Slashdot | White House Demands Encryption for Sensitive Data

I guess I’m surprised they weren’t encrypting the data before now. I mean, data encryption has been available on the PC for ages now. It’s been possible to download small open source programs for ages that do PGP and whatnot. Windows has been able to encrypt its files right through the OS for longer than I remember.

The tools have certainly been out there. And there’s no good reason why you shouldn’t use them. So why wasn’t the government encrypting their data?

Slashdot | What Do Geek Squad Technicians Actually Do?

I’m hoping someone who actually works at a Geek Squad will reply. I haven’t been terribly impressed with the level of work they’re doing… We’ve had a couple computers come through our shop that had been worked on by the Geek Squad, and they were not in good shape. I am very curious to find out what they qualifications and job responsibilities are…

Slashdot | RMS Calls to Liberate Cyberspace

Gha! I know, that as a user of Linux and other GPL‘ed software, I’m supposed to be thankful for what RMS has done. Frankly though, I think he’s more of a hindrance than a help.

He’s taken a practical commodity – software – and tried to develop some kind of grand, sweeping ethical statement about it. He’s all about freedom. Not free software as in “I don’t have to pay for it”, but free software as in “unrestrained”. He feels there’s some fundamental limitation to our human rights if we cannot modify the software we own. He thinks we are somehow lessened as human beings if we cannot see the source code. And, honestly, I think that’s a bit loony.

Slashdot | AOL Tries New Tactic to Keep Customers

If you click through to the actual story on the NBC10 website there’s an audio clip to listen to, of him trying to cancel his account. The AOL support guy is actually trying to talk him out of it, distract him, avoid cancelling it…

While it is good to see this get some mainstream media attention, it is not a new tactic. This has been going on for years now. AOL will even give you free months of service rather than cancel your account…and then harass you again when you try to cancel because your free time has run out.

We’ve had all kind of horror stories from our customers. Lots of people complain about how hard it is to cancel AOL accounts. We’ve even had people tell us that they just gave up – they’re still paying AOL every month, but they don’t even have it installed anymore.

Slashdot | UBC Engineers Reach Mileage Of Over 3000 MPG

Conspiracy theories and Mythbusters aside, a story like this really makes me wonder why I’m only getting about 25 MPG in my car.

True, the “car” described certainly isn’t what I’d be looking for in my next purchase… Could only carry a single person of 130 pounds or less. You drive the thing lying down. It only traveled at a speed of about 20 miles per hour. Obviously the thing was designed with nothing but fuel efficiency in mind.

But, if you can get 3,000 MPG in something this extreme, why can’t I get 50 or 60 MPG in a useful form factor? Where is it that we lose all this efficiency? Why can’t I have a car that can actually carry several people and still get 100 MPG? Why is it that we’re stuck with these gas-guzzling beasts that we have today?

Slashdot | Teen Sues MySpace Over Sexual Assault

While it is horrible that this teen was assaulted, I think it also horrible that they’re suing MySpace for it.

To begin with, there’s absolutely no way MySpace can verify anyone’s age on-line. There is absolutely no way to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you are who you say you are. What are they supposed to do, have you fax them a copy of your birth certificate?

Secondly, the assault happend in real life. This girl met the man on-line through MySpace… But then later agreed to meet him in real life. He picked her up after school, took her out to eat, then brought her back to his house (where she was assaulted). Again, what is MySpace supposed to do – hire personal bodyguards to follow every single account holder around?

And where were her parents when this was happening?

“Mom, Dad, I met this guy on MySpace and he’s going to pick me up after school.”
“Ok hun, just make sure you’re home before midnight!”

Finally, while I hate to blame the victim here, she obviously isn’t terribly bright. Bad enough that she went to meet someone for the first time like that, without a safety net. Even worse is agreeing to go back to his house. She should have arranged a very public meeting place, planned on calling people to check in, and not gone back to his house.

Really, how is this different than if she’d met him at the mall? If she’d met him at the mall…gone to dinner…then back to his house…and then been assaulted… Would they be suing the owners of the mall now, for not verifying his age somehow?

Slashdot | Razer’s New Mouse Optimized for MMO and RTS

Alright… So what makes this mouse especially good for MMO & RTS games?

The article linked to really doesn’t explain much. Says that Razer claims it can perform 1200 “actions per minute” or something like that. What the hell does that mean? You can click faster than a normal mouse or something?

Looks like a nice enough mouse, I guess… But I just don’t see what’s so MMO/RTS special about it.