I was in the Coastguard for two years and not once during that time did we ever use a computerised map. This outbreak only affected the central control stations (such as the one in Swansea), not the actual Coastguard stations themselves, which work independently. There are hundreds of Coastguard stations around the UK.
Next to the computerised map systems in the main stations, guess what they have? Laminated maps! Our particular region (in the Bristol channel), is on map sheet 67.
This is far from a life-threatening situation. This is simply a case of the press getting excited because it has something to do with the emergency services. We didn't even have a computer at our station, and we had the fastest response time in the Bristol Channel (about two minutes from station empty to full readiness).
All the critical systems at the stations (such as communication), were entirely unaffected. Computerised maps are a low priority system.
How is automatically downloading an antivirus any more legal or ethical than automatically downloading a virus without user permission?
This antivirus would only become illegal and unethical if it did any form of harm/disruption to the computers in question. That's where the "law boundary" is crossed in this case.
Virus makers get prosecuted primarily for damage or disruption to networks and computers. That's different to this case, where a single virus is requesting instructions, and then deleting/nullifying itself as a result. As many of the other posters have pointed out, it's the computers requesting the data from the server.
Provided the requested information is docile, and the senders did nothing to forcibly implant the request program on the home computer, it is entirely legal. It's a lot similar to many browsers zipping to MSN.com as their home page, because people don't know how to change it around.
Well, it's impossible to prove that there is no Matrix in reality. It might not take the same form as it does in the film, obviously, but it is a very possible (and long debated) explanation for existence.
On many key philosophical and scientific points, the film is absolutely right. That's what makes it so appealing.
The imagination boggles at what might be the real reason for us being here. We might live our entire lives, die, and then wake up and find out this was some theme park ride ("A lifetime's experiences... in twenty minutes!"). Or even some kind of virtual prison world, the new form of punishment in the future. Would certainly explain a lot about the people we meet around here:)
For all we know, the world might have been created a few seconds ago. If I was a God, I'd enjoy creating a world with a history, archeological record, and billions of people with their own personal memories.
Of course now that it has been thoroughly proven that relaxing the gun laws so a small fraction of the population is carrying concealed at any given time REDUCES both crime and violence
Eh, what? I don't see that proven at all. There are many different statistics and facts flying backward and forward on this one. The case is far from proven.
If you people in the US want to start going down that road, fair enough, but pray you don't end up in the same situation as South Africa. Car-jackers and thieves no longer bother asking questions first, they just shoot. Saves them a lot of risk, as the assumption is that anyone with anything worth stealing will also own a gun.
In Britain, guns are outlawed almost completely. Not even the police carry weapons.
Caution must always be applied in the use of censorship. However, every state should be allowed the ability to prevent what it considers crime. If a website is complicit in some sort of criminal activity, then it should be shut down, by the same laws that apply to all other media.
What we should be worried about is who decides what material is considered criminal. I wouldn't consider these sort of decisions a loss of rights, as the reason behind them is to protect people and property from violence.
--
T. Metcalf
We never know the worth of water until the well is dry.
Slashdot Mirror
I was in the Coastguard for two years and not once during that time did we ever use a computerised map. This outbreak only affected the central control stations (such as the one in Swansea), not the actual Coastguard stations themselves, which work independently. There are hundreds of Coastguard stations around the UK.
Next to the computerised map systems in the main stations, guess what they have? Laminated maps! Our particular region (in the Bristol channel), is on map sheet 67.
This is far from a life-threatening situation. This is simply a case of the press getting excited because it has something to do with the emergency services. We didn't even have a computer at our station, and we had the fastest response time in the Bristol Channel (about two minutes from station empty to full readiness).
All the critical systems at the stations (such as communication), were entirely unaffected. Computerised maps are a low priority system.
How is automatically downloading an antivirus any more legal or ethical than automatically downloading a virus without user permission?
This antivirus would only become illegal and unethical if it did any form of harm/disruption to the computers in question. That's where the "law boundary" is crossed in this case.
Virus makers get prosecuted primarily for damage or disruption to networks and computers. That's different to this case, where a single virus is requesting instructions, and then deleting/nullifying itself as a result. As many of the other posters have pointed out, it's the computers requesting the data from the server.
Provided the requested information is docile, and the senders did nothing to forcibly implant the request program on the home computer, it is entirely legal. It's a lot similar to many browsers zipping to MSN.com as their home page, because people don't know how to change it around.
Well, it's impossible to prove that there is no Matrix in reality. It might not take the same form as it does in the film, obviously, but it is a very possible (and long debated) explanation for existence.
:)
On many key philosophical and scientific points, the film is absolutely right. That's what makes it so appealing.
The imagination boggles at what might be the real reason for us being here. We might live our entire lives, die, and then wake up and find out this was some theme park ride ("A lifetime's experiences... in twenty minutes!"). Or even some kind of virtual prison world, the new form of punishment in the future. Would certainly explain a lot about the people we meet around here
For all we know, the world might have been created a few seconds ago. If I was a God, I'd enjoy creating a world with a history, archeological record, and billions of people with their own personal memories.
Of course now that it has been thoroughly proven that relaxing the gun laws so a small fraction of the population is carrying concealed at any given time REDUCES both crime and violence
Eh, what? I don't see that proven at all. There are many different statistics and facts flying backward and forward on this one. The case is far from proven.
If you people in the US want to start going down that road, fair enough, but pray you don't end up in the same situation as South Africa. Car-jackers and thieves no longer bother asking questions first, they just shoot. Saves them a lot of risk, as the assumption is that anyone with anything worth stealing will also own a gun.
In Britain, guns are outlawed almost completely. Not even the police carry weapons.
Caution must always be applied in the use of censorship. However, every state should be allowed the ability to prevent what it considers crime. If a website is complicit in some sort of criminal activity, then it should be shut down, by the same laws that apply to all other media.
What we should be worried about is who decides what material is considered criminal. I wouldn't consider these sort of decisions a loss of rights, as the reason behind them is to protect people and property from violence.
--T. Metcalf
We never know the worth of water until the well is dry.