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Comment How secure is that connection string? (Score 0) 124

BTSync uses a string to connect computers and then sync files. How safe is that? I could start a script that tries to find these strings. If I find them, I can sync all files just like that. While that string is probably more unique than a username / password combination used on Dropbox, I guess Dropbox will see it when there are many failed tries on one username, or many failed tries from one IP. If your just guessing username and password, you can of course change usernames continuously, to avoid testing the same username over and over again. But with BTSync you can go on and on. Is there a security measure against abuse? I've used it, with longer than standard strings, but still don't like this idea.

Comment Re:Really? (Score 1) 76

Why is custom hardware needed? Im just curious. There seem to be plenty of cheap ($100) SOC boards out there with ethernet ports. You only need one to route. Not sure what sort of hardware performance requirements the encryption and tunneling software would require, but surely one can be built for much less than $7500. Even a desktop with a bunch of 4x1GB port PCIe cards wouldn't cost a grand... its a desktop I know, but still....

How about the Alix APU1D4 combined with Pfsense and encrypted harddisk.

Submission + - Bill Gates Thinks Thomas Piketty's Attack On Inequality Is Right (huffingtonpost.com)

rvw writes: Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates essentially concurs with French economist Thomas Piketty's landmark book on income inequality, according to a review Gates published on his own blog Monday. Those "most important" conclusions? High levels of income inequality are bad, capitalism cannot fix inequality on its own, and government action can help break the vicious cycle in which inequality begets more severe inequality.

It's appropriate that Gates reviewed the book, because he and his philanthropic foundation are actually mentioned to buttress Piketty's argument. After he became a very, very rich man, Gates stopped laboring and focused instead on giving away his money. Yet, more than a decade later, his wealth has actually skyrocketed. In 1998, Gates' net worth was valued at $50 billion. By October 2014, that number had increased nearly 60 percent to $79.3 billion, despite his having given away tens of billions of dollars.

Comment Re:Biased summary (Score 1) 282

if the benchmark for what is legal is your own preference, you are a parasite on society to that same degree.

I'm curious - does that apply to marijuana users? If so, how was illegal marijuana use fundamentally different than this?

Good point! In fact you prove exactly the opposite of what you want. Marijuana sale is somehow legalized in the Netherlands. OK, it's a bad law, as it legalizes only selling to customers. The production is still illegal, selling to the shops is illegal, so this is really stupid. But from the customer side it is legal. That's what makes it good.

Uber is not legal, because it is not good for the customer. It may be cheap, and as long as all is good and well I guess everyone is happy. But then there is an accident and the driver is not insured. What then? Who will pay? The Dutch state probably, so the tax payer. We don't want that.

TCA and taxi drivers in Amsterdam may have a bad reputation, but for the rest of the Netherlands this is not the case. Most taxis are really OK, in good state, and drivers are OK as well. I've used many taxis - not in Amsterdam though - and all were OK.

Comment Re:Use AmigaOS then.... (Score 1) 132

I remember running Amiga Workbench on a 7mhz motorola, that only had 1meg ram and did not have a HD, but the OS only took up under 1meg.

I remember running CP/M on a Intertec Superbrain with a 4Mhz Z80, that only had 64KB and two 180KB floppies. The OS plus a complete Office suite fitted on one of those floppies...

Comment Re:Sad. Mozilla can do better (Score 1) 132

I do not know about the supper low end phones that Nokiasoft are making but I did get the 635 as temp phone while I am waiting for the new Nexus.
Guess what? For $129 off contract it is a very good phone.

I guess it is.

Take this simple math: $129/$35=3.6

Now compare that $35 phone to an $600 iPhone because that's the relative price if you have a 20 times lower salary. Then think about this: will you buy a 3.6x$600 = $2200 phone? I would not. So that $35 dollar phone is what they can pay. That extra $100 is for food, clothes and living in general.

Comment Re:Trading Freedom for Security? (Score 3, Insightful) 264

we never really talk about that so it doesn't count.

The thing we should be talking about is how and why politicians worldwide are running a fear campaign, with the central message that loss of freedom is a necessary path to security.

Only one reason: because the people want it. Fear is an easy emotion.

Comment Re:Police?? (Score 1) 302

As a territorial police force of sworn constables, are they responsible for proposing laws?
Because that's what they're doing here.

Responsible for proposing laws? They are free to do so - whether you like it or not. Join a political party or some lobby group, whether it's "bad" corporate lobbying, or "good" NGO stuff, you can even start something yourself - and you can be part of the fun as well.

Comment Re:Congratulations to India and everyone involved (Score 1) 173

Exploration of space and the solar system is mostly for fun. It's interesting to see what other places look like, but it's unlikely that it is going to affect us a species. Earth observing satellites will have a greater impact on that.

In your lifetime probably yes. When the first trains started to move in the early 1800s, you could probably say the same.

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