fun

Innovative defense of wireless networks

urig — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 15:37:00 GMT

Pete Stevens' neighbors were "stealing" his wireless internet access. So he decided to secure it in an original fashion.

First he mapped all their web requests to go to KittenWar (danger! high saccharin levels). Then he decided to hook them up to a proxy server that would turn their internet literally on its head:

Here are the technical details :).

Via MonkeyBites.

Barcopedia - Turn your webcam into a barcode scanner

urig — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 20:48:00 GMT

StreetTech just ran an item about a website called LibraryThing. It lets you populate an online catalog of your books by scanning the barcodes on the covers into your computer.

The interesting question is - How do you scan a barcode into a PC and onto the web? Gareth from StreetTech suggests using something called a CueCat. This is an old barcode scanner gadget that was distributed freely to magazine subscribers a few years back (all Wired subscribers received them at some point).

These things are no longer manufactured - the company went bust after it was discovered that the company kept track of what specific users had scanned violating their privacy. Buying a standard barcode scanner like the ones you see at your local supermarket is somewhat expensive (starting at ~100$). Problem.

The solution? Barcopedia! This website connects to your webcam and if you point it at a barcode, it will scan it in real time and give you the full details for the item (provided it's is in their DB of course).

I can tell you I was as excited as a little boy the first time I scanned a book, the website pinged and the details showed up on the screen.

I wonder what other magic can be done to barcodes via Barcopedia and how extensible it is. If it has a decently open API, I can imagine myself cataloging my entire library through their service.

LineRider – When wasting time on the web becomes art

urig — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 21:52:00 GMT

If you think you don't have a life – working hard hours on code, spending your free time on open source projects – you need to take a look at the LineRider phenomena and rethink that.

LineRider (beta!) is flash game, or to follow its inventor more accurately, a flash toy where you draw the two dimensional course for a cute bobsledder. Complete with an amusing implementation gravity and inertia it's a fun way to waste a few minutes online.

Unless, of course, you're insane. You're welcome to go to the LineRider Squidoo Lens to browse through some of the most disturbingly elaborate skiing courses ever built for LineRider. These guys spend what must amount to weeks, if not months, of their time to build ingenious courses that will leave you in awe.

A truly humbling display of when wasting time becomes true art.