Apple violated CPC 637.7 with iOS4?

Should we try Apple and Google on California Penal Code Section 637.7 violations?

(a) No person or entity in this state shall use an electronic tracking device to determine the location or movement of a

person.

(b) This section shall not apply when the registered owner, lessor, or lessee of a vehicle has consented to the use of the electronic tracking device with respect to that vehicle.

(c) This section shall not apply to the lawful use of an electronic tracking device by a law enforcement agency.

(d) As used in this section, "electronic tracking device" means any device attached to a vehicle or other movable thing that reveals its location or movement by the transmission of electronic signals.

(e) A violation of this section is a misdemeanor.

(f) A violation of this section by a person, business, firm, company, association, partnership, or corporation licensed under Division 3 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Business and Professions Code shall constitute grounds for revocation of the license issued to that person, business, firm, company, association, partnership, or corporation, pursuant to the provisions that provide for the revocation of the license as set forth in Division 3 (commencing with Section 5000) of the Business and Professions Code.

Apple iPhone from wikipedia:

In April 2011, software security specialists discovered a hidden unencrypted file on the iPhone.^[206] The file, labeled "consolidated.db", stores the geographic location of the iPhone owner's every move. The file was released with the June 2010 update of Apple's iOS4 and its storage capacity is almost one year's worth. Unlike Google's "Latitude" application, which performs a similar task on Android phones, the file is not dependent upon signing a EULA or even the user's knowledge.^[207] The file is also automatically copied onto the user's computer once synchronized with the iPhone. Apple's representatives have not yet commented on the finding, in spite of requests by The Associated Press and others, but so far there has been no evidence of Apple having access or using the tracking data.^[208] An open source application named "iPhoneTracker", which turns the data stored in the file into a visual map, has been made available to the public.^[209] While the file cannot be erased without jailbreaking the phone, it can be encrypted by the user.^[210]

If Federal government is shut down - ask for refund from uncle Sam

Human face of American Federal Government shutdown

1) 800,000 federal employees and equal number of federal contractors will not have a job

2) Many non essential Services will be disrupted for citizens

3) Laid off federal employees will be eligible for unemployment insurance - based on the state they live in

4) US Postal will work - as it is not from Tax Dollar

5) Shutdown can trigger American Federation of Government Employees a lawsuit against their employer - the Government

US Federal Government shutdown?

If the law makers can not keep the lights ON in the United States of America Federal government, how can we the Americans trust our sons and daughters to be sent harms way expecting you to provide the resources for us?

One possible way is to not let any of the current legislators to stand in the next election. If they do, do not support the people who sign their nomination papers.

May be the governments we are toppling all over the world is a mistake - may be they are doing the right thing - not following democracy?

My hunch - It is all one big drama. These politicians will drag it to the last minute - getting media coverage.

Switching to Apple

Things to watch out for while switching to Apple:

1. Collect all the software you need to run dual boot with Windows on the second boot partition, assuming you need it
2. If you need Windows concurrently running on your Snow Leopard (latest MacOS). I prefer free version - VMWare Player on windows. The equivalent is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMware_Fusion. This used to be paid product
3. If you need to run Windows Application under MacOS, (yes, this is possible), you might want to consider http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CrossOver
4. You need to see how you plan on staying current on OS and other software
5. Many software is available on Windows - not on Mac. Some times, things are not reliable/not well tested on Mac. The features need not be exactly same on both platforms
6. Collect the list of software needed to run under Apple - Word, excel, power point, Eclipse, C++ compiler, etc
7. One possible installation process - have 10GB for each OS (Mac/Windows/Linux) in it's own partition. Have the rest in another partition. Use the 4th partition for All your data - so it is accessible for all the OSes. Remember, all these OS have a mechanism to read each other's drives - so you might not miss the files. This also would help you in backup/restore operation - where you need just the 4th partition. The OS partitions are just engines that run on your data
8. No wonder, the SaaS (Software as a Service) is getting more popular. Google provides a way to do Word/Excel/Power Point - all online - using any browser. No software installation needed...

Central Board of Film Certification

I am interested in collecting original Central Board of Film Certification of old films. Absence of it, I am interested in 2 lower requests

1. Copies of these documents - Photo copies/image files
2. Certificate details in database
3. Copy of the certificate as shown in the movie (slightly different from the original/even photocopy)

Look at the Central Board like software Testers who report 'Bugs'. The movie makers will have to fix these bugs, prior to release.

Official links: http://cbfcindia.gov.in/

It would be nice if we can capture these movies credits as database.

How about capturing all these movies in all kinds of database? Meta Data??

Scaling Mission Peak

Today I had the privilege of scaling Mission Peak. Parking was overflowing. Parked on the Vineyard Avenue.

Trail Head @ 6:48am
Decend @ 8:08am
Back to Trail Head @ 9:08am

Going up 1:20, down 1:00 round trip of 2:20

Trail open from 5:00am to 10:pm

http://www.ebparks.org/parks/mission Official page suggests 5 hours. Noticed a small bird, like sparrow, with stripe on it's forehead - yellow and black.

Noticed lots of cattle. Saw water spot for the cattle.

Near the peak, there were 2 dumpsters. Saw, an Asian looking women carrying 2 bags full of plastic bottles - basically an self organized volunteer bring trash down. I bow to this lady on her service. Thank You.

Noticed few bottles and few napkins left behind.

There were some dogs on trail most on leash.

There are 2 places on the trail that prevents cattle from crossing.

No water with you, please do not try to scale the summit. You can get in to dangerous situations.

There is rest room and water fountain near the trail head.

San Antonio reservoir is visible when you start ascending the final stretch. The Bay is visible almost close to the Trail head.

Good resource on Mission Peak: http://www.exerciseforthereader.org/misspeak/

The windsock was flying in full today, meaning wind is minimum 17mph. There was one biker on the trail.

Rapid revolutions can be trouble...

Rapid revolutions worldwide can be trouble for any one who has a resource to call their own. Imagine, you own just a pair of shoes. The person who has no shoes can take it away from you when there is a revolution. While some level of revolution around the world can be good, it can hurt if there are too many instances of it in short period.

Looks the world is trying to get to 'democracy' as the only mode of governance. While I like the freedom that democracy brings, we should not forget that it was the United States of America having a very mature democracy decided to use the Weapons of Mass Destruction against innocent civilian of another country. How long would it take to forget the atomic bomb dropped in Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japan in 1945 as part of the second world war.

We need diversity and it is very healthy. While I am a supporter of Open Source in Software, I dislike GPL becoming a monopoly. Similarly, while democracy can arguably be the best form of government, having other forms will ensure democracy evolves for the good - rather than staying a monopoly.

Wondering if the people in the world are getting in-tolerant towards others ways of life.

(There seems to be opportunity to rewrite this article by consolidating the points - and/or separating major items in to separate articles).

Nice Quote

"People do Things for Their Reasons, Not Yours" - used as a suggestion for leaders while looking for change.

US Incarceration rate: is it a plan of suppression

US Incarceration rate the highest in the world http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate a whopping 743 prisoners per 100,000 population. For comparison, India has 32 for every 100,000 population!! 1 in every 32 adult is in prison or on probation...

Some aspects / interpretation

1. US has lesser tolerance to differences with in it's own population. Why can't we let some one who commits non-violent crime continue to be part of the society?
2. Privileged, Richer and intelligent people, don't want to and don't like to live among the under privileged people - who tend to be incarcerated more often than the rest of the population.
3. US condemns the rest of the world (Most of the world population) for 'freedom' and 'human rights' violation. Isn't incarceration a form of extreme deprivation of 'freedom' and 'human rights'? Who will fight for this cause?

This data was highlighted by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on one of his speach.

Big Basin waterfalls Visit 2011/01/08

Big Basin water falls trip

Drive from home is 1 hour - I forgot it 2 times in a row

Started at the trail head at 8:00am - when it was very cold. all 10 digit (finger) tips were in pain

Forgot food. Picked up tender pine needle - rich in Vitamin C. Relieved my cold in winter!!

Returned at the HQ at 11:45am

Went through washed out trail...

There is checkin/checkout slip available - where you can give emergency contact info. I wrote down my exact plan of trail.

Alamere Falls: lessons learned

Visited Alamere Falls on 1/17/2011.

Meeting time: 6:00am on Monday 2011/01/17 South Bay. Leave before 7:00am
Nearest town: Bolinas, ca
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Max 63°; Min 51°. Should be 55-60F when we are on the trail. Also, Sunday rain.
Map: http://www.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/maps/showmap.cfm?alphacode=pore&parkname=Point%20Reyes%20National%20Seashore
Map info to note: Just make sure you are able to recognize the trail head and the waterfalls and few thing in between.

Tide: Could have been better :-( The tide will be receding from it's peak... So, view from the beach might be tricky/difficult...
2011-01-17 1:47 AM PST 3.20 feet Low Tide
2011-01-17 7:26 AM PST Sunrise
2011-01-17 7:58 AM PST 6.57 feet High Tide
2011-01-17 3:31 PM PST -0.82 feet Low Tide
2011-01-17 5:18 PM PST Sunset

Trail Head:37.934242, -122.747442 (Google map)
The Falls: 37.953889, -122.783611 (Google map)

One possible Driving Directions:

From US 101 in Marin County, exit CA 1/Mill Valley/Stinson Beach
Drive on Shoreline Highway to the junction with Almonte, about 1 mile
Turn left on CA 1 and drive about 2.5 miles to the junction with Panoramic
Continue straight on CA 1 about 13 miles to an unsigned junction with Olema-Bolinas Road (just past Bolinas Marsh)
Turn left. Drive 0.1 mile to a T intersection with Olema-Bolinas Road, turn left,
drive about 1 mile to the junction with Horseshoe Hill Road, and again, turn left
Drive to the next stop sign, then turn right onto Mesa Road
Drive about 4 miles, then continue the last 1 mile on the dirt road to the trailhead at the end of the road

Hike

0.0: From the parking lot, head up the stairs, then turn left onto Coast Trail.
2.0: Junction with Lake Ranch Trail. Stay to the left on Coast Trail.
2.76: Junction with Crystal Lake Trail. Continue straight on Coast Trail.
3.24: Junction at far end of Pelican Lake. If you don't want to go to Alamere Falls, tturn around and retrace your steps back to the
trailhead. Otherwise continue straight on Coast Trail.
3.27: Junction with Alamere Falls Trail. Turn left.
3.67: Grassy knoll and first scramble down rocky shoot to falls area. If you like, cross Alamere Creek at the top of the second fall,
head north a few yards, then descend a rough notch in the cliffside to the beach. When ready, retrace your steps.
7.54: Back at the trailhead.

----

Boots on the ground:

1. Started at 7:30am from south bay
2. Stop in SFO for coffee
3. 10:30am start from the trail head
4. 12:30 start from the falls
5. 2:00+ start driving
6. 4:30pm back home (GG bridge toll : $6:00)
7. Fog did have negative impact of driving and also visibility on the trail
8. The parking lot was overflowing when we returned

• My muscles are sore for 2-3 days after any long hike. One of my friend who accompanied me yesterday said he always pops Ibuprofen 6 hours prior to hikes - so that he will avoid any knee/muscle inflammation due to additional workout he gets.
• When visiting tidal falls (Waterfalls that fall directly in to the Ocean), you need to be aware of the tide cycle (high/low tide) when you visit. We were extra lucky - as we got delayed 2 hours later than the plan - when the tide was receding. (While, I knew the exact timing and the phenomena, it was real first hand experience)
• California coast - during winter - on sunny days, can have less visibility due to fog that is still on land (not pushed in to the ocean) well past noon. We were able to hear the ocean loud - but could not see the waves - at 10:30am - while we were walking along the coastal clifs. If the fog did not burn out soon, we would have been forced to not get the Tidal Fall - from the beach....

Apple boots WikiLeaks app from iPhone store

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9201920/Apple_boots_WikiLeaks_app_from_iPhone_store

It does not worry me as much Apple booted WikiLeaks app. Apple is not a good citizen anyway. http://www.adbi.org/files/2010.12.14.wp257.iphone.widens.us.trade.deficit.prc.pdf notes "How the iPhone Widens the United States Trade Deficit with the People’s Republic of China".

How can Apple be punished? Do not buy apple products - they are costly anyway. Buy their competitor's products. Apple is going by the coolness factor. This is pure myth - what's cool today can be ugly tomorrow. Take for example http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell-bottoms (today's flare-cut) was so cool in the 70s and is not cool anymore...

Bank of America <> WikiLeaks

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12028084

Bank of America stops handling Wikileaks payments

"not process transactions of any type that we have reason to believe are intended for Wikileaks" citing "Wikileaks may be engaged in activities that are... inconsistent with our internal policies for processing payments".

Personal opinion: US Constitution's first 3 words states "We the people". Over time, "money" has become more important than "We the people" in the US. Now the companies take the most protection from the law and return the least back to 'the people'. Law, you can think of as "We the people" having agreed to provide protection for the greater good.

Not surprising to note that Visa was born out of innovation from 1958 innovation of Bank of America. Visa and BoA have harmed wikileaks.

I wouldn't recommend people to take their business out of BoA. Instead, stay and request reversal. This way, people asking change can be under the 'customer' umbrella protection - that will be lost when they are not having that privilege/protection. Time will tell - if staying and protesting is better or leaving is better.

Basic question on the cables that is being published by wikileaks.

1. What is the issue the businesses and US state department are complaining?
2. Has it been established that this is infact a 'property of the US'?
3. Are these 'property' collected/stored legally? By legally, was it collected/transmitted/stored legally complying with the local laws and treaties?
4. Some of the leaks, as we note, are statements of the heads of states. How can US claim to have the wordings of another nations head of state to be US 'property'?

Why is any entity, US government, or any one trying to know every thing and also 'own' every thing of human kind? Just each person and collection of persons (sovereignty?) just care about their own and prosper - with minimal interaction all over? May be rich nations focus on their own business and internal matters - so that all the mess (was/financial collapse/environmental degradation) can be fixed and avoided.

Who are pulling the plug on WikiLeaks

The following companies have pulled the plug on WikiLeaks.

1. Visa / Master Card
2. PayPal

My question to these 3 large enterprises - why shouldn't you be tried for Anti Competitive practice? Who are your competitors and what you have done to the competitive landscape? If there are real alternatives, WikiLeaks could migrate to that - but, there are none - as you probably have killed them all. Yes, you did create these markets - but, you also enjoyed government protections and laws created to enable your bread and butter. Please do not forget it - other wise, the people could act on such info, if and when they could...

2 Others who probably are not monopoly and they decided to harm WikiLeaks anyway

1. Amazon
2. UBS bank

For all these businesses who harmed directly WikiLeaks, can you prove your actions are correct and ensure that you will act on ALL the customers who fit the criteria you used against WikiLeaks? I have not seen any one or any government said anything wrong about WikiLeaks about their actions 'under oath'. Remember, WikiLeaks is showing situations where heads of states were telling different information in public - while saying the opposite in private meetings...

Groupon <> Google

Group on > google might be due barcode.

ATM Crash?

Walk to ATM after business hours. Insert Check Card and insert Check in to the slot.

Suddenly the ATM machine has a software malfunction and the system goes for reboot ejecting your Check Card. Now what? What happened to your Check now!!!

Wikileaks & Amazon

How does Amazon figure out that Wikileaks do not own the leaked documents? What if US Government had indeed given to Wikileaks - as Iran's president claims.

http://aws.amazon.com/message/65348/

There have been reports that a government inquiry prompted us not to serve WikiLeaks any longer. That is inaccurate.

There have also been reports that it was prompted by massive DDOS attacks. That too is inaccurate. There were indeed large-scale DDOSattacks, but they were successfully defended against.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) rents computer infrastructure on a self-service basis. AWS does not pre-screen its customers, but it does have terms of service that must be followed. WikiLeaks was not following them. There were several parts they were violating. For example, our terms of service state that “you represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content… that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity.” It’s clear that WikiLeaks doesn’t own or otherwise control all the rights to this classified content. Further, it is not credible that the extraordinary volume of 250,000 classified documents that WikiLeaks is publishing could have been carefully redacted in such a way as to ensure that they weren’t putting innocent people in jeopardy. Human rights organizations have in fact written to WikiLeaks asking them to exercise caution and not release the names or identities of human rights defenders who might be persecuted by their governments.

We’ve been running AWS for over four years and have hundreds of thousands of customers storing all kinds of data on AWS. Some of this data is controversial, and that’s perfectly fine. But, when companies or people go about securing and storing large quantities of data that isn’t rightfully theirs, and publishing this data without ensuring it won’t injure others, it’s a violation of our terms of service, and folks need to go operate elsewhere.

We look forward to continuing to serve our AWS customers and are excited about several new things we have coming your way in the next few months.

— Amazon Web Services

Time to Break Telecom Companies again?

Non-coherent thoughts/Rant...... on why can't I do communication/entertainment/news from any where any time from any device at much lower rate than today. Most money seems to be going to inefficiencies, lawyers, restrictions - instead of openness and effectiveness/efficiencies.

Today some of my friend's expense is close to $200/month. Why not get a whole lot more than what we get for $200 than what we get today? Especially, when we allow air waves to be used by folks, land be dug on the roads by cable companies, allow laying cables under the seas and allow for satellites to go over my head.....

It was in 1984 AT&T was broken due to Anti Competitive practice. Here are the concerns that I have with these large Telecom companies and my thought process on solution

What would Like to see happen

1. Charge customers on the itemized actuals - not blanket

• Last mile - Cell Phone ping (The phone will be able to receive/send it's location to the nearest tower) - If you roam, you have to be charged differently. You must have the capability to tell if you are 'home'/'work' in which case, you can configure automatically to be routed to home/work number - instead of expensive air waves
• Last mile - Cable Companies collecting the cable from home to hub
• Last mile wired connection going to the Exchange

Home internal wiring by yet another company/skill set.

There does not seem to be a reason for old analog thingy any more. All can be digital - people can charge - more like electricity fees on consumption and possibly flexible rates on peak rates.

1. Once the last mile is connected other set of companies can provide trunking facility
2. Another company can provide customer service - so we can provide for 'packaging' companies - these are 'Walmarts' of the communication world
3. 
   

1. Why should I not have Vonage Phone software installed on my AT&T or Verizon phone

What would this bring to the greater good? Better usage of the resources available - 'airwave' and Superior quality service (expertise), competition. Gives opportunity for small players to get on equal footing. Possibility of rapid innovation

ATI from AMD - TV wonder tuners

http://www.amd.com/us/products/pctv/tv-wonder-tuners/Pages/tv-wonder-hd-650-combo-usb-for-mac.aspx

Available for Mac & PC. There are multiple vendors for PC (including HP, Dell)