The ability to look around and see 360 degrees in all directions seems to be something that they are looking to do with some films according to this article. Personally, I think it would be impractical to make a feature film like this unless it was very limited in scope such as an educational or instructional video or something simple like a porn film. There just would too much going on where there was not control. Although lets not stop them investing in perfecting the technology. They have plenty of money to do so.
However, that doesn’t mean that the capability would not be useful outside the fictional film industry. Almost every other application of video could benefit from this capability.
In my opinion though the quickest, easiest and most effective use of this type of technology would be to allow drivers of trucks, buses etc. to see in their blind spots. We could actually save lives instead of just posturing without imposing on others and, I would think, at a reasonable cost as well.
Interesting thought on the Historical sequence of our liberty.
From bondage to spiritual faith;
From spiritual faith to great courage;
From courage to liberty;
From liberty to abundance;
From abundance to complacency;
From complacency to apathy;
From apathy to dependence;
From dependence back again into bondage.
I was looking at this and was surprised how quickly we can leap from one to the other. It seems that we can do one a generation on the downward section. Fighting our way up takes a lot longer. I don’t believe technology will make any real difference until we develop a FTL drive which will be used for many to go off and start again, New Worlds for all, Constitutions will be written and governments set up all with a Libertarian bent. After all the whingy whiney people won’t be going until everything is safe and looking good and then they see this, like it and move in and then they want it changed to their requirements which is where it all goes wrong. We need to cover that in the constitution.
However, we are nowhere near this. No unexplored land to move to so we will introduce our surveillance society and move to a Police state. Then the terrorists fighting against our way of life will have won and we will be the terrorists and will be seen by history as freedom fighters. Our futuristic films will become reality and we will build Christianity up again. Our next generation of soldiers will be Crusaders. And without the PC crowd they will be cleansing with holy fire. I wonder what the world population will fall too?
What a legacy are we leaving for our children and grandchildren.
Well we really can be tricked and very easily too. HatTip Nourishing Obscurity.
In addition think of the hundred of little tricks than go around which show how observant we really are and then think about this – Why are witnesses in a crime given more credence than evidence?
Qualcomm, who I thought had disappeared off the planet, have been busy while away. They have just shown a colour eReader that looks very nice and is designed to have better battery life and bright enough to read in sunlight. They want a third party to manufacture and sell it.
As these units are improving in steps every time we see a new one it is getting to the stage when I am going to have to make a stand and buy one. Until then I think I will ignore them until I’m ready to put my hand in my pocket.
I see next XMas as a good time for my jump. As anyone who knows me will tell you I don’t like rushing into things. One thing is clear though. No DRM. I can wait.
Bomb making has been a hobby for humans for longer than we can remember as a species. We love them. We are nowhere near finished yet but we have some very impressive bombs which are refined to a degree that was unimaginable a few decades ago.
Now in saying that I must make it clear I’m not an expert on bomb making. I still have my fingers but I have read a lot about bomb making from books and from people Iknow who are experts. (MI5 please note that it is not Paddy O’Brien from across the road)
So it amazes me the levels our ‘experts’ are going to to show we are dealing with the bomb threats on airliners. It’s a farce. It will only stop the dickheads like the shoe bomber and that new guy who won’t even be able to play drop the soap in prison. True professionals cannot be stopped in this manner. We would need to have every passenger turn up 48 hours in advance and get their number 2s approved. But realistically there are ways around that as well. If you do not care about your own life.
Looks like I’ll never be using a plane again. Not because I think I’ll get blown up but because I don’t want some butch security guard getting excited over my hot body and having to let those useless gits abuse me for my own protection.
I wonder how long this game will go on? It reminds me of the virus threat back in the 90s. A virus writer would write a bit of code and send it to Symantec to be analysed. It would never get in the wild but there are millions recorded in the scanners even though only a few thousands have been found outside a lab. The difference of course is these guys are using people. People that cost a fortune to prosecute and keep imprisoned.
I think they are trying to bandrupt us. I really do. Don’t they know that we have had Gordo at it for nearly 15 years and he is much better at screwing the country up.
I was going to say Unexpected Consequences but it is not like the consequences are unpredictable.
It seems that manufacturers are using nanotechnology in foodstuffs. Personally, I would prefer a different term as I see Nanotechnology as little robots not particles of what we have now. However,the manufacturers are keeping their use of this nanotechnology secret and not openly talking about it.
They added that it was exactly this behaviour that could prompt public backlash against the use of a technology that could bring many benefits to the public.
But that is not the full story. Look at GM crops they were not secretive and yet they were targetted by luddites and whingy whiney people and people threatened and attacked. So the food industry is keeping it’s head down this time and keeping a low profile and who could blame it.
Now, clearly anything entering our food chain needs fully tested and the food manufacturers seem to have performed this task. And if you don’t think so look at the thousands of laws we have that say what can and can’t be used with foodstuffs. Hell, they even make illegal stuff that has been used in food for centuries. So unless these guys are deliberately breaking the law, where they deserve punishment, then they are meeting all the legal requirements.
Now, and this is where it goes wrong, because of the activists more public tests which may have been carried out over a larger test subject area which are not strictly legal requirements are shelved in case the tests get out. Thus increasing the risk on the public which is the exact opposite to what we actually want.
So, go public, have your people and properties attacked by nutters and lose your share price.
or keep quiet and when, and you always are, found out be criticised about secrecy.
Ironic that a government spokesman should say;
If you want to build confidence you should be open rather than secretive.
but are they prepared to deal with the enviroloonies then?
So, the governments suggested cure for this? You guessed it, another Database and more work for the food industry. How original. So thats a No then.
It’s still snowy outside but the world doesn’t seem to have stopped tonight. The H&S people must all be snuggled up in bed with their padded suits on and gloves so they don’t scratch themselves by accident like you do with newborns. Tomorrow they will be shaking their heads though.
Two days ago there was a downfall of snow. Common enough in the UK you would think but not nowadays as the place ground to a halt. I was too busy doing handbrake turns and skidding around to realise how dangerous it was. Silly me. I’m sure some would want me to lose my license and pay some sort of fine.
The next day it was a bit icy but fun again until I realised how quiet it was. Then I discovered that everywhere that the public sector was in was closed. I phoned up to find out what was going on and was told it was H&S. Ice is so dangerous. I commented that H&S must come before life itself and the response was you can’t be too careful.
As in all things we look at the risk and what it costs to mitigate and decide if it is worth it. Unfortunately, this is another area where our useless government departments screw us up. They take money from us to solve the problem, as in council tax for the road clearing, but then decide it is too dangerous for the trucks to do the side streets and so only the main roads get done. Still keeping our money of course. But they look at the cost to us as if we are the same as them. Get iced in for a week and the council understands, not a problem, work just doesn’t get done, but how many of us can do that for nearly a week?
So what I was thinking that instead of spending all that money working out what the tempratures will be in 2100 can’t we turn some of the processing power to what it will be next week. Surely that is going to be so much easier to predict. Then when they get the models tuned enough so they can predict what it will be in a few wees with accuracy then they could move on to next month, six weeks and so on. Then, maybe then, could the predict 2020 and beyond.
The current system they are using seems to be based on tea leaves or something and with global trade being compromised how are we going to get hold of good old tea leaves?
Although to be honest the problem is hardly the predictions and what the council does, who really cares about them. The problem is that we as a people are too much like wimps to just get on wih what we need to do. When I was a lad we had to go out in all weathers to get to work….
I used to ride a motorbike to work and had to defrost when I got there. The roads were still full of people making their way along slippy roads and this was when the snow and ice lasted for days. Now two hours of heavy snow and we are stuck for nearly a week while the rest of the world laughs at us.
Let’s get out there while we can and have fun slipping and sliding away while it is still legal and for the rest of you can I suggest that you look on the Blogosphere from your nice cozy home and find out what a state we have become in the last 20 years. Time to get rid of the PC crowd, the H&S crowd, the Global Warming crowd and that whole bunch in Westminster. Read until you get so het up you feel you could even go out in the ice. Not that you would risk it of coursebut it sure feels good to say it. What a rebel.
In the meantime I understand our Met office employs 1600 people. Cost £170M has one of the largest computers going and we still can’t predict snow in Winter and Hot days in Summer. Clive Sinclair should provide an upgrade so we can get more processing power.
Sadly most of them don’t bring us close to the speed of light so are pretty much useless for what we want. The two that do are basically just theories pulled from SciFi movies although the basis is sound science it is all theoretical science and nowhere near working computer models never mind a working prototype.
Looks like we will still be stuck on earth for a bit longer.
I’ve never really been a fan of hydrogen although from what I could read it seems to have several advantages over most other fuels. However, I think that I have changed my mind after reading this article on hydrogen generators for the home.
The disadvantages of hydrogen have always, imo, been the storage at pressure. That seems to be gone. A massive bonus of being able to generate the hydrogen free from water must have the government really concerned. It won’t be able to steal all that money off us in petrol tax. Unless of course we keep track of our miles, Ahhh. That explains Galileo and our road toll plans.
However, it will still be great. SUV or death trap the tolls will be same, if you are prepared to lie, and the extra fuel costs generated free. Plus when the smart meters start cutting out your electrickery you can move your more critical stuff to hydrogen power and screw the power company. Really the government.
I wonder what the conversion costs are? OK it may be solar powered but how quickly can it create a tanks worth of fuel and this range issue bothers me. In my current car I can drive 500 miles and run the tank down and buy some at a fuel station, even in another country but if we rely on making it at home how many filling stations will be left to service those going long distances. That needs thinking about.
Anyway, I’m for anything that could reduce the taxes I pay and this seems like the precursor to such a device. Only hope it gets here before they sort out the road pricing.
One thing that people struggle with is the fact that you don’t have to be a genius like Einstein to make a massive difference.
All it takes is for someone, it could be you, to look at something and wonder ‘What would happen if?’ It could be something as simple as watching water spinning around a plug hole and wondering if you could utilise that force or more likely, because so many people have watched that already, watching a new development in your field of expertese and thinking ‘What if I used this tool for that task?’
It’s progress, building steading on the work done by others before you. Each putting at least one brick in the wall that will eventually allow us to conquer death itself. Living in a utopia where we have no fear, from ourselves as well as from deadly nature itself.
Sometimes we move faster than others, sometimes we move in the wrong direction but sometimes we get it right. Discovery after discovery leads to a breakthrough and we take a stride forward. Not a leap just a simple step.
Being a positive person I see these small steps and see breakthroughs that should be on the horizon. They rarely get here as expected and I see two reasons for that. One is government interference. If anything can be screwed up then government is the way to go. Not only does it screw it up but it costs so much that it actually discourages you to try again. The second is the greed of the corporations. Wanting to squeeze every penny they can out of their investment. I see this partly as a side effect of the first but it is in there on it’s own.
Anyway we are entering a new decade, one that is going to be dominated initially by politics and economic issues. Hopefully, it won’t take us off in the wrong direction, beyond stringing up our politicians anyway, and into a religious war and we can pick up from the progress that seemed to mark the beginning of this century.
Fingers crossed.
Happy New Year everyone. Excluding politicians of course. The most hated people on the planet and for good reason.
Leading edge video
The ability to look around and see 360 degrees in all directions seems to be something that they are looking to do with some films according to this article. Personally, I think it would be impractical to make a feature film like this unless it was very limited in scope such as an educational or instructional video or something simple like a porn film. There just would too much going on where there was not control. Although lets not stop them investing in perfecting the technology. They have plenty of money to do so.
However, that doesn’t mean that the capability would not be useful outside the fictional film industry. Almost every other application of video could benefit from this capability.
In my opinion though the quickest, easiest and most effective use of this type of technology would be to allow drivers of trucks, buses etc. to see in their blind spots. We could actually save lives instead of just posturing without imposing on others and, I would think, at a reasonable cost as well.