.....Why not just make the city an independent state.....
There is NO power on Earth nor all the powers of Earth put together that can or will make that happen. Read Psalm 2 and pay special attention to verse 6.
The world's attempt to force this, WILL result in the final war of which the last battle will take place in the valley just north of Jerusalem. Nobody yet knows WHEN this will be, but before the 1948 formation of the state of Israel and the 1967 annexation of Jerusalem, the possibility of this has not existed, but it does now.
Whether you or anybody else likes it or not, we humans are not the creators nor the owners of the Earth. The Owner, Landord, if you will, has told us about it in advance. He has said that this final time will worse for all humanity than any other period of time, before or afterwards. If HE did not intervene, humanity would be wholly exterminated. Read what Jesus told us in Mattew 24 and pay special attention to verses 21&22. You can scoff at this, but it WILL happen, as sure as the sun come up in the east. You think you are in charge of your destiny, but that is an illusion.
.....Imagine that Israel changed its name to something neutral like "Harmonia", renounced all racial, religious and ethnic discrimination entirely.....
One basic question is: "What makes a Jew a Jew?" Is it where he/she was born? Is it their religion? Is it race or ethnicity? Is it the language they speak? What differentiates a Jew in New York, Moscow, from one in Jerusalem or London? What is the one thing Jews all over the Earth have in common? If it is not their religion, what is it? When Jews all over the world celebrate their sacred Passover, what is one phrase that has been for centuries and still is almost always uttered? Next Year In Jerusalem! It is for this reason, that there can be not other place on this planet as the homeland of these people, other than the place where the city of Jerusalem is located. There many disagreements in Jewish politics today, but there is one thing wherein there is universal agreement. Jerusalem! This is the city where their ancient kings ruled and it will never be ceded again to any other power, nation or people. The ancient prophecies of the Jewish scriptures predict that the final war of human history will be fought over Jerusalem. It is called the battle of Armageddon, named for a valley just north of that city, where all nations of the world will come to do battle.
.....As for Israel, I am not sure that they have a free hand.....
If Israel's choice comes down to being pushed into the sea or getting nuked into oblivion by Iran or any of the other enemies wanting to exterminate the Jewish state, any other measures, any other country, or all countries on Earth put together are not going to prevent them from doing whatever is neccessary to survive. If that means, in desperation, they have to use nukes first, they will. What the aftermath of such actions will be for the world as a whole is hard to fathom, but it could be the trigger for a world wide depression at best and WW3 at worst.
.....Sure your car has a license plate--just like your computer has an IP address--but you do not have to have your car "authenticated" before you decide you want to take it somewhere.....
Just as the rules for cars are made by elected legislators, so the rules for computers are made by these folks. They are YOU representatives. You vote them into office and NOT the big corporations. People vote, not companies or other entities. If your representatives are not representing you, throw them out of office.
At some point new rules for how to pay for roads will have to be made and also new rules of the road for the information highway. Others doing business with you have a right to know it is really you and you have a right to know that the persons you give your money to are who they say they are. Such rules have been in the physical world for a long time, so what's the big deal if those same rules are extended to cyberspace? Why should the right to do wrong be protected? If you do what's good, who cares? Let there be laws in place that prevents others from harming you with any information they might glean through new technologies.
If someone robs you in the street there is a prescribed punishment. If new technology makes it possible to apprehend such a robber EVERY time, 100%, would you object? If someone threatens you via electronics, would you object if that person were dealt with and there were NO possibility of getting away with it? If a business cheats you out of money, what would be wrong with then getting caught and having to pay it back? If the speed limit on a road is 70mph and someone drives 90+ for miles, would you object that such a driver should be fined a certain amount for each mile driven at such a speed? If technology would make it possible to catch anybody doing wrong 100% of the time, it would make a better world.
If you don't want MS or other companies to control your computer, tell your lawmakers to make good laws for everyone's benefit. If they don't, vote for some that will listen and make good rules we can all abide by.
.....Chances are functioning, pre-TCM hardware will become a highly prized buy for people who still value outmoded concepts like "privacy".....
Except that that old dog won't be of much use for Internet access. Your ISP will check the identity of your computer and if it doesn't respond correctly, all your bits will be discarded and you'll get the cops coming to your door and confiscating the old illegal computer and pay a big fine, just as happens today if you drive an unregistered "unsafe'" automobile. The information highway will only allow "cyberworthy" computers in the same way that cars must be "roadworthy" and airplanes must be "airworthy" today. If you commit a driving offense, your license number on the car is a means to identify you and hold you responsible. Just as safe, sober drivers have no problems with drunken driving laws, so why should law abiding citizens worry about their cyber-driving as long as they obey the rules?
.....If Apple is only breaking even w/ iPod sales.....
All I have ever heard is that Apple is making fat profits from ipod sales and the record companies take most of the money from iTunes, leaving Apple with little more than expenses.
.....I cannot overlook the security flaws that are out there....
Most of these "flaws" affect users who use their Macs in some kind of server function, such as Apache, FTP or other remote login and control for example. To use a Mac in this way, a number of services have to be turned on which are off by default for the vast majority of Mac users. Also, a theoretical exploit or flaw is still a long way from a fast spreading malware, running like a raging fire from mac to mac over the Internet.
(Your Mac is more secure because you have a kindred community of macintosh users who would rather use their computers for computing. I suspect that the average Mac Programmer capable of writing a virus just doesn't care to.
Are you really suggesting that mac programmers are more virtuous and saintly than those nasty Windows guys? That seems hard to believe, knowing that they are also only human and subject to the same temptations to wrong. The first person to write a virus that infects thousand or even millions of "supposedly secure" Macs certainly would have their ego massively stroked and because of such bragging, hopefully caught and properly dealt with by the law. There is no reason to believe that Mac programmers egos are any less vulnerable to such a temptation.
If all Windows users, or most of them did not have to run what is essentially root permissions, because so many programs fail to work correctly otherwise, Windows would be measureably more secure right away. Doing away with or at least denying write access to the registry for all programs would do a lot more for improving Windows resistance to malware. However, this would break a lot of existing software and it remains to be seen whether MS will finally choose security over compatibility and convenience in their upcoming OS next year.
.....1 in 8000 users would be capable of writing a virus for a mac and have the motive to do so.....
OK, so if there are just for argument 8 million Mac users (I am sure there are more, but this makes the math easy) then there ought to be at least 1000 Mac viruses out there in cyberspace. The fact is that there are zero, none, zilch! So even by your statistical gymnastics you are off by a a factor of infinity.
I don't understand why it is so hard to grasp that popularity and security are independent variables. Macs ARE more secure by DESIGN, and any security person will admit that. In the end, it doesn't matter WHY people have are not into breaking into my house. Maybe it is because they think I have nothing worthwhile to steal, have good locks, a mean dog, own a Smith&Wesson, live in a low crime neighborhood, or who knows what. The bottom line is that owning a Mac is the best protection right now against all that malware circulating on the internet.
.....BTW, are there still plans for a Intel-powered Mac Mini or something similar?....
According to the most prevalent rumors, the first IntelMacs will be iBooks. It makes sense that the Mini will be equipped with Intel hardware. For multimedia use in the living room, a slightly larger type Mini may come, so that the large capacity, inexpensive 3.5" drives can be accommodated. The large, expensive Macs with multiple processors will probably be the last ones to make the Intel switch.
As for games, my son has been clamoring for a new x-box, but its trouble reports have inspired us to wait until the bugs are all swatted. We are also waiting to see what the new Sony playstation will be like and what games it will run. A game console and a reasonably priced general purpose computer, together are generally cheaper, than one fully tricked out, high performance Gaming PC. Buying only as much computing horsepower as you can forsee using in the next 2 or 3 years is the most efficient use of your money. If your needs change by then, a newer, better computer will likely be less expensive than the one you are replacing cost initially. If the old one still meets your need, run it until it dies. Always be sure to do regular backups though. If your funds are really scarce, a good used Mac from ebay may work for you.
....but if Apple won the Personal Computer marketshare of the mid-to-late 90s, it's very likely that there would be as many viruses for OS X as there are for Windows....
Such sentiments are like a broken record, endlessly repeated. Computer and/or automobile safety and marketshare have little or nothing to do with popularity. Honda makes one of the most numerous, yet also one of the safest and reliable cars on the road. It seems that there ought to be at least a few viruses and such in the wild places of the net' for the Mac, if nothing else than to prove to the often smug macheads that their system is not so secure after all.....(However... It goes back to the user base.)....
Are you implying that Mac users are less willing to put up with the crap that Windows users think is "normal" for computer behavior? That may be a more credible, though still unproven assertion than the constantly repeated marketshare mantra.
....It is still important for Mac users to stay updated, just as it is important for everyone else.....
If there are Mac viruses in the WILD, where can one find out about them? I know there are some theoretical exploits and even a rootkit or two, all of which require some user action and/or password. AFAIK, there still is not even ONE real honest to goodness virus in the wild places of the Internet.
....For a start, how about Honda get sued if it can be shown that I can break into one of their cars? Smashy-smashy......
How about Ford and tire makers getting sued for exploding gas tanks or blowing tires? How about MS getting sued because a flaw in Windows allowed the stealthy installation of malware that enabled an attacker to clean out someone's bank account? Paying a little extra for the assurance of NOT having one's bank account cleaned out MIGHT be worth it for many people. The fact that free software is often more secure than expensive software, especially from MS, shows that security and price have little or nothing to do with each other. The fact is, that unlike car makers, software makers have no legally mandated or monetary incentive to make safe, secure products. I suppose that if malware would kill people, then there would be laws mandating secure computers.
.....So why do cars have seat belts and airbags?....
So if knowing that there are careless computer drivers, why don't the computer makers or MS install the equivalent of seatbelts and airbags into their systems, rather than having the drivers install them afterwards? We have laws that mandate safety in cars, maybe we need some equivalent safety laws for computers and software.
You most likely have already spent lots of time (which for many translates directly to money) dorking with your computer because of malware, some of which, such as Sony's famous rootkit you may not even know you have. Throw your malware infested box in the trash and connect your keyboard, mouse and monitor to a $500 Mac mini.
Wait until next year and get an Intel powered Mac OSX box on which you'll also be able to boot Windows as a vitrtual machine. Keep a clean Windows virtual file on your HD in addition to your normally used one. If your virtual PC file gets infected, which it will eventually, just trash it and use a duplicate of the saved clean one. Keep all your personal data on the Mac in a shared virtual folder, accessible to both Mac and Windows. This works great for me, even though the emulated virtual PC is slow at times compared to what it should be when both will be executing on Intel hardware. There is good reason to believe that the new Apple/Intel boxes will be very price competitive with computer hardware from other manufacturers.
....The vast majority of Windows problems stem from the fact that all programs have the ability to do anything they please by default, since the default account is at Admin. privileges......
The problem is, that much, if not most software for Windows, especially games, will not run properly or at all, unless it is run from an admin account. MS has massively failed to educate their developers to write their programs to not routinely need access to system areas that are off limits to ordinary users. If there is even ONE program that a user needs or wants to use, that requires admin, then that is what the user will run as for all other programs also. Because the average user has access to all parts of the HD, any program run, also does and can hide itself and its files deep in system directories and happliy write anything to the registry and give a remote attacker free run of the entire computer. In Linux and even more so in the Mac OSX, there are no programs that require admin access, other than installers wanting to make changes or additions to the system files.
.....Also, when you say "I haven't gotten any spyware in a long time and (to my knowledge) have never been infected by a virus/trojan/worm", is very telling........
No, actually it is because I use Macs which don't get such things. Tell me of ONE, yes only one, malware there is in the wilds of the Internet that will screw up a Mac running OSX10.4. Tell me of a website I can surf to and get my Macs infected merely by visiting that site, using the default browser, Safari, that ships with Mac OSX. Don't give the lame marketshare excuse or mention merely theoretical exploits some researchers have come up with, many of which require physical access and root passwords. I have never heard of even a theoretical remote malware for a Mac that doesn't requires some user interaction.
Even Windows can be made reasonably secure with some effort. So why don't the PC manufacturers or Microsoft make that effort, rather than foisting that chore onto a consumer who desn't have the needed expertise? The answer of course is that if suddenly Windows became say 99% secure, a lot of IT folks would be looking for other work. If someone came up with a cheap, natural cure for cancer, that would cause an upheaval in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Because of this, neither is going to happen anytime soon.
.....The lesson to be learned here is that people are not interested in playing with anti-virus programs and firewalls....
Why should people have to worry about the security and safety of their computers more than they do over the safety of their cars? We expect cars to be safe and the government has developed standards that all cars sold in this country must meet. Why are the same rules not applied to computers? Hold the computer makers liable for huge damages if their products don't keep their customers information safe. Force computer makers to recall systems that get infected by malware. I am certain that if computer and software makers were held to the same standards as the makers of almost every other consumer product, there would be no or very little need for extra add on protection hardware or software. Instead, the computer industry has trained everybody, including the legal system to accept the curent state of affairs. What other products can anyone name that come with the lame so called EULAs that are supposed to shield software makers from product liability lawsuits?
At this time, the safest computers on the market are made by Apple. Now don't come with the lame market share crap arguments again. There are millions of Honda cars out there, yet they are considered to be one of the safest and longest lasting vehicles. The fact that Apple computers are reasonably safe, although not perfect, shows that computers can resist network intrusions out of the box without all the hassle that Windows users have to go through in order to have an equally secure system. If Windows computers can be made secure by all these add-ons, why can't the computer makers and Microsoft incorporate all these security measures into the boxes right away, rather than expecting the uneducated customers to figure all that stuff out and install all sorts of extra, expensive, trouble-prone things?
....Apple also hide file extensions by default....
On OSX, a warning pops up asking if the user really wants to execute a program named 'xxx' for the first time. If said program wants to go outside of the user's own space, a password request comes up. At least, even if the user does execute the virus 'greeting card' it will only affect that user and cannot bury itself or its payload in the deep innards of the system, such as Windows malware does, making it difficult, if not impossible to remove.
.....you're taking the actions of extremists and saying they're representative of the religion.....
If you had read what I wrote, you should have not missed the word FANATICAL. There are many adherents of religion who will behave contrary to the actual teachings of theirs. I have not read the Quaran, but I as far as I know, the making of converts through violence is not part thereof. Neither did Jesus advocate force in converting people.
The 9/11 Bombers and all the others before and since, who have murdered innocent women and children, all were Muslims. They were all convinced that there would be a great reward for them in the hereafter if they killed as many "infidels" as possible and becoming martyrs for their cause.
Why has there been throughout the centuries, and still is today, such a hatred of Jews by so many people of diverse cultures? Why is it that such a tiny, postage stamp country, the nation of Israel, is the object of such animosity by its much bigger and weathier neighbors? Why have the oil rich Muslim countries not given opportunity to the "poor" Palestinians to come and settle in some of their vast areas of real estate? What causes the heads of state of big, resource rich countries, like Iraq, Iran and others to openly state the desire to "push Israel into the sea" and the rabble to cheer them?
If the US, Israel's protector, ever ceases to be that, either by lack of ability or lack of desire, the enemies of Israel will do what they have done in the past again, namely try to do exactly what the President of Iran recently said should be done. As in the past, such attempts will end in failure, but the repercussions thereof will have terrible world-wide consequences.
.....Anyone who is not of their persuasion is a terrorist, who must be either made to obey or be eliminated.......
Except Christians don't go around flying airliners into buildings, blowing themselves and others up in train stations, shopping malls, night clubs and other places all around the world, killing people randomly who just happen to be in the vicinity. If 911 had not happened there would be no Iraq. This was just the response of a not easily provoked USA to an attack not unlike what happened today 60 years ago at Pearl Harbor. In that attack, a more readily identified enemy was dealt with at the multiplied cost of more casualties and money, than the mess we are trying to deal with in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the US and other free countries, you can be a hell bound atheist, but nobody will put you in prison or execute you for your beliefs. In countries where the fanatical Moslems are in control, anyone who is not a Moslem is persecuted and if at all outspoken, quickly emiminated. No leader of the US has ever expressed the same kind of unbridled hatred that the leaders of Iran and other Moslem dominated governments have spoken against Israel. Nobody, including Moslems and atheists, all merely human, are considered to be the enemy of Christians. Christians believe there is an unseen Spirit dimension, of which some of the denizens thereof are the ones that are REALLY in control of this world, subject to the overarching sovereignity of God.
..... What they're not killing people for is some overreaching global war of terrorism.....
The goal of the Muslim fanatics is to subject everyone to their perception of their religion and its laws. Anyone who is not of their persuasion is an infidel, who must be either made to obey or be eliminated. There may not be a single person or organiziation that drives this goal, but there is this common religious Muslim philosophy. The Jews and their protectors are seen as the number one enemy. This sentiment was seen in the news reports of the speeches of the leaders of Iran.
....were the government able to watch my every move, convict me of my every 'crime.'.....
The problem with being able to catch and punish every offense from jaywalking upward is that soon the majority of the population would be locked up at worst, or at best broke from all the fines and penalties levied. I doubt that there are very many, if any, persons who have not broken some law every single day. When driving, do you REALLY come to a FULL STOP at every stop sign? Did you use your turn signals EVERY time you were required to do so? If your state charges sales tax, did you pay it on that out of state order on the Internet as would have if you had bought it downtown? When was the last time you got paid for a service you provided, but did not tell the IRS?
What if technology to catch "criminals" got even better, so that a mandatory annual "mind scan" transmittted every thought you had to a recording device, similar to downloading data from a computer disk drive? Such technology might get you to be "good" because of fear of punishment, but it would really make it so you would WANT to be good just because being good is the right thing? WANTING to be good requires a fundamental change in attitude and mind coupled with somehow the imparting of the ability to BE good. Of course if those making the laws could not exempt themselves from such a technology, it would probably not get implemented.
Defining what is good is another problem. Perhaps true adherence to and obedience to the "Golden Rule" is a reasonable definition at least for starters.
...there's still going to have to be some type of rules establishing a procedure for handling given situations so that collisions can be avoided....
Of course there will always need to be rules for safety. Still, it is the laws of physics that ultimately govern what the rules will be. In modern cars, the failure of the car itself contributes only a small fraction to the total of accidents. Most are caused by the drivers. A flying device that can land almost anywhere if there is a notice of impending failure will certainly engender very different rules than any present aircraft, which can only return to earth in certain, rather limited places and situations. Just as the very structure of the USA, especially the west, has come about because of the existence of the autombile, so too, if such a flying machine became available, would in time restructure and eliminate the distinction between rural and urban. Most present aircraft mishaps occur in the vicinity of the concentrated locales where they ascend or decend.
Flying devices with presently known technology and the nature of laws of flight determine the basic foundation of the rules. The small number of aircraft has never made it profitable to institute many rules that enhance revenues for governments.
By contrast, many automobile rules not only serve for safety, but also as huge sources of revenue for governments. If such speed control devices become mandatory, other rules and taxes will be instituted to make up for the lack of income from speeding tickets. How about using the same technology to thwart illegal parking? If you try to park in forbidden place, the car doors won't lock and the ignition key cannot be withdrawn. I'm sure that there are other uses for this technolgy as well.
....Depends on the law and what you mean by "wrong."....
Figuring out whether something is wrong isn't really all that hard. In this case, just put yourself in place of the store owner, regardless whether it is a Walmart or a Mom and Pop neighborhood store. If you were the store owner, would you like the idea of someone falsifying the legitimate price and thereby give you, the store owner a substantial loss? Fewer and fewer people, it seems, think that "Thou shalt not steal" has been changed to "Thou shalt not get caught".
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.....Why not just make the city an independent state.....
There is NO power on Earth nor all the powers of Earth put together that can or will make that happen. Read Psalm 2 and pay special attention to verse 6.
The world's attempt to force this, WILL result in the final war of which the last battle will take place in the valley just north of Jerusalem. Nobody yet knows WHEN this will be, but before the 1948 formation of the state of Israel and the 1967 annexation of Jerusalem, the possibility of this has not existed, but it does now.
Whether you or anybody else likes it or not, we humans are not the creators nor the owners of the Earth. The Owner, Landord, if you will, has told us about it in advance. He has said that this final time will worse for all humanity than any other period of time, before or afterwards. If HE did not intervene, humanity would be wholly exterminated. Read what Jesus told us in Mattew 24 and pay special attention to verses 21&22. You can scoff at this, but it WILL happen, as sure as the sun come up in the east. You think you are in charge of your destiny, but that is an illusion.
.....Imagine that Israel changed its name to something neutral like "Harmonia", renounced all racial, religious and ethnic discrimination entirely.....
One basic question is: "What makes a Jew a Jew?" Is it where he/she was born? Is it their religion? Is it race or ethnicity? Is it the language they speak? What differentiates a Jew in New York, Moscow, from one in Jerusalem or London? What is the one thing Jews all over the Earth have in common? If it is not their religion, what is it? When Jews all over the world celebrate their sacred Passover, what is one phrase that has been for centuries and still is almost always uttered? Next Year In Jerusalem! It is for this reason, that there can be not other place on this planet as the homeland of these people, other than the place where the city of Jerusalem is located. There many disagreements in Jewish politics today, but there is one thing wherein there is universal agreement. Jerusalem! This is the city where their ancient kings ruled and it will never be ceded again to any other power, nation or people. The ancient prophecies of the Jewish scriptures predict that the final war of human history will be fought over Jerusalem. It is called the battle of Armageddon, named for a valley just north of that city, where all nations of the world will come to do battle.
.....As for Israel, I am not sure that they have a free hand.....
If Israel's choice comes down to being pushed into the sea or getting nuked into oblivion by Iran or any of the other enemies wanting to exterminate the Jewish state, any other measures, any other country, or all countries on Earth put together are not going to prevent them from doing whatever is neccessary to survive. If that means, in desperation, they have to use nukes first, they will. What the aftermath of such actions will be for the world as a whole is hard to fathom, but it could be the trigger for a world wide depression at best and WW3 at worst.
.....Sure your car has a license plate--just like your computer has an IP address--but you do not have to have your car "authenticated" before you decide you want to take it somewhere.....
Just as the rules for cars are made by elected legislators, so the rules for computers are made by these folks. They are YOU representatives. You vote them into office and NOT the big corporations. People vote, not companies or other entities. If your representatives are not representing you, throw them out of office.
At some point new rules for how to pay for roads will have to be made and also new rules of the road for the information highway. Others doing business with you have a right to know it is really you and you have a right to know that the persons you give your money to are who they say they are. Such rules have been in the physical world for a long time, so what's the big deal if those same rules are extended to cyberspace? Why should the right to do wrong be protected? If you do what's good, who cares? Let there be laws in place that prevents others from harming you with any information they might glean through new technologies.
If someone robs you in the street there is a prescribed punishment. If new technology makes it possible to apprehend such a robber EVERY time, 100%, would you object? If someone threatens you via electronics, would you object if that person were dealt with and there were NO possibility of getting away with it? If a business cheats you out of money, what would be wrong with then getting caught and having to pay it back? If the speed limit on a road is 70mph and someone drives 90+ for miles, would you object that such a driver should be fined a certain amount for each mile driven at such a speed? If technology would make it possible to catch anybody doing wrong 100% of the time, it would make a better world.
If you don't want MS or other companies to control your computer, tell your lawmakers to make good laws for everyone's benefit. If they don't, vote for some that will listen and make good rules we can all abide by.
.....Chances are functioning, pre-TCM hardware will become a highly prized buy for people who still value outmoded concepts like "privacy".....
Except that that old dog won't be of much use for Internet access. Your ISP will check the identity of your computer and if it doesn't respond correctly, all your bits will be discarded and you'll get the cops coming to your door and confiscating the old illegal computer and pay a big fine, just as happens today if you drive an unregistered "unsafe'" automobile. The information highway will only allow "cyberworthy" computers in the same way that cars must be "roadworthy" and airplanes must be "airworthy" today. If you commit a driving offense, your license number on the car is a means to identify you and hold you responsible. Just as safe, sober drivers have no problems with drunken driving laws, so why should law abiding citizens worry about their cyber-driving as long as they obey the rules?
.....but it takes a lot more effort to make the setup actually usable to the target users.....
I wonder if any Microsoft programmers will read that sentence?
.....If Apple is only breaking even w/ iPod sales.....
All I have ever heard is that Apple is making fat profits from ipod sales and the record companies take most of the money from iTunes, leaving Apple with little more than expenses.
.....I cannot overlook the security flaws that are out there....
Most of these "flaws" affect users who use their Macs in some kind of server function, such as Apache, FTP or other remote login and control for example. To use a Mac in this way, a number of services have to be turned on which are off by default for the vast majority of Mac users. Also, a theoretical exploit or flaw is still a long way from a fast spreading malware, running like a raging fire from mac to mac over the Internet.
(Your Mac is more secure because you have a kindred community of macintosh users who would rather use their computers for computing. I suspect that the average Mac Programmer capable of writing a virus just doesn't care to.
Are you really suggesting that mac programmers are more virtuous and saintly than those nasty Windows guys? That seems hard to believe, knowing that they are also only human and subject to the same temptations to wrong. The first person to write a virus that infects thousand or even millions of "supposedly secure" Macs certainly would have their ego massively stroked and because of such bragging, hopefully caught and properly dealt with by the law. There is no reason to believe that Mac programmers egos are any less vulnerable to such a temptation.
If all Windows users, or most of them did not have to run what is essentially root permissions, because so many programs fail to work correctly otherwise, Windows would be measureably more secure right away. Doing away with or at least denying write access to the registry for all programs would do a lot more for improving Windows resistance to malware. However, this would break a lot of existing software and it remains to be seen whether MS will finally choose security over compatibility and convenience in their upcoming OS next year.
.....1 in 8000 users would be capable of writing a virus for a mac and have the motive to do so.....
OK, so if there are just for argument 8 million Mac users (I am sure there are more, but this makes the math easy) then there ought to be at least 1000 Mac viruses out there in cyberspace. The fact is that there are zero, none, zilch! So even by your statistical gymnastics you are off by a a factor of infinity.
I don't understand why it is so hard to grasp that popularity and security are independent variables. Macs ARE more secure by DESIGN, and any security person will admit that. In the end, it doesn't matter WHY people have are not into breaking into my house. Maybe it is because they think I have nothing worthwhile to steal, have good locks, a mean dog, own a Smith&Wesson, live in a low crime neighborhood, or who knows what. The bottom line is that owning a Mac is the best protection right now against all that malware circulating on the internet.
.....BTW, are there still plans for a Intel-powered Mac Mini or something similar?....
According to the most prevalent rumors, the first IntelMacs will be iBooks. It makes sense that the Mini will be equipped with Intel hardware. For multimedia use in the living room, a slightly larger type Mini may come, so that the large capacity, inexpensive 3.5" drives can be accommodated. The large, expensive Macs with multiple processors will probably be the last ones to make the Intel switch.
As for games, my son has been clamoring for a new x-box, but its trouble reports have inspired us to wait until the bugs are all swatted. We are also waiting to see what the new Sony playstation will be like and what games it will run. A game console and a reasonably priced general purpose computer, together are generally cheaper, than one fully tricked out, high performance Gaming PC. Buying only as much computing horsepower as you can forsee using in the next 2 or 3 years is the most efficient use of your money. If your needs change by then, a newer, better computer will likely be less expensive than the one you are replacing cost initially. If the old one still meets your need, run it until it dies. Always be sure to do regular backups though. If your funds are really scarce, a good used Mac from ebay may work for you.
....but if Apple won the Personal Computer marketshare of the mid-to-late 90s, it's very likely that there would be as many viruses for OS X as there are for Windows....
....(However... It goes back to the user base.)....
Such sentiments are like a broken record, endlessly repeated. Computer and/or automobile safety and marketshare have little or nothing to do with popularity. Honda makes one of the most numerous, yet also one of the safest and reliable cars on the road. It seems that there ought to be at least a few viruses and such in the wild places of the net' for the Mac, if nothing else than to prove to the often smug macheads that their system is not so secure after all.
Are you implying that Mac users are less willing to put up with the crap that Windows users think is "normal" for computer behavior? That may be a more credible, though still unproven assertion than the constantly repeated marketshare mantra.
....It is still important for Mac users to stay updated, just as it is important for everyone else.....
If there are Mac viruses in the WILD, where can one find out about them? I know there are some theoretical exploits and even a rootkit or two, all of which require some user action and/or password. AFAIK, there still is not even ONE real honest to goodness virus in the wild places of the Internet.
....For a start, how about Honda get sued if it can be shown that I can break into one of their cars? Smashy-smashy......
How about Ford and tire makers getting sued for exploding gas tanks or blowing tires? How about MS getting sued because a flaw in Windows allowed the stealthy installation of malware that enabled an attacker to clean out someone's bank account? Paying a little extra for the assurance of NOT having one's bank account cleaned out MIGHT be worth it for many people. The fact that free software is often more secure than expensive software, especially from MS, shows that security and price have little or nothing to do with each other. The fact is, that unlike car makers, software makers have no legally mandated or monetary incentive to make safe, secure products. I suppose that if malware would kill people, then there would be laws mandating secure computers.
.....So why do cars have seat belts and airbags?....
So if knowing that there are careless computer drivers, why don't the computer makers or MS install the equivalent of seatbelts and airbags into their systems, rather than having the drivers install them afterwards? We have laws that mandate safety in cars, maybe we need some equivalent safety laws for computers and software.
.... (or until I can afford a Mac)......
You most likely have already spent lots of time (which for many translates directly to money) dorking with your computer because of malware, some of which, such as Sony's famous rootkit you may not even know you have. Throw your malware infested box in the trash and connect your keyboard, mouse and monitor to a $500 Mac mini.
Wait until next year and get an Intel powered Mac OSX box on which you'll also be able to boot Windows as a vitrtual machine. Keep a clean Windows virtual file on your HD in addition to your normally used one. If your virtual PC file gets infected, which it will eventually, just trash it and use a duplicate of the saved clean one. Keep all your personal data on the Mac in a shared virtual folder, accessible to both Mac and Windows. This works great for me, even though the emulated virtual PC is slow at times compared to what it should be when both will be executing on Intel hardware. There is good reason to believe that the new Apple/Intel boxes will be very price competitive with computer hardware from other manufacturers.
....The vast majority of Windows problems stem from the fact that all programs have the ability to do anything they please by default, since the default account is at Admin. privileges......
The problem is, that much, if not most software for Windows, especially games, will not run properly or at all, unless it is run from an admin account. MS has massively failed to educate their developers to write their programs to not routinely need access to system areas that are off limits to ordinary users. If there is even ONE program that a user needs or wants to use, that requires admin, then that is what the user will run as for all other programs also. Because the average user has access to all parts of the HD, any program run, also does and can hide itself and its files deep in system directories and happliy write anything to the registry and give a remote attacker free run of the entire computer. In Linux and even more so in the Mac OSX, there are no programs that require admin access, other than installers wanting to make changes or additions to the system files.
.....Also, when you say "I haven't gotten any spyware in a long time and (to my knowledge) have never been infected by a virus/trojan/worm", is very telling........
No, actually it is because I use Macs which don't get such things. Tell me of ONE, yes only one, malware there is in the wilds of the Internet that will screw up a Mac running OSX10.4. Tell me of a website I can surf to and get my Macs infected merely by visiting that site, using the default browser, Safari, that ships with Mac OSX. Don't give the lame marketshare excuse or mention merely theoretical exploits some researchers have come up with, many of which require physical access and root passwords. I have never heard of even a theoretical remote malware for a Mac that doesn't requires some user interaction.
Even Windows can be made reasonably secure with some effort. So why don't the PC manufacturers or Microsoft make that effort, rather than foisting that chore onto a consumer who desn't have the needed expertise? The answer of course is that if suddenly Windows became say 99% secure, a lot of IT folks would be looking for other work. If someone came up with a cheap, natural cure for cancer, that would cause an upheaval in the medical and pharmaceutical industries. Because of this, neither is going to happen anytime soon.
.....The lesson to be learned here is that people are not interested in playing with anti-virus programs and firewalls....
Why should people have to worry about the security and safety of their computers more than they do over the safety of their cars? We expect cars to be safe and the government has developed standards that all cars sold in this country must meet. Why are the same rules not applied to computers? Hold the computer makers liable for huge damages if their products don't keep their customers information safe. Force computer makers to recall systems that get infected by malware. I am certain that if computer and software makers were held to the same standards as the makers of almost every other consumer product, there would be no or very little need for extra add on protection hardware or software. Instead, the computer industry has trained everybody, including the legal system to accept the curent state of affairs. What other products can anyone name that come with the lame so called EULAs that are supposed to shield software makers from product liability lawsuits?
At this time, the safest computers on the market are made by Apple. Now don't come with the lame market share crap arguments again. There are millions of Honda cars out there, yet they are considered to be one of the safest and longest lasting vehicles. The fact that Apple computers are reasonably safe, although not perfect, shows that computers can resist network intrusions out of the box without all the hassle that Windows users have to go through in order to have an equally secure system. If Windows computers can be made secure by all these add-ons, why can't the computer makers and Microsoft incorporate all these security measures into the boxes right away, rather than expecting the uneducated customers to figure all that stuff out and install all sorts of extra, expensive, trouble-prone things?
....Apple also hide file extensions by default....
On OSX, a warning pops up asking if the user really wants to execute a program named 'xxx' for the first time. If said program wants to go outside of the user's own space, a password request comes up. At least, even if the user does execute the virus 'greeting card' it will only affect that user and cannot bury itself or its payload in the deep innards of the system, such as Windows malware does, making it difficult, if not impossible to remove.
.....you're taking the actions of extremists and saying they're representative of the religion.....
If you had read what I wrote, you should have not missed the word FANATICAL. There are many adherents of religion who will behave contrary to the actual teachings of theirs. I have not read the Quaran, but I as far as I know, the making of converts through violence is not part thereof. Neither did Jesus advocate force in converting people.
The 9/11 Bombers and all the others before and since, who have murdered innocent women and children, all were Muslims. They were all convinced that there would be a great reward for them in the hereafter if they killed as many "infidels" as possible and becoming martyrs for their cause.
Why has there been throughout the centuries, and still is today, such a hatred of Jews by so many people of diverse cultures? Why is it that such a tiny, postage stamp country, the nation of Israel, is the object of such animosity by its much bigger and weathier neighbors? Why have the oil rich Muslim countries not given opportunity to the "poor" Palestinians to come and settle in some of their vast areas of real estate? What causes the heads of state of big, resource rich countries, like Iraq, Iran and others to openly state the desire to "push Israel into the sea" and the rabble to cheer them?
If the US, Israel's protector, ever ceases to be that, either by lack of ability or lack of desire, the enemies of Israel will do what they have done in the past again, namely try to do exactly what the President of Iran recently said should be done. As in the past, such attempts will end in failure, but the repercussions thereof will have terrible world-wide consequences.
.....Anyone who is not of their persuasion is a terrorist, who must be either made to obey or be eliminated.......
Except Christians don't go around flying airliners into buildings, blowing themselves and others up in train stations, shopping malls, night clubs and other places all around the world, killing people randomly who just happen to be in the vicinity. If 911 had not happened there would be no Iraq. This was just the response of a not easily provoked USA to an attack not unlike what happened today 60 years ago at Pearl Harbor. In that attack, a more readily identified enemy was dealt with at the multiplied cost of more casualties and money, than the mess we are trying to deal with in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In the US and other free countries, you can be a hell bound atheist, but nobody will put you in prison or execute you for your beliefs. In countries where the fanatical Moslems are in control, anyone who is not a Moslem is persecuted and if at all outspoken, quickly emiminated. No leader of the US has ever expressed the same kind of unbridled hatred that the leaders of Iran and other Moslem dominated governments have spoken against Israel. Nobody, including Moslems and atheists, all merely human, are considered to be the enemy of Christians. Christians believe there is an unseen Spirit dimension, of which some of the denizens thereof are the ones that are REALLY in control of this world, subject to the overarching sovereignity of God.
..... What they're not killing people for is some overreaching global war of terrorism.....
The goal of the Muslim fanatics is to subject everyone to their perception of their religion and its laws. Anyone who is not of their persuasion is an infidel, who must be either made to obey or be eliminated. There may not be a single person or organiziation that drives this goal, but there is this common religious Muslim philosophy. The Jews and their protectors are seen as the number one enemy. This sentiment was seen in the news reports of the speeches of the leaders of Iran.
....were the government able to watch my every move, convict me of my every 'crime.'.....
The problem with being able to catch and punish every offense from jaywalking upward is that soon the majority of the population would be locked up at worst, or at best broke from all the fines and penalties levied. I doubt that there are very many, if any, persons who have not broken some law every single day. When driving, do you REALLY come to a FULL STOP at every stop sign? Did you use your turn signals EVERY time you were required to do so? If your state charges sales tax, did you pay it on that out of state order on the Internet as would have if you had bought it downtown? When was the last time you got paid for a service you provided, but did not tell the IRS?
What if technology to catch "criminals" got even better, so that a mandatory annual "mind scan" transmittted every thought you had to a recording device, similar to downloading data from a computer disk drive? Such technology might get you to be "good" because of fear of punishment, but it would really make it so you would WANT to be good just because being good is the right thing? WANTING to be good requires a fundamental change in attitude and mind coupled with somehow the imparting of the ability to BE good. Of course if those making the laws could not exempt themselves from such a technology, it would probably not get implemented.
Defining what is good is another problem. Perhaps true adherence to and obedience to the "Golden Rule" is a reasonable definition at least for starters.
...there's still going to have to be some type of rules establishing a procedure for handling given situations so that collisions can be avoided....
Of course there will always need to be rules for safety. Still, it is the laws of physics that ultimately govern what the rules will be. In modern cars, the failure of the car itself contributes only a small fraction to the total of accidents. Most are caused by the drivers. A flying device that can land almost anywhere if there is a notice of impending failure will certainly engender very different rules than any present aircraft, which can only return to earth in certain, rather limited places and situations. Just as the very structure of the USA, especially the west, has come about because of the existence of the autombile, so too, if such a flying machine became available, would in time restructure and eliminate the distinction between rural and urban. Most present aircraft mishaps occur in the vicinity of the concentrated locales where they ascend or decend.
Flying devices with presently known technology and the nature of laws of flight determine the basic foundation of the rules. The small number of aircraft has never made it profitable to institute many rules that enhance revenues for governments.
By contrast, many automobile rules not only serve for safety, but also as huge sources of revenue for governments. If such speed control devices become mandatory, other rules and taxes will be instituted to make up for the lack of income from speeding tickets. How about using the same technology to thwart illegal parking? If you try to park in forbidden place, the car doors won't lock and the ignition key cannot be withdrawn. I'm sure that there are other uses for this technolgy as well.
....Depends on the law and what you mean by "wrong."....
Figuring out whether something is wrong isn't really all that hard. In this case, just put yourself in place of the store owner, regardless whether it is a Walmart or a Mom and Pop neighborhood store. If you were the store owner, would you like the idea of someone falsifying the legitimate price and thereby give you, the store owner a substantial loss? Fewer and fewer people, it seems, think that "Thou shalt not steal" has been changed to "Thou shalt not get caught".