On Tue, 04 May 2004 16:58:40 PDT, chuck goolsbee <chucklist@forest.net> said:
At 4:19 PM -0500 5/4/04, Laurence F. Sheldon, Jr. wrote:
chuck goolsbee wrote:
However, up to 90% of the users *are* stupid:
I didn't say that, I only quoted (Valdis Kletnieks) it... to which I replied that compensating for stupidity is a zero-sum game.
On Mon, 03 May 2004 20:53:50 PDT, Michel Py said:
In other words: if one is stupid, one gets worm'ed or bot'ed.
My error - what I meant was "However, by that definition, 90% are stupid". In fact, I'm in agreement with Steve Bellovin - either the users need to master the technology (which isn't going to happen), or we need to fix the design and HCI factors so that what ships *is* something that's actually usable.
So maybe they WOULD be better with a "WebTV" model.
Have to admit, that model *does* solve the HCI issues..
Or a Macintosh.
Actually, there's multiple solutions - remember that monocultures are bad. :)
Perhaps there is a market for "safe Internet access"... I don't know. But I suspect the barrier to entry is either making it work with the dominant platform, or asking the market take the leap to another platform. Both are unlikely. What I do know is that the dominant platform is inherently insecure, and many of its users, those "non-technical" folks I referred to... they seem to be mostly unaware of the danger they pose to themselves and everyone else on the Network.
The trick here is realizing that compensating for stupidity doesn't have to be a zero-sum game. Today's window of opportunity: "Microsoft is expected to recommend that the "average" Longhorn PC feature a dual-core CPU running at 4 to 6GHz; a minimum of 2 gigs of RAM; up to a terabyte of storage; a 1 Gbit, built-in, Ethernet-wired port and an 802.11g wireless link; and a graphics processor that runs three times faster than those on the market today." http://www.microsoft-watch.com/article2/0,1995,1581842,00.asp So you have several years to convince people that there are cheaper/free solutions that are more secure *and* don't require a forklift upgrade....