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[return to "The FBI Director Puts Tape Over His Webcam"]
1. rdl+D3[view] [source] 2016-04-09 04:06:46
>>molecu+(OP)
I care about audio so much more than video, and text/keys/etc captured from the machine even more. As long as my screen and keyboard are out of the frame of the camera, I don't really care about it getting RATed. At worst, you'll see me naked, or making angry/etc. faces at someone on irc or email. While embarrassing it would be less bad than most of what you could accomplish by stealing actual information.

OTOH, carrying around a microphone connected to the Internet which can be remotely enabled at any time without leaving any real trace (battery use/network use is the only real sign, although even that could be covered up to a great degree -- there is probably a way to do either low-fidelity or infrequent audio pickup, maybe keyed on location and charger state, and on-device pre-processing) -- people do this all the time Mostly because there's no real alternative to carrying smartphone yet.

Plus, of course, there's the fact that no modern desktop OS is particularly secure -- either you give up auto-updates and likely fall to bugs, or use auto-updates and are at risk to your OS vendor or anyone who can compel him. So sensors attached to it, as well as stuff processed on it, is also at risk. You can somewhat mitigate this through a large combination of other protections, but it's almost impossible for a single user single machine to solve that problem.

I'd love a custom run of Dell Chromebook 13 or Lenovo Thinkpad 13 Chrome Edition with no built-in mic/camera, and an EPROM vs. EEPROM, and some special case features. Would be willing to commit to buy 10k units at ~$800/unit retail in 8-16GB x 32GB config.

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2. shurco+X3[view] [source] 2016-04-09 04:13:29
>>rdl+D3
Did I understand what you said at the end correctly, are you willing to commit to buy 8 million dollars worth of laptops?
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3. rdl+54[view] [source] 2016-04-09 04:15:10
>>shurco+X3
Yes. (and then sell them, obviously, ideally for much more than $8mm)
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4. Drdrdr+x9[view] [source] 2016-04-09 06:30:40
>>rdl+54
You think there is a market for 10k of those? </sceptic>
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5. rdl+3a[view] [source] 2016-04-09 06:40:45
>>Drdrdr+x9
Not as random laptops, no.
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6. Drdrdr+4c[view] [source] 2016-04-09 07:30:19
>>rdl+3a
If you see a market oppurtunity like this, I suggest you go for it. There are many companies which will make you a custom laptop for such a quantity. Good luck!
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7. vinceg+Nl[view] [source] 2016-04-09 12:26:18
>>Drdrdr+4c
The problem is the brand specification. Nobody wants unbranded laptops.
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8. sbarre+Fn[view] [source] 2016-04-09 13:13:58
>>vinceg+Nl
I (anecdotally) disagree. I'd love to have a good-spec laptop that had no logos or branding on it.
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9. vinceg+7s[view] [source] 2016-04-09 14:30:34
>>sbarre+Fn
It's not so much the logos or the branding, it's the build quality. I used to run Ubuntu on old ThinkPads, ditched it like an ugly girlfriend once I could afford a Macbook Pro. Old ThinkPads were a step up from commodity PC laptops, which were a step up from desktops. In a brief fit of FOSS zeal I bought a System76 Galago Pro, but the build quality was so inferior to a Macbook Pro that I relegated it to desktop duty. If I felt the need to move off of Apple hardware for whatever reason for my primary ride, it'd be back to a ThinkPad.

Rdl specified Dell or Lenovo also for the reason that the supply chain for those two ecosystems are well-developed enough that providing customer support won't be a huge hassle.

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10. sbarre+Tg3[view] [source] 2016-04-11 15:33:40
>>vinceg+7s
I totally agree with what you're saying here.. That's why I sand "good spec" laptop. ;-)

But yes the question is whether or not that actually exists.

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