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Biometrics on “smart devices”

Obviously this post was prompted by my [relatively long overdue] upgrade to an iPhone 5S (was previously a 4S user – and never felt the need to upgrade to a 5), however this is not going to be a “first impressions” sort of post that I usually do with my other “reviews.”

Instead its a sincere statement on how I have come to believe that biometric authentication is the way to go for “smart [handheld] devices” in general.

I’m not saying this just because the 5S finally decided to have such a feature, but because I’ve always believed in biometrics, but only now have I experienced a “commonplace” device implement it reliably. Read More

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Customer Service

Long story short, my Drobo Pro started acting up, and ultimately required an out of warranty RMA. But this post is to share what I’ve learned from this gruelling experience.

There are 3 companies involved here, and from the story you’re about to read, they are listed from worst to best.

  1. Switch – which is either formerly, or a subsidiary of Axis Global Inc. (or was it Axis Global Technologies, I forget)
  2. Drobo
  3. JT Photoworld

I believe this is a story worth sharing because the differences in how they handle their customers is very telling of the type of companies they are. Perhaps it can also serve as a cautionary tale to those planning to buy stuff from any of them. Read More

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Minimalist Wallets

Ever since I can remember, I’ve always hated the bulk of traditional wallets, this aversion probably went back as far as highschool. Of course, there were more “important” things that interested me then – so I started being particular about it probably during college.

In any case, it’s been so long that I can’t even remember exactly when I decided to use money clips exclusively. But I do remember my first money clip being a Fossil (brand), with a metal mechanical hinged clip – which a fairly short while due to mechanical failure 1 The pin that held the pivot point fell out, rendering the whole clip useless. I started experimenting with different types of money clips with different types of “clipping” implementations, but soon decided that a mechanical hinge was a really bad idea after my second ever mechanical clip-based Money Clip failed due to the same reasons. Soon, magnetic type clips were out of the picture – as they quickly lose effectivity once you have a thick enough wad of cash.

Turns out the simplest design was, and continues to be the most effective: the single piece clip that relies solely on tension. The only real concern there is if you have a material that can hold it’s shape after being bent. And since then, I’ve always kept my eyes open for the perfect balance of form/function – always willing to try different approaches if the design made sense. My only non-negotiables were:

  1. Cash mush merely be “fastened to” (via clip or otherwise) instead of “stuffed in” – for easy access.
  2. Must accommodate credit cards.

And for the most part, I’ve always found decent money clips that suited my needs. But today, I will attempt to veer away from the “clip” design altogether. I will give a product called the Minimalist a chance.

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Notes

Notes
⇡1 The pin that held the pivot point fell out, rendering the whole clip useless
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My first Road Bike

Since the trend (fad?) nowadays is that everyone’s getting a road bike – I decided to ride (no pun intended) the bandwagon and get one myself.

Why are you looking at me like that? I’ll have you know that that is is a road bike just as well. It’s a bike, and it’s for the road! What, you thought I was going to allow myself to wear cycling shorts? I’m not yet prepared for that!

Anyways, this post is a sort of review on my latest acquisition. Though I’d more likely say “unboxing” (even if it has no box to speak of), as all I’m going to talk about here is on the modifications I made on it, and not my experience riding it (not yet at least) Read More

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Getting a Modern Ducati [Key]ported

I realized that getting my Monster’s key converted into a Keyport blade cost me a whole lot more than I had expected.

Let’s be clear however, that this is through no fault of Keyport. Instead, it was the simple fact that I was the first customer to ever hand them this particular type of key (high security, transponder chip) – which turned out to be quite a nightmare for everyone. But all has been sorted out and I now have in my possession a properly working Keyport blade that works with my Monster’s immobilizer system.

I figured I’d make my “sacrifice” worthwhile by sharing whatever knowledge I’ve gleaned from the experience and help Ducati owners interested in getting ported blades for their [recent] bikes.

Of course this post wouldn’t be worth its salt if we didn’t have a blow by blow of my experience with this key. So let’s get right to it. Read More