Chris Leone

• 05May

  GPS Navigation has major flaws

  Required Blogs 1 Comment

  In choppy, pre-recorded voice:

  “Caution, Bullfight, Ahead, In, Five, Hundred! Feet”

  When you watch car commercials today, one feature they’re likely to show off is the option for GPS navigation. More and more cars today have them available. I’ll admit, I think they’re really cool. This is mostly because when I’m in a car, I have the sense of direction of a dead squirrel.

  But I digress; the purpose of this post was about this blog post from slashdot:

  “Many GPS devices today will try to scan the FM bands for traffic advisories in the area to display on their screens. The signals, however, are neither authenticated nor encrypted, and one can — with commonly available electronics — construct a device to broadcast bogus advisories. Possible codes range from “bullfight ahead” to “terrorist attack”

  Not too much to say on this. I just think the possibilities could be pretty funny.

  
• 05May

  Required Blog

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  Here’s an interesting article I pulled up from Slashdot. Unbeknownst to me, NASA is beginning to outsource its R&D to anyone who’s interested in a nice little weekend project. Contest winner Peter Homer, a former aerospace engineer, beat out two other rival teams by developing a more effective “glove that can be used by astronauts over long periods of time in space or on the surface of the moon, Mars or other planetary body. NASA wants a new glove that is easier for astronauts to work in, as well as lighter-weight, stronger and more durable than gloves currently in use.” Interestingly enough, Homer built the entire glove from materials he had at home and the rest from materials he purchased on ebay. The contest was part of new initiative to solve “technical problems with low-cost, innovative solutions.”

  This reminds me of the following joke:

  When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 Billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300C.

  The Russians used a pencil.

  

  
• 23Mar

  Vantity Search

  Classmate Blogs, Required Blogs, class material No Comments

  My classmate Caitie mentioned in her blog what it means to do a vanity search. I did one of these a while ago, but I thought it was time for another go. To my dismay, I didn’t show up until the third page! This page was from an article in UDaily about something I did over the summer. Scrolling through, I eventually found other pages - mostly from a newspaper - that were about me. I was disappointed that my own website www.chrisaleone.com was too buried to find through google. I was happy to see that when I was very specific with my search for my website, it did eventually come up.

  I can relate with Caitie that it can be nerve-racking to see what “dirt” the internet may have on you. For potential employers, this can somewhat of a risk - but only if you have something to hide! Fortunately for me, I hold no reservation in saying, “Google away!” I have nothing to hide. Internet: do your best.

  
• 23Mar

  Customer Feedback Sites

  Required Blogs, class material 1 Comment

  Many people have called the era we are living in today as the “age of information.” Thanks to the internet, the amount of useful (as well as plenty of useless) information is at our fingertips. I think there are a lot of ways to interpret information and the internet. For one, if I wanted to know more about the history of Volkswagen, I would be overwhelmed with useful information. More so, if I wanted to buy a VW, I could find all the customer review information I need. To me, this is one of the most powerful uses of the internet. Competition in business is so important because of how it benefits the customer. If three companies want the highest market share, they need to give the customer what they want more than the other two companies. The internet has essentially put everything in a glass house for the whole world to see and discuss. Clever advertising can only get you so far now. We now have the ability to hear voices from thousands of people who have used what we want to buy. In my search to buy a new car, I spent maybe 5% of the time on vw.com and the other 95% on customer review sites such as edmunds.com.

  The internet has made it nearly impossible to hide behind flashy products and clever marketing. Without a doubt, it will (and already hsa) change business forever. In the end, we the consumers, are the winners.

  

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