As we spoke a little about programming and programming languages on the show yesterday, I thought finding this article timely. I had even mentioned the Ruby scripting language.
Ruby on Rails (RoR) seems a successful attempt to provide a framework; a system, if you will, for generation and maintenance of web services and web site code. The philosophy of rigorous simplicity is interesting in it's own right. The article is an interesting read and can even give those who don't program a fairly decent idea of RoR's strengths and weaknesses.
Jack
Monday, October 31, 2005
Sunday, October 30, 2005
OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-30-05
This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-30-2005. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.
Saturday, October 29, 2005
"It's Not Excel, It's Magic!!" Contest Winners
Please join us in congratulating Barry Bouchard and Mike Iversen for winning a copy of Mike Umlas' book, "It's not Excel, It's Magic!"
Senators question file-storage shift - The Boston Globe
Interesting article here. Apparently, users with visual disabilities are complaining because the office applications that support the OpenDocument format don't really work well with devices made to make lives of these users easier.
Maybe Riley can comment on this.
Aaron
Maybe Riley can comment on this.
Aaron
Friday, October 28, 2005
IBM is working to eliminate the need for Anti-Virus apps
This Techworld.com article is about AXE (Assured eXecution Environment) which is kernel level execution control. With it in place, unauthorized code simply cannot run.
While not here yet, neither is this the sort of press conference "pie in the sky" we hear so often. Instead, it is a real and progressive effort to provide us, the users, with protection. More power to them.
Jack
While not here yet, neither is this the sort of press conference "pie in the sky" we hear so often. Instead, it is a real and progressive effort to provide us, the users, with protection. More power to them.
Jack
Sun lets JDS on Linux roam free
Trust me on this when I say this is a HUGE development!
For those of you who aren't familiar with Sun's "Java Desktop System" (JDS) it is a desktop layer which, until now, ran on Sun's version of SuSE Linux, Sun's Solaris operating system or their SunRay thin client OS. The JDS is based on the Gnome Linux desktop with heavy dependence on Sun's Java programming language.
Unlike a Linux distribution, the JDS contains only one application for any given purpose. It thus presents a rather less confusing set of choices to the user, in much the same manner as Windows or the Mac OS X do. To a corporate IT department, this is very attractive because they do not have to support a lot of duplicate application nor strip them out of a distro before turning the machine over to the user. And now Sun has freed it to be shipped with any Linux distribution.
I am not really a fan of Gnome, though the most damning criticism I can level at it is that it doesn't really suit me as a user. And I have to say it does suit a lot of users. It's a personal preference thing and no more than that. In my opinion, the JDS version of Gnome is the best, most usable desktop around, period! I ran it here for a while and would have kept it had it supported the hardware I needed it to. I also have several friends and one business with which I am assocaited using it They won't use anything else, so this development is good for them. In fact; I think it's good for all of us.
The article above has screenshots and if you get really curious, you can find information on the JDS at Sun's web site and several Linux sites, including LinuxQuestions.org.
Jack
For those of you who aren't familiar with Sun's "Java Desktop System" (JDS) it is a desktop layer which, until now, ran on Sun's version of SuSE Linux, Sun's Solaris operating system or their SunRay thin client OS. The JDS is based on the Gnome Linux desktop with heavy dependence on Sun's Java programming language.
Unlike a Linux distribution, the JDS contains only one application for any given purpose. It thus presents a rather less confusing set of choices to the user, in much the same manner as Windows or the Mac OS X do. To a corporate IT department, this is very attractive because they do not have to support a lot of duplicate application nor strip them out of a distro before turning the machine over to the user. And now Sun has freed it to be shipped with any Linux distribution.
I am not really a fan of Gnome, though the most damning criticism I can level at it is that it doesn't really suit me as a user. And I have to say it does suit a lot of users. It's a personal preference thing and no more than that. In my opinion, the JDS version of Gnome is the best, most usable desktop around, period! I ran it here for a while and would have kept it had it supported the hardware I needed it to. I also have several friends and one business with which I am assocaited using it They won't use anything else, so this development is good for them. In fact; I think it's good for all of us.
The article above has screenshots and if you get really curious, you can find information on the JDS at Sun's web site and several Linux sites, including LinuxQuestions.org.
Jack
Open Sources 2.0, The Continuing Evolution
The link is to an O'Reilly web site page. The book is a collection of essays by verious open source luminaries about the evolution of what can now safely be called a movement and their views of the future. I've read a couple samples and found it thought provoking and well enough written to be thoroughly enjoyable.
Jack
Jack
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Congress to Face Crackberry Cold-Turkey Withdrawal
Supreme Court Rejects RIM's Stay Request By MARK H. ANDERSON, DOW JONES
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts denied Research In Motion Inc.'s request to freeze lower court proceedings in a patent dispute between the BlackBerry maker and NTP Inc. Shares of Research In Motion fell 4%, or $2.36, to $55.04 on the Nasdaq Stock Market after the decision was announced.
The emergency request was denied without comment. RIM could refile the request with another justice, but such a move isn't likely to result in a different outcome. Chief Justice Roberts handles emergency requests for cases out of the Washington-based Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviewed the case on appeal because it dealt with patent law.
Research In Motion, a Waterloo, Ontario, maker of Blackberry wireless email devices, has been trying to ensure a U.S. District Court doesn't enact an injunction restricting its ability to sell and support Blackberry operations in the U.S. because of a patent infringement case the company lost against NTP, a Virginia patent holding company. It filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Monday.
In a statement after Wednesday's decision, RIM confirmed the high court had denied its emergency request, but added the court "was not asked to, and did not decide, whether it ultimately will accept an appeal of the decision in the case."
Congress discovered Blackberries a couple of years ago, after Wall Street, tech execs, and lobbyists. My take on the legal battle that RIM is waging is that an injunction will be granted, forcing RIM to shut off the Blackberry e-mail service. So if you see an IM junky walking the corridors of power with a nervous tic, be kind to these withdrawing addicts.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts denied Research In Motion Inc.'s request to freeze lower court proceedings in a patent dispute between the BlackBerry maker and NTP Inc. Shares of Research In Motion fell 4%, or $2.36, to $55.04 on the Nasdaq Stock Market after the decision was announced.
The emergency request was denied without comment. RIM could refile the request with another justice, but such a move isn't likely to result in a different outcome. Chief Justice Roberts handles emergency requests for cases out of the Washington-based Federal U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which reviewed the case on appeal because it dealt with patent law.
Research In Motion, a Waterloo, Ontario, maker of Blackberry wireless email devices, has been trying to ensure a U.S. District Court doesn't enact an injunction restricting its ability to sell and support Blackberry operations in the U.S. because of a patent infringement case the company lost against NTP, a Virginia patent holding company. It filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court on Monday.
In a statement after Wednesday's decision, RIM confirmed the high court had denied its emergency request, but added the court "was not asked to, and did not decide, whether it ultimately will accept an appeal of the decision in the case."
Congress discovered Blackberries a couple of years ago, after Wall Street, tech execs, and lobbyists. My take on the legal battle that RIM is waging is that an injunction will be granted, forcing RIM to shut off the Blackberry e-mail service. So if you see an IM junky walking the corridors of power with a nervous tic, be kind to these withdrawing addicts.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Back Up for Dummies from Dell
For all of $99, Dell will now provide you with a second 80 GB hard drive on some Dimension models. All your files are backed up continuously and, when the dreaded hard drive crash comes (as it eventually will) you're protected.
What's not to like? It's cheap enough, capacious enough for all but the most rabid file traders and probably as reliable as any electro-mechanical system can be. And it happens automatically, so Joe or Jane Consumer isn't troubled by administrative details they don't understand.
It's about time.
Jack
What's not to like? It's cheap enough, capacious enough for all but the most rabid file traders and probably as reliable as any electro-mechanical system can be. And it happens automatically, so Joe or Jane Consumer isn't troubled by administrative details they don't understand.
It's about time.
Jack
Itanium Delay Puts HP in a Bind
[Google Blogspot ate my 10 paragraph blog. Honest. Below is a thumbnail of what never got posted.]
HP has by far the greatest risk to Itanium disappointments due to the company's heavy commitment to the processor family. HP 9000, VAX, and Tandem NonStop customers who bought into the Itanium migration are now facing some difficult choices. The delayed Montecito will have reduced features and a lower clock than planned when it arrives mid-2006. Future Itaniums are pushed out nine months or so. Thus, the future for tier-1 backend database machines based on Itanium is cloudy and deteriorating.
HP's Itanium engineers were sucked into Intel last year, meaning HP is stuck with what Intel can deliver on the Itanium platter. There's lots of speculation that Intel, absent its contractual commitments to HP, would sunset Itanium as a distraction. If nothing else, Intel needs the Itanium engineers as troops in its big battle pitting Xeon -- and its architectural descendants -- against AMD's Opteron.
The question I hear HP's Itanium customers asking today is basically this: "When can we jump from an Itanium multi-processor in a scale-up architecture to a scale-out architecture with 4-way Xeon (or Opteron) processors?" The answer is that many can. Today.
HP has by far the greatest risk to Itanium disappointments due to the company's heavy commitment to the processor family. HP 9000, VAX, and Tandem NonStop customers who bought into the Itanium migration are now facing some difficult choices. The delayed Montecito will have reduced features and a lower clock than planned when it arrives mid-2006. Future Itaniums are pushed out nine months or so. Thus, the future for tier-1 backend database machines based on Itanium is cloudy and deteriorating.
HP's Itanium engineers were sucked into Intel last year, meaning HP is stuck with what Intel can deliver on the Itanium platter. There's lots of speculation that Intel, absent its contractual commitments to HP, would sunset Itanium as a distraction. If nothing else, Intel needs the Itanium engineers as troops in its big battle pitting Xeon -- and its architectural descendants -- against AMD's Opteron.
The question I hear HP's Itanium customers asking today is basically this: "When can we jump from an Itanium multi-processor in a scale-up architecture to a scale-out architecture with 4-way Xeon (or Opteron) processors?" The answer is that many can. Today.
SANS - Internet Storm Center
Skype has a couple security issues that are fixed by downloading the latest here.
"Our avid reader and contributor Juha-Matti let us know that there are two new vulnerabilities in the free IP telephone software Skype.
http://www.skype.com/security/skype-sb-2005-02.html
and
http://www.skype.com/security/skype-sb-2005-03.html
CVE entries: CVE-2005-3265
CVE-2005-3267
Secunia advisory: http://secunia.com/advisories/17305/
Please upgrade to the new version ASAP, they have been rated highly critical by Secunia, and high by Skype."
--MissM
"Our avid reader and contributor Juha-Matti let us know that there are two new vulnerabilities in the free IP telephone software Skype.
http://www.skype.com/security/skype-sb-2005-02.html
and
http://www.skype.com/security/skype-sb-2005-03.html
CVE entries: CVE-2005-3265
CVE-2005-3267
Secunia advisory: http://secunia.com/advisories/17305/
Please upgrade to the new version ASAP, they have been rated highly critical by Secunia, and high by Skype."
--MissM
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
IBM's xBox 360 Details
From IBM's press release:
The chip features a customized version of IBM's industry leading 64-bit PowerPC core. The chip includes three of these cores, each with two simultaneous threads and clock speeds greater than 3 GHz. It features 165 million transistors and is fabricated using IBM's 90 nanometer Silicon on Insulator (SOI) technology to reduce heat and improve performance. The chip's innovative 21.6 GB/s Front Side Bus (FSB) Architecture was customized to meet the demanding throughput and latency requirements of the Xbox 360 gaming platform software.
Other Xbox 360 chip features include:
-- 3 identical multi-threaded PowerPC-based CPU cores operating at 3.2 GHz enhanced with specialized function VMX acceleration for gaming applications and a high speed 128-bit vector unit
-- 1 MByte Shared L2 Cache with custom logic for high-speed data streaming for graphics and system applications
-- 5.4 Gb/s per-pin Front Side Bus (with an aggregated bandwidth of 21.6 GBs)
-- Highly configurable and programmable utilizing eFUSE technology
The aggregate FSB bandwidth at 21.6 GB/second is an eye-opener. That ought to allow for near-photo realism in games and 2x HD video (2160i).
CNET news story on the chip here.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's plans for a simultaneous global launch guarantee shortages. Want the hot, unobtainable Christmas product you can sell on eBay? Better order in advance of the November 22nd launch. Then again, the shortage story may be part of a brilliant PR campaign to focus media attention on the xBox 360. You decide...
The chip features a customized version of IBM's industry leading 64-bit PowerPC core. The chip includes three of these cores, each with two simultaneous threads and clock speeds greater than 3 GHz. It features 165 million transistors and is fabricated using IBM's 90 nanometer Silicon on Insulator (SOI) technology to reduce heat and improve performance. The chip's innovative 21.6 GB/s Front Side Bus (FSB) Architecture was customized to meet the demanding throughput and latency requirements of the Xbox 360 gaming platform software.
Other Xbox 360 chip features include:
-- 3 identical multi-threaded PowerPC-based CPU cores operating at 3.2 GHz enhanced with specialized function VMX acceleration for gaming applications and a high speed 128-bit vector unit
-- 1 MByte Shared L2 Cache with custom logic for high-speed data streaming for graphics and system applications
-- 5.4 Gb/s per-pin Front Side Bus (with an aggregated bandwidth of 21.6 GBs)
-- Highly configurable and programmable utilizing eFUSE technology
The aggregate FSB bandwidth at 21.6 GB/second is an eye-opener. That ought to allow for near-photo realism in games and 2x HD video (2160i).
CNET news story on the chip here.
Meanwhile, Microsoft's plans for a simultaneous global launch guarantee shortages. Want the hot, unobtainable Christmas product you can sell on eBay? Better order in advance of the November 22nd launch. Then again, the shortage story may be part of a brilliant PR campaign to focus media attention on the xBox 360. You decide...
The Rinky-Dink Software Rant
Dvorak is at it again. I read this column with my head nodding. Even my favorite Paint Shop Pro is overly complicated, yet a lot easier to use than a full-blown copy of Photoshop. Its easier on the pocketbook, too.
So far my favorite all easy "get the job done" solution is Photoshop Elements.
As to the Kindegarten interface programs. The bundled software litters my hard drive and is rarely if ever used. Often uninstalling these pieces of candy corn (pretty, sweet, and otherwise useless) break another part of the bundle so they sit there idly, taking up bits. Then again, that's what 160 GB hard drives are for!
So far my favorite all easy "get the job done" solution is Photoshop Elements.
As to the Kindegarten interface programs. The bundled software litters my hard drive and is rarely if ever used. Often uninstalling these pieces of candy corn (pretty, sweet, and otherwise useless) break another part of the bundle so they sit there idly, taking up bits. Then again, that's what 160 GB hard drives are for!
Monday, October 24, 2005
Why OpenOffice.org 2.0 Is Your Best Choice
From the article:
"Let me get down to the nitty-gritty: It's free (as in free beer) and it works. What's not to like?"
Can I say more. I'm going to start my download today :-)
"Let me get down to the nitty-gritty: It's free (as in free beer) and it works. What's not to like?"
Can I say more. I'm going to start my download today :-)
Rat outsmarts scientists
If nothing else, it is a great headline.
Note that the one thing they don't mention having in the anti-rat arsenal was a cat. By the way, I have no doubt that cats can outsmart scientists, too.
Note that the one thing they don't mention having in the anti-rat arsenal was a cat. By the way, I have no doubt that cats can outsmart scientists, too.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-23-05
This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-23-2005. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.
Today's URLs
This isn't Excel, its Magic! By Bob Umlas
Sysinternals Freeware - RootkitRevealer
Security Now podcast, transcript.
Mike Tech Show
Flock browser
Open Office 2.0
Strider Ghostbuster from Microsoft Research
--MissM
a url I didn't get to mention on the show. Gizmondo stolen from a store, so they text message the guy, and use social engineering against him. Picture and story here. What do you think? Is it really tracking him? Place your bets in the comments ;)
Sysinternals Freeware - RootkitRevealer
Security Now podcast, transcript.
Mike Tech Show
Flock browser
Open Office 2.0
Strider Ghostbuster from Microsoft Research
--MissM
a url I didn't get to mention on the show. Gizmondo stolen from a store, so they text message the guy, and use social engineering against him. Picture and story here. What do you think? Is it really tracking him? Place your bets in the comments ;)
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Very first :-) on the Internet
Ever wondered where the first :-) came from? Well now you do. Microsoft research has been nice enough to post the dialog.
"The contents of the "joke" thread on the CMU CS general bboard that led to Scott Fahlman's invention of the smiley are below. This was retrieved from the spice vax oct-82 backup tape by Jeff Baird"
Page 2 of Internet history
--MissM
read more | digg story
"The contents of the "joke" thread on the CMU CS general bboard that led to Scott Fahlman's invention of the smiley are below. This was retrieved from the spice vax oct-82 backup tape by Jeff Baird"
Page 2 of Internet history
--MissM
read more | digg story
SANS - ISC Possible issue with MS05-050 Patch
"If you have manually downloaded and installed the patch for MS05-050, you may want to check again to make sure you have the correct patch. Microsoft has recently released a Knowledge Base article on "The computer may not be updated after you install the "Security Update for DirectX 7.0 for Windows 2000 (KB904706)" on a Windows 2000-based computer that is running DirectX 8 or DirectX 9".
According to the Microsoft, this only applies to:
• You are running Microsoft Windows 2000
• Microsoft DirectX 8.0 or DirectX 9.0 is installed on the computer
This is likely due to the incorrect patch that you have manually downloaded and installed. If you have installed using Microsoft Windows Update website, you should be protected and free from this problem.
To check whether your system is correctly updated, you can verify the version number of Quartz.dll. The steps are detailed in Microsoft KB article 909596."
Also they post info on Exploit Code for MS05-47, I've got all my updates, finally, though they arrived in bunches. Are you all patched??
--MissM
According to the Microsoft, this only applies to:
• You are running Microsoft Windows 2000
• Microsoft DirectX 8.0 or DirectX 9.0 is installed on the computer
This is likely due to the incorrect patch that you have manually downloaded and installed. If you have installed using Microsoft Windows Update website, you should be protected and free from this problem.
To check whether your system is correctly updated, you can verify the version number of Quartz.dll. The steps are detailed in Microsoft KB article 909596."
Also they post info on Exploit Code for MS05-47, I've got all my updates, finally, though they arrived in bunches. Are you all patched??
--MissM
Happy Birthday Email!
Official Google Blog:"It's difficult to pin down the exact origin of email, but in October 1971, an engineer named Ray Tomlinson chose the '@' symbol for email addresses and wrote software to send the first network email."
--MissM
--MissM
Friday, October 21, 2005
Wired News: Creating the Global Hot Spot
"Telecom giant Inmarsat is weeks away from launching the second in a series of two super-satellites -- designed to be among the most powerful commercial communications spacecraft in orbit -- that will beam broadband data and voice services to almost any location on the planet." Can you beam me Up Now!
Joe
Joe
Dude, they gave me a password
Got a login password yesterday, while I was trying to have my lunch! lol. It's only to use the computer locally. To log into the main server, I have to wait until I get trained. (smirk) lol. Looks like I have a P4 2.8 gig. 512 Meg memory, Intel onboard video. 8 mem shared for video. Also got office 2003.
Computer is online and in the right domain. The fun part comes when I can login to the server! Update after I get my "training". ;-).
Computer is online and in the right domain. The fun part comes when I can login to the server! Update after I get my "training". ;-).
Thursday, October 20, 2005
OpenOffice celebrates turning 2.0 | Tech News on ZDNet
"Programmers released version 2 of OpenOffice.org on Thursday, a major overhaul to an open-source software suite that has recently become a more serious rival to Microsoft Office. "
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Guest for this Sunday on the show
This Friday we will be prerecording an interview for the show with Bob Umlas the author and MVP, If you have any questions for this guest please send them to me at Joe@AlaskaJoe.com
Professionals who use Microsoft® Excel know the value of the widely-used spread sheet program around the world. However, they may not know the 85 tips and tricks discovered by Excel guru and author Bob Umlas, now published in THIS ISN’T EXCEL, IT’S MAGIC!.
Bob Umlas will be a guest on On Computers to discuss this tips and tricks of Excel. He was a contributing editor to INSIDE MICROSOFT EXCEL and has written over 300 articles on all aspects of the program. For 10 years he co-led New York City’s PC Excel Special Interest Group and has authored several chapters in various Excel books on "tips and tricks" and array-formulas.
THIS ISN’T EXCEL, IT’S MAGIC! is capturing world-wide attention, with daily sales coming in from all over the globe and reviews from a variety of readers. It is a handy and portable book, full of easy-to-understand graphics and chock full of tips and tricks for getting the most out of Excel.
Professionals who use Microsoft® Excel know the value of the widely-used spread sheet program around the world. However, they may not know the 85 tips and tricks discovered by Excel guru and author Bob Umlas, now published in THIS ISN’T EXCEL, IT’S MAGIC!.
Bob Umlas will be a guest on On Computers to discuss this tips and tricks of Excel. He was a contributing editor to INSIDE MICROSOFT EXCEL and has written over 300 articles on all aspects of the program. For 10 years he co-led New York City’s PC Excel Special Interest Group and has authored several chapters in various Excel books on "tips and tricks" and array-formulas.
THIS ISN’T EXCEL, IT’S MAGIC! is capturing world-wide attention, with daily sales coming in from all over the globe and reviews from a variety of readers. It is a handy and portable book, full of easy-to-understand graphics and chock full of tips and tricks for getting the most out of Excel.
Security Now! Now featuring episode #9
Superb Podcast on rootkits, with Leo Laporte and Steve Gibson, "la creme de la creme," of explaining technical subjects . They pick one topic a week and talk for about 30 minutes or so, and thoroughly explain the topic. Its a great thing to see two such professionals cooperate on such a desperately uncovered topic, security.
My interest in rootkits was motivated by a post at Sunbelt Blog. This rootkit detector /fixer found a couple suspicious entries, but couldn't fix them. Therefore I need to find out more info, and poof! Leo and Steve do a podcast on rootkits (insert twilight zone theme here (yes, I tried to find the blasted thing, and couldn't)). In addition to the rootkit detector above, Steve Gibson mentioned that sysinternals has one too, I am not going to post the url here, cause anybody who's not afraid to break their computer, can find it :)
I was typing this as I listened to the podcast, Steve says MS is going to, if not already, going to check for rootkits, so this vulnerability is getting more and more attention paid to it, Bravo!
All the posts at sunbelt blog are interesting, its one of the blogs that I subscribe to, in my rss aggregator.
Back to my rootkit research....
--MissM
My interest in rootkits was motivated by a post at Sunbelt Blog. This rootkit detector /fixer found a couple suspicious entries, but couldn't fix them. Therefore I need to find out more info, and poof! Leo and Steve do a podcast on rootkits (insert twilight zone theme here (yes, I tried to find the blasted thing, and couldn't)). In addition to the rootkit detector above, Steve Gibson mentioned that sysinternals has one too, I am not going to post the url here, cause anybody who's not afraid to break their computer, can find it :)
I was typing this as I listened to the podcast, Steve says MS is going to, if not already, going to check for rootkits, so this vulnerability is getting more and more attention paid to it, Bravo!
All the posts at sunbelt blog are interesting, its one of the blogs that I subscribe to, in my rss aggregator.
Back to my rootkit research....
--MissM
Why Software Sucks (and what to do about it)
Scott Berkun is a thoughtful essayist and once you've read the one I've linked to above you might want to look at the others he has on his site. He has a knack of simplifying things without dumbing them down.
Starting with the premise that no one sets out to create bad software, Scott explores why they often do. It's interesting to view programming from his point of view and I recommend you take this one in.
Jack
Starting with the premise that no one sets out to create bad software, Scott explores why they often do. It's interesting to view programming from his point of view and I recommend you take this one in.
Jack
Monday, October 17, 2005
Dude update 3
The link is what dell they gave me. You'll need java to see it. It's a DELL Optiplex GX280 in a small Desktop case. Peter, saw your comment. TY I'll check it out as soon as they give me my password for the thing. :-).
Sunday, October 16, 2005
OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-16-05
This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-16-2005. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.
Phishing fight may be paying off | CNET News.com
"The number of phishing sites on the Web hit a record high in August, but coordinators in the fight against the prevalent Web scams say they have made some progress. "
Gates to students: Microsoft wants you | CNET News.com
"WASHINGTON--Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Friday preached the 'magic of software' to a packed ballroom at Howard University here and said it's up to today's generation of college students to drive innovation in the future. "
AMD is on a Serious Roll
With server market share north of 20% and climbing -- up from about nothing a couple years ago, AMD must be pleased to garner more than half of U.S. retail PC sales in the just-ended back-to-school period. With a new fab open in Dresden, Germany, the company has a 50 million microprocessor capacity ramping to 100 million chips a year. Once pooh-poohed as a manufacturing laggard, AMD has been pounding Intel on many fronths for a year now. The results are beginning to tell.
Apple's iPod Nano: Staggering Demand Meets Supply Reality
If Apple can get past the NOR memory supply problem -- they bought 40% of Samsung's global capacity, then I think Apple will sell over 5 million of the Nano iPods a year.
Windows Vulnerabilities Just Keep Cropping Up
The bad guys now pounce on the code for fixing vulnerabilities, decompile it, and build worms to take advantage of the problem. I conclude on the continuing evidence that Windows is a problem that will not be fixed.
Why all the Interest in AOL?
Road kill a year ago, AOL is now meat in the eyes of investment bankers. Who was smart enough to buy the stock in 2004?
Find the Black Helicopters
The satellite data at Google Earth is so good that it is a cause for contests. The recent interesting one is "find the black helicopters" around the globe. Stunning results.
Any suggestions for our own contest?
Any suggestions for our own contest?
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Make Ubuntu usable in few minutes
As Jack has talked about on the show, and Joe has blogged, I saw this Easy Ubuntu, update.
To quote the person who dugg it:
'Easy Ubuntu allows you to Add extra repositories, Activate the "audio preview" feature in Nautilus, Active the num lock at system startup, Replace the GNOME foot logo with Ubuntu's logo and Install: multimedia codecs, Firefox plugins, support for RAR and ACE, P2P software, Skype, AMSN cvs with webcam support, NVIDA or ATI driver for 3D support.'
read more | digg story
To quote the person who dugg it:
'Easy Ubuntu allows you to Add extra repositories, Activate the "audio preview" feature in Nautilus, Active the num lock at system startup, Replace the GNOME foot logo with Ubuntu's logo and Install: multimedia codecs, Firefox plugins, support for RAR and ACE, P2P software, Skype, AMSN cvs with webcam support, NVIDA or ATI driver for 3D support.'
read more | digg story
tech.memeorandum @ 11:05 AM ET, October 15, 2005
Microsoft 'lends security expertise' to Nigeria
I am not saying a thing about this one. I'll blow it, I just know I will, if I open my mouth.
Jack
Jack
Dvorak Takes Potshots at Microsoft
Titled "The Microsoft Protection Racket", this opinion piece in at PC Magazine's web site is about as bitter as I've ever known John C. Dvorak to be.
I've been hearing more and more variations on this theme from regular users, as well, of late. Even a lot of staunch Windows and Microsoft boosters are now expressing similar thoughts. While I'm no Microsoft fan, I do like many of their products to the point where I'm often willing to deal with their shortcomings to be able to use them. I think a lot of people have felt like that and I'm now forced to wonder if Microsoft is losing the PR battle due to lack of security diligence, or the perception thereof.
Jack
I've been hearing more and more variations on this theme from regular users, as well, of late. Even a lot of staunch Windows and Microsoft boosters are now expressing similar thoughts. While I'm no Microsoft fan, I do like many of their products to the point where I'm often willing to deal with their shortcomings to be able to use them. I think a lot of people have felt like that and I'm now forced to wonder if Microsoft is losing the PR battle due to lack of security diligence, or the perception thereof.
Jack
Comprehensive Tablet PC Review with the HP tc1100
BentUser has a good review of the HP tc1100 hybrid tablet PC.
Instead of just a hardware review, this one also talks about using the software bundled with the unit in such a way that those unfamiliar with the concept(s) behind the tablet form will be able to easily see how it might, or might not, fit into their life and work. For that reason, I really recomment this article.
Jack
Instead of just a hardware review, this one also talks about using the software bundled with the unit in such a way that those unfamiliar with the concept(s) behind the tablet form will be able to easily see how it might, or might not, fit into their life and work. For that reason, I really recomment this article.
Jack
Friday, October 14, 2005
New gadget to make theft of mobile phones harder - Yahoo! News
"Finnish scientists have invented a device to make it harder to steal mobile phones and laptops by enabling them to detect changes in their owner's walking style and then freeze to prevent unauthorized use." Don't hurt your leg or you will not be able to call for help!
Dude part 2
Well the dell is here. Desktop case Dell. Pentium 4 CPU. Win XP pro. 17" CRT monitor came with it. It's locked to my desk! LOL. Can't Even log into it yet. Although I do have it hooked through my KVM Switch. Have to use the 17" monitor for my other computer. Updates when I can log into it.
Samsung guilty of price fixing
Gee, I sure hated to read this. Guess we shouldn't bee too surprised anymore though.
Current Infosec News and Analysis
"Patch yesterday folks. So far we're aware that an MS05-051 exploit is in the hands of immunitysec Canvas customers - 'October 11, 2005: MS05-051 (MS DTC) Trigger for the bug in MS DTC on Windows 2000'"
2nd day exploits for Microsoft's October updates (details here).
As I was posting this, they updated the info especially for MS05-051 for Win2K:"The obvious thing is to apply patch MS05-051 on at least your Win2k systems. We do know the port 3372 scanning started in full force, likely in order to acquire target lists. If you can't patch, at least make sure port 3372 is closed. Windows 2000 does not come with its own host based firewall. But you can use IPSec policies to acchive the same effect. See this paper by David Taylor for details."
--MissM
2nd day exploits for Microsoft's October updates (details here).
As I was posting this, they updated the info especially for MS05-051 for Win2K:"The obvious thing is to apply patch MS05-051 on at least your Win2k systems. We do know the port 3372 scanning started in full force, likely in order to acquire target lists. If you can't patch, at least make sure port 3372 is closed. Windows 2000 does not come with its own host based firewall. But you can use IPSec policies to acchive the same effect. See this paper by David Taylor for details."
--MissM
Hewlett-Packard Company Recall of Notebook Computer Batteries
Courtesy of the Charlotte Observer. The link goes to the government Consumer Product Safety Commission (ok, I'm guessing on the acronym :P) I went to hpsupport.com and it wasn't on the front page, so ....
Here is the direct link to HP's battery pack replacement contact info:
Consumer Contact: For additional information, visit the HP Battery Replacement program Web site or call (888) 404-7398 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
--MissM
Here is the direct link to HP's battery pack replacement contact info:
Consumer Contact: For additional information, visit the HP Battery Replacement program Web site or call (888) 404-7398 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday.
--MissM
Surprise! You're exposed - Security
I found this article fascinating and scary, at the same time.The bottom line, in my opinion, is social engineering and people's natural behavior is the biggest security risk. No matter what security processes you have in place, most of them are for inbound traffic, and the users of the system, turn out to be the biggest security flaw.
From Schneier.com, a $5M con "The man, described by detectives as the greatest conman they had encountered, convinced one bank manager to leave him €358,000 in the lavatories of a Parisian bar. “This man is going to become a hero if he isn’t caught quickly,” an officer said. “The case is exceptional, perfectly unbelievable and surreal.”
also from Schneier.com:
There are two bills in Congress that would grant the Pentagon greater rights to spy on Americans in the U.S.:
"The Pentagon would be granted new powers to conduct undercover intelligence gathering inside the United States -- and then withhold any information about it from the public -- under a series of little noticed provisions now winding their way through Congress."
In my opinion, if the information exists digitally, it will never be secure, and in terms of security, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or months of hassle and, more than likely, thousands of dollars to correct.
Do you feel secure?
--MissM
From Schneier.com, a $5M con "The man, described by detectives as the greatest conman they had encountered, convinced one bank manager to leave him €358,000 in the lavatories of a Parisian bar. “This man is going to become a hero if he isn’t caught quickly,” an officer said. “The case is exceptional, perfectly unbelievable and surreal.”
also from Schneier.com:
There are two bills in Congress that would grant the Pentagon greater rights to spy on Americans in the U.S.:
"The Pentagon would be granted new powers to conduct undercover intelligence gathering inside the United States -- and then withhold any information about it from the public -- under a series of little noticed provisions now winding their way through Congress."
In my opinion, if the information exists digitally, it will never be secure, and in terms of security, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, or months of hassle and, more than likely, thousands of dollars to correct.
Do you feel secure?
--MissM
Windows Vista Build 5231 Leaks
Neowin is reporting the next build of Windows Vista, due to be released to testers next week, has appeared on the Internet, apparently without permission.
New features and functions are discussed, though not in any detail.
Jack
New features and functions are discussed, though not in any detail.
Jack
Desktop search and malware: friend or foe?
The link is to a short article in The Register in which desktop search functionality is described both as an opportunity for malware authors to ply their trade and as a possible adjunct, or even a core function, to security services. After all; your anti-virus and the search utility are both scanning the same files, at least in the main. Some research is being performed on uniting the two scanning functions.
The article makes clear that right now, conventional anti-viral scanning applications are faster and more thorough, in part because search functions do not have access to kernel-level functions and processes. However; as search is more tightly integrated into operating systems, this can be designed in and it might make a whole lot of sense, both in terms of resource conservation (and related efficiencie) and real-time protection.
Food for thought
Jack
The article makes clear that right now, conventional anti-viral scanning applications are faster and more thorough, in part because search functions do not have access to kernel-level functions and processes. However; as search is more tightly integrated into operating systems, this can be designed in and it might make a whole lot of sense, both in terms of resource conservation (and related efficiencie) and real-time protection.
Food for thought
Jack
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Toward a BSD Desktop
There are people who run one or another of the BSDs (stands for Berkeley Software Distribution, a true Unix) on their desktop. I did it, once, until my wife caught on.
Now, there's an organized effort to integrate the KDE desktop environment with BSD and a heap of applications. The selling point is security and performance. The tinkerers among us will no doubt flock to DesktopBSD, at least to give it a trial. (I'm already downloading it, though it's only in the release candidate stage of v1.0.)
Find a review of sorts, here.
Jack
Now, there's an organized effort to integrate the KDE desktop environment with BSD and a heap of applications. The selling point is security and performance. The tinkerers among us will no doubt flock to DesktopBSD, at least to give it a trial. (I'm already downloading it, though it's only in the release candidate stage of v1.0.)
Find a review of sorts, here.
Jack
Toward a Better Desktop
Novell has a new website and this one is really interesting because it addresses a pressing need.
Essentially, Novell is telling open source programmers that their users are not as technically proficient as they are and that more consideration for the user in the interface to applications needs to be given. This site allows coders to see videos of tests of user interfaces to see how they might be improved.
This is a BIG deal. One of the reasons Desktop Linux hasn't caught on is that the interfaces to both the operating system/utilities and associated applications is more geared to the technically competant user, rather than the general public. This has been improved a lot, over the years, but it is still a sticking point. A properly set up Linux desktop computer is easy enough to use, but it's not easily made that way by the average user (whoever that is).
Anyone interested in this sort of thing ought to check this out. I found it thought provoking, to say the least.
Jack
Essentially, Novell is telling open source programmers that their users are not as technically proficient as they are and that more consideration for the user in the interface to applications needs to be given. This site allows coders to see videos of tests of user interfaces to see how they might be improved.
This is a BIG deal. One of the reasons Desktop Linux hasn't caught on is that the interfaces to both the operating system/utilities and associated applications is more geared to the technically competant user, rather than the general public. This has been improved a lot, over the years, but it is still a sticking point. A properly set up Linux desktop computer is easy enough to use, but it's not easily made that way by the average user (whoever that is).
Anyone interested in this sort of thing ought to check this out. I found it thought provoking, to say the least.
Jack
Baby Boomer Tech
From WCBS 880 NYC:
Ok, I'm not a big Kim you know who fan. However, I thought this was, since most of "US" are big time computers geeks, was amusing. Check it out. Lot of flash on the page but, you don't need flash to read the story.
Ok, I'm not a big Kim you know who fan. However, I thought this was, since most of "US" are big time computers geeks, was amusing. Check it out. Lot of flash on the page but, you don't need flash to read the story.
Flaws Found in Security Software
This TechWorld.com article is about a flaw found in Kaspersky's Anti-Virus engine and mentions other flawed products as well.
For a while now, those in the know have been warning us that some, perhaps even many, of the products we use to secure our networks and otherwise keep us safe have major problems. This article highlights that well.
Jack
For a while now, those in the know have been warning us that some, perhaps even many, of the products we use to secure our networks and otherwise keep us safe have major problems. This article highlights that well.
Jack
Windows Vista To Have 20 SKUs!!!
Bink.nu has a list of 20 different stocking units of Vista. Some of these are OEM only and won't see retailer's shelves. Even so, it's going to be confusing, especially for support people.
Jack
Jack
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
A Terrabyte of Home Storage
The Inquirer has a very affordable route to a TB of home storage. Click the link to see.
I know I harp on storage a lot. I hope it's not boring to you all. But we have GOT to have reliable backup and storage solutions that don't require a lot of work or attention. This details one such setup and the devices can be "daisy chained" together into a real array, if need be.
There are some problems, particularly with heat in small enclosures filled with hard drives. These are manageable, though; if not with this setup then with others. Check it out.
Jack
I know I harp on storage a lot. I hope it's not boring to you all. But we have GOT to have reliable backup and storage solutions that don't require a lot of work or attention. This details one such setup and the devices can be "daisy chained" together into a real array, if need be.
There are some problems, particularly with heat in small enclosures filled with hard drives. These are manageable, though; if not with this setup then with others. Check it out.
Jack
Monday, October 10, 2005
Google News Reader review
I tried the google newsreader, which is in beta (as a disclaimer), and my initial impressions are sucky! I foolishly loaded a fresh export of my sage rss feader to an opml file, which had 137 or so feeds, and it timed out several times, and was generally slow, though I was very pleased that they did accept imports, and I see they also support exports of your feeds. Sage does limit categories, as far as I know, so my feeds are one long sidebar in firefox, but when there's a new post, it turns the feed name bold, and it doesn't check often enough, but listing by site is key for me, because I have so many, and some are more critical to me (I've gotta BLOG, after all :) ).
Google newsreader shows all posts in a window, that only shows 9, and only increments the number of posts by 20, as you scroll down. You also get the option to sort by relevance or time, but not site! I can't deal with that, the default was relevance, but sorting by time doesn't make it any better. Did I mention it was slow? :)
When I realized how unusable it was for me, I decided to leave a few tech feeds in google newsreader, just to see how it changes, and delete the rest of the subscriptions. I started deleting feeds in firefox [Which you have to do ONE AT A TIME, after hitting edit, then unsubcribe, then wait for the page to be refreshed THEN it reloads your subscriptions], but it wasn't refreshing or working well, and so I decided to try it in IE. This worked better, but one feed for Scot's newsletter wouldn't delete the first 5 times I tried! All the rest were deleted as requested. The reason I am so fired up about it (length of post is one sign of excitement), it tooke me THREE hours to delete over 100 subscriptions. OH MY GOSH!!! Once feeds were deleted, the posts that had been retrieved stayed unread, and listed, I started clicking to mark all as read. When it said 160 of 180 (did I mention it only updates the item count in blocks of 20, as you scroll through?) I gave up, and decided to save y'all from the same pain, if I can. Like Dave Winer says did a human being even look at this???? I'm also planning on trying newsgator and bloglines, as other RSS news aggregators. What news aggregator/RSS news reader do you use?
--MissM (with a very tired clicking finger)
DAMN! thinking about how many clicks it took to clean up the feeds, to a more manageable, in this current interface, 160 + (3*100) = 460! Totally unacceptable!
As Peter said yesterday during the show about calling netgear and informing them of my issues with the SC101, as a public service, I will forward this blog post to the team at google's newsreader.
Google newsreader shows all posts in a window, that only shows 9, and only increments the number of posts by 20, as you scroll down. You also get the option to sort by relevance or time, but not site! I can't deal with that, the default was relevance, but sorting by time doesn't make it any better. Did I mention it was slow? :)
When I realized how unusable it was for me, I decided to leave a few tech feeds in google newsreader, just to see how it changes, and delete the rest of the subscriptions. I started deleting feeds in firefox [Which you have to do ONE AT A TIME, after hitting edit, then unsubcribe, then wait for the page to be refreshed THEN it reloads your subscriptions], but it wasn't refreshing or working well, and so I decided to try it in IE. This worked better, but one feed for Scot's newsletter wouldn't delete the first 5 times I tried! All the rest were deleted as requested. The reason I am so fired up about it (length of post is one sign of excitement), it tooke me THREE hours to delete over 100 subscriptions. OH MY GOSH!!! Once feeds were deleted, the posts that had been retrieved stayed unread, and listed, I started clicking to mark all as read. When it said 160 of 180 (did I mention it only updates the item count in blocks of 20, as you scroll through?) I gave up, and decided to save y'all from the same pain, if I can. Like Dave Winer says did a human being even look at this???? I'm also planning on trying newsgator and bloglines, as other RSS news aggregators. What news aggregator/RSS news reader do you use?
--MissM (with a very tired clicking finger)
DAMN! thinking about how many clicks it took to clean up the feeds, to a more manageable, in this current interface, 160 + (3*100) = 460! Totally unacceptable!
As Peter said yesterday during the show about calling netgear and informing them of my issues with the SC101, as a public service, I will forward this blog post to the team at google's newsreader.
gada.be (Chris Pirillo)
Hot off the presses, Chris Pirillo's new search, looks interesting and hot off the presses, the announcement is only 3 hours, old.
"With "gada.be," you insert the query *AS* the subdomain! [Of course its pronounced, I think, "gotta be"]
* http://corpse-bride.gada.be/
* http://corpse.bride.gada.be/
Those are two different URLs, each with a different set of results. A dot between two keywords implies a quoted statement, whereas a dash implies the AND operator. Note, too, that you can easily change categories by adding the designated category slug to the end of the entire URL. Too geeky for you? Then you're thinking too hard about it. "
Very intriguing, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm getting ready to!
--MissM
"With "gada.be," you insert the query *AS* the subdomain! [Of course its pronounced, I think, "gotta be"]
* http://corpse-bride.gada.be/
* http://corpse.bride.gada.be/
Those are two different URLs, each with a different set of results. A dot between two keywords implies a quoted statement, whereas a dash implies the AND operator. Note, too, that you can easily change categories by adding the designated category slug to the end of the entire URL. Too geeky for you? Then you're thinking too hard about it. "
Very intriguing, I haven't tried it yet, but I'm getting ready to!
--MissM
Langa Letter: Testing 10 Windows 'Registry Cleaning' Software Packs > October 10, 2005
I'm always looking for info on Registry maintenance. I do think that cleaning the registry makes a positive difference. As usual, Fred shares his thoughts about as well as the results of his registry cleaning tests.
Blogger's being funky
Ok, my first post wasn't lost, but it was put under the previous post. even though the time stamp is later... I wonder what's up with that????
I noticed the times were messed up on another blog, too. Curiouser and curiouser...
--MissM
I noticed the times were messed up on another blog, too. Curiouser and curiouser...
--MissM
Yahoo has a podcast directory
Yahoo is doing a podcast directory now, you can use it for any mp3 player and can put the feeds in Ipodder, too, as far as I read. Here is the OnComputers podcast link in yahoo. It looks like its not updating very quickly. The last feed listed is 10/2/05, which is missing one show, we'll see how this pans out. No, I'm not trying this one, I'm exhausted! (see post below) I'm sticking with Ipodder Lemon for now.
--MissM
--MissM
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Fraud gold mine
A closed Blockbuster video left customer records, applications, credit card numbers, etc, etc in a clear trash bag in the STREET of NYC!!?!?!?!!?!???? Privacy is an illusion. :(
--MissM
--MissM
OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-09-05
This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-09-2005. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.
Linux in a web browser
Try out linux in a web browser! Uses Java.
I tried it and the maximum number of users had been exceeded, but once the digg.com users get done, it'll work maybe :)
Very kewl stuff
--MissM
read more | digg story
I tried it and the maximum number of users had been exceeded, but once the digg.com users get done, it'll work maybe :)
Very kewl stuff
--MissM
read more | digg story
AOL revises privacy policy
From the article:
"'Looks like a fairly standard privacy policy, with the usual weasel words and wiggle room where they say, 'We collect information about what you do on our service and we can use it for pretty much any business reason we can dream up,'' said Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation."
If you are an AOL member you need to read this. Some of it is better, some of it is worse, and in the end all of it is up to AOL.
"'Looks like a fairly standard privacy policy, with the usual weasel words and wiggle room where they say, 'We collect information about what you do on our service and we can use it for pretty much any business reason we can dream up,'' said Kevin Bankston, staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation."
If you are an AOL member you need to read this. Some of it is better, some of it is worse, and in the end all of it is up to AOL.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Malware turns PSP into expensive brick
Yes, it's a trojan for the incredibly popular Playstation Portable. This trojan is disquised as a hack to allow the PSP owner to use it for things that are not Sony authorized. Like a bad morality play, those trying to use a device they own as they please by implementing an unauthorized hack, find that their expensive handheld is about as useful for gaming, or anything else, as a brick.
Friday, October 07, 2005
Generate Light: LTT lit bathtub
"This illuminated, self standing, polyethylene bathtub is sure to add drama to your bathroom. Available with internal multicolored, programmable LED light unit, or with a regular light fitting." I think some people have way to much time on the hands!
Sharp Makes a Million-to-One Shot - Home Video News - Designtechnica
"Electronics maker Sharp has announced it has developed an LCD display with a mind-blowing one-million-to-one contrast ratio."
Can you smell the roses yet?
Can you smell the roses yet?
PCWorld.com - Best Defenders
"Spyware is getting smarter. The newest threats are better than their predecessors from just a few months ago at hijacking your browser, watching your Web surfing, and stealing your data. Your current anti-spyware program may not be up to the challenge. "
Technology News Article | Reuters.com
"The record industry may next aim its legal guns at satellite radio due to a dispute involving new portable players which let listeners record and store songs, an analyst and industry sources said on Wednesday. " I guess the record industry can't make money selling music so they want to make it off of us listening to the music instead.
BBC NEWS | Technology | PlayStation loses chipping case
BBC NEWS | Technology | PlayStation loses chipping case: "Sony has lost a legal battle in Australia over the modifying of its PlayStation games console. "
Guardian Unlimited Technology | Technology | Breaking America's grip on the net
It was announced yesterday that the "EU had decided to end the US government's unilateral control of the internet and put in place a new body that would now run this revolutionary communications medium."
More info at the article in the title.
--MissM
Robert Scoble says there's a google rss reader, the first time I went, I got a server error, so I hit refresh and there it is. Interesting, I'll have to check it out. :)
--MissM
More info at the article in the title.
--MissM
Robert Scoble says there's a google rss reader, the first time I went, I got a server error, so I hit refresh and there it is. Interesting, I'll have to check it out. :)
--MissM
Broadband Over Power Lines Debuts in D.C. Suburb
"MANASSAS, Va. -- Just one year after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved rules for the deployment of broadband over power lines (BPL), the technology made its commercial debut in this Washington suburb. " It will be nice if it works.
Alaska Before You Die - The vacation of a lifetime
Remember Geek Meet 2006 will be up here in Anchorage, I'm sure hope you can make the trip, it is the trip of a lifetime! The 3rd weekend in June is Geek Meet 2006, but you should plan on spending a week or two up here. Notice the date on the license plate!
You won't be sorry. :)
Joe
You won't be sorry. :)
Joe
Slew of Windows patches coming | Tech News on ZDNet
"As part of its monthly patching cycle, Microsoft on Tuesday plans to release eight security alerts for flaws in the Windows operating system. "
I only have one thing to say, DO YOUR UPDATES!
I only have one thing to say, DO YOUR UPDATES!
Another busy Patch Tuesday
After a couple of months of relatively little activity, all of us Windows system administrators are going to be busy again this upcoming week. Nine security bulletins on the way; eight of them for Windows, one for Excchange.
TechCrunch: Verisign Acquires Weblogs.com
w0w, its getting wacky with all the news of purchases, Weblogs.com is Dave Winer's company, and he's in Greensboro, NC for ConvergeSouth, a blogging conference I'm dragging the kids to, tomorrow. They are really looking forward to sitting in meetings, all day... NOT! :)
--MissM
--MissM
CNET News.com's Blog 100
Here is News.com list of top 100 weblogs, its fascinating, and worthy of discussion. My question for you, dear reader, is... How many of these were on your list before you read it, and after? I prolly have about half of them, already... too many to count for accuracy, especially this early in the morning. I know I'll be working my way through the list. I hope I don't go above 200 items in my aggregator :)
--MissM
--MissM
Thursday, October 06, 2005
Level3.Net is being Internet Terrorist in my opinion
According to Todd, at geeknewscentral.com Level3.Net is blocking Level 1 internet peer access to Cogent. That must be why the internet has been really, really slow for me, the last day, or so...
read more | digg story
Update: a link to News.com with more details.
read more | digg story
Update: a link to News.com with more details.
Google formally declares war on Microsoftt i
The link is to a story in The Courier-Mail. You will have to decide for yourself whether or not it is overly dramatic. I think it is not.
Google is going to offer word processor and spreadsheet software online, for free. This is a direct threat to Microsoft's cash cow-Office, though exactly what percentage of the market for Office might be tempted to take advantage of the Open Office applications Sun and Google will offer in conjunction with each other. Even a 10% defection from Microsoft's suite would represent a few hundreds of millions of dollars directly subtracted from Redmond's bottom line.
It is almost inevitable a Google browser will follow in due time.
Now the rumor mill has it that there will be PCs with Sun's Java Desktop System (a Linux distribution with Sun's own desktop) or Sun's desktop running on Solaris 10 for x86. That may or may not be over the top. Who can tell at this stage? It's getting interesting, isn't it?
Jack
Google is going to offer word processor and spreadsheet software online, for free. This is a direct threat to Microsoft's cash cow-Office, though exactly what percentage of the market for Office might be tempted to take advantage of the Open Office applications Sun and Google will offer in conjunction with each other. Even a 10% defection from Microsoft's suite would represent a few hundreds of millions of dollars directly subtracted from Redmond's bottom line.
It is almost inevitable a Google browser will follow in due time.
Now the rumor mill has it that there will be PCs with Sun's Java Desktop System (a Linux distribution with Sun's own desktop) or Sun's desktop running on Solaris 10 for x86. That may or may not be over the top. Who can tell at this stage? It's getting interesting, isn't it?
Jack
How Dell repels attempts to buy its 'open source' PC
Here's an interesting bit at The Register.
Dell evidently did not put out a press release about offering the "open source friendly" E510n. They just tipped off a few journalists who ran with it. Dell gets a free boost in the public eye. But go to Dell's site and try to find, much less buy, this computer and you'll find a very different story.
The PC is hidden well on Dell's site and, despite the fact that you're not having to pay for a copy of Windows, you won't be saving any money on this model. It's a tricky deal to figure out and evidently nearly impossible to consummate. There's also a page of almost hilarious chat transcript with a Dell salesperson. Apparently, they really don't want to sell you this machine.
Jack
Dell evidently did not put out a press release about offering the "open source friendly" E510n. They just tipped off a few journalists who ran with it. Dell gets a free boost in the public eye. But go to Dell's site and try to find, much less buy, this computer and you'll find a very different story.
The PC is hidden well on Dell's site and, despite the fact that you're not having to pay for a copy of Windows, you won't be saving any money on this model. It's a tricky deal to figure out and evidently nearly impossible to consummate. There's also a page of almost hilarious chat transcript with a Dell salesperson. Apparently, they really don't want to sell you this machine.
Jack
Paidcontent.org: AOL buys Weblogs, Inc.
After Ebay paid US$2 Billion for SkyPe, now aol is buying out Weblogs, Inc. which publishes Engadget, which is a blog with the newest gadgets, among others. They may end up paying in the US$20-25 million for Weblogs, Inc.
Is this another dot.com surge?? What else is for sale??
--MissM
Is this another dot.com surge?? What else is for sale??
--MissM
Dude! I'm getting a DELL
Just found out, all us mopguys are getting DELL desktops. It will be connected to a central server. This will finally allow us to submit things without paper. I for one am a happy mopguy! I'll keep you updated as things happen.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Shell Extension City: Fun for Geeks
Shellcity.net is a very interesting site for those computer hobbyists with a good set of backups and a recent system restore point or two. Caveat emptor. Lots of tweaks and code to supplant and improve Windows.
Now, If I Could Only Read Hindi, Telugu or Tamil
MICROSOFT Corporation India is set to launch the Windows XP Starter Edition priced at 1,000 rupees ($US22.72) that fits well into the 10,000 rupee ($US227) price personal computers that have begun to proliferate in the country.
The Starter Edition is attractively priced targeting countries such as India and Russia. The edition comes with high localisation and would be available in a local language interface such as Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Looks like I'll be paying a lot more than Indian consumers for my next copy of Windows XP...
The Starter Edition is attractively priced targeting countries such as India and Russia. The edition comes with high localisation and would be available in a local language interface such as Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
Looks like I'll be paying a lot more than Indian consumers for my next copy of Windows XP...
You Can Forget About Having Your PC Play HD-DVD on Your HDTV
Forthcoming Blu-ray and HD-DVD discs promise higher resolution than a standard DVD's 480-line maximum. But to protect its high-quality content from pirating, the film industry, along with disc and hardware makers, has created an umbrella content protection scheme known as AACS. If Windows is to play the new discs, Microsoft has little choice but to support AACS, which is where PVP-OPM comes in. According to Microsoft, PVP-OPM will prevent pirates from attaching recording devices directly to the PC graphics card's DVI or HDMI video outputs in order to capture a pristine digital copy of the disc's otherwise encrypted content. A related component, PVP-UAB, will prevent savvy computer owners from installing data capture cards in order to grab high-def movies straight off the PCI Express bus.
Unfortunately, PVP-OPM will also shut out plenty of law-abiding video watchers whose current displays aren't future-proof. To comply with the film industry's protection scheme, PVP-OPM employs HDCP technology to determine whether graphics boards and displays are allowed to output and display high-def video. If HDCP sees a blocked display (such as a video capture device) or one that does not support HDCP (including any HDTV with only analog connectors), it prevents output or reduces the video resolution until the offending display or protected content is removed from the system.
Well, sports fans, this pretty well sums up what the content providers are going to do to your recent technology investments: make them more-or-less valueless.
Unfortunately, PVP-OPM will also shut out plenty of law-abiding video watchers whose current displays aren't future-proof. To comply with the film industry's protection scheme, PVP-OPM employs HDCP technology to determine whether graphics boards and displays are allowed to output and display high-def video. If HDCP sees a blocked display (such as a video capture device) or one that does not support HDCP (including any HDTV with only analog connectors), it prevents output or reduces the video resolution until the offending display or protected content is removed from the system.
Well, sports fans, this pretty well sums up what the content providers are going to do to your recent technology investments: make them more-or-less valueless.
Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Flaw found in Kaspersky antivirus | CNET News.com
"A 'critical' flaw in Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software could let an attacker commandeer systems that use the products, a security researcher warned Monday. " Another reason to use NOD32 The Anti-Virus that works! Over 7 years and no Virus has gotten past NOD32 in the wild.
Declaration of InDRMpendence | Between the Lines | ZDNet.com
"Is your anti-virus or anti-spyware technology warning you about the Digital Rights Management software on your computer? If not, it should be. It's a Trojan horse of the worst kind."
Here we go, now you can't buy a song legally and play it on your home stereo. What's next Will we have to pay to listen to our own music a third time? Once when we buy it, then if you want to listen to the same song again.
Here we go, now you can't buy a song legally and play it on your home stereo. What's next Will we have to pay to listen to our own music a third time? Once when we buy it, then if you want to listen to the same song again.
Euphoria!
Euphoria is a simplified interpreted programming language with a lot of fully modern features and the ability to be translated into C code and so compiled. It has Win32 as well as Linux/BSD binaries. You can use a wide variety of text editors and they have one specially for the language, should you desire that.
Unlike most "simplified" languages, this one seems to retain all the capabilities of a "real" language. It's worth checking out. Installation is easy and there is enough documentation to get almost anyone started.
Jack
Unlike most "simplified" languages, this one seems to retain all the capabilities of a "real" language. It's worth checking out. Installation is easy and there is enough documentation to get almost anyone started.
Jack
Google and Sun Form Partnership
This is speculative, but if there is more than a grain of truth in it, the people who work at Microsoft's Office division aren't going to be sleeping well for a while.
Google and Sun have the power to deliver products together in a way Microsoft simply does not. This is not the end of Redmond's rule, but it is a severe crack in their rose-colored glasses
Jack
Google and Sun have the power to deliver products together in a way Microsoft simply does not. This is not the end of Redmond's rule, but it is a severe crack in their rose-colored glasses
Jack
Monday, October 03, 2005
Ipod Nano 200gb Instructions/Page 1 - Uncyclopedia
A HOWTO: on making a 200GB Nano, this is just TOOO funny. Via Gizmodo, they say its got a whopping 6 minute battery life. ;)
--MissM
YubNub - YubNub.org
This is a really cool search engine that uses keywords, and you can make your own commands. I was made aware of this via ScreenCastsOnline which is a cool apple vidcast! This was the coolest command from the vidcast, in my opinion, gimyim porsche 911 gives you yahoo and google image search in one window! I can see there would be a learning curve with the commands, but they have really cool tips. Check it out!
--MissM
--MissM
Check all your website rankings
Check your website ranking in all the search engines!
Here's another PubSub measurements, though I just subscribed to the rss, so I'm not sure how this works, its just interesting to look at, imo :)
We're trusted!
--MissM
read more | digg story
Here's another PubSub measurements, though I just subscribed to the rss, so I'm not sure how this works, its just interesting to look at, imo :)
We're trusted!
--MissM
read more | digg story
Admin: Small change in blog
EVERYbody can post here now, in the comments, as a further test. My initial one didn't work very well (See lack of comments), and I DO want want to have a 2 way discussion here. There is still word verification, which makes it unsuitable for the visually impaired, sorry Riley (Does he even check the blog?). Thank you for reading and commenting [perennial optimist, that I am ;)]
--MissM
--MissM
Collaborative writing software online with Writeboard. Write, share, revise, compare.
Well, Scoble and GeekNewsCentral blogged about it, and once I looked I wondered if it was a good thing for the show hosts communication? Or just any collaboration that needs a common "writeboard" :)
Might as well compare blog search results, eh?
Google 100 results
Bloglines 21 results
Technorati 180 results
IceRocket 92 results
Digg.com 360+ diggs
I got these links by selecting preferences at tech.memeorandum.com
and showing link search. To maximize the number of results, I removed the site reference from all searches, except bloglines, which requires a url, to search. Which struck me as less useful than being able to search for one term (as a side note, I wish tech.memeorandum made it easier to post the url for the discussion, it shows up in rss, but the updates and what you can see are limited in sage and google, which is where I put the rss feed from memeorandum in my personalized google web page. HA! did you think you'd see my real home page? :)
I'm doing the work checking the blog searches, so you don't have to ;)
--MissM
Might as well compare blog search results, eh?
Google 100 results
Bloglines 21 results
Technorati 180 results
IceRocket 92 results
Digg.com 360+ diggs
I got these links by selecting preferences at tech.memeorandum.com
and showing link search. To maximize the number of results, I removed the site reference from all searches, except bloglines, which requires a url, to search. Which struck me as less useful than being able to search for one term (as a side note, I wish tech.memeorandum made it easier to post the url for the discussion, it shows up in rss, but the updates and what you can see are limited in sage and google, which is where I put the rss feed from memeorandum in my personalized google web page. HA! did you think you'd see my real home page? :)
I'm doing the work checking the blog searches, so you don't have to ;)
--MissM
Satellite internet access - improvement still needed
Being a former Direcway customer, I found this interesting. Fact is, wired broadband isn't everywhere, there aren't a lot of alternatives, and they all cost money. Satellite has been around a while but it's pricey and WiMax isn't yet ubiquitous. I found Direcway very good, certainly better than dialup (what isn't?) but at the time, no match for my DSL service that replaced it. Also played with Starband a couple of times at a local dealer, also good but no match for DSL or cable. I'd definitely recommend satellite to anyone who couldn't get DSL/cable and who could afford it. IMO, the satellite providers are probably sitting on a gold mine but they need to get more competitive in pricing and offer higher speeds. The only real downsides to satellite are high latency times (which may not be important to all customers) and occasional weather-related signal loss (and of course... cost). It's a really neat technology but at this point, unaffordable for many. I think it bears watching though, looks like it's (slowly) headed in the right direction.
Sunday, October 02, 2005
OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-02-05
This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-02-2005. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.
Navas Cable Modem/DSL Tuning GuideTM
Been using the tweaks here for years. Very easy and they work well. Some interesting information on the page also.
Huge List of Windows XP Tips
Tips on everything from networking to performance to the taskbar. A huge list of XP tips. I found several useful things I just had to try :)
One of the most useful was finding out what things are running under svchost.exe, check it out.
--MissM
read more | digg story
One of the most useful was finding out what things are running under svchost.exe, check it out.
--MissM
read more | digg story
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