Gongol.com Archives: April 2015
April 28, 2015
Google's new mobile phone service piggybacks on WiFi
When away from a wireless computer network, "Project Fi" switches over to Sprint or T-Mobile, which means much of Iowa is in weak service territory. But for those who want $20-a-month cell phone service plus a pay-as-you-go data plan (and who don't mind having to use a Nexus 6 to get it, Google may be offering an option. Generally, it looks a lot like an electric car: If you're the right kind of user in a particular place where the infrastructure is ready for it, then it may be a suitable choice -- but not really for most people.
The most ridiculous gadgets on the market
Russian hackers got access to emails from the President
The security breach revealed last year is now reported to have included Presidential emails. The bad guys don't have to penetrate the highly-secure system that protects the President's personal messages in order to get through to the messages of his associates, which gives them access to the same information without the effort. You're only as secure as the person receiving your messages. We should want Presidents who understand and use technology, but we also need to know the limits of our own policies to protect us.
NTSB says CTA train crashed at O'Hare because operator was sleep-deprived
33 people were injured in the March 2014 incident. The report says subways should have black boxes like airplanes and should have systems to automatically take over in case the human being at the controls is incapacitated or screws up. Cheap? No way -- costs would probably break into the tens of millions, just for Chicago. But technology ought to be helping us to live safer lives and taking stupid decisions (and mistakes) out of the hands of people who could hurt others.
