You seem to be confusing some very different issues: Java code running in J2EE on servers, and users running Java applications on their client machines.

For sure Oracle totally screwed up their client machine warnings to users, and I'm still not convinced they have got it right, its nearly impossible to understand Oracle's documentation or make it work as advertised.

On the other hand, servers aren't particularly vulnerable to most of these exploits because they assume you already have the ability to run the code in question. J2EE servers don't let just anyone run code.

In 2014 you are a very unusual person who bothers to whitelist for javascript. You may be the last man standing to do that.

I know Java isn't Javascript, but no web site awaits consent before running Javascript. Slashdot basically wouldn't work en-toto without javascript. Back in the old days it would have, but not now.

The problem with this article is that I'm sure Oracle wanted Java to be more like the web's javascript, running by default and running everywhere. Unfortunately it was just a bit too bloated (and as it turns out, buggy) for the world to accept this proposal, and yet the world is perfectly happy to run javascript code without special permission.

Possibly they could select a sub-set of these genes that don't lead to associated mental illness and have moderately intelligent kids without the downsides.

But therein lies the rub... if we control everything we could end up with a society of moderate drones, and no exceptional and extraordinary people. What if you need to be a bit crazy to be an Einstein?

That's a very valid question, but more worryingly they could all be psychopaths. At least crooked teeth could be measured by the scientists, but psychopaths would be hard to measure for.

I don't know, I looked up the smartest guy who is in our school a few years after school finished, and he was working as a courier driver. He and I used to to compete to get the highest mark in the class. 20 years later I checked up on him and he was driving buses.

It isn't necessarily true that smart people either need or want to be acting like Einstein.

It could be worse because we don't understand the relationship between these genes and other attributes like compassion and morality. For example, some scientist boffin might discover that Gene 769 gives 1 extra IQ point but doesn't realise that it makes you into an unfeeling psychopath. Then we end up with a planet of super intelligent nazis.

Looks are a lot less to do with fashion than some suspect. Even different races have a similar idea (generally) about what is good looks.

"Wide adoption of this kind of gene-tampering would probably more likely help reduce the number of stupid than increase the number of high-IQ individuals."

Perhaps over multiple generations it would lead to more high-IQ as certain gene combinations become more and less common.

You realise the web site you are typing into now uses Javascript, and therefore you have just classified it as malware, right?

I think his point is that while the NSA has been able to sniff around the internet with impunity, to actually take your phone and examine it, they would need a warrant.

Hmm... the key is NOT on the phone. I don't understand Snowden's comments or yours. The IOS file system is encrypted, and if you use a decent length pass phrase it should be unhackable. No?

Is copyright infringement actually "illegal", or is it just a civil matter between copyright holder and infringer?

Yep, thus the genius of this new scheme. The downloading question will allow them to induct ice-men who can beat the polygraph and lie without conscience. Perfect FBI material.

I can see the point of writing an OS kernel in C++ if you wanted to experiment and do research into OS ideas. But to rewrite Linux in C++... all you'd end up with is yet another UNIX kernel. Why do we need another UNIX kernel written in another language? UNIX is not that interesting anymore. It's been done already. Write something new and interesting in C++.