1) Cut a deal similar to the 1994 Carter deal that the North Koreans violated (fool me once...)
2) Attack North Korea and risk immediate massive civilian casualties in South Korea.
3) Drag China into the negotiations with North Korea and convince them to "curb your dog".
4) Close our eyes, put our fingers in our ears and shout "La La La La La...".
Typical neo-con revisionist history.
1. We broke our agreement without clearly justifing it and proving the case first. I don't doubt NK was breaking their side of the agreement too. And by the way, it doesn't help when the leader of the US goes all mystical and talks about "looking to so someone's soul" (Putin) or calling countries an "Axis of Evil". You can think it, but it makes you look like Rasputin when you say it.
2. Simplistic answers to complex problems (another hall mark of neo-con thinking) almost never work.
3. May work, but gives China a letgitimizing role, sponsored by the US.
4. This is what we're doing now, doesn't seem to by working.
The problem with NK is Kim Jong and his millitary supporters. He's not just nuts, he's dangerous nuts. Even China knows this. The US had better start thinking about how to contain the rabid dog that is North Korea, 'cause that dog bites.
She's got an interesting argument: outsourcing means cheaper IT products, meaning businesses will buy more, meaning more products to make & manage = net gain of IT jobs in the US. Ummm, did you follow that?"
Yeah, I follow that arguement...all the way to the unemployment line.
First, all tech is crap. Let me repeat that. Our careers are based on crap. First, for any non-tech company, computers are a support accounting item. This means that computers are not in the business of making money for the company, they are an expense. (Get over it, I'm not done yet, so hold the flames til you see where I'm going.)
Let's look at the grocery store. It's full of tech in my area. PCs on the check out lines. PCs to weigh and print tickets for fruit and veggies, computers to check the temps in the coolers, computers to do the accounting, timeclocks that are really T104 form factor motherboards with full computers, hell, almost every isle has a computer. (I understand that some stores are replacing the security camera VCRs with computers now.)
Second, when these devices are first installed, there is some sort of cost/benifit study, both before and after they buy it. (If they are a cluefull company. Uncluefull don't do them, simi-clued do one before. Only fully clued do both.)
Third, after a few years, these productivity gaining devices stop being seen as something that saved them money, but just another expense. They forget they replaced things that cost even more, or the savings they got from installing them.
Now comes the down cycle (remember when all the wall street anaylists said we beat the down cycle markets? Cheap talk, and while I never believed it, many did.) and busineses have to cut expenses.
Gee, where do we cut? Almost always the answer is IT, because IT is seen as an expense. They almost always forget the productivity gains they get from the use of technology, they only see that line item cost IT people are on the balance sheet.
As for tech companies, very clued know that IT keeps the plates spinning and productivity high. They may cut a few in IT, but mostly by quietly asking "who are the bottom 10% we can do without best?" and those hit the bricks.
Simiclued tech companies just cut the last hired.
Unclued cut a lot of IT, regardless of why.
Likewise, consertives say "outsourcing is GOOD for jobs!". Look at thier reasoning, folks. If you believe it, then outsourcing is good all the way up the chain of command, yet you don't see CFOs and CEOs being outsourced. Oh, no! What you do see is that they get multi-million dollar bonuses and raises for cutting 2,000 jobs here, 5,000 there.
This is why I say IT workers are the modern black gang of the world. We stoke the boilers, fire the engines, make the computers run. But are we asked our opinions on all the jimcrack geegaws PHBs demand? Hell no! Most of the time we are accused of "slacking off", "being uncooperative", "geeks" with a roll of the eyes and shake of the head, and the only respect we get is when we save their ass and the empty mouthings of praise during those "all hands" meetings where the bosses give each other awards.
(OK, so I'm bitter right now. I'm miffed because I just came from one of those all hands meetings, and it was a complete waste of THREE FREAKIN' HOURS.)
But let the pager go off at two in the morning, and we are there. Someone has spyware on their system? We are there. Virus? Ditto, gritting our teeth all the while they regale us with how smart they are about technology or how absolutely they can't do a thing with a computer. Thinking how this person makes twice what I do, with an IQ measured in irrational numbers....
But what really gets me is the number of times when the very people that depend on IT to get their computers working bypass IT, and go spec out and order servers and software and then expect us to keep it running, or second guess us the rare times we are asked our opinion.
700 bucks isn't a lot of money to throw at a potential problem to go away. And if you run a business, it's probably not the right venue to make your moral stand on OSS. After all, you have a business to run, bills to pay, employees, etc
The only problem with that is "Once you pay danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane."
Tried the consulting thing, but what ends up happening with those 3 - 6 month $50/hr contracts for fortune-500 biotechs is they inject tons of project creep and then blame you for gauging for change-orders..... So fly; be free little birds. Let those irritating stressful bullshit jobs go wherever they want. I don't feel like doing that shit for anyone else anyway. I'll just keep my website updated with my latest song.
I've noticed that a lot of IT workers are young. REAL young. Stupid immature young. The kind of young that costs you megabucks because they are too arrogant to listen when they're wrong, see everyone else as stupid, and equate older workers with lazy.
I guess I am too lazy. I'm looking to get out of IT after being in it since 1977. Tired of pulling other's chestnuts out of the fire, tired of being blamed when management can't make up what little mind they have as to what the project is about, tired of being called at 3AM because the operators can't be bothered to read how to use the systems, tired of watching those young hotshots ruin something they don't, and won't understand, tired of technical management that can't be bothered with technology.....
And in the end, getting pay cuts because they decided that we'd take 'em because "we could always ship their jobs overseas and save even more."
So long, computers. I'll keep a few around just to kick, but I'm outta here sooner or later.
What sort of experiences do the rest of slashdotters have along these lines?"
In my experience, when a company starts doing this, they are on the skids toward bankrupcy.
Better get your resume updated. Job cuts are already being planned, you just haven't heard about them yet.
IMHO, the greater part of the problem is that people are too willing to run software on their machine that was compiled by someone else and never checked.
Windows, for instance.
Sorry, but your idea simply isn't workable. First, get Joe Six pack, who can install a copy of Office now, do the same for a copy he has to compile. Oh, that's right, Windows doesn't come with a compiler. Well, add in the cost of a compiler to the OS. In fact, intergate it. Next, since a machine can't boot source code, somewhere you're going to need a kernel to boot. Next, you have to authinticate against something somewhere that the code you think you are booting is actually the code you are booting....
What you describe is a trusted computing base. See "Trusting trust" for more insight.
Adding complexity of the nature you propose does noting to protect against idiot users.
I see the real long term solution to the problem of unwanted software execution being a form of public-key cryptography at the hardware level -- effectively, for every processor to have its own unique instruction set, so that only code compiled for that particular processor can be run on it.
I can't see Microsoft allowing their source code out, even if encrypted in source form. Even very complex keys can be extracted, given time and enough power. It is very likely that MS source would be considered high enough value that it would be attempted. Also, with that many copies of the source around, all identical except for the encryption, key attacks are much easier. If MS compiles it, then the question is how many years are you willing to wait for your copy to be compiled?
If you run a 30,000 node network, how do you manage all 30,000 unique copies of the OS, productivity, and all the batch files used to mange all 30,000 systems?
And what would keep mal-ware writers from inserting their malware at the comple-the-source stage for each and every processor? Can you imagine how long it would take a P4 400Mhz to compile Windows XP? (If each and every CPU has it's own unique key, then each and every system will need to compile the OS. Also, what about SMP systems? Do the CPUs in that system each get their own key? That would mean the OS would have to be compiled for each cpu in that box!)
No, adding a layer of encrypition isn't the answer. It adds complexity and possible vectors without really addressing the problem.
Like spam, viruses are not a technical problem. It's a human problem.
Oh, and you can get open source A/V software. Clam A/V.
Not really a computer failure, after I had quit working in a TV station a few weeks before, one of the engineering assistants went walking across the main transformer with a 48" wrench. Halfway accross the catwalk, the wrench slipped and shorted the outputs of a multi-ton transformer. They had to take the roof off the building to get the transformer out, use a crane to put it on a railroad flatcar across the highway, and send a 1000 miles to be rewound. If I recall correctly, it took 6 weeks to get it back. The FCC made the station buy a newer transmitter the next year or so.
===
TI 990. Installing a new drive, the old got wiped. No problem, we had a backup. Tape broke. Now I always make two. (the old backup was scotch taped back together, used a special hacked up program to skip the bad block on the tape. After 40 continuous hours due to the poor performance of the hack, all data restored, only skipped some system files easily restored from distribution media.)
===
Installing a new process controler for an assembly line, the driver dropped it off the back of the truck when it got away from him on the four wheeled dolly. Completely trashed, as it dropped into the loading dock well, which was 3' deep in rainwater at the time...
===
Working in the oil patch, a new computer was sent to an off shore drilling rig. The crane operator thought it would be funny to drop the pansy a$$ed techie types into the ocean. Loss of 1 techie type (quit), a $150,000 computer system, and one crane operator (fired). I think they were more upset about the guy quitting than the ruined computer.
===
Put in new UPSs. Site was told to change the wiring for power to them, but they had not done so. No one checked. End result was 105 volts floating on the 5 volt buss. No major damage, since the 100 volts was floating, but it did act rather strange.... (The computer was a redundant hand built system in 5 7' relay racks.) It did cause a production hour outage, which made the customer really, really mad...
===
AIX has a volume manager for the disks. When you add a bit of space here, and a bit there, after a while you can get an improvement in performance if you do a sysback, blow away all the disks, and do a restore - booting from tape. During a weekend of doing that, a tape got all balled up in the drive and broke. After obtaining a replacement tape drive (all hail 24x7 4 hour response hardware support contracts!) used the second tape (always made because of the first story from 23 years ago) to complete the process.
As with many geeks, these items hold within them far more value to me than anything I leave behind in my apartment. So I would like to know what my fellow urban geeks do to try and keep their valuables safe while traveling with them.
BACKUPS
DVD burners are cheap, blank media cheaper. Anything of any sensitive nature should be on an encrypted partition.
By the actions of Scott I'd say he actually believes his system is a true opt in system.
However I've receaved spam from this guy and I know I never opted in.
So the question is how come Scott believes his actions are lagit?
Answer:
I do get a lot of "Welcome" messages from marketting lists. Most of them say something like "Please click on the link below to conferm". Eather spammers are being creative and trying to trick me into opting in to stuff I don't have any intrest in or someone spammed my e-mail address to them.
If he is using a link to confirm opt in, well, some MUAs follow the link. Perhaps that's where he went wrong.
On the other hand, "Rule 1: Spammers lie" is easier to believe.
Where in the definition of capitalism does it say that if workers aren't satisfied with their wages, they have the right to hold my business hostage and I'm powerless to do anything (such as find other workers) unless I meet their demands or they reduce their demands?
Almost all workers in the US have the right to quit their job if they don't like the conditions. Unions were formed by people saying "Unless you start collective barganing with this here union we formed, we all quit." You decided that you'd rather deal with the union than to find all new workers. All contracts you signed say you will continue to work with the union rather than replace all your workers at one time. In other words, you signed a contact. Capitalitic enough for you?
The definition of capitalism would more likely say that if workers aren't satisfied with their wages and think they're being shafted by management, they can all go and start up their own competing business and offer better service and pay their workers higher wages.
It also has a few things to say about:
Safety conditions - brought to you by unions
Hour limits and overtime pay - brought to you by unions
Minimum wage - brought to you by unions
loyal workers & customers - brought to you by happy workers that happen to belong to a union.
Which isn't to say that some unions can't be nuts, but in this case I think CWA has a few points. Like share the wealth we made for you with the people that made it happen. Still, SBC doesn't have to deal with the union if it doesn't want to. Just replace all those workers all at once.
Unions also mean you are paid the same as the idiot in the next cube but less than idiot who is two years senior.
I will take my chances, thank you.
The second management thinks your job can go to India, it doesn't matter how smart you are. Your ass is in the unemployment line.
You may get paid the same as the idiot in the next cube (who thinks you are the idiot most of the time) but at least you get to keep your job.
I simply do not understand the brainwashing that goes on about unions. Sure, there are bad ones, but quite a few are allright, and some are even very good.
Not to say that a union can't be stupid, but let's face it: SBC's profits are sky high, and still they want to screw over the workers. The question is, would you rather have a job where you are paid the same as the idiot in the next cube, pulling down a living wage, or do you want to learn how to say "You want fries with that"?
I think the police do a very hard job, but when your job is to deal with the scum of the earth, you might forget that not everyone in uniform is scum.
I ment to write:
forget that not everyone not in uniform is a scum.
Meaning that police trust other police, but not the public at large. Many times with reason, true, but that opens the door to being abused by the police.
The problem here is that evidence once collected has a way of sticking around.
I once had my door kicked in and a dozen or so police point their guns at me. Why? Because a drug dealer lived in my apartment six months before I moved in.
A murder is commited and one of these cameras record the license plate.
So, let's say you buy a used car. A couple of months go by, and now the police come in to arrest you for murder. When they break in your door, they don't like the way you didn't fall flat on your face fast enough and blow holes in you. The fact that you had nothing to do with the murder doesn't help you, you are already dead.
Strangely enough, police make this kind of error all the time. I got pulled over in MA 7 times because my car had Texas plates, and "every one knows" that every Texan carries guns in his car! (Actual quote from a cop.)
I think the police do a very hard job, but when your job is to deal with the scum of the earth, you might forget that not everyone in uniform is scum.
Reverse engineering to be another on the list of rights that have fallen by the wayside?"
What makes you think reverse engineering is legal when it isn't a huge corporation doing it? Look at DVD Jon and MPAA. Look at any of a few dozen cases where a megacorp's technology was RE'ed, and you'll see hundreds of lawsuites. It may be that technically RE'ing isn't illegal, but the legal battles to enforce your rights make it effectively illegal in this age of lunitic IP laws. Information may want to be free, but the legal battles will give any average joe pause.
Slashdot Mirror
Republicans are nazi's, and they aren't in the closet about it either.
Besides, we need Iraq so we can invade Iran next year.
Bush in 2004=Draft in 2005.
Thanks for being honest about it. About the only time I can recall a republican being honest about anything.
1) Cut a deal similar to the 1994 Carter deal that the North Koreans violated (fool me once ...)
2) Attack North Korea and risk immediate massive civilian casualties in South Korea.
3) Drag China into the negotiations with North Korea and convince them to "curb your dog".
4) Close our eyes, put our fingers in our ears and shout "La La La La La ...".
Typical neo-con revisionist history.
1. We broke our agreement without clearly justifing it and proving the case first. I don't doubt NK was breaking their side of the agreement too. And by the way, it doesn't help when the leader of the US goes all mystical and talks about "looking to so someone's soul" (Putin) or calling countries an "Axis of Evil". You can think it, but it makes you look like Rasputin when you say it.
2. Simplistic answers to complex problems (another hall mark of neo-con thinking) almost never work.
3. May work, but gives China a letgitimizing role, sponsored by the US.
4. This is what we're doing now, doesn't seem to by working.
The problem with NK is Kim Jong and his millitary supporters. He's not just nuts, he's dangerous nuts. Even China knows this. The US had better start thinking about how to contain the rabid dog that is North Korea, 'cause that dog bites.
It uses an MS Access database. Do we really need to go further in discussing security holes?
Side note: Where'd she get a machine to hack?
Yeah, I follow that arguement...all the way to the unemployment line.
First, all tech is crap. Let me repeat that. Our careers are based on crap. First, for any non-tech company, computers are a support accounting item. This means that computers are not in the business of making money for the company, they are an expense. (Get over it, I'm not done yet, so hold the flames til you see where I'm going.)
Let's look at the grocery store. It's full of tech in my area. PCs on the check out lines. PCs to weigh and print tickets for fruit and veggies, computers to check the temps in the coolers, computers to do the accounting, timeclocks that are really T104 form factor motherboards with full computers, hell, almost every isle has a computer. (I understand that some stores are replacing the security camera VCRs with computers now.)
Second, when these devices are first installed, there is some sort of cost/benifit study, both before and after they buy it. (If they are a cluefull company. Uncluefull don't do them, simi-clued do one before. Only fully clued do both.)
Third, after a few years, these productivity gaining devices stop being seen as something that saved them money, but just another expense. They forget they replaced things that cost even more, or the savings they got from installing them.
Now comes the down cycle (remember when all the wall street anaylists said we beat the down cycle markets? Cheap talk, and while I never believed it, many did.) and busineses have to cut expenses.
Gee, where do we cut? Almost always the answer is IT, because IT is seen as an expense. They almost always forget the productivity gains they get from the use of technology, they only see that line item cost IT people are on the balance sheet.
As for tech companies, very clued know that IT keeps the plates spinning and productivity high. They may cut a few in IT, but mostly by quietly asking "who are the bottom 10% we can do without best?" and those hit the bricks.
Simiclued tech companies just cut the last hired.
Unclued cut a lot of IT, regardless of why.
Likewise, consertives say "outsourcing is GOOD for jobs!". Look at thier reasoning, folks. If you believe it, then outsourcing is good all the way up the chain of command, yet you don't see CFOs and CEOs being outsourced. Oh, no! What you do see is that they get multi-million dollar bonuses and raises for cutting 2,000 jobs here, 5,000 there.
This is why I say IT workers are the modern black gang of the world. We stoke the boilers, fire the engines, make the computers run. But are we asked our opinions on all the jimcrack geegaws PHBs demand? Hell no! Most of the time we are accused of "slacking off", "being uncooperative", "geeks" with a roll of the eyes and shake of the head, and the only respect we get is when we save their ass and the empty mouthings of praise during those "all hands" meetings where the bosses give each other awards.
(OK, so I'm bitter right now. I'm miffed because I just came from one of those all hands meetings, and it was a complete waste of THREE FREAKIN' HOURS.)
But let the pager go off at two in the morning, and we are there. Someone has spyware on their system? We are there. Virus? Ditto, gritting our teeth all the while they regale us with how smart they are about technology or how absolutely they can't do a thing with a computer. Thinking how this person makes twice what I do, with an IQ measured in irrational numbers....
But what really gets me is the number of times when the very people that depend on IT to get their computers working bypass IT, and go spec out and order servers and software and then expect us to keep it running, or second guess us the rare times we are asked our opinion.
You know, I'd never dream of tryi
Then send the NOC or Abuse desk something like:
"Ok, tell your user to knock it off, please. Thank you."
The only problem with that is "Once you pay danegeld, you never get rid of the Dane."
So fly; be free little birds. Let those irritating stressful bullshit jobs go wherever they want. I don't feel like doing that shit for anyone else anyway. I'll just keep my website updated with my latest song.
I've noticed that a lot of IT workers are young. REAL young. Stupid immature young. The kind of young that costs you megabucks because they are too arrogant to listen when they're wrong, see everyone else as stupid, and equate older workers with lazy.
I guess I am too lazy. I'm looking to get out of IT after being in it since 1977. Tired of pulling other's chestnuts out of the fire, tired of being blamed when management can't make up what little mind they have as to what the project is about, tired of being called at 3AM because the operators can't be bothered to read how to use the systems, tired of watching those young hotshots ruin something they don't, and won't understand, tired of technical management that can't be bothered with technology.....
And in the end, getting pay cuts because they decided that we'd take 'em because "we could always ship their jobs overseas and save even more."
So long, computers. I'll keep a few around just to kick, but I'm outta here sooner or later.
Objection your honor! Assumes intelligence not in evidence!
In my experience, when a company starts doing this, they are on the skids toward bankrupcy. Better get your resume updated. Job cuts are already being planned, you just haven't heard about them yet.
Windows, for instance.
Sorry, but your idea simply isn't workable. First, get Joe Six pack, who can install a copy of Office now, do the same for a copy he has to compile. Oh, that's right, Windows doesn't come with a compiler. Well, add in the cost of a compiler to the OS. In fact, intergate it. Next, since a machine can't boot source code, somewhere you're going to need a kernel to boot. Next, you have to authinticate against something somewhere that the code you think you are booting is actually the code you are booting....
What you describe is a trusted computing base. See "Trusting trust" for more insight.
Adding complexity of the nature you propose does noting to protect against idiot users.
I can't see Microsoft allowing their source code out, even if encrypted in source form. Even very complex keys can be extracted, given time and enough power. It is very likely that MS source would be considered high enough value that it would be attempted. Also, with that many copies of the source around, all identical except for the encryption, key attacks are much easier. If MS compiles it, then the question is how many years are you willing to wait for your copy to be compiled?
If you run a 30,000 node network, how do you manage all 30,000 unique copies of the OS, productivity, and all the batch files used to mange all 30,000 systems?
And what would keep mal-ware writers from inserting their malware at the comple-the-source stage for each and every processor? Can you imagine how long it would take a P4 400Mhz to compile Windows XP? (If each and every CPU has it's own unique key, then each and every system will need to compile the OS. Also, what about SMP systems? Do the CPUs in that system each get their own key? That would mean the OS would have to be compiled for each cpu in that box!)
No, adding a layer of encrypition isn't the answer. It adds complexity and possible vectors without really addressing the problem.
Like spam, viruses are not a technical problem. It's a human problem.
Oh, and you can get open source A/V software. Clam A/V.
===
TI 990. Installing a new drive, the old got wiped. No problem, we had a backup. Tape broke. Now I always make two. (the old backup was scotch taped back together, used a special hacked up program to skip the bad block on the tape. After 40 continuous hours due to the poor performance of the hack, all data restored, only skipped some system files easily restored from distribution media.)
===
Installing a new process controler for an assembly line, the driver dropped it off the back of the truck when it got away from him on the four wheeled dolly. Completely trashed, as it dropped into the loading dock well, which was 3' deep in rainwater at the time...
===
Working in the oil patch, a new computer was sent to an off shore drilling rig. The crane operator thought it would be funny to drop the pansy a$$ed techie types into the ocean. Loss of 1 techie type (quit), a $150,000 computer system, and one crane operator (fired). I think they were more upset about the guy quitting than the ruined computer.
===
Put in new UPSs. Site was told to change the wiring for power to them, but they had not done so. No one checked. End result was 105 volts floating on the 5 volt buss. No major damage, since the 100 volts was floating, but it did act rather strange.... (The computer was a redundant hand built system in 5 7' relay racks.) It did cause a production hour outage, which made the customer really, really mad...
===
AIX has a volume manager for the disks. When you add a bit of space here, and a bit there, after a while you can get an improvement in performance if you do a sysback, blow away all the disks, and do a restore - booting from tape. During a weekend of doing that, a tape got all balled up in the drive and broke. After obtaining a replacement tape drive (all hail 24x7 4 hour response hardware support contracts!) used the second tape (always made because of the first story from 23 years ago) to complete the process.
Don't forget evil-doer. Mustn't forget that one.
but no one could figure out how to make even the DOJ believe that the OS really needs a database enigine AND a browser intergrated with it.
My sig says it all.
BACKUPS
DVD burners are cheap, blank media cheaper. Anything of any sensitive nature should be on an encrypted partition.
Actually, further into the black would be more like it.
It's a bad idea because Julian has nothing to gain, Richter has nothing to lose.
If he is using a link to confirm opt in, well, some MUAs follow the link. Perhaps that's where he went wrong.
On the other hand, "Rule 1: Spammers lie" is easier to believe.
Almost all workers in the US have the right to quit their job if they don't like the conditions. Unions were formed by people saying "Unless you start collective barganing with this here union we formed, we all quit." You decided that you'd rather deal with the union than to find all new workers. All contracts you signed say you will continue to work with the union rather than replace all your workers at one time. In other words, you signed a contact. Capitalitic enough for you?
The definition of capitalism would more likely say that if workers aren't satisfied with their wages and think they're being shafted by management, they can all go and start up their own competing business and offer better service and pay their workers higher wages.
It also has a few things to say about:
Safety conditions - brought to you by unions
Hour limits and overtime pay - brought to you by unions
Minimum wage - brought to you by unions
loyal workers & customers - brought to you by happy workers that happen to belong to a union.
Which isn't to say that some unions can't be nuts, but in this case I think CWA has a few points. Like share the wealth we made for you with the people that made it happen. Still, SBC doesn't have to deal with the union if it doesn't want to. Just replace all those workers all at once.
I will take my chances, thank you.
The second management thinks your job can go to India, it doesn't matter how smart you are. Your ass is in the unemployment line.
You may get paid the same as the idiot in the next cube (who thinks you are the idiot most of the time) but at least you get to keep your job. I simply do not understand the brainwashing that goes on about unions. Sure, there are bad ones, but quite a few are allright, and some are even very good. Not to say that a union can't be stupid, but let's face it: SBC's profits are sky high, and still they want to screw over the workers. The question is, would you rather have a job where you are paid the same as the idiot in the next cube, pulling down a living wage, or do you want to learn how to say "You want fries with that"?
Your choice. Choose wisely.
I beg to differ. Comscat block list at the above link. Use it. I do.
I ment to write:
forget that not everyone not in uniform is a scum.
Meaning that police trust other police, but not the public at large. Many times with reason, true, but that opens the door to being abused by the police.
I once had my door kicked in and a dozen or so police point their guns at me. Why? Because a drug dealer lived in my apartment six months before I moved in.
A murder is commited and one of these cameras record the license plate.
So, let's say you buy a used car. A couple of months go by, and now the police come in to arrest you for murder. When they break in your door, they don't like the way you didn't fall flat on your face fast enough and blow holes in you. The fact that you had nothing to do with the murder doesn't help you, you are already dead.
Strangely enough, police make this kind of error all the time. I got pulled over in MA 7 times because my car had Texas plates, and "every one knows" that every Texan carries guns in his car! (Actual quote from a cop.)
I think the police do a very hard job, but when your job is to deal with the scum of the earth, you might forget that not everyone in uniform is scum.
What makes you think reverse engineering is legal when it isn't a huge corporation doing it? Look at DVD Jon and MPAA. Look at any of a few dozen cases where a megacorp's technology was RE'ed, and you'll see hundreds of lawsuites. It may be that technically RE'ing isn't illegal, but the legal battles to enforce your rights make it effectively illegal in this age of lunitic IP laws. Information may want to be free, but the legal battles will give any average joe pause.