News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Paul Allen: The Singularity Isn't Near (2011) by angersock on Saturday December 15, 2012 @12:55PM (#4925786)
You can literally call anyone else on the planet using a device the size of a pack of cigarettes, and stream in real time full motion video of a flying cat poptart thing, or watch a beautifully rendered simulation of same, while commenting on it with millions of anonymous other people on the Internet.

The Big Science stuff is cute and all, but don't for a second pretend that technology in common use isn't mindblowingly awesome.

Re:Paul Allen: The Singularity Isn't Near (2011) by melling on Saturday December 15, 2012 @01:07PM (#4925829)
15 years ago you could have called someone anywhere in the world on a device the size of a pack of cigarettes. It was a great phone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_StarTAC

Everything discovered in CERN today could have been discovered 20 years ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconducting_Super_Collider

Yes, because of semiconductor advances (Moore's Law) computers and communications advance at a blinding pace. However, we would all benefit if we could push other areas too.

It's not about how far we've come, it's how far we have yet to go.