Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

41–50 of 59 posts

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#41

Post by kryptiskt »

Tharkun wrote: post #38
DanBC wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you got downvoted. English rail laws are pretty clear about tickets. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-conditions-of-carriage.pdf > 5.1 All photocards and Oyster photocards remain our property and must not be intentionally damaged, altered or tampered with in any way. We may withdraw or cancel your photocard or Oyster photocard at any time The railway bylaws say this: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy…

Why isn't anyone protesting those TOS? Them having the apparently unqualified right to cancel the card you paid for is unacceptable.

You're buying the service, not the card.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#42

Post by 88e282102ae2e5b »

This whole concept seems like a combination of a desperate wish to be living in a better world and the need to seem interesting at parties. When there's a compelling reason to get such devices you won't have to ask people what they use them for, in the same way that you don't have to ask people why they have a cell phone.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#43

Post by mseebach »

kryptiskt wrote: post #41
Tharkun wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why isn't anyone protesting those TOS? Them having the apparently unqualified right to cancel the card you paid for is unacceptable.

You're buying the service, not the card.

And it being a public service, they generally can't deny you the use of it (at least not 'unqualified', I'm sure there could be some sort of police or court order taken out against people) - but they can specify exactly how you're going to pay for the service.

Also, I'm pretty sure "cancelling" means "forced reissue", not forfeiture of a legitimate ticket or balance.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#44

Post by ethbro »

amingilani wrote: post #28
thinbeige wrote: post #22

Maybe I am clueless but why not just stick a NFC chip on the back of your smartphone or just get one with NFC? I can't imagine any situation where you need an NFC chip and don't carry along your smartphone. Ok, there's one: You are swimming in a swimming pool and need to open the locker afterwards.

I was going to get an NFC ring initially. But then I woke up one night and decided that if I ever own a gun, and need it in the middle of the night because a zombie broke into my house. I'd want a system where I can stick my hand under the bed and pull out a gun. But this system shouldn't work for anyone else. That pushed me over the edge and I got an implant a few weeks later. True story. I still have to get around…

There might be easier ways to differentiate individual hands if necrotic flesh is your threat model. :)

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#45

Post by tjmaglio »

BjoernKW wrote: post #10
michjedi wrote: post #3

You could easily cut an Oyster Card chip out of the card, stick it in your hand and use it to travel in London.

Something like this has been done before, albeit in the form of objects like rings: http://www.ds72.com/projects/oyster-ring So while possible unfortunately tampering with Oyster cards is frowned upon by TfL. It might not technically be illegal but it'll certainly run you into problems when checked by traffic inspectors. The answer to this StackExchange question gives an in-depth explanation of the Oyster card's cryp…

RingTheory makes rings that can access the MBTA (mass transit) in Boston. The product is the "Sesame Ring" and they have partnered with the MBTA on this. http://www.ringtheory.com/#home

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#46

Post by DanBC »

Tharkun wrote: post #38
DanBC wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you got downvoted. English rail laws are pretty clear about tickets. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-conditions-of-carriage.pdf > 5.1 All photocards and Oyster photocards remain our property and must not be intentionally damaged, altered or tampered with in any way. We may withdraw or cancel your photocard or Oyster photocard at any time The railway bylaws say this: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy…

Why isn't anyone protesting those TOS? Them having the apparently unqualified right to cancel the card you paid for is unacceptable.

You'd get to challenge the ToS in court if TfL were unfairly applying it.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#47

Post by falcolas »

Tharkun wrote: post #38
DanBC wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure why you got downvoted. English rail laws are pretty clear about tickets. http://content.tfl.gov.uk/tfl-conditions-of-carriage.pdf > 5.1 All photocards and Oyster photocards remain our property and must not be intentionally damaged, altered or tampered with in any way. We may withdraw or cancel your photocard or Oyster photocard at any time The railway bylaws say this: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/sy…

Why isn't anyone protesting those TOS? Them having the apparently unqualified right to cancel the card you paid for is unacceptable.

> having the apparently unqualified right to cancel the card

Is unfortunately required to handle the various con artists and scammers who would exploit loopholes the TOS.

Yes, I believe you can be in the wrong while following the letter of the law; that's part of the reason why we have so many damned laws: to close loopholes exploited by assholes.

Of course some asshole in the system can abuse that clause right back, but that's the cost of doing business with people on both sides.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#48

Post by falcolas »

edejong wrote: post #32
amingilani wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unfortunately no, this is a passive tag that can only let you read data that's on the chip. The chip also had a unique ID. Android or Apple Pay use your phone's NFC antenna to communicate. But they don't give out the same information every time.

That makes it pretty useless. You can't sign or decrypt an AES key, no display. I'm even more convinced that the bio-hacking is nothing but a badly thought out fad.

A slightly more advanced implant like those in passively powered RFID smartcard could do exactly this: provide a mechanism by which to cryptographically authenticate a transaction via a stored private key.

There are yubikeys which do this exactly already, just via a usb-key shaped device.

It would suffer from some of the same problems as biometrics - in that once set, it couldn't practically be revoked. And any failures would involve minor surgery to correct. But at least you wouldn't be leaving the secret key on every surface you touched.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#49

Post by falcolas »

I want to do this - to expand my senses and mind (what else is technology good for) - but I really don't want something that will wear out and which can't be easily replaced. I respect the pioneers in this field, and look forward to the tech becoming more advanced and mainstream.

To those who believe it will never become mainstream - the same could have been said for tattoos and piercings a mere few decades ago. I remember a time when visible tattoos were a sign of a counter culture, not a normal part of life.

Heck, Google Glass was shunned for its camera, but the Snapchat Spectacles are actively embraced only a few years later.

Re: Ask HN: What do you actually use your biohack implants for?

#50

Post by EpicEng »

thinbeige wrote: post #22

Maybe I am clueless but why not just stick a NFC chip on the back of your smartphone or just get one with NFC? I can't imagine any situation where you need an NFC chip and don't carry along your smartphone. Ok, there's one: You are swimming in a swimming pool and need to open the locker afterwards.

>Maybe I am clueless but why not just stick a NFC chip on the back of your smartphone or just get one with NFC?

Because then you don't feel as cool when you tell people about it.

Post reply on HN