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3 hours ago, Q23 via 108 said:

What are the most dangerous places to fan on? 

I know the (3) for sure (Brownsville nuff said)

But other than that, I dont find any other part of the city "scary". 

I’ve been shook at Prospect Park before, but that’s because people would be calling for your attention from every corner (at least from my experience)

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This photo was taken in the 42nd St Time Square Station.  It shows a really old computer's start-up screen.  Those who used PCs in the 90s should recognize this.  The screen even says "American Megatrends 1997" on top.  I saw this yesterday and it was still here this morning.  I remember these vending machines were first used in the 90s.  That means the computer inside this vending machine came from the 90s and has probably never been upgraded all this time, which is rather disturbing to say the least.  We have been putting our credit card info into a 20-year-old computer that has probably very little E-security to speak of.  I hope they are in the process of finally upgrading these computers, which may explain the boot-up screen,

 

 

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On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 7:49 PM, CenSin said:

The MTA could install these. With cameras and AI trained to recognize balls, they could be programmed to slam shut on turnstile jumpers.

'aye, if tumblr got an algorithm now for banning images showing "female presenting nipples", I mean what the hell.... MTA may as well go for the gusto with that.....

Speaking of which, what would it be trained for, for female turnstile jumpers... Lol.

On ‎1‎/‎15‎/‎2019 at 1:22 PM, Q23 via 108 said:

What are the most dangerous places to fan on? 

I know the (3) for sure (Brownsville nuff said)

But other than that, I dont find any other part of the city "scary". 

I guess on water...

Nah, seriously though, the usual culprits in this category are the (J) in Brooklyn & Queens, the (3) past Grand Army, the (A) @ Far Rockaway, the (A)(C) between Euclid & B'way Junction, the (4)'s entire stint in the Bronx, etc. etc..... None of these ever moved me one bit....

If I was interested in the media (photos/videos) posting side of this hobby, I would make it a habit to shoot pics/vids anywhere where the consensus tend to not venture to.

Edited by B35 via Church
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4 hours ago, NYTransitWoe said:

This photo was taken in the 42nd St Time Square Station.  It shows a really old computer's start-up screen.  Those who used PCs in the 90s should recognize this.  The screen even says "American Megatrends 1997" on top.  I saw this yesterday and it was still here this morning.  I remember these vending machines were first used in the 90s.  That means the computer inside this vending machine came from the 90s and has probably never been upgraded all this time, which is rather disturbing to say the least.  We have been putting our credit card info into a 20-year-old computer that has probably very little E-security to speak of.  I hope they are in the process of finally upgrading these computers, which may explain the boot-up screen,

 

 

Yes, they have upgraded the software on the machines. It's a little more than an off-the-shelf computer in there. Note the reference to FPGA on that bios screen. That means there's a custom chip involved somewhere. 

As it happens, they're in the process of replacing the metrocard with a whole contactless solution - whether that is good or bad remains to be seen but yeah, they're changing the whole fare collection system, let alone the MVMs. 

 

But no - just because a machine is physically old doesn't inherently make it insecure. Give me any computer ever made and I'll make it the most secure known to mankind. 

Just unplug it and encase it in concrete. Problem solved. Oh, you want it to work, too? 

MVMs aren't connected to the internet and they're about as physically restrictive to intrusion as an ATM so I think you're fine. If you're worried about the security of your credit card information, make sure there's not a skimmer over the card reader and check your statements carefully. More likely you got skimmed at a restaurant than anything else. 

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On 1/15/2019 at 1:22 PM, Q23 via 108 said:

What are the most dangerous places to fan on? 

I know the (3) for sure (Brownsville nuff said)

But other than that, I dont find any other part of the city "scary". 

Dont fan in Williamsburg or first avenue on the (L), you’ll be eaten alive by hipsters. 

Edited by NoHacksJustKhaks
/s, though rush hours on the L while fanning is pretty dangerous.
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24 minutes ago, itmaybeokay said:

Yes, they have upgraded the software on the machines. It's a little more than an off-the-shelf computer in there. Note the reference to FPGA on that bios screen. That means there's a custom chip involved somewhere. 

As it happens, they're in the process of replacing the metrocard with a whole contactless solution - whether that is good or bad remains to be seen but yeah, they're changing the whole fare collection system, let alone the MVMs. 

 

But no - just because a machine is physically old doesn't inherently make it insecure. Give me any computer ever made and I'll make it the most secure known to mankind. 

Just unplug it and encase it in concrete. Problem solved. Oh, you want it to work, too? 

MVMs aren't connected to the internet and they're about as physically restrictive to intrusion as an ATM so I think you're fine. If you're worried about the security of your credit card information, make sure there's not a skimmer over the card reader and check your statements carefully. More likely you got skimmed at a restaurant than anything else. 

But keeping old hardware is just a bad idea in general because tech support and maintenance becomes harder and more expensive as the hardware ages.  Of course you can fix anything and make anything secure, but sometimes it is cheaper to just buy new hardware than fix old ones.  E.g. I could replace the broken ISA sound card on my 90s PC, or I could just upgrade to newer tech.  It's always best to quit on a technology at the right time than to have an outdated technology quit on you at the most inopportune time.  So I think this is just another case of MTA keeping their equipment way past its shelf life, just like its 1930-era switching system.

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9 minutes ago, NYTransitWoe said:

But keeping old hardware is just a bad idea in general because tech support and maintenance becomes harder and more expensive as the hardware ages.  Of course you can fix anything and make anything secure, but sometimes it is cheaper to just buy new hardware than fix old ones.  E.g. I could replace the broken ISA sound card on my 90s PC, or I could just upgrade to newer tech.  It's always best to quit on a technology at the right time than to have an outdated technology quit on you at the most inopportune time.  So I think this is just another case of MTA keeping their equipment way past its shelf life, just like its 1930-era switching system.

I didn't say the machines shouldn't be replaced. They should be, and they are being replaced as I noted. I just said that the age of the physical hardware is not an indication of it's security. The age of the physical machine is not an attack vector. Literally the only attack vector you reasonably have on an MVM would be if you could somehow maliciously craft a magnetic card to overflow a buffer and deploy a malicious payload. You have 97 bytes to work with. Godspeed. 

As for the signals, Hilariously we've taken inverse positions on the whole topic as I had a different thread. They explain it better than I would. 

 

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Once again, I hilariously, and by accident, took advantage of the Lex/63 transfer. I got on the train at 2:32 or so, and got off at Lex/63 at 2:52 (fastest trip time I have had) I was at Hunter from 3 to 4, and got back in Lex/63 shortly after and got a free transfer. It was within 2 hours, but this surprised me. The logical reason is that from Kew Gardens I could have taken the E or the F (which I took). The system assumed I took the E to Lex/53 and transferred to the 6 to Lex/59 and then walked to Lex/63, which would be idiotic. The thing is that the system does not know where I got out. Another example: I took the 6 from Brooklyn Bridge to 68th, picked up two library books at Hunter, walked to Lex/63 and got the free transfer. Once again, it does not know where I got out and assumes I got off at Lex/59.

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1 hour ago, Union Tpke said:

Once again, I hilariously, and by accident, took advantage of the Lex/63 transfer. I got on the train at 2:32 or so, and got off at Lex/63 at 2:52 (fastest trip time I have had) I was at Hunter from 3 to 4, and got back in Lex/63 shortly after and got a free transfer. It was within 2 hours, but this surprised me. The logical reason is that from Kew Gardens I could have taken the E or the F (which I took). The system assumed I took the E to Lex/53 and transferred to the 6 to Lex/59 and then walked to Lex/63, which would be idiotic. The thing is that the system does not know where I got out. Another example: I took the 6 from Brooklyn Bridge to 68th, picked up two library books at Hunter, walked to Lex/63 and got the free transfer. Once again, it does not know where I got out and assumes I got off at Lex/59.

Rather than trying to figure out, they just give you the benefit of the doubt.  Same deal with the express bus. You can transfer from any express bus. I often times will take advantage and take the BxM1 in and the BxM2 out on one fare if I do a pay-per-ride. 

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2 minutes ago, transitfan111 said:

For me it has to be the black people. I know not are black people are scary, but people from here are just different

 We’re only scary to you because you weren’t raised in that environment 

Edited by gravescend179
didn’t mean what I said
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Q: Before the R188s in-service on the (7) , when the line was using redbirds with a single unit, and the time when it was an R62A train with full 11-cars of single units, how was the C/R position formatted? 

Edited by Calvin
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1 hour ago, Calvin said:

Q: Before the R188s in-service on the (7) , when the line was using redbirds with a single unit, and the time when it was an R62A train with full 11-cars of single units, how was the C/R position formatted? 

The position was 6x5 in both directions. Conductors were in the 6th car, if I’m not mistaken. 

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