ToddHDow Studios

Category: Technology

  • Why I bought a Pebble watch… on the eve of the Apple Watch launch

    Why I bought a Pebble watch… on the eve of the Apple Watch launch

    apple-watch-pressApple is launching their next “world changing technology” later today in California. Not being content with having dominated the desktop, laptop, smartphone and tablet markets, they are now going after a new market: the smart watch. Google, Samsung, Sony and others have tried, but thus far been unsuccessful, to crack this market. And today marks Apple’s crack at it.

    Apple gave us a sneak peak of their new big thing back in September 2014, when they called it their “Most Personal Device Ever”. With a beautiful full colour high resolution screen, touchscreen interface, new ways to navigate and a bunch of interactive sensors, what’s not to like. It is going to be gorgeous, finely tuned and oh so much fun.

    I will have serious watch envy when they arrive on the market.

    But alas, I have chosen another route.

    pebbletimesteelI invested in Pebble’s latest Kickstarter venture this past weekend. I ordered myself a new Pebble Time Steel watch in gunmetal black. And I can hardly wait for it to arrive.

    Why did I go the Pebble route instead? A few reasons…

    1. Price – Pebble’s new premium watch is going for less than Apple’s entry level watch. $250 gets me a Pebble Time Steel with two watch bands. Apple’s entry level watch is rumoured to start at $350.

    2. Always on, always viewable screen. I’ve always been a Kindle fan. Those devices have great screens that are easy on the eyes and they are viewable everywhere. Ever try to read an iPad in sunlight? It just doesn’t work. The Pebble uses the same e-paper screen as the Kindle (better actually… the Pebble has a colour screen). I suspect that the Apple Watch will be like a vampire: afraid of the sun. And, to maintain a full day of battery life, the Apple Watch will have to ration screen time. It’ll only be on when you really want it to be on. Pebble Time Steel? Always on. And you’ll be able to get up to 10 days of always on convenience.

    3. Battery life – speaking of always on… The Pebble’s e-paper screen is like the smart car of smart watches: it’ll sip from the battery instead of gulping, which will give it up to 10 days of battery life on a single charge. The Apple Watch – not so much. There are worries that it won’t even last a full day on a single charge. Not good.

    4. Cross-platform compatability – Apple Watch will work with other Apple products. The Pebble will work with both Apple and Android. This gives much more flexibility and portability. Apple is good at locking people into their ecosystem. I love Apple products but don’t want to be forced to use only their stuff. Thanks Pebble!

    5. I like the underdog. Pebble’s new smart watch sales are counting in the tens of millions of dollars. Apple will likely make a billion dollars in new revenue. In this case, I’m going to cheer for the underdog – especially since they have a compelling, fully working and equally functional product on offer.

    Yes, the Apple Watch will probably look nicer. It’ll look more refined. And it’ll be the talk of the town for a while. But I still can’t wait for the arrival of my new Pebble Time Steel because it’ll “just work” more often than the Apple Watch will.

    Are you getting a smart watch anytime soon? If so, which one are you going to get? Let me know in the comments.

    Thanks,

    Todd

  • SC Congress 2015 – are you going?

    SCCongress-logo-2015As many of you know, I’m a security geek. And what is more fun for a security geek than seeing, hearing and learning about the latest security-related tools & techniques. Each year, I look forward to attending the two major Toronto-area IT security conferences: SC Congress in June and Sector in October.

    Both of these events offer the latest and greatest in IT security. In 2013, I attended both events:

    This year’s SC Congress is coming up soon: June 10 & 11 2015. And based on my great coverage of the 2013 event, I’ve been invited to blog about it again. So, I’ll be attending SC Congress 2015 with a press pass in hand. I hope you’ll join me at the event as well. It should be an awesome time.

    As a bonus, you can register for SC Congress at a significantly discounted rate, simply by using the discount code TODDHDOW.

    You can get your discounted tickets here:
    2-day pass: $525 (reg. $995)
    1-day pass: $425 (reg. $795)
    Use discount code TODDHDOW or click this link.

    And, while you’re at it, sign up for a complimentary digital subscription to SC Magazine.

    Are you going to SC Congress 2015? Let me know in the comments!

    Talk soon!

    Todd

     

  • Keep Us Canadian by Todd Dow

    Keep Us Canadian by Todd Dow

    Keep us mindful of our protectors that have fallen in the name of peace.
    Keep us vigilant against those that threaten peace.
    Keep us focused on our desire for peace.
    Keep us patient as we strive for justice.
    Keep us unprejudiced in the face of hatred.
    Keep us disciplined as we discern rational responses to irrational action.
    Keep us recognized as world leaders in tolerance, respect, freedom and human rights for all.
    Keep us the True North Strong and Free.

  • Cryptogeddon – Coming Soon!

    Cryptogeddon – Coming Soon!

    cryptogeddon - logoI’d like to give you a heads up on a project that I’ve been working on called Cryptogeddon. I am passionate about infosec and Cryptogeddon is about to become my muse in the infosec space.

    In a nutshell, Cryptogeddon is an online cyber security war game. The game consists of various missions, each of which challenges the participant to apply infosec tools to solve technology puzzles – an online scavenger hunt, if you will. Each mission comes with a solution that teaches the participant which tools to use and how to apply the tools to solve the mission.

    Each Cryptogeddon Mission Pack consists of the following:

    1. Mission Cover - templatea synopsis – this introduces the mission, provides some background info and sets the stage for the work that needs to be done;
    2. Objective(s) – this clearly articulates the tasks that need to be done to complete the mission;
    3. Asset list – each mission starts with at least one digital asset that you will need in order to complete the mission. The asset list provides an inventory of your starting assets, along with instructions to obtain those assets;
    4. Tools – this section contains potential spoilers. It lists all of the tools that are required to complete the mission. Only read this section if you need help or if you want to review how you did at the end of the mission;
    5. Support services – this section details how you get help with your mission if you get stuck, if the instructions or solution are unclear and/or if you find errors with the mission pack;
    6. Solution – This section outlines the steps to complete the mission. Some people will ignore this section until they’ve completed the mission. Others might need to take a peek to help get through a particularly tricky part of a mission. And others might rely on the solution as a training device to help walk them through the entire mission.

    Each mission touches on one or more of the following infosec topics:

    • security architecture and design
    • network security
    • secure coding
    • cryptography
    • operations security
    • access management
    • physical security
    • IT governance and risk management

    And, missions require the use of various infosec tools, including but not limited to:

    Mission packs will be sold individually, with a possible “combo pack” available once I get sufficient missions available for sale. I haven’t settled on final pricing yet, but each mission will be $4.99 or less.

    I am launching this game within the next week or so – I am just applying the finishing touches to my first missions and finalizing the public facing website for this product.

    In the near future, I will be speaking about Cryptogeddon at a couple of local events:

    • Software HamiltonSoftware Hamilton: I will be providing an overview of the game at Software Hamilton’s Demo Camp 13 on Sep 24 2013. At DemoCamp 13, I will be giving a 5 minute overview of this project, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A. You’ll be able to pick up some swag (Cryptogeddon logo stickers) at the event as well.
    • sector-logoSector: I have been invited to speak at Sector (Canada’s Premier IT Security Conference) on Oct 8 & 9 to share this project. At Sector, I will be giving a 1 hour talk where I walk the audience through “Cryptogeddon: Sector 2013 edition” – a special mission for Sector that anyone will be able to download for free. At this session, I will walk the audience though the mission, demonstrating the various infosec tools needed to solve the challenges presented in the mission. And, in addition to my “Cryptogeddon: Sector 2013 edition” talk, all Sector attendees will receive a Cryptogeddon logo sticker in their conference bags.

    I encourage you to sign up for the mailing list at http://cryptogeddon.com/, follow @cryptogeddon on Twitter and check out the first missions as soon as they are released. And, I encourage you to come out to Software Hamilton’s DemoCamp 13 to show your support and to hear from some other interesting local speakers with some great products to share. And, I highly recommend that you register to attend Sector – there will be a lot of bright infosec minds in attendance – I always come away from Sector with a ton of great learnings. Sector is definitely my favourite infosec activity each year.

    Stay tuned for more info on Cryptogeddon in the coming days!

    Todd

  • eBooks – an intro

    ereadersI recently published my first book, The God Solution To The Atheist Delusion, as an ebook on Amazon.com (and .ca) and on KoboBooks.com. This means that it is available to read on various electronic devices, but it is not available as a printed book.

    Some people have asked me how they can read my book if they don’t have an eReader. That is a great question.

    The short answer: Do you have a cell phone, tablet or computer? If yes, get the Amazon Kindle Reader for your device (it’s a free download) and read it on your device.

    For the longer answer, which provides plenty of additional details, please read on.

    First, why did I decide to do this? Here are three (of many) reasons:

    1. I like digital – I can’t remember the last time I bought a physical book. I love my Kindle Paperwhite for many reasons, most notably the ability to carry my entire book collection on a small device; and
    2. The ease of publishing – I can easily manage my book publishing workflow from start to finish without investing a lot of money in physical goods – digital publishing has been amazing at lowering the barrier to entry for authors!
    3. The ease of distribution – I can easily distribute my book to multiple book sellers, including Amazon.com (and any country that Amazon operates in) and Kobo Books. Each seller offers an interactive portal that makes it easy to sell to.

    And second, what do people need to do to read my book electronically?

    I have published my book on two major platforms: Amazon and Kobo. To read my book, you can either use a dedicated eReader or you can use your own electronic device (iPhone, iPad, iPad, Android device, etc.) with the Amazon Kindle or the Kobo app installed.

    Dedicated eReader options include:

    Amazon:

    Kobo:

    If you don’t have a reader, you’re in luck: both Amazon and Kobo have free ereader apps that you can install on your mobile phone, tablet or computer:

    Amazon:

    Kobo:

    So take your pick – if you don’t have a dedicated eReader, you can either get a dedicated eReader or you can download an eReader app onto your existing device, which will then allow you to purchase and read books on that platform.

    If you have never bought an ebook, which platform should you choose?

    Personally, I have an affinity for Amazon. I described my reasons for liking the Amazon environment in a blog post that is now 3 years old! The reasons I presented then still hold today. In fact, my first Kindle Keyboard eReader stopped working a couple of months ago. I immediately went out and replaced it with a new Kindle Paperwhite.

    That said, neither Amazon nor Kobo is a bad choice. That’s why I publish to both platforms – there are plenty of readers on both platforms and I want to be able to reach them all.

    I hope this post helps explain the choices available to you and that you are able to use one of these platforms to read my book. If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments section below.

    And, feel free to let me know which reader you use in the comments below as well. I’m curious to know which devices my readers use.

    Thanks!

    Todd