Comment Re:Color me surprised... (Score 1) 101
It doesn't require nearly as many people working nearly as hard as we have now to provide for everyone.
Comment Re:cost? (Score 1) 108
How do you, an ordinary person, call the EMS if your mobile 'phone does not work because the cell tower has run our of electricity ?
Comment Re:cost? (Score 4, Insightful) 108
What will the cost of not doing this be to: customers, emergency services,
Submission + - report sheds light on ICE's booming arsenal of hi-tech surveillance tools (theguardian.com)
Alain Williams writes: Spending on government contracts with tech firms that use AI-powered tools to track immigrants has soared to record levels under Trump 2.0, report says.
A new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government’s immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump’s second term.
The report, released this week, analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) contracts with 11 companies the authors said provide surveillance tech. They found the money awarded to these firms doubled from 2024 to 2025, to just over $310m – and in 2026, that number soared to a record $513m.
A new report sheds light on the unprecedented growth of the US government’s immigration surveillance arsenal, revealing fresh details about how spending on technology and AI tools to find and track migrants has soared to record levels during Donald Trump’s second term.
The report, released this week, analyzed US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) contracts with 11 companies the authors said provide surveillance tech. They found the money awarded to these firms doubled from 2024 to 2025, to just over $310m – and in 2026, that number soared to a record $513m.
Submission + - Bill Gates says Epstein sought to blackmail him over extramarital affairs (theguardian.com)
Alain Williams writes: The Microsoft founder Bill Gates told US members of Congress that the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had sought to “blackmail” him over his extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the testimony.
The tech pioneer testified behind closed doors before the House oversight committee on 10 June regarding his friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.
According to the transcript released by the committee on Tuesday, Gates spoke of “veiled” threats and said Epstein had considered exploiting his own knowledge of Gates’s extramarital affairs to force him to remain in Epstein’s orbit, even as Gates was distancing himself from Epstein.
The tech pioneer testified behind closed doors before the House oversight committee on 10 June regarding his friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 as he awaited trial for sex crimes.
According to the transcript released by the committee on Tuesday, Gates spoke of “veiled” threats and said Epstein had considered exploiting his own knowledge of Gates’s extramarital affairs to force him to remain in Epstein’s orbit, even as Gates was distancing himself from Epstein.
Submission + - The gamers taking on the industry to stop it switching off games (bbc.co.uk)
Alain Williams writes: Can a company take away something you've already paid for?
In the world of online video games, some already do. Publishers can decide to switch off a game's servers, often leaving it effectively unplayable.
Stop Killing Games, a growing consumer rights campaign started by American YouTuber Ross Scott in 2024, is challenging that practice.
In January, the group submitted a petition featuring nearly 1.3 million signatures to the European Commission, triggering a public hearing in the European Parliament in April. What began as an online campaign is now awaiting a decision from one of the EU's most powerful institutions.
Scott's campaign began following an announcement from the major studio Ubisoft, saying it would shut down the online-only racing game The Crew in 2024.
The French company said it was taking the game, which attracted more than 12 million players during its lifetime, offline, citing "upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints".
In the world of online video games, some already do. Publishers can decide to switch off a game's servers, often leaving it effectively unplayable.
Stop Killing Games, a growing consumer rights campaign started by American YouTuber Ross Scott in 2024, is challenging that practice.
In January, the group submitted a petition featuring nearly 1.3 million signatures to the European Commission, triggering a public hearing in the European Parliament in April. What began as an online campaign is now awaiting a decision from one of the EU's most powerful institutions.
Scott's campaign began following an announcement from the major studio Ubisoft, saying it would shut down the online-only racing game The Crew in 2024.
The French company said it was taking the game, which attracted more than 12 million players during its lifetime, offline, citing "upcoming server infrastructure and licensing constraints".
Comment Re:Donâ(TM)t smoke (Score 3, Informative) 15
I guess you didn't read very carefully. They found a marker that appears 5 years before a diagnosis and also part of the mechanism of smoking and other things causing lung cancer AND potentially how to interrupt it. That's a good bit more than simply finding a well known correlation.
Comment What does the black hole wind smell like ? (Score 1) 22
No, this is not a fart reference as space does have a smell.
However: the thought of fart smell made me write this comment.
Comment An old story (Score 1) 92
I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.
Comment Fair's fair (Score 1) 190
Since Microsoft doesn't honor their license agreements, why should anyone else?
Comment Re:Acting like Broadcom (Score 1) 190
It's not THAT unlikely that if you have Porsche money, you can afford to get 3 phase service in your home.
Comment Re:Stupid Passenger, but why was it an issue? (Score 2) 164
I get that there was probably a panicy passenger, but given 4.5 hours to land if they turn around or 4 hours to land if they continue to their destination and nothing but water under them either way, they may have actually prolonged the situation slightly by turning back.
Comment Re:Stupid Passenger, but why was it an issue? (Score 1) 164
They were half way there. It made no sense to turn around at that point.
Comment Re:Stupid Passenger, but why was it an issue? (Score 1) 164
Maybe he thought it was off.
Comment Even dumber than I thought. (Score 5, Interesting) 164
Not only did they panic over a poorly chosen Bluetooth device name, they turned around AT or just past the halfway point, apparently to maximize the damage and inconvenience. They could just as well have continued as normal and sorted it out at the destination.
