See how much extra time it takes at Radio Shack, for example, to purchase something without giving your name, address, and phone number. Even for a cash sale. Just last week I purchased a phone with cash. The clerks working the register couldn't make the sale without collecting information, so I had to improvise.
How about the extra trouble it takes to alter consent forms, for example, at the hospital? It takes time to make sure the hospital doesn't let every insurance company, drug company, federal organization, or private citizen know that you're having a test.
And a few nights ago when I used the pgp freespace wiper... five passes took 12+ uninterrupted hours.
boycott may be easy for you to shout, but I have no intention of driving down I95 from Boston to anywhere on the eastern seaboard. Amtrak may suck (they do, from my several dozen experiences) but they're the only game in town as far as I'm concerned. (that is, until I can afford to fly business class.)
While I'm ranting, fuck Amtrak for never running the Acela. I've tried so many times to get tickets. It's like the phantom train. bah!
In Win2k we're warned when we try to install an unsigned driver. I've heard that in WinXP we won't have the option to install one.
What does that give us? It makes sure that the binaries we're installing are safe and virus free. (unless you consider any M$ software a virus, as the popular saying goes.):-)
Granted M$ could abuse this process by making it hard for certain companies to get their binaries certified, but that may be a price to pay for safe software. (and this is another tangental discussion.)
Now this takes care of drivers, but doesn't seem to account for applications. Win2k doesn't care what application you install. It will happily let you install viri that make modifications to/winnt/system32. I don't know about XP. (installing the beta is on my todo list, as XP is in my company's migration path) I wouldn't mind a bit if XP/warned/ users before installing an unsigned binary application. Then again I'd be pretty pissed if it/prevented/ me from doing so.
So maybe Microsoft has a point. I know RPMs freak me out. I'd feel safer installing only signed, certified "virus-free" software on any OS.
This reminds me that the research Neil Stephenson does is fantastic. Before I read Cryptonomicon I'd have never thought of gold hidden in Thailand from WWII. I just wish I could remember which details of his books are fact and which fiction.
(I just stayed up half last night reading Zodiac, and having an organic chemistry refresher.:-p)
They've been told by "moral" people like you that they're scum for a.) allowing themselves to be photographed nude, or b.) allowing themselves to be photographed while engaging in some sexual act.
Riddle me this Ann Marie: What are the suicide rates of bonobo monkeys due to anthropoligists capturing their "penetrating and palipatating" on film? Since you say they're human, is their sex ever "extinguished by the shame and horror of it?"
cameras that can't be abused (a tech solution)
on
Surveillance Society
·
· Score: 1
A technological solution:
Video streams are not public, not viewable by public or police unless deemed necessary. Streams are encrypted and saved for a set period of time - unencryptable only by public court action. (The judicial system retaining the key.) If A assualts B in a certain spot, B can go to a judge asking for that video stream to be decrypted. If C witnesses a crime in a certain spot, C can report this crime and during an inquiry (public action only, no secret subpoenas) the police can request decryption of the particular video stream for that particular place/time/date.
This depends highly on evolution of technology, but such a system could provide a tremendous benefit to the public while keeping the public private. It also depends on Congress not passing laws allowing police/secret service/intelligence have private access to encrypted streams.
Maybe it'd be best done by a third party NGO?
I'd like some comments. I think about this plan every time the whole video camera in public issue comes up.
Hey man! Lighten up. I'd say that anyone with half a wit would envy Sweden. So we have fun with the Swedish Chef. He was a muppet! Geez. If there were abundant jobs there I'd say many/. readers would rather live in Sweden than in the US. I know I would.
I'm sure Bank Santander will make money from this endeavor, but why shouldn't they? They'll be helping to get an inexpensive Internet device into homes that may not otherwise have a computer. How is it a fraud?
And just what do we think about the natural process of creating new life? It really all depends on when you think life begins. We should all know that a fertilized egg will not necessarily stick to the wall of the uterus.
Isn't it a bit hypocritical of us to complain about the high rate of failure of artificial creation of life when the natural rate may not be all that much better?
Is OC-128 even a standard data circuit speed? I was certainly aware of links at 3, 12, 48, 192, and had recently heard of 256, but where is OC-128 used? (OC-n being = n × 51.84 Mbps)
The fact is that given a large dataset, I'd rather present a java grid to people with the bandwidth than the ten pages of html tables required for friendly modem usage.
I'd like to make it as big as I can fit on the user's screen. With HTML I don't have a choice - if there are eighteen columns the users will have to scroll horizontally and vertically. With a Java grid I can size it perfectly, but only if I know how big the user's screen is beforehand.
You make the assumption that "web pages" are all about good design or poor design, and you take a dig at their designers. You forget that some people actually use the web to present data.
Hopefully now you'll see some usefulness in these new HTTP headers.
I recently contributed to one of my favorite web comics and was disappointed in the procedure.
1.) I was taken away from the site to do it. (as opposed to having a small new window pop up.)
2.) I had several pages to click through to make the payment.
3.) I ended up at Amazon.com, and not back at the originating page.
With some work I think these honor system payments will provide an ok solution, but not for anyone providing content for a living.
For content providers who need to make money, networks might be a good idea - where a user would pay a network a set recurring fee for accessing a selected group of sites - for example I could "subscribe" to Slashdot, Kuro5hin, Everything2, Goats, and Userfriendly for $5.00/month.
The network could provide an app to generate encrypted ip + timestamp + websites allowed "network cookie" on a daily basis so sites would know who their paying customers were.
It's definitely a change in philosophy from the honor system, but it might work a little better.
AOL is going to bat for one of their subscribers here.
1. AOL didn't roll over and give away the identity of "grantst99" when issued a subpoena asking for this information for use in a civil lawsuit. They notified the user who then anonymously appeared in court asking for dismissal of the suit. (which was granted)
2. Now that the suit has been taken up again in another state, AOL has filed an Amicus brief that might just have another positive impact for their user.
3. That they're going to this trouble means that they want their customers protected. While they say (in the brief) that users would leave for the competition if their anonymity were compromised, that's really not true for the vast majority of thier customer base. Most AOL users aren't the type to post anything of interest at all on the Internet. (anyone remember USENET in the mid to late 90s, and how bad AOL users were ragged on for "me too" posts?)
Read thier paper - it's incredibly interesting. I think it shows that they really do have an interest in Free Speech. And that while we should always be skeptical, we shouldn't always be cynical.
Ever try explaining to a manager that your web app is running on "MySQL?"
Even the die-hard Microsoft bigots at my place of employ will say "ok" to an app running on Linux. Linux is hip. "MySQL" is not hip. Just the name makes managers ask, "it'll be in Oracle when it goes production, right?"
I know this is insane, but names are important and MySQL doesn't have the right one. Not when managers are involved.
You think Australia doesn't already know what goes on in electronic communications?
Where did the first admission of the existence of Echelon come from? (Australia!)
They're in on it, along with the Kiwis, Brits, Canuks, and of course, the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the most evil of all privacy invading countries, the USA.
Just assume that all your electronic communications are public and you'll be fine.
I'm working a job requiring CS skills and BioChem background, and was just looking at masters degree programs in both Bio and CS.
It seems my 4.5 years of liberal arts education included very few of the prerequisites for applying to grad school in either subject. I'll need around 2 full semesters (36 credit hours) of target coursework in either before I'll be considered for the masters programs - and this will be a bitch to do at night.
Well, if WordPerfect, Novell, and Caldera are all Utah companies, and we're now complaining about Utah having funny liquor laws, you could make some connection between difficulty in obtaining alcohol and difficulty in staying out of bankruptcy.
Slashdot Mirror
You assume time is free.
See how much extra time it takes at Radio Shack, for example, to purchase something without giving your name, address, and phone number. Even for a cash sale. Just last week I purchased a phone with cash. The clerks working the register couldn't make the sale without collecting information, so I had to improvise.
How about the extra trouble it takes to alter consent forms, for example, at the hospital? It takes time to make sure the hospital doesn't let every insurance company, drug company, federal organization, or private citizen know that you're having a test.
And a few nights ago when I used the pgp freespace wiper... five passes took 12+ uninterrupted hours.
In my experience, privacy has been expensive.
boycott may be easy for you to shout, but I have no intention of driving down I95 from Boston to anywhere on the eastern seaboard. Amtrak may suck (they do, from my several dozen experiences) but they're the only game in town as far as I'm concerned. (that is, until I can afford to fly business class.)
While I'm ranting, fuck Amtrak for never running the Acela. I've tried so many times to get tickets. It's like the phantom train. bah!
In Win2k we're warned when we try to install an unsigned driver. I've heard that in WinXP we won't have the option to install one.
:-)
/winnt/system32. I don't know about XP. (installing the beta is on my todo list, as XP is in my company's migration path) I wouldn't mind a bit if XP /warned/ users before installing an unsigned binary application. Then again I'd be pretty pissed if it /prevented/ me from doing so.
What does that give us? It makes sure that the binaries we're installing are safe and virus free. (unless you consider any M$ software a virus, as the popular saying goes.)
Granted M$ could abuse this process by making it hard for certain companies to get their binaries certified, but that may be a price to pay for safe software. (and this is another tangental discussion.)
Now this takes care of drivers, but doesn't seem to account for applications. Win2k doesn't care what application you install. It will happily let you install viri that make modifications to
So maybe Microsoft has a point. I know RPMs freak me out. I'd feel safer installing only signed, certified "virus-free" software on any OS.
This reminds me that the research Neil Stephenson does is fantastic. Before I read Cryptonomicon I'd have never thought of gold hidden in Thailand from WWII. I just wish I could remember which details of his books are fact and which fiction.
:-p)
(I just stayed up half last night reading Zodiac, and having an organic chemistry refresher.
Think of how far cosmetic dermatoligy and plastic surgery have come in the past twenty years. Are physical looks uncontrollable anymore?
I'd be scared shitless to post *my* picture on this site, but that's because people tell me I look schitzophrenic or dangerous in pictures.
Give me a few years though, and I may just want to post it. Then maybe I'll change how I look. (I assume I'll rate low.)
Sound shallow? Disgusting? Is buying a beautiful car or keeping your house/garden beautiful also shallow or disgusting?
When apperance becomes as easily changable as one's car or house, why not rate looks?
They've been told by "moral" people like you that they're scum for a.) allowing themselves to be photographed nude, or b.) allowing themselves to be photographed while engaging in some sexual act.
i e?
Riddle me this Ann Marie: What are the suicide rates of bonobo monkeys due to anthropoligists capturing their "penetrating and palipatating" on film? Since you say they're human, is their sex ever "extinguished by the shame and horror of it?"
Next question: Have you visited alt.binaries.pictures.erotica.ann-marie.die.die.d
A technological solution:
Video streams are not public, not viewable by public or police unless deemed necessary. Streams are encrypted and saved for a set period of time - unencryptable only by public court action. (The judicial system retaining the key.) If A assualts B in a certain spot, B can go to a judge asking for that video stream to be decrypted. If C witnesses a crime in a certain spot, C can report this crime and during an inquiry (public action only, no secret subpoenas) the police can request decryption of the particular video stream for that particular place/time/date.
This depends highly on evolution of technology, but such a system could provide a tremendous benefit to the public while keeping the public private. It also depends on Congress not passing laws allowing police/secret service/intelligence have private access to encrypted streams.
Maybe it'd be best done by a third party NGO?
I'd like some comments. I think about this plan every time the whole video camera in public issue comes up.
- Jon
Boston? Try AT&T Broadband Cable. I've had fantastic performance - in the 1.5 Mbit range - even faster downloading from the evil empire.
Hey man! Lighten up. I'd say that anyone with half a wit would envy Sweden. So we have fun with the Swedish Chef. He was a muppet! Geez. If there were abundant jobs there I'd say many /. readers would rather live in Sweden than in the US. I know I would.
I'm sure Bank Santander will make money from this endeavor, but why shouldn't they? They'll be helping to get an inexpensive Internet device into homes that may not otherwise have a computer. How is it a fraud?
And just what do we think about the natural process of creating new life? It really all depends on when you think life begins. We should all know that a fertilized egg will not necessarily stick to the wall of the uterus.
Isn't it a bit hypocritical of us to complain about the high rate of failure of artificial creation of life when the natural rate may not be all that much better?
Is OC-128 even a standard data circuit speed? I was certainly aware of links at 3, 12, 48, 192, and had recently heard of 256, but where is OC-128 used? (OC-n being = n × 51.84 Mbps)
Why would I need this information?
Choices concerning data presentation.
The fact is that given a large dataset, I'd rather present a java grid to people with the bandwidth than the ten pages of html tables required for friendly modem usage.
I'd like to make it as big as I can fit on the user's screen. With HTML I don't have a choice - if there are eighteen columns the users will have to scroll horizontally and vertically. With a Java grid I can size it perfectly, but only if I know how big the user's screen is beforehand.
You make the assumption that "web pages" are all about good design or poor design, and you take a dig at their designers. You forget that some people actually use the web to present data.
Hopefully now you'll see some usefulness in these new HTTP headers.
"I mean yeah, I fell into my rock tumbler once and ruined my Timex and my glasses, but don't tell me you did it twice in one month!!!
"
Are you a mouse?
Falling into a rock tumbler?
:-)
It takes me an inordinate amount of time to find the sailboat in those static-filled pictures. :-)
Thanks for the clue-by-four(s).
I still wish stories (at least archived ones) were posted like this: "Posted by CmdrTaco on Monday November 30, 1998 @09:20AM"
This brings to mind a spot I saw on Slashdot ages ago about Mexico choosing linux for use in 140,000 schools.
I wish Rob would add "year" to the posting date of stories... I think the above post was from 1998.
I recently contributed to one of my favorite web comics and was disappointed in the procedure.
1.) I was taken away from the site to do it. (as opposed to having a small new window pop up.)
2.) I had several pages to click through to make the payment.
3.) I ended up at Amazon.com, and not back at the originating page.
With some work I think these honor system payments will provide an ok solution, but not for anyone providing content for a living.
For content providers who need to make money, networks might be a good idea - where a user would pay a network a set recurring fee for accessing a selected group of sites - for example I could "subscribe" to Slashdot, Kuro5hin, Everything2, Goats, and Userfriendly for $5.00/month.
The network could provide an app to generate encrypted ip + timestamp + websites allowed "network cookie" on a daily basis so sites would know who their paying customers were.
It's definitely a change in philosophy from the honor system, but it might work a little better.
AOL is going to bat for one of their subscribers here.
1. AOL didn't roll over and give away the identity of "grantst99" when issued a subpoena asking for this information for use in a civil lawsuit. They notified the user who then anonymously appeared in court asking for dismissal of the suit. (which was granted)
2. Now that the suit has been taken up again in another state, AOL has filed an Amicus brief that might just have another positive impact for their user.
3. That they're going to this trouble means that they want their customers protected. While they say (in the brief) that users would leave for the competition if their anonymity were compromised, that's really not true for the vast majority of thier customer base. Most AOL users aren't the type to post anything of interest at all on the Internet. (anyone remember USENET in the mid to late 90s, and how bad AOL users were ragged on for "me too" posts?)
Read thier paper - it's incredibly interesting. I think it shows that they really do have an interest in Free Speech. And that while we should always be skeptical, we shouldn't always be cynical.
IIRC SeaLand extended its borders to include parts of costal UK shortly before the UK did the same. It's a game, and my bets are on SeaLand.
Ever try explaining to a manager that your web app is running on "MySQL?"
Even the die-hard Microsoft bigots at my place of employ will say "ok" to an app running on Linux. Linux is hip. "MySQL" is not hip. Just the name makes managers ask, "it'll be in Oracle when it goes production, right?"
I know this is insane, but names are important and MySQL doesn't have the right one. Not when managers are involved.
You think Australia doesn't already know what goes on in electronic communications?
Where did the first admission of the existence of Echelon come from? (Australia!)
They're in on it, along with the Kiwis, Brits, Canuks, and of course, the land of the free, the home of the brave, and the most evil of all privacy invading countries, the USA.
Just assume that all your electronic communications are public and you'll be fine.
gee. it's like ColdFusion but without the IDE. :-)
I dunno 'bout that advice to do neither...
I'm working a job requiring CS skills and BioChem background, and was just looking at masters degree programs in both Bio and CS.
It seems my 4.5 years of liberal arts education included very few of the prerequisites for applying to grad school in either subject. I'll need around 2 full semesters (36 credit hours) of target coursework in either before I'll be considered for the masters programs - and this will be a bitch to do at night.
Netra X1 is indeed $1k USD. however, it doesn't offer niceties like video or expansion. it was built as a rack-mount server, not a workstation.
Well, if WordPerfect, Novell, and Caldera are all Utah companies, and we're now complaining about Utah having funny liquor laws, you could make some connection between difficulty in obtaining alcohol and difficulty in staying out of bankruptcy.