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Jelly Beans spilled at Bldg. 44 | Android Central. The Jelly Bean sculpture is up at Google headquarters; and, that can only mean the Google will announce the next version of Android at the conference later today. Jelly Bean, also known as Android 4.1 (and ultimately Android 5.0), will add new functionality and smoothness to the best mobile operating system. It will further the combination of phone and tablet interfaces, and will increase the competition with iOS and Windows Phone 8. It should be interesting.
Watch Google%u2019s I/O 2012 Developer Conference Live (Online) Starting June 27 - How-To Geek. It's a big day for Android lovers, and you don't need a ticket to be there virtually. It starts at 12:30 P.M. Eastern time, and you can watch the keynotes, check out the exhibits, and generally avoid the traffic and cab fare. Plus, you can get the news about the new Google tablet, and all the other announcements that Google has planned for Android lovers everywhere. Call this the anti-Jesus phone convention. I won't be getting a lot of work done today.
The Robotic Chess Companion - Hammacher Schlemmer. Not too many years ago, a chess playing robot was impossible. Robotics, and sophisticated computer technology, have made chess playing computers possible. Repetitive human tasks are being performed by robots in factories. In Paul Morphy's time, the fiction of a chess playing robot was a fantasy. In today's time, I actually purchased this robot for $150 and it actually follows commands of a chess computer inside, and picks up the pieces and moves them to the correct square. When it captures a piece, it picks up the captured piece, puts it down, and then moves its own piece to the captured square on the board. I am going to put little eyes on a sock and make this guy into a fake human opponent. While playing against the computer the other day, it occurred to me that, armed with knowledge, this computer could make human like decisions. But, could an expert system be placed into a robot, and, dressed in a suit, walk into a courtroom armed with the Civil Rules of Procedure, and all of the statutes and case law, and represent a client? Of course not, you say. Being a lawyer requires a certain amount of art and human qualities. Robots don't possess the judgment and can't dispense with the rules when that judgment dictates. They can't exercise discretion. Or can they? Is it that we just don't want our fates decided by a species different than ourselves? Are humans, breaking the rules when they choose, not just another form of tyranny? Just thinking out loud.
Lawline Opens its Full CLE Catalog to Free Access � Robert Ambrogi's LawSites. What if you could watch all the C.L.E. programs you like for free? What if you only had to pay for them if you decided to apply for C.L.E. credit? LawLine, the leading online provider of continuing legal education for lawyers has done just that. Watch all the C.L.E.s you want, as often as you want. Look at the written materials, hear the speakers. This is a great idea, and, as Robert Ambrogi says in his post, this will disrupt the CLE market. Why don't Bar Associations do the same thing? I predict that there will be a boon in business for LawLine, and that they will actually make more money. The side benefit is that there will be some better educated lawyers out there. Congratulations to my friends at Lawline for moving the bar.
Facebook Says Your Email Is @Facebook - Slashdot. I really enjoy being able to keep up with family and friends on Facebook. I enjoy harassing my children, correcting their grammar, and, in general, keeping up with their zaniness. However, Facebook keeps doing things that tick me off. Latest gambit is to change my contact email on my profile page to a Facebook email address without asking me or telling me in advance. How arrogant. I really hate that. If you use Facebook, go to your Profile immediately, and check the edit button for your contact information. Then, change your email contact address back to what it was. Unbelievable.
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