turbotas.co.uk

Hard as it may be to beleive, A team in Germany have succeeded in building a fully working Pong game without using a single transistor. Not a single one. Seriously clever mechanics and relays from a telephone exchange are all that have been used to make the game. Check it out here (site in German). Probably a work of art.

It’s been far too long since anything major has happened to the Sim.
About time I wrote a brief update article though as there have been
some small incremental changes.Firstly, on the software support front, with the help of Leo from Beta
Innovations, the Controller now supports far more sim packages. Leo
found an issue with the code and the Controller now works with Orbiter.

As well as that, e have good support For FS2K, CFS and Xplane. In a
separate Patch,Leo has improved general support by icluding the ability
to read shift keys and num keypad separately.

IL2 is now supported too, so this more or less completes the list of simulators that I wanted to get working.

On the hardware front, there has been little progress. I now
have a proper projector screen, which fits a treat in front of the sim.
Image granularity is excellent and the screen is nice and opaque so
daylight flying can use the projector now.

The panel count is now 6 with around 120 switches operational.

A wireless keyboard and mouse makes control that bit easier from within the pit and the seat is now fitted properly.

Initial experiments with PIC microcontrollers continue. Although
the main focus for this work is for use in Rocketry and UAV projects,
the pit will gain from this with better input hardware being the
obvious benefit.

In general, there is still a residual issue in that hook
software is still needed to support the switches tat we don’t have
keyboard shortcuts for. Expect more work on this soon.

Check the Gallery for most recent pictures.

TurboTas 2004

Oh Yes. SCO have had their case against Daimler Chrysler largely
dismissed. Although there is still one legal point outstanding, the
court found no case for DC to answer. In fact the judge implied he was
not willing to entertain a fishing expedition. Hilariously SCO
considers this a win.You may recall that DC were surprised to have been one of SCOs tragets as they have not even used Unix for over 7 years.

As seems normal these dyas, SCO made numerous allegations during the
process of the case and shifted legal track on numerous occaisions.
What it came down to in the end was claims that DC didn’t tell SCO soon
enough that they were no longer using the product.

Hardly the Linux bashing we expected was it? Despite the lack
of Linux references, outside the court-room SCO have been using the DC
case as an example of suing a ‘Copyright Infringer’.
s

Most normal people would now skulk off and lick their wounds at
this point. Not SCO. Oh no. SCO are actually claiming this loss as a
victory, as they now have the letter from DC that they said was all
they wantedL: that DC are not breaking the terms of there license.

That the judge agrees the license is terminated and non-enforceable seems to have passed them by.

One of the interesting points is that DC were one of the
(admittedly large) group of companies that had access to Unix Source
code. The moral seems to be that the closer you are to SCO the harder
you’ll get stabbed. Get away. Get away while you still can.

I succeeded in finding a SCO customer the other day: It
transpires that World class firewall product Cyberguard stioll uses the
SCO kernel at the heart of there hardware firewalls. I guess you won’t
be surprised top hear that they are working all out to dump Unix and
start using Secure Linux as the core OS in future.

On another track, it seems that Baystar are so fed up with SCO
that they’ve decided to go through the courts to get their money back.
Ho ho ho. We’ve seen SCO on the ropes before so don’t hold your breath:
Remember with even the faintest hope of a future win in the $3B suit
against IBM, they’ll always be some twonk to invest. Don’t forget,
BayStar are supposed to be smart financial kiddies….

TurboTas 2004

The sheer volume of security problems with Internet Explorer has
prompted TurboTas to consider a new strategy for protecting businesses.
It’s simply to install two browsers. Bear with me because it’s not as
daft as it sounds. I began this train when I read yet another
vulnerability with IE. The otherwise respectable security website
provided as a fix ‘Change Browser’.It may have been flippant, it may have smart, but it’s not helpful.
Now, I have to say that I don’t actually like IE. I only use it when I
have no choice like on a machine that’s not mine or where policy
dictates I must use it. That having been said, there are some important
points to make about it.

IE’s main problem stem from the high level of integration that it
has with other of Microsoft core components. Firstly, it ties in very
closely with the OS. Secondly, it uses some poorly secured technologies
like ActiveX and Active scripting.

And herein lies the rub: Businesses do like IE because
it lets them deliver rich applications to their employees in a
controlled environment: they make use of these enabling technologies.
Application development time is reduced as the app vendors can write
big chunks of code that live on the users PC: Kind of like treating the
Browser as the delivery vessel for the App rather than the container
the App runs in.

All this makes it really hard for a business to stop using IE. Things like Oracle eBusiness suite would stop working.

The fix becomes obvious: Use IE for internal websites and use Mozilla or better still Firefox for Internet traffic.

The stunningly obvious step here is to remove the choice
from the user: make sure that technical controls separate the two:
Firefox is unable to contact internal sites and IE is unable to contact
external ones.

Firefox is doing you a great favour here: It runs on enough
platforms that it can’t afford to be inextricably linked to the OS. It
displays HTML and runs Plugins. Period.

Don’t let’s get carried away here: Firefox still has bugs. It’s
also build to encounter security problems. Nevertheless, it’s a sight
better than surfing the net with IE: You take your PC’s life in your
hands at the moment.

Firefox has unexpected advantages to. The most noticeable is
speed: It loads fast. It has ‘tabbed’ browsing, and best of all if you,
like TurboTas run multiple OS’, you et the same browser look and feel
on all the OS’s you care to use.

TurboTas 04

TurboTas often looks longingly at those secure athenticators from the
likes of RSA or PassGo and thinks that they would massivly enhance
security for online transactions. The expenseof the authenticators puts
them way out of reach for off-the-shelf use though – typically the low
end devices start at £50.
As if that were not off-putting enough, the back end libraries are
proprietary, expensive and don’t necessarily interface very well with
backend systems.

It occurred to TurboTas in the present climate of Open Hardware
design, an open authenticator would not be that hard to design and
produce. More importantly, not that expensive to produce in volumes
either.

The logic goes that if the hardware specs and more importantly
the algorithms were public, then implementation could be left to
individual systems designers/programmers. Application programmers could
write their own code.

Let’s take as an example a hardware authenticator without a PIN
number. The device just cycles through a 6 digit nuber every minute or
so or on response to a button press on the outside of the authenticator

Okay, clearly I’m just making this up as I go along here….

The Authenticator has a reasonably accurate clock (This is
pretty fundamental!). Accurate clocks are not hard these days. Accuracy
to within 15 seconds over the expected 4 year battery life would be
fine.

The authenticator has an internal Identification number (Lets
say 6 bytes for now) and an externally visible serial number. The
numbers are unrelated but at supply time, the internal number and external number are listed

In software, the device runs a very simple (!) process every
minute: It takes the present date and time (dumping the seconds),
appends the internal serial number and produces a one-way hash. This
hash is then reduced using some algorithm to a user friendly 6 digit
number which is in turn displayed to the screen. Something like
28/06/2004 14:23:21 A56FB3A8C0
>2806200403A56FB3A8C0
>23AB76B5A69AD5E8C01BA9D4
>673633

This is passed to the server along with regular credentials in
whatever form are required by the application. At the server end, the
process is repeated (perhaps for 3 timeslices to allow for user
delays/timeslip) and the server can reproduce the 6 digit number that
the authenticatr displayed. Simple check against that provided and
bingo….

The key here is that it is left up to the systemdesigner to
decide how much security is needed: The designer may siply run all the
checks against all the registers tokens and allow the user in if there
is a match (or work out who they are the same way).

Perhaps a 4 digit pin appended to the authenticator number
would give single field signon: 6736331234. Allt hings are possible
once the standard is open.

Addendum: It _may_ be possible to brute the time against serial
numbers, particularly a known ciphertext attack where the time can be
worked out and the auth number is sniffed. To counter this there are
two techniques which occur.

Firstly, authenticator serial numbers should be assigned is a pseudo random fashion at construction time.

Secondly, to mitigate known time attacks it may be pudent to
ship the units in an unpowered state. Time that the unit is activated
would be recorded and the unit internally uses a count from zero timer.
This adds a further stage of lookup on the server (The process has to
have available the time the authenticator was powered).

To give system or organizational security, it may be possible
to set an internal secret string in all tokens which is also used at
Hash calc time.

Althoughy by no means perfect, this approach at least has the
benefit of being open and extensible. The key security tennet is that
it’s hard (Hopefully)( to reduce a hash back to the numbers used to
generate it).

Authentication processes – of course – must take the burden of lockout etc, but the scope is better

Users could purchase their own token and supply relevant credentials to application providers (Serial number, Activation Time)

Further development could see token with 4 buttons: Each button uses a different key.

I Think it’s pretty smart…

Relevant hashing algorithms are: MD5 and SHA although less computationally intnsive ones could be used if necessary.

A second hashing function is needed to reduce the 160 bits down to 6 decimal digits

TurboTas 2004

Open Source Industry Australia have published a positioning paper on the SCO business and, not surprisingly, it’s a bit of a whack for SCO. An organisation like OSIA is unlikely to side with SCO, but even so Wars have started over less.Here’s a taster for you:

1) SCO launched this lawsuit as a cynical share-price pump and dump
exercise.

2) Unless proven, there is no infringing code in Linux.

3) SCO has dropped the key argument in its case against IBM.

4) SCO’s claims that companies such as Computer Associates have bought
its Linux Intellectual Property (IP) Licenses are false.

5) Linux does not infringe on any SCO IP with respect to Application
Programming Interfaces (API).

6) Linux does not infringe on any SCO IP with respect to Application
Binary Interfaces (ABI).

7) SCO’s case will fail because it cannot prove it owns any Unix
copyrights nor can it prove that any infringing Unix code is in Linux

8) The AutoZone and Daimler-Chrysler defendants were not sued for using
Linux.

9) Microsoft is the only reason that SCO is still in business.

Read the full article here (it’s a PDF, sorry!).

Looks like SCO are in for a rocky ride again. Share prices have hit the buffers with shares briefly dropping below the $4 mark. As of writing they have staggered back up to $4.77 mark, but it’s clearly a herculean effort for a company which is all but dead.It’s a sorry end for the Unix operating system: to be owned by a 300 staffer company, most of whom are involved in litigation and licensing rather than developing product. Unix is effectivly dead now: SCO are just concentrating on litigation. It seems that the financial world is not even sure this will save them.

Volume has been high in the 14 months or so since litigation began. TurboTas guesses that most people who want to earn a few quid have now done so (Mainly the exec’s at SCO!)

Here is the share price picture showing volume and price over the last couple of years. Shares are not quite as low as they were pre-litigation, but it’s only a matter of time now.

See here for more up-to-date share prices.

TurboTas 2004

I read this article this other day about the real world economics of the online gaming communities. Assets in these online virtual worlds have acheived real world value. The logic is that as they represent effort expended, they are desirable by other gamers to such a degree that they will pay real money for them. I wondered if this could be extended to a service.Rather than having the hassle of using Ebay to find or sell your credits in your favorite game, it occurred that a banking service with published exchange rates could be an easier way for both buyer and seller to interact.

Rather than bidding at auction, there would be published buy and sell rates per server per game for the most popular games. Both rates would be supply/demand driven: If supply drops, buy price rises: if demand falls, sell price falls. Of course the opposite of each effect is also true.

Based on this I did some rough calculations for a couple of online games:

In Eve, one english penny will get you around 12000 Kredits (isk). In Star Wars, that same penny will get you around 845 credits.

Carrying on with the Star Wars example, if the ‘bank’ set a buy rate of 10000 credits to the pound and set a sell rate of 9000 credits to the pound, the bank clearly makes around 10%.

In real terms, given that during May 2004 £400 has already changed hands on Ebay for Star wars currency sales and a whopping great £700 already for sales of Eve currency, TurboTas can’t help thinking there may be a small market here.

Of course, there would be a small admin fee to stop huge disparity growing between buy and sell rates. Also the only practical games would be those where character to character transactions are not only possible, but possible when the recipient is not online.

Further expansion would be possible with the transfer of other assets and even whole characters: The bank in these cases would act as agents.

Back up the transaction with PayPal money transfers and you should be laughing. Turbotas has grabbed gamingbank.co.uk. Anyone care to help?

Cell-phone use could be blacked out at LAX, the Rose Bowl and Universal Studios under an anti-terrorism plan being formulated by Sheriff Lee Baca and other law enforcement authorities.

Cell-phone use could be blacked out at LAX, the Rose Bowl and Universal Studios under an anti-terrorism plan being formulated by Sheriff Lee Baca and other law enforcement authorities.

Baca is exploring the use of jamming equipment — already used widely in foreign countries and to protect President Bush — to interrupt cell-phone signals if a terrorist attack was expected in Los Angeles.

The issue gained urgency after terrorists used cell phones to detonate explosives March 11 in railway bombings in Spain. Baca, who recently returned from a fact-finding trip to Pakistan, said a cell-phone jamming device helped avert the attempted assassination of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Dec. 14.

“We have to look at this very realistically,” Baca said. “Public safety is more important than public convenience. We want to take the responsibility head-on and do the best we can, protecting people against terrorist attacks.”

Los Angeles Police Department Lt. Horace Frank said the department’s bomb squad is very interested in the idea and LAPD Counter-Terrorism Bureau Chief John Miller met with Baca recently to discuss the proposal.

“It certainly sounds like a technology that we would be interested in,” Frank said. “But I’m sure there are hurdles we’ll have to cross.”

Various companies already sell equipment on the Internet that block cell phone signals. The products include jammers that overwhelm cell phone frequencies, systems that mute cell phone ringers and sensors that detect cell phones.

The products range from hand-held jammers costing a few hundred dollars that darken cell-phone signals over a range up to 15 meters, to nearly $10,000 suitcase-sized equipment sold to government and military agencies that can block signals up to several miles.

“You can block a couple of miles or just in the theater,” said Bill Vorlicek, vice president of the Emergency Management Group at Kroll Inc. in New York City.

“The military has airplanes that can fly over and block an entire city. A lot of hospitals use them to prevent cell phones from triggering someone’s defibrillator. A lot of devices in hospitals are frequency-controlled.”

Although Baca’s proposal could be useful in protecting the public, critics say the more powerful jamming equipment could create unanticipated problems, such as preventing fire and police personnel from communicating via cell phone or even on their own vehicle radios during an emergency.

“Is the cell-phone jamming equipment a tool? Yes. But it’s not the panacea. It’s not the silver bullet,” Vorlicek said. “The idea has been tossed around for use in New York, but not for anti-terrorism, but in theaters to prevent the annoyance of cell phones going off during a movie or opera.”

The cell-phone industry objects to the use of the jammers, arguing that the airwaves are public property and jammers violate the rights of cell-phone users.

Currently, there are 162 million cell-phone users in the United States. In California, more than 17 million people have cell phones and in the greater Los Angeles area, more than half the population sport the fashionable accessory, according to industry figures.

Under law, the importation, sale or use of cell-phone jammers is banned in the United States and can result in Federal Communications Commission fines of up to $11,000 daily per device. An FCC spokesperson said the fines have been levied against people for not holding a license to use the devices.

“The FCC rules are clear,” said Travis Larson, spokesman for the international Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association. “Jamming is illegal, but whether there is an exception made for law enforcement is a decision the FCC will have to make.”

An FCC spokeswoman in Los Angeles said they are unaware of any local law enforcement agency in the nation that uses jammers now.

“In an emergency situation, there are different exceptions that could be made,” she said. “But that’s a decision that would have to come from the headquarters in Washington, D.C.”

Currently, the Secret Service uses cell-phone jamming equipment when President Bush travels in his limousine, on Air Force One and when he gives a speech. Casinos use jammers to prevent people from cheating using cell phones and some federal law enforcement agencies use the equipment during hostage situations.

John Mack, chief executive officer of USBX Advisory Services, a Santa Monica-based investment banking firm with a specialty focus on the security industry, said the jammers could have the inadvertent effect of blocking communications between first responders in a terrorist attack.

“Many police, fire department, hazmat units and a whole host of people rely on cell-phone communications and to the extent you use jamming devices designed to jam terrorists, you may be jamming the first responders, whose communication is critical in an emergency situation,” Mack said.

He noted that since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, law enforcement and fire agencies have taken steps to develop “inter-operability” equipment that eliminates incompatibility among communication systems.

“In a significant terrorist situation, having all agencies being able to communicate is a huge issue,” Mack said. “If every time you think there is going to be a terrorist attack you engage the cell-phone jammers in a five- mile radius, not only are you throwing normal commerce and business into disarray, first responders could be blocked from communicating.

“Sure, you could say that you’ll get technology specifically designed to jam only the right kind of cellular frequencies, but first responders use all sorts of different kinds of technology and I don’t think you could say that first responders wouldn’t be jammed while the stuff terrorists are working with would.”

If officials received intelligence that terrorists planned to detonate a bomb at Los Angeles International Airport, he would favor using jamming equipment until a bomb squad could render the explosives safe.

“But every day the LAPD responds to a hundred situations where a water heater blows up or noxious gases are emitted in a car crash. Will we presume those are terrorist threats and engage in cell-phone jamming in a big circumference?”

For cell-phone user Phyllis Hines of Lake View Terrace, Baca’s proposal sounds good.

“If it’s a matter of saving lives, I think that takes precedent over the right to communicate and I would support something like that,” Hines said. “It would seem to take some of the danger out of the times we are living in now.

“But if it became an invasion of our privacy or was overused, there would need to be restrictions placed on it. It can’t be used as a general policy. It has to be restricted to emergencies.”

This article from the LA Daily News

This is huge news. No I’m really not joking, but you need to be a IT futurist like me to appreciate it fully: Novell have just announced that the Exchange connector for the Ximian Evolution client will be FREE from May 14th.

I kid you not, this could well be the final straw needed to convince businesses to move to Linux desktops in droves.

I know that you’re all sitting there thinking ‘TurboTas, you are mad as a hatter’, but perhaps think again.

Evolution is a rock solid mail client with all the features you expect from Outlook except that you needed to pay to talk to an exchange server with the OWA engine running.

Lets be honest here: Exchange is pretty good at what it does: not many (FOSS) systems come close to it’s functionality (Yet!). Now that the platform requirement has gone, it’s just become even more useful.

The next big step would be evolution compiled for Windows. Then we really would have a killer app. Alas, that won’t happen in the near future: Evolution has core gnome dependencies. All is not lost though: in 2000 a small team did succeed in getting gnome running on Windows.

Of course, the next big step after that would be a FOSS Messaging Server with all the nice features you’ve come to expect from Exchange: It’s on the way!

Watch this space and remember that you heard it here first.

If you want the lowdown on what’s hot and what’s not is the world of FOSS, TurboTas is available at pretty good day rates and has been advising Large corporations and Goverment contractors on the use of Free/Open Source Software since 1994. Just get in touch

TurboTas 2004

The problem with one time pads is that they are a bit hard to produce and distribute. One of the hardest parts of the process is to make a pseudo random stream of 0’s and 1’s. I’ve had an idea about how to do this.

Why not simulate a homogonizing device, such as say,a food mixer. Start off with a 3d cell model of a circular container, much as you would with a CFD model. Lets say take a million cells.

Lets set eachj of the cells either on or off. The initial method is relevant but lets’forget that for a moment.

Next we introduce the ‘paddles of the mixer. These paddles operate on the bits in the bowl in the same way as they would in a real mixer: we’ll simulate viscosity and a distance/velocity algorithm to affect each of the cells during each iteration of the mixer.

The ‘whicking head’ can be moved around by the user to form a unique patter or the heads could be induced into ‘chaotic’ motion.

We’ll have some kind of distribution check to show when the process is complete. I’ve a clever plan for this based on voume shading, but ignore than for now.

Once the mix is complete, you have (hopefully) a stream of bits which is as random as you could possibly hope for. these can be read out in any order and used for the pads.

A sensible precaution would be a trim to remove data from the ‘edges’ as this may be less likely to move.

Yes, Hot(ish) off the presses is SCO’s latest Memoranda. Courtsey of Groklaw, we get the news that SCO now claim that they never said that IBM had infringed SCO copyrights by contributing to Linux. Instead the residual copyright claim is simply that IBM continued to use AIX and Dynix after SCO had ‘revoked’ the license (yes, the fully paid up, perpetual license, that’s the one!).So here we are a year on from the times Darl started categorically stating that IBM made contributions to Linux of code owned by SCO. Apparently not. No. Nosireee. But someone did. Oh yes. Yessss. Yes yes yes.

The most strange thing is that they still claim the violations did occur, but they seem unable to pinpoint who it is that contributed and want to concentrate on secondary infringers.

This is evident in the same memoranda which asserts that the Autozone case is the copyright infringement case. Why? AutoZone know nothing about the kernel and have never contributed anything to it: How could they be guilty of the primary copyright infrinmgement.

It looks like the simple facts are that SCO have had a year to scan the codebase of Linux for infringements and have not found any (Hooray!).

Public and industry opinion is certainly turning against SCO. Today another huge organisation made statements that they beleive the SCO claims to be without merit.

Of coursse there is so much going on that the cases are very far from over. Gradually though, it seems that the community is winning!

TurboTas 2004

DaimlerChrysler have filed in their suit against SCO and it looks like it’s going be be a humdinger: They’ve gone straight for a Dismissal with Prejudice. If the Groklaw site is anything to go by, general opinion is that this is a great move. They have stated more affirmative defences than you could shake a big cruddy stick at: failure to state a claim, waiver, estoppel, laches, unclean hands and acquiescence, lack of capacity to sue, lack of standing, lack of case or controversy, lack of breach/cure of alleged breach, mitigation of damages, Plaintiff’s claims are moot, bar by third-party contract, and reservation of right. The WHEREFORE clause asks that the complaint be dismissed with prejudice, and that the court award DaimlerChrysler costs and attorneys’ fees.

Not only am I not a lawyer, but I also dunno if the Americans have odd legal terms. Even so, it seems like DC have come up with a whole cartload of reasons why the case should be dismissed.

TurboTas 2004

Yep, to coincide with the new job, here’s a new look for the TurboTas site. This theme is crafted by my good self from a theme called anjara. The basic premise is to try really hard to make this look like it’s not a Nuke site! How am I doing? This theme will be mirrored on the other sites soon, so woooosh, linuxsupportservices and sessl will go the same way soon.

Yet another Groklaw link I’m afraid. Autozone have requested a stay on their case with SCO. The obvious logic is that as there are three cases already on the boil, let them go first! Of course, it’s even more relevant that AutoZone depends on the outcome of those cases anyway.Even in basic terms: Does SCO own Unix (Novell), is there stuff in Linux that SCO owns (IBM) and are Linux vendors liable (Redhat) needs resolving before Autozone goes to court.

The above paragraph nothwithstanding, the AutoZone Motion to stay is a great piece of work: read this if you read nothing else about the suits: it’s a great updater.

TurboTas 2004

The recent request from BayStar for their $20M investment back is a first for them. Out of over 100 large investments, this is the fisrt time they’ve had misgivings.

Groklaw are running an article today that suggests why that might be.

SCO recently hired a new CFO. It transpires that openness about the history of Bert Young, like so many thinks with SCO, is a bit of the stretch of the truth.

SCO said:

“Young brings to SCO a seasoned background in executive-level management responsibilities from a variety of information technology companies including worldwide finance, operations, mergers and acquisitions expertise.

“Previous to SCO, Young was the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for LANDesk Software, where he was accountable for all financial management and reporting to company stockholders. He has also served as CFO for several other companies including Talk2 Technology, Inc. and Whittman-Hart. He was also the CIO for Chicago-based Waste Management, Inc.”

What they failed to day was that Bert Young is presently named as a defendant in the bankruptcy of MarchFIRST, a US company that went bust in 2001 amongst allegations of
corporate waste and breach of fiduciary duty.

Bert Young was (you guessed it) CFO when the 9000 employee company went titsup after the disastrous merger of two of the companies that SCO did mention: Talk2 Technology, Inc. and Whittman-Hart. And this is not old news: the most recent hearing was last week!

Can’t help wondering if hirings like this might be what BayStar are worried about!

TurboTas 2004

It’s been a while since I wrote anything about SCO, so it’s probably about time for an update. I’ve only scratched the surface with this update. Check out Groklaw for the full stories.Firstly, the RedHat trial has been ‘stayed’ pending an outcome in the IBM case. The judge took this steep unilaterally and RedHat are appealing it on the grounds that SCO are continuing to bully end users.

Secondly, Baystar, the finance group that invested heavily in SCO last year to finance their litigation spree, has asked for their money back. Indications as to why are not clear but BayStar have hinted that much of it may be down to Darl’s persistent half-truths.

Third, SCO shares have nosedived recently having dropped to around 50% that at their peak in October last year.

A forth newsworthy article is that Laura Didio of the Yankeee group is now saying that the case is like a rollercoaster ride. WTF? Last time I looked, she was a staunch supporter of SCO. Now it’s a Rollcoaster ride?

Those of you that read the article in July last year about the incredible new paper-like display technology may be interested in this update.

Sony have released the first product based on the technology. The Sony LIBRIé is the fist commercial product to be based on the technology and the specs are impressive.As the display does not require refreshing, the device can switch off between page turns thus drastically reducing power requirements over other similar sized display technologies.

This first product can store around 500 eBooks and the batteries will last for 10,000 page refreshes: probably enough to read about 20 of those books!

The Phillips manufactured display used in the LIBREé runs at around 175 pixels per inch. Any of you familiar with the technology should immediately realise that even as a first generation implementation, this is comparable with newsprint.

The ebook is a very high contrast medium and can be read in bright sunlight and low light conditions.

Here’s the press release.

TurboTas 2004

---

Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI), Sony Corporation(NYSE: SNE) and E Ink Corporation announced today the world’s first consumer application of an electronic paper display module in Sony’s new e-Book reader, LIBRIé, scheduled to go on sale in Japan in late April. This “first ever” Philips’ display utilizes E Ink’s revolutionary electronic ink technology which offers a truly paper-like reading experience with contrast that is the same as newsprint.

The Electronic Paper Display is reflective and can be easily read in bright sunlight or dimly lit environments while being able to be seen at virtually any angle – just like paper. Its black and white ink-on-paper look, combined with a resolution in excess of most portable devices at approximately 170 pixels per inch (PPI), gives an appearance similar to that of the most widely read material on the planet – newspaper. Because the display uses power only when an image is changed, a user can read more than 10,000 pages before the four AAA Alkaline batteries need to be replaced. The unique technology also results in a compact and lightweight form factor allowing it to be ideal for highly portable applications.

Sony’s e-Book reader LIBRIé, the first device to utilize Philips’ display solution for enhanced reading, is similar in size and design to a paperback book. LIBRIé allows users to download published content, such as books or comic strips from the Internet, and enjoy it anywhere at any time. LIBRIé can store up to 500 downloaded books.

Sony on Friday announced that it would investigate claims by a former US military official that parts from its Playstation 2 video game console are being tested in military equipment for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.According to the official, who wished to remain anonymous, the US military has been purchasing hundreds of Playstation analog controllers and retrofitting them to Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles, and missile defense computers at the US command’s headquarters in Baghdad.

Sony’s main distributor in Europe, Centresoft, has been providing the military with the controllers, says Stewart Richmond, chief legal counsel for Sony Europe.

Throughout the late-nineties it was widely speculated that the US military used video games to train soldiers for combat. But advances in technology and gaming ability among younger soldiers led engineers to base the next generation of command/control hardware on the Playstation controller, according to the former military official.

This is troubling to Sony executives because there is wide speculation that the Playstation controllers were tested in a military exercise in Southern Iraq where 72 Iraqi soldiers and 300 civilians were killed. Fifteen US soldiers were killed from friendly fire.

“While it’s nice that they’d [US Army] use our controllers to help fight the war on terror,” says Sony spokesman Yoshikazu Ochiai, “We’re a little concerned about our products being used to harm people.”

Lawyers for Sony also say the US military may be violating international law for not letting the company know its products are being used for military purposes.

During the Vietnam War, Mattel successfully sued the US Air Force for airdropping “Vietcong” Ken Dolls over North Vietnam in hopes of taunting the communists.

“The soldiers today are so used to handling the Playstation controller,” says one former military official, “it makes perfect sense that they’d use it to control army tanks and shoot missiles.”

According to military engineers, the Playstation controllers offer more pinpoint accuracy than their current set of controllers, which were mainly developed during the 1970s.

Source: Wired News

Fear Not! All is in hand. This is a just another facelift for TurboTas. You happen to have caught the site at a …ahem…. 50% stage. check back tomorrow and it’ll be done.