I know this stuff is padded, and I think its great.
I do the same thing when I'm the driver of any trip. I plan for 9am, tell everyone else to be ready by 7:30am or 8am, and when we get a 'head-start' of 15 minutes everyone is happy. It helps when 'life' is baked into these times. I don't want to stress because someone takes an extra five minutes moving a luggage cart. I am not going to complain if I arrived in Chicago 'early.' Airline route times are there for customer service and this saves me so many headaches on the back-end that I call it one of the perks. Quiet time.
-- One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody's listening. -- Franklin P. Jones
Hire a financial advisor. Let your kid to what they want. Life teaches you the hard lessons regardless, so regardless of your morals, you're going to learn that most people want friends and partners that are honest. Teach your kid how to use the tools around them to maximize profits right?
-- Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity. - Herbert Hoover
I keep seeing stories about how the 5 Eyes kinda agree that Huawei isn't a great thing for the world. I still have yet to see exactly why this is true.
In practice, I have not seen their devices pinging home. I have never found audio files being stored from the hidden microphone in the power supplies. I have not seen that their devices have any more security holes than anyone else's. I have not seen any evidence that their products are inferior from a technical perspective. Technically, you can break Cisco equipment just as much as you can break Huawei equipment.
Did I miss a news day? Did I miss a new routing protocol that secretly routes network equipment information over SSL through QQ? Is it that I can't read Chinese comments in code? I have yet to find the kill code routine for all Huawei devices in their code. Why again are we scared of Huawei?
-- Good night. Don't let the boogeyman bit - Kate Danley
In my "agreement" with Comcast, it states that they own all of my information and may sell or give it to anyone they please if they call them a "partner". I've been told that I'm wrong about them being a monopoly and that we really do have a choice based on this map by the U.S. Government https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/. The government says I'm in an area where there is no monopoly and that I can choose to not be monitored by this ISP. Maybe the investigation will help show that this is wrong?
If you look through these agreements, they basically say Comcast/Xfinity is responsible for nothing and they can share anything they want. The agreements protect xfinity/comcast from ever being in breach of any privacy agreement as they don't agree to be private about anything.
They do not respect your request to not be tracked Do Not Track Disclosure
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) established a process to develop a “Do Not Track” Standard. Comcast’s Websites do not currently respond to “Do Not Track” signals sent from browsers.
Information We Collect When You Use the Xfinity Mobile Service They scan your mobile device for all installed applications and record that information. They record everything you do with those apps. They do this across all of your mobile devices, they and they share your data if THEY think it will provide you with more and better services
Comcast and third parties acting on Comcast’s behalf collect technical and service information from all Xfinity Mobile Service users, which we call “Usage Data.” Usage Data includes app usage information, equipment information, network performance and usage information, and location information. This includes information about your use of the Xfinity Mobile network, use of your device, and diagnostic data such as device performance, signal strength, dropped calls, data failures, battery strength, and network performance issues. This may also include information about what apps are on your device, the fact that an app has been used, and the length of time that an app has been running. Other information includes voice recordings or prints, reasons you give for contacting us, network traffic data, device identifiers, service options, and the number of devices you have purchased on our plans.
Users Outside of the United States GDPR? Hah We don't believe in those types of protections..
The Websites that link to this Privacy Policy are for users located in the United States. If you use the Websites from outside of the United States, then by providing any data to Comcast over the Websites or through another direct communication with Comcast, you understand and consent to the collection, use, processing, sharing, and disclosure of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. You also consent to the transfer of your personal data to the United States for this collection, use, processing, and disclosure. The European Commission has determined that the United States does not provide an adequate level of protection to personal data and it may not offer the same level of data protection as
What happens when you cross one of the largest companies on the planet and a new currency?
As much as 'social media' changed the face of democracy in the last few years, this could have a much bigger impact. Just imagine if people in countries that do not have stable currencies had a choice. People may trust 'FBcoin' more than they ever trusted Bitcoin.
With all of that being said, for a company that doesn't seem to respect anyone's privacy, this could be a real doozy.
-- The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. - Albert Einstein
With the United States paying the highest healthcare rates in the world for the same or worse coverage than other 1st world countries, it seems fairly obvious that there is a large amount of waste that can be tidied up by streamlining things. Streamlining is Amazon's wheel house. Insurance is one of Berkshire Hathoway's primary businesses. Financing core services is what JP Morgan does.
These three companies have the right experience, leverage and knowledge to be able to make a large dent in this market. They stand to make $3k-$5k per U.S. citizen and not provide anything better in return. There is a large amount of money sitting out on the table for a very large and inefficient healthcare system. The U.S. system is ripe for fixing. If the citizens don't do it, the corporations will.
-- In politics, absurdity is not a handicap. – Napoleon Bonaparte
They've left out any help for the people that simply can't retrain, and can't move. There are generations of people living off of the dividends of the oil and gas economy that will be harmed by this.
If you make it such that people can not drill oil and/or extract the minerals that have supported communities for entire generations, you have to help those people out. It will take generations to help these oil extraction refugees. It is is disingenuous at best to encourage these folks to move to remote areas, build economies and cities, and then pull the rug out from under them.
Part of this will need to address the true plight of the aging oil field workers and their families in the United States. You can not expect them to pick up and relocate into the closest large city.
-- People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. - Anton Chekhov
Why is the $1 gig economy wrong? People pay good money to sit around and play video games and watch TV otherwise doing nothing all day. Why not get paid for clicking around? In that context it seems better than the Facebook economy where people log onto Facebook, click around, and Facebook becomes one of the largest companies on the planet.
Are the google employees really hypocrites for trying to protect the medium being used by most people? Are they supposed to be beholden to the MIC because of a network? Some people say that if they don't agree with the purpose of a mission, every off-shoot is corrupt. I have faith the employees can handle both issues at once.
Amazon Turks is basically a click game where earning a certificate and spending time is the content of the game. "Build yourself" they say. Crowdflower... FlexJobs... Turks... Wanna take an exam? We'll be happy to confirm that you can follow instructions and give you a badge. Level up for the cool jobs!
Seems all the same to me. If people want to spend their time doing it, go for it. If they have money issues and can't figure out that $1/hr doesn't pay very well there is something else going on. Maybe they should try streaming themselves playing Fortnite. Either way, I think that it's better than doing nothing.
People aren't perfect, but they do try hard in their missions.
-- People are people so why should it be. You and I should get along so awfully - Depeche Mode
Facebook has been given every chance in the world to act right. It was just a couple of years ago where Mark Z. thought it was "ridiculous" that his platform could be used to cause chaos in elections. If these people wanted to actually do something right for the world, they would rebuild this platform from the bottom up. If they wanted to help, they would shut the misinformation pipelines down and lead by example. I do not know one person that uses the site that appreciates political advertisements.
People should not have to be on high alert for propaganda every single second that they are on some site while checking their kids soccer schedule. People do not work this way. It is not an OK policy to teach people to recognize and ignore "fake-news" while acting like it doesn't affect people. One of the primary ways propaganda works is by bombarding people with misinformation, even if they know its a tabloid, click-bait headline. Simply by using brain power to try to ignore what one is trying to see, it registers in people's thoughts that they have seen this. Human beings do not simply ignore this stuff. It is not how the human mind works. Human beings can not be bombarded with this stuff without it affecting them.
Facebook's game plan seems to be, if something happens, don't change the model but add an investigative department to sort out the worst of the worst. This may work in a court of law to "prove" they are trying but this does not solve the issue, and its not genuine. For these platforms to not be propaganda machines, it can not be allowed in the first place.
At this point, because Facebook will not take action themselves, it is time to regulate Facebook. As far as I'm concerned, Facebook and the rest of its platforms should only be able to run ads for products and services until there is a true method to the madness. It is not OK to test these new band-aids on their user-base, when their user-base is 2.1 Billion people, 1/4 of the planet.
These platforms are causing immediate and irreparable harm to the world, and it is not possible for them to unwind this one ad at a time. These products and their models need to be rewritten from the ground up for the common good of the planet, and to genuinely work in favor of the end-user and society in general.
-- A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa. - Mark Zuckerburg
On the face of it, this seems reasonable. Unfortunately, people will be as distracted as you let them be.
This type of remote attendance creates a scenario where you will have the lawmaker on screen, and 10 lobbyists sitting on the other side of the camera, holding the lawmakers feet to the fire. It is not hard to imagine a Pfizer representative handing the lawmaker ready made answers as well as votes in real time as they vote for the next drug funding bill. These are not fair and transparent votes
Until lobbying is illegal, it will always be there. You can not move a lawmaker far enough away from a lobbyist. Lawmakers and lobbyists co-exist in the current system.
-- If men were angels, no government would be necessary. - James Madison
Put in large systems that run off the currents in the ocean that fill up tanks full of hydrogen so that automated ships can come dock with them and move the hydrogen around? Sounds like a great idea to me. I'm glad they thought of this.
All I hear is that there will now be some "smart" people trying to outsmart new tech and cameras by firing lasers, not strong enough to poke your eyes out, but strong enough to burn the retina of the machine.
-- When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things. - Joe Namath
I never thought that choose your own adventure books were actually related to this episode in any way other than an idea. I didn't once associate Chooseco with this Netflix - Black Mirror episode.
Even if I had associated them, is it an issue to come up with a story that has something to do with the writers childhood? Are we not supposed to write about the action figures we used to play with too?
-- Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened - Dr. Seuss
None of us like ads, but there is not another financial system that works on the internet. Ads rule everything. There is so much money in ads, that companies can accidentally dump tens of millions of dollars into bot farms where no one sees the ads, and this is considered an accepted loss.
It is false that there is not another way to monetize the internet. It is true that no one has been able to come up with a compelling financial vehicle to run the internet.
No doubt people have had it with ads, but most people won't donate $5 to the cause either. Until people put their money where their mouth is, and the people that own businesses follow along, this is a moot point.
In a world where people could see a common problem, and come up with a common solution, this could be dealt with. Because in most places this is called government, enough people would rather spend their lives campaigning against it, even if it saved us from ourselves.
-- There is nothing permanent except change. - Heraclitus
You all may be right by way of you have better opinions than each other, and that Epic is serving up content that people want.
The thing is, that people like it, and people want it. Epic games is not tricking people into liking something they don't like.
Creating something that fills some emotional need and selling it is exactly what people have been doing since the beginning of time. Want a family with a wife? Pay a dowry or buy a ring. Want to feel like you had a good birthday party? Pay Chuck-E-Cheese for the entertainment. Sad? Pint of Ben and Jerry's will fix that for a while.
At some point you could tear every thing down to why people lust for anything. In the end, the penalties for spending time and money must be less than the joy it brings people. I have yet to hear of droves of starving children spending money on in-game purchases instead of food.
With this type of reasoning, board games, newspaper crosswords, and Sunday drives are out of question too.
Someone had to be sharing that data. How else is every service so perfectly in sync? These stories about Facebook handing out data, collecting data, and correlating data are simply stories about how Facebook operates.
-- If men were angels, no government would be necessary. - James Madison
I'm glad that all of this worked out well for the two of you.
I'm not sure that most people want the police, who can then ticket, arrest, and jail someone for some other issue going on inside their home. What about folks with warrants? What about the folks that have a child at home where CPS might take them? What about the public who are listening to the police radio traffic and reporting on the calls made, as most local newspapers do? Now these people are not only suicidal, but their entire lives are threatened to be completely disrupted, which is exactly the wrong thing to do.
While this may have worked in this instance, this is exactly what keeps a large percentage of folks from contacting anyone.
How could this be done better? Encourage social activities in the community. Encourage neighbors to talk. Create local spaces where neighbors can get together on a whim without every public space being closed after dark.
-- And good neighbors make a huge difference in the quality of life. - Robert Fulghum
You self report that you are a danger to yourself. The cops show up, the mental health experts show up. It is on your medical record for life. Is that what a suicidal person needs is a system that will intervene and never forget? Maybe.
The problem with this is there are a whole lot of folks out there that will never contact anyone as it may be a semi-fleeting thought, but would be very helpful to chat with a person that they know is safe. How many people that have committed suicide called a help line?
As we've left the farms and moved to a life that is boxed in by laws, deadlines, and you better be to work on time, less get fired, people just don't have support systems. People need people, even the people that hate people.
The question should be, how do we foster personal relationships better? How do we help our neighbors? How do the people help each without entering a bureaucracy?
-- No one has ever become poor by giving. -- Anne Frank
Which brain tool is the problem? The drill, the scalpel, the cracker, or the cauterizer?
-- What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them. - Steve Jobs
(Yes, I know they deliberately write these pathetic letters to screen out all but the dumbest marks, but still...shouldn't it be just a little bit believable?)
There is an emotional attachment in play with some folks. Some people may find that a couple of grand may be worth the gamble. Some may find the entire episode a way to make a noble gesture. Some may be paying the scammers off because they owe them a debt and don't want to pay taxes. Even if it is patently false, some people just want to believe.
-- We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. -- Albert Einstein
Seems like this is a great business decision. If you can get your app on international phones, that is a huge market. This seems like a smart way to penetrate the Alibaba market.
-- Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. -- Thomas Carlyle
It has been a dream for any one of the five eyes countries to pass laws like this. Once the agencies are able to get a foot in the door, precedence will be used as a reason the other four courts should also have access to the data. "The tools to are already created" argument will now exist in a courtroom . This is going to open a whole plethora of doors for all countries.
This will quickly spill over into the rest of the world. Once you see the democracies of the world go this route, the flood gates will open. There will be laws made all over the world that will copy this word for word. Entire turn-key packages to look all of this up will be sold to the highest bidders.
In the end, I see a market being created for stolen country keys and hacked law enforcement portals. Those keys will be nearly priceless. One key for all of whatsapp? Done. One portal for all of proton-mail? Done. The next question will be, "How would you like your secrets served up today sir?"
-- Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don't mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime. - Rachel Wolchin
Slashdot Mirror
I know this stuff is padded, and I think its great.
I do the same thing when I'm the driver of any trip. I plan for 9am, tell everyone else to be ready by 7:30am or 8am, and when we get a 'head-start' of 15 minutes everyone is happy. It helps when 'life' is baked into these times. I don't want to stress because someone takes an extra five minutes moving a luggage cart. I am not going to complain if I arrived in Chicago 'early.' Airline route times are there for customer service and this saves me so many headaches on the back-end that I call it one of the perks. Quiet time.
--
One advantage of talking to yourself is that you know at least somebody's listening. -- Franklin P. Jones
Hire a financial advisor. Let your kid to what they want. Life teaches you the hard lessons regardless, so regardless of your morals, you're going to learn that most people want friends and partners that are honest. Teach your kid how to use the tools around them to maximize profits right?
--
Freedom is the open window through which pours the sunlight of the human spirit and human dignity. - Herbert Hoover
I keep seeing stories about how the 5 Eyes kinda agree that Huawei isn't a great thing for the world. I still have yet to see exactly why this is true.
In practice, I have not seen their devices pinging home. I have never found audio files being stored from the hidden microphone in the power supplies. I have not seen that their devices have any more security holes than anyone else's. I have not seen any evidence that their products are inferior from a technical perspective. Technically, you can break Cisco equipment just as much as you can break Huawei equipment.
Did I miss a news day? Did I miss a new routing protocol that secretly routes network equipment information over SSL through QQ? Is it that I can't read Chinese comments in code? I have yet to find the kill code routine for all Huawei devices in their code. Why again are we scared of Huawei?
--
Good night. Don't let the boogeyman bit - Kate Danley
In my "agreement" with Comcast, it states that they own all of my information and may sell or give it to anyone they please if they call them a "partner". I've been told that I'm wrong about them being a monopoly and that we really do have a choice based on this map by the U.S. Government https://broadbandmap.fcc.gov/. The government says I'm in an area where there is no monopoly and that I can choose to not be monitored by this ISP. Maybe the investigation will help show that this is wrong?
If you look through these agreements, they basically say Comcast/Xfinity is responsible for nothing and they can share anything they want. The agreements protect xfinity/comcast from ever being in breach of any privacy agreement as they don't agree to be private about anything.
Here are the current privacy policies I found. .
https://www.xfinity.com/corporate/customers/policies/customerprivacy
https://www.xfinity.com/support/articles/comcast-web-services-terms-of-service-and-privacy-policy
https://www.xfinity.com/corporate/legal/privacystatement
https://www.xfinity.com/mobile/policies/privacy-policy
https://my.xfinity.com/privacy/
Here are some highlights:
They do not respect your request to not be tracked
Do Not Track Disclosure
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) established a process to develop a “Do Not Track” Standard. Comcast’s Websites do not currently respond to “Do Not Track” signals sent from browsers.
Information We Collect When You Use the Xfinity Mobile Service
They scan your mobile device for all installed applications and record that information. They record everything you do with those apps. They do this across all of your mobile devices, they and they share your data if THEY think it will provide you with more and better services
Comcast and third parties acting on Comcast’s behalf collect technical and service information from all Xfinity Mobile Service users, which we call “Usage Data.” Usage Data includes app usage information, equipment information, network performance and usage information, and location information. This includes information about your use of the Xfinity Mobile network, use of your device, and diagnostic data such as device performance, signal strength, dropped calls, data failures, battery strength, and network performance issues. This may also include information about what apps are on your device, the fact that an app has been used, and the length of time that an app has been running. Other information includes voice recordings or prints, reasons you give for contacting us, network traffic data, device identifiers, service options, and the number of devices you have purchased on our plans.
Users Outside of the United States GDPR? Hah We don't believe in those types of protections..
The Websites that link to this Privacy Policy are for users located in the United States. If you use the Websites from outside of the United States, then by providing any data to Comcast over the Websites or through another direct communication with Comcast, you understand and consent to the collection, use, processing, sharing, and disclosure of your personal data as described in this Privacy Policy. You also consent to the transfer of your personal data to the United States for this collection, use, processing, and disclosure. The European Commission has determined that the United States does not provide an adequate level of protection to personal data and it may not offer the same level of data protection as
What happens when you cross one of the largest companies on the planet and a new currency?
As much as 'social media' changed the face of democracy in the last few years, this could have a much bigger impact. Just imagine if people in countries that do not have stable currencies had a choice. People may trust 'FBcoin' more than they ever trusted Bitcoin.
With all of that being said, for a company that doesn't seem to respect anyone's privacy, this could be a real doozy.
--
The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking. - Albert Einstein
With the United States paying the highest healthcare rates in the world for the same or worse coverage than other 1st world countries, it seems fairly obvious that there is a large amount of waste that can be tidied up by streamlining things. Streamlining is Amazon's wheel house. Insurance is one of Berkshire Hathoway's primary businesses. Financing core services is what JP Morgan does.
These three companies have the right experience, leverage and knowledge to be able to make a large dent in this market. They stand to make $3k-$5k per U.S. citizen and not provide anything better in return. There is a large amount of money sitting out on the table for a very large and inefficient healthcare system. The U.S. system is ripe for fixing. If the citizens don't do it, the corporations will.
--
In politics, absurdity is not a handicap. – Napoleon Bonaparte
I find it fascinating that we can view objects exploding and combining billions of miles away because stuff on planet earth changes position.
--
Without music, life would be a mistake. - Friedrich Nietzsche
Clearly these folks and their ideas are funded by the oil industry.
--
What the caterpillar calls the end of the world the master calls a butterfly - Richard Bach
They've left out any help for the people that simply can't retrain, and can't move. There are generations of people living off of the dividends of the oil and gas economy that will be harmed by this.
If you make it such that people can not drill oil and/or extract the minerals that have supported communities for entire generations, you have to help those people out. It will take generations to help these oil extraction refugees. It is is disingenuous at best to encourage these folks to move to remote areas, build economies and cities, and then pull the rug out from under them.
Part of this will need to address the true plight of the aging oil field workers and their families in the United States. You can not expect them to pick up and relocate into the closest large city.
--
People don't notice whether it's winter or summer when they're happy. - Anton Chekhov
Why is the $1 gig economy wrong? People pay good money to sit around and play video games and watch TV otherwise doing nothing all day. Why not get paid for clicking around? In that context it seems better than the Facebook economy where people log onto Facebook, click around, and Facebook becomes one of the largest companies on the planet.
Are the google employees really hypocrites for trying to protect the medium being used by most people? Are they supposed to be beholden to the MIC because of a network? Some people say that if they don't agree with the purpose of a mission, every off-shoot is corrupt. I have faith the employees can handle both issues at once.
Amazon Turks is basically a click game where earning a certificate and spending time is the content of the game. "Build yourself" they say. Crowdflower... FlexJobs... Turks... Wanna take an exam? We'll be happy to confirm that you can follow instructions and give you a badge. Level up for the cool jobs!
Seems all the same to me. If people want to spend their time doing it, go for it. If they have money issues and can't figure out that $1/hr doesn't pay very well there is something else going on. Maybe they should try streaming themselves playing Fortnite. Either way, I think that it's better than doing nothing.
People aren't perfect, but they do try hard in their missions.
--
People are people so why should it be. You and I should get along so awfully - Depeche Mode
Facebook has been given every chance in the world to act right. It was just a couple of years ago where Mark Z. thought it was "ridiculous" that his platform could be used to cause chaos in elections. If these people wanted to actually do something right for the world, they would rebuild this platform from the bottom up. If they wanted to help, they would shut the misinformation pipelines down and lead by example. I do not know one person that uses the site that appreciates political advertisements.
People should not have to be on high alert for propaganda every single second that they are on some site while checking their kids soccer schedule. People do not work this way. It is not an OK policy to teach people to recognize and ignore "fake-news" while acting like it doesn't affect people. One of the primary ways propaganda works is by bombarding people with misinformation, even if they know its a tabloid, click-bait headline. Simply by using brain power to try to ignore what one is trying to see, it registers in people's thoughts that they have seen this. Human beings do not simply ignore this stuff. It is not how the human mind works. Human beings can not be bombarded with this stuff without it affecting them.
Facebook's game plan seems to be, if something happens, don't change the model but add an investigative department to sort out the worst of the worst. This may work in a court of law to "prove" they are trying but this does not solve the issue, and its not genuine. For these platforms to not be propaganda machines, it can not be allowed in the first place.
At this point, because Facebook will not take action themselves, it is time to regulate Facebook. As far as I'm concerned, Facebook and the rest of its platforms should only be able to run ads for products and services until there is a true method to the madness. It is not OK to test these new band-aids on their user-base, when their user-base is 2.1 Billion people, 1/4 of the planet.
These platforms are causing immediate and irreparable harm to the world, and it is not possible for them to unwind this one ad at a time. These products and their models need to be rewritten from the ground up for the common good of the planet, and to genuinely work in favor of the end-user and society in general.
--
A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your interests right now than people dying in Africa. - Mark Zuckerburg
On the face of it, this seems reasonable. Unfortunately, people will be as distracted as you let them be.
This type of remote attendance creates a scenario where you will have the lawmaker on screen, and 10 lobbyists sitting on the other side of the camera, holding the lawmakers feet to the fire. It is not hard to imagine a Pfizer representative handing the lawmaker ready made answers as well as votes in real time as they vote for the next drug funding bill. These are not fair and transparent votes
Until lobbying is illegal, it will always be there. You can not move a lawmaker far enough away from a lobbyist. Lawmakers and lobbyists co-exist in the current system.
--
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. - James Madison
Put in large systems that run off the currents in the ocean that fill up tanks full of hydrogen so that automated ships can come dock with them and move the hydrogen around? Sounds like a great idea to me. I'm glad they thought of this.
--
“Time and tide for nae man bide” – Unknown
All I hear is that there will now be some "smart" people trying to outsmart new tech and cameras by firing lasers, not strong enough to poke your eyes out, but strong enough to burn the retina of the machine.
--
When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things. - Joe Namath
I never thought that choose your own adventure books were actually related to this episode in any way other than an idea. I didn't once associate Chooseco with this Netflix - Black Mirror episode.
Even if I had associated them, is it an issue to come up with a story that has something to do with the writers childhood? Are we not supposed to write about the action figures we used to play with too?
--
Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened - Dr. Seuss
This is on the bottom of things to be upset about on the internet.
This is standard harassment, covered by a multitude of laws in every state, and federally.
--
The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. -- Bill Gates
None of us like ads, but there is not another financial system that works on the internet. Ads rule everything. There is so much money in ads, that companies can accidentally dump tens of millions of dollars into bot farms where no one sees the ads, and this is considered an accepted loss.
It is false that there is not another way to monetize the internet. It is true that no one has been able to come up with a compelling financial vehicle to run the internet.
No doubt people have had it with ads, but most people won't donate $5 to the cause either. Until people put their money where their mouth is, and the people that own businesses follow along, this is a moot point.
In a world where people could see a common problem, and come up with a common solution, this could be dealt with. Because in most places this is called government, enough people would rather spend their lives campaigning against it, even if it saved us from ourselves.
--
There is nothing permanent except change. - Heraclitus
You all may be right by way of you have better opinions than each other, and that Epic is serving up content that people want.
The thing is, that people like it, and people want it. Epic games is not tricking people into liking something they don't like.
Creating something that fills some emotional need and selling it is exactly what people have been doing since the beginning of time. Want a family with a wife? Pay a dowry or buy a ring. Want to feel like you had a good birthday party? Pay Chuck-E-Cheese for the entertainment. Sad? Pint of Ben and Jerry's will fix that for a while.
At some point you could tear every thing down to why people lust for anything. In the end, the penalties for spending time and money must be less than the joy it brings people. I have yet to hear of droves of starving children spending money on in-game purchases instead of food.
With this type of reasoning, board games, newspaper crosswords, and Sunday drives are out of question too.
--
Hate the sin, love the sinner - Mahatma Gandhi
Someone had to be sharing that data. How else is every service so perfectly in sync? These stories about Facebook handing out data, collecting data, and correlating data are simply stories about how Facebook operates.
--
If men were angels, no government would be necessary. - James Madison
I'm glad that all of this worked out well for the two of you.
I'm not sure that most people want the police, who can then ticket, arrest, and jail someone for some other issue going on inside their home. What about folks with warrants? What about the folks that have a child at home where CPS might take them? What about the public who are listening to the police radio traffic and reporting on the calls made, as most local newspapers do? Now these people are not only suicidal, but their entire lives are threatened to be completely disrupted, which is exactly the wrong thing to do.
While this may have worked in this instance, this is exactly what keeps a large percentage of folks from contacting anyone.
How could this be done better? Encourage social activities in the community. Encourage neighbors to talk. Create local spaces where neighbors can get together on a whim without every public space being closed after dark.
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And good neighbors make a huge difference in the quality of life. - Robert Fulghum
You self report that you are a danger to yourself. The cops show up, the mental health experts show up. It is on your medical record for life. Is that what a suicidal person needs is a system that will intervene and never forget? Maybe.
The problem with this is there are a whole lot of folks out there that will never contact anyone as it may be a semi-fleeting thought, but would be very helpful to chat with a person that they know is safe. How many people that have committed suicide called a help line?
As we've left the farms and moved to a life that is boxed in by laws, deadlines, and you better be to work on time, less get fired, people just don't have support systems. People need people, even the people that hate people.
The question should be, how do we foster personal relationships better? How do we help our neighbors? How do the people help each without entering a bureaucracy?
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No one has ever become poor by giving. -- Anne Frank
Which brain tool is the problem? The drill, the scalpel, the cracker, or the cauterizer?
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What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them. - Steve Jobs
(Yes, I know they deliberately write these pathetic letters to screen out all but the dumbest marks, but still...shouldn't it be just a little bit believable?)
There is an emotional attachment in play with some folks. Some people may find that a couple of grand may be worth the gamble. Some may find the entire episode a way to make a noble gesture. Some may be paying the scammers off because they owe them a debt and don't want to pay taxes. Even if it is patently false, some people just want to believe.
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We cannot despair of humanity, since we ourselves are human beings. -- Albert Einstein
Seems like this is a great business decision. If you can get your app on international phones, that is a huge market. This seems like a smart way to penetrate the Alibaba market.
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Conviction is worthless unless it is converted into conduct. -- Thomas Carlyle
It has been a dream for any one of the five eyes countries to pass laws like this. Once the agencies are able to get a foot in the door, precedence will be used as a reason the other four courts should also have access to the data. "The tools to are already created" argument will now exist in a courtroom . This is going to open a whole plethora of doors for all countries.
This will quickly spill over into the rest of the world. Once you see the democracies of the world go this route, the flood gates will open. There will be laws made all over the world that will copy this word for word. Entire turn-key packages to look all of this up will be sold to the highest bidders.
In the end, I see a market being created for stolen country keys and hacked law enforcement portals. Those keys will be nearly priceless. One key for all of whatsapp? Done. One portal for all of proton-mail? Done. The next question will be, "How would you like your secrets served up today sir?"
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Be mindful when it comes to your words. A string of some that don't mean much to you, may stick with someone else for a lifetime. - Rachel Wolchin