We could somewhat control the effects of global warming with a large array of satellites that unfolded large solar panels like big umbrellas to divert sunlight otherwise destined for Earth, controlled to keep the Earth within a desired temperature range.

I'm not saying it's practical at all, but it is within our means.

It's where all your stuff is.

I guess to test it you would do just what you described, but with an added control - three points chosen randomly (on a map, preferably by a computer RNG). After enough repetitions you could build up a confidence interval to determine whether you could reject the null hypothesis (that the spots marked by dowsing lead to no more water than the random ones).

That is to say, precedent.

Precident.

Car carrier? Were they like buggy whips?

The cars will be manufactured with a full tank and when you order one with your credit card online it will drive itself into a shipping container and then over roads to outside your house, stopping to refuel as needed.

I'm only half joking.

Most automatics have a manual release button somewhere that lets you shift into any gear you like when it's held down.

Apparently you'd wait fr your authorized service agent to come and tow it for you. You *did* get that extended service contract didn't you?

You have just provided another compelling argument against driverless cars.

A computer may have faster reaction times, but it first needs to determine that an emergency is in fact happening and decide just *how* to react. How much do you trust an AI to recognise a pot hole ahead, a damaged bridge, a cyclist, a child? How much do you trust an AI to make the call whether it's best to hit something or try and avoid it? Hazards such as other accidents, breakdowns, stock crossing, officers directing traffic happen *all the time* on roads.

Ability to make these split-second decisions is vital for any driver, human or otherwise. Are you trying to tell me that an AI exists that can cope with these situations? If so, where's Myles Dyson when we need him?

Is there anyone here who is using Google Fiber?

I would be curious to know how well home servers (www, email, SSH) perform when on this, especially given Google Fiber's original prohibitive TOS and Google's desire for you to keep everything on their servers. I see they have updated their TOS since the EFF kicked up a stink, but would like to hear from anyone who is actually using it.

Complete with a screenshot of a computer and a randomly-placed red circle.

Are you sure you weren't just watching YouTube with the HTML5 renderer?

I use OwnCloud for that sort of thing. It's a little slower, but it's a hell of a lot more secure than Dropbox and no silly limits on storage, other than what size hard drives my company can afford :)

It's nice that all these huge companies are so interested in control of everyone's data.

I think I'll stick with my OwnCloud server for syncing files across devices for the time being, thanks.