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I wasn't sure what you were talking about, with respect to the other side of the story, but after searching ran across this article: http://blogs.artvoice.com/

I wasn't sure what you were talking about, with respect to the other side of the story, but after searching ran across this article: http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engineering-ahmed-mohameds-clock-and-ourselves/ http://blogs.artvoice.com/techvoice/2015/09/17/reverse-engin... Not sure how I missed it, but if anyone else did as well, it really looks like he just moved the guts of an old clock into a new casing. He didn't really design any circuitry at all.

mcphage 11y ago
> it really looks like he just moved the guts of an old clock into a new casing. He didn't really design any circuitry at all He's 14 years old and learning electronics—I'm not sure what light this sheds on anything?
- fleitz 11y ago
  It sheds light on the issue in that his parents likely orchestrated the whole thing.
  - Ollinson 11y ago
    It's unfortunate that the "hoax" label on this clock story is being considered by some a conspiracy theory. All it takes is 15 minute to look into the political history of the kids father and the nature of the clock that he "built" to realize something is amiss.
    - fleitz 11y ago
      Yeah, his father is certainly a very savvy man, no doubt about that. I do think even orchestrated the police took it a little far, however, probably not $15m far.
  - mcphage 11y ago
    So this is your argument? 1. He got a bit overexcited about his electronic puttering. 2. something goes here 3. It must be a scam. I'm not sure what goes in the blank for you, but man, it must be a doozy.
    - robwilliams 11y ago
      That's not his argument at all; he's claiming that his parents orchestrated it, not that he "got a bit overexcited." The internals of another clock were put into a box. That's not electronic puttering.
      - mcphage 11y ago
        > The internals of another clock were put into a box. That's not electronic puttering. Then maybe you're a lot better at electronics than I am, but that would have qualified for me when I was 14.
        robwilliams 11y ago
        You don't think his talk about soldering and "inventing" is a little suspicious considering what he actually did? Unscrew the back of a clock and put it in a box?
        mcphage 11y ago
        > You don't think his talk about soldering and "inventing" is a little suspicious considering what he actually did? Well, first off: you don't know what he actually did unless you see it up close. A couple of grainy photos won't show much. And secondly: No, absolutely not. Unequivocally not.
    - fleitz 11y ago
      Bomb in a briefcase is a common movie trope, since most people's working knowledge of explosives and bombs comes from movies it's reasonable to assume that an older style clock in a metal briefcase like they do in movies would be interpreted by a few people as a bomb, especially those in positions of authority who view everything that isn't 'normal' as a problem. Obviously Ahmed was aware enough of this to try to make the briefcase look less suspicious by wrapping it in wires which is generally how I try to make electronics in a brief case less suspicious. A few years ago in the winter I had an issue with the electronics in my car so coming home from Reno, I pulled the climate control panel out of my car so I could manually connect the wires to make the heat go. I ended up going across the border like this, and ended up explaining to the border guard the wiring of the car to assure her that nothing was amiss. The border guards suspicions were naturally raised because most people don't even know how to pull the panel out let alone jerry rig their own climate control system.
ameen 11y ago
That's how people learn things, by tinkering with existing stuff. Had the media not picked up this story, this kid would've been warned to stay away from doing such stuff, essentially killing any motivation he would've had. Hackers hack things, most of the time on things that exist.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
Yeah well, fuck it. I'm officially done with controversies on the Internet. I thought I was done already, but I fell for that one. Hell, I was even considering participating in "build a clock in support of that boy" Hackaday action (job stood in the way). That's why I keep complaining about manipulative and lying media. It really fucks up our society. Thanks for posting the link. It's really good.
- stillsut 11y ago
  WOAH, You just saw someone just changed their mind based on new evidence. Didn't realize that happend IRL. But why are such important details left out of every media account? For the clockmaker sympathizers: What educational value is gained by taking an exisitng clock out of its normal casing?

mcphage 11y ago

> it really looks like he just moved the guts of an old clock into a new casing. He didn't really design any circuitry at all He's 14 years old and learning electronics—I'm not sure what light this sheds on anything?

fleitz 11y ago
It sheds light on the issue in that his parents likely orchestrated the whole thing.
- Ollinson 11y ago
  It's unfortunate that the "hoax" label on this clock story is being considered by some a conspiracy theory. All it takes is 15 minute to look into the political history of the kids father and the nature of the clock that he "built" to realize something is amiss.
  - fleitz 11y ago
    Yeah, his father is certainly a very savvy man, no doubt about that. I do think even orchestrated the police took it a little far, however, probably not $15m far.
- mcphage 11y ago
  So this is your argument? 1. He got a bit overexcited about his electronic puttering. 2. something goes here 3. It must be a scam. I'm not sure what goes in the blank for you, but man, it must be a doozy.
  - robwilliams 11y ago
    That's not his argument at all; he's claiming that his parents orchestrated it, not that he "got a bit overexcited." The internals of another clock were put into a box. That's not electronic puttering.
    - mcphage 11y ago
      > The internals of another clock were put into a box. That's not electronic puttering. Then maybe you're a lot better at electronics than I am, but that would have qualified for me when I was 14.
      - robwilliams 11y ago
        You don't think his talk about soldering and "inventing" is a little suspicious considering what he actually did? Unscrew the back of a clock and put it in a box?
        mcphage 11y ago
        > You don't think his talk about soldering and "inventing" is a little suspicious considering what he actually did? Well, first off: you don't know what he actually did unless you see it up close. A couple of grainy photos won't show much. And secondly: No, absolutely not. Unequivocally not.
  - fleitz 11y ago
    Bomb in a briefcase is a common movie trope, since most people's working knowledge of explosives and bombs comes from movies it's reasonable to assume that an older style clock in a metal briefcase like they do in movies would be interpreted by a few people as a bomb, especially those in positions of authority who view everything that isn't 'normal' as a problem. Obviously Ahmed was aware enough of this to try to make the briefcase look less suspicious by wrapping it in wires which is generally how I try to make electronics in a brief case less suspicious. A few years ago in the winter I had an issue with the electronics in my car so coming home from Reno, I pulled the climate control panel out of my car so I could manually connect the wires to make the heat go. I ended up going across the border like this, and ended up explaining to the border guard the wiring of the car to assure her that nothing was amiss. The border guards suspicions were naturally raised because most people don't even know how to pull the panel out let alone jerry rig their own climate control system.

ameen 11y ago

That's how people learn things, by tinkering with existing stuff. Had the media not picked up this story, this kid would've been warned to stay away from doing such stuff, essentially killing any motivation he would've had. Hackers hack things, most of the time on things that exist.

TeMPOraL 11y ago

Yeah well, fuck it. I'm officially done with controversies on the Internet. I thought I was done already, but I fell for that one. Hell, I was even considering participating in "build a clock in support of that boy" Hackaday action (job stood in the way). That's why I keep complaining about manipulative and lying media. It really fucks up our society. Thanks for posting the link. It's really good.

stillsut 11y ago
WOAH, You just saw someone just changed their mind based on new evidence. Didn't realize that happend IRL. But why are such important details left out of every media account? For the clockmaker sympathizers: What educational value is gained by taking an exisitng clock out of its normal casing?