The 8008 was: Blinky lights WAS: The SR71 Blackbird was designed ENTIRELYwith slide rules 669

This is the thing I was lamenting about the US mindset just before 9-11. The US system tends to evolve towards a lax verification; because the cost in a slightly cumbersome system (doing checs, id verificaion etc) is abhorred at the detail level.

You then add quite severe sentences for anyone caught stealing with the aid of such a system. This is not my choice of system. I think it is pretty immoral to place such temptations under the noses of many people. It is also very exposed for a large-scale hit.

I mentioned the laughingly lax airline security a few months before 9-11. It was horribly abused, and is not a laughing matter anymore. I myself lost two aquaintances that day. And we got draconian measures to compensate for the error of being too late implementing them.

Ditto in banking. While most of Europe has gone the "Push" route in payments the US is still overwhelmingly "Pull". "push" is inherently more secure, as you are dispensing your own money.

In addition the safequards in terms of smartcards, mobile Credit Debt card terminals1 brought to your table, and decently secured network banks are rare.

I have a feeling this will get to hurt badly at some point.

Perhaps using it as targeted attacks at People Pictures you don't like?

-- mrr

1 mobile card terminals use GSM and SMS, a technology very late to arrive in the US.