Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
It sounds a bit tame really:
Quote:
Musk will be allowed to stay as CEO but must leave his role as chairman of the board within 45 days. He cannot seek reelection for three years, according to court filings.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
So, my son is having difficulty concentrating, partly because he's too busy watching videos on youtube. The router's parental controls weren't working like I wanted, so now YouTube routes to nowhere. Yay for DNS tables!
It's only a partial measure, as the phone is more clever about getting DNS entries. Adding some parental controls helps cover that gap. Now all I have to do is worry about how to block it over his data connection once he figures that out.
Actually, I'm less worried about that. One of the problems has been he likes to have YouTube in a side window while working on the computer, then stops to watch some of the video, and forgets to go back to his homework. Blocking it on the PC is probably where he needs to have it blocked.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
If you lived in China that wouldn't be as big of a problem as among other crackdowns the Chinese government has decided kids under 18 should only play 2 hours of video games a day, or 1 hour if under 12 and use a facial recognition system against a database of all children to identify them and track the amount of time they have been playing.
Kids however are trying to outsmart the system through using sleeping relatives to prove they are above 18.
I should add for those that don't know who Tencent is, this isn't some tiny trial thing, Tencent is currently the largest video game producer in the world, not only producing some of China's top mobile games but owning a portion of many game studios so if they don't make it, they probably still profited off it. This led to an amusing bit where PUBG corp (Tencent is a minority owner of) sued Epic Games (which Tencent is a minority owner of) over assorted rights issues because it doesn't matter if you like Fortnite or Pubg better, Tencent gets a cut of both. So that they are implementing this facial recognition means there's going to be little push back by chinese corporations to scanning you into the system before allowing use.
As was PUBG and multiple Blizzard games need corrective action, this includes to 'inharmonous chat' which could be anywhere from an aggressive chat filter to possibly requiring room or area monitors to watch chat.
So far this ban hasn't been put into place and considering it destroys multiple top money makers by top chinese companies, I expect there to be some appeal. Especially since China already has strict game laws about blood and gore compared to the rest of the world.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
I MADE A JOKE ABOUT SMART THERMOSTATS LOCKING YOU INTO A SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE THREE YEARS AGO WHEN I MADE THIS ACCOUNT AND IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED HAHAHAHAHHAHhahahabdjdncmsmjwudoxnxnwjagafafagaga
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
Recently I've been seeing smart home devices marketed as extremely fancy light switches.
You know how the best plug for the christmas tree lights is always behind the christmas tree? Get the new google extension cord with switch! Plug your tree into this and whenever you want to turn your tree on just say, "Hey google, turn the christmas lights on." which will be recorded by the switch, turned into a machine readable output of sound and put through a complex algorithm on distant super computers. Once analyzed your command will be sent back to your device where it will then switch the tree lights on. Wow!
Like I see trying to put smart devices in every day activities is a smart goal for adoption of the product but I can't help but think we are quickly headed towards the days where all devices are way more complicated than they need to be.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
I can't even figure out why anyone wants most of those "internet of things" devices. It's like these random companies invent use cases, and tell people they need to have a record of how much water they drink and when, and that turning lights on and off manually is too hard, and people are just like, "OK."
I've never been a fan of the notion being stupid should hurt, but that's not really stupid, it's just lazy and socially irresponsible. And the only way people will learn is when their "smart" refrigerator has a software malfunction that interferes with the basic refrigeration functions and rots all their food, or when their hardwired "smart" smoke detector blares at them all night. So I'm for that sort of thing happening.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisarea
And the only way people will learn is when their "smart" refrigerator has a software malfunction that interferes with the basic refrigeration functions and rots all their food, or when their hardwired "smart" smoke detector blares at them all night.
If you think people are going to learn when things like that happen, I want to know who you are and what you've done with the real lisarea.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
This seems ripe for ransomware.
The 1am-4am random submarine dive drill will continue until you pay Alexa 5.
Oh no, there's a leak! *fridge water dispenser starts going off* quick seal off the doors!
Look out! We're being depth charged! *Sub woofer goes boom as the christmas lights flash*
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
So, robotic vacuum cleaners and dog poop...
It's pretty awful. Pro-tip: If your dog is having intestinal trouble, even if they've just pooped, wait until the dog is back to normal before running the thing.
We have a carpet cleaner, so this wasn't as bad to clean up as it could have been if we were cleaning by hand.
Re: Bits and PCs - a Computers and Tech Miscellany
Quote:
Originally Posted by specious_reasons
So, robotic vacuum cleaners and dog poop...
It's pretty awful. Pro-tip: If your dog is having intestinal trouble, even if they've just pooped, wait until the dog is back to normal before running the thing.
We have a carpet cleaner, so this wasn't as bad to clean up as it could have been if we were cleaning by hand.
Better advice than this guy's:
Bitcoin now at $16,600.00. Those of you in the old school who believe this is a bubble simply have not understood the new mathematics of the Blockchain, or you did not cared enough to try. Bubbles are mathematically impossible in this new paradigm. So are corrections and all else pic.twitter.com/go9v0w92zk