* Posts by bombastic bob

10507 publicly visible posts • joined 1 May 2015

TikTok boom: US Army bans squaddies from using trendy app on govt-issued phones

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: social media data hoovering is an obvious security risk

The U.S. Navy secures a building by firing a tomahawk MISSILE into a window from a submarine that's over 100 miles away... pretty much killing EVERYTHING in the room, the surrounding rooms, and maybe the surrounding area.

Oh, and a marine or seal spotter told them which window. theirs was the harder job

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

social media data hoovering is an obvious security risk

if it's a government-issued phone, they can say what you can do with it...

and for security reasons I'd ban Fa[e]ceb[ook,itch] as well! And Twi[a,t]ter [except for the Trump feed]. And GOOGLE for that matter...

in this way, a hidden data-mining "feature" of TikTok [whether it exists NOW or not] can't be running while a soldier or sailor is doing his duty someplace, GPS tracking EVERY! MOVE! and reporting back to whomever PAYS MONEY TO TIK TOK TO GET THAT.

And with the other data snarfers, same thing. But TikTok is owned by a COMMUNIST COUNTRY. That kinda DEMANDS action, ya know?

We live so fast I can't even finish this sent...

bombastic bob Silver badge
Coat

Re: Is that...

Chabornek - what dat?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Pantone Classic Blue

It's probably that stupid color that millennials *FEEL* should be the TEXT FOREGROUND on EVERY WEB SITE (with blinding white as the background, so it KILLS YOUR EYES).

(I think at least SOME of the links on this edit page also use that color - but then again the edit font is half the size of the one that shows up in the article and it's ALREADY hard enough to read, like I'm ALREADY being discouraged from commenting through the web page CSS, and color choice and font size are 2 of those factors)

And, WHO is it that picks these things FOR us anyway? Must be a bunch of idiots.

fortunately I've toned down the blue on my monitor, to preserve eyesight for another few years... and I can sort of distinguish the fuzzy/tiny text and hit 'preview' a few times to correct any spelling errors, where 'll' and 'lll' look kinda the same in the edit font...

NASA's monster rocket inches towards testing while India plots return to the Moon

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: in a step backwards, ...

yeah, an SLS that lands on its tail would be pretty good.

Unfortunately for NASA, they haven't been designing too many new rockets lately... so it'd take a bit of effort to play "catch up" to what SpaceX is doing.

Maybe they could SUB-CONTRACT some of the design work to SpaceX ?

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: We're still catching up to the NASA of the 1960s in many ways

The main problem nowadays is the LACK of "almost unlimited budgets". So I guess it's the difference between "just doing it" and "doing it well".

Oh, and landing the rocket on it's tail so it can be re-used again. Gotta admit, that is AWESOME!

Smart speaker maker Sonos takes heat for deliberately bricking older kit with 'Trade Up' plan

bombastic bob Silver badge
Happy

I've got a decent set of computer speakers with a broken volume control. i can't find a replacement part. However, you gave me a good idea: order a stereo amplifier module and cable online, then power the speakers with it [after gutting the amplifier out of the one that has it].

Interesting afternoon project for 'one of these days'. Or I could just build an amplifier from spare parts around the workshop

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Plastic blister packs

uh, EVERYONE does things for their own benefit, you know.

As a business, what works BEST is when you do things for your OWN benefit that ALSO benefit your customers. but there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING wrong with working for your OWN benefit. THAT is called "human nature".

I doubt ANYONE is so altruistic as to do EVERYTHING for the benefit of OTHERS. Personally, I'd find someone who claim to do that VERY irritating anyway... [and the claims would be ego-stoking, and therefore hypocrisy]

regardless, the industry needs to "get it" with respect to blister-packs!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

with respect to SD card prices, it's not worth it for the makers to produce low-speed cards, so what they often do is offer the same SIZE but at a higher speed rating, and at the old price (or maybe even a slightly higher one). Just sayin'.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Happy

Amazon 'frustration free' packaging costs THEM less, too, like shipping and storage

So it's a win-win

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Sonos said

I'll deliberately avoid ever having a first experience with them,

Yes. They should stop trying to control the customer. That kind of "corporate arrogance" has been irritating us for over a decade now.. I cite many examples as early as 2005-ish, with "the ribbon", Windows Vista, Gnome 3, Windows 8, Windows 10, UWP and The Store, and the horrible horrible tragedy that KDE has become... and what GOOGLE and Fa-[e]ceb[ook,itch] have become! It's like I.T. and hardware are somehow the domain of FASCISTS or something

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

you HAVE heard of SD cards right?

but as AC you can't use this icon either so I forgive you

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

blister packs

I cursed out a VERY IRRITATING blister pack just a few days ago, something I'd actually purchased a couple of years ago, that I finally had need of... took at least 10 minutes to remove everything I needed from the clear plastic 'irritation' without breaking the driver disk, ripping the cardboard with printed instructions on the inside, or yanking the 4 inch cable off of the device, in the process of getting it out. EVEN WITH SCISSORS, which could BARELY CUT IT. A knife would probably have done damage...

But it looked *great* on the store shelf! [and doesn't perform as 'great' as I was hoping for - fortunately this was device #2 and I'd already purchased a different kind which had more features, in addition to this one but had both "just in case" so I could move forward at THAT time...

I think the #1 reason is also why many things (including console games and DS cartridges] often come in packages that are WAY larger than the item itself: Primarily, it is to deter theft.

There's also the psychological effect of "bigger looking box". Cereal makers do this a LOT in the USA, produce tall/wide but very thin boxes for cereal to make them LOOK as if you're getting more, when you're not.

A sprinkling of Star Wars and a dash of Jedi equals a slightly underbaked Rise Of Skywalker

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

waiting for the video...

I guess I'm just tired of paying $15 (each) to see a movie in a theater... so I'll pay $20 for the DVD when it goes on sale (right at release time) at a store like Target or Walmart. I usually like the 3D version in the theater, but lately I'm just tired of the crowds, the people RUDELY smoking out front of the theater ("but it's OUTSIDE" they say...) and other such things. Maybe I'm just getting old, but at some point you have to admit that Hollyweird is just charging TOO MUCH for their product, and people are less willing to PAY that for what we actually get...

And so when it comes out on DVD (yes DVD, with MY old eyes I doubt I could tell the difference between DVD and Blu Ray) I'll buy a copy and watch it for the first time, like I do most movies these days.

Kinda looking forward to it, though.

LibreOffice 6.4 nearly done as open-source office software project prepares for 10th anniversary

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: I think you underestimate it...

"You pay or else poof your stuff in their cloud goes away"

This, to me, is just the frosting on a huge cake of things Micro-shaft has done starting with Office '97 (the last MS office I purchased, where they first added 'Clippy', because I *HAD* to because $CUSTOMER was using it and I couldn't read the '97 formatted documents they kept using...)

*ahem*

So without summarizing ALL of the "features" that CREEPED in since then, it's made a rather horrible cake of excrement-like material that I watch other people struggle with from time to time...

Meanwhile I'm able to do pretty much any office-like thing on Linux, FreeBSD and EVEN WINDOWS, using Libre Office. And, the 2nd best part, is that Libre comes WITHOUT the "features" that MS *CRAMMED* into THEIR offce, in SPITE of the desires of the customer!

We can most likely thank ONE SPECIFIC PERSON for MUCH of this, the person that invented "the ribbon" as well as promoting the 2D FLATTY all over the place in Windows "Ape" and Win-10-nic. And yet, people like THIS get "kicked upstairs" by the proverbial Peter Principle... instead of getting fired and left begging for change on street corners with a sign that says "will replace DECENT USER INTERFACES with CRAP USER INTERFACES for food".

why more people aren't standardizing on Libre Office is beyond me...

Tracking President Trump with cellphone location data, Greta-Thunberg-themed malware, SharePoint patch, and more

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: "Everyone is trackable, traceable, discoverable to some degree.”

"that's why we have laws forbidding it."

YES!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

"Greta" malware

The Emotet malware is doing the rounds again, this time by exploiting the popularity of climate activist Greta Thunberg.

I thought GRETA *WAS* MALWARE!! Except, in HER case, the "fleshy" kind.

Given Thunberg's DOOMberg's popularity with youngsters who will have to deal with adverse climate change

NO, they will *NOT*. So-called man-made "Climate Change" is *NOT* a foregone conclusion! OT to discuss why, So I'll erase what I wrote.

Seriously, though, I "feel no pain" for anyone who downloads "the Greta malware". Serves y'all right, heh heh heh.

The best 'Greta' comic/parody/snark I've seen so far shows Mother Nature giving Greta a spanking and saying things like "It's called WEATHER" and "CO2 is good for plants". Meanwhile, while getting spanked, Greta's screaming out "HOW DARE YOU". Perfect!

(Greta is an example of what happens when children try to take on the adults, and too many people LET THEM or even ENABLE THEM. It's the job of the ADULTS to SPANK THEM when they try!!! 'Lord of the Flies' is a good example of that taken to its extreme. Children need PARENTS who say NO. And once a "child" goes in front of the UN, Congress, and the world, and ends up on magazine covers, for DOING that kind of CRAP, the gloves come OFF)

JavaScript survey: Devs love a bit of React, but Angular and Cordova declining. And you're not alone... a chunk of pros also feel JS is 'overly complex'

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: JavaScript is "overly complex".

(did you actually PROMOTE jquery???)

I had to take over the 'web stuff' on an embedded project, and the "developer" slapped 3rd party "strap-ons" together to create the UI, which I then ended up hacking and heavily modifying to make it work.

And throughout the code I've marked it up "TODO: un-jquery this" and similar. *I* *HATE* *JQUERY* - it is the *WORST* example of *WHY* *YOU* *DO* *NOT* *WANT* *SUCH* *THINGS* !!!

It is *THE* PRIMARY example of why you do not want such "frameworks" at ALL.

[learn to use DOM, and you will not NEED such things - W3Schools web site and others will help you. Search engines are your friend. I use them a LOT]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: JavaScript is "overly complex".

not so much sandboxing, but sanitizing. A good sanitizing algorithm will eliminate the possibility of SQL injection, as one example...

my favorite is to look for ';' and '/' (or quotes, or path starts with '..' etc. - or SQL keywords if that's at issue) and just reject things outright that contain these characters/sequences. Others also exist. simple test. PHP script has some other built-ins as well.

the only reason you would NOT want to do everything server-side is performance latency [when the server is across the world, let's say, or the bandwidth stinks]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Up

Re: JavaScript is "overly complex".

"only use JS when something's not possible with native HTML or server-side code"

Good! Job!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: It looks web developers spend more time changing framework...

it's the temptation of "new, shiny" - like a cancer, except it's shiny.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Frameworks

"Will they all be superceded by Web Assembly?"

Angels, demons, gods, and monsters, I sure *HOPE* *NOT* !!!

I'd rather just see the frameworks *DIE* and people go back to doing things simple and clean, low bandwidth, low CPU utilization, rely on CSS features, yotta yotta, but good luck with THAT happening any time soon, as "web coders" still need to JUSTIFY THEIR OWN EXISTENCE.

I'd pay more money to someone who could "NOT use" JavaScript... or frameworks, for that matter.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Not sure where to go

"As a long time web-dev working with .NET"

For that, you have my pity.

Question: why does anybody NEED "a framework"?

Javascript (in a web page) really has only ONE purpose: to perform minor UI tasks that would respond poorly if done by the server. On the server side, *USE* *A* *REAL* *LANGUAGE* !!!

If you code your web pages PROPERLY with CSS [not those 10Gb monolithic do-it-all style sheets, but one carefully tailored to your UI] you need very LITTLE, if ANY, javascript in them. I try to avoid it whenever possible, even in an embedded system using chrome in kiosk mode...

If you must script, there are BETTER ways to do it. PHP. Shell. Perl. Python. No "frameworks" needed aside from the built-in features and installible modules (unless you're a glutton for punishment by 3rd party bloatware).

Anyway, I'm sure that the JS fans will hate me for saying this, heh.

Boffins don bad 1980s fashion to avoid being detected by object-recognizing AI cameras

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Great

in some cases, the name should be changed to 'A.S.' i.e. "Artificial Stupidity"

bombastic bob Silver badge
Boffin

Re: Great

RADAR specifically, in cars, would create 'RF pollution' if EVERYBODY does it. All of those RADAR systems interfering with one another... and there are other logistic problems with RADAR, like a 'blind spot' directly in front of the antenna, for when the 'pulse going out' switch hasn't turned off yet on the wave guide [to protect front-end components, you have to temporarily short out the input circuit while transmitting the high power pulse]. Additionaly, high power microwaves for long periods of time are bad for fleshies. You use these when cooking in a microwave oven, right?

But the worst of it is the object resolution. To properly resolve an object or distance that's 10 cm you will more than likely need a "much less than 10cm" wavelength (although phase shift detection MIGHT let you do it, if you like super-sophisticated detectors like that). 10cm is 30Ghz, and it'll only get more expensive (and require higher output power) as wavelength drops.

And you thought it was bad when running a microwave oven caused your bluetooth and/or wifi devices to temporarily disconnect... imagine a bozillian cars doing the SAME! THING!

well it's been decades since I did anything with a RADAR system and so the tech has probably improved, but the general principles remain the same

A 'FLIR' system (plus optical) might be the best choice (assuming it's already part of the package), especially for detecting cars and people. They tend to emit infrared light on their own, too.

FYI: FBI raiding NSA's global wiretap database to probe US peeps is probably illegal, unconstitutional, court says

bombastic bob Silver badge
Thumb Down

Re: Checks and balances essential

"Nice Job" </snark> with the attempt to inject ridiculous partisan politics and fake news opinions into your "point". Almost as bad as the classic 'leading question' i.e. "How long have you been beating your wife?"

'pandering to the perception' etc..

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: Read the 14th amendment

agreed, it's been the general policy of the U.S. justice system to extend the same *kinds* of constitutional protections to non-citizens, due process etc. while they are guests in our country (even illegally).

As far as the 9th Circus is concerned, I think they (like the proverbial broken clock that's right twice a day) got it RIGHT this time in their ruling. I also look forward to the U.S. Supreme Court turning this into legal precedent. I suspect that with all of the FBI shenanigans recently uncovered, there's little chance the Supreme Court would differ from this position. "Rogue" and "Overly Aggressive" FBI agents who illegally collect damning information and THEN intimidate the accused into a guilty plea have to be STOPPED. That's certainly NOT "due process". Right General Flynn?

strangely I just heard about this on El Reg. Where are all of the otherwise LOUD civil libertarian ACLU types on this???

Google security engineer says she was fired for daring to remind Googlers they do indeed have labor rights

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

you could have stated that differently and actually been accurate...

There have been some indications that Google has a "culture" that does not tolerate CONSERVATIVES, and that promotes politically liberal kinds of things. And, in SOME cases (or at least, one DOCUMENTED case), an outspoken conservative opinion got someone fired over taking a position CONTRARY to that of the company [one particular guy a couple o' years ago comes to mind, with respect to 'affirmative action'].

All snark aside, I'd laugh my ASS off if Google employees formed a union. Oh, the IRONY!!! As in, those who LIVE by the left, might just DIE by the left!

Hate speech row: Fine or jail anyone who calls people boffins, geeks or eggheads, psychology nerd demands

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Don't need to SJW for me, I'll embrace the titles "Geek" "Nerd" "Boffin" and "Egghead" with PRIDE

My Nicname when I was in the U.S. Navy was "The Geek". At first I wasn't sure what that meant, but someone told me that a 'Geek' was someone who did unusual acts in a circus, such as biting the heads off of chickens. I was actually kinda HAPPY to have that as my nicname after that.

SJW's need to just BUTT the FEEL OUT. We *GEEKS* do not *NEED* *YOU*

/me wears such titles with *PRIDE* but I can't remember what my 'geek code' is...

Someone get Greenpeace on the line. Boffins clock carbon 'pollution' cloud 30,000 light-years wide choking galaxies

bombastic bob Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Carbon "pollution"

oh come on, it was FUNNY!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Trollface

Re: Electrictric universe

let's send a bunch of coal miners to go get it

Buzz kill: Crook, 73, conned investors into shoveling millions into geek-friendly caffeine-loaded chocs that didn't exist. Now he's in jail

bombastic bob Silver badge
Unhappy

Re: I don't get it...

this is true - _I_ would want caffeinated chocolate, for SURE!

I wonder if they hold a PATENT on the concept, with which they can TROLL LATER and effectively KEEP IT OFF OF THE MARKET... [unless it's purchased for a ridiculous price]

FUSE for macOS: Why a popular open source library became closed source and commercially licensed

bombastic bob Silver badge
Mushroom

Re: I understand where the dev is coming from but ....

Just like Micro-shaft, looks like Apple wants to "lock down" the kernel using *cough* certificates THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR.

Nevermind the effect it has on OPEN SOURCE and FREEDOM TO USE YOUR OWN COMPUTER HOW YOU SEE FIT...

Also: besides being IRRITATING, it's a FALSE sense of security. Widespread cracking of _THAT_ is just a matter of time... and I doubt they're making any developer friends in the process.

[you could make the case of having a strong lock on a door; however, it's my opinion that putting a TOLLBOOTH ON THE PROCESS is _NOT_ the way to do it! That assumes that Apple _CHARGES MONEY_ to sign the drivers, just the way that Micro-shaft does]

Are you writing code for ambient computing? No? Don't even know? Ch-uh. Google's 'write once, run anywhere' Flutter is all over it

bombastic bob Silver badge
Facepalm

Re: Buzzword bingo

should've used a 'snark' icon because this "Buzzword Bingo" thing has been going on WAY too long, we've all seen it before, half the time it was Micro-shaft doing it (whatever happened to Silverlight?) and now it's GOOGLE doing the SAME THING.

I didn't like JQuery, I don't like NodeJS, I *REALLY* hate UWP and ".Not", and now "THEY" are horking up some "new thing", only THIS time it's Google doing it.

Yeah. THAT'll make it *BETTER*. </snark>

(and don't EVEN get me started on 'materialize')

Space Force is go, go, go! Because we have a child as President of the United States

bombastic bob Silver badge
Happy

Re: Spelling

"And it should be said with an overly theatrical pronunciation."

and a GRAND SOUNDING echo!!!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: Wow.

with only HALF a brain, Trump would STILL be better than OBAKA (or Mrs. Clinton for that matter), or any of those "candidates" jockeying for position in the Demo[n,c][R,r]at party

bombastic bob Silver badge
Happy

Re: It Is With Such Baubles That Men Are Led.

"had the wretched Obama spun this idea the media would be falling over itself to grovel before his 'cool' intellectual brilliance."

THAT is a foregone conclusion. 'Trump Derangement Syndrome' is alive and kicking.

During WW2 the Air Force was 'Army Air Corps'. It split off some time after the war ended. Now it's going to split again. Seriuosly it makes sense because a 'space force' would be able to focus on space, and not on 'Air Force' kinds of things. At some point in the future, when actual ships are being flown, it'd probably make sense to have a separate 'Space Navy'. I would guess that when it comes to managing ships with a crew of dozens or hundreds, the Navy has much more experience. But a crew of 2 or 3 or 4, Air Force can manage just fine.

It's just an evolutionary thing, really. You can make fun, until it makes sense.

Brewing in spaaaaace: SpaceX sends a malting kit to the International Space Station

bombastic bob Silver badge
Happy

Re: Yum

Hmmm... Mars bars that ACTUALLY COME FROM MARS.

gotta love it!

bombastic bob Silver badge
Coat

Re: Rocket Lab

yeah but if I did 900kph on the freeway, the fine would be "astronomical"

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

I think I prefer an actual test...

"It worked on paper" --> *DISASTER* --> "oh, crap..."

bombastic bob Silver badge
Pint

Re: Prelude to Mars

hmmm... Martian beer [I like it already]

1. Aries Ale [Aries being the Greek version of Mars]

2. God of War

3. Red Planet Ale (there's a local brew in San Diego called 'Red Trolley Ale')

4. Green Martian Malt Liquor

5. Cydonia Stout

6. Martian Viking (named for the some of the first space-bots to go there)

7. Bradbury Brew (named after the author of 'Martian Chronicles')

8. Space Beer (ok could be brewed in orbit or anywhere off earth)

(alternate: 'Beer from Spaaaaace')

9. Rocket Fuel

10. Alien (any kind of brew, this one-word title just works)

11. Space Buzz (a vague reference to the 2nd man on the moon, and what beer does for ya)

12. Kasei Beer (japanese name for Mars is 'Kasei')

running out of ideas, now...

Advertisers want exemption from web privacy rules that, you know, enforce privacy

bombastic bob Silver badge
Facepalm

Ads CAN be used WIITHOUT being EVIL

*ahem*

It is not the presence of advertising that is the problem.

It is the TRACKING and IRRITATION and TARGETING that is the problem!

(from the article)

"These intermediaries, such as browser and operating systems, can impede consumers' ability to exercise choices via the internet that may block digital technologies (e.g. cookies, JavaScripts, and device identifiers) that consumers can rely on to communicate their opt out preferences,"

THIS ALONE tells us what these ANTI-PRIVACY advertisers are up to: They want to (LITERALLY) restrict THE OS and THE BROWSER from using ANY technology that MIGHT interfere with what THEY are up to! They *ASSUME* "opt out" as the ONLY CHOICE!

Obviously *NOT* an option, to go THEIR route. And, HOW are you going to STOP an OS from blocking their CRAP? HOW are you going to STOP a BROWSER (or plugin) from BLOCKING THEIR CRAP? Because, you *KNOW* there are SOFTWARE AUTHORS (like me) who would GLADLY VIOLATE THEIR "laws" and MAKE SURE YOU *CAN* block them! Because, I would be doing it, too.

And since it ONLY affects California, I could *MOVE* *TO* *TEXAS* and PUBLISH IT THERE.

These ANTI-PRIVACY advertising IDIOTS are behaving like a STREET HUSTLER playing 3 Card Monty, with the SHILL standing there so unhappy that he keeps losing, while 2 or 3 onlookers can see where the king is, and then one of the onlookers wants to try, and it's like "how about $50", and next thing you know, the hustler and the shill are GONE, you're out $50, and you're like "whu...?"

icon, because, FACEPALM you'd ever suggest something about 'alternate internet funding' like there's ONLY a choice between INVASIVE ANTI-PRIVACY ADVERTISING and NO INTARWEB REVENUE AT ALL.

And then there were two: HMS Prince of Wales joins Royal Navy

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: I wonder

"How many of you armchair Admirals have actually served in the Royal Navy?"

I was in the U.S. Navy - does that count?

Also visited the China Fleet Club in Hong Kong (1985 ) and went on both A and B tours while I was there. Didn't meet any Royal Navy sailors, though. DID get some nice dishes and a tailored suit.

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: Air Cover?

how about if we purchase MORE Harriers, and you guys get the economic boost?

F35 could be a blueprint for the next gen Harrier, maybe? [you can fix the bugs in the newer line]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Devil

Re: And All Who Sail In Her

"When this is sunk by a Chinese anti-ship missile"

*sigh* - why can/'t you just say it's a really cool ship of the line, and it's making UK look good?

I find it interesting that they use non-nuclear propulsion. But apparently it's almost as large as a U.S. Nimitz class carrier. No angled flight deck, though. Apparently designed specifically for STOL and vertical take-off aircraft.

Other specs look pretty good

Oh, and China wouldn't *DARE* sink your carrier. Seriously.

It may be out of sync with the US govt, but Huawei is rolling out its Harmony OS to more devices in 2020

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Honor Vision

I don't know why but this makes me think of a quote like "In Communist China, TV watches YOU..."

Americans should have strong privacy-protecting encryption ...that the Feds and cops can break, say senators

bombastic bob Silver badge
Coat

that's what SHE said

bombastic bob Silver badge
Meh

Re: If they were *really* thinking of the children...

I do not think that phrase meant what you think it means...

'For the children' (to me) is more like a generational thing - the basic idea is to leave the next generation a world which is BETTER than the one left to US.

"Only back-doorable encryption" isn't "better" - that's like saying "only master-keyed locks on your door"

bombastic bob Silver badge
Big Brother

Re: Imaging for a minute if this was possible.....

"1984? Ya right man. That's a typo. Orwell is here now"

[ From the movie 'Hackers' - 'Cereal Killer' aka 'Emmanuel Goldstein' said this ]

bombastic bob Silver badge
Childcatcher

"Care about the children" - All joking aside, I do care, actually, and to really protect the children, we need their web traffic and device storage ENCRYPTED for privacy reasons, at the very least.

But let's not stop there... NOT being tracked, marketed, exploited, etc. should be high on the priority list as well. Right Google? Microsoft?

And if it is possible for any government to go on a "fishing expedition" ["don't worry if you have nothing to hide" you say? have you been paying attention to the news inside the U.S. House of Representatives? have you EVER been falsely accused? Have you EVER gone through a divorce? "Fishing Expedition" is your WORST NIGHTMARE! ], if it becomes THE NORM to have your data rifled through EVERY TIME you are interviewed by a police officer, or (worse) WHEN ENTERING A FOREIGN COUNTRY, then your rights have just entered the bottom of the vortex and gone down the pipe.

Anyway, some of this should just be obvious to the most casual observer. And it's always "ok" when it happens to "someone else", until it happens to YOU...

as for me, all I have is a pre-paid "dumb phone" and anything of importance isn't stored on any OTHER computing devices I might carry with me. A lot of people don't like that idea, and so UN-CRACKABLE encryption SHOULD be "the norm" so you don't HAVE to!