Well, maybe it's not a "crawler", but if it copies all outbound traffic it does essentially the same thing while leaving no footprints.

Chew on that for a while. :)

I'm guessing that an AI-type search would be MUCH more computationally intensive than a Google PageRank search (just guessing). I'm curious how the cost of providing that search would affect the profitability or commercial viability of using Watson technology for mass searching.

Remember, to fuel a single searcher on Jeopardy it required racks of equipment. When you're making a few pennies a search - maybe - it might be some time until that equation makes sense.

There goes another mode of transportation. That would be enough to make me avoid them like the plague.

It was one of my favorite lines, as Johnny pulls out a revolver with a barrel about 3 feet long: "It shoots through schools..."

Although clearly inappropriate, I'm disgusted that it's now illegal to say certain words... even in jest. This country is falling apart faster and faster.

Gee... if content is easy to access and affordable, then (most) people won't pirate it. People that still do would have done it no matter what - they're not your customers and you're NOT losing money by them doing so. (sure, it's not fair, yada yada)

But - when content is not easily and affordably available (say, because you "removed content from the web to protect it from piracy"), that's exactly what ENCOURAGES normal people to consider pirating in the first place. Those ARE their "customers" who would have paid a reasonable price for content that they can use in their preferred manner. They're shooting themselves in the foot, which is hardly surprising.

I don't see the idiocy stopping any time soon...

Who cares what equipment they're using... A piece of crap camera in a skilled photog's hands can still get a great photo.

The real story (and tragedy) is they think that non-pro photographers (writers and amateurs) can do the job. Watch the results - photo quality (content wise, maybe not just technical wise) will plummet. Maybe they think that doesn't matter, who knows. And for things like sports, they'll have to use wire service photos now for sure. You can get great photos from AP/Reuters, but they'll be the same photos as other news outlets.

Sad sad, and short-sighted decision IMHO

Madcow

Well, quite honestly, the answer is "YES" to all of the above. The TOTAL environmental impact of each option, through their entire life cycle, should be compared. If you're only looking at one piece or several pieces, then what's the point? It's like saying "Hey, I can light and heat my house with fire and use no electricity, therefore it has NO carbon footprint!"... without asking what you're burning to get that heat/light. If it's wood... you could argue it's carbon-neutral (if it's replanted, yada yada), but if it's oil you couldn't.

So, as complex as the question is, you really need an EXHAUSTIVE comparison for any of these arguments to hold water. The point about batteries though was that most rely on exotic heavy metals to deliver the power/weight/charge/discharge performance we all want, and those are particularly harmful on the environment - both from a mining perspective as well as a disposal/pollution perspective.

MadCow.

I haven't read TFA of course, but does it include the lifetime environmental impact of the battery packs? (mining through disposal) That's what usually has me skeptical of today's electric vehicles.

MadCow.

"The time before the scanners" was last week for me. Flying back from Israel, there are no scanners, and no pat downs. But, even though they're one of the most at-risk for terrorist attacks, the have put in place actual security instead of the theater that passes for security here. They profile. They do background checks. They do risk assessment.

I refuse to use the scanners in the USA, partially due to the unproven safety levels (albeit likely much better with the "newer" ones instead of the backscatter xray ones), and partially due to privacy concerns - or at least the privacy implications.

MadCow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goWuvXz1qC4

Yes, they cook a turkey with flashlights in 2.5 hours. 6 flashlights. (not Fleshlights!).

MadCow.

Or if they want to distribute the final file for reference purposes, simply distribute it at lower resolution than what you require the students to do. Problem solved.

MadCow.

And if you followed the story, his bust in NZ was NOT above board. The FBI coerced them into doing it, and taking many many shortcuts and liberties along the way, embarrassing the hell out of the NZ government and police. I'd say it's a safe bet they won't do that again. If he does get taken down again, it'll be much more carefully and LEGALLY done - and Kim I'm sure is taking close care to not step over that line (although he's mighty close to it).

Mega is different because all the content is client-side encrypted before being uploaded. Mega specifically has no access to the content or ability to filter it, and hence no responsibility for it. I'm sure they'll comply with takedown notices too. The liability is on the user, as it should be - otherwise the Cloud business model is already dead.

MadCow.

"Touch screens don't want to be vertical"...

So, you're saying that a desktop HAS to be vertical? What happened to thinking out of the box? Disappointing, Tim!~

I can fully imagine a 20-24" touch screen lying on my desktop, facing up (maybe angled 10-15 degrees towards me), where my keyboard is right now. That'd be a pretty natural interface. If it had finger touch, plus a more accurate stylus for finer work, it'd be very useful.

MadCow.

Well, printing presses are a tech issue - especially if you're talking about presses capable of printing currency. You underestimate the (intentional) difficulty in printing legal currency and the amazing amount of high-tech involved.

Yes, I work in the printing industry. Maybe it's just fascinating to me from a technology perspective, but most people don't understand what it takes either.

MadCow.