Rand Wacker

SecurityFocus HOME News: Thwarted Linux backdoor hints at smarter hacks

Last Friday I noticed a great sale on Amazon and picked up a Sony Ericsson T610 phone with service from T-Mobile and a Jabra Bluetooth Headset, all for $20 after rebate. (Going back to get those links I noticed that the package is now free).

The main reason I wanted to go with this service and this phone is for T-Mobile’s $20/month unlimited GPRS data, Bluetooth support to talk to my Palm and Powerbook, and an integrated camera for those funny things you see every day. I also like the idea of having a GSM world-phone which I can take to different countries and pop in a pre-paid GSM card in Europe, Japan, and New Zealand. I tried T-Mobile last year and found that the coverage wasn’t good enough for the price back then.

So far I’ve found that the phone appears to not report great reception, but my calls have been solid. The Bluetooth support is fantastic, and I’ve been able to dial-up to a (slow) net connection from both my Palm and Powerbook with minimal configuration. The cordless headset combined with voice dialing is the coolest geek toy that I’ve seen in a while. I’m not getting a solid GPRS data connection yet, and T-Mobile’s provisioning system has been offline for the past couple of days, but their customer service has been pretty good about it (contrary to complaints I’ve read on the Net).

Since I’ve got a 30-day return guarantee I’m hoping to run around to different areas trying to coverage and playing with the different services. It’s a huge leap from the bullet-proof AT&T phone I’ve had, but it’s display is going blank line by line, and AT&T’s TDMA service is rather quickly going down the tubes.

Looks like the great gouging has begun:

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Study of Iraq Bill Reveals Overcharge

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration’s Iraq reconstruction plan appears to overcharge taxpayers some $200 million for the purchase and importation of petroleum products, according to a congressional report obtained Thursday.

That’s TWO HUNDRED MILLION of our TAX DOLLARS which are going to line the pockets of friends of this administration…

Global Mobility! Online Shopping

[T610 (T-mobile) & GPRS with Apple Powerbook?? HELP] - HowardForums

Watched this last night, and was going to post an entry which just said: Fantastic. The acting and direction was great, but the plot was fairly predictable by the end of the second act. Still a good watch though, about a good subject. Too bad Kate Winslet can’t cry on demand though.