Posts by trackSuit 85 publicly visible posts • joined 18 Mar 2008
After a rather exciting trip from up to down, I wonder if he will celebrate as usual, or whether it will be a single glass of Carver in the back of Land Rover 4x8 plus a polo?
After all that, one wonders if he will ever be able to lead anything approaching a normal life. He may not yet fully realise what he has done. Thrill seakers do not always realise the danger they are in. Stupidity can be a saving grace which can come too late.
They plough the database fields and scatter, the good seed across the lands. And IT is fed and watered by GOD.s* almighty hands.
Ah the month of September, rolling (in?) the hay with the corn dollys and the delayed offering of gifts before the altar.
And I would have thought that Norway was more than capable of looking after its self / own, with it's fine array of Rich Natural Resources and Relational Databases.
*Global Operating Devices.
Farewell Ashlee, make your own good luck and share the fun.
.... "the wonders of AIX, the vi editor, transactional memory, RAID 6 and FPGAs to the washed masses. Go figure."
That should make the CAT5 purr, Ashlee -They'll love IT.
PS. Don't forget to burn a copy of the Reg Server Log onto a 'password-encrypted' DVD before you go; might come in handy. -Oh, and burn a couple of xxxxtra disks -one to leave on the train on your way to the airport and one for the commercial espionage phishermen at the border. :-D
Today's theme is One of Repetition and DeJahFoos. Check out the posts which got the most comments and do them again?
However in Seventh Heaven's Finest Rose Gardens, are the CAT5 dining on a well deserved Tuna fish supper dDelivered from Russia with Love, and they will not be distracted with handfuls of stale nuggets from passing strangers.
Money is what IT has been about and what the PupPeT Masters Is doing for IT?
42 Truly Entertain, does IT take Imagination to make the Servers Purr, for the CAT5 own their Masters, never the other way round -and such is their MuTuAIL Affection that this topsy turvy relationship is Tolerated and Moderated.
And Paris? -a Fine Feline in Great Cat-Calling Games.
Finally! investment in IT. Praise the GODs.*
A proper machine for Checking System Abuse and Corruption at any level.
I wonder if the complimentary ChiffChaff plugin will be ready for the Browsers before the data centre is completed.
A nine figure sum is more than enough to record a few Communications details, so let's help find some use for the rest of the storage space. Maybe leave a few racks spare for AlienAware / RackSpaced Joint Ventures -more if you want to get into the Heavy MetAI xxxxeferenced Duplex Gossamer Communication Threads, Sensitively Finding and Feeling their wAI across the Net.
And forget ye not to add spare capacity to record the chat messages from all online MMORPG GAIMS, all VOIP, all webcams and their signing users, all Gopher protocols, all the SSL streams, all the games using UDP, all the port knockers and the packet droppers and all the hidden stego video Tubes. Nothing less than the RealTime recording of every Time-Stamped bit will do.
Still, a BASIC system shold be fine for keeping an Eye on Finding Fraudulent FatCats :-).
And be Mindful of the IMPish Temptations which an IMP system would provide to its operators, which could also provide a Stealthy System for checking System Operator Loyalty, if such a system is built with retroactive introspective inspection capabilities.
Yet all the tasty stuff will as always be shared QuITe openly, and always, be ready to be Invested in 42 bring Leadership which is sure to Delight All.
Will the US build the system and send IT over? -Probably quicker and cheaper than another Botched Gov.IT project -overpriced, and late for the TeaParty? They can just copy one of the NSA computers, can't they? It might give the US economy a Boost too, though even a nine figure sum can IT help a bit, there?
"Now, El Reg readers are pretty smart when it comes to IT, so rather than wingeing to each other about it, let's get practical. Why doesn't ElReg set up a consultancy (staffed by the readers) that can bid for the deal, probably undercutting the existing fatcats," Posted By Anonymous Coward, Tuesday 19th August 2008 15:08 GMT
What, an idea, AC? To which I can add, why stop there, when you can put a Rack in the homes of Low Income elderly folk, and build the GrandMother of all Cloud Servers -Truly and Fairly Distributed with Free Heating for the Elderly Guardians of the State's Online Knowledge / Treasures.
*Global Operating Devices.
Yes we have AC,13th August 2008 18:23 GMT.
How dDelightful to hear you can mostly understand amfM. Will you be sure to say how you do IT, when other ACs are struggling with parsing?
I'm glad we can Share Agreement that GBirish is not so hard to understand when IT is done Right.
Here's to the Reg for their NeuReal Tolerance and Alias-Named Torrents of Tolerants.
Heavy lode there, Brother, Where you bound?
Is the article really about RyanAir, or are other matters tied up in this S.T.ated text? Yes, probably, but look at the rest of the filling in the sandwich.
"Irish" (three mentions -do we need reminding about something?)
"screen-scrapers" (forget not that some smear screens, rather than scrape?)
"video or software pirates" (did that comparison come from a spin nurse?)
"Navitaire and Microsoft" (perhaps an advert? because RyanAir's site works fine with most browsers.)
"Ryanair claimed last week that Bravofly had stopped gathering information from its website in the aftermath of the filing of its suit. Bravofly said that this was not true, and that it has not suspended any activity as a result of the rulings." (That made me chuckle... Two men say they're Jesus; one of them must be wrong.)
"will continue to campaign across Europe for legislation to prohibit this unlawful screen-scraping and this breach of copyright laws" (legislation? Didn't, "Ryanair has said that it will no longer honour bookings made through aggregator sites." suggest they have everything nicely under control already? Torrents of new laws can't be the way forward, can they? Maybe fix some of the very serious Loopholes in the existing laws instead?
"aggregator" (five mentions. Was this word selected for it's memetic purpose on account of it sounding like alligator?)
Good, the bread is brown, what's to be served for pudding?
Has Amazon considered that the best thing for presenting the media in a book is a book? Forcing a computer to do a book's job won't be easy, as being something is always easier and more stimulating than simulating something.
Perhaps Amazon should invest some Stealthy Flash Cash in a Research program -they *do* have the dosh... which will lead to virtual benefits for all. Push one of the other media types to New Dizzy Heights. Or create a new media type? IT can be done, with a little help, as it has been done before. No Question about IT.
Use their tablet readers as interactive dDemocracy interfaces? Or Alien-Ware and aware or wearable edutainment devices... maybe Talk to Philips and find out how the Dutch are puting moving images onto clothing, then talk to the AI Bods and Bodettes to see how you create a virtual friend who lives in the clothing and watches and remembers everything, like a real Black-Box Friend... and chats to the wearer. The missing link from YouTube? Everyone permanently videoing everything, all the time? Just hit the button when something cool happens and bingo, the T-Shirt which sees everything ...video gets Bluetoothed to the internet.
Come on Amazon, can't you see the Imaginative Possibilities in what is new and what IT is to come?
For over a year, Ford have had encrypted hard disks on all laptops and stationary computers. The encryption software was deployed across the network and installed without any hitches.
All Ford employees have been obliged to do a short course on basic data security.
People do not like personal data getting lost. It's made worse by the fact that such data is commercially valuable. People do not like their personalities (in a sense) being sold off and pimped to organisations who are only likely to abuse this information for gaining control of and a pecunary advantage.
And Chris Evans "Not enough information" how much would you like? There's lumps of it round the back, going real cheap too, as in Free but and IT would just be a generally generalisation of a bigger thing which would be news?
"*Ethiopia and Eritrea were able in 1999 to indulge in quite serious air-to-air combat, both sides using Russian jets and missiles. Famously, a female Ethiopian pilot, Captain Aster Tolossa, reportedly shot down her old Russian flight-school instructor, serving as a mercenary on the Eritrean side."
I think we can assume from that that the plane was destroyed, but did the pilot survive?
A small but significant detail, whenever the aircraft is so easily replaced with printed money and no more than a few internal reports and some dented pride to show.
Hmm, encouraging people to vote. Is that a new idea? No, I Think not. Is IT compatible with the idea of discouraging people from voting in certain Key Areas 42 Swing the vote at the last minute?
The games are played in a myriad of ways. Some pleasant and some foul and some Simply Divine -Quite Immaculate and in deed and indDeed rather Kalman too.
NXP, as the coy mistress and Dutch University as the Importunate Suitor -what a Marvell_ous idea, Andrew!
Don't be shy guys -underneath that rouge and rage within the machine, NXP would love to embrace for a full-on Hi-tech transfer Win-win, grin-grin.
NXP get a world-class oyster upgrade plus a string of positive publicity points, as well as first dibs on keen potential employees.
The University get a free lesson on turning enemies into friends -AI Gain far Beta than any money can provide.
This article left me with the impression that it is getting harder for children to buy and therefore smoke cigarettes.
In the city where I live, there seem to be more children and young adults smoking cigarettes than there were this time last last year.
I assume there is now a well developed black market for buying cigarettes. If that sounds cynical, then ask yourself what a cigarette company would do when faced with advertising restrictions. Would they put they feet up and sigh and contemplate halcyon days, or would they get busy developing new distribution and marketing routes / means?
Many smokers buy cigarettes duty-free in bulk or buy them from people who import them by means of an undeclared business.
When people buy cigarettes in bulk, it is less likely that the odd missing packet (or three) will be noticed as missing.
It only takes one child in a class of kids whose parents smoke heavily and who turn a blind eye to the regular disapperance of some of their packets of cigarettes. There is also no shortage of children who are given 'guilt money' by parents. Buying a packet of cigarettes is easy for a child who wanders around with 30 quid or more in their pocket.
And what of the high-tech vending machines? A clear conscience for the tobacco companies? No trouble from politicians? A smoke-screen [sic] for society who will see the machines and then not even wonder at the increase in the young smoking population?
This is not a rant though... and time will tell if I was right. Look for an increase in the number of young smokers, or a change to the way official statistics are processed.
"Thanks for the links to the Met's crime maps, but basically they're only suitable for bean counters." By Paul Taylor, Posted Wednesday 25th June 2008 17:07 GMT
Operator error causes a well publicised glitch in the stats for one or more housing areas. House prices drop... the rest you can Imagine.
Another Quantum String to push / pull for Common dodgy bodgers and RobotIQs. Can also be used 4 Entanglement and Entrapment 2.
Slick operators and their opposites are quite aware of where IT is at and what IT is Capable of.
I predict a large and profitable growth in the industries of data sharing and dark fibre -with some fibres being darker than others.
"All communication across Swedish borders will be wiretapped"... though with specialist sub-mariners and their magnificent machines -any data can be made to become 'across Swedish borders' it seems possible? And what's a bit of lag, when what IT is carrying and where IT is going is most Interesting.
The West-side city of Göteborg currently building flats and High-tech businesses as fast as it can in the land of very fast internet connections -100Mb for domestic flats in some places.... Serious investment in IT. Wow, there must be a big Backbone around here somewhere. I wonder where the money came from. Intentional back, scratching? Oj då, fy fabian!* how spooky can IT get? Perhaps the SWF would know about the flow and what investment is all about and who will end up paying for IT? http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/feb/18/moneyinvestments
Thank Heavens and the Angels and Goddesses among the Clouds** and their fecund and QuITe Delightful blessings.
*(polite and mildly humorous version of a Swedish swear-word).
**Something which is quite open to aVery Man and his double Dogs and CAT5 for them to rap to / holler at, Virtually.
A little humour there, from / for RAF 1 Squadron Linemen and others?.
They are humourists and love their jobs. Their humour is QuITe specialised and rather Pythonesque at times.
Here are some more Linemen having fun.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leacw8H8Lrk
Still, flying Tonkas and sporting a tache, eh? -bon skillage!
Oh! Is that the time? -I *must-dash*.
And what are we going to do Now? QMuI7? ...... for Quite SublLime TeleCommunications ......... AI Virtual TelePortation. ........ for that is Offered/Proferred. By amanfromMars, Posted Thursday 12th June 2008 16:56 GMT.
Anyone eager 42 please would do IT again, of course.
Another politician from another party would do the trick and also halt the spin-cycle.
Thomas Bayes.... described by Wikipedia as a 'nonconformist'. Also a clergyman, from an era of enthusiastic hobby scientists and Researchers, in the 1700's, where all that was New was Fair Game, waiting to be discovered and published as discovered for all to see and agree/disagree. An historic past time passtime and also present time passtime, which some would argue is way past time 42 do IT again when IT is open and waiting.... teasing and temptingly tantilising to all with an inquiring mind and an ability to solve problems.
And wow! What a lot of things have been attributed to Thomas Bayes, who was not a particularly prolific publisher of papers -silent waters must run deep. With some of his work being published posthumously. Now it seems nobody is anybody in the world that is AI [Artificial Intelligence], without name-dropping Bayes or 'Baysian inference' into the jargon/feed.
But thanks for the reminder, Chris Williams. Sometimes it payes sweetly to revisit even endlessly talked about topics/names/concepts, in case they warrant a second look/hide useful MetaData in the chaff/background noise.
And what's this? A Baysian paper I have not read....
"Divine Benevolence or an Attempt to Prove That the Principal End of the Divine Providence and Government is the Happiness of His Creatures (1731), by Thomas Bayes".
http://www.kingston.ac.uk/~ku12881/Bayes/bayes.html
Looks Fresh, even now. Well played that fellow -looks like it will be a six. Time to check IT out.
From Banksy to Baysie to Count Basie, all in one evening -transparent time-travel and task switching -on the Internet Super Freeway.
George Formby, cleaning windows? For a nosey parker, it's an interesting job.
But what has that to do with the price of fish in Tavistock?
Well, let us assume that someone wishes to do a bit of nose against the window stuff.
-First put out some bait. An advert, disguised as an article in a popular tech journal, for example.
-Next, supply a program to the underworld to 'enable secrecy over VoIP'. Be generous and make it into a nice self-installer.
-Drop the line over the side of the ship and wait for the mackerel to bite.
And if a message is not understood, is that the sender's fault/design, or the receivers' dusty comprehension test skills/paranoid suspicion that encryption is involved, where none exists?
What a charming notion.... - "Privacy is a matter of taste and fashion." Which might explain why few Swedish houses and flats have net curtains and nobody here seems too bothered.
It would also go some way to explaining why people argue over privacy, with respect to its importance.
Hysterical public debate will lead, as always, to a polarisation of views, I suspect, with most people either being very secretive or almost shockingly transparent. There will always be those of course, who walk on the wwwild-side 42 take the middle road of their choosing.
And in spooky nookE bedroom battles, are great secrets revealed? As this could suggest?
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/19/spook_spank_stitchup/
And the icon? A blue sombrero, perhaps? The future's so bright (he's gotta wear shades).
"...because I spied an investment proposal from one of the world's top banks sitting on Roy's desk."
And I spied a picture holder with no picture. Which can be seen behind Roy's left shoulder.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/05/24/switch_switchnap_rob_roy/page3.html
A tiny example of things which cannot be seen directly, yet which can be Rendered Intelligible with Rather Astute Shared NeuReal Quantum dDatabases and their sturdy trusty staff.
PS. we know the missing picture was Tux :).
"There's no record of such an attack even occurring and other security watchers are sceptical over whether crackers could make money - the main motive for denial of service attacks - from such an approach."
I though the main motive of a denial of any type of service attack was to deny service? Which in any sevice-based economy would be QuITe a big issue, Virtually the Biggest and quite a disservice?
"Not being funny but your comment was hard to read with lots of capital letters where there shouldn't be." Posted By Test Man, Monday 19th May 2008 12:47 GMT.
Do not worry, Test Man, IT is all as IT Should Be. Just relax and read normally.
Strange missives are most apt for strange times.
And do not imagine to test mearly aMan, when there are so many Quality Thinking Women which you can aTtest to, too?.
Abundant video evidence shows the participants were genuinely having fun, John Procter, so any talk of "so-called 'fun' " is your opinion.
If the worst that happened was a few thousand pounds worth of accidental damage then this would be one of the cheapest public events in recent times.
If the issue of damage is of concern, then why not invite the organisers plus any other volunteers to make amends? It's their garden too, isn't it?
If the police were crafty, some of them would join in. Being a part of the community gives police the kind of intel that money cannot buy.
And Tux, for his natural love of water.
Somebody will make a lot of money by selling small cameras to fit to guns. If they fancy doubling their money, they could fit two cameras and simultaneously capture images of the shooter's face as he pulls the trigger.
They will not wear sunglasses though because the police always say.... "If you have nothing to hide..."
What Pearls of Wisdom are these, if ignored? Police unhappy, numerous voters annoyed - 'owls of protest. Is that the way Forwards and what Purpose will this law / lore be For?
The scientists which The Prime Minister and his chosen Home Secretary have chosen to ignore are professionals and people of good faith. Why ignore them? Better their opinion than that of a 'dis'-ingenuous lobby-group/thinkTank or dodgy 'paid to prove' type Pseudo Scientist. Or would you beg to differ?
Ask an accountant and he'll say lower the supply voltage to the data center by 10%.
Ask a lawer and he'll say sue the equipment manufacturers for not being green enough.
Ask a share holder and he'll say decimate the employees (in the old sense of the word).
Ask the managers and they will simultaneously say "we have no money"... and... "let's employ a consultant firm to write a big report about our problems".
Time wasted recasting the problem will not fix it though. And companies always have plenty of money to spend on the things they want to spend it on. Time to think about how to solve problems for the long term, rather than running round in tight circles waving arms around.
This will require deep thought, planning, a thorough understanding of the company, its employees and the technology it uses and.... leadership -none of these should be a problem for a modern company whose aims are to be competitive, stay in business and provide jobs.... A company who accepts change as a natural part of life rather than something to shy away from.
Skilled workers -yes they have skills. The trouble is that as the industry has matured, many other people now also have these skills.
A choice is suggested:
-Learn new skills, which are in demand and few people have.
or...
-Change job and work for a company who needs include technical skills plus the skills of an employee with experience, good teamwork, appropriate use of communication, innovation etc.
This has happened with so many trades in the past -once, being a computer programmer or a CAD draughtsman, for examples was something only a few people did -now many people do these things.
If anyone thinks their company doesn't care about them, or thinks they do not care about their company, the best thing they can do is to change jobs before they become resentful, which will only do them, as well as everyone else, a disservice.
Notions of global governance are not new, as this link, -going back as far as 2006 and pertaining to Gordon Brown would suggest:
http://preview.tinyurl.com/6xf9b7
Notice the enthusiasm with which he speaks. Is PM a short stop/pass go and collect 50 on ITs way to his ultimate goal of a comfy seat at the UN -admission prepaid?
They have ears and they can think and they are in government. Listening to the public and delivering, by means of Leadership Future Solutions to ITs problems. Some heap big Intel below those GreWigs.
I used to love listening to them on 'A Week in Parliament'. Is that Radio Program(-me?) still being broadcast?
Some of the flying Tech, did so 42 follow the fairer sex and find a Beta job. Travel broadens the mind, so the Tech just gives/gets IT better, leaving it fit for service and servicing any probably worthy cause.
And yet, dispite suspicions of treachery/worthiness for future service, those who fly for fun, FLYFF, 42 follow passion and a passion for HiTech Tech, rather than being meerly lured as moths around an expensive but short-lived candle, may yet prove to be very much still at home within Blighty, which would surely make them people of good faith.
And the Jacket icon? They're wings, actually. Michael Hutchense said 'we all have wings, but some of us don't know why'. RIP, Michael.
Haven't you seen them, Phil, little tiny polystyrene things, made in China and, rather Stealthily, sold as flying toys -a mere 25 Squid too. Give them five years' time and they will beam colour video back to your mobile phone for viewing/recording transmitting pleasure and (I) would add, QuITe remotely, and they will still cost 25 quid.
The picture in the article shows a 3D CAD model of a metal spider which looks about four inches tall and quite incapable of overcoming a roll of chicken wire.
As odd as it may seem, this spider thing looks more like a milking machine to me.
Was Jerome Kerviel paid by a large bank to bring 'SocGen lost serious credibility as a result of the loss' into disrepute? Or will he be paid later, in a few years' time, as a reward/gesture of services rendered? Does he have a personal Swiss bank account or similar? Would a large bank do something like that, even? Pure speculation, though to wonder would be QuITe normal for an Inquiring mind, would it not?
Provide SATA support, so the units can be upgraded in the future.
PoE sounds great for avoiding being knee-deep in powerbricks. Maybe offer different power supply options?
Remove any artificial constraints on disk size -or customers who will buy these units will not be impressed.
Drop the price to 150 USD, and people will buy spare ones for backup.
I would strongly suggest giving customers a good product at a fair price which suits their needs. Give the customers the freedom to tweak these units and some amazing things will happen. If the manufacturers are crafty, they will get all the ideas they need for developing the next generation of this kind of product from the people who have tweaked their units.
When this is done, brand loyalty will be all the greater.
What a week it's been -rather exciting too.
Perhaps the impressive planes could be rested with all the others in museums, while this mess is sorted out. If the DES O'Connor joke situation takes too long to resolve, they may well be superseded by superior technology and therefore no longer wanted and the planes will at least be in their rightful place.
Congratulations! Will you post new photos in another decade's time? ...Or will it be a case of, We will if You will? :-)
BTW, did you find any interesting fingerprints on abandoned beer glasses in the pub? I hear there is a Bounty on some. Metal-detector treasure seekers have a new Winter sport?
In a backwards kind of way, the article says that the number of people clicking on Google ads increased.
Not a serious problem is it?
If Google wish to get people to click on their adverts, they will have to get more clever about guessing what People are Searching for. As things stand, they are only Luke Warm. There is still plenty of scope to improve their search engine, without resorting to taping into peoples' internet connections at the ISP level. There will be an ultimate limit to how many ads people will click on anyway. So they had better spend more effort on Intelligence, the Appliance of Science.
+++By Bronek Kozicki
Posted Wednesday 16th April 2008 14:11 GMT
I wonder whether the latency introduced by satellite link and quality of video could be (partially) to blame. It must be frustrating not being able to immediately see what exactly are these things down there, as well as having to wait for plane reaction.
+++
XXXXcellent point, Bronek Kozicki. When information is scarce, it takes more Intelligence to make sense of IT. Some Gamers go mad if they don't get 60Hz FPS and go to great lengths to ensure their Rig is upto IT. Frustration indDeed....
I went to a boat show once with my girlfriend. There was a rescue dog there who looked harrowed. I asked here why the dog was upset (after all, it was just lying down). She said "It thinks it's been on duty all day". I said what do you mean? "That reflective coat the dog's wearing makes it think it's on duty still." The handler doesn't realise you should remove it from the dog sometimes and let the dog run around without it for a few minutes, as a break."
If Asus were Really SMART, they could add a snazzy website, where people could specify which options they want and build their computer how they wish.
Different case colour/design, Solid State/Rotating Disk, Higher Resolution Screen, Free Choice of Operating System, bigger battery, More Memory, Choice of Processor. Flash Card Reader. The punters would Love IT.
Asus woman knows a SMART offer when she gets one.
Interesting isn't IT? All this talk of money trouble and then someone comes along with a news story that takes a tilt at JFK. Who would wonder at the many good things that JFK did and tried to do for the USA, when titillation and conspiracy hot air is so much more absorbent of public attention.
Rocky/Iceberg things in dark waters, trouble the Eye of the Paper Tiger as it travels on maiden voyages aboard Titanic vessels, through uncharted Internet Territory. All at sea, yet refusing the Offered Aid of Skilled Pilots / Watchmen.
Just as there is a dystopian version of the future, there is also a yang opposite, in which the sun shines -a fecund blessing.
If corrosion by means of apathy and ignorance is slow and yet pernicious, then its opposite is fast-Acting and Vital.
When people Dare to Care, the changes are quick and Positive for all. For anyone to complain at this, would QuITe likely betray old and entrenched Ideas which were being misused purposely and publicly? A pitiful State of Affairs and very poor play.
To pretend that problems of any kind are inevitable and unavoidable is to be so far from reality as to be ridiculous.
"Mr Justice Burnton said in his ruling that he believed that the reports did not contain the explosive revelations that he felt campaigners were looking for."
That unhelpful remark dares to presume that only campaigners are interested in these reports. It also suggests that anybody who is interested in these reports are only interested in revelations. If the reports are released, they will not merely be 'looked' at; they will be studied and analysed.
I understand that judges are supposed to be disinterested. This remark seems to attempt to make campaigners look silly and also to seek to dispel legitimate interest in the contents of the reports.
"I am the proud owner of a 2004 Vauxhall Corsa and although it seems to have some kind of invisibility to the drivers of any expensive German or Scandinavian marque"
Chris Hamilton,
you have touched on an interesting phenomenon, when you say your car has a kind of invisibility. One factor is its size, though this would not completely account for ITs Stealthy properties.
I suggest that vehicles form a part of their drivers' egos. Human and animal egos, in my opinion are extensible and compressible.
I once knew a man who regularly drove a seven series BMW with a four litre engine. Since he did not pay for the petrol, he drove it with gusto. He was used to getting his way in traffic and confessed to enjoying the power this car gave him to bully other motorists. He later swapped to a different car - a people carrier type. It took him about two weeks to adjust his driving style, as he found he could not use this car to drive in the same way he become accustomed to. I was in the new car on one occasion, as this period of adjustment was taking place and the journey was interesting, to say the least. This phenomenon is not discussed in court rooms and does not seem to have been widely studied.
The opposite of an ego extension can be observed, for example when an elderly relative becomes deaf over a short period of time. It is painful to watch as they come to terms with their disability, and deafness is certainly a disability for someone who is used to being able to hear. People Who Become Deaf may also find themselves marginalized to the point of virtual invisibility, even among Family Members.
The icon? -roadkill.
This system sounds quite advanced, compared to systems in current passenger car use. Let us hope it is for the benefit of all road users.
For people wondering, these sort of systems are designed to detect pedestrians, cyclists etc. Whether the driver reacts in a timely fashion to any warning signal is another matter.
Talking specifically now about side blind spots, when changing lane.... When one looks over one's shoulder, there is no mental commitment to make a movement until the check has been done. If one comes to rely instead on an automatic warning of some kind, the order can become changed with laziness so that the movement comes first, -with the possible option of steering back the other way if a warning signal occurs.
There are many influences which 'compete' for a driver's attention these days -road layout, signs, in-car gadgets (which manufacturers have control of), extra gadgets, which are not part of the car (beyond the manufacturers control), other passengers in the car. The list goes on... My point is that many modern cars are starting to nag or even bully drivers into using the car in a particular way. In some senses, the mental contract that the driver is solely in control is now partly broken, since the drivers are forced to use the car in a particular way.
Yes, you can switch off that reversing sensor, but you have to do it each time you engage reverse -in practice, people eventually submit and put up with the beeping noise. Then their behaviour adapts to rely on the sensor.
Speaking specifically about camera-based side-mirror blindspot warning devices (as are used on some cars today)... These are not so reliable. Their basic problem is that fact that they give numerous false positives. The result is that a warning light, close to the side mirror flashes -often. A radar sensor could reduce the number of false positives which camera-based sensors suffer from.
Some currently manufactured cars have a radar-based system mounted in the front grille. This system is used to adjust the cruise control system on motorways. it is also used in connection with the braking system. In an emergency, it may start braking before the driver even has time to press the brake pedal. It may also press the brakes harder if the car is not slowing down fast enough, to avoid a colission. (In many motorway accidents, a collision occurs even though there was plenty of time available for the driver and car to stop -quite often, people do not press the brake pedal hard enough).
As more automatic systems appear, we will see some interesting and unanticipated consequences. People who design safety systems in cars are not always aware of the concept of risk compensation. They have to do a balancing act between making drivers feel safe (and possibly inducing complacency) or making drivers feel less safe and possibly loosing customers to a company that does make customers feel safe.
For anyone interested in finding out more about risk compensation, I should say that it evokes quite strong feelings in the people discussing it. This often results in hysterical debate involving poorly designed studies and very dubious use/abuse of statistics. It is difficult to find a single website with sensible discussion of it. Look at Wikipedia if you wish, but as always, if you want to study something, do check plenty of other sources too.
I imagine it is part of a wider question of how much risk people are prepared to tolerate and the battle for who controls the level of risk they are exposed to -themselves or someone else/some others. -Though that is a highly personal opinion of mine.
Easy there, some people scare real easy, for real.
http://history1900s.about.com/od/1930s/a/warofworlds.htm
I hope nobody would think to abuse such a system.
ReAlliance on the Flashing GreenMan / RedMan traffic light control combo.
Others Stop Look and Listen, before they cross the Internet Super-Highway.
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