It isn't sudden. Gyms have been on this train for years. New car salesman want you to "buy" a new car every three years. Make the monthly payment part of life, and people forget it is there -- it becomes the baseline. And it allows them to make more accurate revenue projections.

People are dumb when it comes to technology. Maybe Google sees that there will be not only a need, but a requirement for a home network design/protocol/whatever that encapsulates the hardware we now get from our ISP of choice. We're entering the "internet access is a fundamental right" era. It's only logical to conclude that means highly regulated internet and, naturally, the need for a standard the government can leverage when they take over.

I'm not refuting that it can lead to Google being able to turn over your home network to the Feds; rather, that it isn't because someday they want to.

A hurricane with a gun can only be stopped by an assembly facility with a gun something something 'Merica!

I am interested in why it is problematic, and what issues it raises. In the interest of saving this article's comments from the hordes of "oh my god we're gonna die the NSA will be able to name our children due to this ruling!" can you elaborate? Thanks.

Now that's insightful.

I'm just happy to see it happen somewhere other than the US. Turns out other countries have nuts and greedy lawyers, too.

Consider that most people I know who have an undergraduate degree in "computer science" are as close to a scientist as a blog is to journalism. Computer Science degrees can mean as little as "more computer credits than liberal arts credits." But maybe that is endemic to popular degree programs.

I don't understand your reaction to my comment. I'm not suggesting that training should be required; rather, that any responsible gun owner should fully understand how their gun operates and how to operate their gun. I mountain bike, and I know how my mountain bike works. I drive a car, and I know, for the most part, how a car works. I use a computer, and I know, for the most part, how a computer works. I'm a software developer, and even though the garbage collector will come along and clean up after me (eventually), I consider how my use of various objects and techniques will affect performance.

I believe people who own guns should train, either formally or at the range with friends. If one buys a gun and just carries it around, it isn't really that useful (and can be dangerous). One day at the range shooting plates in a timed drill is all it takes to realize how difficult it would be to handle a weapon in an active shooter situation.

The real question is, Would our troops accept the government telling them to mount an offensive against the populace? I was in the Air Force; my brother the Marines. As gung-ho and 'Merica shouting as some military folk are, the reality is that they aren't radically pro-government; instead, they are pro-liberty.

Fortunately, the radically pro-government types (Occupy *, et al), also tend to be radically against the military and violence by their own hands. Without an army, the best they can hope for is to vote in their party. But who will enforce the will of an overarching federal authority - should it ever come to that - if the military folks don't see eye-to-eye with that will?

Caveat - Admittedly hypothetical, and one of any number of ways such a thing could come about.

Encrypted SSD drive. Public company dealing with PHI. I take care of having my favorite peripherals, but I don't mess with the computer hardware.

For comparison, I am a software developer on Core i7 Win 7 64 bit on a 3-year old Lenovo T520. I regularly use 6.5 GB or more of 8 GB of RAM with one instance of SSMS and three or 4 instances of VS2013 (plus Chrome, IE, Outlook, and often some Office programs). There must be a lot of system shit sucking RAM, too, because I have never counted more than 5 GB of my own programs. But still, I'd at least feel way better with 16 GB. (Also, the company bought laptops with 160 GB hard drives, so I regularly have to fight for every GBs (and even MBs) of space so I can compile projects.)

Because we don't spend enough time looking at our phones as it is. [Obviously, that doesn't apply to people need to quantify themselves in various ways due disease, etc. But JTFC, do you really need to track your steps at a music festival? Most of them were probably just you twirling in a circle while on e.]

To be clear, I'm fine with bacteria, and I despise hand-sanitizer.

XKCD on hand sanitizer.