowing how to use it properly. For example, apply Murphy's Law to a simple hammer or slotted screwdriver.
If freenet has taught me anything, it's that there's no panacea. Mesh networks like freenet are going to exact their toll in some way, usually in the form of increased bandwidth usage (which will usually translate to higher fees). Plus, what's to stop the Other Internet from intruding on the Mesh Internet. It's not like you can say no...
I don't know about that. In the US there is Certified Mail and Registered Mail, both of which carry assurances of delivery (Registered moreso than Certified). I would think the Royal Mail would have counterparts to this. Plus, at the extreme, there are courier services.
Not if the government orders them to stay hush and denies its existence, on penalty of endangering national security. Recall that the F-117 was "black" for quite some time. What's to say a working quantum computer wouldn't be kept hush-hush as well?
"Google self driving cars are very clever, but they aren't AI. It'll weave its way through time square, but stick it in the middle of a cattle ranch or on the moon and it won't know what the hell to do, even though it's still basically the same job."
Stick a city slicker in the middle of nowhere, somewhere totally novel where none of their experience can really apply, and watch them struggle, too. It's the schadenfreude from the struggle that makes survivalist media so popular.
"Landing safely in someone's garden wouldn't be that hard if the flying car has drone-like flying characteristics."
The thing is, probably the most-desired feature of a flying car is the ability to go (within fuel limits) between any two arbitrary points without having to deal with things like traffic and so on. So VTOL on a driveway or curbside is going to be an assumed goal.
But now you can have a sovereignty conflict. Suppose a site based in one country with NO laws regarding online behavior has to cater to users from one country where their laws REQUIRE you allow their content AND those from another country that FORBIDS the same content?
Whose policy applies, as each country is sovereign and has skin in the matter (one is hosting, the other two's citizens are involved)?
Fail in what way? As in you plug them in and they don't respond (even to reading) anymore? I know that SD cards and USB sticks have short write lives (they get the third- or fourth-string flash chips), and I have hammered a 16GB MicroSD to death before (in a dash cam), but apart from that?
Besides, my typical use cases tend to make the idea of unintentionally AND unknowingly deleting something an unlikely proposition. I tend to be a bit of a packrat and am reluctant to delete anything, so If I'm deleting something, I usually know what I'm deleting. If I realize I've made a mistake, I usually realize it right away, so I have local undelete utilities on hand as the first resort, followed by the other drive. Besides, the material I intend to back up to drives like these tend to be of the WIRE type (Write-Infrequently, Read-Extensively), so things going in usually stay that way unless I'm undergoing a preplanned update of specific materials.
A second copy of all the data stored in a separate location and not actively used, updated occasionally? Sounds like a backup to me, unless you're ready to provide some technical dictionary definition for the word. Plus in my scheme I sync and rotate the devices occasionally to deal with mechanical wear.
At the prices they're going these days (the 4TB WD easystore was only $80 on a Cyber Monday sale), you can get at least two and mirror and rotate them. If one dies, odds are still passing fair you can get a replacement and re-mirror before the other one goes since you only use one of them at a time (meaning they'll have differing wear patterns that reduce the odds of simultaneous failure).
The 4TB WD easydrive has been around for over a year now (I know; I bought a couple during a Cyber Monday sale and bought two more this year--for $20 less each than before). Having said that, these may not be 1TB/platter models, but in this case does it really matter?
And yes, Seagate and I have had bad experiences as well. I only use the ones I picked up for temporary storage these days since I've had most of them start to cut out on occasion.
Well, pick your poison. No one can just pick arbitrary times because they'll have to coordinate with everyone else: many of which are "locked in". When you get "oop north" in the winter, there just isn't enough daylight to go around, so you have to make a decision: favor it earlier so kids don't go to school in the dark (safety risks and concerned parents) or favor it later so people are more in a position to enjoy it (psychological issues).
"Would you accept a change from a 4 once chocolate to 3? From 100g to 90g?"
Wouldn't matter. They'll do whatever they damn well please. A half-gallon of ice cream in America isn't really a half-gallon (as in 64 fluid ounces) anymore, anyway (for years it's been as little as 48 and no more than 56).
I think one big stumbling block for changing temperature will be dealing with cookbooks. OLD cookbooks, especially large collections handed down through generations. I doubt there will be a service on hand to convert all the measurements and not that many people have a head for converting temperatures (especially over-boiling temperatures) on the fly.
You can count 0-9 one one hand by simply staring with fist for zero, then raise the fingers in one direction for 1-5, then close them in the SAME direction to get 6-9 back to the fist. Because the raised fingers are on opposite ends of the hand, it's easy to distinguish a 2 from an 8. Meaning you can count from 0 to 99 using both hands. And I'm not being all that efficient. With a mastery of binary, one can go from 0 to 1023 using both hands.
That's the trouble with things like utilities. They tend naturally towards monopolies and oligopolies for two reasons: (1) High-upfront costs which require lengthy amortization to recoup, meaning any player has to have deep pockets and go for the long game. (2) The infrastructure can be an eyesore, raising NIMBY issues that keep the number of players low. That's why you don't see more than one water or sewage company in any given area: the populace wouldn't tolerate more than one network.
"Fine by me -- that's what I've been doing for years anyway. Sites that are so poorly designed that they can't run without Javascript are sites that are so poorly designed that they don't deserve my attention."
Problem is, what if it's the ONLY way to access your money (because it's your bank, for which there are no local branches of ANY bank within a reasonable drive--and no, EVERY employer is forced to direct deposit for tax reasons--those who don't tend to get sniffed by la migra)?
"How fast do you need a mobile network connection to be?"
As fast as you think it should be...times five.
Raise the factor if you have more than the average household, as everyone could easily be hammering the line at the same time...without anyone else knowing it. Plan for the worst case, not the average case.
Except that you're incorrect. The LAN connection up to your hub IS private, but that's where it ends. Beyond that is not under your control any more than your wireless linkup (which can itself be hubbed up). Once the connection leaves your control, the ISP that provides your service can do all sorts of things to the connection: most of them beyond your control (and if you try to get around their control with encryption, which almost always can be detected--stego at this level is not guaranteed--well, they have ways to rain on that parade, too: ask the Chinese).
"...once a law is clear that's it."
That's the problem. With lawyers, it's NEVER that clear. Laws can be changed, reinterpreted. Even judicial precedent can be challenged in future.
Put it this way. I'll believe it when the courts can make the Hugh Jass fine final and binding with criminal culpability attached for good measure.
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