Firmware update may break hacked iPhones

So it appears that Apple will be upping the ante on the iPhone hacks:

"Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone's software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed,"

Lest we N800 users get too happy, we should note that every N800 update has resulted in a wipe of all installed apps. But still at least we are allowed to install apps on our devices.

Privacy What Privacy

The NY Times has a report on a company that will offer you free phone service, should you be willing to have your calls monitored.

The Web-based phone service is similar to Skype’s online service — consumers plug a headset and a microphone into their computers, dial any phone number and chat away. But unlike Internet phone services that charge by the length of the calls, Pudding Media offers calling without any toll charges.

The trade-off is that Pudding Media is eavesdropping on phone calls in order to display ads on the screen that are related to the conversation. Voice recognition software monitors the calls, selects ads based on what it hears and pushes the ads to the subscriber’s computer screen while he or she is still talking.

Absolutely frickin not.

Let's just say that once you've given up your expectation of privacy, the government is soon following behind.

[update]

Besides, Mr. Maislos said, he thought that young people, the group his company is focusing on with the call service, are less concerned with maintaining privacy than older people are.

“The trade-off of getting personalized content versus privacy is a concept that is accepted in the world,” he said.

Translation: Young people are too wrapped up in being cool to consider the long term implications of giving up their privacy. So we target them, like any other marketer and wait for older people with sense to die off.

Skype UI updates

If you have an N800 and have Skype installed, Check your application manager. Apparently there is a Skype UI update available.

Technorati Tags: N800

Check That E-Mail

A very good read for anyone who is suspicious of a "loved one."

Most of these stories do not end amicably. This year, a technology consultant from the Philadelphia area, who did not want his name used because he has a teenage son, strongly suspected his wife was having an affair. Instead of confronting her, the husband installed a $49 program called PC Pandora on her computer, a laptop he had purchased.

The program surreptitiously took snapshots of her screen every 15 seconds and e-mailed them to him. Soon he had a comprehensive overview of the sites she visited and the instant messages she was sending. Since the program captured her passwords, the husband was also able to get access to and print all the e-mail messages his wife had received and sent over the previous year.

What he discovered ended his marriage. For 11 months, he said, she had been seeing another man — the parent of one of their son’s classmates at a private school outside Philadelphia.

My partial story: Chick was acting strange. I got hold of the computer checked the cookies. She'd been using mapquest to go to Rutgers Campus in New Brunswick. Odd, we don't know anyone there and she's in school elsewhere. Checked the cell phone records. All numbers lined up except one. Did a US Search and got the name and addresss of the person. Person has the same last name as a person working at Rutgers.
Mapped out the time and days of calls with "known" activities. Turns out places she said she was going such as the hairdresser" was a front since you can't be calling the hair dresser from the hair dresser.

IMAP stored e-mail revealed a birthday meet up with "side piece" that was told to a girlfriend. I was asked, via e-mail for cash for "birthday hairdo" to occur same day.

Hope he was worth it.

Enough With The Pop Ups

First I follow this link and get a huge advert.

FIne. I've gotten used to that from the NYT and Salon. FIne.

But next I got this slide out/ pop-up flash advertisement that was activated by mousing over a "sky scraper" page ad. What was most infuriating about this roll over advert was that it was on the right hand side of the screen meaning that if you wanted to use your mouse to scroll (because perhaps you don't have a scrolling mouse) up or down with the scroll bar you roll over the ad and activate the flash animation which, of course, obscures the text you were attempting to read.

How stupid!

That's worse to me, than those obnoxious drop down adverts that have no close box. And webmasters wonder why people had advert blocking software installed on their browsers.

The New BMW X6: Infinity Want's It's Design back

So here we have pics of the new BMW FX, I mean BMW X6

Did I mention that Infinity want's it's design back? Not that I think this is a bad design but the shape really isn't new to the market. The FX is shaped the same way overall. The real difference is in how low the tail goes on the BMW.

Chevron Techron

This is an endorsement from a TOTALLY satisfied customer.

I have a 20 year old BMW 325iC that just went to Miami Florida and back. For the past 3 years I have had to play the "waiver" game with the NYSDMV because I have been unable to pass emissions inspection. At first my car blew 2.3 on the NOx. Then it blew a 3.1. I changed the catalytic converter. I changed plugs, I changed the distributor. None of these efforts helped. I changed the thermostat. No change. Now the thermostat was actually the first clue as to what was really wrong. My engine had been running hot for a long time. it is known that engines that run hot tend to produce higher levels of NOx.

So I tried one of those "lucas" products. That's when I blew the 3.1. So I had almost resolved to either having to pay out $400/year in order to keep the car on the road. No that I like that, but since I don't have a car note, it's not the worst economic choice. Then I read on a site about a way to get your NOx down.

Get your fuel level down to 1/4 tank. put in 2 bottles of Techron. Drive until your fuel light comes on. Fill up. Go take a test. When I did this, my emissions went from the 3.1 to 2.11. I already qualified for a waiver so I went about my business. I had been adding Techron to my engine on a regular basis up until this last inspection in which my engine blew a nice 1.83. That is a pass. All due to Techron.

I completely recommend this product if your engine is otherwise working but you are still failing an emissions test.

*disclaimer: if you take this advice and mess up your engine it's your fault not mine. The text here is provided for informational purposes only. Again if you follow this advice and mess up your car, I'm not to blame.