Author: Ed Felten
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OLPC Review Followup
Last week’s review of the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) machine by twelve-year-old “SG” was one of our most-commented-upon posts ever. Today I want to follow up on a few items. First, the machine I got for SG was the B2 (Beta 2) version of the OLPC system, which is not the latest. Folks from…
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Sony-BMG Sues Maker of Bad DRM
Major record company Sony-BMG has sued the company that made some of the dangerous DRM (anti-copying) software that shipped on Sony-BMG compact discs back in 2005, according to an Antony Bruno story in Billboard. Longtime Freedom to Tinker readers will remember that back in 2005 Sony-BMG shipped CDs that opened security holes and invaded privacy…
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More California E-Voting Reports Released; More Bad News
Yesterday the California Secretary of State released the reports of three source code study teams that analyzed the source code of e-voting systems from Diebold, Hart InterCivic, and Sequoia. Diebold systems Hart InterCivic systems Sequoia systems All three reports found many serious vulnerabilities. It seems likely that computer viruses could be constructed that could infect…
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Where are the California E-Voting Reports?
I wrote Monday about the California Secretary of State’s partial release of report from the state’s e-voting study. Four subteams submitted reports to the Secretary, but as yet only the “red team” and accessibility teams’ reports have been released. The other two sets of reports, from the source code review and documentation review teams, are…
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California Study: Voting Machines Vulnerable; Worse to Come?
A major study of three e-voting systems, commissioned by the California Secretary of State’s office, reported Friday that all three had multiple serious vulnerabilities. The study examined systems from Diebold, Hart InterCivic, and Sequoia; each system included a touch-screen machine, an optical-scan machine, and the associated backend control and tabulation machine. Each system was studied…
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DRM for Chargers: Possibly Good for Users
Apple has filed a patent application on a technology for tethering rechargeable devices (like iPods) to particular chargers. The idea is that the device will only allow its batteries to be recharged if it is connected to an authorized charger. Whether this is good for consumers depends on how a device comes to be authorized.…
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Why No Phoneless iPhone?
I know the iPhone is like so last week, but I want to ask one more question about it: why does Apple insist on users registering for an AT&T account? Officially at least, you have to agree to a two-year contract with AT&T cellular before you can activate your iPhone, even if you will never…
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Exploiting Online Games
Exploiting Online Games, a book by Gary McGraw and Greg Hoglund, is being released today. The book talks concretely about security problems and attacks on online games. This is a fascinating laboratory for exploring security issues. I wrote the book’s foreword. Here it is: It’s wise to learn from your mistakes. It’s wiser still to…
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Why Did Universal Threaten to Pull Out of iTunes?
Last week brought news that Universal Music, the world’s largest record company, was threatening to pull its music from Apple’s iTunes Music Store. Why would Universal do this? The obvious answer is that the companies are renegotiating their contract and Universal wants to get the best deal they can. Threatening to walk is one way…
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Princeton's Center for IT Policy Seeks Associate Director
The Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton, of which I am Director, is looking to hire an Associate Director. Here’s a description of the job: The Associate Director’s job will be to serve as a core organizer and evangelist for the Center. Working with the existing Center leadership,the Associate Director will help to orient,…