zaidmo's comments

zaidmo | 10 years ago | on: What are you working on?

A projector based Virtual Reality solution for home use that doesn't require headsets.

I've also just launched www.immersiveauthority.com - an Immersive Tech / VR site. Whatever I learn I transcribe on the site.

zaidmo | 10 years ago | on: Ask HN: What technology are you sad to see going extinct in the wild?

Floppy disk and cd/dvd drives! When you need to recover files from an old pc and need a Windows XP startup disk.... it's no fun in 2015.

Worse, it was on an IDE Hard drive and I couldn't find an external hard drive case for it so I had to take it to a PC repair store that had an IDE adaptor. Charges $40 to copy any amount of data above 20 Gigabytes.

zaidmo | 10 years ago | on: Smart Luggage Hacked – A detailed component level review

After researching the topic for a few weeks I've just published an article that answers: What components make up smart luggage? Is it worth it? How to hack your own?

Let me know if you need any clarification (I'll try my best).

I was a bit afraid to post my article on Hacker News as BlueSmart is a Y-Combinator backed project. Please note that I fully respect their efforts.

zaidmo | 12 years ago | on: Twitter’s New Two-Factor Solution Kicks SMS to the Curb

I'm not sure how this works on a PC with IE/FF/Chrome/Opera used as a desktop browser to access Twitter. Will a private key sit on my PC? I would assume that more account hacks originate from a desktop pc (using brute force attack methods, etc) rather than from a phone, hence a PC requires further security?

zaidmo | 12 years ago | on: First Open Source Airplane Could Cost Just $15,000

I was wondering if the word "open source" is being used correctly in the context of aeroplane parts.

Dictionary.com has 2 definitions:

1. Computers. pertaining to or denoting software whose source code is available free of charge to the public to use, copy, modify, sublicense, or distribute.

2. pertaining to or denoting a product or system whose origins, formula, design, etc., are freely accessible to the public.

I guess the latter definition could apply, where the components can be produced (e.g. 3D printed) from detailed "open source" blueprints? However, I dont think the plane will be built from 100% "open source" rendered components. Generic or branded components may need to be purchased as well.

zaidmo | 12 years ago | on: Google Chromecast

I dont understand how you stream content from your device to the Chromecast. My PC has Windows Media Player, my Windows 8 phone has XBox SmartGlass. Would these applications allow you to stream to the tv. I am abit lost...

zaidmo | 13 years ago | on: Making the travel site people want, even if it’s impossible

I did a search: JHB to Buenos Aires in November for 60 days. http://adioso.com/za/johannesburg-za-to-buenos-aires-cr-in-n...

On flysaa.com (Star Alliance member) I can get a cheaper direct flight. Not sure what logic was coded to determine which result receives preference (i.e. ranking) in the results.

I also usually use http://flisea.com/ to search for reward flights on Star Alliance airlines. Not sure what API to linking to - perhaps you could check it out.

Or perhaps, change the purpose of the site: Find the best available reward flights on One World, Star ALliance and SkyTeam over a specific period of time. It's focused and a big need for frequent travellers

zaidmo | 13 years ago | on: How to add 5.5 petabytes and get banned from Costco during a hard drive crisis

Why was the primary source of buying HD's initially newegg (online electronics store). If you are in the business of buying SO many HDD's, shouldn't you consider getting them directly from the manufacturers? Also, I would like to know what other techniques they used to find / save space - any special compression software, any techniques to limit the storage of duplicate files, backing up your data to another data centre / on the cloud...

zaidmo | 13 years ago | on: The Story of the New Microsoft.com

A decade ago when I studied usability, we were taught Geert Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions, and how we should design a UI that is appropriate for users in specific locations.

I would like to understand what process followed when designing the new site that will be accessed by anyone in the world. Did the project team do User Experience testing? If there was testing, did this happen at local office level?

zaidmo | 13 years ago | on: What do you do with the Brilliant Jerk?

I was hoping / expecting the article to conclude with a recommendation on how to best channel the energy / talent of the "brilliant jerk". Not have this person fired. Promote him, but limit him, under a specifically defined position in the company where the boundaries are set - e.g. Head of Product Development, Head of Business Ops, Line Management, Finance...

I'm a Stargate fan and when I read brilliant jerk, I thought Rodney McKay and Nicholas Rush. Yeah, they had there issues, but at the end of the day, you can count on them...

zaidmo | 13 years ago | on: Ecuador grants Julian Assange asylum

This is 2012. Can't they hold a videocon / telecon with Assange if they have questions? Why does he have to be on the ground in Sweden to be asked questions?
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