discostrings

10 ms·

31.
Secret 'BADASS' Intelligence Program Spied on Smartphones(firstlook.org)
5 points by discostrings 12y ago|1 comments
32.
by discostrings 12y ago
Hi, and thanks for your reply! I certainly agree with you that some people are not going to keep a small inventory of common drugs, others can't be bothered to take more than one pill, and a few cannot successfully manage that sort of
33.
by discostrings 12y ago
It's very interesting that the project has some advanced notice about a threat. My first guess would be that a nation has made some demands of the project that the project won't comply with, and that country has suggested they wil
34.
by discostrings 12y ago
The information asymmetry and confusion factor are worst in that all these products have just a few ingredients, in my opinion. While the branded/generic price difference is an important issue, I think a larger one is that the huge vol
35.
by discostrings 12y ago
> We legally mandate airbags, abs, esr, and a host of other safety features in cars ... you simply don't have the option to turn off ... That's incorrect. New cars can't be sold without some of these safety features, but a
36.
by discostrings 12y ago
I had suspicions of foul play involving surveillance-related stories getting buried in the past, but after a discussion with dang, I think it's quite plausibly just a difficult topic to moderate with the tools that are available on HN.
37.
The Surveillance Engine: How the NSA Built Its Own Secret Google(firstlook.org)
32 points by discostrings 12y ago|3 comments
38.
by discostrings 12y ago
Mrs. vs Ms. is even better with "Miss" as well: http://chronicle.nytlabs.com/?keyword=mrs.miss.ms
39.
by discostrings 12y ago
Perhaps non-mathematical usage of "equation" in phrases like "entered the equation" and "wasn't part of the equation" has been increasing? I certainly hear it in conversation often enough, but I've ne
40.
by discostrings 12y ago
Thank you for the detailed explanation of what happened to the post and your thoughts on the topic in general. I'm happy to hear that what's been going on with some of the bigger surveillance stories is the result of the difficult
41.
by discostrings 12y ago
Could you comment about how the item was buried shortly after the changes? If it wasn't buried by a mod, then either the penalty that's applied to surveillance stories is incredibly enormous, or the story was flagged into oblivion
42.
by discostrings 12y ago
The title was "U.K. Intelligence Agency's Ability to Manipulate Online Polls, Etc.", which notably doesn't include words that would trigger automated alerts if someone with an agenda that involved flagging surveillance s
43.
by discostrings 12y ago
If would also be great if you could provide some information about whether the link change set off a flurry of user flagging. From the outside look of things, the change of domain appeared to set off someone's alert to have a bunch of
44.
by discostrings 12y ago
It's probably people flagging it and not the mods, yes. But are the people flagging it actual users? The story in question here had 200 upvotes when it was a link to an NSA story at Slate. The link was changed to the same, source NSA s
45.
by discostrings 12y ago
No one cared because it was quickly buried, which could quite possibly be due to a flag ring or automated monitoring for flagging of the firstlook.org domain. Here's my other comment on the topic [~]: It would be incredibly easy to use
46.
by discostrings 12y ago
I think the penalty levels for flagging seriously need to be looked at, and some measures to prevent flag rings and other malicious flagging should to be put into place. The story this thread refers to is the perfect example: it was #1 with
47.
by discostrings 12y ago
Here's a comment of mine from that thread explaining what he posted, how it changed, and what happened [~]: This story was in the first position on the front page less than an hour ago. It was there for hours. The link was then changed
48.
by discostrings 12y ago
This story was in the first position on the front page less than an hour ago. It was there for hours. The link was then changed from [0] to [1], and within thirty minutes, it was on the second page at number 47. (It first took a drop to aro
49.
by discostrings 12y ago
It would be incredibly easy to use this sort of program to game visibility on HN. This story itself serves as the perfect example. When it was submitted four days ago [0], it quickly took a huge ranking hit and dropped off the front page. W
50.
by discostrings 13y ago
> unconscionable makes it sound like it's more irresponsible than the industry standard - when in fact it is less. > Yes, I agree that's a stupid call to make, but most smartphones have far worse unpatched vulnerabilities.
51.
by discostrings 13y ago
I'm happy to see that Samsung has stuck with the design philosophy of its previous Galaxy S-series flagships. In a world where other manufacturers of high-end mobile devices have adopted a unibody, no-replaceable battery, no-storage ex
52.
by discostrings 13y ago
> Bild am Sonntag said its information stemmed from a high-ranking NSA employee in Germany and that those being spied on included Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere, a close confidant of Merkel. So it looks like, according to Bild am S
53.
by discostrings 13y ago
My initial thoughts were about combining web browsing history and internet usage with location information, but you're right--a lot of analysis could be done purely with your location history and your personal information that the telc
54.
by discostrings 13y ago
Without regulation or a sudden increase in awareness, this sort of activity will only increase in the near future. Internet service providers who measure their success solely by profit are not going to forgo this revenue opportunity otherwi
55.
by discostrings 13y ago
The weakness of the advice isn't that it might not be helpful and mind-expanding. It falls short in that most sixteen-year-olds probably don't really have the option to do it: 1) The plan takes more than a trivial amount of money.
56.
by discostrings 13y ago
> Open a map, close your eyes and point randomly. Pack you backpack, buy tickets and go there without any reservation. Spend at least 1 month away from home, comfort and routine. This sounds like an interesting and exciting life-changing
57.
by discostrings 13y ago
Part of the problem is that privacy, at least in this context, is framed as a "debate" at all, rather than as a matter for individual choice. Some people would gladly share medical information for the greater good if asked. You&#x
58.
by discostrings 13y ago
> This is a very myopic view that has already caused many deaths. Privacy concerns around medical records have prevented any central database of them from being built, and thus prevented us from saving all of the lives that could be save
59.
by discostrings 13y ago
> if you're worried about the information Google collects on you and so choose to plaster that all over message boards every time Google is mentioned - exactly what are you accomplishing? If you're worried about the information
60.
by discostrings 13y ago
> Good god I am so sick of reading comments like this. This view of the world is just lazy. I think your view of the world is the lazier of the two--you're basically saying "let's not worry about the negative implications

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