I am not disturbed. Why would a human driver be driving an automated car? What is the security mechanisms that allow such cars to be in the streets? Isn't there a need for independent monitoring for such experiments?
Since Square adapter interfaces with mobile devices using the audio input, the swipe basically produces a sound (corresponding to the credit card) that is fed to the mobile device. By recording and replaying the sound, the credit card transaction can be completed without swiping the card.
But that does not mean frauds exploit it easily.
Any one who has access to the credit card already has the credit card numbers and the security code. One could always use that information and order items online. But there are security mechanisms that protect such usage. The audio recording is identical to storing the credit card number. Square uses other mechanisms (like capturing location of each transaction) to deter fraud behavior.
Should we consider this a ray of hope or an exception? Also, as per the article, the case concluded last week. I am surprised that other tech media did not cover this given the buzz around patent trolls these days.
I suggested 2D if he wanted to build a system for himself. May be multi-angle snap-shots or a video capture could be processed for capturing conventional chess boards. But even that would not work for all chess-boards. I have come across some pieces that are different to distinguish.
I have worked in machine vision projects in past. It's not going to be easy to recognize the pieces as is; I suggest that you use 2D pieces for chess. Even better, use some unique design like this one: http://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/experimental-chess-s...
This detail fires back on Google. Google too had a partner for bidding; just that they didn't want to partner with their competitors. They were trying to portray their defeat as a conspiracy which this post proves it was not.
I read few weeks back in Y Combinator FAQ page that the average age of Y Combinator funded entrepreneurs is 26. Vivek's survey found the average age of founders to be 40. It would be interesting to know the average age of Y Combinator applicants.
The original article doesn't mention mathematical constant at all, just mentions dismissive behavior. Do you think Google was following something like what I proposed in another comment in this thread?