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Comment Technology isn't always the answer. (Score 1) 278

Frankly Covey Daily Planner which uses the "Getting Things Done" methodology. Technology isn't always the best thing! It works because it's effective, and, when you're working in your planner you're not distracted by anything else be it email, websites, etc...

Your primary objective when planning is to have a singular focus on your tasks to prioritize them and follow-up on them. In my opinion, that is easier to do when you have a singular item devoted to that planning that is physical in nature.

That being said, if you absolutely want something on your computer. Check out Taskwarrior, it's open source and is based on the "Getting Things Done" methodology as well.

Comment Netflix - Customer Friendly? (Score 1) 278

Too true that Netflix doesn't need to offer this, with this ruling that point is even backed-up. But, can any internet based service these days really do anything that's considered a "dick-move"? The people are fickle, and "bad news" travels a heck of a lot faster these days than it did in the past.

Frankly, I think it's a heck of a risk to fight it. They're probably going to end up putting it in anyways.

Comment Knowledge (Score 1) 809

I would like to echo what the above poster said. The field of security is soooo large, to find someone that knows everything off the top of their head is asking quite alot. Granted there are those out there that can give you the exact rundown of how everything from PKI to Cryptokey works...

But, they're rare and you're going to have to search for a long time to find them and then once you do you'll probably need to pay a premium for them. On top of that you'll need to make sure you give them enough of a challenge every day so they can maintain that level of knowledge. As we all know, if you don't use it, you forget it. I happen to work in the field you're describing and I know I've forgotten enough to fill the Grand Canyon a couple times over.

That being said, encrypting an email is pretty general information, any architect in IS should probably know that.

Comment Why a button, try a dog! (Score 1) 327

You may want to look into getting a dog. They're more reliable than a 2 year old with a panic button. I get what you're thinking and it's good that you want to watch out for your family, but, I think a proactive approach may be wiser here.

I read about these guys, it may be something you want to look into. These dogs have the ability to detect a seizure is coming before it happens.

http://www.epilepsy.com/get-he...

Comment Falling prices (Score 1) 334

It's good to see and a definite short term benefit will be realized. Lord knows it cuts down on our commute cost. I think one thing that would need to be addressed is the absolute need for most families in rural areas to have more than 1 vehicle.

I live in small-town Minnesota and I don't know any family that only has 1 vehicle. I think the only way we could do this is to really push a paradigm shift to where companies push more for moving their work-force home where possible. This has been done somewhat, but, we see many companies moving their workforce back to the office too. Frankly, I feel office-work is economically a bad choice, ecologically irresponsible, & doesn't foster work-life balance.

Granted, this won't be a home-run as far as reduction... but, every bit helps!

Comment Re:Personal online information (Score 2) 193

I did, but, I guess I didn't feel that I needed to lay everything out. :) Folks aren't allowed to sign-up unless they're 13 or over, but, all you would need to do is have a weekly, or even a daily process that would synch those online flags with the actual offline birthday.

Comment Personal online information (Score 4, Insightful) 193

Just one more company giving one more reason why corporations should not be allowed to store personal information beyond what is absolutely necessary. Birthday would not necessarily need to be stored anyplace directly accessible, unless it was legally required but could instead be replaced by a flag for "above 13", "above 18", "above 21". If they absolutely needed to have the birthday for representation or audit purposes it could be stored in an offline version that could be brought online as needed.

In the end, efficiency was prioritized over the need to secure personally identifiable information (PII). eBay should not have stored so much PII in the same database, it should have been stored separately and linked on retrieval.

Sadly, security requirements being ignored or missed during design is a commonplace occurrence and they don't get fixed until something like this brings them to light.

Comment Constructive Criticism (Score 1) 2219

The technical prowess of the crowd that contributes to this site is far above most other sites. The site looks like it was made with Wordpress, this is /. it should be better than that. Granted the old site was too, but, at least the story previews were more compact so you could more easily scan the articles. Also, it's hard to tell the subject line from the comment area, they should be more easily distinguished.

Comment Re:4 years too old (Score 1) 81

Why do I never have moderator points when I need them! Well said... and in regards to the investment reply. I understand what you're saying, but, the greatest investment a country can make is an investment that raises the standards of human life.

If they can reduce the fraud which will in turn allow them to place that money into much needed hands or re-appropriate that money into making lives better... Well, I don't think it matters how many people it actually gets off of welfare, it's stitching the gash vs. cleaning the scrape.

Submission + - How Gamers Could Save the (Real) World (slashdot.org)

Nerval's Lobster writes: Three years ago, game designer and author Jane McGonigal argued that saving the human race is going to require a major time investment—in playing video games. “If we want to solve problems like hunger, poverty, climate change, global conflict, obesity, I believe that we need to aspire to play games online for at least 21 billion hours a week [up from 3 billion today], by the end of the next decade,” she said in a TED talk. Her message was not ignored—and it has indirectly contributed to the formation of something called the Internet Response League (IRL). The small group has a big goal: to harness gamers’ time and use it to save lives after disasters, natural or otherwise. The idea is to insert micro-tasks into games, specifically asking gamers to tag photos of disaster areas. With the IRL plugin, each image would be shown to at least three people, who tag the photo as showing no damage, mild damage, or severe damage. The Internet Response League has been in talks with a couple of indie developers, including one that’s developing a new MMO. Mosur said they’ve tried to get in touch with World of Warcraft maker Blizzard, but haven’t had any luck yet. Blizzard did not return a request for comment from Slashdot.

Submission + - NRA Launches Pro-Lead Website

ideonexus writes: The National Rifle Association has launched a website defending the use of lead ammunition against scientists and environmental organizations who argue that lead bullets are poisoning the environment and tainting game meat with a known neurotoxin. The rise and fall of lead levels from gasoline and lead-based paint are strongly correlated to the rise and fall of crime rates in communities around the world.

Submission + - The Big Def Con Question: Would You Work for the NSA? (vice.com)

Daniel_Stuckey writes: Premier hacker conference Def Con, which just wrapped up its 21st year, played host to security professionals who all had very different opinions on what the NSA is up to. In fact, the only thing everyone could agree on is that the PRISM revelations came as no surprise.

Even if it isn't news to this crowd, it is still a significant development in the general climate of government surveillance and national security. And at Def Con, where government recruitment was hampered this year by conference founder Jeff Moss's requesting that feds stay away, it seemed like a good idea to walk around asking people if they would still want to work for the NSA.

Submission + - Solar Magnetic Field About To Flip (nasa.gov)

Freddybear writes: According to measurements from NASA solar observatories, the sun's magnetic field is about to reverse polarity. The event is predicted to occur within the next three to four months and will have effects throughout the solar system. These magnetic reversals happen regularly about every eleven years as part of the solar cycle.

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