.. is that one, inevitabl,e Godawful pun. Sigh.

For the rest I think it's not a bad idea at all.

The bit not mentioned in the article is the reason why you need to be close to the card to read it: bad aerials in the card terminal.

If you build a better aerial (larger) and ensure the receiver stage has a decent low noise entry you can read those RFIDs from quite a distance..

Now all you need is SOUND proofing..

That's what is so wrong about the Sony "Other OS" change. I didn't sign for them having the ability to damage my goods on remote later, so I'm amazed they got off scott-free.

Exactly my thoughts.

I deal with human failure a lot (I am a crisis manager by profession), and although the error rate between Airbus and Boeing is about identical for in-flight incidents, from what I have seen so far it appears in critical situation you're quite simply screwed in an "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that" Airbus. Humans simply have a wider span of recovery options to choose from, and that can include maneuvers not found in the official flight manuals..

But I could be wrong, time to see if there is an error correlation around take-off and landing incidents. Always double check assumptions :-).

The problem lies in another corner, and that DOES play on a global scale. If the age of legal competence to sign a contract lies at 18, then explain to me how a child can agree to the use of their information before that age, because that's where the problem lies. If most ADULTS are not competent enough to realize the impact of public disclosure on a global scale, then please explain to me why a child is allowed to permit access.

Even when a child posts publicly,I would still like the provider to keep its fat fingers off their data. If you want an argument why, look at this BBC article, and that's just today.

I don't see a major problem with Google giving kids email facilities. I do see serious problems (as a parent) with Google abusing that data like it does with all the other information it overtly as well as surreptitiously collects, and throwing ads at such kids. That I have HUGE problem with, because that audience is more gullible and innocent than the adults they target. That's child abuse in a different way.

Yup, that is the delusion du jour. However, I have found Android to be unusable without setting up a Google account. The problem is that even without using Google, you're still spying for Google - on others. Google admitted as much, also in Canada, right after the Streetview scanning scandal (read point 47, it's nicely tucked away).

I had to choose between Android and Apple, and I picked the latter exactly because they are so "rear end retentive" with their app admission policy. They will not catch everything that way, but it needs less checking than the Wild West of the Android market. However, I respect that others *want* that complete freedom, which is probably why *both* markets do well.

Oh, I almost forgot. I also make calls with that phone. I know, I'm old fashioned :)

I don't think so. There is consistency in what they say and do. They don't do BS, and it's not like the company needs the publicity.

.. because it means people have started to care again about privacy after years of brainwashing by self-interested parties such as the UK and US governments and companies like Facebook and Google. The latter happily profited from what can be called as the biggest assault on privacy in decades.

Carrier IQ is far from the only company doing what it does, but keep in mind they do so because there is a market for it. Follow the money..

Thank you - that was exactly the same thinking I was following. So far, Apple has not abused its ability to poke into people's lives yet, although it is trying harder with iCloud and iMessage which both seem to say to me "iWant your data on our systems" (iMessage is basically the same idea as WhatsApp, who is already tapping the SMS traffic of millions of users without explicitly telling them this).

My conclusion is that all really want to have your data, but some still have the decency to ask (although that attitude is waning - I guess too many people say "no").

One extra consideration: Android is "Too Open" source for me - as there is no control on the market other than after-the-event removal, the place is literally teeming hit malware. It seems to provide a good argument for Apple's walled garden after all..