Telecom Rebirth

Tracking Cell Phones Is Invasive

2011-11-28T06:01:33Z

I just read an article about two malls (Promenade Temecula in southern California and Short Pump Town Center in Richmond, Va.) that are tracking customers movements throughout the mall by monitoring their cell phones.

There are claims that this practice is not invasive; that is does not gather personally identifiable information, and does not correlate the phone to its owner.

Its An Invasion of Privacy and Trespassing on Personal Property

It is my position that this practice of monitoring shoppers by connecting to their cellphones is a serious invasion of privacy - even an invasion and trespass of property.

Let’s rewind a few months and recall the News International phone hacking scandal that shocked the UK and rocked the massive News Corporation and the Murdoch family.

With this equipment set to connect to individuals’ cell phones, what is to prevent misuse of this technology?

Its Not the Same As Video Monitoring

Another argument to posit this practice as “kosher” states that customers are commonly monitored by video cameras and motion sensors.

That practice is obvious - if one ventures into a public place, they obviously can be seen and monitored. Its clear by definition!

Monitoring someone’s cell phone is totally different. It can be concealed and is therefore totally off-limits from alien networks.

Understanding Customer Behavior Is Important, But This Is Not the Way

Its is clear as day that understanding customer behavior will benefit both customers and retailers. However, connecting to unsuspecting cell phone owners is not the right method.

It would be much more appropriate to instead offer customers a wifi or rfid widget when they enter the mall and offer a $5 coupon or similar honorarium for participation. That way, customers are actively opting in to the monitoring process and are also aware of what is happening. Simply posting a notice sign on the wall as reported is just not acceptable.

This privacy and cell phone trespass snafu has reached the media outlets and I would not be surprised one bit if the trade commission or FCC gets involved. Its just not right to connect to someones electrical device without their knowledge or active acceptance. I’d compare it to breaking into someone’s house - its wrong even if the trespasser wants to observe - not to steal or identify the house owner(s).

Addendum

What About Manufacturer and Wireless Network Responsibilities?

I also have to wonder - how are malls even able to connect to cell phones? Shouldn’t manufacturers and wireless network operators responsible for the security of their customers?

Arent’t any and all electromagnetic signals created by a cellphone only meant to be received by intended target, and not intercepted by unauthorized third parties? Is this a breach of the wiretap law? Could the perpetrators be committing a crime?

I am not a lawyer (though I’m considering going to law school), but this seems to be a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.

November 2011 Android Update

2011-11-14T21:17:13Z

My Android-powered Android-X went through an upgrade process to update the Android operating system yesterday. I’m pleased with the results thus far. While so far, so good, I refrain from casting final judgment until I’ve used the new Android OS for a couple of weeks. I’ve found that with devices like these, you need to use it, not just play with it, to get a true feel for how it works.

Before proceeding with a review of Android 2.3.3 on the Motorola Droid X, I should mention that to me, this was an unexpected update. I hadn’t heard about it at all, which is in stark contrast to the anticipation and near countdown to the release of Froyo. I actually thought this would be just an application update, but it insisted on rebooting, where I was greeted with an Android logo and an arrow to my device.

Android.org states of 2.3.3:

"Android 2.3.3 is a small feature release that adds several improvements and APIs to the Android 2.3 platform."

Here’s what I’ve noted in the first day of using the new OS:

An Updated and Improved User Interface

The new user interface for the Andriod is awesome. The reversed colors on the phone keypad look great, and there are new, bright colors - like the slick “3G” in the top menu bar. Looks good, really good.

The updated web WebKit-powered browser is looking very nice. It has a “buzz-saw” “busy-fetching-the-website” icon, which is a nice change to the usual pin-wheel animated icon. The buzz-saw is featured in a couple of different places where the Android must ask the user to wait, such as the check for system updates.

Application Compatibility and New Crapware

I’m pleased to report that all the applications I’ve tried on the Droid X still work:

Audible
Bank of America
Hacker’s Keyboard

I’ll keep updating the list as I try out more applications.

Unfortunately, there is new crapware installed on the Droid X, specifically the “V” Apps app, which is a rehashed version of Verizon’s V-Cast system, which I don’t want and have never wanted.

What I Want to See

GPS Fix

There are problems with the previous Android OS running my Droid X. Most notable is the “Searching for GPS” delay that incapacitates Google Maps from providing navigation assistance. It just waits and waits. I’ve never found a fix except for a reboot. It works perfectly fine again after a system reboots.

Random Reboots

Speaking of rebooting the Droid X, it occasionally and randomly reboots on its own while I’m using it. I’ve never found pattern for when or why this happens. Regardless, I want it to stop.

Battery Life

I’m hoping the battery life improves when the device is not in use. I would hope that it could last a couple of days if I only use it once or twice during that time. In my experience, it only seems to keep kicking for one day, no matter how often or how little I use it.

A Rant About Mobile Websites

2011-10-22T11:04:17Z

I’ve had an itch that has been building in irritation and now its time to scratch: mobile websites have rubbed me the wrong way.

The Situation

Last night while trying to get to my hotel, I needed the address, so I googled for it, specifically the name of the hotem (the Marriott), and included the town where I knew my reservation to be. Based upon the summaries included with each search results, I could see that one included the exact information I needed, but when I clicked on it, I was redirected to the homepage of the mobile site.

While I appreciate the value and attraction of mobile websites, I really do not like my expectations getting hijacked.

I expected the resulting page to be the one I searched for, but instead it was the homepage for the mobile site. Then I have to search again?

Mobile Websites

Yes, I do like the idea of mobile websites. They can be much easier to navigate than desktop websites when using a tiny viewport. However, if a visitor is arriving from a search engine to a page other than the homepage, they are likely not ready to start navigating, but are targeting. Automatically redirecting them to the homepage is worse than presenting them with the targeted page in desktop mode.

In my experience, not that many websites engage in this practice of automatically redirecting users’ to mobile websites, but it appears to be a trend. I’ve only found a few to do it, the first couple I can’t remember, but Marriott.com is the straw that broke this camel’s back. Its been enough to cause me to write this blog rant - let’s put it that way.

Mobile websites are certainly a newfangled feature that web design companies are selling to their customers. So I expect to see more of them. Hopefully developers will not continue to overlook this important factor.

I have seen some web designs that are able to display properly on the desktop and on mobile devices. In those cases, no redirection is necessary. In my humble opinion, that’s the best option.

Conclusion

Its simply an issue of usability. Understand user expectations. Do not disrupt them.

After writing this blog post rant, I realize how different browsing a site is from visiting a page that has been searched for. They really are totally different.

So many times do we web developers assume that visitors are browsing, when actually they are simply looking for a single page. Either the page has the information they are looking for, or it doesn’t. Either way, they probably aren’t going to go browsing around, unless prompted. In that case, there is certainly the risk of disrupting the users’ expectations in a different way.

If you’ve experienced a mobile web redirect that you found annoying, please, do tell!

Google Buying Motorola

2011-08-15T22:52:52Z

In a surprising move, Google has announced its plans to buy Motorola. I wish I owned some Motorola shares! Do’h!

Why is Google buying Motorola? The media analysts say its for the intellectual property, and they are probably right. But they are also buying manufacturing and supply chain assets. Could this put them in an Apple position, controlling both hardware and software power.

Google has some of the best and brightest, but beyond search, their online offerings are not doing so well. Android is experiencing amazing success, but they are facing some serious competition from Apple, as well as IP challenges from several angles, even besides the Oracle lawsuit which emerged from Oracle’s purchase of Sun Microsystems.

Honestly, Google should have bought Sun Microsystems too. Why didn’t they?

Droid X Mobile Network : Connecting / Disconnected

2011-07-31T17:52:30Z

Earlier this week, my Droid X phone lost all network connectvity. Seriously, ALL network connectivity. It struck me as bizarre, because one of my co-workers has the exact same phone, also on Verizon Wireless, and his was working fine.

I tried every trick in the book - airplane mode on / off, power cycling, removal of the battery for 5 minutes, even toggling the data sync settings.

After no results, I decided to give Verizon Wireless customer support a try; yes my last resort! Surprisingly, they were helpful.

Turns out that Verizon Wireless was experiencing a data outage - but only for customers with usage controls! Odd, huh? I asked them to turn off my usage controls and that fixed the problem.

What's Up with My Droid X?

2011-07-04T20:13:00Z

My Droid X has been acting strange lately. It has serious difficulties “Locating GPS signals” and it often freezes up and reboots.

I tried updating the system software, as I’m sure Google’s Android system is way ahead of the version I updated to last year.

I will be able to upgrade again next year, but honestly I might just get a new phone if this one keeps on acting so bizarre. I would really like to get one with a real keyboard, because that’s what I like the least about the Droid X - the keyboard.

Or maybe I’ll get an iPhone 4. I have been anti-Apple for a long while now, maybe its time to give them another try. But the fact of the matter is that I just like linux better, period.

I do like the iPad though. Two of my co-workers built an awesome iPad app for managing conference room setups. The iPad made it look really incredible!

I was totally amazed too - the iPad 2 can support an external monitor!

Bluetooth Internet Access Via the Droid X and Verizon Wireless

2011-06-25T16:14:55Z

This is very cool - a co-worker of mine recently informed me that the Droid X can share its internet connection with bluetooth enabled Macintosh computers (most Macs are bluetooth these days).

I had been paying $20 a month for the 3G mobile hotspot functionality - which was great in a pinch, but expensive when I didn’t use it that much.

There were two potential problems:

My laptops didn’t have bluetooth - specifically my ASUS eee PC netbook, but also my Lenovo g555
My laptops run Debian or Ubuntu

The first one was easy to solve. I just bought a tiny and cheap bluetooth adapter like this one:

Once it arrived, I was able to try it out.

Fortunately, it was incredibly easy to setup with Gnome’s Bluetooth Preferences:

The part I need to keep remembering is to use PAN/NAP instead of DUN.

Droid X Accessories

2011-02-01T04:21:02Z

I finally got around to buying some Droid X accessories today: a mount for my Toyota Corolla, a case, and some screen protectors.

pfSense 2.0 Release Candidate is NEAR!

2011-01-06T14:39:53Z

Verizon Wireless Phone Number Blocking versus DNSRBL

2011-01-06T13:58:25Z

If you use the internet long enough, you start to wish the rest of the world had been designed as well. Take email block lists for example.

Thanks to the architecture of the internet, it is relatively simple to block abusive senders of email based upon the originating IP address. Lists of abusive IP addresses are indexed and distributed via the DNS protocol by providers like Barracuda and Spamhaus. I have personally used DNSRBL services for years and was very pleased and impressed with how it all functioned.

Travel back to the future a few years and it wasn’t even possible to know who was calling you before you picked up your land-line. You never knew if it was your dear relative, a political spear campaign, a prank caller, a relentless and desperate salesperson, or a stalker. Innovation comes to the rescue with answering machines for screening our calls, and finally caller-ID! That works fairly well, but if someone’s calls are harassment, it doesn’t do much good and one would presumably have to call the phone company (such a pleasant experience for any reason) and get a new number.

Same thing happens with mobile phones, too. What can you do if someone you don’t want to talk to keeps calling you? Thankfully Verizon Wireless offers the ability to block up to 20 numbers, as well as 866 numbers and private or unlisted numbers. I feel its pretty lame that they charge $4.95 / month for this, but whatever, I pay it anyway.

But what about text messages? I presume that if a phone number is blocked, the block prevents incoming calls as well as text messages.

And international numbers? Apparently they are not supported. One may presume that the cost of making international phone calls would deter potential antagonists, but those determined enough without ample resources can always look to VOIP services for low-priced calls - though I’m not sure if VOIP helps with international text messages though.

Using Google Voice with a Land Line

2010-12-28T11:39:07Z

Joey Hess, an open source developer I hold much respect for, has just published a mini-howto on using Google Voice with a land line telephone account.

howto: use google voice on dialup

I’ve previously tried to use VOIP over DSL and failed rather miserably, but if I understand correctly, this is completely different. I’ve used Google Voice previously, and I think it connects to calls by making outgoing calls to both numbers from a third party hub, using the land line in its natural state.

That is actually very interesting, Joey.

949-394-8802 = Text Message Spam

2010-12-09T00:17:06Z

How are txt messages like this able to get through on a privately run network?

Eliminate up to 90 percent of your debt today! Text Yes if you would like to know more. TXT No to opt out or Email optout4atyahoo.com Survey

This one was sent from 949-394-8802 on the Verizon Wireless message, but I’ve read that it is also getting sent to AT&T Wireless networks.

A Few Months with the Droid X

2010-10-07T03:19:49Z

Its been a few months with the Droid X, and although there were a couple of minor glitches, the experience has been extremely positive overall.

The first huge bug was that turning on “Smart Profile” disabled all audio ringtones so the only option was vibrate.

The second “glitch” (actually an annoying delay) was having to wait so long for Froyo, especially when there was a copy of it leaked to the internet!

The most surprising awesome feature on the Droid X, in my opinion, is the Google maps navigation tool.

Now that I have Froyo, I’m of course thinking… what’s next? I’ll probably take another crack at developing an app for Froyo and see what happens.

Some apps I’m using today:

Bank of America
Freecell
Custom Gallery
TuneIn Radio

Any other rocking good apps that I should know about??

Unable to Play This Type of Audio File?? RESOLVED

2010-09-29T02:02:57Z

After finally getting to update my Droid X to a newer version of Android, I was really impressed! There are some cool graphical enhancements, but more importantly, the keyboard interactivity and related suggestions are much improved.

However… I tried listening to some music yesterday and was presented with an error along these lines:

"sorry the player does not support this type of audio file"

Huh??!!? Wha….??!?!

These are mp3s, for crying out loud. If you can’t play them, what other type of audio file can you play?? Do I care?

Thankfully, it was an easy fix for me. All I did was turn off my Droid X, turn it back on again, and all my music files played perfectly well. Phew!

Where's the Froyo, Yo?

2010-09-08T19:02:34Z

I rely on my Droid X for business, so I won't root it and I won't install the leaked version of Android 2.2, aka "Froyo".

But where is the official Froyo, over-the-air upgrade??

The web has been abuzz with rumors about Froyo dropping in late August, then early September and as I write this, the calendar is busy starting the second week of September? What's up with the delay in the release of Android 2.2 / Froyo??

It might be a little tricky, between Google, Motorola, and Verizon Wireless, there might be a lot of hemming and hawing about certain features or restrictions.

Apple iPhone Users Get iOS 4.1

Apple iPhone users get to download the latest version of iOS. No fair!!