Oleg Sadov wrote: > A slightly similar idea -- bitcoins wallet: > > http://www.bitcointrezor.com/
Ah, nice ! Thanks for the link ! They also have a nice and simple channel from host to their Trezor. Didn't know there was such an accessible API for that. This would make sending some site ID from a browser to the password safe rather easy. > About "one more item to carry around" -- what about implementing of > such device as a common thing -- a wirst- or pocketwatch, for example? That's an interesting idea. It would certainly improve the possibility of never losing sight of it. Drawbacks: - gets really really tiny - has to be more robust as well, including water resistance - how to make a useful keyboard, at least for password entry, at such a form factor ? - you'd lose the ability to stow an RF dongle in the safe Regarding the keyboard, I had one of these critters a long time ago: http://forum.pocketcalculatorshow.com/topic/casio-scientific-cfx-200-model-197 I would have said that this is about the maximum number of buttons one can cram into a watch (and pecking at the tiny buttons with a fingernail wasn't all that much fun), but then I found this one: http://pocketcalculatorshow.com/nerdwatch/1980-pulsar-calculator-watch/attachment/pulsar-y739-4/ That's almost enough buttons for a real keyboard. Of course, one could do like dumbphones do and have many characters per key, but that gets messy quickly and it may also encourage the use of lower-quality passwords. I was thinking of an 11 x 3 matrix with a key pitch of maybe 7 or 6 mm. That still allows reasonably swift typing. The minimum matrix for a QWERTY layout has 10 columns. I would try to have a layout that has not more than two labels per key. E.g., here's a QWERTY layout for a 12 x 3 matrix, inspired by the Nokia N900 keyboard: http://downloads.qi-hardware.com/people/werner/tmp/kbd-12x3.pdf The things in red wouldn't be printed on the keys (to avoid overcrowding) but can be easily guessed from symbol that is shown. The overall look would be similar to that of those ruler calculators, but with a slightly larger display: http://www.p-wholesale.com/upimg/3/34a1/calculator-ruler-488.jpg Regarding stowing the RF dongle, I'm undecided whether this would be good or bad. Advantages: - you can carry a dongle with you all the time, - adds one more use to the USB host port. (The other uses are connecting an external keyboard and flashing and "pairing" dongles.), - if there's no cover, there's a hole in the device if the RF dongle is removed. Disadvantages: - takes up some space (that would also be noticeable if not going for a watch-sized device), - at least one more moving part in the design. I would assume that, if using computers that aren't basically yours, one would want to use the RF dongle. So anyone who doesn't just move between home and office would want to carry one with the password safe. Of course, at least for uses that have a password that can be displayed, one could just read it off the safe and type into the PC (or ATM, etc.). > Intellectual smart watches is a promising trend now and such hackable > gadget with a passwords/crypto coins safe/wallet functionality may be > interesting. Yes, that may one of the first use cases that actually makes sense ;-) Anything that begins with "constantly communicates with your smartphone" usually ends with "needs daily recharging ... and don't stay up too late !" > Apropos, what do you think about possibility NFC support? Dunno. I don't have any experience with NFC. I know I can make working 802.15.4 devices. - Werner _______________________________________________ Qi Hardware Discussion List Mail to list (members only): [email protected] Subscribe or Unsubscribe: http://lists.en.qi-hardware.com/mailman/listinfo/discussion
