Comment seems so primitive (Score 1) 214
can't we just stick devices in our heads to read our thoughts directly?
Comment uh oh (Score 4, Insightful) 966
Sure hope no one finds out that war is an ugly business that squanders trillions of taxpayer dollars and wastes countless human lives in order to reap huge rewards for a few special interests. That would be a shame (to the few special interests).
Comment Re:The (d)evolution of humanity? (Score 1) 47
it sure beats using our own legs and arms like a sucker
Comment privacy is going obsolete (Score 1) 521
Ubiquitous surveillance, body scanners, HD spy satellites ... this is where we are today. In a few years, tiny remote controlled insects could broadcast video and sound from virtually any private place, catching our most intimate moments. Eventually, if and when we learn to read thoughts, no one will have any secrets left.
Comment Re:analogy with mail (Score 2, Funny) 173
You're right. What don't these RIAA jerks get? It's almost like they are operating with their own agenda or something.
Jetman Attempts Intercontinental Flight 140
Last year we ran the story of Yves Rossy and his DIY jetwings. Yves spent $190,000 and countless hours building a set of jet-powered wings which he used to cross the English Channel. Rossy's next goal is to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, from Tangier in Morocco and Tarifa on the southwestern tip of Spain. From the article: "Using a four-cylinder jet pack and carbon fibre wings spanning over 8ft, he will jump out of a plane at 6,500 ft and cruise at 130 mph until he reaches the Spanish coast, when he will parachute to earth." Update 18:57 GMT: mytrip writes: "Yves Rossy took off from Tangiers but five minutes into an expected 15-minute flight he was obliged to ditch into the wind-swept waters."
Comment We Should Care (Score 4, Insightful) 187
Not so much about Second Life, but about the way in which what is happening there parallels what we have in the real world. Powerful interests consistently manipulate our world's system to benefit the interests of a tiny few at the expense of the great majority.
Hopefully massive protests will stop this from happening, in both SL and in the real world.
Comment it's almost like... (Score 5, Insightful) 560
a handful of selfish greedy people are no match for millions of selfish, greedy people
Comment Re:At least? (Score 1) 770
I used an automated bad joke generator
Comment haven't tried it yet (Score 1) 770
but windows 7 is at least twice as good as windows 3.1
Comment Noooo.... (Score 5, Funny) 200
Some king just died and his cousin needed my help and promised to repay me half a million dollars for my bank account information, which I sent of course, because I'm not an idiot.
But just how the hell am I supposed to contact him now?
Comment Sounds like a great job (Score 3, Funny) 171
But what would you do to relax after a long day's work?
Comment Can't blame them (Score 4, Insightful) 1032
If I saw both my neighbors being invaded, I would rush to get the nukes as fast as I could, too.
Comment watered down selection to choose from (Score 1) 154
Originally, Google planned to select 100 finalists to choose from... the people who actually submitted their ideas. Now, with just 16 broad categories, its like the project has lost some of its impact. While Google always said they would ultimately choose the organization best fit to handle the ideas that won, I was looking forward to seeing all of the neat ideas that others put forth, as well as the potential of small-scale/individual projects being launched to a whole new level.
Of course, my opinion is probably biased due to not seeing my idea - The Global Voting System - as one of the finalists.
In the end, it is still nice to see powerful corporations pursuing philanthropic endeavors.
Of course, my opinion is probably biased due to not seeing my idea - The Global Voting System - as one of the finalists.
In the end, it is still nice to see powerful corporations pursuing philanthropic endeavors.
Submission + - Google's Project 10 to the 100 goes live
u4ya writes: "Google's Project 10 to the 100 has gone live, after many months of deliberation. Over 150,000 entries from 170 countries had to be sorted, and the results are in. The result: a list of 16 "big ideas" each inspired by numerous individual submissions. Many progressive ideas have come out of this, like increasing government transparency, more efficient land-mine removal, and (perhaps /.'s most relevant) encouraging positive media depictions of engineers and scientists. Voting is open from today until October 8th."
