Privacy, Xbox One, NSA, and More

Xbox One with the all-seeing Kinect.

The Xbox One, or Xbone, as many affectionately like to call it, is receiving a lot of flak for how it has handled the press and different release statements it has made, and rightly so. Even the Xbox fanboys of yore are seriously considering turning to the PS4 or PC gaming because of all the BS they've seen in these past 4 months.

First, the Xbox One release event was terrible. If you were to ask a layman what the event was about, they would think Microsoft was trying to pitch a new-fangled cable box. This is one of the many ways they are alienating their fan base, Another way is they are coming out with a DRM (Digital Rights Management) method so that the Xbone must connect to the internet every 24 hours in order to play the games you have bought. Yep, that's right. Of course, their whole front is piracy protection, but really all Microsoft wants to do is run the secondary game market out of business. Beyond that, it is rumored you can only transfer a game once and it must be to a friend that has been on your list for more than 30 days. No more late-night, craigslist-joyriding to buy a copy of your favorite video game at a sketchy gas station.

Fake Sony CEO Twitter account prodding fun

So far it does not look good for Microsoft and the Xbox camp. Which leads me into my next topic: the NSA. This past week we have heard a good deal about the NSA and its spy program called PRISM.

The True American Patriot

Whistleblower Eric Snowden, or as many are starting to hail him, "The True American Patriot", revealed the fact that at any given time, he was able to wiretap whomever he wanted from his desk; whether it be the president of the United States, Oprah, Joe the Plumber, or Sarah Palin's secret lover (if I read the Enquirer correctly).

Boom. Hacked

Not only were they able to listen in on phone conversations, but Snowden claims they were are able to intercept whatever form of communication they please. Including email, Facebook, texts, and much more. In fact, Microsoft has had relations with the U.S. government since 2007 . It is known that Skype, since purchased by Microsoft, has actually become less secure with various vulnerabilities allowed for so that the NSA can bring about justice, at least to your late night Skype date.

Is the NSA really worried about what individuals might be doing? Probably not. The law of large numbers allows some protection there, until you start automating the spying. Allowing massive supercomputers to act on algorithms to point out "alertable events". So even though the NSA can not employ an army of watchdogs, they will certainly be able to build the robots, if not already.

Thankfully, Mr. Snowden stepped in. But in the grand scheme of things, this will only be a minor roadblock in the way of government surveillance. With bills such as CISPA and SOPA/PIPA becoming regular

Write your congressman!

conversations in Congress, it's possible the government would want to intervene and put similar regulations in place. As the Patriot Act of a decade ago has crippled some of American's Liberties, these new cyber laws might cut them down further.

This plays out badly for Microsoft because of their partnership with the U.S. government. The release of the Xbox One in November and the rumor that the included Kinect might always have to be turned on illustrate an Orwellian nightmare waiting to unravel. Having a viewing party to watch Netflix on your TV streaming through your Xbox could result in to a hefty penalty, because by law you can only have 6 people watching one copy of a movie.  And don't get me started on those creepy ideas to implement commercials based on the ambient noises your Kinect picks up.

Privacy is becoming a luxury, and one that even money can't buy.

-Mi

High Speed Rail

Whoosh

I'm all about the future, hell we all are. It is what we live for. Of course there are those cliches about living in the now and how we should enjoy the moment, man. But everyone must afford a bit of foresight to survive, and I believe that the United States government should have the foresight to implement high speed rail. A technology that is ages old in other first world countries. Similar to how we scoff at the Europeans for not owning dishwashers and dryers, they rebuff the United States for poor infrastructure. I hope to explore some arguments for and against high speed rail here in the U.S.






Automakers and Unions:
Detroit, The Motor City, is home to some of America's biggest auto-making factories including, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler. Collectively known as "the big three" because they are the biggest automaker

We be clashin'

s in North America. Their market share has seen a decline since Toyota and Honda and other foreign companies have stepped in to the American automobile market along with the subsequent cry to halt the loss of American jobs.

And the big three have special interests in maintaining their position at the top of the transportation chain. Those with vested interests such as chair member of the General Motors corporation have the money to lobby congress and derail (badum tss) the attempts to push legislation forward. Similarly, when chair members of General Motors took  measures against railways in the 1920's when railroads were the way to travel, they could certainly do it again.

Admittedly, this country is vast and too spread out:

Mockup of potential routes.

Classic example. Someone wants to go from the biggest city in the U.S. to the second biggest. The 2,789 mile journey from New York to Los Angeles would take 11-12 hours going nonstop at around 250mph. Hang on, because of those pesky Rocky Mountains and other such track-blocks we must tack on an extra 500 miles and 2 hours to the journey. After all, high speed rail does need a straight track for best results. And then the person continuing this argument would tell you that the train would have stops along the way,
and that your total traveling time would end up being closer to 19 hours. My argument is that, although the NY-LA route is unfeasible,  many of the connections in between would be worth it. A more popular route would be perhaps Chicago to New York. at 200 mph that trip would take about 4 hours. If Sally left her Chicago apartment at 6 a.m. and caught the 7 a.m. to NY she would be there by 11 a.m. She could spend the whole day sightseeing, have an early dinner, catch a show and be home by the early morning. It seems overly idealistic and it doesn't factor any costs but there are tons more examples out there.


Bring down airline prices: 

Train versus Plane.

One of the reasons often quoted for high airfare is high oil prices. Not very convincing because Europeans face higher oil prices than the Americans and they seem to have equal or better airfare within the E.U. A big reason is that airlines main competition are cars, buses, and contemporary U.S. rail such as Amtrak or the Metra if you are in the Chicagoland area. Airlines price their tickets so that the gas and maintenance of a car is not worth it. And for some reason Amtrak prices are almost as expensive as plane tickets. Greyhound is cheap, but several days of traveling would be gladly avoided by all. High speed rail would be able to compete on those shorter distance, regional routes and help drive airline prices down, or perhaps drive them to offer more "luxuries" such as free checked bags or cookies.


Better Job Competition:

Did someone say job competition?

Say you you live in Milwaukee, have a nice house, and are settled down with your family. Then one day something unspeakable happens to the company you were working at and it ceased to exist. You file for unemployment and begin looking for jobs in the area. However, the smaller market in Milwaukee makes it hard for your specific qualifications to stand out.
With the advent of  high speed rail, however,l you will now be able to take the 91 mile Chicago-Milwaukee express route and get there in 21 minutes. You happily look for a job in Chicago knowing that your commute will not force you and your family to relocate. For employers they will see more qualified individuals apply to their firms and be able to hire more qualified personnel.


Job creation and economy stimulation and stuff like that:
In the 1930's FDR got a lot of folks back to work by creating many government agencies that employed those that were down on their luck, fresh out of high school, or otherwise willing to earn money. This mobilization of the unemployed along with WWII helped the U.S. rebound from the Great Depression. To rebound from this recent Great Recession this great country needs a project like high speed rail. Sure, we can fix our roads every season, but the country needs to become less stagnant and expand their projects in a different direction to stimulate the economy.

But the cost! Relax, we throw money around in this country like it's not even ours! Besides, there hasn't been a country that has regretted the decision of upgrading to high speed rail. Instead of the government giving tax breaks to BS programs we could spend some money creating a test track from NY to DC. And after the surge in demand, the government can privatize it, sell the rights. and we can finally have.....yes! Google Rail or GRail if you will.

GRail ©

Thanks for reading, musing, and hanging out,
-Mi

The MoT Top 10: The Twenty-Fourth

A little back-story. One year ago today, DeMi was coming up with this Top 10, and my roommate, Frank, overheard our list. Halfway through the list we realized that April 1st was the next day and we decided that we could not miss out on an April Fool's themed blog. So Frank asked what happened to this Top 10, and we told him it didn't exist, and half-asleep he tried to come to terms with our....LIE!

HERE IT IS FRANK, APRIL FOOLS! ONE YEAR LATER!

Top 10 Ways to Get Your Money's Worth

10) Pick a restaurant, grab a plate and make the kitchen your buffet.

9) Hire a prostitute and shoot video of your fun together. Sell it as porno.

8) Always take a penny; never leave a penny.

7)  Buy some skittles. Taste the rainbow. Follow the rainbow. Make the leprechaun your bitch.

6) With your gym membership, make it a point to touch every machine in the gym, even the ones that somebody maybe using. Maybe with a wink.

5) Always extend the hose of the gas dispenser and shake it vigorously for 5 minutes to get "every last drop"

4) Double bag all your groceries at the self check-out. Make accessories from these bags, and fail at starting a new fashion trend.

3) Stay 3 hours after you're done with a meal to continue getting water refills. Go to the bathroom when they're not looking to make them think you have a bladder of steel.

2) Rock a temporary or real tattoo of your foes telephone number on your forehead while sitting in the front row at a big sports venue.

1) Buy North Korea, resurrect Kim Jong Il and hence resurrect all that was right about the country.

-DeMi