Great, slashdot appears to have barfed my comment somewhere.
I know fine how you meant the statement, I'd just like to see some kind of evidence rather than accepting vague conspiracy statements as fact. I don't think it's so much that the government would get Google to build special government surveillance software as that the government would just request already available data from Google, ISPs, etc.
I know how you meant it, but I though some kind of citation would be nice rather than just making broad implications. While government agencies probably do make use of commercial companies from time to time, or at least consult with individual employees who may happen to work for those companies, I would have thought that they have enough clever people of their own that they'd be able to write surveillance software. I had the impression that it's more their style to let other people (ie ISPs) do the surveillance and then gather from them anyway.
Yep I really don't get the distinction you're making there, because companies already can track stuff like toilet paper sales on a massive scale, it would still be collected even if you were entirely anonymous. I think people are (or at least should be) more concerned with the ability to be anonymous than outright hiding everything that they do.
You could use it for office productivity tasks for bog standard office workers sure, but then all your company's private data is being held on a 3rd party server - which doesn't seem like something most bosses would want.
I think eventually browsers/Chrome OS probably will be able to fulfil all the requirements of a "real" OS (though probably in a rather roundabout, inefficient manner), but yes, we haven't reached that point yet.
If your browser is open source, you can change its behaviour to be in line with what you want. Duh. Then you just have to worry about the security of your actual connection, and what any person or machine at the other end of your connection is going to do with the data you are transmitting.
Yes, I don't care who knows what I like to buy or do at the cinema. Though I haven't entered any supermarket incentive card schemes because I know they're pretty much just for marketing schemes, and I don't feel the need to squeeze 0.1% extra value or whatever out of every purchase I make.
Wait, Google's servers (where the data is stored) are open source? Can I audit their deployment too?
Obviously that information has already been "sucked up" if it's on their servers. OP seems to have been thinking more of what info it will suck up even when you're on non-Google owned websites.
What? Afaict, your argument reduces to, "It's secure because at least if I want to keep something private they don't force me to give it to them." Similarly, every government guarantees freedom of expression because they can't do anything about internalised expression (dreaming?), I guess.
I didn't say it was secure. I said that if you don't want people to know certain info, don't give it out on unsecured connections or using software that you haven't vetted for security. This has nothing to do with government, because you don't have the option to opt-out of your government (unless you move country).
Ah, the second prong on the anti-privacy trident. When it's not, "If you have something to hide, you shouldn't be doing it," it's, "actually I've decided you have nothing worthwhile to hide anyway!"
Yep, I pretty much think that every time I see someone on/. whine about their privacy and security. American liberties are being eroded on many fronts with stuff like the PATRIOT act, and these guys are more worried about Google improving the relevance of their advertisements instead of going out and killing the government, or doing whatever the hell else you're meant to do with the 2nd amendment. Note: I am not American, I'm just pointing this out as the majority of posters here probably are American.
How do you expect anyone to do any work on Chrome OS? That recent article said that they are using Linux or OSX in place of Windows, not Chrome OS. At this point in time, Chrome OS is only really useful for anything that a browser can do. That is a lot of stuff these days, but there are still some apps that people will need a full OS for - for example proper 3D gaming, creating art/music, or doing pretty much any kind of software development.
Except it's open source. And it can't suck up any information you don't enter. If you're worried about people spying on what you do online, either use encrypted connections, or don't go online.
You might want to check over your shoulders whenever you go out in public to make sure nobody is following you - you never know, they may find out what brand of toilet paper you buy, or see what type of films you enjoy watching at the cinema!
I certainly don't believe that there's no choice in addiction, though some people do have much weaker wills than others. That's an interesting study, and I identify heavily with your last sentence. I find it sad that so many people feel they need to resort to heavy drinking to actually "enjoy" a night out. I even find it even more sad that so many people are addicted to sugary junk food. A lot of society today is so dull that people need to entertain themselves with what they ingest rather than what they do.
If it's wrong to force them, it's wrong to force me.
You have a plentiful supply of energy available - the majority of which already comes from burning resources.
When these countries are "developed" then they will be able to move onto cleaner forms of energy just as we are trying to do, but it is very hypocritical to expect them just to skip industrialisation altogether and somehow get to where we are without going through that phase. Do you also think it would be a good idea to suddenly shut down all pre-University schools and expect everyone to just jump into their education at undergrad level? While some may do fine with home schooling, any country that tried out that plan would go downhill fast in 20 years time if not earlier.
Gimme a break. That's because there's no such thing as a "cocaine lever" in the wild. If you did have piles of cocaine around (very small ones so it didn't kill them immediately), rats or any other animals would probably get addicted too. As someone else has pointed out, pets can become addicted to alcohol.
Well first I'm in the UK, and we have had largely the same problem, tho it does appear things have at least changed to option 3 for now.. but still, I dislike the general system. If I ever feel very strongly about a local subject that I feel is actually important I guess I would write a letter to an MP, but so far I just see the whole world of politics as a circus.
Fair point. I was imagining you having to "check in" at the door for some reason, probably from having to use swipe cards all the time at work and the gym:s
Yes you could say they're sinking development costs on this, but seeing as it is literally is just a big iPhone then I doubt it cost that much to develop!
You can get eBook readers for far less than the iPad. If you want colour then there isn't any other option at the moment AFAIK - though there will be plenty of copycat tablets out soon enough.
Well, I learned how to lift fingerprints, aged 9, from a book in my school library, so the capability is there.
It might look a bit suspicious if the only book you ever check out of the library with this system is "how to fake fingerprints", and then it is discovered that people are becoming the victims of library identity theft;)
And of course if you don't want to be on the system at all, how are you ever going to get in if you don't get the book to learn how to fake fingerprints? The mind, it boggles!
Even on devices with touchscreens I've still used the touchpad or a mouse because it's way less hassle (then again that's been on OSes designed for mice or styluses).
Touchscreens are inherently more "fun" for sure because you get to be all tactile, but they do have major downsides - which are only really downsides when there are no other input options like modifier keys or d-pads. My point is not that Linux netbooks are exactly the same as an iPad, my point is that in most ways they are in fact better.
The iPad does have a larger overall display area than my 9 inch netbook sure, though for watching widescreen video they'd be pretty much exactly the same - and for web browsing so far (my flatmate has an iPad and I had a look at it to see if it was worth getting one) I prefer my Mini 9. Maybe a better browser on the iPad combined with an external keyboard would make it a more pleasant experience though.
I've just checked and you can get the Mini 10 for just over 40% of the price of an iPad - and that would actually have a larger viewing area for movies. The Mini 10 gets 10 hours of battery life, same as the iPad (my Mini 9 only gets 4). I've just checked and touchscreen overlays cost $169 for a 12" screen - that's about £116, yet the iPad costs £280 more than a Dell Mini 10, and that's before considering a keyboard or any other add-ons for the iPad. So don't try to pretend like the iPad isn't currently a huge ripoff.
Slashdot Mirror
Decimals, fractions, complex numbers..
Great, slashdot appears to have barfed my comment somewhere.
I know fine how you meant the statement, I'd just like to see some kind of evidence rather than accepting vague conspiracy statements as fact. I don't think it's so much that the government would get Google to build special government surveillance software as that the government would just request already available data from Google, ISPs, etc.
I know how you meant it, but I though some kind of citation would be nice rather than just making broad implications. While government agencies probably do make use of commercial companies from time to time, or at least consult with individual employees who may happen to work for those companies, I would have thought that they have enough clever people of their own that they'd be able to write surveillance software. I had the impression that it's more their style to let other people (ie ISPs) do the surveillance and then gather from them anyway.
Yep I really don't get the distinction you're making there, because companies already can track stuff like toilet paper sales on a massive scale, it would still be collected even if you were entirely anonymous. I think people are (or at least should be) more concerned with the ability to be anonymous than outright hiding everything that they do.
Who do you think builds the tools that government uses to follow and exploit its people? Would you like a list?
Yes, please, that sounds like fun :p
You could use it for office productivity tasks for bog standard office workers sure, but then all your company's private data is being held on a 3rd party server - which doesn't seem like something most bosses would want.
I think eventually browsers/Chrome OS probably will be able to fulfil all the requirements of a "real" OS (though probably in a rather roundabout, inefficient manner), but yes, we haven't reached that point yet.
If your browser is open source, you can change its behaviour to be in line with what you want. Duh. Then you just have to worry about the security of your actual connection, and what any person or machine at the other end of your connection is going to do with the data you are transmitting.
Yes, I don't care who knows what I like to buy or do at the cinema. Though I haven't entered any supermarket incentive card schemes because I know they're pretty much just for marketing schemes, and I don't feel the need to squeeze 0.1% extra value or whatever out of every purchase I make.
Wait, Google's servers (where the data is stored) are open source? Can I audit their deployment too?
Obviously that information has already been "sucked up" if it's on their servers. OP seems to have been thinking more of what info it will suck up even when you're on non-Google owned websites.
What? Afaict, your argument reduces to, "It's secure because at least if I want to keep something private they don't force me to give it to them." Similarly, every government guarantees freedom of expression because they can't do anything about internalised expression (dreaming?), I guess.
I didn't say it was secure. I said that if you don't want people to know certain info, don't give it out on unsecured connections or using software that you haven't vetted for security. This has nothing to do with government, because you don't have the option to opt-out of your government (unless you move country).
Ah, the second prong on the anti-privacy trident. When it's not, "If you have something to hide, you shouldn't be doing it," it's, "actually I've decided you have nothing worthwhile to hide anyway!"
Yep, I pretty much think that every time I see someone on /. whine about their privacy and security. American liberties are being eroded on many fronts with stuff like the PATRIOT act, and these guys are more worried about Google improving the relevance of their advertisements instead of going out and killing the government, or doing whatever the hell else you're meant to do with the 2nd amendment. Note: I am not American, I'm just pointing this out as the majority of posters here probably are American.
How do you expect anyone to do any work on Chrome OS? That recent article said that they are using Linux or OSX in place of Windows, not Chrome OS. At this point in time, Chrome OS is only really useful for anything that a browser can do. That is a lot of stuff these days, but there are still some apps that people will need a full OS for - for example proper 3D gaming, creating art/music, or doing pretty much any kind of software development.
Except it's open source. And it can't suck up any information you don't enter. If you're worried about people spying on what you do online, either use encrypted connections, or don't go online.
You might want to check over your shoulders whenever you go out in public to make sure nobody is following you - you never know, they may find out what brand of toilet paper you buy, or see what type of films you enjoy watching at the cinema!
Waterworld
unless either our observations or our understanding are seriously flawed that should not be an issue.
Uh-oh
I certainly don't believe that there's no choice in addiction, though some people do have much weaker wills than others. That's an interesting study, and I identify heavily with your last sentence. I find it sad that so many people feel they need to resort to heavy drinking to actually "enjoy" a night out. I even find it even more sad that so many people are addicted to sugary junk food. A lot of society today is so dull that people need to entertain themselves with what they ingest rather than what they do.
If it's wrong to force them, it's wrong to force me.
You have a plentiful supply of energy available - the majority of which already comes from burning resources.
When these countries are "developed" then they will be able to move onto cleaner forms of energy just as we are trying to do, but it is very hypocritical to expect them just to skip industrialisation altogether and somehow get to where we are without going through that phase. Do you also think it would be a good idea to suddenly shut down all pre-University schools and expect everyone to just jump into their education at undergrad level? While some may do fine with home schooling, any country that tried out that plan would go downhill fast in 20 years time if not earlier.
You could just leave bowls of beer and whisky out in a forest and see what happens? :P
Gimme a break. That's because there's no such thing as a "cocaine lever" in the wild. If you did have piles of cocaine around (very small ones so it didn't kill them immediately), rats or any other animals would probably get addicted too. As someone else has pointed out, pets can become addicted to alcohol.
We should be teaching basic security/common sense in schools. Eventually it will stop being an issue.
Well first I'm in the UK, and we have had largely the same problem, tho it does appear things have at least changed to option 3 for now.. but still, I dislike the general system. If I ever feel very strongly about a local subject that I feel is actually important I guess I would write a letter to an MP, but so far I just see the whole world of politics as a circus.
Fair point. I was imagining you having to "check in" at the door for some reason, probably from having to use swipe cards all the time at work and the gym :s
Yes you could say they're sinking development costs on this, but seeing as it is literally is just a big iPhone then I doubt it cost that much to develop!
You can get eBook readers for far less than the iPad. If you want colour then there isn't any other option at the moment AFAIK - though there will be plenty of copycat tablets out soon enough.
Why would you think that?
I've read it before, but I guess it was just marketing BS.
"My gummy bear owns the membership, but he's disabled and I'm his method of transport.".
Well, I learned how to lift fingerprints, aged 9, from a book in my school library, so the capability is there.
It might look a bit suspicious if the only book you ever check out of the library with this system is "how to fake fingerprints", and then it is discovered that people are becoming the victims of library identity theft ;)
And of course if you don't want to be on the system at all, how are you ever going to get in if you don't get the book to learn how to fake fingerprints? The mind, it boggles!
No no no, he wanted "work-alike", not "work better"!
Even on devices with touchscreens I've still used the touchpad or a mouse because it's way less hassle (then again that's been on OSes designed for mice or styluses).
Touchscreens are inherently more "fun" for sure because you get to be all tactile, but they do have major downsides - which are only really downsides when there are no other input options like modifier keys or d-pads. My point is not that Linux netbooks are exactly the same as an iPad, my point is that in most ways they are in fact better.
The iPad does have a larger overall display area than my 9 inch netbook sure, though for watching widescreen video they'd be pretty much exactly the same - and for web browsing so far (my flatmate has an iPad and I had a look at it to see if it was worth getting one) I prefer my Mini 9. Maybe a better browser on the iPad combined with an external keyboard would make it a more pleasant experience though.
I've just checked and you can get the Mini 10 for just over 40% of the price of an iPad - and that would actually have a larger viewing area for movies. The Mini 10 gets 10 hours of battery life, same as the iPad (my Mini 9 only gets 4). I've just checked and touchscreen overlays cost $169 for a 12" screen - that's about £116, yet the iPad costs £280 more than a Dell Mini 10, and that's before considering a keyboard or any other add-ons for the iPad. So don't try to pretend like the iPad isn't currently a huge ripoff.