dan_bk

I'd say the goal can only be to maximize both, because no single factor will ever give you the best solution.

And their strategic positioning certainly also benefits from this move.

Maybe, but Switzerland is a very small country and it's not even part of the EU, which makes it easier for the US gov't to do whatever they want in that country. So, while they would be outraged, they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Look at Austria which is very similar to Switzerland in many aspects: They already know that they're 100% under US surveillance and no changes are planned whatsoever (plus, they're even a EU member state).

EDIT: Looks like we're about to find out... https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7772181

So, if you can vote in the upcoming EU parliament elections, consider voting against those 2 main parties that have always been in power.

Well, you can always increase the number of jobs in a country by lowering the country's wages.

By that logic, the taxpayer ends up footing the bill (via social insurance programs => taxes) that the employer should have paid.

Or maybe some overpaid positions will have to accept a cut that they will never even feel in the slightest way.

An INcrease of, say, $500/month to reach $4000/month can "change a World". But a $500/month DEcrease to reach i.e. $39'500/month will never even be felt.

In economic terms: The marginal benefit of an increasing wage decreases. There is a fuzzy limit where more money does NOT make you more happy.

I absolutely do not think so. Social justice is already excellent (compared to places like the US), wages have already a certain level allowing for an OK life (so not a lot of jobs would have to be cancelled due to higher pay), but it can definitely still be improved.

When you work at least 8 hrs/day, 5 days/week (because somebody wants your product/service), you should be able to have a normal/decent life.

If not, you're simply being ripped off.

EDIT: In other words, western societies have more than enough wealth for everybody to live really decent lives. If we still see horrible things like homelessness, etc., it's because society accepts structures that result in this. And personally, I don't want to be part of a society with such values.

I'm far more concerned by the/my impression that the public seems to have accepted total surveillance as "the new normal". It seems like Snowden's work has resulted in the vetting of mass surveillance.

I really hope I'm wrong.

What we need is 100% open-source software, hardware and firmware.

No need to, it's just plain old cheap lawyer tactics, it's been around since the beginning of time:

Scare people (i.e. by making them feel they're in danger) and they will do what you want. (Law seems complicated to non-lawyers, so lawyers make use of that, basically by communicating "I'm the specialist and you don't know anything about this domain, so do as I say")

In the case of this story, all I'd suggest the owner of the app, to steer clear of legal issues, is:

a) don't use their name,

b) don't use their logo (or other very distinct parts of their Corporate Identity)

c) re-launch your app (using proxies)

EDIT: On second thought - they don't deserve your exclusive traffic/promotion/value you add. If you keep your app alive, you should multiply your sources (add as many similar sites as possible).

I always use Piwik [0] - it's excellent, open-source and most of all: it respects your users' privacy by not letting any third party like Google track them.

My advice: Use it too and let your users know that you do so because you respect them.

[0] http://piwik.org

I remember that "internal" NSA memo which tried to reassure the employees, basically saying "don't worry, we'll just winter the storm, it will pass...".

And that's exactly what they're doing: Wait. And it's all that's necessary, because everybody has already shut up and is anxious about the next iPhone.

Peter’s reasoning for this: Wienux didn’t have the proper political backing required. You need more than just a couple of technically minded councillors to make such a big project a success – you need to know that you have the support of the majority.

I'm definitely not surprised - Austria is a notoriously conservative and very bureaucratic country, which is deeply reflected by the political landscape. Pioneers and out-of-the-box thinkers don't flourish in this country (although migrating to Linux nowadays is not even pioneering anything anymore).

And we'll never know how far collaboration goes - also because these relationships certainly evolve over time and are remain the same.

Personally, I'd rather call the usual +/- 20 background requests per page (of which each company may track you) "intrusive". But I suppose that's a matter of preferences.

EDIT re: Adblock Edge instead of Adblock Plus:

Adblock Plus has sold out, taking money for unblocking certain ads.

To block tracking background requests:

-> RequestPolicy: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/requestpolicy...

To block ads/trackers:

-> Adblock Edge: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/adblock-edge/

To eliminate tracking via cookies/persistent Flash cookies/Localstorage:

-> Self-Destructing Cookies: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/self-destruct...

Sure, it does - cultures vary.

The thing is this:

"Culture" expresses the maturity of our species. And maturity is an ongoing and never-ending process. Which means: you can/shoud always be asking "what must still be improved?" (on a personal and then societal level).

Every culture contains (sometimes very) unhealthy elements. And it's our job to root those out.

Behavioral norms promoting social isolation is one of those immature elements of certain cultures.

But I also think it really starts to apply to everybody now, as we learn to stay glued to our various electronic devices, wherever we are, whatever we do, whomever we're with.

If my main priority was security, then I would never even think about wireless (network, keyboard, etc.).

Sounds much nicer already.