It will be interesting. Apple has a brand loyalty thing going right now based on their innovations of the past. People just "have to have" their latest product. The iphone 1 was the big innovation. After that it was just incremental improvements. The watch thing is fluff- not really useful. Ipad was cool, and I have the big and the small one, but dont really use either a lot. I DO use my desktop mac a lot, and my iphone 6.

Will have to watch "Person of Interest" I like a good TV series but rarely give any a chance any longer, most are just a waste of time that is not pleasurable enough for me to invest my time in.

A bit off topic but:
As far as the violent video games having an effect on people, there is a good reason why you find data to support both sides. I was watching a talk show video at one point where they interviewed a guy that did training and then reverse training for the military. I paraphrase here as its been a while I do not remember the words exactly but the basic idea has stuck with me.

He talked about how they trained solders from the Vietnam period through the Iraq war. He was retired now but he designed the program for about 30 years, I can't recall his name and I think it was Glenn Becks program that had him on.

At one point they trained just to kill everything that moved. PTSD was more often and more severe, then they added civil targets to reduce accidental death of civilians. he found something odd. When people choose to kill the bad guys and save the good guys PTSD cases were far fewer, and those that occurred were less sever. He then talked about studies this spawned and what they found was very interesting and could be directly related to violence in computer games.

They found that people who were asked (and later in studies rewarded) for taking out precised good guys became more violent and had more mental problems. However when backstory was given that made the people they were "killing" in practice bad, and also had perceived good guys the increased violent tendencies were completely eliminated and doing scenarios of this type after real combat helped to reduce the likelihood of PTSD problems when returning to normal life. They found doing scenerios that were positive like this as a group actually improved the way in which men related with each other and the world around them.

He then talked about applying this to video games.

A game that has you commuting crime and being rewarded for it, or killing a perceived good guy (cop) or civilian will have a negative effect. "A game that makes you a criminal, is training you to be a criminal" I think that is word for word.

On the flip side a game which makes you a hero and enforced by rewarding positive behaviors, regardless of the violence instills positive behaviors in the person, particularly if the person is playing the game with a group of friends.

I like computer games, and have bonded with my kids by playing some violent ones. Some games just felt bad to me, like the who car stealing game line (cant think of its name right now) and some others where the hero you are playing is just dark. When I listened to this guy it clicked for me, it made sense and while I was basically doing it anyway I could not put into words what seemed right to me.

It is not the violence in the game, it is the context of that violence the breeds the ill effect in the person playing the game. This explains a great deal in the conflicting studies around this subject, and reinforces that context and the thought patterns that must go through the mind are what is really risky and can cause harm. Violence is certifiably a compounding factor when the context is wrong, but it makes sense to say that if you want your kids to be good, let them play good guys and the opposite it true as well.

There is no privacy to be had.

Take note of the targeted advertising on your PC. If you pay attention you will notice ads, here and there, that target you - yet you never did a search or addressed that topic in an email or on social media.

While still using Vista (still my backup unit), several years ago, I was waking up to find my PC turned on, and sometimes with issues. I found Defender, had gone to war with Norton a couple times, because Defender had been turned back on. Then I read a blog form an Australian who had figured out why people were going in to work to find their laptop batteries dead. One automatic update had actually changed the BIOS to allow them to turn your machine on. I checked my BIOS, and sure enough, mine had been changed. I reset them, and a few weeks later had to reset them again after an update. I have not trusted updtaes ever since, as it left my PC on, and allowed Defender to mess up Norton, which I had to reload. For that time, my machine was not safe from intrusion. After that, there was the warning during the Olympics to take cell batteries out of phones, as they were hackable as long as the batter was in. One has to remain watchful of several providers.

I think the difference (at this time is)

Microsoft attempted to get your money by controlling markets and leaving you no other choice.

Apple attempts to get your money by providing a product that is significantly better than others products. It will be very interesting to see what apple does as other phones catch up and surpass the iPhone. Will they continue to innovate and rule the market because people like their devices better, or will they turn to control of market through manipulation?

A couple of useful tools to avoid online tracking are the TOR browser (https://www.torproject.org/) and the DuckDuckGo search engine (https://duckduckgo.com/). Open Office provides a really good and free alternative to the MS Office programs (https://www.openoffice.org/). And depending on your degree of paranoia, a standalone PC with no Internet connections and encrypted thumb drives might be what you're looking for.

Life, Liberty and Property.

Data is your property, "unless" you choose to place it someplace NOT in your control.

Due Process specifically state the government cannot come to YOUR home and seize YOUR property without warrant which requires probable cause.

The second you place YOUR stuff under someone elses control though all bets are off.

Thanks,

did not take the time to write this up. In a constitution law class some years back (the professor was bias on the liberal side) he brought up this point, that privacy law came about later and was not part of the constitution. It was expanded to some extent by due process but largely stands separate from the constitution, thanks for the details.

Not for me. I have no problem with anybody making big bucks honestly, but Microsoft is known for a variety of shady anti-competition tactics. It's also representative of a much larger trend where unreliable, bloated, kludgey software has driven much better products off the market through sheer marketing ability. I used to have a VAX on my desk that could go for decades without rebooting! No virus could touch it. There's nothing like it today.

I like the TV series "Person of Interest."

There is so much in that TV series that IS real, I know I have worked for companies that implement it, and in fact it is almost worse in real life than this series portrays.

I think the Government secretly sponsors TV shows like this so people become desensitized to these offenses against our privacy and personal liberty.

But then again too many say violent video games have no impact on society or people...so

I have read it extensively, and looked specific for something in it on privacy. Its not there.

From everything I have seen there is no constitutional right to privacy. I think there should be.

I agree Gates is an opportunist out to grab every dollar. But he does it so much and so obviously that I, as a customer, can see it and want nothing to do with him. I just have a feeling that the Microsoft brand gives me creepy feelings and I want to avoid it. I say karma rules, and it ruled on him as he lost lawsuit after lawsuit. Its a little like Martha Stewart- she didnt do anything that any other person would have done, but karma for her nasty and vicious methods ganged up and put her in jail for lying about talking to a friend about the case. Today Microsoft is a shadow of what it was, and Apple has taken over. I think Apple is out for the $$ too, but I feel that they at least accept that I need to get something as a customer too.

Might I suggest signing up for the Constitution 101 course offered by Hillsdale College?

To not know YOUR constitution is to NOT know your rights and the LACK of rights the Government really has.

Really?
https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitut...
The Fourth Amendment originally enforced the notion that “each man’s home is his castle”, secure from unreasonable searches and seizures of property by the government. It protects against arbitrary arrests, and is the basis of the law regarding search warrants, stop-and-frisk, safety inspections, wiretaps, and other forms of surveillance, as well as being central to many other criminal law topics and to privacy law.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/privacy
right of privacy: an overview

Distinct from the right of publicity protected by state common or statutory law, a broader right of privacy has been inferred in the Constitution. Although not explicity stated in the text of the Constitution, in 1890 then to be Justice Louis Brandeis extolled 'a right to be left alone.' This right has developed into a liberty of personal autonomy protected by the 14th amendment. The 1st, 4th, and 5th Amendments also provide some protection of privacy, although in all cases the right is narrowly defined. The Constitutional right of privacy has developed alongside a statutory right of privacy which limits access to personal information. The Federal Trade Commission overwhelmingly enforces this statutory right of privacy, and the rise of privacy policies and privacy statements are evidence of its work. In all of its forms, however, the right of privacy must be balanced against the state's compelling interests. Such compelling interests include the promotion of public morality, protection of the individual's psychological health, and improving the quality of life. These distinct rights of privacy are examined separately on the following pages:

Due Process



Introduction

The Constitution states only one command twice. The Fifth Amendment says to the federal government that no one shall be "deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law." The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, uses the same eleven words, called the Due Process Clause, to describe a legal obligation of all states. These words have as their central promise an assurance that all levels of American government must operate within the law ("legality") and provide fair procedures. Most of this essay concerns that promise. We should briefly note, however, three other uses these words have had in American constitutional law.

I have never seen anything in the constitution that protects privacy. I wish it was there and if you know where its at please point it out.

Microsoft is a business. Businesses exist to make money. They should attempt to generate revenue in every way possible. If the CEO and executive team are not doing this they are not doing there job.

Does this mean they push the ethics window, yes. Does it mean the get in bed with government, there should be no advantage in doing so but if there is then yes.

I do not like it but its our reality today.

Did Gates steal others technology and loose law suite after law suit about it. Yes, but it cheaper to do that than to pay the development costs and build a market himself. The problem is not with Gates, he is running a business in the most effective way possible, that was his job. The problem is the courts did not assign proper punishments for the damages they causes other companies.

The DR-DOS verses MS-DOS suit was lost, the company that ended up owning DR-DOS bought the lawsuit, they should have upon winning it gotten everything that had come from the theft, all of windows. Instead they got a non disclosed amount and had a one time earnings of 450 million. So it cost Microsoft 450 million to develop the initial OS they built the company on. Unethical but it is good financial sense for Microsoft.

No regulation is needed, no anti trust is needed. Just proper rewards for damages and this behavior would stop.

If Microsoft tracks and sales information that costs you later in life, you should be able to come at them for the damages and have it hurt them, problem would be solved as its no longer cost effective to sale a person information.

This country has several sets of Privacy.

the privacy we generally concern ourselves with is the rights to privacy under the constitution for individuals.

Corporations are also considered and "individual" but they have very different rules that govern their privacy, ESPECIALLY if they are publicly traded and fall under SEC rules and regulations.

The Privacy rules are between the company and the Government, and ONLY the privacy rules in the ever-changing terms between you and the company which THEY indicate are subject to change without notice means that any data or information you save on the Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft 360 are 100% at the disposal of the company and/or the Government.

I have written gobs about this and was told, Mark, your crazy. HAHAHAHAH, I was right and seem to be always proven right after the fact. BAH hehehe

Another good reason to switch to LINUX. I have a number of computers running Windows, Apple, etc. but I keep all my really sensitive material on a LINUX box. I like to think it's safer from prying eyes.

I dont trust software makers, especially Microsoft, to do things in MY interest. Microsoft seems to be only in it to somehow force more money out of me, and they are the government's bit&%.

I never allow automatic updates. Often in the past I would come in the morning to find the computer or some of my programs didnt work properly because of some 'update' that was installed overnight. NO MORE. If its working, dont fix it. If its not working, then investigate and approve an update before it loads by itself. I hated microsoft windows for that, and switched to mac as a result.

What this does is encourage people to buy potentially incriminating things with cash, and only use credit or debit cards or bank accounts or bill pay for innocuous things like fast food (although that could be used to increase your health insurance premiums now that government controls health care !!). Still remaining is the whole email/texting/phone convo issues. One has to accept at least at present, that anything you write down or say on public networks might as well be printed out in the NY Times. I dont even have a facebook or a twitter account and dont plan on ever having those. ALONGSIDE NIGHT is the way to go from now on until the collapse comes (hiding in plain sight). Deal with like minded people and find encripted or otherwise private ways to contact with them if you dont live close to them. I think the idea of 'saving the USA from socialism" is just a pipe dream at this point. It will take a real collapse before enough people become educated into wanting individual rights and free markets. Look at what the general populace puts up with now (for me, the health care takeover was the tipping point)

After 30 years in the computer building industry and yes I use Microsoft, I have come to the conclusion that NOTHING is sacred, if you don't want anyone and I mean anyone to see anything about a person, DO NOT USE THE INTERNET(ie: facebook, twitter, tumbler, etc. etc.). As far as monikers, what the hell, you only live once, "go for it".

I'm sure Big Brother keeps an eye on the Gulch regardless.
That's while I prefer to use a moniker.
Picking a moniker you can act out with can be fun.

No problem. I have been using Linux Ubuntu 14.04 LTS for sometime now. Used previous version before that.

+1 back, good point