> Suppose the world is super-deterministic, with not just inanimate nature > running on behind-the-scenes clockwork, but with our behavior, including our > belief that we are free to choose to do one experiment rather than another...
There is nothing "super" about that. If the universe is deterministic then of course our behavior (including our assertions to the contrary) is determined: we are part of the universe. "Animate" nature is not special.
> What doesn't shock me is to learn that Americans still are ignorant of the > bigger world around them...
Why doesn't it shock me to learn that you still so bigoted that you generalize a demonstration of ignorance by one American on one obscure subject to all...
They would, of course, be required to pay for it. It won't happen, though, nor will the sale be blocked. Despite the excitement of the newsies it isn't that important. Perhaps if the natcops had made their concerns known when ICQ was first put on the market a domestic buyer might have been found but it's too late now.
Sigh. "Latency" is time from when I enter the command until the first byte arrives. "Throughput" is the average rate at which the data arrives once it starts arriving. If I am downloading a Linux distribution I don't mind if the first byte takes a few seconds to arrive (that would be extreme latency) as long as the throughput is as high as possible. If I was playing some sort of interactive multiplayer game, on the other hand, I might find latency of more than a few tens of milliseconds unacceptable.
> Banker is from Brazil and evidence was seized there. Why FBI was involved?
Presumably because after failing to crack the encryption themselves the Brazilian cops contracted the job out to the FBI.
> It is not their jurisdiction...
Irrelevant. They weren't arresting or prosecuting anyone: just undertaking a technical task. It's similar to sending some rolls of film siezed as evidence to a commercial lab to be developed.
Read the article. They did not measure bandwidth. They measured the average rate at which a bunch of Web pages could be dwonloaded, including DNS lookups, latency, waiting for slow ad servers, etc.
> Thank you for saying this. I constantly tell people here that their speed > doesn't mean crap if their latency, or real speed, is bad.
You are also oversimplifying. Both speed and latency (which is not "real speed") matter. Which matters most depends on the specific situation. When I'm downloading a Linux distribution I want throughput. I rarely care much about latency, but for gamers it's critical.
They aren't measuring the bandwidth of the connection. They are measuring the average download rate from a bunch of Web sites, including DNS lookups, server bandwidth, etc. Not particularly useful.
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> I think more physicists should study philosophy....
I think that at least a few philosophers should study physics. Or at least something other than their own bellybuttons.
> Suppose the world is super-deterministic, with not just inanimate nature
> running on behind-the-scenes clockwork, but with our behavior, including our
> belief that we are free to choose to do one experiment rather than another...
There is nothing "super" about that. If the universe is deterministic then of course our behavior (including our assertions to the contrary) is determined: we are part of the universe. "Animate" nature is not special.
I think you are confounding QM and the Standard Model.
> How do we know?
We exist.
> Maybe the antimatter is just not close to us.
Such segregation would be even harder to explain.
> How would you switch if the offending company were a monopoly, such as the
> local electric power company...
It is quite possible to do business with utility companies by phone and snail mail.
> ...or (in a case like this) the only bank with ATMs in your town?
ATMs are a mere convenience. They are far from a neccessity of life.
> What is all the "outdated" commentary in the article, and the bemoaning of
> IE6.
The point is that if they actually cared about security they would specifically block IE6.
> And that internet porn is the greatest risk to the world since sliced bread.
It is if your world depends on centralized control (i.e., intrusive government).
Well, yes, shorthand does work for communicating information, but I don't think it's very secure.
Oh. You wrote "stenogaphy". "There were no results matching the query."
Nothing is utterly secure. Steganography is merely a form of security through obscurity: useful, but fragile.
> Who actually said that?
The reporter, perhaps after getting one of the hundreds of thousands of cops in the US to agree with something vaguely similar.
> Therefore, by that selection process, only those use the non-intercept-able
> network keep going.
No, most keep going because most are never caught.
> ...private law enforcement bodies.
There is no such thing.
> What doesn't shock me is to learn that Americans still are ignorant of the
> bigger world around them...
Why doesn't it shock me to learn that you still so bigoted that you generalize a demonstration of ignorance by one American on one obscure subject to all...
You may be failing to take into account the stupidity of the average criminal.
Thank you.
They would, of course, be required to pay for it. It won't happen, though, nor will the sale be blocked. Despite the excitement of the newsies it isn't that important. Perhaps if the natcops had made their concerns known when ICQ was first put on the market a domestic buyer might have been found but it's too late now.
> Proof ?
"Prime Time Russia" says so.
...other than "Prime Time Russia"?
> But people, unlike corporations, have ethics and a sense of morality to
> guide them.
That's true. A piece of paper has no ethics or morality. It also lacks the abilty to make any decisions or carry out any actions. People do that.
Sigh. "Latency" is time from when I enter the command until the first byte arrives. "Throughput" is the average rate at which the data arrives once it starts arriving. If I am downloading a Linux distribution I don't mind if the first byte takes a few seconds to arrive (that would be extreme latency) as long as the throughput is as high as possible. If I was playing some sort of interactive multiplayer game, on the other hand, I might find latency of more than a few tens of milliseconds unacceptable.
> Banker is from Brazil and evidence was seized there. Why FBI was involved?
Presumably because after failing to crack the encryption themselves the Brazilian cops contracted the job out to the FBI.
> It is not their jurisdiction...
Irrelevant. They weren't arresting or prosecuting anyone: just undertaking a technical task. It's similar to sending some rolls of film siezed as evidence to a commercial lab to be developed.
> ...and they are not encryption experts.
They employ many such.
No. It's all the fault of the bankers. Do try to keep your scapegoats straight.
They purport to have measured "browsing speed".
> Houston, the north-americans have a problem!
Read the article. They did not measure bandwidth. They measured the average rate at which a bunch of Web pages could be dwonloaded, including DNS lookups, latency, waiting for slow ad servers, etc.
> Thank you for saying this. I constantly tell people here that their speed
> doesn't mean crap if their latency, or real speed, is bad.
You are also oversimplifying. Both speed and latency (which is not "real speed") matter. Which matters most depends on the specific situation. When I'm downloading a Linux distribution I want throughput. I rarely care much about latency, but for gamers it's critical.
> People are proud of a 1Mb connection?
They aren't measuring the bandwidth of the connection. They are measuring the average download rate from a bunch of Web sites, including DNS lookups, server bandwidth, etc. Not particularly useful.