Is this really an improvement in security?

I like to keep up to date with technology but the consumer tech industry issues 'must have' updates far too often for this to be possible, at least with my financial resources. So when I heard that Android 4.0 aka 'Ice cream sandwich' was out on some new smartphones I was both interested and irritated; I already own, and am really pleased with, a Samsung Galaxy SII. There does not seem to be a killer feature on the new os so I will probably wait until it is free upgrade time again.

However one of the features being touted as a reason to buy a new device running ice cream sandwich is the face unlock feature. This means that rather than having to type in a four digit unlock code, which is apparently so tricky to remember, you just hold the phone up to your face and it unlocks. Hmmmm... How many people out there have to carry a security pass to enter their office building? How many of you have a head shot photo on your pass? Am I being stupid but unless this face recognition is cleverer than I predict it is, can it not be fooled by someone else holding up a picture of my face to the screen?

What's better the iPhone 4 or the Samsung Galaxy S2?

Well T3 magazine's phone of the year award has just been awarded to the Samsung Galaxy S2, rather than the Apple iPhone 4 or the HTC Incredible S et al.

I cannot disagree with T3, the Samsung Galaxy S2 is a great phone with much better battery life than the HTC & iPhone 4, a great browser (maybe not as good as the iPhone), way better email facilities than the iPhone and it usable as a phone unlike the iPhone 4.

Free "Tube" travel

A team at Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands have cracked the Mifare chip that sits at the heart of many of the world's travel card systems including London's Oyster card. Now Dutch court has overturned an injunction sought by NXP (the makers of the travel smartcards used in London and elsewhere) to prevent publication of the details of how to copy Oyster cards. The researchers plan to publish their findings in October this year; I predict a flurry of activity at TfL in the meantime.