I think ultimately software pricing will govern the success or failure of this device. The hardware is there, but they have to compete with the smartphone pricing model now.
This x1000.
You know, I never thought about it until your post, but the holosuite could have been their version of skype/facetime in the 24th century. Just think about it, you could completely interact with the person you wanted to hang out with if both of you utilized a pair of synced holosuites. It would be just like they were right there on the station with you even if they were actually several light years away.
Epic Hickey? I'm going to have to nuke this thread from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
Google will purchase them in 3... 2... 1...
As a designer I have to say red text on a black background is always a bad choice. Bush league Anonymous, bush league.
You know what would be good right now? Easy mac.
Well if you really want to pick nits gravity is caused by the distortion in the fabric of space-time generated by the presence of matter. That distortion would be (largely) absent from a centripetal artificial gravity system, though whether or not it has any bearing on our development is anyone's guess. I tend to agree with your original statement.
Mmm hmm, I'll go ahead and call that worth it. Just look at the thorax on her! Don't get me started on those oviducts. Mercy!
P-51: The most beautiful plane ever created.
Shouldn't that be "Shit the Rainbow"?
How about two jpgs side by side? Or even better, a single jpg containing a side by side comparison. Its really hard to tell which image is supposed to be better in gif format since so much data is lost.
Wait, you decided to show off the high definition upgrade the Blu-Ray ST:TNG offers in a file format that tops out at 256 colors? Is this a joke?
Whoa, when did Jerry Seinfeld become Superman? Do not want!
This has been my experience as well. I'm thinking of just hooking some old 16-bit systems for my son to let him learn on... Those old games were more hand-eye coordination/timing based anyway which I think is probably easier to assimilate.
OMG, I used that stuff when I was a kid. I think it was a x-mas gift to my dad who was more than happy to give it to me. Boy I thought I was the business when I put on my Hai Karate cologne and after-shave.
Well, in your statement lies the problem: "...with the ability to travel here"
Taking into consideration only what we know presently, actually traveling to another planetary system is hugely expensive in terms of energy for organic life. You have to build generation ships.... solve any number of space travel problems such as cosmic radiation, the effects of zero-g on several generations of your travelers, renewable supplies such as food and water. The energy requirements to conventionally achieve just a fraction of the speed of light are astronomical. Therefore it makes no sense to spend these resources for a friendly trip when a probe can accomplish all your needs aside from the obvious which is to seed a planet. That task does require transporting organics from one part of the galaxy to the other, and if you do so it will likely be a one way trip. Also the unknowing indigenous lifeforms of your destination planet (us) are likely to not be happy about you showing up and squatting on the planet; so if you've made all the other efforts to get there, you might as well remove the indigenous population as well.
Now, if there are technologies that are as of yet undiscovered that allow for quick and relatively easy interstellar travel, then I will agree with you that friendly visits are an option. I'm going to err on the side of caution though and go ahead and buy a helmet.
No, neither requires them to show up in person. I have to question why you would send a probe across the galaxy to exterminate a species though unless you were either:
A) Colossal space dicks
or
B) Planning on claiming the planet after the genocide is complete.
Either way we can assume that if aliens have shown up, they are here for the only quality worth traveling for: a planet that supports organic life. (Anything else resources-wise can be gathered from innumerable dead worlds and asteroids) If a probe shows up, it could be friendly, or it could just be there to do the dirty work for the parent species.
Any race that has dedicated the necessary resources to sending "man"ned vehicles to Earth will not be arriving with peaceful intentions. I say that because the energy requirements as we currently understand them are orders of magnitudes greater than all the energy mankind has produced in its entire existence. (This is assuming things like you would like to arrive within just a few lifespans of the travelings species) If your intentions are peaceful, it is infinitely cheaper to send a probe to go out and greet your galactic neighbors. The arrival of a manned vehicle means we should all be heading to the nearest bomb shelter.
This is most likely just an anomaly of our detection method. Looking at gravitational wobble and dims in the star's luminosity as a planet passes in front of it are two of these techniques and quite obviously the larger and closer a planet is to it's star the easier it is for us to detect it. As detection techniques get better expect to see more diverse planetary systems.
