When I need it, there is no substitute

One of my favorite tricks when working on digital/analog hybrid circuits is to use the microprocessor to set an output pin, then use the signal to trigger a scope

I have debugged lots of tricky interrupt driven realtime stuff with this approach

But yeah, it gets turned on about once every two months

We are living in the transition time where some people have private lives and some are more public

If current trends continue, everybody will have embarrassing pictures on the internet and nobody will care

So called "3D" (actually stereoscopic) sucks in most cases

The best it gets is in a carefully done CGI film where left and right eye views are separately rendered by someone who knows what they are doing

Unfortunately, a lot of "3D" is regular 2D films, cheaply post-processed to give a slight taste of stereoscopic-ness

A 4K monitor can use intelligent upscaling to make any existing program material look better

..as long as it's purely based on quantity used and cost to provide

It sucks when it's used as a weapon to kill competition (Netflix) or when it's based on the type of content

If a micro-manager has less talent/intelligence/magic than his workers..he gets in the way and impedes progress

If a micro-manager has a clear vision, and it's an inspired vision..you would be wise to follow him

Example..Walt Disney

...when 3D printing is much more advanced, this will actually be a problem

Modern manufactured products are complex assemblies of metal, plastics and sometimes circuitry

A 3D printer can print an ice cream scoop, but not a bicycle, or a smartphone, or a fishing reel..etc..

This kind of article reminds me of the early days of Virtual Reality when the writers went on and on about a time when VR would be indistinguishable from reality

Well, VR kinda failed to live up to the hype..maybe someday it will, but so far, no (and yes, I know a bit about it having worked on a well funded VR project)

If you mean broadcast TV, where a show is "on" at a particular time..I agree

If you mean that watching stuff on a phone, tablet or computer is going to take over..I disagree

My home theater has a large, high quality monitor and a very comfortable chair

It has one use, watching video entertainment whether from streaming, disk or DVR

I would never do computer stuff in my home theater or watch a movie on my computer

..movie producers and directors will capture the magic of science fiction books

It seems so easy..yet in practice it's so hard

I offer the classic "Dune" as an example

Yeah, Blade Runner and the Matrix were cool..but so far, movie producers seem stuck in a mindset where stories need to be concluded in 2 hours, with lots of fights, chases, action and explosions

They are definitely NOT toys

The high performance ones have 5 to 10 HP motors

The flying style currently popular among the top pilots is to fly very close to the ground and very close to the pilot

So naturally, the guys with less talent want to fly like the pros

I think this is kinda crazy..no room for error

..this might be kinda OK..maybe

Speed limits are set artificially low for political reasons

There are several possible speeds for a given road

The one that most drivers chose for themselves, based on road conditions

The limit imposed by the laws of physics

The legal limit should be somewhere in between

But, even if speed limits were reasonable, this is still kinda bad. What if you need to go fast to avoid an accident?

So does my wife, and my brother

They are both smart people, but don't have the time or passion to devote hours to learning all the details about their computers. They have a job to do, and want to do it quickly

I am somewhat in the middle. I like the Office Ribbon. It seems like a real improvement

But, changes based on "fashion" suck. I don't want my UI to look "fresh and new", I want it to work well, and be efficient to use for a power user

Anybody with the right knowledge and some basic tools has been able to make a gun for a long time

Convicts do it in prison

People in underdeveloped countries do it using the most crude equipment imaginable

3D printing a gun, in plastic, is nothing more than an attention grabbing headline

A loss for the schools and the students

Yes, teaching children about technology is good

No, forcing them to all use the same device is bad..especially when it's Apple(the distilled essence of evil)