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Comment Re:AI Integration is not a benefit (Score 1) 54

No. It can't be properly expressive without understanding the story that it's reading. Punctuation is just not enough, it doesn't capture many different shades of meaning. E.g., an ironic statement should be read in a different tone than a factual statement, even with exactly the same punctuation. (That's one example out of MANY. Consider, e.g., the scene in "Alice in Wonderland" where she's talking about jumping off the top of the house.)

Comment Re:AI Integration is not a benefit (Score 2) 54

Well, I *do* want an "AI PC", but not anything currently on the market. I want one that will understand books in HTML format and read them to me in a reasonably expressive tone. I'd also like it to be able to pause and then answer questions about what was going on earlier if I missed a point.
OTOH, I'd also want it to be strictly segregated from most of what I do.

Comment Re:An eloquent way... (Score 2) 69

I don't think you understand the process of science. That is the appropriate reaction to any initial claim. An initial observation needs to be repeated by others, and the data that justified the initial claim should be reanalyzed by others to see if they agree with the interpretation. Then arguments ensue. Eventually people "pretty much" come to an agreement.

Sometimes the arguments last for decades.

Comment Re:HTWingNut (Score 1) 78

I'm not saying any particular person said that, and the question to Slashdot was asked over 2 decades ago. But I was assured that SSDs were "now reliable as an archival store", despite my informal test failure. (I had backed up something to them, and stuck them in a drawer for perhaps a year. They became unreadable.)

Comment Re:HTWingNut (Score 1) 78

My sample size was small (just a couple), but it decided me not to trust SSDs for backup even though everyone on Slashdot said I should trust them. What I'm afraid is that portable USB drives will start being main with SSDs rather than spinning rust without bothering to tell me.

Submission + - Captcha and Locale

Anne Thwacks writes: Google's Captcha fails to account for locale. Eg: we do not have crosswalks, we have Zebra crossings.

However, that is not the most serious problem with Captcha: when they say "bicycles" does that include or exclude motorcycles? does it include or exclude parts of a bicycle? (Or staircase, or bus) if parts, how small are the parts? Does the last 3mm of a handlebar count as a bicycle? Does just the wing mirror count as a whole bus? Does a quarter of the bottom step count as a staircase? and why are the pictures so small and blurry on my 4k screen that I can't actually tell what is in the picture anyway? Why can't the pictures scale to the window? Some people have 8k screens. It is not 2010 any more!

Now Google says I am a robot, and won't let me read my own mail. Is this cruel and inhuman torture according to any known legislation? Are Google fit to be in charge of anything at all? What can be done about this?

Comment Re:It could (Score 1) 221

They're passenger (and freight) trains. The rails were built for travel, not for scenic display.
OTOH, the sure aren't high speed rail. Most of the lines were build over 50 years ago.

OTOH, the BART example was for a "high speed train", though I believe the speed is limited underground. But the rise is from perhaps two or three stories below ground to about 1 story above ground. That said, I believe that the rise is about 2-3 miles long, so it's not steep.

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