HN user
Audio-based non-lethal deterrents are used to protect endangered birds from feral cats in New Zealand. This project uses Boombox as the audio playback device, connected to a camera trap, to monitor the reaction of feral cats to different sounds.
I don’t necessarily think that’s true for all tech companies but it is true that a lot of tech companies may be working on problems that generate money instead of social good. We work on conservation technology for wildlife and environment and there are so many areas that can benefit from tech. However it’s a vastly underpopulated industry because there’s so little money involved. Conservation doesn’t usually generate an ROI so a lot of the money comes from grants and donations. Hence it might be more true to say that the “real” issues don’t have enough perceived monetary value to be addressed by many tech companies.
Oh, you live in Tokyo? We should meet up sometime. I'm a big fan of both akihabara and shenzhen. Both have pluses and minuses.
Wow. That was a load of crap. Engineering looks dull. Please check out whats going on in the technology/art community. I would say that compared to that, version control looks a bit dull.