Google Reader nows allow you to share your items inside your friends Google Reader windows... a very nice feature (you can view my shared items here).
One additional feature I'd like is to be able to comment on the shared items so that when my friends view the item, they view my comments as well.
Saturday, 29 December 2007
Tuesday, 18 December 2007
Sunday, 16 September 2007
"US Cache" replacement - the video
We replaced a cache the other day for "howaussie and son" who own a cache here in Brisbane called "US Cache", but they are in the U.S. so are unable to maintain it. As we hadn't been caching for a while we did a quick video of out casual stroll out there - Chermside Hills is a lovely bit of bushland!
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
Charity telemarketers
I'm on the Do Not Call register but that doesn't stop charities from calling me (who are exempt from my request to not be bothered).
I got a call from a particular charity today who opened with "Hello we're from suchandsuch charity and we're calling to ask people to give sizeable donations".
I said "Thank you I'm not interested".
"A couple hundred dollars maybe?" he asked.
"No, thank you".
"Maybe five hundred?" he countered.
"No, good-bye", at which I hung up.
I mean, seriously, after less than 20 seconds on the phone do they really expect anyone to just fork over $500... I find it hard to believe that anyone would do that. (Not that I don't give, just that I don't do it over the phone like that).
I got a call from a particular charity today who opened with "Hello we're from suchandsuch charity and we're calling to ask people to give sizeable donations".
I said "Thank you I'm not interested".
"A couple hundred dollars maybe?" he asked.
"No, thank you".
"Maybe five hundred?" he countered.
"No, good-bye", at which I hung up.
I mean, seriously, after less than 20 seconds on the phone do they really expect anyone to just fork over $500... I find it hard to believe that anyone would do that. (Not that I don't give, just that I don't do it over the phone like that).
Friday, 10 August 2007
Skype uninstallation
I had to laugh at this message that Skype gave me when uninstalling. Can you see whats wrong with this picture?
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
Rant about QPS
I had to complete a statutory declaration for the Queensland Police (speeding ticket) and they required it to be witnessed by "a Justice of the Peace, Commissioner for Declarations, notary public, a lawyer or another person authorised to administer an oath under the law of the State, the Commonwealth or another state." [emphasis mine] I had mine witnessed by a Justice of the Peace from NSW.
After sending it in they rejected it with the following explanation: "It is not permissible for Justice of the Peace; Commissioner for Declarations; notary pulic under the law of the State, the Commonwealth or another State; or a lawyer; or a conveyancer; or another person authorised to administer an oath from another state to witness a statutory declaration in Queensland."
Huh!?!? This just don't make no sense at all.
After sending it in they rejected it with the following explanation: "It is not permissible for Justice of the Peace; Commissioner for Declarations; notary pulic under the law of the State, the Commonwealth or another State; or a lawyer; or a conveyancer; or another person authorised to administer an oath from another state to witness a statutory declaration in Queensland."
Huh!?!? This just don't make no sense at all.
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Windows Live OneCare Beta
Microsoft are encouraging people to get on board with the Windows Live OneCare Beta. Looks to be good to me (been running for a few days now) & it meant that I didn't have to plug in that activation key that I bought yet! More info here: http://get.live.com/betas/onecare_betas
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Tuesday, 3 July 2007
Nokia N95 and a 4GByte Micro SD Card
There's been some speculation as to whether or not a 4Gbyte (or larger) Micro SD card will work with in a Nokia N95. The confusion is because Nokia state in their specs that it only supports up to 2GB.I'm not the first person to test this nor the first one to confirm it, but I thought I would re-confirm it.
See pictures here which show the card, the camera (with a 1GByte card), the camera (with a new 4Gbyte card), and then the camera (with more than 2Gbytes on the card).
Suffice to say - it works.
And if it works with a 4Gbyte SDHC card then this means that the N95 supports SDHC, so even larger cards will work (when they are released).
Saturday, 30 June 2007
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0 is a nice number.
Sunday, 1 April 2007
KGC 2007
We've been away this weekend at KGC 2007 (Kefford Golf Classic). Thanks to Karen and Kingsley for organising it this year. It was a real blast & I took some video to put together which I've uploaded below.
If you've got a slow Internet connection & the video is stopping and starting... just hit pause & go and make a cup of coffee (or go to work if your connection is really slow) and hit play when you come back.
If you've got a slow Internet connection & the video is stopping and starting... just hit pause & go and make a cup of coffee (or go to work if your connection is really slow) and hit play when you come back.
Friday, 23 March 2007
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
Free movie tickets
ANZ is having a promotion where they are giving away free Hoyts double movie tickets.
Call 1800 852 299 and leave your name, contact and address. Its as easy as that.
Call 1800 852 299 and leave your name, contact and address. Its as easy as that.
Friday, 2 March 2007
The PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry - Data Security Standard) defines who wears the loss when someone misuses your credit card. Essentially the blame rests with the merchant who will bear the cost of a fraudulent transaction.
Some bloggers have suggested that this is the appropriate spot to place the blame, suggesting that as the merchants are on the pointy of maintaining the security of the card information that they should be responsible for the breach - however this is entirely the wrong approach to take.
There is nothing that merchants can do to stop themselves from being defrauded & this is due to the fundamentally insecure way in which the transaction occurs. There are few, if any, solutions in place that would allow a merchant to validate whether or not the credit card number they've been provided actually belongs to the customer - all they can do is accept the risk of fraud & pass the costs of this on to the consumer. So under this model, no processes are improved & ultimately the consumer ends up paying for the cost of fraud anyway through increased prices.
The credit card companies, who are the only ones who can actually change the system, are left with no responsibility or financial penalties at all - and if they don't suffer then they won't change anything. If they were responsible to make good fraudulent transactions, you'd be sure that we'd have a more secure payment system in a short time.
You see while a particular merchant may be responsible for the leak of the credit card data - it likely will not be the merchant, or at least not alone, who will feel the pain of that leak. The stolen credit card data will be used to defraud other merchants, who may have protected their data quite well. So what incentive is there for a merchant to tightly protect the data when they'll still be impacted no matter how much they spend.
Consumers and merchants are both users of the credit card system - it is the credit card companies who are selling a service to these users & they alone are the ones responsible for fixing the insecurities in it.
Some bloggers have suggested that this is the appropriate spot to place the blame, suggesting that as the merchants are on the pointy of maintaining the security of the card information that they should be responsible for the breach - however this is entirely the wrong approach to take.
There is nothing that merchants can do to stop themselves from being defrauded & this is due to the fundamentally insecure way in which the transaction occurs. There are few, if any, solutions in place that would allow a merchant to validate whether or not the credit card number they've been provided actually belongs to the customer - all they can do is accept the risk of fraud & pass the costs of this on to the consumer. So under this model, no processes are improved & ultimately the consumer ends up paying for the cost of fraud anyway through increased prices.
The credit card companies, who are the only ones who can actually change the system, are left with no responsibility or financial penalties at all - and if they don't suffer then they won't change anything. If they were responsible to make good fraudulent transactions, you'd be sure that we'd have a more secure payment system in a short time.
You see while a particular merchant may be responsible for the leak of the credit card data - it likely will not be the merchant, or at least not alone, who will feel the pain of that leak. The stolen credit card data will be used to defraud other merchants, who may have protected their data quite well. So what incentive is there for a merchant to tightly protect the data when they'll still be impacted no matter how much they spend.
Consumers and merchants are both users of the credit card system - it is the credit card companies who are selling a service to these users & they alone are the ones responsible for fixing the insecurities in it.
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Google TV - NOT!
This video is an interesting one.
A guy by the name of Mark Erickson shows you how to sign up for Google TV - a service, he claims, that is in Beta release from Google that lets you watch television shows from major studios.
The video is a fake - Google TV doesn't exist, however Erickson does a good job of faking it.
While its fake, theres something about it that captures your attention. It'd be nice to be able to stream our favourite TV shows as easily as this. Ironically, within a few years this sort of service will likely be available & if I was in Google's shoes I'd be asking myself "Why not?".
TV studios make series to make money, they make this off of the distributors, who in turn make money off of the advertising. Now although the traditional method is to get advertising from broadcasting it over the air waves - whats wrong with broadcasting it over the Internet instead. YouTube has already proven that they're capable of streaming massive amounts of video simultaneously - so its not an infrastructure issue.
If the studios don't quickly adapt to what consumers want, a new breed of content producers will spring up that will deliver what is wanted... in fact, if they aren't there already then they're very close.
A guy by the name of Mark Erickson shows you how to sign up for Google TV - a service, he claims, that is in Beta release from Google that lets you watch television shows from major studios.
The video is a fake - Google TV doesn't exist, however Erickson does a good job of faking it.
While its fake, theres something about it that captures your attention. It'd be nice to be able to stream our favourite TV shows as easily as this. Ironically, within a few years this sort of service will likely be available & if I was in Google's shoes I'd be asking myself "Why not?".
TV studios make series to make money, they make this off of the distributors, who in turn make money off of the advertising. Now although the traditional method is to get advertising from broadcasting it over the air waves - whats wrong with broadcasting it over the Internet instead. YouTube has already proven that they're capable of streaming massive amounts of video simultaneously - so its not an infrastructure issue.
If the studios don't quickly adapt to what consumers want, a new breed of content producers will spring up that will deliver what is wanted... in fact, if they aren't there already then they're very close.
Tuesday, 6 February 2007
Google Maps gets fair dinkum'
Google Maps is now a full-cream service for Australians too.
For ages you've not been able to do routing on the Australian maps. Nor have you been able to search for businesses and types of businesses in Australia. This has severely limited the usefulness of google maps for Australia. For example, you'd try to find how far it was from one side of town to the other - but it wouldn't tell you the roads to travel - so this meant that it was great for looking at maps, but not for working with them.
But now you can find out how far it is from the "the gabba, brisbane" to "the melbourne cricket ground, melbourne" by using those exact terms... and instantly you'll learn that its a 21 hour 21 minute drive.
It's also nice to see that Google recognise they have a customer base in Australia and continue to deliver us the same services they get in the US, even if they are a bit delayed.
For ages you've not been able to do routing on the Australian maps. Nor have you been able to search for businesses and types of businesses in Australia. This has severely limited the usefulness of google maps for Australia. For example, you'd try to find how far it was from one side of town to the other - but it wouldn't tell you the roads to travel - so this meant that it was great for looking at maps, but not for working with them.
But now you can find out how far it is from the "the gabba, brisbane" to "the melbourne cricket ground, melbourne" by using those exact terms... and instantly you'll learn that its a 21 hour 21 minute drive.
It's also nice to see that Google recognise they have a customer base in Australia and continue to deliver us the same services they get in the US, even if they are a bit delayed.
Saturday, 27 January 2007
Verified by Visa is just plain dumb
I hate the "Verified by Visa" program - it doesn't provide extra security... in fact it takes some away.
The whole concept of the verified by visa program is that when I pay online using my Visa card I get prompted to enter a password for my Visa card before the transaction can continue. This program is just dumb because using the VbV program is optional to merchants. This means that sometimes I get prompted to login to the program when using the card but, more often than not, I don't. So how does this protect me, the consumer? It doesn't... fake vendors will still attempt to steal credit cards from suckers and the suckers will keep giving it to them - outside of the VbV program.
But ahhh... I hear you say... the program isn't for the consumers... it's for the merchants, it verifies to them that the credit card is really being used by the owner of the card. No it doesn't! Because if I setup a fake merchant website to steal credit card details, all I need to do is add a popup at the end asking for the users VbV password... the user will happily give it to me because they've been trained to do this by Visa. You see when a merchant uses VbV I, as a consumer, get redirected from the merchants website to a supposedly Visa website (although it's not even on a visa.com URL) and asked to provide my password. This teaches users to give up their passwords to anyone who asks - bad Visa!
Similary, if someone had already stolen my credit card through some other means (and didn't have my VbV login) and they wanted to run up a bill on it or to extract money from it - they'd just choose a merchant who isn't using the VbV program - they're not prevented from using the credit card number in any real way.
If VISA really wanted a secure program then they would require you to log into your Visa account (or your bank account) and authorise the transaction apart from the merchants website... but they've skipped this step, no doubt, to make the transaction 'smoother'. The end result being that neither the customer nor the merchant are any more protected than they were before.
C'mon VISA - you should be doing more than training users to act in this way in the name of security theater.
The whole concept of the verified by visa program is that when I pay online using my Visa card I get prompted to enter a password for my Visa card before the transaction can continue. This program is just dumb because using the VbV program is optional to merchants. This means that sometimes I get prompted to login to the program when using the card but, more often than not, I don't. So how does this protect me, the consumer? It doesn't... fake vendors will still attempt to steal credit cards from suckers and the suckers will keep giving it to them - outside of the VbV program.
But ahhh... I hear you say... the program isn't for the consumers... it's for the merchants, it verifies to them that the credit card is really being used by the owner of the card. No it doesn't! Because if I setup a fake merchant website to steal credit card details, all I need to do is add a popup at the end asking for the users VbV password... the user will happily give it to me because they've been trained to do this by Visa. You see when a merchant uses VbV I, as a consumer, get redirected from the merchants website to a supposedly Visa website (although it's not even on a visa.com URL) and asked to provide my password. This teaches users to give up their passwords to anyone who asks - bad Visa!
Similary, if someone had already stolen my credit card through some other means (and didn't have my VbV login) and they wanted to run up a bill on it or to extract money from it - they'd just choose a merchant who isn't using the VbV program - they're not prevented from using the credit card number in any real way.
If VISA really wanted a secure program then they would require you to log into your Visa account (or your bank account) and authorise the transaction apart from the merchants website... but they've skipped this step, no doubt, to make the transaction 'smoother'. The end result being that neither the customer nor the merchant are any more protected than they were before.
C'mon VISA - you should be doing more than training users to act in this way in the name of security theater.
Australia Day Caching
We had a great family day out geocaching for Australia Day. We all came home pretty tired, but its always nice to spend time together.
And here's the video!!!
And here's the video!!!
Wednesday, 17 January 2007
Dell coupon code
I recently purchased a new Dell computer. They've sent me a coupon code which is valid for a 5% discount on any Dell purchase until 1st February 2007 & it says to pass it on to family and friends, so here it is: 391504BDE29
Wednesday, 10 January 2007
MS Office 2007 - on 3 computers for $168!!!
OK here's the deal... but you'll need to be quick.
Currently Dick Smith have MS Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition on special for $168. This price is until 28 January 2007. This version of office is licensed to be used on up to 3 computers!
Also at Dick Smith, if you buy the above you will get a $27 WISH voucher that you can use at a number of stores in the Woolworths chain including Woolworths and Big W (so you shouldn't have any trouble speding it). I don't know how long this offer is available.
Then... Microsoft currently have an upgrade guarantee program on where you can get an upgrade from your newly purchsed version of Office 2003 to the equivalent version of Office 2007 for only $27.00. You need to visit their website to get the full details, but its just a matter of filling in forms and mailing something off.
If you'd prefer to get the Professional Version of Office (Academic version) then the price is $60 more going through the same process... the Professional version will include MS Access and MS Publisher, but it is only licensed for 1 computer, not 3.
So what are you waiting for?
Currently Dick Smith have MS Office 2003 Student and Teacher Edition on special for $168. This price is until 28 January 2007. This version of office is licensed to be used on up to 3 computers!
Also at Dick Smith, if you buy the above you will get a $27 WISH voucher that you can use at a number of stores in the Woolworths chain including Woolworths and Big W (so you shouldn't have any trouble speding it). I don't know how long this offer is available.
Then... Microsoft currently have an upgrade guarantee program on where you can get an upgrade from your newly purchsed version of Office 2003 to the equivalent version of Office 2007 for only $27.00. You need to visit their website to get the full details, but its just a matter of filling in forms and mailing something off.
If you'd prefer to get the Professional Version of Office (Academic version) then the price is $60 more going through the same process... the Professional version will include MS Access and MS Publisher, but it is only licensed for 1 computer, not 3.
So what are you waiting for?
Sunday, 7 January 2007
ouverture-facile game and solution
ouverture-facile.com provides a logic game for you to solve. Each level of the game could require you to do underthing from mathematics, image manipulation, audio editting, hex editting... in fact anything could be required to solve it.
I've provided full and complete spoilers as a walkthrough of the game. I haven't finished it, but I've included information on the level that I'm up to. I will update this over time & contributions are welcome as comments to my blog.
You may be disappointed if you look at this, but here are the spoilers.
I've provided full and complete spoilers as a walkthrough of the game. I haven't finished it, but I've included information on the level that I'm up to. I will update this over time & contributions are welcome as comments to my blog.
You may be disappointed if you look at this, but here are the spoilers.
Saturday, 6 January 2007
Palm Gully Geocache trip
Rogainer, Hawmorfords Pirate63, Wingaap and myself today hiked out and did IF's new cache Palm Gully.
It is a great walk in a beautiful spot. The weather was perfect for it.
Watch the video below. A high(er)-res version of it is available from here.
It is a great walk in a beautiful spot. The weather was perfect for it.
Watch the video below. A high(er)-res version of it is available from here.
Thursday, 4 January 2007
Security in shopping
I've just been shopping and had two things happen that made me question the security of the whole process.
The first one has bugged me for a while and its about credit card security. It seems a little bit archaic that in this day and age we are required to enter a PIN when using EFTPOS for our savings accounts, but no PIN is required for a credit account. So you'd think it would be easy enough to just forge the signature right? Well, you don't even need to go to the trouble of doing that.
Many checkouts now allow you to swipe your card yourself. You swipe, you sign, and then they check your signature - but how easy would it be for someone to swap the card that they swiped for a different one when checking the signature. i.e. Someone swipes a stolen card then puts down a card of there own for signature verification - the switch could be easily done. I know that they could just check the number on the card, but the operators barely seem to have enough time to check the signature, let alone the card number.
The second thing that concerned me was that as I left the store I had to pass through those little posts that bleep at you if you're carrying stolen goods out. They bleeped at me because I'd bought and paid for my stuff in the electrical section & they hadn't properly de-cleansed it (or whatever they do). The lady came over and said "Oh, didn't they scan your things correctly, let me fix that for you"; she took me over to a desk and spent about 60 seconds swiping my 3 items over some sort of invisible force-field and then proceeded to carry them back through the posts again. "Good", she said, "all fixed". I wondered what the point of this whole charade was when I'd already passed through the only set of posts I had to when leaving the store & they didn't even bother asking to look in the backpack that I was carrying over my shoulder!!!! Pointless!
The first one has bugged me for a while and its about credit card security. It seems a little bit archaic that in this day and age we are required to enter a PIN when using EFTPOS for our savings accounts, but no PIN is required for a credit account. So you'd think it would be easy enough to just forge the signature right? Well, you don't even need to go to the trouble of doing that.
Many checkouts now allow you to swipe your card yourself. You swipe, you sign, and then they check your signature - but how easy would it be for someone to swap the card that they swiped for a different one when checking the signature. i.e. Someone swipes a stolen card then puts down a card of there own for signature verification - the switch could be easily done. I know that they could just check the number on the card, but the operators barely seem to have enough time to check the signature, let alone the card number.
The second thing that concerned me was that as I left the store I had to pass through those little posts that bleep at you if you're carrying stolen goods out. They bleeped at me because I'd bought and paid for my stuff in the electrical section & they hadn't properly de-cleansed it (or whatever they do). The lady came over and said "Oh, didn't they scan your things correctly, let me fix that for you"; she took me over to a desk and spent about 60 seconds swiping my 3 items over some sort of invisible force-field and then proceeded to carry them back through the posts again. "Good", she said, "all fixed". I wondered what the point of this whole charade was when I'd already passed through the only set of posts I had to when leaving the store & they didn't even bother asking to look in the backpack that I was carrying over my shoulder!!!! Pointless!
Wednesday, 3 January 2007
List of free Microsoft Software
This is a great list of free Microsoft software... some of it I've never heard of and already can't do without!
Monday, 1 January 2007
Gateway Flash Game
A cool game called Gateway located here.
(My comments about and walkthrough of Gateway 2 are here)
If you get stuck, here is the solution:
Room 1
Press the button
Room 2
Pick up the stairs
Place the stairs on the indicated spot
Press the button
Room 3
Pick up the remote
Pick up the batteries
Put the batteries in the remote
Use the remote on the sensor
Room 4
Press the first and then the forth button
If you’ve pressed others then you’ll need to tidy them up. Button 1 alters panels 1 and 2; button 2 alters panels 1, 2 and 3; button 3 alters panels 2, 3 and 4; button 4 alters panels 3 and 4
Room 5
You need to create the same pattern on the floor that is printed above the gateway.
Starting from the beginning colour you need to step on the outer twice, the middle 4 times and the inner 6 times to get the right colours.
Room 6
(Optional) Look through the telescope; look at the right window 3 times.
The code is written on the window (backwards) it is 739339.
Use the keypad, enter the code.
Room 7
Push down the left plank.
Walk over the centre, activating the panels, setting them to the same colour.
Walk back through the gateway you entered, you will emerge on the right.
Push down the right plank.
Walk over the right panel a number of times, changing it back to its original, floor, colour.
Exit through the gateway.
Room 8
Pick up all 6 balls.
Place them in this order (from the left): large, medium, huge, tiny, big, small.
Push the button.
Room 9
Get the screwdriver from on top of the tv.
Unscrew the access panel.
Open the access panel.
Get the extension cord.
Get the power cord.
Plug the extension and power cord together.
Watch the TV.
Note the order of the rooms that the person is in… including ‘9’ that they start in.
The code is 954271
Room 10
Note the number of flashes of the lightbulbs… you need to press the floorswitches below the light bulbs this many times.
The numbers, in anticlockwise order from where you enter, are 135264.
Then stand on the elevator
(My comments about and walkthrough of Gateway 2 are here)
If you get stuck, here is the solution:
Room 1
Press the button
Room 2
Pick up the stairs
Place the stairs on the indicated spot
Press the button
Room 3
Pick up the remote
Pick up the batteries
Put the batteries in the remote
Use the remote on the sensor
Room 4
Press the first and then the forth button
If you’ve pressed others then you’ll need to tidy them up. Button 1 alters panels 1 and 2; button 2 alters panels 1, 2 and 3; button 3 alters panels 2, 3 and 4; button 4 alters panels 3 and 4
Room 5
You need to create the same pattern on the floor that is printed above the gateway.
Starting from the beginning colour you need to step on the outer twice, the middle 4 times and the inner 6 times to get the right colours.
Room 6
(Optional) Look through the telescope; look at the right window 3 times.
The code is written on the window (backwards) it is 739339.
Use the keypad, enter the code.
Room 7
Push down the left plank.
Walk over the centre, activating the panels, setting them to the same colour.
Walk back through the gateway you entered, you will emerge on the right.
Push down the right plank.
Walk over the right panel a number of times, changing it back to its original, floor, colour.
Exit through the gateway.
Room 8
Pick up all 6 balls.
Place them in this order (from the left): large, medium, huge, tiny, big, small.
Push the button.
Room 9
Get the screwdriver from on top of the tv.
Unscrew the access panel.
Open the access panel.
Get the extension cord.
Get the power cord.
Plug the extension and power cord together.
Watch the TV.
Note the order of the rooms that the person is in… including ‘9’ that they start in.
The code is 954271
Room 10
Note the number of flashes of the lightbulbs… you need to press the floorswitches below the light bulbs this many times.
The numbers, in anticlockwise order from where you enter, are 135264.
Then stand on the elevator
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