The article talks about synchronization of time between systems and processes, not accurate time, as in my watch is 5 minutes fast.

If a self driving car is seeing something in front of it and launches an app to determine what that object is, then that app needs to return an answer before the car hits the object and in time to brake to a stop, if necessary. It needs a time signal to understand how much time it has left. The problem, in this situation, is that without some sort of accurate time signal and time synchronization, the object recognition app could take more than the remaining time to develop an answer. Of course, you could launch a second app that acts as an emergency braking program that will hit the brakes in time, even if the object recognition app hasn't returned a result. The problem here is that you still don't know within a rigid level of certainty that the emergency baking app will complete in time.

In many ways you can see this exact same problem with inexperienced drivers. It takes them longer to process what's in front of them and decide to hit the brakes or not. An experienced driver almost has an automatic awareness ("muscle memory") that gives them an advantage when reacting to situations that they have encountered before.

My thought is that as these scenarios become "learned", they can be moved to "muscle memory". For example, most firewall devices rely on application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for real-time firewall rule evaluation. It seems to me that self-driving cars will require their own version of ASICs that contain "rules of the road" and evaluation shortcuts to handle real-time events without having to rely on time signaling.

A number of animals do not have plurals, they have a group name:

Deer --> herd
Fox--> skulk
Rabbits --> warren
Sheep --> Flock

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/abou...

Any more than that leads to trouble...

I learned French in high school and it didn't change how I viewed the world. Traveling, on the other hand, has.

Perhaps if you learn a new language on your own when you are more mature. In that case you are already looking for new perspectives and a direction for growth. In other words, it might be the act of learning itself and not languages specifically.

Of course, it's a completely different story if you move to a new region and are learning both a new language and a new culture.

The only time I see the cover for any e-book that I read is when I am on Amazon selecting a new book. Even then, I skip over the cover to the story summary and the reviews. Opening a book on my e-reader (Kindle) takes me to the first page in the first chapter. The covers are displayed on the home screen, but I only go there to open a new book.

What would be nice, assuming that Amazon ever comes out with a color e-ink reader, is if the Kindle showed the cover of the book that you are reading on the display when you shut it off. They probably don't do it today because the e-ink screen is grey-scale and the covers wouldn't look all that appealing.

Physical books required interesting graphic art to catch the eye of a book browser and to differentiate itself. Covers are much less important for e-books.

Says someone who has obviously has never been stuck in traffic in a real snow storm....

I grew up in Canada and live in the North-East US, so I'm talking from experience. You might be able to survive without the heater running, but if you don't have it running you end up not being able to see as the snow sticks and freezes to your windows. Plus, it isn't just idling, it can be stop and go for hours. The electric devices running includes heat, wipers, headlights, fog/driving lights, rear window defrost, heated mirrors, possibly heated seats, etc., etc., etc....

As per a previous post, it's not like AAA can help you out when the battery does die. The best that they can do is give you a ride and//or tow the car.

Some people want to dismiss range anxiety as being some phantom issue. In the future it may be, but it is a real issue today.

Most people who own electric cars have it as a second vehicle. They take an ICE car (own, rented, etc.) when they plan on going on a long trip, driving in bad weather (i.e. snow storm), etc.. Range anxiety is a real thing if it is your only vehicle.

It's bad enough sitting on a highway in a snow storm with traffic backed up for miles because of an accident and seeing that you have a low gas gauge. At least you know that you can get off of pretty much any exit and get gas. With a Tesla, it becomes a bit of a crap shoot. Granted, this will improve as charging stations get fully rolled out. But it is a real concern today.

For me, the concern with electrics is range and towing. It will get worked out eventually, but the focus today is on passenger vehicles and commuting for work, errands, etc.

Actually, I'm guessing that you haven't traveled to much of Canada. Newfoundland, Cape Breton, and northern New Brunswick all have their own version of English. Though, northern New Brunswick is largely French with a smattering of English words thrown into everyday speech.

Horse racing is all about genetic and breeding differences. The whole industry is predicated on unique horses that provides artificial scarcity. Horse race gambling is entire predicated on the chance that an unknown will be bred with enough genetic difference that allows it to be a better athlete.

While it's true that there isn't a huge difference between genetically created clones and breeding (genetic manipulation either way, breeding is just more random), the fact that cloning can lead to multiple copies and genetic enhancements would destroy the industry. Requiring traditional breeding techniques may be seen as "idealistic rubbish" but it supports a multi-billion dollar industry (39 billion in the US alone).

If clone makers really want to race their creations, why don't they start their own horse racing league and their own horse registry?

If you want to watch a race with a level playing field and where the rider/driver makes the major difference, it's called NASCAR.

Mobile payments are here. It will take some time to become ubiquitous to the point where you no longer need a wallet, but it's coming. Digital IDs (i.e. digital drivers license) are the next step. Once we have these, wallets will no longer be as common. Why carry a wallet and a phone with you if you only need the phone?

Sates working on Digital IDs:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/...

You forgot to point out that it isn't from Apple... Obviously, all other bulbs will become obsolete when the iBulb comes out...

This...

Most people don't think about this. Most people are happy with the current system simply because it works.

Any new system would have it's own pros and cons and there is no guarantee that it would be any better than what we have now, just different. Also, Changing to another time system would cause a disruption in business, markets, and lost productivity in adjusting to the new system.

So, we come down to the crux of the question. Is it worth it? My thought is that, No, it's not...

Private social media sites exists for the rich and famous. How long before we have two social media sites. One that is public and one just for our close friends and family?

In a way, we are already doing this through the privacy settings (public, vs friends, etc.). It's just not as finely tuned or as effective as it should be.

My point is that even though people will have full timelines on the Internet, people will be taught from an early age what should be public and what should be kept private. The biggest problem today is that we are still figuring this out and people aren't trained to think this way, so almost everything is public

I'm a network guy. My band of choice used to be Savage Garden when I was performing network upgrades, etc.. It's not harsh or demanding so was great for background music. Today it would be Daft Punk: Random Access Memories or maybe Guardian's of the Galaxies Soundtrack.

It took you a day? It took me 5 minutes and $5 to install Start8... Boom!! Done... Having the rest of the day to do something else... Priceless...