Thirsty Rock

Troubled by a distinct decline in the computer skills of A level students applying for a seat in the Computer Science department at Cambridge University, Eden Upton and colleagues set out to build a low cost, bare-bones computer in the hope of stimulating interest in programming. In January 2012 the Raspberry Pi will be on sale for as little at $20. Based on a 700 MHz ARM processor, this little Linux computer sports a USB port, 128 MB of RAM and HDMI interface. Targeted at teenagers the computer can play Blu-ray-quality videos and a host of other multimedia content. Only the imagination limits the possibilities gifted to programmers by the Raspberry. Developing countries should take advantage of the low cost of procurement and ownership. Rural internet cafes are financially feasible as most of the expensive components (e.g. workstations, routers, back-haul radios) can be replaced with the computing power of the Raspberry and other open source hardware devices such as software

In mid February 2011 the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) published a new standard for data transmission using electricity lines. This technology has potential to convert the electricity grid into one large high speed IP network. Networking products that fully comply with IEEE 1901 will deliver data rates in excess of 500 Mbps in LAN applications. In first-mile/last-mile applications, IEEE 1901-compliant devices will achieve ranges of up to 1,500 meters. The technology specified by IEEE 1901 uses sophisticated modulation techniques to transmit data over standard AC power lines of any voltage at transmission frequencies of less than 100 MHz. In the transportation sector, for example, the standard’s data rates and range make it possible to deliver A/V entertainment to the seats of airplanes, trains and other mass transit vehicles. Electric vehicles can download a new entertainment playlist to the A/V system while the car is charging overnight. In the home,

There are zillions of theories out there as to what constitutes a mobile payment. IMHO the infographic below is the best attempt (so far) to tell it as it is. The most important mobile payment infographic. Ever. Compliments of MobilePaymentsToday.com

At the end of July 2011 MTN Mobile Money announced the launch of payD, an on-line payment service. Using encrypted channels, payD allows bank customers to effect electronic payments with PIN-protected cards. A rogue IMSI catcher , masquerading as a GSM base station, can entice mobile phones in the vicinity to camp to its stronger signal and exposing the phone to packet sniffing. Sensitive information could be harvested from the communication session. It is worth noting that plain old SMS messages are not encrypted.

In response to a global epidemic of card skimming and cloning scams, the banking industry replaced magnetic strip cards with Pin and Chip cards. These payment cards host embedded microprocessors which are difficult to clone except by the most determined of criminals. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard strongly recommends switching to these PIN-based cards because of Fort Knox-type security. At the last Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, Karsten Nohl and hardware hacker Christopher Tarnovsky unlocked a heavily fortified chip card similar to those that support the EMV (Europay Mastercard and VISA) standard. Circuitry on the chip was microscopically analysed in conjunction with optical recognition software. A proprietary algorithm on the chip was uncovered allowing hackers to break or clone the card. Degate , a publicly available tool developed to analyse small silicon structures, makes it possible for amateur hackers to dissect smart card chips. It is time for the b

At the end of 2010 44 mobile money initiatives were operational in twenty two (22) countries in Africa. English-speaking countries accounted for 75% of total deployments with East and Southern Africa contributing twenty six (26) installations. Only ten countries (almost entirely from East and Southern Africa) were host to two or more MM operators implying limited competition on the continent. Fundamo , working with MTN , is a significant technology provider powering at least ten sites in 9 countries. Adoption of mobile money services is high in English speaking countries in Africa. Why?