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Security as a Profit Center?
Harry Erwin writes "This article seems to suggest Microsoft is now considering charging for security. I don't mind vendors like Counterpane Internet Security selling security services, but I would prefer operating system vendors to treat security as part of the core functionality of their products, if only because effective security has to be designed into the operating system from the start. This proposal would create a two-tier Internet and probably make things worse rather than better. Security is like public health and education--if you think it's expensive, consider the alternative."
Charge for (in)security! Raise the TCO! Push even more people to other platforms!
DMCA - Chilling free speech since 1998.
1. Add Security to MS products. 2. ??? 3. Profit!
Random is the New Order.
Someone buying an SUV wants, among other things, ground clearance. That was my main reason for getting a jeep. When it snows, I don't want to be stuck at home relying on the local government to plow the roads so the citizenry can get out. I don't need to be dependant on that as much (although if the snow is really deep it's still a problem in any vehicle) with a vehicle that has good ground clearance. Anyone using an SUV off the main roads (which isn't me - I got it purely because of snow) might also want that clearance to save the underbody from damage on uneven surfaces.
If you force them to drop the bumper down to the level of other cars then that destroys the ground clearance. That's why manufacturers are reluctant to do it.
Sometimes safety is at odds with functionality. I could make just as much of a complaint about 18-wheeler semi-trailers, which also smash through windsheilds and hit people in the head with their height. They've tried putting in those bars that extend down in the back, but those don't really have a large effect in a collision. But I don't complain about this for two reasons: 1 - I realize that the trailers are high off the ground because that is needed for their function of carrying heavy loads - heavy loads require large diameter tires, which is why the trailers are raised so high off the ground. 2 - I realize that in a collision where a small car rear-ends a semi trailer, the driver of the small car is usually the one more at fault, because the trailer takes much longer to decellerate (There's not going to be a case where the trailer slams its brakes suddenly, causing the driver of the car behind to be unable to stop in time, unless said driver isn't paying attention.)
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
I don't care about a car rear-ending a semi. If I do that, I'm a moron, and your reason #2 explains why. However, next time you're on the road, take a look at the semis you see. Where are their bumpers? That's right, the bumpers are low to the ground. Yeah, sure, there's still a lot of metal above that bumper, but it's recessed -- by the time the grill hits me in a T-bone, hopefully that bumper has given my car enough of a bump that I'm already moving away from the front of the truck. In a collision with an SUV where the bumper is at head level, the first place I'll be hit is not in the side door (where there are structural reinforcements, side air bags, etc), but in the side windshield, right in the head. If I'm not dead by the time the rest of the SUV goes crashing through my car, I'll at least have head injuries to deal with. Not fun.
In the soccer mom school of "Bigger is Safer", an 18-wheeler would be the ultimate in family transportation. But then, those big trucks require special training for you to drive(heck, some of the larger SUVs should require special training). In most cases, "bigger" is not always "safer", especially not for others on the road. However, I think in this case it is, and for one simple reason -- the soccer mom trying to drive the 18-wheeler will kill herself much more quickly, thus ridding the road of her and her ilk, making it a safer place for me and all other cars.
Can you tell I'm bitter from being cut-off way too often by cell phone-talking, coffee-drinking, SUV-driving soccer moms?
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
Yeah, and Windows should be illegal because the people using it are usually dumb enough to spread viruses. See the problem with this reasoning? It's unfair to those who aren't as dumb as the average.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.
If someone is an unsafe driver - complain about the fact that they are an unsafe driver. Don't complain about the kind of vehicle they are driving, and don't assume that everyone driving that kind of vehicle is going to be that kind of driver. It's just as incorrect and insulting as assuming everyone with a motorcycle is a Hell's Angel member, or assuming that everyone with a Porsche has a small penis.
Don't label something "offtopic" unless you know the topic well enough to tell what's on topic.