On further consideration I think it might just end up being the case that there will be more than one 'class' of drones, the easiest to obtain having severely limited (by law) range of remote control and perhaps limited altitude. You go out of range of the control signal, and it just shuts down and drops to the ground, which won't be much of a problem because it'll only be a few dozen feet off the ground anyway. Larger and more complex drones would require a permit or license of some sort, and definitely registration, and there would need to be some sort of education and testing (similar to what you have to do to get a drivers license) before you'd be allowed to get your drone. The largest and most complex drones would require more extensive (and expensive) permit(s)/licensing/registering, with commensurately more comprehensive education and testing, and perhaps even requiring a justification for it's use and/or a business license to obtain.

..and anyway, that's what I think is going to end up happening, based on my gut feeling for how our government works. Fair? I don't know, but I will say this: you can thank the idiots making a nuisance of themselves for it if and when legislation like this comes about. Personally I wouldn't have a problem with things shaking out as outlined above, but I also don't have and don't particularly want or need a drone anyway.

You know what? You may be right.

I had thought you were just another of the 'first post' guys, with nothing better to do.. but what if people are turning into cows? Or more accurately: cattle? Think about it: We keep moving towards more 'conveniences': machines to do everyday things for us, instead of people actually learning to do those things for themselves. Even automobiles: there is a segment of the population (thankfully, it seems to be a small segment) that doesn't even want to learn to drive themselves, doesn't care if there are even controls in the car for them to use (which frankly is insane of them to want). Imagine a potential dystopian world of the future, where the only things humans actually do for themselves, is eat and reproduce, everything else is done by machines, or robots, or AIs. Some short-sighted and/or lazy people would consider that a utopia, but in reality it would be a total disaster waiting to happen: when things break down, or malfunction, suddenly you have people who can't even do basic things for themselves, let alone complex things. The human race becomes like cattle, incapable of determining their own destiny; not even living, but just existing, no purpose, no direction, just consume, consume, consume, reproduce, and die.

No thanks. I'll stick to actually knowing how to do things for myself. Don't worry, though, I'll remember to drop off feed for the rest of you into your corral.

Moo.

Really? So you think all the untreated sewage on places like the *chans, Reddit, Stormfront, etc etc etc is perfectly OK? You think all the hate speech, racism, sexism, radicalization, outright illegal shit, attention-whoring, and pointless negative bullshit that is rampant on the Internet in general, is perfectly OK? You have no problems with it? Seriously: The signal-to-noise ratio on the Internet in general is practically down in the noise floor. There's a difference between 'expressing your opinion', 'discussing differing viewpoints', and the bullshit I've seen virtually every single day for the last 10 years or so, and it's getting worse, not better. People say and do shit on the Internet they'd never do or say in real life, because they know it's not acceptable behavior, but since they're nameless and faceless, there's no consequences.

You're either naive, or you're one of the trolls. Since you're posting as AC it's more likely the latter. Shoo.

At the rate this is going, drones available to the general public are going to become a quickly-disappearing fad, as they become outlawed entirely, and you can thank idiots like this Yan Yungfan, and all the idiots here in the U.S. who are getting their toys in the way of wildfire fighters' aircraft, idiots flying them into other restricted airspace (e.g., the White House and environs) and other idiots I'm not aware of, who either aren't capable of being responsible, or can't be bothered to be responsible with their toys.

Friend, the problem isn't Slashdot, the problem is the Internet in general. It's full of spam, and trolls, and useless shit. It had great potential when it was first opened up to the public, but as with all things in life, the best way to ruin a good thing is to get too many people involved with it. Is it the ultimate platform for enabling free speech? Yes. Does it allow free speech in a totally anonymous manner? Yes. Has it been completely and totally abused? Yes. Has it been corrupted by shitty people? Absolutely. Can it be saved? I think that horse has already left the barn. As-is, the Internet is only good for buying things, some basic research of whatever subjects (i.e. use it as an encyclopedia), and maybe email, that last only if you're willing to put up with all the spam. Otherwise it's turned into the equivalent of an unmanaged cesspool. I'd almost wish it would go back to being accessible only by Universities, the government, and the military.

I've looked at the last hundred or so of the comments you've posted on various subjects, and it's fairly obvious you're just another one of those people who like to stir shit up and argue for no reason other than to stir shit up and argue, so I'm going to ignore you; shoo, troll, shoo. Go find some other way to feel relevant, OK? Go do work for a local charity or something, I guarantee you it'll make you feel better about yourself and your life than being a PITA on the Internet.

I think you're taking for granted what it is you're driving right now. There are mechanical linkages between the steering wheel and the actual steering mechanism that turns the front wheels, and a mechanical/hydraulic linkage between the brake pedal and the actual slave cylinders that stop the wheels, and the reason they're there is NOT because of cost, it's because of safety: If all the electronic systems fail, for whatever reason, you can still control the vehicle and prevent an accident from occurring. THAT is why there will always be a full set of manual controls, and why you'll always have to be trained, tested, licensed, and insured, in order to operate a motor vehicle: Because you will will always be required to take control from any automated system at any time for safety reasons. Vehicles are designed the way they are with safety in mind, and your 'convenience' secondary, and so long as human lives are part of the equation, that will always be the case.

By the way, if you think I just 'don't understand technology' or something like that, maybe you should understand me before you make that sort of judgement: I've worked in computers and electronics for 35 years, have some engineering background, and have repaired my own cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles, and whatnot that entire time; I spent more time under my first car than I spent driving it, because my dad was cheap and we bought a car that needed work done to it before I could even start driving it. I've been a 'Maker of Things'. I've written my own software. I am not a Luddite by any stretch of the imagination. I understand how vehicles are designed and why they're designed that way. That's why I know that there will always be manual controls and you'll always be required to be proficient at manually operating a motor vehicle, and the people whose job it is to ensure that there are laws in place to protect the public agree with me. Additionally, I've never encountered anyone IRL who wants a vehicle with no manual controls.

If this was 20 years ago, I wouldn't bat an eye at the idea that the Government would need to charge for their 'annotated' copy of the laws -- because it would have to be physically printed in paper books. But this isn't 20 years ago, this is 2015, and we have these convenient, near-magical devices called computers, and more to the point, .pdf files, which make the cost of 'publishing' such a reference work near zero, and the cost of updating it also, relatively speaking, near zero. To claim anything else in this day and age is just bald-faced profiteering. Get correct, Government.

There will ALWAYS be a full set of manual controls on EVERY car and truck, and you will ALWAYS be required to be trained, tested, licensed, and insured to operate one, so get over it! Ideas to the contrary are complete and total fantasy, and this Brad Templeton guy is just some jackass saying whatever he has to say to get free publicity.

Add Reddit to that list, and make them all go away.

Yes: The magic of 'being a competent driver'. In over 30 years of driving cars and riding motorcycles I've only ever been in one accident that was my fault, and there were mitigating circumstances even in that case. Just because some drivers and riders are accident-prone doesn't mean all drivers and riders are accident-prone.

I'm literally referring to it being a place full of ugliness, ignorance, and negativity. It doesn't need to exist anymore. The Internet would be better off without it.

The word I'd use for the auto industries' handling of this, from design to revelation of the problem, is 'sloppy', and I'm being kind about it. There should be NO connection between non-essential systems and critical systems in the vehicle, there should be strong protections of the critical systems, and there should be a way to completely override and lock out any wireless access to ANY systems of the vehicle, and that lockout should be available to the operator of the vehicle at all times. Fucking hell.. I'm glad I drive a small, basic pickup truck, not subject to any of this nonsense..

Is there a request list? Can they make 4chan a priority? Please?

Where's the hardwired switch that kills power to the transceiver(s) in the car? We've had these on laptops for a long time now, why doesn't your car have one? You can't hack what you can't access, and if the wireless access to the vehicle is literally powered off, you can't hack it.

Also could you people please just drive your cars and stop making them a lifestyle?