Forgot your password?

Comment: Re:Qualifications: thinker and visionary (Score 1) 107

It was 10 years-from-now technology in 1995, and it's still 10-years-from-now tech. I imagine that in 1000 years it will still be just 10 years away.

Hint: Investors aren't going to go for an outlandish idea if it won't pay back in their lifetimes or a reasonable period.. So the maximum window stated is always 10 years,

Comment: nail stuff down (Score 1) 408

by Barbarian (#47025255) Attached to: Ask Slashdot: Anti-Theft Products For the Over-Equipped Household?

You know how they sometimes say burglars took everything that wasn't nailed down? Well, nail stuff down. Make it harder for the thief. For example, use laptop security cables on computers and monitors. Most TVs can be mounted to their stand for child safety ( anti-tip), so screw them to the stand. Got a pricey DSLR? Keep it out of sight, maybe put it in a locked drawer. But don't only lock one drawer...

There are devices like make soup cans you hide jewelry in.. Don't use them. Every thief knows you don't keep your soup on the bedroom.

Comment: Re:Specific use cases (Score 3, Informative) 58

by Barbarian (#47016963) Attached to: For US Customers, Text Access To 911 Slowly Rolls Out




Comment: impartial accident assessment (Score 2) 325

by Barbarian (#46733407) Attached to: Can You Buy a License To Speed In California?

I'm not too concerned about getting away with minor speeding. I'm more concerned about impartiality in accident reports, and excusing criminally negligent behavior. Is this happening? If so the solution, unfortunately, is 100% recording of traffic from the police vehicle point of view, and removal of all officer discretion.

Comment: tip of the iceberg (Score 2) 128

I'm sure we will see more problems with the internet of things. Just wait until lulz kids figure out how to make smart smoke alarms beep continuously., so people disable the power, or turn the heat up to 100 and then down to 10 ( Fahrenheit). There's not shortage of psychos who like to screw with people (see: webcam hacks and 'slaves'). So it's a matter of time.

Critical life safety devices like Smoke detectors should be a local loop only. You can interconnect, but don't connect to the internet or phones.
If you want a smart one, make it redundant and in addition to the local only alarms. Hook it up to something outside or your alarm company.This is to call the fire department when no one is home. I.e. this is for saving your property.
And control devices like your thermostat should have a local override switch that disables, in hardware, all smart features and turns it into a dumb device

Comment: Re:I've implemented something similar (Score 1) 90

There's another side to this too. You won't see this scheme implemented because encrypted data can not be de-duplicated, and can not be compressed. Effectively your solution increases the cost of doing business, both in terms of bandwidth and in infrastructure.

Encrypted data can be compressed...just you have to compress before encrypting.

Comment: software faults, real world consquences (Score 1) 77

by Barbarian (#46279563) Attached to: Oops: Security Holes In Belkin Home Automation Gear

Any automated control should have a local override to disconnected it from the control loop. This is normal practice in process plants. That way when a hacker takes over your thermostat, you put it in override until the access problem is fixed.

Second, fires by software should not be possible. Protections should be baked into the hardware for home control things that can have e consequences to people.

Comment: Re:Black light? (Score 1) 295

by Barbarian (#45875717) Attached to: CES: Laser Headlights Edge Closer To Real-World Highways

As a potential solution to road blindness caused by oncoming (or tailgating) headlights, why not have the headlights emit mostly black light, and coat the road surface with a material which will cause it to fluoresce by the black light.

This way we might even be able to have the headlights on full beam instead of dipped (making the cats eyes like much clearer and nicer too).

Headlights would be a dim blue as a result.

Are you going to coat pedestrias, wildlife at the same time?
