Robot

A robot is a mechanical or virtual artificial agent. In practice, it is usually an electro-mechanical system which, by its appearance or movements, conveys a sense that it has intent or agency of its own. The word robot can refer to both physical robots and virtual software agents, but the latter are usually referred to as bots. There is no consensus on which machines qualify as robots, but there is general agreement among experts and the public that robots tend to do some or all of the following: move around, operate a mechanical arm, sense and manipulate their environment, and exhibit intelligent behavior, especially behavior which mimics humans or animals.


Stories of artificial helpers and companions and attempts to create them have a long history, but fully autonomous machines only appeared in the 20th century. The first digitally operated and programmable robot, the Unimate, was installed in 1961 to lift hot pieces of metal from a die casting machine and stack them. Today, commercial and industrial robots are in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and reliability than humans. They are also employed for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research, and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.


People have a generally positive perception of the robots they actually encounter. Domestic robots for cleaning and maintenance are increasingly common in and around homes. There is anxiety, however, over the economic impact of automation and the threat of robotic weaponry, anxiety which is not helped by the many villainous, intelligent, acrobatic robots in popular entertainment. Compared with their fictional counterparts, real robots are still benign, dim-witted and clumsy.

Bali Bombers May be Killed by Firing Squad

Three men had sought to be beheaded over bombings that killed 202

KARTA, Indonesia - A top Indonesian court rejected a claim by three convicted Bali bombers that the constitution prohibits deaths by firing squad, clearing the way Tuesday for their executions.
The Constitutional Court dismissed their request to be beheaded instead, which they claim is more in line with Islamic law and their defense lawyers argued is less cruel than being shot to death.
"There is no method of execution without pain," said presiding Judge Mohammad Mahfud, outlining the decision.
The defendant's suffering is a logical consequence of the death penalty under Indonesian law and "cannot be categorized as torturing the convict," the nine judge panel concluded.

More than 200 killed

The October 2002 Bali nightclub bombings killed 202 people, 88 of them Australian tourists.
Convicts Amrozi Nurhasyim, Ali Gufron and Imam Samudra have exhausted all appeals and are expected to be executed this year. They have shown no remorse and have said their deaths would be avenged.
The bombings — carried out by the regional militant group Jemaah Islamiyah — thrust Southeast Asia onto the front line of the war on terror.
Indonesia has since suffered three smaller attacks, the last also on Bali in 2005, but foreign diplomats, analysts and authorities agree that the threat level is significantly lower today.

Are money funds safe now?

(Money Magazine) -- You normally wouldn't think twice about putting cash in a money-market fund. But when America's original money fund company, The Reserve, announced in mid-September that investors in its Primary Fund would lose money, the news sent a chilling reminder to savers - who keep $3.4 trillion in such funds - that no money fund is completely safe.

Money funds normally stay at $1 a share. But the Primary Fund's share value "broke the buck," falling to 97¢ because the fund had invested in commercial paper issued by failed investment bank Lehman Brothers. Scary headlines that followed triggered frantic withdrawals from other money funds.

Enter the U.S. Treasury. On Sept. 19, it put in place a new guarantee for money funds - essentially a type of FDIC insurance - promising that investors will get $1 back for every $1 invested, with no dollar limit. Whew!

The so-called Temporary Guarantee Program will last only three months but can be extended into 2009 if needed. However, it applies only to cash that was in money funds as of Sept. 19, and not all money funds may choose to sign up. That means you still have some work to do to stay safe.
What to do now

Call your money fund. Though funds aren't required to disclose participation, most will do so. Schwab and BlackRock, for example, have said they intend to buy the insurance.

Go for big financial firms. Even if your fund participates, new money will not be insured. To be safe, stick to financial firms such as Vanguard, Fidelity and American Funds that have the financial resources to preserve the $1 share value in their funds.

Look for low fees. The average expense ratio for money funds is 0.6%. Look for a fund whose fees are lower: It won't have to make up for costs with high-yielding, risky investments.

Don't chase yield. The average yield for taxable money funds is 1.9%. If you see one whose yield is much higher, that could be a sign that it's taking too many risks

Surprise increase in leading indicators

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A broad measure of the economy's health rose unexpectedly in September after declining for two consecutive months, the Conference Board announced Monday.

The New York-based business research group said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.3% in September. Economists were expecting the index to have declined 0.1%, according to a survey conducted by Briefing.com.

In August, the index fell a revised 0.9% after a 0.7% decline in July.

Economic conditions started deteriorating this summer, and the recent volatility in the stock market and the credit crunch will "no doubt weaken the economy further," Ken Goldstein, a Conference Board economist, said in a statement.

"But latest data suggest that conditions in the non-financial economy are not falling apart," Goldstein said. "Data on hand reflect a contracting economy, but not one in free fall."

The "non-financial" economy consists of all businesses outside the financial services industry, including manufacturing and retail businesses, according to Frank Tortorici, a Conference Board spokesman.

The index registered growth in real money supply, consumer expectations, the interest rate spread and supplier deliveries. But its measures of building permits, stock prices and initial jobless claims remained weak last month.

"That was not the 'all clear' signal you heard," Tim Quinlan, economic analyst at Wachovia Economics Group wrote in a note to clients.

The surprise gain was boosted by "an outsized contribution from an increase in the money supply." And Quinlan says September's data does not change his forecast for slower economic growth in the months ahead.

Over the last year, the overall economy has continued to show signs of moderate growth. But the "wild gyrations on stock market" are beginning to take a toll on the "non-financial" or real economy, Quinlan said.

"People are reading headlines about financial Armageddon and they're putting their personal budgets on lock down," he said.

With consumer spending making up two-thirds of the nation's gross domestic product, the outlook for overall economic growth is bleak as nervous consumers cut back.

"It becomes a self fulfilling prophecy," Quinlan said.

The index is designed to predict economic activity six to nine months into the future. It incorporates a variety of economic data including jobless claims, manufacturers' new orders and personal income.