INTERNET - Cyber Wars

"Governments Battle to Stay Ahead of Threats on Internet, 'The Great Leveler'"
PBS Newshour 8/10/2010

"Hayden: Hackers Force Internet Users to Learn Self-Defense"
PBS Newshour 8/11/2010

INTERNET - Attempt to Carve-Out WEB Access Niche

"Web Plan From Google and Verizon Is Criticized" by CLAIRE CAIN MILLER & MIGUEL HELFT, New York Times 8/9/2010

Excerpt

Google and Verizon on Monday introduced a proposal for how Internet service should be regulated — and were immediately criticized by groups that favor keeping the network as open as possible.

According to the proposal, Internet service providers would not be able to block producers of online content or offer them a paid “fast lane.” It says the Federal Communications Commission should have the authority to stop or fine any rule-breakers.

The proposal, however, carves out exceptions for Internet access over cellphone networks, and for potential new services that broadband providers could offer. In a joint blog post, the companies said these could include things like health care monitoring, “advanced educational services, or new entertainment and gaming options.”

The two companies are hoping to influence regulators and lawmakers in the debate over a principle known as net neutrality, which holds that Internet users should have equal access to all types of information online.

This principle is crucial for consumers and for fostering innovation among Internet entrepreneurs, Eric E. Schmidt, Google’s chief executive, said in a call with reporters. “The next two people in a garage really do need an open Internet,” he said.

But some proponents of net neutrality say that by excluding wireless and other online services, Google and Verizon are creating a loophole that could allow carriers to circumvent regulation meant to ensure openness.

The plan “creates an Internet for the haves and an Internet for the have-nots,” said Andrew Jay Schwartzman, senior vice president and policy director at the Media Access Project, an advocacy group in Washington and a member, along with Google, of the Open Internet Coalition. “It may make some services unaffordable for consumers and access to those services unavailable to new start-ups.”

Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive of Verizon, said the proposal excluded cellphone networks because the companies were “concerned about the imposition of too many rules” that could slow the growth of the wireless Web.

HINT: Eric and his cohorts are only interested in making money, "growth of the wireless Web" = exclusive (non-open) profits me. As if Wireless WEB is different than Internet WEB (WWW).

Personal message for Eric, UP YOURS!

PC GAMES - University of Washington's Foldit

"In a Video Game, Tackling the Complexities of Protein Folding" by JOHN MARKOFF, New York Times 8/4/2010

In a match that pitted video game players against the best known computer program designed for the task, the gamers outperformed the software in figuring out how 10 proteins fold into their three-dimensional configurations.

Proteins are essentially biological nano-machines that carry out myriad functions in the body, and biologists have long sought to understand how the long chains of amino acids that make up each protein fold into their specific configurations.

In May 2008, researchers at the University of Washington made a protein-folding video game called Foldit freely available via the Internet. The game, which was competitive and offered the puzzle-solving qualities of a game like Rubik’s Cube, quickly attracted a dedicated following of thousands of players.

The success of the Foldit players, the researchers report in this week’s issue of Nature, shows that nonscientists can collaborate to develop new strategies and algorithms that are distinct from traditional software solutions to the challenge of protein folding.

The researchers took pains to credit the volunteers who competed at Foldit in the last two years, listing “Foldit players” at the end of the report’s author list and noting that more than 57,000 players “contributed extensively through their feedback and gameplay.”

Zoran Popovic, a computer scientist at the University of Washington who was a lead author of the paper, said, “If things go according to plan, not too long from now, such massive author lists should be commonplace.” Foldit begins with a series of tutorials in which the player controls proteinlike structures on a computer display. In the game, as structures are modified, a score is calculated based on how well the protein is folded. Players are given a set of controls that let them do things like “shake,” “wiggle” and “rebuild” to reshape the backbone and the amino acid side shapes of a specific protein into a more efficient structure.

A list of top scores for each puzzle is posted so that players can compare their results. Players may also collaborate in teams, tracking progress on a separate list of group scores.

The protein-folding problem can be solved by computers using statistical and related software algorithms, but it takes an immense amount of processing power.

“The problem is that these proteins are far, far more complex than a robotic arm, and can ‘fold’ in time frames measured in billionths of a second,” Duke Ferris, founder of the GameRevolution Web site, wrote recently. “It’s like trying to solve a million-sided Rubik’s Cube while it also spins at 10,000 r.p.m. And that’s for just one ‘fold.’ ”

In a comparison involving 10 separate protein-folding puzzles, video game players matched the results generated by software solutions in three of the puzzles, outperformed them in five cases and found significantly better solutions in two others, according to the scientists.

In addition to the acuity of human pattern-recognition skills, the researchers noted that players outperformed the best software tools in other ways as well, writing: “Humans use a much more varied range of exploration methods than computers. Different players use different move sequences, both according to the puzzle type and throughout the duration of a puzzle.”

The Foldit project was inspired by the volunteers who were contributing the downtime on their home computers to power a protein-folding program called Rosetta@home. The computer donors could see the progress of the program on their screens, and they began to note inefficiencies in the software’s folding approach. That led the scientists to look for ways to systematically harness the skills of the human volunteers.

PC GAMES - PC Gaming is NOT Going to Die

"Are we at the beginning of a PC gaming renaissance?" by Dan Ackerman, CNet News 8/5/2010

The past several years have seen a steady drumbeat of negative prognostications for PC gaming, both as a creative medium and as a viable business. High-profile releases were steered to living room consoles, with perfunctory PC ports at best, and messy DRM and hardware incompatibility made many of the remaining PC games more trouble than they were worth.

Magazines such as Computer Gaming World shut down (after an embarrassing sponsored name change to Games for Windows Magazine) and the only bright spot seemed to be the online multiplayer game World of Warcraft--even if other MMO entries found it hard to bottle that lightning twice.

No one was more at the forefront playing Taps for PC gaming than myself, having gone from a cheerleading booster to sober realist in the space of a few short years.

Yet, for the first time in a long time, I find myself much more interested in what's going on the PC side of the video game industry than the console side. My office and home laptops are suddenly buzzing with new and upcoming games, including StarCraft II, Civilization V, and OnLive's various streaming-game offerings--whereas this year's big list of holiday season console releases elicits a shrug at best, filled by the annual installments of mass-market cash cows. How did this potential reversal of fortune take place?

First, the companies that make PC games and the consumers who play them all seemingly decided it was OK to stretch the boundaries and leave their respective comfort zones. The seeds were planted over the past few years as game publishers opened the door to new ways to distribute their wares, losing the most frustrating parts of the DRM equation with services such as Steam and Battle.net (say what you will about online authentication, it works a lot better than discs, especially for those of us who like to install games on multiple PCs).

The next step was online stores like Good Old Games that offer classic games for less than $10, completely DRM-free. It's amazing how much goodwill one can build up by not treating customers like criminals.

Third, we opened the doors to new kinds of games, most notably Facebook and other social media games. These may not be what classic Quake-playing twitch jockeys were asking for, but games such as FarmVille and FrontierVille have brought tens of millions of new gamers into the PC-gaming fold. To say these aren't "real" games sounds an awful lot like the late Mitch Miller complaining that rock 'n' roll wasn't real music.

Finally, we largely eliminated the PC-gaming hardware arms race. It's no longer a point of pride to brag about how much your customers will need to spend on their computer rigs to even barely run your game.

StarCraft II is a great example of many of these lessons. The long-awaited sequel looks great on a high-end PC, but also will run easily on a wide range of systems, and even Apple's basic integrated graphics 13-inch MacBook. Installation is as easy as downloading a client software package or using a DVD, but once your game is registered, you don't need a disc, and you can reinstall the game anywhere. I'll also add, as someone who never played the original StarCraft (heresy, I know), the game is surprisingly easy to pick up, and a lot of fun for casual multiplayer matches between friends.

Civilization V (releasing September 21) is another example that works under the new PC-gaming paradigm. More than in previous installments, there's a real emphasis on hand-holding new players as needed, while not dumbing down the experience for anyone else. Using the online service Steam as a distribution channel is also key; I can especially see Civ V players wanting to have the game at home, and them maybe installing it on a work laptop when traveling. Like StarCraft II, the game is also very flexible with hardware requirements, and I got a prerelease version to run well on systems as basic as an 11-inch high-end Netbook with integrated graphics and AMD's dual-core Neo processor.

We've written several times about the new online gaming service OnLive. Though still in an extended beta period, the high-concept idea is that A-list PC games are rendered remotely on server farms while you play, and the actual gameplay footage is beamed back to you in real time. It sounds far-fetched, and I was highly skeptical of the entire concept. But in our hands-on tests, it let us play all sorts of current games on nearly any laptop, including Netbooks. The fact that anyone can hypothetically play even the most hardware-intensive PC game is a great equalizer, and shouldn't be underestimated as a potential entry point for new gamers.

However, there's one formerly big part of the PC-gaming universe that won't be making a comeback, and that's the classic first-person shooter. Case in point: the last major PC-only shooter that generated a lot of buzz was Crysis, a game specifically designed to show off your expensive high-end gaming hardware. A few years later, the big-budget sequel is being pitched almost exclusively as a console game. Sure, there will also be a PC version of Crysis 2, but that's not the development focus any more. Doom, Wolfenstein, Quake, and others were the driving force behind PC gaming for many years, but in this new PC gaming renaissance, they're not getting invited along for the ride.

Update: I'm apparently not alone in my rediscovered appreciation for PC gaming, Kotaku.com says, "Love it or hate it, PC gaming seems to be having a great year."

ON THE LITE SIDE - Robonaut 2

"Robot butler for astronauts is a hit on Twitter"
By Zo Macintosh, MSNBC 8/5/2010

UBUNTU - Offerings from DELL

"Dell expands Ubuntu Linux desktop offerings" by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, ComputerWorld 7/27/2010

Excerpt

The latest panic in desktop-Linux-land was that Dell would no longer be selling Ubuntu pre-installed on laptops and netbooks. Alas, for those who love drama, it wasn't true. In fact, Dell is expanding its Ubuntu desktop offerings.

Gerry Carr the marketing manager for Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, told me that the stories that Dell will no longer be offering Ubuntu pre-installed on its hardware were "NOT true." Now, Anne Camden, a Dell PR manager, tells me that far from moving away from Ubuntu Linux, Dell is offering more Ubuntu choices than ever.

At present via the DELL link, they offer Ubuntu v9.04 on Laptops (only choice via Customize), v10.4 on Desktops. If you want v10.4 on their Laptop, you should use phone ordering. We use DELL systems at work and there is usually wider customization via phone than WEB.

UBUNTU - Goes Cloud

"Ubuntu Linux brings IBM DB2 to the cloud" by Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Computer World 7/21/2010

Excerpt

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, has always had many user and developer fans. Enterprise business fans? Not so much. Canonical hopes to change that with today's, July 21, launch of a virtual appliance of IBM's DB2 Express-C software running on the Ubuntu cloud computing platform, in private and public cloud configurations. The company also announced that IBM has validated the full version of DB2 software on Ubuntu 10.04.

This is all part of Canonical's plan to make Ubuntu just as much of an enterprise business player as Novell or Red Hat. Quietly Ubuntu has already, according to the company, "become one of the most popular guest operating systems on cloud services like Rackspace and Amazon EC2. Increasingly, it is also being deployed as the host cloud infrastructure layer by private organizations and ISPs. IBM DB2 Express-C software will be available however Ubuntu is deployed on a cloud."

If you don't trust the public clouds, you can use Ubuntu Enterprise Cloud. This combines Ubuntu 10.04 with the open-source Eucalyptus cloud software so creating your own cloud requires little more than plugging in USB-sticks and running installation routines on your existing servers.

WIN XP - Power Point Presentation to Movie

This post is about ways to convert a Microsoft Power Point Presentation to a movie.

I wanted to do this on occasion but did have the means 'till now. My problem is I do not have Microsoft Office on my system at home. I use Open Office Suite (open-source aka freeware).

I found a Convert PowerPoint To Video: Guide To The Best Free Services page which lists applications for conversion.

Problem, most I tried REQUIRED Microsoft Power Point Presentation to be installed to work.

The exception (NOT requiring Power Point) was Xilisoft PowerPoint to Video Converter.

It worked quite well, and does not need Power Point because it loads MS Power Point Reader as a plug-in.

There ARE drawbacks:

• I HAD to buy the Personal version (vs Free) because I didn't have Power Point installed


• It is a real resource hog once conversion starts, don't use ANY other application

This is just one Power Point Slide Show I converted.

UBUNTU - ECM Vendor Expands OS Support

My old readers may notice I've expanded this blog to include news about Ubuntu (Linux-Desktop OS). Ubuntu is what I use on a Notebook (aka Laptop) system to learn about Linux and Ubuntu.

I've deiced that Ubuntu is very good and worth mention. But I will restrict posts to news about Ubuntu, since I am not expert enough to give advice on Ubuntu.

"Alfresco certified for Ubuntu" by Maxwell Cooter, TechWorld 7/14/2010

Excerpt

Enterprise content management vendor Alfresco, has been certified to work on the Ubuntu stack. The company's Enterprise Edition 3.3 is now certified on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Server.

Ubuntu owner Canonical has been pushing the Linux distribution hard in the past few months so this move appears to support the growing acceptance of Ubuntu as an enterprise operating system.

"When we surveyed our customers about what future platforms to support, Ubuntu was the overwhelming choice," said Paul Hampton, Alfresco's director of product marketing.

ON THE LITE SIDE - Our Matrix Future

"Building One Big Brain" by Robert Wright, New York Times 7/6/2010

Excerpts

For your own sake, focus on this column. Don’t think about your Facebook feed or your inbox. Don’t click on the ad above or the links to the right. Don’t even click on links within the column.

Failing to focus — succumbing to digital distraction — can make you lose your mind, fears Nicholas Carr, author of the much-discussed book “The Shallows.” At least, it can make you lose little parts of your mind. The Internet, Carr suspects, “is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation.”

He’s not alone in his fears. Since his book came out there have been lots of ruminations — including one or two or three in The Times alone — on whether online technology is friend or foe, good for our brains or bad.

But maybe the terms of the debate — good for us or bad for us? — are a sign that we’re missing the point. Maybe the essential thing about technological evolution is that it’s not about us. Maybe it’s about something bigger than us — maybe something big and wonderful, maybe something big and spooky, but in any event something really, really big.
----
Don’t let the title of Kelly’s book terrify you. He assures us that he doesn’t think technology is conscious — at least, not “at this point.” For now, he says, technology’s “mechanical wants are not carefully considered deliberations but rather leanings.”

So relax; apparently we have a few years before Keanu Reeves gets stuffed into a gooey pod by robotic overlords who use people as batteries. Still, it’s notable that, before Reeves played that role in “The Matrix,” the movie’s directors gave him a copy of Kelly’s earlier book, “Out of Control,” as preparation. And Kelly does say in “What Technology Wants” that technology is increasingly like “a very complex organism that often follows its own urges.”

WINXP - Downloaded Installs (MSI)

This article is about software installers that you download, especially MSI files (Microsoft System Installer). Like: filename.msi

The problem that MSI files may present, is needing access to the original file to uninstall or repair the software.

In these cases, if you download the file to a temporary location then delete or move it after you run the installer, uninstall/repair options will not work because it will look for the MSI file in the original location.

Hint, if the download is a MSI file:

1. Download it to whatever location is your normal for your downloads BUT do NOT run it yet


2. Decide where you are actually going to install the program, example C:\Program Files\program-name, and create the folder manually


3. Now create a sub-folder, like C:\Program Files\program-name\Installer


4. Now move the filename.msi into the Installer folder and run it from there


5. Make sure you choose a custom installation and select C:\Program Files\program-name as the install folder.

Doing this will ensure all uninstall/repair entries in the Registry point to the Installer folder where the original MSI file is located.

This procedure MAY also be needed if the download is a ZIP file that contains ONLY a MSI file.

Most installers that are filename.exe or ZIP files containing Setup.exe will not need this procedure because the correct Registry entries for uninstall/repair and made.

PC SECURITY - Copy Machines Put Companies, and you, at RISK!

Copy Machines have hard drive with thousands of documents on them and anyone can buy used ones form warehouses, putting extremely sensitive documents in anyone's hands.

!! WARNING !!
sensitive and personal information at risk

ON THE LITE SIDE - Statler & Waldorf: The Internet

The Muppets: Statler & Waldorf: Meh

WinXP - eMail Clients & Microsoft Exchange Servers

This post is about eMail Clients Pegasus and Thunderbird when using a Microsoft Exchange Server.

The company I work for recently changed from a local (non-SSL) eMail Server to a Microsoft Cloud Exchange Server (microsoftonline.com), using SSL security. This presented some setup problems with Pegasus and Thunderbird that some users prefer.

Below are the screenshots (click on image for full view) of the settings that worked.

• PEGASUS:














• THUNDERBIRD:

The Port Numbers used are standard for SSL.


WARNING: Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 users

• You should already have Windows Search 4.o installed, but....


• ...IF you do not, it is critical that you install Windows Search 4.o BEFORE opening Outlook 2007.

IN ADDITION: If you are updating your eMail Account to a Microsoft Exchange Server, you should edit your eMail Account via Control Panel, eMail icon, NOT by opening Outlook.

OT - Win7 [Start] Menu Locations

So, in Windows 7, Microsoft changed the location of the [Start] Menu as follows.

• Win7 User [Start] Menu location

C:\Users\profile-name\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs


• "Win7 All Users" [Start] Menu location

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs


• "Win7 All Users" Desktop

C:\Users\Public\Desktop

My question is why for heavens sake? Especially the location of "All Users" [Start] Menu. What was wrong with keeping the convention like C:\Users\All Users\ ? I have no problem with the change of C:\Documents and Settings -> C:\Users, at least this is logical.

OT - Microsoft Outlook

Due to a recent experience with Microsoft Outlook I've decided to post on this.

Win7 does NOT include Outlook Express, so the Win7 Easy Transfer tool cannot import Express emails. It DOES import Office Outlook emails. (Win7 Easy Transfer works VERY well by the way)

Be aware that the format of Outlook mailbox files (filename.pst) changed after Outlook 2000. Outlook 2003 thru 2007 use MIME. To use Outlook 2000 mailbox files you must import them to newer versions of Outlook mailbox files.

1. First without opening Outlook, rename your transferred 2000 mailbox files, examples:


• Outlook.pst -> Outlook2000.pst


• Archive.pst -> Archive2000.pst



2. If you use a Transfer Tool (like Win7 Easy Transfer) AND you have not used Outlook yet, you should be offered the option to import mailbox files when you first start Outlook. Simply import the 2 renamed files above (they should be shown as being old format).



3. Otherwise you can manually import via File menu, Data File Management.


Use Outlook's Help: Search "Convert a non-Unicode data file" and you should see the link at the top of the listing.

Just follow the step-by-step instructions to import:


• Outlook2000.pst -> Outlook.pst


• Archive2000.pst -> Archive.pst

PC SECURITY - Uncle Sam Wants You

"Uncle Sam Wants You (To Fight Hackers)" by Rachael King, Business Exchange

Excerpt

The U.S. government is stepping up recruitment of engineers who can help wage cyberwar

Kyle Osborn does a good job impersonating a technical support rep. On a recent day in Southern California, the 19-year-old is working the phones, trying to persuade people on the other end to download malicious software.

In cybercrime circles, this is called "social engineering," and criminals use the tactics to circumvent companies' Internet security software by tricking employees to download harmful software or cough up passwords. Osborn doesn't look the part of a hacker, with his short blond hair, baby face, and glasses. Yet he's persuasive—after a few calls, he finds an employee who agrees to download malicious software that will open a door into the computer network and let Osborn break in.

In real life, Osborn isn't a cybercriminal; he's a student participating in a cyberdefense competition at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif., that drew about 65 students from Western colleges. The campus is situated on a former ranch east of Los Angeles. Horses and sheep still graze in the pastures.

Sneaky, VERY sneaky.

WINXP - Parted Magic

Ever need to troubleshoot or fix a hard drive?

I've found a nice utility: Parted Magic (Open Source freeware)

Note the, "If you would like to use Parted Magic from a CD" on their page, which is a download of an ISO image you can write to CD, and have the Parted Magic LiveCD (bootable).

You boot to the CD and get a Linux Desktop (screenshot, outdated) where you can run hard drive tools.

• Ghost for Linux


• Linux Partition Manager (can handle NTFS partitions)


• TestDisk from CGSecurity

I also like, that after reaching the Linux Desktop (in a RAM-Disk) it ejects the CD automatically. Therefore if you select to reboot, it will not boot to the CD.

(click for larger view)

ON THE LITE SIDE - High-Tech Security

WINXP - Shortcut to Activate Screen Saver

This is for those who need a quick way to activate your Screen Saver.

I found out that Locking your System (via the WinLogo Keyboard Shortcut) is NOT the same as activating Screen Saver. Locking your System MAY cause problems with automated functions like Scheduled Tasks or networking.

You need to create a Shortcut to your Screen Saver .SCR file.

See this Screen Saver How-To article. It includes step-by-step instructions and screenshots.

Once you have the Shortcut, you can place it wherever you want, like your Quick Launch Bar where you can activate your Screen Saver with one click.