There was also the idea that the police control was acceptable because they would protect everyone, and that was "why" they needed extrodinary powers. No government comes into control without some reason to placate the people, unless it is a foreign invasion. And some times even then. After all, the people outnumber the government "want-to-be's".

The Engineer's answer is yes, most certainly!
It is a "horrible example" of everything that is dangerous about autonomous weapons, to the extent of having no target recognition at all.

That opens the question: Do the existing laws banning mines, in at least some areas, also ban robot weapons?
I would think so...

Thanks, I needed that! 8-)

That is the popular meaning, but keep in mind that wikipedia is neither complete nor always accurate. (After all, it is on the Internet!) 8-)

The idea of protecting everyone all of the time is often the "wedge" that is used to start the totalitarian states. It is an excuse, of course. At least for some of those proposing it. But countries would not be "suckered into" such things if they did not think they were gaining something benificial.

I was going by the "technical" meaning of the term.

The short and easy answer is a regular harddrive. The magnetic patterns will usually survive, even if the electronics do not. There are recovery services that can get the data back, who you don't have to pay unless there is a fire.

But of course the best answer is "off site", like they said. Just putting a flash drive in your car might be enough, although not as secure from theft.

A lot depends on what you concern is. Like which is more important, recovering the data or securing it from theft? What locations can you have reliable access to? How often do you need to refresh it?

Also, how long does it have to last? If that is a long time, many types of media will be obsolete and not readable on new computers. In that case you might have to also store a computer with it, or at least the necessary drive.

Laws like that are because Engineers are far too smart to run for political office. Same for all countries, I think.

That's actually at least somewhat true. Some people are convinced that they could successfully control the world. (They are wrong and it can be proved mathemetically, of course.)

But it is not that governments are that way. It is that any large concentration of power attracts people like that. Including governments, but also other large organizations, even some charities.

Probably not.

The cost of installation should be calculated here as though the money was borrowed from a bank and paid off each month. Then add that payment to the other monthly payments to get a comparison value per month.

This would automatically include the "alternative cost", of not being able to use the money for something else. At least as an "average" value on the money market. (Of course the value to you would be different, depending on your situation.)

Normal watt-hour meters will run backwards, and always have. But the power company can not afford to do that very much, so they will put in a dual meter if it happens a lot on your line.

That means that if your meter runs backwards when you generate, they probably have just not noticed yet!

Um... Don't the solar panels shield the roof?

That's true. Some of the power companies are paying way too little for the power you put back.

But don't expect the power company to buy your power at the exact same rate that they sell it. Even if they had no profit, they still need to make enough to maintain the grid it's self. And if you are using the grid instead of a battery, then you are "consuming" a benefit.

I have never heard of a requirement that bystanders interfere. But it is quite true that the Police do not have any requirement to protect individual citizens. (Contrary to popular opinion!)

For one thing, in the US it is assumed that citizens can protect themselves, at least long enough for the Police to get there. For another, it is impractical because the Police would be sued after every crime and would have no time to protect anyone.

The actual job of the Police is to arrest criminals -after- the crime. Most Police try to protect people as best they can, but they can't be everywhere.

There are places where the Police are tasked with protecting everyone, they are technically called "Police States". And it is generally agreed around the world that no one really wants to live in a Police State.

Well... most of them are not morons. But some of them are, in at least some situations. Just look at the security provisions in a lot of businesses, that are getting hacked!

And I say that as a Systems Engineer.

Or at least, the humans get blamed by the people that built the equipment.

If you don't trust someone who is physically on the airplane, what makes you think that you can trust someone two years ago in a different city, writing software! 8-P

To quote an old saying, "90% of anything is bullshit". And that applies to the internet even more than other things.

Of course the other 10% might be diamonds (with a little luck). But if you can't tell the difference, then you will fail.

In other words, Wikipedia is not proof!