Like so many things Govt's do isn't it "bolting the stable door"?
Spyware is out there, asking for people to "agree" to have it is just asking for a whole flood of "legalised" versions to infest PC's worldwide.
Biggest problem is *obviously* that like spam this stuff usually comes from outside the "controlled" zone eg China, Russia, Papua New Guinea etc.
Harden your security or change to a more secure system or get a better firewall!
Then again I run OS X so I don't have to deal with this day on day...
SF is NOT about predicting the future - SF is (and always has been) a way of *extrapolating* the "what if" of NOW into the "what might happen" of sometime - 1984 was written as a political commentary on the policy in force at the BBC in 1948 (see what he did there? - non UK readers may not "get" the added humour quotient there...) Remember not to confuse the "soft" SF of say Star Wars or Star Trek (also known as Science Fantasy/Space Opera) with the "harder" SF of - say - Blade Runner/Jonny Mnemomic/Solyent Green) William Gibson "created" the cyberpunk genre, really aren't we just looking for the next NEW THING? I love Trek, Stargate, even Quantum Leap - but are they really SF? In my mind only vaguely they're more Sci Fantasy.... To me On The Beach is SF, Asimov's robots are SF, even Alien is SF. Solyent Green is definetly SF and so is Farenheit 451. The first Planet of the Apes film is a debatable point as is probably Aliens But this is just my opinion.... Interestingly good "fantasy" often addresses current MORAL/SOCIAL dilemmas by taking away the *current* confusions and presenting the same problems in a *different* light. Don't flame me regarding cheap/rubbish "fantasy" which is just pulp fiction dressed up with silly elf/dwarf/hero stereotypes.. In my opinion all GOOD fantasy/SF/take your pick (actually good literature in general as opposed to your blockbuster junk) should reflect current society plus add *either* a level of social comment or a *mildly* warning note of *what if* PS that isn't to knock your purely entertaining genres... Everything has its place and I wouldn't want to eat nothing but potatoes - if you get my point.... Cheers
SF is NOT about predicting the future - SF is (and always has been) a way of *extrapolating* the "what if" of NOW into the "what might happen" of sometime - 1984 was written as a political commentary on the policy in force at the BBC in 1948 (see what he did there? - non UK readers may not "get" the added humour quotient there...)
Remember not to confuse the "soft" SF of say Star Wars or Star Trek (also known as Science Fantasy/Space Opera) with the "harder" SF of - say - Blade Runner/Jonny Mnemomic/Solyent Green)
William Gibson "created" the cyberpunk genre, really aren't we just looking for the next NEW THING?
I love Trek, Stargate, even Quantum Leap - but are they really SF? In my mind only vaguely they're more Sci Fantasy....
To me On The Beach is SF, Asimov's robots are SF, even Alien is SF. Solyent Green is definetly SF and so is Farenheit 451. The first Planet of the Apes film is a debatable point as is probably Aliens
But this is just my opinion....
Interestingly good "fantasy" often addresses current MORAL/SOCIAL dilemmas by taking away the *current* confusions and presenting the same problems in a *different* light.
Don't flame me regarding cheap/rubbish "fantasy" which is just pulp fiction dressed up with silly elf/dwarf/hero stereotypes..
In my opinion all GOOD fantasy/SF/take your pick (actually good literature in general as opposed to your blockbuster junk) should reflect current society plus add *either* a level of social comment or a *mildly* warning note of *what if*
PS that isn't to knock your purely entertaining genres... Everything has its place and I wouldn't want to eat nothing but potatoes - if you get my point....
Cheers
Slashdot Mirror
Like so many things Govt's do isn't it "bolting the stable door"? Spyware is out there, asking for people to "agree" to have it is just asking for a whole flood of "legalised" versions to infest PC's worldwide. Biggest problem is *obviously* that like spam this stuff usually comes from outside the "controlled" zone eg China, Russia, Papua New Guinea etc. Harden your security or change to a more secure system or get a better firewall! Then again I run OS X so I don't have to deal with this day on day...
SF is NOT about predicting the future - SF is (and always has been) a way of *extrapolating* the "what if" of NOW into the "what might happen" of sometime - 1984 was written as a political commentary on the policy in force at the BBC in 1948 (see what he did there? - non UK readers may not "get" the added humour quotient there...) Remember not to confuse the "soft" SF of say Star Wars or Star Trek (also known as Science Fantasy/Space Opera) with the "harder" SF of - say - Blade Runner/Jonny Mnemomic/Solyent Green) William Gibson "created" the cyberpunk genre, really aren't we just looking for the next NEW THING? I love Trek, Stargate, even Quantum Leap - but are they really SF? In my mind only vaguely they're more Sci Fantasy.... To me On The Beach is SF, Asimov's robots are SF, even Alien is SF. Solyent Green is definetly SF and so is Farenheit 451. The first Planet of the Apes film is a debatable point as is probably Aliens But this is just my opinion.... Interestingly good "fantasy" often addresses current MORAL/SOCIAL dilemmas by taking away the *current* confusions and presenting the same problems in a *different* light. Don't flame me regarding cheap/rubbish "fantasy" which is just pulp fiction dressed up with silly elf/dwarf/hero stereotypes.. In my opinion all GOOD fantasy/SF/take your pick (actually good literature in general as opposed to your blockbuster junk) should reflect current society plus add *either* a level of social comment or a *mildly* warning note of *what if* PS that isn't to knock your purely entertaining genres... Everything has its place and I wouldn't want to eat nothing but potatoes - if you get my point.... Cheers
SF is NOT about predicting the future - SF is (and always has been) a way of *extrapolating* the "what if" of NOW into the "what might happen" of sometime - 1984 was written as a political commentary on the policy in force at the BBC in 1948 (see what he did there? - non UK readers may not "get" the added humour quotient there...) Remember not to confuse the "soft" SF of say Star Wars or Star Trek (also known as Science Fantasy/Space Opera) with the "harder" SF of - say - Blade Runner/Jonny Mnemomic/Solyent Green) William Gibson "created" the cyberpunk genre, really aren't we just looking for the next NEW THING? I love Trek, Stargate, even Quantum Leap - but are they really SF? In my mind only vaguely they're more Sci Fantasy.... To me On The Beach is SF, Asimov's robots are SF, even Alien is SF. Solyent Green is definetly SF and so is Farenheit 451. The first Planet of the Apes film is a debatable point as is probably Aliens But this is just my opinion.... Interestingly good "fantasy" often addresses current MORAL/SOCIAL dilemmas by taking away the *current* confusions and presenting the same problems in a *different* light. Don't flame me regarding cheap/rubbish "fantasy" which is just pulp fiction dressed up with silly elf/dwarf/hero stereotypes.. In my opinion all GOOD fantasy/SF/take your pick (actually good literature in general as opposed to your blockbuster junk) should reflect current society plus add *either* a level of social comment or a *mildly* warning note of *what if* PS that isn't to knock your purely entertaining genres... Everything has its place and I wouldn't want to eat nothing but potatoes - if you get my point.... Cheers