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Comment Re:How effective is IR floodlighting? (Score 2) 171

It's possible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

Flickering might work just as well, or better. Less energy and heat needed, and might screw up exposure or auto levelling. I have not tried it.

The problem is that if you walk around in public with a high brightness IR LED on your head, sooner or later some minimum wage security goon is going to notice their camera is blinded and get upset.

Comment Re:The best AI movies look as bad as mid-90s CGI (Score 1) 123

Punches very obviously not connecting suggests it's been trained on Hollywood fight scenes. The other giveaway is rapid hard cuts and shaky camera so you can't see how badly the punches are not connecting. Everything feels weightless and fake.

There is a lot of AI slop, but I wouldn't discount it being able to do something decent with the right person at the helm.

Comment Re:The effort is the point... (Score 5, Interesting) 123

Most entertainment has always been slop, this is nothing new at all. A decade ago it was reality TV, before that it was gameshows and daytime soap operas.

The interesting story here is how this demonstrates the basic different in attitude between the US and China when it comes to new technology. In the US the established players are very concerned that new tech will affect their business model, so they try to hold it back as much as possible. In China it gets embraced and there is a rush to adopt it.

Comment Re:Summer vs Winter (Score 1) 200

Seeing some very negative prices in the mid west (I think that's the right term) states too. Not even free electricity, people are being paid to use it.

Can you get a tariff that pays you to use energy in the US? Here in Europe we have some, and if you play the game right with a home battery your energy can be pretty much free.

Comment Re:Summer vs Winter (Score 3, Insightful) 200

Solar panels are actually very good for the environment. They can help over-farmed land recover by providing shade. Livestock and some crops can live under them very happily.

They are good for your house too, they reflect some of the heat away in the summer.

Comment Re:eh (Score 1) 62

I'm glad that they made the pre-orders fair. I'm not after one, but too often they open in the middle of the night (for Europeans) and by the time we are awake are sold out or all the "early bird" deals are gone. I hate that, I'm not paying more that someone else just because they found out about it first, or I had to be asleep so I could work the next day.

This way where there is a large window and then the queue order is random is much better.

Submission + - Trump condemns 'sick conspiracy' against AI (bbc.co.uk)

mrspoonsi writes: US President Donald Trump posted:

"The only control or 'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!

"The Trump Administration has stopped AI 'people' from doing bad, or potentially bad, 'things,' like Dario (Anthropic!), who is now pretending to be a 'perfect little angel' — and we will continue to do so!

"We already have tremendous CRIMINAL and REGULATORY power over these companies!

"There is a SICK conspiracy going on against AI and Data Centers, and the only one that is happy about it is China.

"WHOEVER WINS AI, WINS!

"We are leading China, and all others, and will continue to do so. Conspiracy Theorists, Treasonists, Traitors, and Leakers, BEWARE!

"Thank you for your attention to this matter!"

Comment No they aren't (Score 1) 3

This is just a camera that makes sure the driver is looking forwards out the windscreen, and doesn't have their eyes closed or looking down at their phone for extended periods. The data isn't sent anywhere or recorded, there is no spying.

There is plenty of shit to be angry about, without making up more.

Comment Re: credibility (Score 1) 123

Is this actually true? I watched both Gamer's Nexus videos and while they mention that LG TVs can for nearby wifi networks, probably so they can geo-locate you, they don't actually connect to them or use them. Doing so would be very, very illegal in many countries.

I hate to defend LG, but there is enough to hang on them here without what appear to be unfounded claims.

Submission + - Amazon Vine Review Recasts 'Coding Kids' Exposé as Learn-to-Code Primer for 1

theodp writes: "Amazon Vine," the e-tailer explains, "is an invitation-only program which selects the most insightful reviewers in the Amazon store to serve as Vine Voices. Vine Voices have the unique opportunity to order items free of charge and share their product experiences with Amazon customers to help them make informed buying decisions. [...] When customers see a review with the special Vine badge, they can trust that they're getting an honest, unbiased opinion from a real customer just like them."

So, how well does the reality live up to the promise? In the case of the new book Coding Kids: Big Tech's Battle to Remake Public Schools, not so much. Described by the publisher as "the inside story of how Big Tech catalyzed, co-opted, and ultimately came to capture computer science and AI education in America" ("Fourth graders doing Google-branded coding lessons. Amazon schooling seventh graders on its warehouse robots. Advanced Placement computing courses from Microsoft and Apple."), the top review selected by Amazon informs customers that the book is a 'good introduction to coding.'

"I really enjoyed Coding Kids," writes the 'trusted' Amazon Vine reviewer. "What stood out to me most was how the book takes something that can sound complicated—computer coding—and makes it feel approachable and even fun. As I was reading it, I found myself thinking that this is exactly the kind of book that could help a child become interested in technology without feeling overwhelmed by it. I particularly liked the way it encourages kids to be curious, experiment, and solve problems on their own. That was probably my favorite part because it shows that coding isn’t just about computers—it’s also about creativity and learning how to think differently. I would definitely recommend Coding Kids to parents, grandparents, or teachers looking for a good introduction to coding. I came away from the book thinking that it could genuinely spark a child’s interest in technology and give them the confidence to explore something new."

While likely just another example of Hanlon's Razor ("Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."), the recasting of an investigative nonfiction book that casts a critical eye at Amazon's influence on K-12 education as a learn-to-code primer for children doesn't exactly instill trust in the Amazon Vine program or Amazon's 'Top Reviews' selection process. More on-point book reviews of Coding Kids can be found at the Washington Independent Review of Books ("Turns out, Silicon Valley isn’t especially altruistic.") and Science ("Big Tech’s crusade to get kids coding is more self-interested than it first appears").

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