• A) Bat virus escapes from a lab where protocols are in place to minimize the risk of humans becoming infected.
• B) Bat virus infects humans in a wet market where no controls are in place.

...does my egg timer need a Token Net connection?

It keeps your egg timer from blinking 12:00.

The new declarativeNetRequest API moves the ad blocking logic into the browser engine itself. Extensions feed it glorified lists of things to block.

If the ad blocking logic is in the browser what's to prevent the browser from ignoring certain entries in the list supplied by an extension and allowing those ads or scripts run anyway? It seems like this provides an awfully tempting point of control that could be used to ensure suitably sponsored ads and scripts could not be blocked.

I'm surprised they were still provide dialup service.

I used to have an original Series 1 TiVO with a lifetime subscription. It didn't offer an Ethernet connection so I used dialup. It worked OK for several years, but then it started to get slow, wasn't reliable, and they started changing the local dialup number every month or so. It became tedious to keep up with. I found some online resources that showed how to configure the TiVO for SLIP using its serial port and connected it to a serial interface on my Linux firewall. The SLIP connection was faster and more reliable than dialup ever was. I continued to use that TiVO until my cable provider stopped delivering analog television.

I suspect some of this is driven by insurance or liability. If something bad were to happen, no matter how small the chance, this would give them yet opportunity to deflect liability in the inevitable lawsuit. - "We did all we could to prevent it"

I suspect many who initiate data collection plan to use it similarly to what you're doing and they probably don't have nefarious intentions either. This becomes a problem though when that data is stored for any significant amount of time. Stored data becomes succeptible to changes in ownership, changes in management, sale, theft, law enforcement requests, etc. and then used or mined for purposes well outside the scope of what was originally intended. Those who can gain access to data from multiple different sources may be able to cross-reference and mine it for all kinds of unexpected information.

For reference a 386SX-16 would take about 4-1/2 hours to bulid R2.x kernels back in the mid-90's.

DNRTFA, but the title makes me think: Oh, boy. Direct Hardware Support for Clippy.

I see the possibility someone would take the basic 3D plans for the simple parts and tweak the designs to customize their bike, or to create other add-ons. Having the 3D plans and altering them would be much easier than creating from scratch. Someone might spend $2400 for that capability.

I can see it now. An advanced civilization finds the key disks, spends months learning the technology, builds special equipment and tools to decode the disks only to find.... cat videos.

Well this is directly relevant to the number of degrees of seperation that the NSA uses to assume a connection between two people. I forget what the last hearings said about it -- was it two, or three? In either case, there starts to be evidence that this isn't so narrow a focus.

Three degrees: http://www.theguardian.com/world/interactive/2013/oct/28/nsa-files-decoded-hops

When you data gets mined by the FBI (and in theory also by the NSA), you have means of bringing that to court.

It's a nice idea but I'm not sure this is working out in reality. Many of the publicised cases where this is attempted seem to end up with the case thrown out after ruling the individual has no standing since the FBI and NSA never admit to having or collecting the data in the first place and don't divulge any information about surveillance because 'national security'.

If you compile information into huge databases, this is what you can expect. Personally, I want all my medical records on paper charts stored in my doctor's office. Unless you agree to have your information published on the internet, don't accept electronic records. I assume that in this specific case the ssd's were lost. Even if they end up on eBay, the new owners will most likely clear the old data.

That policy choice would kill a lot of people because it would prevent data mining to learn how to generate better health outcomes. Trade offs.

Data mining to generate better health outcomes is good. Unfortunately there are other tradeoffs to consider. The large amount of personal data makes the database a target to be used for other purposes or even theft.

Then your data gets mined for less favorable purposes.

It is a good idea but I suspect the problem will become accurately determine someone's income or net compensation. Without a way to do that you'll have CEOs that accept a token $1 salary only paying the minimum fines.