So let's assume the 90% accuracy figure is not bullshit (which it probably is). That means 1 out of 10 innocent passengers will be harrassed as suspected terrorists and 1 out of 10 terrorists will be allowed through. Not especially comforting thoughts in either case.
Lets look into this "volunteer" thing: we are looking for a person ready to give up their whole life, move to an almost 100% barren place where he/she will soon die utterly alone!
Sounds like the life of a typical/. reader. Sign 'em up!
I don't disagree, but India's not a country considered a security threat to the US.
I wasn't speaking solely about threats to the US.
But even there, it's problematic to predict what countries will be future security threats. Local problems elsewhere in the world tend to become problems for the US.
And some of the anti-US sentiment around the world is fueled by envy. We've got ours and they don't have theirs. That's not the whole story by any means, but it's certainly part of it.
Finally, it will be a lot easier to combat the present and future threats if we have the wholehearted support of other countries. That will come more easily the better our economic ties -- meaning trade in goods and services.
So are you willing to live on minimum wage in this country (with it's cost of living) for the sake of your philosophy? I truly doubt it.
I'm willing to sell my skills for the prevailing market rate -- particularly since I have little choice! If that ends up being minimum wage -- which I truly doubt it will -- I'll either accept that or I'll see if I can find a better market. Welcome to the real world, AC.
Many developing countries are still developing because their people are kept down by their government, and having jobs with foreign companies for low wage will not help. If they're paid more, they'll simply be taxed more.
You think the Indian programmers are starving? That's not the way I hear it at all. They get a salary that's pretty good -- for India -- and probably spend most of their income locally, further uplifting the Indian economy. Will outsourcing have a large, immediate, dramatic effect on the economies of these countries? Probably not, but as I said, in the long term it can make a difference.
What does economic disparity have to do with international security? There will always be zealots with an agenda, religious, political, or economical.
Yes, but those zealots gain much of their power by convincing those who are economically disadvantaged to follow them. And you know, zealotry is not the only source of instability. Warfare between nations existed long before UBL and his crowd.
"The problem is a lack of highly educated workers willing to work for the minimum wage or lower in the U.S."
Nor are highly educated workers willing to work for the (local) minimum wage or lower in places other than the U.S. It's just that the U.S. minimum wage provides a pretty good living in some parts of the world.
You know, painful as it is to those who pay the price, one can make the argument that this trend will, in the long run, help to minimize the economic disparities between the "developed" countries and the "third world." And that can't be bad for international security.
But it's all part of the same thing: a willingness by some people -- the current Administration among them -- to trade away the protections of the Constitution for an (illusory) increase in "security."
Also, if you're imprisoned without being arrested or arrested without being told why, you are in a good position to sue the shit out of whomever is doing it.
Even if true, that really doesn't make me feel any better.
If I get flagged as being something I'm not, further investigation will reveal that I'm not doing anything wrong.
I hope so, but as it stands right now they could keep you in the can indefinitely while they investigate, without charges and without access to an attorney -- just because they suspect you.
In my book, that's a violation of the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth amendments. At least.
I was going to talk to you about a job until I read this in your resume:
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a position that will strengthen and expand my Information Technology skill set.
That is such trite bullshit. Now, suppose your objective were: To build and maintain the most secure, flexible and efficient Unix/Linux systems possible and to develop interesting applications using Perl, PHP, C, C++, Java, SQL and related technologies.That would interest me as a potential employer.
I think the wonder of any scientific advance should be tempered by a clear-headed analysis of the dangers it might create.
Agreed. But even with the most benign intent and the strictest controls, it's the liklihood of unintended consequences that worries me most. The automobile was a great boon to mankind. Back in the early part of the 20th century when it was new technology, who knew it would befoul the air and skew the world political landscape like it has?
I'm not saying we should halt all progress for lack of ability to foretell the future, but some technologies appear inherently susceptible to future problems, and this is one of them.
I don't want to run anything that isn't available for community review. I don't want to store any date in a format that can only be retrieved by one application. I don't want any of my confidential communications being handled by software that works in secret.
All of which are perfectly valid reasons for not using proprietary software when other alternatives are available. What about when they are not? Is it pragmatic to forgo the use of software that would be of great use to you simply because its distribution model doesn't fit your ideology?
It doesn't say anywhere 'we have a good faith belief that our software which tracks down illicit copies of copyright software and issues legal documents is correct'.
It's still BSA that's asserting the belief, not the software that's making the assertion, which is the point I was making. No, they didn't say their belief is based on confidence in their software, but clearly it is.
But a human can assert a "good faith belief" that a Web robot is detecting files properly, which is what BSA is doing. One might argue that BSA's belief was arrived at negligently...
6. That BSA must allow uni unrestricted access to BSA premises for the purpose of auditing BSA spider systems to ensure they will no longer falsely detect uni's legitimate files.
There are TONS of songs I'd love to get digital versions of...everything from old tunes from the 50's to one hit wonders from the 70's-80's...but, cannot find due to being out of print.
Slashdot Mirror
So let's assume the 90% accuracy figure is not bullshit (which it probably is). That means 1 out of 10 innocent passengers will be harrassed as suspected terrorists and 1 out of 10 terrorists will be allowed through. Not especially comforting thoughts in either case.
Sounds like the life of a typical /. reader. Sign 'em up!
Actually, everybody can say you're wrong. They just can't prove it.
I wasn't speaking solely about threats to the US.
But even there, it's problematic to predict what countries will be future security threats. Local problems elsewhere in the world tend to become problems for the US.
And some of the anti-US sentiment around the world is fueled by envy. We've got ours and they don't have theirs. That's not the whole story by any means, but it's certainly part of it.
Finally, it will be a lot easier to combat the present and future threats if we have the wholehearted support of other countries. That will come more easily the better our economic ties -- meaning trade in goods and services.
I'm willing to sell my skills for the prevailing market rate -- particularly since I have little choice! If that ends up being minimum wage -- which I truly doubt it will -- I'll either accept that or I'll see if I can find a better market. Welcome to the real world, AC.
You think the Indian programmers are starving? That's not the way I hear it at all. They get a salary that's pretty good -- for India -- and probably spend most of their income locally, further uplifting the Indian economy. Will outsourcing have a large, immediate, dramatic effect on the economies of these countries? Probably not, but as I said, in the long term it can make a difference.
Yes, but those zealots gain much of their power by convincing those who are economically disadvantaged to follow them. And you know, zealotry is not the only source of instability. Warfare between nations existed long before UBL and his crowd.
Nor are highly educated workers willing to work for the (local) minimum wage or lower in places other than the U.S. It's just that the U.S. minimum wage provides a pretty good living in some parts of the world.
You know, painful as it is to those who pay the price, one can make the argument that this trend will, in the long run, help to minimize the economic disparities between the "developed" countries and the "third world." And that can't be bad for international security.
But it's all part of the same thing: a willingness by some people -- the current Administration among them -- to trade away the protections of the Constitution for an (illusory) increase in "security."
Also, if you're imprisoned without being arrested or arrested without being told why, you are in a good position to sue the shit out of whomever is doing it.
Even if true, that really doesn't make me feel any better.
I hope so, but as it stands right now they could keep you in the can indefinitely while they investigate, without charges and without access to an attorney -- just because they suspect you.
In my book, that's a violation of the fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth amendments. At least.
OBJECTIVE: To obtain a position that will strengthen and expand my Information Technology skill set.
That is such trite bullshit. Now, suppose your objective were: To build and maintain the most secure, flexible and efficient Unix/Linux systems possible and to develop interesting applications using Perl, PHP, C, C++, Java, SQL and related technologies. That would interest me as a potential employer.
Agreed. But even with the most benign intent and the strictest controls, it's the liklihood of unintended consequences that worries me most. The automobile was a great boon to mankind. Back in the early part of the 20th century when it was new technology, who knew it would befoul the air and skew the world political landscape like it has?
I'm not saying we should halt all progress for lack of ability to foretell the future, but some technologies appear inherently susceptible to future problems, and this is one of them.
I hope I'm not fear-mongering here, but, I worry.
You've got a lot of company.
I was thinking it was more like "Precious Bodily Fluids."
All of which are perfectly valid reasons for not using proprietary software when other alternatives are available. What about when they are not? Is it pragmatic to forgo the use of software that would be of great use to you simply because its distribution model doesn't fit your ideology?
Not just "less than perfect," but unethical. The difference is the difference between the viewpoint of an idealogue and that of a pragmatist.
That's just pathet.iq.
Yes, because, God knows, getting on the 'Net is every Iraqi's first priority at the moment.
That's only because you cc'd her boss.
It doesn't say anywhere 'we have a good faith belief that our software which tracks down illicit copies of copyright software and issues legal documents is correct'.
It's still BSA that's asserting the belief, not the software that's making the assertion, which is the point I was making. No, they didn't say their belief is based on confidence in their software, but clearly it is.
But a human can assert a "good faith belief" that a Web robot is detecting files properly, which is what BSA is doing. One might argue that BSA's belief was arrived at negligently...
6. That BSA must allow uni unrestricted access to BSA premises for the purpose of auditing BSA spider systems to ensure they will no longer falsely detect uni's legitimate files.
That's one possibility. Another is that someone just built a spam list by Googling the domain man.ac.uk:
k
http://www.google.com/search?q=cb%40cs.man.ac.u
Moral: Put your email address ANYWHERE on the 'Net and you'll get spam.
Obviously you're just not looking in the right place.
You need to watch more infomercials!
And his beer comes out sparkling white, too!
They (the FAA, rather) frequently do ground all aircraft of a particular type when they suspect a systemic problem.