Computer User Licenses
by Stephen on Apr.03, 2006, under Rant
Wouldn’t it be great if, to use a computer you had to have a license to prove you were capable of using it safely on your own without a geek standing over you to make sure you dont download 3gig of spyware?
To get your license you will have to show an ability to read on screen instructions, basic installation competency, and basic computer security. You will also need to be able to show you are able to use a variety of office applications (Basic IT), and have some clue about basic systems care and maintenance.
Anyone found dangerously computing should have their license revoked and forced to sit another test to get it back. Dangerous computing would be browsingt he internet on an unpatched system with no antivirus or firewall running, unless they are running an obscure OS that no ones bothering to hack, in which case its probaly not dangerous.
Anyone found computing without a licence or any other violation, maybe drunk computing could be an offence should be fined and a few point put on their license, too many points and you get a computing ban.
Basically computers should be licensed like cars, people that don’t know how to use one should be taught before they can use their own without supervision.
This will have added benifits that if you need a license to copute, then all computer users will be registered somewhere, giving a massive database of computer users so a computer is detected breaking the rules, the user can be found out much easier (especially if their ip’s are assigned to the user rather than the machine – dunno how that’ll work) and have their license revoked till they learn how to not break the rules. By break the rules I mean not get your computer turned into a zombie or be littered with mass mailing keylogging file eating viruses.
Don’t suppose this’ll ever happen, so I guess its up to us geeks to educate everyone or just keep cleaning up the mess our incompetent none geeks seem to be intent on making.
