Tag: Technology

The First Electric Car I’d Consider Buying

While I see a great potential in electric cars from a performance standpoint I don’t give two shits about them from an environmental standpoint (thanks to you fucking enviro-nazis, if it weren’t for you I’d have no issue with the environment). I also have a soft spot for one of the most famous pieces of crap that has ever been released, the DeLorean DMC-12. Well the DeLorean Motor Company has unveiled a fully electric prototype of the DMC-12 and I really want one.

Of course I’ll make sure to recharge it with a big soot spewing coal power plant just to piss the enviro-nazis off. Seriously, if you assholes weren’t in my face constantly telling me how to live I’d have no issue driving a “green” automobile. Thanks to you my current vehicle is a Ford Ranger and my next one will likely be a Ford F-150.

Dennis Ritchie Died

This is just a bad week honestly between the death of Steve Jobs, Pete Franzen (a well-known and respected member of MNGunTalk and the Minnesota shooting community), and now Dennis Ritchie.

For those who don’t know, Dennis Ritchie was one of the creators of UNIX and the man who designed the C programming language. The contributions those two things made to the computer science field is incalculable. If you’re sitting at a machine running OS X you’re running UNIX and regardless of what you’re running chances are at least parts of it were written in C.

The legacy of UNIX and C can only be described as astronomical. UNIX’s design philosophy can be found in everything ranging from the various flavors of BSD to Linux and all of them are written in C. It’s rare for a technology to last more than a few scant years but both of Ritchie’s well-known contributions are not only used to this day but they’re pervasive. I would argue that this man’s contribution to the computer field surpasses that of Steve Jobs but being Ritchie’s contributions were all behind the scenes they remain less known.

So long Dennis Ritchie, you’ll be missed. Your contributions to the field of computer science quite literally changed the world for the better.

This is Why I Run My Own Cloud

With all the talk about cloud computing I finally decided to build my own cloud. I’m rocking in the cloud without relying on third-party solutions and absolutely loving it. What finally coaxed me into moving everything onto my own infrastructure was the ever increasing powers government officials have been claiming in the realm of data acquisition. The federal government can send a letter out to a company and demand information about a customer be turned over. While the government has been able to exercise similar powers in the past through acquisition of a warrant they weren’t able to force the target company to keep the request for information secret like they can today. Well it seems Google and Sonic were targets of a recent federal fishing expedition:

The U.S. government has obtained a controversial type of secret court order to force Google Inc. and small Internet provider Sonic.net Inc. to turn over information from the email accounts of WikiLeaks volunteer Jacob Appelbaum, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

[…]

Both Google and Sonic pressed for the right to inform Mr. Appelbaum of the secret court orders, according to people familiar with the investigation. Google declined to comment. Mr. Appelbaum, 28 years old, hasn’t been charged with wrongdoing.

As we’re hearing about this story it seems that Google and Sonic were successful in fighting the government demand of secrecy, this isn’t always the case though. The government very well could have obtained information about you from a company and you’ll never know unless they decided to move in and arrest you. If the government wants my data they’re going to have to send me one of those secret letters thus ensuring I know they’re spying on me.

The only way you can guarantee your data remains under your control is if you exercise complete control over it. If you store your data on a third-party service there is no way you can know other people don’t have access to it.

Chaos Computer Club Claims to have Cracked Spying Software Used by the German Government

It seems the American government doesn’t have a monopoly on illegally spying on its citizens. The Chaos Computer Club claims to have crack malicious software used by the German government to illegally spy on its citizens:

It sounds like something out of George Orwell’s novel “1984” — a computer program that can remotely control someone’s computer without their knowledge, search its complete contents and use it to conduct audio-visual surveillance via the microphone or webcam.

But the spy software that the famous German hacker organization Chaos Computer Club has obtained is not used by criminals looking to steal credit-card data or send spam e-mails. If the CCC is to be believed, the so-called “Trojan horse” software was used by German authorities. The case has already triggered a political shockwave in the country and could have far-reaching consequences.

On Saturday, the CCC announced that it had been given hard drives containing a “state spying software” which had allegedly been used by German investigators to carry out surveillance of Internet communication.

As you can guess this news didn’t surprise me (just once I’d like a government to surprise me by not actually being up to anything nefarious) but I do find it interesting that the software allows the controller to remotely control the target’s computer. Such a feature seems like a potential court defense since somebody whose machine was infected with the software could claim that the police are framing him. Then again the state runs the courts and the police so it’s unlikely any judge would be willing to throw a case out because his fellow state agents were doing something naughty. That isn’t even the worst part though, the software also demonstrates that a state can’t actually do anything with any measurable amount of competency:

The organization had analyzed the software and found it to be full of defects. They also found that it transmitted information via a server located in the US. As well as its surveillance functions, it could be used to plant files on an individual’s computer. It was also not sufficiently protected, so that third parties with the necessary technical skills could hijack the Trojan horse’s functions for their own ends. The software possibly violated German law, the organization said.

Nice, not only does the software allow a third-party to remotely control the system but it’s also full of security holes so any jackass on the Internet could waltz right in. Security flaws is ultimately the reason I don’t believe any evidence gathered from software of this nature should be admissible in court. Anytime you install a new piece of software you face possible security issues that could allow a third-party to gain remote access to your system. If state agents infect your machine with this software and a third-party uses a security flaw in the software to access your machine and perform illegal acts it’s most likely the state is going to target you because they already suspect you’re up to something they don’t approve of.

I also find the fact that the software transmits data to server in the United States interesting. This could be a barrier put into place so the gathered evidence lies outside of German jurisdiction (for instance if the software is discovered and the state decides to perform an investigation into what was gathered). Another possible reason for sending data to the United States could be due to some secret agreement between the two country’s governments regarding intelligence sharing. Of course it could just be due to the software manufacturer being a United States company and the software is transmitting quality assurance data.

Either way this story should demonstrate the fact that agents of the state can never be trusted. Software such as this is supposed to be illegal according to German law:

If the CCC’s claims are true, then the software has functions which were expressly forbidden by Germany’s highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court, in a landmark 2008 ruling which significantly restricted what was allowed in terms of online surveillance. The court also specified that online spying was only permissible if there was concrete evidence of danger to individuals or society.

When has a state complied with its own ruling though? While I hope the information being presented by the Chaos Computer Club is incorrect I honestly trust a group of hackers far more than any government.

My First Apple Computer

I guess being in the technology field I should have expected the immense amount of news regarding Steve Jobs’s death to flood every channel of communications I have available to me. This news has actually interrupted my process of finding, reading, and writing about various articles of interest so you’re dealing with less than optimal posts today. In luie of having normal A Geek With Guns content to post I’m going to perpetuate a meme that’s been going around, I’m going to talk about my first Apple computer.

While others can talk about their experiences with an early Apple II or one of the first Macintoshes, I only jumped on the Apple ship after they shipped OS X 10.4. Before that I really had no use for Apple computers as I found their operating system lacking and the available software sparse. When 10.4 shipped I finally believed the operating system to be a competent and fully featured UNIX system and I had been looking for a good laptop running some flavor of UNIX for some time by then. At the time Linux was still unusable as far as I was concerned for laptops (suspend never worked correctly, battery life was usually half of what you could get in Windows, driver support for various Wi-Fi cards was non-existent, etc.).

Needless to say I ended up buying a PowerBook G4. My first PowerBook was one of the last in the line (model identifier was a PowerBook5,6) and came equipped with a measly 1.67GHz processor and an 80GB hard drive. The bloody thing ran though and gave me few headaches. I used it for most of my school work and eventually it filled the role of everything except gaming (which I used to do far more of when I was young). While I still own the machine it really is of little use considering how woefully underpowered it is. Still, it’s fun to bring it out of storage once in a while and power it up for nostalgia sake.

Still, from that humble laptop I eventually purchased the first model Mac Pro to replace my aging desktop. While I spent most of my life vehemently hating Apple computers the quality of their new operating system and hardware won me over. Now most of my machines are Apple manufactured and I can say they have given me far fewer headaches than previous machines I have owned. Hell Apple won me over in the phone market even though they perform practices that I find detestable (yet their phones do what I need which is what is really important in my opinion).

Odd OS X Lion Server Bug

Since I was beating my head against the wall for several hours last night trying to figure this out I’m going to give a piece of advice to everybody working with OS X Lion Server in a virtual environment.

You can not set your virtual server to be an Open Directory Master unless there are at least two CPUs attached to the virtual machine. No errors indicating as such will be given, apparently you’re just supposed to know this intuitively. It’s a very strange bug and thankfully somebody figured it out.

So Long Steve Jobs and Thanks For Everything

I knew I’d be writing this article sooner or later but I was hoping it would be later… much later. Unless you’ve been living under one of the world’s largest rocks you’ve likely heard that Steve Jobs died last night. It’s strange to see the passing of a business man garner so much publicity but I believe that speaks for the impact he had on the world. Along with Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs literally changed the world.

If it wasn’t for Steve Jobs I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am today. I say this not because Steve Jobs was a man of inspiration for me in my youth, but because the invention he helped nurture into fruition kicked off the personal computer revolution. People will rightfully point out that Steve Wozniak was the man who invented the first marketed personal computer but it would be an act of absolute ignorance to say Steve Jobs had no part in its success. Of the two I’m obviously closer to Wozniak, I’m an engineer who loves to invent and tinker but I have no clue how to market or sell. Jobs’s genius was in his ability to sell the product. Through my career I’ve worked with numerous sales people and I can say without any uncertainty that I truly understand why they’re as important as they are. Without Wozniak there would have been no personal computer as we know it today and without Jobs we would have never heard of the computer Wozniak built.

Whether you love or hate Apple you have to admit Jobs did something few can lay claim to; he changed the world. But the personal computer wasn’t the only thing Jobs could lay claim to, he also revolutionized the music market and the mobile device market. After his return to Apple Jobs took the failing computer and turned it into one of the most successful companies in the world. A major part of that turn around involved the iPod. Although the iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player on the market it was the one that moved MP3 players from a device known only by geeks to a device owned by a great number of people.

Another success under Jobs’s belt was the iPhone. When the first iPhone was released I was still on the Palm Treo 755p so I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. Yes the iPhone looked nice but it couldn’t run any applications and had limited functionality compared to my phone running ancient Palm OS. Like most things Apple introduced though, the iPhone slowly evolved into an incredibly powerful tool. When the news of Jobs’s death arrived one of my fellow computer science graduates called me to talk about it. During this conversation we got on the topic of all the things Jobs accomplished and I remember saying, “Hell, I’m talking on his legacy right now.”

Technology has become so pervasive in our lives that we rarely stop to think about all of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into getting our devices from the prototype stage to a completed product. When you sit down in front of your computer you barely ever think about the efforts of Alan Turning who came up with the theory modern computing is based on. When you pick up your phone you probably never stop to consider the great amount of effort it took to make the device function as well as it does.

Part of what made helped rocket Jobs into success was his attention to detail. If there was one thing Jobs brought to the table, above all others, it was his extreme attention to detail. This is pervasive in all of Apple’s current product lines. The MacBook Pro I’m typing this story on is a beautiful piece of technology that is not only insanely powerful but a work of art in of itself. My phone is a very powerful and complicated piece of machinery that remains simple to operate. This page you’re now reading was uploaded to your computer by a tiny Mac Mini sitting underneath my television.

Many who knew Jobs said he was arrogant and often very difficult to work for. I didn’t know the man personally so I can’t comment on his personal life but there is something to be said for a man who is seen as arrogant yet able to attract some of the greatest talent in the world to his employ. Jobs was a visionary who helped change computers from giant room-sized devices that only large businesses and laboratories had to small device that many households hold many of. He was never one to back down and always followed what he thought was right. To sum the man up it would be easier to say he had balls. It’s rare to find a man who is so incredibly talented that he changed the entire world. What’s even rarer is to find a man who changed the entire world in a positive way.

So long Steve Jobs and thanks for everything. Life on this planet would be far different had you and Wozniak not come together to revolutionize the world. We’ll miss you and I can honestly say the world is diminished without your presence.

Apple Displayed Masterful Mediocrity Yesterday

Yesterday was Apple’s iPhone event and I must say they have mastered the art if being completely mediocre. The only announcements they made that I felt remotely excited about were the fact that Sprint will now have the iPhone (as they’re the last carrier with unlimited data that’s quite nice) and Siri. After they finished jerking themselves off over how great their sales are, Apple’se first product announcement was Cards. Cards is an application that lets you send, well, cards to people for $2.99 a pop. When they made Cards their first announcement I knew this event was going to be non-consequential.

Apple again talked about iOS 5 but alas I’ve been playing with it for months now and there was nothing new tossed in at the last minute to make it exciting. Either way iOS 5 will be officially released on October 12th.

Next on the list of announcements was Siri. Siri is the iPhone 4S’s new voice service which is akin to Android’s voice service if it were on steroids. Let me rephrase, if Siris works it will be akin to Android’s voice service on steroids. Siri will supposedly allow you to do a great number of tasks by using your voice which is nice for those who see the need to send a text message when they’re hurtling down the highway (you know who you are, I hate you by the way). While Siri looks impressive it’s restricted to the iPhone 4S which limits its appeal.

Speaking of the iPhone 4S, that was Apple’s only notable hardware announcement (they announced a new iPod Touch, but who really cares). The iPhone 4S is simply an iPhone 4 with a faster process, better camera, and dual mode radio (every 4S is both GSM and CDMA capable). It’s not really worth the upgrade in my opinion if you’re already carrying an iPhone 4.

So there you have it, Apple’s rather lackluster event. I think Amazon won the device unveiling this month but that could have something to do with the fact that I’m a Kindle fanboy.

New Kindles Released

Yesterday Amazon had their Kindle event where they released their expected tablet device along with two other e-ink based Kindles.

There are now three tiers to the Kindle line starting with the cheapest device simply referred to as the Kindle. Although the price starts at $79.00 that includes advertisements being sent to and displayed on the device. Unlike most websites with advertisements the Kindle’s ads appear to be unobtrusive although I would still pay the extra $30.00 to have an ad-free device. This device should really be considered a dedicated reader as it lacks a hardware keyboard and instead relies on an on-screen keyboard where you use the four-way navigation button on the unit to highlight and select keys individually. So long as you don’t type notes on your Kindle very often this probably shouldn’t act as too much of a deterrent. If you really want a keyboard the previous Kindle can still be had for $99.00 if you’re OK with ads and $139.00 if you want an ad-free experience.

The next tier in the Kindle line is the new touch-screen equipped Kindle Touch. Like the previous Kindle the Kindle Touch comes in two variaties; Wi-Fi only and Wi-Fi with free lifetime 3G. The Wi-Fi only Kindle Touch runs $99.00 for the ad-supported version and $139.00 for the ad-free version. The 3G equipped unit starts at $149.00 for the ad-supported version and $189.00 for the ad-free version. When the Nook Touch came out and I was able to get some hands on time with it I said Amazon would be guaranteed to have some of my money if they ever came out with a touch-screen enabled Kindle. Well they did and Amazon now has $189.00 of my money as I pre-ordered the ad-free 3G version of the Kindle Touch the second it became available for pre-order on Amazon’s website. Sadly I have to wait until November 21st for the unit to ship.

Finally Amazon surprised nobody with the announcement of their new tablet, the Kindle Fire. The Fire will set you back $199.00 (period, there is no ad-supported version) which is pretty reasonable considering the price of most tablets currently on the market. For that $199.00 you will get a Wi-Fi equipped tablet device with a 7″ screen, dual-core processor, and 8GB of on-board storage. While 8GB of on-board storage seems small you also get free cloud storage of all Amazon content which includes both music and movies offered by the retailer. Another thing that you get is access to the Amazon App Store which is really just Amazon’s own version of the Android App Market. Yes the Fire is an Android tablet but you’d never know that by looking at the interface as that has been completely customized by Amazon. While I will reserved judgement until I actually get to play with the unit I will say at first glance this looks to be the first real competitor to Apple’s iPad.

Overall I must say that Amazon continues to find new and inventive ways to get my money. I wish Amazon would put native ePub support on their readers so I wouldn’t have to use Caliber to convert titles in that format to Mobi, that is a very minor issue. It’s great to see competition in the e-reader market as well. Even though Amazon kickstarted the e-reader market with the first Kindle, Barnes and Noble has been doing a great job at releasing competitive products. When the free market is allowed to work the real winners end up being consumers.

This is What Bailing Out General Motors Accomplished

The American people footed the bill to bail out the failures that is General Motors (GM) and what has received in return? Jack shit. Well more specifically jack shit and, as Days of our Trailers points out, constant tracking of everybody whose vehicle is equipped with OnStar:

Navigation-and-emergency-services company OnStar is notifying its six million account holders that it will keep a complete accounting of the speed and location of OnStar-equipped vehicles, even for drivers who discontinue monthly service.

OnStar began e-mailing customers Monday about its update to the privacy policy, which grants OnStar the right to sell that GPS-derived data in an anonymized format.

For those who aren’t aware OnStar is a subsidiary of GM so they would have gone under had the market been allowed to operate freely. But the thing you should be taking away from this is the fact that OnStar is not only tracking the location of paying customers but also the location of customers who have cancelled the service. Although OnStar claims they aren’t currently selling this information you know they eventually will be.

Setting this violation of trust aside there is another thing to consider, the possibility of such data being used to retroactively issue traffic violations or setup speed traps. Data collected by TomTom was used by the Dutch government to setup speed traps so it’s not like the scenario I’m hypothesizing is unprecedented.