Robin Wilton's esoterica

       
 
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23 Sep · Fri 2005

Flying to the US?


From October 4th 2005 there's a change to the API (Advanced Passenger Information) which passengers have to provide under US immigration rules. API already includes passport number and expiry date. From Oct. 4th it also has to include the traveller's country of residence, and an address for his or her first night's stay. British Airways have said that collecting this data at check-in may cause delays, so is recommending that passengers enter the additional details via its website. Here's their web page on what details are required for which countries. If you've already got a flight booking, you can enter your API data via this page. I'm not sure if that works for non-BA bookings; if you're not flying BA I'd recommend contacting your carrier.
Posted by racingsnake @ 09:19 PM GMT+00:00

The Socks of Terror (part 2)


A couple of weeks ago, I commented on the story of the terrorist socks . As the trial has now ended with a guilty verdict and a 15-year sentence, it's time to look at what lay behind the extraordinary 'socks of terror' allegation. (Incidentally, the jury apparently could't reach a conclusion on the matter of the socks...). "The court heard that a pair of socks with traces of explosive on them --- rolled into a ball with a cord attached --- were found in Rowe's luggage when he was stopped at the tunnel. Rowe said he used the socks for martial arts kicks and that traces of explosives were from when he used them as gloves to unload ammunition, after carrying out humanitarian work in Bosnia in 1995. "BBC news site He was arrested in 2003. So the threat was clearly a bio-hazard one. I'm sorry: 8 years is too long to go without washing your socks!
Posted by racingsnake @ 06:07 PM GMT+00:00

Open standards and DRM/access control


In the course of a round of analyst briefing calls yesterday, the following topic came up, and raised some interesting questions. I understand that the latest version of Windows XP integrates some DRM-type functions, so for example it's possible to forward a document to someone on the basis that it can only be read (not modified) and cannot be forwarded to anyone else. I don't have the means to investigate this, so I'm relying on someone else's experience here... The problem appears to come when you set those options and then send the document to someone on a 'current but not latest' XP release. They can't open the document. Likewise, I don't know what happens if the receiving client is a webmail or non-Windows platform. It seems to me that practically speaking this leaves us in one of two states: 1 : senders turn off these access control functions on the basis that it defeats the object of sending the doc in the first place; 2 : it becomes a lock-in to that version of Windows XP. I can see the benefit of giving users the option of applying such access control measures, but in my view it needs to be done in a way which is open enough to overcome these apparent shortcomings.
Posted by racingsnake @ 11:25 AM GMT+00:00
 
 
 
 
 
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Such views as I express in this blog are based on my own opinions, experience and judgements. They do not necessarily represent the policy or views of my employer. It is not my intention to offend readers in any way. If you find anything on this blog offensive, please contact me in the first instance.
Robin Wilton
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