Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Tonight, We Dine in Utica!

So, despite a workload that would stun an ox, I still manage to read my Internet privacy stories. Like this one from Ars Technica about the University of Utica and their Secret Service data wrangling on identity theft.

I click over to the .edu to read what they had to say in the original text. But, curiously enough, they asked me for my contact information. Well, o.k. - but what is your privacy policy? I hit the link to their privacy policy. This is madness!. No. This Is Utica!

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Island of Lost Laptops


Why are people still all wound up about losing laptops? For crying out loud, there's a reason why the press doesn't report about it anymore. Because it is Bo-Ring. I mean, I'm putting myself to sleep just typing this.

What I want, nay, what I demand is in-depth reporting on what happens to the laptops after they are lost. Gimme some intrigue, some action, and a taste of science gone horribly wrong. I'm guessing there's some island somewhere, a man with a whip and a SOX auditor's idea of discipline, and a crew of sad... well they're not Dells and they're not Compaqs, they're things. Toss in the seductive animal lure of the Apple OSX 10.3-woman, maybe a house of pain or two. Now we're talking.

Auditor: What is the law?
Regulator: Not to spill data. That is the law. Are we not men?

But, as you can see below, strict compliance to standards does not alway result in a social benefit.