It occurs to me that this thread is starting to go off-topic, but I am also curious to know what might happen. Thus the new thread ... On Wednesday 11 November 2020 08:50:33 Michael via tde-users wrote: > What went wrong? Do you remember the time when computers > > > > were a tool to help you, not to spy on you? > > > > > > Nik > > > > Yes, one can read about such a computer here: > > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abacus > > Funny story (not), > > I was working at Dell at the time when Windows 95 was beta released (mid > ‘94 ish). The network group (being real IT geeks) did some ‘testing’ > (using the pre-cursor to wireshark) and found that if the Win95 install had > network access then Win95 1) did a full disk scan, 2) packaged that up and > sent it to a Microsoft server, and 3) deleted all traces of the disk scan. > > Why I remember it, is it amused me that they were in their lab yanking the > plug out of the wall half way through an install then sticking the drive > into another PC (Unix!) to see what Win95 was doing. > > So, probably, the last time Windows didn’t ‘spy on you’ was probably Win > 3.1. Only because it couldn't. > > Best, > Michael As soon as they could be connected, either through a network, or through "sneaker-net", or sharing information between them, that is about when they because surveillance tools. About the only way to escape them is to go back to the Stone Age and make our own tools. I got into a conversation awhile ago when somebody described Orwell as a futurist. No, I said, he was very bad at guessing about the technological side of the future; but what he did guess was that those new "computing machines" that were used in the "war effort" would soon be used for controlling citizens rather than fighting an external enemy. Orwell worked writing and broadcasting for the BBC during the war years (which he called propaganda), and had an insider's glimpse of what was in store for us in the future; the future which is now. Bill ____________________________________________________ tde-users mailing list -- users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe send an email to users-leave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Web mail archive available at https://mail.trinitydesktop.org/mailman3/hyperkitty/list/users@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
