Tag: Technology

ATMs that Defend Themselves

This is certainly a unique story I found on Bruce Scheier’s blog…

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jul/12/south-africa-cash-machine-pepper-spray

In South Africa they are testing ATMs that squirt pepper spray into the face of anybody deemed to be tampering with the card slot…

The technology uses cameras to detect people tampering with the card slots. Another machine then ejects pepper spray to stun the culprit while police response teams race to the scene.

Here is the issue though image recognition isn’t 100%. In fact it’s very spotty at best. Hence I’m guessing there will be a lot of false positives here. Either that or the machines will be set towards the safe side and not actually spray the people that are tampering with the ATM.

Either way this sounds like an interesting idea with a flawed implementation.

Source: http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2009/07/pepper_sprayequ.html

Why You Don’t Rely on Competitor Products

One of Palm’s biggest advertised features of it’s new Pre phone was the ability to synchronize with Apple’s iTunes. The problem is the Pre directly competes with the iPhone so Palm was depending on their competitor’s product to claim a feature. Well Apple just released an update to squash the Pre’s ability to sync with iTunes…

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/07/apple_kills_pal.html;jsessionid=CZ3GQEH0
335DGQSNDLPSKHSCJUNN2JVN

I like Palm and many of their products but when they claimed the Pre synced with iTunes I knew it was not only a stupid thing to waste time accomplishing but also something that wouldn’t last long. Many people in the technology industry are now wondering if Palm will sue Apple based on anti-competitive practices. In my opinion iTunes is Apple’s property and they should be able to do whatever they damned well please with it.

The bottom line is Palm seriously fucked up when they depended on somebody who is in direct competition with them. This would be akin to America depending on the Middle East for oil, oh wait.

The Pirate Bay has Been Boarded

Rather sad news in my opinion The Pirate Bay has been bought…

http://thepiratebay.org/blog/164

I’m betting the site goes downhill fast from here on our. Anyways it was bought by some company called Global Game Factory for $7.8 million. Until now The Pirate Bay has been as much political as useful.

For those of you who don’t know it was in league with Sweden’s Pirate Party which is an actual governmental party in Sweden who’s platform is based on copyright reform. They actually have a decent base which gained them a seat in the European Union.

Anyways as with most good things that are sold to another company I’m expecting The Pirate Bay to go downhill fast.

Somebody Should have Seen this Coming

Although I’m not a Twitter user I found this story interesting…

http://www.macworld.com/article/141146/2009/06/twitpocalypse_twitter.html

Apparently several Twitter applications are melting down since the count of tweets is exceeding the maximum number a 32-bit integer can hold. This would be 2,147,483,6471 in this case since the software writers were using signed integers.

For those of you who don’t know how computer programming works I’ll give a quick run down. An integer is a standard unit of storing integer numbers. On most platforms an integer is 32-bits in size. This means it can have a range of 0 to 4,294,967,295. In order to store negative numbers one bit must be used to indicate positive and negative. With the removal of this bit to store a value your range of storable numbers becomes −2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.

There were two mistakes made here that I can see. The first one was using a signed integer. Since you never need to store a negative number of tweets there is no reason to waste that single bit to store whether a number is negative or positive, it’ll always be positive. The second issue, although understandable, is using a 32-bit integer. With the popularity of Twitter and number of tweets being made by each person every day it’s easy to see where more than 4,294,967,295 tweets will eventually be made. It would have been much smarter to use a 64-bit integer which unsigned gives a range of 0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615. Although not impossible it’s very unlikely there will ever be that many tweets before Twitter falls out of existence.

The first screw up was just poor planning, probably from an inexperienced programmer. The second mistake is understandable since most of the time when programming people simply use a basic integer type to store integer numbers.

But this story is a good example of what goes wrong when something isn’t fully planned out. I would imagine had more people been working on these applications somebody would have pointed this potential issue out. Always have an understanding on the possible maximum values your data may contain.

The Konami Code, Not Just for Games

It’s amazing how versatile the old Konami code is even to this day. Not only does it give you a fighting chance in Contra but apparently it unlocks all the secrets of Palm’s new phone, the Pre…

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2009/06/10/the-secret-to-palm-pre-dev-mode-lies-in-the-konami-code/

If you type “upupdowndownleftrightleftrightbastar” on the home screen of the Pre it enables the developer mode. What else can the Konami code do?

Proving Once Again the European Union is Anti-Business

It never seems to end with the European Union. They bring up a well deserved anti-trust case against Microsoft. It ends in a fine, which Microsoft pays. The European Union also requires Microsoft to rip out applications in it’s operating system so Microsoft does so releasing special European only versions of it’s operating system. For instance there is going to be an Internet Explorer free version of Windows 7. Well apparently that doesn’t go far enough for the largest socialist coalition on Earth…

http://www.osnews.com/story/21662/EC_To_Pursue_Antitrust_Despite_Microsoft_s_IE_Move

The European Union not only wants Microsoft to remove its own browser they also want Microsoft to include competitors’ browsers. I’m calling bullshit on this right here, right now. I dislike Microsoft as much as many others because of what they have done to the industry through their illegal practices. But why should they not be allowed to include their own web browser? And why in the fuck should they be required to include competitors’ products?

The bottom line every modern operating system includes a web browser. Apple’s Mac OS includes Safari, Ubuntu includes Firefox, Android includes it’s own WebKit based browser, Heck Debian even includes Ice Weasel which is just Firefox with a different name. If no browser was included most people wouldn’t know what to do with their computer. Unlike those of us in the “tech savvy” world most people have no idea how to get a web browser without first having a web browser. If you removed Internet Explorer from Windows what do you think most people would do? Probably call their computer manufacturer’s tech support and as “What the fuck guys?”

As making Microsoft remove the browser is idiotic. But making them include their competition’s products is insane. Yes Microsoft are a convicted monopoly, yes they did illegal practices to get to where they are today, but making them include the competition’s products is about as anti-business as you get. Most people who want to use a different browser just get one. For instance the first thing I do on a new installation of Windows after applying the system updates is download a copy of Firefox, Chrome, or Safari (depending on the day).

The problem with including other companies’ products is that Microsoft has no control over them. Currently when a security hole is found in Internet Explorer (you know just about every day) Microsoft figures out the problem and usually fixes it. They can do this because it’s their product and they have control over it. Now let’s say Firefox is included in Windows. Microsoft has no control over any problems that may occur and would be at Mozilla’s mercy when it came to providing a fix. Granted Mozilla is good about providing fixes but if they stop for some reason that leave Microsoft in a shitty position. Not to mention Microsoft has no way of knowing if their competitors’ products won’t interfere with other software in Windows.

Also who is to say any of Microsoft’s competitors won’t provide a special version of their production to include into Windows which they will refuse to support? I doubt this would happen but if they did it would make Microsoft look bad not them browser’s creator. Not having control over your own product is not only difficult but dangerous.

Finally how will we determine which browsers will be included? There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of browser out there. Does Microsoft have to include them all? If so that’s probably a few more gigabytes of size that will need to be installed with the operating system. Do only browsers with at least 10% market share get included? Well that would only leave Mozilla. Of course that would be unfair to Chrome, Safari, etc. How do you get clueless users to determine what browser will be best for them? Most people use Internet Explorer because it’s there and as far as they are concerned it is the Internet. Many of these people would have no idea what to do when asked what web browser to install.

Honestly this is just another reason why I hate the European Union. It was a bad idea when it started and it’s only getting worse as it ages.

AT&T. Because You Suck and We Hate You

It’s no small secret that the new iPhone was announced today. And taking a title from the famous “HK. Because You Suck and We Hate You” I present for your reading pleasure (unless you have an iPhone and are on AT&T) AT&T. Because You Suck and We Hate You.

First off let’s talk features. The new iPhone OS 3.0 will have two new features. These are tethering and multimedia messaging (MMS).

Tethering for those who don’t know is when you connect your phone to your computer and use the data plan on the phone as a network connection on your computer. I use it all the time on my Palm Treo 755p when I’m out and about (mostly because I don’t trust any network I don’t fully control but at least with being consistent and using Sprint’s I have a single point of attack instead of any random network). Well iPhone OS 3.0 now has this feature, and anybody with an iPhone can use it. Well that’s of course unless you’re in the United States and most probably on AT&T’s network…

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/06/08/the-dying-goodwill-toward-atandt/

Now from the same article let’s talk MMS. It’s more or less a stupid feature in my book. Think of it as enhanced text messaging. Instead of just text MMS allows you to send small pictures and video through your phone. Well iPhone OS 3.0 finally has this feature but alas if you are on AT&T it will be a while until you get it. But what’s a little wait huh? It’s not like this is a feature that’s been on every phone on the planet since the ’90’s, oh wait it is.

Finally AT&T being the bastions of super dickery they are have announced pricing…

http://www.tuaw.com/2009/06/08/iphone-3g-owners-and-atandt-upgrade-woes/

With most cellular phone carriers if you buy a phone you get a discount at the cost of having to sign a two year contract. Once this contract is up you often are offered a discount on a new phone for signing another two year contract. If you don’t opt for this then you are free to go from month to month with the ability to quit your business deal with your carrier at any time.

AT&T has decided that if you are not currently eligible for a new phone you will have to pay full price. Nothing unusual about that really, I paid full price for my current Palm Treo 755p. The difference is when I pay the full unsubsidized price with Sprint I don’t have to sign a new two year agreement. Well even though people may have to pay full price for a new iPhone they will also get the pleasure of being locked into a new two year agreement. That’s right you get struck twice with AT&T. You have to pay full price for the phone AND sign a new two year contract.

As you can see AT&T thinks you suck. After all they are giving your the privilege of owning an iPhone and using their network. And since the iPhone can’t be used on any other network (without some hackery) in the United States you are stuck with them if you want that iPhone.

As much bad mouthing that people give Sprint I think AT&T are far worse.

Damned Integrated Batteries

So Apple announced their new laptops. The plus side is they did a massive price drop, the down side is all the unibody MacBooks have an integrated battery. This means you can easily swap out a dead battery and replace it with a charged one nor replaced a worn out battery without taking apart the entire machine.

All this simple because Steve Jobs hates seems. Seriously the iPods, the iPhones, and now their laptops all have non-removable batteries.

There is no downside to batteries that are easily replaceable. And batteries do wear out. Now most people will have to take their laptop to an Apple store to get the battery replaced instead of being able to easily do it themselves. Thankfully ifixit.com has posted a nice picture filled page covering how to disassemble the unibody MacBook Pros with integrated batteries…

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/MacBook-Pro-17-Inch-Unibody/618/1

I’m doubting this is a deal breaker for myself but bloody Hell is irritates me.

Overkill Defined

Every time I mention I want to eventually get a .50 BMG or a machine gun people tell me they are overkill. Well they apparently don’t know what overkill is. THIS is overkill…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-388_Davy_Crockett

I present for your amusement the M-388. The M-388 is a system involving a recoilless rifle that shoots a nuclear warhead. No this isn’t some exotic weapon from the Fallout series of games, this is a real weapon that was actually produced during The Cold War.

The idea was to have a bunch of soldiers with these and various other nuclear weapons between the border of The Soviet Union and Europe. If Russia tried to invade the idea was to make the border a total radioactive wasteland for at least 48 hours, enough time to get NATO forces into position.

The M-388 could propel a projectile with up to half a kiloton payload to a distance of two and a half miles. The radioactive fallout would be instantly lethal to all people within 500 feet. Of course the recoilless rifle was dreadfully inaccurate so the three man team operating it more or less just lobbed the projectile at the largest Soviet group they could find and figure the concept of blast radius would take care of the problem. Certainly a most interesting weapon.

All I can say is overkill in a semi-portable weapon has been defined.