Prisoners cannibalise mice for mobile power Convicts at a hi-tech Scottish prison are swiping computer mice from IT classes. It turns out the mice's USB cable can be used to charge up lags' covert mobile phones. Rip the cord out of the mouse, plug it into a PlayStation and, with a bit of re-wiring, you have a power source for your handset. PlayStations? It seems the …
i think that this comes from the Daily Record should be your first clue that this story is untrue. UK prisoners are not allowd PS3's because of the onboard wifi and hard drive. A Playstation 2 is sometimes permitted for well behaved prsioners, but I understand some prisons have had problems with inmates smuggling porn to watch.
Prsions are overcrowded and given so many are illiterate you might as well give them something to do that is at least legal.
Playstations? Seriously? You're lucky if the ward you're staying at in a UK hospital has a television, let alone any form of computer. Prisoners get IT lessons and Playstations though.
Props to the prisoners for knowing which wires to use for power in the USB cable, at least they're using the cable for a non-lethal purpose.
WTF. I see some unjust human rights breaches here. Inmates have to use mobiles? when they have a computer. I seriously think that the lack of a voip implmentation is hindering these lags.
If i were visting some in prison. I would be looking to smuggle in a leaked mtldr key for ps3 a copy of slackware and a skype tgz
where would they get the connector to hold the wires in place from? I guess a blob of chewing gum would do it in a pinch, but it's hardly effective.
Much easier to smuggle in a USB charger lead surely?
Mind you, it IS the daily Record, so validity of the story is questionable to start with.
do prisoners even have physical access to electricity!
Fair enough, if you want to give them a tv, give them one, but they shouldn't be able to physically access it, they're prisoners not hotel guests! A remote control should be the closest they get, if at all, much better if they have to ask a guard to change channel.
If their human rights absolutely demand that they must have a playstation too, don't let them have physical access to it. Even game stores lock their display machines away in cabinets! Discs are easy to make into weapons, so are mice/controller cables!
"PlayStations? It seems the jailbirds spending time at Her Majesty's pleasure in Addiewell, West Lothian have games consoles and HD TVs to play with, and, according to Scottish newspaper the Daily Record, are able to order their meals by computer."
Enough said. Off to rob a bank so I can spend all day playing console games.
Do I actually need to rob the bank now? Or can I just notify the police of this comment?
Grenade, for the British Justice System.
They've learnt new skills in prison. That's a pretty rough hack, but clearly it works. That's the kind of skill which is transferable when they get back out.
On the one hand it's bad because they've broken the rules and they're meant to be being rehabilitated, on the other hand MacGuyver would be proud of them.
I'll get in early with the obvious comment.
*I* don't have an HDTV or a PS3, and I'm a hard-working member of society (well, when I'm not on here). So I'm busy paying for a bunch of jailbirds to have the toys I can't afford, as some kind of punishment?
Love it.
No-one else misread the title of the article and think the lags were catching live mice and converting their bioelectrical energy a la The Matrix or similar to the potato battery? I did think "oh, the humanity" before realising it should probably be "rodentity".
Although I do suspect that was the author's intention... :-)
Bloody human rights should be scaled down when you end up inside. No bleeding heart stories - life inside is easy and we spend a fortune on each and every one of these scummers. NI apparently spent 81k per prisoner last year! I wanna see that money put to good use - like getting them to fill in potholes, or cleaning streets etc.
A guy I kind of know was in prison (he was caught with guns an live hand grenades in his car !!). He kept running his business with a mobile and played Xbox all day. He said if it wasn't for the fact he couldn't have sex with his missus he would have been quite happy to stay inside.
But cabled to the desk... wait a minute
It seems logically possible if not legal that phone companies can determine the location of any phone quite well, and within a prison only allow service to authorised IMEIs.
And in hospitals and cinemas you aren't allowed to use a cellphone, so surely it can't be illegal to disallow it? Oh well.
hmm well good to see so many informed comments on here.
1st prisoners are not given tv's they have to pay 50p a week to get one (if they do not work they get paid 50p a day "bang up pay")
2nd to get to be allowed to buy a console they have to be at least enhanced status (every one starts on standard which allows the prisoner a tv, They can go down to basic (no tv) or up to enhanced (normally have a job or be in full time education wages are on average £9 per week))
the games consoles have to be purchased from their wages and as a previous poster stated they can only obtain ps2 type consoles (no wifi or hard disk) they can not purcase cert18 games they are also not allowed memory cards
yes phones do get smuggled but it is hard to get chargers that fit body cavities
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