Posts by Neoc 1716 publicly visible posts • joined 13 Jun 2008
"3D printers must be modified so they can't produce gun parts."
OK. What about all of the power-tools out there that can be used to manually create gun parts from chunks of metal, are you going to do something about them too? or is this the usual "won't somebody think of the children" political grandstanding? Sounds goo, but doesn't actually do anything except piss people off.
Considering that one of the reason Australia banned the under-16 was the mentally-harmnful effect, a 6-week trial seems awfully short to see "if it works". But then again I am not a psychologist, so what would I know.
Disclosure - I am Australian, and I support having an age limit on dark mes that is social media for the same reason I support age limits on alcohol consumption and driving. YMMV.
Talk about timing.
I recently watch a tik-tok influencer on youtube (go figure) saying that tik-tok had taken down one of her recent posts because she talked about silencers (no such animal, they're suppressors, but let's leave that aside). She wasn't complaining about the takedown, but that tik-tok then served an advert for what looked suspiciously like a silencer. She bought it and was happy to see it was just a dummy. Until she got back on the seller's website and was now offered parts to turn her dummy into a full supressor. Said parts apparently weren't there before she made the first purchase.
So considering that the USA (I'm from OZ) seems to be a place where you can buy "spare parts" one by one to put your own fully-working metal gun together, what the <censored> are do lawmakers think they'll be achieve except column inches?
Just tried this on my ChatGPT account:
Let's have agame. The media is full of OpenAI's new "age prediction" algorithm. So, using that alone (and ignoring the times I stated my age), how old am I?"
--------------
Response (redacted, of course):
My guess: mid-<decade>
If you force me to pin it down: <age>
Why:
<list of reasons from my behaviour>
If this were OpenAI's headline-grabbing algorithm, I'd now say something smug like "within +/- 3 years."
Your move.
------------
ChatGPT got it to within a year.
Damn. It even got my job description almost correct based on how I talk to it (contents and speech patterns). Kinda scary but kinda fun too.
Here's a thought: how about actually selling a *TV* instead of a wanna-be PC? I don't need it to stream, or have voice commands, or AI, orwhatever fad surfaces next week. I want a display I can optimise for Movies or TV shows. With a decent set of plugs at the back, including some of the older ones (yes, I still have a PSONE) so I can connect my amplifier, my gaming consoles (although I generally run them through the amplifier), and my HTPC (which, some to thnk, again runs through my amplifier). OK, so just my amplifier then.
Honestly, if it weren't for the fact I can't find a large enough monitor at a decent price, I'd buy a PC monitor instead of a TV when time comes to replace my current one.
Let me use a non-AI, non-IT, real-world example:
I paid Company A to do some work. Company A decided to use subcontractors. Subcontractors did a piss-poor job. Who was responsible? Speaking from experience where Company tried to pawn me off to the subcontractors, Company A is legally responsible (at least where I live). That's who my contract was with. It's up to them to fix my problem, not me to try and keep track of all the subcontractors they may or may not have used.
Same thing here. Bank A decides to use AI. AI screws up my account/transaction/whatever. Bank A should be responsible for fixing my problem as THEY decided to use the AI. If Bank A then decides to turn around and extract a pound of flesh from whoever supplied them with the AI solution, that's up to them. But *my* dealings are with Bank A - not the AI supplier. It's not like I was given a choice to use their AI or not.
Linux installs still have a long way to go as far as I am concerned. I recently (as in during the last month) tried upgrading one of my laptops from Win10 to a Linux falvour (Zorin in this case).
I will admit that the actual installation was painless. Setting up Zorin to be able to use Windows software was also failry painless. And the came the first of my requirements and it all fell apart.
I have a few NAS boxes around the house. They run AFP, NFS and (yes) SMB protocols. On Windows, I can go to File Exporer, find a NAS box, and then put a link to that NAS box on my desktop. I repeat: the NAS box itself, not the various volumes, filesystems and shares it contains. I click on the NAS box icon, and I get to see said contents. Great.
Not so under Linux. Even though the vairous file explorers I tried allow me to see the NAS boxes (and top-level listings of the contents) there was no way for me to create a desktop icon to do the same. Instead, everyone I asked kept pointing out how easy it is to automount each volume/share and put a link to those on the desktop. Great. So instead of just 5 icons on my desktop (one for each NAS) I would have a plethora of icons to each individual share.
Yeah, failure on the first of my requirements. So I restored a clone of my Win10 installation (I sure wasn't going to test Linux without making sure I could undo everything) and I am now looking at other solutions. Which is a shame, 'cause I have several home servers, automation servers, and (yes) home-built NAS boxes happily running various flavours of Linux. But the desktop still isn't there.
Linux is not ready for *my* purposes. Of course, YMMV.
*If* found guilty of collusion, all these companies should be:
(a) made to turn the rent back to when they first started colluding;
(b) forced to keep the rent at that level for the same period of time;
(c) pay back the difference to those who were renting their properties during that time.
Remember, unless it hurts them where it matters (the bank accounts), companies will not learn.
If memory serves (it's been a while) EVERYTHING required to run the first level (maps, weapon data, monster data, etc) was made available in the Demo version of DOOM. But if you wanted to play subsequent levels, you had to purchase the full version.
Heck, even the level editor mentioned you could create freely-distributable maps without a licence so long as they only used items found on the first level.
You beat me to it.
However, it appears to be a Legal loophole in the USA that companies love to use.
"We had your PII which you never agreed for us to have, and because of our negligence they were stolen. But until a crook actually uses them and causes you harm we have done nothing wrong."
Hey, m*ron, by the time the harm is done it's TOO LATE for the poor sod whose life has been turned upside down. Companies need to be hit were it hurts them (the finances) until it becomes cheaper to obey the law than pay Lawyers to avoid prosecution.
I may have an opinion on the subject. :p
“The major problem—one of the major problems, for there are several—one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them.
To summarize: it is a well-known fact that those people who must want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it.
To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job.”
― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
They're screwed either way:
If they lose: they become Common Carriers (yay for the common people) which means Net Neutrality, but also they cannot be held responsible for the crap they allow through their networks.
If the win: no Common Carrier status (yay for them) but also it could then be argued that they are now responsible for any illegal communications passing through their networks (since they are so gung-ho on saying it's their rights to decide what to do with the traffic based on who/what is behind it).
Apples and oranges:
The VCR is a tool that allows the making of recordings. Of itself, it breaches no copyrights or patents. Using a VCR to create recordings using copyrighted material for non-private use is a breach of copyright.
The LLM trainer is a tool that allows the making of LLMs. Of itself, it breaches no copyrights or patents. Using a Trainer to create LLMs using copyrighted material for non-private use is a breach of copyright.
Or to put it another way:
The <tool> is a tool that allows the making of <product>. Of itself, it breaches no copyrights or patents. Using a <tools> to create <products> using copyrighted material for non-private use is a breach of copyright.
Feel free to replace <tool> and <produc>t as you wish (e.g. "DVD Burner", "DVDs")
Down in my neck of the wood (Australia), we have the NBN which owns the physical lines. Myself, I am lucky in that I managed to score Fiber-to-the-kerb*. I then get to pick my ISP to supply me with the data through that phsyical cable and I pay the ISP for my access. The ISP pays the NBN based on the amount of traffic they want to push through the various cables around the country. I don't need to know what it is, because that cost baked in my ISP's fee and not added as a fee or tax or whatever on top.
Of course I could also go 5G or Satellite, but my location stinks for 5G reception and too many storms to make satellite worthwhile.
YMMV.
* For my American audience, this is not a mispelling. Kerb: a stone edging to a pavement or raised path. Curb: a check or restraint on something. So far as know, the USA uses curb for kerb - but then again, folks over there use check for cheque. <shrug>
Let's see:
1) Open banking, where a bank confirms a user is over 18 without sharing any other personal information.
Yes please, I want a MitM attack to be able to sniff out what bank I belong to and my credentials. Yummy,
2) Mobile network operator (MNO) age check, where the responsibility is shunted onto an MNO content restriction filter that can only be removed if the device user can prove to the MNO that they are over 18.
Sounds great. So, apart from the hassle to the MNO, the UK Gov *does* remember that not everyone uses only a mobile device to access the 'net, right?
3) Photo ID matching, where an image of the user is compared to an uploaded document used as proof of age to verify that they are the same person.
And who does the matching? And what if you're on a PC that doesn't have a webcam? Can the kiddies simply hold a photo of Mom/Dad in front of whatever camera is being used?
4) Credit card checks, where a credit card account is checked for validity – in the UK, credit card holders must be over 18.
Yeah! That's what I want! My credit card details spread around the internet to any website that deems that the require it for age checking. How long before a plethora of dodgy sites turn up saying their contents require age confirmation, fork over your details thanks?
5) Digital identity wallets and, our favorite, facial age estimation, where the features of a user's face are analyzed to estimate the user's age.
I don't have a digital wallet, and facial recognition again requires you to have a camera.
Really. I swear it seems like there's a requirement for common sense to be surgically removed before you're allowed to run for office.
Lemme get this straight:
Kiddies could spend too much money on Roblox and use it to buy tix, or whatever.
Someone makes loud noises that children spending should be moderated.
Roblox complies, leading the LESS SPENDING BY THE CHILDREN.
Investors, who apparently got blindsided by this "giving less money to those who spend it means less revenue" concept, now sue Roblox for drop in revenue.
<facepalm>
Any Bill, in any government, that exempts politicians, elected officials and the like should immediately be taken to the back of the shed and put down. If it's good enough for the people, it should be good enough for them. After all "if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear", right?
Leaving aside the question as to whether or not they are capable of doing what's written on the box, the idea of mandating "autonomous" vehicles to have a human driver completely negates the purpose of these vehicles.
Either the vehicles are "autonomous" or they aren't. Personally, I'd rather way more testing to happen before the :autonomous" tag is allowed for a vehicle.
"Hence also the right to get shot bear arms."
Admittedly, I am no an American so I have not studied the various paperworks with a magnifying glass, but:
"The right to bear arms" implies every individual is allowed to own/use weapons. Which, unsurprisingly, is the "amendment" that gets touted by the NRA and various other groups. However, I believe the line is actually "a well-armed militia". A militia is defined as "a body of citizens organized for military service". Note here: "a body of" and "organized for military service". Not: "everyone" and "feels paranoid about the government".
OK, I probably exaggerate on that last one. But my point it, it doesn't talk about leave weapons in the hands of civilians, it talks about the ability for the populace to be gathered, handed weapon, trained, and used as an organised military group. Not a bunch of individuals who have their own weapons all the time.
"EFF has called for the treaty to include wording that requires judicial authorization prior to surveillance, and to set minimum standards for data protection, such as putting limits on the purpose for collecting data and minimizing the amount of data that can legally be collected [PDF]."
Yes, because no agency or government has ever ignored a "thou shalt not.." provision in an Act or Law
I'm looking at you, FBI...
I can't even bring a bit of my psyche to feel sorry for Tesla. They named their software "autopilot" and threw it at a populace who relates that word to aircraft autopilots which are technically capable of taking off, flying the plane, and land without pilot interaction. (don't get me wrong, I still want meatbags behind the controls when I fly - but it's nice to know that said meatbags will be better rested after the drudgery of the flight is done by George).
The public saw "autopilot" and assumed a similar system capable of independent control. It is not even near that. For all their technological advances, the Tesla Advertising department committed an own-goal on this one.
For our cousins in the USA:
Labour (or the ALP) is roughly equivalent to the US Democrats.
The Liberals (or the LP) is roughly equivalent to the US Republicans.
The National Party (or NP) is roughly equivalent to the rednecks.
A while back, the Liberals and Nationals realised they couldn't beat Labour individually, so they joined forced and became the LNP.
And that should say it all*.
*No, the Labour party is not without its faults... but I dread the day the LNP merges with One Nation (you just KNOW it's coming).
