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I have been doing some reading and there is a Linux version that pretty much adds a self destruct password on your encrypted HD.
I am not sure if it is worth encrypting my HD or not so it needs a PW on boot
Probably if risks from such spooks are actually within your physical range. Like, say, if you fly into the US and your laptop gets checked at the border. While the general consensus is that law enforcement can't compel you into giving up your own password or encryption key as it counts as self-incrimination (which violates the Fifth Amendment in US law), it's not a totally safe bet. I'd say an encryption system that self-destructs (taking your files along with it?) is overkill, especially since the likely outcome is either you're asked to provide the password or they give up upon seeing encryption.
There's an xkcd strip which very aptly illustrates this:
https://xkcd.com/538/
Actually, if you're worried about laptop inspection by border patrol or something along the lines, just use Linux on your laptop. If stories are to be believed, many border agents (which are probably underpaid government employees anyway) come to a halt when they realise they're not dealing with a Windows machine as the tools they use for inspection only run on Windows.
You're right. It's creepy. The creepiest thing I remember is when I accessed Google Maps on a travel bus that has internet access (which, its mechanics, I have no idea how the hell that works), Google manages to locate me in my bus on the freaking highway that I'm traveling down on. That's probably not as serious as selling off customer's data to other third parties, but it's not really a good feeling.
I personally dislike GPS. Mobile Internet connection here is often terrible and I'm still sceptical as to how accurate it is (ever heard of that story about a man's GPS telling him he'd reached his destination when he was in the middle of a highway?), so for what's mostly subpar results I don't feel like waving my hand to the ever-vigilant satellites up there while saying "lookie, lookie, I'm here, I'll even tell you my exact location in coordinates machines like you can understand!"
Wow... this is totally worth ranting about. I'm not into politics, but I DO know that any form of society (regardless of what kind of politics are involved) revolve around a social contract stating that the citizens agree to abide by the government's laws as long as the government PROTECTS them. Some protection you're getting, huh?
This is a rather sensitive subject, and I'd rather not cross the political line, but I'll just say that this is the norm rather than the exception. Barring outside intervention like a foreign military aggression, the "protection" you speak of amounts to mostly "protectionism," which in and of itself is meant only for the elite. Plenty of examples from the US, too―I'm sure the HSBC issue is still hot and, when you're done exploring that, you can move on to other examples like Hollywood (looking up Jack Valenti or "Sony v. Universal" would be a good start), Bank of America (try mortgage issues), Pfizer (their stance on patent extremism) and General Electric (getting tangled up with the IRS) just to name a few. Over on the ISP side, you've got mainly AT&T, Comcast and Verizon, each with their own problems, generally revolving around customer spying and/or butchering net neutrality.
I don't mean to come off as bashing the US in particular or get political, and I apologise if I do. But I do want to point out that it's not uncommon at all. In other words, sorry to disappoint, but if you think your government protects
you, think again.
I'm gonna have to argue with this one and state that the people who only have a Mac computer are pretty much ignorant about how information technology works. I mean, my mom and my sister doesn't even know what I mean by "cmd", and my dad constantly questions why Internet Explorer is so slow.
Same with a lot of peers in my school (for the reference, I attend a school focused on Healthcare), who all own Macs, and have never heard of something called "taskmgr". (This includes my own roommate. Don't tell him I said this though)
I share that feeling, and have certainly judged―and still do―people for the items they use. It's not limited to just using OSX/Mac/iDevices either, but also the software they use. Over time, though, some within the anti-Apple crowd also began to sound like a bunch of close-minded bigots, and since I'm certain many are just jumping on the "hate Apple" bandwagon. They bash Apple products without knowing the specific technicalities of what make Apple products bashable. So why hate Apple? Because. (From an alternative perspective: Linux
elitists users would also probably bash me and think I'm a total noob since I still primarily use Windows. For the record, I'm a liberal arts graduate, so I'm more prone to such stereotyping. Also, richfags would probably laugh at what I drive to commute, or where I live, or what brands of shirts and shoes I wear, or God forbid they ever take a glance at my balance. But does that automatically make me technically illiterate or poor? Not necessarily.)
I must disagree with your opinion about people who only have macintosh are ignorant. A lot of people who use windows are ignorant as well. Some can't even turn on their computers, let alone trying to find the task manager. <--- no flaming here. Just posting a fact.
With respect to both sides of the argument, just to make it fair, Windows still dominates the operating system market by the sheer amount of users.
Of course you'll find
any kind of people within such a massive userbase, from the most technically illiterate to wizards alike.
Just to throw in my two-cents, I think that an individual has the option to choose whether to use a Mac or Windows computer. Personally I've always been using Windows and am reduced to nothing but a toddler playing around in front of a Mac. Heck, even toddlers nowadays can find their way around a Mac better than I can. Windows computers are just more affordable and with the wide range of programs and games available for Windows, I don't see myself switching over anytime soon.
This is personal opinion, but Linux users may find OSX actually easier to navigate around than Windows. It's certainly more similar, at least as far as navigation (dashboard, file manager) looks. Personally, I would've made the jump from Windows to Linux (my personal choice is Ubuntu) for a myriad of reasons, but I didn't because Windows is still the most convenient OS for games. And gaming is one of my primary activities with my computer.
Shine