Totalitarian electronics design 101

Imagine the products in two years in two camps,
communist designs and multi-party designs.
Under the laws of the USA, where I have local knowledge,
the following totalitarian infrastructure is in our
products in 2019:

Cars with no way to turn off all lights.
Web browsers with no way to blank the videos.
Cryptographic products with automatic key generation.
Laws against using a microscope to see certain chips.
The intel instruction set has the monoculture vulnerability.

2021 Futures

Cars that stop at all stop signs.
Cars that go 1 mph below the speed limit.
Automatic evidence sniffers and listeners in the cars.
I Agree buttons, with no button to disagree.
The communists will make many incompatible instruction set microprocessors.

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

> I Agree buttons, with no button to disagree.

This one at least is already here in 2019: "Google would like to access
your personal data including your photos and messages - agree?"

Don't buy an Android phone.



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[Winfield Hill]

Cursitor Doom wrote...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

I Agree buttons, with no button to disagree.

This one at least is already here in 2019: "Google
would like to access your personal data including
your photos and messages - agree?"

But if you don't agree, you can't get the awesome
Google photos, well worth it, and customized ads
(you ARE going to get ads, so make them better).


--
Thanks,
- Win

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:24:11 -0700, Winfield Hill wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

I Agree buttons, with no button to disagree.

This one at least is already here in 2019: "Google would like to access
your personal data including your photos and messages - agree?"

But if you don't agree, you can't get the awesome Google photos, well
worth it, and customized ads (you ARE going to get ads, so make them
better).

99% of the ads I see at present are of no interest to me and that's good.
That's very good. If they start sending me ads for products I *am*
interested in OTOH, I'm screwed.



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Cursitor Doom <curd@notformail.com> wrote in
news:qd0bnk$dt6$1@dont-email.me:

99% of the ads I see at present are of no interest to me and
that's good. That's very good. If they start sending me ads for
products I *am* interested in OTOH, I'm screwed.

I swear the other day I was talking to my friend sitting here on the
couch, and we were discussing distilled water for making cofee.

The next day, my iPad was popping up distiller / drip coffee service
ads.

I was flashing Arsenio Hall for more then a few seconds there.

 

[Winfield Hill]

Cursitor Doom wrote...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:24:11 -0700, Winfield Hill wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

I Agree buttons, with no button to disagree.

This one at least is already here in 2019: "Google would like to access
your personal data including your photos and messages - agree?"

But if you don't agree, you can't get the awesome Google photos, well
worth it, and customized ads (you ARE going to get ads, so make them
better).

99% of the ads I see at present are of no interest to me and
that's good. That's very good. If they start sending me ads
for products I *am* interested in OTOH, I'm screwed.

Google is now targeting me with ads in a remarkably accurate
way. Except, the ads are for things I've just purchased, and
don't need another one. I keep my two Altium Designer seats
up to date with maintenance every year, yet I've gotten, I
swear, a hundred ads urging me to update my Altium. Either
all of you have been getting hundreds of Altium ads, or they
know I'm interested. I also get ads for specific electronic
parts, but mostly only immediately after I have ordered them
from Digi-Key or Mouser. Are the distributors feeding our
orders to Google?


--
Thanks,
- Win

 

[Rick C]

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 7:45:49 AM UTC-4, Winfield Hill wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 17:24:11 -0700, Winfield Hill wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote...

On Sat, 01 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700, omnilobe wrote:

I Agree buttons, with no button to disagree.

This one at least is already here in 2019: "Google would like to access
your personal data including your photos and messages - agree?"

But if you don't agree, you can't get the awesome Google photos, well
worth it, and customized ads (you ARE going to get ads, so make them
better).

99% of the ads I see at present are of no interest to me and
that's good. That's very good. If they start sending me ads
for products I *am* interested in OTOH, I'm screwed.

Google is now targeting me with ads in a remarkably accurate
way. Except, the ads are for things I've just purchased, and
don't need another one. I keep my two Altium Designer seats
up to date with maintenance every year, yet I've gotten, I
swear, a hundred ads urging me to update my Altium. Either
all of you have been getting hundreds of Altium ads, or they
know I'm interested. I also get ads for specific electronic
parts, but mostly only immediately after I have ordered them
from Digi-Key or Mouser. Are the distributors feeding our
orders to Google?

Try clearing all your cookies once in a while. You would be amazed at how quickly they find you again. If you really want to deal with this, clear your cookies every day.

--

Rick C.

- Get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging
- Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

 

[John Larkin]

On Sat, 1 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700 (PDT), omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:

Imagine the products in two years in two camps,
communist designs and multi-party designs.
Under the laws of the USA, where I have local knowledge,
the following totalitarian infrastructure is in our
products in 2019:

Cars with no way to turn off all lights.
Web browsers with no way to blank the videos.
Cryptographic products with automatic key generation.

>Laws against using a microscope to see certain chips.

Is that one real?


--

John Larkin Highland Technology, Inc

lunatic fringe electronics

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 05:02:06 -0700, Rick C wrote:

Try clearing all your cookies once in a while. You would be amazed at
how quickly they find you again. If you really want to deal with this,
clear your cookies every day.

Do yourselves a BIG favour and turn on private browsing permanently in
your settings (or configure to dump all browsing history after every
session). That was a piece of advice I got off some website concerned
about the increasing prevalence of various forms of dementia. Password
managers? Don't use 'em. Enter your various passwords *manually* *every*
*time* you need them.
Your computer forgetting things between sessions is good. VERY good. My
memory's improved beyond all measure since I followed this advice.




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[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 06:31:53 -0700, John Larkin wrote:

On Sat, 1 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700 (PDT), omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:

Laws against using a microscope to see certain chips.

Is that one real?

Real or not, it's 100% unenforceable.



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GBP10.00 per reproduction. Publication in this manner via non-Usenet
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[Rick C]

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 10:58:56 AM UTC-4, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 06:31:53 -0700, John Larkin wrote:

On Sat, 1 Jun 2019 13:00:55 -0700 (PDT), omnilobe@gmail.com wrote:

Laws against using a microscope to see certain chips.

Is that one real?

Real or not, it's 100% unenforceable.

I'm not so sure about that. The DMCA has some very onerous details that could make looking at a chip illegal if it has "software" on it. Someone might make a case that the package would constitute "access control" which would make removing it itself illegal regardless of whether or not you violated copyright.

--

Rick C.

+ Get 5,000 miles of free Supercharging
+ Tesla referral code - https://ts.la/richard11209

 

>Don't buy an Android phone.

Well thanks, NOW. I just did but there is very minimal data on it, a few pictures of food, cats, electronics or whatever. I am on the limited data plan but everything else is unlimited.

I just got it to use Uber and I wanted another phone number so I could dedicate the one I've had for years to the business.

One thing though, isn't Andriod Linux based ? Isn't that good ?

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 09:10:57 -0700, Rick C wrote:

> I'm not so sure about that.

I am. It's about as enforceable as "Don't copy this movie or you'll get a
$250k fine."

The DMCA has some very onerous details that
could make looking at a chip illegal if it has "software" on it.
Someone might make a case that the package would constitute "access
control" which would make removing it itself illegal regardless of
whether or not you violated copyright.

Top-end hackers have been 'scalping' chips for decades now. Since we
don't (as yet) live in a 100% surveillance society, the chances of
catching some miscreant indulging in such activity is pretty much zero.



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[Winfield Hill]

Cursitor Doom wrote...

Enter your various passwords *manually* *every*
*time* you need them.

Slowly - don't want your computer's keystroke
logger to miss anything.


--
Thanks,
- Win

 

[Cursitor Doom]

On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 11:03:57 -0700, Winfield Hill wrote:

Cursitor Doom wrote...

Enter your various passwords *manually* *every*
*time* you need them.

Slowly - don't want your computer's keystroke logger to miss anything.

It's nothing to do with security; just simply exercising the memory.
Makes a BIG difference in other areas. For example, I no longer need to
make shopping lists. And when I read something unfamiliar I need to keep
in mind, it's retained *much* better than it was before, when I let the
devices do all the remembering for me.




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This message may be freely reproduced without limit or charge only via
the Usenet protocol. Reproduction in whole or part through other
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[Rich S]

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 11:11:55 AM UTC-4, Cursitor Doom wrote:

On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 05:02:06 -0700, Rick C wrote:

[snip]

Do yourselves a BIG favour and turn on private browsing permanently in
your settings (or configure to dump all browsing history after every
session). That was a piece of advice I got off some website concerned
about the increasing prevalence of various forms of dementia. [snip]

https://www.privacytools.io

 

On Sunday, 2 June 2019 17:44:34 UTC+1, jurb...@gmail.com wrote:

Don't buy an Android phone.

Well thanks, NOW. I just did but there is very minimal data on it, a few pictures of food, cats, electronics or whatever. I am on the limited data plan but everything else is unlimited.

I just got it to use Uber and I wanted another phone number so I could dedicate the one I've had for years to the business.

One thing though, isn't Andriod Linux based ? Isn't that good ?

Linux is often good. Android is often terrible. You'll figure out why. If you were thinking of doing anything financial or otherwise private on it, forget it.


NT

 

[Rich S]

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 6:30:43 PM UTC-4, Rich S wrote:

On Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 11:11:55 AM UTC-4, Cursitor Doom wrote:
On Sun, 02 Jun 2019 05:02:06 -0700, Rick C wrote:

[snip]

Do yourselves a BIG favour and turn on private browsing permanently in
your settings (or configure to dump all browsing history after every
session). That was a piece of advice I got off some website concerned
about the increasing prevalence of various forms of dementia. [snip]

https://www.privacytools.io

....a good website about privacy, not mental acuity!