
MIT Students Love iPhone-Powered Doors, Hate Actual Keys - noheartanthony
http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-07/mit-students-love-iphone-powered-doors-hate-actual-keys
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JimmyL
Seems like quite a logical jump between the article content (one MIT student
decided to hack his door to be controlled by his iPhone) and the headline (all
MIT students have iPhone-controlled doors and love them).

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zemaj
Popsci international redirect fail.

If you visit [http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-07/mit-students-
love-...](http://www.popsci.com/diy/article/2009-07/mit-students-love-iphone-
powered-doors-hate-actual-keys) from Australia it directs you to
<http://www.popsci.com.au/>

Go to [http://www.popsci.com.au/diy/article/2009-07/mit-students-
lo...](http://www.popsci.com.au/diy/article/2009-07/mit-students-love-iphone-
powered-doors-hate-actual-keys) to get the full article.

~~~
prawn
Which redirects me to popsci.com which redirects me back to popsci.com.au in
an endless cycle. Ugh.

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taitems
My boss' wife called him the other day in total panic, the battery in her car
remote had failed and she had to get somewhere fast. Once she calmed down
enough to listen she was really embarassed about the whole, you know, open the
door with a key thing.

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whatusername
What about the alarm and the immobiliser? I know if I can't use my car remote
- i've got serious issues - first the alarm will sound as soon as I turn it in
the door - and then the engine wont start.. (And my car is 14 years old)

~~~
taitems
Maybe not with a 14 year old car, but most cars with keyless entry and an
alarm will have an internal disable switch (as stupid as it sounds). Break
into the car, the alarm goes off, disable the alarm. As for immobilisiers, if
you have the microchip in the key, there's no reason it should immobilise?

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whatusername
:) The two alarm systems I have owned are both old Toyota ones. Both keys are
normal metal - no microchip - it's the beeper that disables the immobiliser. I
am wondering about if I have a

The point was more that the distraught caller might not want to look like
she's breaking into a car out on the street.

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jackdawjack
"this bookworm can't remember"

bookworm seems like a vaguely perjorative term

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weaksauce
I love the door hack. I would probably disable the knock though because your
neighbor could overhear the secret knock and steal all your 2600 magazines or
perform one of the fabled MIT pranks.

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bprater
Perhaps the knock changes on a daily or hourly basis!

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nuclear_eclipse
One-time-use knocking patterns?

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varenc
Whats most interesting about this article is how they go from 'MIT student
with iphone controlled door' ---> 'complete nerd' without any other prompting.

"bookworm can't remember" "taps into the dorm room sink (which no nerd needs)"

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ars
I think the strangest thing about this is that someone at mit would have an
iPhone. (Rather than android, or palm based one.)

Maybe he jailbroke it.

:)

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aita
Is it possible to write an remote(I should be able to use with my Sony TV,
BOSE music system ...) application? I tried searching iTunes store didn't find
any. Are there any technical limitations?

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skalpelis
Yes, the iPhone doesn't have an IR transmitter, for one.

