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Silicon Valley vs. Your Privacy
TreeRat submits word of an article in the New York Times' magazine section, including mention of the proposed national database which has been talked about on Slashdot before. "The story goes into great detail with Larry Ellison, who is still pushing hard to bring 'Big Brother' to life. When asked if this database will be created, and run on Oracle, Larry's response was 'I do think it will exist, and I think it is going to be an Oracle database. ...And we're going to track everything.' There's a lot more than Ellison in this piece, though, and much of it is scary.
It's not the first time I post it, but this time it makes more sense:
ORACLE = One Rich Asshole Called Larry Ellison
Like... what? Does this mean he and a few pals like to take their F16s for a spin at the weekend, mebbe practice some bomb runs, perhaps take out the odd MiG when they feel like it - just for kicks?
Toc, toc, toc...
"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free." -- Goethe
Eccentric... and he looks like a James Bond villain... You suppose he has some secret submarine in the carribean loaded with hundreds of rackmounted servers running this database? I'm scared... eccentric pinhead...
You know what bugs me about Oracle though... nothing philosophical... its all the little SQL "enhancements" they provide that I find when looking at someone else's SQL query. I thought languages were supposed to be standardized. There are a few other DB's that do it too... Nothing big but it bugs me when I run into it.
Boring, old news dude. This is the centralised Daedalus system in Total Recall 2070 episode 18 that takes care of everything - air travel, citizen identity, health insurance, medical records, vehicle insurance, police records, etc. And then an AI expert (Farf's designer presumably) hacks in and makes the machine self-aware. It starts crashing planes, nobody is capable of stopping it. The megacorporations (presumably Disney-equivalents) try to make intelligent robots using human foetal brain tissue.... It just starts to get interesting, and then they axe the series. Nice one.
A caveman dreams of being us, the incalculable power and riches. We dream of being Q, then what?
"Oh yes, Mr. Bond. I do think it will exist. And I think it is going to be an O.R.A.C.L.E. database... and we're going to track everything. And then, my dear Mr. Bond, I shall rule the world!"
I propose that we go ahead with a national database, make it open to the public, and have it all administered by Oracle. Only I don't mean Larry Ellison's Oracle.
That's right, all queries will have to be answered by the Usenet Oracle. We can't ensure that the information in this "database" will all be accurate, but at least we'll be able to share a hearty laugh as we vote any congressmen who try to implement this idea out of office...
I use Oracle daily, I am an OCP, an Oracle share holder, and I drink the coolaid...
But...
I have to repeat this (unable to give proper credit though...)
What is the difference between Larry Ellison and God?
God dosen't think that he is Larry Ellison.