Alice Does Thailand (But not that way!) High Tech Report Department: OK, so riding an elephant may not be the most high tech thing you have ever seen, but consider this. In Bangkok where this is being written and posted live, Alice is enjoying high speed WIRELESS Internet access in her hotel room, and her Blackberry was actually working in the jungles of the Masa Elephant Camp in Chaing Mai (Northern Thailand)shown here.
True, there were techincal quirks to be found - like being able to receive email and not respond on the Backberry. Alice called it "receive-only" and it suited her just fine. But Thailand is pretty high-tech, and it shames the local Best Western when you consider that most food here is eaten on the street and a taxi costs $3.00.
Intel jumps on RFID bandwagon Honestly, this is Alice's field of expertise. As far as I knew, "RFID" referred to one of the Mayberry TV shows that Andy Griffin did. So now I find out it's a broadcasting chip or tag used to track inventory or people. (I guess sometimes they're the same.)
Intel, however, sees it as a way to revitalize business. Let's take an historical look at this whole tracking/information thing that RFID seems to be pointing at.
There have been bar codes around since almost forever, yet every year there are thousands of railroad cars that can't be found. Simple as it might be to implement, they don't use the system. RFID is an enhanced/high tech barcode system. Is it better than barcode? Well a bump under your dermis is probably more socially acceptable than a barcode tattoo on your forearm. Will RFID work better? Well, you can probably encode more information in a tiny RFID chip than you could in an inconspicuous bar code. Will RFID work better? It will probably cost more to implement.
Will RFID work better?!
The Dewey Decimal system has worked quite well for decades.
Alice in Thailand Don't know exactly where, but Alice is in Thailand, riding an elephant. So, all of you SE Asian Alice fans, just look around for a tall girl on a big beast with small ears, probably yelling, "Ye-haw!" (Alice, that is, not the beast) a lot. I'd tell you there'll be film/pictures at 11 but until I know for sure I wouldn't want you getting confused with HRH Prince Charles. # Permalink
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Wednesday, July 14, 2004
Windows flaw could turn critical Here we go again. According to this ZDNet story, hackers have a tendency to reverse engineer Windows patches to create new and more effective worms and viruses.
Aren't we all getting a little tired of this? Is this really an Internet problem? The answers are "Yes" and "No."
Hopefully your shorts get as bunched up as mine when you hear that hacking is an Internet problem. The Internet is not some cohesive entity that has an active role in its existence. This is an ISP problem. At some point, some pimply-faced loser is shipping a virus out through his ISP in an attempt to infect everyone else on the Internet. Why does that ISP not have sufficient controls in place to catch and trap that virus as it leaves? Why don't the ISPs on the receiving end of the virus have those very same facilities? We've been at this Internet thing for at least 13 years now. How long is it going to take to get this right? When I see an ISP who's charging me nearly $50/mo using McAfee AntiVirus to "keep me safe," I just want to puke.
Personally, when they find a hacker they should shut down the ISP he was using. Hopefully, after a short while, the others will get the message. # Permalink
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Deal set on allowing limited DVD copying "A group of media and technology companies including Microsoft Corp. and Walt Disney Co. have agreed in principle to allow consumers to make legal backup copies of next-generation video discs and share their content on portable devices."
Gosh thanks. You don't think that all those newly released movies going belly up so quickly (like Disney's 'King Arthur') might be a reason they now want to spur DVD sales? Of course, look for Microsoft to screw it up some how. # Permalink
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Huh? In a news commentary for ZDNet, columnist Declan McCullagh commented on his expectations about John Ashcroft's soon-to-be exposed zeal to attack Internet porn purveyors. Mr. McCullagh stated, "In an election year, it's also an easy way to rally conservatives, who are otherwise lukewarm toward a president who spends like a drunken Democrat."
I must respectfully disagree with Declan's overall submission to the validity of such an old set of talking points. As well, he should certainly be aware that drunken Democrats spend very little money. In that condition, it's nearly impossible for one of them to locate and reach into the pocket of a nearby Republican.
By the way, for you sweaty-palmed Friday-night types, not to worry. Internet porn is safe as it can be. Although obscene material is not protected by the First Amendment, two impediments to wide-spread prosecution exist. First, no one has, to date, defined obscene clearly enough such that a religious mass couldn't be claimed obscene by an atheist. Secondly, the ruling sighted in the ZDNet story, in an attempt to define obscene, states, "'the average person', applying 'contemporary community standards' would find that the work, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest..."
That opens up a whole 'nother can of worms as to what defines the average citizen in general and, further, given the world-wide nature of the Internet, what defines a global average citizen. Thirdly, as much as the United States Supreme Court and its siblings appear to like to change the laws of the United States, last time I looked, there were a few other countries involved in the world and a few of them had different ideas.
Microsoft late! "Not pregnant," says Ballmer. In trying to explain the further delay of Microsoft's well publicized and repeatedly upcoming Windows XP Service Pak 2, Ballmer indicated that nothing really horrendous had happened to delay the release. "We're just taking our time to cross all the T's and dot all the A's. Besides, traditionally, when it comes to Windows products and updates, Microsoft has been a little behind."
All in attendance agreed with the general characterization although most pointed to a discrepancy in size. # Permalink
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The RealTechNews Official Collection of Interesting
Technical Websites (In Alphabetical Order)
Honestly, this is Alice's field of expertise. As far as I knew, "RFID" referred to one of the Mayberry TV shows that Andy Griffin did. So now I find out it's a broadcasting chip or tag used to track inventory or people. (I guess sometimes they're the same.)
In trying to explain the further delay of Microsoft's well publicized and repeatedly upcoming Windows XP Service Pak 2, Ballmer indicated that nothing really horrendous had happened to delay the release. "We're just taking our time to cross all the T's and dot all the A's. Besides, traditionally, when it comes to Windows products and updates, Microsoft has been a little behind."