The future is here

R

rokapoke

Guest
... so, is the future you are referring to the one in which you must be a registered user to access the New York Times online?
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
You're the second person I've had say he couldn't access this article. I don't know what's different about it for me that would let me view it and not other people. I certainly haven't registered on the NYT website...

Trying a different link, but it might still not work for some people. I have no idea, actually...
 

turgy22

Nothing Special
Still not accessible.

Can you summarize what the article is about? Perhaps the same information is more readily available elsewhere.
 

Spiderman

Administrator
Staff member
I can't get to the NYTimes article either. Maybe you're using a shared computer where someone registered to NYTimes?

Anyway, I saw the headline about that last week but didn't actually read the article. I think "the future is here" means probably in another 10-15 years, to get the cost down for the "average" consumer. I mean, with all of the electronics available today, you'd think cars would be equipped with collision sensors and whatnot, at least to help out and warn the drivers of today. I know some cars do, but they're the more expensive ones and/or need to be requested; they're not "standard" features.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
I'm not on a shared computer. I think the New York Times website is just insane sometimes. I experienced some issues with it a while back, but I'd forgotten about that. Anyway...

The thing that amazes me about it is this. For a while now I've been saying that we'd eventually have cars that drive themselves, but that because initially people would be scared off by liability concerns or would be averse to the idea because they're used to being in control, cultural considerations would hold back the technological development, and self-driving cars would have to sort of emerge stepwise over the next several decades. I would even have said that it really already started with automatic transmission and cruise control (which are old news by now) initially taking things that had been manipulated solely be the driver of the car in the past and making them automated. So with recent developments like collision detection and computer-controlled parking, I thought we were seeing more steps on the road to fully self-driving cars. And then Google goes and makes what's practically a proof of concept just as a sort of side project. Not something they're actively pushing for or even trying to generate profit from yet, but something they wanted to invest in. Yeah, I get that I won't be seeing these cars on the street tomorrow or next week or even next year. But still, this is impressive.
 
T

train

Guest
Can it fill itself up with gas, or connect itself to a power docking/charging station?

Come on now - there are simplicities missing.
 

Oversoul

The Tentacled One
Simplicities? I take it that by that you mean things that are simple...

If so, what's the problem. If you could choose between having a car that took care of the complicated things and left the simple ones to you and one that took care of the simple things and left the complicated ones to you, which one would you choose? I know which one I'd choose...
 
T

train

Guest
I'd choose the ones that left the simple ones to me... not trying to make it hard- but if they're going to take care of the complicated - seems they are dumbing everyone down, to only doing the simple...

Last I checked - ingenuity and overcoming obstacles, complexities, etc. made great strides for us... but, no - we must take the easy way, and not work as hard as our potential would allow...

I am included in those to blame for this...
 
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