"Imagine how much closer we (as a race) would be if we could eliminate all the stupid waste..."

You don't think that turning off the internet to N Korea was (somebody's idea of) a good first step?

"Only if you are stating that President Obama is irresponsible."

As far as the President goes, there are 3 options that I see:
- President Obama may be irresponsible for allowing this level of intrusive surveillance.
- President Obama may not actually have the ability to change this - he may feel his hands are tied. I'm sure there are lots of things he'd like to do.
- President Obama may be responsible, and have control over the agency, but his positions and responsibilities may no longer be purely civilian.

And of course, Obama only has control over the fed. Police killing people and not being held responsible happens at a local level. The failure to hold the security apparatus responsible seems larger than a single agency or it's nominal overseer.

"Everyone has been spying on everyone for at least a couple of centuries."

No... people and organizations of means have been spying on other people and organizations that are important to them to an extent dictated by their resources for centuries. It is only recently that it has become practical for a government to spy on _everyone_.

I guess you can call it illegal, but that sort of implies that there is some sort of authority who can take authority action against transgressors. From the NSA to local police (illegal chokehold, anyone?) the security mechanism in America is without responsible civilian oversight. =(

Now you can understand dark matter with this 1 weird theory!

Perhaps a smartwatch today can be charged once a day.

In a couple of years when the battery has gotten tired, and OS updates have increased power usage, how long will a full charge last then?

Indeed! The actual key in our current generation is to provide consistent direction and funding to NASA. As it is, every president comes in, makes some big talk about the Moon or Mars or something, no resources are allocated, and the next president in line makes a different set of commitments.

A framework for a large-scale goal that is capable of withstanding our political situation is the thing we lack.

Likewise for that xbox to the feds thing on /. the other day.

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/...

"will get you there in about the same time as zoom stop zig zag zoom stop zoom stop and be more pleasant"

Well, if you're into the driving, it's the zoom, stop, zig (etc) that you want. If what you're into is being at your destination then time and relaxation become part of the equation.

"I've come to realize the same as I got older. I used to own a small sports car and drive my commute as spiritedly as I could. Now, I realize my commute in a large German sedan at a leisurely pace is maybe 5 minutes longer but far more pleasant and relaxing."

I think the interesting thing is that a large German sedan is aimed at a leisurely pace (or maybe a rapid pace on the autobahn, but not so much at zipping and weaving). The small sports car is aimed at turns and acceleration. Either car will give you pleasure when driven to its strong suite. The same driver in either car will move toward being a "leisurely" or "zig-zag" type driver.

Your preference for one or another, to a degree, is dependent on the what the car you drive is good at.

I think the notion that one is intrinsically more pleasurable is an illusion, attributable to your own specific situation.

Car loans are the new house loan. A Car Loan Company with a means of dealing with repossession would end up looking at the value proposition you describe. But they want to bundle and sell car loans these days. The buyer of the loan (on a depreciated car) could not really be said to be at low risk because they're not really prepared to do anything should you miss a payment. But a nearly automated lender response to late / non-payment makes these loans more sale-able.

Missed payment remote kill options are about financial debt bundling and sale.

Some similar financial melt-down is probably on the horizon in that market.

Remember when everyone was excited about this game in development called "Halo", and MS went and bought that up?

Not too surprised here.

And yet, a corporation is a person.

FYI,
http://www.belden.com/resource...

I like this idea.

"At this stage the tax should be on the odometer; read and applied when you renew your insurance."

I heartily agree! But you know they're just dying to mandate GPS in your car so they can track you... for taxation.

I'm down with paying by the odometer (maybe by withholding as income tax, so you don't get a big hit when the odo gets read), but I worry that the government would take the next step to GPS.