Last week’s airplane terror incident has raised new concerns over how much sense it makes to have Wi-Fi and the ability to use mobile phones on aircraft. While the companies that provides these entertainment options have said there’s nothing to worry about (well, besides them worrying about losing money), other security experts argue otherwise.
You’ll recall that authorities last week found packages containing explosives, explosives that were connected mobile phones. The fear is, terrorists could have activated the explosives by calling the phone, thus taking the airplane down.
So, what might happen if you give the bad guys the option to not only make mobile calls, but also give them the ability to use voice-over-IP calls? Now they won’t have to rely on a flimsy phone signal, but can instead tap into the airplane’s own on-board Wi-Fi to hatch their plots.
Those are the concerns of at least one consultant in the UK, one Roland Alfort of Alford Technologies.
The question now is whether or not transportation authorities will take these concerns to heart when going over what went wrong.
Then again, this could all just be a work under the guise of making us safe. A work from Alford Technologies’ perspective, that is. “Let’s scare people into think our Hollywood scenarios are plausible, the lend ourselves a fat consulting contracting with a government agency.”
Or, more innocently, it could be much ado about nothing. Misplaced fear, in other words. One manufacturer of in-flight entertainment says:
There are many ways of coordinating an attack without using a mobile phoneThe position of our security experts is that the use of mobile phones on planes does not constitute any additional security threat.
Meanwhile, airlines themselves are hoping that there’s not a giant overreaction to the incident. If nothing else, the event showed how current security measures do work.
The explosives were found, after all, and didn’t go off. Surely that counts for something when examining the calculus here?
So I missed Saturday night and the whole of Sunday at the MCM London Expo due to a dirty belly. And I don’t think I was alone. But reports have dribbled through. Here are your top ten;
There was a total weekend attendance of 46,400. Plus a fair few thousand who hung around outside never coming in, making a total of well over fifty thousand. For a British comics convention, this is insanely large.
The Comic Alliance, a British-based group fighting censorship against comic books has formed a working alliance with the American-operating Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. While there many Brits who have raised money for the latter, it’s only covered American territories – leaving Britain on its own to deal with the vagaries of Customs and Obscenity laws.
Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Eagle Award for Phonogram was shattered when someone knocked it to the floor…
TonyLee, John Charles and Lee Townsend are creating a story for UK kids comic Marvel Heroes featuring She Hulk, The Thing, The Red Ghost and his super apes, Stilt Man, Klaw, Daredevil, the Kingpin and the Human Torch. In 14 pages.
Andy Diggle’s cosplay-mocking tweets caused some ruction, including one person carrying a sign around on Sunday reading “‘WHY DON’T PEOPLE COSPLAY AS THE LOSERS? BECAUSE IT WAS SH*T”. You never know who will be reading your tweets…
The Abu Dhabi Middle Eastern comic con were speaking to many creators about a convention in Dubai next April.
One other question was asked regarding Mark Millar’s London Superhero Comic Con for next year – does he have an agreement with Marvel and DC to use the jointly trademarked word “superhero”? One wag suggested he rename it Movies, Comics, Millar Expo, and then shorten it…
The other rumour is that Titan Magazines, publishers of CLiNT, were putting money behind the rival show, hence their abscence from the MCM. Titan representatives did not respond to enquiries.
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Last week’s airplane terror incident has raised new concerns over how much sense it makes to have Wi-Fi and the ability to use mobile phones on aircraft. While the companies that provides these entertainment options have said there’s nothing to worry about (well, besides them worrying about losing money), other security experts argue otherwise.
You’ll recall that authorities last week found packages containing explosives, explosives that were connected mobile phones. The fear is, terrorists could have activated the explosives by calling the phone, thus taking the airplane down.
So, what might happen if you give the bad guys the option to not only make mobile calls, but also give them the ability to use voice-over-IP calls? Now they won’t have to rely on a flimsy phone signal, but can instead tap into the airplane’s own on-board Wi-Fi to hatch their plots.
Those are the concerns of at least one consultant in the UK, one Roland Alfort of Alford Technologies.
The question now is whether or not transportation authorities will take these concerns to heart when going over what went wrong.
Then again, this could all just be a work under the guise of making us safe. A work from Alford Technologies’ perspective, that is. “Let’s scare people into think our Hollywood scenarios are plausible, the lend ourselves a fat consulting contracting with a government agency.”
Or, more innocently, it could be much ado about nothing. Misplaced fear, in other words. One manufacturer of in-flight entertainment says:
There are many ways of coordinating an attack without using a mobile phoneThe position of our security experts is that the use of mobile phones on planes does not constitute any additional security threat.
Meanwhile, airlines themselves are hoping that there’s not a giant overreaction to the incident. If nothing else, the event showed how current security measures do work.
The explosives were found, after all, and didn’t go off. Surely that counts for something when examining the calculus here?
So I missed Saturday night and the whole of Sunday at the MCM London Expo due to a dirty belly. And I don’t think I was alone. But reports have dribbled through. Here are your top ten;
There was a total weekend attendance of 46,400. Plus a fair few thousand who hung around outside never coming in, making a total of well over fifty thousand. For a British comics convention, this is insanely large.
The Comic Alliance, a British-based group fighting censorship against comic books has formed a working alliance with the American-operating Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. While there many Brits who have raised money for the latter, it’s only covered American territories – leaving Britain on its own to deal with the vagaries of Customs and Obscenity laws.
Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Eagle Award for Phonogram was shattered when someone knocked it to the floor…
TonyLee, John Charles and Lee Townsend are creating a story for UK kids comic Marvel Heroes featuring She Hulk, The Thing, The Red Ghost and his super apes, Stilt Man, Klaw, Daredevil, the Kingpin and the Human Torch. In 14 pages.
Andy Diggle’s cosplay-mocking tweets caused some ruction, including one person carrying a sign around on Sunday reading “‘WHY DON’T PEOPLE COSPLAY AS THE LOSERS? BECAUSE IT WAS SH*T”. You never know who will be reading your tweets…
The Abu Dhabi Middle Eastern comic con were speaking to many creators about a convention in Dubai next April.
One other question was asked regarding Mark Millar’s London Superhero Comic Con for next year – does he have an agreement with Marvel and DC to use the jointly trademarked word “superhero”? One wag suggested he rename it Movies, Comics, Millar Expo, and then shorten it…
The other rumour is that Titan Magazines, publishers of CLiNT, were putting money behind the rival show, hence their abscence from the MCM. Titan representatives did not respond to enquiries.
bench craft company
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iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
bench craft company
bench craft company
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Facebook "Unlike" Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed
Facebook quietly introduced an "Unlike Page" button into its News Feed recently, which allows users to opt-out of receiving unwanted messages from pages they had previously said they ...
Even FOX <b>News</b> Not Hiring Christine O'Donnell
FOX News not doing something is always a banner news item. They also didn't burn down the Empire State building today or march naked through Times Square. Don't miss writing news copy about that! ...
Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>
iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
bench craft company
Last week’s airplane terror incident has raised new concerns over how much sense it makes to have Wi-Fi and the ability to use mobile phones on aircraft. While the companies that provides these entertainment options have said there’s nothing to worry about (well, besides them worrying about losing money), other security experts argue otherwise.
You’ll recall that authorities last week found packages containing explosives, explosives that were connected mobile phones. The fear is, terrorists could have activated the explosives by calling the phone, thus taking the airplane down.
So, what might happen if you give the bad guys the option to not only make mobile calls, but also give them the ability to use voice-over-IP calls? Now they won’t have to rely on a flimsy phone signal, but can instead tap into the airplane’s own on-board Wi-Fi to hatch their plots.
Those are the concerns of at least one consultant in the UK, one Roland Alfort of Alford Technologies.
The question now is whether or not transportation authorities will take these concerns to heart when going over what went wrong.
Then again, this could all just be a work under the guise of making us safe. A work from Alford Technologies’ perspective, that is. “Let’s scare people into think our Hollywood scenarios are plausible, the lend ourselves a fat consulting contracting with a government agency.”
Or, more innocently, it could be much ado about nothing. Misplaced fear, in other words. One manufacturer of in-flight entertainment says:
There are many ways of coordinating an attack without using a mobile phoneThe position of our security experts is that the use of mobile phones on planes does not constitute any additional security threat.
Meanwhile, airlines themselves are hoping that there’s not a giant overreaction to the incident. If nothing else, the event showed how current security measures do work.
The explosives were found, after all, and didn’t go off. Surely that counts for something when examining the calculus here?
So I missed Saturday night and the whole of Sunday at the MCM London Expo due to a dirty belly. And I don’t think I was alone. But reports have dribbled through. Here are your top ten;
There was a total weekend attendance of 46,400. Plus a fair few thousand who hung around outside never coming in, making a total of well over fifty thousand. For a British comics convention, this is insanely large.
The Comic Alliance, a British-based group fighting censorship against comic books has formed a working alliance with the American-operating Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. While there many Brits who have raised money for the latter, it’s only covered American territories – leaving Britain on its own to deal with the vagaries of Customs and Obscenity laws.
Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Eagle Award for Phonogram was shattered when someone knocked it to the floor…
TonyLee, John Charles and Lee Townsend are creating a story for UK kids comic Marvel Heroes featuring She Hulk, The Thing, The Red Ghost and his super apes, Stilt Man, Klaw, Daredevil, the Kingpin and the Human Torch. In 14 pages.
Andy Diggle’s cosplay-mocking tweets caused some ruction, including one person carrying a sign around on Sunday reading “‘WHY DON’T PEOPLE COSPLAY AS THE LOSERS? BECAUSE IT WAS SH*T”. You never know who will be reading your tweets…
The Abu Dhabi Middle Eastern comic con were speaking to many creators about a convention in Dubai next April.
One other question was asked regarding Mark Millar’s London Superhero Comic Con for next year – does he have an agreement with Marvel and DC to use the jointly trademarked word “superhero”? One wag suggested he rename it Movies, Comics, Millar Expo, and then shorten it…
The other rumour is that Titan Magazines, publishers of CLiNT, were putting money behind the rival show, hence their abscence from the MCM. Titan representatives did not respond to enquiries.
bench craft company
bench craft company
Facebook "Unlike" Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed
Facebook quietly introduced an "Unlike Page" button into its News Feed recently, which allows users to opt-out of receiving unwanted messages from pages they had previously said they ...
Even FOX <b>News</b> Not Hiring Christine O'Donnell
FOX News not doing something is always a banner news item. They also didn't burn down the Empire State building today or march naked through Times Square. Don't miss writing news copy about that! ...
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iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
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bench craft company
Facebook "Unlike" Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed
Facebook quietly introduced an "Unlike Page" button into its News Feed recently, which allows users to opt-out of receiving unwanted messages from pages they had previously said they ...
Even FOX <b>News</b> Not Hiring Christine O'Donnell
FOX News not doing something is always a banner news item. They also didn't burn down the Empire State building today or march naked through Times Square. Don't miss writing news copy about that! ...
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iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
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Facebook "Unlike" Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed
Facebook quietly introduced an "Unlike Page" button into its News Feed recently, which allows users to opt-out of receiving unwanted messages from pages they had previously said they ...
Even FOX <b>News</b> Not Hiring Christine O'Donnell
FOX News not doing something is always a banner news item. They also didn't burn down the Empire State building today or march naked through Times Square. Don't miss writing news copy about that! ...
Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>
iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
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Facebook quietly introduced an "Unlike Page" button into its News Feed recently, which allows users to opt-out of receiving unwanted messages from pages they had previously said they ...
Even FOX <b>News</b> Not Hiring Christine O'Donnell
FOX News not doing something is always a banner news item. They also didn't burn down the Empire State building today or march naked through Times Square. Don't miss writing news copy about that! ...
Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>
iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
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Facebook "Unlike" Button Comes to the <b>News</b> Feed
Facebook quietly introduced an "Unlike Page" button into its News Feed recently, which allows users to opt-out of receiving unwanted messages from pages they had previously said they ...
Even FOX <b>News</b> Not Hiring Christine O'Donnell
FOX News not doing something is always a banner news item. They also didn't burn down the Empire State building today or march naked through Times Square. Don't miss writing news copy about that! ...
Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4 | iLounge <b>News</b>
iLounge news discussing the Apple sued over iPhone 3G performance under iOS 4. Find more Apple news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.
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If laughter is, as they say, the best medicine, then I think the doctor might prescribe a Terry Pratchett book from time to time, at least if the doctor is a cynic who thinks it particularly healthy to laugh at the foibles of this world through the lens of a snarky imaginary one. Unfortunately, doctors today are too busy prescribing expensive patented pharmaceuticals, guaranteed effective by the salesman who takes them golfing.
Pratchett's Discworld is a carnival fun house mirror image of our own, but with fairytale creatures like dwarves, golems, and Igors (yes, that's plural) thrown in for good measure.
Making Money(Harper, October 2007) is typical Discworld fare in which Moist von Lipwig, "an honest soul with a fine criminal mind," follows on his success with reinvigorating the Post Office (in Going Postal), becomes the head of the Royal Mint and invents paper money. He also inherits the guardianship of the Chairman of the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork, and takes him for walkies every day (the Chairman is a dog).
Anyone in control of the money supply is naturally a bit of a target, so it must come as no surprise that complications ensue. Among other threats, the board of the bank is composed of a hereditarily wealthy family, the Lavishes, who are not exactly pleasant sorts.
The family's default leader seems to be Cosmo Lavish, who, like many of those born into the upper classes, has been trained by the Assassin's Guild. He also has an unhealthy admiration for Ankh-Morpork's ruthless, but sometimes beneficent dictator, Lord Vetinari. The chief cashier of the bank, Mr. Bent, is forbidding, ominous, and dull, and there may be something quite unnatural about him. It seems some sort of plot is afoot against von Lipwig and the Chairman.
A year ago, before this was published, I might have questioned the timely relevance of a satire about taking a banking system off the gold standard. That was a done deal long ago, and would seem to be mostly uncontroversial. With recent scares within the banking industry, however, an examination of the value on which our money is based, if any, seems timely. It's also much more palatable with tongue firmly planted in cheek, and preferably stuck there with toffee. It may even be fair to say, as Pratchett does, that "whole new theories of money were growing here like mushrooms, in the dark and based on bullshit."
Crazy as Pratchett's Discworld might be, it does ring frighteningly true. I ask you, who hasn't encountered a banker much like Moist von Lipwig?
" 'Well, I'm going to do my best to get my hands on your money!' he promised.
This got a cheer. Moist wasn't surprised. Tell someone you were going to rob them and all that happened was that you got a reputation as a truthful man."
If you haven't yet encountered Pratchett's Discworld series, I recommend it as light, enjoyable reading that will sometimes make you laugh out loud. I wouldn't rate Making Money as one of his best, but it's possible that's because I've now read several of his books and maybe the humor doesn't seem quite as fresh to me now. It must be extremely difficult to keep writing novels that deliver laughs on every page.
His earlier Witches Abroad, a delightful send-up of fairytales, which proposes that perhaps it's not always good for the heroine to marry the prince, is one of my favorites in the series. (The Discworld series does not need to be read in any particular order.)
Making Money is still well worth reading if you want a good chuckle at just how shaky the financial industry really is, or if you want to laugh in the face of possibly losing your shirt. With the economy seeming more uncertain every day, at least we can find some humor in it.
Making Money is currently available in hardcover from bookstores and all of the major online booksellers. It is due to come out in a mass-market paperback edition in October, and that can be pre-ordered now.
Sad note: In the course of writing this review, I discovered that Mr. Pratchett has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. You can read his speech to the Alzheimer's Research Trust Conference in the UK here. I hope that if you like his books, you'll consider a donation to the Alzheimer's Association, to help fund Alzheimer's research.
Previously published on my blog.
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