Posted by asj on 01/15/04 11:44

Rich wrote:
> That's good. So when the owners are hooked in, online like good
> little robots, the thing will be fully functional for:
> -Ads
> -Surveilance of viewer's viewing habits
> -Whatever agency wants to tap in


what is this? 1984?

Do you think "the agency" can view you with your mobile phone just
because it's running Java?

I pointed out that Java runs in a "sandbox"...this means that it cannot
do a lot of things unless the local controller (that's YOU) gives it
permission too. It cannot do things like accessing the internet (or
network) or writing/reading to local drives without first you
explicitly allowing it too. Plus, internet connectivity is OPTIONAL as
far as i know. If you don't like surfing online stores on your DVD,
that's up to you. It's YOUR CHOICE.

On the other hand, when using your PC computer on the internet, people
CAN track you as your browser leaves little pieces of info whenever it
views a site. Many sites also stuck cookies into your browser, the
better to track your visits. Your ip address is almost unique to you,
especially if you use DSL or cable.

So, it think you should be MORE alarmed about your PC than about any
limited applications (and they will be very limited as to what they can
do) running on a DVD. And you might as well throw away your mobile
cellphone - you can't be too careful you know....

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