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Comment A way to block telemarketers... (Score 1) 614

I placed a program on Slashdot.net that does this. Its called 'jcblock'. Just enter its name in the Search window. I also placed a similar program for an Android 2.2 smartphone on there. Its called 'JCBloc'. Unfortunately the Andoid folks blocked a needed permission in versions of Android after 2.2. There have been over 150 downloads of jcblock and over 30 of JCBloc. For further details read the README files for the programs.

Comment Employer can pay if he wants something different.. (Score 1) 609

Employers are getting a college trained employee at no up front cost to them. If they want something different, they can pay for it. For example they could write a contract with an entering freshman to pay for four year's college in exchange for four year's of employment at a reduced salary -- like the Navy does.

Comment Increased geological activity? (Score 2, Interesting) 109

Humm... it seems like we are seeing an increase in earthquakes and now a volcano. I wonder if it has anything to do with melting glaciers and polar ice caps. Seems like, as the ice melts its weight is shifted from the ice to the oceans. As sea levels rise, increased weight is applied to continental shelves and tectonic plates and weight is decreased where the ice was. I wonder if this could cause the plates to shift. Also, if volcanoes spew more sulfur, etc. into the atmosphere there could be a cooling effect. I don't recall hearing anyone mention that global warming might cause geologic shifts. Maybe that will be the most immediate consequence? What do you think??

Comment Security issue... (Score 3, Interesting) 457

Point one: GPS, since the plane's antenna is semi-omnidirectional, is easily jammed. GPS signal strengths are weak. Point Two: Radar is not easily jammed. A jammer can only jam one radial -- and he gives away his angular position when he does. Point Three: Radar can skin track a plane even when the plane's transponder is turned off.

Comment Obvious tech solution... (Score 1) 432

The obvious solution is to add a motion detection circuit to these devices. When they move faster than, say five mph, they turn off or go blank until their motion drops below the threshold. Detecting motion could be done in several ways: (1)doppler shift of the tower signals, (2)triangulation shift of the phone location, (3) GPS location shift, etc. This is a no-brainer.

Comment Re:Not worth it... (Score 1) 87

I assume you are kidding... ...funds would be better spent on saving Earth. The manned space station is a project without a purpose. So far as I know it has yielded no substantial science. NASA is offering free time on it in a desperate attempt to find a use for the thing!
Television

Digital TV Coupon Program Under Way Again 147

An anonymous reader writes with this excerpt from CNet: "Federal regulators said Thursday they are going into 'search and rescue' mode to help the millions of consumers unprepared for the phased transition to digital television, which culminates with the June 12 transition deadline. The millions of consumers waiting for coupons for digital converter box coupons will finally receive them within the next two and a half weeks, thanks to emergency funding for the coupon program provided in the stimulus package, said Bernadette McGuire-Rivera, an administrator for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The NTIA is also ratcheting up its outreach to consumers most likely to be unprepared for the transition... FCC commissioners said their agency is also intensifying its outreach, but they acknowledged that while one third of television stations have already dropped their analog signals, the hardest part is yet to come." We previously discussed the DTV coupon program when it ran out of money in January. The $650 million from the stimulus packages adds to the $1.3 billion that's already been spent.
Security

The Real Risks of Obama's BlackBerry 273

An anonymous reader writes "When the mainstream media first announced Barack Obama's 'victory' in keeping his BlackBerry, the focus was on the security of the device, and keeping the US president's e-mail communications private from spies and hackers. The news coverage and analysis by armchair security experts thus far has failed to focus on the real threat: attacks against President Obama's location privacy, and the potential physical security risks that come with someone knowing the president's real-time physical location. In this article, a CNET blogger digs into the real risks associated with the President carrying around a tracking device at all times."

Comment Two issues... (Score 1) 138

First, a satellite system is easier to jam. The signals are weak and the antenna on the aircraft is semi-omnidirectional so a jammer signal can get in. By contrast, its harder to jam a radar since it has a pencil or fan beam. Second, since the system is 'dependent' on aircraft cooperation, a terrorist can turn the on-board equipment off and become untrackable. By contrast, radars have a 'skin mode' where they depend only on reflections from the skin of the plane to track. This is not the normal transponder mode, but will defeat the attempts of a terrorist to avoid being tracked.

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