..

Orlando

Whatever reason Apple has for not liking Flash (I have yet to see a definitive explanation) all this negative press about Flash, coupled with the Flash/HTML5 debate can only be a good thing. In my view, Flash has way more things wrong with it (breaking the semantic web) than the benefits it brings to the table. If all this discussion either prompts Adobe to fix all that, or something better is suggested instead (HTML5?), it can only be a good thing.

This may sound naive, but I'm assuming that the vast majority of the machines used in botnets are Windows PCs? So has any attempt been made to make Microsoft take some of the responsibility of this phenomenon on and do something about it?

Equally - you have more than the average number of legs

Mod this guy up, I couldn't have said it better myself.

It can be used in offices where other file formats are used and represents a great cost saving for organisations

What costs are saved by adopting this file format?

Although I have big problems with the way a lot of people use Flash, I don't have problems with Flash itself.

Orlando...

..that technology alone does not make a good film. In the case of Avatar, not even a mediocre one.

..who will investigate the handling of swine flu information?

There's always the possibility..

Indeed, see my previous post. It then comes down to probability that the laptop is stolen compared to the hassle of encrypting the drive. And in most cases, it is not worth the hassle.

I'm not exactly sure I'd call "throw a Linux Live disk" or "unscrew the HDD compartment, remove the disk and hook it up to a desktop" things that require much time or very much knowledge.

You wouldn't call it much knowledge, but you're reading Slashdot, right? The vast majority of laptop thieves wouldn't know or care how to do this.

It all comes down to a simple calculation - what is the mathematical probability of someone stealing my drive vs. my OS or disk crashing?(1) Anyone who has traveled knows the second far outweighs the first.

I would go even further - What is the mathematical probability of someone stealing my [laptop] AND be interested enough in the data on the disk to bother trying to get access to it.

Even without encryption, getting access to the data on a laptop which uses OS password authentication requires some time and knowledge. I would argue that most people who steal laptops would reinstall as soon as they see a login screen. In other words, the hardware is more valuable to them than the data.

Be sure, I'm not saying the risk is zero, but it's pretty low.

Orlando

I can't honestly see anyone investing much more energy in handwriting recognition. Who writes anything anymore? Not to mention the added irritations of a stylus, loosing it, using something else, scratching the screen, etc.

On screen keyboard instead please.

..to implement their search functionality directly into the OS. (wait for it) It will be called -

BadaBing.

Thank you! I'll be here all week! Try the veal!

The overlap between people who play WOW and people who are in the least bit interested in doing regular exercise must be so small as to be insignificant, surely?