1Passwd - Mac OS X Password Manager

Published on August 20, 2007 in Technology.

I spent quite a bit of time looking around for a good OS X password manager and form manager. I found that 1Passwd blows everything else away. Click there to see a demo movie which is pretty cool.
Consisting of a stand-alone application to manage your password database and plugins for every browser under the sun. I was able to import all of my Firefox saved passwords instantly and the toolbar automatically captures new logins and stores them in the database.

Passwords can synch via .Mac and can be backed up automatically via .Mac. It also is compatible with the pop-up HTTPAuth dialogs some websites show.

The multiple personality idea is embedded in both the logins as well as the form auto-fill feature.

If I am creating a new account, I can easily generate a stupendously difficult one-account password which will be stored in the database and used for future logins at that website.

The GUI is well-behaved and it just works. It’s well worth the registration fee!

OpenID, VeriSign Personal Identity Provider and PayPal Security Tokens

Published on August 20, 2007 in Technology.

While at the VeriSign Technical Symposium last week, I got to hang out with the guys building the VeriSign Personal Identity Provider, an OpenID implementation. I am already a fan of ClaimID, which is another OpenID provider and have been using VeriSign authentication tokens for work. It’s interesting to see the convergence of the Paypal and EBay markets, the VeriSign security tokens and OpenID.

Paypal and Ebay have achieved a critical mass of users and seem to be able to define an entire market segment by simply rolling out new technology. Security tokens have been in use for awhile in the enterprise but Java rings, smart cards, tokens and other things were just a bit early for the consumer. There was no market demand.

Given the fraud issues on Paypal and eBay, consumers are acutely aware of the need for something better than just a password for authentication. Paypal is now offering a VeriSign security token for $5 each on their website. You have to dig around to find it, but its there. Once you order one, a whole new world opens up.

The classic concern raised about security tokens are that they are bulky and they only work with one vendor. Enter the idea of a “networked” token. One token, issued by a large certificate authority, can now work for any vendor that chooses to implement their solution. The Paypal token, being issued by VeriSign, already automatically works for eBay. The secret here is that this is not a “Paypal” token, this is a VeriSign Identity Protection device. You will use it with a lot more stuff than just Paypal and eBay.

As more vendors adopt the VeriSign token, the network will grow and each user getting a token will be able to use it with more and more vendors. eBay and Paypal have simply jump-started the consumer adoption.

One such compatible implementation is the OpenID based VeriSign Labs Personal Identity Provider. Create a profile and activate your VeriSign token in it, now you have just upgraded your OpenID authentication to use the token for OpenID logins!

San Diego, Coronado

Published on August 14, 2007 in Travel.

I’m in San Diego for the week attending the VeriSign Technical Symposium in Coronado. 14 years ago I lived here for about 7 years. Perfect weather and no work. Go figure.

This trip is giving me a lot of chances to learn how to use my new D40x. Pictures coming soon.

Take Better Portrait Photographs

Published on August 10, 2007 in Photos.

Do your portrait photo subjects look like a deer in headlights? I hate taking indoor pictures of family with my point-and-shoot pocket camera because the flash washes everything out. The most unflattering picture you can take of someone is with a flash pointed right in their face! This does NOT sit well with the wife!

The single biggest thing you can do to take amazing portraits is use an external flash which can be pointed at the ceiling or a wall. The light of the flash bounces off of the wall or ceiling and diffuses onto the subject.

I got a new Nikon D40x today along with a SB-400 external flash and a Nikon 18-200mm VR lens. A picture is worth a million words.

D40x with built-in flash pointed directly at subject.

D40x with SB400 flash pointed at wall.

D40x with SB400 pointed at wall and in Portrait Image Optimization mode.

You can see full-size photos here.

The Wisdom of Crowds

Published on August 8, 2007 in Reading.

The world exists despite itself. So do large corporations. And crowds.

Metropolis Remade

Published on August 6, 2007 in Movies.

I stumbled across the digital remake of Fritz Lang’s Metropolis on the Internet tonight. The originally re-assembled movie is one of my all-time favorites and I had no idea it had been digitally remade with the original score.

Metropolis is not for mass media entertainment. It’s silent, overacted and not a relaxing film. However, anyone who likes science fiction must see this movie to learn where the entire SF film industry came from. A movie from 1926 with 25,000 extras is something to see! Read Roger Ebert’s review for lots of detail.

If you do watch this, remember, Fritz was inventing the visualization of science fiction in film with no previous work to build on. Looking at the city scenes, you can see where Blade Runner and Dark City came from. Guess this is something to move to the top of the Netflix queue!

Hayao Miyazaki and The Cat Returns

Published on August 6, 2007 in Movies.

I have been impressed by the work of Hayao Miyazaki over and over. Tonight I watched The Cat Returns, which is nowhere near as good as his later movies such as Howl’s Moving Castle, Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. In this movie, Miyazaki contributes the story concept, but not the actual direction. Some of his style comes through in the story, but the direction is quite different.

Ubatuba, Brazil: A Corona Moment

Published on August 5, 2007 in Photos and Travel.

It’s been cold and rainy in Sao Paolo (it’s winter here), but last weekend was nice and warm so I went with a co-worker to his hometown, Ubatuba. Ubatuba is a small beach city on the coast, south of Rio. The beaches were empty given that the past week had been cold, which made it a perfect day. Many of the beaches are local, since there is no parking available. Having grown up there, my co-worker knew the area so we were able to park at people’s houses and use the hidden paths to the beaches.

Normally the surf is quite strong, but the tide was out and it was close to the middle of the season, so the gravitational pull had the water way out. About half-way through the afternoon, sitting in a chair nursing a beer ($1) and some fresh fish, I realized that I was in a Corona moment and had to resist chucking my Blackberry into the surf. Why did I ever move away from San Diego? Oh yeah - there is lots of tech work in VA.

BTW, every woman on the beach in Brazil wears a bikini. Most wear thongs. I saw a grandma in a bikini, I saw fat women in bikinis. If the sun is out, everyone flocks to the pool or beach to lay out. This is quite different from the Philippines where white skin is considered beautiful and people stay out of the sun for fear of getting dark. But, I digress… Here are some photos:

These photos are not very good quality because I was limited to a point and shoot camera for this trip.

Photos: Sao Paolo, Brazil

Published on August 5, 2007 in Photos.

Here are some photos of Sao Paolo, Brazil. The size of the city is overwhelming. These photos are taken from the top of the Italiano Edifico, and the skyscrapers stretch to the horizon in literaly every direction you can see. What is scary is that this is the smaller half of the city. The larger part is over the horizon! Because I couldn’t bring along my good camera, I didn’t get very good pictures of the city as the sun set.

Hello from Sao Paolo, Brazil

Published on August 5, 2007 in Travel.

I am working in Sao Paolo for a couple of weeks. This city is immense, people here think that New York is small and easy to get around in. The food here is incredible! Good food is cheap, fresh and has an absolute minimums of chemicals or preservatives. McDonald’s is prohibitively expensive. It should cost money to ruin your health.

The standards of appearance are much higher in Brazil than in the USA. People dress neater and generally take care of themselves better. Coke Zero is the standard soda, meals here in Sao Paolo are often composed of some kind of salad (seafood, vegetable, fruit, etc.) and a fresh fish or beef steak right off the grill.

Everything stops for lunch and dinner is optional. Going out for dinner is a highly social event with large groups holding down tables for 3 hours without being kicked out.

I have made a lot of friends here. People are generally more relaxed and friendly than in the US. Work days are quite long, from 9am until 8pm or so, but the pace is slower with about half of the time being spent in communication and socializing.

When I come in for work in the morning, its impossible to slide into a cube and nurse a hangover. A handshake and personal greeting with every single acquaintance is expected. This can take quite awhile, since there are 10 or so people in the area that I work in.

During the day, walking around the nicest parts of downtown, I counted about 7 iPod headphones each day downtown. Co-workers remarked that those people were idiots for wearing the iPod headphones in public. No one carries laptops on the street at night. Ever. They are stolen on sight. No one carries a computer bag, everyone uses backpacks. The majority of people live in condominiums for safety. The level of security needed for a house is prohibitive: electric fences, 24 hour on-site security, etc. are just too much trouble.

There is a very strong police presence in the business areas, with foot patrols and kiosks around major intersections. There seems to be little violent crime anymore. Things are better than they used to be in the 80’s. At night, women walk alone on a main street with a purse without a problem.

Because of security concerns, Sao Paolo is a city of beautiful inside spaces and the culture has evolved to fit. Many places are a blank wall and plain door opening into a gorgeous interior restaurant or club. People do not go for extended walks around the city as much as we do.

Really, anyone who is used to getting around the bulk of New York City will be perfectly fine in Sao Paolo. They are a lot alike.

If I were single I would probably stay and work here for a couple of years.