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about his views on rootkits etc... http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/062606-russi novich-rootkits.html

Speaking of Gimp, this prof has a scheme to squash software bugs, including those found in Gimp.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/071006widern et-bugs.html

Here's what Metcalfe had to say about this same paper from these same academics when they first circulated it in '05:

http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/6352

1. IPv6 is coming along plenty well, thank you.
Are you high? When was the last time you were assigned an IPv6 address by your ISP? When was the last time ANYONE was assigned an IPv6 address? When was the last time you connected with an IPv6 address on the internet?

Google's assigned IPv6 block (2^96 addresses)
US gov't has mandate all Federal Backbones be IPv6 by June 2008
IPv6 enabled products
Get connected

No need to get defensive just because you're stuck in the IPv4 backwaters. ;)

#9 is a search engine that finds 98% more porn.

Keep in mind that the BSA's definition of pirated means that you don't have an original receipt or purchase order containing your name, the seller's name, the purchase price, the date, and a couple other odds and ends. The license key doesn't seem to concern them.

http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/sbt/2006/0 612networker3.html

If you would have read TFA, you would have found out that they are only taxing calls made to the PSTN, not internet only calls. I don't have a problem with that.

Last I checked (2 seconds ago), I already pay the USF on my data line. No, BTW, I do *not* have land-line telephone service, just data via FiOS. So now I'll get to pay twice.

I'd like to see the apoointment books and bank records of every voting member on the FCC. The only reason to do this is because somebody from their favorite ILEC "asked" them to.

To make matters worse, the fund has frequently been subject to fraud from both inside and outside. The government has no business collecting this money and deciding how to dole it out. All the things the fund is purportedly for could be achieved by mandates in exchange for the monopoly access we give to a shinking number of companies to build the infrastructure required to provide these services.

I have heard for a number of years about the idea that American (or other foreign, for that matter) companies will be able to open new markets and profits by selling their products (whether they be tangible goods or IP) or services in the People's Republic of China because they represent an "almost untapped market of new customers." But does this really hold true, especially for IT companies?

In the seventeen years I have worked in the IT industry (mostly at companies which sold software, but also for a hardware vendor) I have seen varying degrees of interest in selling products in China. For example, in the late 1980s through early 1990s, I worked at McAfee Associates, which even then had a fairly global presence due to marketing the product as shareware. We had never had any sales in China and, as a matter of fact, would regularly receive copies of our own anti-virus software from which our copyright and contact information had been removed and replaced with messages saying it was from the Ministry of Public Security and to contact them if a virus was found. Of course, changing the messages in the software also set off its own anti-tamper checks for signs of damage/infection by a computer virus, so we received plenty of copies of our own software where the warning message had been edited as well and were infected by computer viruses. Still, it is very hard to sell a product in a country whose government itself is hacking and pirating the same software you are trying to sell. When Bill Larson took over the company from John McAfee he expressed a strong desire to sell products in China, but when I left in the mid-1990s there was still no sales coming in from over there, other than the occasional ex-pat who registered a copy of the software.

Strangely enough, the only company I've worked for which has had some success in China is a telecommunications manufacturer, who makes equipment like VoIP PBXs, phones and so forth. They have had a few wins over there and even have a small sales office in Beijing. I was always surprised they never had problems like Cisco did with Huawei. But that's just one company and sales from other countries in the region (Japan, Korea, Taiwan, etc.) outstripped those. I haven't worked there since last year, but I doubt things have changed much.

So, where are the foreign IT companies which are making money in China? Cisco may have had some success there in the past, but Huawei and their "Cisco-like" products look like they are to overshadow them, and services like Alibaba, Baidu and QQ in China are already servicing the markets that Western ecommerce, search and community/messaging have had only limited success in reaching.

Ignorance is always a recipe for unintended consequences.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2002/1125bethisra el.html?page=1

http://www.enterpriseleadership.org/read/halamka

"On Wednesday, November 13, 2002, the network experienced a major slowdown for three days. The CISCO technical support team found the Layer 2 structure of the network to be unstable and out of specification with 802.1d standards. The management VLAN in some locations had 10 Layer 2 hops from root. The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) imposes a maximum network diameter default of seven. Thus, two distinct bridges in the network should not be more than seven hops away from one to the other.

A major contributor to this STP issue was the network and Picture Archive Communication System (PACS) network, for sharing high-bandwidth visual files and other clinical data; this was 10 hops away from the closest core network switch, three too many for the spanning tree to handle."

Believe it or not, I emailed them reguarding both the millisecond definition error, and the claim that pings, and they corrected it.

Subject: FW: Feedback http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/052506-data- center-ethernet.html
Date: Thu, 25 May 2006 17:03:03 -0400
From: "Phil Hochmuth"
To: merreborn@*****.com

Thanks for your correction. We're making that change now. (Journalist math for you).

As for 1 millisecond of delay, are you talking about on the wire (node-to-node), or inside-the-box
(port-to-port) latency? (I've read reports that SONET/SDH has measured latency of around 1
millsec).

Phil.

Many on these boards will argue it's because Microsoft's products are such easy targets. And many others will say it's because Microsoft has such a large installed base. However, I think the reasons Microsoft products are targeted the most have more to do with the motivations of the hackers, which, in my estimation, are envy and resentment. After all, inflating the number of machines infected or damaged does not really materially benefit the hackers.

Based on this comment, I believe you don't really understand how the organized black hat / cracker community largely works. Now I don't know everything about this underground and somewhat secretive community but I do know a few things.

Exploiting and taking control of under protected PCs is now big money. Most of the biggest crackers do this stuff for money and to amass control of thousands of home PCs (and servers to a much lesser degree). When I say "under protected PCs", I'm talking about PCs owned by people who don't use Windows Update at all / often enough, don't have firewalls and don't have any / adequate antivirus solutions on their PCs.

If you control a bot net of 10's or even 100's of thousands of PCs, then you have a lot of power. You can use these zombies as spam sending boxes, or rent them out to people who use them for DDoS attacks and what have you. Also, crackers get paid good money for finding unpublised exploits that malicious groups will use to exploit windows to take control of PCs. The reason you see fewer servers exploited is because home PCs are such easy pickings, why go after a server where there may be added protection in your way, or worse, a responsible admin watching the box?

Sure there are still some losers in living in their mom's basement who create a virus and unleash it on the Internet "just for fun", but the big players are far more organized and sinister.

"so if their laptop gets run over by a bus, issuing them a new one is trivial and takes no time at all."

You're assuming that the laptop }user{ didn't also get run over by that bus. That makes it harder to issue them a replacement laptop - if they don't have a working lap anymore.

I saw this ODF inclusion story right on the Openoffice.org site this morning, but with a different news provider.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/051606-ibm-o df-notes.html

Five Architectural Flaws in Windows Solved In Mac OS X

Apple's MacTel: TCO for wintel is DOUBLE that of mactel over 3 years

Microsoft Says that Malware Is Often Unbeatable

These come directly from my del.icio.us bookmarks tagged "apple_advocacy" ;)

I'd prefer to be a mac tech support guy for my friends/family, to a Windows tech support guy for my friends/family, ANY day ;)

/once spent 3 hours removing a botched uninstall of norton utilities on some winblows box by manually rooting through the registry
//gouging my eyes out might have almost hurt as much

Alpha Doggs Blog .

This is described as "The future of networking as seen through the works of university and other labs"; it's the best name for a tech blog that I've seen in a while.

That's the primary motivation for this, but it's really hard to sell people on the idea of massive invasions of their privacy, so openning your car door and buying drinks at bars sounds better.

http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/layer8/006380. html

Dunno if I buy that. See:

http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/200 5/10/microsoft_will_.html
"QDOS became MS-DOS, ForeThought became Powerpoint, SoftDesign became Microsoft Project, Vermeer became FrontPage, PlaceWare became Live Meeting, Vicinity became a key part of MapPoint, nCompass Labs became Content Management Server, Bungie Studios became Halo, HotMail, Visio, Great Plains, Groove Networks"

Or...
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/os/win dows/story/0,10801,78739,00.html
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/m ar05/03-10GrooveQA.mspx
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/021405-micro soft-sybari.html

Yes, saw a report on Space Zombies here yesterday: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/042706-spam- zombies.html?t5 Here's what people were yapping about at the recent MIT Spam Conference: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/040306-phish ing.html

Yes, saw a report on Space Zombies here yesterday: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/042706-spam- zombies.html?t5 Here's what people were yapping about at the recent MIT Spam Conference: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/040306-phish ing.html

of course after the 3Q earnings report and having missed their target, they are now down 6% aftermarket (-$1.66)

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2006/042706-micro soft-earnings.html

You just need to practise interpreting (mumble)script in your head. Here, one-page printable article.

Here's the article text, moderators, please mod the parent into the ground!

Securing UC Berkeley's network

School looks to shore up security in wake of breaches.

Linda Leung,Network World,04/24/06

The University of California at Berkeley has made a name for itself in networking, with innovations such as Unix, Berkeley Internet Domain Name, Smart Dust and SETI@home. But the school has made headlines over the past few years for some things of which it is less proud, namely a couple of security breaches (a stolen laptop containing personal information on graduates and a compromised database of California residents).

At the start of this year, the university published a scathing self-study of its Information Systems and Technology department. It acknowledged the school's advanced IT network and talented professionals but recommended radical changes to the IT department's governance and structure (read the report).

Clifford Frost, director of Berkeley's Communications and Network Services (CNS), recently spoke with Network World Senior Online News Editor Linda Leung about what the university is doing to ensure that when people think of the school, they think "innovation," not "infiltration."

How has IT evolved at the university?

It's been haphazard. In the case of the network, it's been pretty organized. Back in the '80s, there were campuswide committees that said networking is going to be important so let's start building it up now. The campus financial and administrative systems are pretty advanced. But campus student systems [such as online registration and course catalogs] are less well-funded and organized because there has not been a single high-level sponsor. This is one of key things the campus is open to addressing in the reorganization.

Also: What makes Harvard's net tick

What is your security plan?

Every networked device has to have its operating system kept up to date with security patches - Windows 95 is not allowed unless you buy a separate firewall device and stick it in front of [Windows 95]. There are microscopes controlled by old operating systems - [the owners] have to put a firewall in front of them. We have software that people can use for free - they don't have to buy their own firewall or anti-virus software.

Having a policy only goes so far. McAfee's Foundstone scanner allows us to scan the network continuously for vulnerabilities. [If something is found] we tell [the device owners] to fix it or we turn off their access. Departments can log in and scan their own nets.

How else do you secure the network?

We do intrusion detection at the border of the campus network and more and more inside the network. We monitor to detect when systems have been broken into or are being broken into or about to launch an attack, and we can turn them off. We use McAfee IntruShield Snort, Nessus and Bro Intrusion Detection System. [Intrusion detection] is a big issue because we've had some pretty big security breaches on campus [see stories hereand here]. There is a big thrust in getting people to encrypt data on their desktop or laptop.

How do you get ahead of the security challenges?

The latest thing we're doing is getting people on campus to audit their systems, and the recommendation is to remove [sensitive i

Here's the article text, moderators, please mod the parent into the ground!

Securing UC Berkeley's network

School looks to shore up security in wake of breaches.

Linda Leung,Network World,04/24/06

The University of California at Berkeley has made a name for itself in networking, with innovations such as Unix, Berkeley Internet Domain Name, Smart Dust and SETI@home. But the school has made headlines over the past few years for some things of which it is less proud, namely a couple of security breaches (a stolen laptop containing personal information on graduates and a compromised database of California residents).

At the start of this year, the university published a scathing self-study of its Information Systems and Technology department. It acknowledged the school's advanced IT network and talented professionals but recommended radical changes to the IT department's governance and structure (read the report).

Clifford Frost, director of Berkeley's Communications and Network Services (CNS), recently spoke with Network World Senior Online News Editor Linda Leung about what the university is doing to ensure that when people think of the school, they think "innovation," not "infiltration."

How has IT evolved at the university?

It's been haphazard. In the case of the network, it's been pretty organized. Back in the '80s, there were campuswide committees that said networking is going to be important so let's start building it up now. The campus financial and administrative systems are pretty advanced. But campus student systems [such as online registration and course catalogs] are less well-funded and organized because there has not been a single high-level sponsor. This is one of key things the campus is open to addressing in the reorganization.

Also: What makes Harvard's net tick

What is your security plan?

Every networked device has to have its operating system kept up to date with security patches - Windows 95 is not allowed unless you buy a separate firewall device and stick it in front of [Windows 95]. There are microscopes controlled by old operating systems - [the owners] have to put a firewall in front of them. We have software that people can use for free - they don't have to buy their own firewall or anti-virus software.

Having a policy only goes so far. McAfee's Foundstone scanner allows us to scan the network continuously for vulnerabilities. [If something is found] we tell [the device owners] to fix it or we turn off their access. Departments can log in and scan their own nets.

How else do you secure the network?

We do intrusion detection at the border of the campus network and more and more inside the network. We monitor to detect when systems have been broken into or are being broken into or about to launch an attack, and we can turn them off. We use McAfee IntruShield Snort, Nessus and Bro Intrusion Detection System. [Intrusion detection] is a big issue because we've had some pretty big security breaches on campus [see stories hereand here]. There is a big thrust in getting people to encrypt data on their desktop or laptop.

How do you get ahead of the security challenges?

The latest thing we're doing is getting people on campus to audit their systems, and the recommendation is to remove [sensitive i

Here's the article text, moderators, please mod the parent into the ground!

Securing UC Berkeley's network

School looks to shore up security in wake of breaches.

Linda Leung,Network World,04/24/06

The University of California at Berkeley has made a name for itself in networking, with innovations such as Unix, Berkeley Internet Domain Name, Smart Dust and SETI@home. But the school has made headlines over the past few years for some things of which it is less proud, namely a couple of security breaches (a stolen laptop containing personal information on graduates and a compromised database of California residents).

At the start of this year, the university published a scathing self-study of its Information Systems and Technology department. It acknowledged the school's advanced IT network and talented professionals but recommended radical changes to the IT department's governance and structure (read the report).

Clifford Frost, director of Berkeley's Communications and Network Services (CNS), recently spoke with Network World Senior Online News Editor Linda Leung about what the university is doing to ensure that when people think of the school, they think "innovation," not "infiltration."

How has IT evolved at the university?

It's been haphazard. In the case of the network, it's been pretty organized. Back in the '80s, there were campuswide committees that said networking is going to be important so let's start building it up now. The campus financial and administrative systems are pretty advanced. But campus student systems [such as online registration and course catalogs] are less well-funded and organized because there has not been a single high-level sponsor. This is one of key things the campus is open to addressing in the reorganization.

Also: What makes Harvard's net tick

What is your security plan?

Every networked device has to have its operating system kept up to date with security patches - Windows 95 is not allowed unless you buy a separate firewall device and stick it in front of [Windows 95]. There are microscopes controlled by old operating systems - [the owners] have to put a firewall in front of them. We have software that people can use for free - they don't have to buy their own firewall or anti-virus software.

Having a policy only goes so far. McAfee's Foundstone scanner allows us to scan the network continuously for vulnerabilities. [If something is found] we tell [the device owners] to fix it or we turn off their access. Departments can log in and scan their own nets.

How else do you secure the network?

We do intrusion detection at the border of the campus network and more and more inside the network. We monitor to detect when systems have been broken into or are being broken into or about to launch an attack, and we can turn them off. We use McAfee IntruShield Snort, Nessus and Bro Intrusion Detection System. [Intrusion detection] is a big issue because we've had some pretty big security breaches on campus [see stories hereand here]. There is a big thrust in getting people to encrypt data on their desktop or laptop.

How do you get ahead of the security challenges?

The latest thing we're doing is getting people on campus to audit their systems, and the recommendation is to remove [sensitive i

Here's the article text, moderators, please mod the parent into the ground!

Securing UC Berkeley's network

School looks to shore up security in wake of breaches.

Linda Leung,Network World,04/24/06

The University of California at Berkeley has made a name for itself in networking, with innovations such as Unix, Berkeley Internet Domain Name, Smart Dust and SETI@home. But the school has made headlines over the past few years for some things of which it is less proud, namely a couple of security breaches (a stolen laptop containing personal information on graduates and a compromised database of California residents).

At the start of this year, the university published a scathing self-study of its Information Systems and Technology department. It acknowledged the school's advanced IT network and talented professionals but recommended radical changes to the IT department's governance and structure (read the report).

Clifford Frost, director of Berkeley's Communications and Network Services (CNS), recently spoke with Network World Senior Online News Editor Linda Leung about what the university is doing to ensure that when people think of the school, they think "innovation," not "infiltration."

How has IT evolved at the university?

It's been haphazard. In the case of the network, it's been pretty organized. Back in the '80s, there were campuswide committees that said networking is going to be important so let's start building it up now. The campus financial and administrative systems are pretty advanced. But campus student systems [such as online registration and course catalogs] are less well-funded and organized because there has not been a single high-level sponsor. This is one of key things the campus is open to addressing in the reorganization.

Also: What makes Harvard's net tick

What is your security plan?

Every networked device has to have its operating system kept up to date with security patches - Windows 95 is not allowed unless you buy a separate firewall device and stick it in front of [Windows 95]. There are microscopes controlled by old operating systems - [the owners] have to put a firewall in front of them. We have software that people can use for free - they don't have to buy their own firewall or anti-virus software.

Having a policy only goes so far. McAfee's Foundstone scanner allows us to scan the network continuously for vulnerabilities. [If something is found] we tell [the device owners] to fix it or we turn off their access. Departments can log in and scan their own nets.

How else do you secure the network?

We do intrusion detection at the border of the campus network and more and more inside the network. We monitor to detect when systems have been broken into or are being broken into or about to launch an attack, and we can turn them off. We use McAfee IntruShield Snort, Nessus and Bro Intrusion Detection System. [Intrusion detection] is a big issue because we've had some pretty big security breaches on campus [see stories hereand here]. There is a big thrust in getting people to encrypt data on their desktop or laptop.

How do you get ahead of the security challenges?

The latest thing we're doing is getting people on campus to audit their systems, and the recommendation is to remove [sensitive i

Here's the article text, moderators, please mod the parent into the ground!

Securing UC Berkeley's network

School looks to shore up security in wake of breaches.

Linda Leung,Network World,04/24/06

The University of California at Berkeley has made a name for itself in networking, with innovations such as Unix, Berkeley Internet Domain Name, Smart Dust and SETI@home. But the school has made headlines over the past few years for some things of which it is less proud, namely a couple of security breaches (a stolen laptop containing personal information on graduates and a compromised database of California residents).

At the start of this year, the university published a scathing self-study of its Information Systems and Technology department. It acknowledged the school's advanced IT network and talented professionals but recommended radical changes to the IT department's governance and structure (read the report).

Clifford Frost, director of Berkeley's Communications and Network Services (CNS), recently spoke with Network World Senior Online News Editor Linda Leung about what the university is doing to ensure that when people think of the school, they think "innovation," not "infiltration."

How has IT evolved at the university?

It's been haphazard. In the case of the network, it's been pretty organized. Back in the '80s, there were campuswide committees that said networking is going to be important so let's start building it up now. The campus financial and administrative systems are pretty advanced. But campus student systems [such as online registration and course catalogs] are less well-funded and organized because there has not been a single high-level sponsor. This is one of key things the campus is open to addressing in the reorganization.

Also: What makes Harvard's net tick

What is your security plan?

Every networked device has to have its operating system kept up to date with security patches - Windows 95 is not allowed unless you buy a separate firewall device and stick it in front of [Windows 95]. There are microscopes controlled by old operating systems - [the owners] have to put a firewall in front of them. We have software that people can use for free - they don't have to buy their own firewall or anti-virus software.

Having a policy only goes so far. McAfee's Foundstone scanner allows us to scan the network continuously for vulnerabilities. [If something is found] we tell [the device owners] to fix it or we turn off their access. Departments can log in and scan their own nets.

How else do you secure the network?

We do intrusion detection at the border of the campus network and more and more inside the network. We monitor to detect when systems have been broken into or are being broken into or about to launch an attack, and we can turn them off. We use McAfee IntruShield Snort, Nessus and Bro Intrusion Detection System. [Intrusion detection] is a big issue because we've had some pretty big security breaches on campus [see stories hereand here]. There is a big thrust in getting people to encrypt data on their desktop or laptop.

How do you get ahead of the security challenges?

The latest thing we're doing is getting people on campus to audit their systems, and the recommendation is to remove [sensitive i

Link to version of tfa where you don't have to navigate through 5 pages here

It is funny this came up. I submitted this as an article just today, but it was rejected (grouse, grouse). Anyway, it lists Token Ring as one of the top flops of IT in the last 20 years. I have actually never used a token ring network, but this is stuff I always thought about it when I read about it:

Network World's editors and columnist have nominated their favorite
IT flops of the last 20 years, making for an interesting and entertaining read. Among the flops are the OSI protocol and technologies such as ATM and Token Ring, but also making the list IBM, Microsoft's Bob and ME, and the Apple Newton.

It is funny this came up. I submitted this as an article just today, but it was rejected (grouse, grouse). Anyway, it lists Token Ring as one of the top flops of IT in the last 20 years. I have actually never used a token ring network, but this is stuff I always thought about it when I read about it:

Network World's editors and columnist have nominated their favorite
IT flops of the last 20 years, making for an interesting and entertaining read. Among the flops are the OSI protocol and technologies such as ATM and Token Ring, but also making the list IBM, Microsoft's Bob and ME, and the Apple Newton.

had designed its Windows server operating systems from the outset to interoperate with non-Microsoft server operating systems

I'm not so sure that the Feds require encryption backdoors for devices. I think you may be thinking of CALEA and related laws. But AFAIK they refer only to tapping phone lines, rather than encryption.

Even if the Feds do pass a law requiring backdoors for devices, the law could be circumvented by doing the encryption in software. Not as convenient for the end-user perhaps, but millions of people around the world do that every day thanks to the various implementations of public-key (RSA) schemes.

Software trapdoors trump hardware backdoors.

Webaroo president Brad Husick cited the above post by Tepples when I asked him about the copyright issue this morning. Husick's reply here: http://www.networkworld.com/community/?q=node/5413

IE can also execute HTA files

It is if you want to hack into a company's network using social engineering.

I'd be worried. What if someone hacks your house? Flipping Light Switches, Raising the Temperature, Playing Slayer, Having your oven/fridge and front doors open and close erraticly. Plus hacking the home security cam so we can all watch it live...

...on Network World last week.

You are reading Slashdot on a free day pass. Thanks for the support.

Ask Slashdot: What Corporate Email Limits Do You Have?
Posted by

Cliff

in The Mysterious Future!

from the drives-that-are-bursting-at-the-seams dept.

roundisfunny wonders: "We currently do not have any mailbox restrictions for our Exchange users - which has led us to have a 420 GB mail store for 320 users. Our largest mailbox has over 13 GB in it. One of the main concerns for us is the time it takes for a restore. We have encouraged archiving, but now have 250 GB of .pst files. What sort of limitations does your company have on mailbox size, amount of time you can keep mail, and archives? Please mention your email platform, type of business, and number of users."

IT: Harvard Offers Sneak Peek Into Their Network

Posted by

ScuttleMonkey

in The Mysterious Future!

from the what-makes-you-tick dept.

Bob Brown writes "Harvard University doesn't usually talk much about its internal network, but here, the guy overseeing it opens up about the homegrown and commercial tools used to manage the massive system." From the article: "Harvard, as of late, has been exhibiting another telco trait - considering the network as part of the university's critical infrastructure. As such, its construction is considered during the initial planning phases of building renovation, new construction and campus expansion projects. The data networks that are being built today, at Harvard and similar institutions, are being built to host a variety of IP-based traffic. Most every physical-plant control device, whether it be security cameras, chilled water-valve actuators or parking garage card readers, are being designed to work with the IP network"

This story is currently under construction.

Games: Come the Revolution

Posted by

Zonk

in The Mysterious Future!

from the up-against-the-wall dept.

GamesIndustry.biz has a piece looking at what game developers think will be req

Once read an article about Reykjavik (search the net a bit, for example) where the utility company installed fiber optic into every home, but doesn't provide any services on top of it. If you plug your computer in that RJ45 on the meter panel, you get to a simple portal that allows you to sign-up for only those services you like. Could be ISP (choice of many), could be VoIP, could be video on demand, could be home security, etc.
I think that's a very cool model, allowing competition where it really matters. You only need a little government control over that utility company to avoid price fixing on that level, but that should be not too difficult to do (probably with the exception of the US :-).

The VA published the "Medical Device Isolation Architecture Guide" as guide to securing hospital networks. http://www.himss.org/Content/files/VA_VLAN_Guide_0 40430.pdf

Medical equipment vendors are required to follow a rigorous certification process for any patches applied to deployed equipment. Unfortunately, with the high volume of Windows updates, many vendors have balked at certifying each and every one.

For more info, see http://www.networkworld.com/news/2004/080904patchf ights.html

I wish Microsoft would release a Security Rollup update every six to nine months containing all previously released critical updates since the prior service pack. Then, vendors could perform a single certification for the Rollup update and these vulnerabilities could be prevented.

Link to the John Dix Network World article Verizon counting on FiOS tech advantage

Further comments indicate that MS is following a very heavy SDL process. This may work, but it adds a lot of inflexibility in the design process (think specs, reviews, control gates, more reviews, product delays, etc.). A heavy SDL may work for US DOD environments or high-availability products (like NASA missions), but is it really necessary for all of MS's code? Does it hinder innovation or encourage it? Are other processes better or faster such as agile methods where one is designing for test but without a heavy SDL (CMM-style) process. The internal MSFT chap had some interesting comments about the heavy "process" and how it was window-dressing(C)2006 Microsoft.

The comments about IE further show that MS is not reducing the coupling between components. The tighter the interfaces, the tighter the coupling, the more complexity, and hence the harder to test and secure the beast.

For more info see some of Bruce Schneier's writings:
http://www.itconversations.com/transcripts/119/tra nscript-print119-1.html

Also see the 2003 report on MS and threat to US National Security:
http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/security/00353 5.html

A whole building? Pff. That's nothing.

Anyone remember back in the late 90's when AT&T lost its ENTIRE frame-relay network? Some 6,000 or so customers suddenly lost network connectivity?

According to the scuttlebutt around AT&T a piece of construction machinery backed into some sort of switching station and took the whole thing out. 6,000 customers, just like *that*. Try beating that one.

Google: Number of employees.. 4183 http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/facts.html
Net earnings: $1.297 billion.
Revenus $5.25 billion

IBM: Number of employees...369277 http://www.networkworld.com/news/financial/ibm.htm l
Net earnings: $7.797 billion.
Revenues: $94 billion

MSFT: Number of employees... 57000 http://www.networkworld.com/news/financial/microso ft.html
Net earnings: 12.867 billion.
Revenues $40.340 billion

Google: Number of employees.. 4183 http://www.google.com/intl/en/corporate/facts.html
Net earnings: $1.297 billion.
Revenus $5.25 billion

IBM: Number of employees...369277 http://www.networkworld.com/news/financial/ibm.htm l
Net earnings: $7.797 billion.
Revenues: $94 billion

MSFT: Number of employees... 57000 http://www.networkworld.com/news/financial/microso ft.html
Net earnings: 12.867 billion.
Revenues $40.340 billion

Try these:

• http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=SCO+legal+fee s+limit
• SCO Puts limit on its Legal Payments
• Start-up hedges companies' bets against SCO
• SCO Cuts deal for legal expenses
• SCO Puts a Cap on its Legal Expenses
• SCO's case doesn't fit, but the lawyers won't quit

Needless to say that this originated in Finland.

Aren't 802.15.4 and ZigBee the same thing? There links seem to indicate that they are either the same, or very closely related:

http://www.caba.org/standard/zigbee.html

http://www.networkworld.com/details/6549.html

If a sensor were to run TinyOS and communicate with ZigBee, and also claim to be 802.15.4 compliant, would that allow us to work with only the 802.15.4 layer? The MicaZ series that Crossbow (xbow.com) sells would be one example of something my research group would be looking at.

Weather Underground ( http://wunderground.com/ ) was awarded " Enterprise All-Star Award" from Network World. Especially after handling 14 million hits in Katrina.

http://www.networkworld.com/allstar/2005/112105-ot her.html

Reading the article, one thing didn't surprise me at all:

"Weather Underground uses a trimmed-down version of Slackware, one of the only distributions of Linux available in the mid-1990s when Schwerzler was at U-M. In addition, the servers have no hard drives and support Preboot Execution Environment boot, which means they are configurable and deployable via the network"

You should read rest of the article about the stuff they do there to manage such amounts of data. "No bullshit" attitude of Slackware helps? I bet!

Also, be aware that Skype, (developed by those who brought you Kazaa) is, like Kazaa, a p2p app and rather rudely uses your resources. In addition to that, it's proprietary and conflicts/is incompatible with the emerging SIP standard. More info:

Beware Skype's Hype http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1517548,00.as p

Skype: Hazardous to network health? http://www.networkworld.com/columnists/2005/092605 tolly.html

Look up, software appliance, ASP (aka service bureaus for you old-timers), and network appliances.

Basically the world is moving to "software as a service".* Be it hosting at a central site, remote access. e.g. ASP.

Or hosted at the clients site, remote maintainance and upgrade. e.g. software appliance

A network appliance sits in between the two. Kind of like "software appliance" on hardware tailored for the purpose. e.g. storage, spam protection, security, multimedia.

*This is one of the reasons the new GPL will be problematic.

I'm not certain, but I think the word channel may be misleading here. I think that MIMO is actually using the same bandwidth, just combining multiple RF paths to enhance the signal to noise ratio. Another MIMO link is here.