If that was simple, it would have happened. It’s not simple to stop—if governments stopped it over night, they’d be thrown out of power the next day by mass protests.
Technology is stopping it, though! The continued exponential growth of solar (~30% CAGR) suggests that we could get to 1% of the earth’s surface in solar in about 20-30 years. That would be more than all current sources of energy.
I have been using MQTT for years in my IoT courses – it has proven to be a very versatile tool, and it is convenient that it is also supported over web sockets.
I grabbed a pair of Eymotics several years ago and never looked back. For a while I didn't believe they worked and kept having to take them out, only to realize that they were in fact dampening the volume even though the music sounded the same.
"Isn't this just LapLink with a Thunderbolt cable" was my immediate thought when I read this. If you're around long enough everything is shiny and new, even the things that you thought were long ago killed by better solutions (like Ethernet in this case).
For general networking, sure Ethernet is a better solution, but I also don't imagine you're going to get 18Gbit/s+ from regular desktop/laptops over ethernet, regardless of how much gold plating it has.
I use one of the small plug'n'play displays (well, nearly – you run a script) for my Pihole RPi to show stats and state. For mere interactive work, I have found that tablet displays packaged in a case from Aliexpress work nicely.
I think there is a wide consensus that Consider Phlebas, though first, is not the ideal starting point for Banks' Culture series. The plot is meandering, and compared to later books, it is clear that Banks had not yet quite found the form that would be so impressive later on.
I usually recommend The Player of Games, or alternatively, depending on the reader, Use of Weapons as starting points.
It is however a good idea, having read other Culture books, to read Consider Phlebas before beginning Look to Windward, as there is a connection between the two.
I wouldn't recommend starting with Use of Weapons - it is probably the best Culture novel but it took me a few readings to really appreciate it.
Edit: As far as I recall, Banks originally created the Culture as a background for the protagonist of UoW - the ultimate warrior:
"The method was that taking and bending of materials and people to one purpose, the outlook that everything could be used in the fight; that nothing could be excluded, that everything was a weapon, and the ability to handle those weapons, to find them and choose which one to aim and fire; that talent, that ability, that use of weapons."
Player of Games was the first Culture novel I read and I enjoyed it a lot. I still sometimes go back and reread it and have found new perspectives each time. Would definitely recommend.
I enjoyed Player of Games and it was a good second book for me after Consider Phlebas. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Use of Weapons, but I haven’t been able to get into it after starting and restarting a couple times.
I was myself taught Computer Architecture in 1991 using the Tanenbaum SCO book, and many years later taught the Computer Architecture course for four years using the SCO book (a later edition, but still!). A true classic, and if anything, it is a wonder that Tanenbaum had not already received the award.
It was introduced a few years ago in Denmark with good results, too.
Companies that lease out cars complained a bit, but I suppose they have since learned to be more careful when issuing vehicles to punters. This, of course, also applies to people who just lend out their cars – you really want to ensure that it will be driven responsible.
