One major distinction between cards and other physical collectibles is that they come bundled with the implicit protection of the legal system on others making more physical copies (i.e., counterfeiting). So if one owns a rare card, others can see pictures of it, but they cannot make their own physical copy (backed by the legal system and threat of being arrested). This is unlike the NRT / digital side where making identical copies (sans blockchain) is perfectly legal.
"The cameras retailers use with their surveillance systems are coming with facial recognition built in now. [1]"
Your source in the marketing material of an IP camera manufacturer.
We research that space and I can guarantee that less than 0.1% of IP cameras have facial recognition built-in or running. These manufacturers, like Axis, whom you cite, would love for such capabilities but they are still very uncommon.
I am the author, let me know if you have any questions. Hikvision's controlling shareholder is the China PRC government. This move comes in light of increasing cybersecurity concerns with China.
Xiongmai has hundreds of 'manufacturer' customers, mostly in China. Together, they easily amount to millions of devices (though some are analog cameras that by definition are not IP enabled). To give a sense of scale, total cctv cameras sold are in the tens of millions annual and Xiongmai is the biggest module supplier.
In terms of well known brands, most brands hide using Xiongmai so there might be so well known consumer type brands but we have not discovered that yet. The typical Xiongmai brand sells to customers or SMBs at super low prices, where low cost is key.
That Chinese firm is actually now fighting back against the allegations and threatening lawsuits against those alleging their fault here, see https://ipvm.com/reports/xiongmai-threaten
The $7 an hour rate is misleading. It is based on an annual contract of ~$50,000 per robot and assumes the robot 'works' 24/7/365. We got this information from the company itself.
"the language of startups is interesting (graduation as a euphemism for quitting or getting fired), but the clear message is that this is odd, and thus, wrong"
What makes it 'wrong' is that 'graduation' is deceptive when employees are being fired or quitting because they hate the company.
Surely, some / many employees are leaving for positive reasons ('graduating' to something bigger / better) but if Lyons is right that that was the general term used for people who left the company, it is not only odd but Orwellian.
- an anecdote from a "very rural part of Ohio" where the Amish "lived in grinding poverty". I have no experience with Ohio Amish so I cannot comment but what they describe is nothing like Lancaster Amish (the article referenced here and my comments on).
- an entry from Amish America talks about spankings, which is a practice statistics show most American parents do https://www.google.com/search?q=percentage+americans+spank+c... From what I have seen of the Amish, I think it is significantly less than the average American.
If you think it is child abuse to not let your children go to high school or to deprive them of the 'real' world, that is a different story.
Our neighbors are Amish and Mennonite. We know and interact with many of them including people who left being Amish. And even the ones who left and have issues with the Amish, I have never heard or seen any incidents of child abuse.
Do you have some evidence of systematic Amish child abuse beyond your stereotype of "socially conservative people rarely handle their family matters in public"?
Child abuse exists in the world, among tech founders, politicians, Amish, atheists, etc. I am simply saying, based on direct interaction and knowledge that it is most certainly uncommon in Lancaster Amish.
"The Amish stance on corporal punishment of children is well-known"
I live in the Amish community referenced in this article and I have never seen nor heard of any corporal punishment nor child abuse. Indeed, I have never heard any Amish person even yell, scold or argue with anyone. Because of that, I am pretty sure such issues are rare in this area.
"People like to think that Amish teenagers have a choice about leaving the community, but what choice do they have when their prospects in modern life are so limited by their lack of education?"
Most Americans, Amish or not, do not become software developers, bankers, accountants, etc. Lots of Amish leave. For example, two doors down from my house there is an elderly Amish couple. All of their children are non-Amish but still support, visit, help, interact with their parents. Not surprisingly, most ex-Amish do not pursue fields requiring advanced education but tend to do very well in more blue core businesses where their work ethic, integrity and significant youth experience working at home can be turned into a solid career.
I live in the area where this article covers, though not Amish nor related to Amish.
First of all, no one is expelled for disagreeing. And Amish regularly leave with no issues nor problems, making that decision before adult baptism. We know lots of people who do that. They still happily and friendly live next to and interact with Amish.
The problem (shunning) tends to come if Amish leave after baptism but I have yet to hear anyone expelled for disagreeing on issues.
As for children working condition protection, what do you think Amish children / teenagers do? They primarily do lots of household chores, certainly more than regular American kids but they do it with their parents and their siblings. Amish are not focused on making lots of money and they tend to do things at home so it's far unlike factory farms or third world factories one might imagine.
As for woman being poorly treated, it's quite rare for anyone, man or woman, to be poorly treated, attacked, demeaned, etc. among the Lancaster Amish from what I have seen and heard. I think what you are getting at its restriction of typical American freedoms. But the same goes for Amish men. Going out for beers with your buddies, getting a girlfriend on the side, building a corporate career, doing a YC tech startup, hanging out on a boat / yachet, etc. are all no goes for men. It's certainly not for everyone.
I would encourage you to check it out, it's less than 3 hours away from NYC and it's quite an experience. You might be surprised about how happy and fulfilled the Amish in Lancaster are.
Net/net, the article perpetuates a generally positive impression of Amish life because Amish in Lancaster generally have a positive / fulfilling life.