Hey dipshit, risk and chance are synonyms and the same thing in the context I used them. Just as a refresher I used "risk" and "chance" in the same sentence as synonyms (had to repeat that for you since you fail to understand what a synonym is / and/or what the definition of chance and risk are or you wouldn't have made such a stupid comment) "...it's not hard to wonder why someone would rather travel the world and live rather risk travelling to the moon with a much higher chance of not making it back."
There is nothing much up there? And you know this how?
Maybe the vast, barren, unihabitable, crater filled surface that is the moon from EVERY picture of it? Compare that to all of the wonderful, life filled, comfortable places on Earth you can visit instead and it's not hard to wonder why someone would rather travel the world and live rather risk travelling to the moon with a much higher chance of not making it back.
I do think it would be cool to travel to the moon, but I do see the point that travelling the Earth would be more enjoyable overall not to mention having much less chance of dying.
Besides, what happens if you get the job and *then* they discover some nasty secret, like you listen to Celine Dion?
For the past week I have been working on some software (for my job) that displays the graphic data on CD+G's and the only CD+G I could find at the office to test with was a Celine Dion karaoke disc. I am so glad I finally got done with it today but I think I am scarred for life by the amount of times I had to hear her sing as well as see the lyrics to her songs.:-(
Just give us the code under a fine Free Software licence and we'll port the Firefox extentions framework
Oh, and also rip out everything that makes Opera kickass and took the company a long time to create and insert it into FireFox. That would be really good for Opera's business. Most Opera users I know (including myself) don't give a shit about firefox extensions, they like having all the features they need already integrated into the browser. When I get a new computer I go download the Opera installer and run it and import my settings and boom, I am up and running. With FireFox I would have to go download and install not only FF but also all of the extensions I wanted to use. FF is also very unstable compared to Opera: http://internetweek.cmp.com/174907404, could Opera be more stable because it is closed source and has dedicated developers working on it? I think so.
The biggest thing that annoys me about most (not all) open source projects is the quality of the code SUCKS (bad design, horrible commenting, doing things just so they work not so they work correctly, cutting corners, basically bad hacks). Most of it just cannot compete with software created by dedicated, paid, teams of developers. About the only open source projects that actually were properly developed and of good quality are projects that actual companies have open sourced.
You will never get the code and if because you cannot access the code you will not use Opera that is your own prerogative but you will be missing out on using the best browser available today which costs NO MONEY. It's your loss and you (along with the other open source zealots) will be the only people who care that Opera is closed source, rational people realize they are a business and they have their reasons to keep it closed source but they are very generous to allow the application to still be used for free.
I would use Opera instead of Firefox if it was free (as in speech)
I think Opera being closed source makes it better. You have dedicated teams who solely focus on adding features and they do listen to user input so I see no problem. They are focusing on (and succeeding at) making the best web browser possible. They are a business and have reasons to keep the product closed source yet they still allow people to use it FOR FREE, they even took out the annoying ad bar that used to be part of Opera. I fail to see why if you really like how Opera performs and functions as a web browser you would decide not to use it solely because it is not open source.
I like open source, it is a great, but I don't let it run my life on my computer. Some open source zealots just go too far at times and I am sure they have their reasons I just fail to understand them.
If you want extensions go use firefox. The Opera developers do listen to input and if a feature is requested by enough people then they will add it. They also will take out features that people dislike/don't use. That is what I like the most about Opera, they make it the best browser available right out of the box. You don't have to go messing around downloading and installing extensions because it already includes the best features available that most people need.
I used Moz for quite a while until about 3-4 years ago when I came across Opera and decided to give it a shot. I LOVED it, initially what got me was its speed and of course the tabbed browsing. I also currently still have FF installed but I almost never use it, Opera just has everything I need and it does everything I need better. I much prefer just being able to download an installer once and have everything I want already available compared to downloading FF and having to find/load a bunch of extensions.
Because of this, it makes sense for all apps on an x86-64 machine to be 64-bit.
Bzzzt, wrong. If there is no need within the software for 64 bitness then by making everything 64 bit you will effectively double its size and even though it may be faster if it was all 64 bit the speed gain may not be worth the cost of doubling its memory footprint.
As a simple example lets say a simple home recipe organizer is developed, it consists of a way to type in/load in recipes and save them as well as search through its database of recipes. Doubling all integers and pointers would be quite useless. Even if you did something somewhat stupid like give each recipe a unique number (unsigned int) as its primary key and stored everything in a single "recipe" table you would still be able to store 4,294,967,295 recipes before you ran out of slots to insert more recipes. It just would not make sense and would be wasteful to use all 64 bit numbers in this situation since the speed gain (if any) most likely would not be significant.
Now for a memory intensive app such as a high definition video editor it most definately makes sense to have a 64 bit version since it will be working with very large files and being able to natively address those huge memory address spaces would be very beneficial.
I know it has appeared in PM before, but the technology available now along with fuel prices skyrocketing makes it actually feasable to use. I never said that because it appeared in PM made it relevant, just that I remembered seeing it there before. Stop with your "*yawn*", you aren't as cool and smart as you wish you were.
Keep in mind your monitor at work is Dell corporate sales and support, not Dell home consumer sales and support. I suspect many of the problems with support are more of the home consumer end rather than corporate.
I know this, that was why I mentioned the following:
I have had similar service with home computers as well so I don't believe its an issue with business accounts versus home accounts.
I have heard that business accounts are treated much better, I have just NEVER experienced it myself (and I have a lot of experience with both).
I forgot to mention the issue with my LCD at my work happened less than a month ago, so it is current.
I also have one more current experience which happened last year. I ordered an Infocus SP4805 projector (for personal use) through Dell and after hooking it up there was ONE pixel that was always white. I talked again to someone through the online support and within 2 days I had a new projector which worked perfectly and all I had to do was put the old projector in the box and send it back.
after their 6 month old Inspiron 1150's LCD inverter burnt out, and Dell refused to replace it, even though it had a year warranty. Despite numerous calls, all the call center would say is insert the recovery CD and reinstall the operating system.
How long ago did this happen? I know that for a while I heard Dell support was horrible but I am pretty sure they cleaned back up. I was the network admin for my fraternity about 4 years ago and we had all Dells and whenever we had a problem someone would be there the next day, it was great. At my current job I have had a 19 inch LCD that developed problems where whole lines near the bottom were messed up. I went to the Dell support website and chatted online with a CSR expecting a long annoying fight to explain my monitor was broken and it was anything but. I was asked to hook up another monitor to see if the video card may be at fault and after doing so and seeing no problem the guy immediatly said "I am going to replace your monitor". The NEXT day not one, but two monitors showed up. I am honest (and figured they would notice a lost monitor) so I switched out one of the monitors and put the defective one back in its box and sent both monitors back without a problem. I have had similar service with home computers as well so I don't believe its an issue with business accounts versus home accounts. I think some people just have had bad luck with the CSR's they have dealt with.
This seems completely different than phone taps to me (which according to the article telephone switch manufacturers are already required to provide wiretap ability) because I think it would be a much bigger security risk. I am not entirely sure how they want this technology to work but if there are backdoors in all network switches then whats to stop access from ANYWHERE that internet access is available to anyone who knows how the backdoor works. You can't pick up your phone and use it to access a wiretap which makes the wiretap ability built into phone systems much more secure.
Having backdoors is a horrible idea because the way to use them WILL eventually get out to the public and before the compromised switches can be secured a lot of damage may occur. I don't have a problem with internet wiretaps that are similar to phone wiretaps (secure and not easily accessed without court order) but this just sounds ridiculous, especially the backdoors and also requiring the ISPs to filter traffic.
A big advantage of self propelled ships is the ability to travel in a straight line, which would seem to be an issue at least in terms of efficiency with a big kite just tied to the ship.
If you RTFA you would find out that this is made to assist the diesel engines on the ship, not get rid of them completely. If the wind is not going in a direction that can help you on your course then you don't use the sail to assist you. This could possibly save ONE THIRD of current fuel consumption, so even if you did have to go slightly off course in order to use the sails it would probably make sense to take a little extra time to get where you are going to save such a huge chunk of change.
It is pretty amazing how much more efficient the sails can make a ship, from the last link I mentioned:
"cargo vessels can increase their speed by a minimum of 10% -- in the example given speed is increased yet by 2.25 bends, equaling 15%. Alternatively by using the SkySails propulsion fuel savings of up to 50% can be implemented."
It showed that using 1200 litres of fuel per hour a normal ship would cruise at ~15.5 knots and a skysail enhanced ship would cruise at close to 18 knots, not too bad of a speed gain. If the skysail ship wanted to cruise at 15.5 knots instead then fuel consumption would drop from 1200 litres per hour to around 550. That is just awesome and I really hope this goes into wide use where it is feasable to use it.
Yes, that is true. I work in computer forensics so I have a skewed point of view and don't always think about what a normal computer user would do. You are correct, an average teacher probably would just type in a few passwords and having a self destruct password would be wise.
A car can get broken in anywhere and I doubt you had some super expensive phone since you were in HS at the time so I think leaving it is still the best option. Just take the battery with you or something and keep it out of sight, your car is much less likely to be broken into if there is nothing in plain view worth anything and if it is broken into the cost of the damage done breaking in most likely will be more expensive then a cheap phone. I also suspect your weekly car break-in count to be exagerrated because in my experience at schools that have problems such as that the community gets pissed off and something is done such as getting an officer to patrol the student lots.
It is not a huge deal if you do bring it in if it is off but there still is absolutely no reason or need to bring it in the school. If you need to call immediatly go to the front office and if someone needs to contact you they can call the school. For your example where you were happy to have it on you since it was was snowing and cold outside nothing was stopping you from going to your car and using your phone you could have left there (plus turning the car on for some warmth). Leaving the phone in your car is not being less prepared in that situation at all.
I totally agree. While you are in High School and below there is absolutely no reason you need to have a cell phone on you while class is in session. You are there to learn and interact with the people around you, not talk on the phone to people. If you absolutely need to use a phone go to the front office like people have done for many, many years before.
In my opinion the only people who absolutely would have a purpose for a phone during school hours would be drug dealers and people trying to sell stolen goods. They would be the only ones who need to constantly be available since they would have customers who may try to contact them at any time and by waiting until after school business would be lost. This still does not make it right to have police come barging in and demanding to look at the content on students phones, I do believe that is wrong, I just wanted to make a point that the average student does not need a phone on them while in school.
I say leave the cell phone locked in your car while school is in session, it would make it harder for them to gain access to cell phones since instead of doing random searches of full classrooms they would have to do random searches of students cars which would be less probably since it would disrupt the school day much more (and depending on school rules/local laws it may be illegal for them to search your car without consent). The other reason to leave it there is because IT IS NOT NEEDED, if you have some time off do some homework or study or talk with the people around you.
Even better - encrypt it and more than 3 wrong passwords and everything gets deleted. Or reencrypted with a extreemly difficult password or locked for 24 hours or what ever.
Getting around the automatic deletion is trivially easy by imaging the device and then using your own software to try to unencrypt the file(s). As long as you don't use software that adheres to the 3 try limit the file will not be deleted since a file on its own does not know how many times it has been attempted to be decrypted. The best safety for encrypted files is what you mentioned, LONG and random characters, if you make the password long enough and used an encryption algorithm worth anything then the only way to get access to the files is to brute force the password and if you have a 40 character long random password it will be damn near impossible to brute force it in a decent amount of time.
And what school administrators don't understand is that kids get around rules. It's in the young one's job description.
I agree, back when I was in school we started out on MS-DOS based machines that had a logon box and it was trivially easy to get access to ANYTHING on the network by pressing control-break after entering your information and hitting enter. You had to do it at just the right moment but it usually only took a maximum of 3 tries. Later on they moved onto windows based systems and ran software that limited students access but by hitting control-alt-delete and bringing up the task manager you could easily end task whatever software you wanted and get access to anything on the network. Both of these examples were not spectacular and I am sure what students face today is much harder to get around but it still shows if there is a will there is a way. I only used these tricks to play games during class but if I had wanted to I probably could have done a lot more damage. Students will find ways around obstacles, you just have to be as smart as they are and know what to look for and what needs to be blocked.
Steganography is a reality, not fiction. It's only a matter of time before someone writes a program which hides the disgusting stuff in Hello Kitty pictures, with plausible deniability.
While this is true ALL current freely available steganography software (there is actually quite a lot available) is easily detected using software that knows what to look for. I work in the forensics community and came across the following software at a forensics conference which will scan for traces in files that steganographic hiding software was used on it http://www.sarc-wv.com/stegalyzeras.aspx .
Of course you have to know about steganography in the first place and recognize that it is not hard to use and is already being used but as long as school administrators know about it it is trivially easy to use the software I mentioned to scan files that may have hidden content.
Killing people from a larger group is proportionately less discriminate, not indisciminate.
Less discriminate is the same thing as indiscriminate, you are just making yourself sound uneducated. Here we have one group that only wants to harm Americans who support abortion, they are discriminate whose definition is:
To make a clear distinction; distinguish: discriminate among the options available.
Next we have a group of people who only wants to hurt Americans and supporters of Americans, they don't go around blowing up only abortion clinics but crash planes full of Americans into buildings full of Americans to kill as many Americans as possible along with anyone else who happens to be on the planes and in the buildings who are supporting America. That is being indiscriminate whose definition is:
Random; haphazard: indiscriminate violence; an indiscriminate assortment of used books for sale.
Killing Americans is not the same as randomly going berserk with a flamethrower.
I know this since it is obvious and the topic I had was only talking about Americans and supporters of America so by mentioning this you and the other poster were going off topic.
Here is an example that might get you to understand what I am saying with an example using animals (and the type of animal can be compared to nationality in my original message) and the subset of animals will be seals. Discriminately killing seals could be only going after the babys and clubbing all of the babies to death while indiscriminately killing seals would be machine gunning every seal to death on the beach instead. Would you argue that that is not being indiscriminate in relation to type of animal? What you said before would be changed to "Killing baby seals is not the same as randomly going berserk with a flamethrower on a forest full of animals." and would be off topic since I was not talking about all animal types I was only talking about seals.
Slashdot Mirror
Another thought: you can't quit doing something you never started doing in the first place.
There was a time you got the best web experience using IE which to most people equated to it being the best browser available.
Hey dipshit, risk and chance are synonyms and the same thing in the context I used them. Just as a refresher I used "risk" and "chance" in the same sentence as synonyms (had to repeat that for you since you fail to understand what a synonym is / and/or what the definition of chance and risk are or you wouldn't have made such a stupid comment) "...it's not hard to wonder why someone would rather travel the world and live rather risk travelling to the moon with a much higher chance of not making it back."
From the definition of chance from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/chance:
"A risk or hazard; a gamble: took a chance that the ice would hold me."
Note that that sentence could also be: "took a risk that the ice would hold me."
As to part of my other sentence: "...not to mention having much less chance of dying."
I was using chance in the same context as the previous sentence.
Don't insult people smarter than you especially when you are wrong, you can put your dunce cap back on now.
There is nothing much up there? And you know this how?
Maybe the vast, barren, unihabitable, crater filled surface that is the moon from EVERY picture of it? Compare that to all of the wonderful, life filled, comfortable places on Earth you can visit instead and it's not hard to wonder why someone would rather travel the world and live rather risk travelling to the moon with a much higher chance of not making it back.
I do think it would be cool to travel to the moon, but I do see the point that travelling the Earth would be more enjoyable overall not to mention having much less chance of dying.
Besides, what happens if you get the job and *then* they discover some nasty secret, like you listen to Celine Dion?
:-(
For the past week I have been working on some software (for my job) that displays the graphic data on CD+G's and the only CD+G I could find at the office to test with was a Celine Dion karaoke disc. I am so glad I finally got done with it today but I think I am scarred for life by the amount of times I had to hear her sing as well as see the lyrics to her songs.
I think he got it from the following link at thats why it is in alphabetical order: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_bo-z.html#brake
Just give us the code under a fine Free Software licence and we'll port the Firefox extentions framework
Oh, and also rip out everything that makes Opera kickass and took the company a long time to create and insert it into FireFox. That would be really good for Opera's business. Most Opera users I know (including myself) don't give a shit about firefox extensions, they like having all the features they need already integrated into the browser. When I get a new computer I go download the Opera installer and run it and import my settings and boom, I am up and running. With FireFox I would have to go download and install not only FF but also all of the extensions I wanted to use. FF is also very unstable compared to Opera: http://internetweek.cmp.com/174907404, could Opera be more stable because it is closed source and has dedicated developers working on it? I think so.
The biggest thing that annoys me about most (not all) open source projects is the quality of the code SUCKS (bad design, horrible commenting, doing things just so they work not so they work correctly, cutting corners, basically bad hacks). Most of it just cannot compete with software created by dedicated, paid, teams of developers. About the only open source projects that actually were properly developed and of good quality are projects that actual companies have open sourced.
You will never get the code and if because you cannot access the code you will not use Opera that is your own prerogative but you will be missing out on using the best browser available today which costs NO MONEY. It's your loss and you (along with the other open source zealots) will be the only people who care that Opera is closed source, rational people realize they are a business and they have their reasons to keep it closed source but they are very generous to allow the application to still be used for free.
Open source.
I would use Opera instead of Firefox if it was free (as in speech)
I think Opera being closed source makes it better. You have dedicated teams who solely focus on adding features and they do listen to user input so I see no problem. They are focusing on (and succeeding at) making the best web browser possible. They are a business and have reasons to keep the product closed source yet they still allow people to use it FOR FREE, they even took out the annoying ad bar that used to be part of Opera. I fail to see why if you really like how Opera performs and functions as a web browser you would decide not to use it solely because it is not open source.
I like open source, it is a great, but I don't let it run my life on my computer. Some open source zealots just go too far at times and I am sure they have their reasons I just fail to understand them.
And from a user point of vue: - Extensions
If you want extensions go use firefox. The Opera developers do listen to input and if a feature is requested by enough people then they will add it. They also will take out features that people dislike/don't use. That is what I like the most about Opera, they make it the best browser available right out of the box. You don't have to go messing around downloading and installing extensions because it already includes the best features available that most people need.
I used Moz for quite a while until about 3-4 years ago when I came across Opera and decided to give it a shot. I LOVED it, initially what got me was its speed and of course the tabbed browsing. I also currently still have FF installed but I almost never use it, Opera just has everything I need and it does everything I need better. I much prefer just being able to download an installer once and have everything I want already available compared to downloading FF and having to find/load a bunch of extensions.
Because of this, it makes sense for all apps on an x86-64 machine to be 64-bit.
Bzzzt, wrong. If there is no need within the software for 64 bitness then by making everything 64 bit you will effectively double its size and even though it may be faster if it was all 64 bit the speed gain may not be worth the cost of doubling its memory footprint.
As a simple example lets say a simple home recipe organizer is developed, it consists of a way to type in/load in recipes and save them as well as search through its database of recipes. Doubling all integers and pointers would be quite useless. Even if you did something somewhat stupid like give each recipe a unique number (unsigned int) as its primary key and stored everything in a single "recipe" table you would still be able to store 4,294,967,295 recipes before you ran out of slots to insert more recipes. It just would not make sense and would be wasteful to use all 64 bit numbers in this situation since the speed gain (if any) most likely would not be significant.
Now for a memory intensive app such as a high definition video editor it most definately makes sense to have a 64 bit version since it will be working with very large files and being able to natively address those huge memory address spaces would be very beneficial.
It all depends on the application.
I know it has appeared in PM before, but the technology available now along with fuel prices skyrocketing makes it actually feasable to use. I never said that because it appeared in PM made it relevant, just that I remembered seeing it there before. Stop with your "*yawn*", you aren't as cool and smart as you wish you were.
Keep in mind your monitor at work is Dell corporate sales and support, not Dell home consumer sales and support. I suspect many of the problems with support are more of the home consumer end rather than corporate.
I know this, that was why I mentioned the following:
I have had similar service with home computers as well so I don't believe its an issue with business accounts versus home accounts.
I have heard that business accounts are treated much better, I have just NEVER experienced it myself (and I have a lot of experience with both).
I forgot to mention the issue with my LCD at my work happened less than a month ago, so it is current.
I also have one more current experience which happened last year. I ordered an Infocus SP4805 projector (for personal use) through Dell and after hooking it up there was ONE pixel that was always white. I talked again to someone through the online support and within 2 days I had a new projector which worked perfectly and all I had to do was put the old projector in the box and send it back.
after their 6 month old Inspiron 1150's LCD inverter burnt out, and Dell refused to replace it, even though it had a year warranty. Despite numerous calls, all the call center would say is insert the recovery CD and reinstall the operating system.
How long ago did this happen? I know that for a while I heard Dell support was horrible but I am pretty sure they cleaned back up. I was the network admin for my fraternity about 4 years ago and we had all Dells and whenever we had a problem someone would be there the next day, it was great. At my current job I have had a 19 inch LCD that developed problems where whole lines near the bottom were messed up. I went to the Dell support website and chatted online with a CSR expecting a long annoying fight to explain my monitor was broken and it was anything but. I was asked to hook up another monitor to see if the video card may be at fault and after doing so and seeing no problem the guy immediatly said "I am going to replace your monitor". The NEXT day not one, but two monitors showed up. I am honest (and figured they would notice a lost monitor) so I switched out one of the monitors and put the defective one back in its box and sent both monitors back without a problem. I have had similar service with home computers as well so I don't believe its an issue with business accounts versus home accounts. I think some people just have had bad luck with the CSR's they have dealt with.
This seems completely different than phone taps to me (which according to the article telephone switch manufacturers are already required to provide wiretap ability) because I think it would be a much bigger security risk. I am not entirely sure how they want this technology to work but if there are backdoors in all network switches then whats to stop access from ANYWHERE that internet access is available to anyone who knows how the backdoor works. You can't pick up your phone and use it to access a wiretap which makes the wiretap ability built into phone systems much more secure.
Having backdoors is a horrible idea because the way to use them WILL eventually get out to the public and before the compromised switches can be secured a lot of damage may occur. I don't have a problem with internet wiretaps that are similar to phone wiretaps (secure and not easily accessed without court order) but this just sounds ridiculous, especially the backdoors and also requiring the ISPs to filter traffic.
And why does the ship need a deeper draft, especially since they'd still have the engines to use alone getting into and out of port?
If the ships would have to be retro fitted with keels then the ships draft would increase.
A big advantage of self propelled ships is the ability to travel in a straight line, which would seem to be an issue at least in terms of efficiency with a big kite just tied to the ship.
If you RTFA you would find out that this is made to assist the diesel engines on the ship, not get rid of them completely. If the wind is not going in a direction that can help you on your course then you don't use the sail to assist you. This could possibly save ONE THIRD of current fuel consumption, so even if you did have to go slightly off course in order to use the sails it would probably make sense to take a little extra time to get where you are going to save such a huge chunk of change.
Also Popular Mechanics ran an article on this like 4 months ago. In fact it was on the cover of that issue.
b oats-hybrid-ships-and.html and the following link has some more information as well as some interesting pictures/diagrams http://www.primidi.com/2005/03/07.html .
I was trying to remember where I somewhat recently read about this technology and thank you for reminding me that it was in Popular Mechanics.
I can't find a link to the Popular Mechanics article (I think it was in the february 2006 issue) but you can read more about this technology here http://alt-e.blogspot.com/2005/02/hybrids-hybrid-
It is pretty amazing how much more efficient the sails can make a ship, from the last link I mentioned:
"cargo vessels can increase their speed by a minimum of 10% -- in the example given speed is increased yet by 2.25 bends, equaling 15%. Alternatively by using the SkySails propulsion fuel savings of up to 50% can be implemented."
It showed that using 1200 litres of fuel per hour a normal ship would cruise at ~15.5 knots and a skysail enhanced ship would cruise at close to 18 knots, not too bad of a speed gain. If the skysail ship wanted to cruise at 15.5 knots instead then fuel consumption would drop from 1200 litres per hour to around 550. That is just awesome and I really hope this goes into wide use where it is feasable to use it.
Yes, that is true. I work in computer forensics so I have a skewed point of view and don't always think about what a normal computer user would do. You are correct, an average teacher probably would just type in a few passwords and having a self destruct password would be wise.
Are you seriously a HS student who has a UID that low? That would be impressive unless you bought it on e-bay or something.
A car can get broken in anywhere and I doubt you had some super expensive phone since you were in HS at the time so I think leaving it is still the best option. Just take the battery with you or something and keep it out of sight, your car is much less likely to be broken into if there is nothing in plain view worth anything and if it is broken into the cost of the damage done breaking in most likely will be more expensive then a cheap phone. I also suspect your weekly car break-in count to be exagerrated because in my experience at schools that have problems such as that the community gets pissed off and something is done such as getting an officer to patrol the student lots.
It is not a huge deal if you do bring it in if it is off but there still is absolutely no reason or need to bring it in the school. If you need to call immediatly go to the front office and if someone needs to contact you they can call the school. For your example where you were happy to have it on you since it was was snowing and cold outside nothing was stopping you from going to your car and using your phone you could have left there (plus turning the car on for some warmth). Leaving the phone in your car is not being less prepared in that situation at all.
I totally agree. While you are in High School and below there is absolutely no reason you need to have a cell phone on you while class is in session. You are there to learn and interact with the people around you, not talk on the phone to people. If you absolutely need to use a phone go to the front office like people have done for many, many years before.
In my opinion the only people who absolutely would have a purpose for a phone during school hours would be drug dealers and people trying to sell stolen goods. They would be the only ones who need to constantly be available since they would have customers who may try to contact them at any time and by waiting until after school business would be lost. This still does not make it right to have police come barging in and demanding to look at the content on students phones, I do believe that is wrong, I just wanted to make a point that the average student does not need a phone on them while in school.
I say leave the cell phone locked in your car while school is in session, it would make it harder for them to gain access to cell phones since instead of doing random searches of full classrooms they would have to do random searches of students cars which would be less probably since it would disrupt the school day much more (and depending on school rules/local laws it may be illegal for them to search your car without consent). The other reason to leave it there is because IT IS NOT NEEDED, if you have some time off do some homework or study or talk with the people around you.
Even better - encrypt it and more than 3 wrong passwords and everything gets deleted. Or reencrypted with a extreemly difficult password or locked for 24 hours or what ever.
Getting around the automatic deletion is trivially easy by imaging the device and then using your own software to try to unencrypt the file(s). As long as you don't use software that adheres to the 3 try limit the file will not be deleted since a file on its own does not know how many times it has been attempted to be decrypted. The best safety for encrypted files is what you mentioned, LONG and random characters, if you make the password long enough and used an encryption algorithm worth anything then the only way to get access to the files is to brute force the password and if you have a 40 character long random password it will be damn near impossible to brute force it in a decent amount of time.
And what school administrators don't understand is that kids get around rules. It's in the young one's job description.
I agree, back when I was in school we started out on MS-DOS based machines that had a logon box and it was trivially easy to get access to ANYTHING on the network by pressing control-break after entering your information and hitting enter. You had to do it at just the right moment but it usually only took a maximum of 3 tries. Later on they moved onto windows based systems and ran software that limited students access but by hitting control-alt-delete and bringing up the task manager you could easily end task whatever software you wanted and get access to anything on the network. Both of these examples were not spectacular and I am sure what students face today is much harder to get around but it still shows if there is a will there is a way. I only used these tricks to play games during class but if I had wanted to I probably could have done a lot more damage. Students will find ways around obstacles, you just have to be as smart as they are and know what to look for and what needs to be blocked.
Steganography is a reality, not fiction. It's only a matter of time before someone writes a program which hides the disgusting stuff in Hello Kitty pictures, with plausible deniability.
While this is true ALL current freely available steganography software (there is actually quite a lot available) is easily detected using software that knows what to look for. I work in the forensics community and came across the following software at a forensics conference which will scan for traces in files that steganographic hiding software was used on it http://www.sarc-wv.com/stegalyzeras.aspx .
Of course you have to know about steganography in the first place and recognize that it is not hard to use and is already being used but as long as school administrators know about it it is trivially easy to use the software I mentioned to scan files that may have hidden content.
change: Would you argue that that is not being indiscriminate in relation to type of animal?
to: Would you argue that that is not being indiscriminate in relation to kind of seal?
Killing people from a larger group is proportionately less discriminate, not indisciminate.
Less discriminate is the same thing as indiscriminate, you are just making yourself sound uneducated. Here we have one group that only wants to harm Americans who support abortion, they are discriminate whose definition is:
To make a clear distinction; distinguish: discriminate among the options available.
Next we have a group of people who only wants to hurt Americans and supporters of Americans, they don't go around blowing up only abortion clinics but crash planes full of Americans into buildings full of Americans to kill as many Americans as possible along with anyone else who happens to be on the planes and in the buildings who are supporting America. That is being indiscriminate whose definition is:
Random; haphazard: indiscriminate violence; an indiscriminate assortment of used books for sale.
Killing Americans is not the same as randomly going berserk with a flamethrower.
I know this since it is obvious and the topic I had was only talking about Americans and supporters of America so by mentioning this you and the other poster were going off topic.
Here is an example that might get you to understand what I am saying with an example using animals (and the type of animal can be compared to nationality in my original message) and the subset of animals will be seals. Discriminately killing seals could be only going after the babys and clubbing all of the babies to death while indiscriminately killing seals would be machine gunning every seal to death on the beach instead. Would you argue that that is not being indiscriminate in relation to type of animal? What you said before would be changed to "Killing baby seals is not the same as randomly going berserk with a flamethrower on a forest full of animals." and would be off topic since I was not talking about all animal types I was only talking about seals.