Most posters here seem not to have read the details on the Github page, and are missing the point.

This is a way to have encrypted point-to-point communication or (in some cases) network using any radio (or other) transmission equipment that will transmit/receive audio signals and allow you to tap-into the analog audio circuit of the transmitter and receiver. You could use it with:

- telephones (landline kind)
- mobile phones
- radio transceivers (legal or illegal - the protocol doesn't *require* that you break the law!)
- optical communication equipment - free air/fibre
- etc. etc. etc.

It just defines a common protocol and means of modulation/demodulation.

They take a whole lot of words to say this, and throw in a lot of revolutionary rhetoric.

And yes, it's very similar to amateur packet radio, except encrypted. So, lots of existing code to draw from.

It's well within the capability of any PC or smartphone today. Although I let my ham license lapse many years ago, I do have a couple of receivers squirreled away somewhere, and a few years ago I experimented with listening-in on amateur packet radio. You just run the output from your receiver into the input of a Soundblaster card (I SAID this was a few years ago...) and the application handles the decoding.

An interesting side-note: If you're near an airport, you can use similar software to decode VHF ACARS transmissions. (The kind that hasn't helped much in locating MH370). Just install some open-source software, hook your scanner up to your PC, tune to the right frequency, and it turns the squawks into somewhat-readable messages.

It's biggest drawback is it's biggest strength, IMO. It DOESN'T define a common frequency, some complex frequency-hopping or spread-spectrum scheme, or even common transmission media. It would be extremely hard for it to gain critical mass. On the other hand, it means there are an awful lot of places one would have to look to find it. It's up to whatever group that wants to communicate to settle on a transmission media and (if applicable) frequency.

Well, yea, except for losing a few letters...

(V G E R)

I have 4 Samsung SyncMaster 213T monitors, circa 2000. One finally died. The other 3 are going strong. These are IPS monitors, and for some reason IPS went out of favor for years (cost, I suppose) and were hard to find. And few newer ones have as wide a viewing angle.

While it's long gone, I had a Hammarlund SP-600 SuperPro that had seen 30 years of use before I got it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

I left Detroit for San Diego around 1985. I wrote software for various auto-related stuff (CNC, gauging, factory automation, SQC, Variation Analysis...) when I was there, and the experience was invaluable.

The irony is that the percentage of tech works now is likely many times what it was when I was there. The job loss has been in blue-collor factory jobs, support jobs for the closed factories, service and retail to support all those workers, etc. etc. etc.

Yea, my old high school (Cass Tech) got gutted by a scrapper fire. (They built a new school, and the old one was to be turned into Condos...)

If the "primary directive" of the NSA were actually National Security (rather than spying) what they should do would be obvious.

In the interest of national security, should the NSA discover such an exploit, they should quietly work with public and private organizations to get as much of the infrastructure fixed before the exploit becomes generally known.

Instead, though, what we have is that the NSA has likely had free access. Along with the rest of the world's spy agencies. And hackers and crime networks. That doesn't foster national security, IMO.

GoPro: a heck of a lot cheaper, higher resolution, good enough for the cops. Put it in some sort of clip, remove it from the clip for close-ups. Yes, it's dorky. But less dorky than Google Glass.

San Diego developers already use cable service as a criteria when house-hunting. You want to be in a Cox area! Unfortunately, most of the jobs are in Time Warner areas. Now the service will go from bad to worse...

-- a lucky South-of-Interstate-8 developer...

.... the grunge that is going to collect between the modules!

It's really about the stupidest idea I've seen from Google.

Every pluggable/removable part multiplies the opportunity for failure. It's why so many consumer devices now have embedded non-user-removable batteries. (No, *not* to rip-off consumers when they have to pay for service to have the battery replaced. Most of these devices are discarded or removed from service before the battery might need replacement.)

Great. Now we have a bunch of under-insured, illegal jitney drivers, just like any third-world nation...

Read the tales of woe of Uber-X drivers who have lost their personal insurance. Yes, riders and the other driver in an accident are covered by Uber-X, up to an inadequate $100,000.

California Livery law requires $1,000,000 insurance, though, and specific licensing to drive passengers for hire.

These drivers typically have neither of these, though. And personal policies generally specifically exclude driving for hire. So, driver gets in an accident, Uber pays, and driver is now out of a job (or side job) and is uninsurable.

I worked on this:

http://www.csmonitor.com/1980/...

It was a hacked GM X-car with batteries in what was the transmission tunnel, and most of the rest of the underside of the car. And, in fact, it had a full under-pan.

I don't recall it being touted as a safety feature, but instead, it was there to help reduce wind resistance.

I think the major hazard was the potential for chlorine leaks. It leaked on The Today Show. "Oh, that? It's just chlorine, just like in your swimming pool..."

Tell that to the Madison Height, Mi. fire department! (We had them out a few times...)

I avoid Luxottica eyewear, because they have monopolized the industry and hurt small producers. They are on a constant buying binge to buy-up any producer that might gain some traction in showrooms, and make monopolistic demands on retailers.

They make (IMO) poor-quality eyewear at inflated prices. Most of the "designer" labels they make agreements with seem to be OK with this. BTW, you should be able to get any Luxottica products on line for at least half off of retail, because the prices are so inflated. You can get actual quality eyewear for the same price.

Retailers and professionals hate them, but have no choice.

Good one, Google. You really showed us how you do no evil.

March 12, 2014, the day that countless local TV Anchorpersons are celebrating the anniversary of the invention of the Internet! Probably more erroneous statements out of the mouths of Anchorpersons than any other day in history!

Why do they need a call center?

They just need a recorded message, and to hire DeForest Kelly to record a one-liner:

        "It's dead, Jim!"

Ah, it appears Harris is doing beta testing, and handing these out to police departments to test. So, they don't want the cops blabbing to their competitors.

1. Does Harris have the proper permissions to do this in the wild like this?

2. It'd be an interesting question whether a civil contract like this can trump disclosure requirements. Seems to me there's no way the cops can make use of the results of testing. Maybe they can test, but if they act on it, they have to violate either the NDA or the law.