kwiens

18 ms·

121.
by kwiens 14y ago
The test covers a variety of topics, and you don't need to get anywhere close to a perfect score. And it really covers the basics: misspellings, usage of to vs two, etc. This is about basic communication, not pedantry.
122.
by kwiens 14y ago
I've hired last minute applicants, too, so I understand where you're coming from. We are very happy to make exceptions to the policy in situations like that. We've hired dyslexic people who have worked out brilliantly. Candidates that don
123.
How iFixit Bootstrapped Their Way To $4 Million In Sales(mixergy.com)
2 points by kwiens 15y ago|0 comments
124.
by kwiens 15y ago
What, you mean for all the other devices we take apart that regularly phone home to their manufacturer, who would show up at a moment's notice in a black helicopter to put an immediate halt to our technical analysis? Of course! We have to b
125.
by kwiens 15y ago
I don't know, but perhaps an RF engineer could weigh in given the frequency and transmission power.
126.
by kwiens 15y ago
We have not—I had limited time with the device at Wired's office. We powered it on and used a frequency analyzer on it, but that was the extent of our investigation. We were concerned that black helicopters might show up if we left it on to
127.
by kwiens 15y ago
For the manufacturer, maybe. But then you have to factor in bribes to the federal procurement officers and junkets to Atlantic City to land the contract, and then medical payments for the workers who burned themselves hand-soldering resisto
128.
by kwiens 15y ago
Sure, just transmit stronger white noise on 433.92 MHz. I haven't looked up who owns that frequency and whether there are restrictions. Or get a GPS blocker. Which I think are illegal to operate.
129.
by kwiens 15y ago
I don't know the answer to either of these questions. It appeared to be a standard GPS receiver, but some investigation would reveal whether the manufacturer supports military mode. http://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:7hhk_GsNmTQ
130.
by kwiens 15y ago
Correct. There's specs on the short-range transmitter here: http://xemics.com/docs/xe1200/xe1201evk_userguide.pdf Now this is an old device, and they very well might be using cell phone transmitters now.
131.
by kwiens 15y ago
Yeah, that was the first thing I noticed. Some of the solder joints look rather suspect.
132.
by kwiens 15y ago
I had to drill it open. There's a video of the process here: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/gps-video/ Re: software—we linked to the reference design, which includes a lot of information about the software. There should be plent
133.
by kwiens 15y ago
This story gives background on Karen Thomas, the environmental activist who was tracked by the device. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/gps/ The FBI demanded the device back and she said no. Amazingly, that was the end of the sto
134.
by kwiens 15y ago
I did the teardown, and I'm a regular hacker news reader. I'll answer any questions for the next hour or so.
135.
by kwiens 15y ago
They're not cheap, either. They cost us $25 EACH plus a $10 Hazmat shipping fee.
136.
by kwiens 16y ago
The source for "Pentalobe security screws" is Apple's internal service manual, which is not publicly available. The tamper-resistant goal is evident from the context. You'll either have to trust me on that or find an Apple authorized techni