In the News

[chuck]

Wonder if the robot server accepts batteries as tips?

[robert.]

Not sure. They still have a person taking your order.

[chuck]

I never liked trying to order from an iPad. A decent server can advise you one stuff like the vegetable of the day should be avoided at all costs and are more likely to get the details right on how done you want something cooked or whether stuff is "on the side". I really, really, really hate those stupid touch screens at McDonalds. The organization of where stuff is on the menu is terrible and it's a real crap shoot on any special instructions like hold the pickles. And this is supposed to be a "simple" menu!

[robert.]

Wawa has touch screens. It's one of the simplest things to use. who ever set it up deserves a medal. I know some are a real PITA to use. BK has a touch screen that sux.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

I never liked trying to order from an iPad. A decent server can advise you one stuff like the vegetable of the day should be avoided at all costs and are more likely to get the details right on how done you want something cooked or whether stuff is "on the side". I really, really, really hate those stupid touch screens at McDonalds. The organization of where stuff is on the menu is terrible and it's a real crap shoot on any special instructions like hold the pickles. And this is supposed to be a "simple" menu!

This was far more sophisticated than any fast food system I've ever seen and the restaurant was a little higher end than one that had stuff like "vegetable of the day ". Being electronic, you could also find far more info regarding any dish since unlike a paper menu, there was no space limit.

[HONDO74]

Amazon buys Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45bn
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-57249849

Amazon has agreed to buy the historic MGM studios for $8.45bn (£5.97bn).

MGM is one of Hollywood's most famous studios, having produced classic films such as Some Like It Hot and Singin' In The Rain.

The sale will give the tech giant's Prime streaming service access to a huge back catalogue of content.

An Amazon executive said on Wednesday: "It's very exciting and provides so many opportunities for high-quality storytelling."

Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon Studios, added: "The real financial value behind this deal is the treasure trove of Intellectual Property in the deep catalogue that we plan to re-imagine and develop together with MGM's talented team."

The deal will boost Amazon Prime Video's offering with about 4,000 films, including the James Bond franchise and Legally Blonde, as well as 17,000 television shows such as the Handmaid's Tale TV series.

The producers behind James Bond have said, however, that the sale would not affect the upcoming release of No Time to Die in cinemas, according to Variety magazine.

"We are committed to continuing to make James Bond films for the worldwide theatrical audience," said Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson.

Netflix shares plunge amid fears virus boom is over
AT&T and Discovery to create new streaming giant

MGM Holdings, the parent company of MGM Studios, had reportedly been exploring a sale since 2020.

Amazon said in a statement that the deal would allow MGM, founded in 1924 and recognised by its roaring Leo the Lion logo, "to continue to do what they do best: great storytelling."

[rogruth]

How does this affect Turner Classic Movies?

[chuck]

How does this affect Turner Classic Movies?

It's complicated. TCM channel is actually under the Warner Brothers umbrella. WB is making noises about pulling TCM off of "cable" and pulling it into their HBO streaming service umbrella. Most of the streaming services negotiate rights to "show" films on their "channels". A few, like Disney+ also own a lot of their content (as well as the studios they absorbed, e.g. 20th Century and Marvel, and are aiming at making it exclusive to their channels.

[chuck]

Being electronic, you could also find far more info regarding any dish since unlike a paper menu, there was no space limit.

I guess it depends on the skill of the menu programmer. At least two of the higher end restaurants we went to with the tablet menu's were less than successful at this, at least to me. The traditional paper menu was a lot easier read/understand/order from.

While it was "pretty" to look at the organization of the material on the menu and the actual selection process left a lot to be desired. I sensed a fair amount of tension between the programmer and the restauranteur. It seems the ability to edit the menu's was significantly difficult that they would need a full time programmer on staff or they would have to dumb it down, a lot. If they had just turned the traditional menu into a pdf and set it up so you could zoom/scroll through the pdf it probably would have been easier for everyone involved.

[up148]

Amazon buys Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45bn

Well, at least it's still American owned (as far as I know) and not by some Chinese/Japanese/ Middle Eastern consortium. I really get tired of hearing how much of our heritage has been sold to foreign groups.

[HONDO74]

Amazon buys Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45bn

Well, at least it's still American owned (as far as I know) and not by some Chinese/Japanese/ Middle Eastern consortium. I really get tired of hearing how much of our heritage has been sold to foreign groups.

AI emotion-detection software tested on Uyghurs
By Jane Wakefield
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57101248

A camera system that uses AI and facial recognition intended to reveal states of emotion has been tested on Uyghurs in Xinjiang, the BBC has been told.

A software engineer claimed to have installed such systems in police stations in the province.

A human rights advocate who was shown the evidence described it as shocking.

The Chinese embassy in London has not responded directly to the claims but says political and social rights in all ethnic groups are guaranteed.

Xinjiang is home to 12 million ethnic minority Uyghurs, most of whom are Muslim.

Citizens in the province are under daily surveillance. The area is also home to highly controversial "re-education centres", called high security detention camps by human rights groups, where it is estimated that more than a million people have been held.

Beijing has always argued that surveillance is necessary in the region because it says separatists who want to set up their own state have killed hundreds of people in terror attacks.

[HONDO74]

Microsoft president: Orwell’s 1984 could happen in 2024
https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57122120

Life as depicted in George Orwell’s 1984 “could come to pass in 2024” if lawmakers don’t protect the public against artificial intelligence, Microsoft’s president has warned.

Speaking to BBC's Panorama, Brad Smith said it will be "difficult to catch up” with the rapidly advancing technology.

The programme explores China’s increasing use of AI to monitor its citizens.

Critics fear the state's dominance in the area could threaten democracy.

“If we don’t enact the laws that will protect the public in the future, we are going to find the technology racing ahead, and it’s going to be very difficult to catch up,” Mr Smith said.

[v8vega]

I saw on TV a tiny house community here. Who do they decide is the lucky one to get one of these houses? There are so many homeless it isn't even a tiny drop in the bucket. So a few bums get a house where responsible people pay and pay for their house.
They are new and spic and span clean, how long do you think that will last? I saw that they have a window type air conditioner which they will promptly rip out and sell for drugs.

[HONDO74]

Yahoo News
Guns, beer and doughnuts: Vaccination push appeals to our vices.

This is the amusing part from the article.

That may explain why the rigorously abstemious President Biden, whose son Hunter just published a book chronicling his fight with substance abuse, was recently hawking beer from the White House.

“Get a shot and have a beer,” the president said in announcing a partnership with Anheuser-Busch. The behemoth brewer said earlier this week that if Biden’s goal of having 70 percent of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4 is met, every American will get a free beer.

If you live in Illinois, getting vaccinated can earn you two beers, one from Anheuser-Busch and one from a new state-level program. A vaccination clinic at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., offered sweeping views of the Potomac River and, more to the point, a free beer from the Solace Brewing Company.

[rogruth]

For some it might be better if the beer came before or at the same time as the vaccination.