Maybe. The devil is in the details, and I'm looking forward to learning more about it. But Google has a shitload of money and they blow way too much on useless crap that no one wants like Google Glass and autonomous cars. They're launching fiber now here in Austin, giving Time Warner and AT&T some much-needed competition. Backing underdogs like Spring and T-Mobile makes me think Google may end up owning both. One thing Google does well is networking.
However, there is one caveat: will Google be sniffing all the traffic it sees on these newly-acquired traffic just to harvest it and sell to advertisers. THAT's where I draw the line. My ISP has only ONE JOB: connect me to the web without getting in the way. That's what I pay for and that's what I currently get.
Thus is the "war on drugs". Same old story, just new actors. It always amazes me how the US government THOUGHT it learned its lesson that with alcohol that prohibition doesn't work. But no, they just prohibited other substances and ended up with the same problems (organized crime).
I read in a Tor forum that it was Silkroad that was taken down (not Tor) and it was indeed due to a social slip, the owner logging in to IRC WITHOUT the protection of Tor, that caused him to get busted.
True, hard drugs and kiddie porn are to be dealt with. Fine. Go get 'em Barney Fife!
But what troubles me is that with all the advances in computer science, it's still impossible to create a truly brick-wall secure network where people can be truly anonymous. Is it even possible? It seems so, at least theoretically. Forget AI or self-driving cars. Baby steps. Let's solve some of these problems first.
Wow, your people must really abuse their machines. My Lenovo laptop is 5 years old and in perfect condition. Yeah, the original battery is gone but replacements are a-plenty.
Tablets aren't a replacement for home use either. Everyone I know who bought a tablet still use their full-sized (or laptop) computers daily. Some of them don't even use the tablet anymore.
It would seem to me that they have a responsibility to support the versions that are in use by the majority of their customers. This whole idea that 2.5-year-old software is "ancient" is a load of BS. Imagine the outcry if Microsoft quit supporting each version of Windows after such a short time.
The person in the car may own it, but they aren't in control of it. You can't even call them a driver if they can't drive the car. I wouldn't have have much of a problem with self-driving cars so long as I can grab the wheel and gain instant control when needed. But Google's removal of the steering wheel, brakes, and gas pedal made them look ridiculous and places them squarely in the position of complete liability.
What really bothers me is the over-confidence in Google software on this board. I'm I the only one that sees their bugs? Google Maps and Google Drive (last I tried it) are full 'em. Maps crashes, leads me to businesses that are long closed, can't find another business 2 blocks down the street. Tells me to keep driving down Smith St. when I'm nowhere near Smith St. When I tried Google Drive (about a year ago) it couldn't sync without creating a bunch of duplicates. Yeah, I want the people who wrote that garbage to write the software to write the code that drives my car.
By "others" I mean price-gougers like motels, airlines, etc. is that in these industries, EVERYBODY does it and they've been doing it for years so they get away with it. People expect airfare and lodging to cost more during holidays and special events. But Uber is a taxi company and taxi companies don't do this. It's simply not necessary. They have survived for decades charging whatever rate is posted on their door, which seldom changes due to inflation.
But go ahead, Uber. Do what you want. Once people realize they're paying more than conventional cabs, they'll be gone.
And when demand shrinks, the customers you had before won't be yours any more. I once worked for a cab company. When their only competition in town went out of business, they jacked up their rates for medical/blood deliveries. When the other company made a comeback, the doctors and hospitals switched over to the competitor. Moral of the story: gouging customers only works in the short term.
I have yet to see ANY OS "decay" with Linux. Been a daily user on several machines (Kubuntu and Xubuntu) for about 4 years now and haven't seen it yet.
LOL really? Like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and George Soros all do? Bill Gates and Warren Buffett can make this claim but few others can.
Exactly. It's extremely annoying having FB pick and choose what I see. I keep my news feed on "Most Recent" all the time. But every once in a while, without warning, they pull the ol' switcheroo and change it back to what they think are the "Top Stories". No FB, I actually know everyone in my friends list and I like to keep with with all of them, not just the few I communicate with most.
This is somewhat over-simplified but Google can also zero in on human faces in street view in order to slightly blur them. It's all automated. I think it has something to do with scanning for skin tone hues and corrosponding shapes. We recognize that an object we see is a human because of how they are put together: arms, legs, a torso, chest, head. Yes, all varying in sizes and hues but not by much. Parental control engines scan images for what they consider to have excessive skin tones, especially when those tones are interrupted with other skin tones that make up things like nipples, public hair, etc. It's quite sophisticated indeed, but when Facebook can do facial recognition, considering that Google can flag an image of something like a child with a dick in his mouth doesn't seem too far-fetched.
Which is why I don't use gmail and I find it rather alarming just how many people are/have switched to gmail. This is not to say Hotmail and Yahoo are any better at minding our privacy but I don't use them anymore either - for the same reason.
I don't need them to do "rich document rendering" (whatever the hell that is) nor do I need them (or anyone else to) index the contents of my files. All I want is for someone to STORE the shit and keep it synced between all my machines. Dropbox does this very well.
As for encryption, I don't have time for that nonsense. Anything sensative such as financials is kept locally on my own server or burned to a DVD and put in the closet. I couldn't care less if someone gets a hold of my vast collection of pictures and documents. It is private, but not going to hurt me if someone at the NSA starts snooping around.
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The ONLY thing that can stop a madman with a gun is a sane man with a gun. But we're not supposed to say that... according to some.
His buddy Barack agrees. Thankfully, the chances of this actually happening here in the US is probably much less. At least for now.
Maybe. The devil is in the details, and I'm looking forward to learning more about it. But Google has a shitload of money and they blow way too much on useless crap that no one wants like Google Glass and autonomous cars. They're launching fiber now here in Austin, giving Time Warner and AT&T some much-needed competition. Backing underdogs like Spring and T-Mobile makes me think Google may end up owning both. One thing Google does well is networking.
However, there is one caveat: will Google be sniffing all the traffic it sees on these newly-acquired traffic just to harvest it and sell to advertisers. THAT's where I draw the line. My ISP has only ONE JOB: connect me to the web without getting in the way. That's what I pay for and that's what I currently get.
Thus is the "war on drugs". Same old story, just new actors. It always amazes me how the US government THOUGHT it learned its lesson that with alcohol that prohibition doesn't work. But no, they just prohibited other substances and ended up with the same problems (organized crime).
I read in a Tor forum that it was Silkroad that was taken down (not Tor) and it was indeed due to a social slip, the owner logging in to IRC WITHOUT the protection of Tor, that caused him to get busted.
True, hard drugs and kiddie porn are to be dealt with. Fine. Go get 'em Barney Fife!
But what troubles me is that with all the advances in computer science, it's still impossible to create a truly brick-wall secure network where people can be truly anonymous. Is it even possible? It seems so, at least theoretically. Forget AI or self-driving cars. Baby steps. Let's solve some of these problems first.
Your theory would work if the cost of living in all of these countries was the same but it isn't.
Only if you use gmail, or communicate by email with someone else who does.
Wow, your people must really abuse their machines. My Lenovo laptop is 5 years old and in perfect condition. Yeah, the original battery is gone but replacements are a-plenty.
Tablets aren't a replacement for home use either. Everyone I know who bought a tablet still use their full-sized (or laptop) computers daily. Some of them don't even use the tablet anymore.
It would seem to me that they have a responsibility to support the versions that are in use by the majority of their customers. This whole idea that 2.5-year-old software is "ancient" is a load of BS. Imagine the outcry if Microsoft quit supporting each version of Windows after such a short time.
This Catholic will tell him to get bent. The contents of an encyclical are not considered infallable.
The person in the car may own it, but they aren't in control of it. You can't even call them a driver if they can't drive the car. I wouldn't have have much of a problem with self-driving cars so long as I can grab the wheel and gain instant control when needed. But Google's removal of the steering wheel, brakes, and gas pedal made them look ridiculous and places them squarely in the position of complete liability.
What really bothers me is the over-confidence in Google software on this board. I'm I the only one that sees their bugs? Google Maps and Google Drive (last I tried it) are full 'em. Maps crashes, leads me to businesses that are long closed, can't find another business 2 blocks down the street. Tells me to keep driving down Smith St. when I'm nowhere near Smith St. When I tried Google Drive (about a year ago) it couldn't sync without creating a bunch of duplicates. Yeah, I want the people who wrote that garbage to write the software to write the code that drives my car.
Don't be silly. They can't even get Google Maps to quit crashing.
By "others" I mean price-gougers like motels, airlines, etc. is that in these industries, EVERYBODY does it and they've been doing it for years so they get away with it. People expect airfare and lodging to cost more during holidays and special events. But Uber is a taxi company and taxi companies don't do this. It's simply not necessary. They have survived for decades charging whatever rate is posted on their door, which seldom changes due to inflation.
But go ahead, Uber. Do what you want. Once people realize they're paying more than conventional cabs, they'll be gone.
And when demand shrinks, the customers you had before won't be yours any more. I once worked for a cab company. When their only competition in town went out of business, they jacked up their rates for medical/blood deliveries. When the other company made a comeback, the doctors and hospitals switched over to the competitor. Moral of the story: gouging customers only works in the short term.
"I knew slashdot was right wing these days"
LOL really?! The leftist propaganda keeps me away from this site most of the time.
I have yet to see ANY OS "decay" with Linux. Been a daily user on several machines (Kubuntu and Xubuntu) for about 4 years now and haven't seen it yet.
For those in the UK, those people mentioned are all prominent politicians and businesspeople in the US who happen to be very, very wealthy.
LOL really? Like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and George Soros all do? Bill Gates and Warren Buffett can make this claim but few others can.
I think it depends on the distro. For a noob, I recommend Mint. Kubuntu works too. All other distros are probably left best with seasoned Linux users.
Amen.
Exactly. It's extremely annoying having FB pick and choose what I see. I keep my news feed on "Most Recent" all the time. But every once in a while, without warning, they pull the ol' switcheroo and change it back to what they think are the "Top Stories". No FB, I actually know everyone in my friends list and I like to keep with with all of them, not just the few I communicate with most.
This is somewhat over-simplified but Google can also zero in on human faces in street view in order to slightly blur them. It's all automated. I think it has something to do with scanning for skin tone hues and corrosponding shapes. We recognize that an object we see is a human because of how they are put together: arms, legs, a torso, chest, head. Yes, all varying in sizes and hues but not by much. Parental control engines scan images for what they consider to have excessive skin tones, especially when those tones are interrupted with other skin tones that make up things like nipples, public hair, etc. It's quite sophisticated indeed, but when Facebook can do facial recognition, considering that Google can flag an image of something like a child with a dick in his mouth doesn't seem too far-fetched.
Which is why I don't use gmail and I find it rather alarming just how many people are/have switched to gmail. This is not to say Hotmail and Yahoo are any better at minding our privacy but I don't use them anymore either - for the same reason.
I don't need them to do "rich document rendering" (whatever the hell that is) nor do I need them (or anyone else to) index the contents of my files. All I want is for someone to STORE the shit and keep it synced between all my machines. Dropbox does this very well.
As for encryption, I don't have time for that nonsense. Anything sensative such as financials is kept locally on my own server or burned to a DVD and put in the closet. I couldn't care less if someone gets a hold of my vast collection of pictures and documents. It is private, but not going to hurt me if someone at the NSA starts snooping around.