Careful what you type if anyone's listening: Keyboard clicks can lead to security hacks. The article says that even $10 microphones can be used with 96% accuracy to determine what you're typing. What will they think of next, detecting vibrations in windows to hear a conversation? Doh.


Also, if you like to take sneak pics, start working on a counter-hack to the new digital camera-baffling system described in Crave privacy? New tech knocks out digital cameras.



Know what else computers can do? Crash.

That was my welcome-back-to-campus experience on Monday. My office iMac had some serious problems (as it turned out) with corrupted system files. Because of the heavy rain on Monday, I happened to have the car on campus, so, after a couple hours working on it in the office, I drove it over to the mall Apple Store for them to look at.

An hour-and-a-half later, they told me the problem. The thing would mount as an external drive, even though it would not boot, so I took it home and hooked it to the home computer and recovered it there. Sigh.

Then last night the disc drive on my home iMac decided not to work. Rebooting did not help. Accidentally pulling out the power cord did. Shrug.

Love 'em when they work, hate 'em when they don't. Like cars.