"The future is managed, and your freedom's a joke

You don't know the difference as you put on the yoke

The less that you know the more you fall into place

A cog in the wheel, there is no soul in your face....


Big Brother is watching and he likes what he sees

A world for the taking, when he's ready to squeeze"

Po' Smedley in da House!

Right on Smedley! Wait....shhh.... someones knocking at my door...and I hear strange clicking noises coming from my phone! Wheres my tinfoil hat!

It certainly wouldn't surprise me to see 5 companies having basic control of the Internet Service provisions.

At that point, I am thinking that one might have a 'dummy' terminal for linking to the internet, and say a notebook constructed of advanced components as a personal and private (read: not connected to internet at any time) machine.

One could then have say an external drive that could be used for storing files as backup, which the user could allow access to via the dummy terminal - or not, depending on the person.

I for one would use this type of set-up if I was forced to by circumstances, but in no way would I support a large company having control of all my files.

Po' Smedley nailed when he said: "Big Brother is watching...".

Flash-back to the 60's slogans anyone?

Flash-back to the 60's slogans anyone?

Er...do you really want to go there? This thread could run away and NOBODY could stop it...
Some of us, admittedly a very small number, were there, "carryin' signs that said Hooray for Our Side"(Country Joe & the Fish), and as for me, it doesn't take much to start in about Big Brother (not Big Brother and the Holding Company). Po', I'm really wishing I could be there for your gig. Can't wait to hear how it goes down!!
Wondering if they're gonna "chip" my kids and me soon, like the vet does to pets.
We do indeed "live in interesting times".
signed: Class of '60 & former Haight resident.

In all that I endure

of one thing I am sure

knowledge & reason

change like the season....

a jester's promenade.

Er...do you really want to go there? This thread could run away and NOBODY could stop it...

Not a problem here!

Only 45, but a 140 Dead show veteran, and some 60+ more concerts during the 70's and 80's.

It would seem that the circular cycle of life may once again be upon us with a new twist.

That's a definite NO from me.....like the populace/society/so-called civilisation isn't controlled enough already. In one form or another, just about every aspect of our lives is controlled by gov'ts & corporations, employers and the like....now some twit with half a tech brain wants to dominate/contol the worlds computers via 5 mainframes under corporate (whose?) control.....

I have a word to describe how I feel about that, but I've already stated in another thread that the eff word is the bane of modern society and should be deleted from the English language, so I won't use it.

Ya know guys...there are far more of us than there are of "them"...you know them...they...those guys...and we could all easily put a stop to something like that...well...in the sixties we could anyway...not to sure about now. It always amazes me that one person can get some screwball idea and the rest just go right along with it...all you hear is a little whine. I swear....this planet must have been a planet of lemmings in another life...that or sheep.

Ya know guys...there are far more of us than there are of "them"...you know them...they...those guys...and we could all easily put a stop to something like that...well...in the sixties we could anyway...not to sure about now

We have become a passive aggressive, lazy society. We don't want to 'fix' anything...we want it fixed for us. And don't tell us how you do it, we don't want to know the details.

In a society where we ban the kinds of fat used to fry chicken, but have nothing to say about the millions of deaths caused by alcohol and tobacco, what do you expect. We'll let almost anything happen until it personally affects us as individuals, and by then, it's too late to do anything about it. By then it's one or two small voices that everyone wishes would shut up or go away. No need to worry though. Mel Gibson will insult another race and our attention will be diverted.

It certainly wouldn't surprise me to see 5 companies having basic control of the Internet Service provisions.

The government would love this. It would be so much easier to take control of and mange all the info gathered from just 5 servers.

IMHO...You would hear the moral highlanders saying "If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about' and we would all be screwed. You have everything to worry about, from 'who is interpreting what' to 'who is deciding what to do with that interpretation'.

The government would love this. It would be so much easier to take control of and mange all the info gathered from just 5 servers.

I agree. This would seem to be a preferred path for the government.

I for one would only use the internet for basic e-mailing and for research. All other computer activities would be done on a notebook that has no connection to the internet - ever!

One of the great things about growing up without computers and cell phones is the fact that I have no issue living without them if needed. Therefore, I would feel less loss than someone who grew up with these things as everyday conveniences might feel.

It is truly amazing that the media (internet, radio, newspaper, and television) can at the same time be something that is helpful to civilization (emergency warning messages, research data, e-mail) and detrimental to civilization by supporting a bad idea simply by spreading the word incredibly fast.

The possibility that 5 companies could obtain the power to control the system via servers is all too real. Already we see the smaller communications companies being bought by the larger ones. I have not done the research, but I believe the internet infrastructure is already controlled by a limited number of companies.

With that in mind, it would seem that a notebook may become the old notebook that stays in one's possession and does not allow the mass media to probe it.

Already we see the smaller communications companies being bought by the larger ones

Yes. And programming what they say we want to hear, see, and listen to. How will we feel when this creeps over to the internet? Currently, you can set your homepage, but what will you do when it is set for you...permanently? How far into there being just 5 servers will we be, when you try to go to a page and you get a message saying that YOU...personally cannot access that page because of your background, criminal history, political view, associations, etc.

The drawbacks are truly endless.

You would probably have to have a license to own a notebook. They would want to know who had them. Wireless would become the new frontier for Pirate Internet connections like pirate radio stations once were for those who wanted to be free from being told what THEY should be listening to.

"And what's the future, who will choose it
Politics of love and music
Underdogs who turn the tables
Indie versus major labels
There's so much to see through
Like our parents do more drugs than we do...


Corporate parents, corporate towns
I know every TV set that has them lit
They preach that I should save the world
They pray that I won't do a better job of it
Pray that I won't do a better job
So tonight I turned your station on
Just so I'd be understood
Instead another voice said I was just too late
And just no good."

And the moment someone decides to load Oblivion on one of the machines , the whole computing experience for 20 percent of the world goes into the sh***er.

Nice

BEWARE THE MCP! KEEP THE SYSTEM AND PROGRAMS FREE!

...and watch out for de-rezzing.

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