Maybe the terra'ists are onto a solution already. Four guys drink parts of this imaginary chemical cocktail. Probably a lot of it. Then one by one they piss the components out into the lavatory. Boom!
What a pisser. Security Theater. Tickets, please. Everyone please move to the end of the row to make more seats available.
ISTR a number of motherboard BIOS which protect the boot block of a hard drive. Would this not then protect the MBR?
If so, I will refrain from asking, "then why don't people use it?" because I know why. And I know why I have not enabled this feature. Simply put, lack of motivation to do so. But since I'm not loading an OS onto my computer every day I use it, or my servers, I could level-up my responsibility stats by write-protecting the MBR. (Of course, any cracker worth his salt (HA!) would find a way around the BIOS write protection.)
Probably not, but can we justify automatically treating everyone like a criminal? We are supposed to be presumed innocent until sufficient evidence exists otherwise, which is collected after probable cause. The desired approach is to treat a heart beat as probable cause -- not good.
Screw the technology of broadcasting, I want to know how these pirates steadied a piano and a full lounge on a floating radio station. This design would not "float" these days: no cubicles and no manager's office.
I notice that there are also no engineer or crew quarters. Fun lot, these pirates! And what, no Marconi and cross-bones flag?
This seems as outlandish as some of the scare tactics used now to "warn" us about terrorism. I bet people were just as gullible then as they are now. Really, just stick to the facts, and stop making sh!t up, please.
Not to mention the method of nailing domestic "radio pirates." The pirates claim that their meager 5w output does not cross state lines. The government uses super-high-sensitivity detection equipment to prove that the signals do indeed cross state lines. Seems a bit nit-pickish to me, as the average Joe Radio would pick up more powerful stations. But, as Bureaucrat Number 1.0 says, "you are technically correct - the best kind of correct."
Please mod parent up. Here's the key:
Anyone out there a voter? We allowed ourselves to get into this mess and we need to get ourselves out. It begins at the lowest level and works its way up. Now more than ever we need to seriously become more involved in our political process lest we lose every liberty we have, or should have, before us now.
I, like many others, have always had a problem with voting for the "lesser of two evils." I found it a compromise of my principles to do so, and therefore I did not vote. But we also have to remember that the system has measures to help protect us, and part of those measures involve us and our voting power. We cannot win them all, and by throwing up our hands and saying "I didn't get my way, so now I won't participate" is just the same as shackling ourselves to whatever whims may come.
Only recently have I been able to clearly define what it means to be part of our system, and how one must be a part of our system. I know I was not alone in this way of thinking, and it is fundamentally flawed. We MUST get involved, or we MUST get OUT. Canada is not too far behind us, so our only option may be Mexico.
I am quite ready to tell kids AND qualify my statements, in terms of legality, ethics, and morality. Which I see as fact, theory, and opinion, respectively.
Also, to split hairs, I did mention that none of my SOFTWARE is pirated.
Just keep this crap away from public schools. This is the type of corporate propaganda that belongs in marketing, advertisements, and sponsored events. NOT in a tax-supported educational system.
And screw them all:
1) I not only make digital copies of software media, but I will happily provide a replacement to friends, family, or customers who lose theirs. Why? Because its the PRODUCT KEY which makes the magic, NOT the CD.
1a) I am sensitive, however, to certain products which just require media from a previous version to qualify for an upgrade. I do not just "hand out" copies; you have to prove to me that you legitimately own the product. And I am quite fond of saying "NO."
2) I make copies of my CDs in VBR MP3 format for use on my portable devices and home computers.
3) I rip and convert my DVDs for use on my portable devices.
Oh, and I do not always put caps back on pens, fold or hang my laundry, and every once in a while I also use the last of the toilet paper without replacing it.
I also do not use a single bit of pirated or unpaid software (I would say "unregistered," but there are a few free packages like RealPlayer I refuse to register due to spam issues.) No, really. But sometimes I wish I did, as it seems the pirates have fewer hurdles through which to jump and are able to spend more time enjoying software than dealing with licensing issues.
In the Action Pack, we only received Vista Business, but we could upgrade it to Ultimate for $150.
Now to obtain (or retain) the Action Pack you have to take online assessments. I have had my Action Pack for several years now, and I felt rather insulted.
You see, Microsoft is fighting terror^H^H^H^H^H^H piracy by forcing these assessments on Action Pack subscribers. This move is intended to "keep the Action Pack out of the hands of people who shouldn't have it." In other words, people who pay $300 per year and let their friends use five licenses of Office and Windows XP. But what Microsoft does not understand is that making MAPS more difficult to obtain just increases the likelihood that the software will be pirated.
I am really too busy installing its software in Virtual PC or on a real workstation, testing, and learning how to use the software so I can sell to and support my customers. Too busy to read all the marketing horse shit they shove down my throat. Let me tell you how sick and damned tired I was of reading their Truth About Linux (or whatever the hell it was called) materials. I was done with that after the first brochure.
But overall, Microsoft is just pushing us away: the system builders, the techs, the developers. We all slaved away to get Microsoft where it is today, and it needs us no more.
Wanna hear something really stupid? How about that a system builder is not allowed to give a customer a copy of the OEM installation CD of Office 2007. Nope. We are supposed to provide the customer with a way of restoring the installation. Microsoft's recommendation: Ghost, or something similar. What? So if my customer's Office 2007 installation blows up and has to be reinstalled, they get to lose ALL of their data in favor of a Ghost restore.
More hoops. Maybe this is what they want all along, but with the exception of Windows XP and Vista, I no longer sell OEM software with my machines. Server 2003? Retail. Office 2007? Retail. Why? Because it is less of a heartache and wallet-ache when the times comes.
Need to upgrade your server hardware? Copy the installation to a new machine? Bzzzt! Nope, technically the SBS 2003 install and 75 CALs are locked to the original hardware.
Bought Office 2003 Basic Edition and want to upgrade to Professional? Just install the Professional upgrade? Bzzzt! Sorry, this just isn't your day. Basic Edition, as an OEM only edition, does not qualify for the upgrade to Office Professional. However, every version of Office back to 95, even the Works Suites, DO qualify.
Wowsers. Really, Microsoft does not need us anymore. Really. If I wanted to screw your sister I would become your best pal. But now I am screwing your sister I no longer need you as a friend, so piss off.
Seriously. At what point do we consider a country so dangerous that we will not longer do business with it? When do we finally say "go screw yourself" to dangerous governments?
Continuing to do business with China is like having a Gremlin as a pet. Or having a stuffed clown in your bedroom. Anyone growing up in the 80s will tell you those are two VERY big no-nos.
Thus the reason that eBay needs to be more involved. Taking away the ability for a seller to inform other sellers about a bad buyer is not the answer to retaliatory feedback practices. The answer is to provide a venue for resolution.
This policy will to nothing more than allow eBay to remain hands-off in handling disputes.
As far as I'm concerned as a buyer, if I win and item and pay for it right away, I deserve positive feedback. I do not like sellers that do not leave feedback until I do. And if I leave legitimate negative feedback, I should be able to protest a retaliatory feedback -- but that requires eBay to get involved.
As a seller, if you follow the terms of my auction, you get positive feedback. Period. If you do not comply to the terms, you get negative. And the eBay involvement here is the same as me as a buyer -- it requires that eBay get involved to handle disputes.
So, congratulations eBay. You have effectively turned your system into a haven for fraudsters.
Sweet. When I was in Junior High, I must have gone through three or four Armitron calculator watches. They were about $10 each. The problem was they would develop a crack which started at one of the legs which held the wrist band in place, then proceed to split its way up the keypad.
I used to love the alarm. It was ten seconds of normal alarm, then another ten seconds of a fast beeping. Too bad they were made so cheaply.
Shortly afterwards I came across a Casio temperature watch. This was around 1988. It was broken all to hell and back, but I managed to piece it back together. Its biggest failure was that it would every so often lose contact with the thermo sensor and freak out. It went in the trash after a year of playing with it. I bought a newer model (which lacked some of the cool features of its older brother) some years back, but the battery went dead. I replaced the battery, but I couldn't get the unit put back together properly. It was around that time that I discovered the Casio wants you to send your watch to them with $12 for a battery change. I've never gotten around to it, and now I have three dead Casios which just need new batteries.
It's weird... I've always loved collecting watches, especially ones with odd functionality (temp sensor, remote control, heart rate monitor, digital camera, and even a Timex which plays a beepy rendition of "Love Me Tender,") but I haven't worn a watch in more than a decade.
The only issue I have ever had with the C64 is the placement of the @ symbol. The quote is SHIFT-2, and the @ symbol is its own key. That can be problematic, though for me it did become second nature.
I use the TI-99/4A as well. A number of punctuation marks are FCTN keys, like the quote is FCTN-P. That can get annoying, but still usable. And a LOT better than the 99/4 keyboard layout -- at least the 4A has lower-case!
The issue of Hg content in CFLs is pretty well known. The real problem is that people are not educated about the recycling which can be done, and a sub-problem is cost. I take all of my electronics to the landfill where several types of hazardous waste products are recycled (supposedly, but that is out of my hands and another source of conspiracy theory altogether.) But I am only one of two people in my group of friends that does this.
So instead, most households will just throw the bulbs away like the do incandescents. It also comes up to cost. Now, the local landfill does not charge for household waste, but I am aware that some do. For ones that do charge, there should be some way to subsidize the cost so that people are encouraged to recycle. I have often proposed a small recycling fee added to hazardous waste products, like $1 each for consumer electronics, $.25 each for CFLs, etc., that is built into the price of the product.
My experience with CFLs versus old computers has been a harsh one. I no longer use CFLs in my computer lab because of the quickness of plastic yellowing which it appears to cause. Case in point, I had a Commodore 1080 monitor sitting on a desk in the room which had advanced yellowing on surfaces exposed to the fluorescent light, including lines where shadows fell. The front of my Commodore 128D suffered the same, as did a fairly young beige Antec PC case. No more. I use a halogen now and have not noticed any yellowing in this light.
I take issue with a legislative ban on incandescents period rather than a specific energy efficiency rating. General Electric announced a technology which increases the efficiency of incandescents. I wonder if this technology ever made it out of the lab and into the market.
I want to also quickly address two of your points. Firstly, lighting color (temperature) is a big issue for photography and videography, as well as make-up. Secondly, I have included here a link to a reliable source about fluorescent lighting and depression -- but in all seriousness, since different CFLs have different temperatures, it should not be a difficult leap to link those colors to psychological states.
On a personal note, I have found that cheaper fluorescents (CFL or otherwise) have a flicker which cause me to experience headaches, and that a brand available at The Home Depot called n:vision produces a series with a higher temperature and therefore whiter light which I enjoy.
What if I'm one of those guys who thinks topless teens with bouncing breasts are child pornography? The local constabulary isn't going to be amused if I call them twice a week because I keep finding "child porn" on my client's computers.
Is the standard really "what I think" or is there some kind of common-sense standard techies use before wasting police manpower? As far as I know, there is no published standard. And I do not know for certain, so I would have to assume that after a couple or few false alarms the cops would have some advice on how to continue your services -- pretty much the same way they would handle bad reporting of other crimes. I'm sure that the situation you describe could easily turn into "boy who cried wolf" arrangement. Law enforcement relies upon the opinions and good judgment of citizens to effectively apply itself. The short of it is if you witness something that makes you feel uncomfortable in your gut, you report it.
On the flip side, what if I'm one of those guys who thinks "if there aren't at least two of them and they aren't doing the dirty deed, it's not porn"? Will I be arrested for not reporting a single-actor KP picture just because it didn't meet my tough grading criteria? There are a slew of charges which could be filed against you. From what I understand, at the very least you can be charged with conspiratorial charges, accessory to the crime, concealing evidence, and so on. I had a pucker-factor moment not long ago when I did work on a computer which was confiscated from its owner a little over a week later for child porn. I honestly never saw anything incriminating on the computer as it was a simple repair of Windows XP to get it to boot again. I was never approached by law enforcement over the situation, but I could have been.
Look, people, these guys are not the Gestapo -- they do not just waltz down to your shop and slap cuffs on you. Even in this case I had no fears that I would have been arrested, only that I was in a dubious position having worked on the computer just prior to its confiscation. In the USA, the laws are written in terms of the rights of the accused and, at least around where I do business, law enforcement has to have its Is crossed and Ts dotted before charging through the door.
Eh, I will bite, but only because I have had a similar discussion to your proposition recently.
As someone who believes in the system, I would happily accept accusation and defend myself if it means that nine others are correctly accused, prosecuted, and convicted.
Now, the system is not perfect. But the system as it is now -- and unfortunately subject to change to the worse -- allows for modification. If you do not like how something works, then you get people together to challenge it. In south Florida enough signatures were collected to have a ban on homosexual marriages placed on ballots. I do not agree with this stance, but I agree in principle with how they accomplished their goal.
Hey, I did not say, nor did I mean to imply, that ALL repair centers have an ethic. I will speak for reputable centers, and some do exist, myself and my close colleagues.
So, yes, I will bring ethics into this argument, because they must exist. The fact that they may not in this particular case is a matter for the courts to work.
I will also say that in this case the perp was a complete and utter moron. I maintain the confidentiality of my clients so they have no concern when I take a machine off-site for repairs. But when we have to send a computer out for repair, say a laptop or similar ilk, we remove the hard drive. As a matter of policy, I troubleshoot and correct software and hard drive problems. Anything above that can be handled by the OEM under the warranty and if the system goes out, the hard drive stays.
In this case the guy was having a removable media drive replaced. Shoulda pulled the hard drive out before taking it in. Of course, any law enforcement agent with whom I have discussed the issue will tell you flat out: the criminal is his or her own worst enemy. Ah, well.
Additionally, the can only ask the technician to show them what caused them to place the call. Afterwards, they MUST have a warrant to search for more evidence, and they are prohibited from asking the tech to perform additional searches.
Slashdot Mirror
Tribe of Apple, meet the Church of the Amiga.
:)
BOOYAH!
I used to make long road trips in a car with blue lighting (though, probably not 450nm) and that never helped me.
My current car has blue back-lighting in the instrument cluster though, again, probably not 450nm.
Morning light has never kept me from sleeping.
Over all, I just sleep when I'm tired. Maybe two hours, maybe four hours, maybe 10 hours. But always when I'm ready to sleep, or genuinely bored.
I'm more like a Fraggle: I can nap at the drop of a hat.
Maybe the terra'ists are onto a solution already. Four guys drink parts of this imaginary chemical cocktail. Probably a lot of it. Then one by one they piss the components out into the lavatory. Boom!
What a pisser. Security Theater. Tickets, please. Everyone please move to the end of the row to make more seats available.
ISTR a number of motherboard BIOS which protect the boot block of a hard drive. Would this not then protect the MBR?
If so, I will refrain from asking, "then why don't people use it?" because I know why. And I know why I have not enabled this feature. Simply put, lack of motivation to do so. But since I'm not loading an OS onto my computer every day I use it, or my servers, I could level-up my responsibility stats by write-protecting the MBR. (Of course, any cracker worth his salt (HA!) would find a way around the BIOS write protection.)
Yeah?
"Heyyyyy youuuuu guyyyyyyys!"
Probably not, but can we justify automatically treating everyone like a criminal? We are supposed to be presumed innocent until sufficient evidence exists otherwise, which is collected after probable cause. The desired approach is to treat a heart beat as probable cause -- not good.
Screw the technology of broadcasting, I want to know how these pirates steadied a piano and a full lounge on a floating radio station. This design would not "float" these days: no cubicles and no manager's office.
I notice that there are also no engineer or crew quarters. Fun lot, these pirates! And what, no Marconi and cross-bones flag?
This seems as outlandish as some of the scare tactics used now to "warn" us about terrorism. I bet people were just as gullible then as they are now. Really, just stick to the facts, and stop making sh!t up, please.
Not to mention the method of nailing domestic "radio pirates." The pirates claim that their meager 5w output does not cross state lines. The government uses super-high-sensitivity detection equipment to prove that the signals do indeed cross state lines. Seems a bit nit-pickish to me, as the average Joe Radio would pick up more powerful stations. But, as Bureaucrat Number 1.0 says, "you are technically correct - the best kind of correct."
I, like many others, have always had a problem with voting for the "lesser of two evils." I found it a compromise of my principles to do so, and therefore I did not vote. But we also have to remember that the system has measures to help protect us, and part of those measures involve us and our voting power. We cannot win them all, and by throwing up our hands and saying "I didn't get my way, so now I won't participate" is just the same as shackling ourselves to whatever whims may come.
Only recently have I been able to clearly define what it means to be part of our system, and how one must be a part of our system. I know I was not alone in this way of thinking, and it is fundamentally flawed. We MUST get involved, or we MUST get OUT. Canada is not too far behind us, so our only option may be Mexico.
I am quite ready to tell kids AND qualify my statements, in terms of legality, ethics, and morality. Which I see as fact, theory, and opinion, respectively.
Also, to split hairs, I did mention that none of my SOFTWARE is pirated.
Oh, and I forgot, "Don't Copy That Floppy" and "Home Taping is Killing Music."
Just keep this crap away from public schools. This is the type of corporate propaganda that belongs in marketing, advertisements, and sponsored events. NOT in a tax-supported educational system.
And screw them all:
1) I not only make digital copies of software media, but I will happily provide a replacement to friends, family, or customers who lose theirs. Why? Because its the PRODUCT KEY which makes the magic, NOT the CD.
1a) I am sensitive, however, to certain products which just require media from a previous version to qualify for an upgrade. I do not just "hand out" copies; you have to prove to me that you legitimately own the product. And I am quite fond of saying "NO."
2) I make copies of my CDs in VBR MP3 format for use on my portable devices and home computers.
3) I rip and convert my DVDs for use on my portable devices.
Oh, and I do not always put caps back on pens, fold or hang my laundry, and every once in a while I also use the last of the toilet paper without replacing it.
I also do not use a single bit of pirated or unpaid software (I would say "unregistered," but there are a few free packages like RealPlayer I refuse to register due to spam issues.) No, really. But sometimes I wish I did, as it seems the pirates have fewer hurdles through which to jump and are able to spend more time enjoying software than dealing with licensing issues.
In the Action Pack, we only received Vista Business, but we could upgrade it to Ultimate for $150.
Now to obtain (or retain) the Action Pack you have to take online assessments. I have had my Action Pack for several years now, and I felt rather insulted.
You see, Microsoft is fighting terror^H^H^H^H^H^H piracy by forcing these assessments on Action Pack subscribers. This move is intended to "keep the Action Pack out of the hands of people who shouldn't have it." In other words, people who pay $300 per year and let their friends use five licenses of Office and Windows XP. But what Microsoft does not understand is that making MAPS more difficult to obtain just increases the likelihood that the software will be pirated.
I am really too busy installing its software in Virtual PC or on a real workstation, testing, and learning how to use the software so I can sell to and support my customers. Too busy to read all the marketing horse shit they shove down my throat. Let me tell you how sick and damned tired I was of reading their Truth About Linux (or whatever the hell it was called) materials. I was done with that after the first brochure.
But overall, Microsoft is just pushing us away: the system builders, the techs, the developers. We all slaved away to get Microsoft where it is today, and it needs us no more.
Wanna hear something really stupid? How about that a system builder is not allowed to give a customer a copy of the OEM installation CD of Office 2007. Nope. We are supposed to provide the customer with a way of restoring the installation. Microsoft's recommendation: Ghost, or something similar. What? So if my customer's Office 2007 installation blows up and has to be reinstalled, they get to lose ALL of their data in favor of a Ghost restore.
More hoops. Maybe this is what they want all along, but with the exception of Windows XP and Vista, I no longer sell OEM software with my machines. Server 2003? Retail. Office 2007? Retail. Why? Because it is less of a heartache and wallet-ache when the times comes.
Need to upgrade your server hardware? Copy the installation to a new machine? Bzzzt! Nope, technically the SBS 2003 install and 75 CALs are locked to the original hardware.
Bought Office 2003 Basic Edition and want to upgrade to Professional? Just install the Professional upgrade? Bzzzt! Sorry, this just isn't your day. Basic Edition, as an OEM only edition, does not qualify for the upgrade to Office Professional. However, every version of Office back to 95, even the Works Suites, DO qualify.
Wowsers. Really, Microsoft does not need us anymore. Really. If I wanted to screw your sister I would become your best pal. But now I am screwing your sister I no longer need you as a friend, so piss off.
Seriously. At what point do we consider a country so dangerous that we will not longer do business with it? When do we finally say "go screw yourself" to dangerous governments?
Continuing to do business with China is like having a Gremlin as a pet. Or having a stuffed clown in your bedroom. Anyone growing up in the 80s will tell you those are two VERY big no-nos.
Thus the reason that eBay needs to be more involved. Taking away the ability for a seller to inform other sellers about a bad buyer is not the answer to retaliatory feedback practices. The answer is to provide a venue for resolution.
This policy will to nothing more than allow eBay to remain hands-off in handling disputes.
As far as I'm concerned as a buyer, if I win and item and pay for it right away, I deserve positive feedback. I do not like sellers that do not leave feedback until I do. And if I leave legitimate negative feedback, I should be able to protest a retaliatory feedback -- but that requires eBay to get involved.
As a seller, if you follow the terms of my auction, you get positive feedback. Period. If you do not comply to the terms, you get negative. And the eBay involvement here is the same as me as a buyer -- it requires that eBay get involved to handle disputes.
So, congratulations eBay. You have effectively turned your system into a haven for fraudsters.
Anonymity does not breed terrorism. It simply allows for more aggressive and pervasive forms of dissent.
Want to quell dissent? Remove anonymity. It works for dictators, fascists, and unions.
Come to think of it, I'm not so certain that the quote wasn't a SHIFT-2 on old type writers...
Sweet. When I was in Junior High, I must have gone through three or four Armitron calculator watches. They were about $10 each. The problem was they would develop a crack which started at one of the legs which held the wrist band in place, then proceed to split its way up the keypad.
I used to love the alarm. It was ten seconds of normal alarm, then another ten seconds of a fast beeping. Too bad they were made so cheaply.
Shortly afterwards I came across a Casio temperature watch. This was around 1988. It was broken all to hell and back, but I managed to piece it back together. Its biggest failure was that it would every so often lose contact with the thermo sensor and freak out. It went in the trash after a year of playing with it. I bought a newer model (which lacked some of the cool features of its older brother) some years back, but the battery went dead. I replaced the battery, but I couldn't get the unit put back together properly. It was around that time that I discovered the Casio wants you to send your watch to them with $12 for a battery change. I've never gotten around to it, and now I have three dead Casios which just need new batteries.
It's weird... I've always loved collecting watches, especially ones with odd functionality (temp sensor, remote control, heart rate monitor, digital camera, and even a Timex which plays a beepy rendition of "Love Me Tender,") but I haven't worn a watch in more than a decade.
Damn... this could tombstone my Casio remote control watch...
The only issue I have ever had with the C64 is the placement of the @ symbol. The quote is SHIFT-2, and the @ symbol is its own key. That can be problematic, though for me it did become second nature.
I use the TI-99/4A as well. A number of punctuation marks are FCTN keys, like the quote is FCTN-P. That can get annoying, but still usable. And a LOT better than the 99/4 keyboard layout -- at least the 4A has lower-case!
The issue of Hg content in CFLs is pretty well known. The real problem is that people are not educated about the recycling which can be done, and a sub-problem is cost. I take all of my electronics to the landfill where several types of hazardous waste products are recycled (supposedly, but that is out of my hands and another source of conspiracy theory altogether.) But I am only one of two people in my group of friends that does this.
So instead, most households will just throw the bulbs away like the do incandescents. It also comes up to cost. Now, the local landfill does not charge for household waste, but I am aware that some do. For ones that do charge, there should be some way to subsidize the cost so that people are encouraged to recycle. I have often proposed a small recycling fee added to hazardous waste products, like $1 each for consumer electronics, $.25 each for CFLs, etc., that is built into the price of the product.
My experience with CFLs versus old computers has been a harsh one. I no longer use CFLs in my computer lab because of the quickness of plastic yellowing which it appears to cause. Case in point, I had a Commodore 1080 monitor sitting on a desk in the room which had advanced yellowing on surfaces exposed to the fluorescent light, including lines where shadows fell. The front of my Commodore 128D suffered the same, as did a fairly young beige Antec PC case. No more. I use a halogen now and have not noticed any yellowing in this light.
I take issue with a legislative ban on incandescents period rather than a specific energy efficiency rating. General Electric announced a technology which increases the efficiency of incandescents. I wonder if this technology ever made it out of the lab and into the market.
I want to also quickly address two of your points. Firstly, lighting color (temperature) is a big issue for photography and videography, as well as make-up. Secondly, I have included here a link to a reliable source about fluorescent lighting and depression -- but in all seriousness, since different CFLs have different temperatures, it should not be a difficult leap to link those colors to psychological states.
On a personal note, I have found that cheaper fluorescents (CFL or otherwise) have a flicker which cause me to experience headaches, and that a brand available at The Home Depot called n:vision produces a series with a higher temperature and therefore whiter light which I enjoy.
Is the standard really "what I think" or is there some kind of common-sense standard techies use before wasting police manpower? As far as I know, there is no published standard. And I do not know for certain, so I would have to assume that after a couple or few false alarms the cops would have some advice on how to continue your services -- pretty much the same way they would handle bad reporting of other crimes. I'm sure that the situation you describe could easily turn into "boy who cried wolf" arrangement. Law enforcement relies upon the opinions and good judgment of citizens to effectively apply itself. The short of it is if you witness something that makes you feel uncomfortable in your gut, you report it. On the flip side, what if I'm one of those guys who thinks "if there aren't at least two of them and they aren't doing the dirty deed, it's not porn"? Will I be arrested for not reporting a single-actor KP picture just because it didn't meet my tough grading criteria? There are a slew of charges which could be filed against you. From what I understand, at the very least you can be charged with conspiratorial charges, accessory to the crime, concealing evidence, and so on. I had a pucker-factor moment not long ago when I did work on a computer which was confiscated from its owner a little over a week later for child porn. I honestly never saw anything incriminating on the computer as it was a simple repair of Windows XP to get it to boot again. I was never approached by law enforcement over the situation, but I could have been.
Look, people, these guys are not the Gestapo -- they do not just waltz down to your shop and slap cuffs on you. Even in this case I had no fears that I would have been arrested, only that I was in a dubious position having worked on the computer just prior to its confiscation. In the USA, the laws are written in terms of the rights of the accused and, at least around where I do business, law enforcement has to have its Is crossed and Ts dotted before charging through the door.
Would you care to expand upon the relevancy?
Eh, I will bite, but only because I have had a similar discussion to your proposition recently.
As someone who believes in the system, I would happily accept accusation and defend myself if it means that nine others are correctly accused, prosecuted, and convicted.
Now, the system is not perfect. But the system as it is now -- and unfortunately subject to change to the worse -- allows for modification. If you do not like how something works, then you get people together to challenge it. In south Florida enough signatures were collected to have a ban on homosexual marriages placed on ballots. I do not agree with this stance, but I agree in principle with how they accomplished their goal.
So for now I trust the system.
Hey, I did not say, nor did I mean to imply, that ALL repair centers have an ethic. I will speak for reputable centers, and some do exist, myself and my close colleagues.
So, yes, I will bring ethics into this argument, because they must exist. The fact that they may not in this particular case is a matter for the courts to work.
I will also say that in this case the perp was a complete and utter moron. I maintain the confidentiality of my clients so they have no concern when I take a machine off-site for repairs. But when we have to send a computer out for repair, say a laptop or similar ilk, we remove the hard drive. As a matter of policy, I troubleshoot and correct software and hard drive problems. Anything above that can be handled by the OEM under the warranty and if the system goes out, the hard drive stays.
In this case the guy was having a removable media drive replaced. Shoulda pulled the hard drive out before taking it in. Of course, any law enforcement agent with whom I have discussed the issue will tell you flat out: the criminal is his or her own worst enemy. Ah, well.
Additionally, the can only ask the technician to show them what caused them to place the call. Afterwards, they MUST have a warrant to search for more evidence, and they are prohibited from asking the tech to perform additional searches.