nolandidiodmd

[nolandidiodmd]

Flat Earth believers tend to be younger, survey says

https://www.cnet.com/news/flat-earth-believers-tend-to-be-younger-yougov-survey-says/#ftag=CADf328eec

This fact is one that doesn’t surprise me much. Throughout most of history, the younger generation is usually more skeptical of what is presented. However, it is clear to most that what they believe is a lie, is undeniable science. 

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Kodi gone form Google

https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/29/google-removes-kodi-from-autocomplete-piracy/

This situation displays what google can do to hide things from the general public. People who wish to locate the Kodi program still can by searching it without auto-complete. And the justification for it is very loose, association with copyright infringement. By that vague logic, every camera should be outlawed as they too can help in copyright infringement.

[nolandidiodmd]

Submarine |POWERED BY XBOX

https://www.cnet.com/news/us-navy-launches-submarine-maneuvered-by-xbox-controller/#ftag=CADf328eec

The Idea of a Navy sub being controlled by a controller is conflicting. On one hand it must be good that these controls can be simple enough to fit on a controller. On the other hand, It is strange to think a 12 yo could theoretically pilot the sub if he was able to feel out the controls. The problem of simplicity is any schmuck with the controller and time could control the sub. 

[nolandidiodmd]

Matrix Tumblr Post

The movies Tron and The Matrix have a lot of similarities. They are both about a person in a digital world, fighting the oppressive machines. They also have some similarities to topics covered in class. There are parallels to the original hackers and the software companies. Hackers, like Bill Gates and his letter to hobbyists, created machinery and software within their garages or homes. They forged new technology, in Tron it’s a simple chess program like in Tron, and in the Matrix it was Artificial Intelligence. As these things grew, people wished to control these advancements, similarly to the control AT&T tried to exercise with the internet. This is what led to the eventual downfall or man in The Matrix or the enterprise that Encom is at the beginning of Tron. This control continues as MCP in Tron begins taking and controlling programs that were made in side of its system. With the Matrix it comes in the form of the Agents who within the movie show the complete control over the system they have, with the mouth thing and their ability to morph from people. They use this control to exercise their power and preventing people from exercising their freedom. Whether this is their free will as in the case of the Matrix or the in ability to create programming, they dominate the people. In this bleakness there was a glimmer of hope, in the form of thinly veiled messiah metaphor. In Tron, Flynn is a user and during the movie he uses this to his advantage. He creates a hole in the wall to escape from a game, and he redirects a DataStream to allow him to progress. This is could be representative of him being a hacker, however it could also represent the idea of him being an open source program. This would allow, much like an open source program, to be changed and able to adapt to challenges. It also follows some of tenants of General Public License. He is able to adapt based on his need and he can share these changes, like with him allowing Tron and RAM through the hole he created. There is also Neo who is the One who is the person who is meant to free humanity form the machines. Which could also be the idea of an open source system slowly taking hold of people. This idea is fundamentally similar to the browser war. Neo is supposed to the One, Firefox, and was released desperately to oppose the dominant force, the Matrix, Internet explorer. The idea is that Firefox was put out there in an effort to combat the titan that was Internet Explorer, which is represented perfectly by the machines versus the ridiculous leather clad rebels. A few final notes about the theming. There is the idea that the mentalities in the film reflect todays mentalities in regards to hackers. When Neo is interrogated by agent smith, smith makes it clear that Neo’s hacking shenanigans have no future and he should abandon them. This represent the stigma against hackers for the past 20 years, believing them to be just juvenile behaviors that cannot amount to anything. Additionally, in Tron, Flynn creates all of the games present inside of the digital world, and is not given credit for it, which mirrors the actions of Atari who refused to credit the developers of their games believing the company deserves the credit. These movies seem drenched with the ideas of our digital culture with things like hackers, open source ideals, and a little about the original game industry.

Also Neo.  N-E-O. ONE. One. Subtlety thy name is Matrix

[nolandidiodmd]

RE: ESA hasn't received an invite to discuss video games with Trump

https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/02/esa-hasnt-received-an-invite-to-discuss-video-games-with-trump/ Well this is strange situation. It really felt like it was back in the early 2010′s where random wackjobs were blaming every violent incident on video games. Only now the wack job is our president (Yay). But really I’m happy that someone is putting forth the effort to at least clear up something that has been disproven by many studies, and is just pointless fear mongereing

Again Midterms a bit late, Sorry

[nolandidiodmd]

RE: How to charge your phone

https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/31/16020006/how-to-charge-your-phone

This article feels a bit unnecessary. I know it could be of use to someone who is trying to get the most out of there batteries, but I feel that the tips are unnecessary. While it is interesting to know that keeping a phone on a charger at full battery doesn’t make it deteriorate, I don’t think it would change how people charge their phones.   

Was a bit late on this one, due to midterm assignments. Sorry

[nolandidiodmd]

Boston Dynamics are at it again! Their videos of robotics are both interesting and potentially terrifying. For those who are not aware, BD has a tendency to assault their robots. While this may seem bad, it is a sort of stress testing to ensure that the robot can perform actions in dire circumstances, however there is also the potential terrible outcome if a so called robot uprising occurs. BD provides the robot overlords with plenty of footage of robot abuse. While that is a distant future it is still terrifying to know that these things can open doors. There is nothing preventing their escape!

[nolandidiodmd]

EHang Shows Off Passenger Drone's Flight Successes

https://www.technewsworld.com/story/EHang-Shows-Off-Passenger-Drones-Flight-Successes-85127.html

This is a nice step towards hey long wanted Technology of Flying Cars. This has been something humanity has desired for a good 50 years. It still seems far off but I’m curious to see how innovators come up with solutions to the other problems of flying cars. How do traffic lanes work for it, how do we adjust to an entire new axis of movement, how bad will the crashes be: There are many problems they could bring, but it would be very cool If we could overcome them and have FLYING CARS! That is all.

[nolandidiodmd]

Alexa’s Hearing

https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/2/16965484/amazon-alexa-super-bowl-ad-activate-frequency-commercial-echo

These Improvements help for it during Alexa commercials. But the problem is less with commercial and more of a flaw with the voice activated system. It is susceptible to being triggered by vaguely similar sounds. It may be better if amazon explored maybe customizable command phrases or phase out use of such a common name for it’s device.

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http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42853067

I believe that the idea of fake followers is something strange and unique to our digital culture. On sites like YouTube and Twitch I can somewhat as it can kickstart a career on those site which have the ability to earn money, but twitter doesn’t have that. The only motive I can see for it is going, “hey look at my numbers they are big numbers and that means that i am kewl”..... or something similar but not that dumb.

[nolandidiodmd]

RE: 'Artificial synapse' points the way toward portable AI devices

https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/24/artificial-synapse-portable-ai/

I know it may seem crazy for me to fear things like this but come on. We can now create a device that can easily connect to other devices and the internet with ease and put an Artificial Intelligence on it. I know the AI they talk about is not true AI but , and maybe this is the Sci-fi fan in me talking, it feels like it could pave the way for a true AI to piggyback and spread itself across the world. Then again I am a 19 Digital Media major and what the hell do I know about how Artificial Intelligence's work.

[nolandidiodmd]

https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/16/youtube-stricter-partners-program-requirements/ This change makes it harder for people to start an independent career. While it is still possible this makes it so much harder for people to create the type of diverse content that YouTube videos provide. This another step YouTube takes to damage the people that made it as popular as it is today. But hey this situation is a good for Patreon.... I’ll just leave this here www.patreon.com/nolandidodmd