Kilo Seven

The RISKS Digest is always worth reading, and today is no exception. The #3 and #4 articles both deal with insecure and faulty software in cars, which the NY Times says accounts for 20% of all warranty repairs nowadays. This reinforces the accounts of the Blue Windshield of Death reported here last year.

Using Windows 98, 98SE or ME? You're not alone , as IDIC is reported to say 21% of all Windows PCs still run these older versions. If you are, then you'd better make sure you've updated. Microsoft posted security patches on Patch Tuesday. IMHO, those should be installed. I was using 98SE... until my PC failed. Windows Recovery didn't recover. Weary of the entire flippin' mess, I changed to Xandros , a well-received version (or 'distro') of Linux. There are some possible shortcoming in the support for major organizations , but, I installed it, I dodn't have to know a lot about what I was doing, and it connected to my wife's Windows XP PC and our cable modem just fine. I did have to take it to a Linux guru to get one little fussy thing working right. But, Linux gurus are easy to find , with a lot of volunteers to help new users for free . But, it works well, Firefox and Thunderbird not only install OK but read in my old profiles so I didn't ...

Was talking to a friend late last week, who thought their PC security was adequate because they had a software firewall and a virus checker with auto-update. Here's a concrete example, a hack involving e-mail which a virus checker won't catch , which shows why that just isn't so any more. Here's a few recommendations which could ave your bacon: 1. AVST Free from Grisoft is adequate: Better you should buy Symantec Anti-Virus or some other good antivirus program. 2. Run a full scan for viruses at least weekly; leave your machine on overnight, and let it scan for you. 3. Get a firewall, one good, two better. A recent study with decent methodology showed a PC connected to a cable modem was, on average, hack within four minutes of installation. Even dial-up users are not immune; it just takes a few minutes longer for your machine to be infected if you don't use a firewall. Software firewalls which run within your PC, like ZoneAlarm (not the Pro version, just the sta...

If a WiFi hacker can't get your signal, he can't hack your system. That's why many power users are adding these kinds of passive reflectors to limit where their WiFi signal goes to within their home or office. Green Bay Professional Packet Radio . Includes relevant FCC regulations on power and antennas, so you know when you must reduce power to compensate for that very high gain antenna... but you're still ahaead of the game if you do. Aluminum foil, cut-up can or wire mesh antenna reflectors . http://wireless.gumph.org/articles/homemadeomni.html http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennahowto.html http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,4495753%7Eroot=dslalt%7Emode=flat http://www.freeantennas.com/prod01.htm http://www.freeantennas.com/projects/template/gallery

But, really, texting is just so darned useful , so here's a follow-on to my earlier article . With my Palm Tungsten W (gee, two-and-a-half year old tech , how Twen-Cen of me ), I can get an immediate automatic confirmation as soon as the recipient opens the message on their mobile. I can't count on Return Receipt working in RFC822-standard e-mail, why is this so reliable? I can throw a $50 GPRS cellular card in my one-kilo subnotebook PC, running Windows XP, and use it as a phone and for SMS, and Microsoft even gives away an advanced SMS messaging program . And, Thailand's government is upgrading their cell system to blitz emergency messages out to over 100,000 phones a minute . Traditional pagers can't do that, and radio sure can't be counted on raching that many people now the Emergency Alert System is optional , courtesy your corporate-friendly up-for-sale FCC.

PizzaHut order-by-wire within EverQuest II , for gamers too hyperfocused to pick up the phone and dial.

A discussion over in rec.arts.sf.fandom on of the possibilities of pandemics of H5N1 influenza , kinda makes yesterday's post on mass alerts via cellphone SMS texting relevant. It inspired me to put together this story, which I stumbled across at Christopher Franconis' (aka BiX) most excellent blog COMMUNIQUE . Start with this illustration from a fascinating Scientific American article in which a very rich computer simulation, one far more detailed than previous state of the art in epidemiological modelling, estimates the possible consequences of a smallpox outbreak in Portland, OR . Yes, right here in River City. Got N100 ? Or a Stryker ? Anyway, I digress. Often... Make sure to look at the difference between quick vaccination and inactivity . An overview of the study authors' concept (they're from Los Alamos , BTW), and a quote from the February, 2005 Scientific American issue, in which this was detailed Our group was able to construct this kind of individual...

Enrolling for SMS message alerts: One option to automate notification for volunteer emergency workers (C) John E. Bartley, III 2004-2005 Preface: SMS ( Short Message Service ) sends a message of up to 160 characters (including the sender's address and subject line if used) over the control channel of digital cellphones. Brevity is the sould of SMS wit, so here's a list of SMS abbreviations . Analog cellphones, and digital phones on Analog Roaming, cannot receive these messages, and others require users to log in to a WAP or HTML based site to receive them. Before subscribing, please check with your cellphone company. Some companies ( SprintPCS , for one) charge to receive messages (a dime a message) on some plans, so don't sign up unless you know it won't cost you dearly. SETUP FOR USERS 1. Go to the TxtMob.Com Login Page and enter a username (perhaps your callsign?) in all uppercase, please , then click on [GO] New Member Login Screen  2. The Edit screen appears. ...

A discussion over at Chaos Manor led me to recall the utter provincalism of folks in the US, which is puzzling, considing most of y'all's only been here for a couple of hundred years, due to unfortunate lapses in Homeland Security : "Geoff" wrote: >Motorola /Nextel makes at least one series of cellphones (i710, i730, i733) which contain a GPS chipset. However, these won't work without the NEXTEL iDEN cellular network... and, iDEN is not deployed in Uganda. Global Systeme Mobilé phones which work on 900 or 1800 MHz might, if they are available, can provide a time check, but like most other cellphones, they are small and easily stolen, plus require a service agreement for each phone (spendy). Instead, WWV and its sister station WWVH & WWVB can be tuned with inexpensive shortwave radios. However, the 5.000 MHz frequency commonly used is shared with other stations, including ZUO on Cape Town, RSA. There are non-US alternatives which might reach Uganda bett...

To: Mobile PC Magazine Dear Sirs and Ms: After reviewing your feature The Top 100 Gadgets of All Time , I must admit the Ronco Inside-the-Shell Egg Scrambler (#84) may be very useful to someone, but the genius of John Moses Browning is sadly neglected in your panoply of gadgetry. The M1911 semi-automatic pistol has saved more lives than all other devices on your list , combined. It works when wet, when dirty, when muddy or sandy, below freezing, as hot as humans can stand, and has for the past 94 years. Its current standard incarnation, the M1911A1, Mark IV, Series 70 , and dozens of its offspring from manufacturers and designers all over the planet are the best for practical pistol competition, as no other design works as well in comabt or at PPC. Its flexibility is also well recognized; with a .22 adapter, it's been used to train millions of American servicement and servicewomen in pistolcraft. It's also elegant , certainly a unstated qualification, as it gets a very bi...

Years ago in days of old when magic filled the air, this was 'portable computing' . Yeah, only 28 pounds. That's why my right arm's 2" longer than my left, from schlepping around with sych. Nowadays, instead of a 1 MHz CPU w/ 64 KB of RAM and a 10MB hard drive , you can drop into your pocket a 1GHz CPU with 256MB and a 20GB hard drive . Handtops.com is a handy place to visit if you need Windows XP in the field, a laptop's too big, and a PDA won't do the job. There's even a nice review of WiFi finders ; not computers, these only look for Hotspots to tell you when it's worth the time to haul out your WiFi machine. Tubular.

The excellent RISKS DIGEST has a better analysis (with some gentle debunking) of car firmware hackability than I've seen elsewhere, including this lagniappe: There is a wonderful cartoon from the German computer magazine *c't* pinned to my group's noticeboard. A passenger is sitting in an airliner using his laptop, and on the screen appears: Bluetooth: new device found: Airbus A310

Here an inventive lad creates a Glove Phone (well, really a Bluetooth glove for Bluetooth phones). Handy (pun intended) in January, eh?

Bad firmware the cause of "30% of warranty problems on cars? By Jove, this bears further study!

Here's a blog which remoptes of improvements for TiVo PVRs . The PVR has made TV watchable for me; no more heaps of tapes, no more waiting for tapes to reqind, no more labelling and re-labelling, and no more losing programs because the tape ran out. A recent enforced hospital stay found me mentally reaching, over and over again, for the "30 second fast-forward" button on my DISHplayer. If you don't have one, get one.

This automated surveillance system surely could be useful at the North Clackamas Acquatic Center pool... and I wonder if it would work at outdoor riverine trouble spots?

MobileWhack, a blog on tech, reveals one man's technique for dealing with T-Mobile Support on an unresolved issue . Highly recommended.

Caller ID spoofing a la carte is now available, thanks to Camophone's "Privacy Guard" service. This extends to the private individual what call centers, telemarketers and other users of large phone systems have had for years, as well as illustrates the Caller ID data on your phone may be right, but if it's vague, it's probably not your Aunt Minnie calling.

Earlier this month, I posted http://kiloseven.blogspot.com/2004/12/pda-advice.html">a few tips about PDAs . I had a question today at AllExperts.com about PalmOS connectivity which leads me to enhance my earlier suggestions. Someone asked about using the Tungsten E from PalmOne to connect to a cellphone, so they could get e-mail and browse the web. The T|E* does not have PalmOne's Universal Connector, or the serial connector of earlier Palms. It only has a USB connection (with a mini-USB socket), plus does not have adequate intelligence on board to control a USB device, such as a USB-serial adapter. Therefore, unless PalmOne's support line can tell you another way to do this, the T|E, or any PalmOne device with the mini-USB connector, does not seem suitable to cable to a cell phone for connectivity, or to a TNC for packet radio. This also applies to the T|5 . Any PalmOS device which has a serial hot sync cable should, AFAIK, work. These include many m...

PDA software distributor Handango is offering free software (registration is required for the download), and this week's offering for PalmOS is Mobiledb , a database with a decent rep and significant presence. There are over 1,800 databases available for download at the publisher's home web site and a small Yahoo Group for informal support has spring up.

I've got a one-kilo featherweight notebook, a Fujitsu P1032 (700 MHz Transmeta CPU, about like a Pentium III-450MHz) I picked up for travel. It has no serial port, and the thought of adding a serial->USB adapter plus a spendy TNC has kept me from adding packet to my Yaesu VX-5R. I'd have to tote around: 1. HT 2. HT's power brick 3. HT's antenna 4. Cable into HT 5. Laptop computer 6. Laptop's power brick 7. USB to serial adapter 8. Serial cable to TNC 9. TNC 10. TNC's power brick I suppose I could add the $67 Tigertronics Signalink ( QST review here with its cable kit and then add the fitting for the four-pole 3.5mm connector and a $10 power brick for it... but I wanted portable operation. There's a comparison chart of other sound card interfaces here and here . The $80 USB RigBlaster nomic appears to be the simplest but does require a USB-serial adapter as well as a tangle of cables plus an adapter cable for the four-...

WEP is the simple security method of closing your wireless network to outsiders, advocated by the well-meaning popular press . That was then, but this is now, and WEP is no longer enough. Robert Bruce Thompson, author of O'Reilly's PC Hardware In a Nutshell , revealed this morning cracks for WEP security of WiFi wireless networks are, if not trivial, easy enough for crackers with rudimentary skills (i.e., anyone who has studied cracking for over an hour - Ed. note). After explaining some (not all) of the most dire implications of poor network security, he refers to a Security Focus article which documents the process and tools involved. Thompson advocates moving from WEP to WPA as a security solution, which may require updating the 'firmware' in your WiFi cards and routers, or replacing them. Therefore, if you are planning to buy wireless gear, make sure it offers WPA. BTW, There's another WPA: W indows XP P roduct A ctivation. We're talking about...

from the ARRL (paraphrased for brevity): Officials of Internet service provider EarthLink told the FCC that broadband over power line (BPL) cannot compete with the dominant cable or DSL technology today or in the near future . EarthLink President and CEO Garry Betty and other company officials met November 16 with FCC Chairman Michael Powell and Commission attorney Aaron Goldberger to deliver an ex parte presentation on several Wireline Competition Bureau and Common Carrier Bureau proceedings. "EarthLink discussed that it has invested in and is in trials with several potential 'third wire' broadband transmission paths to the home, including WiFi, WiMax, MMDS and broadband over power lines," EarthLink Counsel Mark J. O'Connor informed FCC Secretary Marlene Dortch in a November 17 letter. "However, EarthLink pointed out that cable and DSL still account for virtually all consumer broadband connections and that none of these alternative technologies offer a c...

The ODOT Freeway Speed Map is now available (or, you can just use a shorter link, http://tinyurl.com/6pyty . A full-scale version's also available . I had been hoping for something like this, and have a version for my PalmPhone which works for the Seattle area . Fortunately, the ODOT version does, too, although the Washington equivalent is clearer on my PalmPhone, with wider color stripes. You can also see when comparing desktop versions the version for Pugetopolis offers more detailed speed information. Also, here's another traffic link, for the PDXinfoNet Traffic Report web page, a plaintext page easily read by cellphone browsers.

May I commend to you all, one of my favorite comics the Oregonian does not carry? Helen, Sweetheart of the Internet .

Thinking about buying a PDA? Here, have some free advice. If you are willing to buy used or 'factory reconditioned' ( Overstock.com and eBay come to mind, as does Craigslist ), then virtually any PDA can be had for less than retail. I prefer the PalmOS, but must admit Windows Mobile 2003 (formerly known as Windows CE and Pocket PC) is less sucky than its predecessors (although it still has a long way to go). PDAs with other operating systems (i.e., Linux and Symbian) just don't have the wide diversity of programs available for me to recommend them to a new user. Avoid the Blackberry and the Sidekick. They have *very* limited software available, and Blackberry's company just lost an important court appeal which will slow down its acceptance further. FreewarePalm.Com is a great source for free programs for PalmOS PDAs. There are Palm-compatible PDAs from folks other than PalmOne ( over a dozen makers ), and I will recommend them to many folks based...

From an article originally posted at C|Net, Some darned good suggestions for personal computing safety . I am regularly asked what average Internet users can do to ensure their security. My first answer is usually, "Nothing--you're screwed." But that's not true, and the reality is more complicated. You're screwed if you do nothing to protect yourself, but there are many things you can do to increase your security on the Internet. {snip}

A Portland Business Journal story describes how a Wi-Fi entrepeneur will resell a Wi-Fi net in Umatilla and Morrow County to commercial ISPs .

Thinking about adding WiFi to your gadgetry? Best wireless base station/router: Linksys WRT54G, because you can easily upgrade the software . More software is info here , and web pricing here . Best wireless network adapter: The Buffalo USB external? Prices here . Best really cheap antenna: A wok scoop with 15db gain.

The grant to cover the costs of Bone Marrow Registry signup I mentioned Wednesday over on Clackablog for the Hillsboro FD doc has extended to cover all the costs. This is slated for next Wed. evening; let's all do our part!

PalmOne, the folks who created the Palm series of PDAs, now has a new support forum which will make it easier for Palm users to find answers. When added to USENET's comp.sys.palmtops.pilot and the other support websites, PalmOS PDA users have excellent support choices. And, BTW, if you haven't heard, PalmSource (the independent spinoff from Palm which does the PalmOS operating system), announced today future versions of the PalmOS will run on top of the Linux core OS . This is insanely great news for Palm users and folks about to buy a Palm, as it assures the long term domination of Palm as the leading PDA system.

Dropzone has created IntelliEdge, a WLAN in a box ; a Linux server, but with the unnecessary bits of Linux stripped of, for an extremely reliable (many more times than Windows) host for communications. It distributes Internet access by WiFi (802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, et al.) over a local area. It connects back to the Internet by WiFi, WiMax, 3G cellular and other kinds of connections, and only needs 9W at 12VDC. There's a solar-power/battery option, and multiple can be solar powered. Applications can be run on the server, with its own GPS, so you could mount one on a 4X4 doing SAR work, and let it not only provide data connectivity, but keep feeding map updates (e.g., showing which sectors have been searched) to wireless PDAs and notebooks.

Most of Portland Airport is now a free Wi-Fi hot spot. That means anyone with a wireless-enabled portable device (laptop, Pocket PC, Palm handheld, cell phone or whatever) can access the Internet, e-mail or corporate networks in 70 percent of the airport terminal's main level. Using the service requires an 802.11b-capable wireless network card. PDX says the service will remain free for at least one year. The service provider is XO Communications of Reston, Va. Wired travelers can find dial-up Internet access, for a fee, at service centers on concourses A, B, C and D; at the PDX Conference Center and at an Internet kiosk on the terminal's upper level. Questions? Call PDX Customer Service at 877-739-4636. PDX has company in offering free Wi-Fi. Here's a Web site that lists airports with free access .

Here's a good example of recent research into automating the search for patterns of criminal behavior. Crime data is analyzed by software which looks for patterns, and then maps the linkages between evens visually for detectives and crime analysts to see. This is the kind of thing a regional task force, or even the Oregon State Police, might use to connect-the-dots and point to criminals operating in multiple jusisdictions.

The SwiMP3 and the The SwimMan are solid-state MP3 players with waterproof connections and earphones. If you've got $250 and already have fins or gills, this looks like an interesting gift.

Found a few MP3 players which work from USB memory drives. Here's one I bought , and its review . It works well in her '99 Subaru Impreza. My '95 Toyota 4Runner has too much RF noise for it to work well, but, then, as a ham, I have a few more transistors in that truckette than many third world nations. Here's an earlier version, reviewed . And, BTW, here's a very neat stocking-stuffer kinda gizmo I'm asking Santa for.

The Intelsat-7 satellite , in Clarke orbit over the equator hovering at 129 degrees west, failed Sunday due to an 'electrical fault' , leaving about 20,000 customers out of service. If you know someone who used a StarBand satellite rig for broadband Internet in the boonies, well, they're down for the count and on dial-up now. You can track this issue and alt.satellite.starband on USENET .

Slashdot is a massively anarchic and rather nerd-centric institution , part of the Open Source Technology Group , funded by IT industry heavyweights. Well, one of their Linux gurus, Robin Miller AKA 'Roblimo' , a prolific tech writer , will be in a Washington Post on-line interview Wednesday at 10 AM Pacific, 1PM Eastern. He will be talking about his new book, Point and Click Linux , which includes a CD intended for anyone, even the proverbial Aunt Minnie, to get started with the free, reliable and secure alternative to Microsoft Windows. If you have any interest in Linux, this on-line discussion and the links above would be worth your time.

I recall reading earlier this year about GIs using R/C controllers to safely jam or pre-detonate IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in Iraq. Now, Slashdot posted an article on a 1.1 kilobuck Improvised Anti-Explosive Device , based on an off-the-shelf R/C truck . During the summer of 2004 Tackle Design co-founder and principle Jonathan Kuniholm was called to serve in Iraq as Platoon Commander in the Marine's 4th Combat Engineer Battalion. Jonathan and Howard's goal was to build a low-cost remote reconnaissance device that could provide close-up video of possible explosives, allowing the platoon to increase their vigilance in protecting themselves and civilians from danger while reducing the number false alarms requiring EOD support. In addition to reconnaissance they also wanted to provide the possibility of safely delivering an explosive charge to detonate and disarm explosives in circumstances where required to do so. Not only anti-IED, but anti-spendy too, when c...

I posted this over on the Oregonian's Tech forum on 11/28/04, and then decided it needed expansion. 1. http://portland.craigslist.org/ele">Craigslist's electronics section can be an excellent source for used HDTV gear, as videophiles will be trading up and selling their old gear. You can look on eBay and Froogle to get an idea of prices for comparable gear and what used equipment's market price is. 2. You can get HDTV a) off the air with an antenna b) with cable (Comcast, et al.) c) with a dish ( DirecTV and DISH network ). Some of their receivers may not work with off-air or have all the features available for off-air use - so check carefully). 3. Sets (whether tube, projection, LCD or plasma) often do not have the receiver built in. Make sure you get a receiver in whatever you buy. 4. Recording : There are Tivos and Tivo-like PVRs & DVRs to record HDTV, and you can get a DVHS (Digital VHS) recorder to give you the ability to record and...