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Morning Lineup – May 22

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Wednesday Morning – What's That In Your Pocket?

The Land of Technological Advances is still working full speed ahead, and I'm having fun watching them.  Today's topic is pocket devices that used to need a shelf.

Six months ago I went to the cellphone store to get a new "smartphone" and while there I checked into the latest devices for internet access for my laptop, etc.  A few years back I added the plan that gives me access to the web through the wireless phone network to have as a backup in case my regular internet server goes down (or electricity goes off).  I need that service to maintain this website so that I don't disappear from the scene.

Also, it allows me to live-blog from remote places like the Firehouse Expo which is coming up this July.  Since I have had the service, it has been a device that plugs into a USB port of the laptop (or any computer) and connects me with the web.  It was these devices that made it possible for Dave Statter and I to be the first people to live-blog from the Expo back in 2008.

Back to my vist to the store 6 months ago, I learn that the latest and greatest device that handles this task is a miniature version of a wi-fi hotspot.  It sits there on its own without any hardwire connection to the computer or phone network.  Just like when you are at a hotel or web-friendly restaurant, any computer can log onto the network with the proper password and plink away. 

And since the gadget is smaller than a credit card wallet, you can just drop it in your pocket where it's secure.  And there's a bonus feature:  It allows up to five computers to log on and use it simultaneously.  Verizon sells one that will accept 10 users, but I will never have use for that, so I opted for the cheaper version.

All this is just to lead us up to what brought this subject up in the first place.  I recently saw a listing for a "pocket projector" that can be connected to a smartphone, video cam, or any computer device that has an HDMI connection.  (It comes with an adaptor for the smartphone.) 

It projects the image at 85 lumens and will easily show a 60" diagonal image on the wall or screen (sheet?), whatever you use.  These newer smartphones now can store hundreds of photos on their memory cards, so you can just drop one of these into your bag and are prepared to bore anybody anywhere with your pics on the wall.

It's called a "pocket" projector, but you really need baggy pockets to qualify.  But it's a descriptive term that gets the point across that this is a tiny device.  I read through some of the customer reviews for this particular brand and model, and they were all thorough and highly praised the gadget.  Right now it's selling for $300, but I expect that price to creep down as the competitors start upgrading their products to match the quality and features of this one.

CLICK HERE to read more about this nifty gadget.  If you already have use for a display device for sales or training presentations, this is probably just what you need.  What a great training aid, eh?  The BC, or training officer, can snap some pics with his phone at the emergency scene.  And then as soon as you get the equipment back in service, you can immediately have a slide show to accompany your post-incident critique.

What we all need now is to get this equipment checked out, so let's get started.  The Bunn-O-Matic ain't wireless, but it's still the best, so I'll get another pot started.  See you back in the day room.

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Posted by on May 22, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology

Morning Lineup – May 21

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Tuesday Morning – Horrible, Simply Horrible

This young week has been a terrible one so far for the emergency crews in the Southwest.  On Saturday a young, just-married, firefighter in Phoenix lost his life in a freak accident on the fireground, just a few hours after a city police officer was also killed in the line of duty.

Then comes yesterday's tragic death of a Dallas firefighter, and experienced man with more than 20 years on the job, who was caught in the collapse of a burning apartment building.  Still more tragedy landed on the region when that monster tornado swept through Oklahoma yesterday afternoon.

AP / Ogrocki

That one was just indescribable in its size and fury with a funnel cloud that was at least a mile in diameter when it touched down.  We can see the pictures, but there is no way we can get a sense of the terror that those people felt as it roared through their communities.  No way.  Just as amazing is the relatively low death count (so far) for such a destructive force, but everybody is giving credit to and praising the modern, early warning system that is set up in Oklahoma now.  Computer models coupled with advance radar technology are projecting highly accurate predictions of when,, where, and what size the twisters will be and where they are most likely to be traveling through.  God bless their souls.

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We have another kind of technology update for you this morning.  There has been an apparent breakthrough on the cellphone recharging stage.  I'm referring to the built-in battery packs installed in the phones.  An 18-yr.-old high school senior from Saratoga, California (San Jose area), has won a major prize for inventing a device that will recharge your cellphone in 20 to 30 seconds.  PC Magazine tells us:

California native Eesha Khare won a $50,000 scholarship for inventing a supercapacitor that can charge a cell phone in about 20 seconds.

The Harvard-bound teenager last week received one of two Intel Foundation Young Scientist Awards for her work with energy-efficient storage devices. Khare developed a small device that fits inside cell phone batteries, allowing them to charge in 20 to 30 seconds. It also has the potential to work on car batteries.

Her invention, which weighs in just over an inch long, according to CNN, pushed Khare to the top of the class, helping her beat about 1,600 young scientists who competed in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.

KPIX

She's already reportedly being courted by Google and other Silicon Valley giants to come to work for them, but she plans to pursue her college degree at Harvard University first.  When asked what led her into researching this line of power storage, she simply said "My cellphone battery was constantly going dead."

As simple as that.

Now let's keep it simple here and get this equipment checked out.  I'll get the techno-simple Bunn-O-Matic going before we meet back in the day room shortly.

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Posted by on May 21, 2013 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Major Incidents, morning lineup, technology

Morning Lineup – May 7

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Tuesday Morning – Say Sayanora to the Optical Disc Drive

Yes, you read me corrctly there.  Then next major shift in home and personal computing is the soon-to-be-gone optical disc drive.  It was, what?, fifteen years ago when the floppy disc drives suddenly disappeared from the PC towers without a word of warning.

But now we are learning ahead of time (barely) that the same thing is happening to the CD disc drive beginning with the laptops.  "Laptop" is the key word here because there is a serious competition starting up to make and sell the smallest, lightest laptops on the market.  Apple has already begun and Microsoft announced a few months ago that they would be doing the same.

By removing the optical disc drive, they are cutting out a lot of weight, space needs, and battery consumption.  Especially the space.  You will soon be seeing some mighty thin laptops on the shelves at Best Buy.  So how do you store your files and bring them up when you want to use that certain image in your email?  We already gave you that answer a few weeks ago:  Flash Drives.  As we told you earlier, a 16 Gig. flash drive that sells for about $10 on sale will hold the equivalent of 24 CD-ROM's.

And for your more permanent storage and parking space for little-used files, get yourself an external hard drive.  500 Gigs for about $60.  They are much more secure and safer than a big file box of CD's.

There you go, a seat on the cutting edge of personal computing progress.  Now let's get on the cutting edge of equipment checking while I fire up the still-reliable Bunn-O-Matic.  See you back in the day room in a few minutes.

Tomorrow we will be dormant on the website for the funeral and burial services for my late wife, Lynn D. Schumm.  Thanks to all of you who have sent your condolences and prayers.  Her family appreciates all of them.

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Posted by on May 7, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology

Morning Lineup – April 5

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Friday Morning – Can You Hear Me Now?

This week marked the 40th anniversary of the inaugural cell phone.  Did you know that?  I would have never guessed that it came on the market that long ago.  Of course, "on the market" is stretching it a bit because those early prototypes were so expensive that the market as such still didn't exist for them.

It was on April 2, 1973 that Martin Cooper, then a VP at Motorola, stepped outside with a brick-sized chunk of plastic and wiring known as the DynaTac 8000X and placed a wireless phone call.  When the "brick" – as it was dubbed – became available for sale in 1984 it cost the trend-setter purchasers about $4,000 and took ten hours to charge the batteries.

DynaTac 8000's are still available on eBay,
complete with charger, for less than $200.

Motorola also introduced the first flip-phone in 1989 and the first commercial camera phone was brought out by a Japanese company in 2000.

NBC News ran this video report on Tuesday:

 

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

NBC has also posted an interesting 17-image slide show illustrating the evolution of the now-indispensable gadget from beginning to present HERE.

Ok, now silence your ring-tones and let's get our own equipment checked out.  Our Bunn-O-Matic is still the same reliable brewer that it's always been, thank goodness.  I'll get another pot running before we meet back in the digital day room.  See you there.

 

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Posted by on April 5, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications, Videos • Tagged:

Looking Back

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Fire Engineering – October 1957

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Posted by on March 21, 2013 • Filed under: Looking Back, technology • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – March 14

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Thursday Morning – SmarterThanMe Phones

It's been what, about 12 years or so since the Blackberry "smartphone" swept into the marketplace?  The innovative communicator which was developed and built in Canada turned the cell phone industry on its ear with this gadget that people couldn't comprehend at first.  But big business did and they ordered them by the hundreds for their supervisory level employees to keep in touch and the race was on.  The creator of the Blackberry was a company that called itself Research In Motion (RIM) and they made more than a fortune from it.

After a while, others started creeping into the market and a small outfit in Finland called Nokia worked its way to the top by selling phones that worked on any cell network that wanted them.  For some reason though, Nokia figuratively crashed and burned a couple years ago and the market is now dominated by Apple's iPhone and Samsung.  RIM's market share plunged to the single-digits and the company was right at the bankruptcy gate.  But now they are possibly on the way to one of the biggest come-backs that we've seen in a long time.

The new BlackBerry 10

On January 1 Research In Motion changed its name to BlackBerry and then announced that they have completely redesigned the platform and created a "new user experience" called the BlackBerry 10.  I believe it is scheduled to be released near the end of this month.  And to help propel them on the way back to the top, BB announced yesterday that they have received a single order from "an established partner" for one million BlackBerry Z10's.  It seems obvious that the order came from a cell phone provider, but they aren't saying who just yet.

I'm not real savvy on this kind of stuff, so I can't discuss it properly.  But a service called Pocket Now Video has posted this video comparison between the new BlackBerry 10 and the current Android platform:

 

That's about as much as I can handle first thing in the morning, so let's get started with the equipment check now.  I can find my way to the Bunn-O-Matic without an app, so we're covered there.   See you back in the day room shortly.

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Posted by on March 14, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology • Tagged: , ,

Apple Maps Down Under Cause Fire Agency Grief

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"Dangerous Deficiencies" Charged

THE COUNTRY FIRE AUTHORITY, Victoria, Australia's rural fire agency has charged Apple Maps with providing dangerous and inaccurate maps on their FireReady bushfire information app.

Screen cap of the FireReady app

The Sydney Morning Herald reports:

The FireReady app was forced to use Apple Maps, CFA said, but the maps were inaccurate and "Macedon and a number of other Victorian towns are located incorrectly".

"Users report that towns are located on their maps at the centre of the district rather than on the actual township itself," a CFA spokesman said.

Marcel Theunissen from Mt Rael in the Yarra Valley said his local CFA "fireguard" bushfire safety community group and others in the region had made "many complaints" about the Apple Maps lack of detail and errors in the CFA FireReady app.

"One of the problems with Apple Maps is that they don't show the names of cities and townships at all times," said Theunissen.

"This makes it very difficult to quickly determine the exact location of fires once alarm calls are being received. This creates potentially dangerous situations and delays to activate phone trees if required."

The CFA has advised its volunteers to disregard the place names on the app map, but instead go by street names when possible.  They also urge their users to use Google map apps.  When the Apple Australia maps were issued last September they were already riddled with inaccurate town and place locations, and even had the Sydney Apple Store in the wrong place.  Recently the Victoria Police had to lead several motorists out of a national park after being led into it by Apple Maps instead of the town they wished to go to which is 70 kilometers away.

Read the full, sad story HERE.

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Posted by on February 22, 2013 • Filed under: communications, Fire Rescue Topics, technology, Technology & Communications

Morning Lineup – January 22

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Tuesday Morning – Can You Outsource Yourself?

Sign this guy up!  He may have been cheating his boss a little bit, but it didn't cost the company anything.  And this fellow displays a remarkable sense of ingenuity and out-of-the-box thinking.  "Bob", as he's referred to in a recent article in the Los Angeles Times, is a software developer for a major company here in the U. S.  And you know how these sorts of outfits love to save money by sending a lot of their work to Asian and Indian firms who will do the tasks at a fraction of the cost because of their extremely low wage-base over there.

Well, Bob found out that some mighty good developers in China were willing to perform his duties for pennies, so he contracted with a Chinese consulting firm to do his assignments for him and email them back, costing him very little yet leaving a day free to surf the web.  It worked out nicely.  The Chinese developers did such good work that Bob was getting excellent performance reviews.  And anytime that his boss strolled the aisles of the cubicle room, Bob was always busy, absorbed in his computer terminal.  If the boss had taken a few moments to look, he would have seen that Bob was logging on to Reddit at 9 am for an hour before switching over to YouTube to catch the latest video postings until luch time arrived.  After lunch he would catch a session on e-Bay before finishing his afternoon with a good Facebook session.  Then he would dash off an email to his boss encapsulating what he had "done" during the day before logging off and heading home.

After quite some time had gone by, Bob's employer starting noticing some unusual traffic on their network from China every day, but couldn't figure out what they were doing.  So the company hired Verizon's Risk Management Team to investigate.  The LA Times picks up the story:

Andrew Valentine was hired to investigate when the company, a Verizon client, saw that someone from Shenyang, China, was logging in to its computer network during every workday. The breach was traced to Bob's VPN network, but he had to be innocent, the victim of some kind of breach, the company figured. He was a quiet family man, "someone you wouldn't look at twice in an elevator," Valentine writes. And Bob was sitting there, working at his desk, every day. But when Valentine's staff looked more closely at Bob's computer, they ultimately found the smoking gun.

Bob had PDFs of hundreds of invoices from a third-party contractor in Shenyang for developer services. Bob had been paying the contractor $50,000 a year, while he himself made hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"Evidence even suggested he had the same scam going across multiple companies in the area. All told, it looked like he earned several hundred thousand dollars a year, and only had to pay the Chinese consulting firm about fifty grand annually," Valentine reported.

Once he was exposed, Bob was promptly fired and his company lost their best developer.

We have to outsource ourselves now and grab our equipment check clipboards.  So let's get started while I run some more coffee through the B-O-M.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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From Amazon ….

Big Savings on Philips Norelco
Shaving and Grooming Accessories

CLICK HERE to review the wide selection and to order.

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Posted by on January 22, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology

Update: Security Agencies Strongly Urge Computer Users to Disable / Uninstall Java

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Serious Security Flaw Leaves Computers Open to Malware

UPDATE:  Oracle has announced this evening that they have just issued an emergency patch:
Via CNet.com:  Oracle released an emergency software update today to fix a security vulnerability in its Java software that could allow attackers to break into computers. The update, which is available on Oracle's Web site, fixes a critical vulnerability in Oracle's Java 7 that could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code. The attack can be induced if someone visits a Web site that's been set up with malicious code to take advantage of the hole.  Read the entire update HERE.

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is advising people to temporarily disable the Java software on their computers to avoid potential hacking attacks. The recommendation came in an advisory issued late Thursday, following up on concerns raised by computer security experts.

Experts believe hackers have found a flaw in Java's coding that creates an opening for criminal activity and other high-tech mischief. The warning is being issued through home government agencies in all civilized countries in the world.

Michael Winter in USA Today explains further (in language that we digital dunces can understand):

The flaw in Java 7 "can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system," according to a warning posted Thursday by the U.S. Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT).  Hundreds of millions of consumers and businesses may be affected.

Hackers could exploit the flaw to install malicious software or malware that could make users vulnerable to identity theft or allow their computers to be exploited by "botnets" that could crash networks or be used to attack web sites.

"Note that applications that use the Internet Explorer web content rendering components, such as Microsoft Office or Windows Desktop Search, may also be used as an attack vector for this vulnerability," the warning adds.

The complete CERT warning with more details and references can be VIEWED HERE.

So far there is no practical solution to fix this  flaw yet.  ALSO NOTE:  It is recommended that you uninstall Java rather than disable it.  CERT says that they have encountered situations where Java will crash if it has been disabled in the web browser as described above and then subsequently re-enabled. Reinstalling Java appears to correct this situation.

CLICK HERE for instructions on how to uninstall Java from your Windows computer. This issue affects not only the Java 7 plug-in, but all versions from 4 through 7.  According to Apple, they have already remotely disabled Java from all Macs that had it installed.

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Posted by on January 13, 2013 • Filed under: News, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – January 12

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Saturday Morning

An interesting and unusual event took place in Cleveland about ten days ago.  I guess it's appropriate for us to look at it because after all, an ambulance and an engine company did respond and handle the situation.  I am talking about an unfortunate lap dancer who took an unplanned tumble off of a 2nd-floor balcony while "performing" in a lakeside strip club back on January 2 and fell 35 ft. or so, thus receiving a severe head injury.  The story has popped up in the news again yesterday because the young lady passed away in the hospital as a result of her injuries.

The 9-1-1 call was placed shortly after midnight from Christie's Cabaret on the 2nd after Lauren Block, 22, fell from the balcony, landed on the floor below and ceased moving.  The Cleveland Plain Dealer told us:

Pasknale Storino, of Point Pleasant, N.J., told police Block was giving him a lap dance on the balcony of the club when the accident happened.

"He stated that she grabbed the rail, as he was facing away from the balcony, and she tried to complete some sort of jump/dance move, and accidentally went head first over the rail.," according to the police report.

KSDK-TV covered the original story last week with this video report:

 

The MetroHealth Medical Center announced Wednesday morning that she had passed away, apparently without regaining consciousness.  Her family, in a public statement, wanted to make sure it was known that Lauren was an organ donor.

OSHA also disclosed that they are opening an investigation.

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Before we disband to get the equipment checked out, we can see what else has been popular at the Consumer Electronics Show that will be wrapping up in Las Vegas later today:

 

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Ok, I'm heading to get another pot started.  See you back in the day room after equipment check.

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Posted by on January 12, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications, Videos • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – January 5

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Saturday Morning – What's New?

This coming Tuesday is the opening day of the 2013 edition of the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  The annual event which is just about always held in Las Vegas, runs from January 8th through the 11th, and I am always fascinated by new "stuff"that is introduced to the marketplace.  The show's producers are claiming that there are as many as 20,000 new products being offered on the floor this year, believe it if you will.

The "experts" are saying that television receiver-related things will dominate, but what the industry is pushing isn't always what the consumers themselves choose to grab onto.  (Bought your 3-D television set yet?)  Here's a video blurb that CES has sent out to tease you:

 

I think you will also see some robotics creeping into the mix, just like they're creeping into everything else.  Also, there will be a major presence of new laptops and tablets (and some PC's too) that leave off the keyboards and rely on touch-screen technology to relay your commands.  Taking that methodology to the next level, there are innovative PC's going on display that react to voice commands (no touch) and even a remarkable program that responds to hand gestures.  That's right…. wave your ten digits just the right way to make all kinds of things happen.  Watch this sample:

 

According to one blurb about this technology, through a partnership with Leap Motion, Asus will bundle hand-gesture technology into a number of high-end laptops, according to reports. Leap Motion technology will allow Asus laptops to track movements of both hands (and all 10 fingers) at 290 frames per second and detect movements as small as 1/100 of a millimeter, according to a Venture Beats article. Asus laptops with Leap Motion technology support the same type of hands-free navigation offered by the Xbox Kinect.

It is speculated that this will be integrated with the voice-command technology, thus creating a real digital pal to take around with you.

One thing the visitors won't see there this year is Microsoft.  The industry giant has always had a major pavillion and hundreds of representatives, etc., at the CES, but last summer they announced that their marketing strategy has been changed and they will no longer be using the major exhibitions to push their new products.  That will leave a big hole in this year's exhibit.  Firegeezer, as we have in the past, will be salting our postings during the next week with events and announcements from the CES as they come up.

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 There has been a lot of activity in the National Hockey League's labor contract negotiations in the two days since we last updated you on that.  But since we need to get this equipment checked out now, I will be back in a little while with an update on their progress to resolving the contract situation in a separate posting.  So let's get started on the morning check and I'll get some more much-needed coffee going.   See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on January 5, 2013 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: , ,

Wi-Fi ‘Taters

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Another Step Forward For In-Flight Internet

BOEING AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS are trying to find the best way to get WiFi signals to "propagate" through a populated aircraft cabin.  Responding to requests for cooperation by the major cellphone and internet providers, the engineers in Boeing's Test and Evaluation laboratory are conducting experiments in actual airplane cabins and simulating the passenger load by filling the seats with 20,000 lbs. of bagged potatoes.

Working from a Boeing press release, CNN is reporting:

The tubers mimic the way the human body responds to electronic signals, so engineers at Boeing's Test & Evaluation Laboratory used the spud-filled plane to try out the new methods without requiring hundreds of people to sit in the aircraft.

Once the engineers had the methods down, they were able to replace the starchy veggies and validate the data with humans.

Boeing says the procedures it developed can reduce the time it takes to test wireless signals from two weeks to just 10 hours.

"One of the wonderful aspects of our improved testing is that we can describe both strong and weak signals with incredible accuracy," Boeing spokesman Adam Tischler said in a statement to CNN. "Engineers who are concerned primarily with operational safety of an airplane can see if the strong signals are safe for the airplane's communication and navigation systems. Meanwhile, an engineer who is concerned with getting every passenger a really good network signal can see if the weak signals are propagating through the airplane with enough power to provide a good usability experience."

The Register, an IT publication in UK, provided this very informative video on Boeing's experiment and what they are trying to learn:

 

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Posted by on December 20, 2012 • Filed under: communications, News, technology, Technology & Communications, Videos • Tagged: ,

But They Haven’t Even Learned How to Use the Satellite Radios Yet

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Hey, Ma!  My promotion to "Balloonist" Came Through!

FROM THE "IT LOOKS GOOD ON PAPER" department comes another brilliant idea from a government agency, this time the Federal Communications Commission.  And you know all about "great ideas" that bubble up from government agencies.  The problem they want to address is the failure of the wireless telephone and communications services after hurricanes breeze through and leave their cell towers non-functioning for whatever reasons.  Somebody has sold them on the notion that a  remedy would be to dangle wireless antennae from balloons or maybe trailing behind drones.

USAF

Gerry Smith, the Tech Column writer for Huffington Post penned:

The Federal Communications Commission is exploring the use of such airborne technology to restore communications after disasters. Beaming 3G or Wi-Fi signals from the sky may be especially useful to emergency responders in the immediate aftermath of a hurricane, when repair crews are unable reach damaged equipment because roads and bridges are impassible, experts said.

"It sounds futuristic, but the technology is absolutely there," said Daniel M. Devasirvatham, a chief technology officer at Science Applications International Corp.

This spring, the Federal Communications Commission asked for public comments on the potential for deploying wireless networks via small drones or weather balloons, saying it could "further strengthen and enhance the security and reliability of the nation's communications infrastructure."

"We know this technology can work," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement in May. Genachowski added it "would have been remarkably useful" after Hurricane Katrina, when dozens of 911 call centers were inoperable and more than 3 million customers lost telephone service.

It goes without saying that a large percentage of those 3 million victims also lost their cell phones as well, so they were unable to call for pizza delivery anyway.  Mr. Smith goes on to tell us that the military has used this technology to set up temporary networks in remote combat zones, and FEMA has supposedly used it to dangle broadband antennae for internet connections to be used by wildland firefighters and a few other temporary needs of emergency crews.

But when it comes to integrating the various radio signals of compteting cellphone providers, well, you have problems.  But the ballooon makers and drone builders say they can do it, yeah!

Look at both sides of the controversy by reading the entire, well-written article in the HuffPost HERE.

This has been tried before, by the way.

Thanks to Mark D. for dangling this bit of science overhead for us.

 

Posted by on November 26, 2012 • Filed under: communications, Dispatch & Communications, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: , , ,

Morning Lineup – November 19

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Monday Morning – How To Be Productive

Already we have an update to yesterday morning's Lineup where we reviewed the lockout situation in the National Hockey League.  (If you were offline yesterday, check it out HERE.)  Over the weekend there were a couple of informal meetings between representatives of the two sides and they have agreed to resume discussions this evening.  The NHL issued the following statement, in part:

Negotiations between the National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association toward a new Collective Bargaining Agreement are expected to resume Monday, according to NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly.

"We can confirm that we have tentatively agreed to get back together on Monday, either late in the afternoon or early evening," Daly said. "The meeting was requested by the Union and it's their agenda. We will see what they have to tell us."

The sides have not met since Nov. 11, when they got together for roughly 90 minutes and discussed player-contracting issues.

We'll be keep an ear to the door tonight and see if this meeting is better than the last one which ended with a shouting match.

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Our own web crawler, the energetic Mark Donovan passed along this story from NBC news the other day that trumps the current concerns about "texting while driving."  Police in Mainz, Germany, pulled over and eventually ticketed a man who is undoubtedly the world's champ road warrior.  Mike "FossilMedic" Ward will undoubtedly pick up some valuable pointers from this dedicated digital entrepreneur.  From the article:

Undercover highway police in southern Germany on Monday pulled over a 34-year-old IT specialist after he conducted an illegal passing maneuver and was going 80 miles per hour in a reduced 62-mile-per-hour zone on Germany's infamous super highway, the autobahn.

"The officers were quite surprised when they found a laptop, a printer and even a medium-size voltage transformer attached to a wood rack that was set up next to the center console," police spokesman Stephan Lassotta told NBC News.

In addition, the German highway patrol found two cellphones and a navigation system installed in the windshield of the driver's car.

"We could not prove that the driver had been using the equipment while driving, so he was not fined for that violation," Lassotta added.

So he got away with just a speeding ticket …. and a Star is Born.

Peeking in the cab of the pumper, it's getting to look more like another road warrior setup every month.  We'd better get it checked out now while the next pot of coffee runs through the Bunn-O-Matic.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Posted by on November 19, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications

Noted Computer Anti-Virus Founder Wanted on Murder Charges

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John McAfee Sold Company to Intel in 2010

JOHN McAFEE, 67, THE ECCENTRIC multi-millionaire developer of a leading anti-virus software company, is on the run from the police in Belize where he has been living for several years.

I-Tech website Gizmodo broke the news earlier today (Monday) when they posted in part:

According to Marco Vidal, head of the national police force's Gang Suppression Unit, McAfee is a prime suspect in the murder of American expatriate Gregory Faull, who was gunned down Saturday night at his home in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye.

Details remain sketchy so far, but residents say that Faull was a well-liked builder who hailed originally from California. The two men had been at odds for some time. Last Wednesday, Faull filed a formal complaint against McAfee with the mayor's office, asserting that McAfee had fired off guns and exhibited "roguish behavior." Their final disagreement apparently involved dogs.

McAfee has become increasingly estranged from his fellow expatriates in recent years. His behavior has become increasingly erratic, and by his own admission he had begun associating with some of the most notorious gangsters in Belize.

Other recent reports have been saying that he has been experimenting with growing hallucinogenic plants and developing mind-altering pharmacological skills in a laboratory in his house.

Gizmodo also shared the official police report that was issued to the press:

MURDER
On Sunday the 11th November, 2012 at 8:00am acting upon information received, San Pedro Police visited 5 ¾ miles North of San Pedro Town where they saw 52 year old U.S National Mr. GREGORY VIANT FAULL, of the said address, lying face up in a pool of blood with an apparent gunshot wound on the upper rear part of his head apparently dead.

Initial investigation revealed that on the said date at 7:20am LUARA TUN, 39years, Belizean Housekeeper of Boca Del Rio Area, San Pedro Town went to the house of Mr. Faull to do her daily chores when she saw him laying inside of the hall motionless, Faull was last seen alive around 10:00pm on 10.11.12 and he lived alone. No signs of forced entry was seen, A (1) laptop computer brand and serial number unknown and (1) I-Phone was discovered missing. The body was found in the hall of the upper flat of the house. A single luger brand 9 mm expended shells was found at the first stairs leading up to the upper flat of the building. The body of Faull was taken to KHMH Morgue where it awaits a Post Mortem Examination. Police have not established a motive so far but are following several leads.

Read the full report from Gizmodo HERE.
WebProNews has MORE.

For more information on McAfee's descent into the drug scene, read THIS REPORT from Fox News.

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Posted by on November 12, 2012 • Filed under: crime, culture, News, technology • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – September 12

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Wednesday Morning – Tread Carefully

Here we are at Hump Day already and only about a week until the official beginning of Autumn.  I'm already getting the urge to put on a sweater once in a while and shake out my long-sleeve shirts for a different "look."  That will only last for a couple of months until it gets really cold, and then we'll all be wishing for short-sleeve weather again.  Finicky folks, we are.

Now on to the important things.  Are you ready for the Smart Carpet?  In this digital-computer-magic age where everything is "smart" now, a research team at the University of Manchester in England has developed what they call smart carpeting.  The specially-crafted floor covering has a network of optical sensors in the underlayment that detect the pressures of a footstep.  In a press release they explain:

Optical fibres in the carpet's underlay create a 2D pressure map that distorts when stepped on. Sensors around the carpet's edges then relay signals to a computer which is used to analyse the footstep patterns. When a change is detected – such as a sudden stumble and fall – an alarm can be set to sound.

By monitoring footsteps over time, the system can also learn people's walking patterns and watch out for subtle changes, such as a gradual favouring of one leg over the other. It could then be used to predict the onset of mobility problems in the elderly, for example.

The carpet could also be used as an intruder alert, says team member Patricia Scully. "In theory, we could identify footsteps of individuals and the shoes they are wearing," she says.

That's what they're saying …. the carpet has the ability to identify your gait and distinguish your late-night creep into the house from that of a burgler.  Dr. Scully continues:  "The carpet can gather a wide range of information about a person’s condition. From biomechanical to chemical sensing of body fluids, enabling holistic sensing to provide an environment that detects and responds to changes in (a person's) condition."

They don't say where this carpet computer will be located, in your hall closet or at a remote facility where people will be watching your every step.  The electronic photon folks in Manchester tell us that it could also be set to recognize spills of hazardous substances or an insipient fire.

I don't know if I'm quite ready for this great, scientific advance yet or not.  Are you?  Let's get ready now to get this equipment checked out.  Those apparatus cabinets sure could use some sensors.  Maybe we could line them with bits of smart carpeting and monitor the digital equipment check from the coffee table.  Oh, yeah!!  I'm heading to the Bunn-O-Matic now.  See you back in the day room shortly.

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Posted by on September 12, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – September 1

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Saturday Morning – Goodbye, Summer

Welcome to the new month and the beginning of the end of Summer.  I think most people will be glad to see this one in the rear-view mirror.  It's been a miserable year for weather abhorrations particularly, and for the front-line fire and EMS people there have been a lot of challenges.  And they're still going on with the remnants of Isaac cruising the Mid-West and breaking the drought up there, albeit a little too late to save the crops.  But we keep coming back to work the next day, ready to solve another problem for somebody because that's what we do.  I hope you have the opportunity to enjoy this long weekend sometime during the three days.

This weekend also kicks off the 6-day IFA, the humongous electronics fair held in Berlin, Germany, each year where the world's electronics gadget purveyors show off their new stuff and see what sticks against the wall.  The IFA began life in 1924 as a radio display/fair and has grown to become the largest of the innovative electronics displays and home appliances in the world.  This year they have 1,400 exhibitors at the Berlin Fairgrounds along with the large program of conferences and lectures to entertain and inform the fans.

We will be getting dribbles of reviews and announcements from the fair over the next few days, so if I see anything that looks particularly interesting, I'll pass it along.  "They" – the people who know these things – tell us that we will be seeing more innovation in the television receiver section.  The much ballyhooed 3-D revolution never revoluted, so there are hopes for still another visual breakthrough called 4K.  Panasonic, Sony, Toshiba, LG, and Samsung are all displaying this new technology that has a remarkably sharp screen resolution that is 4-times sharper than the current HD plasma stuff.

Yahoo! Tech blog tells us:  The new 4K sets … show a level of detail you'd expect on a movie screen; their resolution equals that of professional cinema cameras, like the Red One. The detail is stunning, and viewers can comfortably sit close to the screen. Even from only a few inches away, it's impossible to discern a single pixel.

Sony shows off its 84-inch Bravia 4K monitor.

But don't rush out to get your pre-order in just yet.  So far there isn't a suitable medium available that can hold the massive amount of data that movie requires.  But they're working on it and you can bet by next year there will be something out there so that you can use your new $12,000 television set to watch commercials with.

Let's kick off the Labor Day weekend now and get our equipment checked out.  I'm craving some more coffee, so I'll head over to the Bunn-O-Matic and get that going again.  See you back in the day room later.

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Posted by on September 1, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: ,

EMS Goes QR

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Marin Paramedics Carry Special Scanners

A PILOT PROGRAM IN MARIN COUNTY, California, is underway with the Fire and EMS departments partnering with a private concern, Lifesquare to make medical emergency victims' vital records available to paramedics when they are needed.  They are using a proprietary QR coding system that brings the patient's medical needs right to the medic or firefighter.

QR codes, you probably know by now, are those square designs that look like a digital maze that contain basic information that can be read by an appropriate device such as a smartphone.

The QR codes being utilized by Lifesquare are only able to be read by devices coded by the firm.

A recent article posted online by IT security and development company CIO tells us:

Lifesquare, a Silicon Valley start-up, has partnered with two emergency response agencies in Marin County to run a year-long pilot program. Lifesquare wants residents to input personal information about their medications into its website, then place corresponding QR code stickers where emergency responders can scan them with (a smartphone). The secure link from the sticker will then provide paramedics and firefighters with information they need during a medical response call.

Residents can sign themselves up by picking up Lifesquare (applications) at a CVS pharmacy. Ideally, Marin County emergency medical responders could then respond to a call about someone feeling sick, scan a QR code on the patient's bike helmet, for example, and learn whether or not the patient has a drug allergy or what medications they are taking.

Lifesquare's public affairs company has posted this video that explains some of the basics:

 

After filling out the application online, Lifesquare then mails a set of stickers for each person registered.  The citizens log their information into the database themselves and the scanners are provided to the emergency agencies by Lifesquare.  The QR stickers are then placed on personal items that are likely to be worn when away from home, such as wristwatch bands, bicycle helmets, key chains, etc.

When the emergency paramedic "reads" the sticker with his customized smartphone, he has immediate access to the patient's medicinal needs and related medical history.

Read the full article on CIO.com HERE.
Lifesquare WEBSITE.

Hat tip:  Mark D.

Related Firegeezer articles:
March 28 Morning Lineup HERE.
Canadian FD Moves On The High-Tech Frontier HERE.

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Posted by on July 31, 2012 • Filed under: EMS Topics, technology, technology-communications-ems-topics, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Is Your Fire Extinguisher Loud Enough?

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Will They Be Rated by Decibels Instead of By Weight?

"THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX" was never more apropos than when the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) completed a major breakthrough on fire suppression physics in December 2011.  The agency has been working for the past three years on better methods to attack and extinguish fires in remote, confined spaces such as ships' holds.

The U. S. Department of Defense agency's "Instant Fire Suppression" program announced the technique recently and released a video illustrating a laboratory demonstration of using sound waves to extinguish a fire.  Putting it as simply as they can, Darpa tells us that a flame is extinguished by an acoustic field generated by speakers on either side of the pool of fuel.

Two dynamics are at play in this approach. First, the acoustic field increases the air velocity. As the velocity goes up, the flame boundary layer, where combustion occurs, thins, making it easier to disrupt the flame.

Second, by disturbing the pool surface, the acoustic field leads to higher fuel vaporization, which widens the flame, but also drops the overall flame temperature. Combustion is disrupted as the same amount of heat is spread over a larger area. Essentially, in this demonstration the performers used speakers to blast sound at specific frequencies that extinguish the flame.  This video shows the technique at work:

 

Contrary to what you might think, the loudness of the sound does not need to be at ear-splitting levels.  If the fire is too large to extinguish by sound, the method will keep it from spreading thus allowing entry into the area where more conventional techniques can be applied.

Phys.org goes into the details of how this works along with the background theory of what Darpa was doing HERE.

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Posted by on July 13, 2012 • Filed under: current events, Fire Rescue Topics, Firefighting Operations, technology, Videos

Morning Lineup – July 7

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Saturday Morning – Hot Smartphones

You gotta watch out for those hot smartphones and tablets these days.  A few months ago, Consumer Reports wrote that Apple's latest iPad tablet generates noticeably more heat than previous versions and was causing discomfort for many people who use theirs more than the average person.

And then last month a young man in Dublin, Ireland, posted on a forum a notice and photo of his brand-new Samsung Galaxy X III smartphone that he claimed had "exploded" while mounted on his automobile's dashboard.  He wrote that while he was driving, "suddenly a white flame, sparks and a bang came out of the phone. There’s no confirmation it was a fault with the phone. It may actually have been caused by a combination of my car mount and my car’s heating system."

He sent the phone back to Samsung requesting a replacement and the manufacturer first wanted to find out why the phone did what it did.  They hired a private fire investigator in UK to find out what caused the sizzle and it didn't take them long.  Posting on their own website, Samsung tells:

The damaged device and additionally provided devices were examined and exposed to a series to tests. The investigation summary states that "The energy source responsible for generating the heat has been determined as external to the device" and "the device was not responsible for the cause of the fire."

Additionally, the investigation results state, "The only way it was possible to produce damage similar to the damage recorded within the owner's damaged device was to place the devices or component parts within a domestic microwave."

In a follow-up interview, the kid revealed that his new phone did get wet one time and he had dried it out by placing it in a microwave oven.  Apparently he hadn't yet learned that bombarding electronic circuit boards with microwave energy can disrupt their operational ability.

There's so much to learn, and so little time.

We'd better take some of that precious time to learn if our equipment is ready for today and get it checked out.  I'll use an external heat source to make us some more coffee before we meet back in the day room.

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Posted by on July 7, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology • Tagged:

Morning Lineup – June 22

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Friday Morning – What's the Password?

There are some basic rules of computer usage that are shoved into our brains from the first day we learn how to use the things.  Such as, always have your computer powered through a surge protector.  Have your keyboard at elbow-height.  How about this one ….. have your internet passwords unique and lengthy enough to be secure?  Oh, we all know about that one, don't we?  We know, but most of us tend to fudge on that one, including me.  It is so much more convenient to use short, familiar phrases for our passwords that we don't have to look up all the time.

In some cases we are forced to do the right thing whether we want to or not.  One good example is the WiFi box that most of us use at home now.  If you have it set for encryption (and you darned well better have it!), then you must use the box's pre-assigned password which is usually a 10-symbol string of numbers and letters in both upper case and lower.  When ever you have to connect a new computer of other device like your printer to your WiFi network, then you have to look the number up because there is no way you can remember it.  What a pain, eh?  For that reason primarily, when most folks set up their Facebook page or establish a connection with their local newspaper to leave comments after published articles, we use easy-to-remember wording for the passwords, often repeating the same password(s) over several log-ins.

But you know without me telling you, that is dangerous practice and becoming even more risky these days when malicious hackers and thieves have refined their abilities to discover how to get into your private accounts and clubs.  But now we have a good scheme available that shows us how to select a password that is not only very secure, but easily remembered.  A great combination.

Slate Magazine's technology correspondent Farhad Manjoo has recently posted a must-read article on how to do that very thing.  He tells us, in part:

The easiest way to fix this problem is to use password-managing software. I like LastPass, which generates and remembers passwords for all your sites across all your computers. (It’s free, but if you pay $1 a month for the premium version, you’ll get support for your mobile devices, too.) But for a lot of people—probably including you—even a password manager is too much trouble. Ignoring the guidelines, you pick a memorable password for all your sites, then just cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Well, I’ve got a better way. In 2009, I stumbled upon a foolproof system to fix all your terrible, vulnerable passwords in just five minutes. My method, which I filched from a commenter at a security forum—who says Web commenters are good for nothing?—generates very strong passwords that are also very easy to remember. This means that you can create good passwords for every site you visit.

But now I’ve got a better system. This new scheme generates even stronger passwords that are even easier to remember. The one disadvantage is that it doesn’t work at every site. For those places where it doesn’t work, you’ll have to use my 2009 method, which is still really good.

And it really is, believe me.  You need to take a few minutes and read his ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE to learn how to do it. Now that you know, the hardest part remaining will be to get your butt in gear and start changing your insecure passwords over to one of these.  This is so important, especially if you play with Facebook or Reddit, etc.  Personally, I have so far refused to even admit to my bank that I am online.  I want no pipeline into my financial resources at all.  Eventually, all financial institutions will use internet connections exclusively for transactions and account information, but until they do – and set up foolproof firewalls – then I am staying out of their digital playgrounds.

Let's recess to our own playground now and get this equipment checked out.  I'll have the coffee ready by the time we get back to the day room.  See you there.

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Posted by on June 22, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: ,

Morning Lineup – June 7

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Thursday Morning – Time to Play Password Roulette

From the Technology News desk this morning we get word that there has been a security breach on the LinkedIn servers that has exposed the LI passwords of perhaps 6 million users.  I know that a lot of our readers are members of the business/leadership social network, so I thought it would be beneficial to report this here.  LinkedIn has over 160 million users currently.

Yesterday afternoon (Wednesday) they confirmed that there was a major security breach of their password database and a file appeared on a Russian-based forum that contains 6.5 million unique hashed passwords.  However, they suspect that only about 200,000 of them have been cracked so far.  PCWorld informs us:

Vicente Silveira, Director at LinkedIn, confirmed the hack on the company's blog Wednesday afternoon and outlined steps that LinkedIn is taking to deal with the situation. He wrote that those with compromised passwords will notice that their LinkedIn account password is no longer valid.

Silveira added that owners of compromised accounts will receive an email from LinkedIn with instructions on how to reset their passwords. These owners then will get a second email from LinkedIn customer support that explains the situation at greater length.

The breach is serious enough that the security professionals are advising everyone to change their passwords now rather than wait to see if you are affected.  If you are a LinkedIn user (or just interested), read the entire PCWorld article HERE.

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Those of you who have been checking in occasionally to the HawkCam at the University of Wisconsin to follow the progress of the chicks as they grow, we can tell you that one of the three chicks moved out, left the nest on its own this past Saturday.  The HawkCam crew, which has been keeping a constant video tape record since the nest was built back in April, has posted the clip where Junior decides to take off and see the world on his own (he makes his getaway at 6:09:45 and I got a kick out of the other two seemingly watching him sail off into the wild blue yonder for a while):

 

Yesterday afternoon I saw that there was only one chick in the nest (along with a dead mouse), but I don't know if #2 was on his own, or just out hunting and practicing touch-and-go landings.  It is still dark in Madison right now, so I will have to check later.  You can view the webcam for yourself HERE.  If you missed our earlier posts on the Red Tail Hawks family, read them HERE, HERE, and HERE.

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NHL Stanley Cup Finals 

The New Jersey Devils staved off the Kings' sweep of the finals last night by grinding out a 3 – 1 win in Los Angeles.  Determined not to be winless in the Cup finals, they kept grinding until they got a late-game lead and held on, sealing the win with an empty-netter at the end.

The first two periods were scoreless as both teams' goalies put on a great show and kept each other off the scoresheet despite some careless penalties.  But going into the 3rd period with the scoreless tie, the Devils hunkered down and scored the first goal of the game nearly 8 minutes into the period.  That was the first time in the entire series that New Jersey held a lead in any of the Finals games.  Their celebration didn't last too long, however, as the Kings came back exactly one minute later to score and tie it up again.  But with just 4-½ minutes left in the period, the Devils scored again and handily kept L.A. off the board for the final few minutes of regulation play.

Game 1: Los Angeles – 2, New Jersey – 1 OT.
Game 2: Los Angeles – 2, New Jersey – 1 OT.
Game 3: Los Angeles – 4, New Jersey – 0.
Game 4: New Jersey – 3, Los Angeles – 1.
Game 5 at New Jersey Saturday, 8 pm Eastern.

Los Angeles leads series 3 games to 1.

Here are the highlights from last night's game:

 

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We will have to start our own highlights reel this morning by getting this equipment checked out.  I'll head for the concession stand and make sure we have enough coffee for when we meet back in the day room later.

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Posted by on June 7, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications, Videos • Tagged: , ,

Morning Lineup – March 28

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Wednesday Morning – Thanks!

First I want to thank all of you who sent us so many good wishes and congratulaions yesterday (see yesterday's Lineup).  They came in via emails, Facebook messages and website Comments, too.  It's very rewarding to know that our readers enjoy our product and make Firegeezer a regular part of their online time.  A few typical examples:

  • Please, keep it going. You are part of my internet ritual every day….

  • I'm not sure exactly how long I've been following you , but your site is the one I visit first everyday!

  • It’s been a great adventure reading your site and allways lots of unusual, diverse and interesting articles.

  • You always maintain my interest by your broad range of articles….  

All of the GeezerGang truly appreciate your sentiments and the fact that you took the time to write to us.  So, Thanks again!

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Do you recall that reference we gave you the other day to a fire-oriented website in Waterloo, Ontario, that showed a couple of ways that the local FD is integrating high-tech stuff into their operations?  (see Firegeezer HERE.)  One of the new tricks they're up to is putting their unique QRC (Quick Response Code) on the sides of their fire apparatus.

I have seen those maze-looking designs showing up here and there, but never really paid any attention to what they are used for.  I know that they are a type of symbol designed to be scanned, like a bar code, but hadn't thought about why.  I didn't even know they are called QRC's or what the letters stand for.  It turns out that these things have been around for years but are only just recently coming into use in North America.  Their purpose is to allow a unique block of information to be very rapidly scanned, as in "high speed."  Not only are they favorable to speedy scanning, but they can hold a tremendous amount of information compared to a bar code.

Toyota invented the thing way back in 1994 as a method to track parts and units in progress on their auto assembly lines.  Because of that, other uses have been explored and utilized in Japan for quite a few years now.  Europe has been way ahead of us in utilizing the codes, too.  Lately, the most common usage that we've been exposed to is largely for commercial ventures where the codes will connect you to a website or replace your ATM card for purchases.  Most smartphones now come with built-in QRC scanners that read the code via your camera function.  If you don't have one built-in, the usual apps are aplenty out there.

They also lend to innovative marketing uses like the company that will emboss your QRC on a piece of chocolate for you to use as handouts.  Customers can scan the chocolate to view your message and then they can eat it.

Leave it to the innovative thinkers at Facebook to dream up the project recently where a bunch of them went up to the roof of one of their buildings and painted a 40-ft. QRC that takes you to a Facebook information website.  It's large enough to be picked up on a satellite map.

That's really neat stuff, isn't it?

Our apparatus are really neat stuff too, and we need to get them checked out now.  I'm going to check the Bunn-O-Matic and get more coffee going.  See you back in the day room in a little while.

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Facebook Geeks Paint the Roof

 

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Posted by on March 28, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: ,

Canadian FD Moves On the High-Tech Frontier

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Being in the Right Neighborhood Helps

WATERLOO, ONTARIO, IS THE HOME to high-tech high flyer Reasearch in Motion (RIM), the innovative developers and purveyors of the pioneering Blackberry personal communication device.  So it  was only natural that the Waterloo Fire Rescue Department would readily adapt the Blackberry technology and products into their operations.

Waterloo Region Fire website is an independent photo-oriented website covering the local fire department and the publisher Ian Haight has just posted an interesting article on this topic.  The firefighters figured out that Blackberry's newest tablet, the Playbook fits comfortably in their bunkergear pockets, so the next step was to buy a bunch of them and then develop their own apps to use with them.  WaterlooRegionFire continues:

Waterloo Fire Rescue relies on hundreds of pre-plans which, until now, had been kept in binders on all front line apparatus and command vehicles. Within the last year, these pre-plans were converted into digital format allowing them to be stored directly on the Playbook. Recognizing the limitations of the paper pre-plans, especially for the firefighters already in the building, combining them onto a wireless (handheld) device was an obvious solution. As Deputy Chief of Emergency operations Larry Brassard says, "we’re now able to put our pre-plans in the hands of our firefighters right inside a building." The app was originally designed as a mapping tool to replace the printed run-cards held in each truck; however, it did not take long to adapt the maps to include the tactical surveys of the buildings in the city.

And that was just the beginning of their custom apps for the device that has been issued to every officer.  He tells of other uses they have integrated with the Playbook.

WaterlooRegionFire.com

Also, if you keep scrolling through the article you will learn why their firetrucks have one of those QR Codes stuck on the sides.  In a city that is populated with literally thousands of geeks, it only makes sense that Waterloo is leading the way with this device, too.

Read the article and see what they are doing with it HERE and learn about their Playbook apps.

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Posted by on March 26, 2012 • Filed under: technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: , , , ,

Morning Lineup – March 4

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Sunday Morning – "We Are Watching You!"

Most computer users are aware that packets of digital information like emails and cellphone calls are loaded with bits of identifying information such as what computer you are using or where you are located while making a call.  Geeks and IT engineers are constantly looking for ways to best utilize those tidbits of 0's and 1's, for both good and evil purposes.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) fine online Technology Review enewsletter has an interesting article published this past Tuesday on how one digital security company is refining the usage of these hidden information clues to prevent thieves and fraudsters from using stolen credit cards over the phone.  From the article:

Just as people's voices betray hints of the region they originate from, so, it turns out, do phone calls. Handsets, telephone exchanges, and other call-routing infrastructure imprint subtle and almost unique fingerprints onto the audio of any phone call, a phenomenon that security company Pindrop hopes to use to prevent fraudsters from using stolen credit cards over the phone.

"We can identify whether a person is using a landline or cell phone, or when a call supposed to come from a mobile in Atlanta comes from a landline in Nigeria," says Vijay Balasubramaniyan, CEO and cofounder of Pindrop. The "secret" answers and words used to protect bank and other accounts are often easily compromised, particularly using data gleaned online, or through tactics like phishing. Spoofing a caller ID to match a victim's number when calling their bank has also become commonplace, he says.

You've probably noticed that calls placed from different places, different devices, and via different networks, such as a cell phone call compared to one made through Internet services like Skype, sound different. When a person makes a call, the chain of technologies between them and the recipient creates a very particular "line noise."

Pindrop's software has been trained to extract specific information from the line noise on a call. It can even estimate a caller's location, thanks to the patchwork of different telecommunications equipment that links up the globe. "The telephone network has been around for a long time, so there are very different fingerprints for different regions," says Mustaque Ahamad, a professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and chief scientist and cofounder of Pindrop.

Calls placed as closely as 100 miles apart can be identified from one another and counter-maneuvers by the criminals are not totally effective either.  Changing handsets for mobile devices, for example, will change some of the identifying "fingerprint" being transmitted, but enough information from the other digital generators will remain to keep the message identifiable.

Read the entire ARTICLE HERE to see just how amazing this digital exploration can be.  It's impressive.

Now let's make our own impression of sorts and get the equipment checked out for today.  I'll get the coffee started and see how the Sunday breakfast is coming along.  We just might get busy today.

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Posted by on March 4, 2012 • Filed under: morning lineup, technology, Technology & Communications • Tagged: