U.S. Dept. of Transportation Wants to Disable Phones in Cars (via Phonescoop.com)
Ok, but what about the passengers? Are their phones disabled too?
Monthly Archives: November 2010
Path and Instagram
I’ve been using Path a little lately, but I’m not convinced yet that I need ANOTHER photo app on my iPhone. I do love the way it collapses all the photos, though, and I wish more apps had this feature.
I’ve been using Instagram a lot lately, but it really bothers me that the EXIF data seems to be stripped from the photos. I send most of the photos I use in Instagram to my flickr page, and one of my favorite flickr features is that it automatically shows the location of each photo, and the type of camera that shot the photo—and it uses the EXIF data to do this. I sent the Instagram folks a message on twitter asking them about this, but they haven’t responded.
Installation of a stainless steel back for my iPhone 4
I recently bought a stainless steel replacement back for my iPhone 4, and just got around to installing it today. There’s nothing wrong with my original glass back, I just like the look of the stainless steel. It was really simple actually, I bought a “000” Philip’s head screwdriver from my local hardware store and followed the instructions on iFixIt. My only complaint is that the anchors on the new back panel are plastic, unlike anchors on the glass back panel from Apple, which are metal. I think I may have overtightened one of the screws and stripped it a little (the plastic anchor, not the screw), but it seems fine.
Now I feel a little more comfortable using my iPhone without a case on it. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep the stainless steel back on the iPhone, but I’m liking it so far.
John Pistole just doesn’t get it
ABC News report on TSA civil fines for leaving security checkpoints. Later in the article, Susanna Kim quotes Isaac Yeffet, former head of security for the Israeli airline El Al, talking about why the TSA procedures are ineffective, especially compared to the system used in the Israeli airport:
If there is someone who is suspicious, search that person. The best technology in the world cannot replace a qualified and well trained human being.
Exactly.
Meanwhile, John Pistole is saying things like this:
This technology is not only safe, it’s vital to aviation security and a critical measure to thwart potential terrorist attacks.
But where’s the proof that the naked scanners are 1) safe, and 2) vital to security?
Don’t use a shitty browser
I love this paragraph from John Gruber’s Daring Fireball website:
If Daring Fireball looks goofy in your browser, you’re likely using a shitty browser that doesn’t support web standards. Internet Explorer, I’m looking in your direction. If you complain about this, I will laugh at you, because I do not care. If, however, you are using a modern, standards-compliant browser and have trouble viewing or reading Daring Fireball, please do let me know.
If you’re interested in anything Apple/Mac/iPhone, his site is great.
Posted in tech
You’re doing it wrong
This is news to me, but did you know that airports are not required to use TSA screeners? One of my favorite parts of the article:
In a May 2010 letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Mica noted that the GAO “discovered that since the program’s inception, at least 17 known terrorists … have flown on 24 different occasions, passing through security at eight SPOT airports.” One of those known terrorists was Faisal Shahzad, who made it past SPOT monitors onto a Dubai-bound plane at New York’s JFK International Airport not long after trying to set off a car bomb in Times Square. Federal agents nabbed him just before departure.
SPOT stands for “Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques,” and is the TSA’s attempt at replicating the successful security observation technique used at some Israeli airports. The problem is—to quote Mr. Mom—you’re doing it wrong.
Why I opted-out of the back-scatter X-ray machine at the airport, and why you should, too
Having just opted-out of the new back-scatter x-ray “security feature” myself just a week ago, I’ve noticed several articles on the web talking about it. Here are some of my favorites:
Jeffrey Goldberg: TSA Meets Resistance
Marco Arment Comments and Summarizes:
So, to summarize: With no supporting evidence whatsoever that it will make anyone any safer, and in response to absolutely no credible threats, the TSA has decided to implement a policy, that nobody asked for, in which every passenger must allow TSA agents to either see or touch their genitals before boarding a plane.
Paul Kafasis Comments. Warning, there’s a graphic image at the bottom of the post showing how the image from a back-scatter machine (which is inverted, kind of like the negative of a film) can be reversed to produce an almost life-like result.
And if you need more proof of the invasive nature of these scanners, this article talks about a TSA security guard that assaulted another guard who teased him for having a small penis. What does that have to do with the scanners? Well, during training the guards themselves went through the scanners and Rolando Negrin, one of the guards, was teased by the other guards because of the size of his penis. He later assaulted one of the teasers in the parking lot, because the other guard would not apologize.
Posted in Uncategorized
toodark.com 