(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

Nothing like treating people like animals to be tagged and tracked. Of course, it's much easier to start by tracking kids because they don't have much choice in the matter and when they grow up, they'll be less resistant to the practice. Enter surveillance society…

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. They portray the tests as successful, but as Bruce Schneier points out, "So now it's easy to cut class; just ask someone to carry your shirt around the building while you're elsewhere."

Or how about, "it's easy to get someone you hate in trouble by wearing their uniform for a few minutes while vandalizing the teacher's lounge."

Or "We had no idea that constantly bombarding students with radio frequencies in closed spaces during their formative years would lead to these kinds of mutations! Mrs. Johnson, you can't honestly expect us to pay to have Timmy's third arm removed can you?"

I love how companies start implementing RFID without any thought to the consequences.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.0 [SRC])

Microsoft slipped another bomb into their "critical updates" in the form of a Windows Desktop Search. The reports say that besides being an unwanted feature, it has been slowing machines down considerably.

The worst part is that somehow Microsoft thinks they can change the way our machines work without our consent. But this wouldn't be the first time.

(Image used under: Fair Use doctrine)

Comcast has been in the news recently for blocking high-bandwidth traffic in an attempt to keep people from using their Internet "too much". If we're lucky, this story about them possibly getting sued for it is true. As bad as Comcast is in service and customer service, it would be nice to hold their feet to the fire when they get caught doing bad stuff intentionally.

Oh, and if you missed it, Comcast has been trying damage control without much success.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 3.0 [SRC])

This is a nice article explaining the five major monthly bills you should be ditching until you are debt-free (on your credit cards and accounts anyway). Included is the whining they know you'll do when you hear their recommendation:

5) Cable. Your Excuse: "But, but, but I need cable! I get a good deal! It's only $100 a month! I use it a lot! It's bundled with my phone and my internet. I'll only save $30 a month if I cancel it."

It's really sad how well the marketing has worked that people believe they really need and use this stuff. I have never had cable TV service. You can rent the best shows in the stores, borrow them from friends or just watch it with a regular antenna (for stuff that comes on the major channels). A lot of new shows are available from the networks directly on the Internet anyway.

The one service they forgot to mention was cellphone. Most people probably forget that it's just a convenience, not a necessity.

(Image is in the Public Domain)

Due to the data breaches and high profile cases of laptops gone missing, people can easily forget that ID theft is easy to pull off without high technology skills.

[the study] found that, by and large, much of today's identity theft is still carried out using old-school methods, such as mail theft and dumpster diving. Thieves also used information from public records to piece together an individual identity, and many stole information from retail outlets like stores and gas stations.

Be sure to read my Identity theft/Identity protection guide for more information about preventing people from getting and using your data.

(Image used under: Fair Use doctrine)

I already reported on Comcast blocking Peer-2-Peer filesharing traffic, but apparently they've extended the blocks to enterprise software (in this case, Lotus Notes).

When Lotus Notes users attempt to send e-mail with larger attachments over Comcast's network, Notes will drop its connection. Instead of a successfully sent e-mail, they're greeted with the error message, "Remote system no longer responding." Kanarski did some digging and has managed to verify that Comcast's reset packets are the culprit.

It should be noted that everything that has been reported as being blocked by Comcast are things that cause high traffic on Comcast's networks. Even though people pay for their high speed Internet, Comcast will be damned if they actually let you use it. I mean, I've never been dropped from Comcast service for using their Internet "too much" like some people, but I definitely can't get decent service to save my life.

For example, if I start one download at about 100kB/s, the rest of my Internet connection limps along like a two legged cat! So much for my 6 megabit connection speed.

Something is seriously wrong with Comcast and I hope some regulator comes down on them hard soon.

(Image used under: Creative Commons 2.5 [SRC])

Hellgate, a soon-to-be-released video game includes a license agreement that forces players to accept the harvesting of identifying information from their machine. This is part of an in-game advertising scheme that, so far, doesn't quite reach the level of what the Penny Arcade cartoonists prophesied, but it's getting closer.

Finally! Some guts!

Senator Chris Dodd will block the FISA renewal bill as long as it grants retroactive immunity for their involvement in the illegal spying. Of course, the FISA bill should have been blocked anyway. I didn't read through it, but Bush signed it.

(Image used under: Fair Use doctrine)

Vista apparently runs out of memory when copying over 13,000 files in one go without any warning. While that is a lot of files, this seems to be a fairly large bone-head mistake. First of all, why can't Microsoft figure out that file transfers should be pausable and resumable (same as when downloading from the Internet). Of course, even that was something they had to steal from Mozilla rather than figure out on their own.

(Image used under: Fair Use doctrine)

Adding another nail to the coffin for citizen trust in Verizon (assuming there was any to begin with), it turns out that they did in fact participate in the illegal spying program.

Let the lawsuits begin…