His common sense probably let a lot of child molesters go free. Family court judges are notorious for being dismissive about abuse claims and I know a lot of a adults who still bear a grudge because a judge would not believe one of their parents was abusing them. Sadly, your uncle is not a counter example, he is more likely an example of the problem.
Sorry "you know" a lot adults who got diddled by grandpa (I don't know a single fucking one, but then again I don't hang around with people like you). That's what we call "anecdotal evidence" and it isn't worth jack shit. The exact same reason family court judges can't just throw everyone in jail based on some he-said, she-said bullshit. Common sense is not an example of the problem, pussies like you are. If you had your way, I'm sure a judge could just (without evidence, of course, like all authoritarians enjoy) throw people away because mommy said daddy touched little Johnny or Janie. Sadly, people who let emotions rather than facts or common sense (like yourself) are starting to ruin enough lives that these things are finally coming to light.
Better to let 1,000 guilty men free than imprison 1 innocent man. You know, the way it's supposed to work. In a free country, not the kind you like (I hear Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Iran are nice this time of year). If you want innocent people to be jailed because of feewings, get the fuck out. You don't understand what freedom and liberty really are.
But self-driving cars? Those are just fine! Maybe if Google made self-flying planes for taking aerial photos on Earth first, all the mindless geeks would be all for it?
So, posters on message boards deemed "anti-social" or that have views that are not tolerated by the community are now the definition of troll? Wow, that's a good way to make sure opposing viewpoints never get heard. The "algorithm" will just drop any message that goes against the "party line".
I'd imagine there are plenty of places where if you stand up for your individual rights and privacy you'd be marked a subversive and the community wouldn't tolerate your presence. How about speaking of the value of equal civil rights for all humans on the kkk.org forums? I'm pretty sure the community would be pretty intolerant to your viewpoint there!
When did the definition of "troll" become someone who has a viewpoint that you don't necessarily want to hear? A troll, for those who don't know, is someone who legitimately goes out of his or her way to get a rise out of someone just for laughs. Someone who is passionate about an issue that may go against popular opinion or a political narrative doesn't make them a troll. Not having the best grammar and writing skills doesn't make you a troll.
This is purely a push by establishment websites to automate the moderators who go through and do the wholesale deletion of any and all viewpoints that go against the "party line" with robots so in the case of any kind of populist backlash against the predetermined narrative and status quo, they won't have to rely on humans that (possibly) have critical thinking skills going outside the box.
I'm not sure why I'm responding to you, as it's obvious to me that you're being disingenuous. Doing the "right thing" is obvious to most people. If you have no moral or ethical compass, then I'm sure this one's hard for you.
But anyone who was taught right from wrong knows that wholesale monitoring of the private communications of citizens in a free country is a bad thing. It can only lead to abuses and tyrannical actions by those doing the spying. Opposing something that foments tyranny is being on the right side of history.
Wishful thinking is going along to get along and hoping that history won't repeat itself. Rolling over to every abuse of authority gives a group of people already predisposed to sociopathy the psychological approval they need to commit more and larger abuses because they think we're all marks and they can just continue to pull the wool over your eyes. It can go no other way, unless you stand up for yourself.
If you stick your neck out, it might get you decapitated, or it might not. But cowering ensures the negative outcome every time. The choice is up to each and every one of us.
Cowards like you have never changed the world. Sad, really. Not that I think I'm going to, or anything, but for fuck's sake man stop being a pussy! If we're so beaten, and privacy's so dead, then what the fuck have we to lose by figthing for what's right?
I'd rather be suicidal and on the right side of history than get to live a meek, shallow little existence cowering in my hole waiting to die, afraid to say the wrong thing or think the wrong ideas. Sure, someone may eventually kill me or persecute me because I believe in freedom and liberty and privacy, but they won't be taking away my dignity. I've done nothing wrong, and I have the right to think and say what I want (as do you). I, for one, will be exercising those rights until I'm six feet under.
Being cowards and letting everyone roll over on us is how we got in this mess in the first place. It's not too late to take ownership of your historical defeatism and try to affect change.
This is all just a distraction and pandering to a political base. No business that likes money and wants to continue making money will be discriminating against anyone. Big corporations surely don't care who or what you sleep with in bed at night if you want to give them money. Small businesses can't afford to lose a sale. And if a small business decides to put their own religious beliefs in front of making money, then so be it if they go under.
This is another "look over here; be outraged!" political move by the establishment to make sure no one is looking at any of the important issues facing us on the world stage while at the same time furthering the "left/right" political divide and causing more animosity amongst the LGBT community that the "straights" are trying to oppress them (even though no one, straight, republican, or otherwise actually supports legalized discrimination).
Why not both? Apple should be held accountable for their software ignoring the flags set by the user (if that's actually the case, and I'll get to that later), but Google should be held accountable for exploiting a weakness in someone else's systems.
If I were to exploit a bug for profit, I'd get to look forward to federal PMITA prison. When large corporate conglomerates do the same thing, they get to laugh about how they didn't cause anyone financial losses, so they should get away scot-free.
That being said, the "Do Not Track" flag was never a setting that stopped tracking cookies from being set by websites, it was an extra flag sent along with your request that said "Pretty Please with Sugar on Top, Don't Track Me, Okay Guys?", which any websites were free to (and I assume they all did anyway, especially Google) ignore. I don't ever remember a setting in Safari that disallowed cookies but wasn't "Private Browsing" mode. Private Browsing just clears everything when you close the browser, so the only other setting could be the "Do Not Track" flag.
Which anyone who was paying attention should have realized was completely bogus to begin with.
Forwardsfromgrandma is just a liberal circle-jerk that pokes fun at anyone who has an opinion that someone over the age of, oh, say 23 might have about politics or world affairs. While some of the memes are obvious trolls, I'd bet that the vast majority of them are serious. Which just goes to show how out of touch with reality the people who laugh about making the troll memes actually are.
As they say, if you're not a liberal when you're 20 years old then you have no heart.
If you're still a liberal when you're 40 years old, then you have no brain.
So, you work at a government contractor on the East Coast (VA/DC/MD anyone...nah no gov't contractors there). These type of workers start early AM, before most people are awake for the day. 7-8 AM start times are not unheard of. This would coincide with what? A 9-5 workday in UTC-0300 or UTC-0400 you say? No, can't be. The people writing the article really, truly meant the elite uber-hackers of Greenland and Nova Scotia.
It seems like many internet radio providers are dropping Shoutcast support, usually quietly/silently, and expecting you to use a proprietary app or DRM-based player to access their content. They may as well shoot themselves in the foot.
Dropping Shoutcast support today is akin to commercial radio stations dropping AM in favor of FM back in the 1960's (note: they didn't, some simulcasted but eventually dropped FM until it really took off in the late 70's/early 80's when the penetration of receivers reached critical mass).
Sure, there are players and radios that support newer formats, but every player and tons of applications support Shoutcast. Unless, and I know this is a huge stretch, the big media conglomerates don't want to compete on an open directory of stations that lets anyone with a computer and internet connection become a "broadcaster", and are trying to kill it off by removing their content from it?
Ho-lee fuck. When will people ever stop with the goddamned "if you have nothing to hide" bullshit. Don't be ridiculous in the name of the "children" or "harassment", it's still just as disingenuous.
Step 1. Create social media account under my enemy's name and bully people. Step 2. Enemy takes the blame since they can't give up passwords to prove otherwise. Step 3. Profit!
Actually figured out step 2 this time. That's real progress!
Unfortunately, the authority worship preached to our children in the public schools ensures neither of the correct answers will probably be given. The children of people smart enough to have taught their children this (doctors, lawyers, professors, etc.) don't have their children in the public institutionalization facilities, anyway.
...as much as the next guy. But honestly, are there still nerds in 2015 who don't understand how the Android model works? Think of Android as "Linux". Each manufacturer has their own distro of Android, and then there's the "reference" distro, made by Google, that is on Nexus devices called "Stock Android". All the distros are based on the "Stock Android" distro, and the manufacturers customize and add on from there.
So, blaming Google for a flaw in a previous version of Android is like blaming "Linux" for a security flaw in a previous version of Ubuntu. See how much sense that makes? All Ubuntu has to do is use a more recent kernel/library/whatever that doesn't contain the flaw and release an update or new version. The same thing goes for Android, all the handset manufacturers have to do is release an update that contains the fix, and their problems are solved. A current build of "Stock Android" already contains the fix, your manufacturer's outdated distro, however, doesn't.
There are plenty of things we can legitimately blame on Google, but blaming the flaws of handset manufacturers and cellular carriers on Google doesn't help anything. Put pressure on your carriers and manufacturers to stop dragging their feet and support their products beyond the next fiscal quarter or two!
I'm sure the government will glean a plethora of useful data after spending countless hours sifting through viagra ads, pandora spam, notifications that the t-mobile bill is now ready to view, and other such highly sensitive information one would trust to a Gmail account.
While I agree with you on a philosophical level, keep in mind that North Korean authorities probably aren't (in comparison) as understanding and level-headed as those in Germany, or (gasp) even the United States!
As a youngster growing up in the 1980's, countless dozens of hours were spent both in my own basement and the basement of my childhood (well, still) best friend's parents house listening to vinyl, cassettes, and analog FM radio. I later became a smalltime audiophile, I don't buy Monster Cable or equipment that costs more than 4 figures, but I still enjoy a good audio listening experience.
About 5 years ago, my friend's parents finally retired and I was around to help them move out west. While the old Pioneer receiver we used to jam out on had long since died or been retired to the local landfill, the off-name floor speakers were still there. I believe one had the same old lamp sitting on it that it always did, and the other one was just sitting there in the corner. They told me to put them out to the street.
Of course, they went in the trunk of my car, where I promptly took them home and stored them in my garage. This summer, as the garage had now collected enough surplus computer and electronic equipment to need it's twice a decade cleaning, I found the old "Utah" speakers and decided to hook them up to my receiver and see if they were dead or alive. I flicked on the local "oldies" station (meaning 70's and 80's music now) and I was immediately transported back in time. Radio still sounded today like it sounded back in 1986. The speakers provided all the "warmth" and "fullness" that people are always chasing after.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but speakers determine what you hear. Those speakers are now a permanent fixture out in my garage/man-cave. No, they don't sound like any of the big-name equipment I run in the home theater. But they are immersive with only 2 channels in a way a 9.2 surround system can never match. And when I sit outside on the weekend, enjoying a few beers and some (sometimes herb-fueled) tinkering with Linux boxes and electronics, to me at least, it's like going backwards to a time when things were still exciting, the guy on the radio was someone everyone knew, and you had the whole world in the palm of your hand.
I do apologize for waxing nostalgic on a public forum, and I do love my new technology, but damnit sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy something simple that you love. I can understand the value to youngsters of sitting around listening to a piece of tangible vinyl that you can hold in your hand, look at the album art, read the lyrics (all without a LAN connection or Wi-Fi AP being involved) rather than some logical arrangement of bits on a chip or spinning platter. So yes, of course, put your money into speakers (or vinyl, or whatever makes you happy)! I recommend garage sales, swap meets, and flea markets!
As opposed to your divine entity of government. Both (government and corporations) are just as equally fucked. Why do people not realize that the words "free market/business" and "government" can be fully interchanged in tirades like this and still be true. See below:
Oh, horse shit.
You're delusional. The (useful/open/representative) government doesn't exist. It doesn't solve problems. It doesn't achieve optimal outcomes.
It's a fucking abstraction describing long-term outcomes under a perfect hypothetical model based on crap assumptions, not some divine entity.
In practice, the only thing government is doing is picking your pocket and giving you the finger.
It isn't some magical entity. It doesn't make good choices. It doesn't care what happens to you. It doesn't actually care if you have perfect information. It doesn't really exist.
The government is the collective actions of the power elite over an extended period of time -- and collectively the government is rigged, and people are gaming the system. The government won't fix that.
The premise that the government achieves perfect outcomes over the long haul assumes the system isn't corrupt, and that the players aren't actively undermining it.
But humans are corrupt, and always will be. Which means in practice the "government" devolves into cartels and other things by which to stop the citizens from being free.
It doesn't exist. Has never existed. Cannot exist. And if by accident it (useful/open/representative government) briefly existed, it would be undermined immediately by the humans.
You hit the nail on the head. Human nature is the problem, and I, for one, don't want that extinguished (unlike many "progressives" who would love nothing more than exactly that to happen) just so we can declare taxicabs 100% safe, or whatever other delusion the free market Republican morons/government worshipping Democratic idiots think their system can be responsible for.
Stop worrying about this my team vs. your team minutia and live your life.
How is this modded +5 or insightful? It's neither. Why are we still comparing locks and doors in meatspace to virtual servers and ports and IP addresses on a globally-interconnected network of computing nodes and electronic resources? They are nowhere near the same thing. When you advertise and/or broadcast a service on a given port and on a given IP-address, you can rest assured that unless it is properly secured, anyone and everyone will access it and utilize the resources it provides.
In most cases, there are perfectly ethical and legal reasons to access someone else's resources. For example, Google searches, YouTube, IRC, FTP. Is it unethical to download files from an open, unsecured FTP server? Of course it isn't. Is it unethical to watch someone's private camera in their home that they left with no or default credentials? Probably yes, but you'll never know for sure because the default behavior of the network is that if something's wide open, it's there for everyone to use.
When I started college in the 90's, there was a directory on some network drive that was mapped by default for all students. It was called "Network Trash Folder", and had some obscene amount of storage available on it. You better believe it was used for almost a year as a warez-and-mp3 repository for people in the know. Was it unethical to use that resource, that was obviously not officially-sanctioned to be globally available to all users, as a personal storage space? What if some cool/disgruntled/outgoing admin actually made a publicly available storage space knowing people would find it and use it for whatever they wanted? How would anyone know what the intent really was for that resource to be there?
Long story short, it's up to the administrator of a given resource to secure it, lest it be used in ways he or she did not intend. It's not as simple an analogy as "Well, B&E is illegal duh!" Because we aren't dealing with physical resources. If you don't want people watching your cameras, don't put them on publicly routeable ports/addresses or at the very minimum, change the default credentials so people can't access your resources. If you leave everything wide open (or default), expect people to use it. I realize most people don't know this, and this is why they should either learn or pay the consequences. And before I get the "don't blame the victim" song and dance, it's not victim blaming when someone doesn't know enough about how something works to use it safely or securely. If you stupid enough to run your car's engine without oil and it seizes, you're to blame, you're not a victim...if you leave your iPad and laptop and wallet full of cash laying on the seat of your unlocked car downtown and someone rips you off, you're not a victim (unless you count of your own stupidity).
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His common sense probably let a lot of child molesters go free. Family court judges are notorious for being dismissive about abuse claims and I know a lot of a adults who still bear a grudge because a judge would not believe one of their parents was abusing them.
Sadly, your uncle is not a counter example, he is more likely an example of the problem.
Sorry "you know" a lot adults who got diddled by grandpa (I don't know a single fucking one, but then again I don't hang around with people like you). That's what we call "anecdotal evidence" and it isn't worth jack shit. The exact same reason family court judges can't just throw everyone in jail based on some he-said, she-said bullshit. Common sense is not an example of the problem, pussies like you are. If you had your way, I'm sure a judge could just (without evidence, of course, like all authoritarians enjoy) throw people away because mommy said daddy touched little Johnny or Janie. Sadly, people who let emotions rather than facts or common sense (like yourself) are starting to ruin enough lives that these things are finally coming to light.
Better to let 1,000 guilty men free than imprison 1 innocent man. You know, the way it's supposed to work. In a free country, not the kind you like (I hear Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and Iran are nice this time of year). If you want innocent people to be jailed because of feewings, get the fuck out. You don't understand what freedom and liberty really are.
But self-driving cars? Those are just fine! Maybe if Google made self-flying planes for taking aerial photos on Earth first, all the mindless geeks would be all for it?
So, posters on message boards deemed "anti-social" or that have views that are not tolerated by the community are now the definition of troll? Wow, that's a good way to make sure opposing viewpoints never get heard. The "algorithm" will just drop any message that goes against the "party line".
I'd imagine there are plenty of places where if you stand up for your individual rights and privacy you'd be marked a subversive and the community wouldn't tolerate your presence. How about speaking of the value of equal civil rights for all humans on the kkk.org forums? I'm pretty sure the community would be pretty intolerant to your viewpoint there!
When did the definition of "troll" become someone who has a viewpoint that you don't necessarily want to hear? A troll, for those who don't know, is someone who legitimately goes out of his or her way to get a rise out of someone just for laughs. Someone who is passionate about an issue that may go against popular opinion or a political narrative doesn't make them a troll. Not having the best grammar and writing skills doesn't make you a troll.
This is purely a push by establishment websites to automate the moderators who go through and do the wholesale deletion of any and all viewpoints that go against the "party line" with robots so in the case of any kind of populist backlash against the predetermined narrative and status quo, they won't have to rely on humans that (possibly) have critical thinking skills going outside the box.
I'm not sure why I'm responding to you, as it's obvious to me that you're being disingenuous. Doing the "right thing" is obvious to most people. If you have no moral or ethical compass, then I'm sure this one's hard for you.
But anyone who was taught right from wrong knows that wholesale monitoring of the private communications of citizens in a free country is a bad thing. It can only lead to abuses and tyrannical actions by those doing the spying. Opposing something that foments tyranny is being on the right side of history.
Wishful thinking is going along to get along and hoping that history won't repeat itself. Rolling over to every abuse of authority gives a group of people already predisposed to sociopathy the psychological approval they need to commit more and larger abuses because they think we're all marks and they can just continue to pull the wool over your eyes. It can go no other way, unless you stand up for yourself.
If you stick your neck out, it might get you decapitated, or it might not. But cowering ensures the negative outcome every time. The choice is up to each and every one of us.
Cowards like you have never changed the world. Sad, really. Not that I think I'm going to, or anything, but for fuck's sake man stop being a pussy! If we're so beaten, and privacy's so dead, then what the fuck have we to lose by figthing for what's right?
I'd rather be suicidal and on the right side of history than get to live a meek, shallow little existence cowering in my hole waiting to die, afraid to say the wrong thing or think the wrong ideas. Sure, someone may eventually kill me or persecute me because I believe in freedom and liberty and privacy, but they won't be taking away my dignity. I've done nothing wrong, and I have the right to think and say what I want (as do you). I, for one, will be exercising those rights until I'm six feet under.
Being cowards and letting everyone roll over on us is how we got in this mess in the first place. It's not too late to take ownership of your historical defeatism and try to affect change.
Fuck you, authoritarian scumbag.
This is all just a distraction and pandering to a political base. No business that likes money and wants to continue making money will be discriminating against anyone. Big corporations surely don't care who or what you sleep with in bed at night if you want to give them money. Small businesses can't afford to lose a sale. And if a small business decides to put their own religious beliefs in front of making money, then so be it if they go under.
This is another "look over here; be outraged!" political move by the establishment to make sure no one is looking at any of the important issues facing us on the world stage while at the same time furthering the "left/right" political divide and causing more animosity amongst the LGBT community that the "straights" are trying to oppress them (even though no one, straight, republican, or otherwise actually supports legalized discrimination).
Why not both? Apple should be held accountable for their software ignoring the flags set by the user (if that's actually the case, and I'll get to that later), but Google should be held accountable for exploiting a weakness in someone else's systems.
If I were to exploit a bug for profit, I'd get to look forward to federal PMITA prison. When large corporate conglomerates do the same thing, they get to laugh about how they didn't cause anyone financial losses, so they should get away scot-free.
That being said, the "Do Not Track" flag was never a setting that stopped tracking cookies from being set by websites, it was an extra flag sent along with your request that said "Pretty Please with Sugar on Top, Don't Track Me, Okay Guys?", which any websites were free to (and I assume they all did anyway, especially Google) ignore. I don't ever remember a setting in Safari that disallowed cookies but wasn't "Private Browsing" mode. Private Browsing just clears everything when you close the browser, so the only other setting could be the "Do Not Track" flag.
Which anyone who was paying attention should have realized was completely bogus to begin with.
Forwardsfromgrandma is just a liberal circle-jerk that pokes fun at anyone who has an opinion that someone over the age of, oh, say 23 might have about politics or world affairs. While some of the memes are obvious trolls, I'd bet that the vast majority of them are serious. Which just goes to show how out of touch with reality the people who laugh about making the troll memes actually are.
As they say, if you're not a liberal when you're 20 years old then you have no heart.
If you're still a liberal when you're 40 years old, then you have no brain.
So, you work at a government contractor on the East Coast (VA/DC/MD anyone...nah no gov't contractors there). These type of workers start early AM, before most people are awake for the day. 7-8 AM start times are not unheard of. This would coincide with what? A 9-5 workday in UTC-0300 or UTC-0400 you say? No, can't be. The people writing the article really, truly meant the elite uber-hackers of Greenland and Nova Scotia.
You're not going to find, say, "XKEYSCORE" in Microsoft or Apple source code.
Ha, are you really sure about that?
I go.
It seems like many internet radio providers are dropping Shoutcast support, usually quietly/silently, and expecting you to use a proprietary app or DRM-based player to access their content. They may as well shoot themselves in the foot.
Dropping Shoutcast support today is akin to commercial radio stations dropping AM in favor of FM back in the 1960's (note: they didn't, some simulcasted but eventually dropped FM until it really took off in the late 70's/early 80's when the penetration of receivers reached critical mass).
Sure, there are players and radios that support newer formats, but every player and tons of applications support Shoutcast. Unless, and I know this is a huge stretch, the big media conglomerates don't want to compete on an open directory of stations that lets anyone with a computer and internet connection become a "broadcaster", and are trying to kill it off by removing their content from it?
Nah, couldn't possibly be that...
Call me crazy, but I buy Samsung for the hardware.
You're crazy.
Mozilla has just given the world governments very own honeypot a great boost in capacity. Why would that make them an enemy?
Ho-lee fuck. When will people ever stop with the goddamned "if you have nothing to hide" bullshit. Don't be ridiculous in the name of the "children" or "harassment", it's still just as disingenuous.
What a crock of shit.
Step 1. Create social media account under my enemy's name and bully people.
Step 2. Enemy takes the blame since they can't give up passwords to prove otherwise.
Step 3. Profit!
Actually figured out step 2 this time. That's real progress!
"Don't know it, sorry."
or
"Fuck You."
Unfortunately, the authority worship preached to our children in the public schools ensures neither of the correct answers will probably be given. The children of people smart enough to have taught their children this (doctors, lawyers, professors, etc.) don't have their children in the public institutionalization facilities, anyway.
...as much as the next guy. But honestly, are there still nerds in 2015 who don't understand how the Android model works? Think of Android as "Linux". Each manufacturer has their own distro of Android, and then there's the "reference" distro, made by Google, that is on Nexus devices called "Stock Android". All the distros are based on the "Stock Android" distro, and the manufacturers customize and add on from there.
So, blaming Google for a flaw in a previous version of Android is like blaming "Linux" for a security flaw in a previous version of Ubuntu. See how much sense that makes? All Ubuntu has to do is use a more recent kernel/library/whatever that doesn't contain the flaw and release an update or new version. The same thing goes for Android, all the handset manufacturers have to do is release an update that contains the fix, and their problems are solved. A current build of "Stock Android" already contains the fix, your manufacturer's outdated distro, however, doesn't.
There are plenty of things we can legitimately blame on Google, but blaming the flaws of handset manufacturers and cellular carriers on Google doesn't help anything. Put pressure on your carriers and manufacturers to stop dragging their feet and support their products beyond the next fiscal quarter or two!
I'm sure the government will glean a plethora of useful data after spending countless hours sifting through viagra ads, pandora spam, notifications that the t-mobile bill is now ready to view, and other such highly sensitive information one would trust to a Gmail account.
While I agree with you on a philosophical level, keep in mind that North Korean authorities probably aren't (in comparison) as understanding and level-headed as those in Germany, or (gasp) even the United States!
As a youngster growing up in the 1980's, countless dozens of hours were spent both in my own basement and the basement of my childhood (well, still) best friend's parents house listening to vinyl, cassettes, and analog FM radio. I later became a smalltime audiophile, I don't buy Monster Cable or equipment that costs more than 4 figures, but I still enjoy a good audio listening experience.
About 5 years ago, my friend's parents finally retired and I was around to help them move out west. While the old Pioneer receiver we used to jam out on had long since died or been retired to the local landfill, the off-name floor speakers were still there. I believe one had the same old lamp sitting on it that it always did, and the other one was just sitting there in the corner. They told me to put them out to the street.
Of course, they went in the trunk of my car, where I promptly took them home and stored them in my garage. This summer, as the garage had now collected enough surplus computer and electronic equipment to need it's twice a decade cleaning, I found the old "Utah" speakers and decided to hook them up to my receiver and see if they were dead or alive. I flicked on the local "oldies" station (meaning 70's and 80's music now) and I was immediately transported back in time. Radio still sounded today like it sounded back in 1986. The speakers provided all the "warmth" and "fullness" that people are always chasing after.
This may sound like a no-brainer, but speakers determine what you hear. Those speakers are now a permanent fixture out in my garage/man-cave. No, they don't sound like any of the big-name equipment I run in the home theater. But they are immersive with only 2 channels in a way a 9.2 surround system can never match. And when I sit outside on the weekend, enjoying a few beers and some (sometimes herb-fueled) tinkering with Linux boxes and electronics, to me at least, it's like going backwards to a time when things were still exciting, the guy on the radio was someone everyone knew, and you had the whole world in the palm of your hand.
I do apologize for waxing nostalgic on a public forum, and I do love my new technology, but damnit sometimes it's nice to just sit back and enjoy something simple that you love. I can understand the value to youngsters of sitting around listening to a piece of tangible vinyl that you can hold in your hand, look at the album art, read the lyrics (all without a LAN connection or Wi-Fi AP being involved) rather than some logical arrangement of bits on a chip or spinning platter. So yes, of course, put your money into speakers (or vinyl, or whatever makes you happy)! I recommend garage sales, swap meets, and flea markets!
As opposed to your divine entity of government. Both (government and corporations) are just as equally fucked. Why do people not realize that the words "free market/business" and "government" can be fully interchanged in tirades like this and still be true. See below:
Oh, horse shit.
You're delusional. The (useful/open/representative) government doesn't exist. It doesn't solve problems. It doesn't achieve optimal outcomes.
It's a fucking abstraction describing long-term outcomes under a perfect hypothetical model based on crap assumptions, not some divine entity.
In practice, the only thing government is doing is picking your pocket and giving you the finger.
It isn't some magical entity. It doesn't make good choices. It doesn't care what happens to you. It doesn't actually care if you have perfect information. It doesn't really exist.
The government is the collective actions of the power elite over an extended period of time -- and collectively the government is rigged, and people are gaming the system. The government won't fix that.
The premise that the government achieves perfect outcomes over the long haul assumes the system isn't corrupt, and that the players aren't actively undermining it.
But humans are corrupt, and always will be. Which means in practice the "government" devolves into cartels and other things by which to stop the citizens from being free.
It doesn't exist. Has never existed. Cannot exist. And if by accident it (useful/open/representative government) briefly existed, it would be undermined immediately by the humans.
You hit the nail on the head. Human nature is the problem, and I, for one, don't want that extinguished (unlike many "progressives" who would love nothing more than exactly that to happen) just so we can declare taxicabs 100% safe, or whatever other delusion the free market Republican morons/government worshipping Democratic idiots think their system can be responsible for.
Stop worrying about this my team vs. your team minutia and live your life.
I don't always browse at -1, but when I do, I love being rewarded with a post like the GP.
How is this modded +5 or insightful? It's neither. Why are we still comparing locks and doors in meatspace to virtual servers and ports and IP addresses on a globally-interconnected network of computing nodes and electronic resources? They are nowhere near the same thing. When you advertise and/or broadcast a service on a given port and on a given IP-address, you can rest assured that unless it is properly secured, anyone and everyone will access it and utilize the resources it provides.
In most cases, there are perfectly ethical and legal reasons to access someone else's resources. For example, Google searches, YouTube, IRC, FTP. Is it unethical to download files from an open, unsecured FTP server? Of course it isn't. Is it unethical to watch someone's private camera in their home that they left with no or default credentials? Probably yes, but you'll never know for sure because the default behavior of the network is that if something's wide open, it's there for everyone to use.
When I started college in the 90's, there was a directory on some network drive that was mapped by default for all students. It was called "Network Trash Folder", and had some obscene amount of storage available on it. You better believe it was used for almost a year as a warez-and-mp3 repository for people in the know. Was it unethical to use that resource, that was obviously not officially-sanctioned to be globally available to all users, as a personal storage space? What if some cool/disgruntled/outgoing admin actually made a publicly available storage space knowing people would find it and use it for whatever they wanted? How would anyone know what the intent really was for that resource to be there?
Long story short, it's up to the administrator of a given resource to secure it, lest it be used in ways he or she did not intend. It's not as simple an analogy as "Well, B&E is illegal duh!" Because we aren't dealing with physical resources. If you don't want people watching your cameras, don't put them on publicly routeable ports/addresses or at the very minimum, change the default credentials so people can't access your resources. If you leave everything wide open (or default), expect people to use it. I realize most people don't know this, and this is why they should either learn or pay the consequences. And before I get the "don't blame the victim" song and dance, it's not victim blaming when someone doesn't know enough about how something works to use it safely or securely. If you stupid enough to run your car's engine without oil and it seizes, you're to blame, you're not a victim...if you leave your iPad and laptop and wallet full of cash laying on the seat of your unlocked car downtown and someone rips you off, you're not a victim (unless you count of your own stupidity).