Security? What Security?

I always like to post about things that hit close to home with me and this couldn't hit any closer. Stores like Walmart and Gamestop go to big measures to keep from having their merchendise stolen. How many security devices do they have inside games now? Anybody that has bought a DVD, Video Game or multiple other devices know they have security strips along with other security locks.
For Gamestop that is not enough they take the games out of the case and leave the empty box on the shelf. The problem with that is when someone like me goes and buys a game that has an activation code and when they get it home the activation code has already been used. How hard is it for an employee to write down the number? I contacted the game manufacturer and Gamestop support. Gamestop said that it is a practice to prevent theft and that I would have to talk to a regional manager. Of course he never returned my calls so I was just out the money.

I guess my question is this. They have prepaid phones, phone cards, gift cards that will not work without activation. If companies are so concerned about security why can games not be made the same way. The Windows operating system requires online activation. Make games the same way and it will cut down on theft without opening merchandise and selling opened stuff.

http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/11/law-of-the-game-lawyer-explores-gamestop-used-vs-new-controve/

Technology Privacy

I always check CNN everything to see what is happening in America or the world. I came across a article this morning about a texting privacy case that is going to the supreme court. Pretty much to some it up a government employee a cop in this story was using his phoen to make racy texts. His job got the text records from the phone company and he got in trouble for it.

The debate is can your phone service provider give out your personal texts to your employeer without your permission. I am kinda split on the issue. In this case he was using a company phone for personal texts and excedding the limit. He did pay for the overages but I can understand where the police department is coming from. On the other hand they were able to retrieve his personal text messages without his permission and that may fall under the illegal search and seisure. I do believe we must have some sort of privacy especially on things liek text messages that are ment for a 1 person to 1 person contact.

I feel that there needs to be a really extreme circumstance for your employeer to be able to pull your records without your consent.

Check out the article http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/04/19/scotus.text.messaging/index.html

Automated Life

More and More the Military uses unmanned predators during war and now they have an unmanned helicopter they use for drug busts on the ocean. One thing that comes from all the money we put into our military in america is they test these new technologies and then down the road it becomes something that the public will use.

From unmanned aircraft to vechicles that drive without a driver you can already see the things in place for us to have a life where robots do alot of our work for us. I watched a TV show where they have races with vehicles that require no drivers and nobody controlling them remotely. There are so many instances where we have prototype robots that I believe will one day be the main work force. I doubt that day will come in my life time but I do not believe that alot of the science fiction movies are that far off. A computer can do anything it is programmed to do and as we find new ways to store more information in smaller spaces and new ways to give that information to computers such as infrared or voice recognition we will move closer and closer to that Robot age.

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2010-04/video-navy-helicopter-drone-makes-first-coke-bust-high-seas