Scott's Blog

The One Laptop Per Child ( OLPC ) project has an interesting take on building security for the laptop. Here is my list of why the OLPC is especially vulnerable to security issues. 100's of millions of these near identical laptops will be produced, making it a target for crackers. The OLPC group want the child to be able to hack their own laptops, get right down to the code. Some of the children are going to be very young, entering a password or even replying to dialog prompts may be asking too much. These devices automatically connect to each other and automatically connect to the Internet. So what will they be doing to improve security? They have a system called Bitfrost , which comes from Norse mythology, where Bitfröst is the bridge which keeps mortals who live in Midgard from venturing into Asgrad, the realm of the gods. Nearly all programs running on the laptop will be running in a fortified chroot, sort of like BSD jail. Programs will store their data on a new object oriente...

I think I've been vindicated when I said that the Sony PS3 would be a failure. The main issue with the console was the insistence of putting a BluRay player on the device. I think it shows how there's an organizational/cultural problem at Sony. They insist on putting an expensive add-on to the game simply to satisfy some people in the media division of the company. The BluRay player does nothing to improve the gaming experience and in fact it a little slower than a fast DVD player. The rationalization was that some people would by the PS3 just for the BluRay player . And maybe, they might buy a game too. What kind of game do you sell to someone who doesn't really want to play games? In a related note you can buy the PS3 with Linux pre-installed . Although that's really neat, it means there's one more reason to buy a PS3 and not play games! Every current PS3 sold is sold at a loss. The only way Sony can recoup that money lost is by the licensing money from P...