Every ISP I have ever worked with has kept logs of
assigned IP for dialup, caller id (when available
and not cost prohibitive), email and ftp server logs.
These logs are referred to when following up
complaints of abuse (mainly spammers). Even if an
ISP were not interested in fielding abuse complaints,
they would be insane not to keep this information in the face of subpeonas and requests for
cooperation by law enforcement (and lately DMCA
notices).
Why is this a violation of privacy? While the
information may be handled casually in many cases,
it is not published publicly. Do users really
think they have an expectation of privacy in this
way? Do they really think they have a right to
be untracable and unaccountable for their actions
online?
I know slashdotters seem to be always fighting a
losing battle for privacy, but these logs seem to
be common sense.
I agree, the springs and the amount of movement necessary to control the thing were my biggest problem with quake. I spent all night last night trying to get used to it, and eventually got disgusted.
What it really needs is a set of switches with a positive feedback and requiring almost no movement, kind of like those eight-way "hats" on joysticks.
Maybe I should try taking mine apart and replacing the springs with something heavier.
Inertia may be somewhat irrelevant. The sphere
has an inertial lag reacting to your movements.
In natural conditions, your body also has such a
lag. However, the sphere's "visual" position
would be relative to the user's position, and
could easily compute a stopping distance for the
user. If anything will be a problem, it will be
the lack of force which the user has to apply
with his or her legs to stop. And as someone
pointed out below, this could be counteracted
by using the sphere's inertia to provide a force
against the user, more closely simulating the
real inertial effects of someone walking around
on the surface of the planet.
Slashdot Mirror
Why is this a violation of privacy? While the information may be handled casually in many cases, it is not published publicly. Do users really think they have an expectation of privacy in this way? Do they really think they have a right to be untracable and unaccountable for their actions online?
I know slashdotters seem to be always fighting a losing battle for privacy, but these logs seem to be common sense.
I agree, the springs and the amount of movement necessary to control the thing were my biggest problem with quake. I spent all night last night trying to get used to it, and eventually got disgusted.
What it really needs is a set of switches with a positive feedback and requiring almost no movement, kind of like those eight-way "hats" on joysticks.
Maybe I should try taking mine apart and replacing the springs with something heavier.
Inertia may be somewhat irrelevant. The sphere
has an inertial lag reacting to your movements.
In natural conditions, your body also has such a
lag. However, the sphere's "visual" position
would be relative to the user's position, and
could easily compute a stopping distance for the
user. If anything will be a problem, it will be
the lack of force which the user has to apply
with his or her legs to stop. And as someone
pointed out below, this could be counteracted
by using the sphere's inertia to provide a force
against the user, more closely simulating the
real inertial effects of someone walking around
on the surface of the planet.