Comment Re:Modern luddites (Score 1) 198
> If we progress to the point where all of our jobs can be done by computers... what should we do?
Explore the universe? Enjoy Life? Pursue Happiness?
> If we progress to the point where all of our jobs can be done by computers... what should we do?
Explore the universe? Enjoy Life? Pursue Happiness?
Implementing DRM is no different than implementing platform-specific features, except instead of platform-specific they are server-specific, which is even more restrictive. The competition with apps is the same as the competition with Windows-only applications, and the open web won.
Shame on the W3C for even considering this. The internet was made open for a reason, and it is no small feat to keep it this way in the face of powerful interests. People want information to be free, and it will be free, whether by a return to common-sense decisions by the W3C, or by its abandonment for a more sensible alternative.
Also:
2^6-1 = 64-1 = 63 = 7*9
2^8-1 = 256-1 = 255 = 15*17
2^10-1 = 1024-1 = 1023 = 31*33
2^12-1 = 4096-1 = 4095 = 63*65
Basically all even powers of 2 minus 1 are not primes, as 2^(2k)-1 = (2^k-1)*(2^k+1). It's much easier to see in binary:
1000000-1 = 111111 = 111 * 1001
100000000-1 = 11111111 = 1111 * 10001
10000000000-1 = 1111111111 = 11111 * 100001
1000000000000-1 = 111111111111 = 111111 * 1000001
Not just in the kitchen, but especially in the bath. Is it so hard to make a "smart" tap where the termperature goes smoothly from "cold" to "hot", instead of constantly adjusting it manually because it goes "freezing freezing freezing freezing ok boilinglava boilinglava boilinglava" and the "ok" position shifts every couple of seconds. We have thermometers, why hasn't someone automated this yet?
Showing the actual temperature would also be a plus.
You can say the same about roads. No one wants to pay at toll booths for maintenance costs, everyone wants to use the roads for free. Yet it's done exactly like that, and despite so-called "leechers" no one would have it changed.
So why not do the same with Wi-Fi? Since the internet is recognized as a human right, the government should use taxes (perhaps from internet sources) to provide free Wi-Fi for everyone. I might even accept that they tax internet companies like Google and Microsoft to get part of the income, and the companies would accept since more people on the internet means more income for them.
I can vouch for Plants vs. Zombies being a big hit with non-gamers and especially with girls. On a tablet especially it's a sure hitter.
The hardest part of climbing the ladder of success is getting through the crowd at the bottom.