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UK Government Report Recommends Ending Online Anonymity 282

An anonymous reader writes with a bit of pith from TechDirt: Every so often, people who don't really understand the importance of anonymity or how it enables free speech (especially among marginalized people), think they have a brilliant idea: "just end real anonymity online." They don't seem to understand just how shortsighted such an idea is. It's one that stems from the privilege of being in power. And who knows that particular privilege better than members of the House of Lords in the UK — a group that is more or less defined by excess privilege? The Communications Committee of the House of Lords has now issued a report concerning "social media and criminal offenses" in which they basically recommend scrapping anonymity online.

Comment Re:USB 4.x to offer signed USB device signatures?? (Score 1) 205

There are much worse threats. Thunderbolt and Firewire give the device full access to RAM, with no protection at all. For over a decade companies have been making Firewire and now Thunderbolt devices that dump a running PC's memory for forensic analysis, complete with any encryption keys and passwords that happen to be there. Law enforcement loves them because even if the computer is locked or the user logged out when they get there most operating systems auto-configure newly plugged in devices. Thunderbolt allows pre-boot attacks as well (including cold boot key recovery).

The only way to solve this problem is to train people not plug random stuff into their computers, and to disable Thunderbolt and Firewire ports. Plugging in a random USB memory stick is a risk and many people are starting to understand that, so we just need to extend it to cover all USB devices.

Comment Re:Lots of people criticize this for its obviousne (Score 1) 182

Go on AliExpress, there are loads of cheap air purifiers with HEPA filters. TFA says "up to $1000", and actually even high end Japanese models are usually much less than that. Chinese manufacturers sell many models that are basically the same as what this guy invented - a HEPA filter strapped to a fan - for $30-40.

Comment Re:Surprise? (Score 3, Interesting) 57

Manufacturers of high quality colour LCD/AMOLED displays will laugh at you if you ask for a custom design in quantities of less than 1,000,000. Even for the final version it will be hard for them to justify signing a contract for 1 million displays up front, not being certain of sales volume. Off-the-shelf displays are pretty much their only choice.

Comment Re:economy bullshit argument (Score 2, Insightful) 258

Uh... because web browsers are certainly the most profitable software outside the app store.

Yes they are. They regularly appear in the top selling apps on Android.

The App Store doesn't give a fuck.

Exactly. The best search engines tend to rank pages by reputation, so if software is just a copy of something else and lots of people point that out it usually becomes apparent to anyone searching. The Play store uses a similar system where apps that are recommended on web sites often get promoted in the store, where as the App Store isn't quite that sophisticated. The result is that people like Zynga can steal other people's ideas and SEO their way to the top, where as it is much harder to do on Play.

Essentially Play has a better spam filter.

Comment Re:RACIST! (Score 1) 514

Are you saying that white people are inherently less physically able than black people? How do you measure physical ability? There are physical sports where white people are overrepresented (like hockey), so let's not pretend that top white athletes are not competitive. It's entirely possible that there is systemic racism in basketball. Are childhood training dollars spent disproportionately in black communities? For instance I remember Clinton's midnight basketball program.. how many white kids showed up to that?

Statistically speaking there are more very tall black African Americans than white Americans. I'm not sure that statistically African Americans are dumber though, if you were to somehow measure raw intelligence and potential rather than academic results.

Comment Re:RACIST! (Score 1) 514

The NBA values physical ability. Tech companies value mental ability. Are you saying that black people are inherently less intelligent than white people? It's a theory that has been researched and mostly rejected.

I suppose you could argue for a programme to help stretch young white kids on some kind of medieval rack so that they are more competitive at basketball, in exchange for better schools and learning opportunities for young black kids.

Comment Re:Confusing position (Score 2) 514

Jesse Jackson is putting race, not skill level, as the priority imputes to employ more blacks.

No he isn't. He is saying that black people need more opportunities to get those jobs, i.e. more access to training that is lacking in the areas where many black people live. Rather than going after H1B visas the tech companies should be trying to bring better education to parts of America that are not well served, but there is a lot of stigma associated with them that prevents it happening.

You are projecting your own feeling of persecution onto what it he says, rather than paying attention to what he actually said.

Comment Re:Mod parent DOWN (Score 1) 514

He can fight against the pervasive drug and gang culture that keeps black kids away from any means to better themselves.

You are confusing cause and effect. Most kids don't dream of becoming drug dealers, they simply have little choice because their schools suck and parents don't care.

Jackson is making the point that there is talent available in the US, it just gets wasted due to lack of opportunity. Instead of lobbying for more H1B visas and employing overseas recruitment specialists the tech companies should be trying to fix the problems that prevent minorities getting the opportunity to work for them. Of course they won't do it without being forced to because business only ever does what is most profitable.

Comment Re:economy bullshit argument (Score 1) 258

Part of the problem for developers is that Apple has banned some of the most profitable types of app, i.e. anything that competes with the functionality of Apple apps. For example alternative web browsers that are more than just a skin like Firefox. I'm amazed they bowed to pressure and allowed 3rd party keyboards, which are always top sellers on other platforms.

The other part of the problem is that Apple does little to prevent developers being screwed, and to be fair most app stores are guilty of this. If someone has an interesting idea you can guarantee that about 15 minutes later Zynga will have cloned it, and then thrown money at marketing it and probably sued the original developer for good measure. The App Store only rewards Zynga for this behaviour.

Businesses

Jesse Jackson: Tech Diversity Is Next Civil Rights Step 514

theodp writes: U.S. civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson called on the Obama administration Monday to scrutinize the tech industry's lack of diversity. "There's no talent shortage. There's an opportunity shortage," Jackson said, calling Silicon Valley "far worse" than many others, such as car makers that have been pressured by unions. He said tech behemoths have largely escaped scrutiny by a public dazzled with their cutting-edge gadgets. Jackson spoke to press after meeting with Labor Secretary Tom Perez for a review of H-1B visas, arguing that data show Americans have the skills and should have first access to high-paying tech work. Jackson's Rainbow Push Coalition plans to file a freedom-of-information request next month with the EEOC to acquire employment data for companies that have not yet disclosed it publicly, which includes Amazon, Broadcom, Oracle, Qualcomm and Yelp. Unlike the Dept. of Labor, Jackson isn't buying Silicon Valley's argument that minority hiring statistics are trade secrets. Five years after Google's HR Chief would only reassure Congress the company had "a very strong internal Black Googler Network" and its CEO brushed off similar questions about its diversity numbers by saying "we're pretty happy with the way our recruiting work," Google — under pressure from Jackson — fessed up to having a tech workforce that's only 1% Black, apparently par for the course in Silicon Valley.

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