what were they thinking?

while personal privacy should be more of a concern for everybody, military in war zones need to be even more cautious. Apparently military joggers using a fitbit tracking device with GPS tracking that uploads running route data to the WWW turns out to be a handy way for the enemy to locate where soldiers are based and exercising outside the compound.

As usual modern technology can be a double edged sword.

JR

Apparently it was their privacy settings. As is the norm, unless you know to change them, these kind of services start you off with a privacy level of zero.
The company published a heat map of exercise routes. Some journalists found that you could find heat maps in places indicating where military bases are (even secret bases).

Maybe they can use this to confuse the bad guys.... put fitness trackers on stray dogs in enemy territory so the tracking reports look like they are everywhere. 

While it may be too late to undo this, perhaps randomly distort the old data to make it meaningless.

JR

One of the problems with so much data being out there is knowing all the implications of it being mined.
Seems no one thought of this. 
I expect there will be a lot of this with the coming IoT (internet of things).
I don't know why people are buying stuff that is going to spy on them so the companies can sell the data

dmp said:

One of the problems with so much data being out there is knowing all the implications of it being mined.
Seems no one thought of this. 
I expect there will be a lot of this with the coming IoT (internet of things).
I don't know why people are buying stuff that is going to spy on them so the companies can sell the data

Click to expand...

Because people are naive.... paying to invite spying devices into their homes.

When "do not call lists" can't stop spam phone calls, how will laws protect internet privacy (ans. they won't).  But government will happily collect huge fines after the fact from google et al like is already happening in Europe.

JR

JohnRoberts said:

Because people are naive.... paying to invite spying devices into their homes.

When "do not call lists" can't stop spam phone calls, how will laws protect internet privacy (ans. they won't).  But government will happily collect huge fines after the fact from google et al like is already happening in Europe.

JR

Click to expand...

So is it survival of the fittest? Smart corporations can grind naive people up as they separate them from there money? The extent of corporate abuse of people seems to be limitless, with government the potential check. But in the conservative mind, government regulation is an absolute bad.  In a dystopian Trump / conservative future, what would the world look like?

dmp said:

So is it survival of the fittest?

Click to expand...

Actually evolution has been defanged for some time, allowing the gene pool to decline in quality. 

Smart corporations can grind naive people up as they separate them from there money? The extent of corporate abuse of people seems to be limitless, with government the potential check. But in the conservative mind, government regulation is an absolute bad.  In a dystopian Trump / conservative future, what would the world look like?

Click to expand...

I don't feel like pointing out all the hyperbole and straw men.

I have often repeated there is a place for some regulation as unfettered capitalism can lead to abuses. That said more regulation is not automatically better, as too much can be a drag on economic activity without creating real value.  Fighting crony capitalism is near the top of my list, but more regulation typically benefits big business.... We need to make congress obey the same laws we have to, maybe add term limits to remove career politicians.

For one timely example, our "businessman" president has started a focus on infrastructure permitting that routinely delays new projects for multiple years.  We all remember the "shovel ready" projects from the last administration that didn't happen for years after they were announced. Just shortening the permitting process can pull forward economic activity for projects already in the works without spending one new penny of taxpayer money... It is nice to have a businessman in a position to correct obviously flawed "business as usual" behavior from political elites. 

JR

PS: I feel a disturbance in the force... it will be interesting to see how media spins this new piece of evidence about the swamp critters.  :

Shithole country is a pretty ugly statement too, JR.

JohnRoberts said:

Actually evolution has been defanged for some time, allowing the gene pool to decline in quality.

Click to expand...

The traits that survive are the traits needed for survival - nothing more, nothing less.

Evolution is not analogous to  race horse breeding.

They should teach it in schools or something...

Gustav

Gustav said:

The traits that survive are the traits needed for survival - nothing more, nothing less.

Click to expand...

More like to ability to propagate/reproduce, but we seem to be losing interest in that.

Evolution is not analogous to  race horse breeding.

Click to expand...

ya think?  I don't recall saying it is.

They should teach it in schools or something...

Gustav

Click to expand...

Funny you say it that way. Back when I still read the local newspaper (only on sundays) maybe 10 years ago, or more, there was a letter to the editor actually complaining about teaching evolution in the local schools, complaining that somehow it was the cause for bad behavior among students. Of course I responded with a letter back to the editor in response, stating that it was fully accepted science and should be taught to all children. Sure enough some individual reading what I wrote, looked up my home phone number and called me at the house one night saying he was confused because his pastor said evolution wasn't real?  Seriously I can't make this stuff up... :

I told him to listen to his religious leader and apologized for confusing him.  : : Otherwise he would become a permanent member of my congregation, and I'd have to explain everything to him. 

Yup, life in the deep south.  More than a cliche....  :
JR 

The book of John.... ;D

Click to expand...

More truth to that and very funny!