On 12/14/05, Bill McGonigle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Dec 14, 2005, at 15:02, Ben Scott wrote: >> On 12/14/05, Bill McGonigle <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >>> ... (or even better - Java) ... >> >> Oh, great, as if PCs full of spyware aren't bad enough. > > Do cable boxes have spyware problems?
No, for the reason #2 you suggested (cable company controls everything). And if the cable company controls everything, it doesn't matter to the rest of us if the cable box uses Java, Python, Perl, Visual Basic, or IBM 704 assembler. So I assume your remark was intended to be about something more, yes? :) > You would do this with signed code and a crypto provider. Yah, we've seen how well that works for MSIE and ActiveX. :-P > 3) new features, your control > > Did I miss any? It seems to me that you appear to be deliberately ignoring the fact that a great many of the world's computers are not, in fact, under the control of the nominal owner of said computer. (Spyware, adware, viruses, Trojans, zombies, etc., etc., ad infinitum, ad naseum) A TV set that can run arbitrary programs is not a TV anymore, it's a general-purpose computer. Sometimes having that kind of flexibility is a good thing, but we can already put a PC in the role of entertainment center if we want to. I suggest that retaining the ability to keep the PC *out* of that role would also be a good thing. KISS and all that. :-) -- Ben _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list gnhlug-discuss@mail.gnhlug.org http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss
