It's worth pointing out that even though it is called a "gas giant", it doesn't mean it is bereft of a rocky core. It in fact does have a rocky core which is suspected of being icier than previously thought.

In addition, given the densities and temperatures to be found there, people generally assume there can't possibly be any life there. I don't know either way, but I would suspect there is a point within the atmosphere where heat and pressure reach some sort of "sweet spot" which allows bacteria to exist, similar to those found in this study.

I would say it is no less likely a source of life as any other of the weird places we've found it on this planet.

This is such a bullshit argument! It is not necessary to have something to hide to desire privacy. Government is there to facilitate lawful activity by its citizens, not to oversee every aspect of a citizen's activities. Innocence before proven guilt is the doctrine here. Trotting out the "nothing to fear, nothing to hide" argument just makes you part of the problem.

No. If they allow me to use their resources for personal use, then I would expect the information transmitted over their wires to be treated with the same respect I am expected to display for their data.

You might be looking at it from a narrow perspective of "their stuff, their rules", but unfortunately, that just doesn't hold water any more. If the resources are denied to me, that's just fine, it might be a pain in the arse, but I can deal with it. However, if I'm allowed access to the resources, then the very nature of the allegedly (tin hat anyone?) democratic, freedom loving society the western world purports to encourage demands that my privacy be respected.

Might sound ridiculous bringing 'democracy' and 'rights' into an argument like this, but there is such a thing as the thin end of the wedge. If you allow small nibbles to be taken from your freedom (I won't say 'rights', because it's beeen used and abused by fat people demanding hot hamburgers) then it will eventually escalate till the concept of freedom becomes no more than a farce.

The argument someone will pull in relation to the statement above is "difference between government and private enterprise", to which I call a big hearty bullshit. Government is 'allegedly' (that word again, tin hats?) supposed to represent the people and their desires. Since when in the blue fuck have private enterprises superceded government? Government is supposed to facilitate the functioning of private enterprise within the framework of a society. By 'framework' I mean 'laws'. If you have allowed private enterprise to twist the concept of societal rules to the point where citizens are denied basic protections to their privacy, then you have bigger things to worry about than HTTPS snooping.

Yeah I am a bit disgruntled by this argument. Look around a bit and you will see your personal space is being subtly chipped away by corrupt governments, avaricious private enterprise and useless sheep who pull the "nothing to hide, nothing to fear" argument. It's bullshit. So, in answer to the original Ask Slashdot, yes it is worth leaving a job over. It's worth climbing the highest tower and screaming your outrage over it. If you continue to just look at it and think "Doesn't affect me, but interesting technique" then you are contributing to the gradual erosion of society.

Something to think about, the US Constitution is a beautiful document. Some things in there I like, some things I don't, but on the whole, it lays down the basic premise for a nation and society which considers independant thinking and the ability to disagree with your government to be as important and necessary as the basic human needs for food and water. Want to see how that has been twisted?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:First_amendment_zone1.jpg

Fair enough. I get a half hour break for lunch, during which I have been informed I may use the company internet connection. If they are snooping my https details during that period, we have a problem captain.

So "if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear"? That is the biggest pile of cocksucking mindless groupthink around. This kind of thinking leads to the overturn of the concept of innocence before proven guilt. Whether a person is planning hideous treason or just checking facebook to see what aunt Mabel thinks of the fried pineapple she had for breakfast, if we allow that basic privacy to be intruded upon, then we might as well give up the pretence of a free society. Privacy is there for a reason. The fact data can be collected doesn't mean it should be.

You don't mean....investors will actually have to take a risk, do you?

That's an entirely new concept. Its always been "1) invest in the bigass company which has all the government contracts, 2) profit."

If this is the case, it can only be a good thing. Time for governments to be less of a pork barrel and more of a background participant.

Citation?

That page mentions that Galileo didn't blind himself by looking at the sun through a telescope, which I'm quite happy to accept. As that page states, he fell in love with solar projection and quite wisely performed his studies on the sun using that method.

The way you are using that page however seems to imply that looking at the sun through a telescope will do no harm. So again, I reiterate. You look at the sun directly through a telescope, then come back and tell us how safe it is. Alternatively, join the crowd of soon-to-be-living-with-reduced-vision people I mentioned.

It's one thing to disprove a myth, it is quite another to infer causality from the act of disproving it. Just because Galileo didn't blind himself by looking at the sun through a telescope doesn't make it safe. It's decidedly unsafe and suggesting it is anything else borders on criminal irresponsibility.

Looking forward to your response, although I suspect I will have to wait some time if your response includes empirical data from that little experiment I suggested.

Put your eye against even a replica Galilean telescope which is pointing at the sun and I'll challenge you to read it again if you like.

Oh yeah, cos Microsoft can be trusted, they have proved that repeatedly over the years.

Good ole trustworthy Microsoft

I'm neither a Google fanboy or a Microsoft shill. I like Google as a company and I enjoy a lot of their products and I use a lot of Microsoft products as well. The only thing these companies can be trusted to do is look after their bottom line. Any other community based action they take is a plus and has an expected life span of about a millisecond. You could turn around and find it gone with no explanation or comeback whatsoever.

As far as Android goes, I would choose it over iOS and WP7 in a heartbeat, simply because I like the platform. I am currently waiting for Windows 8 to come out so I can plant it on my Acer W501 tablet, where I think it will excel. Kinda wish I got the A500 though, cos it looks a better platform again.

Don't talk about trust when it comes to companies. The word is almost meaninless when applied to them.

Baader Solar Safety Film

Its really easy. Make your own filter, fit it over camera, telescope, binoculars, whatever.

And no, I'm not connected with First Light Optics or Baader. I don't care where you get it, but unless you want to join the soon-to-be-living-with-reduced-vision crowd up there, use this stuff or something like it instead of the welders goggles, floppy disk film or whatever else they are advocating.