When asked about the reasons for the denial, a Swedish official responsible replied, '...secrecy prevails in reference to the grounds for such a decision,' essentially meaning the reasons are confidential.
If only there was a website where we could learn about such things.
Of course it is, everything smaller than the US is a "small country". You should know that, Mr. Finn.
Germany is half the size of Texas. Granted though, everything is bigger in Texas.
I live in Arizona, Germany is only about 20% larger than my state. Germany comes in between New Mexico and Montana, in terms of size. There are 4 US states larger than Germany. Alaska is nearly 5 times as large.
Germany is ranked 62 out of 231 listed countries. Finland is ranked 64. Libya, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Somalia, Ukraine, Yemen, Morocco, Iraq, and Japan are all larger than Germany.
It has 80 million people for christ sake. How detached from reality you have to be to claim that Germany is small?
I don't think it's all that detached. Germany might be ranked 14th in population at 80 million, but there's not a huge land area there. Germany is at 55th on population density, the US is at 178th for density and 3rd for total population.
Why then is T-Mobile having no problems in Germany, where they have exclusivity with the iPhone, but yet, apparently they're having problems here, with just a small number of iPhones?
Because it's a small country, the infrastructure isn't as expensive to maintain, and they installed modern tech instead of trying to work with old busted tech. Also, as anyone who plays Civ knows, they're very industrious.
What's that got to do with the carrier as long as we stick within the limits of our data allowance?
Exactly. If they can't deliver a certain level of service, then don't advertise it. I'm not on T-Mobile, but my data plan is clearly marked "unlimited". To me that means, oddly enough, that there aren't any limits on my data usage. If there was a limit, it wouldn't be unlimited. Likewise, if someone has a 1GB plan, then they should really be allowed to transmit that 1GB however they please. If that's not the case, then it needs to be clearly spelled out in the agreement.
Yeah it would be great to do it, but I'm not able to get everything out of Dragonfly that I can with Firebug. I'm really missing a request/response inspector that shows all of the details, headers, bodies, etc. Firebug is really the only thing that keeps me using Firefox for anything.
I have been an opera user / fan for a while, and wish more people use it. But blaming the low adoption on extensions is insane.
I don't know, as an Opera user also I frequently see comments about no support for NoScript and AdBlock as reasons why people don't even want to try Opera. Granted, those same people will probably find another reason once that one doesn't exist, but it is frequently cited as a reason.
I find that Opera is the least of a developer's worries. If your application works in recent versions of IE, Firefox, and Chrome, it's probably going to work in Opera also. I virtually never find Javascript problems, but every now and then there's a CSS positioning or size inconsistency.
I am not a lawyer and the previous should not be construed as legal advice.
Why do people feel the need to say that? Do you feel like you would be liable in any way for someone else's action after they read your post? Do you think that someone would actually see a post on Slashdot and assume that what they're reading is legal advice from an attorney?
I don't even know what this "study" is trying to conclude.
Our data shows that iPhone 4 owners are reporting accidents 68% more frequently than iPhone 3gs owners. 4.7% of iPhone 4 owners reported an accident to SquareTrade in the first 4 months of ownership, almost 70% higher than iPhone 3gs owners, 2.8% of whom had an accident over the same time period.
OK, so what does that data mean? It looks like all the data shows is that, for whatever reason, there are a lot of "accidents" involving iPhone 4s. So, what does that mean? Does that mean people drop them more often? Would that be considered a "design flaw"? Are people dropping them just as often, but this model breaks more easily?
I don't see any conclusions that can be drawn about this device just given the percentage of people who manage to screw it up. Maybe the conclusion to draw is that iPhone 4 owners are more careless or stupid than owners of previous models, makes as much sense as any other conclusion.
So are you saying that this technology should not be allowed because it has a detrimental use? I've heard this argument before... normally we're arguing on the other side though. Normally we say that as long as the technology has a legitimate use then the technology should be allowed. Where exactly does that line get drawn?
Again, if the government is engaged in illegal surveillance, the solution to that is to stop the government from doing that, not limit civil technology.
This is voice detection, collection in a public place, no other devices needed.
Used for what? For figuring out what players, coaches, or Jack Nicholson are saying during a game (before you respond: if Jack Nicholson doesn't want to be recorded saying things at a Laker's game, then he shouldn't stand up and shout at the people on the court).
If the government wants to use this, they aren't going to co-opt the one in the Lakers arena. They're going to build their own and put it somewhere where you don't know, and they've had the brainpower and resources to do that for, conservatively, the last 20 years. This doesn't give the government any tools it doesn't already have.
Your "The right of the people to be secure in their "ball park", houses, papers, and effects" is slipping.
Really? Is there an expectation of privacy when you're sitting in the stands watching a game?
It's scary because it's now easy to accidentally incriminate yourself so badly it could even ruin your life.
How is that any different than the massive number of cameras, both on-person and surveillance, that film people every day? Or, for that matter, posting stupid things on Facebook or elsewhere?
Saying "well don't make such comments then" is a bit simplistic.
It's the right answer though, isn't it? Back to video, if you don't want to be filmed doing something stupid in public then the answer is to not do something stupid in public, because someone might decide to get their camera out and record you doing it. Back to Facebook, if you don't want the entire internet to know you said something stupid on Facebook, then don't say something stupid on Facebook.
Yes, to point out that a thing's technical impressiveness need not preclude its creation of terror.
That's fine, but you're comparing a device whose purpose is to capture audio with a device whose purpose is to cause as much destruction as possible.
Recording every voice in the crowd has significant implications for society. Some people will find those implications terrifying--especially people who distrust society because they have been intellectually threatening to often-foolish authority figures for much of their lives. Such people happen to hang out on slashdot.
This is just a microphone array. If a government is going to conduct surveillance on its people without a warrant, it doesn't really matter what device they use to do that. That capability already exists. If a government is doing that, the answer is to get the government to stop doing that, not limit your technical progress.
Do you think the people who build this are the first to think of or build it? Are these people giving the nefarious government a tool that they don't already have? Local governments in the US have been using audio triangulation to pinpoint the source of gunfire in a city for a long time, this is very similar. Instead of identifying the unknown location, you're targeting the known location.
Sorry, did you just compare an array of microphones in a basketball arena to the combined nuclear stockpiles of the world's two most powerful countries, capable of destroying the world?
C'mon. The main reason this works so well in a basketball stadium is because everyone is sitting in their seats. When people are moving around it's going to take significantly more work to capture a single conversation, especially if you don't know their direction and speed. It's also only going to pick anything up past a certain volume level, and it's also limited by line of sight (or sound). If the person walks behind something, or turns their head away from the mic array, they lose the audio.
plus the current trends in behavior by our Fearless(fearful) Leaders
Seems to me that the population is way more fearful than the leadership. There's no reason to continue that.
How come you get terrified by an array of microphones with an impressive spatial detection capability? The thing is technically impressive, whether or not it "terrifies" a certain person is about perspective, and that person's tendency towards becoming terrified by mundane objects.
Slashdot Mirror
Shouting louder isn't a legitimate way to win an argument.
The current state of US politics disagrees with you.
i spent 40 years designing software and I find the concepts of Notes (and now Azure) second to none. I guess you don't have a mind for it.
Lotus Notes: the new Linux.
*looks at UID*
Wait Mr. 40-year developer.. are you Ray Ozzie? I'm assuming of course that I'm not talking to the Boliver Shagnasty.
Microsoft never did understand Lotus Notes.
What do you mean, are you saying they did or did not understand it?
It was like a alien language.
What do you mean, it was like a language, but not one from this planet, as if no one was able to communicate in it?
They just didn't get it.
Oh, OK. You need to say it three times for me to figure it out. Thanks.
When asked about the reasons for the denial, a Swedish official responsible replied, '...secrecy prevails in reference to the grounds for such a decision,' essentially meaning the reasons are confidential.
If only there was a website where we could learn about such things.
Germany is a small country?
Of course it is, everything smaller than the US is a "small country". You should know that, Mr. Finn.
Germany is half the size of Texas. Granted though, everything is bigger in Texas.
I live in Arizona, Germany is only about 20% larger than my state. Germany comes in between New Mexico and Montana, in terms of size. There are 4 US states larger than Germany. Alaska is nearly 5 times as large.
Germany is ranked 62 out of 231 listed countries. Finland is ranked 64. Libya, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Somalia, Ukraine, Yemen, Morocco, Iraq, and Japan are all larger than Germany.
It has 80 million people for christ sake. How detached from reality you have to be to claim that Germany is small?
I don't think it's all that detached. Germany might be ranked 14th in population at 80 million, but there's not a huge land area there. Germany is at 55th on population density, the US is at 178th for density and 3rd for total population.
Why then is T-Mobile having no problems in Germany, where they have exclusivity with the iPhone, but yet, apparently they're having problems here, with just a small number of iPhones?
Because it's a small country, the infrastructure isn't as expensive to maintain, and they installed modern tech instead of trying to work with old busted tech. Also, as anyone who plays Civ knows, they're very industrious.
What's that got to do with the carrier as long as we stick within the limits of our data allowance?
Exactly. If they can't deliver a certain level of service, then don't advertise it. I'm not on T-Mobile, but my data plan is clearly marked "unlimited". To me that means, oddly enough, that there aren't any limits on my data usage. If there was a limit, it wouldn't be unlimited. Likewise, if someone has a 1GB plan, then they should really be allowed to transmit that 1GB however they please. If that's not the case, then it needs to be clearly spelled out in the agreement.
Yeah it would be great to do it, but I'm not able to get everything out of Dragonfly that I can with Firebug. I'm really missing a request/response inspector that shows all of the details, headers, bodies, etc. Firebug is really the only thing that keeps me using Firefox for anything.
Safari had drop shadows and rounded corners before both Firefox and Safari
Damn, how did they manage that? Is that some quantum version of Safari?
I have been an opera user / fan for a while, and wish more people use it. But blaming the low adoption on extensions is insane.
I don't know, as an Opera user also I frequently see comments about no support for NoScript and AdBlock as reasons why people don't even want to try Opera. Granted, those same people will probably find another reason once that one doesn't exist, but it is frequently cited as a reason.
.. and now I read the title of your post. Foiled again!
I find that Opera is the least of a developer's worries. If your application works in recent versions of IE, Firefox, and Chrome, it's probably going to work in Opera also. I virtually never find Javascript problems, but every now and then there's a CSS positioning or size inconsistency.
I am not a lawyer and the previous should not be construed as legal advice.
Why do people feel the need to say that? Do you feel like you would be liable in any way for someone else's action after they read your post? Do you think that someone would actually see a post on Slashdot and assume that what they're reading is legal advice from an attorney?
I don't even know what this "study" is trying to conclude.
Our data shows that iPhone 4 owners are reporting accidents 68% more frequently than iPhone 3gs owners. 4.7% of iPhone 4 owners reported an accident to SquareTrade in the first 4 months of ownership, almost 70% higher than iPhone 3gs owners, 2.8% of whom had an accident over the same time period.
OK, so what does that data mean? It looks like all the data shows is that, for whatever reason, there are a lot of "accidents" involving iPhone 4s. So, what does that mean? Does that mean people drop them more often? Would that be considered a "design flaw"? Are people dropping them just as often, but this model breaks more easily?
I don't see any conclusions that can be drawn about this device just given the percentage of people who manage to screw it up. Maybe the conclusion to draw is that iPhone 4 owners are more careless or stupid than owners of previous models, makes as much sense as any other conclusion.
Maybe, not that I've seen. I've heard that some roads in Montana in areas with an exceptionally low population density have no speed limit.
So are you saying that this technology should not be allowed because it has a detrimental use? I've heard this argument before... normally we're arguing on the other side though. Normally we say that as long as the technology has a legitimate use then the technology should be allowed. Where exactly does that line get drawn?
Again, if the government is engaged in illegal surveillance, the solution to that is to stop the government from doing that, not limit civil technology.
This is voice detection, collection in a public place, no other devices needed.
Used for what? For figuring out what players, coaches, or Jack Nicholson are saying during a game (before you respond: if Jack Nicholson doesn't want to be recorded saying things at a Laker's game, then he shouldn't stand up and shout at the people on the court).
If the government wants to use this, they aren't going to co-opt the one in the Lakers arena. They're going to build their own and put it somewhere where you don't know, and they've had the brainpower and resources to do that for, conservatively, the last 20 years. This doesn't give the government any tools it doesn't already have.
Your "The right of the people to be secure in their "ball park", houses, papers, and effects" is slipping.
Really? Is there an expectation of privacy when you're sitting in the stands watching a game?
It's scary because it's now easy to accidentally incriminate yourself so badly it could even ruin your life.
How is that any different than the massive number of cameras, both on-person and surveillance, that film people every day? Or, for that matter, posting stupid things on Facebook or elsewhere?
Saying "well don't make such comments then" is a bit simplistic.
It's the right answer though, isn't it? Back to video, if you don't want to be filmed doing something stupid in public then the answer is to not do something stupid in public, because someone might decide to get their camera out and record you doing it. Back to Facebook, if you don't want the entire internet to know you said something stupid on Facebook, then don't say something stupid on Facebook.
Yes, to point out that a thing's technical impressiveness need not preclude its creation of terror.
That's fine, but you're comparing a device whose purpose is to capture audio with a device whose purpose is to cause as much destruction as possible.
Recording every voice in the crowd has significant implications for society. Some people will find those implications terrifying--especially people who distrust society because they have been intellectually threatening to often-foolish authority figures for much of their lives. Such people happen to hang out on slashdot.
This is just a microphone array. If a government is going to conduct surveillance on its people without a warrant, it doesn't really matter what device they use to do that. That capability already exists. If a government is doing that, the answer is to get the government to stop doing that, not limit your technical progress.
Do you think the people who build this are the first to think of or build it? Are these people giving the nefarious government a tool that they don't already have? Local governments in the US have been using audio triangulation to pinpoint the source of gunfire in a city for a long time, this is very similar. Instead of identifying the unknown location, you're targeting the known location.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunshot_Location_Detection_System
That was inspired by seismology, which has been going on for even longer.
Alternatively, you should never be driving the car at more than 70 mph as it is illegal to do so.
Oh yeah? Here in Arizona the interstates are 75mph. In parts of Texas it's 80mph.
Yes, that's part of the glory of that quote.
Sorry, did you just compare an array of microphones in a basketball arena to the combined nuclear stockpiles of the world's two most powerful countries, capable of destroying the world?
able to monitor all conversations in the world.
C'mon. The main reason this works so well in a basketball stadium is because everyone is sitting in their seats. When people are moving around it's going to take significantly more work to capture a single conversation, especially if you don't know their direction and speed. It's also only going to pick anything up past a certain volume level, and it's also limited by line of sight (or sound). If the person walks behind something, or turns their head away from the mic array, they lose the audio.
plus the current trends in behavior by our Fearless(fearful) Leaders
Seems to me that the population is way more fearful than the leadership. There's no reason to continue that.
How come you get terrified by an array of microphones with an impressive spatial detection capability? The thing is technically impressive, whether or not it "terrifies" a certain person is about perspective, and that person's tendency towards becoming terrified by mundane objects.
What if it's the same 10,000 people they notify every day? Didn't think about that, did ya, smart guy?