Comment Re:Additional risk to us: (Score 1) 522
If I had an innocent relative killed by a remote-controlled robot I still wouldn't become a suicide bomber. I'd wanna kill the other guy and live to see peaceful days again.
Comment Re:Ageism (Score 1) 507
Insurance companies (at least auto/property) are regulated by their respective states. They are considered financial institutions, sort of like banks and yet not like them at all.
There are basically 3 ways they can change their rates, depending on the state board of insurance where they do business.
1)Change your rates, whenever you want, we don't care, just file them with us so we know what they are.
2)File your rates with us, and if we don't smack you down within X days, feel free to implement them.
3)File your requested changes with us, and we will let you know whether they are acceptable or not. You must continue to charge existing rates until you hear back from us.
Most states are either #2 or #3. They are already under the thumb of the state to a degree and operating as the state has explicitly given them permission to operate, so no need for bribery.
Now, I suppose it could still happen for law changes, but again, the "government" has to approve everything they do anyway.
There are basically 3 ways they can change their rates, depending on the state board of insurance where they do business.
1)Change your rates, whenever you want, we don't care, just file them with us so we know what they are.
2)File your rates with us, and if we don't smack you down within X days, feel free to implement them.
3)File your requested changes with us, and we will let you know whether they are acceptable or not. You must continue to charge existing rates until you hear back from us.
Most states are either #2 or #3. They are already under the thumb of the state to a degree and operating as the state has explicitly given them permission to operate, so no need for bribery.
Now, I suppose it could still happen for law changes, but again, the "government" has to approve everything they do anyway.
Comment Re:Easy Solution (Score 1) 123
The only real way to stop that is firewalls all over the place or firewalls built into all the switches.
Most intelligent switches can block with ACLs. We block all sorts of nefarious things at out place.
Comment The link (Score 5, Informative) 220
You could just visit the browser ballot page directly.
For reference, the browsers listed are IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Flock, FlashPeak, K-Meleon, Avant, Maxthon, Sleipnir & GreenBrowser
For reference, the browsers listed are IE, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, Flock, FlashPeak, K-Meleon, Avant, Maxthon, Sleipnir & GreenBrowser
Details Emerge On EU-Only "Browser Choice" Screen For Windows 220
Simmeh writes "Microsoft have posted screenshots and details on their upcoming 'web browser choice screen.' Requirements include being in Europe, and having Internet Explorer set as your default browser. It comes with a few surprises, as the software automatically unpins Internet Explorer from your taskbar, and offers 11 alternative browsers."
Officers Lose 243 Homeland Security Guns 125
In a screw up so big it could only be brought to you by the government or a famous athlete, 243 guns were lost by Homeland Security agencies between 2006 and 2008. 179 guns, were lost "because officers did not properly secure them," an inspector general report said. One of the worst examples of carelessness cites a customs officer who left a firearm in an idling vehicle in the parking lot of a convenience store. The vehicle was stolen while the officer was inside. "A local law enforcement officer later recovered the firearm from a suspected gang member and drug smuggler," the report said.
Google Buys iPhone Search App, Kills It 223
Hugh Pickens writes "PC World reports that Google has acquired a popular iPhone application called reMail that provides 'lightning fast' full-text search of your Gmail and IMAP e-mail accounts. The app downloads copies of all your e-mail which can then be searched with various Boolean options. reMail has only been in the application store for about six months — with a free version limited to one Gmail account and a premium version which can connect to multiple accounts. 'Google and reMail have decided to discontinue reMail's iPhone application, and we have removed it from the App Store,' writes company founder Gabor Cselle, who will be returning to Google as a Product Manager on the Gmail team. Google isn't saying what the fate of reMail might be. Some are suggesting reMail could be integrated into Gmail search or live on in some form as a part of Android, Google's mobile platform. Another possibility is that Google may have snapped up reMail just to kill it, not because reMail was a competitor to anything Google had, but because reMail made the iPhone better or the acquisition may have more to do with keeping good search technology away from the competition, as opposed to an attempt to undercut the iPhone. 'Perhaps Google is just planning to buy up all the iPhone developers, one at a time, until Android is the only game in town,' writes Bill Ray at the Register."
Comment Re:10Base-2? Use 802.11 over the coax (Score 1) 608
It would be easier to use it with a removable 802.11 BNC antenna connector . That's basically how cable TV got started, and it would probably handle the ohmage differences better.
Comment Actually... (Score 1) 98
Actually it probably means advert placements for those demographics that skip ads become cheaper, whilst those that actually watch adverts become more expensive. Not a massive shift, but expect to see the cheap slots becoming less sophisticated, and open to ever-smaller companies, which could be a good thing.
Alternatively, maybe the ad-breaks for the skipping-demographics will get shorter, to discourage people from skipping, so ensuring they watch the bother to watch 1 advert that is on (rather than skipping all 20).
Alternatively, maybe the ad-breaks for the skipping-demographics will get shorter, to discourage people from skipping, so ensuring they watch the bother to watch 1 advert that is on (rather than skipping all 20).
Comment New forms of cheating? (Score 1) 243
I wonder if just writing =RANDOM() would work. Either that or handwritten SQL injection anyone?
Comment Re:It's not paying for the lock... (Score 1) 403
Ooo.... I'll have a vowel please Carol.
Comment Re:It's not paying for the lock... (Score 1) 403
It's paying for the research, development, and possibly deployment of a new and improved lock.
Well it's paying for the scoping, designing, building, testing, deployment and testing of the shop's security system, which would include a better lock, alarm and bars on the windows. And lots of coffee for the builders.
Comment Only in America (Score 1) 293
I'm a Microsoft intern in the UK, and unfortunately we don't get any of this royalty treatment. Free coke though, which again didn't turn out to be anywhere near as exciting as we expected!
How to Convince Non-IT Friends that Privacy Matters? 373
mmtux writes:
"As technology becomes more advanced, I am increasingly worried about privacy in all aspects of my life. Unfortunately, whenever I attempt to discuss the matter with my friends, they show little understanding and write me off as a hyper-neurotic IT student. They say they simply don't care that the data they share on social networks may be accessible by others, that some laws passed by governments today might be privacy-infringing and dangerous, or that they shouldn't use on-line banking without a virus scanner and a firewall. Have you ever attempted to discuss data security and privacy concerns with a friend who isn't tech-savvy? How do you convince the average modern user that they should think about their privacy and the privacy of others when turning on their computer?"
Artificial Intelligence at Human Level by 2029? 678
Gerard Boyers writes "Some members of the US National Academy of Engineering have predicted that Artificial Intelligence will reach the level of humans in around 20 years. Ray Kurzweil leads the charge: 'We will have both the hardware and the software to achieve human level artificial intelligence with the broad suppleness of human intelligence including our emotional intelligence by 2029. We're already a human machine civilization, we use our technology to expand our physical and mental horizons and this will be a further extension of that. We'll have intelligent nanobots go into our brains through the capillaries and interact directly with our biological neurons.' Mr Kurzweil is one of 18 influential thinkers, and a gentleman we've discussed previously. He was chosen to identify the great technological challenges facing humanity in the 21st century by the US National Academy of Engineering. The experts include Google founder Larry Page and genome pioneer Dr Craig Venter."
