...like magic.

Mr. Pointy said:
If this site about Project Echelon is right most electronic forms of communication are monitored by our beloved governments 😉 - at least for those of us in UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
http://archive.aclu.org/echelonwatch/faq.html

You're spot on about the cell phone triangulation as well KD. I believe this is regularly used by the police in the UK to find people (obviously with the co-operation of the mobile networks). I'm not sure if it would be at all easy for someone outside the industry...
Click to expand...

Ya, Echelon is a bit nervous-making (he said in a gross understatement). And you could triangulate from outside, but it would require lotsa equipment and lotsa math knowledge...for the obsessed only, for sure!
 
No. No. Jacklyn. We're supposed to ask and learn I think. That's the idea of the thread (I'm supposing).

It's kind of like when Conan O'Brian used to appear on Martha Steward's show.

We the technology challenged are playing the part of Conan. High tech knowledged types like KD and Happy are playing Martha (You just have to pretend Martha knows about stuff like tapping phones, and laser weapons - which; who knows?)
 
I think Martha Stewart would be happy to just have a supply of phone cards, gum and cigs about now - or has she been released yet?😉
 
Mr. Pointy said:
I think Martha Stewart would be happy to just have a supply of phone cards, gum and cigs about now - or has she been released yet?😉
Click to expand...

I figure she'll be wanting one of those nifty laser weapons Happy was talking about...you know, to dig a trench...for her asparagus plants, or something like that...maybe to escape becoming some 300lb inmate's b***h...whatever!

Jacklyn: If you see someting you know about, or want to know more about, chime in, by all means...I sure as heck don't know it all (even if I seem to act that way...) and Happy and n4h have pulled up my socks a couple of times!
 
Ok, I did my research on telephones and the voltages they use. A telephone signal is 48 volts DC...that is like a battery' power. Actually it is powered by batteries! Somewhere in your phone system is a huge number of batteries, that are charged by incoming power from power lines. This power is converted to direct current and stored in the batteries for use on the phone lines. If the power is interrupted, the system runs off the batteries, but only for a couple of hours...then they need to be recharged. The phone company will start up a couple of huge generators that run on diesel, which will provide the needed power to charge the batteries. So, there is a 48 volt charge on your phone lines, and the current is very low, so no risk of damage there. Just be careful in a storm...Lightning is a danger thru any wires!
 
Now that's something I did not know; about the phone system needing batteries and such. I always thought of it (if I even did think of it) as some kind of magic energy source that just flowed through the telephone wires independent of electricity.

It shows how close we are to complete technological collapse. When the electricity dies, you always think, "Oh well, I've still got the phone". Two hours after the diesels run out of fuel, and we're completely alone. Apocalypse. Scary. ::fire::

Hey KD I have another question for you.

It concerns another thread I was just reading on the board about leaving your computer on, or turning it off. I don't get the impression they're interested in the mechanical side of the question. I Am though, so I thought I'd ask you about it.

I've heard it described both ways:

* A computer is like a refrigerator. It's better for the machine to leave it on. Otherwise you get cooling and reheating issues.

or

*Nah, a computer is like a television set; turn it off, turn it on - no problems.

Which one is correct?
 
I've heard both things said about PC's as well. I'm not sure which is right but I'd guess the "leave it on" option - something to do with starting and stopping of hard disk drives I think. KD - what's the answer, my learned friend?
 
Mr. Pointy said:
I've heard both things said about PC's as well. I'm not sure which is right but I'd guess the "leave it on" option - something to do with starting and stopping of hard disk drives I think. KD - what's the answer, my learned friend?
Click to expand...

Well, long ago, when computers were made of stone knives and bearskins, I took a very intensive programming course...I learned such useful languages as COBOL, FORTRAN, and BASIC...oh yeah, and PASCAL. Included in the course was a half day seminar on personal computers (!). At the time, the tech guy went over tech stuff. He explained that the way pc's boot up is equivalent to starting your car, then turning on the heater full blast, then turning it off, doing the same to your radio, windshield wipers, and every other system in your car, along with revving the engine to redline...all before driving away at a normal speed! His take was that any testing of the harddrive etc was unnecessary, and he advocated preventing that at boot up. Unfortunately, with the way operating systems work now, that is possible, but is seldom used...my knowledge about this part is sketchy (booting up, etc, on "newer" machines) and no one I know messes with factory systems. Yes, harddrives can fail if they are booted too many times...the actual data can be "smeared" because of the way data is stored and retrieved...magnetically. The reader can mess up the data...this is becoming less frequent, but it does happen. Thus, computers in the workplace (mine, anyway) are left on unless power to the whole area is killed...these are industrial computers, and they run lotsa machines, so they want 'em ready to go...and we get to test the machines when we repair or tune them up too! They do have security to prevent unauthourized access...most of the time...and screen savers to prevent "burning in" of images on a monitor that don't change...screws up your monitor something fierce...burns out the pixels...For the recreational home user, the full boot is probably ok...there's most likely nothing on a home machine that can't be reloaded, or recovered, and turning them off is ok. Work stuff...different kettle, different fish. I guess that depends on the operation, its backup system, security, and how critical the data is! Also, if the company buys the better models, they will have more robust components...better fans, able to take 24/7 operation. Home machines might not take that kind of abuse! Home security should be a concern, but I'm sounding textbookish, and I'm not up on security, except that routers are the bomb...so I'm told. So, the answer is pick what you want, depending on the machine's use...I turn my home one off to keep down the annoying fan noise and high frequency humming from the monitor!

Oh, yeah, heating! Hey N4H! Howzit? Yeah, your main chip has a heatsink attached to it, because the chips get "hella hot" (just channeled Soulgasm there 🙂). If the chip heats and cools and heats and cools, eventually the sink will lose its ability to pull heat away from the chip, and the chip will overheat and start to act erratically, or fail. Bad. Or the fan will die from being turned on and off with the same result...even a small fan draws 6 times its own running power in a surge at startup...eventually it will get a short in the windings! The manufacturers hope you will trash your computer before this happens...it should really take years...we still have 486 machines at work that happily run all the time! But you should still buy uncheap components whenevr possible! Better warranty if they fail, and more reliable when they don't.

And don't worry about the phone company's diesel supply...Bell here in London ON, has a HUGE underground tank for its diesel...my bud Larry worked there putting in some systems, and they have weeks worth of the stuff! While civilization collapses, we'll be able to call for help!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom