I'm taking bets on how long until they put their ad servers, required updates, etc. behind the same domain/IP as their activation servers, so it eventually stops working entirely (or nags you incessantly) if you try to block it that way.

That actually sounds like an opportunity for Tesla. 55 miles would be really close to what you'd need for a typical 20-30 minute run session on track. I bet it would be feasible to have a "Tesla track day support" truck with a mobile version of the battery-swap machinery, and a semi-trailer full of charged batteries. They just set it up in the pit lane. At the start of the day/weekend, you swap out your "road" pack for one of the rentals, and then again every time you come off the track. The events I've been to, you'd need 4-8 batteries per car (depending on if it's a one or two-day event).

It would probably take 5-10 owners together to get the cost down to something reasonable, and still be more expensive than a gas fill-up, but I'll bet it could be done (and allow Tesla to proof their battery-swap technology in a more controlled environment).

At least keep adding them until the high part count causes the avionics software frame rate to drop...

Wait... maybe that's what happened. The lag that caused them to crash on the barge last time was caused by too many struts, but now they've removed too many.

That's actually a really good point. After 20 years of driving, it seems like I have about 90+% accuracy in predicting what people will do over the next 5 seconds or so. I'm guessing that's not atypical for anyone that actually pays attention while they're driving. A robot isn't going to give up a lot of those clues.

On the other hand, though, the robot *should* be fairly deterministic, so it might be possible to predict it based on what's going on around it (or actually force it to react how you want it to! For example, it would be easy to cheat traffic by cutting off robotic cars, because you know you'll win the game of chicken.).

Letting off the brakes would make things better for the people in the car hitting you, but *worse* for you, as well as increasing the chances of continuing a chain reaction.

Sitting stopped at a light/stop sign (usually boxed in) is pretty much the only time when the rear-endee has absolutely no control of the situation. If you're moving, a good driver will try to keep some space available to bail out into, as well as enough space in front of them so that they don't have to slam on their brakes and fall victim to a tailgater.

One of the articles I saw about this mentioned that in the past, light-skinned people had been identified as dogs and seals. Strangely, there was no outrage about that.

The problem with this logic is that "read-only" access still implies that the unprivileged system can poke the privileged one and cause it to do something. It will probably also have to pass some kind of data to the privileged system as well. Read-only or not, that opens the door to several kinds of exploits (buffer overflow, etc.).

OK, I'm going to stand 50 meters away from you and shoot you with a shotgun. I'll give you a choice: would you prefer me to use a slug, or an equivalent mass of birdshot?

Also, blow it up far enough away, and the center of mass of the object could pass right through Earth without any of the bits actually hitting us.

haha... you think you'll be allowed to buy one without signing a EULA transferring all liability from the manufacturer to you?

The reason a lot of these devices use outdated OSes is that it has to be FDA approved. I used to work on some hospital networks, and not only were some of these systems running out-dated operating systems, they couldn't have any security updates applied without losing their FDA approval. We kept these systems locked in solitary confinement behind firewalls (with no Internet access), but you still have to be able to get to them over the network to actually use them (and worse, occasionally by remote radiologists coming in over a VPN from who knows where).

No he's not... There's a world of difference between:
Operator: 911, do you have an emergency?
Overreacting principal: OMG! There's a guy with a gun on campus!!!1!one! Help! I have the school on lockdown!

and

Operator: 911, do you have an emergency?
Reasonable principal: There's some guy wearing a Star Wars costume here. He has what's probably a prop/toy gun, but I'm required by law to report firearms on campus. Can you send an officer to make contact and make sure it's just a toy?

Given the amount of sense I've come to expect from regulators, I'm sure sugar is about to become a controlled substance...

What we need are cheap and ubiquitous "cop panic button" recorders.
They would work like this:
- Simple hardware - microphone, flash storage, battery, USB port, button, sealed case.
- Upon pressing the button, it starts recording. It CAN NOT be shut off until it's destroyed or the battery dies.
- USB port allows read-only access to anyone, but requires a key file (not just a password) to modify/delete

This presents cops with a tough situation. They can't order you to do something physically impossible (turn it off). If they take it with them, it records everything they're doing (radio conversations, talk to other officers, etc.), potentially for the rest of their shift. If they destroy it, they're destroying evidence. About the only thing they could do is "lose" it and claim it never existed.

On the other hand, the older you are, the more time you've had to build your professional network, and the less you care about HR drones and what they think of your resume...

Suicide bomber instructor to class: Now, pay attention. I'm only going to show you this once!