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Comment Re:Allow blocking (Score 1) 52

This app has been available since Android 2.1 or earlier, and needs root access of course:
http://www.appbrain.com/app/pe...

Google has had years to implement user-chosen permissions revocation. Even hidden in Developer Tools under Settings would have at least given app developers the chance to test their apps against losing permissions.

Comment Re:Allow blocking (Score 1) 52

Google's motives for removing fine-grained permission are all speculative at this point. Some argue that Google removed permission control because they don't want a user backlash against "broken apps" and don't want to slow down their marketshare growth.

I would counter that argument with those developers should get flooded with broken app messages so they can re-design their apps to still function or quit altogether if a given permission was not available to it. E.g. The shady Dictionary App should still work if geo-location fails (which it does if you've disallowed location for all apps in the global settings).

Comment They must start somewhere (Score 2) 340

This path the FSF has taken to "create" a FLOSS system is not a bad one.

Instead of needing to manufacture a new laptop, simply "refurbish" an existing model and gauge your target market.

If the demand grows, newer models may be refurbished until it's economically viable to manufacture some.

I believe the "truly free" system here is just a model of what the FSF would like to see available in the market and not an actual business plan to compete in the marketplace to sell computers.

Comment Beer! (Score 1) 3

Even if they don't confirm on /. there should at least 5 people here who read Slashdot on a regular basis. (Though they also browse animated gifs on reddit.)

Would be great if we can get a Boise tech crowd together for some tasty brews!

Comment Re:Seems to me (Score 1) 409

Isn't water vapor attributed to solar energy orders of magnitude more mass than water vapor output by combustion of fossil fuel?

The state of Florida is pretty damn humid, and I don't think it's from all the golf carts.

I don't dispute that water vapor is indeed a greenhouse gas which holds a lot of heat, but it seems like it's mostly created by the sun, or perhaps a city full of air conditioners (which act as condensers).

Comment Re:Please no... (Score 4, Insightful) 264

If she is using NoScript in a "medium" security manner -- meaning temporarily trust the parent domain of the site, but only whitelist external scripts (which means a fair amount of clicking "Temp allow akami / googleapis / disqus / some-image-service / etc") then that is MUCH better than Chome. Even NoScript in a "low" security method that temp-allows all scripts on a page but still blocks XSS, ClearClick, and anything else you choose like Java applets and iframes is still better than allowing all javascript and all plugins.

On the privacy front, try BetterPrivacy (never touch it after first time config) to flush all local Flash storage on browser start+stop. (You can of course whitelist LSOs from your bank or whatever.) Additionally, try CookieMonster in whitelist-only mode. It's just like NoScript, but for cookies so you can permanently allow all the sites she logs into, and temp allow any random page with a form.

Even just trying some extra plugins or stronger security settings will help everyone think more about security as they're learning more about security.

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