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?