Comment qubes (Score 1) 149
Docker reminds me of Qubes in some ways.
https://qubes-os.org/
Comment Re:I keep my data locally. Almost... (Score 1) 319
How did you determine that Tor is "only marginally more popular than I2P"? Just curious.
Comment Re:Qualcomm == BAD! (Score 1) 352
Several other phones seem to follow this design.
I'm interested to know the other phones that also follow this design. Thanks.
Comment Re:A little safer than a computer in a hotel lobby (Score 1) 183
Sandy bridge processors have those cool cell phones built right in. But that kill switch will only be used in the event that your wonderful computer is stolen :D
http://www.tgdaily.com/opinion-features/53108-analysis-intel-to-introduce-processor-with-remote-kill-switch
Comment Re:Can we get first time key exchange for email? (Score 1) 183
You don't have to use a certificate authority with thunderbird. Any openPGP compatible software allows you to use a "web-of-trust" type model. no centralized authority.
Comment Re:You still can't control recipient devices (Score 1) 183
google "baseband exploit"
http://vimeo.com/25806106
Also, there is something called STK or simtoolkit ( a gsm standard protocol). Big business like banks can make deals with carriers to run apps securely with the sim card. It isn't used so much in the usa but the capability is there. The way the sim card gets programmed via specially formatted sms with the proper keys etc.
Comment Re:How to crack: (Score 2) 183
If you can own the baseband you can own it all: http://vimeo.com/25806106
Comment Re:Very little utility here (Score 1) 183
agree. I've often wondered how it is the nice people who put out "secure" apps and recommend them to dissidents, journalists, etc in oppressive regimes have never heard of baseband (radio) exploits. Also, apps can be run in the sim. The sim and baseband can be updated/programmed remotely. One doesn't know what's going on inside the sim or baseband.
Comment Re:Very little utility here (Score 1) 183
Why you should worry about surveillance: http://www.harvardlawreview.org/symposium/papers2012/richards.pdf
Comment Re:No shocker there (Score 1) 440
Too many high school students get no theorems or proofs and memorize algorithms and have no idea what they mean. I corresponded with an online math prof recently while looking for some extra course work for my son and in part of his email he said: "We don't memorize too many equations in my class - we derive them". Maybe that approach isn't for everyone but I think it's better than the most.
Comment Re:No shocker there (Score 1) 440
Agree. You need a little of each of those things. Regarding bad teachers I thought the book by Liping Ma was interesting. A review: http://beta.metastudio.org/objects/2013/02/22/book-review-knowing-and-teaching-elementary-mathematics-liping-ma/
Seems chinese teachers with less education than their USA counterparts understand math far better. From the book:
"The situation of the two teacher is that the U.S. teachers have a shallow understanding of a large number of mathematical structures including the advanced ones, but the Chinese teachers have a deeper understanding of the elementary concepts involved in mathematics."
Comment Re:Snowden beware (Score 1) 250
Oh they'll buy it. These are the same people that elected obama, bush, etc etc
Comment Re:DroidWall (Score 1) 182
Lots of software installed via Play wont like that and refuse to run.
Submission + - Snowden Masqueraded As Top Officials To Mine NSA's Deepest Secrets
schnell writes: As government investigators continue to try to figure out just how much data whistleblower Edward Snowden had access to, MSNBC is reporting that Snowden used his sysadmin privileges to assume the user profiles of top NSA officials in order to gain access to the most sensitive files. His sysadmin privileges also enabled him to do something other NSA users can't — download classified files from NSAnet onto a thumb drive. “Every day, they are learning how brilliant [Snowden] was,” said a former U.S. official with knowledge of the case. “This is why you don’t hire brilliant people for jobs like this. You hire smart people. Brilliant people get you in trouble.”
Submission + - 100% fail rate on Liberia University's admission exam
slew writes: Apparently none of the 24K+ students who sat for the 2013 Liberia University entrance exam got a passing mark, and fewer than a hundred managed to pass the either the english (pass level 70%) or math (pass level 50%) sections required to qualify to be part of the normal class of 2k-3k students admitted every year...
Historically, the pass rate has been about 20-30% and in recent years, the test has been in multiple-guess format to facilitate grading. The mathematics exam generally focuses on arithmetic, geometry, algebra, analytical geometry and elementary statistic and probability; while the English exam generally focuses on grammar, sentence completion, reading comprehension and logical reasoning.
However, as a testatment to the over-hang of a civil war, university over-crowding, corruption, social promotion, the admission criteria was apparently temporarily dropped to 40% math and 50% english to allow the provisional admission of about 1.6K students. And people are calling foul...
Historically, the pass rate has been about 20-30% and in recent years, the test has been in multiple-guess format to facilitate grading. The mathematics exam generally focuses on arithmetic, geometry, algebra, analytical geometry and elementary statistic and probability; while the English exam generally focuses on grammar, sentence completion, reading comprehension and logical reasoning.
However, as a testatment to the over-hang of a civil war, university over-crowding, corruption, social promotion, the admission criteria was apparently temporarily dropped to 40% math and 50% english to allow the provisional admission of about 1.6K students. And people are calling foul...
