essentially the existing SoftCard EMV standard
SoftCard EMV standard? Wow, that's like calling HTTP the Google networking standard. EMV existed long before SoftCard (formerly called ISIS), and in fact long before Google Wallet (which predated SoftCard/ISIS by quite some time)... before NFC existed, even.
put a cover on their iPhone that they can put their NFC card into and use it that way
Terminology clarification: If it's in a card, it's not NFC, it's a "contactless smart card". NFC is, specifically, a variant of the contactless smart card protocols embedded in a larger, battery-powered device. It does emulate a contactless smart card, which is how it enables payments, but it does a lot more as well. NFC devices can also act as smart card readers (note that "reader" is something of a misnomer; it's just two computers talking to one another) and they can also act as RFID tags or readers (or writers, for tags that are writable).
This broad array of capabilities, BTW, just highlights how unfortunate it is that Apple is limiting it. In Android-land, not only can you use NFC to make payments (Google Wallet, whatever the ISIS Wallet has been renamed to), but there are a lot more uses:
1. You can download one of many smart card reader apps (or write your own) and use them to read any contactless smart card you have around, including many payment cards. What you can see depends on the security protocols implemented by the card, obviously, and also depends on whether your app knows the right commands to send. If you like you can buy your own Javacards, program them, and write your own app to talk to them, to do whatever it is that you'd like to do.
2. Most of said smart card reader apps also support reading and writing RFID tags, which you can buy inexpensively. Many people have come up with uses for these, such as automatically changing phone configuration (volume, etc.) when a particular tag is scanned. My Moto X offers the ability to register an RFID tag as an unlocking device; whenever I scan one of the registered tags, my phone unlocks.
3. Ever since Jelly Bean (IIRC), Android has used NFC as a method to initiate device-to-device data transfer. On several occasions when my wife and I have been driving separate vehicles to the same location, I pull it up on Google Maps, tap my phone to hers and touch the screen, and then it's on her phone. You can transfer pictures, files, and anything else apps care to support. NFC isn't actually used for the data transfer to avoid having to hold the phones together for a long period of time, but it identifies the pair of phones that wish to do the transfer, which is then carried out through Wifi or mobile data.
... and more. Here are some more concrete examples of clever uses to which people have put Android's NFC capabilities: http://trendblog.net/creative-...
Though even an out-of-date Linux distro is going to be safer against malware than Windows, keep in mind that it's almost impossible to keep one of the major distros updated with security patches via dialup. I tried that with my father in law's computer for a couple of years, setting up a cron job to dial up automatically late at night, every night, and chip away at the downloads. It fell further and further behind.
Other than the fact that I don't know if any of them even support dialup, a Chromebook seems ideal for this application. Updates are smaller and less frequent, and ChromeOS is strongly hardened as compared to a standard distro, so it's less worrisome if they miss some. Chrome Remote Desktop would enable you to take control of the machine when needed (that actually works on any platform) and while it's painful at dialup speeds I have used it successfully.
What a content-free quote. You can easily find a dozen quotes from Google -- including in their privacy policy, which is legally binding -- which show they don't share any individual user data at all. If you can find a way to prove they're lying, you can get both the SEC and the FTC to take legal action against them.
Also, Brakes and Tires are functionally identical between a BMW and a Tesla, and, on the Model S
Sort of. The tires, yes. The brakes are functionally identical, but should wear much more slowly on the Model S thanks to regenerative braking. How much less depends on driving style, obviously.
I have also seen/heard of circumstances where "doing the minimum to keep the thing working" is allowed but actually improving the code is not because improving the code counts as "new work" and comes from a different budget than maintenance. Seems stupid but that's how some shops operate.
"The minimum to keep the thing working" nearly always implies improving the code. All developers need to realize this and stop this silly false dichotomy between "maintenance" and "refactoring".
IMO, developers know there isn't a difference but management does not.
Does management review the diffs?
There are obvious differences between Christianity and Islam that make Christianity able to coexist with a modern secular state while Islam is showing all over the world that it can't.
This is only because Christianity has changed. Christianity as it was during the era of the crusades, and for hundreds of years after them, not only could not coexist with a secular government, it couldn't even coexist with an ostensibly Christian government which espoused a slightly different form of Christianity.
Note that I'm not bashing Christianity here... I am a Christian. But let's not whitewash the history of Christianity.
can you imagine the Pope leading a frenzied crowd in the St. Peters square in chants of "death to infidels"
Well, historically, the Pope doesn't lead chants. Instead he just issues orders to root out and forcibly "convert" infidels via torture, to save their souls. Of course, popes haven't done that for centuries because it has become unacceptable to Christians.
That said, what would really make it tough for them is a lack of opposition. Their tactics tend to be very self defeating when the larger powers don't overreact and get drawn into conflict with them.
Not from any evidence I've ever seen. No larger power had given them any attention for the past year, and their numbers, financial resources, and power swelled unchecked; they only become a greater threat with time.
That's only because they're riding the wave created by previous overreactions and conficts, and the (reasonable from their perspective -- and probably correct) that if they keep at it they'll get the reaction that will justify their existence.
yield to a hateful culture where we judge people by arbitrary qualities of the clothing they wear is an awful feeling
All cultures do that. Try being the guy at a t-shirt and sandals development shop who likes to wear a suit or even business casual. Personally, I like the t-shirt and sandals approach, but don't make the mistake of thinking you're not judged for your conformity there.
Does a uniform count as military equipment?
From what I was told, no. But a web belt does, and so does a rifle.
How is blinding someone with a laser worse than killing or maiming them with a bullet?
Welcome to international rules of war. They're chock full of semi-absurdities like this. One of my favorite is the fact that the M2
I say "semi-absurdities" because with all of these rules you can construct situations where they do make a difference and make war more "humane" (to the degree that makes sense). But you can also always construct common scenarios where they're absurd.
I addressed it squarely. Advertisers don't get information from Google, but don't complain (much) because Google is so effective at targeting. Apple, apparently, isn't, and so advertisers feel like they're not able to get adequate value.
You also completely ignored my point that if you want to know what advertisers see you can go look for yourself.
6 Curses = 1 Hexahex
