When is 3G, like No-G?

When you have a weak signal, caused by being in the wrong place, electrical interference or a downed nearby tower.

I am an AT&T subscriber, and am deliriously happy with the AT&T AirCard I’ve been testing:

• Plug-and-play operation (the software to connect is stored on a flash drive in the device).
• Immediate access to either Wi-Fi or GSM (cell) with no login (the card identifies itself to the networks).
• Reasonable management of Wi-Fi configurations (you know .. those painful WEP and WPA keys).
• Cool feature: you can stuff a MicroSD into the device and store connectivity goo (configurations and files) directly on the device).

However .. it doesn’t quite have the stones to say: “I have an incredibly weak signal .. you should stop trying to get to the InterWebs using me”.

I’m certain the bandwidth is (on average) 1.5mbps .. however, if if packet failures (due to connection or interference errors) exist, they must be re-sent:

• If half of the packets fail, you’re at an effective download / transfer rate of 750 mbps (not too shabby).
• If three-quarters of the packets fail, you’re at an effective download / transfer rate of 375 mbps (decent).
• If 90% of the packets fail, you’re at an effective download / transfer rate of 135mbps (reasonable .. back in the stone age, we called this DSL).

So, when is 3G really 3G? Well, it depends:

• You have good cell coverage (more ‘bars’).
• You’re in a low-traffic area (the more folks who log onto a tower the more folks .. which can include you .. get kicked off).
• The algorithm on the wireless card seamlessly reconnects you should you get bumped (on a call, you get dropped .. but for Internet browsing and email synching, Nirvana is only a retry away).

Ready to try it? I was (and am glad). Is it worth the cost? Do the math. Consider:

• Hotel rooms that charge $10 (or more) for a 24-hour period of Internet access. Three or four nights, and you’re even.
• Coffee shops or wireless providers that charge $30 (less, or more) per month for the service .. then you have to find one of those providers (it’s not impossible, but when in a pinch, delays are significant stressors). Pay for one month .. you’re halfway there.
• The inherent security risks of Wi-Fi Roguing (how do you know you didn’t just connect to a hacker-controlled honey pot? Pick up just one virus ..

Last but not least .. most important, actually: productivity losses when you’re offline. Yes: we can all survive when we’re disconnected. We can work offline, or send bits from our mobiles. However, I have encountered enough times where I needed to send something .. having connectivity would just have been easier.

I reference AT&T herein. They were the folks smart enough to loan me the card. With their return policy (read the fine print carefully), an AirCard is worth a try, especially since it’s on their dime. Other carriers provide the same services .. consider the deals .. read the fine print .. you know the drill.

I Just HAD to Have This Hat

While visiting the University Street Fair, I noticed the unusual May sun building to a bit more heat on my pate than I’d have liked .. having just sunburned there whilst overseas a few months back (generating dandruff-type leavings that clogged my keyboard), I thought it best to cover up.

I started looking around for a frugally-priced baseball cap (well, there is an economic ‘reset’ going on) .. I would have accepted something emblazoned with the word “Mariners”.

No dice.

Then I passed the stand with these .. looked at one price and kept walking.

On the way back, I passed the stand again. Picked one up, held it over my head and looked in the mirror.

I put it back and kept walking.

I actually backtracked after a half-block, returning to the stand. I asked for help to find the right size. The vendor obliged, going to the trouble to find the hat with just the right tilt for “attitude” (like I need any more of that).

Had to have it.

I was briefed: “never pinch” and “always handle the hat by the brim”.

Sending some snaps around, I was able to collect the most fun comments:

• “You’re finally old enough to wear that”.
• “You remind me of my dad” .. and “You look like a dad” (the latter from my son, no less).
• “Pimping” (the woman who cut my hair shortly after the purchase). Piece of work, that one.
• “Just tell them your Jerrold” (one of the snaps was in front of a Subway sign .. I fixed the exposure on one of the images for this post, intended to remove that bit of the corporate-ness of the other image.
• “Dapper” (talking to myself on the walk back home .. followed by “damn it”).

What do you think? Don’t be shy: I need a way to ensure I’ll stay humble.

When Will Credit Card Issuers Learn About Online Fraud?

I have my doubts if ever.

Back in 2007, I posted “Subjunctive Identity Theft .. From American Express?”, citing a real-world case where American Express had identified suspicious activity on my account and left me a voice mail message with an 800 number to call.

Upon calling, the first thing the operator requests is my account number. Are you kidding me?

Seems Bank of America hasn’t learned either. I traveled abroad recently and used my Visa for a purchase. This triggered a ‘suspicious activity’ alert (reasonable, as I was obviously out of country). I get a nice email, the gist of which is:

We detected irregular activity on your Bank of America Credit Card on 05/14/2009. For your protection, you must verify this activity before you can continue using your card.

What can I do? Well, I can call a US 800 number (collect .. but would still cost airtime or hotel surcharges), or I can visit a web site:

http://www.bankofamerica.com/myfraudprotection

Where the first thing they ask of you is to provide your credit card number:

Wake up, gang .. you didn’t fool me, but you’ll get some folks.

Elsewhere in the email, they say:

Want to confirm this email is from Bank of America? Sign in to Online Banking and select Alerts History to verify this alert.

Then, I notice their last time login beacon for me is incorrect (it’s over six months old .. kids, I pay bills with Bank of America .. and I’m not six months late on any bills). So, is it the real site, or not? One last check. I open my account, and voila: no alerts when I log in and no alert history link to click.

So, what’s going on? Both Firefox and IE display a tidy green fill when the real Bank of America site is opened:

But, not so much on the http://www.bankofamerica.com/myfraudprotection site .. first of all, it redirects to https://myfraudprotection.bankofamerica.com/Welcome.aspx (redirects are always suspicious), and notice how there’s no green flood anymore?

Further, when you mouse over the security icon in Firefox, you get:

The site is verified by VeriSign and your connection is encrypted. But is it really Bank of America? See the “(unknown)”? Is this an unknown (to VeriSign) web hosting company, or has Bank of America simply not verified the site with VeriSign through proper channels? Sure the connection is encrypted, but a certificate for connection encryption isn’t that hard to get.

If you started reading this post thinking it was a statement of insecurity on the Internet, please understand: that’s how I intended it. However, either Bank of America has done something really, really stupid in the eyes of the non-trusting public, or the site is bogus, pointing to a server within their firewall that has been compromised.

I think I’ll watch the papers for a few days .. in the interim, I’m going to sit on hold for a while tomorrow when I get to the office .. will let you know what I learn.

Jeez. I go away for a week .. and we build a campus mall?!?

Nobody tells me anything these daze.

I step out of town for a week, and voila, we have a mall!

This is all part of our new West Campus (created after tearing down shorter buildings a few years ago).

There are 14 restaurants and shops in the new mall and a soccer field to “boot“.

The non-mall part of these buildings will house the Entertainment and Devices division.

Re-reading some internal threads, there is a pub in the mall .. around which there has been much drama.

The pub will serve beer and wine after 3pm, or as part of catered events.

It will even be open during lunch hours for, well, lunch.

I hear of subdued opening ceremonies (no, Bono won’t be in attendance).

Seattle Times: “Microsoft workers get their very own mall, The Commons, on corporate campus”.

Back from Moscow

 Amazing trip.

Thanks to my SEBT colleagues in Moscow for great meetings this past week in Russia.

It was a highly successful visit, connecting with all the right people in the government and VC community.

Long story short: these are some incredible people; really smart folks, with whom I engaged.

I am honored to have been accepted into their midst.

Certainly, not all work and no play .. I had time to do a few walkabouts.

Time for lots and lots of pictures.

My hotel was a block from the Kremlin, in the heart of of the shopping district, right in the center of town.

Seriously in the center of town .. check out the Metro (METPO) map; my stop was dead center, at the intersection of the red and green lines; my station name starts with OXO (click the image for a larger version).

I was glad I bought a new coat for the trip, and that I had a hat and gloves.

A scarf would have been a welcome addition .. stylish, to boot.

I got quite adept riding the Moscow Metro system to get most everywhere I needed to go.

The key for me was noting the first three (Cyrillic) letters of the last stop (to ensure I was on a train going in the right direction) .. reach out to me (opsan@opsan.com) if you find yourself traveling. Happy to assist.

Despite excellent directions (Metro only gets you to the target stop .. not to places above-ground), I did get lost once; just once.

That said, I feel you never really know a city until you’re lost in it 😛

I couldn’t have asked for nicer weather, albeit a bit cold. Nice and clear, as you’ll see from the pictures.

Three things that surprised me about Moscow:

• Pineapple. It was everywhere: at every breakfast, in sauces and as garnish for dishes. I’m guessing that as it’s a great source of Vitamin C, and oranges don’t grow in the climate, that it’s a treat, yet a dietary staple. Other Tropical or “down-under” fruits made an appearance: Kiwi, Papaya, Mango. My guess: Cuba and the need to avoid Scurvy.
• The employee-to-customer ratio. In every business I observed, there were receptionists, waiters, managers .. plenty of folks to take care of customers. Most weren’t very busy; there were lots of paperback novels and Sudoku books to be found .. but they were definitely on duty.
• Even with such over-staffed conditions, service wasn’t very good, even at the nicer places I visited. Umm .. it was downright bad, actually.

Some links:

• The SportsDo track of my walk around the Kremlin.
• English version of the Kremlin home page.
• The Best of Russia Kremlin page.
• My Windows Live Slideshow of Moscow Pictures.

Kids made out like bandits; I brought Cassie a Matryoshka doll, t-shirts and Cossack hats for Connor, Conner and Hunter.