None of my credit cards are RFID. The only cards I have ever had that are RFID/NFC are hotel keys, and conference cards. My passport cover itself blocks RFID scanning - US passports only work if open.

And of course the sensationalism of the quote "more than 10 million identities digitally pick pocketed every year [and] 70% of all credit cards vulnerable to such attacks by 2015" - really? There are many problems with statements like this - but I am sure the Marketing group came up with them:

- stealing a credit number and maybe name is not an identity
- 10 million is a big number - every year since when? So 20% of the US has been compromised in the last few years?
- credit cards are being issued with chip and pin - RFID credit cards will become obsolete

The same people that buy these pants should buy shirts and hats that protect them from Unicorns and other fictional creatures.

I think you are misguided.

The idea for mobile data is mobility. If she has trouble getting around, then a mobile phone should not be her internet connection. If she is not mobile why a mobile phone? Does she also have a home phone? You are already paying $50 per month for her cell phone - does she have cable tv too? I can't believe you can't get her internet for less then $80/month.

Drop the cell phone, get internet for her, and some other texting method. You could even get her an Obi110 and google voice number for free phone calls (after the cost of the Obi) . She can even port her cell number to GV and use that for texting. She doesn't need a cell phone if she doesn't go out.

No one can argue that Fusion-io started the PCIe SSD market - many laughed and now many are competing. I won't say they are the best for the price, but Tom's hardware is misleading people when they compare OCZ against 5 year old hardware. The 160gb iodrive is the original product that FIO launched with. Still a good product, but that is like comparing the top of the line pentium with today's CPUs.

I have been working on a large data project for another state - this state has outsourced everything to 3 or 4 large companies. That itself is not so bad, but the state doesn't have anyone left to make decisions. Instead it is all left up to the vendors. It is difficult for vendors, even when trying to do the right thing, to know what the business (state) needs or wants for some things.

Trying to implement proper security controls and create separation of duties when everything is outsourced is hard to do. Especially when all vendors bid their part without expectations of having to handle new requirements.

I am sure Oracle shares some of the blame, but I bet the state is responsible for a lot too.

Writing is terrible as others have mentioned..... I won't rehash, but how could you get anyone to agree when they can't maintain interest.

Also, the premise is poor - at least how I understood it - "Advice is only good if it is followed" ?? People don't do simple things, so the problem is not the advice, it is the inherent laziness or not caring of most people.

Using your example - advice to quit smoking is not good as people still smoke. Sorry, the advice is still valid, but for some reason people feel that it doesn't apply to them. Tech is only different because advice can be simple or overly complex. The overly complex may be valid in some cases - but because people don't do it, doesn't make it bad advice.

"However, the app didn’t validate those connections, so users’ financial information was exposed during transmission." - This is false, the channel was still encrypted, but it is possible for an MTM attack to occur. Now if the client knows who it is talking too (IP Address) with some messages exchanged in the application layer, then SSL verification may not be needed. The real purpose of SSL cert validation is to authenticate who you are talking too - if you know you want to talk to server 10.10.10.10, then someone would have to subvert the routing protocols to intervene. And even with Cert validation, there are ways to conduct a MTM attack if that is turned on - NG firewalls and other SSL decryption corporate tools do it all the time if the users machine or phone has a custom issuing cert installed.

Google hasn't changed their home page since '97 ish - why should slashdot. What you have works. The mobile site sucks, and seems to be like the Beta. Classic is fast and works. Don't change just to change.

The expensive SSDs are not always expensive because the manufacturers are greedy. Data corruption on SSDs is a huge issue. And even before this article I would not touch OCZ if you paid me. But the author is scraping the bottom of the barrel to find a suitable solution, and the title should reflect this - sub 100 pounds is one cheap SSD. Since Intel makes Flash I would expect them to pass - or by horrified if they didn't. I would expect Samsung to pass as well as they fab lots of the flash that everyone else buys. Many of the others just buy it, arrange it on a PCB and sell it - not as much understanding or engineering going on there. Nice to know, but the blurb would be better if all the main players were included in the testing.

We put soffit lights in. They point down and illuminate the ground - just like other DarkSky solutions. Dark sky lights point down and have a shield around the bulb, so all light goes down. Soffit lights are can lights in the soffit - the roof overhang area. There is nothing to shine in neighbors eyes, and the light is around the perimeter of the house as a security deterrent. Flood lights that point up, make a house look creepy. Again, simple solution. Downward pointing lights with shielded bulbs.

VCs have different contractual terms, but in the end they want to see at least a 4 to 1 ROI. As others have said, you need to tell them how it will make them money. Do you expect to have a software company and sell an app? Will you license this tech? If so, who is your target. Does this take time - meaning if Samsung was a licensee would this algorithm work in real time on a phone? Will someone have to transfer video to a PC and then post process? If it is the latter, you really need to talk about who will buy it. Have you done any market research? You have to convince the VCs that this will make them money - so you should have a solid idea of who your customer is, and if it will sell.

"no one calls to say they misplaced their printer icon"; No adobe update notifications, don't need to defrag or update, etc..... Why not? Linux doesn't do away with any of this. Package updates break things on Linux as often as they do on any other platform. Adobe needs updates on Linux too. The difference is that the users are scared to touch anything, so they don't. Instead of users buying software and doing their own work, they hire him to administer free software - I am OK with that, but I hate the myth that Linux "just works". There is a reason, that even with all the free software that exists, the software companies are still in business.

I like the humorous stories, but clicking 3 times to get to them has to go. Kill the ROT13 part..... I guess i need to stay away until tomorrow.

The article tries to make the point that side loading is the cause of piracy. That because anyone can search for a pirated game, find it, and easily install it, that this ability to sideload is what makes Android a poor OS from a security perspective. Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, BeOS, AIX, HP-UX, and others allow installing applications from "unknown sources" and they are not platforms of evil (take your MS shots here). It is silly that Slashdot even promoted this blog post. The author should address how software gets pirated (same way it does elswhere) - through exploits, hacks, cracks etc. Making it easy to install is not what causes piracy. It is a moral decision by the person doing the pirating. One thing that would help stop it: trial versions or timed versions of software. But don't blame sideloading. This is one thing that makes android development and alternate app stores so much easier on Android then other platforms. Of course the other option for any developer - sell your APK directly, and provide your own serial tied to something on the phone. Some companies do this and it can work. But as always, if someone has physical access to a device, then true security is impossible.

I hope the guy gets punished as a traitor. If everyone took his stance that "information should be free" and released what they should be shared, where would be? The next guy may want to level the playing field and share fighter plans, nuke designs, whatever he thinks should be free. No sympathy from me. And Assange is a jerk as well - he thinks he knows best on what to share. - I don't think or govt is perfect by any stretch, but sharing every secret without thought of the consequences is insane. If every Mother-in-Law knew every thought or feeling that another in-law had about her... we would have no one left alive after Thanksgiving dinners. Secrets are made to be secret.