I think this issue puts us at the crossroads for the U.S. How this issue shakes out is going to determine the course of many very important issues in the future with regards to civil rights. Personally, I think that if Apple is successfully strong-armed by the federal government into doing what they want, it'll have a very chilling effect on the future of civil rights, privacy rights, and maybe even human rights in general in this country, and perhaps all over the world. Personally, I don't want to have to live in a world where there is literally no privacy whatsoever. We're already too close to that state for my liking, and I'm afraid that if this goes the wrong way, we'll be headed down that road with no way back.
Are you still being paid enough to shill for Windows 10, even in the face of something like this? Honestly, how much more of this do you think people are going to put up with before they say 'enough is enough'? Doesn't matter if you can turn them off or not -- they shouldn't be there in the first place! There's no excuse for this, none whatsoever.
Know what? You're all wrong, bitcoin is used in crime all the time, whether you want to admit it or not, and who gives a fuck, in a functional sense, whether governments are corrupt, criminal, or not? They always have been, they always will be, and nothing short of a mass die-off of the human race is going to change that -- and even then, you get more than, say, three people together in the same place, you get some sort of inequity, crime, or corruption anyway. Know what else? IDGAF that's what. I think bitcoin is a gigantic troll, have from the beginning, and like stupid toy drones and so-called 'autonomous cars', I wish they'd all just go away. Know what else? YOU ARE ALL COWS, that's what you are, BITCOIN-DEALING COWS. MOOO, go the bitcoin cows, MOOO, MOOO, I SAY, MOOO!!!11!!1! XDDDDDDDD
That's my point: There should be some central control. Bitcoin is a loose cannon and needs to be controlled, has been from the start. Face it: it's a favorite tool for criminals and terrorist types, whether you want to believe that or not. Controlling it was always going to happen sooner or later and you all know that. Just accept that it's going to happen and move on.
..and seeing as how I managed to pull a Sexconker move (failed to check the AC box), I guess I have to put up with the shit attitudes from cunts anyway. Such is life.. or war, as the case may be. FML.
Bitcoin should not be anonymous. All bitcoin exchanges should be like banks, or part of existing banks, and tracked like every other financial transaction, subject to examination by lan enforcement when a proper warrant is issued. Here in the U.S. they're talking about getting rid of $100 bills and perhaps cash completely, how about you regulate bitcoin first, considering how easy it is to launder money using it? Stop punishing the common law-abiding citizen and go after the real problems first.
Posted as AC because FUCK YOU, I'm tired of your cunts and your shit attitudes.
Also, hasn't it occurred to anyone that this will actually make a 'cyber'-based attack easier?
Here's a better idea: How about you train banking personnel to be proficient at inspecting automatic teller machines for card skimmers and other physical exploits, and have them do it every time they service or reload the machine? In other words: How about better security? Also, how about multi-factor authentication at ATM machines?
Come on, people; every other day I read about some new exploit or security vulnerability on any type of smartphone you care to name, and now they want us to entrust access to the cash in our bank accounts to them? Really? Seriously?
I am but a simple sysadmin and am too much of a burnout
It's a shame that you're so 'burned out' that you've actually become so complacent that you're willing to accept Microsofts' imperialism without question anymore, but could you please rally yourself enough to at least stand up for the rights of the average user, who doesn't need their OS literally spying on them, countermanding their conscious choices in how their computer operates, and literally shoves unwanted updates down their throats?
Someone with mod points, please mod this guy up, he's not a troll nor is he flamebait.
Hasn't it occurred to any of you, that there are no other commercial operating systems other than Windows anymore? Honestly, does that seem right to you? Other than whatever flavor of Linux, or OSX (which technically you're not supposed to have without Apple hardware), what is there?
Microsoft has a monopoly; they even act like they have a monopoly. It's wrong. This needs to change. Come on, people, it's right in front of your faces!
You need to know that it's corporate-grade spyware and malware, and that you shouldn't use it at all. Beyond that, look to the documentation for DBAN, which is the way I recommend to correct the mistake of installing it in the first place, to ensure not a single byte of it remains. From there please Google 'linux distributions' and find one that suits your needs.
Recently I went to get a haircut. It took about 10 minutes longer than it had to, because they insisted I give them my full legal name, phone number, and address. I insisted that I wasn't going on a date with them, I just wanted my hair cut, and that they didn't need any of that information to cut my hair. They wouldn't budge. Finally I convinced them to use a fake name and phone number, and skip the mailing address part. Before that there was another haircut chain that got all up in my face over the same thing. I'm paying with cash in all these instances, too. Next time I'll have to find somewhere else again, that doesn't insist on putting me in a database just for a damned haircut. You can't tell me that they aren't keeping personalized data on people when they want this level of information. Safeway will have the cashier call you by name as a matter of course; that's one of the things that creeped me out in the first place. This is the sort of thing I'm fighting against, here: they are keeping track of people, personally, and I think it's wrong. Things like 'club cards' just make it easier for them to do that, legally-speaking.
Sure, but: If I go into Safeway (which I avoid anyway, I don't like Safeway to start with) I pay with cash, not plastic, so they can't track anything.:-)
Nah, if you pay with plastic, you get tracked. Anywhere, anytime. Period.
No, no, and no. That's not anywhere near as true as you think it is. That's why there are these 'rewards' cards that stores like Safeway use. The 'discount' you get is negligible; the contract that comes with it, which you implicitly agree to when you accept the discount card, is what allows them to track all your purchases. That's why it's whack to use any of those 'discount club' cards, you're allowing them access to personal data that they otherwise aren't legally allowed to have. TANSTAAFL.
We do need to 'get along' with each other, but not at the expense of any one group or even one individual for that matter, and no, 'diversity' won't fix a damn thing, but 'mutual understanding' will. You can't just take cats and dogs and put them in the same room and expect it all to get sorted out -- you'll end up with a bunch of dead cats and dogs. But if you can get the cats and the dogs to talk to each other and come to a mutual understanding? Then you've got something.
Hard hat manufacturers (for all the drones that will be falling out of the sky; got to protect people's heads), and cellphone jammers (to disable all those pesky drones that the sky will be lousy with in the near future). Also, here's a new term you'll be hearing in the near future: 'Sky pollution', referring to the sky being lousy with drones all the time. Might as well also predict PETA getting up in arms about birds being injured or killed by drones (when they naturally attack them, since it's really their airspace they'll be invading).
I'm also predicting this is going to be just another stupid fad, there'll be too many problems with the skies being full of these gods-be-damned things, and like all fads, it'll pass. It'll eventually even become 'uncool' to even have one that's a toy. The sooner it's over, the better, I say. Hasn't even really got started yet and it's already a freakin' nuisance.
Encryption, by it's very nature, is a binary issue; it either 'works' or it 'doesn't work', there is nothing in between. If you design in a work-around for not having the keys, then the encryption 'doesn't work' because it can be defeated. If you make the front door and it's framework out of quarter-inch thick hardened steel armor plate and secure it with an Abloy lock, but then have a spare key under the Welcome mat, you've failed to properly secure your house. If you have a secret and you share it with someone else, it's not a secret anymore. There is no such thing as 'a little pregnant', you either 'are' or you 'are not'. So it goes with encryption: Either 'encryption==TRUE' or 'encryption==FALSE', there is no state between the two. Even if they banned ALL encryption, it won't accomplish what they want to accomplish; criminals and terrorists will still use encryption of some sort or other, it's commonly available now -- and they won't have any 'backdoor' into that, either! The entire subject is moot. What law enforcement and the government wants is pointless and stupid and they need to just GIVE UP and forget about it. If they can't suss out what criminals and terrorists are doing using conventional investigative methods then they're incompetent and need to be replaced with people who can.
I'm sure part of the 'privacy' agreement that will go along with this, is the 'sharing' of the exemplar photo and/or fingerprints with their 'partner' companies, which no doubt will also include the government. For safety purposes, of course. Really, the government only wants to know where you are at all times and everything you're purchasing for your own safety, really they do!
Slashdot Mirror
I think this issue puts us at the crossroads for the U.S. How this issue shakes out is going to determine the course of many very important issues in the future with regards to civil rights. Personally, I think that if Apple is successfully strong-armed by the federal government into doing what they want, it'll have a very chilling effect on the future of civil rights, privacy rights, and maybe even human rights in general in this country, and perhaps all over the world. Personally, I don't want to have to live in a world where there is literally no privacy whatsoever. We're already too close to that state for my liking, and I'm afraid that if this goes the wrong way, we'll be headed down that road with no way back.
Are you still being paid enough to shill for Windows 10, even in the face of something like this? Honestly, how much more of this do you think people are going to put up with before they say 'enough is enough'? Doesn't matter if you can turn them off or not -- they shouldn't be there in the first place! There's no excuse for this, none whatsoever.
Actually I thought I heard it say "Come with me if you want to live"
I have no idea who kheldan really is
..which is exactly the way it's supposed to be, friend. ;-)
Know what? You're all wrong, bitcoin is used in crime all the time, whether you want to admit it or not, and who gives a fuck, in a functional sense, whether governments are corrupt, criminal, or not? They always have been, they always will be, and nothing short of a mass die-off of the human race is going to change that -- and even then, you get more than, say, three people together in the same place, you get some sort of inequity, crime, or corruption anyway. Know what else? IDGAF that's what. I think bitcoin is a gigantic troll, have from the beginning, and like stupid toy drones and so-called 'autonomous cars', I wish they'd all just go away. Know what else? YOU ARE ALL COWS, that's what you are, BITCOIN-DEALING COWS. MOOO, go the bitcoin cows, MOOO, MOOO, I SAY, MOOO!!!11!!1! XDDDDDDDD
That's my point: There should be some central control. Bitcoin is a loose cannon and needs to be controlled, has been from the start. Face it: it's a favorite tool for criminals and terrorist types, whether you want to believe that or not. Controlling it was always going to happen sooner or later and you all know that. Just accept that it's going to happen and move on.
I'm more or less just having a shitty day, know what I mean? Probably should have stayed in bed and called in sick.
:-)
Just for the record: Only some of you out there are cunts. The rest of you are a-ok in my book.
..and seeing as how I managed to pull a Sexconker move (failed to check the AC box), I guess I have to put up with the shit attitudes from cunts anyway. Such is life.. or war, as the case may be. FML.
Bitcoin should not be anonymous. All bitcoin exchanges should be like banks, or part of existing banks, and tracked like every other financial transaction, subject to examination by lan enforcement when a proper warrant is issued. Here in the U.S. they're talking about getting rid of $100 bills and perhaps cash completely, how about you regulate bitcoin first, considering how easy it is to launder money using it? Stop punishing the common law-abiding citizen and go after the real problems first.
Posted as AC because FUCK YOU, I'm tired of your cunts and your shit attitudes.
Get rid of the card
What if I don't have and don't want a smartphone?
Also, hasn't it occurred to anyone that this will actually make a 'cyber'-based attack easier?
Here's a better idea: How about you train banking personnel to be proficient at inspecting automatic teller machines for card skimmers and other physical exploits, and have them do it every time they service or reload the machine? In other words: How about better security? Also, how about multi-factor authentication at ATM machines?
Come on, people; every other day I read about some new exploit or security vulnerability on any type of smartphone you care to name, and now they want us to entrust access to the cash in our bank accounts to them? Really? Seriously?
Your lack of reading comprehension astounds me almost as much as your incredible ignorance.
I am but a simple sysadmin and am too much of a burnout
It's a shame that you're so 'burned out' that you've actually become so complacent that you're willing to accept Microsofts' imperialism without question anymore, but could you please rally yourself enough to at least stand up for the rights of the average user, who doesn't need their OS literally spying on them, countermanding their conscious choices in how their computer operates, and literally shoves unwanted updates down their throats?
One sentence: Don't use it.
Someone with mod points, please mod this guy up, he's not a troll nor is he flamebait.
Hasn't it occurred to any of you, that there are no other commercial operating systems other than Windows anymore? Honestly, does that seem right to you? Other than whatever flavor of Linux, or OSX (which technically you're not supposed to have without Apple hardware), what is there?
Microsoft has a monopoly; they even act like they have a monopoly. It's wrong. This needs to change. Come on, people, it's right in front of your faces!
You need to know that it's corporate-grade spyware and malware, and that you shouldn't use it at all. Beyond that, look to the documentation for DBAN, which is the way I recommend to correct the mistake of installing it in the first place, to ensure not a single byte of it remains. From there please Google 'linux distributions' and find one that suits your needs.
Recently I went to get a haircut. It took about 10 minutes longer than it had to, because they insisted I give them my full legal name, phone number, and address. I insisted that I wasn't going on a date with them, I just wanted my hair cut, and that they didn't need any of that information to cut my hair. They wouldn't budge. Finally I convinced them to use a fake name and phone number, and skip the mailing address part. Before that there was another haircut chain that got all up in my face over the same thing. I'm paying with cash in all these instances, too. Next time I'll have to find somewhere else again, that doesn't insist on putting me in a database just for a damned haircut. You can't tell me that they aren't keeping personalized data on people when they want this level of information. Safeway will have the cashier call you by name as a matter of course; that's one of the things that creeped me out in the first place. This is the sort of thing I'm fighting against, here: they are keeping track of people, personally, and I think it's wrong. Things like 'club cards' just make it easier for them to do that, legally-speaking.
Sure, but: If I go into Safeway (which I avoid anyway, I don't like Safeway to start with) I pay with cash, not plastic, so they can't track anything. :-)
Nah, if you pay with plastic, you get tracked. Anywhere, anytime. Period.
No, no, and no. That's not anywhere near as true as you think it is. That's why there are these 'rewards' cards that stores like Safeway use. The 'discount' you get is negligible; the contract that comes with it, which you implicitly agree to when you accept the discount card, is what allows them to track all your purchases. That's why it's whack to use any of those 'discount club' cards, you're allowing them access to personal data that they otherwise aren't legally allowed to have. TANSTAAFL.
Stop being obtuse. What's your point?
Not bullshit, unless you want to dazzle us with your cracking an AES256-encrypted file in anything less than about a million years.
We do need to 'get along' with each other, but not at the expense of any one group or even one individual for that matter, and no, 'diversity' won't fix a damn thing, but 'mutual understanding' will. You can't just take cats and dogs and put them in the same room and expect it all to get sorted out -- you'll end up with a bunch of dead cats and dogs. But if you can get the cats and the dogs to talk to each other and come to a mutual understanding? Then you've got something.
More Than 500 Cherrypicked Americans Completely Clueless About How Encryption Works, Finds Pew Survey
Hard hat manufacturers (for all the drones that will be falling out of the sky; got to protect people's heads), and cellphone jammers (to disable all those pesky drones that the sky will be lousy with in the near future). Also, here's a new term you'll be hearing in the near future: 'Sky pollution', referring to the sky being lousy with drones all the time. Might as well also predict PETA getting up in arms about birds being injured or killed by drones (when they naturally attack them, since it's really their airspace they'll be invading).
I'm also predicting this is going to be just another stupid fad, there'll be too many problems with the skies being full of these gods-be-damned things, and like all fads, it'll pass. It'll eventually even become 'uncool' to even have one that's a toy. The sooner it's over, the better, I say. Hasn't even really got started yet and it's already a freakin' nuisance.
Encryption, by it's very nature, is a binary issue; it either 'works' or it 'doesn't work', there is nothing in between. If you design in a work-around for not having the keys, then the encryption 'doesn't work' because it can be defeated. If you make the front door and it's framework out of quarter-inch thick hardened steel armor plate and secure it with an Abloy lock, but then have a spare key under the Welcome mat, you've failed to properly secure your house. If you have a secret and you share it with someone else, it's not a secret anymore. There is no such thing as 'a little pregnant', you either 'are' or you 'are not'. So it goes with encryption: Either 'encryption==TRUE' or 'encryption==FALSE', there is no state between the two. Even if they banned ALL encryption, it won't accomplish what they want to accomplish; criminals and terrorists will still use encryption of some sort or other, it's commonly available now -- and they won't have any 'backdoor' into that, either! The entire subject is moot. What law enforcement and the government wants is pointless and stupid and they need to just GIVE UP and forget about it. If they can't suss out what criminals and terrorists are doing using conventional investigative methods then they're incompetent and need to be replaced with people who can.
I'm sure part of the 'privacy' agreement that will go along with this, is the 'sharing' of the exemplar photo and/or fingerprints with their 'partner' companies, which no doubt will also include the government. For safety purposes, of course. Really, the government only wants to know where you are at all times and everything you're purchasing for your own safety, really they do!
Bollocks.
Leave the cardreader in it for those of us who prefer to not waste time with data-leaking, security-hole-ridden so-called 'smartphones'.