“Ultimately, this is about merging tissue with electronics in a way that it becomes difficult to determine where the tissue ends and the electronics begin.”
Very important article about face recognition and biometric software and the accelerating use by governments.
This shows that continued expansion of Google+ is likely. Building a presence there should be a priority for anyone who takes social media seriously.
The new features could be a cost savings for many businesses. Videoconferencing and related remote collaboration tools tend to be expensive. This is a free option. It could be something to recommend to your employer or clients.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/netapp/2012/08/31/google-is-now-an-enterprise-social-network-who-knew/
Like many people already doing so, I’ve been digging into Redis and other NoSQL products.
Unlike all those anti-SQL fanboys, I have 15+ years of experience in RDBMS, and I know the relational algebra has a lot more mathematical implications in practice than the CAP theorem, not to mention the… (full post)
Despite its age, this is one of the smartest articles I’ve seen to-date on “NoSQL” and the trade-off issues of databases. It is well worth a read.
Note: Ignore the discussion about virtual memory on Redis. It is deprecated. (See http://redis.io/topics/virtual-memory)
A letter penned by two notable scholars – a Christian and a Muslim – and sent to a number of different hotel industry executives has asked those hotels to remove pornography from their company’s in-room movie selections.
“We are, respectively, a Christian and a Muslim, but we appeal to you not on the basis of truths revealed in our scriptures but on the basis of a commitment that should be shared by all people of reason and goodwill: a commitment to human dignity and the common good,” reads the letter.
Dear Mr. ChristMus,
Thank you for your letter. It has been turned over to the Thought Police and found to violate multiple prohibitions established by the Restrictions Of Ideological Written Communications Act, and a summons has been issued for your arrest.
We’re kidding. This is a free country. You have the right to write what you like.
> we appeal to you not on the basis of truths revealed in our scriptures
Of course not. That would be silly.
By the way, those aren’t “truths”. If “revealing” something is sufficient to establish truth, then the films in question trump both of your books in the truth category.
> but on the basis of a commitment…to human dignity
On the basis of human dignity, we believe that you have a right to your ridiculous beliefs and your obscene holy books. The Gideons have long been distributing these obscene books in our hotels, and we’ve looked the other way, in respect of customer choice and freedom. But thanks to your thoughtful letter, we’ve reconsidered and decided upon a compromise. From now on, consistent with the video policy, all obscene books will be age-restricted. To access a Bible or Koran on your hotel room interactive TV, you may call the front desk and authorize charges to your account of $12.99 an hour.
Sincerely,
The Management
Solve for X: Adrien Treuille on collaborative science (by wesolveforx)
This talk describes Foldit and EteRNA, a series of remarkable new scientific discovery games Adrien Treuille has helped create. These games lead us to wonder: how many unknown “Kasparovs” are out there on the Internet — potential experts at tasks they never knew existed? Is this the future of expertise?
Dalek Relaxation Tape
Exterminate your tension.
Leap: Touchless Gesture in 3D Interaction Space
