I've read through almost 500 comments here, and I still don't understand how showing ID at the airport is supposed to help
improve security.
All that the ID would do is make the airlines able to say "We know who all of our passengers are"
but that has nothing to do with security! Every single one of the hijackers on Sept 11th passed
this sort of ID check. In fact the ID check is so useless that a couple of the hijackers had their
visas renewed, six months AFTER they were dead. That shows you just how efficient the government
is in even checking the lists it already has.
The real question that the government should be investigating is "Is this person a threat to the
safety of the aircraft and the other passengers?" Knowing names isn't much help for that. Checking
for any possible weapons is. To do that, the following steps need to be done:
- ALL baggage needs to be checked for the presence of any explosives or other devices that could
be a threat to the aircraft itself. - ALL passengers and carry on luggage must be checked for the presence of weapons or anything that
could harm the aircraft or other passengers. - All aircraft need to be searched before each flight for pre-placed weapons or explosives, or else
sealed so that no unauthorized people would have access to the aircraft. aircraft sealed like that
would still need to be searched on a regular basis, possibly as part of the routine daily maintenance. - All airport personnel, both government and civilian need to have regular security checks. I would
suggest a background check by the police before they could be hired, and then a physical search before
being allowed into the secure area of the airport.
Will the new players be able to play unmarked video content? If not, I cannot view my own library of home videos I have created of my family. I will also be unable to electronically distribute my videos, even if I should desire to do so. Given the popularity of the "Reality TV" shows these days that depend on home video and security camera footage, this could be a problem for the TV networks looking for shows to broadcast.
Will I be able to mark my content in the same manner as the big studios do? If I cannot, then this "broadcast flag" becomes a means for the current content providers to effectively ban any new competition.
Will I be able to obtain technical details of the new flag in order that I may create my own recording/playback equipment that is compliant with this? If not, then it becomes a means of creating a monopoly in the consumer electronics market. If I can get the technical information, it becomes a joke as that same information would make it trivially easy to defeat the broadcast flag at will.
I still have one of those model 100s in my collection. I bought it years ago to use as a very portable dumb terminal. It does the job, and runs just about forever on a set of AA batteries.
If there's anyone else around who collects old laptops, I could use a pointer to where I can obtain a ROM image for an old Epson HX-20 laptop. I have the hardware here, but someone replaced the ROMS with a custom set. I'd like to restore this system to its original working condition if I can.
Slashdot Mirror
I've read through almost 500 comments here, and I still don't understand how showing ID at the airport is supposed to help improve security.
All that the ID would do is make the airlines able to say "We know who all of our passengers are" but that has nothing to do with security! Every single one of the hijackers on Sept 11th passed this sort of ID check. In fact the ID check is so useless that a couple of the hijackers had their visas renewed, six months AFTER they were dead. That shows you just how efficient the government is in even checking the lists it already has.
The real question that the government should be investigating is "Is this person a threat to the safety of the aircraft and the other passengers?" Knowing names isn't much help for that. Checking for any possible weapons is. To do that, the following steps need to be done:
- ALL baggage needs to be checked for the presence of any explosives or other devices that could be a threat to the aircraft itself.
- ALL passengers and carry on luggage must be checked for the presence of weapons or anything that could harm the aircraft or other passengers.
- All aircraft need to be searched before each flight for pre-placed weapons or explosives, or else sealed so that no unauthorized people would have access to the aircraft. aircraft sealed like that would still need to be searched on a regular basis, possibly as part of the routine daily maintenance.
- All airport personnel, both government and civilian need to have regular security checks. I would suggest a background check by the police before they could be hired, and then a physical search before being allowed into the secure area of the airport.
Anyone else see anything I've missed?
Will the new players be able to play unmarked video content? If not, I cannot view my own library of home videos I have created of my family. I will also be unable to electronically distribute my videos, even if I should desire to do so. Given the popularity of the "Reality TV" shows these days that depend on home video and security camera footage, this could be a problem for the TV networks looking for shows to broadcast.
Will I be able to mark my content in the same manner as the big studios do? If I cannot, then this "broadcast flag" becomes a means for the current content providers to effectively ban any new competition.
Will I be able to obtain technical details of the new flag in order that I may create my own recording/playback equipment that is compliant with this? If not, then it becomes a means of creating a monopoly in the consumer electronics market. If I can get the technical information, it becomes a joke as that same information would make it trivially easy to defeat the broadcast flag at will.
I still have one of those model 100s in my collection. I bought it years ago to use as a very portable dumb terminal. It does the job, and runs just about forever on a set of AA batteries.
If there's anyone else around who collects old laptops, I could use a pointer to where I can obtain a ROM image for an old Epson HX-20 laptop. I have the hardware here, but someone replaced the ROMS with a custom set. I'd like to restore this system to its original working condition if I can.