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Comment Re:Usage Data (Score 1) 39

If linked in any way to the identity of the user then yes, it should be banned. If collected without the user being clearly notified this is happening, and without the user's explicit opt-in then yes, it should be banned

They were government-required audit logs, tied to user accounts (21 CFR Part 11) The underlying feature is un-ban-able. We asked the companies for them so we could figure out the adoption rates of new features. Most companies didn't care. We didn't do anything else with the data.

Comment Re:Disinfo (Score 1) 114

That sort of disinformation ramps up the noise fast. The signal then merely needs to look indistinguishable from the noise. It is so so much easier to hide out amongst freaks, geeks, and weirdos. Even Johnny English could hide out in such a crowd and not remotely stand out.

You're overthinking things. You don't care about the riff-raff who hang out in the Lil' Ale'inn. You make it seem like it's easy to get a janitorial job at the facility and monitor the heck out of those who apply. Also any government workers whom seem over-eager to get their hands on documentation coming out of the site, which is all, also, disinformation, so who cares if any other country gets it.

What does it really require to monitor an aircraft? Active RADAR? No. Passive RADAR using civilian radio transmissions would be undetectable and can be done in post-processing as long as you have a good enough recording that's adequately timestamped and location stamped.

"UFO" balloons aren't to monitor aircraft. They are to test air defense radar. How good an enemy's radar is at picking up specific signatures, say roughly cruise-missile-like, is much more useful information than aircraft capability.

Comment Disinfo (Score 5, Interesting) 114

I think it has less to do with that, and more to do with using UFOs as a disinformation campaign.

Want a cheap way to flush out spies? Leak that we have alien technology, say it's in a warehouse in the desert, and wait to see who starts poking around.

Want a cheap way to test air defense radar? Make a weirdly shaped mylar balloon that has been profiled using your own radar. Fill it up with helium and launch it downstream from a sensitive military site. Wait to see how long it takes for them to scramble fighters to check it out. All you need is a balloon, a tank of helium, and a radio you can buy online for $50.

Comment Cheese fry mentality (Score 3, Insightful) 147

The best analogy I can come up with, is the producers think if you like eating a small plate of chili cheese fries, you are going to love eating an entire chafing tray full of them. Sometimes you only want a bit of something. Then maybe a nice salad, or a baked potato. Then you go back to chili cheese fries later.

Comment Re:How about? (Score 1) 95

which will be the case for everyone buying straight from the manufacturer, wherever that is permitted.

Only a few manufacturers can, and some states have laws saying you must sell through a dealership.

As for buying through the manufacturer's website, it depends on what you are doing. You can configure a car and see if there is one in stock by you, in which case you can haggle with the dealership over price. If you order a custom build from the manufacturer, they will probably charge you full price, and you'll still have to pick it up from a dealership and have all those fees tacked on.

Deals from the dealership usually come from them trying to offload specific models, trims, or colors that aren't selling well. Sometimes car companies will pay dealerships to get them off of their lots to make room for more profitable or better selling vehicles. You can get some of that cash, but the dealership will try to keep as much of it as they can. If they are offering $500 off, ask for $1000, for example, because they are probably getting $1500 from the manufacturer.

Comment ZoneAlarm (Score 2) 66

ZoneAlarm used to be the go-to for this. Kinda like the NoScript browser extension for internet connections. Everything is blocked until you explicitly allow it. It used to be pretty comprehensive, but I don't know how much of the network it can control, as I know Microsoft has been disallowing easy network control access to 3rd parties since Windows 10.

Comment Re:US government (Score 1) 102

=What makes you think the US government is more trustworthy than the Chinese government, especially given the direction Trump is taking it?=

Because the US government doesn't make operating systems? They've taken Apple to court to get unfettered access to iPhones and have lost. It's far from perfect, but there is still a system of checks and balances happening.

Besides that, you can post a photo of yourself holding the bloody severed head of Trump, and the worst that happens to you is loosing a gig at CNN and a squatty potty endorsement job. If you call president Xi a silly name, you disappear.

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