How to Fix being dropped by your wireless connection.

This was an FAQ I ran across this week while working.
What causes my wireless connection to be dropped every few minutes when using Windows XP?

Note: This issue was fixed with Service Pack 2. (It's doesn't always work!)

This behavior usually happens when your connection is configured to use 802.1x Authentication, but your current hardware does not support the feature. To disable the option, follow these steps: "
AlaskaJoe

Bull*&#%!

I'm sorry about the title, but that's what it is and I could not think of a decent way to change it.

Oracle has announced they will distribute Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and sell support for it at bargain basement prices. Red Hat's stock went in the tank after the announcement. (As the article linked to above points out, that may well have been Oracle's intent; lowering Red Hat's market cap enough to make them an affordable takeover target.)

Anyway, this article is short and completely tears apart Oracle's announcement. They can't support their own product, so how can they support someone else's? It is a good read, short and devastating.

Jack

XP Service Pack 3 delayed

From ZD net UK:

This week, Microsoft updated its lifecycle Web site to note that the introduction of Service Pack 3 — the next XP update — has been pushed back until the first half of 2008.

How To Speed Up Your Snail-Slow Notebook Computer

Tom's Hardware UK has a really nice article about how to tune up your notebook. It is written really simply and everything is explained well. I recommend this to anyone, but especially those who usually do not trust themselves to delve into the inner workings of a PC.

Outilined here are the things I routinely do to any machine to improve it's performance. They are all proven methods to extract the best from a machine.

Jack

Microsoft Delays Windows Vista to PC Makers - Yahoo! News

The Internet is abuzz with reports that Microsoft Vista will miss an important deadline, possibly making the operating system slip its launch schedule.

Taiwan PC makers, and Microsoft watcher and journalist Paul Thurrott, have noted that the October 25 date for Vista's release to manufacturing -- or RTM -- has been reset by Microsoft to November 8.

Thurrott, who has written more than a dozen books on Windows and related topics, pointed out that in a recent interview, Jim Allchin, copresident of Microsoft's Platforms and Services Division, admitted that the company wouldn't make its planned RTM date, but did not say whether the final release date would be affected.

Allchin has noted in the past that Microsoft could afford to postpone the RTM date to the second week of November and still meet its January launch schedule for consumer editions of Windows Vista.

--MissM
Microsoft Delays Windows Vista to PC Makers - Yahoo! News

A Call to Distros: Give Users What They Want

With the coming of Vista widely seen as an opportunity for both Mac and Linux to pick up market share among desktop users, there has been a lot of discussion about how to make Linux more attractive to potential adopters. These new users are assumed to be less than hard-core geeks and, in fact, there is much talk about targeting very average users and what can be done to make their lives easier in regard to installing and configuring Linux.

(Obviously this is not the Slackware crowd talking. :) )

This short article on OS News illustrates the character of these discussions, though there is a significant percentage of folks who are against this sort of thing. They would rather Linux stay the purview of geeks alone. Common themes are that Linux does not need unskilled desktop users or that installing non-free software (that not licensed under the GPL) is contrary to the principles of Linux developers.

I thought you might like to see this, in case you are thinking about desktop Linux.

Jack

The world's most sophisticated Trojan uncovered

While I have serious doubts this is the most sophisticated trojan/back door/spam bot program extant, there is no doubt of it's advanced features and capabilities. I just think the most sophisticated program of this sort is yet to be discovered, simply because it is so advanced. It's running quietly on some thousands of machines, doing it's worst, without being detected.

Despite that qualification, this Tech World article outlines a truly advanced piece of malware. It attempts to eliminate competitor's malware on the machine as some earlier malware has, but does it in a significantly more capable and reliable way; by using a corrupted copy of Kaspersky Anti-Virus. It also uses encrypted instruction sets so competitors cannot co-opt the program for themselves and can be updated to take instructions from another server,should the author's server be down or taken away. All told, it is pretty stout stuff. Check out the article, which is easy to read and understand, plus having the desired attribute of being brief.

Jack

Building the global metaverse

Virtual worlds are a huge part of other nation's Internet usage. Not so here in the US.

This blog entry illustrates that and discusses the phenomenon. I don't know how many of you have interest in virtual worlds. I personally find them of interest, but do not partake, mostly because of the time it takes to do it well. I simply don't have it. Anyway; this is an interesting set of observations and comments and worth the short time it will take to read it.

Jack

When Standards Are Political -- ODF (the Open Document Format)

Remember the flap when the State of Massachusetts decided that all State documents had to be in Open Document Format or PDF so that anyone could read them without obtaining any special software? Well, it is not over at all. France, Denmark, Belgium and some US States have gone that way. The EU looks set to dictate that, as well, though it might take a while.

James Love's blog entry on the subject is the single shortest and most lucid on the subject I have seen and I thought you might wish to read it.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-22-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-22-06. 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.

Trinity Team Develops International Open Source Disaster Relief Software

This is the best idea for a university class software project that I have seen in a while. Perhaps ever. It's software to manage disaster relief. The article on the Trinity College web site can be accessed by the link above. The project home page is here.

This project is like a poster child for open source. No company could afford to develop a package like this because they would not have enough buyers to pay for the R&D at any reasonable price. i found it very interesting and have turned our local government onto it.

Jack

Microsoft Plans Vista Upgrade Coupon For Holiday PC Buying Season - Windows Vista, Express Upgrade - CRN

"Not all of the coupons will be for free upgrades. Customers who buy systems running Windows XP Home Edition can upgrade to Vista Home Basic Edition for a flat $49 fee and to the higher-end Windows Vista Home Premium Edition for a cost of $79."
The Windows Vista Technology Upgrade Program runs from Oct. 26, 2006, through March 15, 2007. Distributors are expected to have the new SKUs in house for system builders by Oct. 15. News of the planned coupon and promotion emerged in June.

Thanks SchmooBro from our chat for this info. If you see something you think is news and would like to share it with the listeners please send us an email. Our first name @ OnComputers.info

Joe

IE 7 MS download URL

Ok Jack here's the MS link for IE7
Tried commenting but, URL is too long.

IE 7 Final is OUT!!!

Internet Explorer is out in final form. The link above will take you to a download page at FlexBeta.

Oddly, the first available copies were from Yahoo and bundled with their mail app and some other things. FlexBeta's download page came up sometime after Yahoo's. There does not yet seem to be an official page at Microsoft.com, but I will bet they fix that in a hurry.

For those of you who wait and have automatic updates enabled in XP, you will have the new browser version pushed to you, unless you don't want it and sign off on it. Frankly, I can't see any reason not to get it. IE 7 is safer in many ways and by all accounts performs better than it's predecessors in nearly every way. Plus, it adheres to standards such as those for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) much more closely.

Enjoy;

Jack

» Surge of killer device drivers leave no OS safe | George Ou | ZDNet.com

"News came yesterday that Linux users who used NVIDIA's drivers were in danger of being remotely exploited because a zero-day exploit code was released last week. "
Not even Linux is safe these days! :(
AlaskaJoe

Fall Processor Forum 2006: IBM's POWER6

IBM's Power PC 6 processor is apparently really something. Performance is such that I (for one) regret that it will not make it into desktop or workstation machines. I still think that RISC has a place in serious machines for desktop usage, but no manufacturer seems to think that way. Should one wish such a machine, she/he is stuck either co-opting a machine meant for server usage or attempting to build a special machine for themselves.

My dreams have been crushed!

Jack

Battlefield 2142 comes with spyware

Electronic Arts must really not get it. They have included spyware in a new game that will deliver contextual advertising during game play. "Spyware" is the right term, too, as the software phones home to report what the user does online in order to deliver ads more accurately.

This is going to develop into a huge flap. Users who shell out serious money for a game are actually setting the publishing company up for more income and even at this early stage, the resentment is palpable. Check out game player's forums and see for yourself. The cries of "foul" are loud and growing in numbers.

To my way of thinking, this is simply another case of greed gone mad. Sadly, we will see more and more of this.

Jack

Windows virus worms onto some Apple iPods | Tech News on ZDNet

Apple Computer warned on Tuesday that some of its latest iPods have shipped with a Windows virus.
Is nothing safe?
I hope you have a good Anti-Virus on your Windows Computer.

Remember We sell NOD32 the Anti-Virus that WORKS! you can try a free trial for 30 days.

Microsoft to give Vista kernel access to security firms

This story is everywhere today, but it is important enough that it needs to be here. I think this is good news for all of us who don't want MS to be both our OS vendor and sole security vendor. From the article:

Today, Microsoft decided on a compromise: the company will develop new Windows Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that will give security companies access to the kernel.

Cisco gains patent on 'triple play'

This is proof positive, as if any were needed, that our patent system is horribly broken. Cisco has gained a patent on something people from literally hundreds of companies have been implementing for years.

The link will take you to a very short article at The Register, where they have posted the first paragraph of the patent claims, which seem to cover everything but childbirth videos.

Read it and weep.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-15-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-15-06. 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.

BackDoor-BAC!55436

I've gotten 3 of these in the past 3 days. They caught my attention because my spam filters did not identify them as spam. They also caught my attention because the first purportedly came from a company I had done business with. So I read a little more closely and realized that they wanted me to execute the "self-extracting archive..." That was my tip off. I hope it was your tip off, too and that you didn't open that attachment.

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. Delete these -- they are totally phony and no one has ordered an expensive laptop in your name.

Update: Here's an article

"Multiplied" Linux Desktop Migration Strategy for Novell SLED 10 and openSUSE 10.1

Not too long before I joined the cast of the show, I had been experimenting with 4 users sharing a single, rather low-powered Linux PC. Deepak and I debated almost endlessly whether or not this would be a good, more easily set up, terminal as opposed to a thin client. After deciding the idea has a lot of potential, I let it drop because I never could interest a client in adopting the system. Not even for a secretarial pool.

Many others have tried the idea starting about then and there was a fair base of free and open source software about for implementing such a solution. Now, I appears Novell/SuSE has licked all the rough edges off and is ready to go for gold with it.

This sort of deployment, with 10 users simultaneously sharing one PC, could save an awful lot of money. Not only is less hardware involved, but only one machine requires the attention of administrators or techs. The truth is that most desktop PCs stand idling much or even most of the time and almost without exception can accomplish any task asked of them without using very much of their capacity. So why not share one among many? Call centers, sales desks and even secretarial pools can do this sort of thing without sacrificing performance in the eyes of any one user.

One of my fellow members in our LUG has done this to allow his children to all work off one PC. His set-up has 6 users on one PC. The added benefit is that all the kids are in his office and their Internet use is thus easily monitored.

No one is saying this sort of arrangement is the wave of the future. But it is a solid performer in certain usage patterns and can fit into many operations just fine.

Jack

Boing Boing: Eudora going open source, to be based on Thunderbird

I use Eudora for email, and its excellent! Cory Doctorow posted a link to the Eudora press release, that announces "Future versions of Eudora will be free and open source, while retaining Eudora's uniquely rich feature set and productivity enhancements." It will be based on Thunderbird. Of course I just recently paid for Eudora, yes that's how good it is. :) But, at the same time there's a "Doh!" moment. Back when I used Netscape's email client (the last century, as a matter of fact ;) ), it only handled one account, and when I started accumulating so many email addresses, Eudora was my choice and I've been really happy with it. The latest announcement pleases me on a societal level, while still feeling a teeny pinch in the wallet, on my timing. Good on ya, Qualcomm!

--MissM
Boing Boing: Eudora going open source, to be based on Thunderbird
P.S. Off topic, but from another post at boing boing, Pinball machine from the pinball's POV.

Last hurrah for PC-based software?

The link above is to a CNet roundup of so-called "Office 2.0" stories. I thought you might want to see what is supposedly going to happen in that area.

To me, "Office 2.0" is so much hot air. The hype machine has once again gone crazy. That is the only explanation I can see.

The truth is that online applications are insecure and should be used only in extremis. They are useful, no doubt, but their use should be limited, even if they do overcome the problems of speed, which are so far very evident.

Applications served in a local area network might well be the shape of things to come. I've done that here at our home and at one client and it has proven marvelous, cutting support issues by a huge amount. I can see that, even without the idea of thin clients tightly locked down, for that one reason alone. But the rest of this "Office 2.0" stuff is suitable for enriching the cabbage patch and little else. Who wants their company documents out on the Internet? Who wishes to have to depend upon an Internet connection that may or may not be secure or fast enough to prevent waiting endlessly for things to happen?

Office 2.0 is a flawed concept as it is presented today. Something huge might come from it, but it is going to take a lot of careful experiment and thought, something the quick buck hype machine rarely puts into an idea. I hold little hope for it actually becoming both usable and pervasive. That is really only being sensible. It's not that I have an attitude that prejudices me to the concept. It's just that the Emporer has very few clothes on.

Jack

ICANN says it can't shut off Spamhaus

I've been following this one for a while. The short story is spammer sues Spamhaus. Spammer wins by default because Spamhaus is in the UK and say US court rulings can't be enforced against them, and so was a no show in court. Spammer goes after Spamhaus domain.

My thoughts about all of this are first, or firstly as they would say in the UK, using Spamhaus blacklists is voluntary. Therefore, Spamhaus doesn't block anything. Individual admins do all the blocking. Second, Spamhaus has no choice except to take a stand. Otherwise there would be a torrent of nuisance suits by spammers. Third, thank goodness the domain is registered in Canada because the US courts don't own Canada either. Fourth, ICANN, even though it is a US entity,is rightly doing its best to stay out of this, as they understanding the broader ramifications.

What happens here will effect the fight against spam. Every time a spammer wins the rest of us lose. And to the folks who buy stuff from spam: You are the root problem. Be more discerning and stop buying from spammers. The world will be a better place. Of course if you are reading this, you are not in that last category. I just wish I could actually reach the idiots who buy from spam.

Hans Reiser Arrested On Suspicion of Murder

This has to be one of technology's stranger stories. If you have used Linux in the past 6 to 7 years or so you know about the ReiserFS. Now the developer of said filesystem has been arrested on suspicion of murder of his wife. Sad if he is innocent and sad if he is guilty. One question raised: if he is found guilty will the name of the filesystem be changed? It is too soon to answer that, but it is an interesting question to be sure.

Copper wire as fast as fiber?

Potentially. Someday. The concept is interesting. Then again, do I actually care how they deliver the 100 Mbps to my router. I much more care that they do than how they do.

MS revokes 'adware' distributor's community award

Here's follow-up to a story that emerged last week. MS has pulled that MVP for the Lop bundled software writer.

Hey, we all make mistakes. It is what we do when we find out about them that counts.

Microsoft struggles with patch

According to this article, automatic updates were down for a while. I don't know if they are back up. I got my patches without problems or delay from Microsoft Update.

Happy Patch Tuesday!

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-08-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-08-06. 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.

THIS IS THE REPLACEMENT PODCAST FOR THE CORRUPT FILE POSTED 10-08-06

$100 Laptop May Be at Security Forefront

As I have told you all on the show (probably far too many times) I am very, very interested in the problems and efforts to bring computing to citizens of undeveloped or developing nations. The "One Laptop per Child" (OLpC) project is one such effort.

I thought this little article on how they intend securing the devices was interesting enough to pass along.

Jack

The Windows Vista Interface

If you want to know what it is like, but don't want to download and install one of the RC versions, here is an article that I think does a good job of presenting just what you will see when you fire up Vista.

I mentioned some of this on the show yesterday, but one thing I didn't get to mention is the animation. After reading this article I understand the rationale, but after a few hours of zipping, zooming, and flying animated windows I was getting seasick. Same thing goes for the "circle" hour glass. It leaves my head spinning. The good news is just like previous versions of Windows, these things can be customized or turned off. I'm much happier without Vista's animated windows. I guess I kind of know where they are going without a visual cue to aid me.

Did Microsoft guarantee BayStar's investment in SCO?

We suspected but we couldn't prove it. But it does look like it was a rogue individual officer rather than a corporate strategy.

In his declaration, Goldfarb testifies that former Microsoft senior VP for corporate development and strategy Richard Emerson discussed "a variety of investment structures wherein Microsoft would 'backstop,' or guarantee in some way, BayStar's investment." Goldfarb then said that after BayStar committed the $50 million to SCO's cause, Microsoft "stopped returning my phone calls and e-mails, and to the best of my knowledge, Mr. Emerson was fired from Microsoft."

You are about to become DRM roadkill

I think this opinion piece does a good job of stating the rather obvious reality of DRM encumbered music. It also links to Michael Robertson's (MP3.com/Linspire/SIPphone) blog so you can read his words uninterpreted.

Just to be clear, a few years ago I dipped my toe into the DRMed music pool, only to promptly burn my purchases to CD in CDA format which I found I could re-rip to whatever format or use I wanted. Luckily, my non-audiophile ears couldn't hear the difference between the re-rip and the original, but I can assure you that degradation does take place.

So I ask you, which would I rather buy? Would I buy a full or single non-DRMed CD that I can keep, play, or rip to the format of my choice. Or would I rather spend my money on a compressed DRMed, proprietary music file that is locked to one kind of player and that goes "poof" for any number of reasons, including upgrading hard drive. I did lose one music file that I got on a free coupon that way because I did not make the aforementioned back-up to CD. If I had paid for that track I'd have been ticked off.

Like the article says, when you buy DRMed music, you aren't buying it, you are renting it. Time that the music vendors start making it clear to folks.

For the record, I don't own any DRMed portable music players. All I have is my Palm PDA which holds about 5 to 10 hours of audio on its SD card. It does the job for me.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-08-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-08-06. 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.

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 08-08-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-08-06. 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.

GeekBrief.TV

GeekBrief.TV is a cool videoblog that is short, and has a perky geek hostess, Cali Lewis. I became aware of the podcast through one of Leo's "twit.tv network podcasts." They were part of a mashup ( nice job PodcastSalad!! )of save the internet videos which is the YouTube link posted below (Oh look that's Cali, right there (OT: how is the frame picked by Youtube? I've always wondered)):
GeekBrief.tv Ep. 75



This concludes your SavetheInternet update. Enjoy! :)
--MissM

Microsoft gives adware pusher an MVP award

Yep, once again Microsoft has put its foot in its mouth. This time it was by naming an adware purveyor as an MVP. This takes nothing away from all the honest and hardworking MVPs who have been such a help to us end users over the years, but whoever in Redmond pulled this blunder needs his hard drive examined. And what was the evilware bundled with this new MVPs software you ask? No, it was not something borderline or merely annoying. It was LOP, which is only a small step down from CWS.

I'm with Ed Bott who has called for MS to click the Undo button. Yes, please, and quickly.

Open DNS

Been meaning to post this for quite some time. ISP DNS stinks? Check this out. It's DNS servers open to all. I've been using them and they work fine.

Hardware in Review: Lenovo ThinkPad T60p review

Linux compatible ThinkPads explained, along with a very good review of the T60 series ThinkPads. This is definitely worth your time.

Jack

Sticking with Windows XP: The Case Against Windows Vista

I got my Windows Vista RC1 DVDs the other day and promptly installed the 64 bit version. I only live once right? Even though I knew I would encounter more driver problems with the 64 bit edition, it went pretty well and I have a dual boot between Vista and XP Pro. I've played with Vista for about 6 hours. It is different in a number of minor ways, but enough like XP that I've adapted to the changes more easily than I had expected.

Aeroglass is okay, but not a deal-maker for me. I probably most like the taskbar button thumbnails -- those are neat, but again, not nearly $300 worth of neat. I add that to the driver incompatibility issues and the shakedown period that any new OS needs and I'll be sticking with XP for a while. At least until Vista SP1 and until I replace enough hardware because some of my older hardware will never support Vista 64 drivers (if I can't move to 64 bit what is the point, really?)

After having a good look at Vista RC1 on my own hardware, I decided to see what Paul Thurrott was saying these days. I spotted this article. It is timely and so agrees with what I've experienced so far. Based on my personal experience with Vista, I think he has a good point.

Microsoft keelhauls customers in WGA snafu

They call it "Windows Genuine Advantage". The advantage is all Microsoft's, no matter how often and how much they try to tell us they are doing it for our benefit. The system is fatally flawed and Microsoft is in a state of denial over that.

In the last few months, I have seen a 2 year old OEM installation of XP Home (a Compaq laptop) repeatedly be declared invalid. Thank Goodness HPQ is sympathetic and willing to help. Other OEMs have been less receptive and Microsoft's only interest is in getting you to pay for another license, no matter that you already have. They want full retail, too. One has to wonder how many clueless users have paid up in order to not have to deal with the hassles. I'm betting the number is fairly high.

The situation is going to get a whole lot worse when Vista and Longhorn Server get here. Vista will almost completely shut you down if WGA thinks you have a pirated copy or you haven't activated your copy in time. You will be able to use the browser to navigate the Internet, but nothing else. And you get logged off after an hour. False positives here will cause users to shed a LOT of tears, whether of pain or frustration.

Ed Bott's blog on ZDNet has his take on it.
And an older post on WGA.

This is David Berlind's announcement of the kill switch in a
ZDNet blog post.

And in the interest of fairness, Microsoft's justification.

Read it and weep.
Jack

Firefox JavaScript security "a complete mess"? More like a hoax (updated)

So much for my getting all alarmed.

Apparently the presentation I reported on is less than the presenters said it was. However, some of us have done some testing and can indeed compromise our subject machines in ways related to this. So, there is some vulnerability, even though it is not quite as it was depicted to be.

The Mozilla folks are still at it, evaluating everything and I expect to see an update coming out of this within the next few days.

Jack

Boing Boing: Day against DRM

Cory Doctorow writes:

Today is October 3, the International Day Against DRM -- the first global day where people rise up and say no to anti-copying technology that treats you like a crook. Remember, DRM doesn't stop "piracy" -- the only people who get DRM infections are people who don't pirate their media. You get DRM by buying your movies, music, games and books through authorized channels -- the stuff you download from P2P or buy off of a blanket at a flea-market has already had the DRM cracked off of it. They say that DRM "keeps honest people honest" -- but all it does is keep honest people in chains.

The article includes some tips to help celebrate today.
Boing Boing: Day Against DRM
[h/t to Militant Geek for the graphic]

--MissM

Taking passwords to the grave | CNET News.com

What are your plans about this? Let us know your solutions in the comments, please. I'd seen this last week, and mentioned it in the chat on Sunday, but Bruce Schneier's posting it reminded me to post it on our blog. There are some options in the comments of that post, too.

William Talcott, a prominent San Francisco poet with dual Irish citizenship, had fans all over the world. But when he died in June of bone marrow cancer, his daughter couldn't notify most of his contacts because his e-mail account--and the online address book he used--was locked up.

Complete article

--MissM

Hackers claim zero-day flaw in Firefox

Apparently the javascript engine in all implementations of the popular FireFox browser are broken badly enough to need a complete re-write. Whatever it is, I am sure they will do it fast. The Mozilla folks are good about that.

This just reinforces my opinion that the browser (any browser) is the most threatening application on the computer. I still use eLinks, links and occasionally lynx, which are text-only browsers and much less vulnerable, simply because they are not designed to do nearly as much as a "regular" graphic browser is.

The NoScript extension to FireFox is a good way to get around this. I simply turned of javascript in the FireFox preferences and will live with broken web sites until a real fix for the browser is available.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 10-01-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 10-01-06. 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.

Core 2 Extreme Quad Performance

ExtremeTech has gotten hold of one of the very first Intel quad core processors. The specs of the E670 are impressive, as are the results ET got out of it.

The article is filled with good information. Quad cores are almost here. Enjoy.

Jack

ATI's Linux drivers do not totally suck, shock

It's a tale about installing drivers for video under Linux. A cautionary tale, at that, and a series of reasons why average users probably won't cleave to Linux at home for a while, yet.

Jack

Project Vampire is about to Fly..

This is Rahul Sood's blog entry in which (toward the end) he announces the purchase of VooDoo PC by HP. He definitely likes to tell a story and I thought you would find it interesting. I did.

Jack

Friday fun! Check out the HD images of a sunken airship

This is cool, and just for fun, to try to start the weekend off right.
MercuryNews.com | 09/27/2006 | Scientists unveil high-definition images of huge airship sunk in 1935
--MissM

Symantec Lashes Out at Microsoft for Barring Vista Code Access

After a stretch of acting like a good corporate citizen by doing such things as promising not to sue over implementation of some web standards on which they hold patents, Microsoft is acting like, well, Microsoft. If Symantec's allegations are true, and even MS acknowleges they are, their behavior is back in anti-trust territory.

Dominance of a market should carry responsibility and not allow shennanigans like this.

Jack

Epos intros cheap handwriting recognition

Handwriting recognition is essential to some people's vision of future computing. It sure is to mine. This short article at The Inquirer will tell you about one such technology. The company, Epos, does not build anything, instead seeking to license the technology to others. I think they have a winner, here, and would love to have a sample.

There are others. I have a friend who programs for Electronic Arts, the game maker, here in the Dallas/Fort Worth, TX area. He tells me that within EA exists a very good pen recognition program that could be developed into a winning product, though he says the company probably won't do that. This is simply an offshoot of what they do for a living and is not seen as a product.

Further; rumor has it that Wacom, the tablet input people, will soon have a new tablet that has enough memory to be used without a PC for dozens of pages of dense text, then uploaded to the computer via encrypted BlueTooth or unencrypted USB/Firewire, depending on your preference. Combined with good handwriting recognition, this could be a killer app for a lot of people, myself included.

Interesting times, eh?

Jack

LivePC Engine and BetaGarage

Everyone knows about LiveCDs by now. At least I think they do. Well, here is a system based on VMWare's excellent technology that allows one to run different virtual machines for any purpose. They have Haiku, Linux and other virtual installations for download now and it seems as if developers are working hard to make more. There is even a "Christian" edition of Ubuntu GNU/Linux and a child safe desktop.

It is worth checking out. This is one possible shape of the personal computing future.

Jack

Microsoft fixes urgent VML problem

Go get it now boys and girls.

Langa Blog: Microsoft Releases IE Security Patch Early

Courtesy of Fred Langa's Blog, MS released a patch for the VML exploit documented by all of us (that post anyway :P ). This is the first I've seen of it, and wanted to post the update, ASAP. Go get it! Now!

Langa Blog: Microsoft Releases IE Security Patch Early
The Internet Explorer patch to fix a Vector Markup Language (VML) security hole (which we blogged this morning, saying that Microsoft may release it early) has now been released. Get the update here. Learn more about it here.

GO HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE FREE LANGALIST E-NEWSLETTER!
--MissM

"IE for Linux" hack offers one more reason not to boot Windows

My neighbor, who is a fervent Windows and IE user quipped that this is what happens when sick minds are not occupied properly.

According to all reports, it works. You can run IE in many versions on your Linux machine, provided only that you have the wine libraries and common runtimes installed. So, you would not have to boot to Windows to see how your web site looks in IE or to access web apps that rely on ActiveX.

I will try it soon and report.

Jack

Spyware, Bots, Rootkits Flooding Through Unpatched IE Hole

Yet another IE hole. This one is gaping and the workarounds I have seen are not particularly impressive. MS will have to patch quickly, and it will not be in time, as so many machines are already infected.

Also, there is now an exploit that takes advantage of legitimate features in Adobe's Acrobat Reader which requires no user interaction, other than opening what appears to be a legitimate PDF file.

It's not safe out there and it is getting worse. I'll bet the Mac users are in such a smug state right now that they can hardly stand it.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 09-24-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-24-06. 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.

NTI Offers One Day Free Download of New USB Storage Partitioning, Encryption Software

Thought we'd get you this over the weekend so you could (hopefully) post it on Monday to alert everyone NTI is launching the new NTI Ninja USB device protection software with a free 1-day download...yes FREE!!!

You want a review copy? Hey we can get you the software early (ok one lousy
day but hey???) Let us know if you need anything else -- A

Free Tuesday

NTI Offers One Day Free Download of New USB Storage Partitioning, Encryption Software


Starting at midnight tonight, NewTech Infosystems (NTI) will be making their new Ninja software - a USB data storage and protection software solution - available
free on their web site, www.ntius.com . Unlike most fixed
partition USB software, NTI Ninja allows users to adjust the size of their public and private partitions on their portable storage device. In addition, the software provides users with complete storage area anti-tamper encryption and password protection.

The new software was developed to meet the dramatic increase in today's mobile workforce, the increased use of USB storage devices and the need to protect content and data from being stolen or compromised on the small, portable devices.

To kickoff Ninja protection, the company will make the software available free at the firm's website tomorrow (September 26). After that -- the software that works with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000, XP operating systems - will have a suggested retail price of $24.95.

NTI Ninja allows users to adjust the size of their private and public workspaces on virtually any USB flash or hard drive device to meet their specific storage requirements.

To ensure private and sensitive information is not compromised even if the device is lost or stolen, NTI Ninja includes core encryption and password protection.


The password protection and encryption application complies with the Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES), the government- and corporate-grade encryption standard.
The 128-bit AES encryption prevents brute force password protection of the user's
private storage areas while providing free, easy access to the public storage
space on the USB device. Individuals can use the software on USB flash and hard
drives as well as SD cards, cell and smartphones, iPods and MP3 Players.

Users can reformat the storage device at any time to meet changing requirements.


For your free copy of NTI Ninja download it tomorrow (September 26) at www.ntius.com
. After that…$24.95!

BBspot - Microsoft Requiring Fingerprints and DNA for Vista WGA

Just a little humor to lighten the day.....

Workaround needed for IE hole

Been here, done this. Or something similar. This is just more info on the same that Jack and MissM have been posting, but it gives a specific workaround. I did it. It is a quick, easy, cut-n-paste. To reverse it is just as easy when the patch comes out. Since IE is so intertwined with Windows, I will remind you that this is needed even if your default browser is Firefox or Opera, etc.

On a personal note I've been completely down with something very nasty this week. If I had eaten spinach I'd know what it was, but I didn't so I'm thinking it was something Norwalk'ish. If you want the details you can look that up. I'm making a slow but steady recovery at this point.

SunbeltBLOG: Seen in the wild: Zero Day exploit being used to infect PCs

This is a different exploit than the one Jack posted below, and its been out a few days, but I've accumulated some links about it, here.

Day Zero
Still Day One: Sunbelt
Microsoft's response (Still Day One)
Minor fix to exploit mitigation
Secunia: Day One

The President of Sunbelt Software publicized this first, on his blog. As I recall one company discovered it, and notified Microsoft, but hadn't announced it yet. Why two days before it was posted here, you ask? Well, my reluctance was because it was an IE exploit, I thought, and I didn't want to repeat what an excellent browser Firefox is. But, I hope that this adds to your knowledge of the current exploit being used by the scum of the internet.

--MissM

Microsoft's Zune doesn't seem to give much to it's owner

The link is to a comment piece on ZDNet UK. It details what you can do with a Zune, and more importantly what you cannot do, which seems to be nearly everything. Read it and save your dough.

Jack

Internet Explorer daxctle.ocx "KeyFrame()" Method Vulnerability

The link will take you to a Secunia warning about yet another ActiveX flaw that allows attackers to construct a malicious web page that can crash the browser or, much more seriously and the point of this advisory, run malicious code on the user's machine.

Not for the first time; I have to wonder when MS will give up on ActiveX, which offers no unique benefits and a seemingly endless series of vulnerabilities.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 09-17-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-17-06. 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.

Dell Customers Ask for More

Dell is in trouble, as this eWeek article illustrates. They can recover. There is not any doubt about that. It is simply that selling cheap PCs is not enough to wow the masses, any more, whether they are corporate types or home users.

In the past, Dell's service was really something to crow about and they are still bragging on it, though it has gone downhill enough to elicit more complaints than praise. Dell definitely needs to fix this, pronto. Their use of remote administration is surely one step in the right direction, but is not nearly enough to reverse the trend of ill will they have generated in the last couple years. I think they know it and will take their best shot at doing better. They have to hurry, though.

And while Dell has been proud in the past that they do almost no R&D (thus saving a lot of money) they are going to have to start. Customers are demanding innovation in all but the cheapest machines. In order to meet that expectation, Dell is going to have to innovate on their own, rather than just aping features that have proven popular in other maker's lines.

The laptop battery recall isn't really their fault, but how they handle it will influence a LOT of possible customer's opinions. Dell is off to what looks like a good start, but they have to execute all the way through. They are dependent on Sony to come up with the replacement batteries in a reasonable amount of time and if there are problems Dell will have to find a second supplier....pronto. They may already have. I don't know.

Their future is in their own hands.

Jack

Dell Customers Ask for More

Dell is in trouble, as this eWeek article illustrates. They can recover. There is not any doubt about that. It is simply that selling cheap PCs is not enough to wow the masses, any more, whether they are corporate types or home users.

In the past, Dell's service was really something to crow about and they are still bragging on it, though it has gone downhill enough to elicit more complaints than praise. Dell definitely needs to fix this, pronto. Their use of remote administration is surely one step in the right direction, but is not nearly enough to reverse the trend of ill will they have generated in the last couple years. I think they know it and will take their best shot at doing better. They have to hurry, though.

And while Dell has been proud in the past that they do almost no R&D (thus saving a lot of money) they are going to have to start. Customers are demanding innovation in all but the cheapest machines. In order to meet that expectation, Dell is going to have to innovate on their own, rather than just aping features that have proven popular in other maker's lines.

The laptop battery recall isn't really their fault, but how they handle it will influence a LOT of possible customer's opinions. Dell is off to what looks like a good start, but they have to execute all the way through. They are dependent on Sony to come up with the replacement batteries in a reasonable amount of time and if there are problems Dell will have to find a second supplier....pronto. They may already have. I don't know.

Their future is in their own hands.

Jack

Windows Vista RC1 Now Downloadable By Anyone

Or you can do what I did if your Internet connection is not up to snuff for a 3 to 4 GB download, and order a DVD for a very reasonable $3 plus $2 shipping.

So if you've been wanting to take a look at Vista for yourself, now is your chance.

Microsoft Releases New "Open Specifications Promise" on 35 Web Services Specifications

While the link above is to a rather long and detailed post at Consortiuminfo.org, I found it very informative on matters of patent licensing in regards to software standards.

The subject of the post is Microsoft's promise not to assert patent holder's rights against implementers of a proposed standard. Essentially, this means that while MS has the patents, they won't sue anyone using the technology in implementation of the standard in question.

Like I said; it is complex. But this will go a long ways towards clearing up any questions you might have on the subject. It is very well written and quite understandable, which is refreshing.

Jack

Cookies Detected by Anti-Spyware Programs: The Current Status

Ben Edelmen has posted a link to a study that he was commissioned to do about which cookies 9 different spyware detectors detect and remove. I found it interesting, and it has a handy graph. Check it out. The Summary is as follows:

I test eleven anti-spyware programs for their treatment of cookies from 50 advertising systems. I report my observations in full detail, along with analysis of notable detections. For example, I find that PC Tools Spyware Doctor detects the most cookies from within my sample (50%), while cookies from Advertising.com, Aquantive/Atlas, Casale Media, FastClick, and MediaPlex are most often detected (each detected by 8 of the 11 anti-spyware programs tested). Conversion-tracking cookies from Yahoo Overture are widely detected (6/11), but no anti-spyware programs detects the corresponding Google cookies, perhaps because Google's cookies use arbitrary names that are hard for scanners to identify. I conclude by reporting some anomalies observed in testing, and by suggesting privacy-protective practices that may nonetheless accommodate typical advertiser objectives.

The report is available here.

--MissM

WOW-Pen Eco100 Review

I'm mainly a trackball user, since Joe rightly convinced me it was the key to solving ergonomic problems that had resulted in a bad case of "frozen shoulder". I do still have mice on some machines, but don't use them much. The exception is my laptop(s), where I have been unable to find a suitable trackball for mobile use that I can rationalize paying for.

ExtremeTech has a review on a "pen" mouse. It looks very, very attractive, though I will have to wait for later models which will better the current model's 400 dpi resolution. When they come out I'll pawn something if I have to to get one. (I wonder how much they will give me for a cat that loves to type? I could solve two problems at once that way.)

Anyway; the idea of a "pen" mouse is one I like and I cannot wait for them to be just a bit more capable.

Jack

Microsoft delivers 'Save as PDF' add-on | CNET News.com

"Microsoft has released a free download that will enable Office 2007 users to save documents in both Adobe Systems's PDF format and Microsoft's own rival format, XPS."
Microsoft said it was coming.

Top Windows writer abandons Microsoft

"MICROSOFT DEVELOPER and writer Pete Wright has had enough of Vole and has bought an Apple."
It looks like some of the people in Redmond are leaving! What does this mean?
Thanks Rick-in-Florida for this.

A Few Well Deserved Kudos for Western Digital

I never say this, but I really hate knowledge bases. Even FAQ sections seem depressingly inadequate nearly all the time. Knowledge bases always seem hard to navigate. So much so that it is often a full day's work to find and digest enough information to solve whatever problem it is I am having. The Microsoft KB is like that. It's not their fault, either. The entire site shows that they try really hard to make it pertinent, up to date and usable, but there is so much information to dispense and it overlaps so dramatically that one is often left sorting through literally dozens of articles that might, just might, apply to what you are about. I appreciate Microsoft's efforts to make their KB usable, but with so much there, even the best search facility falls flat at times and I have to sort through all those possible hits. Sometimes more than once, if I haven't chosen my search terms well enough.

You have all heard me complain about being poor. It's a common enough affliction, these days. Because I and a lot of those whose computers I service are not terribly flush, I often buy factory refurbished parts, particularly hard drives.

I stick with the major brands and have had remarkably little trouble with them. They have given good service over an acceptable service life and on the very few occasions I have had trouble, the vendors and/or the manufacturers have made things right in short order.

The brand of refurbished hard drive that has gotten most of my business lately is Western Digital. My local vendors always seem to have them and occasionally Fry's has them on sale. Generally, I can get an 80 GB Caviar IDE drive (7200 rpm) very affordably. That is all the capacity most of my users, including myself, need. And the drive is so common that even the beta RAID drivers for Vista see them on the first try. Linux RAID software works just as well with them. Should someone need more capacity or redundancy, tossing another one into the box is easy as pie and cheap.

(I generally don't go in for bigger drives because I own and work on a LOT of older hardware. Often the older disk controllers or bios cannot see larger drives and rather than partition to overcome this, I just stick with that size.)

I have spent the last few nights trying to get a 5 year old bios to see one of my WD refurbs. It just would not. I could even install an OS, but it would not boot after the installation because a bios cannot hand off to the OS hardware it cannot see. I tried all the tricks I know and not one thing worked. I don't have enough hair left to be pulling it out, so I hit the WD web site.

What I found there was a delight. The FAQ had a couple "the bios can't see it" entries. Both recommended I download their diagnostic tools as well as giving me information on remedies to try. Everything was plain, clear and easy to find. The solution turned out to be an alternative jumper setting which was not listed on the label of the drive. I ran the diagnostic tools on an XP machine overnight. It took 9 hours, but I did not mind. I was asleep, after all.

In the end, I added a few bookmarks to my favorites under "help" and read about 10 articles that gave me a better understanding of what had happened and things to look out for, that I might anticipate problems. It really was a treat to see a knowledge base so well laid out and easy to digest. I just wish the Microsoft KB could be that way, but the sheer size of it would defeat anyone who tried to make it over and I just have to accept that.

And the PC boots and runs just fine, now.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 09-10-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 09-10-06. 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.

Silicon Valley to Get Free Broadband

"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

'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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

'Adware' attack on privacy tool

It sounded a bit too good to be true and I guess it was.

Jack

His first day of school

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

Google Office still needs some renovating | News.blog | CNET News.com

I haven't tried "Google Office", officially called "Google Apps for your Domain" It is available here if you want to try it:

Sounds like it is not quite ready for primetime, but if you try is and disagree with the article, please leave a comment.

Mark Shuttleworth; One on the Chin - Updated

The link is to Mark Shuttleworth's personal blog. For those of you who do not know, Mark is the money and the driving force behind the Ubuntu GNU/Linux distribution. Ubuntu and it's derivatives are currently the most popular deskto Linux flavor and doing reasonably well in the server space, though it is plainly targeted at desktop users. Ubuntu is based upon Debian, which is the reason it is also seeing server usage. Debian is well suited to that and apparently Ubuntu only slightly less so, even in it's present form.

In the blog entry, Mark takes full responsibility for the problems with a patch to X that the distro had this last week. He also accepts all the virulent criticism they received. That is the way it should be, of course. The Ubuntu team knows such things are unacceptable and says it aloud. They vow to change whatever needs to be changed to keep it from happening again.

The entry is pretty short and well worth a read.

Jack

Update;
Here is an article with more particulars than Shuttleworth's blog post. Though I talked about it on the show, I thought I had best put up some details.

Jack

On Computers Radio Show Podcast 08-27-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 08-27-06. 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.