Let me put this another way: Do YOU give the government more tax revenue than you are required to do by law?
No...it just feels like it
the Alarmists worry me more than the GOVT!
on
National Biometric IDs
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but...
I can't help but wonder what exactly you think you're giving up by having a biometric print on your driver's license, instead of a 9-digit number. Do you honestly think that by having the (assumed) Encrypted Permutation of the measurements of the veins in your eye on the DMV computer system, that you'll suddenly be some Arnold Schwarzenegger'd character fleeing the Borg Uberpolice in some post-armageddon techno-dictatorship?
Lets face it...there are some areas where privacy is important (medical records, for example)...but we already have LAWS against unauthorized access to said materials. Isn't this the whole debate with the SSSCA or whatever it's called now? That we're looking to legislate things that are ALREADY ILLEGAL? If an insurance company can't get your info now, they won't be able to if you're records are locked biometrically! It's a different key for the same lock.
And, to be honest, there are things that SHOULD NOT BE PRIVATE. Convicted sex offenders should be branded across the forehead -- but we live in a civilized society, where a "DO NOT TRUST WITH YOUR 6-YEAR OLDS!" mark on their record, available to law enforcement and grade school HR departments, would do the trick. Likewise, "Known Terrorist" or "Most Wanted" notices are GOOD THINGS for airport checkin personel to see.
That you have AIDS, or that you're secretly dressing in women's panties, are secrets best kept to yourself. That you have served twenty years for deflowering an Alterboy or have trained in an Al Qaida camp should be open to the world. And I, for one, don't have a problem with that.
Of course, while it's clever, it's hardly original. Pretty reminiscent of the never-ending wars fought in 1984; Big Brother's rhetoric's not even far off from Bush's, and the declared purposes of the wars are likewise pretty similar.
...Every time I see a picture of Osama, I start my "Two Minute Hate"...
From their link on the Gateway page (click on: Protect Your Rights)
Gateway believes: You have the right to make copies for your own use of any CD you've purchased legally -- so you can listen to it in different locations and have a backup if something happens to your original copy. You have the right to enjoy legally acquired music in any format you want -- like converting CD tracks to MP3 files to take with you on a portable or car MP3 player. You have the right to download music from the Internet that you've paid for or that's been made available for download by the artist or record label.
Sega's decision to become a third-party dev instead of a console manufacturer just keeps working better and better, eh? Maybe we'll see a Sonic game on the Palm.. *drool* Or better yet a Genesis emulator. Except you'd need the m500 series for that (or one of the others with expansion card support) because the ROMs would be way too big to hold in RAM. Still cool, though
Genesis?!?! Damnit, does noone rememeber GAMEGEAR...
When there's no competition, you can make your own prices. If Acer, A-Open, Matsushita(Panasonic), LG, or any of the other bottom-tier OEMS started making compatible hardware, it would be *so* much lower.
Heh yah I've noticed that. It's really cool to hate Microsoft. It sure is great that we get news of MS screwing up. Too bad nobody ever pays attention to the good things MS does. I bet that most ppl who bash MS have never spent time with Windows 2000.
I'll be more than glad to cheer when MS does something good. Wake me up if it happens.
Anyone remember some artist by the name of "MC Hammer" (no, well, you're not missing anything...but that's not the point)... Record executives found him playing in clubs, and for a long time he refused any offer to sign. He realized that selling 50,000 CD's on his own (and he was doing it, out of the trunk of his car)would make him *MORE* than if he signed and sold a million for the record company. They had to THROW money at him -- like a football star -- to get him to sign. Of course, we know where his career went from there...(Be careful, that coffee's hot! Can't Touch that!)
Point is -- most artists could support themselves, if they're good enough at marketing themselves and they get a good following. Distribution isn't the problem--it's marketing. Most would rather pass that responsibility to the Record Execs, who'll later take 90% of the profit.
Oh yes, I see the competition in the world-wide car market, or soft drinks, or computers. Gee, I think I'll just start my own car company and surpass General Motors.
New car companies do start now and then -- Saturn's not more than ten years old, and Kia's even newer. Every now and then, I see a Merkur speeding down the highway here in NY, so there are companies trying to branch out beyond "local" markets. Just because you personally can't start your own multinational car company, doesn't mean others haven't tried and succeeded.
Another example: there are hundreds of "local" soda bottlers around here. They're usually cheaper then Coke or Pepsi, and they've been around a long time...their only limitations are marketing and distribution.
Finally, who wants a new computer? Call Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, or one of the million mail-order catalogs...microwarehouse, TigerDirect, Micron, et al
Competition isn't always the heavy-weights going at it...it's the small companies filling the cracks between who survive. Success, like happiness, isn't promised by the constitution...it's the persuit of...Capitalism gives you the right to try
The commentary is just a rundown on the Worst Case Scenario. MS takes over the internet, keeps all your personal data on an (in)secure IIS server, and one next day three billion dollars are charged on your credit cards, your SSN is erased, your parents forget who you are, all your teeth fall out, your dog runs away, your truck breaks down...
(cue evil hacker, chortling with glee)
I don't think it will ever go THAT far. However, in light of recent "worst case scenarios" which have proven only too possible, I doubt a healthy dose of paranoia is entirely a bad idea...
Slashdot Mirror
MSFT will just require everyone start up their WINS Service...it's already there...
Let me put this another way: Do YOU give the government more tax revenue than you are required to do by law?
No...it just feels like it
Now, I don't want to get off on a rant here, but...
I can't help but wonder what exactly you think you're giving up by having a biometric print on your driver's license, instead of a 9-digit number. Do you honestly think that by having the (assumed) Encrypted Permutation of the measurements of the veins in your eye on the DMV computer system, that you'll suddenly be some Arnold Schwarzenegger'd character fleeing the Borg Uberpolice in some post-armageddon techno-dictatorship?
Lets face it...there are some areas where privacy is important (medical records, for example)...but we already have LAWS against unauthorized access to said materials. Isn't this the whole debate with the SSSCA or whatever it's called now? That we're looking to legislate things that are ALREADY ILLEGAL? If an insurance company can't get your info now, they won't be able to if you're records are locked biometrically! It's a different key for the same lock.
And, to be honest, there are things that SHOULD NOT BE PRIVATE. Convicted sex offenders should be branded across the forehead -- but we live in a civilized society, where a "DO NOT TRUST WITH YOUR 6-YEAR OLDS!" mark on their record, available to law enforcement and grade school HR departments, would do the trick. Likewise, "Known Terrorist" or "Most Wanted" notices are GOOD THINGS for airport checkin personel to see.
That you have AIDS, or that you're secretly dressing in women's panties, are secrets best kept to yourself. That you have served twenty years for deflowering an Alterboy or have trained in an Al Qaida camp should be open to the world. And I, for one, don't have a problem with that.
Last I checked, I *DO* have my retinas embedded in my skull...
But maybe, if we had their DNS Sequence, we could have issued a Denial of Service attack before they could finish their deeds...
As long as we're nitpicking...
I'm gonna be pretty ticked if the theme song doesn't go something like...
Spider-man, Spider-man
Does whatever a spider can
Spins a web, any size
Catches thieves, just like flies
Look out! Here comes the Spider-man!
Is he strong? Listen, Bud!
He's got radioactive blood.
Can he swing from a thread?
Take a look overhead.
Hey there, there goes the Spider-man!
In the chill of night,
At the scene of the crime
Like a streak of light
He arrives just in time
Spider-man, Spider-man
Friendly neighborhood Spider-man
Wealth and fame, he's ignored
Action is his reward
To him, life is a great big bang-up
Wherever there's a hang-up
You'll find the Spider-man!
I'm just waiting for "We-make-silly-software-patents-and-then-license-t hem-to-companies-for-LOADS-AND-LOADS-of-money" to get off the ground,
Replace 'software-patents' with 'Hardware-patents' and you have RAMBUS...
Maybe a DVI connector would have driven the price up too high...
AFAIK, DosEdit documents are *THE* most compatible format, supported by every word processor on the market.
You want interoperability, go with what works...
.TXT FOREVER!
Of course, while it's clever, it's hardly original. Pretty reminiscent of the never-ending wars fought in 1984; Big Brother's rhetoric's not even far off from Bush's, and the declared purposes of the wars are likewise pretty similar.
...Every time I see a picture of Osama, I start my "Two Minute Hate"...
From their link on the Gateway page (click on: Protect Your Rights)
Gateway believes:
You have the right to make copies for your own use of any CD you've purchased legally -- so you can listen to it in different locations and have a backup if something happens to your original copy.
You have the right to enjoy legally acquired music in any format you want -- like converting CD tracks to MP3 files to take with you on a portable or car MP3 player.
You have the right to download music from the Internet that you've paid for or that's been made available for download by the artist or record label.
Ah yes, the wonderful langauge of Ur.
Feel free to download my contribution here:
attached file: "SNOWCRASH.EXE"
Hook my IIIc up with a modem, and let me play
Phantasy Star Online on my way to work...
Sega's decision to become a third-party dev instead of a console manufacturer just keeps working better and better, eh? Maybe we'll see a Sonic game on the Palm .. *drool* Or better yet a Genesis emulator. Except you'd need the m500 series for that (or one of the others with expansion card support) because the ROMs would be way too big to hold in RAM. Still cool, though
...
Genesis?!?! Damnit, does noone rememeber GAMEGEAR
In an interesting turn of events, sex is outlawed due to its addictive properties.
see: Welcome To the Monkeyhouse - Kurt Vonnegut
Recently released--the OpenSource "Clothespin" Steam filter. So, as much 'Steam' as you've been streaming, our clients aren't affected at all.
What would you do if the Congress said "general elections are so much trouble - all that counting... We'll just pick our successors from now on..."
No...that's why we have the Supreme Court!
A bit like having only one Broadband service, no?
When there's no competition, you can make your own prices. If Acer, A-Open, Matsushita(Panasonic), LG, or any of the other bottom-tier OEMS started making compatible hardware, it would be *so* much lower.
Heh yah I've noticed that. It's really cool to hate Microsoft. It sure is great that we get news of MS screwing up. Too bad nobody ever pays attention to the good things MS does. I bet that most ppl who bash MS have never spent time with Windows 2000.
I'll be more than glad to cheer when MS does something good. Wake me up if it happens.
ZZzz..
The GIMP tells me that the colour of the universe is #FEF9E5 in hex. Now that's got to mean something :-p
It's just scrambled....
#fef95e -> Eff #95e
Maybe it's saying something about the EFF and Windows 95?
Who knows what the universe is trying to tell us!
Following the flow of this code, you're F$cked either way...
r n (Fucked);
Might want to add
15 Goto 10
or just do it the right way...
main(){
while(!broken(something));
retu
}
Anyone remember some artist by the name of "MC Hammer" (no, well, you're not missing anything...but that's not the point)...
Record executives found him playing in clubs, and for a long time he refused any offer to sign. He realized that selling 50,000 CD's on his own (and he was doing it, out of the trunk of his car)would make him *MORE* than if he signed and sold a million for the record company. They had to THROW money at him -- like a football star -- to get him to sign. Of course, we know where his career went from there...(Be careful, that coffee's hot! Can't Touch that!)
Point is -- most artists could support themselves, if they're good enough at marketing themselves and they get a good following. Distribution isn't the problem--it's marketing. Most would rather pass that responsibility to the Record Execs, who'll later take 90% of the profit.
A gentle breeze oughta do it...
Oh yes, I see the competition in the world-wide car market, or soft drinks, or computers. Gee, I think I'll just start my own car company and surpass General Motors.
New car companies do start now and then -- Saturn's not more than ten years old, and Kia's even newer. Every now and then, I see a Merkur speeding down the highway here in NY, so there are companies trying to branch out beyond "local" markets. Just because you personally can't start your own multinational car company, doesn't mean others haven't tried and succeeded.
Another example: there are hundreds of "local" soda bottlers around here. They're usually cheaper then Coke or Pepsi, and they've been around a long time...their only limitations are marketing and distribution.
Finally, who wants a new computer? Call Dell, Gateway, HP/Compaq, or one of the million mail-order catalogs...microwarehouse, TigerDirect, Micron, et al
Competition isn't always the heavy-weights going at it...it's the small companies filling the cracks between who survive. Success, like happiness, isn't promised by the constitution...it's the persuit of...Capitalism gives you the right to try
The commentary is just a rundown on the Worst Case Scenario. MS takes over the internet, keeps all your personal data on an (in)secure IIS server, and one next day three billion dollars are charged on your credit cards, your SSN is erased, your parents forget who you are, all your teeth fall out, your dog runs away, your truck breaks down...
(cue evil hacker, chortling with glee)
I don't think it will ever go THAT far. However, in light of recent "worst case scenarios" which have proven only too possible, I doubt a healthy dose of paranoia is entirely a bad idea...