Isn't progress wonderful!

Kenai said:
Is it? It's not something I've really looked into but it would seem most of them just end up with Kodi installed on them and plugged into a TV as cheap streaming devices.
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You can hook electronics up to them, like LED lighting strips. You can then program them to do things.
 
Trifid said:
You can hook electronics up to them, like LED lighting strips. You can then program them to do things.
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I know you can, just wondering how many do.

I got given one and when looking around at what it could do, most of it revolved around installing something pre coded and then plugging it into a TV.
 
Kenai said:
I know you can, just wondering how many do.

I got given one and when looking around at what it could do, most of it revolved around installing something pre coded and then plugging it into a TV.
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Which is what it is for general public. However it's a massive education tool these days, thanks to it's super cheap cost.
 
The problem today is that science is locked up by corporate interest and outdated parenting rules.

Everything is behind an NDA.
 
Terminal_Boy said:
Forget that, Tomorrow's World promised us personal jet packs and holiday homes on the Moon 30 odd years ago and I'm still waiting for mine...
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In a very serious nature, I feel cheated! :(

I grew up on Dan Dare! :p

Where is my Mars Liner? :mad:

Hey Santa, where's me ****ing Mars liner...? :p ;)

Yes, there is a lot of current tech that is amazingly more capable than it was 20-30 years ago.
But!

I look at my PC box, and you know what, It looks just like my PC box of 1995!

And it does all the same things too, A bit of WP, some spreadsheets and, of course, it plays games!

Of course my current box is massively more capable than my box of 20 years ago but what I actually expect it to do hasn't actually changed (advanced?) at all! It just does what I wanted 20 years ago but a bit better!

It doesn't do anything fundamentally new.

And I cannot help but feel that represents of most of what the tech advances advances over the last 20 years or so actually mean.

It hasn't been a period of advancement. More a period of some sort of consolidation, in some ways, almost a retreat.

The only part of the world where some really impressive stuff is likely to kick off in the near future is the far east. Look to China!

(China is, very much, somewhat 19th century England + 1930's Germany! Watch this space, closely!....! :eek: :D )
 
Ha, you think we have restrictions today? Brb, just going to tell my mum, who was at school in the early sixties and was told she can't do sciences, technology (woodworking, mechanics, etc) because she is a girl and must learn to cook, knit and sew like the good female she is.
 
Dj_Jestar said:
Ha, you think we have restrictions today? Brb, just going to tell my mum, who was at school in the early sixties and was told she can't do sciences, technology (woodworking, mechanics, etc) because she is a girl and must learn to cook, knit and sew like the good female she is.
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And that worked exactly opposite for me and I really wanted to do all those girly things.
 
doofer said:
Well aside from the obvious HS2, there's also fracking, wind-farms, solar panel farms, hell they can't even put up Cellular Relay Towers or even Power Line Pylons in certain parts of the UK due to 'complaints' and IF they did get some new Fusion Reactor or Quantum Power source, good luck finding anywhere to build one without anyone complaining about it, want one built next-door to you? Thought not.
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I'd have no objection to a nuclear fusion reactor being built nearby. The biggest one in the world is in Oxfordshire and doesn't seem to have been bothering anyone.

Mind you, I live in Stoke-on-Trent. Knocking it all down to build a power station would be an improvement :)
 
Angilion said:
I'd have no objection to a nuclear fusion reactor being built nearby. The biggest one in the world is in Oxfordshire and doesn't seem to have been bothering anyone.

Mind you, I live in Stoke-on-Trent. Knocking it all down to build a power station would be an improvement :)
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I've been signing petitions for decades to have Burslem and Tunstall knocked down.
 
Tunney said:
Nonsense. We've gone from one generation where the best and the brightest want to work for investment banks to the next generation where the best and the brightest want to work in tech.
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We've gone in one generation where the best and brightest are told that they are lucky if they have a job in Starbucks and they should be grateful they're not in a coal mine.
 
amigafan2003 said:
Have you flown on Concord?

I have and I'd rather take a modern Airbus anyday, even if it does take twice as long.

7 hours in supreme comfort or 3 hrs in a cramped, noisy, tiny windowed, poor climate controlled bone shaker? Not really a choice - nor does it seem it was much of a choice for others, hence why Concord isn't flying anymore but Jumbos still are.
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I havent flown on Concord but I have been on one (School trip in the early 70's. One of the prototypes stuffed full of monitoring equipment)

My recollection was of a relatively small aircraft with 4 huge engines that seemed to make the wings sag under their weight! :D

Standing inside on the walkway I reckoned I could almost touch each side of the fuselage!

My Dad flew from Brazil to Paris. His recollection was how it took longer to make the connection from Paris to London.

And there lies the problem. There is no point in shaving 3 hours off the flight if you still have to spend as much again in various airports (Which was why the Concord had its VIP check in lounge)

I was thinking more along the lines of people complaining about how anything inventive or progressive would affect them, their house-prices or what favourite moss of theirs it might slightly inconvenience.
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This came to mind
The Lord came to Noah in the year 2016. Earth was
wicked and overpopulated. The Lord instructed Noah to build
an ark and save two of every living thing along with a few
good humans. Here's the blueprint," said the Lord. "Hurry.
In six months I start the unending rain for 40 days and 40
nights.

Six months later the rain came down. The Lord looked down
and saw Noah weeping in his flooded yard -- and no ark.
"Noah," He roared, "Where's my ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah. "Things have changed. I
needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector
about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim
that I have violated the zoning laws by building the ark in
my yard and the height limitation is being exceeded.

We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.
Then Transport and the Department of Highways and
Hydro One wanted a bond posted for the future costs of moving
power, trolley and other overhead obstructions to clear the
passage for the ark's move to the sea. I argued the sea would
be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of this.

"Getting wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting
local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to
convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to
save the owls. No go! I gathered the animals, but then I
got sued by an animal rights group. They insisted I was
confining wild animals against their will. As well, they
argued the accommodation was too restrictive and it was
cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in so confined
a space.

"Environment decided that I could not build the ark
without filing an environmental impact statement on your
proposed flood. I'm still trying to resolve a complaint
with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm
supposed to hire for my building crew. The trade unions
want me to hire only union trades people with ark building
experience. To make matters worse, Customs and
Revenue Agency seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying
to leave the country illegally and with endangered species.

So, forgive me Lord, but it would take at least 10 years to
finish this ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared and the sun began to shine. A
rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder.
"You mean you're not going to destroy the world?" he asked.

"No," said the Lord, "your government already has!"
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The lack of progress which has shocked me is CPU power. Up until 5 years ago it was amazing but now it's just ground to a halt. Sure we have multi-threads but the programmers seem to about a decade behind coding for new CPU's

I'm shocked that Intel and AMD didn't have replacement technologies for the standard transistors, we should be seeing Quantum processing for desktops by now
 
I think people expect too much from technology.

I don't really feel the need for more CPU power... I would however like a reliable train service.
 
drakioned said:
I think people expect too much from technology.

I don't really feel the need for more CPU power... I would however like a reliable train service.
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We always need more CPU/GPU power, without it we cannot make decent AI, or crack problems that need massive computational power like cancer research or simulations.

We should be pushing 6k pixels on our VR headsets by now. Progress has slowed a lot
 
A lot of things work quite well, i remember the eternal battle with the video recorder and how you'd spend half an hour programming it for something you really really wanted to watch, and then for no reason whatsoever it would just forget and not do it.

These days i very very rarely watch tv live, i just set series record and watch whatevers recorded, or i just livestream on the internet and watch what i want when i want.

That said, as others have said this new tech hasnt brought anything new, its just made doing what you wanted to do (ie watch a show whenever you want) a lot easier
 
robgmun said:
We always need more CPU/GPU power, without it we cannot make decent AI, or crack problems that need massive computational power like cancer research or simulations.

We should be pushing 6k pixels on our VR headsets by now. Progress has slowed a lot
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Okay, but decent AI isn't really going to help me if I get fired because Southern or Thameslink can't get me to work on time...
 
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