If I'd posted it as myself it'd probably be at +5 by now. But I thought it was too lame to bother with... I actually was trying to post it fast enough for it to be first, so I didn't spend much time on it.
The only major expense will be the readers, which the stores will install to prevent theft. All that will be necessary then is to link the databases.
Yeah, they can do that part in an afternoon. With Linux!
You make the most difficult part of the entire equation -- the part I believe to be far too costly, hard to accomplish, and pointless -- seem like child's play. How on earth are you going to get each and every one of the millions of shops, kiosks, boutiques, vending machines, mail-order catalog outlets, convenience stores, gas stations, and other various and sundry vendors all over the country to connect to this mystical, magical database?
"Yeah, we'll just install sensors and hook 'em up to the databases."
I've said it before, and I'll say it again now: ignorant and paranoid are a dangerous combination.
So are there many other people in your area who wear that exact same combination of clothes and shop at the same store?
You've never seen Hot Topic's clientele, have you?
Now imagine a few scanners set strategically around the store and at the cash register and that you take a look around and then purchase another item of clothing with a credit card (assume you payed cash before).
Before you walked in they knew nothing about you. Now they know your name, your credit card number, the clothes you're wearing, how long you've been in the store, what part of the store you looked at most, what part you skipped, your approximate weight, lifestyle and age. And all you've done is buy a pair of socks!
You're making the gigantic assumption that, somehow, the government, with the cooperation and aid of all retail stores and credit card companies in the country and through a common ordinary unmodified point-of-sale terminal, will magically be able to construct a database which relates customers to RFIDs. The RFID is something which I assume is not going to be scanned when the price tag barcode is scanned.
There's really no way this is going to become a privacy issue. The only way an RFID could be used by the authorities is as yet another identifier of an anonymous person. "He was between 6'2" and 6'4", had a moustache and blonde hair, oh, and his teeshirt had RFID 33481095123. We still don't know who the fuck he is, though, but hopefully a sensor will pick up the RFID in his clothing." This is the only situation I can forsee where the evil bad government will use an RFID against one of its citizens, and I honestly don't see why this is a bad thing.
If you're that paranoid, pay with cash. Cash still works, as far as I know, as legal tender.
These tags seem to have a very limited use (preventing theft). Extending their usefulness to include tracking based on who bought them would be a tremendous undertaking, and not worth the time or expense at all. IMO, this is a very silly thing to be afraid of.
The original poster claimed these things were happening on a regular basis. Nobody can predict the future, but not learning from past outages and taking steps to correct the problem and prevent future outages is an excellent way to get dismissed from your job, and makes you the gold-star candidate come layoff time. Those without problem-solving skills can no longer make it in this day and age. (Unfortunately, some put up a good enough act.)
The certificates are good for any software or computer hardware, not just Microsoft's.
That comment was moderated "redundant" because there's no way to mod something "retarded". (No, it wasn't me, but I can sure sympathize. Learn to read.)
What if the problem is upstream? What if the problem is flaky hardware that is just about to barf?
Then you are not doing your job properly. People who throw up their hands and blame a constantly recurring problem on hardware or someone else instead of doing something about it shouldn't be working in this industry. Thankfully, because of this shitty economy, most of these people are finding careers elsewhere.
The site is completely legitimate. This is part of an actual legal settlement. Why the hell would the RIAA set up a website to steal your name and address?
Ignorant and paranoid are a dangerous combination.
Now, as to whether all that bullshit is worth between $5 and $20: I couldn't even buy dinner with that much money. That is why I won't bother. If it were a couple hundred, I'd consider it...
The signal in an analog phone is still converted into digital pulses at some point along its journey. There's no escaping it. You're either woefully uninformed, or just a really bad troll.
Use Kerberos or LDAP for authentication. There are plenty of payware NFS clients for windows, but why would you use the same server to serve both UNIX and Windows filesystems? Unless you're simply sharing data that can be accessed and modified by both types of client, there's really no point, is there?
The prose in this book would bore even the most strung-up of conspiracy theorists. I quit reading after a page and a half, because I thought I was proofreading my nephew's term paper.
Slashdot Mirror
If I'd posted it as myself it'd probably be at +5 by now. But I thought it was too lame to bother with... I actually was trying to post it fast enough for it to be first, so I didn't spend much time on it.
- A.P.
The only major expense will be the readers, which the stores will install to prevent theft. All that will be necessary then is to link the databases.
Yeah, they can do that part in an afternoon. With Linux!
You make the most difficult part of the entire equation -- the part I believe to be far too costly, hard to accomplish, and pointless -- seem like child's play. How on earth are you going to get each and every one of the millions of shops, kiosks, boutiques, vending machines, mail-order catalog outlets, convenience stores, gas stations, and other various and sundry vendors all over the country to connect to this mystical, magical database?
"Yeah, we'll just install sensors and hook 'em up to the databases."
I've said it before, and I'll say it again now: ignorant and paranoid are a dangerous combination.
- A.P.
So are there many other people in your area who wear that exact same combination of clothes and shop at the same store?
You've never seen Hot Topic's clientele, have you?
Now imagine a few scanners set strategically around the store and at the cash register and that you take a look around and then purchase another item of clothing with a credit card (assume you payed cash before).
Before you walked in they knew nothing about you. Now they know your name, your credit card number, the clothes you're wearing, how long you've been in the store, what part of the store you looked at most, what part you skipped, your approximate weight, lifestyle and age. And all you've done is buy a pair of socks!
You're making the gigantic assumption that, somehow, the government, with the cooperation and aid of all retail stores and credit card companies in the country and through a common ordinary unmodified point-of-sale terminal, will magically be able to construct a database which relates customers to RFIDs. The RFID is something which I assume is not going to be scanned when the price tag barcode is scanned.
There's really no way this is going to become a privacy issue. The only way an RFID could be used by the authorities is as yet another identifier of an anonymous person. "He was between 6'2" and 6'4", had a moustache and blonde hair, oh, and his teeshirt had RFID 33481095123. We still don't know who the fuck he is, though, but hopefully a sensor will pick up the RFID in his clothing." This is the only situation I can forsee where the evil bad government will use an RFID against one of its citizens, and I honestly don't see why this is a bad thing.
- A.P.
We're not boycotting DVDs today.
- A.P.
If you're that paranoid, pay with cash. Cash still works, as far as I know, as legal tender.
These tags seem to have a very limited use (preventing theft). Extending their usefulness to include tracking based on who bought them would be a tremendous undertaking, and not worth the time or expense at all. IMO, this is a very silly thing to be afraid of.
- A.P.
Wow, so someone will know I'm wearing Timberland boots, Dockers pants, Oakley sunglasses, and an Izod shirt.
They won't know my name, address, phone number, age, social security number, sexual preference, number of pets, or marital status.
So what the hell's the big deal? Or are we all just being slash-paranoid?
- A.P.
The only significant computer purchases made these days by businesses and consumers alike contain the words "Dell", "Intel", and "Microsoft".
Yeah, those 12 brand-new IBM P-series 630 servers we have sitting in our server room waiting to be installed must be an illusion.
You don't actually work in the tech industry, do you?
- A.P.
Yeah, it was perjury. For lying on the stand about a blowjob.
Tell me you wouldn't do the same, were you in his situation. Though I don't know many people who would blow a fat Republican...
- A.P.
Not at all. It's still lost sales if people purchase Microsoft products with the settlement money.
- A.P.
Well, if you like getting all the new toys (new phones) about ½-1 years later than the rest of the world, then 1900Mhz is fine.
Okay, Mister Smarty-Pants, what's our other choice over here?
- A.P.
Assclown:
The original poster claimed these things were happening on a regular basis. Nobody can predict the future, but not learning from past outages and taking steps to correct the problem and prevent future outages is an excellent way to get dismissed from your job, and makes you the gold-star candidate come layoff time. Those without problem-solving skills can no longer make it in this day and age. (Unfortunately, some put up a good enough act.)
- A.P.
The certificates are good for any software or computer hardware, not just Microsoft's.
That comment was moderated "redundant" because there's no way to mod something "retarded". (No, it wasn't me, but I can sure sympathize. Learn to read.)
- A.P.
You mean the one they cancelled in July?
- A.P.
What if the problem is upstream? What if the problem is flaky hardware that is just about to barf?
Then you are not doing your job properly. People who throw up their hands and blame a constantly recurring problem on hardware or someone else instead of doing something about it shouldn't be working in this industry. Thankfully, because of this shitty economy, most of these people are finding careers elsewhere.
- A.P.
The site is completely legitimate. This is part of an actual legal settlement. Why the hell would the RIAA set up a website to steal your name and address?
Ignorant and paranoid are a dangerous combination.
Now, as to whether all that bullshit is worth between $5 and $20: I couldn't even buy dinner with that much money. That is why I won't bother. If it were a couple hundred, I'd consider it...
- A.P.
The signal in an analog phone is still converted into digital pulses at some point along its journey. There's no escaping it. You're either woefully uninformed, or just a really bad troll.
- A.P.
Just when I thought last night's CD player Ask Slashdot was the worst ever.
Thank you, sir, for proving the bar can indeed be set lower.
- A.P.
Worst.
Ask Slashdot.
Ever.
- A.P.
Big R-type sticker and a spoiler. That'll make it mad fast.
- A.P.
If you can get the same bang while paying less, you can get a better bang by paying the same
What the hell does that mean? Are you talking about hookers?
- A.P.
I will not install proprietary binaries on my computer.
Good for you. I will on mine.
How did you browse the web before Mozilla, genius?
- A.P.
I think all the people who are saying "electric scooter, big whoop. $3,000, yeah right"
You're the third comment. Nobody above you said it. What the hell are you talking about?
- A.P.
Use Kerberos or LDAP for authentication. There are plenty of payware NFS clients for windows, but why would you use the same server to serve both UNIX and Windows filesystems? Unless you're simply sharing data that can be accessed and modified by both types of client, there's really no point, is there?
- A.P.
Clearly, *BSD is dying.
- A.P.
The prose in this book would bore even the most strung-up of conspiracy theorists. I quit reading after a page and a half, because I thought I was proofreading my nephew's term paper.
- A.P.