Because they're good for you. While only getting the information you want may be democratic, it may not be necessarily good for either you or society.
The digitalization of information helps you find information you know about but may close you off to new ideas and experiences.
Take a look at the humble card catalogue, once a fixture at the local library. I used to find all sorts of books to read -books I never would have though to look for- simply by flipping though the cards. With a computerized index I find what I'm looking for faster, but I've lost the chance to stumble onto something new.
If you haven't fondled one of the new G4 Powerbooks yet, drop off your significant other at the video arcade and head on down to Frys. If you already have too much debt, I suggest leaving your credit card at home.
After years of being behind, it looks like this might be the equalizer in the neverending battle between those who write and those who break crypto. Now all we need to know is how many atoms need to be manipulated so that users won't put their passphrase on a Post-It(TM) note and stick it to their computer screen.
If I had a dollar for every time someone argued that restricting constitutional rights was good so long as it was "For the Children", I'd have enough cash to buy a cheap suit.
Put down your crack pipe and just think for a moment. The end result of implementing your suggested plan will be a lowest common denominator system where we'll end up with most everything being censored: most everything offends someone. What about kids who have religious nutballs for parents? Will they have to suffer because of the idiocy of their parental units? Censorship is a Very Bad Thing. Building a tool for censorship into a ubiquitous device such as a Tee Vee is a Very Very Bad Thing.
...just like that other relic from the 1980's, Ronald Reagan. I suppose we should be grateful: it was the threat of the V-chip that brought the Cypherpunks into existance and was indirectly responsible for the creation of
PGP and the EFF. A little dose of fascism can do wonders for freedom.
Excellent point about the bandwidth issue. If Libranet wants to (shock of shocks) actually get paid for the service it provides, perhaps a p2p solution such as Mojo Nation is the way to go. At the very least their bandwidth problem is diminished while setting themselves up with a Pay Lars-style tip jar.
Want an inexpensive Windows CE-based web browser, email client, MP3 player, voice memo recorder, rudimentary games machine, and home automation X10 controller that will also create and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files with handwriting recognition and 16-bit color in a package that resembles a space-age Etch-a-Sketch? Get an ePods, hack it and for $199,00 it's all yours.
...to the techno-crack that is Microsoft is a worthy goal. If children learn early on about the benefits of open source software, it is more likely they will go on to contribute -rather than patent- ideas to society.
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The digitalization of information helps you find information you know about but may close you off to new ideas and experiences.
Take a look at the humble card catalogue, once a fixture at the local library. I used to find all sorts of books to read -books I never would have though to look for- simply by flipping though the cards. With a computerized index I find what I'm looking for faster, but I've lost the chance to stumble onto something new.
Soylent diodes are made from people! Soylent diodes are made from people! Soylent diodes are made from people! (that's enough. ed.)
If you haven't fondled one of the new G4 Powerbooks yet, drop off your significant other at the video arcade and head on down to Frys. If you already have too much debt, I suggest leaving your credit card at home.
After years of being behind, it looks like this might be the equalizer in the neverending battle between those who write and those who break crypto. Now all we need to know is how many atoms need to be manipulated so that users won't put their passphrase on a Post-It(TM) note and stick it to their computer screen.
If I had a dollar for every time someone argued that restricting constitutional rights was good so long as it was "For the Children", I'd have enough cash to buy a cheap suit.
Put down your crack pipe and just think for a moment. The end result of implementing your suggested plan will be a lowest common denominator system where we'll end up with most everything being censored: most everything offends someone. What about kids who have religious nutballs for parents? Will they have to suffer because of the idiocy of their parental units? Censorship is a Very Bad Thing. Building a tool for censorship into a ubiquitous device such as a Tee Vee is a Very Very Bad Thing.
...just like that other relic from the 1980's, Ronald Reagan. I suppose we should be grateful: it was the threat of the V-chip that brought the Cypherpunks into existance and was indirectly responsible for the creation of PGP and the EFF. A little dose of fascism can do wonders for freedom.
...I can run BSD in emulation using Virtual PC in Mac Classic mode while using OSX as my main operating system?
Excellent point about the bandwidth issue. If Libranet wants to (shock of shocks) actually get paid for the service it provides, perhaps a p2p solution such as Mojo Nation is the way to go. At the very least their bandwidth problem is diminished while setting themselves up with a Pay Lars-style tip jar.
Want an inexpensive Windows CE-based web browser, email client, MP3 player, voice memo recorder, rudimentary games machine, and home automation X10 controller that will also create and edit Microsoft Word and Excel files with handwriting recognition and 16-bit color in a package that resembles a space-age Etch-a-Sketch? Get an ePods, hack it and for $199,00 it's all yours.
...to the techno-crack that is Microsoft is a worthy goal. If children learn early on about the benefits of open source software, it is more likely they will go on to contribute -rather than patent- ideas to society.