In about 2000, my "idiot brother" bought a brand new computer. Three years later, he finally got internet service. So his computer had no updates and the free anti-virus had expired in those 3 years. How long did it last when connected? 8 days. Just over a week after getting internet service, the machine was so badly infected it could no longer boot. (He gave it to me, I wiped the drive and installed an up to date L8nux, and used it for 4 more years.)

If your computer is unpatched, there is no safe way to connect it to the internet. End of story.

Medical advances are useless if the planet is unlivable.

11 minutes a day would be 77 minutes a week, right?

I won't say Never, that's way too strong. I doubt that any of the current approaches will work, But even if I were to agree with Roger Penrose (and I'm not good enough to make the claim he's accurate) all he really said was that current types of computer architecture could never achieve true AGI; he specifically allowed that true quantum devices wouldn't be subject to the arguments he made.

The harder question is whether we'll still be around ang able to devote resources to such an undertaking in, say, 50 years time. On the assumption that we don't completely destroy the planet (either environmentally or through more violent means) I decided 50 years was a good number.

If it does include a voice assistant like Alexa, then it would be more useful than all those regular voice assistants because it is portable and can make calls. But ... I've yet to see earbuds with enough range for this, so there must be a box you carry that they link to. Presuming there is and they have a decent price and decent battery life, I'd take them.

Both of the smaller name browsers I use on my tablet - Vivaldi and Opera - have download links for non-Google Android devices on their websites. So if you're looking for a specific app try the company's website first. Amazon isn't the only non-Googled device out there.

2020 and 2021 were phenomenal years for, well, indoor activities. And now that COVID is less of an issue and people are getting out more, really we're just back to reality. And to them that's a slump?

As I said nothing about taste, I must presume that part was in response to others' comments. I've seen posts how beef is bad for the planet; I've yet to see stories about the carbon footprint of fake meat. I strongly doubt it would be that much better than chicken or fish - or no meat.

Perhaps they haven't noticed, but last I saw meatless "meats" tend to be high in sodium (like most other processed foods). Additionally, it costs quite a bit more than real neat.

Personally, I have no interest in fake meat. I'm just not that attached to meat. I have no particular issue eating vegan so long as it isn't twice as much as comparable non-vegan meals. But when I decide I want something vegan it'll be something with beans or legumes and cheese, not fake meat.

My first computer was one of those ancient 8-bit kit computers called an RCA VIP. Technically my dad bought it and assembled it, but I quickly learned how to program it and soon even he referred to it as mine.

It started with 2K of RAM later expanded to 8K. It had a hexadecimal keyboard and very low resolution video, we did eventually add an ASCII keyboard. It programmed in machine code entered as hexadecimal digits.

Hey, for 1978 it was top of the line.

Last time I went shopping for light bulbs, there were about 4 different shades of white. There's Cool White (bluer than technically perfect white), Warm White (redder), Soft White (not sure on the technical details) and of course Bright White. If you're worried about blue light damage, then buy the Warm White. What's so hard about that?

I put "Getting better" but I can't help but think of a few examples that (judging by user responses, as I haven't tried the ones in question) that seem to have gotten worse.

I couldn't have done that 40 years ago (I'm also almost 60) and you only say you're "OK"?

I am in good shape (that's what I picked) because I walk a lot and have an active job. But I was never a runner and can't say I've ever biked more than 60 mi. (100 km) in a day. And you think you're only okay? I'm calling you a liar! :-P

Must be a mistake in the summary, my calculator says 30 hectares is 74 acres (call it 1/9 of a square mile). Not even worth mentioning - so why was it?

Canadian radio and television have long had rules requiring a certain percentage of Canadian content, it is really no surprise that they should attempt the same thing with streaming. How that actually turns out when dealing with on-demand services and especially user-created content remains to be seen.