Posts by Fan of Mr. Obvious

We are not liable for...

Tesla is acting like a typical software company. I have commented several times in the past that my personal opinion is autonomous vehicles are going to run into problems because the manufactures are not going to want to accept liability -- they want to act like software companies instead of vehicle manufactures. Given that the autonomous vehicle community is spinning the tech as something that will save consumers live, and money on insurance, I am guessing they have no intentions of every accepting liability -- the autonomous car is/will be perfect in their eyes so no need to look to them for problems.

If Telsa accepts liability for anything accident related, they open the door a little. Every time the door is inched open an attorney, or group of attorneys, will poke their heads in and say hello. They likely prefer the strategy of keeping the door locked at the moment - can't say I blame them.

Still, much work must be done in regards to changing liability laws for companies to be off the hook. If they do succeed, it will be you and I to blame for everything. We used the wrong soap when we washed the car therefore it left a film on the sensor; the tires were not balanced properly therefore... And we thought dealing with vehicle warranty issues were bad.

Is TV a right?

This sounds a lot like the government is saying people have a right to content. I despise the way it is handled today, but I am not looking for government mandated sharing of IP.

If you want to pay, pay. If you don't, go without. If you can't afford it, hold tight - the government will set you up with a free (subsidized) subscription to go along with your free (subsidized) cell phone. Can't wait to see the new "service charge" on my bill for this one.

Dear FBI

Dear FBI,

In the real world backdoors get patched when found.

Thanks, and have a good life.

PS: Stop acting like a cry baby. Adults take their lumps and move on.

will liability be the bottleneck?

What does nearly every [good] software license have in it? A clause that exempts the author from any liability resulting from the use of the software. If software companies are not going to accept liability (which they won't), and laws are not going to be passed/modified to exempt companies form being liable (which they won't), how are the lawyers going to make money? Sure, laws will be changed to say software companies can be held liable, but then costs will skyrocket thus injecting another dimension.

cash cow

MS: How long would it take if you were forced to audit the payments you receive from OEM's for licensing for all business units? When was the last time you conducted such an audit?

Ban the band?

I wonder if the kid had the thing flopped so only the band was on top of the wrist. Looks like it could be a friction burn from the plastic rubbing. I agree with others, it does not have enough power inside to generate heat. If it were to have leaked from the battery, I think they would have shown a photo of the leak rather than put it back on the kid.

How much $ do you think they are going to want from the end of the golden rainbow?

Same old song

In the 90's Cisco said they were a "software company." In 2000 Cisco said they were a "software company." In 2010 Cisco said they were a "software company."

Cisco should stop trying to dupe the uninitiated and just say what it is -- a layoff because the economy is taking and they need to cut costs, mismanaged business, cutting out the slackers, whatever.

I get the whole need to make things palatable for public consumption, but seriously, when you are talking 20% of your employees you need a new song.

Flaw is in the qualifications

"...maximum raw storage capacity of 500TB."

Mid-range as more to do with performance and cost than capacity.

Bridesmaid...

Crap, missed out. All they have now are the lame $1,600 - $3,600 units.

Fun only a scientist, eh-hu, bofin could love

"To switch an chlorine and vacancy pair, the STM tip zaps the space in between the pair and excites a chlorine atom to make the jump to fill a hole, whilst it leaves another in its wake"

Heat it to get it to bond, leaves empty space (which is required), interprets the empty space,... and moves the bonded atom to the empty space? Seriously, this stuff is way over my head. I suddenly feel the need to change my life to full-redneck so I can be oblivious to the rest of the world, thus restoring my superiority complex.

Researcher turns criminal

"Naturally, I checked out these email inboxes."

Hmmmm. Judge, jury, and executioner rolled up in one CyberSlueth. I was not aware that Trustwave having government contracts put them above the law.

US' sad story continues

Tired of this. US government is so corrupt, and has been for so long, that we put up with this crap. Comey's remarks should have been "we are not going to file charges because 1/3 of the presidential cabinet would be part of the indictment."

Between all the advancements in computer forensics, and the fact that they gave the admin a pass for his cooperation, no way they did not find enough to piss themselves. Either that or they are for less competent than anyone gives them credit for.

Sad day indeed. Well at least we got to celebrate Independence Day before they kicked us in the balls.

They have not gone far enough

I am so happy that data can no longer be prioritized by carriers, and the government can now charge fees for Internet usage. I hope they hurry up and make it so corporations, small businesses and homes cannot prioritize either - would certainly cut out some of that pesky network configuration. They should also be sure to included rules and fees for B2B, off-site replication, and personal VPN traffic.

Massive data collection for a massive industry

I think, for today, this more about data collection than it is making money by selling leads. Today Google will collect info about the potential customer - not sure how much info you give up in the UK, but in the US the prospective insurer gets your credit profile, driving history, household members (names, DOB, gender), current and past vehicles, and claims history. This in itself is worth the technology investment, especially if the competing carriers pay for the report data (which they will). Over time, Google will take that data along with the rates that other carriers have given for the profiles and develop a model where they will be extremely accurate when rating you (for their insurance or another carrier) the next time they see you for a quote. If they ultimately decide that they do not want to sell insurance, they will license the data to carriers who are unsuccessful at protecting themselves against adverse selection. Package the standard insurance data (mentioned above) with personal behavior analytic (the lifestyle profile Google already assembles on people) and they have something very powerful to offer a gazillion dollar industry. Bottom line, I do not think Google is interested in taking on the headaches of being an insurance carrier. I think they want to be the analytic engine for all carriers.

I Wish...

Everyone that is visiting impossible.com to wish [beg] for something they need [want for free] would list their computer/tablet/smartphone on Craigslist-- since nobody is using impossible.com --for cash. This way they could use the money towards whatever it is they want, and they can stop turning the Internet into a cardboard (why is it always cardboard?) sign with black marker (why is it always black marker) that says "anything helps."

Now, if only someone would post that on impossible.com for me; I wish they would. Please. Really. Thanks. If you can.

Thanks, but I will wait.

Thousands of years of humanity and we still cannot agree on how to operate a society. The argument went on for so long that it is reduced to a whimper. 134 years of earth surface temperature data and we demand that people agree on what is right and wrong regarding climate trends.

Pinch me when the sun enters the Gleisberg cycle and let me know how that one panned out. I will pass a note down to my great-great-great-grandchildren to see if the Suess cycle had any impact as well. Until then, I will continue to do my part and not muck up your part of the air unless I pay the government enough money, all whilst I read the occasionally entertaining banter about which climate model is right or wrong, and why one that was right turned wrong because some idiot (country, whatever) polluted enough to change the game.

Maybe they should stop poking bear?

Would it not be completely ironic if they found all the core samples are contributing to the decline? As a kid I drilled my fair share of holes in lake ice. If it was cold enough the hole would seal up, although it would remain softer under the surface for a while. If the air was warming, then sure enough that hole would just keep getting bigger.

Yes, far-fetched, even laughable. Still good to ask what if.

Vow was famous, if you actually read it

"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong... I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this." --Steve Jobs.

Was it me...

Sorry everyone, but I fear it was all my fault. My local install kept throwing a Semaphore Limit Exceeded when I would connect to my in-house SAN, so I had to uninstall. I really did not think that WD would have been running their entire remote access from my one instance, but the time frame is just too close to be a coincidence. I would restore the app, but I cannot access my remote backup. Sorry, but at least we are all in this together.