Tag: Technology

Printer Manufacturers that Cooperate with the United States Government

In an attempt to grant a monopoly on counterfeiting to the Federal Reserve the United States government has been working with printer manufacturers. This cooperation, better known as corporatism, has lead to certain printer manufacturers equipping prints to place tiny dots on every page printed in order to trace what printer any document came from. No publicly available list of printer manufacturers who were implementing this system was publicly available until now. Through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request we now know who these printer manufacturers are:

Canon
Brother
Casio
Hewlett-Packard
Konica
Minolta
Mita
Ricoh
Sharp
Xerox

Basically every major printer manufacturer. Still it’s nice to have a definitive list to reference.

Apple Announces OS X 10.8

I haven’t been posting much technology news as of later. Mostly this is because there hasn’t been much worth writing about and this really isn’t an exception. Apple quietly revealed the next version of OS X, named Mountain Lion.

With the exception of and iOS-esque notification center, nothing announced about 10.8 really grabs my attention. I guess that’s a good thing since my Mac Pro (1,1 model) won’t be officially supported anymore.

Fixing the iPhone’s Disappearing Personal Hotspot Setting

In Miami I was able to get online with the assistance of my wonderful iPhone 4. The iPhone, like Android and Windows Mobile phones, has the ability to be setup as a personal hotspot. All this entails is using the iPhone’s Wi-Fi interface as an access point that grants any connected device to use the phone’s cellular data connection. Unfortunately due to some cruel twist of fate the iPhone has a problem that sporadically appears: the setting to enable and disable the hotspot functionality disappears entirely. This happened to me and after getting it figured out I decided to write a little guide.

For me the fix was very simple. Open the Settings app and navigate to General->Reset. On this screen simply look for the button labeled “Reset Network Settings” and tap it. You’ll get a dialog box asking you to confirm this decision and after you do the phone will restart. After doing this my hotspot functionality returned much to my joy.

One thing to note is that every Wi-Fi network configuration you had previously saved on your phone will be gone so you’ll have to reenter the passkeys. Besides that the rest of your data will be preserved so this is a much less painful route to take than doing a complete reset of the phone.

Fun With Cell Phone Carriers

In the United States we have four cell phone providers to choose from; Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile. OK, there are a few other smaller games in town but being able to sign up for them is generally region dependent and in most cases you’re stuck with one of the big four. If you ask four different people what carrier is the best you’re likely to get four different answers. This is because each service provider has ups and downs. As I’m heading out of the country for the first time in my life I decided to check what my options were for communications.

Currently I have a line with Sprint and another line with AT&T. Sprint, being a CMDA carrier, has almost no coverage outside of the country. Thankfully AT&T is a GSM carrier so I can actually use my phone outside the country. For those planning on leaving the country and planning to use their AT&T (or T-Mobile) phone let me give you some advice: get a roaming voice, data, and text plan. The rate for international roaming is fucking insane without these packages so put them on before you head out. Even with the international roaming packages the prices are still insane but not as insane. Of course if you’re going to be out of the country for some time, or frequently visit a county, I’d advise you to get an unlocked phone and a SIM card in your destination country from one of that region’s local carriers (as I’m only going to be out of the country for a few days this didn’t make sense for me).

Many people outright hate AT&T and previously Sprint was held with with absolute lowest regards. Funny enough I’ve had great service with both so I can’t really complain. Not fitting the usual mold of customers who are dissatisfied with their carriers I thought it would be fun to write up my guide of United States wireless carrier (also I needed a canned post since I’m not around to post material, bear with me).

Verizon: Verizon currently enjoys the position of most beloved carrier in the United States (according to anecdotal evidence obtained by me). There are a lot of reasons for this including their great coverage, established LTE network, and vast selection of phones. On the other hand they are a CDMA carrier meaning your phone is unlikely to work outside of the United States and when you are in the United States the cost of your service is bloody high. Verizon also charges you based on the amount of data you use meaning those using 5GB are going to be paying more than those who use 2GB.

AT&T: Your soul will get you service but they also demand periodic blood sacrifices to maintain that service. What I’m trying to say is that AT&T, like Verizon, is expensive and the cost of data is based on use. As a small data user (I average 200MB a month) this hasn’t harmed me but I know people who like to stream Netflix to their phone and those people are going to feel the pain on AT&T. Being a GSM provider you can actually use your phone outside of the United States… for a price. AT&T also enjoys a very good selection of phones, namely because it is a GSM network and thus phones made for other countries can function.

Sprint: Minus the wide coverage Sprint is very similar to Verizon for a much lesser price. Sprint subscribers can also roam on Verizon’s network when Sprint coverage isn’t available, although you’ll get your line cancelled if you use it on Verizon’s network too much. Once again you’ll be on a CDMA network meaning your phone is unlikely to work if you leave the country but considering the fact that you get unlimited data for a fair price the advantages can outweigh the negatives quickly for most living in this country. Sprint’s phone selection was pretty pitiful but has been greatly improving.

T-Mobile: The smallest carrier of the four but also the one with the cheapest overall plans. While T-Mobile doesn’t charge you based on the mount of data you use they start throttling you when you’ve used more than 5GB. This is a good middle ground between Verizon and AT&T’s method and Sprint’s. Once again you’re dealing with a GSM carrier so you can use your phones outside of the United States… for a price. Unfortunately T-Mobile and AT&T use different bands for their 3G coverage meaning phones made for AT&T will not function nominally on T-Mobile and vise versa. T-Mobile customers can roam on AT&T’s network but without the benefit of 3G data speeds. T-Mobile’s selection of phones is also great being a GSM provider and all.

I didn’t mention coverage simply because that’s entirely region dependent. In the Twin Cities region I have great AT&T and Sprint coverage but in Southeastern Minnesota, where I’m originally from, I have barely any Sprint coverage and no AT&T coverage. Everybody I’ve talked to seems to have a similar experience where one carrier enjoys exceedingly good coverage in their area while others experience little or no coverage at all. This is something you will have to research before signing up for a service provider.

Self Guided Bullets

Are you looking for an expensive, although wickedly cool, means of correcting your poor aim? Worry not for Sandia National Laboratories has you covered:

Sandia National Laboratories have invented a small caliber self guided bullet. The bullet contains an optical sensor, CPU, battery and electromagnetic actuated fins. It is able to track laser designated targets out to 2,000 meters.

Sometimes I feel as though I live in a science fiction universe. Sure we don’t have spaceships, flying cars, or man portable laser cannons but we do have extremely powerful computers that are so small the fit in your pocket, an effective worldwide communication network, and now we have self guided bullets.

When I stop to think about what this bullet entails I’m amazed at the human capacity for engineering awesome stuff. We’ve actually shrunk central processing units, batteries, and optical sensors down to the point that they can all be fitted into a single bullet. How cool is that?

As this technology is new it’s not ready for prime time but if there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that technology only improves over time so I’m sure we’ll have extremely cheap self guided bullets in our future.

Big Brother is Watching You Tweet

OK the title is misleading because Big Brother is watching more than just your Twitter feed but Twitter is one of the sites being monitored by General Dynamics under a contract granted by the Department of Homeland Motherland Security (DHS).

EPIC’s FOIA lawsuit forced the DHS to disclose 285 pages of records. The documents include contracts, price estimates, Privacy Impact Assessment, and communications concerning DHS Media Monitoring program. These records make public, for the first time, details of the DHS’s efforts to spy on social network users and journalists.

The records reveal that the DHS is paying General Dynamics to monitor the news. The agency instructed the company to monitor for “[media] reports that reflect adversely on the U.S. Government, DHS, or prevent, protect, respond government activities.”

The documents can be viewed at the provided link. What makes this interesting is the fact that this monitoring was apparently used to arrest a person traveling to the United States:

Two British tourists were barred from entering America after joking on Twitter that they were going to ‘destroy America’ and ‘dig up Marilyn Monroe’.

Leigh Van Bryan, 26, was handcuffed and kept under armed guard in a cell with Mexican drug dealers for 12 hours after landing in Los Angeles with pal Emily Bunting.

The Department of Homeland Security flagged him as a potential threat when he posted an excited tweet to his pals about his forthcoming trip to Hollywood which read: ‘Free this week, for quick gossip/prep before I go and destroy America’.

Bruce Schneier, who I obtained this story from is doubtful that General Dynamic’s monitoring of Twitter is what actually lead to the arrest of the two British tourists:

Still, I have trouble believing that this is what happened. For this to work General Dynamics would have had to monitor Twitter for key words. (“Destroy America” is certainly a good key word to search for.) Then, they would have to find out the real name associated with the Twitter account — unlike Facebook or Google+, Twitter doesn’t have real name information — so the TSA could cross-index that name with the airline’s passenger manifests. Then the TSA has to get all this information into the INS computers, so that the border control agent knows to detain him. Sure, it sounds straightforward, but getting all those computers to talk to each other that fast isn’t easy. There has to be more going on here.

Twitter does have a mechanism for entering your real name as I have my real name entered in it. When you go to my Twitter feed you can see my user name is ComradeBurg but the name displayed is Christopher Burg and that I’m in Minnesota. Therefore it is conceivable that the monitoring being done by General Dynamics grabbed the offending tweeter’s real user name and location, fed to to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to be cross referenced with flight manifests, and a target could be found and arrested.

Of course this all depends on the Twitter user entering the real name and real location, but that is a problem that must be overcome when monitoring any website. I do agree with Schenier’s remark though because as he said getting all of those computers (not to mention those bureaucracies) to talk to each other so quickly is unlikely. Claiming that the target was arrested solely from obtaining their Twitter information seems like propaganda being thrown out to scare the public into obedience. In fact that’s exactly what the concept of Big Brother was supposed to do in 1984’s society, scare the populace into obedience. Truthfully nobody was sure whether or not Big Brother was actually watching them, but the fear of being watched kept the people from getting too many thoughts of revolution in their heads.

Jailbreaking to Become a Criminal Act Again

All legislation creates new crimes where none existed before. Some of these new crimes are absolutely moronic such as the ones created by the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA), which made it illegal to circumvent copyright protection. A couple of years ago the Copyright Office made an exemption to the DMCA for jailbreaking devices but the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is warning us that the exemption is about to expire:

The Problem – Smartphones, tablets, and video game consoles are powerful computers with lots of untapped potential. Yet many of these devices are set up to run only software that’s been approved by the manufacturer. Modifying a device to run independent software – known as jailbreaking – is important to programmers, enthusiasts, and users. But jailbreaking creates legal uncertainty. Some device manufacturers claim that jailbreaking violates Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which carries stiff penalties.

The Solution – EFF is asking the U.S. Copyright Office to declare that jailbreaking does not violate the DMCA, and we need your help. In 2010, the Copyright Office said jailbreaking smartphones doesn’t violate the DMCA. This year, we’re asking them to renew that exemption (otherwise it will expire) and expand it to cover tablets. We’re also asking for a new exemption to allow jailbreaking of video game consoles.

Personally I don’t give a shit what Apple or any other company things; if I purchase a device it is mine and I will do with it as I damn well please. On the other hand it would be nice not having the threat of prison looming over my head because I decided to modify my device.

The United States Government Coercing Other Governments into Censoring the Internet

While our “representatives” are debating the Internet censorship bill known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) other agents of the state are busy coercing other government’s into enacting various forms of Internet censorship:

Though a deeply divided Congress is currently considering Internet website censorship legislation, the US has no such official policy—not even for child porn, which is voluntarily blocked by some ISPs. Nor does the US have a government-backed “three strikes” or “graduated response” system of escalating warnings to particular users accused of downloading music and movies from file-sharing networks.

Yet here was the ultimatum that the US Embassy in Madrid gave the Spanish government in February 2008: adopt such measures or we will punish you. Thanks to WikiLeaks, we have the text of the diplomatic cable announcing the pressure tactics.

We propose to tell the new government that Spain will appear on the Watch List if it does not do three things by October 2008. First, issue a [Government of Spain] announcement stating that Internet piracy is illegal, and that the copyright levy system does not compensate creators for copyrighted material acquired through peer-to-peer file sharing. Second, amend the 2006 “circular” that is widely interpreted in Spain as saying that peer-to-peer file sharing is legal. Third, announce that the GoS [Government of Spain] will adopt measures along the lines of the French and/or UK proposals aimed at curbing Internet piracy by the summer of 2009.

The Watch List referenced is the US Trade Representative’s “Special 301” list, updated annually. Spain was duly put on the list in 2008 after failing to take such measures. (“The United States is concerned by the Spanish government’s inadequate efforts to address the growing problem of Internet piracy, described by U.S. copyright industries as one of the worst in Europe,” said the 2008 report.) Spanish copyright holders applauded the move; indeed, the cables show that they repeatedly asked US officials to make it.

At least United States citizens aren’t the only people on the federal government’s watch lists. Whether through direct invasion or underhanded threats the government of the United States likes to force other countries to obey its bidding. What’s frightening about this is when the government here finally enacts Internet censorship legislation there are going to be fewer safe havens that can be proxied into.

The United States isn’t satisfied until the entire world is one big fucking police state. What’s next? Is our government going to give the Spanish government military weaponry to better suppress it’s citizens? Wait, that already happened (what’s really sad is I was going to make that quip but did a quick Google search to ensure it wasn’t false, my default assumption was that the United States had given Spain military aid at some point and apparently it was the correct assumption).

We’ll Just Build Our Own Internet

While various world governments have been conspiring to censor the Internet groups of hackers have been hard at work finding mechanisms to bypass proposed censorship methods. Ultimately there is a limitation of what can be done because governments can force internet providers to comply with any demand so the only effective option is to setup an alternate Internet. Members of the Chaos Communications Congress have made an interesting proposal involved low-cost satellites:

The new plan calls for sending up home-made satellites into space as part of a Hackerspace Global Grid. The project includes low-cost ground stations to track and communicate with the satellites.

Anti-censorship activist Nick Farr, bothered by the world’s threats in blocking the free flow of information, started campaigning for contributions to the Grid earlier this year.

Launching communications satellites has been attempted in the past by some amateur groups but low-budget projects have not easily managed the task of tracking the devices.

According to reports, a few small satellites have gone into orbit but usually for brief periods only. Initiatives like space missions have required the big pockets of large public agencies and private companies, but Farr hopes his plan can work.

Farr and colleagues envision a grid of low-cost ground stations to track and communicate with the satellites. They are working with Constellation, which is a German aerospace research initiative. The initiative interlinks student projects.

Attempts to setup an alternative Internet have been proposed but none have succeeded. The main Achilles’ heel has been the hardware side of things. Unless an entirely independent architecture is setup government agencies still have control of the “kill switch” (that is the central points of control such as internet providers, root domain name system servers, etc.). The obvious solution involves wireless of some sort simply because running physical cable is very expensive and it’s unlikely independent entities will be able to get right of way agreements to perform such a task. While satellite communication has a high lag time it’s far better than nothing. You may not be able to play Call of Duty 11 on a satellite linkup but you can certainly communicate with other people in the world.

Mexican Drug Cartels Built Their Own National Radio System

People often complain about the lack of competition in the cellular phone market. For the most part there are only four players; T-Mobiles, Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon. Opponents of capitalism claim this is an inevitable result of capitalism when in truth it’s an inevitable result of government involvement in the free market. New cell phone providers aren’t popping up left and right because licensing spectrum from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is fucking expensive. If it wasn’t for the massive cost of licensing spectrum from the FCC the cost of setting up a national radio system would be so cheap a drug cartel could do it:

When convoys of soldiers or federal police move through the scrubland of northern Mexico, the Zetas drug cartel knows they are coming.

The alert goes out from a taxi driver or a street vendor, equipped with a high-end handheld radio and paid to work as a lookout known as a “halcon,” or hawk.

The radio signal travels deep into the arid countryside, hours by foot from the nearest road. There, the 8-foot-tall (2-meter-tall) dark-green branches of the rockrose bush conceal a radio tower painted to match. A cable buried in the dirt draws power from a solar panel. A signal-boosting repeater relays the message along a network of powerful antennas and other repeaters that stretch hundreds of miles (kilometers) across Mexico, a shadow communications system allowing the cartel to coordinate drug deliveries, kidnapping, extortion and other crimes with the immediacy and precision of a modern military or law-enforcement agency.

With the ever increasing stranglehold our government is establishing over the Internet there may be a day when we have to establish a new network outside of the government’s control. When that day comes we’ll likely have to take a lesson from the Mexican drug cartels in setting up a wireless communication system that is both cheap to create and maintain but robust enough to cover a large portion of the population. It’s also interesting to watch the ingenuity of criminal endeavors. Since criminals aren’t bound by the letter of law they can innovate in ways businesses can not, and many of these innovations don’t involve violence but technological solutions to avoiding government forces.