Phones are more private than houses – so they shouldn’t be easier to search

In R v Fearon, a majority of the Supreme Court of Canada decided that police can search the contents of your cellphone as long as the search is ‘truly incidental’ to a lawful arrest and is tailored to the reason for the arrest.
(Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

What exactly does “truly incidental” mean? Canadian law is plagued by this type of ambiguous language. I’m skeptical whether the Supreme Court Judges possess the technical vocabulary to understand the implications of their decision. What is the problem with requiring investigators to obtain a warrant?

From The Globe and Mail – “Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada decided that police do not need a warrant to search the contents of your cellphone. In R v Fearon, a majority of the court decided that police can search the contents of your cellphone as long as the search is “truly incidental” to a lawful arrest and is tailored to the reason for the arrest.”

Read the full article – The Globe and Mail – Phones are more private than houses – so they shouldn’t be easier to search

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The Link Is Half Empty

A radical pessimist’s guide to the next 10 years – via TheGlobeAndMail.com – Depressing, but lots of points in this list are probably pretty accurate.

How writing by hand makes kids smarter – via TheWeek.com – Makes sense.

Couple sell their $6000 home to Apple for $1.7 million – via DailyMail.co.uk – Notice to Apple:  At this kind of mark-up, my house is for sale, too.

7 Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College – via Wired.com – Save some time for this one.  It’s a bit long and has lots of links to supplementary information, too.

I came here to post links and chew bubble gum…and I’m all outta gum.

If you do this in an email, I hate you. – via TheOatmeal.com – Read this.  If any of them apply to you, die.  Except you, Mom.  Keep sending me those funny cat pictures and email hoaxes that have been circulating since the 90’s.

Why Comcast can (but probably won’t) read your e-mails, IMs – via ArsTechnica.com – This could also be titled “Another reason why lawyers suck.” or “If you’re THAT worried, use encryption!”.  The end of the article sums it up perfectly – “…take comfort in the fact that your activities are (probably) boring enough that they will never bother to [read your email]”.  Think about how many billions of emails are sent daily.  Are yours so important that anybody will give a shit what they say?  Doubtful.  If you are that important (or that paranoid) then there are commercial encryption solutions available to safeguard your email.  Just get it before the U.S. government legislates their way in the back door.  What difference does it really make, anyway?  Everybody knows the tech support guy has been reading your email for years.
Clive Thompson on the Power of Visual Thinking – via Wired.com – Although it boils down to “A picture is worth a thousand words” this is still an interesting article.  The comments underneath it are also becoming a decent debate.

Duke Nukem Forever Demoed – via MaximumPC.com – Duke Nukem 3D was released in January of 1996.  The sequel, Duke Nukem Forever, has been rumoured and promised since April of 1997.  It has been vaporware for so long that it’s actually been retired from some lists.  I’m still expecting this to all be part of an elaborate scam for the publisher to rake in millions of dollars in pre-orders, then disappear.

Google TV may finally get TV right in the online video age – via ArsTechnica.com – If Google pulls this off, expect big changes in how people use their computers AND their TVs.  The evolution of on-demand content is getting very interesting.  I wonder how internet service providers who also provide cable TV will treat this new technology and lost ad revenue.

Toshiba to Launch Glasses-Free 3D TVs Later this Year – via HotHardware.com – I can’t wait to see this technology in action.  Too bad it’s tiny screens and huge price tags.  Must have patience.

Anti-Government Sovereign Citizen Movement Makes a Comeback – via AlterNet.org – I’m really not sure what I think of this one.  On one hand, I agree with the idea that the government should stay out of the lives of private citizens.  On the other hand, if you want to be part of a society, you have to live by its rules.  I do admire the way they stick to their principles, though, because I don’t care how many guns you have, the government has more.

The Office Worker’s 101 Guide to a USB Thumb Drive – via MakeUseOf.com – This article has some handy tips.

And The Bonus!
Oral and Anal Sex Are Becoming More Popular – via Asylum.com – Several interesting statistics.  I found a certain inequality to be of particular interest.  According to this study, “85 percent of men claim they gave their partner an orgasm during their latest sexual event, whereas only 64 percent of women said they achieved orgasm during their most recent sexual encounter.”  Congratulations, ladies.  21 percent of you are very good actors!  Well played.