In any corporate social hierarchy, there are the existing network of the "Old Boys" that used to gather in smokey back rooms, and private clubs in big wing-backed chairs, talking about what they were doing, and to whom...

Today, there's a digital social network that exists, but the social connections that have no traces still exist.

Such unwritten agreements shaped the development of many a huge cash-based community. Las Vegas is but a single example.

If you were among the Elite, you knew the rules, and could get away with a lot more. Steve Jobs was not exactly part of the actual Old Boys Network, and made his own. The thing is this: he was doing what they were doing, just in a lot less discrete manner. Same stuff. Different pile. If he had been "classically trained" by the Old Boys, he'd likely have never been even suspected directly of anything. That, and he'd have been stifled into obscurity, and the Personal Computer would have been quite different than it is today.

Bottom Line: Power and Influence has its own rules. Rarely do they comply to the actual Laws that govern the Rest of Us. Only when they get found out does anything happen. That's usually when new laws and precedents get set to deal with the "new problem" that has actually been around for decades, but only just made the headlines recently.

Old Boys nod and smile(ey) a lot, and they still do what they want. It will be a long time before (if ever) changes make the headlines in that field.

Unless people have some training or background, thy will proceed blindly along until something actually Makes them pay attention.

Start with such basics in high-school, or even earlier than that. Explain (and mark their understanding) of things like strong vs weak passwords, and simple security procedures. E-mail safety tips. Good file management practices. Even basics like how to take care of a keyboard and/or pointing device would go fairly well in such a course.

Oh. Almost forgot: MAKE IT MANDATORY! Nobody gets to use the school computers/labs (even Office Staff) if they don't show proficiency. No personal systems should be allowed access to the school network without a valid certificate either, lest they infect the whole thing from their own carrier box. Ban those who violate the practices and cause problems. Make them responsible for what they caused, and Sit Through the repair procedures with a technician as an additional education in what happens, and what has to be done to Fix things, or no forgiveness, and therefore, no regained access! Give them a sense of what they are avoiding, and even what to do to fix a problem on their own system, should they get afflicted at home.

Start 'em young, and train them in the ways of the system. The results will be worth the effort.

Seriously: If people don't show they are responsible enough to use the school (or company) systems, they have no business accessing them, and probably shouldn't be working there in any capacity.

#IoT is more-or-less a synonym for Sky-Net in it's infancy.

Think about it: The devices and appliances get smarter by studying humanity. Watching, collecting data, adjusting response, eliminating (or suggesting the elimination of) steps in the chain.

How long before humans get edited out completely, and the machine simply builds itself around us? How long after that before we're no longer needed in the flow-chart of its designs?

Just food for thought, here. I don't like the idea of my fridge coordinating with my stove about what I'm going to have for dinner based on my vending machine habits of the week, and productivity rating at work...

Maybe I should... It'd be really convenient. Might lead to a Fractale-like existence, though.

I guess it will all matter where we stand on certain things in society. Like Google Glass, and all-pervasive surveillance systems, and the Governing Body in place over it all...

And Absolute Power is kinda nifty...

It's amazing what happens to some people when they get a taste of power over others. Little wonder why there are cases of extortion and racketeering that happen by police officers in many cities. Once they get a taste, they're hooked, and it escalates.

Why is it that many an off-duty police officer acts like a total a$$-hat, but pops a badge out of their butt when confronted by the proper authority to curb such behavior? They carry on as if they are Allowed to do the things they, themselves are required to prevent. After all, such things are Fun! At least, to some people...

I'd cite examples, but there'd be info-burn from the Google results page...

How many people would tamper with monitoring devices at their work, if they were under such constant scrutiny? Of course, there are laws preventing such devices in many places at work, such as washrooms, changerooms, and similar places. Needless to say why many employees tend to hang out there as much as possible.

Bottom line is this: People in authority should Expect to be monitored for abuse! Gone are the days of power (on certain levels of civil service) putting you beyond reproach. that was then. This is now. It's been called the Information Age for a reason, folks.

Mayors of large, world-class cities have been getting away with things for a very long time in the past. Mostly because they knew when and how to do such things so as not to draw too much attention to themselves.Others see the office as goal, and a place where they have free reign to do whatever they want. Chances are, they were doing things before they had the office, but were simply emboldened to the point of carelessness by the authority they found themselves in. Can you imagine the scandals that would happen if a Mayors' Office was subjected to such constant monitoring? Don't get me wrong! Mayors of such cities have a Lot of things they have to deal with on a daily basis, that are best kept behind closed doors for public safety. Shame the crime-lords of the modern era don't suffer from nearly the same level of accountability as their elected counterparts...

So, bottom line here: If you had such monitoring devices where you work, would you tamper with them for any reason? Would it be privacy, or some other reason that motivates you?

What level of "privacy" do you expect from your work environment?

Just Sayin'

Is it a genetic thing, passed on to kids, or might it be something caused by medicines or whatnot?

Most mother-to-be are taking different things during their term that they feel safe taking. What if things like Allergy pills are causing it?

Looks like a widespread version of Thalidomide Babies of this generation.

If this is what happens once a year, imagine what happens to people who have their schedules changed at random (like a truck driver), or someone on "swing shifts"!

Little wonder there are so many truckers having heart attacks that end their careers (or even their lives)!

And to think I worked for a company that the VP actually said to me (with a witness from their own Drivers' Advisory Board present, no less):

I'd name names, but I might want to return to driving one day, and it could get me Blackballed ;)

I thought I asked a couple of decent questions, but it seems they were toxic, and the thread has died a miserable death... Anybody still out there? Has anyone gotten any kind of answers from JoCo?

Does any body know where my BBQ Fritos went?

Have you considered a female point-of-view version of your song "Better"? It'd be interesting to hear the logic behind her upgrades, and what she was after in the first place.

Also, is there any kind of correlation between "Better" and "Nobody Loves You Like Me"?

Do, please keep up the Wonderful Work! Great, insightful and thought-provoking body of work, BTW!

Bluetooth is short range, and R/C uses audible signals on CB channel 14 or so.

Just monitor the CB band for activity that seems weird, and broadcast something that can knock them down. Whistling into a mic often works. An R/C hobby enthusiast could easily override such a signal, and take control with a much stronger local unit. Any decent computer tech should be able to snoop out a Bluetooth signal, if that's what they're using.

Triangulate on the broadcast before the takeover, and you have a place to look for the perps, while having taken down the drone for analysis and follow-up.

Two birds with one stone, there.

Looks like 'we' will have to right to use drones of our own to do fairly non-invasive things like monitor our own property, take aerial images and videos, and patrol for intrusion.
Expect corporate drones to roll out fairly soon now that it's not considered illegal.

Next step: Armed Drones. They'll probably start will paint-ball chemical/visual tags, and work up the lethality scale slowly, but surely from there.
At least the paint-balls aren't too directly life-threatening... unless you're knocked off a high-rise structure...

As is, any decent business that intends to be economical, will build in a place that is of advantage to them, while convenient to their clientele.

If a city area does not have the attributes a company is looking for, why would they locate anywhere else? If they are willing to bus in their employees, bully for them! The city should be happy that there's an employer willing to add to the local economy.

If a city truly wants to revitalize an area, they need to make it appealing to a company to set up there. Tax incentives, for example. Perhaps a city could petition for companies of certain types and demographics to build a neighborhood of sorts, including residential units for employees of the core.

Want to build a community? Plan it out, and fill in the blocks. Leaving it to market whims, and dumb luck doesn't exactly promote growth.

When nearly everyone has the tech, it will be a mutually assured disclosure situation, and only those who don't have it will feel threatened and/or left out.

In a nutshell: If you have it, you accept it on others, and if you don't have it, you will feel exposed, and therefore resent the presence of it on others.

Widespread adoption will be about the only thing that can allow it to take hold. Sadly, this will also create even more backlash against it.

I doubt it will ever be truly widespread. Isn't it still illegal in most places to record people without prior permission, and threatening to record can also be seen as a threat? Every new phone has a camera as it is. You want to see people get twitchy? Walk into any bar actively recording as you go and post the results! That's not even Glass backlash, just blatant recording reaction!

Maybe there will be a string of clubs spring up that having Glass (or something else similar) is the only way you get in.

Watch for signs to pop up Banning the use of such devices in various establishments. Theaters will likely lead the pack there. I'm surprised that the MPAA/RIAA haven't jumped on this bandwagon yet, as ambient recording of copyrighted material is (at least in their mind) illegal, and recording club music could be a goldmine for them...

It's called a "Conditioned Response" and becomes automatic. Hence the term "knee-jerk reaction".

People tend to teach their kids to avoid something that they had to learn the hard way in an attempt to spare them the suffering they had to endure themselves.

"What have they done?", you ask? Pushed flawed OSes out, forced upgrades that slow or break older systems, actively discontinued support for decent hardware (like printers and scanners) to force more purchases, yank support for older OSes that have been working in the industry in some capacity for years in a vain attempt to generate revenue, forcibly downgrade or out-mode existing suites of software that at least work (now that people have been forced to use them for so long) so that they will have to retrain in something completely different so they can simply continue to work, "bundling" software together in ways that make it obscenely difficult to remove without knocking down their house of cards...

Wash

Rinse

Repeat

Windows ME was a seriously flawed OS.

Windows Vista was as well.

Windows 8 has so far shown many of the same trends as it's failed predecessors, but M$ still pushes it out as if everyone never had to break the bank for the last two serious failures on their part, and wonders why people are slow to adopt anything new from them.

Seriously? We need to look at this with fresh eyes?

I'll be checking mine for a M$ logo before I adopt anything like that wetware into my body.

Heck, I don't think I'd want a Google logo on it, either...