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Haha same here.not aware but still hard to bj(the wireless starndard that is:-p) some1..nokias r all over the place:-D
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Posted: 2003-11-14 07:57:20
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Times actually refferes to Esato as well.
"The idea of Bluejacking originated in the on line discussion forums of Esato website that is a favourite with Sony Ericsson phone-owners. Phone geeks have been doig it for a while, but it looks likely to become a common joke - if not a global phenomenon."
Cheers to ya all!!!
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Posted: 2003-11-14 08:41:38
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"phone geeks"?... well thanks very much "The Times"... I'm glad I don't read that paper!
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Posted: 2003-11-14 08:50:30
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Here we go:
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Copied ftom The Times, T2
November 13, 2003
Lifestyle
You've been bluejacked
by Sara Lawrence
Surprising passers-by with anonymous text messages is the latest craze. Our correspondent accompanies a teenage bluejacker to a shopping centre to measure the fun factor
WHEN I was 13 my best Saturday entertainment focused on making prank phone calls and knocking on people’s doors before running away. Nothing beat hiding in the hedge with my best friend, crying with laughter as Mr and Mrs Miserable stalked furiously up and down the street looking for the perpetrators of these crimes against their weekend peace.
Once you have left school that kind of mucking about is not well tolerated. But I do miss these jokes. There is nothing better than witnessing self-engineered confusion, so I was interested to hear about the latest juvenile prankster phenomenon known as bluejacking.
For the uninitiated, bluejacking is the art of sending anonymous — and free — mobile phone messages via Bluetooth-enabled devices to other Bluetooth phones within a range of about ten metres. Using a phone with Bluetooth, you can easily create a new phonebook contact and write whatever message you want in the “name” field. Then you can ask your phone to seek other Bluetooth devices (mobile phone, laptop or PDA) within your wireless range and send that contact to them. A message with whatever you have written will pop up on their screen — and most victims will have no idea where the message comes from. This is where the fun starts. Personalised messages such as “Nice yellow shoes!” can have the most startling effect on the unsuspecting passer-by.
The idea of bluejacking originated in the online discussion forums of the Esato website that is a favourite with Sony Ericsson phone-owners. Phone geeks have been doing it for a while, but it looks likely to become a common joke — if not a global phenomenon. Matthew Towers, a senior Bluetooth analyst with IMS Research, said that for the first time total Bluetooth product shipment worldwide has exceeded one million units a week and that, after a shaky start, short-range wireless technology is making its way into a record number of consumer products. Despite this he can’t see the joke taking off. Towers concedes that the publicity cannot hurt Bluetooth — the reverse, in fact — but says that “there is only so much fun you can have sending anonymous messages”.
Ellie, 13, from Surrey, disagrees. She is a regular bluejacker who has set up the first bluejack-dedicated website that tells the curious exactly how it works and how to achieve the best results. I was curious, so thought it only right that I accompany her on a research expedition.
Ellie goes to school, so a weekend was the only viable option, and would also provide a shopping crowd, as bluejacking is fun only if there are lots of potential victims. It is also easier to escape detection in a crowd.
I arrive feeling sceptical about the amount of fun to be had hanging out with a 13-year-old — even such a cool one — in shopping centres. The first thing Ellie says is: “By the way — this easily beats knocking on doors and running away. The expression on their faces is totally priceless.”
Right. Like, whatever dude. My (borrowed) phone goes down very well, however, and we head for Starbucks after a quick briefing.
It is important to go bluejacking where people will be wandering around slowly. You will find it difficult to locate other Bluetooths if people are moving too fast for you to keep covert and within range.
Ellie’s favourite haunts include shopping centres, coffee shops, train stations, shopper-filled high streets, cinemas, restaurants, bars and mobile phone shops. Starbucks did not yield the victims we had anticipated, although it provided good practice time before hitting a big Boots. We loitered near the hair dye and found the place awash with Bluetooth units. Strangely, a lot of people seem to name their phones. Out of a possible five, Ellie chose Magdalena.
Ellie usually sends: “You have just been bluejacked.” The possibilities, however, are endless. We scout the area listening for the telltale message beep. Result. A tall, spiky-haired guy across the aisle reaches into his pocket and whips out a snazzy-looking phone. He reads the message with a bemused look on his face and shows it to his girlfriend. She is more interested in the shampoo and tells him to shut up.
I egg Ellie on to send another one — “Like the spiky-hair, Magdalena” — and we lower our heads as we feign fascination with John Frieda. His phone bleeps again and he reads the message, an expression of growing astonishment on his face. He tells his girlfriend to stop it, convinced that she is playing a trick on him. She reads the message and assures him that it wasn’t her. This is brilliant.
I can’t resist one more. They move over to a “buy two, get one free” section, and Ellie — inspired — sends him “3 for 2”. At this point the guy looks decidedly scared, head swivelling in all directions — a bit Michael Douglas in The Game, and although I am desperate to fool him some more I don’t feel inclined to explain to Ellie’s father why his daughter has been arrested. She is after all wearing one of the jumpers she sells on her website — a hooded sweatshirt emblazoned with the words BluejackQ.com — but, in his terror, Magdalena has not noticed.
We move on to Wagamama, certain that there will be some Bluetooth fun to be had. The bench layout is perfect and we find a victim instantly. Ellie sends “Wagamama’” to an unnamed Nokia phone and by chance the beep sounds directly behind Ellie.
I witness a girl receiving the message. She looks shocked, her eyes grow large and she giggles nervously. She also stares suspiciously around the restaurant. I give her a polite smile. Her food arrives and she forgets the strange message.
Send another one, send another one, I say. Ellie sends: “Mmm ... that looks good,” and the girl almost falls off her bench. At this point she also calls the waiter over and asks him what is going on. Is there a trickster chef in the kitchen? They both laugh and agree that one of her friends must be playing a trick on her. Ellie and I know better, but decide to leave it at that.
I had a highly amusing — occasionally hysterical — time bluejacking with Ellie. She is great company and clearly very intelligent. Her father, Jeremy, bought her a domain name for her 11th birthday and she has been building websites ever since.
Her favourite school subject is, unsurprisingly, IT and she has already been made considerable offers for BluejackQ. She won’t sell though; she is too committed a bluejacker, and the site proves that many others are catching on to this game: it has had more than 300,000 page views in the past six weeks. As far as flirting goes, this could be put to wonderful use. My bluejacking with Ellie was all very innocent, but I cannot help thinking of the things that people could send if they were so inclined.
Insults, unwanted sexual remarks: surely this will one day cause offence? Ellie thinks not, but she is 13 and a nice girl.
I have already had impromptu flash-mob fantasies. Imagine mass bluejacking people at, say, a Justin Timberlake concert. You could send something along the lines of: “You are my favourite fan. Meet me backstage after the concert. Love Trousersnake.” Just think of the beautiful mayhem that would cause.
For bluejacking tips and information, visit Ellie’s website at
www.bluejackq.com
A bluejacker's guide
1 To bluejack you must have a phone that is equipped with Bluetooth technology.
2 Create a new phone book contact with the message you want to send stored in the name field.
3 Go to a busy place. Ellie suggests railway stations, shopping centres, restaurants and bars, universities and colleges, high streets and mobile-phone shops.
4 It is vital that you pick a place where people are moving slowly, as it is almost impossible to bluejack people who are walking away from your range too fast.
5 Select the contact you made earlier and choose Send, followed by Bluetooth.
6 Your phone will list the names of all Bluetooth devices within your range and you can select your phone book contact name to be sent to whichever one you like.
7 Try to be casual or you will give yourself away, but keep an eye out for anybody standing nearby with a Bluetooth phone looking puzzled. Once you know who has received your message you can decide what to send next.
8 This is where the fun begins; the rest is up to you.
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Posted: 2003-11-14 08:52:51
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the balls on that guy!!!
....if people that use
are known as geeks, then let it be known that oxford or webster will hafta redefine that in the dictionaries very soon......
coz
technology and applications are here to stay......either get on the bandwagon or make a quick exit outta the gene pool!!!
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Posted: 2003-11-14 08:56:12
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And to think it all started one day when Ajack was bored in the bank, amazing!
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Posted: 2003-11-14 09:00:05
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nuthin ventured nuthin gained...go forth my frens and start
jackin....
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Posted: 2003-11-14 09:12:25
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I was an avid reader of the aforementioned broadsheet until I read that article. I wiped my backside with it yesterday as a protest. I woke up this morning and the wife was reading my arse!!!
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Posted: 2003-11-14 09:30:08
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Posted: 2003-11-14 09:52:33
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I just find it amazing that bluejacking is getting so much publicity! I said last year in the first few pages of the bluejacking forum and i will say it again... once nokia starts implementing bluetooth in its lower end products, and it slowly is, bluejacking is going to become a phenomenon. Too bad that by then we will be saying " Yeah we were doing that stuff like 2 years ago!!"
And about the geek thing, we always will be called geeks in the beginning with sth new but just wait till it gets mainstream..
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Posted: 2003-11-14 14:44:46
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