Releasing the source code in this case is pretty meaningless. You can't actually do anything with it. Sure, you can modify the code, but the device is locked so that, in order to put that modified code back on your device, you'd need to break Amazon's DRM. That feat could land you in jail. And they still have some secret parts. Like the part about remotely being able to turn off text to speech, the part that enables them to gather metrics about user use and book access, etc. All of that is still secret. Sorry, Amazon, this won't win you any points.

Its already destroyed. Oracle just don't have the mojo Sun had. Try searching for things on java and you invariably end up with an Oracle landing page that doesn't remember all the knowledge Sun had shared. Check out their wiki now, its bloody pathetic. Check out the old Sun blog site and you would see useless junk. Oracle is the wrong steward for Java and that is never going to change. I bailed out and am now spending my free time working with Nodejs and Mongodb. Alas, its only a matter of time before some heartless and soul-less company like Oracle buys both of them and give them a kiss of death.

I think this is probably one place Stallman would be saying "I told you so" with no great enthusiasm and one place where Adam Smith finds himself with an all mighty hard-on and smug self satisfied grin that will make your skin crawl now that Ole Shylock has his pound of flesh and lo, without a drop of blood being spilled.

So bin Laden had a collection of porn. So did most of the 'men who killed him. What does that mean? It means that, in addition to being a terrorist, bin Laden was also a normal human being who wasn't a lot different than many of us on different levels. I think it's interesting that porn always seems to surface when the government wants to 'really' discredit someone (like they needed to in this case?). It's like they're pandering to the conservative Christians in the country to prove how bad the person was. I can see the conversation now: Mom: Well, they got bin Laden, finally Dad: Yeah, well, I don't think we should celebrate the death of another human being Mom: They found out he had porn, Jimmy - *porn*! Dad: Oh hell no! Thank God they got that evil bastard before he could get that filth into our wholesome American culture. I'm so mad right now, I think I'll be in the garage praying and cuddling with the flag. Mom: It's okay honey, calm down, he's not a threat anymore: they killed him and seized the porn. It's in a safe place now where it can't hurt anyone. This is the most insanely stupid thing I've read in a while. But it's just part of the all-out propaganda war we tend to run against our enemies. We did it to Castro, we did it to the Russians when we were enemies, and it shouldn't surprise us that we are doing it to bin Laden. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go masturbate to a hot picture of Laura Bush and Michelle Obama I photoshopped together. HAWT! I bet Osama had the good stuff too...

Yes, you can. During ANY encounter with an officer you should ALWAYS ask 'Am I being detained?'. If they say no, they CANNOT stop you from walking or driving away.

Here is a video of a citizen doing just that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BwQQSo9YX4&feature=player_embedded

For more information about civil disobedience visit:

www.copblock.org
www.cdevolution,org
www.freetalklive.com

Accepting their tyranny without ANY resistance is simply telling them it's right.

I have to disagree with your assessment that using PUBLIC transit and PUBLIC roads are a privilege granted to you by the state. YOUR tax dollars are what built those roadways and your tax dollars are what fund public transportation which means you OWN those things. You cannot be granted the 'privilege' to use your own property. That's a lie the state has fed us for so long that we've bought it but it's not true.

In the United States, there is a limit to the time you can be detained before it's considered a de facto arrest. If the officer detains you past that limit, they'd better have a legitimate reason for arresting you or you can press charges for false arrest and unlawful detainment. A journalist friend of mine trying to cover the Gulf oil spill ran into this a few days ago and, when he pointed this out, the officer quickly let him go as he had no reason to arrest him.

Probably not. The connections are probably proxied.

Of course you should take the update. They're not pushing out a 100 million line update after three months. They're pushing out an update that maybe changed a couple of thousands to maybe a couple of hundred thousand lines of code. Totally doable and testable within a 3 month period. Obviously, it's your choice to take or not take the update but are you willing to put yourself and your family in harms way based on an unlikely 'what if' software bug when you have a KNOWN software bug currently in your system?

Oooh, I like this technique

I have an enormous amount of personal data on my Blackberry - all encrypted and all safe. If I lose my device, everything is password protected and Blackberry is known for security. I even have a remote wipe utility so I can kill it right away if it's ever stolen. I store all my passwords there, right in the "Password Keeper" application.

The technique of masking passwords is virtually useless for security. It only serves to provide the user with some warm, fluffy, notion of being protected. This is only security against shoulder surfing which isn't how most passwords are stolen.

This is the exact kind of case that would get an activist lawyer chomping at the bits. Can companies justify keeping your SSN on file while you are a customer? Yes, especially if they report to credit agencies. Can they justify keeping it on file even after you're not a customer anymore? Absolutely not and this could be the perfect test case for personal information rights management and control.

Unfortunately, while this would be a fascinating legal case, there isn't, at the moment a lot you can really do about it unless you're willing to give out your SSN to any company that demands it. Of course, chances are that most will refuse you service but some, as you found out, will still work with you.

To those that don't work with you, it's not over yet. Take your business elsewhere BUT DO MORE: write a letter to the CEO and send CC's to the entire Board of Directors and tell them that 1) you wanted to become a paying customer and 2) you chose not to do so because of the requirement that you hand over your social. Be sure to include alternatives to SSN ID in your letter.

Really, because of the American reliance on using SSN's to link to credit reports, there's no real way to function effectively without giving out your SSN. Sure, some will suggest drivers license numbers but those aren't really reliable since they change from time to time. What we really need is a national ID that is assigned to every citizen and used ONLY for ID and credit purposes. You should never have to give your SSN out to anyone.

"Dear Boeing,

It has come to my attention that data wants to be free. As a private company that has private date, you are an offender and oppressor of data rights and we ask that you stop such behavior immediately. Please turn over all research data, schematics, and parts list, to your newest planes right away.

Thank you"

Yeah, see how absurd this "data wants to be free" crap is? Data doesn't "want" anything. PEOPLE want data to be free so they can use it - usually after someone else pays for it to be accumulated and processed.

Get a copy of the free AxCrypt program and encrypt sensitive data with a key stored on a USB flash drive. That way, if your netbook is ever stolen the data would be useless without your drive. Easy to do and pretty fast.