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Comment Re:They tried to raise prices 20% unnanounced (Score 1) 392

by babymac (#48270175) Attached to: Cutting the Cord? Time Warner Loses 184,000 TV Subscribers In One Quarter

A lady at work the other day didn't seem to know that one could still receive over-the-air broadcasts for television. I wonder how many people don't realize this and are paying for TV that they don't want or need.

Yeah, that's been my experience as well. When my wife and I were just discussing the possibility of ditching pay TV, my mother-in-law couldn't quite grasp the concept of an over-the-air antenna. She grew up with it of course, but she couldn't fathom that it still existed. And we have been pay TV free for a couple of years now!

Comment Re:zomg singularity! (Score 1) 145

by babymac (#48214239) Attached to: Machine Learning Expert Michael Jordan On the Delusions of Big Data

The whole idea of "the Singularity" is nonsense. It is basically people seeking a surrogate "God" in technology, and the singularity is needed to create the "all knowing" aspect.

This all depends on one's individual interpretation of the word singularity. My interpretation of it means a point in history and technological development beyond which predictions become impossible. There is no "all knowing" aspect in my interpretation. There is certainly no "God" in my interpretation. Some people interpret the term to mean the point at which humanity and machines merge. Once again, that's not my interpretation. My idea of the singularity raises questions about what happens to human civilization when all material needs and wants can be manufactured on demand, near-instantaneously and extremely cheaply. The other question of course is what an advanced AI might look like and how might society be transformed if similar AIs were available to everyone. If you ask me, neither AI or on-demand manufacturing are wild, outlandish ideas. Those things are coming down the technology pipeline and sooner than most people think. Society should prepare for these technologies now, not dismiss them.

Submission + - Emails Show Feds Asking Florida Cops to Deceive Judges (wired.com) 1

Submitted by Advocatus Diaboli
Advocatus Diaboli writes: Police in Florida have, at the request of the U.S. Marshals Service, been deliberately deceiving judges and defendants about their use of a controversial surveillance tool to track suspects, according to newly obtained emails. At the request of the Marshals Service, the officers using so-called stingrays have been routinely telling judges, in applications for warrants, that they obtained knowledge of a suspect’s location from a “confidential source” rather than disclosing that the information was gleaned using a stingray.

Submission + - 3D-printed material can carry 160,000 times its own weight.

Submitted by rtoz
rtoz writes: Researchers found a new design which is based on the use of microlattices with nanoscale features, combining great stiffness and strength with ultralow density.
The actual production of such materials is made possible by a high-precision 3-D printing process called projection microstereolithography.

Normally, stiffness and strength declines with the density of any material; that’s why when bone density decreases, fractures become more likely. But using the right mathematically determined structures to distribute and direct the loads, the lighter structure can maintain its strength.

This newly invented material is among the lightest in the world.
These matericals can easily withstand a load of more than 160,000 times their own weight.

By Using light to imprint features onto polymer or plastic, the researchers disproved the established diffraction limit, and they proved first time that it is possible to print sub-wavelength features one-hundredth the thickness of a human hair. This discovery allows manufacturers to imprint finer features into items such as DVDs to significantly improve storage capabilities, or to probe the traffic of protein or DNA.

This approach could be useful anywhere there’s a need for a combination of high stiffness (for load bearing), high strength, and light weight — such as in structures to be deployed in space, where every bit of weight adds significantly to the cost of launch. But the Researcher says there may also be applications at smaller scale, such as in batteries for portable devices, where reduced weight is also highly desirable.

As this research was funded by DARPA, it could also end up on robots and drones.

Submission + - Google's Nest buys Home Monitoring Camera Company Dropcam

Submitted by rtoz
rtoz writes: The popular home monitoring camera startup "Dropcam" will be acquired by Nest Labs, the maker of smart thermostats and smoke detectors.

The deal is worth $555 million in cash.

Nest itself was purchased by Google just four months ago for $3.2 billion.

Dropcam is a cloud-based Wi-Fi video monitoring service. It was founded in 2009. Dropcam lets users place cameras throughout a home for live-viewing and recording. The cameras also include options for night vision and two-way talking with built-in microphones.

Dropcam has never disclosed sales, but it is routinely the top-selling security camera on Amazon, and it recently branched into selling in retail stores like Apple and Best Buy.

People concerned about the privacy implications of Google’s acquisition of Nest may be further unsettled by Nest’s purchase of a home surveillance company. Nest's founder Matt Rogers anticipated this issue , insisted that there’s no reason to worry. In his blog post, he says that data won’t be shared with anyone, including Google, without a customer’s permission.

Nest has run into product challenges recently. In April, Nest said it was suspending sales of its smoke alarms after it determined the units could be switched off unintentionally. The products are now back on the market.

Comment Dr. Dre (Score 1) 147

Literally the only thing I care about from this WWDC is the role Andre Young will be playing as an Apple employee. As long as he's drawing an Apple paycheck, they won't get another penny from me for anything. As far as I'm concerned, the guy is a misogynist and a homophobe. His presence is an insult to every female, gay and lesbian employee there.

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