Comment Re: It Has Hands and No Legs? (Score 1) 20
It's an android, so this is 100% the correct terminology.
Comment Re: but don't worry (Score 1) 96
Alice Springs is a town, not a 'remote settlement'. Just because you would die of exhaustion walking to your local 7-11 to get your daily gallon of sugar water without the aid of your mums mobility scooter doesn't mean us actual human beings are living in neolithic environments. Sure it's a bit far from Darwin and Adelaide, but like hell are we a 'remote settlement'.
Comment on-device or over-internet translation? (Score 1) 163
For this to be a killer-app it needs to be on-device translation. High-speed internet connections and high-speed mobile data connections are not common enough outside (and even inside) cities for this to be something you could usefully rely upon.
Comment Re:Glasses will be huge as soon as (Score 1) 106
Microsoft look like they're onto a good thing with HoloLense - it fully jumps into the Augmented Reality space, which is where I think the Killer App of these wearables is really at, not email status updates in the corner of your eye. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...
Comment Re:Changes to the ecosys in Oz.. What could go wro (Score 1) 108
And we introduced white people, hardly a roaring success for any of the indigenous human, plant and animal populations.
Comment Walls of Flesh (Score 2) 59
Yeah I can see this being used to stimulate other muscles when they bump into softer objects under more interesting simulations real soon. I doubt that'll "turn off" too many VR users.
Comment Re:Found the LUDDITE! (Score 0) 191
Hooray, Apps!
Comment Internet isn't up to the task (Score 2) 366
Asutralia's rural internet is still pathetic, with some areas either unconnected or sporadically connected by pre-dialup speed satellite connections. There is literally no way Australia has any potential to go cashless in 3 years time.
Comment Re: !Good (Score 3, Insightful) 146
It's funny 'cause it's rape!
Comment testicular cancer (Score 1) 122
Own up, who has been wiping used hamburger wrappers on their testicles?
You have no-one to blame but yourselves.
'Australia Is Stubbing Out Smoking' (bbc.com) 532
Australia was the first country in the world to introduce mandatory plain packaging for tobacco products. Now it is taking another strong stand, but will other countries follow suit? From an article on BBC, shared by an anonymous reader: It's not easy being a smoker in Australia.
The smoking bans started inside -- in workplaces, bars and restaurants -- and moved out. "Now, smoking is prohibited within 10m (33ft) of a playground, within 4m (13ft) of the entrance to a public building, at rail platforms, taxi ranks and bus stops," said Mark Driver, Sydney's Park and Recreation Planner. Those are the rules in New South Wales, but they are mirrored in many other states. Smoking is banned on many beaches, and most Australian states have now banned cigarettes in jail. All states ban smoking in vehicles if children are present. Fines vary, but in some places you may be fined AUD$2,000 (USD$1,515) if you smoke in the wrong place. And even if you don't, you'll be paying more than that each year by 2020, if you smoke just one AUD$40 pack a week. [...] These days, smoking is often taken up by people who are on the lowest rungs of the socio-economic ladder, Simone Dennis, an associate professor at Australian National University, points out, "and that adds a burden of shame to people who might already be marginalised." If it's the poor who are now the most likely to smoke, it's hard to see how they will ever afford the AUD$40 (USD$30) pack of cigarettes.
Comment Re:This might take a while (Score 1) 193
I wish we could come up with a cure for idiots who can't tell the difference between humourous comments and serious ones.
Comment Re:Yeah right. (Score 1) 193
I don't think the FDA holds much sway in the UK where the research is being done.
Comment Re:I'm no physicist but... (Score 1) 86
someone upvote this for hilarity :-)
(and for the pendants - it's not wrong, but unless you're in an escher drawing you've got to go back uphill some day)
Submission + - Robot handcuffed and arrested at Moscow Rally (abc.net.au)
ferret4 writes: Arobott has been detained by police at a political rally in Moscow, with authorities attempting to handcuff the machine.
Police have not confirmed why they detained the machine named Promobot, but local media was reporting the company behind the robot said police were called because it was "recording voters' opinions on [a] variety of topics for further processing and analysis by the candidate's team".
Police have not confirmed why they detained the machine named Promobot, but local media was reporting the company behind the robot said police were called because it was "recording voters' opinions on [a] variety of topics for further processing and analysis by the candidate's team".
