Tube delays light display

Tracy Tsang, an MA student at Middlesex University sent an email recently to let me know that she is using the my London Underground tube delays RSS feed to activate a piece of hardware, which she calls “The Tube”, to display line status information via LEDs in a plastic tube. This forms part of her MA thesis.

The Tube shows all the lines on the London Underground that are currently running with delays. The strip with corresponding colour is lit up using LEDs as the data is received from the TFL website.

Having checked site logs the other day, I realise that this RSS feed is actually the most popular thing on this site. Has anyone else done anything interesting with it? Answers on a postcard (or email) please.

[Background sample courtesy of Real Rhodes Sounds, from The Freesound Project]

I don’t really understand any of this, but I don’t think Mr. T does either, so at least I’m in good company.

I’ve posted some (blurred as usual) pictures of some vintage computer gaming equipment taken while on a recent visit to London’s Science Museum for the excellent Game On exhibition of the history, technology and culture of computer games.

If you’re into old computer gear (and hey, who isn’t?) it’s worth a visit if you get a chance.

Until today (January the 7th 2007), in aid of the housing charity Shelter, Tom Baker has been providing the voice for this robot, and thus the voice of all mobile to landline SMS messages within the UK.

This has led to people all over the place texting landlines so that their friends answer the phone to hear the familiar voice of Baker, who is currently the narrator of the hugely popular Little Britain, and formerly played the role of Doctor Who, say something like “Hello, this is the Doctor, it is imperative that you put the kettle on immediately!”

This website uses this feature to hilarious ends, the best bits being the jokes section and bakaraoke – where you can hear the man himself “sing”.

In fact, BT have collaborated with the site to produce a charity single [free preview available] of “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks. It may make tea or coffee come out your nose (if you are drinking such a drink when you listen to it).

An Ulster used car dealer has had his dodgy cordless phone confiscated after airline pilots were entertained by “Arthur Daley-style banter about makes and prices of used cars”, The Daily Mirror reports.

Skyjockeys cruising at 25,000 feet through the Dean Cross air traffic sector – extending from Manchester to central Scotland – had been picking up “snippets of conversation” since last year, leading to concerns that haggling over used Ford Mondeos might “block out vital instructions from controllers on the ground”.

[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/28/dodgy_cordless_phone/]

Gary McKinnon would get smoked up, fire up a perl script that scanned for blank admin passwords for machines with publically available military IP addresses, and then log onto the boxes with a VNC-style application and snoop around. Hardly hacking, but that hasn’t stopped the United States calling it the “Biggest hack of all time”

He even explained in an interview with the BBC that while he was logged onto the machines he could see plenty of people from around the world “hacking” in with blank passwords.

Instead of thanking him for exposing the shockingly awful security on machines that, the military claim, are full of information that could threaten the security of their country, the Americans instead called up London and demanded he be extradited to America.

In the past this would have required the Americans to present actual evidence in a UK court before getting their hands on someone, but not anymore. Thanks to a treaty to deal with those evil-doing terrorists, America can get anyone they want extradited from the UK, simply by lodging a request. Of course, this is not a reciprocal agreement, and so the UK must still present evidence in an American court if, God forbid, they want to have someone brought the other direction across the pond.

While there has been great interest among technologists in the UK, in a large part due to the fact that this wasn’t even a real hacker, just someone who got onto machines that some idot in the US military left without passwords, the media has generally taken the line that he is a dangerous man akin to Magneto from the X-Men. The same media has now taken up the cause of three Natwest bankers who are being extradited to America to face trial for alledgedly being involved in the Enron scandal.

Still, even if the terrorists are still coming to get us, at least we’re safe from computer hobbyists and accountants, phew!

They: Hello, am I speaking to Mister Keegan please?
I: Yes, speaking.

They: Hello Mister Keegan, my name is Kylie, I’m calling from XXXXX Bank, this is a service call.
I: I see.

They: In order to talk about your account I just need some personal details, can you tell me your date of birth please?
I: What?

They: Can you tell me your date of birth please? Otherwise we can’t talk about your account.
I: Well, no I can’t!

They: Otherwise we can’t talk about your account.
I: But…you rang me, I have no idea who you are? Surely I’d be mad to give out personal information to somebody who just phones me up out of the blue.

They: But I’m calling from your bank.
I: How do I know that? You rang me. Haven’t you heard of identity theft, how do I know you’re not someone trying to get access to my bank account by asking me the very questions my bank would ask you if you rang them claiming to be me?

They: Well, my name is Kylie, you can phone me back, my number is XXXX XXX XXXX. That isn’t the branch number, but I am located at your branch, so you can come in and see me and verify my identity.
I: Why would I do that? Is there a problem with my account?

They: No Mister Keegan, but I can’t really discuss that with you unless you answer some personal questions to verify your identity.
I: No thanks.

They: Okay then Mister Keegan, thanks for your time, I hope we can serve you again soon.

And so the call ended. I am none the wiser.