Singapore slung
Leaving Singapore, I was again impressed by the tech, but crimped by The Man.
The impressive bit was the free broadband at Changi Airport: not the internet kiosks (though there were those, and they were actually working - take that, Sydney) but the profusion of desks with ethernet jacks and power points. So if you wanted to jump on the internet using your own notebook, you could. Very useful if, like me, you're using the slovenly pig dog that is Lotus Notes, with no web mail option. Or for anyone who wants the security of logging on with their own PC, and none of the cut-down browser nonsense of public kiosks.
Like everywhere nowadays (even, finally, Auckland), there was free wi-fi in the business lounges - but this faster, cabled broadband was public, gratis for the great unwashed. Nice.
Drown the pilot
Shortly after, I got crimped at the final security check. My hand luggage was searched and the bottle of water I bought just meters away at the airport convenience store was confiscated. I had unwittingly violated the new rules about carrying liquids onboard, almost undermining the War on Terror. Next time I'll know to only buy one of the liquids that travellers are still allowed, such as duty-free alcohol (a bottle of which is not only highly flammable, facts fans, but can be broken in half to create a weapon that's a whole bunch more exciting than a pair of nail clippers).
Handbags at 10 paces
Speaking of terror, Peter Gutmann has finally responded to US bloggers George Ou and Ed Bott, who so ferociously (and in Ou's case, emotionally) attacked the Auckland Uni researcher's theory about Vista security undermining performance. Start following the flame trail here.
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Comments
I wonder how lucky I was or unlucky you where Chris.
As we went thru Sydney airport back in July/August of this year (From NZ although) & the Customs officers never ask me to start up my laptop, only to take it out of the laptop bag (Which is normal at any airport)
[I always seem to get singled out for spot checks. At Sydney I had to start my laptop, and my hands were checked for bomb-making residue. At San Francisco airport I was picked to stand in a perspex box - sort of like a see-through telephone box, whereupon air was blasted onto me at high pressure. Again, it was a bomb residue test. I jumped in alarm, and all the customers officers cracked up. A phone threat against the flight - from San Fran to Auckland, then meant everybody had to be de-planed, and all the luggage taken off. Four hours later it didn't seem so funny. The call was rapidly identified as a hoax, but the FBI decided to go through with excercise anyway. - CK]
Posted by: stu161204 | October 3, 2007 3:52 PM
If you need help sorting out your "slovenly pig dog" Lotus Notes and getting it to run properly, or advice for your network admin on how to get Domino Webmail running securely, just let me know.
[Alas our MIS manager wouldn't let us use the webmail function. We do have someone new in the position however, so I'll let him know your details ... you're very welcome to convince him that it can be done securely. Mainly, though, I think Notes is a pig do because it's soooo slow. We've had a crowd in to optimise our server. But if anything, it's crawling even slower, taking years to open the smallest attachment. I've actually taken to sneaking around and getting people to send attachments to my webmail address. Much, much faster over the same connection. - CK]
Posted by: Mike Burford | October 2, 2007 10:11 PM
What's even better is the stuff they take off you at airports is crushed and then incinerated, unusual treatment for what is suspected to be a bomb
[I also like the way the Customs officers at Sydney often ask you to start your notebook. Presumably this is to prove it has a genuine battery and not plastic explosive inside ... but, boy, I wouldn't want to be queuing nearby if the latter was the case - CK]
Posted by: james | October 2, 2007 6:10 PM
Sorry to hear about the bad experience Chris. :( What you could do though (which we tried and worked) is empty the bottle before you go through the security checks, and fill it up again after that. I don't know about S'pore, but in Melbourne there were certainly drinking posts around the boarding/waiting area where you can fill up your bottle. Tada!! :)
Posted by: Edmund | October 2, 2007 10:15 AM