Posts by FreddieSingsTheBlues

Humanoid robots coming soon, initially under remote control

"A lot of the humanoids we see out there are a hammer in search of a nail,"

Could be said for AI in general.

I also find the trend to humanise machines a bit tragic. Why do we want the tech we use to display human characteristics? Why can't we treat them as what they are, "machines"?

I know there is a tendency for us to form emotional attachments to the non-living things around us (cars are a prime example) but we should resist it. Only the marketing people trying to flog this stuff to us think this is a good idea.

Online media outstrips TV as source of news for the first time in the UK

No, sir, they are selective news sources.

Can you point to any news source that isn't? while it might be nice to think we once had a media that reported all stories without fear or favour, that has never been the case. There is too much going on in the world for even a large organization to publish it all, and any publication will have to have some knowledge of it's readers/viewers sensibilities (although the don't always get it right).

It's also a bit naive to think that everyone will seek out all news, everywhere and take in all points of view. Some are only interested in local news, or tech news or politics. The Internet can specialize in these things, but individual sites will have their own biases. People will choose accordingly.

The problem is not that there is opinion and bias, that predates the Internet. It's when the powerful (tech companies as much than governments these days) try to close out the opinions they don't approve of.

Ford pulls the plug on EV strategy as losses pile up

It's the cost that gets you in the end

I recently bought (well... PCP'd) a Ford Puma 1.0L EcoBoost MHeV, a mild hybrid.. Look it up, I had to! I went down this route despite the company I work for offering a very generous company car scheme for EV's (salary sacrifice tyre, servicing and insurance included etc..).

It was nothing to do with ICE vs EV, I'm very open the the idea of an electric car, I have off street parking and could make it work. In the end it was down to price. It was double the monthly cost. I had to ask myself will I spend the equivalent of £300 a month (the difference in monthly cost) on servicing, tyres and insurance. The answer was a pretty definite no. Add this to the fact I only now commute 1 or 2 days a week and rarely travel long distances, even the difference in fuel vs charging costs didn't swing it.

In short, EV costs are going to have to reduce dramatically for any major take up to occur.

I know its a mugs game trying to predict the future, but if costs don't reduce dramatically in the short term (2035 isn't that far away) we will see a new industry in keeping existing ICE cars on the road. They will be financially viable and worth repairing for much longer, extending their lifespan. The alternative if the government hike fuel prices so much that they can't be run economically, fewer people will be able to own cars in the traditional way and a new way will have to be found.