What's inherently deflationary about it ? Are you arguing new bitcoins aren't generated fast enough ?
It grows on a curve that ensures that eventually (and that time is approaching soon) it will become prohibitively expensive to generate new coins. Which means that the currency will stop growing. While this will basically eliminate inflation, it will have the opposite effect, where the level of currency circulating will go down as people horde it. Eventually it will become flat, with very little if any buying or selling. Once this happens people will stop accepting bitcoins and the whole currency will become useless.
While this is the goal of 99% of the population, 99% of the human population are not banks, and even if they were to start a bank (which is not prohibitively difficult to do, AFAIK) they have to convince people to give them money. Also, even though the bank has lent out $1000, they aren't going to get back $1000 all at once. It gets paid back in installments, which some (very small portion) goes towards the interest earned on savings, CDs, ect. The rest usually goes out to make MORE loans. So really, yes there is $1000 more out there, but the bank only gets that back when its paid off, or the person who borrowed the money just deposits it. And generally people don't take loans out just to deposit them right away. They spend that money on their house, or their car, or a cruise.
Most bitcoin-payable products are ordered from websites, but if you've managed to invent a way to punch someone over the internet I am very interested in it.
Remember that an official war was never actually declared. So the G.I.'s CAN'T be sent into battle. To the best of my knowledge, the ground forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq are mostly Marines.
And that's why we tend to put our bank notes in safe places. Places where it can't be destroyed. Using PGP with an erasable key is like putting your money in a safe deposit box that incinerates the contents when the incorrect code is entered three times.
If the key is erased, doesn't that mean that someone could just do the three tries and make the $500,000 in bitcoins become unusable, rather than stealing it? Yes, there's less of a motive, but someone who's upset at the bitcoin owner (for example, because they've put encryption on their wallet) and who has access to the machine could do this.
How is the OS supposed to decide this? Some people might want their webcam on constantly, or the wifi, for example. I agree that if the peripheral is not in use, it should be turned off. Monitors have that ability, though note that you can disable this. the operating system often doesn't even know how to handle a random component you shove into the machine-that's what drivers are there for, after all. How's it supposed to know what needs to be always on (such as wifi) and what can be turned off?
Seriously, I read "resigned from Google" and had to take a few minutes to get my mind around that concept. Especially if he was a coder. They treat coders like demi-gods.
This, despite being rather cliche, is a good motto. Our system of government was designed around people not trusting those in power and constantly questioning them and demanding they prove themselves.
However bear in mind schools (highschool, middle school) are not designed to teach us to think like that. They originally were designed to turn out workers for factories, and still used for very similar purposes.
That would cost even more money. A prisoner costs 50,000 per year on average.
That is not the point at ALL. People aren't sent to prison because the state can afford to send them there. They are sent to prison because they did something wrong.
I haven't read TFA (I find the comments much more interesting) so forgive me for asking:
What did the teachers have to do with this? Sounds to me like it was upper administration (who aren't teachers and shouldn't be part of the Teacher's Union) and IT (who also aren't part of the Teacher's Union).
Why? Why is it MY job to pay attention to this? I don't have kids in public school. I don't have time or the inclination to do this.
But it is your money, right? That is what you said above, another check you have to write. THAT'S why you should pay attention, because if you don't, it's likely you'll end up having to write yet another check;)
The only difference I can see is that the school is a public institution. Not saying that makes it any better (makes it a lot worse, in fact), but I do think that makes a difference.
Bear in mind that the school did give these laptops to the students. I'm sure if they had a person with the right training on staff they could have modified the circuit board. Or honestly you wouldn't even need training (aside from being able to open the case) in order to cut the power wire going to the LED.
Maybe no one ever actually looked at the pictures until the lawsuits happened. I haven't been able to discover, why on earth were they taking pictures in the first place?
Who cares about union contract if they broke the law? They need to be criminally prosecuted.
The school cares. If they break union contract and the union takes it seriously enough (I doubt they would, considering it IS a criminal matter, but you never know), then the school might never hire another teacher again. Unions can be very powerful.
The webcam and wifi switches mentioned are usually part of the laptop case, or a hotkey function, and are put there by the manufacture. They use a special driver customized for the specific model and are not the fault of the OS designers.
Slashdot Mirror
4. Throw billions of dollars in bounties and in grants to develop the technology and start the arms race.
I see this as the most likely option. it's easier to just put out a bounty and let someone else do the work than to train their own "cyber soldiers"
Groups like Lulz and Anonymous will achieve to show that our government doesn't represent, protect and serve the best interests of it citizens.
The problem is that the only people who will care already realize this.
What's inherently deflationary about it ? Are you arguing new bitcoins aren't generated fast enough ?
It grows on a curve that ensures that eventually (and that time is approaching soon) it will become prohibitively expensive to generate new coins. Which means that the currency will stop growing. While this will basically eliminate inflation, it will have the opposite effect, where the level of currency circulating will go down as people horde it. Eventually it will become flat, with very little if any buying or selling. Once this happens people will stop accepting bitcoins and the whole currency will become useless.
While this is the goal of 99% of the population, 99% of the human population are not banks, and even if they were to start a bank (which is not prohibitively difficult to do, AFAIK) they have to convince people to give them money. Also, even though the bank has lent out $1000, they aren't going to get back $1000 all at once. It gets paid back in installments, which some (very small portion) goes towards the interest earned on savings, CDs, ect. The rest usually goes out to make MORE loans. So really, yes there is $1000 more out there, but the bank only gets that back when its paid off, or the person who borrowed the money just deposits it. And generally people don't take loans out just to deposit them right away. They spend that money on their house, or their car, or a cruise.
Most bitcoin-payable products are ordered from websites, but if you've managed to invent a way to punch someone over the internet I am very interested in it.
Remember that an official war was never actually declared. So the G.I.'s CAN'T be sent into battle. To the best of my knowledge, the ground forces in both Afghanistan and Iraq are mostly Marines.
And that's why we tend to put our bank notes in safe places. Places where it can't be destroyed. Using PGP with an erasable key is like putting your money in a safe deposit box that incinerates the contents when the incorrect code is entered three times.
If the key is erased, doesn't that mean that someone could just do the three tries and make the $500,000 in bitcoins become unusable, rather than stealing it? Yes, there's less of a motive, but someone who's upset at the bitcoin owner (for example, because they've put encryption on their wallet) and who has access to the machine could do this.
Could you post a link to the original forum thread? It doesn't seem to be linked in TFA.
How is the OS supposed to decide this? Some people might want their webcam on constantly, or the wifi, for example. I agree that if the peripheral is not in use, it should be turned off. Monitors have that ability, though note that you can disable this. the operating system often doesn't even know how to handle a random component you shove into the machine-that's what drivers are there for, after all. How's it supposed to know what needs to be always on (such as wifi) and what can be turned off?
Seriously, I read "resigned from Google" and had to take a few minutes to get my mind around that concept. Especially if he was a coder. They treat coders like demi-gods.
... with a piece of tape when I am not using it.
You can also open up the laptop and physically disconnect the camera and internal microphone.
Such behavior used to be considered paranoid, now it's necessary.
The tape is a great idea. Opening up a laptop loaned to you by a school would probably be considered damage to property.
Eh, from what I have seen of the internet, if he runs for office then there will be nekkid pictures on the internet eventually, even if they're faked.
The lesson is "NEVER trust the man!"
This, despite being rather cliche, is a good motto. Our system of government was designed around people not trusting those in power and constantly questioning them and demanding they prove themselves.
However bear in mind schools (highschool, middle school) are not designed to teach us to think like that. They originally were designed to turn out workers for factories, and still used for very similar purposes.
The FBI prosecuting someone for illegal wiretapping would be the height of hypocrisy.
That would cost even more money. A prisoner costs 50,000 per year on average.
That is not the point at ALL. People aren't sent to prison because the state can afford to send them there. They are sent to prison because they did something wrong.
I haven't read TFA (I find the comments much more interesting) so forgive me for asking:
What did the teachers have to do with this? Sounds to me like it was upper administration (who aren't teachers and shouldn't be part of the Teacher's Union) and IT (who also aren't part of the Teacher's Union).
Why? Why is it MY job to pay attention to this? I don't have kids in public school. I don't have time or the inclination to do this.
But it is your money, right? That is what you said above, another check you have to write. THAT'S why you should pay attention, because if you don't, it's likely you'll end up having to write yet another check ;)
And I reply with a patented gesture...
I'm pretty sure I could find an example of "prior art" with that particular gesture, making it impossible to patent.
The only difference I can see is that the school is a public institution. Not saying that makes it any better (makes it a lot worse, in fact), but I do think that makes a difference.
Bear in mind that the school did give these laptops to the students. I'm sure if they had a person with the right training on staff they could have modified the circuit board. Or honestly you wouldn't even need training (aside from being able to open the case) in order to cut the power wire going to the LED.
Maybe no one ever actually looked at the pictures until the lawsuits happened. I haven't been able to discover, why on earth were they taking pictures in the first place?
Who cares about union contract if they broke the law? They need to be criminally prosecuted.
The school cares. If they break union contract and the union takes it seriously enough (I doubt they would, considering it IS a criminal matter, but you never know), then the school might never hire another teacher again. Unions can be very powerful.
The webcam and wifi switches mentioned are usually part of the laptop case, or a hotkey function, and are put there by the manufacture. They use a special driver customized for the specific model and are not the fault of the OS designers.
This is a good point, and it makes me feel a lot better about airplane security. Because airport security is useless/