Time For Annual Security Training

As a Sony employee I am required to run through an annual 30-minute training course on computer security. In the past the training has seemed to be the same as previous years. Today I ran through the training again discovering it has been updated and it seemed like a whole new course, which I appreciated.

The course had the usual warnings against clicking on links in e-mails and verifying URL's before going to the sites. This year, they provided some more details that helped understand how different character sets can be different than the regular Latin letters we are used to in English. The example they provided is that a Cyrillic V looks like the letter B. Someone could then create a mischievous website using the Cyrillic V for something like the Better Business Bureau and you wouldn't know you are going to the wrong site. Having a concrete example like that really helped underscore how subtle character substitutions can cause havoc.

A new entry in this year's training highlighted mobile device security. I prefer a full-sized keyboard and so if I can keep my phone in my pocket and use a computer instead, I do. I am not normal though as the average person uses their smartphone 6 hours a day. My usage is down around an hour per day. The training pointed out a number of helpful tips to keep from clicking on malicious links that could open your device to malware and other bad actors. I decided that by doing as much as I can on my computer, I reduce my risk for security issues. Should I get a nefarious text, I now know what to look for.

Finally the training had a section on how artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to create more realistic e-mails. Bad spelling and grammar used to be dead-giveaways of scam e-mails. Now those e-mails can be created to sound exactly like your supervisor or manager. They also warned against voicemails that can sound like the people you work with. That is a sobering thought.

The point of this post is that there are some persistent thieves and crooks trying to get access to your computer, online accounts, and smartphone. It is a good practice to review security best practices to remind you to remain vigilant against those bad actors. If you are not required to run through a 30-minute training session, you might want to find a trusted resource on the Web and do your own training.

Ring Doorbell For the Win

Looking at my last post regarding my Ring doorbell, I believe I have a love-hate relationship with the device. Today it came to my aid and kept from interrupting me while doing important work. Of course in order for that to happen, I had to have my smartphone connected to it so I could use the camera.

Lately my neighborhood has had a string of door-to-door salespeople ringing doorbells and interrupting my work. Normally it is too much of a hassle to open the Ring app on my phone and see who is at the door so I walk from my basement office up to the door only to get upset about being interrupted. Due to large bombs being exploded out in the Utah desert this week, I have been logged into my Ring app to see what others in my neighborhood are saying about the loud noises we are all hearing.

Today when I got the doorbell notification while working on something very important, I just pulled up my phone and quickly spied my front porch. When I saw 2 people I didn't recognize nor expected, I continued working. About 10 minutes later I finished my task and checked the door to see if they left something. Sure enough they left a brochure about something I am not interested in learning more about.

My Ring doorbell doesn't always work the way I want it to. Sometimes I have to go through and extensive login process just to get access to the camera and that can be frustrating. Fortunately today the stars aligned and it kept me working when I didn't need to get up. Today I like the device. 

Time for a New Exercise-Focused Smartwatch

I have loved my Suunto 9 Baro watch and use many of the features on it almost daily. Towards the end of ski season, I noticed the barometer in the watch stopped working. I would ski multiple runs but the device couldn't keep track of them. Instead I would have to look at my GPS path and count how many times I rode the chairlift. Then I started training for a trip my wife and I plan to take this fall: the Grand Canyon rim-to-rim hike. The amount of vertical feet I hike is a very important metric and so I decided to get a new watch.

I am a fan of Apple products as I have an iPhone and am typing this on a Mac computer. However I am not a fan of their smartwatches for one simple reason: short battery life. I need something I can use for multiple days without having to worry about charging my watch. With that in mind, I started researching a replacement watch.

When it comes to exercise-focused smartwatches there are 4 major brands: Suunto, Garmin, Fitbit, and Coros. I have not had much experience with Coros and so I wondered if I should take a chance and try one out. They seem to provide a lot of features at a low price point. After reading a number of reviews and comparing features, I decided to pass. I also passed on a Fitbit as my experience with the brand is not positive.

I am a sailor and when it comes to the most accurate GPS devices for sailing, Garmin wins every time. One of the people I ski with has a Garmin smartwatch and so I could compare notes. My wife also has a Garmin watch but unfortunately it does not have a built-in GPS and is very cumbersome to use. Ultimately I would have been willing to give a Garmin watch consideration except for one thing: I am invested in the Suunto ecosystem and wanted to continue using the same app on my smartphone.

Another factor that played into my decision is price. As an Eagle Scout, I get a 35% discount on Suunto watches and a 25% discount on Garmin. For those interested in how to get such a discount, comment and I will be sure to get back to you on details. Just make sure you have your certificate proving the accomplishment.

After weeks of looking, I narrowed my watch choice down to the Suunto 9 Peak Pro, the Race S, or the Vertical. I liked the 9 Peak Pro because is the follow-on to the watch I already have and I assumed it would be similar enough I wouldn't have to learn how to use it. I liked the battery life but it is a couple years old and is probably due for a refresh soon. I liked the battery life on the Vertical and all of the features specific to mountain climbing and hiking uphill on skis. Unfortunately it is also a few years old and the most expensive of the 3. Ultimately I decided on the Race S. It does not have the greatest battery life but is the newest and has some fixes that I wanted. The heart-rate monitor on my 9 Baro is very inaccurate and will double count heartbeats. This makes my fitness level rank with the worst of couch potatoes. The Race S has fixed that. It also had the best price of the 3.

I received the watch a week or so ago and my wife saved it for me to give as a gift for Father's Day. The first thing I noticed is how much smaller the new watch is vs. my old one. I used to have trouble wearing dress shirts because the size of the watch. The new one is very nice and will fit under the sleeves of my shirts. The second thing is how much more accurate the heart-rate monitor is. I went for a run and didn't spend the whole time with a heart rate of 212 beats per minute, which is well above my maximum.

Unfortunately I have only had a couple of days to test the watch but so far I really like it. Ski season is over so I won't be able to test that functionality for 4 or 5 months but I prefer the Suunto features over the Garmin so I am sure I won't be disappointed. While the Garmin does track alpine skiing, the Suunto has separate ski touring and alpine skiing settings and it is helpful to have both. If the watch doesn't live up to my expectations, I'll be sure to provide an update here.  

A Low-Tech Gift with High-Tech Uses

June is the birthday month of my oldest grandchild and so I need to think of an appropriate gift to get him. This morning my son reached out to me and suggested I get the same thing my wife's father got him when my son turned this age: a genuine Swiss-army knife. Thinking about the gift, I think it is a great gift for someone of my grandson's age and so I immediately ordered it from Amazon.

Now a pocket knife is controversial gift for a young boy. Some might say it is too young for such a dangerous weapon. My youngest son was slightly older when we decided to core apples while camping and he seriously cut the palm of his hand and required stitches. With the knowledge of that event now, I might have taken the time to do a bit more teaching on the proper use of knives and my son might not have required a late-night doctor's visit.

Looking at the picture of the knife on my computer, I doubt the knife blade will ever get used that much. I have a lot of adult friends that carry knives daily because of all the other tools they contain. The one I have chosen has both Philips and flat-head screwdriver blades. I am always using mine to remove covers off electronic equipment to replace batteries or scrape corroded connectors. Carrying a multi-purpose knife has its benefits. I'm sure it will get used.

One important thing I will have to stress to my grandson is not to ever bring it to school. While that is something I could do when I was his age, we are all a little paranoid when children bring weapons to school. Rather than have to deal with severe consequences it is best if he leaves the useful tool at home.  

Reconditioning Rechargeable Batteries

A year or so ago, I purchased a cordless vacuum to use on my sailboat. There are a lot of brine flies out on the Great Salt Lake and they love to infiltrate the cabin of my boat where they die within a few hours. I used to just sweep them up but having a vacuum is much easier. The only problem is that rechargeable batteries don't last forever. Over the Memorial Day weekend we went to the boat only to discover the vacuum lasted about a minute or two before dying.

Sometimes the rechargeable batteries still have a charge and it is the charge controller that thinks it is dead. I brought the vacuum down to my office so I could play with it throughout the day. The first thing I discovered is that I could plug the charging cord into the vacuum and it would immediately tell me I had most of a charge. I quickly unplugged the vacuum and would use it for a minute before it died. I continued doing this 3 or 4 more times until the charge only lasted a second or two. Then I let the vacuum charge for several hours.

I hoped by running the battery down to truly nothing would reset the charge controller and I could get more than a minute or two of use. Just to get an accurate reading I started a stopwatch as I turned on the vacuum and began cleaning my office carpet. One minute and six seconds later, the vacuum shut off with a dead battery.

I looked up the user manual on the Internet and quickly scanned the entire book. I didn't find any help about how to replace the internal battery. About the only hope I came across is that it told me to take the device apart and remove the battery before throwing it away. The good news there is that I should be able to easily take the unit apart and remove the battery. Unfortunately the battery is soldered into the printed circuit board and is not meant to be replaced.

Fortunately I have been able to put the vacuum back together and now have to decide how much effort I want to put into fixing it. It would not be difficult to cut the wires from the battery and solder in a new one. Then again, for the price I paid for the thing, it might be easier to buy a new vacuum. Naturally it would be a different one. One with better batteries.

Technology in the Desert

I helped keep runners safe at the Salt Flats Endurance Run held earlier this month. It is something I do every year as it combines off-road driving with ham radio. For some reason crazy people enjoy running out in the desert and a select group of people go out and help make sure they stay safe. Interestingly enough, I think the volunteers outnumber the runners two or three to one. I should try and figure that out next year.

Normally my wife and I drive out to Aid Station 6 and set up camp for the day. We bring lots of drinks and food to help fuel the runners. Once we are done, we drive back the way we came over a very rough road that requires high-clearance vehicles. The runners continue on a trail that we can't follow as per Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rules. It takes us about 45 minutes to make the drive to Aid Station 5, which also happens to be Aid Station 7. There we wait for all the runners to safely make it in. This year we didn't have to.

In the past we have waited as our vehicles might be needed to get as close to the runners as possible before having to continue on foot. This year the radio crew at Aid Station 5/7 had a new toy: a drone. Instead of driving out a mile or two and hiking to look for lost runners, they could send a drone equipped with a camera as well as night vision. That allowed us to leave at a reasonable hour of 9pm and get home by 1am. Previous years has had us sticking around until midnight or later. That makes for a long day.

This year we hung around for a few minutes and then made the lengthy drive back to the start/finish line. We dropped off all of our extra food and some of the remnants of the runners' drop bags that we brought out to our aid station. While checking out with the race officials, we could hear on the radio the happenings at Aid 5/7 and the status of the last runner, slowly making his way to them. We knew he would take time as he barely made it to our aid station before the mandatory cutoff time. They sent the drone to locate him and did so as the marvelous piece of technology reached its maximum range before needing to return or risk running out of battery. On that news, my wife and I jumped into our Jeep Wrangler and drove home. It felt downright luxurious being home by 1am.

Using AI Appropriately

I had the pleasure of helping develop the PlayStation 5 video-game console when I worked in Research and Development at Sony Interactive Entertainment. One of the advantages of the hardware is that the file system is fast enough so it is not necessary to keep multiple copies of digital assets. What does that mean? When you create a virtual world, it is made up of a number of digital assets such as trees, rocks, buildings, or any number of other things we find in the real world. Most of the time, those assets are used over and over again. For the sake of an example, a forest is made up of a lot of trees. There may be only 5 different tree models created for a game and then they are reused many times to give the illusion of a forest. With the PS4, game designers would copy those 5 trees hundreds of times. That isn't necessary on a PS5 as you can have just the 5 tree types and point back to each one on the file system any time you need it. Assuming each tree requires 4KB of memory (an arbitrary value pulled out of thin air) and you have 1000 of each tree in a game, the PS4 would require 4MB for each tree used while the PS5 only needs 4KB. Theoretically PS5 games should be significantly smaller than for other game consoles. This becomes very helpful for games like Red Dead Redemption 2 that required 2 Blu-ray disks for the game. For physical game disks, it saves a bit of money and for digital downloads, they don't take as long to put on your system.

So what does that have to do with using AI appropriately? It boils down to why game developers only make 5 tree models. Most gamers don't slow down and look at every tree in a forest to see if it is different than all the others. So why take the time to create more than 5? If you can throw the problem at a generative AI program, you can let it create hundreds of different trees. This provides a level of uniqueness currently missing in a lot of games. This totally eliminates the benefit of the PS5 over other gaming consoles as its games once again become bloated. The reality is that while the PS5 doesn't require duplication of digital assets doesn't mean game studios are using the feature. You will still find copies of digital assets spread throughout quite a few games. Why not make the games more unique?

I have been thinking about this issue for the past couple of days and came up with another area where the use of AI should be applied. I walked through my kitchen this morning to get myself some breakfast. My floor is a high-quality laminate with a simulated pine surface. While pine is great looking, it is a very soft wood and makes horrible flooring that is easily scratched and dented. Using a high-quality laminate allows it to be almost indestructible yet look beautiful. The downside to a laminate is that there are only about 5 patterns on the boards. They repeat quite often and if you look closely you notice a lot of the boards are the same. The laminate floor company could use AI to create 100 different patterns instead of just 5. This would create a much more unique floor.

Yes these two solutions for generative AI don't seem to be high priority. After all if they were, companies would spend the effort to make their products more unique. The beauty of using AI is that products can become more unique and special without humans having to spend more time making it happen. You will still need those humans to fine-tune what is generated but their time can be spent being creative and not doing repetitive and mundane tasks.