NO2ID got the attention of the Lords quite successfully. They are mentioned in the recently released report on surveillance in society. (p 18,27,78,101,114,)
One issue that bothers me is the ignorance of your average person when dealing with their own information. A recent problem that has occurred to me is car insurance. I for one am heartily sick of the adverts on tv, but it suddenly struck me what's happening. In the "old days" you did business with an insurance company, maybe through an agent. All your records were on paper, and reasonably secure. These days, you do business online with an entity who is quite often an agent 3 or 4 times removed from the insurance company. So now there are 4 times as many people with access to critical personal data in this sector alone, and they are all online. Should we have to trust all of them ? Is the lure of "truly cheaper car insurance" worth spreading your personal data far and wide, to be picked over and mined by who knows who ? If you answered yes to the last question, you deserve everything you get.
Does Akamai say "we own your content" ? You may as well say the president's affiliated with Ford or GM or whoever, just because he might use their products. Google on the other hand do claim to have complete control over any content you provide them with.
So you're talking about morals. And too many people think of the moral law as restrictive and break it. Just because it's the law doesn't automatically make it a bad thing. Some things were actually for all our benefit. Like music. Oh, hang on that's the wrong side of the argument. But the RIAA companies want to play both sides. Have their money and break copyright terms. They are responsible for copyright extension, they have pirated from us. Hah HArRr!!!
I agree with the thrust of your argument, but take issue with your second paragraph. Surely if we have achieved a standard of living so comfortable, we should now extend that benefit to all the people before moving on to esoteric symbols of triumph. Many generations have been where we are then fallen backwards because it was only ever part of the world that had those benefits. You can never afford to sit back when you have enemies.
Maybe I'm being too critical, but I'm sure this is crucial if we are to progress. the population of the planet has been increasing by a billion every 12 years (recent historically speaking) so we will hit 7 billion this year. Are we all to become worker ants or have some control ? So we need to stick together. One hand washes the other. <!--something about no carrier here -->
I have no issue with the kindle, but it is too much hard work. To have a decent size screen, you have to have a large body to the case and that makes it cumbersome. In my future there is a device about 6" long, and 1/2" in diameter. It has bluetooth to talk to my ear phone/mike and it has status leds and caller id on the outside. It has the fastest net access possible. Connected to this device, in fact concealed within it, is a pullout screen, which is either epaper or video standard according to need. The screen locks into position and is about 7" to 9" size. Laser positioning detects your finger activating controls on the screen. ebooks, movies, video calls, the net - all available in a slim tube with a bigger screen when you need it. And a pony.
While I completely agree with what you say, you have done nothing more than provide an anecdote. What worries me more is the attitude that because windows is prevalent, that's the way it is so get used to it. That attitude is fatal if the world wants to keep some control over its data. Otherwise it will be the govt. and corporations who have all the access, we'll just have a new tv.
I can't believe the negative and adversarial mood this whole story has provoked here. Surely this is good ?
they have widened their aim, but they have targeted people with similar resources now - people who can and will fight back. Remember, first they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. They've just started fighting for real.
This comment was flamebait. Or do you suggest that without foreign investment, all your pensions are worthless ? If that's the case, you have bigger issues.
So a medical student doesn't feel the need to be able to spell, independently of a computer ? Sorry Miss Jones when I wrote hypoglycemic I meant to write hyperglycemic and your so your notes were dangerously wrong. The nurse pumping you full of glucose was my computers fault because the spell checker didn't catch it.
Why does it have to be one or the other ? There is no reason why the school can't run OSS for its backend stuff and run lessons using both windows and linux, mac too if you want. The point is to educate people on the possibilities of computers of all types. The kids will choose what they prefer and we get an assortment of skills at the end of it. The windows monoculture has to stop. If microsoft can't share the stage maybe that will heighten awareness of their hegemony.
What's sad is that too many people seem to equate morals with something bad. Like they're enforced on you or something. But the lack of morals is responsible for most of the criminal and economic woe we see around us today. Take the free speech argument - too many people see free speech as complete carte blanche to defame and otherwise insult anybody and everybody they choose. If they had any morals they would realise that for a society to function, we have to hold our tongues unless we have something constructive to say or we risk destroying that society through lack of trust, and mutual respect.
In the economic sense, we are all in the shit because some guys thought it would be a great idea to lend out the same dollar over 1000 times all at once. Morally speaking, lending it out at all after the first time was fraud, but hey, they were getting away with it, and it's not their money right ?
Then you get to the recent case of the Dutch fanatic, whose only real message was "look at me I'm Davey Crockett !" He had nothing constructive to say, just a well worn diatribe of "look how bad the other guy is" designed to cause trouble and get his name in the media. If he had any real morals, he would have to accept that what goes around comes around and either present a solution with his argument, or just keep his mouth shut for the benefit of the huge majority of people who don't care about his rants.
So being able to get rid of outdated red laser mastering equipment isn't a benefit ? They need the blue for blu-ray, so if they can do CD and BD mastering using the same mastering equipment that's better isn't it ? Or is the striving for ever greater accuracy and control a waste of effort ?
I disagree with your first two sentences. Other than that, you're good !
Linux HAS prevailed, it WILL prevail. The other 2 have nothing to compare. OK, so they might have their niches, but that is precisely the point of Linux, it doesn't care about niches - you can run whatever you want. All we need really is the big software companies to realise that and develop cross-platform. They will be better off in the long run if they switch now. The last call has gone out for who is for us and who's against us - we have that power. Your reputation will depend on this for decades.
OK I've got a beard, but when mobile phones were new, I had a tiny one, no-one I knew had one and people gave me shit. 18 months later, they had a rule in the pub about mobiles ringing.
When I was developing web-sites in 1999, and it all went south for the bursting of the bubble, my bosses colleagues were calling for abandonment of the whole idea, but I told him that it was never going to go away, and to keep his money in there. Was I wrong ?
Open source drove this whole industry (internet) to where it is. Now it's threatening the Desktop - what would Jesus do ?
No sorry, Apple RE-sells hardware, and Microsoft RE-sells Hardware. Neither of them are involved in manufacturing. All they want is control over where their software gets sold.
I have a box of matches in my hand, and on the back it says "DANGER ! FIRE KILLS CHILDREN"
Nuff said.
Re:First questions first
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Congratulations on seeing how ridiculous my statements were.
Now look around you, and at the GP post and see if you can see what I'm saying. There was no need to add sarcasm tags because this is far too serious a subject for sarcasm. Take a look at history, and you'll notice that the rise of the nazi party didn't have anything to do with gassing jews, it was all about better rights for the average German, a better deal for the German, because you can see how people who control all the money are fucking you over. If you can't see a parallel between those early days and the current situation in Europe viz Muslims and terrorism, you're not looking very hard. I could make a film just like the Dutch MP Geert Wilders but it would present Christianity in exactly the same light. Does that mean all Christians are terrorists ? Should such a pointless and deliberately divisive film be accorded the special honour of being presented to members of our government ? My point about it not being fair was taken from the attitude presented in an article written by a current member of the UK Liberal-Democrat party. I find that scary and as you noticed, childish. When the most moderate members of a democratic society find it necessary to stoop to hate speech and playground politics, I think we are all in danger.
I would have linked the MP's article, but I made the mistake 2 weeks ago (when I first came across it) of emailing said MP and calling him out on it. Consequently, and unsurprisingly, that article has disappeared from the NSS site ! But although I didn't think to make a note of the URL, I did copy the text -
Is it extreme to defend free speech?
By Dr Evan Harris (MP and NSS Honorary Associate)
When is a liberal like me an extremist? When, in the words of Asghar Bukhari, chairman of the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, I defend the right of Salman Rushdie to offend the likes of Mr Bukhari - and defend the Government for knighting the novelist. At least that was what Mr Bukhari screeched at me in a televised rant recently.
True, Salman Rushdie's Satanic Verses was insulting and offensive to Muslims. But that is no basis to deny him an honour. In fact the reaction of Islamic extremists to his work - with al Qaeda's Ayman al-Zawahiri now threatening retaliation against Britain for the knighthood - underlines precisely why he should be honoured. To recognise our society's values and freedoms as well as the talent it contains.
And in one sense, Mr Bukhari was right about my own "extremist" views. For I will stop at nothing to protect the rights of people like him to be offensive and wrong.
But I will not tolerate the persistent demands, led by Muslim activists, for special protection for religious views. People should be allowed to attack religious ideas in ways which adherents may find offensive - whether by criticism, lampoon or even insult.
I organised the Parliamentary campaign that last year voted down "by a margin of one" a Government plan to outlaw the incitement of religious hatred. Recent outbursts by the likes of Mr Bukhari make that vote all the more crucial for freedom of expression.
Those who argue for such laws say that one should separate the person from the ideology: hate the sin but love the sinners. But I don't just hate Nazism, for instance. I hate Nazis. We should all hate Nazis. It is not just their ideology which is loathsome, they are loathsome people. So I believe I should be entitled to incite hatred of Nazis, short of inciting violence. My words ought not to be intimidating to any Nazi of fragile disposition. But the language I used could well - I hope - be insulting to any self-respecting Nazi.
And in the same way, I should also have the freedom to advise others to hate jihadism or homophobic bigotry. I should not be criminalised for promoting hatred of Islamic jihadists or fundamentalist Christian homophobic bigots. After all, they have the freedom to promote hatred of free-speech loving, gay- rights campaigni
Re:First questions first
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So even the Nazis have a right to free speech, to spread FUD and build a political base amongst the people, especially in these times of economic downturn, with those filthy muslims taking our jobs... after all, their whole religion promotes hatred of us. And we should be free to do to them what they do to us... If they hate us, we should be free to hate them. It's only fair.
Slashdot Mirror
NO2ID got the attention of the Lords quite successfully. They are mentioned in the recently released report on surveillance in society. (p 18,27,78,101,114,)
One issue that bothers me is the ignorance of your average person when dealing with their own information.
A recent problem that has occurred to me is car insurance. I for one am heartily sick of the adverts on tv, but it suddenly struck me what's happening. In the "old days" you did business with an insurance company, maybe through an agent. All your records were on paper, and reasonably secure. These days, you do business online with an entity who is quite often an agent 3 or 4 times removed from the insurance company. So now there are 4 times as many people with access to critical personal data in this sector alone, and they are all online. Should we have to trust all of them ? Is the lure of "truly cheaper car insurance" worth spreading your personal data far and wide, to be picked over and mined by who knows who ?
If you answered yes to the last question, you deserve everything you get.
Dickhead.
Does Akamai say "we own your content" ?
You may as well say the president's affiliated with Ford or GM or whoever, just because he might use their products. Google on the other hand do claim to have complete control over any content you provide them with.
So you're talking about morals. And too many people think of the moral law as restrictive and break it. Just because it's the law doesn't automatically make it a bad thing. Some things were actually for all our benefit. Like music. Oh, hang on that's the wrong side of the argument. But the RIAA companies want to play both sides. Have their money and break copyright terms. They are responsible for copyright extension, they have pirated from us. Hah HArRr!!!
I agree with the thrust of your argument, but take issue with your second paragraph. Surely if we have achieved a standard of living so comfortable, we should now extend that benefit to all the people before moving on to esoteric symbols of triumph.
Many generations have been where we are then fallen backwards because it was only ever part of the world that had those benefits. You can never afford to sit back when you have enemies.
Maybe I'm being too critical, but I'm sure this is crucial if we are to progress. the population of the planet has been increasing by a billion every 12 years (recent historically speaking) so we will hit 7 billion this year. Are we all to become worker ants or have some control ? So we need to stick together. One hand washes the other.
<!--something about no carrier here -->
I have no issue with the kindle, but it is too much hard work. To have a decent size screen, you have to have a large body to the case and that makes it cumbersome.
In my future there is a device about 6" long, and 1/2" in diameter. It has bluetooth to talk to my ear phone/mike and it has status leds and caller id on the outside. It has the fastest net access possible. Connected to this device, in fact concealed within it, is a pullout screen, which is either epaper or video standard according to need. The screen locks into position and is about 7" to 9" size. Laser positioning detects your finger activating controls on the screen. ebooks, movies, video calls, the net - all available in a slim tube with a bigger screen when you need it.
And a pony.
That's if you can get the pages apart.
And how many of those do you read a day, a week, a month ?
Stupid boy !
While I completely agree with what you say, you have done nothing more than provide an anecdote.
What worries me more is the attitude that because windows is prevalent, that's the way it is so get used to it. That attitude is fatal if the world wants to keep some control over its data. Otherwise it will be the govt. and corporations who have all the access, we'll just have a new tv.
Welcome to politics.
If you followed the church of L. Ron Hubbard, you'd know that. And have a black guy in a van waiting for you.
I can't believe the negative and adversarial mood this whole story has provoked here. Surely this is good ?
they have widened their aim, but they have targeted people with similar resources now - people who can and will fight back.
Remember, first they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. They've just started fighting for real.
This comment was flamebait.
Or do you suggest that without foreign investment, all your pensions are worthless ?
If that's the case, you have bigger issues.
So a medical student doesn't feel the need to be able to spell, independently of a computer ?
Sorry Miss Jones when I wrote hypoglycemic I meant to write hyperglycemic and your so your notes were dangerously wrong. The nurse pumping you full of glucose was my computers fault because the spell checker didn't catch it.
Why does it have to be one or the other ?
There is no reason why the school can't run OSS for its backend stuff and run lessons using both windows and linux, mac too if you want. The point is to educate people on the possibilities of computers of all types. The kids will choose what they prefer and we get an assortment of skills at the end of it. The windows monoculture has to stop. If microsoft can't share the stage maybe that will heighten awareness of their hegemony.
What's sad is that too many people seem to equate morals with something bad. Like they're enforced on you or something. But the lack of morals is responsible for most of the criminal and economic woe we see around us today. Take the free speech argument - too many people see free speech as complete carte blanche to defame and otherwise insult anybody and everybody they choose. If they had any morals they would realise that for a society to function, we have to hold our tongues unless we have something constructive to say or we risk destroying that society through lack of trust, and mutual respect.
In the economic sense, we are all in the shit because some guys thought it would be a great idea to lend out the same dollar over 1000 times all at once. Morally speaking, lending it out at all after the first time was fraud, but hey, they were getting away with it, and it's not their money right ?
Then you get to the recent case of the Dutch fanatic, whose only real message was "look at me I'm Davey Crockett !" He had nothing constructive to say, just a well worn diatribe of "look how bad the other guy is" designed to cause trouble and get his name in the media. If he had any real morals, he would have to accept that what goes around comes around and either present a solution with his argument, or just keep his mouth shut for the benefit of the huge majority of people who don't care about his rants.
All pretty childish really.
So being able to get rid of outdated red laser mastering equipment isn't a benefit ? They need the blue for blu-ray, so if they can do CD and BD mastering using the same mastering equipment that's better isn't it ? Or is the striving for ever greater accuracy and control a waste of effort ?
Now that's pornography !
Ha ha ha.
Can we have a link or citation please.
I disagree with your first two sentences. Other than that, you're good !
Linux HAS prevailed, it WILL prevail. The other 2 have nothing to compare. OK, so they might have their niches, but that is precisely the point of Linux, it doesn't care about niches - you can run whatever you want. All we need really is the big software companies to realise that and develop cross-platform. They will be better off in the long run if they switch now. The last call has gone out for who is for us and who's against us - we have that power. Your reputation will depend on this for decades.
OK I've got a beard, but when mobile phones were new, I had a tiny one, no-one I knew had one and people gave me shit. 18 months later, they had a rule in the pub about mobiles ringing.
When I was developing web-sites in 1999, and it all went south for the bursting of the bubble, my bosses colleagues were calling for abandonment of the whole idea, but I told him that it was never going to go away, and to keep his money in there. Was I wrong ?
Open source drove this whole industry (internet) to where it is. Now it's threatening the Desktop - what would Jesus do ?
This should be insightful.
No sorry, Apple RE-sells hardware, and Microsoft RE-sells Hardware. Neither of them are involved in manufacturing. All they want is control over where their software gets sold.
And that will be their undoing.
I'm sorry, but isn't EVERY story about a Microsoft 0-Day a dupe ?
I have a box of matches in my hand, and on the back it says "DANGER ! FIRE KILLS CHILDREN"
Nuff said.
Now look around you, and at the GP post and see if you can see what I'm saying. There was no need to add sarcasm tags because this is far too serious a subject for sarcasm. Take a look at history, and you'll notice that the rise of the nazi party didn't have anything to do with gassing jews, it was all about better rights for the average German, a better deal for the German, because you can see how people who control all the money are fucking you over. If you can't see a parallel between those early days and the current situation in Europe viz Muslims and terrorism, you're not looking very hard. I could make a film just like the Dutch MP Geert Wilders but it would present Christianity in exactly the same light. Does that mean all Christians are terrorists ? Should such a pointless and deliberately divisive film be accorded the special honour of being presented to members of our government ? My point about it not being fair was taken from the attitude presented in an article written by a current member of the UK Liberal-Democrat party. I find that scary and as you noticed, childish. When the most moderate members of a democratic society find it necessary to stoop to hate speech and playground politics, I think we are all in danger.
I would have linked the MP's article, but I made the mistake 2 weeks ago (when I first came across it) of emailing said MP and calling him out on it. Consequently, and unsurprisingly, that article has disappeared from the NSS site ! But although I didn't think to make a note of the URL, I did copy the text -
So even the Nazis have a right to free speech, to spread FUD and build a political base amongst the people, especially in these times of economic downturn, with those filthy muslims taking our jobs ... after all, their whole religion promotes hatred of us. And we should be free to do to them what they do to us ... If they hate us, we should be free to hate them. It's only fair.
... really.
This has never happened before
Oddly, that quote only appears in the Register not in the Gruniad, where the letter was supposedly first sent.