August 16, 2008
At least we get warning this time.
There have been occasions when some windows updates have been bad choices. XP SP3 for example has been trouble for some users which is why we don't automatically install it. Well on some updates Microsoft has different ideas:
Back in September of 2007 Microsoft carried out what I and many others at the time considered to be a pretty big breach of trust and pushed a stealth update for the Windows Update mechanism. What’s wrong with that, you might ask? Well, as it turned out the update disrupted some Windows XP users ability to repair their installation. Not good, and precisely the reason why there are some people who like to know exactly what is being installed on their systems, and control when that happens.Well, according to Microsoft, there’s another update to the Windows Update mechanism ready to be unleashed. The difference between this update and the stealth update from back in 2007 is that Microsoft is being more open about this update and actually talking about it before it hits the download servers and starts getting installed on systems.
Better than not giving warning like last time.
Posted by Peter at 08:31 PM
August 10, 2008
The MBTA's 19th century solution
The MBTA is taking umbrage at a scheduled talk at the hackers conference and has gone to court:
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority filed a suit in federal court on Friday seeking a temporary restraining order to prevent three undergraduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from presenting a talk at the DefCon hacker conference this weekend about security vulnerabilities in payment systems used in the Massachusetts mass transit system.The transit authority, known as the MBTA, is seeking to prevent the students from "publicly stating or indicating" that electronic passenger tickets used on the transit system have been compromised until the MBTA can fix security flaws in the system. It further seeks to bar the students from releasing any tools or providing any information that would allow someone to hack the transit system and obtain free rides.
Stopping that speech is a great idea. It's not as if there is some kind of world wide information system out there that could get the word out to people who wouldn't have even heard about this issue if it hadn't been for a lawsuit. Or a website that would present the slides from the talk.
Posted by Peter at 09:42 AM
August 06, 2008
Bandwidth Bandwith whose got the Bandwidth
Today I discovered that NBC is including some classic shows such as the A-Team in their offerings for free live watching.
In my 20's I liked the A-Team but was never a fanatic about it but it got me thinking about how normal this type of things is becoming.
At a home you are getting an internet signal along with phone and video through a line, that same line is on many occasions supporting multiple pc's connecting at once usually including a teenagers which means a ton of bandwidth for video and streaming audio.
Exactly how much can the current infrastructure handle as the demands increase on the lines coming in? to what degree can dish providers keep up with the speeds as more and more people look for this stuff and expect it to work fast out of the box?
I have no idea what the answers to these questions. Machines are going faster and faster but in the end any network will go only as fast as the slowest part. The most expensive part to replace is the infrastructure and it has to carry the load.
I don't know how its going to work but I suspect some seriously lateral thinking will be involved to get around the expenses.
Anyways time will tell.
Posted by Peter at 01:33 AM
August 04, 2008
What makes a good password
A while back we had a post about password and the 10 most common ones (including password and 1234). However I never mentioned the best ways to make a password.
#1...A password should be something you can remember.
If you can't remember a password then the person who will be locked out will be you.
#2...A password should be hard to guess.
Naming a password after your children is an easy way to get cracked. Likewise if everyone knows your into the Three Stooges I'd avoid passwords like Moe Larry or curly.
#3 A password should contain letters and numbers
....to foil alphabet attacks. An easy way to do this is to substitute a "0" for a letter "o" in a name or a "1" for an "L" or an "i".
#4 A password should NOT be kept on a written or a pc list:
What's the point of something that can be grabbed or snarfed.
And finally
#5 A password should Never be shared with friends or family.
A password is only as safe as the most reckless person who knows it.
Posted by Peter at 08:02 PM
July 27, 2008
The cruelest comparison
What a headline:
Forrester: Windows Vista rejected like 'new Coke' by enterprises
It doesn't get much worse than that.
Posted by Peter at 11:19 PM
July 23, 2008
Stray thoughts on a Wednesday
Some stray thoughts and little nic nacks:
Had a windows 2000 customer about a week ago, discovered that the latest version of Firefox 3.0 wouldn't install on it. Time eventually marches on....
But not for everyone had a customer just two days ago running 98 as their primary machine that didn't want to lose their 98 games. I can sympathize. There are quite a few games I played on 98 that I miss. Colonization and Aces of the Deep to name a pair...
Speaking of not moving on I generally use the old Mozilla for personal sites it now crashes every time that I go to Slashdot in it crashes, sooner or later I will have to move to the modern age...
Spent half a day on my day off moving files to an external hard drive since our families main machine had under 1 gig of 70 gig left. I noticed during my cleanup that a set of photos had been imported twice. When you have 50 or 60 gigs left in your drive you don't notice or bother about that stuff but sooner or later it gets down to 1 gig and then you have to scramble...
This has convinced me that an external hard drive is a MUST for a house with multiple PC's...
There is nothing more annoying that starting up your work laptop after your kid has used the alternate account for a few hours and finding that some functions just don't work anymore...
When the above happens remember system restore is your friend...
I really have to get more ram for all of my systems but there are too many things I'd rather spend the money on, in that respect I'm a very atypical tech...
Speaking of atypical its become atypical for anyone else to post on the blog lately...
You know I'm sure there are a few companies out there still using pre xp equipment and there might be some overseas guys that are still using old stuff but it is really past time that router manufacturers stop including WEP in brand new products. It only encourages people to use a bad security choice and retain obsolete stuff...
...Says the man who is constantly talking up windows xp over vista...
Finally has there ever been a more useful website than Glenn Reynolds' Instapundit? I know this sounds a bit overblown but has there ever been an average person who has not only had a bigger influence over the world in history without really trying just because he likes his hobby? I know there will be some who cry that Hotair, or Daily Kos or other sites have bigger audiences, but Reynolds did it without an agenda, just as a regular guy doing his hobby who suddenly became sort of famous. Our podcast with him is here. >here. I think history will look at this as a striking event.
Posted by Peter at 12:55 PM
July 20, 2008
Wikipeda and Anonymity
One of the strengths and weaknesses of Wikipedia is the anonymity of the posters.
But the real dirt will appear when Griffith's upgraded tools are publicly released in about a week and thousands of users begin combing over the entries.To make tracking corporate misbehavior on Wikipedia even easier, Griffith has also created a "conflict of interest" filter for the site. By automatically linking a company's edits with a database of its registered trademarks, Wikiwatcher can automatically flag a company editing its own entries. A Microsoft employee's change to an entry on Zune, for instance, could be identified immediately.
Wikiwatcher can also analyze long-running disputes between users on Wikipedia. At the hacker's conference, Griffith showed a long list of edits and counter-edits made between Yahoo! and Microsoft. Searching for "edit-wars" between Irani and Israeli IP addresses, he found heavy disagreement on an entry devoted to the Holocaust.
This is a big deal, and frankly I think its a good thing, the problem with Wikipedia is that you don't know who is editing so how do you know if there is a motive, most people don't bother with the supporting pages.
The idea that information on the net would remain hidden is rather funny, the net doesn't keep secrets well and Ezra Levant is betting $1000 that at least one secret is not going to be kept.
Both stories via Glenn who is a font of info as always.
Posted by Peter at 02:40 PM
July 07, 2008
XP is dead long live XP?
Well it has been a full week since the official death of windows XP so I guess there is no way for you to get a brand new system running windows xp.
Or not:
For those of you who still aren’t ready to make the leap, but think you might want to one day, Dell Small Business is now offering Vista Business and Vista Ultimate with Downgrade Service free on Latitude, Optiplex and Precision, and for a small fee on Vostro systems. With this service, we exercise your downgrade rights for you and factory-install XP Professional on your system while shipping you a CD for XP and a DVD for Vista. This way, you get the OS you’re comfortable with using now along with rights to upgrade to Vista when you’re ready, which offers investment protection for the future. When you’re ready to migrate to Vista, simply use the Vista DVD provided to run the install.
PC world says it best:
You know the PC biz has gotten weird when offering a 7-year-old OS becomes a marketing advantage. But the reason why is obvious. Vista is such a dog it qualifies for the Iditarod.
That is certainly an insult...to the dogs who run the iditarod, but in fairness they make an important point later on.
When Windows XP came out, it was panned for being slow and incompatible, just as Vista has been (in InfoWorld, no less). It was also woefully, almost laughably insecure. Imagine shipping an OS with the firewall turned off by default. Yet that was XP in 2001.
Then again the operating systems it replaced in 2001 came without firewalls period.
Posted by Peter at 03:03 PM
July 04, 2008
Self evident vs Self Serving
It is the 4th of July THE national holiday.
As always HiWired is open 24/7 for your computer needs.
The day really give perspective on what makes this country special. Today In my local parade I saw a Jewish Group and a Muslim group marching one in front of the other no problems no big deal. Only in America.
Because when you have a free country you get some self evident things:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed
On the other hand in a country less free other things are also self evident as well:
A recent analysis of web sites pushing malware (software that helps hackers steal data) revealed that half of them are connected with just ten ISPs (Internet Service Providers), and six of those ISPs are in China. This came as no surprise, as China has become the favorite hideout for Internet criminals.There's just one catch. The Chinese Internet is highly policed by a special force of 30,000 secret police technicians. On the Chinese Internet, you don't do something the government does not want, at least not for long. So how do these criminals manage to survive on such a heavily policed portion of the Internet?
Some things are no surprise if you've been reading our stuff.
Posted by Peter at 08:08 PM
June 11, 2008
10 most common passwords
Is one of the 10 most common passwords out there?
Personally I like passwords that combine letters and numbers, that play on personal items or that transpose numbers and letters so people won't guess them easily. The best passwords combine odd combinations of numbers and letters with something easy to remember by the holder of it.
Of course we can't all be as sophisticated as these fellows:
Posted by Peter at 11:09 AM
May 30, 2008
Vista #2 Update (vs upgrade)
The second of our series of Vista basic functions posts:
Windows Update:
What is it: It's the command for running updates to your windows operating system.
What does it do: It checks to see if there are any critical updates to Microsoft Windows that needs to be installed, it will also check for non-critical updates that you may want to consider installing (or not).
Why might you use it: Like any operating system various bugs and holes will turn up over time that might be exploited, and or more efficent code might be written for particular sections. In addition if new software/hardware is released for the operating system occasionally a tweak or driver might be added to the existing list for use with Vista.
How do i use it: You can access the windows update from the search menu by typing windows update and selecting it when it comes to the menu box or you can access it via the control panel. Simply click on the INSTALL UPDATES button to automatically install any update labeled critical or click on VIEW AVAILABLE UPDATES to select specific updates to install. After the install the system may or may not require a reboot.
Watch our for the following: If your machine is a company machine there may be restrictions on update to make sure software remains compatible. On occasion an update will disrupt the computer. If this is so power down the machine and boot using the F8 key to restore to last known good configuration. Make sure you don't mistake the Windows UPGRADE command for the update. The upgrade installs a higher version of Windows (ultimate for example) for a price. This is likely an expense you will not need and may be a pain to remove.
Posted by Peter at 01:27 PM
May 29, 2008
Vista Review #1 Search
Today we are going to start a series on some Vista commands/features that you might run into what they are, what they do, why you might do them and how to use them. Lets start with a basic one today.
The Search Box:
What is it: It's the search function for Vista to locate files or commands on the system
What does it do: By typing into that box it references locations that match your search criteria
Why might you use it: It's a quick way to locate needed files and/or system commands without wandering through a bunch of extra windows. Very handy if you haven't figured out how to get to a particular command in vista or if you want something like the run line that isn't automatically displayed.
How do i use it: Simply click on the start button and type in your string into the box that shows. As you type matching references from commands, e-mails (my favorite) and files will start showing up, the more detailed the search typed the narrower the list of choices that will show up. once the list of choices appears above simply click on the one you want.
Posted by Peter at 12:59 PM
May 22, 2008
OEM power supply the acid test
Well the power supply for my Dell E1505 has been iffy. If I leave it alone and not move it then it works fine, however if I move the laptop or unplug it or accidentally kick it suddenly no power.
Since I wanted it at once I checked local stores first, nobody had them in stock so I checked Dell. The supply was offered here for $70. Since I can get a Doctor Who Scarf for at or near that price I looked elsewhere.
As we've already established cheap is not a dirty word to me so my next stop was eBay. Well on Ebay there was quite a selection of supplies at about $25 (that includes shipping) I figured hey for 1/3 of the price lets see what happens.
I've ordered the product today from the ebay store Emmasilmon's Great Deals. The price certainly justifies the name, I'll let you know if the performance does as well.
Posted by Peter at 10:10 AM
April 01, 2008
Free is a relative term
The good news is Adobe has a version of their photoshop (Photoshop Express) for free use and download:
The idea behind Photoshop Express is to present a very easy to use online photo editing experience, offering tools such as resize, tint, distort, cartoon coloring, and sketch . Adobe has also taken into account the popularity of social networking and has implemented the ability to upload and download photos directly from the most popular networks into Photoshop Express.
...but watch out for the fine print, namely the terms of use...
...with respect to Your Content that you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Services, you grant Adobe a worldwide, royalty-free, nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable license to use, distribute, derive revenue or other remuneration from, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly display such Content and to incorporate such Content into other Materials or works in any format or medium now known or later developed.
Or put simply you have free use of our software and we have free use of your pictures. Adobe seems to be caught with egg on its face over this.
There is something to be said for reading the fine print.
Posted by Peter at 10:49 AM
March 27, 2008
Danger on the Safari
If you've ever played the old classic Avalon Hill Board game Source of the Nile you know that a Safari can bring unknown dangers.
Apparently that is true for Safari in windows as well not only are we dealing with Crashes but vulnerabilities to spoofing attacks.
I guess this helps Mozilla's CEO argument.
Posted by Peter at 09:09 AM
March 26, 2008
A fact of Vista life
Via Glenn and the inside higher ed a single paragraph that tells the story of the latest Mac OS vs the newest Microsoft OS:
At Bowdoin College, about half of the computers are Macs, and half are PCs. When Apple released the latest version of OS X in October, professors with Macs immediately swamped the IT department to ask about the long-awaited Leopard. But after Windows Vista, the latest version of Microsoft’s operating system, came out over a year ago, there were no such requests.
People vote with their feet.
Posted by Peter at 11:06 PM
March 22, 2008
what's one more browser?
If you are an apple user you know that Safari is the standard browser on that system.
What you might not know is that it is now an update included with ITunes updates. The CEO of Mozilla is not impressed:
That’s a problem because of the dynamic I described above — by and large, all software makers are trying to get users to trust us on updates, and so the likely behavior here is for users to just click “Install 2 items,” which means that they’ve now installed a completely new piece of software, quite possibly completely unintentionally. Apple has made it incredibly easy — the default, even — for users to install ride along software that they didn’t ask for, and maybe didn’t want. This is wrong, and borders on malware distribution practices.It’s wrong because it undermines the trust that we’re all trying to build with users. Because it means that an update isn’t just an update, but is maybe something more. Because it ultimately undermines the safety of users on the web by eroding that relationship. It’s a bad practice and should stop.
He has a point concerning updates, but it sounds a little like sour grapes particularly since google toolbar and McAfee site monitor is pushed with the Mozilla install lately. Nothing wrong with these softwares either but if I wanted them I'd download them myself.
In the end it is one more browser and I figure the more the merrier.
Posted by Peter at 08:48 PM
February 13, 2008
The Evolution of SpyWare
Spyware has sadly become a household word in America. There are so many different flavors of it with even more purposes that it's amazing. Someday, ordering a pizza may become an eye opening experience on just how much personal information can end up out there.
Recently, a popular site called FaceBook, was highlighted on CBS's 60 Minutes. It was a story on how FaceBook shares information between members rather publicly using Beacon's software. In this story on 60 Minutes in January, the ad software by a company called Beacon is called into question. It is the part of FaceBook that tells your online buddies what your preferences are. In this case, a man's purchase of an expensive diamond ring to his wife was exposed to his wife via FaceBook, spoiling the suprise. In that case an expensive suprise was spoiled. Imagine what other embarrassing items might come to light unintentionally.
So remember folks, when you post something online, you never know where that information is going to end up. If you wouldn't shout it out in a room ful lof listening strangers, then think twice about posting it.
Or next time you try to order that meat lover's pizza, you could end up with a beansprout sandwich. :)
Posted by Bernie at 11:55 AM | Comments (0)
Microsoft Vista Update
I like to look at update details before applying to see what the update is for. I couldn't help but scratch my head when I read the details in Vista update KB943302 which has a soft block (warns about incompatibility) with WinAntiVirus 2007 Pro which is rogue software that falsely claims a system is infected in order to get your cash and does not do what it advertises. WinAntiVirus is bad software. If anything they should have blocked it from even running on the system. Read more about this infection HERE.
Posted by Hector at 01:04 AM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2008
Chock full of stuff
Today Slashdot is a goldmine for cool tech stories, just start at the top and scroll down, the highlights as far as I can see:
OsX vs Vista vs Linux who will fall first?
Master Diebold key copied from web site
Paper ballots anyone?
Users Worldwide feel the internet is safer:
Remember "Safer" is a relative term.
It updates during the day so just keep scrolling for other stuff or click the links for the stories I like.
Posted by Peter at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
February 06, 2008
Wrong way to do it
Ebay has changed the way people sell things. Now they've changed the way people use the service, at least in the UK:
Sellers on eBay will no longer be allowed to leave critical comments about buyers.The online marketplace is introducing the move later this year in an attempt to end the heated exchanges that have slowed the site down.
The ban on negative feedback does not, however, extend to buyers, who will still be able to leave unfavourable comments about their purchases.
Forgetting the unfairness of it all why not use the novel idea of improving the speed of servers rather than removing services.
Update: Apparently this is worldwide and there are more things that sellers are not liking:
Sellers on eBay's normally rancorous message boards were apoplectic, using phrases like "extortion" to describe the news. On Wednesday several began calling for a general strike, under which sellers would withhold listings for a week.Ebay's complex new rules affect sellers in almost every part of a transaction.
It reduces upfront costs such as listing fees, which will drop from a starting price of $0.20 to $0.15 for traditional auction listings, and makes gallery photos free. However, eBay is adding more costs to the back end for many sellers with higher final-value fees, the commission eBay takes after a sale.
Sample reaction:
I AM IN...........and will be looking elsewhere!!!!!!!!This use to be fun....now I feel like I am working to pay my ebay fees....time to stop.
eBay seems to have forgotten they are not a storefront. It take 15 min to find another online auction site and it doesn't involve leases and heavy moves.
Posted by Peter at 10:22 PM | Comments (1)
January 23, 2008
VM now allowed
If you are running Mac and have been wanting to run Vista on it you are in luck:
Microsoft Corp. on Monday dropped its prohibition on running the least-expensive versions of Windows Vista in virtual machines, doubling the choices for Macintosh owners who run the rival operating system in VMware Inc.'s Fusion or Parallels Inc.'s Parallels.Beginning immediately, Vista Home Basic and Vista Home Premium can be run in a virtualized environment, Microsoft said Monday. The pair are the cheapest editions of the operating system available at retail, selling in full versions for $199 and $239, respectively. Previously, Microsoft only allowed Vista Business ($299) and Vista Ultimate ($399) to be installed in a virtual machine (VM).
What isn't explained in this article is why someone running a mac would want to run Vista?
Posted by Peter at 09:04 PM | Comments (0)
January 05, 2008
Mr. Belanger's advice on PC parts
There is a two man hardware store in my home town Belanger Hardware. It has been there 61 years and the owner has worked there 51 of them.
He tends to go on about cheap hardware made to a low price point with the quality to match the price. He keeps a "superstore" front door that he replaced at the entrance of his store when you walk in.
He came instantly to mind when I saw this story about counterfeit parts coming out of China. Its not quite identical as the name brand manufacturer is not sanctioning the parts but the economics and the results are the same:
Counterfeit computer parts can be made to very low standards. They will work for a while, but not for the long periods of time that justify the high price of the authentic parts. The Chinese manufacturer sells the counterfeit parts at, say, 20 percent of what a real part would cost, to a foreign distributor. This guy then peddles the counterfeit parts to dealers who may, or may not, know they are getting cheap, but fake, parts at a deep discount. The dealer can then sell the counterfeits at a discount. Discerning buyers can check serial numbers on these high price components (some have a list price of thousands of dollars), but others are more trusting, and get burned.
And of course those discount parts eventually get to you. Mr. Belanger doesn't have a computer, still has a rotary phone and his as low tech as you get, but the best advice on this subject is pretty much what Mr. Belanger tells me every time. You get what you pay for.
Posted by Peter at 09:45 AM | Comments (0)
December 31, 2007
My last Vista post of the year
The year end stats are in via Slashdot and Vista doesn't do well:
(So how come Vista's being adopted so much more slowly than XP was back in the day? It might relate in part to deficiencies in Vista. But I also bet it stems in part from the fact that XP with SP2 is...well, far from perfect, but all that many people need. Back in 2001, the Windows world was more fractured, and XP was a much more modern OS than either the aging Windows 98 or the botched job that was Windows ME.)
What a shock.
Posted by Peter at 06:37 PM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2007
Homebrew for Wii
Homebrew is a word that invokes my grandfather and many other old Sicilian men during prohibition, but in the PC sense it means something else entirely:
...until now Nintendo has managed to isolate Wii hardware such as the extra horsepower of the console and wireless connectivity from hackers. But the walls are coming down. Some hackers from Germany have just showed off their fully hacked Wii at the 24th Annual Chaos Communication Congress. Nothing fancy is running yet, all they've achieved so far is a proof of concept that they've bypassed the Wii's protection with some encryption codes they swiped from the Wii's memory. Apparently a bootable Linux DVD is on the way, and we can't wait to see what homebrew coders manage to pull off with that Wiimote pointed where it belongs.
Basically game systems have plenty more power than is used, they are pretty much full blown pc's that are used as dedicated devices. Homebrewers are people who unlock that potential.
The downside is that as you allow a game system to act like a PC it will function like a pc and be just as hackable.
Posted by Peter at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
December 26, 2007
The realities of the day and fewer (happier) returns
Today as the day after Christmas is traditionally the start of the busiest week in the call center business (unless you count the Butterball Hotline at Thanksgiving).
Yesterday I actually had off but since 2 ipods and a Sony Walkman mp3 came into the house along with an external hard drive I ended up doing my share of tech support anyways. (Did you know the new pods had a volume control lock? I set one for the kids but they already bypassed it. Time to contact the Ingemi company for those volume control earbuds.)
Speaking of realities the YouTube revolution continues. It is worth noting that it took under 24 hours for this years Doctor Who Christmas special to be posted on YouTube. Since it won't be shown in America for at least another year, expect quite a few visits to that site to watch it.
It is also the busiest return day in the country. Here are a few tips that might prevent a return to the store of that new electronic device:
#1. Reset
Most devices have a reset sequence of some type, give that a shot first. Since everything is basically a computer these days a reset is a reboot.
#2 Driver first USB 2nd.
Also remember that with USB devices the drivers/software need to be installed before they are connected. If you do it the other way around and it fails, uninstall and reinstall.
#3 Read that Fine Manual
Yes manuals are boring (except for my our internal quick zune guide which I wrote but I digress and with apologies to my friend old Robin who is a technical writer) but they are written for a reason and the technical writer is doing his or her best to help you fix something. If the manual is a pdf and almost all are these days you can even jump to the particular thing you are doing. 10 min with a manual is a better use of your time than 30 min in a line not counting driving time and $3 a gal gas.
#4. Compatibility
Double check the compatibility of that device you have purchased/recieved. If it is not compatible then return it. If you decide that Aunt May bought it for you and you MUST try to make it work so be it but be prepared to be wasting your time fitting square pegs into round holes.
Posted by Peter at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2007
The most sure sign
The internet can be the canary in the coal mine, it can settle trivial arguments, it can spread comedy and embarrassment via video and can drive public opinion.
But one thing it does better than anyone else is to act as a barometer of free speech, you might argue that one country is freer than another but how a country treats the internet is a sure way to determine if it is truly free or no. Case in point; Iran:
Iranian police have closed down 24 Internet cafes and other coffee shops in as many hours, detaining 23 people, as part of a broad crackdown on immoral behaviour in the Islamic state, official media said on Sunday.The action in Tehran province was the latest move in a campaign against fashion and other practices deemed incompatible with Islamic values, including women flouting strict dress codes and barber shops offering men Western hair styles.
"Using immoral computer games, storing obscene photos ... and the presence of women wearing improper hijab were among the reasons why they have been closed down," Colonel Nader Sarkari, a provincial police commander, said.
Case in Point Syria :
Syrian users of Facebook said on Friday the authorities had blocked access to the social network Web site as part of a crackdown on political activism on the Internet."Facebook helped further civil society in Syria and form civic groups outside government control. This is why it has been banned," women's rights advocate Dania al-Sharif told Reuters.
"They cut off communications between us and the outside world. We are used to this behavior from our government," said Mais al-Sharbaji, who set up a Facebook group for amateur Syrian photographers.
Yes Bob I know the above story is a month old.
Case in point; China:
Zhou Shuguang, aka "Zola," reports that he is home safe in Changsha after being detained in Shenyang, interrogated, made to write detailed reports on everybody he met and everything since arriving in Shenyang to blog about the Yilishen "ant-farmer" protests,
That last one via the free speech dvia who I haven't linked to lately for some reason.
So when you decide to make that download or go on about something in a user group or even send a letter to the editor online, be grateful that you are doing it here.
Posted by Peter at 07:39 AM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2007
Hey I saw a Zune I saw a Zune!
Today during my lunch hour I was wandering through the office and saw a n Amazing sight. A tech who actually had a ZUNE!
My surprise in seeing it was only matched by his surprise that I knew what it was. I asked what he thought of it and we agreed that the Zune was a good device that suffers from horrible software that comes with it.
His Zune was gen 1. He mentioned that he saw the Gen 2 Zune and the quality level of the software and hardware is closer. Unfortunately this is apparently because (in his opinion) the device's quality has gone down.
Oh well.
Posted by Peter at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)
December 10, 2007
Glenn has a Zune
Looks like Microsoft got smart and Gave Glenn Reynolds a Zune.
a Microsoft guy asked me why I had never written about the Zune. I explained that I generally just blog about things I buy, and I hadn't bought one. He responded with horror to the thought that I'd never been sent a sample.
Remember it wasn't too long ago that I didn't get a single good word on the Zune when I asked for feedback. If Microsoft had provided it to him 6 months ago my kids might have gotten that for Christmas instead of, well I CAN'T link, you never know if they are reading.
Posted by Peter at 09:34 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2007
Well you know that was coming soner or later
Well it looks like some librarian has finally had enough:
Linda O'Connor has blocked the site on the school's computers and stuck up signs all around the library saying "Just say no to Wikipedia". The motto was the same one that Nancy Reagan used for her campaign against drugs.
Why such an extreme stance?
It all started when a teacher researching Martin Luther King Jr. found white supremacist information in the civil right's leader's entry. Then a student researching the Vietnam War found Wikipedia's casualty count had been lowered by someone who wanted kids to think that the war was a walk in the park.
Wikipedia may worry about accuracy. Lucky for these guys that's not a worry.
Posted by Peter at 09:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2007
A new headache for tax software
This year Washington Poloticts are creating a new headache for makers of tax preparation software:
The central problem is reprogramming I.R.S. computers. The agency’s protocol calls for seven weeks to analyze changes in tax law, write the software code and test it, as well as notify all the tax professionals and others affected. Officials fear that a rush to make the changes in less time could result in error.Richard Spires, deputy I.R.S. commissioner, warns of a significant backlog in processing returns, as well as confusion for the taxpayer.
If the federal software is not ready that has to roll over to the various tax software companies. Now a private company being more effcient might be preparing for many different possibilities, last minute tax changes might not be so odd, also the fact that this legislation has been sitting for a while may be an advantage as alternate software/patches can be prepared. The big pain is will it be burned and in stores or will it be an annual patch that is downloaded each year and when that patch will be ready. How much will the congress slow things down? We will see.
Posted by Peter at 08:07 AM | Comments (0)
December 03, 2007
pushed files are pushed files
As you all know I've raved against p2p sites for years, but I haven't had much to say about Myspace.
Lately I've had a spate of customers with issues after connecting to Myspace, I suspect it is due to files being accepted from strangers in chat or suspect links.
You have to remember when online that people are not always what they appear, this is a point I've had to drill into my youngest but it is a point well taken.
Just because a site isn't a peer to peer doesn't mean every file pushed to you is ok. Be careful of pushed files, and that is true for yahoo chat, aol chat or any program where you are dealing with people that you actually don't know.
Posted by Peter at 10:01 PM | Comments (0)
December 01, 2007
Windows Vista on YouTube
Today I visit YouTube and see a Windows Vista advertisement video. Curious to see the comments left on this video I click on the link and interestingly the comments and the ability to rate the video have been disabled. I can only imagine such a decision only if you think the feedback will be damaging to the unaware crowd.
Who can blame them with all the negative feedback already on the web.
Posted by Hector at 12:56 AM | Comments (0)
November 26, 2007
What hot for your PC this year
As the date for my amazon Christmas order approaches (tomorrow I never like to shop on days I work) The question that came to mind is what tech items are hot to trot this year?
Well I saw this blog at zdnet and was nodding my head in agreement since I mister cheap himself was thinking of one:
Hard drives are the “hot” PC accessory this holiday season. Goldman Sachs’ retail checks have found the usual complement of big sellers–notebooks and MP3 players–but hard drives are often riding shotgun with electronics purchases. Apparently, external hard drives are being hawked by salesfolks at Apple stores and other electronic retailers. “Hard drives are the ‘hot’ PC accessory this holiday season, and Seagate and Western Digital dominate the category,” writes Goldman in a research note.
The blog article contains other things of interest but this jumped out at me since at home I have a 80 gig drive that is nearly full. There was a 500 gig drive for just over 100-120. I'm thinking we move everything from the system in the house there as a single massive backup wipe the system then reinstall to have clean images all around (except maybe the vista system). But the amount of data people retain is going to grow REALLY fast and those monster drives will full up pretty quick.
btw remember when the idea of needing a gig was weird? I do.
Posted by Peter at 12:44 PM | Comments (0)
November 06, 2007
Playstation deprived teen plots to kill parents
This just totally blew my mind.
Click here to have a read.
Posted by Hector at 10:51 AM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2007
Speaking of Apple and virus'
Via hot air Mac has a new OS and now it has a new credit card stealing Trojan:
Mac OS X users visiting malicious porn sites are told to download a special codec that will let Apple's Quicktime player to play the porn flicks, but instead of adult treats, users get a malicious trick, according to anti-virus vendor Intego.The OS X Trojan, which infects a computer after a user chooses to download a proprietary codec, hijacks the infected computer's DNS settings. Internet-connected applications use DNS settings to figure out how to translate URLs, such as Wired.com, into the physical address of a server, according to Intego's alert. By hijacking the DNS, the Trojan is able to redirect visits to sites such as banks, eBay and PayPal to fake websites that attempt to harvest user's logins and passwords to commit financial fraud.
As I have said before the supposed invulnerability of the Mac has more to do with the number of users than the OS itself. This first trojan has a limited and easily defined victim profile but it is just the beginning. Once malware authors figure out how few Mac users assume that they can't be hit and surf accordingly the flood gates will open.
Posted by Peter at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2007
These are a few of our favorite links
A study ranked the most informative blogs out there:
A recent Carnegie Mellon study used higher mathematics to answer the question: if you want to be informed about what the entire blogospohere is talking about, but you can only read 100 blogs (out of the millions available), which blogs should you read?
There is a reason why we link to Instapundit so much. I just don't see how he has time to do other things like oh I don't know, Teach, eat, sleep etc...
Posted by Peter at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2007
Car pictures finally!!
Promised some car pictures but haven't had a good day to take them. I was either sick or at some family event on the few days we did have that were shinny. Well today caught another nice day. I couldn't do any close ups as my car is filthy and I had no time to get it washed up.
You can check them out along with some discussion HERE
There seems to be a size limit on the page thats cutting my images in half but if you right click on a image and select view image you can see the full picture.
Posted by Hector at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)
The battle of the Sexes PC style
I'm sure this has been around the net (in fact it is a fairly old joke on Spanish language sites) but I found it cute:
A SPANISH Teacher was explaining to her class that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. "House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa." "Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz." A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?" Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.
Follow the link for the reasons.
Posted by Peter at 09:33 AM | Comments (0)
October 12, 2007
Bad day for an old system.
Well this hasn't been my day. My system booted to a STOP error 15 min before the start of my shift. I keep an emergency system handy so I switched over to that while repairing my system. One of the great advantages of DELL systems is it comes with a true operating system disk so I was able to run the recovery console and a chkdsk rather than any kind of full recovery with the resulting loss of data.
It looked like I had beaten the computer gremlins but they weren't done with me since shortly after the system booted up I couldn't get to a necessary site (for once my Vista system was doing something that the xp system wouldn't) in safe mode it would. Well I discovered that my legacy Norton (I run avast but kept the Norton firewall) had blown up. When it works Norton is great, when it dies it doesn't want to die alone. So the Norton uninstaller was called for and it was stripped from the system.
Well i was back online and in business however since then my hard drive is making a constant clicking noise. This is a sure sign that the end is near. I'll be off to Jeromey to get a new hd and have the system ghosted since I don't want to buy a new one right now.
Its lasted 3 years which isn't bad for a laptop, if you want your laptop to last I would suggest our podcast on laptops, part 1 is here and part 2 is here.
Posted by Peter at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)
October 10, 2007
The case against DRM
Business can always be a battle between giving away the store and giving the customer what they want. This is a basic truth of business both in terms of price and service.
DRM has been the biggest battlefield of this principle these days. If you give away the music there is no profit in making it, if you put up barriers for the customers they they don't want to do business with you. Via Slashdot the meat and potatoes of the argument are presented here by Ian Rogers of Yahoo:
But now, eight years later, Amazon’s finally done what was clearly the right solution in 1999. Music in the format that people actually want it in, with a Web-based experience that’s simple and works with any device. I bought tracks from Amazon (Kevin Drew and No Age), downloaded them, sync’d them to my new iPod Nano, and had them playing in my home audio system (Control 4) in less than five minutes. PRAISE JESUS. It only took 8 years.He skewers the alternative:
When you compare the experiences on Yahoo! Music, the order of magnitude difference in opportunity shouldn’t be a surprise: Want radio? No problem. Click play, get radio. Want video? Awesome. Click play, get video. Want a track on-demand? Oh have we got a deal for you! If you’re on Windows XP or Vista, and you’re in North America, just download this 20MB application, go through these seven install screens, reboot your computer, go through these five setup screens, these six credit card screens, give us $160 dollars and POW! Now you can hear that song you wanted to hear…if you’re still with us. Yahoo! didn’t want to go through all these steps. The licensing dictated it. (emphases mine) It’s a slippery slope from “a little control” to consumer unfriendliness and non-Web-scale products and services.
And the bottom line?
I won’t spend another dime paying engineers to build false control, making listening to music harder for music-lovers. I will put all of my energy into making it easier and making the experience better.
It will be interesting to see what happens.
Posted by Peter at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2007
The pattern continues
The news for Sony is not bad as their new camcorder HDR CX7 gets positive reviews:
The camera itself is a joy to hold and fit my hand like a glove. The 2.7-inch flip-out LCD panel on the left side showed me what I was aiming at, as usual, but also doubled as a touch-sensitive navigation tool for togging around the menus and settings. That was fun to use and much easier than pressing the tiny recessed buttons found on most camcorders.
However as history teaches us good news for Sony means bad news for the St. Louis Cardinals:
The St. Louis Cardinals followed up their World Series title with a losing record, their first since 1999 and only the eighth full losing season for La Russa. Injuries ravaged the lineup, with Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds, David Eckstein and Scott Rolen all missing time, and ace Chris Carpenter barely making it out of spring training.Worst were the off-the-field woes, most notably the drunken driving death of reliever Josh Hancock. La Russa himself had a DUI in spring training, and Scott Spiezio left the team for a month to be treated for substance abuse.
However if you are a general baseball fan you can rejoice that the final game of the season is meaningful as the Mets, Phillies, Padres and Rockies fight for the last 2 playoff births. A series extra tiebreaker playoffs are very possible.
No word on if any other PC company has their fate linked to these teams.
Posted by Peter at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2007
Can't come soon enough
Talked to a fellow playing with the sp1 beta for vista. Says it has really helped his system.
Since I use my vista for work I'm not touching that update until it is official.
But I'll tell you this, that can't be soon enough for me.
Posted by Peter at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2007
That brings me back
It's my day off today and I'm blogging from the wilderness of New Ipswich New Hampshire visiting with my old Pal Moose and his brother Roger who is visiting from Portland Oregon. (You might remember Roger from his classic light beer comment linked here)
Anyways in addition to the green pastures, sheep, ducks and chickens and the reunion of a bunch of old friends there is one other old friend that I'm re-acquainting myself with. A dial up connection.
I'm always been a big believer that when it comes to upgrading a system or service its all a question of what you actually need. Moose has decided that at this time he doesn't need anything more than dial-up therefore he definitely doesn't need YouTube. As a brief example I decided I wanted to show him a YouTube clip that I found funny (and linked to during cleanup day). In the 30 or so min that I've taken signing in and going to that site, signing in here and typing what you see so far that clip has managed to load 30 seconds of its 6 min length.
While his kids are still 6 and under that's not an issue, pretty soon as they are in school they will be crying for the faster connection and it will be interesting to see if he and his wife decide to go for it at that time. Meanwhile it is interesting to see what you can do without and what you can wait for if you don't have a choice.
So remember when you are comparing DSL and Cable and wondering about the speed of your connection, not even a decade ago this AOL connection that I was on WAS the internet as far as the world is concerned. And when our next group picture is taken say 10 years in the future, the question is will people be talking about cable and DSL the way I am talking about dial-up today?
UPDATE Just to put things in perspective in the time since this was posted I had time to go outside visit with the friends some more, have some food and something to drink, socialize and get something for my wife and kid, and the 6 min YouTube download is still only at 2 min.
Maybe that is a good thing, instead of staying in front of a computer the time spent waiting for the download forces one to have a life.
Posted by Peter at 05:10 PM | Comments (0)
September 19, 2007
Fall clean up
In addition to staining the back deck , patching the walk way and the foundation I'm doing some Blog Cleaning up today.
Pithy wit, technical news, links relevent and not will return later.
Posted by Peter at 08:59 AM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2007
Bad ideas can be expensive
Well Times select is officaly dead and the best round up I've read on the subject belongs to Jeff Jarvis:
TimesSelect represented the last gasp of the circulation mentality of news media, the belief that surely consumers would continue to pay for content even as the internet commodified news and — more important — even as the internet revealed that the real value in media is not owning and controlling content or distribution but enabling conversation.
In an internet and file sharing this is as true as it gets. Read the whole thing.
Posted by Peter at 09:28 PM | Comments (0)
September 14, 2007
You'll take that update and like it
Can someone explain to me what the point is of giving a choice to users on updates if you are going to just push them anyways without their consent?
I’m not at the point of suggesting that people should disable Windows Update or block it using their firewall because I have no evidence of any wrong doing and nothing to suggest that these stealth updates caused harm. But … what bothers me is Microsoft’s take on the issue. A “hands-up, fair cop, we were wrong, we won’t do it again here’s what we’ll do instead” would go down a lot better with me (and be far less of a story) than this “we’re right, we know best, you’re wrong for making a fuss” attitude that I’ve feeling. Right now Microsoft seem to be trying to defend a way of thinking that’s indefensible.
The words that you are actually looking for a bait & switch.
Sooner or later acting like Basil Faulty towards the guest is going to get people going somewhere else.
Posted by Peter at 05:35 PM | Comments (0)
An unhappy use for an Ipod
We send our condolences to the family of Adam Finley a blogger from the site TV Squad.
His accidental death (bicycle struck by a bus) is of particular interest to us because he was identified by his Ipod.
Tim Blair hits it on the head:
...think of what someone reading that sentence ten years ago would have made of it.
It is a new age.
Posted by Peter at 08:56 AM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2007
Some things on the net are just silly
A Shaolin Priest may be able to walk through walls but apparently they don't get the internet. This is the lesion they need to learn:
Apparently, for all their fancy martial arts moves, the Shaolin monks aren't particularly familiar with how internet forums work. Here's a hint: people make stuff up all the time. And no one believes it. And no one pays any attention to it.
Read the link to see what all the fuss is about.
Posted by Peter at 09:29 PM | Comments (0)
August 27, 2007
History and progress hurt Vista's perception
You know I'm been pretty hard on Vista around here but the more I think about it the more I consider that the issues and noise about Vista's problems have a lot to do with historical bad luck. Lets consider the launch of XP.
I seem to recall that when XP was released there were quite a few issues people had, however when that happened not only were there a lot fewer home computer users but the operating system it was replacing was Windows ME(ss). I will state for the record that Windows XP on its worst day is better than ME on its best (or at least pretty close)
Meanwhile Vista is replacing what I consider the best or 2nd best operating system ever released by Microsoft (Windows 98 is the contender). And the number of people using it is greater , plus a larger percentage of those people are avg folks who aren't as forgiving when something that worked in xp doesn't in Vista.
Under those conditions none of this is a surprise
Posted by Peter at 08:01 AM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2007
New iMacs...but I am not switching yet!
Apple today announced their new line of iMacs complete with aluminum and glass, and while they certainly look cool - I am holding out for this!
Posted by at 04:39 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2007
I guess I'm smarter than I look.
Last year we wrote the following about web economics and the New York Times "Times Select" service and online fees in general:
The fee providers need to provide a product that is of value to the user (hopefully you agree that we provide such value). If the value doesn't come the sale isn't made. The New York Times pay service Times Select may prove to be a great example of this.
By an odd coincidence I saw this article online today:
a growing chorus of people within the paper are lobbying to shut down the two-year-old service, which charges Web visitors to access columns from David Brooks, Maureen Dowd, Frank Rich, Paul Krugman, Bob Herbert, Nicholas D. Kristof and Thomas L. Friedman."It a hot potato," said one insider. "There's a lot of pushing to do away with it."
Indeed, even several of the columnists who make up TimesSelect are said to have expressed reservations privately about the service when it launched, and little has changed their minds since then.
I guess I'll have to wait a few weeks to see if I'm proven smarter than I look.
Posted by Peter at 08:56 PM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2007
You mean I don't need iTunes?
This entry at SimpleHelp.net via LifeHacker is a reminder that you don't have to use iTunes to manage your iPod. This tutorial shows how to use Winamp with your iPod instead. LifeHacker comments:
It's a relatively straightforward process, great for anyone who (for whatever reason) is not happy with iTunes as the default music management system. I was able to test it out within about five minutes; your mileage may vary depending on how many songs you have on your iPod.
I've used both Winamp and iTunes with company iPods in the past. No word on if it works with the iPhone but I'd be surprised if it didn't.
Posted by Peter at 11:12 AM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2007
We will fight them in the chat rooms, we will fight them on the youtube...
We have our first conviction for Cyber-jihadis:
Films of hostages and beheadings were found among their possessions, including footage of British contractor Ken Bigley, who was killed in Iraq in 2004; and US journalist Daniel Pearl, killed in Pakistan in 2002.Compact discs containing instructions for making explosives and poisons were also found, with other documents giving advice on how to use a rocket-propelled grenade and how to make booby traps and a suicide vest.
The internet has become a front in the War on Terror
"This is the first successful prosecution for inciting murder using the Internet, showing yet again that terrorist networks are spanning the globe.... "Their terrorist tradecraft was sophisticated, but nevertheless defeated by this investigation."
As a free speech person I must confess I'm not all that comfortable with jailing someone based on what is put up on the net. Of course one can argue that the internet is today's crowded theater.
Posted by Peter at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)
June 30, 2007
In the Minority again
I still have absolutely no interest in the iPhone (or frankly any phone that costs two months tuition at St. Anthony's).
It is apparent that I might be the only one who doesn't care one bit.
Even Chris Muir gets into the act:
Then again what do I know, we don't even exist.
Posted by Peter at 08:28 AM | Comments (0)
June 29, 2007
Yeah so?
The iPhone is here. Wake me when something interesting happens.
Posted by Peter at 12:08 PM | Comments (0)
June 22, 2007
Some thieves are dumber than others
Phishing scemes look to steal personal information in order to steal your money or create phony bank accounts, but they sometimes run afoul of our culture:
The thieves apparently didn't realize Munster was a fictional TV character and dutifully offered to sell Munster's personal details -- accurately listing his home address from the television series as 1313 Mocking Bird Lane -- and what appeared to be his MasterCard number. Munster's birth date was listed as Aug. 15, 1964, suspiciously close to the TV series' original air date in September 1964.
A domestic thief would have caught this.
Clements said evidence indicates the thief, known online as "Supra," was operating overseas. "They really stumble over our culture. He's probably not watching any reruns of 'The Munsters' on TV Land."
Just remember just because one thief is ignorant this is no reason to take Phishing lightly. The best resource on the subject is here.
Posted by Peter at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)
June 17, 2007
Big vs Big
Looks like Google and Ebay aren't playing nice:
For those not up on the battle that has transfixed the tech world the last week here's a recap: both eBay and Google have been expanding into each other's turf, creating much tension. The expansion includes Google's one-year old Checkout service, a rival to eBay's very profitable PayPal unit.
Again there is no good or evil here it is just one big company vs another big company.
Posted by Peter at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2007
One of the reason why we do well
This is the reason why places like HiWired will always be there:
Customers are less satisfied with PC call centers than they are with the call centers of other industries, according to a survey by CFI Group Worldwide LLC in Ann Arbor, Mich.
They also give the bottom line reason:
"Too many companies treat call centers as cost centers rather than seeing them as an opportunity to solidify the customer relationship, resulting in increased loyalty and retention," said Teodoru. "Based on this research, any company that isn't putting resources into making sure that the call center is delivering customer satisfaction rather than frustration is taking a huge risk with its customer asset."
We will never forget that you are the reason our jobs are in New England instead of New Delhi.
Via slashdot
Posted by Peter at 10:38 PM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2007
What does that mean anyway
Ever want to know what a tech term means, well this link to Smart Computing might be of use. It is a dictionary of tech terms from A+ Certification to Zetabyte.
Posted by Peter at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)
June 10, 2007
Sex and the silent blogger
As my sons are hitting the mid teenage years the subject of Sex is coming up in the house. There is a line of thought promoted by people such as Sharon Stone that says since your kids are going to do that kind of stuff anyways you might as well make sure they do things "right".
I disagree. As a parent my job is to tell them the right thing to do even if it is unlikely that they listen. I want them to hesitate before they make a bad decision particularly these days when a bad decision can not only affect their entire lives but can kill them. In other words, if they want to be idiots they will have to do it without my approval, consent and certainly without my aid.
Now since this is a tech blog you might be wondering why this subject comes up at all. Is it a sneaky attempt to get extra hits by adding word "sex" to a post? Not really but we'll take the hits. Is it a vain effort to get Technorati to realize that we are still posting over here? Nope it's a vain hope besides it's a great running gag.
The reason is to explain why when we mention various hacks that come up without linking to them. Or usually without linking to articles that link to them. There is a reason why we say: "Use WPA-PSK instead of WEP" (unless you have no other choice). There are the reason why we although we may or may not agree with the RIAA's policy, we don't link to sites to hack songs. We don't link to sniffers or any of the other stuff out there to get into systems.
All of this stuff exists and is only a search away but we object to this kind of stuff, it's illegal and makes trouble for the people being hacked.
We will report on this kind of stuff if it is significant, but we aren't going to aid and abet any of it. If you as a reader are interested in these things and choose to seek them out that's up to you. Like that parent fighting against teenage hormones however you are going to have to do it without our approval, consent or aid.
Posted by Peter at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)
May 31, 2007
A violation of the three laws
As I've said robot Lawn Mowers are cool but what happens when they rebel?
In what is surely the opening salvo of the robot insurrection, a 45-year old Danish municipal worker was tragically killed by a robotic industrial lawnmower this afternoon, after the unit tumbled off a slope and onto his head.
I for one am going to keep a skeptical eye on my Laptops and other mahchines, first they wreck our backs and now this?
Posted by Peter at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
May 29, 2007
Lessons from a Cyberwar?
History buffs might know that the Spanish Civil War of the mid 30's provided lessons on warfare that the Germans applied in World War II.
Well it looks like Nato and the west took notes of the Cyberattack on Estonia that we wrote about and have decided to learn from it.
What followed was what some here describe as the first war in cyberspace, a three-week battle that forced the Estonian authorities to defend their small country from a data flood they say was set off by orders from Russia or ethnic Russian sources in retaliation for the removal of the statue. There are still minor disruptions."This may well turn out to be a watershed in terms of widespread awareness of the vulnerability of modern society," said Linton Wells 2nd, the principal U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration at the Pentagon. "It has gotten the attention of a lot of people."
Countries that depend on the net didn't waste much time
Computer security experts from NATO, the European Union, the United States and Israel have since converged on Tallinn to offer help and to learn what they can about cyberwar in the digital age.
This is a question of both economic and military significance since particularly when a military is high tech.
For NATO, the attack may lead to a discussion of whether it needs to modify its commitment to collective defense. Aarelaid said NATO's Internet security experts said little but took copious notes during their visit.
Countries that ignore this do so at their peril.
Posted by Peter at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)
May 28, 2007
Memorial Day
Today is Memorial Day a National Holiday in the United States.
Although our clientèle is world wide (and we do appreciate that clientèle very much) we are an American company based in Massachusetts. We honor and remember those Americas who have fallen in service to their country to the first who fell not 30 miles from here on Lexington Green to those now risking their lives in Afghanistan ,Iraq and around the world.
As HiWired is here 24/7 we will be open all day for any of your computer needs.
For a personal note see below.
On a personal note you might remember I've talked about Romano's Market more than once around here. Mike has sons who have their own jobs but work at the butcher shop once a week on Saturdays since that is the busy day. The oldest of those boys is a high school history teacher during the week and I've known him since he was a little kid.
His school year will be ending a little early next month as he hangs up his lesson book and picks up his rifle to serve in Iraq. God willing he will be back sometime next year or early the following one.
He joins the oldest son of a member of our table top baseball league who was deployed last month.
Both of these men are volunteers both are giving up their lives here in the states to serve. Both are fine young men of good character and I've known them for more years than my own children have been alive.
To me they are extraordinary men, yet our country has produced hundreds of thousands of men and women just like them.
Our country is very lucky to produce people like this. Thank you seems hardly adequate, but it is the proper word.
Posted by Peter at 07:33 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2007
Dell: Coming to a store near you ...
Dell is coming to your local big-box. Starting June 10th you should be seeing Dell computers in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores throughout the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. While this will increase profit for Dell, what will it do for their image? Will partnering with Wal-Mart increase or decrease Dell's image as "cheap"?
Posted by Scott at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
May 22, 2007
To buy or not to buy? That is the question.
For those of you that like the cosmetic changes of Vista but do not want to purchase a new operating system and a new computer to run it here is hope. Microsoft is saying that they expect the next version of Windows to be released late 2009, giving them two and a half years to perfect it. Vista was in the making for five years. The question you must ask yourself is: Do I wait for a better operating system? Or will the next operating system be the same? Well, this is Microsoft we are talking about. My suggestion: Buy a Mac ...
Posted by Scott at 01:29 PM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2007
Wii are not amused
Well the punishment period is over and the grand day arrived! My son set up the Wii (I wouldn't let him set up the wireless etc) and prepared to play. The moment he'd been waiting for. He smiled as the disk went in......
.......and came right back out. He tried again and again and again nope wouldn't read, kept ejecting.
They called Nintendo and a new Wii is due to arrive in the next couple of days, we are to ship the old one back in the box the new one comes with.
I'm still concerned about having it on the network, the more like a PC these devices become the more likely they will become a security hole, but time will tell.
Posted by Peter at 07:37 AM | Comments (1)
May 13, 2007
Wii Wii monsieur
Well the Wii Shortage must be a little less as I was able to grab one of three available Wii's at the local Walmart.
Due to some punishments the kids haven't had a chance to fiddle with it but I'll give you a report once they've played with it a bit.
Posted by Peter at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)
May 11, 2007
Will google keep you safe?
Slashdot report that Google is trying a novel way to help protect you online:
Google is now promising to identify all web pages on the internet that could be malicious - with its powerful crawling abilities & data centers, the company is in an excellent position to do this.
I really think it will be hard to get this done, but when it is things will get quite interesting.
Posted by Peter at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
May 06, 2007
Oh That's what they meant!
The military have been giving clarifications to their blog restrictions that we mentioned. That suggests that the decision hasn't gone over very well.
While the regulation hasn't been rescinded, a fact sheet released yesterday effectively says 'never mind.' "In no way will every blog post/update a Soldier makes on his or her blog need to be monitored or first approved by an immediate supervisor," the fact sheet states. It was released a day after Wired News reported the clamp down on online dispatches.
By a strange coincidence a conference of Military Bloggers took place this week, full conference details are at Gateway Pundit's site.
Question: How do you know that the military might be rethinking restrictions on military bloggers?
Answer: When the commander-in-chief gives a message at their conference.
Via glenn
Posted by Peter at 11:00 AM | Comments (0)
May 01, 2007
Net Zero's $120 phone call
For my high speed internet I use Comcast, but before I had comcast I had Netzero dial-up. Since I'm a great believer in having a backup plan I maintained my $9.95 account paying the just under $120 a year just in case and having it charged to my credit card.
Since netzero also sends out a fair amount of spam mail I tend to delete a lot of stuff that came from them.
I never really thought about it until today when I opened my mail and much to my shock saw a letter from a collection agency asking for $19.90 by my birthday or else.
I called up netzero and apparently when my credit card was renewed it stopped working. Unlike us rather than calling me they sent out an e-mail. Since netzero also sends out a fair amount of spam mail I tend to delete a lot of stuff that came from them so I'm assuming that I must have deleted that e-mail sent several months ago. (Net Zero refused to forward me a copy of the request for payment e-mails).
Now If they had given me a phone call I could have given them the new expiration date and they would still be getting their money every month till I got sick of it. The charge is valid so I'll pay the collection bill, but since I didn't appreciate getting a collection agency letter (Valid though the charge is) I will no longer be using the pay Net Zero service.
That lack of a phone call, that good customer service cost Net Zero $119.40 a year, plus the cost of a collection agency plus bad will from me and a less than flattering blog post. I can't be the only person that this has happened to so multiply this by their customer base and it adds up.
Would the cost of a single employee making outbound calls of this nature be so much for it to be avoided? Apparently NetZero thinks so.
Posted by Peter at 06:55 PM | Comments (0)
April 17, 2007
The logical consequence of not using HiWired.
On occasion we have a customer ask why they should pay money for tech support. David Progue in his blog is kind enough to provide the answer:
I struggled for five days with four 802.11n wireless routers, trying to make them work the way they were supposed to.My wife has made me swear that I will never, ever review routers again. I’m inclined to agree.
Home networking remains one of the world’s most frustrating endeavors; 30 percent of home-networking gear winds up getting returned to the store.
I’m about to illustrate one reason why.
Read the whole thing and remember professional support is only a call or a chat away.
Posted by Peter at 07:40 PM | Comments (0)
April 14, 2007
The dawning of NetLag
Bill Hobbs explains in raw numbers why it is stupid to try to sue a blogger:
Had JL Kirk Associates ignored Coble's blog post (or, better yet, responded positively to her criticisms), Coble's initial critical post would have been read by, statistically speaking, virtually nobody. By threatening to sue her, JL Kirk Associates assured that the post would be read by thousands, and pushed the story to the "top of the charts" on Google, where it will live on for years.
Via Glenn, check out the chart on the linked page it really says it all.
Posted by Peter at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)
April 13, 2007
A crash is a feature in Microsoft land.
There are some things that are just so silly that you can't believe that someone actually said them, money quote:
When asked to clarify that statement, she acknowledged Microsoft won't classify the flaws as security problems. Rather, the behavior of Word 2007 is a feature, not a bug. "In fact, the behavior observed in Microsoft Word 2007 in this instance is a by-design behavior that improves security and stability by exiting Microsoft Word when it has run out of options to try and reliably display a malformed Word document," the spokeswoman said.She went on to suggest that it is no big deal if Word 2007 did crash under those circumstances, a scenario that could lead to the loss of any unsaved data. "The sample code in [Aharoni's] postings cause Microsoft Word to crash, and users can restart the application to resume normal operations."
I'm been thinking of buying 2007 as a support aid tool, but this is a real disincentive. The screen shorts of the bug, oh sorry I mean FEATURE are here.
This is an I'm a MAC commercial just waiting to happen.
Posted by Peter at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
April 12, 2007
More than meets the IPOD
According to the Captain there may be more than meets the eye to the Michigan IPODS for students talk:
Two state lawmakers backing a controversial plan to buy iPods for every schoolchild in Michigan were among a group of politicians who made a trip to California that was paid for at least in part by Apple, the maker of iPods.
Captain Ed puts the excuses into focus:
Gillard and Dillon apparently aren't concerned with those questions. They're more concerned with the well-being of Apple than with Michigan students or the state economy. They defended their trips by claiming that Republicans have taken similar trips at Apple's expense -- but the GOP retorted that Republicans weren't dumb enough to propose this kind of pork as a quid pro quo.
My IPODless sons will be waiting for their transfer to Lansing.
Posted by Peter at 09:26 AM | Comments (0)
April 09, 2007
Three months with Office 2007
Well I just read Peter's post about using Vista, and I have been thinking in my head about how to bash....err I mean review Office 2007.
Prior to Office 2007, the layout and functionality of Microsoft's Office suites have worked just about the same. Sure a few new bells and whistles got thrown in here and there, but since at least version 4.3 circa 1994 those good 'ol menus were all in the same place.
But now, Microsoft has implemented a "New Look and Feel" and the "Results-oriented user interface makes it easier for you to find and use product features" - how can Microsoft honestly say this is easier to use after 15 years of using Office the exact same way, every day, every year and every version it all was the same. I relate the change in the UI of Office 2007..
to that of Ford changing the layout of the inside of your car. We have only been driving since the turn of the 20th century but let’s move the ignition, radio, gas pedal and just about everything else you use every time you get in the car.
I suspect Microsoft's book division saw a slip in profits from training manuals so they had to go find a way to confuse us all!
Posted by at 10:35 PM | Comments (0)
March 29, 2007
Why your computer is like Mighty Subs
Today being Thursday I went to Mighty Subs to grab a grinder, half for lunch, the other half being for supper.
While I was sitting there watching the long line of customer file through and Artie (the owner) taking the orders and his wife Karen making subs and the employees working like a well Oiled machine it hit me that Mighty Subs is a lot like a PC.
As the customers file through the line their order is taken and within a few minutes the sub or salad (mostly the subs)are made and passed out to the people waiting.
To the customer it is open and shut, sub ordered, sub made, sub delivered. But there is a lot of back work going on. The customer doesn't see the items ordered and delivered, the veggies cut and stored for use. The Sauce and soups cooked in the back. The Tuna and Chicken Salad mixed and prepared for the Noon Rush onslaught. (Not to mention all the prep work for Breakfast when served. All of this takes place invisibly to the customer all of the prep work and effort that is done on a daily basis to get that perfect Grinder into their hands when it is ordered.
This is a perfect description of the modern Computer. A user like yourself sees your screen bootup, you click on a program and it opens, you hit a button and e-mail flows. You go to YouTube and play all kinds of video streaming to their computer blissfully unaware of the handshaking, the data stream, the requests and approvals as the data stream goes from system to system all through the internet until it reaches your computer. Once it reaches your computer the work doesn't stop. We have the loading of temp files, the translation of the code to data that a video card and audio card can recognize.
To the user it is a single file being played. For a computer there are literally dozens to hundreds of files and tens of thousands of lines of code executed. A veritable calliope of files opened, approved and initiated in order to play that one video file and this doesn't count the thousands of lines of code executed as each machine receives and passes on the request.
The reason why the home computer exists is that a lot of very smart people, through a lot of effort created code and interfaces to make all of these complex operations automatically launch from a single click. The GUI (Graphical User Interface) turned computers into something Geeks like me use, to a kitchen appliance. That effort and coding is driving the greatest change in personal expression, freedom and comfort since the wiring of electric power to the common man's home.
Posted by Peter at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)
Thanks for the memory
In our last post we commented on how you can't wash posted items down a memory hole once posted on the internet. Web Cache's kept by search engines and the PRINT SCREEN button on readers keyboards prevent that.
In a similar vein when you delete a file from a system, it is not deleted in the sense that most people think of (basically gone forever), this is the reason why file recovery software works.
To put it in the most basic fashion your computer when creating any file writes the files in blocks of memory that are free on the system. Whenever possible such data is kept together. Invariably due to the number of read/write operation that a system does (and it does thousands that you are not aware of) the data tends to scatter over open memory. Your system will use a file table to keep track of where the scattered parts of a file are and to mark the memory containing it as full. All of this is invisible to the user.
When you actually delete a file (recycle bin doesn't count)the system rather than zeroing out the areas of data will simply erase its record of where the files are and mark the area the data was located as available without erasing the actual data there. As time goes on and the memory is used by other data the existing data is overwritten but unless a FORMAT operation or some 3rd party software is used to zero out the old data, the information is still there.
(At the very highest level even this my not totally wipe data which explains the rise of data destruction business.
BTW sorry about the lack of blogging yesterday, we were flat out (and we thank you very much for that as that keeps us in business).
Posted by Peter at 07:40 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2007
Some good some bad for the net and Politics
The advent of the internet and blogging make some things better:
On Monday night, the Justice Department delivered to Congress more than 3,000 pages of e-mails, memos, and other records about the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. The handover came so late that many news organizations had to scramble to try to skim a few headlines from the files before latenight deadlines.Despite the late hour, readers of a liberal Web site, tpmmuckraker.com, tackled the task with gusto. They quickly began grabbing 50-page chunks of the scanned documents from a House of Representatives Internet server, analyzing them and excerpting them. The first post about the Department of Justice records hit the left-leaning news and commentary site at 1:04 a.m. Within half an hour, there were 50 summaries posted by readers gleaning the documents. By 4:30 a.m., more than 220 postings were up detailing various aspects of the files.
Politics is the art of controlling the time and message. Late night document dumps are often used to bury stuff but thanks to bloggers now dozens of interested eyes can go through documents so the ability to bury info is decreased. This can't help but make the public more informed.
However some aspects are not as good this was a post today at politico.com today:
John Edwards is suspending his campaign for President, and may drop out completely, because his wife has suffered a recurrence of the cancer that sickened her in 2004, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, an Edwards friend told The Politico."At a minimum he's going to suspend" the campaign, the source said. "Nobody knows precisely how serious her recurrence is. It’ll be another couple of days before there’s complete clarity."
The Edwards campaign said otherwise and was in fact correct as Sen Edwards did not suspend his campaign. This prompted the following correction:
A single, confident source close to John Edwards told me this morning that Edwards was "suspending his campaign," and I posted it to the blog at 11:06 this morning.My source, and I, were wrong.
Since the net is what it is several sites reported this story before the correction came out. The speed of the internet and the desire to be first can trump the proper caution when reporting.
Still you have to take the bad with the good.
Of course we extend our sympathy to Mrs. Edwards in her time of trial and send our best wishes to her and her family as she battles her resurgent cancer.
Posted by Peter at 05:42 PM | Comments (0)
March 18, 2007
Don't like Wikipedia? Make your own.
We talk quite a bit about Wikipedia here, but the truest words we ever said on the subject was a quote from the Blogfather:
My sense is that the wiki format works pretty well when issues are uncontroversial, but that it doesn't handle politics very well.
Well it looks like some conservatives took this to heart and decided to make their own:
Welcome to the Web site Conservapedia.com, founded by Andrew Schlafly, son of conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly. The site describes itself as "a much-needed alternative to Wikipedia, which is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-American."
There are some interesting examples of how the two sites different in talking about the same thing for example:
On global warming • Wikipedia: Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. • Conservapedia: Global warming is a phrase that commonly refers to a scientific theory and to political proposals that follow if the theory is accepted. The scientific theory is widel