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Comdex Bans Bags From Show Floor
ckd writes: "CNET is reporting that COMDEX organizers have a new security policy--no bags except vendor supplied plastic bags will allowed on the show floor. "While on-site, you should CARRY A PHOTO ID (DRIVER'S LICENSE OR PASSPORT) ON YOU AT ALL TIMES." They want you to leave your laptop in your hotel room, too! Oh, and no cameras at the keynotes, either. But they haven't announced that they're planning to strip search people ... yet."
Just like a baseball game. For the best. Except it will be much harder to collect all those freebie's. I mean really, is it that much to give up?
Should we induce stipsearching? Could cause an uprising in Comdex popularity.
...because all the companies exhibiting at COMDEX are so broke they can't afford to give me new t-shirts. What a clever way to save money on promo items!
But, what am I supposed to wear for the next year!?! I guess my Penguin Computing T-shirts will have to be worn twice!
I remember going to that thing! Wow! It started going out of style around '94 or so. I thought they'd have given up by now...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
I can understand a no bags policy, but barring people from entering COMDEX (fricken tech show for pete's sake) with laptops is just stupid. I note (IIRC) it doesn't say anything about PDAs, but still, wtf were they thinking? A better idea would be to have people turn it on quickly at the door (although this might slow things down a lot).
My other sig is funny!
Is that anything like a ComicCon? If so, strip searching might not be the best idea.
My Webcomic: Asylum on 5th Street
Honestly, I don't see the banning of non-Vendor bags as a "security" measure. I see it as a "protect-the-people-who-are-here-profit" measure. It may have aspects of both, but its definately more the second one. Why not just simply have a mandatory security screening of all carried items before they are allowed into the premesis?
Attending COMDEX would be one of the things I look forward to most in my computing career. I'm only a highschool student now, but I hear very interesting things of the convention, and I'd enjoy talking to the vendors and seeing their flagship products firsthand. There's something about being able to see the new Athlon MP board, or a new video card, or the latest development in RAID technology, in person, that a catalog can't do, no matter how many pictures they put in.
somebody on the radio pointed out that as we get better and better at stopping individual acts, the response is for a smaller number of more dedicated enemy to plan more thoroughly. So, for example, the number of hijackings has long been on the decline, but the number of people killed in each hijacking has gone way up.
anyway, in the particular case of hi-tech and shows like comdex, having the toys banned kinda takes the wind out of the whole affair.
Heres the scenerio. Man brings bag of anthrax in pants pocket(or even better, crotch it) to show. He breaks in to the maintenence room, spreads it in to the outlet duct of the HVAC system. Now, anthrax is hard to spread, but you still might get a few people. It takes about 8,000 spores to infect a person, from what i read somewhere. Im sure you could get a few people with a small baggie full.
This talks about visitors to the show. But, what about the maintenence staff that works there? The janitors? Heck, even the people running the show. We'd hope they all are honest and reputable. But then, if it was my life, I'd want them checked too. Heck, if i was trying something, i'd pose as a maintenence man! More freedom to go anywhere, carry large items, did the organizers think of that?
I like the fact that they're at least trying to do something though.. Maybe they should be just a little less restrictive. I mean, its a computer show! And people can't bring their computers in?
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&o
...as though I would go to a Comdex, anyway. The last one I attended was Spring 92, I think...Atlanta. It was large, and the porn and CDROM vendors had begun showing up in overwhelming numbers. The real COMPUTER people were always lonely, as all the geeks were crowded around the Penthouse Interactive booth, squirming and staring, or singing bad karaoke at one of the many booths that offered it.
Comdex has lost its lustre, while increasing the lust. (Not that there's anything wrong with lust...) I don't see it appealing to many but the most neophyte computer consumers. All the real industry types stick to more focused conferences. Myself, I will only attend developer conferences in my specialties, or pay for training courses with small, narrow topic coverage. The big shows are nothing but comic book conventions.
What'dya mean there's no BLINK tag!?
Comment removed based on user account deletion
This reminds me of something I saw on the CBC a couple weeks ago, when the anthrax panic was at its height; the city hall of Moncton was evacuated because of an anthrax scare. (For those of you who don't know--almost everybody which is exactly why this was so ridiculous--Moncton is the third biggest town in the Canadian province of New Brunswick).
I mean *HONESTLY*, who on earth would target COMDEX, something that has absolutely no importance to the general (non-technical) public? From a terrorist's point of view (which is what you try to take if your aim is an intelligent security policy) it's obviously of no use to attack a target that people would have to explain why it was that striking it meant something. The WTC and Pentagon were big and well-known. And even if everyone on Slashdot knows who Larry Ellison is, I think it's safe to say that for the general worldwide public he is not a household name.
Let's try concentrating our security efforts on realistic threats and not ridiculous paranoia--otherwise groups or conventions might start deliberately giving the impression that they're a potential threat to terrorists just to seem important (God forbid!).
Give an inch they will take a mile... Screw 'Em
For the BEST ?, maybe for the stadiums' income. Went to a football game yesterday, took a cooler and a backpack full of stuff, they looked, and said have a nice day. The same at the shark tank, If they told me I could not bring my backpack in they would lose a season ticket holder. A search I can stand, using it as a means to ensure you buy their SHITTY, overpriced food is another thing entirely. Am I the only one that thinks the enemy can win without ever lifting another finger ?
errr....umm...*whooosh* *whoosh* Is this thing on ?
If someone wants to bring anthrax to comdex, why will they need to bring it in a bag? If someone wants to bring in an automatic weapon it should be pretty easy to pick up in a bag search. Explosives don't need a lot of space.
Whatever you do, don't be Irish .. (no wait that should read from anywhere from Morroco to the Phillipines, or even be Greek) and be in the wrong place at the wrong time until sanity prevails.
I've noticed a trend lately. More and more places are banning things that they've wanted to ban in the past, but were worried about the backlash from under the guise of "increasing security." Banning non-vendor bags and laptops in no way increases security, but the first does increase the visibility of vendor advertising. The second improves traffic flow by minimizing those cumbersome laptop bags and by keeping people from whipping them out at a vendor table
Similarly, my college's stadium is now banning bags along with a whole slew of other items that could be used for sneaking food and drinks in, which has been their primary irritation in the past. Now, under the guise of improved security, they can ban items that would've angered fans too much in the past.
Basically, the COMDEX people are taking advantage of the current political environment to sweep some minor annoyances under the rug. It's a disturbing trend right now.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
They seem to think that forcing people to turn a laptop on is an important security measure. You used to be able to not even have it x-rayed if you could get it to display a boot.
With multi-swappable bay laptops, or even older ones, why did they think this was a way to protect against a weapon being in the laptop?
Has it been over a year since you last donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation
A bunch of religious- and political- minded terrorists, suddenly getting the idea to terrorize Comdex?? What the hell. Reminds me of a tag line from a recent This is True story:
Anyway, if they ban bags, does that mean I have to carry my anthrax spores, 7-inch locking blade knives, and explosives in a box? How inconvenient!
Isn't giving up your ability to carry a silly little bag worth it knowing that you won't be blown up by a hidden bomb.
Nope. I will carry a bag with me and be secure in its contents wherever I goddamn please. I pay damn good money every goddamn year to make sure I don't have to worry. Unfortunatly, the morons I give my money to are more interested in fucking spying on everyone than making me safe.
"Gee, lets continue to sell fertilizer and fuel oil to cash customers, even though we just had a building blown up with it! Even though these guys need a license to store it, we won't require a license nor even proof of identity to buy it! Oh, but we better spend a few more billion tapping everyones email. Oh, and after you get done reviewing everyone's cell phone conversations for the words "The Eagle Is Blue, Mustafa" you might want to look into stopping the sale of anthrax to nations on the known hostile list. Just make sure you get all the cell calls first, mmkay? Oh, and if you get any more phone sex calls like that last batch, save em for the office party on Friday."
Oh, and I can't just stop paying them. How's that for a contractual fuckup??!?!
.sig: Now legally binding!
... not having laptops may help billy not show off his BSOD like he did 3 years ago
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
Apparently security coordinators at COMDEX read slashdot. They especially noted the satirical remarks regarding: "What next, strip searches?".
Security personal were noted as saying, "Thats a great idea!" While some were skeptical, others went so far as to improve on the now open source communities ideas. Later, a unanimous decision yeilded on implementing open source specifications for strip searches with body cavity investigations. These would later be utilized at the convention.
COMDEX Security Marshals have decided to fully develope this open source concept and protocals. They are currently in talks with several venture capitalists to fund a new e-commerce web site. No further details were provided at the time of announcement.
Additionaly it should be noted that have been talks concerning a fork in the now ongoing works. One security personal was quite upset with the current implementation.
"I just don't like limiting myself to one hand. Power user's should be able to use two if they really want."
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours." -- Yogi Berra
Now we just have to pray that nobody carries a bomb under their coat, or a gun in their pocket, or anthrax in a plastic baggie, or a Potential Enemy Neutralizer in their shirt pocket, or a pointy steel-toed boot...
Come to think of it, I won't feel safe until everyone is naked.
Save me, O Comdex, from the evil, evil terrorists!
You don't need to be Kreskin to predict Comdex's future. The hand writing is on the wall: Comdex faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for Comdex because Comdex is dying. Things are looking very bad for Comdex. As many of us are already aware, Comdex continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.
Famed Comdex speaker Spencer F. Katt states that there are 7000 visitors to Comdex. How many visitors to Networld/Interop are there? Let's see. The number of Comdex versus Networld/Interop posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 Networld/Interop visitors. LinuxWorld posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of Networld/Interop posts. Therefore there are about 700 visitors to LinuxWorld. A recent article put Windows World at about 80 percent of the trade show market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 Windows World visitors. This is consistent with the number of Windows World Usenet posts.
Due to the troubles of Comdex taxi lines, abysmal attendance and so on, The Interface Group went out of business and was taken over by Softbank who run other troubled trade shows. Now Softbank is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.
All major surveys show that Comdex has steadily declined in market share. Comdex is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If Comdex is to survive at all it will be among trade show hobbyists, dabblers, and dilettantes. Comdex continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, Comdex is dead.
sulli
RTFJ.
I use Microsoft Passport, it's a tech show afterall no?, MS passport is the Most Secure Thing available, Microsoft told us you guys do support latest technologies that big corporations shove at us, no? yeah... it's your sponsors....what? sorry, but it's in my laptop that you didn't want me to bring in at the entrance.
Joking aside, I have one word for comdex since a few years... unorganized computer flea market... And it could be so much more, computers did take off since 5 years with the internet and all that, why did Comdex go completely the opposite direction?
--- Metamoderating abusive downgraders since my 300th post.
Now, people who either don't want to have their actions documented or who like to profit even more from images and ideas that really belong to the public can use the excuse of combatting terrorism to exclude cameras from even more places. Well, compared to the other things terrorism has been used as an excuse for (vastly expanded police powers, lots of layoffs and business failures, almost complete abolition of civil rights for immigrants), I suppose this one is still fairly minor.
Guard: Sorry no bags!
Me: It's not a bag it's a case.
Guard: No laptops. No cases. No kidding.
Me: I left the laptop at home.
Guard: What's in the "case" then?
Me: Stuff. You know. My camera, PDA, cell phone, GPS, DriveWallet, GameBoy, portable CD player, a MP3 player, this runs a wireless Linux server (holding up a SBC with a short antennae) which is grabbing frames from the camera on my hat.
Guard (holding hand on head): Oh, just go. NEXT!!!
Guard: Sorry no bags!
Next me: It's not a bag, it's a valise.
Just in case there are any vendors who haven't figured out the hot giveaway items that will get people to stop by your booth this Comdex, it's obviously plastic bags for carrying around literature , t-shirts, CDs, and other trinkets from other vendors. It's really a sinister plot by the plastic bag makers.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
You realize, of course, that this means there will be an abnormally large percentage of hotel rooms in the area with laptops in them, and thieves will know it...
I wouldn't go to any conference that required me to leave my laptop in an unattended room, particularly if I knew people like maids had keys.
The truth is, short of a strip search and body cavity search of each and every attendee, there's no way they can ensure people won't bring something dangerous into the conference. If they want to try a few basic security procedures like metal detectors and xrays to help ensure that ordinary everyday lunatics don't come in with guns and big knives, sure, that's nice. Anything else is pointless excess.
"Yes sir, Mr. Convention Director sir. We at fly-by-night security consulting and TV/VCR repair, Inc. have a fool-proof plan to provide heightened security measures for COMDEX!"
"Oh, good. Load off my mind."
"Don't you want to hear what it is?"
"Not really, no."
"Oh, well... I see. In that case, can you just sign right here?"
Firstly, we have traditionally had virtually no defence against terrorism, because we have had very little of it compared to, say, Europe. Yet we had the single biggest act of terrorism, probably of anywhere. It's not as if the same primitive attacks that have been seen in Europe and elsewhere could not have been used against US.
Secondly, while the only reasonable response to better security would be more competent terrorists, that does not necessarily mean that the number of lives lost would go up. There may be a real lack of more capable terrorists out there in the world (and that's completely ignoring recruitment issues and such). The aggregate damage may still be less.
All in all, there evidence simply isn't there to make this assertion. It may be true that the number of deaths in terrorism shot way up in this year for the US, but there are a zillion other possible reasons for this. e.g., external politics, economic reasons, bad luck (hardly a large population here to draw from), a new resolve on the part of the terrorists (irrespective of our security), and so on. To suggest that we should loosen or not tighten our security is frankly foolish. So-called men like Osama bin Laden want to cause as much damage and fear as they can to further their objectives, so why should we believe that they might hold anything back? How can more security, providing it's reasonable and in proportion, cause more deaths? At the very least, it raises the bar substantially for bin Laden's organization.
Comdex isn't Interop, and it's been a long time since Interop was Interop either. The only good reason to haul a laptop around the show floor is to do 802.11 scanning. This is a huge show, and you're there to see the sights and pick up either information or trinkets from vendors, exchange business cards, and maybe get job interviews. Your PDA may be helpful, but your laptop is just dead weight.
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
Please note that laptop security cables are no longer allowed as carry on pieces. Apparently they can be used as a weapon (noose). The airports *will* conficate them if you have one in a carry on bag. Check it and save yourself the money (around $40)...
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
Hahah, so true, I've worked a couple conventions for my company. The teamsters and like unions at these convention centers really rip the exhibitors off. It's completely ridiculous. Granted, many of these companies rip themselves off, with completely excessive ~million dollar booths and such, but some of the crap that you have to put up with is unbelievable. My company would give out these stuffed animals as give aways...lots of them. The unions/convention center would force us to have them carry these _very_ light boxes for point A to point B (no more than 500 feet away) claiming union regulations (or "safety", hah), rip us off in process, then on top of that take their sweet time and expect quid pro quo at the end if they did their jobs half decently.
that's all the action a lot of those people get all year.
At the kick-ass Whitman College (www.whitman.edu) I'm now taking microbiology as well as Islamic civ. This has provided me with some nice insight into recent events, so getting to the point:
One mL of a liquid Anthrax culture probably contains well over 30 million cells of Bacillus Anthrax (I've done counts of related bacteria). If just those cells were induced into sporulation, dried, and ground so that the clusters were of the right size to inhale (weaponized), a sandwich baggy would be over-kill. If distributed into the HVAC system, everyone in the building would likely be infected. Fortunately, while anthrax is easy to culture (most bacteria are), it is fairly difficult to
weaponize properly.
If they were to use smallpox though, things would be far uglier. If someone managed to bring a concentrated sample of smallpox virus in to a big show and stationed themselves strategically, they could probably infect half the people. The nasty bit is that those infected people would then go home and start infecting everyone they came into contact with for the next 10 days, without knowing, while the virus incubated. After 10 days, the show people would start to get REAL sick, while the people that they infected would run around for another 10 days, infecting more people. INSTANT epidemic, since vaccinations were stopped over 30 years ago
It's like a pyramid scheme, but instead of money you get a nasty, disfiguring, sometimes fatal disease.
--
"I think the best medicine for the human soul is kind words, chicken soup,
and lots of whiskey."
- Professor Ashfield
"Cheeze it!" - Bender
Well, you know ... if they were Customs Officers, they could check your rectum for fingernail clippers if you looked at them the wrong way; and if you happened to have any outgoing international snailmail on you, they could read that too -- and these searches will be completely constitutional IF it becomes law.
I feel safer already.
Power to the Peaceful
As scary as smallpox sounds, it's a non-discriminating disease, meaning that anyone looking to use it had better plan for all their own people to die too. Anthrax works for terrorists because there's very little chance of something mailed to Washington D.C. hurting people in Afghanistan or whatever. While it's easy to portray all these terrorists as simply insane, they do have a motivation (an INCREDIBLY racist and zealotous motivation, but nonetheless) that isn't driven purely by insanity.
It reminds me of the "cold war" with the Soviety Union: The military-industrial complex (yup it really exists) wants to sell weapons, and to do that they need everyone to believe that the Soviets were a bunch of land hungry maniacs who were just dying for the chance to press the big red button, yet the reality is that the USSR was family men and woman who wanted to just live their lives just like everyone in the US. Nonetheless the misguided nuclear fear was driven by the propaganda that the godless USSR empire was suicidal.
For christ's sake, if they want people to be safe at Comdex, just let them strap on their sidearms. When's the last time anyone went berzerk and committed mass murder at a gun show?
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
...down the drain. Remember when the NCC was the biggest show going, when they were able to completely fill McCormick Place in Chicago, and then dwindled down to 20, count'em 20 tables before the NCC show organizers saw the handwriting on the wall and converted the NCC back to a research-only show?
The Computer Dealers Exposition (that's what COMDEX stands for, boys and girls) outgrew its original charter almost a decade ago -- how many dealers make the trip in? Damn few that I know. Today, it's the press and the companies themselves that make up the bulk of the show, along with employees of the Fortune 5000 companies that are still making enough money to keep the travel budget stuffed.
Speaking of the press, have you noticed that a lot of magazine and newsletter titles have closed in the past 12 months? Have you noticed that the amount of computer-trade ink has fallen off tremendously? For example, we just lost SmartPartner Magazine today, according to reports.
I know quite a number of the members of the press who have decided to forgo the annual pilgrimage to Las Vegas, either because they don't have jobs/assignments or because they want no part of a large, concentrated crowd of people at something that is uniquely United States.
One benefit to the Death Of COMDEX is the end of the maniac development cycle that requires companies to "show something" according to a calendar set by someone else. We may well see all software companies release software when it's ready, not when the booth bimbos hit the floor.
And that would be an improvement.
Attending COMDEX would be one of the things I look forward to most in my computing career.
Forget COMDEX. It's been a complete waste of space since at least the mid-80's. How many disk vendor and MicroSquish MSCE body shop trade show booths do you need to see?
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I got the letter about this with my pre-registration badge yesterday, and I was only slightly annoyed about this, and I realize they have their reasons.
However.
It says that no exeptions to this rule will be made, period -- this is where it sucks because I'm going with my girlfriend (a computer geek too) and this policy will impact her. She has to use forearm crutches which kind of monopolize the use of her hands so she can't carry anything except by using a knapsack slung on her shoulder. Are they going to fuck over an entire group of people over this?
And to all those who are just going to say "you should carry her stuff for her" or "get a wheelchair", you can save it -- it's the principle of the thing that counts here.
Hilary Rosen's speech was about her love of money and her desire to roll around naked in a pile of money.
Woohoo! Free laptops!
Seriously, the hotel room is THE WORST place to leave valuables, when you are not there. While most hotel cleaning staff are very honest people, the low wages do tend to push a lot of people over the edge into crime. Many of my friends have been victims of this.
This tells me the policy makers for Comdex are idiots.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
I don't see why they would think that a Comdex show would be targeted.
:D
.. (no wait that should read from anywhere from Morroco to the Phillipines, or even be Greek) and be in the wrong place at the wrong time until sanity prevails.
They're expecting "only" 150,000 people (From a max. of 250,000 back in 1997) because of the dot-com bust , the not-yet-named recession, the Sept. 11 attacks and all the stuff from that (companies prohibiting certain key execs from traveling, cost-cutting measures, etc.)
Now, seeing all that people in one place, you can't imagine it. Back in the 1997 show, I was warned before attending, but being there, it's another thing.
We "planed" to get a taxi when the show closed one of the days, well, the line was 1000+ long. Don't believe it ? I've a picture from last year's show.
The lines for the 24+ different bus routes to the hotels ? 400 + long each.
In a few words, it's BIG. Many people. Chaos could ensue. And you can count on the people attending the show to help. Two or three years ago, all the cell phone lines/bandwidth was used at some peak hours, something that never happenned before, if you believe the local news those days. Remember some of the "chaos" in NYC when the cell lines got blocked after the attacks? well, it kind of happened in Las Vegas. Scary indeed.
You could see the people from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc. using their cell phones (2 or 3 models more advanced than anyone I saw in the US, BTW) at some "strange hours", I suppose they called before the offices back at home closed or just when they were opening, I don't know. But seeing all those people seating on the stairs talking in different languages, it's when it hits you: Comdex Fall is an International show. Just from here (Mexico), I don't remember the "exact" figure but it's above 12,000 people attending. Another example: I remember in the 98 show being at the Ziff Davis booth, there was an egyptian engineer trying to subscribe to some magazines. "Big deal", eh? He wasn't an immigrant working in the USA. Then the ZD representative realized he wanted to get it to get delivered to Egypt. I mean, this man came all the way from Egypt! Not as a part of a booth, but as any "regular techie". Talk about getting some job related travels (I mean, for techies, not CEO's...)
You can see companies from all around the world, press from all around the world, reporting daily from there. I remember seeing a CNN press booth just in the middle of the Convention Center last year. So you have coverage all around the world.
And don't get me started on the crowds in the rest of the strip. The buffet lines are the second worst of the year, only after the last week of the year, one of the busiest at LV. Crowds everywhere but at the casino's. Someone said the tech people are the worst crowd as gamblers, suppossedly because "we" know the odds on the chance games. I support the other theory: bad travel budgets makes us "cheap".
Also, Las Vegas had a anthrax scare some years ago when they arrested someone with an anthrax vaccine, after getting a clue from someone about it. They reacted very seriously back then, imagine now.
You also have some of the richest people in the world there. Gates, Ellison, Sony's President (or CEO? I don't remember).
I mean *HONESTLY*, who on earth would target COMDEX, something that has absolutely no importance to the general (non-technical) public? From a terrorist's point of view (which is what you try to take if your aim is an intelligent security policy) it's obviously of no use to attack a target that people would have to explain why it was that striking it meant something.
How about one of the biggest/important economy sectors? And in this "decadent, Sin City" ?
I think I already made my point. So you can't go around thinking it can't be a target. I'm sure I wish it wasn't true, but it is. I love that show, I was there 3 of the last 4 years, and yes, it's not the same as the "good all days". Yes, you can get most of the info from the internet just days after, but the "experience" is different.
Sadly, I cann't attend this year, since my VISA expired and here the embassy/consulates have a backlog/queue of 120,000+ applications/renewals to see (so I'll get my renewal until next year. Bummer). And that's before the attacks happenned, not because of any increased security. Just too much work and too many people, I guess.
I hope this doesn't get's the show killed, I hope it gets to thrives again next year.
After reading some of the sites with advice for attending there (incredible useful, BTW) and having the experience of attending the ComicCon at San Diego before, I always had a backpack with me, with a bottle of water, a digital camera (even a video one once), extra batteries for the cams, some extra business cards, etcetera. I could stuff there the "goodies" as someone mentioned before and when it was full, I could rely then in the show's bags. I guess if I was going there this year I had to "rethink" my strategy. It's a shame cameras can't be used anymore.
Someone mentioned the body search thing. It can't be done to everyone. The lines/crowd for entering would be unmanageable. Metal detector should be used, but that can't get the anthrax/biological weapons as someone mentioned. I guess you just have to rely on checking everyones pockets, I guess, like at the stadium. God, I hope there's nothing like that. And you can bet I will go there next year.
Whatever you do, don't be Irish
Funny thing, last year a friend went with us "regulars" to Comdex (Nov/2000), and from the point we arrived at the airport there were always "suspicious" looks for him. he has a mexican name, but his great-great-great-great-grandfather or something was from the Middle East, and he has "the looks", with a heavy beard and ponytail. But he's more mexican than the tequila. We talked about it when we came back. Guess what he's not doing after the Sept.11 attacks ? You guessed right. Not going "even near" the border. And I can't blame him, I saw it happenning before, so why risk it? I guess that egyptian engineer I saw before will not go there neither.
Just my 2 cents.
And see you there next year.
BTW, for the guy who is in high school and heared all this things? Go for it, I too wanted to attend three conventions when I was in college: MacWorld, San Diego ComicCon, Comdex Fall (2 out of 3 ain't bad, and MacWorld sucked when I got the chance. And now I don't use Mac anymore, so I'm not going there yet.). You have to make it happen.
Many years ago, I read a book, the title of which I have forgotten. Basically, the terrorists in the novel use large gatherings (including a MacWorld Expo) to spread a bioagent, that has a delayed reaction of serveral days (weeks?). Everyone flys home, and later, massive outbreaks all over the USA that nobody knows where it started. (Anyone remember the title? I would be eternally grateful)
Reality has a liberal bias
COMDEX security? Who has time or money to go to COMDEX in this economy? Useless exercises like that geek pornofest are the first to go when budgets get tight. I don't have time to worry about COMDEX, I'm too busy looking for a way to make money that doesn't break the law or involve mops and fast food.
== Paul Rickard, Editor of The Microsoft Boycott Campaign ====
Backpacks and Laptops will not be allowed. But no mention of restricting conceled handguns if you have a recognized permit. Guess I feel safer.
Viv
Gmail invites for ip
An Ipaq can do the 802.11 scanning just as well as a laptop. And with a duel-sleave with one network card and a microdrive a lot of information can be pulled down in a more descrete manner.
Do you honestly think anyone buying nitrate fertilizer for the purpose of blowing up a building will already have a criminal record or an open FBI investigation? Or do you believe it is OK to deny farmers the right to buy the supplies they need just because they belong to a particular organisation (read: "militia") viewed by the left as suspicious? In other words, do you really think that restrictions on buying the ingredients for an ANFO bomb would be either practical or effective?
You could go further, you know. Don't let anyone buy gasoline (a very popular substance for arson - not to mention the main ingredient in napalm!) without photo ID. Maybe have a five-day waiting period for buying gas, so they can check you out and make sure it's only for your car.
What's that, you say? That would put an obnoxious and unnecessary burden on ordinary law-abiding citizens such as yourself?
Unlike the former USSR, the US gives you the right to emigrate, pretty much no-questions-asked. [Now, the right to immigrate to another country without making the proper arrangements might be another thing altogether, but that's the other country's bailiwick.] Oddly enough, it seems that very few of the people who claim to have such serious grievances against our government take advantage of this amazing offer. Might you all be ... *gasp* ... bluffing?
"How can you claim that you are anti-crack, while still writing a window manager?" — Metacity README
Comdex spent two or three years spamming me after I told them repeatedly not to. Why would you think they exist in a world where the word "privacy" is used in any way?
My blog: http://www.seebs.net/log/ --- My iPhone/iPad app: http://www.seebs.net/seebsfrac/
This is ridiculous. One major terrorist incident and a smattering of anthrax scares and we start acting like chickens with our heads cut off. Personally I am more than willing to be a little less secure and a lot more free. At the rate we are going the techno-revolution will be still-born out of fear of terrorism. What a waste.
What's more, why should I believe that US action, or in action, will make a damn bit of difference when they believe blatantly untrue lies printed in their media and from the various religious zealots. 95% of the propaganda that these terrorists hear is simply untrue.
So the way you deal with this is through propaganda. Also there is probably a lot more truth to the propaganda since the US started bombing Afganistan.
People aren't terrified; people are hysterical. They're not really scared, they just feel like they have to do something.
People are thinking "some guy could walk in here carrying some disease and kill everyone". Yes, he could. And "someone could plant a bomb here and blow us all up". Yes, that's possible. Or "maybe some crazy terrorist has nuclear weapons and he's going to blow up planet Earth". Yep, could very well be. That's always been possible (to a degree) and that always will be possible (more so with each day that passes).
Doesn't mean it's any more likely today than it was yesterday or 30 years ago.
The attacks on the WTC and Pentagon were not based on madness or religion. They were not attempts to kill a lot of people. There are much better ways of doing that. They were political acts, against symbols of the USA's military and economic rule. Even the airline names were carefully picked. And although of course I don't approve of them, I can understand them. It seems that most americans can't.
Some time ago there was a war in Somalia. People were killing each other with knives, stones, machetes, etc. Sometimes with their bare hands. Someone asked an observer if that meant this was a particularly violent conflict. He said no, it just meant they had run out of bullets.
Using airplanes full of people to blow up buildings is no more "cruel" or "barbaric" than using a cruise missile. Certainly no more cowardly. But some people (most people) just don't have cruise missiles. And some people (most people), when left with nothing to lose, will not mind losing what they have, especially if losing something so worthless (their life) can have such a big impact.
The way to avoid being blown up or infected or assassinated is not to isolate yourself and shoot everyone that comes too near. The way to avoid being struck by your enemies is to have no enemies.
The strikes on the WTC carried a message: "you are not out of range; if we really want to hit you, we can." I've known that all my life (possibly because I live in Europe and we've had a few thousand years of history and wars and revolutions and all that sort of stuff); most americans seem to have discovered it in the last two months. And they think they have to do something about it, because they can't stand the thought of being vulnerable; of not being untouchable. Today on the BBC I saw this american congressman (or maybe he was a general) saying "We have to bomb Afghanistan because we have to do something and we can't think of anything else to do". The only problem is, it's not accomplishing anything (apart from killing people that don't even know what's going on, making more enemies and worsening the USA's image worldwide).
And this brings me back to the silly security measures and to the way this hysteria is being used to limit people's freedom. If the only thing you can think of doing has no practical effect, then don't do it. Think of something else, or don't do anything. If someone really wants to strike, they will always be able to strike. I don't know if these "security measures" are a deliberate attempt to take away people's freedom and give more powers to the state or if they're just good-natured (but misguided) attempts to keep people "safe". Either way people should stand up for their rights and refuse to have their freedom taken away. It's not that "the terrorists win", it's just that people lose. Someone said that a nation that can't balance security and freedom doesn't deserve either.
I'm not a religious person; I don't believe there's life after death. But I still consider my freedom more valuable than my life.
Did you read past the first line of that post? I didn't think so.
No wonder COMDEX is gonna be a shit-fest this year.... there are mornons like you in the world.
Department of Homeland Security: Removing the rights real patriots fought and died for since 2001
Over here, there was some attempt to ban patrons bringing in drinks not supplied by the sponsor of a major sporting event. Things like water.
More recently, I was stripped of my water bottle at a major outdoor music festival ostensibly because it may have been alcohol and was forced to buy water at extortionate rates.
Xix.
"Everything is adjustable, provided you have the right tools"
Comdex is not the first major computer trade show to ban cameras. At LinuxWorld in San Francisco in August(?), I watched a show staff member enforce it against some random attendee.
Personally, I think a ban on cameras at a trade show gives the impression of an industry trying to avoid accountability to its would-be buyers. I would much prefer exhibiting at trade shows that allow cameras.
Um, I feel to see how your response relates to its parent. Palestinians are, in fact, making bombs while under intense scrutiny and lockdown, and killing people with them. (Remember, 9/11 is neither the first nor last word in Middle East violence. It's that sort of myopia which earns the US much of its reputation as, erm, myopic.) The posters point was the fact that security measures can never be completely foolproof for most activities.
Uhhh...there are in fact airborne strains of Ebola.
In fact Ebola Reston was airborne. For those who don't know Ebola was just outside Washington D.C. in an airborne strain.
Lucky that Ebola Reston appears incapable of infecting humans
Don't post innacurate information
If you do, I swear by my pretty floral bonnet I will end you.
I used to love COMDEX. I worked for a large Fortune 500 company, and I would always lie about how many purchasing decisions/budgets I had influence over. Everyone thought I was crazy and asking for new spam, but they didn't know about procmail. They were only marketing guys, after all. But when the other marketing guys who were aiming to market at me saw my membership stuff, I could weasel my way into plenty of free stuff.
The best meat-space schwag I ever got was getting into the last Digital party. Picture a huge hall, about 100 people, two bands, and about every possible type of food or drink you can imagine. And me and my brother in Chuck Taylors and t-shirts on a full-blown jag. I swear we were the only ones not in $5000 suits. It was very exclusive for some reason. The AMD party was packed. This place not so much. But they put on quite a show.
They had these five girls in gold catsuits and black wigs marching around. Like five identical people. I can't remember if the Intel bunny suit guys were out then (I think this was 97, but I'm not sure), although I was reminded of them after thinking about it later. Anyway, the sales weenies would sic these women on the hardcases who were waffling on some high-pressure sales thing. The girls would grab these oddball Arab dudes (or whomever was on the hook) and parade them about for a couple minutes and them rub them around the room and back to their chair. I'm not sure what it was supposed to do, but it didn't work on me and my brother, since we would probably have only bought what wasn't exactly for sale. It was like being on a different planet. You talk them up enough and there's almost no limit to the free shit you'll get.
My brother demanding that a Director of Sales something or other get him a "prime rib and a bottle of Chivas" or he would "start talking to Compaq and Intel" was particularly amusing. Especially since Digital was sold to Compaq not long after.
And all I have to show for it now is an Alpha t-shirt which says "Feed the Need" on the front and has some probably long-dead proc on the back. Feed it indeed. Those were the days...
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
I bet there is a rash of laptop thievery from hotel's with lots of COMDEX attendees.
Smallpox isn't as scary as you sound because it is NOT infectious during almost all of the incubation period. So you go home, do nothing for 10 days, and then you start getting sick and infecting people.
Immediately everybody who care into contact with you in the past day or so is vaccinated. Because we are looking the diseases is identified quickly. You are vaccinated too, which will help you, though not enough and you might die.
The figures on smallpox show 30% mortality, but that is from long ago, with a population not nearly as healty as ours, without modern medicine. Hard to predict, but fortunately the mortality will probably be much lower. Not that any is good.
Has it been over a year since you last donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Tom Clancy, Frank Herbert (the White Plague), and a whole bunch more have long had scenerios like this in their stories.
:)
Conferences are easy targets. People coming from all over the state/country/world meet in a single place, do stuff for a day or three, and then leave.
During that day or three it is very easy to rig up some sort of aerosol-delivered "bad thing". That guy at the booth spraying the "air freshener" every 10-15 minutes, for instance.
After the conference, people all fly back to their home and whaddayaknow, you've got stuff spreading all over the place.
And what's in that air freshener?
I think everyone's a little hyped up on the whole Anthrax thing, when there are a BUNCH more lethal, contageous, and readily accessbile critters out there; ebola, smallpox, the list goes on. Such critters are WAY easier to contract and spread.
While I applaud everyone's attempt to make people FEEL better with these various public displays of "security tightening", I believe that a lot of these measures only comfort the "soccer Mom" types. Jack said it best with "the truth? you can't HANDLE the truth!"
For instance, airport security here in Canada recently forced people to remove Poppies from their jackets because the little pin that held them on was "sharp and dangerous". Give me a fscking break!
Meanwhile, I'm boarding the plane with a number of even MORE dangerous "weapons" that the security people are clueless about. How about pens and pencils? Quite effective at stabbing people. How about my car keys? One of the first things my girlfriend learned when she took a self-defense course was how to grip her keys and rake them over or stab them into a would-be attacker's eyes. How about that laptop security cable I carry to lock down my laptop? Nice little garrotte, never mind my belt, shoe laces, etc. How hard would it be to sneak in some wire under/inside a belt? I've seen a number of big-assed country style belts set off a metal detector and then be passed through with only a swipe of the hand-help detector. Who knows what's really inside or underneath it? How about my eye glasses? Pop out a lens and you've got some pretty sharp objects. Never mind some of the frames from Oakly and company these days... they can be considered weapons in and of themselves.
And my personal pet peave; how does powering on a laptop prove that that is all that it is? The 60 year old lady at security making $6 an hour wouldn't know a functioning laptop if she saw it... a couple hundred bucks spent at Radio Shack would do well enough to fool her and even some somewhat "professional" or informed computer people. Besides, what's to say the entire laptop shell or case for that fully functional laptop isn't made of explosives? Talk about the ULTIMATE "blue screen of death".
The answer? I think we just gotta stop being paranoid and get to know our neighbours better. How many apartment buildings have untis in them that are full of "conspirators" whose neighbours go out of their way to NOT get to know them or what they're doing?
The best security force we could hope for right now is a bunch of nosy neighbours with lots of free time on their hands.
$0.02 (CDN)
I never saw a suicide bomber holding a bag. They usually have explosives (gasp) taped to their bodies. And ball bearings and other nasties.
This, as with most of the bullshit that is being implemented is security through stupidity. It is a herd mentality that makes everyone feel that they are safe.
You're not fucking safe.
Imagine this: 4 men walk into comdex with Glocks (shoulder holster). 20 rounds in a clip, 4 shooters have time to cycle through 4,5,6 clips before the cops get there (easily). This ain't CS or Scarface, you shoot someone, they go down, aim and they stay down. (Give the shooters angel dust for the hell of it.)
Nice fuckin massacre if you just do that. Take a MAC-10 to discourage hero's. . .
4x6x20 = 480 people, lets call it 400, wasted bullets, fat fuckers that take 2 shots to go down, you know - All in less than 5 minutes.
A shooting massacre of 400 people would certainly make people hesitant to goto any tradeshows, or even the mall. It's fuckin' scare the shit out of the public, but thats the idea.
Combine that with ebola (flood the fire system with a solution, which will be dispersed when you set off the alarms, so that when the fuckload of ems people come in, they get infected, which infects the doctors, the hospitals, and so on. You got at least 12 hours (very, very conservative) before _anyone_ shows symthoms. . .
There you go - guide to 20,000 deaths, a VERY conservative estimate. Shit, culture strep bacteria for a week, dry it out and then mortar and pestle the result - disperse that and see how many people get sick - nearly half of the strains are drug resistant.
Look. Right now, all the security is based on the "Good citizens, please do not bring your bad things into here. If you do, we will ask you to leave" principle. Moreover, if you're security guards are unarmed 65 year old men, younger, fatter men, or well past middle aged women the only security they provide is subtracting one bullet from what may of have been allocated for you. I'm not being dark, only realistic, if someone wants to go apeshit and start a massacre, there is nothing that can be done about it.
(Case in point, the school shootings, esp Columbine - where the fucking coward police and SWAT sat outside while people were being shot inside.)
The only thing this will change is that a shitload of laptops will get stolen from hotel rooms, the vending mother fuckers who charge $3 for a coke will make more money, the terrorists, should they desire to come, will carry fake id's and walk in with their "bad things" in the vendor supplied bags that they got the day before.
Oh.
That and fucking sheep will feel safer and the wanna-be police will get their jollies because they have some power and get to strip search the booth babes.
/finger
1q2w3e4r5t6y7u8i9o0pqawsedrftgthyjukilo;p'azsxdcf
Yeah, the hysteria around the "T" word is now a license to push personal agendas, and distract our attention. Alot of these inconveniences are small and insignificant ( I can't take a knapsack into most places already ) but it is the pattern of behaviour this instills that is important.
The propaganda machine doesn't roll on, it rolls over
Only in America... jeez, get some perspective.
Greetings from the UK. Here, we have learned to deal with terrorism. Let me educate you on the top three tips for dealing with terrorism:
You cannot prevent acts terrorism, but you can defeat the effects of terrorism; namely, terror.
Live your life accepting risks proportionately. The chances of you being injured or killed by anthrax are tiny in proportion to other daily risks such as crossing the road. If you do not worry about larger risks such as crossing the road, there is no point in you worrying about smaller risks such as anthrax.
Terrorists are too small and secretive to be defeated by millitary force of any size. Diplomacy is the only option that has been proven to work.
Terrorists rely on their network of supporters. If you publicise their acts of atrocity, you will weaken their support.
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
Firstly, there's no rule that says you must leave your laptop in your hotel room. The policy explicitly notes the existance of bag checks for those of you who think that there's a high likelihood of mass theft from casino hotels which are under extremely heavy surveillance.
Secondly, this isn't a reduction of rights. Nowhere are you granted the "right" to bring your laptop to a privately sponsored convention. On the other hand, the convention organizers do have a legal responsibility to do their best to make sure everything is safe, and nobody engages in a terrorist attack, or more realistically that nobody steals those cute little LCD panels off a vendor booth, throws them in their laptop bag and walks out.
Guys, I know the slashdroids love to overreact, but this is no big deal. Get over it.
Now it's time for all those who wrote "Jedi knight" in their census forms to practice their "This are not the bags you're looking for".
__
Men with no respect for life must never be allowed to control the ultimate instruments of death.
GW Bu
On the contrary, blind patriotism and an Amero-centric world-view run deep, even among the /. elite. ;p
And yes, the terrorists have won. The result being the same as that of a person who fires their weapon blindly at an unseen enemy.
Man brings bag of anthrax in pants pocket(or even better, crotch it) to show. He breaks in to the maintenence room, spreads it in to the outlet duct of the HVAC system.
If that's the scenario, than these announced new security procedures would accomplish precisely dick in the way of stopping it. About the only thing that would stop that is a full pat-down search of everyone entering the event, which is a practical difficulty if nothing else.
I like the fact that they're at least trying to do something though.
Why do you like the fact that they're wasting everybody's time and restricting everybody's freedom to do stuff that won't do a damn thing to prevent the stuff you're afraid of anyway?
But then the heating bill would be outragous :)
The University of Oklahoma has now taken to not allowing bags inside at football games. Formerly, you could bring in a bag of snacks for your kids rather than pay the outrageous $$$ for stadium snacks. Of course, you can't go outside at halftime either, all in the guise of security (never mind that the stadium is OPEN during the week -- I know because I run steps there all the time -- and you could plant a bomb with ease on a timer). The halftime thing is so they don't lose $$$ to people who go outside. After all, we know a terrorist would only blow up the stadium after going to O'Connell's for a beer at halftime.
what a joke.
DO NOT DISTURB THE SE
There you hit the nail on the head. They look good, never mind whether this will have any effect, let alone a salubrious one.
This is necessary first to calm the unthinkingly nervous, and second to cover their asses in the incredibly unlikely event that a terrorist does try to do harm.
This won't do much to calm the thinking nervous; a little thought will suggest that terrorists have upped their planning horizon far beyond the spur-of-the-moment 60's -- style ``carry in some guns and wing a few people and take some hostages and fly to Libya'' stuff that this would help with.
This policy wouldn't have hindered Timothy McVeigh, nor the unibomber, nor the September 11 hijackers, nor the next group of terrorists. What will discourage terrorists is swift, destructive retaliation against their cause, so that every terrorist act clearly sets back their cause.
I think that most of the domestic response to the recent events have been nothing but c.y.a. window dressing, with the same sort of logic and effectivness as gun control: none. See here and here and here and here among other references, for some ideas about that.
Treating honest folks like criminals only aids the criminals in the long run; it gives us the illusion that we are on the same side as them, because we and the criminals have a common enemy in the government. Take a look here for some discussion of how governments can go very wrong indeed.
See what I've been reading.
and shackled! And blindfolded. And all ears and noses plugged. No wait, let's operate on the spinal cords of infants and start cutting all but the nerves which regulate breathing and heartbeat. Absolutely no sensory input or mobility for anyone, then we'll be safe!!
Try an iPaq running Linux/*BSD and an 802.11 card- if they can afford a laptop, they probably can afford the slightly cheaper and even less obtrusive palmtop computer.
I am not merely a "consumer" or a "taxpayer". I am a Citizen of the State of Texas
to stripsearch a bunch of overwight, sweaty coders with Mountain-Dew stained sweatpants??
Firstly, negotiating is not giving concessions away. Negotiating is bargaining. Negotiation is a sign of intelligence, not a sign of weakness.
Secondly, yes, you should start negotiating to improve relationships with such states.
If the US wasn't so hated, you wouldn't have terrorism. The UK has learned this the hard way over the past few decades. We are now a lot less moralising and control-led than we were thirty years ago, and we have seen a direct decrease in terrorism because of that.
Would it really be so bad if the US stopped funding weapons for Israelis? Or pulled bases out of Saudi Arabia? Or opened up trade with countries which have alternative government systems? Think of the goodwill you could generate by those actions. Think of the 6,000 lives that could have been saved if you hadn't been so pig-headed not to do it before 11/09.
Wise up, America. People dislike you, not because they're pathologically evil, but because you've done bad things.
Admitting that we were wrong in Northern Ireland and negotiating a shared government deal has saved hundreds of lives every year in the UK.
Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
And what about the sleepers. The people that have been in America for the past couple of years living their lives... what if they get a job doing janitorial work, and they bring their bombs in beforehand?
Or for that matter find out how security guards dress...
What about my thumb? I could put out your eye!! Only my right one, though, I'm not quite coordinated enough with my left hand (yet) to do much damage.
The Daily Build
1. All luggage goes on that plane over there...
2. Everyone who wants to carry a gun may do so, by the way, you can borrow one of these if you need it.
Crazy? Maybe.
Effective? Probably.
--Mike--
If Bin Laden wants to blow up Comdex (which seems unlikely), they won't bother smuggling in a little bomb disguised as a laptop. With his budget, they can rent a booth and bring in a few hundred pounds of explosives tucked inside computer cases...
> This is why I use Active Desktop to make my computer boot up and look like a bomb timer.
And when you pull this little trick, I truly hope that some overly nervous airline employee calls in the cavalry on you, and you get detained for an annoying long time. Pulling pranks that serve only to make people nervous is rude, because it takes up time, especially the time of the people waiting in the now-stalled line who just want to get through the damn checkpoint in time to grab a muffin before they have to board the plane. Perhaps if you get your cute-joke laptop confiscated and have to spend three days getting it back, you'll get a handle on the whole "actng like an adult" thing.
> You can hold enough plastique in your shirt pocket to blow out a window and crash a plane.
A pocket full of plastique would not be sufficient to take down a passenger airliner from the inside without a large measure of luck. Blowing out a window will depressurize the cabin (if it's done at sufficient altitude) but that's extremely unlikely to disable the aircraft. Taking down a plane by breaking a window is Hollywood stuff, not reality.
Now, if you threatened to blow up the food cart, that would frighten more people. Of course, based on some airline food, you might just get a medal for that...
Virg
> Joking aside, I have one word for comdex since a few years... unorganized computer flea market...
I hope joking isn't aside here, since "unorganized computer flea market" is a little big for one word....
Virg
I don't know about mass murder, but I've seem some pretty insane things spewed forth from the mouths of marketroids during just about every trade show I've attended. *g*
Aha! We've found the goatse.cx guy's new business venture! He's at COMDEX!
Careful! Those vendor-supplied plastic bags are not toys.
The concept of "national security" is realized when a government's leaders and officials cannot be easily deposed, when the form of government is not easily changed, when the government is not easily overthrown. It comes at the price of individual freedom. Personal security and freedom can only be realized with limited government.
The Constitution of the United States, by design and by intention, organized an insecure form of governent. The beauty of the Constitution is that it gives limited rights to the government and unlimited rights to the people (including, ironically, the right to give up those rights). Sadly, "we the people" have given our government too many liberties while limiting ourselves in the name of "security"! As someone pointed out earlier (to paraphrase), "how many nut cases have gone on killing rampages at gun shows?" Where there is personal security there is individual freedom. Where there is widespread individual freedom AND RESPONSIBILITY, there is no need for an oppressive government. Two hundred twenty five years ago, our forefathers proved this. It worked for a long time.
A little revolution now and then is a good thing.
Give me my freedom, and I'll take care of my own security, thank you.
Please direct all further contact to my office at 935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20535-0001, or give me a call at 202-324-3000.
Note here
You have to put your laptop in a fine vendor bag I guess.
Has it been over a year since you last donated to the Electronic Frontier Foundation
It's like the smart people of London. Back in the days of the IRA bomb scare someone thought of the swell idea to remove all the garbage cans from the streets. That way, the IRA crowd would have no way to plant bombs and would revert to peaceful beekeeping.
The truth is, actions like these only serve to give the public the illusion of safety, to provide an example of determined action. If someone really wants to cause havoc they will, garbage cans or not.
Wow, I guess that means I could get that into a fake card for the Springboard modules of my Visor. Better ban those too, 'cause if you've got the determination to run this in a laptop, it ain't gonna be hard to stick it in a Palm...
SIG: HUP