TECHNOLOGY: APPLE is enforcing its headlock on “their” hardware

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/02/15/ibooks-1-2-1-detects-some-jailbreaks-disables-ibookstore-purchases-in-response/

*** begin quote ***

Users of devices jailbroken by one of the methods that allows Apple’s test binaries to successfully run who attempt to open content purchased from the iBookstore are met with the following error message:

There is a problem with the configuration of your iPhone. Please restore with iTunes and reinstall iBooks.

Restoring a device from iTunes obviously removes the jailbreak, again rendering the device in compliance with Apple’s standards.

Apple’s tactics are of course drawing some scrutiny from jailbreak fans, many of whom are pointing to recent actions by the U.S. government to explicitly allow jailbreaking. Consequently, Apple’s move to prevent access to legitimately purchased iBookstore content just because the user attempts to view it on a jailbroken device is seen as interference with legal usage.

*** end quote ***

Now, I remember why I didn’t like LOTUS. And, why I shouldn’t like APPLE.

DRM!

APPLE sells me some hardware and dares me to use it.

Henceforth and forever more, all APPLE hardware is, be definition, “NOT RECOMMENDED”. Windoze may be “bad”, but at least you can be “OPEN”!

On to Linux!!!

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Posted by reinkefj

MACBOOKAIR: Fails to restart from sleep

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Don’t think I lost anything. No obvious error message. Send report to Apple.

Argh!

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Posted by reinkefj

DATA: Open Gooferment data in New Hampshire

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/02/08/0112246/New-Hampshire-Begins-Open-Data-Efforts

*** begin quote ***

Now, with over a dozen Free Staters elected to the NH legislature, these geeks are starting to affect government data-sharing policy.

*** end quote ***

http://techpresident.com/blog-entry/new-hampshire-opens-its-states-legislative-data

*** begin quote ***

Chalk up a new one for the open-government-data geeks.

In the past few days, New Hampshire’s General Court, as the state legislature is officially known, started releasing data on legislation and legislators in nerd-friendly, “pipe-separated” files, uploaded daily. In non-geek speak, this means the data is presented in a way that any competent web developer can easily process for use in an application or a researcher can feed into a database system to explore.

*** end quote ***

Seems like the “crazy Free state Project members” are making a change that was completely unexpected.

They are cracking the Gooferment data open like a dropped Chinese porcelain urn.

Imagine that people are actually interested in what the Gooferment is up to.

“Very interested”!

Now we just need to make the Gooferment switch to free Open Source Software and save some money.

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Posted by reinkefj

TECHNOLOGY: Serendipity! I get to watch a red light camera from wife’s ICU room

Monday, February 14, 2011

I find the Universe has a sense of humor.

In observing the Red Light Camera by Saint Peter’s University Hospital, I think it’s “unacceptable”.

I don’t have a stop watch to determine the timing.

Some folks obviously enter the intersection on red and it ain’t even close. Other’s not so clear.

If a car is in the intersection to make a left turn, and the light goes red, sometimes it “fires”.

If a car yields to a light’s ‘n’ sirens ambulance while in the intersection, it fires?

If a pedestrian interrupts some poor slob making a legal right or left, and he’s caught in the intersection, it fires.

To do a good study, we need to mark the pavement with what I’d call the 25mph line. If a poor slob is doing 25mphs, how much distance does the yellow give him to stop. I can’t tell with out some tools: radar gun; pavement markings; and a stop watch.

If the Old Lady is stuck in the ICU long, maybe I’ll have time to do a real study.

Make a movie?

Yeah, I have too much time on my hands.

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TECHNOLOGY: Red light camera as like an ATM to the Gooferment

Monday, February 14, 2011

http://reason.com/blog/2011/02/07/more-fights-over-red-light-cam

More Fights Over Red Light Cameras
Radley Balko | February 7, 2011

*** begin quote ***

Actually, the argument is that there’s good evidence showing that lengthening yellow times is a far better way to prevent intersection accidents than red light cameras. It’s more effective, and doesn’t come with the creepy surveillance state vibe. Somehow, that doesn’t seem as appealing a policy to city governments. Another reason we critics have impugned the motives of public officials is that several cities have been caught shortening yellow times at intersections after they’ve been outfitted with cameras. That would seem to be a pretty good indication of a government that values revenue more than safety.

*** end quote ***

Yes, cash-strapped jurisdiction would have a very good motivation to install the camera and then shorten the yellow.

See the Gooferment can’t be both a participant in the game and the game’s referee.

Any illusion that there is a difference between the supposed three branches of Gooferment is just a corrupt illusion.

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NETWORK: “In the same way”? Not Quite

Sunday, February 13, 2011

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/ipv6-marks-next-chapter-in-history-of.html

IPv6 marks the next chapter in the history of the Internet
2/03/2011 01:39:00 PM

*** begin quote ***

In the same way your phone is associated with a unique number, your computer is assigned a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address when you connect to the Internet. The current protocol, IPv4, allows for approximately 4 billion unique addresses—and that number is about to run out.

*** end quote ***

Unfortunately, not really.

I’ve had the same home phone number for more than three decades. Thru three PSPs (Phone Service Providers).

ISPs play all sorts of games with “my” IP address. Not to mention that I have wifi router that automagically “counterfeits” the mac addresses to allow me to “fool” the ISPs network.

Argh!

It’s more imprecise language that encourages fuzzy thinking.

We really have two different kinds of internet. An internet of things controlled by the manufacturers with mac addresses and the internet of people controlled by the ISPs.

We can say that the IPV4 problem is an ISP problem; not a User problem.

Certainly, not MY problem. I get nothing out of it.

I’m more interested in mesh networks and P2PDNS.

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SERVICE: GOOGLE starts to make two factor authentication available

Friday, February 11, 2011

Advanced sign-in security for your Google account
Posted: 10 Feb 2011 08:30 AM PST

*** begin quote ***

Most of us are used to entrusting our information to a password, but we know that some of you are looking for something stronger. As we announced to our Google Apps customers a few months ago, we’ve developed an advanced opt-in security feature called 2-step verification that makes your Google Account significantly more secure by helping to verify that you’re the real owner of your account. Now it’s time to offer the same advanced protection to all of our users.

2-step verification requires two independent factors for authentication, much like you might see on your banking website: your password, plus a code obtained using your phone. Over the next few days, you’ll see a new link on your Account Settings page that looks like this: …

*** end quote ***

Now maybe this will embarrass the financial institutions into real security. As opposed to “password theater”.

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SERVICE: Extended Opt Out Time is unacceptable

Friday, February 11, 2011

*** begin quote ***

Opt out

You have successfully opted out of Clearance Jobs Communications. It may take up to 10 days to fully process your opt-out request.

*** end quote ***

TEN DAYS!

Ya gotta be kidding?

CONSTANTCONTACT does it INSTANTLY!

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Posted by reinkefj

NETWORK: Carriers Hold the Cards

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/iphone-verizon-sucks/

Verizon iPhone Shows You Can’t Win: Carriers Hold the Cards

By Brian X. Chen February 7, 2011 | 4:45 pm

*** begin quote ***

On the day that iPhone preorders began last week, Verizon quietly revised its policy on data management: Any smartphone customer who uses an “extraordinary amount of data” will see a slowdown in their data-transfer speeds for the remainder of the month and the next billing cycle. It’s a bit of a bait-and-switch. One of Verizon’s selling points for its version of the iPhone is that it would come with an unlimited data plan — a marked contrast to AT&T, which eliminated its unlimited data plans last year.

*** end quote ***

“A BIT”!

Are you kidding me?

Where’s the FTC on false advertising, the FCC on “telecom regulation”, and DOJ on “restraint of trade”? (… or do you think APPLE’s IPAD just isn’t welcome on the T-MOBILE network.)

How come they (DOJ) took AT&T apart at the seams and ruined a “national treasure” (Universal cheap local phone service and Bell Labs)? But they leave the cesspool of cable and telcos “unregulated”. Talk about “regulatory capture”!

I think it’s “real simple”. Reintroduce the idea that you can make hardware, software, or the network. But never the twain shall meet. If you open an “app store” then you can’t be in the business of making software.

How about the doctrine of “first sale” and all this “licensing” nonsense? You have to be kidding me!

The crippled DVRs of the cable and telcos is unfair competition with TIVO.

And, billing? Sorry but you can’t mislabel “fees” as “taxes”. And, you can’t pre-bill, post-bill, or change it as you go along.

Finally, “agreements” that are “agreed to” after the purchase, or have legalese, or that are 37 pages of small print designed to be “read” in real time on a computer screen should be presumed to be fraudulent and thus null and void.

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Posted by reinkefj

SOFTWARE: OPERA1101 can’t send a link?

Sunday, February 6, 2011

In my quest to find a browser that fulfills my needs (whatever they are), I’ve been using OPERA (version 11.01).

I just noticed a blunder in the User Interface.

There’s no menu option under “file” to forward a link.

Curious oversight.

Otherwise, the browser is quite good.

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Posted by reinkefj

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