MacGyver

Take a step a little further back.   There's not a retailer out there right now that isn't struggling with three conversations:  end-to-end encryption, tokenization and hosted payment pages.  If they're not having these conversations in light of the last year's breaches, then they should probably pick up their last check this afternoon and go find something else to do.  I know this, because I facilitate these conversations with dozens of retailers big and small every week.   Everyone knows that the above three items are the right thing to do, but they're struggling with it - for a host of legitimate reasons.  Some of them would buckle under the capital expense of upgrading their POS systems and card terminals.  Some retailers back office systems aren't designed to handle data in that way.  There are still a whole bunch of payment processors who don't support end-to-end encryption or tokenization.  Even with the PCIDSS 3.0 spec (which Target kind of bricked) and next year's liability shift with EMV, a lot of "PCI compliant" merchants are still 18-36 months out from even beginning to secure their environments.  This implementation takes security out of the merchants' hands and lets the individual user have control of their own stuff.   This implementation is significantly different than historic NFC payments for two reasons.  One, it isn't just a novel way of getting your PAN data to a merchant like it has been historically - it's never giving that data to a merchant, period.  This system is a true two-factor authenticated system that enforces true end-to-end encryption.  The merchant never has access to the data.  If they need repeat access, then they receive a tokenized representation that they may reference in the future.  They never see your data, and that's huge since they can't seem to get their junk together to protect it.    I'm looking forward to studying the new chip and spec from an InfoSec perspective, but this is a big step forward.  Apple does have its issues (see JLaw et al last week), and individual customers should spend some time thinking about whether or not they want to give a corporation that much visibility into their spending habits.  That said, it's more than just an Apple rebranding of old tech.

NFC has been out for years, but Apple has the ability to move payments forward in ways that others have not. And, it's really just because they're Apple and retailers want to get on that bus.  Tokenization at the local level and true two factor payments are a big deal.  Apple avoided NFC forever, and I suspect it was because they couldn't control the whole ecosystem.  With the touch sensor, they can.   We'll see if it takes off, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

The payments thing is a big deal in a way that no other manufacturer has been able to pull off, yet.  It will probably be the real "game changer" of this release.   You may or may not see a personal need for it, but it moves credit card security into a true two-factor realm.  Something you have( the phone with the card)  and something you are (fingerprint).  The fact that they're tokenized at the phone and the retailer will never see the number is a big deal in light of all of the recent card breaches.   No system is perfect, but this does move the ball forward.

The monopolistic cable providers and both parties of our government would love to get control of the internet.  That said, all of the colored revolutions of the last 4 years have shown that's a pretty difficult beast to contain.   I'd be aware of bills that limit privacy and "online freedom", but wouldn't spend too much time worrying about the .gov's efforts to shove Pandora back in his box. 

I sent him a note last night. I'll let you know if I hear anything.

That looks great!

I'll look up his email address and send him a note.

So the New York Times published a complete listing of purchases of military equipment by police departments and other state agencies by locality:   https://github.com/TheUpshot/Military-Surplus-Gear   It's an interesting read regardless of where you place yourself in the current debate.  I'll say this...they get a heck of a deal on M14s and 1911s.

The OP is still a daily visitor.  What that means for his relationship status - you can decide for yourself, I guess...

The Savage 9317 is an awfully good rifle. You're welcome to come get mine and shoot it if you want a comparison.

If you'll PM me with your desired name, I'll be happy to change it for you.

Contractor-grade garbage bag and dry ice.   Oh, and a video camera.

Welcome to TGO, and potentially to Tennessee.  Please change your username to something that wouldn't be offensive to a whole group of people. 

Y'all just quit responding. I hate to say it, but it's kind of like when people are laughing at a kid who's misbehaving. It only encourages the behavior. Please refrain from responding. Just report the posts, and we'll hide them.

A savvy user can (and has) managed to create a new account.  There are limitations to technology, and so if you're really inclined, you can get back on.  If you were to keep quiet about your former identity and change your tone a bit, we're probably not going to boot you.   But, the thing about it is, is that most of the users who recreate accounts are just narcissistic enough to not be able to do either of those two things.  They are in fact their own worst enemies.

Gone again. Hopefully AB28 will tire of this before we do.

It's odd that these require a 4473.

College, like so many things in life, is wasted on the young.

It might be a nice rifle, but that site sure isn't designed for mobile.

Oh, what a shame!

The sad thing in losing this member was that he actually had some useful stuff to contribute.  He through hiked the Appalachian Trail with what most would consider ultralight gear.  From my perspective, being able to hike 2000 miles with less than 20lbs. on your back gives you some wisdom that a lot of folks on here could benefit from.    I hope that he finds what he's looking for.

Squared away.

I'll change it back tomorrow.

I actually read this one as a weird sign that things may be changing for the better. Here's the thing. That post was around 0345CDT, and I don't think I booted him until around 1100. When I saw the post, I was worried that someone had reported it and no one noticed. I checked the reports and no one had reported it, yet. To my mind, that means y'all were making pancakes, out shooting or doing something. We love an active community, but I feel like several of the administrative decisions we've had to make over the last year or so were directly related to people just not having other outlets and thus spending maybe more time than is healthy on here. So congratulations? I hope y'all were out shooting some .22LR bulk packs or something :)

It was actually up for a good while. Note for anyone thinking about making a last stand around here, do it on a weekend morning. Life is busy. I know I'm usually making my kids pancakes or at church on Sunday. Our other mods certainly have stuff going on, too.