Posted by spooneybarger Tue, 22 Jan 2008 08:20:00 GMT
The team at the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at the Federal Institute of Technology created the little experimental learning devices to work in groups and hunt for “food” targets nearby while avoiding “poison.” Imagine their surprise when one generation of robots learned to signal lies about the poison, sending opponents to their doom.
Posted by spooneybarger Sat, 03 Nov 2007 11:03:00 GMT
Last week marked a watershed moment for two stars of the business world. By chance, an abrupt end seemed imminent for the careers of Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons and Merrill Lynch CEO Stanley O’Neal. Both had reached pinnacles rarely scaled in corporate America by African-Americans. And their fates dominated business headlines worldwide last Friday, Oct. 26. Online at Google News, however, the coverage was, in a word, shocking. A keyword search for “Richard Parsons” generated a flood of stories about the executive, accompanied by a photo of two rhesus monkeys. Clicking on the image linked users to a story on neither monkeys nor Parsons. Instead, a speculative account on O’Neal’s waning support among Merrill directors appeared on screen. Other than the lynch mob’s noose and the Klansman’s hood, few images of racism are as offensive to African-American as monkeys. Yet the bizarre juxtaposition of image and stories persisted through the week. And even after Google was specifically contacted this week, it continued.
Posted by spooneybarger Wed, 13 Dec 2006 03:56:34 GMT
this man is going to be the CEO of one of the most powerful companies in the world soon. now, which is really scarier… this drunken idiot frat boy or howard dean and his whooping? i’ll take dean, all he had was the possibility of the bomb, ballmer is going to have alot more power…
Posted by spooneybarger Sun, 29 Oct 2006 12:11:56 GMT
The video game maker that sparked uproar over a hidden sex scene in “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” is courting new controversy with its latest schoolyard title “Bully”—featuring boys kissing.That sexual twist came to light only after Take-Two Interactive Software released the “Teen”-rated game on Oct. 17, having weathered protests from antiviolence advocates who tried unsuccessfully to block its sale to minors.
“Bully” stars 15-year-old Jimmy Hopkins, who must navigate cliques, fights and young love at his new boarding school, along the way winning brawls, completing missions and plying girls with candy and flowers in exchange for kisses.
But Jimmy can also use the same approach with boys. When Jimmy approaches a tall, blond boy with some flowers, the boy replies, “I’m hot. You’re hot. Let’s make out.”
Posted by spooneybarger Sun, 29 Oct 2006 10:20:59 GMT
What if I told you that it would take only one person—one highly motivated, but only moderately skilled bad apple, with either authorized or unauthorized access to the right company’s internal computer network—to steal a statewide election? You might think I was crazy, or alarmist, or just talking about something that’s only a remote, highly theoretical possibility. You also probably would think I was being really over-the-top if I told you that, without sweeping and very costly changes to the American electoral process, this scenario is almost certain to play out at some point in the future in some county or state in America, and that after it happens not only will we not have a clue as to what has taken place, but if we do get suspicious there will be no way to prove anything. You certainly wouldn’t want to believe me, and I don’t blame you.
Posted by spooneybarger Thu, 21 Sep 2006 16:30:00 GMT
Yeah time to touch on this again… from the Windows Media Player 11 Release notes:
Windows Media Player 11 does not permit you to back up your media usage rights (previously known as licenses). However, depending upon where your protected files came from, you might be able to restore your rights over the Internet.
and more…
Recorded TV shows that are protected with media usage rights, such as some TV content recorded on premium channels, will not play back after 3 days when Windows Media Player 11 Beta 2 for Windows XP is installed on Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. No known workaround to resolve this issue exists at this time.
and still more…
If the file is a song you ripped from a CD with the Copy protect music option turned on, you might be able to restore your usage rights by playing the file. You will be prompted to connect to a Microsoft Web page that explains how to restore your rights a limited number of times.
The Inquirer has a nice take on all this aptly titled: Microsoft Media Player shreds your rights
Posted by spooneybarger Mon, 04 Sep 2006 14:56:13 GMT
Why o why do people do this? Why do they share EVERYTHING without evening realizing it with the world? Why, why, why, why, why… Check out this nice article about how easily an online calendar can betray you…
The first thing that came out of our mouths when we heard that Google is working on a system that listens to what’s on your TV playing in the background, and then serves you relevant adverts, was “that’s cool, but dangerous”.The idea appeared in Technology Review citing Peter Norvig, director of research at Google, who says these ideas will show up eventually in real Google products – sooner rather than later.
The idea is to use the existing PC microphone to listen to whatever is heard in the background, be it music, your phone going off or the TV turned down. The PC then identifies it, using fingerprinting, and then shows you relevant content, whether that’s adverts or search results, or a chat room on the subject.
And how is this for a company policy….
After walking the Great Wall of China and making plans for a trip to Russia, Shirley Greening-Jackson thought signing up for a new internet service would be a doddle. But the young man behind the counter had other ideas. He said she was barred – because she was too old.
Posted by spooneybarger Mon, 21 Aug 2006 20:54:39 GMT
While soldiers once deployed with little more than a backpack and a rifle, today’s crop of infantry troops pack along MP3 players, digital cameras, DVD players, video games, movie collections, and computers of their own. The personal electronics have made modern American warfare the most comfortable it has ever been, but they’ve also brought a new set of problems onto the battlefield.
Unlike IBM’s Deep Blue, a computer that was able to beat world-champion chess player Garry Kasparov in 1997, even the world’s best poker-playing computers would flop against the top human players.That’s because computer scientists have not yet figured out how to write programs that can make informed decisions based on incomplete or inaccurate information, said Jonathan Schaeffer, chair of the University of Alberta’s computer science department and Canada Research Chair in artificial intelligence.
“The skills that make human poker players really good are skills that don’t seem to match well with what computers can do,” said Schaeffer. “Computers aren’t particularly good at learning, for example, or reasoning by analogy.”
Posted by spooneybarger Tue, 25 Jul 2006 04:15:00 GMT
Posted by spooneybarger Mon, 26 Jun 2006 05:02:00 GMT
this is purportedly to have been made by a microsoft employee…
Posted by spooneybarger Mon, 29 May 2006 01:49:00 GMT
Posted by spooneybarger Mon, 22 May 2006 14:59:00 GMT
A file detailing aspects of AT&T’s alleged participation in the National Security Agency’s warrantless domestic wiretap operation is sitting in a San Francisco courthouse. But the public cannot see it because, at AT&T’s insistence, it remains under seal in court records.The judge in the case has so far denied requests from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, or EFF, and several news organizations to unseal the documents and make them public.
AT&T claims information in the file is proprietary and that it would suffer severe harm if it were released.
Based on what we’ve seen, Wired News disagrees. In addition, we believe the public’s right to know the full facts in this case outweighs AT&T’s claims to secrecy.
As a result, we are publishing the complete text of a set of documents from the EFF’s primary witness in the case, former AT&T employee and whistle-blower Mark Klein—information obtained by investigative reporter Ryan Singel through an anonymous source close to the litigation. The documents, available on Wired News as of Monday, consist of 30 pages, with an affidavit attributed to Klein, eight pages of AT&T documents marked “proprietary,” and several pages of news clippings and other public information related to government-surveillance issues.
Posted by spooneybarger Sat, 20 May 2006 05:38:00 GMT
and i will reserve all comment
there, not a word…
Posted by spooneybarger Wed, 17 May 2006 21:26:00 GMT
So, Georgia hates fags, we are playing a game that has gotten us in trouble in the past ( Afghanistan anyone? ) and some fun NYC stuff… for a laugh, I say read #3…
Posted by spooneybarger Wed, 17 May 2006 14:45:00 GMT
Blue security is shutting down its Blue Frog service in the face of retaliation from ‘a Russian Spammer’...
When you go to war, you need to go to war… damn, punked out… I never really agreed with the tactic but at the same time, once you start, why stop?