The story is compelling, and while there is no part of me that would believe for a second China doesn't want to steal every piece of IP they could get their hands on, on the face this looks and sounds like movie plot stuff.
While it sounds super scary to "plant a chip" and "have a backdoor", the actual physical implementation isn't so straightforward. The IC shown is very small. It seems very unlikely that there just happen to be all the necessary PCB traces all grouped together so that a tiny little IC can bridge across them and do what it needs to do. Even if there was some clever way to run it with parasitic power. Which kind of makes it seem that the PCB itself would have been modified to accept this super secret chip. Which means either Supermicro contracted out the entire mfg process (aka, here are the pcb design files, you order the boards and put the parts on there), or somebody underwent a HUGE undertaking to redesign the PCB in secret and insert it into the supply chain so the IC could be put on. If I was Supermicro, I would have probably had the pcb design separately contracted, built, and shipped to the assembler. High speed digital needs rigorous design and specification of the pcb material stackup and trace tuning to ensure signal integrity. The company I work for would not trust that to a contract manufacturer.
Maybe there are details missing that make it all clear. But without them, it still seems a bit far-fetched.
From TFA
"
The employers include companies involved in moving services, roofing, auto repair, window replacement, retail and home security installation.
If not for Facebook’s precise ad targeting, the charge against Facebook says, women “would have clicked on those employment ads in order to learn more about those opportunities and pursue them."
Is that really the case, or is a hypothetical to show intent? Because if it is true, those are usually jobs squarely in the argument of "you don't hear about women arguing to get THESE jobs", and would be pretty interesting to hear direct evidence to the contrary.
It has been nearly crippling at times. My manager has me reading "Mindset" by Carol Dweck because I'm pretty sure she could see it in me. There are some good insights in there. I suggest anyone suffering have a look.
The list is obviously filled with a lot of usual jobs that would have never required a degree anyway.
It's cool that companies like Google and Apple are opening the doors to people who are technically gifted but just didn't go through college, but "cashier", "housekeeper", "barista", and "plumbing associate" are not really worth putting on the list.
Yeah. I'm with you. I just did an interview with someone, and they were blatantly underqualified, but pushed by one of these huge recruiting firms. By the end I felt so bad for them. Clearly a fish out of water and so lacking for the job they had basically gone full deer in headlights. Every time I tried a technical question the pain on their face was obvious. I just quit and started chatting with them to fill some time.
This was an interesting experiment done by some students. It's not some amazing new idea that is going to revolutionize security. First off, they only tested it by putting the object directly between the transmitter and the receiver. And like 10m apart. So, basically like every other type of scanner around. You're still going to have to walk through it. So while that might make it easier to implement a scanner type device, it's not like suddenly anywhere with WIFI can start scanning all the people around it at will.
Unfortunately, the reporting is lacking in highlighting this. I suspect, frankly, because those reporting on it don't really understand what they're looking at.
The method of detection in this case is rather crude. In reality, no fancy countermeasures are necessary. Take your contraband item and simply enclose it in the shape of something harmless, and this system would be immediately fooled.
Yup. There are definitely things that can be learned more "hands-on" and probably made more interesting. However, learning many technically difficult subjects which might include facets of math, physics, etc sometimes requires you just sit down, pay attention, and put the work in. The best hope you can is to connect it with real life applications or analogies, in hopes to make students find it more useful or intriguing rather than just numbers on a paper. (or screen? man I'm getting old...)
It's tedious sometimes. Sometimes it feels like it kinda sucks. But that's life. Not everything gets to be fun. I feel like people forget this more and more every day. Absolutely no reason you shouldn't try to work towards maximizing your enjoyment of anything you do. Hobby, work, whatever. But pretending all of it should be riveting and attention grabbing is just nonsense. Sometimes it takes dedication to see something through.
"You can only shoot someone in almost any state if they're threatening you"
That's the more critical part. A linebacker sized teen could be quite threatening to a petite or young woman. A scrawny 13-something likely not threatening to a average sized adult male.
TSN Ethernet can already pull this off in most cases. IEEE 802.1... I've personally seen it do around 100ns sync or better depending on network configuration.
This is usually the type of thing I tell myself to keep perspective. But the truth is that tech jobs can be stressful too. I imagine people in blue collar jobs believe we are living high on the hog with not a care in the world, but it's not really that way. But I also have two brothers that work jobs requiring much more manual labor. It absolutely takes a toll on your body.
We've recently had a few people come over to hardware management (I am a hardware developer). Both my manager and I told them, hardware projects change EVERY DAY. Every day its, "so and so (big customer) just had issues with this", or "The market is way behind on these parts and we are short", or "The product you just designed is failing ____ test right now, what are we doing to fix it".
I've watched it drive many people out. My own mentor told me when I first started "I'll tell you the first thing my Mentor told me, 'Get out now'". A bit much for a new engineer to take in, but now I know why he said it. Right before he left the company, he started telling me he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle the pressure.
Honestly, I don't care as much about the pay, the fancy benefits, or any of the fluff. What has nearly drove me out is when I feel like every day is just another barrage of unbounded problems. Like you're the guy on the track, your problem is the chains holding you there, and management is driving the train and they aren't slowing it down. You better get those chains undone.
I've been an auto mechanic, welder, machinist, and now EE. My back-up plan / exit strategy is machining. I enjoy it, it is so much more bounded (in my opinion), and still presents good challenges to keep me engaged. I already have a colleague in another company on his way. We've talked at length about it.
They are referring to IC's not finished consumer products. There is a huge amount of IP related to the highest-tech integrated circuits. In many cases, such as Intel, they were able to out-accelerate many competitors because they were not only developing new designs for the processors themselves, but they were also developing cutting edge design tools and processes along with them to keep innovation moving.
That's a huge stumbling block if you're a smaller firm just trying to jump into the ring with a big player.
This research is terribly short-sighted. In addition to the things already pointed out, having a mental "break" from tasks, complex things, burdensome work, etc. I would argue will probably be good for your motivation long term.
Personally, as hard as it is to do sometimes, the best thing for my motivation and performance often times is to remove myself from something that's really bugging me or challenging me. Coming back I feel ready to try again and usually with some new ideas.
And you pay them hansomly to participate! And then you film it and make it a reality show! And then poor people who's life could be significantly altered by $3500 or how much ever it is are the only ones who sign up! And then all the rest who can afford to live comfortably sit and watch! Surely this is a sci-fi work somewhere..
While that would certainly be handy, I don't think a printed part would hold up for long in there. Even if I printed it with Nylon, which is the original material. And to get decent quality I'd probably pay a fair bit more for the printer than just shelling out for the bushing. Although I'd have a printer afterwards..
I'm dealing with this issue now refurbishing a machine. There are two plastic bushings that allow a variable speed sheave/pulley to slide up and down. (Basically a CVT, but the ratio is changed manually) They charge $100 for a simple nylon bushing and there are two of them. Two nylon bushings cost more than the 5 precision, brand name bearings I've already replaced. And I know exactly why. They wear out. They know it, and they are making a handsome little profit on selling replacements.
This has been my experience. I haven't had to use it for a lot so I seem to have avoided lots of the woes described here. However, I've learned that you do NOT rely on it for any kind of screen sharing for a meeting. It doesn't work far more often than not, and that's no exxageration.
Yeah, I've yet to see any news outlet come out and directly say it was caused by his experiments. The seemingly conscious effort to leave it out makes me think they want you to assume that because it makes a more exciting story but the reality was that it was something way more common (like he passed out and drowned in the tank, od'ed in the tank from a common drug, etc)
Slashdot Mirror
Drop a giant ice cube mined from an asteroid into the ocean? Anyone?
The story is compelling, and while there is no part of me that would believe for a second China doesn't want to steal every piece of IP they could get their hands on, on the face this looks and sounds like movie plot stuff.
While it sounds super scary to "plant a chip" and "have a backdoor", the actual physical implementation isn't so straightforward. The IC shown is very small. It seems very unlikely that there just happen to be all the necessary PCB traces all grouped together so that a tiny little IC can bridge across them and do what it needs to do. Even if there was some clever way to run it with parasitic power. Which kind of makes it seem that the PCB itself would have been modified to accept this super secret chip. Which means either Supermicro contracted out the entire mfg process (aka, here are the pcb design files, you order the boards and put the parts on there), or somebody underwent a HUGE undertaking to redesign the PCB in secret and insert it into the supply chain so the IC could be put on. If I was Supermicro, I would have probably had the pcb design separately contracted, built, and shipped to the assembler. High speed digital needs rigorous design and specification of the pcb material stackup and trace tuning to ensure signal integrity. The company I work for would not trust that to a contract manufacturer.
Maybe there are details missing that make it all clear. But without them, it still seems a bit far-fetched.
From TFA " The employers include companies involved in moving services, roofing, auto repair, window replacement, retail and home security installation. If not for Facebook’s precise ad targeting, the charge against Facebook says, women “would have clicked on those employment ads in order to learn more about those opportunities and pursue them."
Is that really the case, or is a hypothetical to show intent? Because if it is true, those are usually jobs squarely in the argument of "you don't hear about women arguing to get THESE jobs", and would be pretty interesting to hear direct evidence to the contrary.
It has been nearly crippling at times. My manager has me reading "Mindset" by Carol Dweck because I'm pretty sure she could see it in me. There are some good insights in there. I suggest anyone suffering have a look.
The list is obviously filled with a lot of usual jobs that would have never required a degree anyway.
It's cool that companies like Google and Apple are opening the doors to people who are technically gifted but just didn't go through college, but "cashier", "housekeeper", "barista", and "plumbing associate" are not really worth putting on the list.
Oh nice! Construction done on an interstate? Better start construction on the beginning again.
Yeah. I'm with you. I just did an interview with someone, and they were blatantly underqualified, but pushed by one of these huge recruiting firms. By the end I felt so bad for them. Clearly a fish out of water and so lacking for the job they had basically gone full deer in headlights. Every time I tried a technical question the pain on their face was obvious. I just quit and started chatting with them to fill some time.
https://xkcd.com/1732/
Yes, it has been changing. But if you can look at that and aren't the least bit alarmed, I'm not sure anything is going to ever get through.
This was an interesting experiment done by some students. It's not some amazing new idea that is going to revolutionize security. First off, they only tested it by putting the object directly between the transmitter and the receiver. And like 10m apart. So, basically like every other type of scanner around. You're still going to have to walk through it. So while that might make it easier to implement a scanner type device, it's not like suddenly anywhere with WIFI can start scanning all the people around it at will.
Unfortunately, the reporting is lacking in highlighting this. I suspect, frankly, because those reporting on it don't really understand what they're looking at.
The method of detection in this case is rather crude. In reality, no fancy countermeasures are necessary. Take your contraband item and simply enclose it in the shape of something harmless, and this system would be immediately fooled.
Yup. There are definitely things that can be learned more "hands-on" and probably made more interesting. However, learning many technically difficult subjects which might include facets of math, physics, etc sometimes requires you just sit down, pay attention, and put the work in. The best hope you can is to connect it with real life applications or analogies, in hopes to make students find it more useful or intriguing rather than just numbers on a paper. (or screen? man I'm getting old...)
It's tedious sometimes. Sometimes it feels like it kinda sucks. But that's life. Not everything gets to be fun. I feel like people forget this more and more every day. Absolutely no reason you shouldn't try to work towards maximizing your enjoyment of anything you do. Hobby, work, whatever. But pretending all of it should be riveting and attention grabbing is just nonsense. Sometimes it takes dedication to see something through.
"You can only shoot someone in almost any state if they're threatening you"
That's the more critical part. A linebacker sized teen could be quite threatening to a petite or young woman. A scrawny 13-something likely not threatening to a average sized adult male.
TSN Ethernet can already pull this off in most cases. IEEE 802.1... I've personally seen it do around 100ns sync or better depending on network configuration.
This is usually the type of thing I tell myself to keep perspective. But the truth is that tech jobs can be stressful too. I imagine people in blue collar jobs believe we are living high on the hog with not a care in the world, but it's not really that way. But I also have two brothers that work jobs requiring much more manual labor. It absolutely takes a toll on your body.
We've recently had a few people come over to hardware management (I am a hardware developer). Both my manager and I told them, hardware projects change EVERY DAY. Every day its, "so and so (big customer) just had issues with this", or "The market is way behind on these parts and we are short", or "The product you just designed is failing ____ test right now, what are we doing to fix it".
I've watched it drive many people out. My own mentor told me when I first started "I'll tell you the first thing my Mentor told me, 'Get out now'". A bit much for a new engineer to take in, but now I know why he said it. Right before he left the company, he started telling me he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle the pressure.
Honestly, I don't care as much about the pay, the fancy benefits, or any of the fluff. What has nearly drove me out is when I feel like every day is just another barrage of unbounded problems. Like you're the guy on the track, your problem is the chains holding you there, and management is driving the train and they aren't slowing it down. You better get those chains undone.
I've been an auto mechanic, welder, machinist, and now EE. My back-up plan / exit strategy is machining. I enjoy it, it is so much more bounded (in my opinion), and still presents good challenges to keep me engaged. I already have a colleague in another company on his way. We've talked at length about it.
They are referring to IC's not finished consumer products. There is a huge amount of IP related to the highest-tech integrated circuits. In many cases, such as Intel, they were able to out-accelerate many competitors because they were not only developing new designs for the processors themselves, but they were also developing cutting edge design tools and processes along with them to keep innovation moving.
That's a huge stumbling block if you're a smaller firm just trying to jump into the ring with a big player.
This research is terribly short-sighted. In addition to the things already pointed out, having a mental "break" from tasks, complex things, burdensome work, etc. I would argue will probably be good for your motivation long term.
Personally, as hard as it is to do sometimes, the best thing for my motivation and performance often times is to remove myself from something that's really bugging me or challenging me. Coming back I feel ready to try again and usually with some new ideas.
And you pay them hansomly to participate! And then you film it and make it a reality show! And then poor people who's life could be significantly altered by $3500 or how much ever it is are the only ones who sign up! And then all the rest who can afford to live comfortably sit and watch!
Surely this is a sci-fi work somewhere..
"I would hate for lawyers to have to get involved in this"
Translation: "I'm pretty sure I don't have a case here, so let me try intimidation first".
Yeah, I've thought about making my own. This bushing is splined on the ID too. Not sure how to pull it off without a shaper or broaching setup...
While that would certainly be handy, I don't think a printed part would hold up for long in there. Even if I printed it with Nylon, which is the original material. And to get decent quality I'd probably pay a fair bit more for the printer than just shelling out for the bushing. Although I'd have a printer afterwards..
I'm dealing with this issue now refurbishing a machine. There are two plastic bushings that allow a variable speed sheave/pulley to slide up and down. (Basically a CVT, but the ratio is changed manually) They charge $100 for a simple nylon bushing and there are two of them. Two nylon bushings cost more than the 5 precision, brand name bearings I've already replaced. And I know exactly why. They wear out. They know it, and they are making a handsome little profit on selling replacements.
This has been my experience. I haven't had to use it for a lot so I seem to have avoided lots of the woes described here. However, I've learned that you do NOT rely on it for any kind of screen sharing for a meeting. It doesn't work far more often than not, and that's no exxageration.
Yeah, I've yet to see any news outlet come out and directly say it was caused by his experiments. The seemingly conscious effort to leave it out makes me think they want you to assume that because it makes a more exciting story but the reality was that it was something way more common (like he passed out and drowned in the tank, od'ed in the tank from a common drug, etc)
Preach it! I don't watch news for a reason. And I don't go to a news article I want to read to have it read to me.
Is their attempt to make it sound buzzworthy by throwing in "wearable electronics".
In reality all it shows is their gaping lack of knowledge in just how complex cutting edge electronics are.
"Can we do a parasitic extraction to validate the layout?" "Well, no, because the devices are constantly moving everywhere!"
Let me laugh harder!