I think even Google would struggle to cope with forty million concurrent video uploads in addition to current traffic (of.. around 5000). The bandwidth would be... substantial.
Of course it would be. So you implement a simple algorithm on the device side. It samples the video, calculates the probability that someone is interacting with a person/object in an 'Interesting-to-Google' manner, and if it exceeds a threshold, upload that video.
You tweak the algorithm/threshold until you achieve your desired ratio of usefulvideo:videoquantity.
Of course, back then slaves weren't really as exploited as they were in more modern times and one could even buy themselves out of slavery if the made enough money
Slavery from those two time periods certainly had differences, but I don't think it rises to the levels where you can consider them different institutions. In the US when slavery was legal, there were many cases of men buying their freedom from their owners.
One of the reasons we may not hear about as much abuse/exploitation from ancient times was because if your society did not consider an action (such as sleeping with your slaves) to be an abuse, it simply wasn't debated as it wasn't interesting, no more than buying vegetables from the local market was something for debate.
I keep coolers of Ethylene Glycol in my fridge as well. I prefer to have the chemical slightly chilled and easily dispensed whenever I need to flush my car radiator.
I mean, is it really the Ethylene Glycol's fault when the kids I'm babysitting idiotically choose to drink that instead of the Kool-Aide I mixed up for them?
If a message comes up saying "Slow down, ice ahead", the reality is that you will take your eyes off the road to read the message, even though your eyes will still be pointing in the same direction.
If only there were ways to indicate to drivers in a non-distracting way of conditions regarding their vehicle and surroundings. One might imagine a simple yellow light that blinks 3-4 times, or a pinging tone.
Why, what havoc would occur if cars broadcast the diagnostic information to the driver to inform them of potential engine trouble, high temperatures, icy conditions, low oil, and other conditions. Drivers simply cannot process that much information and keep from turning into flaming balls of destruction.
So you turn 'Driving mode on' with your HUD, and it flashes a small dot of light in a non obstructive manner if there is an accident ahead. My smartphone already does this through Waze, and I expect most standalone GPS units will soon as well as they connect into the in-car wifi.
There are countless ways that current technology can be distracting.
An easy way to reduce accidents from an already distracting technology? Ban speed cameras. Nothing like watching drivers overcompensate, or swivel their heads around as they are trying to look for the cameras.
Much like the term 'All-Natural', Renewable doesn't mean much.
The term causes the mind to think of things like 'Solar, Wind, Water, Geothermal', but the reality is that Renewable also means: "BioDiesel, Wood, Ethanol, Methane"
My point is, that there are many polluting, but renewable sources. I don't mean to imply that making sure our energy supply is sustainable is a bad thing, not at all, but just a reminder to keep an eye out for the marketing angle companies use when they use the term 'Renewable'.
People hear 'clean, green, healthy, responsible' when a company says they are renewable, but the honest truth is that a company could be powered by 100% Renewable Sources by burning pine trees in a 100 year old 30% efficiency furnace.
A previous company of mine recently converted their entire energy supply to renewable sources, generation was performed on site. The source was sawdust from the local saw mills. (However, it was actually a good move, because their system was actually a new high efficiency process they wanted to showcase, and by purchasing from the local sawmills, they helped support the community in a very direct fashion)
If anyone has the intelligence to raise the $2-5k for a 3dprinter/parts and the ability to use one to make a working firearm, I'm not going to worry that they might use it to shoot someone.
Why?
Because anyone with that intelligence and $2-5k could buy a better gun, or figure out some other way to be dangerous if they had the intent.
And whatever that Cadillac pickup truck thing is too. I mean, really? A Cadillac pickup truck?
I feel that way about things like Escalades, Porsche's SUV entry, and other things which basically fail on the basic premise, however for pickup trucks, there is a good reason for that, hopefully I can explain.
In the US, there are a lot of activities which requires pulling a trailer. Normally you can do this with a normal pickup truck or SUV, but many of the larger trailers use what is called a 'fifth wheel' basically it's a mount much like a large Semi truck that is installed in the bed of the truck and turns the pickup truck into a small 'tractor trailer'.
So, why not just a normal pickup truck? Many times you will be travelling hundreds if not a thousand miles pulling these trailers, and creature comforts become desireable. Being able to pull your 'horses, racecars, equipment, camper' to your location and still have a comfortable vehicle for the drive and your destination is a big deal.
While everyone has various levels of desired comfort, I think we can all agree that a 'U-Haul' quality truck for anything more than 50 miles becomes very uncomfortable very quickly.
That said, people may not use them for that purpose, but that purpose definately exists and if I had to haul something over 500 miles and could afford a cadillac pickup, I'd certainly do it.
eBooks can be more convenient. They are currently not more convenient. The reason they are not more convenient is because the implementation of DRM negates a huge number of benefits that eBooks(as files) posess, but are unable to realize.
If you take out DRM from eBooks, I have zero complaints which are not just byproducts of the medium. ie: Physical books require light to read, occupy space, etc; eBooks require electricity, require support equipment, etc.
Those type of complaints I don't care about, because they are byproducts of the physical medium. The reason I complain about eBooks is that someone is inserting flaws and degrading the capability of eBooks. With those intentional degredations, I am stating that eBooks are not more convenient because it is impossible to make such a blanket statement about a condition (DRMbook capabilities) which may change with or without notice.
When I say: "These are the benefits of books" those will remain the benefits of books forever. The concept of 'books' is static. Tremendous variations to be sure, but I can be reasonably sure that at least in my lifetime, the definition of 'book' will be the same.
However, consider if you consider DRM to be an aspect of eBooks, you can't say, "Oh well here is what an eBook is, and this is what you can do with it." and have that definition remain static for more than a few months. If you had a DRM'd 'eBook, and asked me 'Can I read this?' I would have to ask you "Well, who controls the license?", "Is that company still in business, are they still running the licensing servers?", "What reader device are you using?", "Does that device support the DRM implementation of your particular eBook?"
Then you might ask, "Can I give this book to a friend?" I would have to ask "Does the DRM permit you to give books to people?", "Has this particular eBook been licensed with 'giving' rights?", "Do these 'giving' rights transfer beyond the first 'give'?"
These answers to these questions may change with time. As companies change their policies, so do the DRM rules and applicability. Therefore, you can't really define eBook when you include DRM in the definition of eBook, and if you can't define something, you can't state that it has any particular property or capability (or convenience), if such properties are subject to change from ebook to ebook and from one moment to the next.
With a book, there is nothing between you and the content. With a DRM'd eBook, there is something between you and the content, and that 'something' is variable.
By default, if you're in a "walled garden" at least, your book license survives your device and a new reader can easily be re-authorized; this is actually far easier than replacing the few books that were in your lost backpack (or, worse yet, your library that burned down with the rest of your house).
Please go back to point 1 in my post:
"eBooks CAN be more convenient than books, but currently they are not."
The reason they are not currently more convenient is due to DRM. For eBooks without DRM, they are actually very comparable to physical books in terms of convenience. The drawbacks associated with eBooks are almost all ameliorated by the benefits.
I'm not here to say that physical books are superior to eBooks in all aspects, I'm saying that with DRM the benefits associated with eBooks are not being realized.
How easy is it for you to make a backup of your paper book, anyway?
My paper book is as easy to backup as the mechanism I choose to use. I can choose the easiest method available to the medium.
My non-DRM eBook is as easy to backup as the mechanism I choose to use. I can choose the easiest method available to the medium.
My DRMed eBook is as easy to backup as the mechanism chosen for me to use. The chosen option will necessarily be more complex than necessary for the medium, it will never serve my best interest, and the option is very likely to be 'No option'.
You see, to paraphrase the children's verse, "Anything DRM can do I can do better."
Did he conspire with the enemy or declare war on the Nation? No? It's not Treason.
I think you mean levying war. And making efforts to ensure that Americans are killed in war rises to that level.
He took explicit actions to ensure that more Americans were killed and to intentionally cause the US military to be attacked. That's not levying war against the US?
me: Hi, I'm here to pick up some prescriptions. Pharmacist: OK, here you go. amphetamine. That's $10. me: Oh, while I'm here, can I pick up some pseudoephedrine? Pharmacist: Driver's License please.
I was required to show my ID to purchase Sudafed, because it could be made into methamphetamine... but not required to show my ID for actual amphetamines.
Is there any way we can say the same about cell phones? Even if they were bought under contract? As long as I am still using their service I should be able to unlock the phone!!
No. In this case it was a claim by a private party against a private party in which both were claiming 'rights'.
In the cell phone unlocking mess, it doesn't matter if the private party (Mobile carriers) do anything. There is a clear ban on cell phone unlocking in clear legal language. 'Thou shalt not do this.' type of language. Even if the carriers do nothing, the prohibition stands and the action is illegal in all circumstances.
In this case, there is no law which says 'It is illegal to import, without authorization, copyrighted information without explicit permission of the copyright owner'.
It seems similar, but the two issues are only related in that they both deal with copyright, but that's where the similarities end.
And if that happens? Good. Just because you really really want something doesn't mean you should get it. If you didn't offer her enough to make her want to sell, you don't get it. "But Judge, she really is being unreasonable, I really want that land, and she just won't sell it to us!"
It's a development project, you can modify your project, or find a different location. Lack of long term planning to reserve space for future development by the city should not be a reason for them to seize your home.
Guise of convenience? I'm pretty sure they really are more convenient...
Electronic copies can be more convenient. But currently, they are not. Why are they not more convenient? Well let me see if I can find a source... Oh yes here it is:
I can easily break the DRM on my books so that I have backups...
If you notice, this person here has to run cracking software just to get their files to play nicely and not destroy itself if this person tries to do the basic tasks of backup or use on an 'unauthorized device'.
You see, they can be more convenient, but they are not. The eBook market is a minefield of incompatibility and artificial restriction. It takes away huge capabilities present in real books, and offers it back in a crippled/reduced capacity and calls it a 'bonus feature'.
Want to give your book to a friend? Hand it to them. Done.
Want to give your eBook to a friend? Well, first lets understand what format of eBook you have, which vendor did you purchase it from. Depending on the vendor, and their software, you might be able to lend it, but only once, or not at all. I'm not sure. Oh wait, your friend is using this specific type of software right? Oh he isn't? Well, guess you can't lend it to him. So he wants to use the software, hope he agrees to all the terms and conditions associated with the use of such software.
Am I exaggerating? A little... No wait, I'm not exaggerating at all, it really is a mass of incompatible formats, competing ecosystems, overly-limited 'rights', and flawed laws which make even your simple 'remove the DRM' action illegal (depending on how cranky a prosecutor is on a given day)
eBooks SHOULD be more convenient, but right now they certainly are not.
You may wonder, 'so what? Don't reroute on the 2-5 minute delays, like I said'. However the problem isn't that it is a 2-5 minute delay which persists for 30 minutes, it's a 2-5 minute delay which persists for 5 minutes before turning into the 40 minute delay.
On my route, if there is any sort of traffic condition, it quickly escalates into a major traffic condition (for my particular stretch). So I behave proactively, and if I'm not literally in the 2-5 minute delay at that exact moment, I have to re-route or else I'll catch the 40 minute delay that is just about to form.
One of the benefits of plausible deniability with regard to customer data, is that it gets you out of the 'responsibility loop' earlier. The longer you remain involved in any legal activity, the more cost you are accumulating in terms of legal representation, lost effort as your staff responds to supoenas, etc. This is something you want to minimize if you can't eliminate it completely.
Let's consider a basic hypothetical situation in which 'Illegal Data' is discovered on a service provided by Hosting Company 'HC'. The investigation starts by determining the chain of custody and the police will attempt to determine the 'owner' of the data, and the chain of custody of that data. HC responds to the police and provides the details of the customer that uploaded the data (according to HC's logs). Eventually the customer is charged with a crime. However, HC will be drawn into the investigation because the defense lawyer will be challenging the claims of the prosecutor with respect to chain of custody and validity of the logs provided by HC. HC will be compelled to provide data/testimony (not a defendant, offered immunity, etc). HC will have to spend a non-trivial amount of time collecting the information, preparing for testimony, etc. Even if you assume they were perfect with their logs, it's still a big cost to HC. And if they AREN'T perfect? Well they still have all the costs associated with testimony, and they may take a PR hit when that testimony reveals that their internal processes are less than ideal.
Contrast that with the concept of encrypting the user data in a manner such that only the specific user can access/alter the data. The responsibility for HC to provide testimony is dramatically reduced. All they have to show is that they don't have the ability to mess with the data (other than deletion/copy) without the customer's key. Therefore the complexity of the chain of custody is reduced, and HC is basically 'out of the loop' with respect to the prosecution/defense. The prosecution doesn't need extreme information to prove that the data wasn't modified (since it can't be w/o the key) and the defense can't suggest that the 'illegal data' was placed in the encrypted container by HC. The burdon of proof falls to the defense, and not HC.
So even in places where safe harbor provisions protect hosting companies, it is still in a company's best interest to minimize their exposure to client data in most circumstances.
A good model is a Hyundai Sonata. I've described it as the most adequate car I've every owned. It's not fancy, it's not shoddy. It's not fast, it's not underpowered. 100% adequate. (I even ordered the greyishblue color) It's a decently sized car, it can fit two car seats and still have an adult in the passenger seat.
In otherwords, it's adequate and average, and thus a great example to pit against a hybrid as a vehicle in which you won't have to be making tradeoffs.
But even the Sonata gets much more than 22mpg. I average about 31mpg in it (which is good, but not the best it can get). So saying that 22mpg is typical for a sedan comparable to a hybrid is really leaning on the scales imo.
Comparisons might be meaningful, but it is still detrimental.
If greater fuel efficience standards must be met, and no new technology is introduced, the only possible room for expansion requires tradeoffs to be made.
So when a designer is faced with the need to squeeze out more fuel efficiency, it has to come from somewhere. Maybe they slightly shape the rear of the car to reduce drag. Of course, such a shape cuts into the useful cabin space, so maybe the backseat is less comfortable for anyone over 5'7"
Perhaps they have to cut weight, so sound dampening materials/fasteners are removed. MPG increases, but your car is noisier.
My problem isn't that MPG isn't something that is beneficial to increase, but increasing it for the sake of increasing it, or to account for test number fudging is not the way to go about it.
I'm going to agree that people are stupid, if by people, you actually mean yourself.
Do you know what else is incurable? AIDS, and Diabetes
Do you know what happens if you never know you have them? You die a slow painful death.
Do you know what you can do if you discover you have them before the outwardly visible symptoms appear? You can manage them with drugs, and modified behaviors. If you manage them carefully, you have the chance to live a rather long life and one without painful, disfiguring, and incapacitating symptoms.
So who wants to know if they will suffer from an incurable disease well before it strikes? Me, and pretty much anyone else who can think rationally about the future.
Slashdot Mirror
I think even Google would struggle to cope with forty million concurrent video uploads in addition to current traffic (of.. around 5000). The bandwidth would be... substantial.
Of course it would be. So you implement a simple algorithm on the device side. It samples the video, calculates the probability that someone is interacting with a person/object in an 'Interesting-to-Google' manner, and if it exceeds a threshold, upload that video.
You tweak the algorithm/threshold until you achieve your desired ratio of usefulvideo:videoquantity.
Of course, back then slaves weren't really as exploited as they were in more modern times and one could even buy themselves out of slavery if the made enough money
Slavery from those two time periods certainly had differences, but I don't think it rises to the levels where you can consider them different institutions. In the US when slavery was legal, there were many cases of men buying their freedom from their owners.
One of the reasons we may not hear about as much abuse/exploitation from ancient times was because if your society did not consider an action (such as sleeping with your slaves) to be an abuse, it simply wasn't debated as it wasn't interesting, no more than buying vegetables from the local market was something for debate.
I knew I forgot to do something this morning. I thought I just left the stove on. Hold on, brb.
I hate Red laser pointers, I hate washed out projectors, and I hate 'red' text as a way of making something standout in Powerpoint.
Why? Red/Green colorblindness.
As a result, I'm always thankful when it comes to the person using a green laserpointer.
I keep coolers of Ethylene Glycol in my fridge as well. I prefer to have the chemical slightly chilled and easily dispensed whenever I need to flush my car radiator.
I mean, is it really the Ethylene Glycol's fault when the kids I'm babysitting idiotically choose to drink that instead of the Kool-Aide I mixed up for them?
Sucks for passengers/carpoolers/sluglines/metro/bus riders.
If a message comes up saying "Slow down, ice ahead", the reality is that you will take your eyes off the road to read the message, even though your eyes will still be pointing in the same direction.
If only there were ways to indicate to drivers in a non-distracting way of conditions regarding their vehicle and surroundings. One might imagine a simple yellow light that blinks 3-4 times, or a pinging tone.
Why, what havoc would occur if cars broadcast the diagnostic information to the driver to inform them of potential engine trouble, high temperatures, icy conditions, low oil, and other conditions. Drivers simply cannot process that much information and keep from turning into flaming balls of destruction.
So you turn 'Driving mode on' with your HUD, and it flashes a small dot of light in a non obstructive manner if there is an accident ahead. My smartphone already does this through Waze, and I expect most standalone GPS units will soon as well as they connect into the in-car wifi.
There are countless ways that current technology can be distracting.
An easy way to reduce accidents from an already distracting technology? Ban speed cameras. Nothing like watching drivers overcompensate, or swivel their heads around as they are trying to look for the cameras.
Much like the term 'All-Natural', Renewable doesn't mean much.
The term causes the mind to think of things like 'Solar, Wind, Water, Geothermal', but the reality is that Renewable also means: "BioDiesel, Wood, Ethanol, Methane"
My point is, that there are many polluting, but renewable sources. I don't mean to imply that making sure our energy supply is sustainable is a bad thing, not at all, but just a reminder to keep an eye out for the marketing angle companies use when they use the term 'Renewable'.
People hear 'clean, green, healthy, responsible' when a company says they are renewable, but the honest truth is that a company could be powered by 100% Renewable Sources by burning pine trees in a 100 year old 30% efficiency furnace.
A previous company of mine recently converted their entire energy supply to renewable sources, generation was performed on site. The source was sawdust from the local saw mills. (However, it was actually a good move, because their system was actually a new high efficiency process they wanted to showcase, and by purchasing from the local sawmills, they helped support the community in a very direct fashion)
Oh I'm sure you are breaking some law. It all depends on how much attention the prosecutor wants to spend on you.
If anyone has the intelligence to raise the $2-5k for a 3dprinter/parts and the ability to use one to make a working firearm, I'm not going to worry that they might use it to shoot someone.
Why?
Because anyone with that intelligence and $2-5k could buy a better gun, or figure out some other way to be dangerous if they had the intent.
And whatever that Cadillac pickup truck thing is too. I mean, really? A Cadillac pickup truck?
I feel that way about things like Escalades, Porsche's SUV entry, and other things which basically fail on the basic premise, however for pickup trucks, there is a good reason for that, hopefully I can explain.
In the US, there are a lot of activities which requires pulling a trailer. Normally you can do this with a normal pickup truck or SUV, but many of the larger trailers use what is called a 'fifth wheel' basically it's a mount much like a large Semi truck that is installed in the bed of the truck and turns the pickup truck into a small 'tractor trailer'.
So, why not just a normal pickup truck? Many times you will be travelling hundreds if not a thousand miles pulling these trailers, and creature comforts become desireable. Being able to pull your 'horses, racecars, equipment, camper' to your location and still have a comfortable vehicle for the drive and your destination is a big deal.
While everyone has various levels of desired comfort, I think we can all agree that a 'U-Haul' quality truck for anything more than 50 miles becomes very uncomfortable very quickly.
That said, people may not use them for that purpose, but that purpose definately exists and if I had to haul something over 500 miles and could afford a cadillac pickup, I'd certainly do it.
Point one in my post:
eBooks can be more convenient. They are currently not more convenient. The reason they are not more convenient is because the implementation of DRM negates a huge number of benefits that eBooks(as files) posess, but are unable to realize.
If you take out DRM from eBooks, I have zero complaints which are not just byproducts of the medium. ie: Physical books require light to read, occupy space, etc; eBooks require electricity, require support equipment, etc.
Those type of complaints I don't care about, because they are byproducts of the physical medium. The reason I complain about eBooks is that someone is inserting flaws and degrading the capability of eBooks. With those intentional degredations, I am stating that eBooks are not more convenient because it is impossible to make such a blanket statement about a condition (DRMbook capabilities) which may change with or without notice.
When I say: "These are the benefits of books" those will remain the benefits of books forever. The concept of 'books' is static. Tremendous variations to be sure, but I can be reasonably sure that at least in my lifetime, the definition of 'book' will be the same.
However, consider if you consider DRM to be an aspect of eBooks, you can't say, "Oh well here is what an eBook is, and this is what you can do with it." and have that definition remain static for more than a few months. If you had a DRM'd 'eBook, and asked me 'Can I read this?' I would have to ask you "Well, who controls the license?", "Is that company still in business, are they still running the licensing servers?", "What reader device are you using?", "Does that device support the DRM implementation of your particular eBook?"
Then you might ask, "Can I give this book to a friend?" I would have to ask "Does the DRM permit you to give books to people?", "Has this particular eBook been licensed with 'giving' rights?", "Do these 'giving' rights transfer beyond the first 'give'?"
These answers to these questions may change with time. As companies change their policies, so do the DRM rules and applicability. Therefore, you can't really define eBook when you include DRM in the definition of eBook, and if you can't define something, you can't state that it has any particular property or capability (or convenience), if such properties are subject to change from ebook to ebook and from one moment to the next.
With a book, there is nothing between you and the content. With a DRM'd eBook, there is something between you and the content, and that 'something' is variable.
By default, if you're in a "walled garden" at least, your book license survives your device and a new reader can easily be re-authorized; this is actually far easier than replacing the few books that were in your lost backpack (or, worse yet, your library that burned down with the rest of your house).
Please go back to point 1 in my post:
"eBooks CAN be more convenient than books, but currently they are not."
The reason they are not currently more convenient is due to DRM. For eBooks without DRM, they are actually very comparable to physical books in terms of convenience. The drawbacks associated with eBooks are almost all ameliorated by the benefits.
I'm not here to say that physical books are superior to eBooks in all aspects, I'm saying that with DRM the benefits associated with eBooks are not being realized.
How easy is it for you to make a backup of your paper book, anyway?
My paper book is as easy to backup as the mechanism I choose to use. I can choose the easiest method available to the medium.
My non-DRM eBook is as easy to backup as the mechanism I choose to use. I can choose the easiest method available to the medium.
My DRMed eBook is as easy to backup as the mechanism chosen for me to use. The chosen option will necessarily be more complex than necessary for the medium, it will never serve my best interest, and the option is very likely to be 'No option'.
You see, to paraphrase the children's verse, "Anything DRM can do I can do better."
Did he conspire with the enemy or declare war on the Nation? No? It's not Treason.
I think you mean levying war. And making efforts to ensure that Americans are killed in war rises to that level.
He took explicit actions to ensure that more Americans were killed and to intentionally cause the US military to be attacked. That's not levying war against the US?
So I'm at the Pharmacy:
me: Hi, I'm here to pick up some prescriptions.
Pharmacist: OK, here you go. amphetamine. That's $10.
me: Oh, while I'm here, can I pick up some pseudoephedrine?
Pharmacist: Driver's License please.
I was required to show my ID to purchase Sudafed, because it could be made into methamphetamine... but not required to show my ID for actual amphetamines.
Is there any way we can say the same about cell phones? Even if they were bought under contract? As long as I am still using their service I should be able to unlock the phone!!
No. In this case it was a claim by a private party against a private party in which both were claiming 'rights'.
In the cell phone unlocking mess, it doesn't matter if the private party (Mobile carriers) do anything. There is a clear ban on cell phone unlocking in clear legal language. 'Thou shalt not do this.' type of language. Even if the carriers do nothing, the prohibition stands and the action is illegal in all circumstances.
In this case, there is no law which says 'It is illegal to import, without authorization, copyrighted information without explicit permission of the copyright owner'.
It seems similar, but the two issues are only related in that they both deal with copyright, but that's where the similarities end.
And if that happens? Good. Just because you really really want something doesn't mean you should get it. If you didn't offer her enough to make her want to sell, you don't get it. "But Judge, she really is being unreasonable, I really want that land, and she just won't sell it to us!"
It's a development project, you can modify your project, or find a different location. Lack of long term planning to reserve space for future development by the city should not be a reason for them to seize your home.
Guise of convenience? I'm pretty sure they really are more convenient...
Electronic copies can be more convenient. But currently, they are not. Why are they not more convenient? Well let me see if I can find a source... Oh yes here it is:
I can easily break the DRM on my books so that I have backups...
If you notice, this person here has to run cracking software just to get their files to play nicely and not destroy itself if this person tries to do the basic tasks of backup or use on an 'unauthorized device'.
You see, they can be more convenient, but they are not. The eBook market is a minefield of incompatibility and artificial restriction. It takes away huge capabilities present in real books, and offers it back in a crippled/reduced capacity and calls it a 'bonus feature'.
Want to give your book to a friend? Hand it to them. Done.
Want to give your eBook to a friend? Well, first lets understand what format of eBook you have, which vendor did you purchase it from. Depending on the vendor, and their software, you might be able to lend it, but only once, or not at all. I'm not sure. Oh wait, your friend is using this specific type of software right? Oh he isn't? Well, guess you can't lend it to him. So he wants to use the software, hope he agrees to all the terms and conditions associated with the use of such software.
Am I exaggerating? A little... No wait, I'm not exaggerating at all, it really is a mass of incompatible formats, competing ecosystems, overly-limited 'rights', and flawed laws which make even your simple 'remove the DRM' action illegal (depending on how cranky a prosecutor is on a given day)
eBooks SHOULD be more convenient, but right now they certainly are not.
I check the routes to see if traffic conditions are changing. For most of my commute, the condition options are this:
1. No delay
2. 2-5 minute delay
3. 40 minute delay.
You may wonder, 'so what? Don't reroute on the 2-5 minute delays, like I said'. However the problem isn't that it is a 2-5 minute delay which persists for 30 minutes, it's a 2-5 minute delay which persists for 5 minutes before turning into the 40 minute delay.
On my route, if there is any sort of traffic condition, it quickly escalates into a major traffic condition (for my particular stretch). So I behave proactively, and if I'm not literally in the 2-5 minute delay at that exact moment, I have to re-route or else I'll catch the 40 minute delay that is just about to form.
One of the benefits of plausible deniability with regard to customer data, is that it gets you out of the 'responsibility loop' earlier. The longer you remain involved in any legal activity, the more cost you are accumulating in terms of legal representation, lost effort as your staff responds to supoenas, etc. This is something you want to minimize if you can't eliminate it completely.
Let's consider a basic hypothetical situation in which 'Illegal Data' is discovered on a service provided by Hosting Company 'HC'. The investigation starts by determining the chain of custody and the police will attempt to determine the 'owner' of the data, and the chain of custody of that data. HC responds to the police and provides the details of the customer that uploaded the data (according to HC's logs). Eventually the customer is charged with a crime. However, HC will be drawn into the investigation because the defense lawyer will be challenging the claims of the prosecutor with respect to chain of custody and validity of the logs provided by HC. HC will be compelled to provide data/testimony (not a defendant, offered immunity, etc). HC will have to spend a non-trivial amount of time collecting the information, preparing for testimony, etc. Even if you assume they were perfect with their logs, it's still a big cost to HC. And if they AREN'T perfect? Well they still have all the costs associated with testimony, and they may take a PR hit when that testimony reveals that their internal processes are less than ideal.
Contrast that with the concept of encrypting the user data in a manner such that only the specific user can access/alter the data. The responsibility for HC to provide testimony is dramatically reduced. All they have to show is that they don't have the ability to mess with the data (other than deletion/copy) without the customer's key. Therefore the complexity of the chain of custody is reduced, and HC is basically 'out of the loop' with respect to the prosecution/defense. The prosecution doesn't need extreme information to prove that the data wasn't modified (since it can't be w/o the key) and the defense can't suggest that the 'illegal data' was placed in the encrypted container by HC. The burdon of proof falls to the defense, and not HC.
So even in places where safe harbor provisions protect hosting companies, it is still in a company's best interest to minimize their exposure to client data in most circumstances.
A good model is a Hyundai Sonata. I've described it as the most adequate car I've every owned. It's not fancy, it's not shoddy. It's not fast, it's not underpowered. 100% adequate. (I even ordered the greyishblue color) It's a decently sized car, it can fit two car seats and still have an adult in the passenger seat.
In otherwords, it's adequate and average, and thus a great example to pit against a hybrid as a vehicle in which you won't have to be making tradeoffs.
But even the Sonata gets much more than 22mpg. I average about 31mpg in it (which is good, but not the best it can get). So saying that 22mpg is typical for a sedan comparable to a hybrid is really leaning on the scales imo.
Comparisons might be meaningful, but it is still detrimental.
If greater fuel efficience standards must be met, and no new technology is introduced, the only possible room for expansion requires tradeoffs to be made.
So when a designer is faced with the need to squeeze out more fuel efficiency, it has to come from somewhere. Maybe they slightly shape the rear of the car to reduce drag. Of course, such a shape cuts into the useful cabin space, so maybe the backseat is less comfortable for anyone over 5'7"
Perhaps they have to cut weight, so sound dampening materials/fasteners are removed. MPG increases, but your car is noisier.
My problem isn't that MPG isn't something that is beneficial to increase, but increasing it for the sake of increasing it, or to account for test number fudging is not the way to go about it.
By the time I was 30 I had at least 1000 miles experience in each:
Parents cars: LeBaron, LeSabre, Tacoma, Silverado, Grand Cherokee
Grandparents: Camry, Ram, Escort
Girlfriends: VolvoS70, PTCruiser, Firebird, Murano, Caravan, Corvette
Friends: Saab9-3, Corolla, someoldsmobile, Mini, Rabbit, Mustang, Rav4, 4Runner, Suburban, Miata
mycars: Fleetwood, Solstice, Silverado, Mazda3, Sonata
Each of those I drove enough to get a feel for the car, and for most I can recall the gas mileage offhand.
It's not that surprising to have driven a lot of cars in your lifetime. I haven't even touched on extended rentals for work or TDY.
I'm going to agree that people are stupid, if by people, you actually mean yourself.
Do you know what else is incurable? AIDS, and Diabetes
Do you know what happens if you never know you have them? You die a slow painful death.
Do you know what you can do if you discover you have them before the outwardly visible symptoms appear? You can manage them with drugs, and modified behaviors. If you manage them carefully, you have the chance to live a rather long life and one without painful, disfiguring, and incapacitating symptoms.
So who wants to know if they will suffer from an incurable disease well before it strikes? Me, and pretty much anyone else who can think rationally about the future.
Or do you not believe in writing a will either?