"The Metro Connect network will be a combination of Wi-Fi and WiMAX and span 1,500 square miles. It includes six tiers of service, two of which are free.
Metro Connect will use mesh wireless technology from Cisco and network design by IBM. Azulstar, an ISP, will be the network operator for service provisioning of the 802.11b/g network. SeaKay, a nonprofit, will work directly with the municipalities to enable the construction and support of the network."
Will you be subscribing? The four remaining levels will have anywhere from 400 to 1,000 kilobits per second and cost between $14.95 and $59.95 per month.
I think I'll stick with my cable!
AlaskaJoe
Friday, September 08, 2006
Thursday, September 07, 2006
'Critical' patch for Office coming | Tech News on ZDNet
"Microsoft plans to release a 'critical' security update for Office next week, one of three bulletins it will distribute as part of its monthly patch cycle."
Do your Windows/Microsoft Updates.
Do your Windows/Microsoft Updates.
Microsoft Research Builds 'BrowserShield'
This is kind of neat and shows real promise, though it is a long ways from production, to the best of my knowledge.
Basically, the add-on to Internet Explorer deals with malicious code hidden within a web site, cleaning it and preventing execution, yet allowing the user to view the site. Apparently in concert with anti-virus and firewall apps, it is very effective.
Jack
Basically, the add-on to Internet Explorer deals with malicious code hidden within a web site, cleaning it and preventing execution, yet allowing the user to view the site. Apparently in concert with anti-virus and firewall apps, it is very effective.
Jack
It's not just Linux: Open Source has arrived
Linux-Watch reports on an IDC study which shows the true scale of open source and free software adoption. It's huge! In fact; the scale of FOSS adoption is really the only surprise in the survey, as we've all known FOSS has definitely been a major part of IT in recent years. I think the big numbers will surprise even some of the most rabid FOSS boosters.
Jack
Jack
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Free Disk Defragmenter!!
I saw this mentioned in an article on The Inquirer's site.
Auslogic is offering their defragmenter for NT, W2K, XP, and Vista for free. I downloaded it this morning and find it serviceable, though lacking in some features I would use. It is much faster than the Windows defragmenter and seems to do a good job.
Jack
Auslogic is offering their defragmenter for NT, W2K, XP, and Vista for free. I downloaded it this morning and find it serviceable, though lacking in some features I would use. It is much faster than the Windows defragmenter and seems to do a good job.
Jack
The Dark Side of Windows Vista RC1
Paul Thurrott really unloads on Vista RC1's user interface. Reading the article, he has a LOT of very good points. There are some places where it's just plain nonsense and no amount of talking is going to make a selling point out of it.
The point is made that the new interface is going to require a lot of retraining, particularly for users who are visually challenged. That is not good unless there is a real reason for it, like an improvement in function. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.
Jack
The point is made that the new interface is going to require a lot of retraining, particularly for users who are visually challenged. That is not good unless there is a real reason for it, like an improvement in function. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case.
Jack
zCodec is a Trojan
"It is known as adware/ZCodec or Adware/EMediacodec and affects most versions of Windows. Some of the files that the adware has been downloading are particularly nasty, including a rootkit called Ruins.MB, which does what it says on the tin."
SECURITY OUTFIT Panda software says that a video codec which is appearing in the wild offering "up to 40 percent better video quality" is a nasty bit of adware.
SECURITY OUTFIT Panda software says that a video codec which is appearing in the wild offering "up to 40 percent better video quality" is a nasty bit of adware.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Open Season on Unsecured Wi-Fi
Computer World's site has a very, very good article that lays out the problem with unsecured wireless connection. Whether or not you can fully secure your wireless, it is imperative you do all you can in order to escape any legal liability for actions taken by someone who intrudes on your LAN and Internet connection.
Nowhere is it clear that doing so will shield you from liability, but it has worked in a couple cases when the owner proved that he/she had taken all the steps they could, given their equipment.
Jack
Nowhere is it clear that doing so will shield you from liability, but it has worked in a couple cases when the owner proved that he/she had taken all the steps they could, given their equipment.
Jack
Word flaw hit with zero-day attack
An "extremely critical flaw" in Microsoft Word 2000 is currently being exploited by malicious attackers, which could lead to remote execution of code on a user's system, security researcher Secunia advised Tuesday.
The vulnerability affects systems running Windows 2000 and occurs when processing malicious Word 2000 documents, according to Secunia's security advisory.
The vulnerability affects systems running Windows 2000 and occurs when processing malicious Word 2000 documents, according to Secunia's security advisory.
Monday, September 04, 2006
Sunday, September 03, 2006
OnComputers Radio show Podcast 09-03-06
This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-03-06. You can listen live every Sunday from 10AM to 1PM Pacific thats 1PM to 4PM Eastern. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.
Friday, September 01, 2006
InfoWorld Tech Watch | TrackMeNot fools search engines
TrackmeNot is a firefox extension I've been using for the last week, almost. It generates random search queries at a rate that is user configurable (you enable via a choice under Tools, and the first few times I tried to open options it didn't work, but it's worked fine ever since then). Basically, it floods the search queries you make, I call it the "baffle 'em with BS" theory. ;)
Some of the queries are extremely odd, for instance the one currently is 'canned hex' (I'll post the ones I see while I'm working on this post, for you entertainment: 'patch gobbles,'daemon legaleses') But, it seems to work with no major hit in browser performance or connectivity, though I did get 600KB+/sec while getting some podcasts (just to show that I am a total broadband brat hehehe).
The Infoworld Weblog posted an article about TrackMeNot and other options to protect your privacy on the internet (to a limited
extent, I know...). A brief excerpt below with a link to the article.
InfoWorld Tech Watch|TrackMeNot fools search engines
--MissM
Some of the queries are extremely odd, for instance the one currently is 'canned hex' (I'll post the ones I see while I'm working on this post, for you entertainment: 'patch gobbles,'daemon legaleses') But, it seems to work with no major hit in browser performance or connectivity, though I did get 600KB+/sec while getting some podcasts (just to show that I am a total broadband brat hehehe).
The Infoworld Weblog posted an article about TrackMeNot and other options to protect your privacy on the internet (to a limited
extent, I know...). A brief excerpt below with a link to the article.
In the wake of AOL's stunningly ill-conceived decision to publicize the search habits of hundreds of thousand of its users, as well as reports of various search engines employing user-profiling, we're seeing more Web tools emerge aimed at helping users hide their tracks -- or baffle their trackers.
Browzar falls under the former category. Though the name sounds like Godzilla's next-dorr neighbor on Monster Island, Browzar is actually a Web browser designed to protect users' privacy by not retaining details of the Web sites they've searched. It does so by automatically deleting Internet caches, histories, cookies and auto-complete forms.
Taking a different tack from Browzar is a Firefox extension called TrackMeNot. Rather than employing concealment or encryption to mask a user's browsing activities, it "periodically issues randomized search-queries to popular search engines, e.g., AOL, Yahoo!, Google, and MSN," according to the TrackMeNot Web site.
InfoWorld Tech Watch|TrackMeNot fools search engines
--MissM
Four Tough Lessons of System Recovery
This is described as "a cautionary tale", too. I thought it interesting and illustrative.
Enjoy
Jack
Enjoy
Jack
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Announcing Tesseract OCR
An acquaintance who is working in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for a university library turned me on to this. She is really excited by this and I think it is pretty neat, as well.
Tesseract is a rather old HP project. Along the way, HP decided they did not really want to be in the OCR business. Tesseract is not a product and in fact is fairly far away from being ready for prime time. However, the "engine" is unique and contains features that might serve other open source OCR projects. Conversely, features from other projects might be added to Tesseract. At least those are the hopes.
While there are already a host of pretty good OCR products out there, both proprietary and free software, there is room for improvement in all of them. So any new technology released for this use is interesting and has the possibility of changing our user experience for the better.
Jack
Tesseract is a rather old HP project. Along the way, HP decided they did not really want to be in the OCR business. Tesseract is not a product and in fact is fairly far away from being ready for prime time. However, the "engine" is unique and contains features that might serve other open source OCR projects. Conversely, features from other projects might be added to Tesseract. At least those are the hopes.
While there are already a host of pretty good OCR products out there, both proprietary and free software, there is room for improvement in all of them. So any new technology released for this use is interesting and has the possibility of changing our user experience for the better.
Jack
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
California passes Wi-Fi user protection bill
California is on the verge of mandating warning messages on wireless and other internet access gear regarding it's use in unsecured configurations. Survey after survey shows that most home wireless setups are not secured in any way. Relatively few business wireless access schemes are secured, though the percentage is not as low as that for home networks.
A recent online chat with an R&D staffer at NetGear revealed they are willing to sell wireless gear that will not allow an insecure connection to be set up. However, their research also showed that such a device would be overwhelmingly rejected by consumers, even given price parity with other gear!
I have no idea what the solution is, but something must be done. Mandating warnings seems pretty pale, though, given the wide awareness of security and the consumer's evident unwillingness to take steps to be more secure.
Jack
A recent online chat with an R&D staffer at NetGear revealed they are willing to sell wireless gear that will not allow an insecure connection to be set up. However, their research also showed that such a device would be overwhelmingly rejected by consumers, even given price parity with other gear!
I have no idea what the solution is, but something must be done. Mandating warnings seems pretty pale, though, given the wide awareness of security and the consumer's evident unwillingness to take steps to be more secure.
Jack
Mac OS X-friendly OpenOffice to go public next month
The existence of an Open Office version that will run natively on Apple's OS X using the Aqua graphics system will be revealed at Apple Expo Paris next month.
Until now, a Mac user had to install the X windowing system on their machine to run OO. This was available via the OS X 10.4.x installation CD or via download. The new version will require no such gymnastics of the user and will be welcome for that. This is a big step forward for OO.
Jack
Until now, a Mac user had to install the X windowing system on their machine to run OO. This was available via the OS X 10.4.x installation CD or via download. The new version will require no such gymnastics of the user and will be welcome for that. This is a big step forward for OO.
Jack
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
AOL 9.0 Accused of Behaving Like Badware
Frankly, there is nothing in this article that surprises me. And I suspect there are more badware type features yet to be exposed.
As Joe says; "Friends don't let friends use AOL".
Jack
As Joe says; "Friends don't let friends use AOL".
Jack
Microsoft leaks Vista pricing
From the "they've got to be kidding, dept."
Jack pointed this link out to me. This could just be another droll, Inquirer joke, but if this is true...
Update: Ed Bott has a more thoughful analysis and makes his best guess at the US prices. I still think it is too much to pay for what I predict will be a buggy, rushed to deadline, OS. I can only hope MS proves us naysayers wrong.
2nd Update: It seems that Amazon has decided to list Vista prices and release date though MS officially denies it. At $399 for Ultimate it better be danged good.
Jack pointed this link out to me. This could just be another droll, Inquirer joke, but if this is true...
Update: Ed Bott has a more thoughful analysis and makes his best guess at the US prices. I still think it is too much to pay for what I predict will be a buggy, rushed to deadline, OS. I can only hope MS proves us naysayers wrong.
2nd Update: It seems that Amazon has decided to list Vista prices and release date though MS officially denies it. At $399 for Ultimate it better be danged good.
Ray Tracing
Brett Thomas has a pretty good article on Bit-Tech.net about ray tracing. It is evidently the shape of things to come and this article will give you an overview of how it works.
Currently, most of our computer graphics are done by pixel shading, a very, very processor intensive way of going about things. Ray tracing is supposedly better and we are at the point where it is possible. The calculations needed to accomplish ray tracing are massive, as well, but you don't have to perform so many of them to render good, or even great, graphics.
I have messed with ray tracing in the guise of various graphics editing programs and I must say that I don't understand it very well. However; it is amazing how much more realistic one can make an animated frame using it. I guess I'm trying to say I see at least some of the potential of this scheme. Whether or not it is the next big thing, it is coming, as the chosen route ahead by those who build our graphics hardware.
Jack
Currently, most of our computer graphics are done by pixel shading, a very, very processor intensive way of going about things. Ray tracing is supposedly better and we are at the point where it is possible. The calculations needed to accomplish ray tracing are massive, as well, but you don't have to perform so many of them to render good, or even great, graphics.
I have messed with ray tracing in the guise of various graphics editing programs and I must say that I don't understand it very well. However; it is amazing how much more realistic one can make an animated frame using it. I guess I'm trying to say I see at least some of the potential of this scheme. Whether or not it is the next big thing, it is coming, as the chosen route ahead by those who build our graphics hardware.
Jack
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