Radar & camera can be degraded by snow/ice buildup. A grate that lets wet snow in is also going to be big enough to let rocks and other debris in.

Like snow or ice buildup causing issues with the camera, radar, etc.

I use an older version of Calibre that has a fairly robust plug-in to remove DRM. I use it to remove DRM from all my ebook purchases. That plug-in isn’t supported in newer versions of Calibre so I don’t upgrade.

BD is far from bullshit. I used to work across the street from them and saw them testing robots countless times in the parking lot and surrounding area. They were also nice enough to give me & a bunch of coworkers a tour of their labs. It’s pretty darned impressive what they’ve achieved in 3 decades of research. This recent news story shows a lot of the capabilities of their current generation Atlas robot.

You should check out this news story. It gives a lot more detail about their Atlas robot.

You should see just how far Boston Dynamics has progressed. They’ve been working on it for literally decades, and it shows. They may have humanoid AI robots working in automotive assembly lines within a year or two:

If it is remotely controllable then it can be exploited by adversaries.

That’s absurd. All it would take is one disgruntled worker to post proof about it. And foreign powers would pay handsomely for a spy or hacking group to provide details. It’s well known that countries like Russia, North Korea, Israel, etc. all have highly talented hacking groups on their payrolls. If they had the slightest feeling that the US implemented such kill switch technology then they’d all be doing everything they could to exploit it. It’s not worth the risk.

This is the oath you take when joining the US Army:

I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.

The important part there is the mention of the UCMJ, which states that orders cannot be illegal, violate the Constitution, violate international law, etc.

This is exactly the first thing that popped into my mind when I heard what happened. I still clearly recall the WPRI news video of the fire mentioned in the Wikipedia article. That news crew had just shown up to report on the band that was playing, and they got clear footage of the nightmare. You could see bodies stacked up at the door as hundreds of people pushed to get out of the inferno… You can probably still find the video on smaller video sharing sites if you dare to go looking for it.

The kid that was killed didn’t want to be there. He was terrified. He only went because rich daddy insisted & paid for him to come along. That’s tragic.

Biometrics are not usernames. They are physical identifiers and unlike usernames you can’t change them.

I used to work in a datacenter that required you to go through a mantrap to access. It required three things:

1. Something you have (a card key)
2. Something you know (a PIN)
3. Something you are (biometrics)

To get to the datacenter floor you use a card key to open the door to the mantrap. It’s a small vestibule about the size of a phone booth. Once inside the door closes. You then enter your PIN on a keypad and place your hand on a biometric scanner. Once your hand is recognized the inner door opens and lets you into the datacenter. I was told the mantrap also weighed you and compared that with previous trips through to make sure somebody else didn’t sneak through with you.