Matthew's Weblog » Political

Voting Machine ‘Security’

Matthew — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:20:35 +0000

A truly illustrative but terrifying comic…

Cheaper solar panels… more plans and promises

Matthew — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 17:09:01 +0000

We have yet another report of people setting up factories that will make cheaper solar panels so that pricing is comparable with utility-provided power. $1/watt sounds great, but until these places actually produce panels and start selling them, I still won’t believe it…

Technorati Tags: solar

The cost of Free Windows

Matthew — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 17:28:49 +0000

So an interesting contrast in articles yesterday… one column on how Windows Is Free, due to the widespread sharing and ineffectiveness of the registration process, and another column on Software Copyright and Role Models – the impact of software sharing on ethics, morals, and society. The intertwining thread is the Law of Unintended Consequences, where people’s actions have far wider ripples than they anticipate. It really stopped me in my tracks.

I have, in the past, observed unlicensed software being installed. Sometimes, because my own hands were acting on the copied CD. I’ve found it much easier to be in compliance recently because of MSDN access, but now I have kids. I want them to have a computer to use and to play on, and many of their games are Windows-only. Now I have to consider how to move forward.

I’ve purchased computers in the past with Windows installed on them, then blitzed it in order to install Linux. Now I feel like I should have a floating license for that Windows OS, but is that actually fair? I know it’s not legal according to the contracts, but what is really fair? And what do I do to show the kids that I really believe in doing what is right? I work in software development, for goodness sake… you’d think I wouldn’t be conflicted at all.

But all I have are questions right now… no answers.

(At least my Macs are legal, with no questionmarks!

Technorati Tags: Windows, Mac, Linux, ethics

What do you have to hide?

Matthew — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 06:07:15 +0000

I’ve recently started reading Michael Gorsuch’s blog and am liking what I see so far, and he recently got upset about the idiotic so-called ‘Protect America Act’ and the public’s reaction. I know 50% of people are below average, but it is still hard to watch people ask “What do you have to hide?” because anyone asking it really isn’t thinking much.

The best thing I have found to work around that silly question is an academic paper by Daniel Solove, “‘I’ve Got Nothing to Hide’ and Other Misunderstandings of Privacy” which is very well written and makes you think about what privacy actually is. However, the people presupposing surveillance is benign probably won’t take the time to read it, much less think…

Scathing DOJ Criticism

Matthew — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 20:27:19 +0000

from a career DOJ lawyer, a scathing op-ed piece about the Bush administration.

via Isen.

Technorati Tags: politics, bush, doj

An appropriate response to ‘terrorism’

Matthew — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:32:39 +0000

in an article from Slate: The West is still Winning. This is why fake security mumbo-jumbo bothers me so much.

Always offer three choices: the Decoy Effect

Matthew — Fri, 18 May 2007 18:28:54 +0000

I’ve been a fan of the careful construction of alternatives when offering people choices, but now I learned that there is an actual marketing theory based on that system. It’s known as the Decoy Effect. I’ve seen it applied to my own sales patterns, to technical discussions, and now it’s being explained in terms of politics.

Good to know the research behind the practice…

Telecommuting tips

Matthew — Thu, 17 May 2007 19:31:33 +0000

An article and two sidebars from CIO magazine about how to manage telecommuters and to make it most effective for the company and the worker, including equipping the roadwarrior and what skills are needed to make the employee effective. It also references an article from a Sun employee’s experience which is has useful tips.

Google bus service

Matthew — Tue, 15 May 2007 18:14:07 +0000

In an area where my current job search is constrained by my desire to take public transportation or have a short drive, Google’s bus service is inspired. While I understand the need to have it remain a competitive advantage, it’s too bad other companies in the region can’t take advantage of the empty seats and buy spots on the bus.

It would be a good idea for a business park to organize a similar service – talk about drawing companies who care about their employees. That could be a great perk and a good sales pitch for the office space…

Recycling CDs!

Matthew — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:15:00 +0000

I always thought that CDs were completely impossible to recycle, but it appears I was wrong! There’s now a few places listed that purportedly can handle them. Cool!