Very true... that sound, by the way, is in the 20-22khz range, for those that might have any interest...

You're missing the point... if the hacks cause Sony to lose customers because of the hacks, then THAT is what hurts Sony. I know I gave up on Sony (for the most part, I got a DVD player for my brother a couple of years ago, and HE was a Sony fan, so that's what he got for his present) years ago personally, right after the rootkit fiasco.

Um, really.

Yes, the "hackers" CAN evade capture for as long as they can. The sheer number of criminals that were never caught boggles the mind. Also, why in hell would the USA give two cold turds about it legally? Sony is a JAPANESE company. That's like saying the USA is going to legislate laws for other countries. Just because Japan apparently has no problem with the CRIMINAL way Sony was supposedly handling their online security, doesn't mean that the USA is going to legislate against it, other than the damages against USA citizens that were harmed because of Sony's neglect of security.

Now, you can plug in that other brain cell, and fire it up... it could use the exercise.

I get it that we should treat our prisioners better than the rest of the world, or at least better than most, however...

What the FUCK ever happend to prisons being for PUNISHMENT? I hear all you folks out there saying "oh, but we're trying to rehabilitate these poor folks". Personally, I'm not for rehab. The fact that a prisoner has a better shot at getting a college education than the less well off members of society just sickens me every time I think about it. A friend of mine was joking the other day saying "you know, I need to do a crime that will get me in prison for 4-6 years. I need to get a free BS degree or two...". The problem was, it's no joke. With all the privilages a prisoner gets nowadays, (and yes, I understand the level of violence in prisons, so it's no cake walk) it's pretty sad that the less fortunate in society get worse treatment than someone that committed a Class A Felony, or six.

Personally, I have a few steps I take when I get software for my Android phone...

1. I ONLY get stuff from the Android App Market. Period. End of Report. I don't give a flying shit if it's from my best friend/tech head/Yahweh... I ONLY get it from THAT market.
2. I look over the permissions requested for said app. I don't mind an app that send out for my "fine location" IF it's say a GPS related app. Most of them DO need that. That being said, I'm pretty goddamn sure that a calculator app sure as shit doesn't.
3. I also look over the reviews on the app that are posted to the app market. If someone, or several someones are having problems with the software on a phone like mine, I usually don't bother, unless I can tell from the posting that the guy/gal is a retard. "This live wallpaper won't run! It's broken! I can't even find the program on my list. It must be malware." sort of bullshit. (Fyi, for those that don't know Android, live wallpapers must be selected through the method you use for choosing wallpapers. It's not an 'app' per se, it just goes into your wallpaper folder on the phone its self.)

Call me paranoid all you want, but this simple process keeps me pretty safe. I also am skittish about rooting my phone, since I would have to keep even closer tabs on my phone, and won't have that wonderful fallback of "return phone to factory reset? Warning, this will erase all your data.".

I'm half tempted... well, a quarter tempted anyhow, to just get a dumb phone and get a smaller tablet for apps, one that either doesn't have 3/4G, or at least has easily configured Wi-Fi so it won't just kick its self on because of proximity or some such. I like having all my apps on my Android, but I don't want the damn thing to be part of a bot farm at some point. I know I said I'm running Lookout, but no telling if that's going to be all I NEED to run. If I have to lock down my phone to the level of my "smart"phone... I just MAY opt for carrying two pieces of hardware with me instead of one...

I've been running it for almost 2 weeks, and on my Optimus T, it's just fine. No noticible issues, other than the few seconds it takes to scan literally EVERY download I do.

Exactly right... I couldn't count the number of times I've seen a program, say a calculator that "needed" to know my "phone state and identity"... bullshit.

Games and such, I'll allow internet access if I know it's got ads. Yes, I know, it cuts into badnwidth, but depending on the game, I'll suffer. You HAVE to check ALL permissions, not just hit "install", and "ok" as soon as they pop up. This is just like security on any other computer. Do you just automatically install everything you see online? Installing shit from unknown sources onto your Android phone is the same damn thing.

Wow... what flavor of crack are YOU smoking today?

Worse... at least Windows has a few decades of making a stab at security... and it looks like Apple is still in kindergarden regarding security...

Morons are morons... regardless of position...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Zuma

Awww... give the guy/gal the benefit of the doubt... OS/2 WARP... :)

What color is the sky on YOUR planet?

Ignorance is bliss...

Wow... and it's video chat? I assume you're smart enough to base your "hot" description on SEEING the (hopefully) female tech. If not, YOU must have been one of the morons that kept the 1-900 numbers alive for so long...