I too am concerned about the potential for abuse of a web site black list. I'm also concerned that AOL did not inform members of this change. Any ISP that implements a web site black list should redirect browsers to an HTML page that explains that the web site address is associated with known spammer. The user should then be given the choice to procede to the site or abandon the attempt. The black list should also be transparently available to the Internet community. Last, but not least, there has to be a clear policy for appealing a listing to allow for reporting of incorrect listings or other abuses of the blacklist.
I remember the days when anti-viral software was freeware or shareware. The anti-virus industry will have to adapt when Microsoft includes free anti-virus technology in Windows XP service pack 2. Assuming of course that the XP SP2 anti-virus software is robust and fully featured. Perhaps some of the anti-viral software companies will have to evolve from providing software to providing security conulting.
Some security companies do give back to the community. GRISOFT offers a free version of AVG Anti-Virus 6.0 for single home users. Zone Labs offers a free version of the Zone Alarm firewall.
Do you know of any other companies that offer free anti-viral or firewall software?
I've also wondered about this. I suspect it is because it is extremely difficult to change an operating system that is designed with permissive security instead of restrictive security. In Mac OS 1.0 to 9.2, MS-DOS 1.0 to 6.22, and Windows 1.0 to XP anything that is not explicitly forbidden is allowed. Apple addressed operating system security by using a UNIX base to create Mac OS X. I suspect Microsoft will change from a permissive security model to a restrictive security model in Longhorn.
I have been working as a consultant for small office and home office users since being laid of from Intel in 2002. The view from the small office and home office is very different from the view from within the IT industry. I've been working to educate my clients on the importance of regular backups, anti-viral protection and firewall protection. I spent the last two weekends removing viruses from computers that were on cable modem connections with no ant-viral software installed and no firewall installed.
I am starting to think that I need to help my clients to protect their data and make their systems hard targets. I'd like to think that the virus problem will be addressed by operating system changes. However, the reality in the small office and home office is that operating system upgrades are almost always tied to the purchase of a new computer. Third party security products will continue to be important as long as users stick with what works for them today without worrying about what might be available tomorrow.
I always work on the assumption that people want to behave honestly if it is reasonable for them to do so. The RIAA and the major record labels have not made it easy for honest people to behave honestly and honorably. If you treat your customers as thieves, sooner or later they will meet your expectations.
There may be other ways for ISPs to pay the 'tape tax' without directly charging the user. Radio stations use advertising revenue to pay for the rights to play music. Ultimately, people who buy the advertised products undewrite the costs of commercial radio.
Until a universally accepted micropayment system is available it makes sense to use a scheme like the one that the EFF is proposing to make sure that artists are fairly compensated for their work.
I find it ironic that the RIAA is in favor of imposing surcharges on recording media but is not in favor of a scheme that allows for legal downloading and fair compensation for artists. I suspect that the RIAA opposition to this type of scheme is a concern that record companies as we know them today would become obsolete.
Except that this scheme allows for the license fee to be included as part of the monthly bill for network access. To quote from the eff article:
"How do we get filesharers to pay up? That's where the market comes in -- those who today are under legal threat will have ample incentive to opt for a simple $5 per month fee. There should be as many mechanisms for payment as the market will support. Some fans could buy it directly through a website (after all, this was what the RIAA had in mind with its "amnesty" program). ISPs could bundle the fee into their price of their broadband services for customers who are interested in music downloading. After all, ISPs would love to be able to advertise a broadband package that includes "downloads of all the music you want." Universities could make it part of the cost of providing network services to students. P2P file-sharing software vendors could bundle the fee into a subscription model for their software, which would neatly remove the cloud of legal uncertainty that has inhibited investment in the P2P software field."
This model is the rough equivalent of a 'tape tax.' However, this model provides several things that a tape tax does not. Transparency is key to making this model work. Reasonably accurate data about which songs are being downloaded will allow all artists to have a level playing field. A tape tax system tends to reward the big artists and ignore the small artists because there is no way to collect data about which artists are being taped the most.
The collection agency must be able to transparently report how much money is collected and who is paid for this scheme to gain acceptance from downloaders and artists. If anyone can go to the collecting agency web site and view their accounts online, then and only then will downloaders and artists think of the downloading rights fee as something worth paying.
Great minds think alike. I've also been thinking about posting this question, but hadn't found the time to do my homework. I am actually interested in a solution that would allow me to record off the airwaves. Replay Radio looks interesting, but it is only for Internet radio. I'm looking for similar functionality that can work with an AM/FM tuner card in my PC.
A less obvious reason why Microsoft might want to get behind this effort in order to address antitrust concerns by increasing support for Microsoft Office on non-Microsoft operating systems. Imagine the government of Munich running Microsoft Office on Suse Linux with IBM's support.
It would be great if the Microsoft Office team was given the go ahead to develop a version of Microsoft Office for any commercially succesful platform. I'd like to see the Microsoft Office for Mac OS X team use the UNIX knowledge to develop a supported version of Microsoft Office for Linux.
I do not see the Internet becoming purely an entertainment medium. I do see internet technologies and internet infrastructure being increasingly used to supplant traditional methods of distributing entertainment.
Nicholas Negroponte wrote about the distinction between Bits and Atoms in his 1995 book Being Digital. The traditional content distibutors are struggling with the transition from distributing information as physical objects or "atoms" to distributing information on the Internet or as "bits."
The entertainment company that figures out how to profit from distributing bits without treating its customers as criminals will be extremely profitable. The proposed merger of Comcast and Disney would create a company that can combine a large library of content usually distributed as atoms with a high speed network that can deliver this content as bits.
Whenever I read discussions about the control of information on the Internet, I think of I.F. Stone's quote "Freedom of the press is the right to own one." The Internet gives everyone that ability to own their own digital press. No single government will be able to put the Internet genie back inthe bottle. Anyone who can access a host computer that is hosted in a free society can set up their own free press on the Internet.
Your brother may want to consider upgrading his setup. The DIRECWAY FAQ states:
"Q: What is the difference between the DW6000 modem and the DW4000 modem?
A: The DW6000 is the next-generation DIRECWAY system modem with a sleek new design. It makes connecting to the Internet easier by incorporating DIRECWAY software inside the DW6000 unit. So there's no DIRECWAY software to load on your computer or upgrades to download. The DW6000 automatically updates itself via the satellite. Also, the DW6000 modem houses both the transmit and receive components in one compact unit, unlike the DW4000 that has separate transmit and receive modems stacked together and linked by a 24-pin serial cord.
It also uses a simple Ethernet connection to connect your computer to your DIRECWAY service. Once your satellite dish is installed and connected to the DW6000, all you need to do is connect your computer by using the provided Ethernet cable and you're high-speed surfing (see 'Can I run DIRECWAY on a small network?' for networking capability requirements).
Q: Is the DW6000 faster than the DW4000?
No. Both the DW6000 and the DW4000 modems deliver the same DIRECWAY high-speed service experience. The DW6000 modem allows you to connect to Windows- and Macintosh-based operating systems, has no software to load on your computer, and makes networking your DIRECWAY high-speed connection to multiple home computers easier (see 'Can I run DIRECWAY on a small network?' for more information on home networking).
Q: Should I upgrade to the DW6000 from my current DW4000?
A: Upgrading from a DW4000 modem to the next-generation DW6000 modem is a good idea if you would like to network more than one home computer or laptop to your DIRECWAY high-speed connection. By networking more than one computer, your family will be able to access your DIRECWAY high-speed Internet connection from any computer on the network and will not have to wait in line in order to get online.
Please understand that all computers on this network will be sharing a single connection. Simultaneous use of high bandwidth applications by multiple users may result in degradation of speed and is subject to the Fair Access Policy. Actual speeds may vary. Speed and uninterrupted use of service are not guaranteed."
According to the DIRECWAY FAQ"The DIRECWAY system with the DW6000 modem retails for $599.98 (includes dish, modem and standard installation), and you pay the regular service monthly rate (currently $59.99 per month)." There's an alternate payment plan of $99.99 up front followed by $99.99 per month for a 15 month contract. After 15 months the fee drops to $59.99 a month.
The cost figures make me wonder whether a WISP might be less expensive. Sprint and AT&T Wireless have been advertising cellular based WISP service in the Boston area. I don't know if this type of service is available in the Ann Arbor area.
Speaking of dry pairs and T1 lines, I have heard that if you can order Switched 56 or ISDN from the phone company, you can be assured of obtaining a dedicated copper pair. Once you have the copper pair, you MAY be able to switch over to ISDN service.
The real issue here is that PKWARE and PKZIP chose to use RSA encryption to secure ZIP files. A digital certificate or a password can be used to encrypt the file. WinZip is use AES encryption to encrypt ZIP files. PKWARE products will now be able to read WinZIP encrypted ZIP files. WinZip products will now be able to read PKWARE encrypted ZIP files.
There is still a problem with interoperability at the level of creating encrypted ZIP files. There is no longer a problem with interoperability at the level of reading encrypted ZIP files. The best way for this problem to go away would be for PKWARE to expand the SecureZIP standard to include RSA and AES encryption.
I suspect that any e-mail payment scheme will be less than succesful until there are multiple reciprocal micropayment systems.
I am more intrested in an approach that can rank the level of attention that I should pay to e-mail. I'd like to have a white list that allows me to set different priority levels based upon the sender. I'd like to give a higher priority to mail that has a valid signature. I'd also give a higher priority to mail from people in my address list.
By the way, which e-mail clients meet your criterion for a "real mail clients"?
The photograph of the apple and the bullet is the work of Harold E. "Doc" Edgerton. "By synchronizing strobe flashes with the motion being examined (for example, the spinning of engine rotors), then taking a series of photos through an open shutter at the rate of many flashes per second, Edgerton invented ultra-high-speed and stop-action photography (1931)." See Exploring the Art and Science of Stopping Time for more information on Harold Edgerton's life and work.
You can skip a level in management if you have done your homework. Any IT person attending the meeting should be very familiar with the reporting structure. More importantly, any IT person attending the meeting should be very familiar with what their management is reporting to upper management.
If front-line IT people see problems, or better yet room for improvement in their daily work, have they communicated these problems and improvement plans to their management? Has IT management communicated problems up the chain of command? In other words, does upper management know about the problems that the front-line IT employees face in their day to day work? Does upper management know about the ideas that front-line employees have to improve the IT infrastructure.
Ideally, the IT team should meet with their immediate managers and the CIO before meeting with the president. Ideally there should be no surprises at the dinner meeting. It's best to avoid embarasssing or suprising management in this type of meeting.
Perhaps the dinner meeting as it is currently structured is premature. There has to be a process in place to make sure that the president is aware of IT's strengths and weaknesses before the dinner meeting. There has to be a process in place where IT staff and management can agree upon the areas that need improvement. There has to be a process in place where the front-line IT staff is fully aware of how the president and the CIO see the role of IT in the company.
If the homework has not been done, and the groundwork has not been laid, then the dinner meeting should be the start of a process, not the end of a process.
According to the BBC, "The pictures will go online on Monday." In the meantime, you can see six of the pictures at the BBC News web site if you read the article "WWII archive photos go online".
One of the NASA e-mails states that "Basically, the problem was that a Hubble Shuttle mission would require special safety procedures to be developed that would not be necessary for an ISS mission. Only ISS missions will be carried out in the future."
However, the press does not seem to be reporting on the safety concerns. The BBC News is reporting that "Nasa to abandon Hubble telescope". "Nasa is halting all space shuttle missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a move that will lead to it becoming useless within four years." The BBC article does not mention any safety concerns.
"With a little bit more effort, even so -called "dummies" will be able to work with it as well."
The so called 'dummies" really don't care much about the operating system that they are using. They care much more about the applications that they are running. They also care about the availability of training and support for the operating system and applications.
The computer using world can be reoughly divided into two categories:
(1) People who want to think about the work their doing, but don't want to think about the computer technology they are using.
(2) People who want to think about the work they are doing and who like to think about how the computer is doing the work.
The first group wants reliability, stability, and transparency. They d not want to spend a lot of time fixing or upgrading their computer. They do not want to spend a lot of time working on a computer that crashes. They do not want to spend a lot of time thinking about how to do their work. Their main interest is in what works, not necessarily what works best.
They won't switch to Linux from something that is good enough to allow them to do their work. They may switch to Linux if they are upgrading a computer and it is clear that Linux will allow them to do their work without giving much thought to how the computer works.
An interesting effect of digital cameras is that unwanted pictures simply dissapear. Many people use the LCD screen in a camera to preview pictures and to delete the pictures that they do not plan to print.
Film has the advantage of recording all pictures whether they are wanted or not. There is no digital camera equivalent to a contact sheet if the LCD screen has been used to view and delete unwanted pictures.
There are many people who are quite happy with Windows 98 or Windows Me because the can do everything that they want to do with these operating systems. I suspect that Microsoft decided not to alienate the trailing edge of their customer base.
All the friends and family members that I support are running Windows 95/98/Me unless the bought a new computer after Windows XP was released. Many people see no need to go through the hassle of an OS upgrade unless they are also moving to a new PC. Microsoft would sell more OS upgrades, and manufacturers would sell more computers if it was much easier for the average person to migrate to a new OS or a new computer.
I also suspect that Microsoft has a legal obligation to support a product for 7 years after its initial release date. I'm fairly certain that consumer protection laws require that spare parts and repair services be available for products for 7 years. It is my understanding that fixes for the Year 2000 bug must be available for 7 years.
Please call 1-800-SUICIDE, 1-800-784-2433 to seek immediate help with you suicidal thoughts and feelings.
Depression is a treatable condition. Suicide is not a treatble condition.
Neither article explicitly touched on the issue of software quality assurance. The development of processes and procedures for writing secure software should go hand in hand with the development of processes and procedures for testing secure software. SQA methodology has to expand beyond usability and functional testing to incorporate security testing.
It's my understanding that there are procedures for developing and testing software that is used in medical products and aviation products. Perhaps the rigor that is applied to developing software to control an airplane could be applied to the development and testing of secure software.
Slashdot Mirror
I too am concerned about the potential for abuse of a web site black list. I'm also concerned that AOL did not inform members of this change. Any ISP that implements a web site black list should redirect browsers to an HTML page that explains that the web site address is associated with known spammer. The user should then be given the choice to procede to the site or abandon the attempt. The black list should also be transparently available to the Internet community. Last, but not least, there has to be a clear policy for appealing a listing to allow for reporting of incorrect listings or other abuses of the blacklist.
Some security companies do give back to the community. GRISOFT offers a free version of AVG Anti-Virus 6.0 for single home users. Zone Labs offers a free version of the Zone Alarm firewall.
Do you know of any other companies that offer free anti-viral or firewall software?
I have been working as a consultant for small office and home office users since being laid of from Intel in 2002. The view from the small office and home office is very different from the view from within the IT industry. I've been working to educate my clients on the importance of regular backups, anti-viral protection and firewall protection. I spent the last two weekends removing viruses from computers that were on cable modem connections with no ant-viral software installed and no firewall installed.
I am starting to think that I need to help my clients to protect their data and make their systems hard targets. I'd like to think that the virus problem will be addressed by operating system changes. However, the reality in the small office and home office is that operating system upgrades are almost always tied to the purchase of a new computer. Third party security products will continue to be important as long as users stick with what works for them today without worrying about what might be available tomorrow.
There may be other ways for ISPs to pay the 'tape tax' without directly charging the user. Radio stations use advertising revenue to pay for the rights to play music. Ultimately, people who buy the advertised products undewrite the costs of commercial radio.
Until a universally accepted micropayment system is available it makes sense to use a scheme like the one that the EFF is proposing to make sure that artists are fairly compensated for their work.
I find it ironic that the RIAA is in favor of imposing surcharges on recording media but is not in favor of a scheme that allows for legal downloading and fair compensation for artists. I suspect that the RIAA opposition to this type of scheme is a concern that record companies as we know them today would become obsolete.
"How do we get filesharers to pay up? That's where the market comes in -- those who today are under legal threat will have ample incentive to opt for a simple $5 per month fee. There should be as many mechanisms for payment as the market will support. Some fans could buy it directly through a website (after all, this was what the RIAA had in mind with its "amnesty" program). ISPs could bundle the fee into their price of their broadband services for customers who are interested in music downloading. After all, ISPs would love to be able to advertise a broadband package that includes "downloads of all the music you want." Universities could make it part of the cost of providing network services to students. P2P file-sharing software vendors could bundle the fee into a subscription model for their software, which would neatly remove the cloud of legal uncertainty that has inhibited investment in the P2P software field."
This model is the rough equivalent of a 'tape tax.' However, this model provides several things that a tape tax does not. Transparency is key to making this model work. Reasonably accurate data about which songs are being downloaded will allow all artists to have a level playing field. A tape tax system tends to reward the big artists and ignore the small artists because there is no way to collect data about which artists are being taped the most.
The collection agency must be able to transparently report how much money is collected and who is paid for this scheme to gain acceptance from downloaders and artists. If anyone can go to the collecting agency web site and view their accounts online, then and only then will downloaders and artists think of the downloading rights fee as something worth paying.
Why not switch your schedule to Mars time? It's working for Spirit and Opportunity.
Great minds think alike. I've also been thinking about posting this question, but hadn't found the time to do my homework. I am actually interested in a solution that would allow me to record off the airwaves. Replay Radio looks interesting, but it is only for Internet radio. I'm looking for similar functionality that can work with an AM/FM tuner card in my PC.
It would be great if the Microsoft Office team was given the go ahead to develop a version of Microsoft Office for any commercially succesful platform. I'd like to see the Microsoft Office for Mac OS X team use the UNIX knowledge to develop a supported version of Microsoft Office for Linux.
Nicholas Negroponte wrote about the distinction between Bits and Atoms in his 1995 book Being Digital. The traditional content distibutors are struggling with the transition from distributing information as physical objects or "atoms" to distributing information on the Internet or as "bits."
The entertainment company that figures out how to profit from distributing bits without treating its customers as criminals will be extremely profitable. The proposed merger of Comcast and Disney would create a company that can combine a large library of content usually distributed as atoms with a high speed network that can deliver this content as bits.
Whenever I read discussions about the control of information on the Internet, I think of I.F. Stone's quote "Freedom of the press is the right to own one." The Internet gives everyone that ability to own their own digital press. No single government will be able to put the Internet genie back inthe bottle. Anyone who can access a host computer that is hosted in a free society can set up their own free press on the Internet.
"Q: What is the difference between the DW6000 modem and the DW4000 modem? A: The DW6000 is the next-generation DIRECWAY system modem with a sleek new design. It makes connecting to the Internet easier by incorporating DIRECWAY software inside the DW6000 unit. So there's no DIRECWAY software to load on your computer or upgrades to download. The DW6000 automatically updates itself via the satellite. Also, the DW6000 modem houses both the transmit and receive components in one compact unit, unlike the DW4000 that has separate transmit and receive modems stacked together and linked by a 24-pin serial cord.
It also uses a simple Ethernet connection to connect your computer to your DIRECWAY service. Once your satellite dish is installed and connected to the DW6000, all you need to do is connect your computer by using the provided Ethernet cable and you're high-speed surfing (see 'Can I run DIRECWAY on a small network?' for networking capability requirements).
Q: Is the DW6000 faster than the DW4000? No. Both the DW6000 and the DW4000 modems deliver the same DIRECWAY high-speed service experience. The DW6000 modem allows you to connect to Windows- and Macintosh-based operating systems, has no software to load on your computer, and makes networking your DIRECWAY high-speed connection to multiple home computers easier (see 'Can I run DIRECWAY on a small network?' for more information on home networking).
Q: Should I upgrade to the DW6000 from my current DW4000? A: Upgrading from a DW4000 modem to the next-generation DW6000 modem is a good idea if you would like to network more than one home computer or laptop to your DIRECWAY high-speed connection. By networking more than one computer, your family will be able to access your DIRECWAY high-speed Internet connection from any computer on the network and will not have to wait in line in order to get online.
Please understand that all computers on this network will be sharing a single connection. Simultaneous use of high bandwidth applications by multiple users may result in degradation of speed and is subject to the Fair Access Policy. Actual speeds may vary. Speed and uninterrupted use of service are not guaranteed."
The cost figures make me wonder whether a WISP might be less expensive. Sprint and AT&T Wireless have been advertising cellular based WISP service in the Boston area. I don't know if this type of service is available in the Ann Arbor area.
Speaking of dry pairs and T1 lines, I have heard that if you can order Switched 56 or ISDN from the phone company, you can be assured of obtaining a dedicated copper pair. Once you have the copper pair, you MAY be able to switch over to ISDN service.
There is still a problem with interoperability at the level of creating encrypted ZIP files. There is no longer a problem with interoperability at the level of reading encrypted ZIP files. The best way for this problem to go away would be for PKWARE to expand the SecureZIP standard to include RSA and AES encryption.
I am more intrested in an approach that can rank the level of attention that I should pay to e-mail. I'd like to have a white list that allows me to set different priority levels based upon the sender. I'd like to give a higher priority to mail that has a valid signature. I'd also give a higher priority to mail from people in my address list.
By the way, which e-mail clients meet your criterion for a "real mail clients"?
I am still trying to figure out where I can purchase the Monty Python E-Mail Client.
The photograph of the apple and the bullet is the work of Harold E. "Doc" Edgerton. "By synchronizing strobe flashes with the motion being examined (for example, the spinning of engine rotors), then taking a series of photos through an open shutter at the rate of many flashes per second, Edgerton invented ultra-high-speed and stop-action photography (1931)." See Exploring the Art and Science of Stopping Time for more information on Harold Edgerton's life and work.
If front-line IT people see problems, or better yet room for improvement in their daily work, have they communicated these problems and improvement plans to their management? Has IT management communicated problems up the chain of command? In other words, does upper management know about the problems that the front-line IT employees face in their day to day work? Does upper management know about the ideas that front-line employees have to improve the IT infrastructure.
Ideally, the IT team should meet with their immediate managers and the CIO before meeting with the president. Ideally there should be no surprises at the dinner meeting. It's best to avoid embarasssing or suprising management in this type of meeting.
Perhaps the dinner meeting as it is currently structured is premature. There has to be a process in place to make sure that the president is aware of IT's strengths and weaknesses before the dinner meeting. There has to be a process in place where IT staff and management can agree upon the areas that need improvement. There has to be a process in place where the front-line IT staff is fully aware of how the president and the CIO see the role of IT in the company.
If the homework has not been done, and the groundwork has not been laid, then the dinner meeting should be the start of a process, not the end of a process.
According to the BBC, "The pictures will go online on Monday." In the meantime, you can see six of the pictures at the BBC News web site if you read the article "WWII archive photos go online".
However, the press does not seem to be reporting on the safety concerns. The BBC News is reporting that "Nasa to abandon Hubble telescope". "Nasa is halting all space shuttle missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope, a move that will lead to it becoming useless within four years." The BBC article does not mention any safety concerns.
The Goddard Space Flight Center has a Hubble Project site.
The so called 'dummies" really don't care much about the operating system that they are using. They care much more about the applications that they are running. They also care about the availability of training and support for the operating system and applications.
The computer using world can be reoughly divided into two categories:
(1) People who want to think about the work their doing, but don't want to think about the computer technology they are using.
(2) People who want to think about the work they are doing and who like to think about how the computer is doing the work.
The first group wants reliability, stability, and transparency. They d not want to spend a lot of time fixing or upgrading their computer. They do not want to spend a lot of time working on a computer that crashes. They do not want to spend a lot of time thinking about how to do their work. Their main interest is in what works, not necessarily what works best.
They won't switch to Linux from something that is good enough to allow them to do their work. They may switch to Linux if they are upgrading a computer and it is clear that Linux will allow them to do their work without giving much thought to how the computer works.
Film has the advantage of recording all pictures whether they are wanted or not. There is no digital camera equivalent to a contact sheet if the LCD screen has been used to view and delete unwanted pictures.
All the friends and family members that I support are running Windows 95/98/Me unless the bought a new computer after Windows XP was released. Many people see no need to go through the hassle of an OS upgrade unless they are also moving to a new PC. Microsoft would sell more OS upgrades, and manufacturers would sell more computers if it was much easier for the average person to migrate to a new OS or a new computer.
I also suspect that Microsoft has a legal obligation to support a product for 7 years after its initial release date. I'm fairly certain that consumer protection laws require that spare parts and repair services be available for products for 7 years. It is my understanding that fixes for the Year 2000 bug must be available for 7 years.
This apartment was also covered in a recent New York Times article entitled "Let There Be L.E.D.'s".
Please call 1-800-SUICIDE, 1-800-784-2433 to seek immediate help with you suicidal thoughts and feelings. Depression is a treatable condition. Suicide is not a treatble condition.
BBC News Mars Rover Report.
It's my understanding that there are procedures for developing and testing software that is used in medical products and aviation products. Perhaps the rigor that is applied to developing software to control an airplane could be applied to the development and testing of secure software.