Flash 10

Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
..deb for Ubuntu 8.04.

Any problems?

Phil Stovell wrote:[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]
I installed it because Firefox 3 seems to be missing the plugin. I
haven't had any problem with it, but then again it still hasn't shown up
in firefox plugins. Not sure what the problem could be. May be that I am
trying to use files that I have imported to my home folder that I have
used across more than one distribution. I sometimes have these problems
then I just delete everything and start fresh importing only my
bookmarks. Really don't want to do that again, but I may.

Phil Stovell wrote:
[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]

There's no 64-bit version, so I couldn't install it. I was hoping it would
provide accelerated video with Compiz, but I'll have to wait until a 64-bit
version is provided to find out :)

IMHO, it's less than cool to not include a 64-bit version.

Daniel

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:19:20 +0100, Phil Stovell wrote:
[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]

I haven't yet. Good article here though...

[url]http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2008/10/16/install-adobe-flash-player-10-in-[/url]
ubuntu-804-and-810/

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:19:20 +0100, Phil Stovell wrote:
[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]

Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't install
Flash. But you should read this:

[url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-privacy-killer/[/url]

I have Flash installed on Firefox, which I use for about 5% of my web
browsing. The rest of my browsing is done in Konqueror, with most
everything (Java, JavaScript, redirects, animations, and of course Flash)
disabled.

Still, I was stunned at the number of Flash cookies stored on my computer.
The above article explains how to delete them and how to prevent them.

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm now filtering all Google Groups posters.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:28:52 -0400, Tony Sivori wrote:[color=blue]
>
> Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't install
> Flash. But you should read this:
>
> [url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-privacy-killer/[/url][/color]

Heheh, I have a separate account for each internet activity.
Bottom of browsing accounts's $HOME/.bash_profile has

firefox $HOME/index.htm
/local/bin/del_trash

exit
#*************** end .bash_profile ******************


My desktop shortcut for browser has
xterm -title -display $DISPLAY -geom 30x3+439+439 \
-e sudo /bin/su -l &


When I click the shortcut. it logs into browser, firefox comes up with
my web page. Upon exit of firefox, del_trash deletes directories like

/bin/rm -fr $HOME/.adobe
/bin/rm -fr $HOME/.java
/bin/rm -fr $HOME/.mplayer
/bin/rm -fr $HOME/.macromedia

and removes firefox's directory and installs a pristine copy.

if [ -e firefox.tar ] ; then
/bin/rm -rf .mozilla
tar -xpvf $HOME/firefox.tar > /dev/null 2>&1
fi

I do not use bookmarks.

I keep urls in an ascii file, with keywords, which allows me to use a
script to grep for something I want. Example:

$ urls bash doc
[url]http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/xcu_chap02.html[/url] ! basic shell bash doc
[url]http://gentoo-wiki.com/MAN_bash[/url] ! documentation
[url]http://cfaj.freeshell.org/shell[/url] ! bash script tips usage doc
[url]http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/index.html[/url] ! bash script advanced documentation

Nico <yuk@yuk.inv> wrote in
news:s4GdnXQAsYQPAmXVnZ2dnUVZ_hmdnZ2d@giganews.com:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:19:20 +0100, Phil Stovell wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site?
>> There's a .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>>
>> Any problems?[/color]
>
> I haven't yet. Good article here though...
>
> [url]http://tombuntu.com/index.php/2008/10/16/install-adobe-flash-player-10-[/url]
> in- ubuntu-804-and-810/
>[/color]


Thanks for the link. Youtube'ing quite merryly along here now... :-)

Daniel Smedegaard Buus wrote:[color=blue]
> Phil Stovell wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
>> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>>
>> Any problems?[/color]
>
> There's no 64-bit version, so I couldn't install it. I was hoping it would
> provide accelerated video with Compiz, but I'll have to wait until a 64-bit
> version is provided to find out :)
>
> IMHO, it's less than cool to not include a 64-bit version.
>
> Daniel[/color]
Adobe don't support 64bit in either flash or reader. You have to use the
nspluginwrapper to get them to work. (This is how the medibuntu packages
are installed)

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:28:52 -0400
Tony Sivori <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't install
> Flash. But you should read this:
>
> [url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-privacy-killer/[/url]
>
> I have Flash installed on Firefox, which I use for about 5% of my web
> browsing. The rest of my browsing is done in Konqueror, with most
> everything (Java, JavaScript, redirects, animations, and of course
> Flash) disabled.
> [/color]

I fail to see the creepiness factor. It's like saying "cookies are
bad, let's all freak out".

Anyone sufficiently gifted at writing or speech can sway people that
don't know the topic well enough to make a fair decision on whether
something is good or bad. Even today, many pieces of software will
scream at you in crazy ways, saying "OH NOES YOU HAVE COOKIES IN YOUR
BROWSER CACHE, LET'S NUKE EM". This has _got_ to be the most annoying
thing ever. Cookies are not intrinsically good or bad.

The question is, do you trust the person or company who hosts the Web
site? If not, don't go there. It's really that simple. Do you know
whether or not you trust the site? Well, if you don't know, then you
don't trust them. Pretty simple stuff.
[color=blue]
>
> Still, I was stunned at the number of Flash cookies stored on my
> computer. The above article explains how to delete them and how to
> prevent them.
>[/color]

Flash Local Shared Objects are very useful things, just like HTTP
cookies are very useful things. LSOs can be information or components
of a media player application or even a temporary storage of the media
you're streaming. (Though, often that media is simply placed in /tmp
instead of cached in the LSO storage area.)

If you want to see what is _actually_ stored there, why not check it
out? You can find it in
${HOME}/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/ which contains the
actual files.

I have nothing in my LSO area that isn't preferences or simple state
information. In fact, what *is* there is great because I don't have to
adjust settings when I go to the sites in question. This makes me
*very* happy.

--- Mike

--
My sigfile ran away and is on hiatus.

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Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)

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o/wAnjlNWlA+2DWWL69g4MNmb4qkR6wo
=gOO8
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Tony Sivori <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote in
news:pan.2008.10.17.15.28.51.390844@yahoo.com:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:19:20 +0100, Phil Stovell wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site?
>> There's a .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>>
>> Any problems?[/color]
>
> Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't install
> Flash. But you should read this:
>
> [url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-[/url][/color]


Thanks for the pointer. :-)
[color=blue]
>
> I have Flash installed on Firefox, which I use for about 5% of my web
> browsing. The rest of my browsing is done in Konqueror, with most
> everything (Java, JavaScript, redirects, animations, and of course
> Flash) disabled.
>
> Still, I was stunned at the number of Flash cookies stored on my
> computer. The above article explains how to delete them and how to
> prevent them.
>[/color]


FWIW, I'm all over the web practically every day and on the Vista system
I had only 2 flash cookies (1 years worth) and the Ubuntu box had 1
(fairly recent install). Went to Adobe's web site and used the manager
to turn the rascals off permanently; will see how it goes from here.
:-)

After takin' a swig o' grog, Michael B. Trausch belched out
this bit o' wisdom:
[color=blue]
> I fail to see the creepiness factor. It's like saying "cookies are
> bad, let's all freak out".
>
> ...
>
> The question is, do you trust the person or company who hosts the Web
> site? If not, don't go there. It's really that simple. Do you know
> whether or not you trust the site? Well, if you don't know, then you
> don't trust them. Pretty simple stuff.[/color]

Not really, since it looks like you get local-share-object files from
any site that has some flash working on the web pages you visit.
[color=blue]
> Flash Local Shared Objects are very useful things, just like HTTP
> cookies are very useful things. LSOs can be information or components
> of a media player application or even a temporary storage of the media
> you're streaming. (Though, often that media is simply placed in /tmp
> instead of cached in the LSO storage area.)
>
> If you want to see what is _actually_ stored there, why not check it
> out? You can find it in
> ${HOME}/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/ which contains the
> actual files.[/color]

[url]http://solve.sourceforge.net/[/url]

An SOL viewer.
[color=blue]
> I have nothing in my LSO area that isn't preferences or simple state
> information. In fact, what *is* there is great because I don't have to
> adjust settings when I go to the sites in question. This makes me
> *very* happy.
>
> --=20
> My sigfile ran away and is on hiatus.[/color]

But your cookies are still around <grin>.

--
"Maybe we can get together and show off to each other sometimes."

Phil Stovell schreef:[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]

I installed it a few days ago and it works well.
At least when I enable it by clicking on the Flashblock icon.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 13:44:30 -0400
Chris Ahlstrom <linonut@bollsouth.nut> wrote:
[color=blue]
> After takin' a swig o' grog, Michael B. Trausch belched out
> this bit o' wisdom:
> [color=green]
> > I fail to see the creepiness factor. It's like saying "cookies are
> > bad, let's all freak out".
> >
> > ...
> >
> > The question is, do you trust the person or company who hosts the
> > Web site? If not, don't go there. It's really that simple. Do
> > you know whether or not you trust the site? Well, if you don't
> > know, then you don't trust them. Pretty simple stuff.[/color]
>
> Not really, since it looks like you get local-share-object files from
> any site that has some flash working on the web pages you visit.
> [/color]

Right, but the point is that if you don't trust the site (for Flash or
any other reason) then simply don't visit it. I pretty much stick to
sites that I know when I am browsing the Web. I don't, for example,
visit sites that are heavy on the Java usage, as an example; I don't
trust such sites, particularly when they use Java for things that
JavaScript could *easily* be used for (such as displaying the current
date and time---talk about unnecessary bloat). If the site can't be
trusted to do things efficiently and consider my needs when it comes to
invoking (or not) a heavyweight virtual machine, why would I trust them
when it comes to tracking (or not tracking) what I do?
[color=blue][color=green]
> > Flash Local Shared Objects are very useful things, just like HTTP
> > cookies are very useful things. LSOs can be information or
> > components of a media player application or even a temporary
> > storage of the media you're streaming. (Though, often that media
> > is simply placed in /tmp instead of cached in the LSO storage area.)
> >
> > If you want to see what is _actually_ stored there, why not check it
> > out? You can find it in
> > ${HOME}/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/ which contains the
> > actual files.[/color]
>
> [url]http://solve.sourceforge.net/[/url]
>
> An SOL viewer.
> [/color]

Interesting. I was just cat'ing the SOL files and looking at the
string output, though piping trough xxd is also useful if you don't
mind looking at hex output.
[color=blue][color=green]
> > My sigfile ran away and is on hiatus.[/color]
>
> But your cookies are still around <grin>.
> [/color]

Indeed they are. :-)

--
My sigfile ran away and is on hiatus.

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Version: GnuPG v1.4.9 (GNU/Linux)

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PwMAnA/Ece0pQpiEXK7rGnnV+sxWeglH
=8QCX
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"Phil Stovell" wrote:[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]

I installed Flash v.10.0.12.36 in both FireFox v.3 and Opera v.9.60
running under Ubuntu 8.04, and all work well with Flash content so far.
I downloaded Flash from the Adobe website.

*TimDaniels*

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:47:35 -0400, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:28:52 -0400
> Tony Sivori <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote:
>[color=green]
>> Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't install
>> Flash. But you should read this:
>>
>> [url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-privacy-killer/[/url]
>>
>>[/color]
> I fail to see the creepiness factor. It's like saying "cookies are bad,
> let's all freak out".[/color]

The creepy part is that when I tell Firefox to "clear all private data" it
does not touch this private data. And it appears that that is the way
Adobe wanted it. And they never ever expire which is another faux pas. So
yes, as far as I'm concerned there is the slime, creep, or ick factor,
whatever you want to call it.
[color=blue]
> Anyone sufficiently gifted at writing or speech can sway people that
> don't know the topic well enough to make a fair decision on whether
> something is good or bad. Even today, many pieces of software will
> scream at you in crazy ways, saying "OH NOES YOU HAVE COOKIES IN YOUR
> BROWSER CACHE, LET'S NUKE EM". This has _got_ to be the most annoying
> thing ever. Cookies are not intrinsically good or bad.[/color]

I don't want many of things that cookies bring. I don't want targeted
advertising. I don't want deep packet inspection by my ISP or anyone else.
It is no ones' business what I read on the web, but my own.

As far as I'm concerned, cookies that never expire and go out of the way
to hide themselves are bad until proven innocent.
[color=blue]
> The question is, do you trust the person or company who hosts the Web
> site? If not, don't go there. It's really that simple. Do you know
> whether or not you trust the site? Well, if you don't know, then you
> don't trust them. Pretty simple stuff.[/color]

I disagree. There are many levels of trust. Many sites I trust to not
intentionally do malicious things to my computer. But trusting them with
my personally identifying info and account numbers is another matter
entirely. I don't *fully* trust any site on the web.
[color=blue][color=green]
>> Still, I was stunned at the number of Flash cookies stored on my
>> computer. The above article explains how to delete them and how to
>> prevent them.
>>
>>[/color]
> Flash Local Shared Objects are very useful things, just like HTTP
> cookies are very useful things. LSOs can be information or components
> of a media player application or even a temporary storage of the media
> you're streaming. (Though, often that media is simply placed in /tmp
> instead of cached in the LSO storage area.)
>
> If you want to see what is _actually_ stored there, why not check it
> out? You can find it in
> ${HOME}/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/ which contains the
> actual files.[/color]

I don't have unlimited time to evaluate every controversy that comes
along. So I'd just as soon turn off access to my computer where
questionable third parties are involved.
[color=blue]
> I have nothing in my LSO area that isn't preferences or simple state
> information. In fact, what *is* there is great because I don't have to
> adjust settings when I go to the sites in question. This makes me
> *very* happy.[/color]

I'm happy for you. I'd probably be a nicer person if I were more trusting.

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm now filtering all Google Groups posters.

[cross-posted from alt.os.linux.ubuntu]

"Tony Sivori" wrote:[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:47:35 -0400, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
>[color=green]
>> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:28:52 -0400
>> Tony Sivori <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>>> Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't install
>>> Flash. But you should read this:
>>>
>>> [url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-privacy-killer/[/url]
>>>
>>>[/color]
>> I fail to see the creepiness factor. It's like saying "cookies are bad,
>> let's all freak out".[/color]
>
> The creepy part is that when I tell Firefox to "clear all private data" it
> does not touch this private data. And it appears that that is the way
> Adobe wanted it. And they never ever expire which is another faux pas. So
> yes, as far as I'm concerned there is the slime, creep, or ick factor,
> whatever you want to call it.
>[color=green]
>> Anyone sufficiently gifted at writing or speech can sway people that
>> don't know the topic well enough to make a fair decision on whether
>> something is good or bad. Even today, many pieces of software will
>> scream at you in crazy ways, saying "OH NOES YOU HAVE COOKIES IN YOUR
>> BROWSER CACHE, LET'S NUKE EM". This has _got_ to be the most annoying
>> thing ever. Cookies are not intrinsically good or bad.[/color]
>
> I don't want many of things that cookies bring. I don't want targeted
> advertising. I don't want deep packet inspection by my ISP or anyone else.
> It is no ones' business what I read on the web, but my own.
>
> As far as I'm concerned, cookies that never expire and go out of the way
> to hide themselves are bad until proven innocent.
>[color=green]
>> The question is, do you trust the person or company who hosts the Web
>> site? If not, don't go there. It's really that simple. Do you know
>> whether or not you trust the site? Well, if you don't know, then you
>> don't trust them. Pretty simple stuff.[/color]
>
> I disagree. There are many levels of trust. Many sites I trust to not
> intentionally do malicious things to my computer. But trusting them with
> my personally identifying info and account numbers is another matter
> entirely. I don't *fully* trust any site on the web.
>[color=green][color=darkred]
>>> Still, I was stunned at the number of Flash cookies stored on my
>>> computer. The above article explains how to delete them and how to
>>> prevent them.
>>>
>>>[/color]
>> Flash Local Shared Objects are very useful things, just like HTTP
>> cookies are very useful things. LSOs can be information or components
>> of a media player application or even a temporary storage of the media
>> you're streaming. (Though, often that media is simply placed in /tmp
>> instead of cached in the LSO storage area.)
>>
>> If you want to see what is _actually_ stored there, why not check it
>> out? You can find it in
>> ${HOME}/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/ which contains the
>> actual files.[/color]
>
> I don't have unlimited time to evaluate every controversy that comes
> along. So I'd just as soon turn off access to my computer where
> questionable third parties are involved.
>[color=green]
>> I have nothing in my LSO area that isn't preferences or simple state
>> information. In fact, what *is* there is great because I don't have to
>> adjust settings when I go to the sites in question. This makes me
>> *very* happy.[/color]
>
> I'm happy for you. I'd probably be a nicer person if I were more trusting.
>
> --
> Tony Sivori[/color]


I checked the macromedia\Flash_Player\#Shared Objects folder,
and there was a $hitload of folders containing folders containing folders
of .sol files. I deleted them all, and it hasn't negatively affected the
display of Flash content. I guess I'll have to download the Flash Settings
Manager, too.

*TimDaniels*

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:55:17 +0000, Bit Twister wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:28:52 -0400, Tony Sivori wrote:[color=green]
>>[/color]
>
>
> When I click the shortcut. it logs into browser, firefox comes up with
> my web page. Upon exit of firefox, del_trash deletes directories like
>
> /bin/rm -fr $HOME/.adobe
> /bin/rm -fr $HOME/.java
> /bin/rm -fr $HOME/.mplayer
> /bin/rm -fr $HOME/.macromedia
>
> and removes firefox's directory and installs a pristine copy.[/color]

I actually like having some site preferences stored, such as my google
preferences (English only, no filtering, 100 results per page, open
results in new tab). And cookie based logins for the few web boards I read
that require it, such as dslreports.com.
[color=blue]
> if [ -e firefox.tar ] ; then
> /bin/rm -rf .mozilla
> tar -xpvf $HOME/firefox.tar > /dev/null 2>&1
> fi
>
> I do not use bookmarks.[/color]

Heh, you're only the second person I've known to not ever bookmark
anything. Myself, I've got bookmarks dating back to 1997 - imported from
many OS upgrades. As for cookies, cache, and history, instead of keeping
things absolutely pristine, I settle for the occasional housecleaning.
[color=blue]
> I keep urls in an ascii file, with keywords, which allows me to use a
> script to grep for something I want. Example:
>
> $ urls bash doc
> [url]http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/xcu_chap02.html[/url]
> ! basic shell bash doc [url]http://gentoo-wiki.com/MAN_bash[/url] !
> documentation [url]http://cfaj.freeshell.org/shell[/url] ! bash
> script tips usage doc [url]http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/index.html[/url] !
> bash script advanced documentation[/color]

Is there an advantage to doing it that way?

--
Tony Sivori
Due to spam, I'm now filtering all Google Groups posters.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:04:54 -0400, Tony Sivori wrote:[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:55:17 +0000, Bit Twister wrote:[color=green]
>>
>> and removes firefox's directory and installs a pristine copy.[/color]
>
> I actually like having some site preferences stored, such as my google
> preferences (English only, no filtering, 100 results per page, open
> results in new tab). And cookie based logins for the few web boards I read
> that require it, such as dslreports.com.[/color]

No problem. I do the same for the google cookie. Then I make the tar archive.
[color=blue]
>[color=green]
>> I keep urls in an ascii file, with keywords, which allows me to use a
>> script to grep for something I want. Example:
>>
>> $ urls bash doc
>> [url]http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/xcu_chap02.html[/url]
>> ! basic shell bash doc [url]http://gentoo-wiki.com/MAN_bash[/url] !
>> documentation [url]http://cfaj.freeshell.org/shell[/url] ! bash
>> script tips usage doc [url]http://tldp.org/LDP/abs/html/index.html[/url] !
>> bash script advanced documentation[/color]
>
> Is there an advantage to doing it that way?[/color]

urls file shared across several OSs, jobs, and I can have up to 6 key words
to search with, not to mention piping result into grep -v to trim verbose results.

You mention going back a few years. :)

$ wc -l /local/doc/urls
3083 /local/doc/urls

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 10:19:20 +0100, Phil Stovell wrote:
[color=blue]
> Has anybody installed the flash 10 player from the Adobe site? There's a
> .deb for Ubuntu 8.04.
>
> Any problems?[/color]

I'm using Flash 10 on Fedora. Firefox has been freezing every now and then
since the Flash 10 update was installed. There have been other Firefox
updates in the last couple of days but I doubt any of them is responsible
for the problems.

On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:14:55 -0400
Tony Sivori <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:47:35 -0400, Michael B. Trausch wrote:
> [color=green]
> > On Fri, 17 Oct 2008 11:28:52 -0400
> > Tony Sivori <TonySivori@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > [color=darkred]
> >> Not an answer to your question, nor am I saying you shouldn't
> >> install Flash. But you should read this:
> >>
> >> [url]http://www.imasuper.com/66/technology/flash-cookies-the-silent-privacy-killer/[/url]
> >>
> >> [/color]
> > I fail to see the creepiness factor. It's like saying "cookies are
> > bad, let's all freak out".[/color]
>
> The creepy part is that when I tell Firefox to "clear all private
> data" it does not touch this private data. And it appears that that
> is the way Adobe wanted it. And they never ever expire which is
> another faux pas. So yes, as far as I'm concerned there is the slime,
> creep, or ick factor, whatever you want to call it.
> [/color]

But see, this is a _technical_ restriction. Should the plugin perhaps
create a menu to clear its own data? Maybe. But the only reason such
menu items were added was because of the entire propaganda surrounding
cookies. Cookies store text. They can't be used for everything that
the anti-cookie advocates claim they can be, and 90% of what people are
afraid of is cured by having an "s" on the end of that "http" in the
address bar.
[color=blue][color=green]
> > Anyone sufficiently gifted at writing or speech can sway people that
> > don't know the topic well enough to make a fair decision on whether
> > something is good or bad. Even today, many pieces of software will
> > scream at you in crazy ways, saying "OH NOES YOU HAVE COOKIES IN
> > YOUR BROWSER CACHE, LET'S NUKE EM". This has _got_ to be the most
> > annoying thing ever. Cookies are not intrinsically good or bad.[/color]
>
> I don't want many of things that cookies bring. I don't want targeted
> advertising.[/color]

I can understand this. Blocking certain types of cookies from certain
types of domains is a good thing. Though, I would tend to say that
those sorts of domains (and their associated IP addresses) are things
that would be blocked anyway. Thus, ensuring that no cookies *can* be
stored.

There is one service that I use that does targeted advertising based on
statistics---that'd be Facebook. I have to say that I don't mind
*their* targeted advertising. It seems to be quite on-target to things
that I want. I don't buy them anyway, because I only buy things when I
want to buy them and not because an advertisement popped up on my
screen telling me that it is there, but still... it's far less annoying
than seeing advertisements that I *hate*, or for products or services
that I hate.
[color=blue]
> I don't want deep packet inspection by my ISP or anyone
> else. It is no ones' business what I read on the web, but my own.[/color]

And the server's, because that information is logged anyway on the
server. The ISP will fail to identify what you're doing given that
little "s"...
[color=blue]
>
> As far as I'm concerned, cookies that never expire and go out of the
> way to hide themselves are bad until proven innocent.
> [/color]

That is one way to look at it. Suffice it to say, I do not share that
point of view... but then again, I do absolutely refuse to use services
that I don't trust, so I don't give most services the opportunity to
*become* guilty.
[color=blue][color=green]
> > The question is, do you trust the person or company who hosts the
> > Web site? If not, don't go there. It's really that simple. Do
> > you know whether or not you trust the site? Well, if you don't
> > know, then you don't trust them. Pretty simple stuff.[/color]
>
> I disagree. There are many levels of trust. Many sites I trust to not
> intentionally do malicious things to my computer. But trusting them
> with my personally identifying info and account numbers is another
> matter entirely. I don't *fully* trust any site on the web.
> [/color]

I can understand that. I don't fully trust anyone that is not myself,
but then again, that's because I got tired of being burned a long time
ago. I expect nothing good, everything bad, and am quite pleasantly
surprised when I am proved wrong.
[color=blue][color=green][color=darkred]
> >> Still, I was stunned at the number of Flash cookies stored on my
> >> computer. The above article explains how to delete them and how to
> >> prevent them.
> >>
> >>[/color]
> > Flash Local Shared Objects are very useful things, just like HTTP
> > cookies are very useful things. LSOs can be information or
> > components of a media player application or even a temporary
> > storage of the media you're streaming. (Though, often that media
> > is simply placed in /tmp instead of cached in the LSO storage area.)
> >
> > If you want to see what is _actually_ stored there, why not check it
> > out? You can find it in
> > ${HOME}/.macromedia/Flash_Player/#SharedObjects/ which contains the
> > actual files.[/color]
>
> I don't have unlimited time to evaluate every controversy that comes
> along. So I'd just as soon turn off access to my computer where
> questionable third parties are involved.
> [/color]

This one I don't so much get. Possibly because I don't believe in
making blanket statements or assumptions about anything---it is far too
easy to fall into the trap of stereotypes and then fail to consider
something down the road because of it.
[color=blue][color=green]
> > I have nothing in my LSO area that isn't preferences or simple state
> > information. In fact, what *is* there is great because I don't
> > have to adjust settings when I go to the sites in question. This
> > makes me *very* happy.[/color]
>
> I'm happy for you. I'd probably be a nicer person if I were more
> trusting.
> [/color]

I'm not exactly a trusting individual myself.

Or... maybe I am. I trust companies to behave poorly and to treat
customers with ill-will. I am happy when that *particular* trust is
broken, though.

--- Mike

--
My sigfile ran away and is on hiatus.

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