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Comment Re:Personalized privacy policies? (Score 1, Insightful) 42

by Errol backfiring (#48017691) Attached to: EU Gives Google Privacy Policy Suggestions About Data Protection

13. Shared data. anyone lured to our servers agrees by uploading personal data to Google cloud that any dick pics are both hackable and for sale to the highest bidder.

There, fixed that for you. You don't have to be a subscriber to be stalked by Google. There's no consent. Google is the major company that made internet browsing without adblockers downright impossible.
Cellphones

When Everything Works Like Your Cell Phone 175

Posted by Soulskill from the looking-forward-to-jailbreaking-my-breadmaker dept.
The Atlantic is running an article about how "smart" devices are starting to see everyday use in many people's home. The authors say this will fundamentally change the concept of what it means to own and control your possessions. Using smartphones as an example, they extrapolate this out to a future where many household items are dependent on software. Quoting: These phones come with all kinds of restrictions on their possible physical capabilities. You may not take them apart. Depending on the plan, not all software can be downloaded onto them, not every device can be tethered to them, and not every cell phone network can be tapped. "Owning" a phone is much more complex than owning a plunger. And if the big tech players building the wearable future, the Internet of things, self-driving cars, and anything else that links physical stuff to the network get their way, our relationship to ownership is about to undergo a wild transformation. They also suggest that planned obsolescence will become much more common. For example, take watches: a quality dumbwatch can last decades, but a smartwatch will be obsolete in a few years.
Privacy

Stanford Promises Not To Use Google Money For Privacy Research 54

Posted by samzenpus from the bang-for-your-buck dept.
An anonymous reader writes Stanford University has pledged not to use money from Google to fund privacy research at its Center for Internet and Society — a move that critics claim poses a threat to academic freedom. The center has long been generously funded by Google but its privacy research has proved damaging to the search giant as of late. Just two years ago, a researcher at the center helped uncover Google privacy violations that led to the company paying a record $22.5 million fine. In 2011-2012, the center's privacy director helped lead a project to create a "Do Not Track" standard. The effort, not supported by Google, would have made it harder for advertisers to track what people do online, and likely would have cut into Google's ad revenue. Both Stanford and Google say the change in funding was unrelated to the previous research.
Earth

Obama Presses China On Global Warming 261

Posted by Soulskill from the speak-softly-and-carry-a-complicated-temperature-model dept.
HughPickens.com writes: The NY Times reports that President Obama spoke at the United Nations Climate Change Summit and challenged China to make the same effort to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions and join a worldwide campaign to curb global warming. Obama's words were directly focused on putting the onus on China, an essential partner of the U.S. if a global climate treaty is to be negotiated by 2015. The U.S. and China bear a "special responsibility to lead," said Obama. "That's what big nations have to do." The U.S., Obama said, would meet a pledge to reduce its carbon emissions by 17 percent, from 2005 levels, by 2020 — a goal that is in large part expected to be met through proposed EPA regulation.

There were indications that China might be ready with its own plan, although many experts say they will be skeptical until Chinese officials reveal the details. A senior Chinese official said his country would try to reach a peak level of carbon emissions "as early as possible." This suggests the Chinese government, struggling with air pollution so extreme that it has threatened economic growth, regularly kept millions of children indoors and ignited street protests, was determined to show faster progress in curbing emissions. In recent years, the Chinese government has sent other signals about addressing carbon pollution, some of them encouraging to environmental experts. "Five years ago, it was almost unimaginable to discuss China putting a cap on carbon, but now that is happening," said Lo Sze Ping, chief executive officer of the World Wildlife Fund's office in Beijing. "Chinese leaders have seen that it is imperative to move toward a low-carbon economy."

Comment Still not easy (Score 1) 36

by Errol backfiring (#47943383) Attached to: The Myths and Realities of Synthetic Bioweapons
IT would probably be easier, bot not exactly easy. Off course, terrorists could "cook up a weapon" as they need it, and if they can use suicidal people to do that for them, they have a severe advantage to military forces. Making such weapons is hard, but storing them is also quite hard. So if you use someone else to make it for you, these weapons are useless unless you use them immediately.
Software

Logitech Aims To Control the Smart Home 115

Posted by Soulskill from the hubs-to-control-your-hubs dept.
An anonymous reader writes: Household devices are getting smarter these days: the so-called internet of things is bringing software-controlled thermostats, lighting, and other appliances into the mainstream. Many companies are fighting for a piece of the pie, but Logitech is taking a different approach. They're mostly known for computer peripherals, but they also make multi-function remote controls, and now they're trying to build remotes that will control all of a home's smart devices. "Logitech doesn't want to own the device, it wants to own the app experience. But to do that, it had to build a software overlay and a controller that would convince people to put it in their homes. So it's offering a $100 hub that combines IR, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and RF that will let you use the Logitech Harmony app to control gear that uses those protocols. This means if you have a SmartThings, a Peq or a Lutron hub, the Wi-Fi in the Logitech device will let you control the others' gear from Logitech, which so far seems to have a much nicer interface." They've worked out partnerships with a lot of companies that are big in the home, like Nest, Honeywell, and Philips, all of whom seem to want this extra layer of control for the user.

Comment Re:COBOL and FORTRAN (Score 1) 387

by Errol backfiring (#47869785) Attached to: Unpopular Programming Languages That Are Still Lucrative

I would not replace it with something new, but migrate it to something maintainable.

you know the mantra:

  • If it ain't broke, maintain it
  • If it's broke, either repair it or discard it
  • If it's beyond maintenance, it's definitely broke

The fact that it is a core business system does not provide an excuse, it makes it even worse.

Comment Re:No surprise, but a bad idea (Score 1) 97

by Errol backfiring (#47869769) Attached to: Dirty Diapers Used To Grow Mushrooms
You'd be surprised. My compost toilet is a "collector" type, so it is basically a bin with a toilet seat on top (see http://www.thingiverse.com/thi... ) and it must be emptied on a compost pile. So the composting should take place outside the toilet itself. However, the composting process already starts in the toilet and hardly needs any mass at all. It just needs rest and the right ingredients.

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