I think most people don't really feel that their email would attract the attention from the government or others that warrents encryption. This attitude, I feel, is unfortunate because the best way to protect our privacy is to encrypt all messages, not just those that are sensitive, so that when we do encrypt a sensitive message, nobody will be suspicous.
we ALL know that VICTIMS have NO RIGHTS, ONLY CRIMINALS HAVE RIGHTS. This country has gone so far to ensure the rights of the criminal are observed that the VICTIM is often left out to dry.
Often times, when I've heard people complain about criminals having rights, they are really upset because defendants have rights. For example, when my state (Oregon) had a "Victims' Rights" initiative on the ballot, many (perhaps most) of the provisions curtailed the rights of defendants.
Furthermore, when the state violates a suspect's rights (even if the violation reveals that the suspect is indeed a criminal) we must still uphold the suspect's rights--because if we don't, there's no incentive for the state to respect them. Think of it this way: if illegal searches were instead allowed to be submitted as evidence, then a police officer would know that even if a search was illegal, it would still be worthwhile on the off-chance that the search would yield results. On the other hand, by making the fruit of illegal searches inadmissable, police know they better make damn sure that their searches are by-the-book, because if they find something, they want it to be admissable.
So instead of complaining that "criminals have rights", remember that the "criminals' rights" protect us all from abuses by the state.
I assume, no, I hope that NASA does enough checking on names submitted to stop the AYBABTU crowd, not to mention the nascent Bart Simpson wannabees. (Last name Crotch, first name Mike.)
If someone does, it will probably go unnoticed, burned into a CD-ROM with millions of other names.
"Safety will improve. Troublemakers will be identified early, as data-mining software flags behavior in children that leads to crime, sparking remedial programs."
What I'm saying is, "Who the hell is James Martin, and why should I care what he says?"
Funny you should mention that, because at the end of the article is a section titled "Why Should You Listen to James Martin?" It argues, among other things, that he predicted the rise of the Internet 25 years ago. Nonetheless, like any other predictor, I'm taking his predictions with a grain of salt. =======
Actually, I like Spam (the food product--I detest UBE). When I was growing up, we would eat it on camping trips. I think it tastes really good fried. I don't eat it much anymore, however, because of its fat content. =======
Yeah, instead of commericals, PBS uses underwriting. At the start of every program, there's a message clearly identifying the underwriters of the program, often with a logo of some type. I've seen fairly drawn-out sequences on public television too--the Travelers' Insurance sequence that was (maybe still is) before the News Hour with Jim Leher.
If you think the underwriters have no effect on the editorial content of public television, think again. While I don't think it's usually as overt as the underwriter calling the station asking for a program to be pulled (although it has happened), a show without underwriters is unlikely to be made. =======
I actually think that when a server gets "slashdotted," it's a sign of affection rather than malice (unlike the DoS attacks, which are malice). People aren't *trying* to crash the server, but they do so because so many are interested in the resources it provides. =======
The article says: The court's ruling means that if somebody creates a Web page that includes a link to another page, and if that other page is in violation of the law, then the person who creates the link can be charged with aiding and abetting the crime. This is regardless of whether or not they are aware of the illegality of the page they linked to.
What does this mean for search engines/portals that operate in Japan, like Yahoo Japan? Do they have to check each site to make sure that it is not illegal under Japanese law? If someone changes their site so that it includes illegal material, after the link has already been up for a while, will Yahoo Japan be liable?
AOL is the remedial Internet it is not meant for the people who actually know what they are doing. It is for the majority of the empty headed people in this country, who for the most part are one IQ point away from eating dirt and playing with string (or insert you favorite term for an idiot ie troglodyte etc......).
How egalitarian of you!
Seriously, computer proficency is not the ultimate measure of intellegence, or even a good one. I'm sure there are many very intellegent people who have never double-clicked a mouse, let alone could understand what "http://www.yahoo.com/" means.
Perhaps they were never interested in computers before, or couldn't afford one. And now they some interest, but haven't had the advantage of spending the last 10, 20, or 30 years learning how to use one. This doesn't mean that they are "empty headed" or "are one IQ point away from eating dirt and playing with string" as you assert.
I'm not saying AOL is the best solution, either. In fact, I would not reccomend AOL to a new user, since they will be better off in the long run learning how to use more powerful software and a better service.
But to use such inflamitory language to belittle the intellegence of inexperienced computer users is akin to a physicist belittle someone for not fully understanding Quantum Mechanics or a poet belittle somone for not knowing what iambic pentameter is.
Think about what kind of Internet you want. Do you want one where new computer users are constantly reminded that the more experienced consider them to be feedble-minded, or one where they are encouraged to expand their skills and become part of the community? I hope for the second one.
Technology has the power to change the world and improve society dramatically. We should take care that our choice of language discourages nobody from using it.
When Netscape and Nullsoft were purchased by AOL, a company that represented "the enemy" for me, I realized that everything I had hoped for and believed in had crumbled to the power of the dollar.
That's an interesting point. If you want to use a web browser, it seems you have to choose between a Microsoft product (Internet Explorer) or an AOL product (Netscape). Of course, there's Mozilla, but that's still loosly affiliated with AOL (since its built off the Netscape code).
I don't trust anything. If you don't want it read, don't write it down.
That's not really an option. You have to communicate with your doctor somehow, and unless you're in the same room or on the phone (which has its own security risks), you're going to need to write it down. (And your doctor is going to want to write down what you said somewhere anyway.) As long as I have to communicate with my doctor, I'd like some assurance that the private information I'm communicating remains private.
You're exactly right. It's pretty much up to the store whether to "enforce" the ratings on the games.
While the rating system might seem bad, it's probably preferable to government regulation. Parents should be aware of what their kids are doing anyway, and not rely on stores to raise their kids. If you're not aware of what video game your 12-year-old is playing for 8 hours a day, then maybe you ought to re-evaluate your role as a parent.
Also, I don't think that ratings stickers (as they function now) hurt the video game industry at all. I've never seen a kid avoid a game because it had too harsh of a rating. (In fact, I suspect that harsh ratings might actually make games more enticing, like they do for music or movies.) Seriously, did anyone here actually wait until their 17th birthday before they watched their first R movie? Most people probably didn't.
Does this mean that we should start clear-signing our posts? I think it might be a good idea, except we already have to use a password to get into the system. Also, it might make the posts longer than they need to be (with the signature). Anyhow, I think adding public keys to the user profile was a great idea. (Thanks, Rob!) ---- =======
Unfortunately, someone is going to violate the GPL eventually. If the GPL were tested in court and upheld, many people would be reassured. In fact, it might actually be better if this happened sooner rather than later, so if the GPL is legally flawed in some way (let's hope not), the licence can be modified accordingly for future programs.
I think this site is a ploy to get more publicity for their company.
Think about it: Now they will have scores of Slashdot readers visiting their site and reading about their projects. Notice they ask you to tell your friends.
They make their primary project secret but entice you with promises that it will appeal to science-fiction and role playing audiences and that it may include CD-ROMs, comic books, movies, and the like. People will keep logging in (they hope) to see if any additional information is posted about this project. This builds up excitement in anticipation of their launch.
I don't understand your comment. Last time I checked, we directly elect our senators and representatives.
If you mean that we should vote on the tax itself, holding a referendum on every single change in the tax code would be impractical.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to dump everybody in congress every 2 years?
Your representative is up for re-election every 2 years. Each of your senators faces an election every 6 years. You can dump them if you'd like, by voting for someone else.
A better solution: you should tell your elected officials how you feel about this issue. We can complain about our government all we want, but if we don't inform our representatives of our wishes, how can we expect Congress to heed them? Write your senator today and tell them how you feel about this tax proposal. (Be polite.) With the amount of people who visit Slashdot, I'm sure this would make an impact.
And also, people should make sure they vote! We live in an age of low voter turnouts. You cannot expect to have your wishes reflected in a democracy if you do not exercise this fundamental right.
When I said sysadmin, she kinda blinked and said nothing. Then I went on to explain that I do the companies web site and maintain its servers and mostly surf the web for new developments, etc - even mentioned/. heh.
She took a sip of here soda and said - you surf the internet for work!!!???
Wouldn't this be like finding out someone worked for a television station and asking "You watch TV for work??" Or asking someone involved in the music industry "You listen to CDs for work??"
When someone takes the time to handwrite a letter, its a unique artifact with sentimental value. Email cannot match that. In the future, I don't see people saving their old love emails. While email is a great way to keep in touch with people--it's fast, cheap, and easy--nothing beats a nice, handwritten letter once in a while.
Slashdot Mirror
I think most people don't really feel that their email would attract the attention from the government or others that warrents encryption. This attitude, I feel, is unfortunate because the best way to protect our privacy is to encrypt all messages, not just those that are sensitive, so that when we do encrypt a sensitive message, nobody will be suspicous.
What about literature, poetry, musical compositions, and such? "Mistakes" in those can be edited out in the next revision.
Often times, when I've heard people complain about criminals having rights, they are really upset because defendants have rights. For example, when my state (Oregon) had a "Victims' Rights" initiative on the ballot, many (perhaps most) of the provisions curtailed the rights of defendants.
Furthermore, when the state violates a suspect's rights (even if the violation reveals that the suspect is indeed a criminal) we must still uphold the suspect's rights--because if we don't, there's no incentive for the state to respect them. Think of it this way: if illegal searches were instead allowed to be submitted as evidence, then a police officer would know that even if a search was illegal, it would still be worthwhile on the off-chance that the search would yield results. On the other hand, by making the fruit of illegal searches inadmissable, police know they better make damn sure that their searches are by-the-book, because if they find something, they want it to be admissable.
So instead of complaining that "criminals have rights", remember that the "criminals' rights" protect us all from abuses by the state.
Actually, most Americans support the USGS another way, through federal income tax.
In case you aren't a troll: they are burning the names into a CD-ROM which will be sent along with the Mars Rover.
If someone does, it will probably go unnoticed, burned into a CD-ROM with millions of other names.
Reminds me of a story that ran last week about the software that lets parents track their kids at school. http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=01/05/22/154920 3
=======
Or better yet, track where you choose to drive. That's just what I need, Big Brother knowing exactly where I'm at 24/7.
=======
Funny you should mention that, because at the end of the article is a section titled "Why Should You Listen to James Martin?" It argues, among other things, that he predicted the rise of the Internet 25 years ago. Nonetheless, like any other predictor, I'm taking his predictions with a grain of salt.
=======
> Does anyone ever actually EAT this stuff?
Actually, I like Spam (the food product--I detest UBE). When I was growing up, we would eat it on camping trips. I think it tastes really good fried. I don't eat it much anymore, however, because of its fat content.
=======
Yeah, instead of commericals, PBS uses underwriting. At the start of every program, there's a message clearly identifying the underwriters of the program, often with a logo of some type. I've seen fairly drawn-out sequences on public television too--the Travelers' Insurance sequence that was (maybe still is) before the News Hour with Jim Leher.
If you think the underwriters have no effect on the editorial content of public television, think again. While I don't think it's usually as overt as the underwriter calling the station asking for a program to be pulled (although it has happened), a show without underwriters is unlikely to be made.
=======
Life is exciting, isn't it?
I actually think that when a server gets "slashdotted," it's a sign of affection rather than malice (unlike the DoS attacks, which are malice). People aren't *trying* to crash the server, but they do so because so many are interested in the resources it provides.
=======
Life is exciting, isn't it?
The article says: The court's ruling means that if somebody creates a Web page that includes a link to another page, and if that other page is in violation of the law, then the person who creates the link can be charged with aiding and abetting the crime. This is regardless of whether or not they are aware of the illegality of the page they linked to.
What does this mean for search engines/portals that operate in Japan, like Yahoo Japan? Do they have to check each site to make sure that it is not illegal under Japanese law? If someone changes their site so that it includes illegal material, after the link has already been up for a while, will Yahoo Japan be liable?
I hope this precedent isn't adopted elsewere.
=======
Life is exciting, isn't it?
Do you think ESR will be around in 76 years?
=======
Life is exciting, isn't it?
AOL is the remedial Internet it is not meant for the people who actually know what they are doing. It is for the majority of the empty headed people in this country, who for the most part are one IQ point away from eating dirt and playing with string (or insert you favorite term for an idiot ie troglodyte etc......).
How egalitarian of you!
Seriously, computer proficency is not the ultimate measure of intellegence, or even a good one. I'm sure there are many very intellegent people who have never double-clicked a mouse, let alone could understand what "http://www.yahoo.com/" means.
Perhaps they were never interested in computers before, or couldn't afford one. And now they some interest, but haven't had the advantage of spending the last 10, 20, or 30 years learning how to use one. This doesn't mean that they are "empty headed" or "are one IQ point away from eating dirt and playing with string" as you assert.
I'm not saying AOL is the best solution, either. In fact, I would not reccomend AOL to a new user, since they will be better off in the long run learning how to use more powerful software and a better service.
But to use such inflamitory language to belittle the intellegence of inexperienced computer users is akin to a physicist belittle someone for not fully understanding Quantum Mechanics or a poet belittle somone for not knowing what iambic pentameter is.
Think about what kind of Internet you want. Do you want one where new computer users are constantly reminded that the more experienced consider them to be feedble-minded, or one where they are encouraged to expand their skills and become part of the community? I hope for the second one.
Technology has the power to change the world and improve society dramatically. We should take care that our choice of language discourages nobody from using it.
=======
Life is exciting, isn't it?
When Netscape and Nullsoft were purchased by AOL, a company that represented "the enemy" for me, I realized that everything I had hoped for and believed in had crumbled to the power of the dollar.
That's an interesting point. If you want to use a web browser, it seems you have to choose between a Microsoft product (Internet Explorer) or an AOL product (Netscape). Of course, there's Mozilla, but that's still loosly affiliated with AOL (since its built off the Netscape code).
=======
Life is exciting, isn't it?
Except this is medical info, which they can't use in court anyway.
=======
That's not really an option. You have to communicate with your doctor somehow, and unless you're in the same room or on the phone (which has its own security risks), you're going to need to write it down. (And your doctor is going to want to write down what you said somewhere anyway.) As long as I have to communicate with my doctor, I'd like some assurance that the private information I'm communicating remains private.
=======
You're exactly right. It's pretty much up to the store whether to "enforce" the ratings on the games.
While the rating system might seem bad, it's probably preferable to government regulation. Parents should be aware of what their kids are doing anyway, and not rely on stores to raise their kids. If you're not aware of what video game your 12-year-old is playing for 8 hours a day, then maybe you ought to re-evaluate your role as a parent.
Also, I don't think that ratings stickers (as they function now) hurt the video game industry at all. I've never seen a kid avoid a game because it had too harsh of a rating. (In fact, I suspect that harsh ratings might actually make games more enticing, like they do for music or movies.) Seriously, did anyone here actually wait until their 17th birthday before they watched their first R movie? Most people probably didn't.
Just my 2 cents.
=======
Does this mean that we should start clear-signing our posts? I think it might be a good idea, except we already have to use a password to get into the system. Also, it might make the posts longer than they need to be (with the signature). Anyhow, I think adding public keys to the user profile was a great idea. (Thanks, Rob!)
----
=======
Unfortunately, someone is going to violate the GPL eventually. If the GPL were tested in court and upheld, many people would be reassured. In fact, it might actually be better if this happened sooner rather than later, so if the GPL is legally flawed in some way (let's hope not), the licence can be modified accordingly for future programs.
I think this site is a ploy to get more publicity for their company.
Think about it: Now they will have scores of Slashdot readers visiting their site and reading about their projects. Notice they ask you to tell your friends.
They make their primary project secret but entice you with promises that it will appeal to science-fiction and role playing audiences and that it may include CD-ROMs, comic books, movies, and the like. People will keep logging in (they hope) to see if any additional information is posted about this project. This builds up excitement in anticipation of their launch.
You have to admit, it's creative.
If we here in the USA had the
right to vote
I don't understand your comment. Last time I checked, we directly elect our senators and representatives.
If you mean that we should vote on the tax itself, holding a referendum on every single change in the tax code would be impractical.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to
dump everybody in congress every 2 years?
Your representative is up for re-election every 2 years. Each of your senators faces an election every 6 years. You can dump them if you'd like, by voting for someone else.
A better solution: you should tell your elected officials how you feel about this issue. We can complain about our government all we want, but if we don't inform our representatives of our wishes, how can we expect Congress to heed them? Write your senator today and tell them how you feel about this tax proposal. (Be polite.) With the amount of people who visit Slashdot, I'm sure this would make an impact.
And also, people should make sure they vote! We live in an age of low voter turnouts. You cannot expect to have your wishes reflected in a democracy if you do not exercise this fundamental right.
She took a sip of here soda and said - you surf the internet for work!!!???
Wouldn't this be like finding out someone worked for a television station and asking "You watch TV for work??" Or asking someone involved in the music industry "You listen to CDs for work??"
When someone takes the time to handwrite a letter, its a unique artifact with sentimental value. Email cannot match that. In the future, I don't see people saving their old love emails. While email is a great way to keep in touch with people--it's fast, cheap, and easy--nothing beats a nice, handwritten letter once in a while.