4 ms·
"Beijing-based computer maker Lenovo has reportedly been blacklisted for years by spy agencies worldwide, as concerns about government-sanctioned Chinese hackin
by fown9 12y ago
"Beijing-based computer maker Lenovo has reportedly been blacklisted for years by spy agencies worldwide, as concerns about government-sanctioned Chinese hacking persist. According to the Australian Financial Review, Australia, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, and the US have all rejected Lenovo machines for their top-secret networks since the mid-2000s, though the computers can be used for lower-security tasks that don't involve sensitive information" [1]
Why buy a laptop from a company that has ties to the Chinese government [2], an authoritarian government that supports dictators in Africa and totalitarian government in Russia, oppressing women and children in those countries?
[1] http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/30/4570780/lenovo-reportedly-banned-by-mi6-cia-over-chinese-hacking-fears http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/30/4570780/lenovo-reportedly-...
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenovo
- mapleoin 12y agoWhy buy a laptop from a company that has ties to the Chinese government [2], an authoritarian government that supports dictators in Africa and totalitarian government in Russia, oppressing women and children in those countries? I guess because they make good hardware.
- nailer 12y agoAlso (presuming grandparent is American, which may be incorrect) the US supports dictators and totalitarian governments that oppress women in Saudi Arabia.
- jamieb 12y agoWhy buy a computer from a company that has ties to the US government, an authoritarian government that supports dictators in Africa, the Middle-East, South America, and East Asia, including torture, drug smuggling, misogyny, and has itself engaged in abduction, detention without trial, and in relation to this case, illegal interception of communications?
- fown9 12y ago1.) Which US computer company has ties to US government? Literally owned by the government? 2.) How is US government authoritarian? Have you actually lived in a country that has no elected representative?
- JadeNB 12y ago> 1.) Which US computer company has ties to US government? Literally owned by the government? But Lenovo isn't owned by the Chinese government, either. > 2.) How is US government authoritarian? Have you actually lived in a country that has no elected representative? The existence of more dictatorial countries doesn't mean the US isn't authoritarian—it is a spectrum rather than a dichotomy.
- joshuapants 12y agoYou would have to really flex the definition of authoritarian to include the US, to the point of making the word uselessly broad.
- JadeNB 12y agoThe OED says: > Favourable to or characterized by obedience to authority as opposed to personal liberty; strict, dictatorial. It's certainly reasonable to argue about whether this actually applies; but I don't think that it represents a useless dilution of the word to think that it might. (Well, not 'dictatorial', but the rest of it.)
- Jtsummers 12y agoI'd like to hear that argument and not just the assertion that it is arguable.
- JadeNB 12y agoActually I meant by > It's certainly reasonable to argue about whether this actually applies literally that it is reasonable to argue, i.e., that neither position is obviously irrefutably true; and also I think I've created enough of a de-rail already here; but, if I had to make an argument for authoritarianism, I think that I would claim that the concept of free-speech zones instantly implies, for some parts of US government at some times, more respect for authority than personal liberty.
- rdtsc 12y agoWell because they were making darn good hardware. I had my T60 for many many years. Carbon X1 seems nice. Now I ended up buying a cheap ASUS Chromebook for traveling, replaced drive with a large one and installed Ubuntu. But still haven't decided if I want to replace my main machine. Was eyeing Carbon X1 models for a while, but now will have to rethink. Besides, like some people here, I always wipe everyone out and reinstall my own distro on it (Ubuntu usually).
- Tortuga001 12y agoThe T60 was one of the very first laptops Lenovo released after it purchased the IBM PC division. I wonder if it had already been in development under IBM before the purchase.
- rdtsc 12y agoI am pretty sure it was. Mine still has the old style IBM Thinkpad logo on the case. Documentation and driver downloads pointed to ibm.com site for a long while even after the acquisition.
- tveita 12y agoSuperfish is a US company, though, and Komodia is Israel based. There is nothing connecting this to the Chinese government. This appears to be a a cross-border display of greed and incompetence.
- eli 12y agoThis seems offtopic unless you think the recent security lapse was some type of conspiracy instead of just apathy, greed, and incompetence.
- foz 12y agoI'd be curious to know what brands or models are considered safe by these agencies.