V-Mate steals the show

The Internationale Funkausstellung is not a jazz-fusion music event. Nope, the IFA is apparently the world’s largest consumer electronics show these days, and it runs until 6th September in Berlin. Once over the disappointment that the only music was Muzak-alike piped hell, the race was on to discover the best gadget of the show. All in one day. This was made somewhat more difficult than usual as Sony were amongst the list of notable non-attendees. But never mind, there was plenty else to pick from. So, would I choose one of the 1920 x 1080 HDTV flat screen televisions, or maybe one of the many Blu-Ray devices, perhaps even a Skype enabled cordless telephone? Nope, surprisingly the gadget I liked best was the dinky V-Mate from SanDisk.

Stupid names, serious threats

What is it with the world of IT security and naming conventions? I mean, OK, we’ve all come to accept the term ‘spam’ as it applies to junk email, with the exception of Hormel Foods who apparently still insist it’s a ‘crazy tasty’ spiced-ham luncheon meat and even spent a reported £2 million in 2004 to convince the nation of the fact. Nonetheless, it’s a silly name for a serious problem. Although not as silly as SPIT (Internet Telephony Spam) or SPIM (Instant Messaging Spam) it has to be said, but then again neither problem has proved to be quite as serious out here in the real world as the people who pushed the names so hard.

Stupid Security Awards 2006

Privacy International a human rights watchdog, has announced it is to run the second Stupid Security Awards in order to reward the numbnuts responsible for some of the most ridiculous security measures on the planet. If it is annoying, pointless, intrusive, illusory, self-serving and above all else just plain stupid, then it could be a winner.