>> doesn't look like there's rampant wide-spread abuse of this sort of data. Yet.

But there could be. Many IoT company's privacy policies seem to be just a cut/paste of their wide-open web privacy policies. For example, take a look at Lowe's IRIS system. According to the legalese, I think they might be able to scan your home video feeds to look for products you might want...
http://iotsecuritylab.com/iot-...

>> Any rational interpretation would suggest that when people buy or pay off the loan on a piece of equipment—whether a car, a refrigerator or a mobile phone—they own it, and should be free to do what they want with it.

This argument has already lost in the public square WHEN IT HARMS OTHER PEOPLE. For example:
* If you own a refrigerator, it's already illegal to just discharge the coolant into the environment
* If you own a car, it's already illegal to just set it on fire, and in many places you can't store it certain places (like your front lawn)

If you narrow it down a bit (e.g., "root your phone = legal but proceed at your own risk") I could get behind this guy, but when we're starting to talk about hacking automobile electronics that other drivers and pedestrians depend upon for their own safety...you can probably see where we're developing a slippery slope.

>> that'll pollute *their* environment, not ours, right?

I think you've hit the nail on their head. It sounds like someone's just figured out a way to turn this problem:

Q) How do we ship all our old batteries to a third-world country and then dump them in local landfills, gullies and rivers?

into this opportunity:

A) Repackage the batteries individually and ship them to locals in third-party countries. Then, when they dump the batteries improperly - hey, it's not our fault - we TRIED to give them flashlights! Hell, we might even get some "green" grants for this scheme!

>> In North Korea, Hackers Are a Handpicked, Pampered Elite

Which means $3K/year, 1600 calories a day?

>> every time they try to charge for something, it means they are scared?

Not sure where you got the "every time". Dig into a few of the articles and you'll see that these changes were specifically aimed at solar. For example: http://milwaukee.gov/milwaukeeshines/GoSolarHowto/EnergyEngagement.htm

In Wisconsin, electric companies almost doubled fixed charge "transmission" rates to get more money from people who are shipping electricity back into the grid.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=psc+solar+rate+increase

In other words, they were frightened enough to attack one of the main financial benefits of distributed solar.

>> Sometimes I'm just reading the menu

And sometimes I'm reading it - fascinated even - to avoid talking to (or intentionally annoy) my companion(s).

Oh wait, this isn't passiveagg.org?

>> How is abortion still an issue?

It's used both on the right ("pro life") and on the left ("war on women") as a wedge issue.

>> Who are these people that lay awake at night worrying about whether someone will have an abortion?

Mostly "base" voters who are almost assuredly going to vote for either the right or left for other reasons, but who are cynically motivated to get off the couch by "pro life" or "war on women" advertisements full of BS. You can call people who buy into this stuff dumb, but it works (or neither side would do it). /karmawhoring>

>> Is the irony of Sony being hit by malware lost on people?

At Sony, we just call it "software."

>> The use of Korean could strengthen theories that the destructive cyber attacks have links to North Korea

Are you f***ing kidding me? It's just as likely that it was written by an English-speaking American using a pirated copy of Windows he got from a SOUTH Korean warez site.

America's modern left often argues that portions of the US Constitution can be safely ignored because it's old and was written by white dudes. Here's a (fairly calm) piece that explores that argument. (Also look up "constitution living document".)

"Is the Constitution Still Relevant?"
http://consortiumnews.com/2013...

Unfortunately, this isn't just a fringe belief: in 2010 a USA Today poll showed that 1 in 4 people no longer though the Constitution was "relevant"
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com...

1) Thank you for not using the term "Big Data" in the summary.

2) How do you permanently disable the crappy "Slashdot Deelz" ad that always appears now, even if you click its "Fuck Off" link?

I just moved my family to the Virgin "pick your plan" - 3 phones sharing a plan for about $30 total per month (with 250 minutes, limited text and data, but since everyone mostly uses wireless anyway...).

Eggbeaters, is that you?

A Russian, an American and an Italian all walk into a space station.

As soon as the shuttle that dropped them off reenters the atmosphere they discover that a fire has started in the living quarters. They crawl into the module with the escape capsules but discover that there are only two of the one-man crafts available. The Russian immediately dives through a door shouting "for the motherland!" The brave American offers the last capsule to the Italian, but the Italian politely refuses. He says, "Nah, let's both take one - I only wish we could be here when the Ruskie gets out of the shitter."