Government is greatly influenced by paid lobbyists and tabloid papers too. Some entities punch way above their weight (News International, for example).
I'm not saying that individual participation is useless, but I do believe that our democracies are being distorted by popular media and professional lobbying firms. I'm in the UK btw. It looks worse on your side of the pond but all is not rosy over here either.
I'd say that bundling a personal firewall is a bad example. Security tools should be in the base install of any network OS. Now, if you had said '...such as a browser, media player etc', I would agree.
I fully agree with your comments about the XP UI. If you ever do have to deal with one, right-click the start menu, click properties and select classic mode. Why on earth they decided to turn the interface upside-down I'll never know.
Law enforcement agencies are just trying to do their job, you are quite right. But sometimes they make mistakes or have corrupt officers. That is one reason why warrants exist. The requirement to obtain a warrant does not prevent the police from doing their job, but it does provide oversight from outside the police organisation. I think this safeguard is in danger of being swept aside, at least in the UK, where we now have RIP
Why would you think participating in a public auction should provide privacy?
I don't have a problem with officials having the power to investigate me. What I do object to is the removal of judicial oversight when they wish to trespass on my life. It seems that law-enforcement agencies tend to whine about not having the powers they need to fight crime, when what they really want is the removal of accountability.
It's probably not for the judges to change EBay's policy, rather your politicians need to draft legislation protecting your privacy. Do you guys have no data protection laws at all over there?
Don't know about server performance, but we have a couple of xp desktops in work. They don't seem to cause any more trouble than win2k (ie boot at 9:00, work until 5:00, shutdown. no fuss).
A 486 is a 32-bit, protected memory architecture CPU. Running DOS on a 486 is still a waste of good hardware. Isn't that one of the things which frustrated Linus Torvaulds, the fact that there was no decent OS for his 80386?
You are quite right, downloading old games could cause a reduction in Nintendo's revenue.
However, since they've been found guilty of pricefixing in Europe, they have been stealing money from their customers. I wouldn't give them much sympathy for losing sales on their older games.
You can try to export your patent system. Hopefully, we aren't stupid enough to accept the import here. I'd like to think that our customs would stop it at the border, on the grounds that it is 'damaged goods':)
That depends on your audience. If you were expecting a mainly American audience (like this one), then imo you would be correct to use their dialect word.
The weird thing is, the motorways are quieter during school holidays too. I suspect that in term-time, the kids are dropped off at roughly the same time, so their parents all hit the motorway at about 08:10. When we have kids, I'll get back to you and tell you if that's the reason. =)
The public transport charge is time-based? That sounds a bit mean. If your bus is stuck in traffic, you get to pay extra for the privilege.
Wouldn't this reduce the incentive to use public transport on highly congested routes? If it is expensive to sit on the bus, I might as well sit in the comfort of my own car instead.
Unfortunately, even badly performing operators are not replaced. They might get hit by the occasional fine, but the big stick is never used. Some badly performing contractors are selected when new areas are up for tender.
It's supposed to be a place where concerns can be aired and listened to. Every time a government questions the wisom of what is happening, all we hear from the White House is "this institution is in danger of becoming irrelevant.". They said it about the UN, now they're saying it about NATO. The message is very clear, do as we wish, or be deemed irrelevant. The current US administration does not seem to consider any other nation to be a peer, they are classed as either 'allies', 'enemies' or irrelevant nuisances to be brushed aside. There is a lot of goodwill being burned right now.
Slashdot Mirror
They're as cheap as the rest of us :p
Government is greatly influenced by paid lobbyists and tabloid papers too. Some entities punch way above their weight (News International, for example).
I'm not saying that individual participation is useless, but I do believe that our democracies are being distorted by popular media and professional lobbying firms. I'm in the UK btw. It looks worse on your side of the pond but all is not rosy over here either.
No, he got a +5 insightful. This board isn't as bad as you make out.
I'd say that bundling a personal firewall is a bad example. Security tools should be in the base install of any network OS. Now, if you had said '...such as a browser, media player etc', I would agree.
Why did my TV suddenly decide that I wanted to see three specials about Michael Jackson every week?
:)
Don't worry about it. I don't have a Tivo, but my TV seems to have done the same too
Hmm, I get a company called Global Crossing from the ARIN WHOIS database. Did you query a different whois server?
So you're the dude who creates those endless porn popups? Grrr.
(Not that I'd know, using Mozilla and all).
I fully agree with your comments about the XP UI. If you ever do have to deal with one, right-click the start menu, click properties and select classic mode. Why on earth they decided to turn the interface upside-down I'll never know.
I have no idea, though, who you call to check on Homeland Security.
A foreign intelligence agency?
Law enforcement agencies are just trying to do their job, you are quite right. But sometimes they make mistakes or have corrupt officers. That is one reason why warrants exist. The requirement to obtain a warrant does not prevent the police from doing their job, but it does provide oversight from outside the police organisation. I think this safeguard is in danger of being swept aside, at least in the UK, where we now have RIP
Won't delete the account though. eBay will just deny you access to it.
There's a flaw. If someone spoofs a request from a white-listed organisation, then fewer checks are made.
Getting a warrant is not difficult or time consuming, if you can demonstrate why you need it to the court's satisfaction.
Why would you think participating in a public auction should provide privacy?
I don't have a problem with officials having the power to investigate me. What I do object to is the removal of judicial oversight when they wish to trespass on my life. It seems that law-enforcement agencies tend to whine about not having the powers they need to fight crime, when what they really want is the removal of accountability.
It's probably not for the judges to change EBay's policy, rather your politicians need to draft legislation protecting your privacy. Do you guys have no data protection laws at all over there?
Don't know about server performance, but we have a couple of xp desktops in work. They don't seem to cause any more trouble than win2k (ie boot at 9:00, work until 5:00, shutdown. no fuss).
A 486 is a 32-bit, protected memory architecture CPU. Running DOS on a 486 is still a waste of good hardware. Isn't that one of the things which frustrated Linus Torvaulds, the fact that there was no decent OS for his 80386?
You are quite right, downloading old games could cause a reduction in Nintendo's revenue.
However, since they've been found guilty of pricefixing in Europe, they have been stealing money from their customers. I wouldn't give them much sympathy for losing sales on their older games.
I suspected it was distance based, just checking :)
You can try to export your patent system. Hopefully, we aren't stupid enough to accept the import here. I'd like to think that our customs would stop it at the border, on the grounds that it is 'damaged goods' :)
That depends on your audience. If you were expecting a mainly American audience (like this one), then imo you would be correct to use their dialect word.
The weird thing is, the motorways are quieter during school holidays too. I suspect that in term-time, the kids are dropped off at roughly the same time, so their parents all hit the motorway at about 08:10. When we have kids, I'll get back to you and tell you if that's the reason. =)
The public transport charge is time-based? That sounds a bit mean. If your bus is stuck in traffic, you get to pay extra for the privilege.
Wouldn't this reduce the incentive to use public transport on highly congested routes? If it is expensive to sit on the bus, I might as well sit in the comfort of my own car instead.
In some aspects, you're pulling ahead of us :(
Unfortunately, even badly performing operators are not replaced. They might get hit by the occasional fine, but the big stick is never used. Some badly performing contractors are selected when new areas are up for tender.
The UN is a fucking joke.
It's supposed to be a place where concerns can be aired and listened to. Every time a government questions the wisom of what is happening, all we hear from the White House is "this institution is in danger of becoming irrelevant.". They said it about the UN, now they're saying it about NATO. The message is very clear, do as we wish, or be deemed irrelevant. The current US administration does not seem to consider any other nation to be a peer, they are classed as either 'allies', 'enemies' or irrelevant nuisances to be brushed aside. There is a lot of goodwill being burned right now.