[SecurityRatty] tag: reagan

Wee-Fi: Boingo Expands to Dulles, Reagan; HP Buys Colubris

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 08:05:30 +0000

Boingo Wireless's airport wireless division brings service to Washington's two airports: Dulles and Reagan (National) offer Wi-Fi under the regular terms. These airports carry 24m and 18m passengers, respectively, each year. It's $5/hr, $8/24 hours, and $22/month (no contract commitment) for US access, and $39/mo for worldwide access (no contract commitment). The company isn't the exclusive operator, but appears as one of three Wi-Fi network choices when you're in the airport.

HP buys Colubris: Colubris was an early wireless LAN company, making sophisticated hardware for the enterprise, but I've seen its market and products shift across many markets over several years, including hotspot offerings. I'd lost track of them in recent years, although this story says that the firm refocused on service providers rather than corporations. HP will integrate Colubris into ProCurve, which will compete more effectively against Cisco. A few years ago, there were beaucoup WLAN switch operators, each with somewhat different approaches and offerings. Airespace was bought by Cisco, Trapeze more recently by Belden, and Aruba went public.

Wednesday Zombie PostZombie Reagan

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:41:20 +0000

Longing for the good ol’ days, Zombie Reagan proposes reincarnating the big guy himself in order to steer conservatism back on track.

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25 Years of the "Other" Star Wars

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:50:19 +0000

Not so long ago, right here in our Galaxy, Emperor Ronald Reagan announced the other Star Wars, the Strategic Defense Initiative which started the last phase of the Cold War with the Soviet Union (whom, funnily enough, El Presidente called the Evil Empire.) Here's the story of the SDI program and how it evolved

'Star Wars' Turns 25; Is It Worth $120 Billion?

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 01:00:00 +0000

It's the 25th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's stunning announcement of a techno-plan to knock enemy missiles out of the sky. Many doubted its feasibility then, and many still doubt whether what got produced really works.

And the award for Best Comedy goes to.....the T.S.A.!

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:00:00 +0000

If it wasn't so serious, it would really be funny. Man goes through full TSA security check at Reagan National Airport. Man later realizes he brought his gun with him. Man voluntarily goes back to TSA with gun.

According to Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority spokesman, Rob Yingling, the gun was taken from Mr.Gregory Hinkle and he was given a misdemeanor summons. Mr. Yingling went on to declare: "We don't allow any dangerous weapons in the terminal". Aren't guns considered dangerous?

Mr. Yingling may have a serious job but he is not afraid to let his silly side shine through. He continued - "the agency has a very high success rate in detecting firearms." One wonders what Mr. Yingling considers "very high."

It would be very interesting to check the end of year stats. I wonder if Mr. Hinkle voluntarily giving up his weapon will be subsequently recorded as a "detection" by the TSA?

HOV lane inside the Airport for 65,000

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:18:00 +0000

Amusement parks do it, so why can't airports? Scare people? No, allow them to pay a few dollars more to go to the head of the line. The company who is introducing the program to Washington Dulles and Reagan National airports in the Spring, is called "Verified Identity Pass" of New York.

Travelers who wish to speed their way through the airport experience (and who wouldn't), pay a yearly fee of $128.00 and allow an image of their eyes and fingerprints to be sent to the TSA for a background check. Once the travelers arrive at the airport, they have their fingerprints or eyes scanned and use a "Clear" lane with a shorter security wait.

Airlines are coming out against the new procedure as they feel that it competes with the shorter security lines that they provide for their premium passengers. Perhaps they are afraid that those customers who are paying more than ten times for those premium tickets might think about the savings to be had on a minimal yearly fee.

They probably should not worry. Those people who have the finances to fly business and first class all the time, are probably past the point of no return. Once you get used to the front of the plane, it's hard to go back with the rest of the sardines.