Alex Barnett blog : OPML sampling

One of the nice things about sharing our OPML is the ability to sample feeds you've not tried before, but this can be hard work.

Example: Pete Cashmore and Chris Anderson (editor of Wired) have made their RSS feed subscriptions available for others to import / surf and sample. The idea is that there are some feeds I like to look of and then subscribe to these myself. In Chris' case, this is 150 separate feeds he's tracking. So for me to sample these properly it would take me at least an hour to go through each feed, find any relevant posts (to me) and then subscribe. You'd have to sample 450 of mine if you wanted to be thorough. 1,500 if Robert Scoble's. That's hard manual labour.

I find RSS fascinating, as a subset of this I have tried the OPML editor
The learning curve has been steep for me, but I'm more of a hardware geek,
not a software geek. Posting wasn't a problem for me, it was more formatting
of a "blogroll" or crude River of news, didn't work. There have been several
improvements lately that I've not had a chance to try, but look forward to
getting on the River of News bandwagon.
What is a River of news? Dave Winer explains it:

Sure sign that Rex uses a poorly designed RSS aggregator. It shouldn't make you feel guilty. You should have easy access to news, and stuff you missed while you were away is nothing more than stuff you missed. Let the news flow by you and relax like someone sitting on the bank of a river [Firefox attempts a connection, but one is not allowed here, not sure what's up, but in case you can get there, I definately wanted to post it.] looking for something interesting as you while away the time. That's how news works, and RSS is, emphatically, for news.

My first project with the OPML editor was importing my RSS feed. Sage's
export function messes with the OPML file, in a way that makes it unimportable.
I worked around that (not sure how, its been many months), then I was dragging the
feeds to different categories. I then tried to put that in my blogroll, but it didn't
work. I see more and more adoption, which leads me to believe that it is easier, or
that perhaps there is somebody who would want to use this tool, or does and has tips
and tricks?? I look forward to the time I have more opportunity to "play" with it. :)

--MissM

Another OPML guru (if I may) is Amyloo. She has an OPML blog, that is a lab to
experiment, and I enjoy observing her experiments. :)

Alex Barnett blog : OPML sampling

Intel Viiv is stupid and broken ?????

The link is to a Charlie Demerjian rant at The Inquirer. Rant is the right word, too.

It seems you are not going to be able to build an Intel "ViiV" platform on your own, though there are a huge number of components that say they are compatible and apparently a lot of folks are buying them with the expectation of building a machine to the "ViiV" specs. The reality is that to be ViiV compatible, you're going to have to buy an OEM machine. If you build, you will at best be in violation of the MS EULA and at worst won't be able to get the desired functionality.

More to come on this, I'm sure.

Jack

More on Apple Security

I refused to use the title TechNewsWorld had on this, which was "Apple Security Woes Deepen". That's not true. Someone wrote that to grab attention, not to transmit information.

There is simply another security concern regarding Apple's Mac OS X. The world is not falling in. Secunia has found some things in the OS and it's Safari browser that need attention, as they can be used to run malicious code. That's all.

Apple is drawing the attention of the crooks and the malware authors they employ to a much larger degree than before. Apparently, a small portion of their vaunted permission structure can be warped to no good. Linux and the other *nixes have had the same sort of thing in the past and no doubt will have them again. It's serious enough to warrant Apple getting after it quickly and I have no doubt they will. So rather than being alarmed, read this one for your own information. There is a larger picture shaping up, here, and all will become clearer as time goes on.

Jack

On Computers Server Downtime - Advanced Notice

I have been notified that our hosting center will be shutting down our server on Sunday, March 19, 2006 from Midnight CST to 6:00AM CST to perform some power upgrades.

Please be aware that during this time all services that are housed on this server will be unavailable during this time. This includes the chat server, the newsgroups, On Computers Show Archives, email, and web pages that are hosted on this server.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to email me.

Aaron

Microsoft gives glimpse of eight Vistas | News.blog

Eight plus 2 "N" versions without Media Player for the EU. So that actually makes ten. Perhaps they are aiming for a slot on David Letterman's Top 10 list -- all 10 slots that is.

MS says this is still "not definitive". But I say it is still confusing. Stay tuned for more -- versions that is.

The USB 2.0 power bug is back. (And it’s bigger than before.)

Jack talked about this on Sunday's show. This article gives some additional background.

The bug will ultimately have a fix, which Microsoft now says it is preparing.

That’s the good news. However, the bad news is that it appears to be a fairly widespread issue and, for some, unavoidable.

The issue comes down to the way Windows XP Service Pack 2-equipped notebook PCs react to the presence of USB 2.0 devices. With a one of the devices attached, the machines basically burn more power and thus, when switched to battery power, don’t run for the same length of time on a battery charge.

The cause is rooted in the intricate way in which USB 2.0 devices interact with ACPI, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface power management software included with Microsoft’s Windows XP Service Pack 2, hardware testers who discovered the issue report.

What Will Apple Do When the Malware Comes?

The link above is to a Larry Seltzer opinion piece at eWeek.com.

In it, he speculates that the Apple user community and indeed the company itself are ill-prepared to face an onslaught of malware, should one arise. The two pieces of malware discovered last week could be a passing hit and miss attack or the harbinger of things to come.

While it is true that the Mac OS X, along with Linux and all the other *nixes are much less prone to allow malicious software installations, it can happen and, as Seltzer notes, the Mac user community is ill-prepared to deal with it. Because the Mac user community feels so well protected, they may well be more easily "socially engineered" into running malicious code. I have a feeling that that speculation is about to be tested, as more and more malware appears for Macs (and other alternative operating systems).

Apple has traditionally not been very forthcoming on security issues and if they decide to maintain that silence, it is quite possible their users could be hung out to dry. Somehow, I don't think that will happen, but it is a possibility. I think that in the face of any real threat (meaning it has to be a lot worse than the two little examples of last week) Apple will step right up and inform their users so they can protect themselves.

There is anti-virus protection available for Macs (and the *nixes). I insist every machine on our network be equipped with it, regardless of operating system, if only to prevent infecting the Windows machines. (It just wouldn't look good if a client machine comes away from here infected with anything other than an inflated bill.)

All this is worth thinking about now, before the "stuff" hits the fan. I'll be getting a Mac soon, and running the Mac OS X on it (instead of Linux). I'll let you know how the anti-virus protection offerings from both proprietary outlets and ClamAV work on it.

Jack

Why did SCO depose Intel?

Jack talked about this on the show yesterday. We hadn't talked about SCO for a very long time, but it is getting interesting again.

The short story for those not reading along with PJ, Darl and the gang is this, SCO faced a discovery cutoff in late January, and by all accounts had little or no evidence as the curtains were being drawn. It was desperate for an extension to keep on fishing, or as some suggest, to keep the FUD cloud hanging over Linux. Either way, SCO wanted more time.

Touch Rubik's Cube

The Touch Rubik's Cube puts a new twist on the classic puzzle game. It uses six different materials: metal, wood, textile, stone, rubber, and plastic, engaging users to use their senses.

This is too kewl, and I couldn't help but think of Riley. Bet he has missed playing w/a rubik's cube :)

--MissM

read more | digg story

Linux worm targets PHP flaw

Not much to this one. It's about like the recent Mac malware discoveries.

Back in the days of Red Hat 5.2 (my first Linux distro) Deepak and I would debate out loud how long it would take malware writers to target Linux and the Mac OS X. The general consensus was that it would not be too long. I believe it is starting to happen, years after we thought it would.

When there gets to be a considerable amount of malware for the alternative operating systems, we'll all get to make more of a "head-to-head" comparison of the security of those versus Windows. I wonder how that will come out? There's no telling, right now, though I will note we are a long ways from having a community of script kiddies salivating over the prospect of their own personal piece of badness infecting machines, as Windows has had for years, now.

Stay tuned.

Jack

Microsoft Is Upset Over Bounties Paid for Finding Flaws in Their Products

The link above is to a short article at The Inquirer.

It seems iDefense, a security firm, pays bounties to finders of major or "critical" flaws in lots of software, but the publicity is of course focused on Microsoft's offerings. You can net a neat $10k (USD) for one that gets a "critical" rating from Redmond. As a matter of fact; that figure was just raised in something of a price war for flaw finders.

I like the idea. So many times researchers who help keep us safe go unrewarded because they are not "professionals" and they deserve some reward. Ten grand seems a bit steep, but who am I to set the prices, right?

You can read more about it here, here, here, and here.

Jack

Dvorak in a straight jacket ;)

Courtesy of TwiT:


I love Leo crying lol
--MissM
OT: I couldn't post the picture via the blogger button on my google toolbar, didn't that used to be there?
789.gif (GIF Image, 636x624 pixels)

Don't Forget About Opera

I'm just a bit disenchanted with FireFox, this week. It's a bit slow and jerky in it's latest incarnation. Not terribly noticeably in Windows, but very much so on the several Linux distributions I have running here.

Don't get me wrong, here. I'm not dumping FireFox, but I have been paying attention to and using Opera 8.5 on Windows lately and I'm very happy with it. Yeah, it doesn't have all the nifty extensions and the layout is ever so slightly counter-intuitive. But on Windows, it's a fine browser, since they quit putting ads up in the corner.

Opera on Linux is a bit problematic, depending very much on distribution used and tweaking skills of the user. Not my cup of tea, though I do keep trying it there. Linux has plenty of alternative browsers, so avoiding Opera there is easy.

But right now, for the kind of wholesale surfing I do when perusing all those news sites, Opera is my champion. FireFox will probably get right again with the next version, but for now, I'm avoiding the aggravation; minor as it may be.

Jack

OnComputers Radio show Podcast 02-19-06

This is the On Computers Radio show podcast for 02-19-06. If you prefer, you can download the same file here via ftp.

The Ig® Nobel Prizes

Just for fun, I post the Ig® Nobel Prizes. Not new news, but there is another ceremony this October.

The Ig Nobel Prizes honor achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think. The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honor the imaginative -- and spur people's interest in science, medicine, and technology.

Improbable Research

Also: Podcast promo's potentially posted (I had to stop, I couldn't think of anymore "p" words lol).
In no particular order (nor any guarantee the promo was played):
The SG Show
Ask Leo
ChuckChat
Podcacher
Skepticality
Mike Tech Show
PodcasterNews

--MissM
Ig® Nobel Prizes

2nd Mac virus that spreads over bluetooth.

Today we got a sample of rather interesting case, a Mac OS X Bluetooth worm that spreads over Bluetooth.

OSX/Inqtana.A is a proof of concept worm for Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). It tries to spread from one infected system to others by using Bluetooth OBEX Push vulnerability CAN-2005-1333.

If you are using OS X 10.4 make sure that you have latest security patches installed and you are safe from Inqtana.A and any future worm that tries to use same exploit.

Inqtana.A has not been met in the wild and it uses Bluetooth library that is locked into specific Bluetooth address and the library expires on 24. February 2006. So it is quite unlikely that Inqtana.A would be any kind of threat.

F-Secure : 2nd Mac virus

--MissM

Google rips Justice Department in court papers

Right after I posted this, I ran across this USA Today article, and applaud Google. :)

Google rips Justice Department in court papers
By Michael Liedtke, The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Google criticized the Bush administration's demand to examine millions of its users' Internet search requests as a misguided fishing expedition that threatens to ruin the company's credibility and reveal its closely guarded secrets.

The Mountain View, Calif.-based company delivered its indignant critique Friday in a 25-page brief that marked its initial legal response to the U.S. Justice Department's attempt to force the online search engine leader to comply with a 6-month-old subpoena.

--MissM
USATODAY.com - Google rips Justice Department in court papers

Update: The Official Google Response to the DoJ motion
It includes a link to the 25 page pdf response from Google.

The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Google's Private Lives - Technology Review

Google's Private Lives

Its new desktop search application would make your personal files available for government searches without your knowledge.

By Dylan Tweney

A new search technology from Google makes it possible for law enforcement officials to examine personal documents from your hard drive, without your knowing it, according to the digital-rights advocacy organization Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

Released last week, Google Desktop 3, the latest version of the company's desktop search utility, adds a "Search Across Computers" feature that automatically uploads files from a user's computer onto Google's servers. Then, when a search is performed on any computer owned by the user, Google Desktop will pull search results from both the Web and information stored on all the user's computers.

Certainly, such a feature will be handy for anyone trying to coordinate a project from different locations. Yet the idea of turning over private files to a public company is worrisome to privacy advocates. In fact, in a press release, the EFF has urged consumers to avoid the Search Across Computers feature because it would make consumers' files more vulnerable to subpoenas from government investigators as well as private litigants.

Of course, it's headlines news that Google (as well as its competitors) has already given in to pressure from a national government, by excluding censored content from its Chinese portal (Google.cn). Although so far the company has resisted a U.S. Department of Justice subpoena asking it to turn over logs for millions of recent search terms, smaller subpoenas -- such as those for the search history of a particular user's IP address -- don't make the news, because they're often sealed.

This spells out the creepy feeling google desktop has always given me....

--MissM
The Impact of Emerging Technologies: Google's Private Lives

PlayStation 3 costs $900, sez Merrill Lynch mob

I was reminded of how much Microsoft is losing on the hardware for the XBOX360.
So if you were gonna get a PS3, how much would you pay? Microsoft's plan on making business on the software side, seems to work for them.

--MissM
Engadget is a great geek site, and they have a podcast that I listen to regularly.
PlayStation 3 costs $900, sez Merrill Lynch mob - Engadget

Fixing It With Knoppix

The link above is about fixing a Linux installation with Knoppix, even if it's not a Knoppix installation.

There is also one about fixing a Windows installation here.

Both are at Extreme Tech.

So, if those of less geeky inclination are wondering why we are always talking about using Knoppix or similar live cds to repair filesystems, I recommend these two articles as a good place to start.

Jack