Friday, July 21, 2006

July 21, 2006

This is a bit geeky, but worth reading... Would you expect the Wharton B-school to publish articles like these?

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1526&specialid=55

Tantek Çelik and Rohit Khare: The Progress and the Promise of Microformats

Published: July 20, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton

The microformats movement was officially launched with the unveiling of the Microformats.org website one year ago at Supernova 2005. At that time, Knowledge@Wharton spoke with Tantek Çelik, one of the founders of Microformats.org, about his vision for a more flexible worldwide web with content that can be easily interpreted, collected, and repurposed for other applications.

Microformats are simple extensions to the standard HTML tags used to create web pages. By including the additional microformat markup, web pages go from merely presenting the visual display of content to embodying its meaning. When a traditional web page contains information about an event, for example, the HTML markup conveys little more than the formatting of the text describing the event. But the addition of microformatting can unambiguously identify the date, start time, end time, and venue for the event. With microformat extensions added to the HTML tags, software can add the event to a personal datebook, aggregate content from different web pages into a comprehensive calendar, or let people "mash up" the content in new ways such as adding events to online maps or other web pages.



Same comment, geeky but interesting.

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1525&specialid=55

The Rise of the 'Videonet'

Published: July 20, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton

A couple of years ago, only a handful of Internet sites existed for publishing videos uploaded by users. Today there are more than 225 such sites, providing the infrastructure to deliver videos created by amateurs and professionals alike.

What's next? As video content -- the distribution of which has been historically controlled by a few broadcast networks and cable companies -- meets the decentralized, user-centric worldwide web, are we seeing the dawn of a new medium, a "videonet" that will redefine the media landscape? At the recent Supernova 2006 conference co-hosted by Wharton in San Francisco, a panel of video entrepreneurs and industry experts predicted that virtually every organization marketing to consumers -- from TV stations and sports teams to soft drink and detergent makers -- will rapidly develop a video presence on the Internet. And it may not stop there. If video publishing grows at rate similar to that of websites and blogs in recent years, what does it mean for traditional broadcasters, businesses, and users alike?



Article three. A new area for the Privacy Foundation?

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1523&specialid=55

What's the Future of Desktop Software -- and How Will It Affect Your Privacy?

Published: July 20, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton

Twenty years ago, the personal computer began to revolutionize the way we work and play. In recent years, though, the Internet has been the primary source of technological innovation, offering us everything from online auctions to networked research libraries. As web-based applications encroach on the desktop's turf and a myriad of smart "devices" perform increasingly computer-like functions, will traditional desktop software begin to fade away? And, what are the implications of moving from a private desktop to Internet-based computing, especially when it comes to sharing personal and financial data and protecting individual privacy?



99% of consumers hate it, so why do publishers love it?

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/20/1725253&from=rss

The History of Hacking DRM

Posted by Zonk on Thursday July 20, @04:13PM from the proud-tradition dept. Encryption Music Movies

phaedo00 writes "Ars Technica writer Nate Anderson has penned an in-depth look into past DRM-crackings and what the future looks like for people who are vehemently anti-DRM: 'Like a creeping fog, DRM smothers more and more media in its clammy embrace, but the sun still shines down on isolated patches of the landscape. This isn't always due to the decisions of corporate executives; often it's the work of hackers who devote considerable skill to cracking the digital locks that guard everything from DVDs to e-books. Their reasons are complicated and range from the philosophical to the criminal, but their goals are the same: no more DRM.'"



Woody Allen started his career with “What's up tiger lily?” so maybe this has a future!

http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/20/2327236&from=rss

Former Host and Writer of MST3K Launches RiffTrax

Posted by CowboyNeal on Thursday July 20, @08:14PM from the invention-exchange dept. Movies It's funny. Laugh. Sci-Fi

dougman writes "Today James Lileks mentioned his 'friend and all-around comic genius/good egg Michael J. Nelson' called, to tell him about his brilliant new project, RiffTrax. Here's the pitch: '...free-lance commentary tracks. Bottom line: Mystery Science Theater 3000-style commentary for big famous beloved movies like Titanic or The Matrix. The hitch: you have to provide the movie. It's genius: no worries about copyright. You buy the commentary tracks for $1.99, rent the movie or get it out of your collection, load the commentary on your iPod or burn it to a disk, then watch them together in true you-got-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate bliss. ... The first movie is Roadhouse." Cool! I voted for The Matrix as the next one to be riffed." While I (and many others I know) preferred Joel, Mike was not without his share of funny moments too. Without Crow and Servo it just might not be the same, though.



Tools & Techniques

http://www.techweb.com/wire/ebiz/190900343%3bjsessionid=FK2B4UZ3HRE50QSNDLQCKHSCJUNN2JVN

Researcher Developing Anti-RFID Device

By Laurie Sullivan, TechWeb Technology News July 20, 2006 (2:22 PM EDT)

Researchers in Amsterdam say they have completed a device that prevents radio frequency identification tags from being read. The university professor overseeing the project says the goal is to protect people from a technology that is gaining wide acceptance but has the potential to compromise consumer privacy.



http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1992128,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

PowerPoint Zero-Day Attack Points to Corporate Espionage

July 20, 2006 By Ryan Naraine

A second Trojan used in the latest zero-day attack against Microsoft Office contains characteristics that pinpoint corporate espionage as the main motive, according to virus hunters tracking the threat.

According to an alert from Symantec, a backdoor called Trojan.Riler.F is installing itself as a layered service provider, or LSP, allowing it access to every piece of data entering and leaving the infected computer.



This is why more IT types need degrees in both IT and business (like yours truly)

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1992262,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594

Geeks Versus Suits: The Great Boardroom Schism

By Deborah Rothberg July 20, 2006

... While 73 percent of responding IT executives said they believe they understand their company's business extremely or very well, 43 percent of general business managers agreed.

Meanwhile, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of both the IT executives and general business managers agreed that senior business managers only understand how to leverage IT either "somewhat" or "not very/not at all" well.

Furthermore, 61 percent of CIOs identified a lack of "synergies across business units" as a major obstacle to progress in a study released in February 2005 by the Bathwick Group.

In the same survey, over half (56 percent) of business managers said they believe IT is under-delivering on investment dollars.



We're the government. We don't have to make sense...

http://techdirt.com/articles/20060720/1841253.shtml

Indian Government Threatens To Fine ISPs That Blocked Blogs... On Their Order

from the confusion-abounds dept

One of the big stories this week that we haven't written anything about is the "blog blockade" in India. One of the reasons we haven't touched it is because there was so little information about what was actually going on. The story eventually settled on the fact that the government had asked ISPs to block certain sites as a "precautionary measure" in dealing with terrorist attacks. However, there was some confusion over whether or not the order was just to block a few blogs or the entire sites (which is what happened). However, there's now a twist. As the story has gained more prominence and more outrage, the Indian government has responded oddly. Not only are they claiming they didn't order the full blockade (just of a few subdomains), they're now asking the ISPs to explain why the government should not take action against the ISPs for blocking the full sites. In other words, they made an order that the ISPs clearly did not understand -- and now they're going to blame and punish the ISPs for misunderstanding their orders. That would be a lot more credible if so many ISPs hadn't banned the full sites. With so many ISPs all interpreting the ban the same way, it certainly seems odd for the government to suddenly be angry about it. It sounds like they're just trying to make an excuse now that they realize how angry everyone is.



To stop innovation is to invite substitutes... I think Michael Porter would agree.

http://techdirt.com/articles/20060721/0310239.shtml

Why The Telcos Hate Innovation

from the it's-a-threat dept

Business Week is running a fascinating essay that highlights all the reasons why the telcos hate innovation. They're not technology companies, which is highlighted by how little they spend on research. They're in the business of extracting as much money as they can from their network right now -- which is a short-sighted and eventually self-destructive plan. They view real innovation as a threat, not an opportunity, because tech innovation is usually about driving down the cost of infrastructure. That doesn't help them squeeze more money out of it. As the writer of the essay points out, this is evident in the telcos continued fight against things like muni-WiFi, even as they quietly get involved in muni-WiFi projects themselves.

The article also highlights how this lack of technological innovation from within the telcos means that even in areas where they have every opportunity to innovate, such as IPTV, all they're doing is catching up to what the cable providers already deliver. They're missing the opportunity to do much more. In fact, this is a great way to view the net neutrality issue. If the telcos were really about promoting innovation (and the author makes fun of AT&T for claiming it needs to merge with BellSouth to be able to innovate), then network neutrality wouldn't be an issue at all. The company would focus on making its platform (the network) as accessible and as fast as possible -- to encourage more innovation and development from third parties. Instead, the telcos focus, not on encouraging innovation, but on setting up roadblocks. The roadblocks give them the power to squeeze more money out of the network -- but at the expense of actual innovation that would make their networks that much more valuable.



This could be VERY useful.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/07/20/cocomment-releases-key-new-functions/

CoComment upgrades, now worth using

Marshall Kirkpatrick July 20 2006

CoComment is a popular browser tool for tracking conversations in the comments sections of blogs. It catches the comments you’ve made around the web and comments made after yours. It was initially launched in February. Late last night West Coast time, the Geneva based service made a major upgrade, largely in response to user requests. The improvements were much needed.



Tools & Techniques

http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/view/66/24/

Cool and Illegal Wireless Hotspot Hacks

By Daniel V. Hoffman, CISSP, CWNA, CEH

So, why write an article called "Cool and Illegal Wireless Hacks" that details how to perform hotspot hacks? Some would say it is irresponsible and enables those with ill intent to hack unsuspecting victim's machines. It really depends which way you look at it. Would you rather be left in the dark on what types of attacks can occur, how they are performed and not know how to protect yourself against them? Doing so would not make the threats go away; in part, you would simply be denying that they exist. Surely, it is safer to be open and honest about the threats, understand how they can occur then become educated on and implement the appropriate countermeasures. In large part, that is why my articles always detail not only how to perform the hacks, but really focus on how to protect against them. The purpose is not to teach people how to hack, but rather to educate on how to prevent systems from being exploited.



This might be useful. The site was swamped when I tried to look at it.

http://digg.com/software/PDFCreator_-_A_free_tool_to_create_PDF_files_from_windows_apps

PDFCreator - A free tool to create PDF files from windows apps

BlackPhantom submitted by BlackPhantom 15 hours 18 minutes ago (via http://www.pdfforge.org/products/pdfcreator/ )

PDFCreator is a free tool to create PDF files from nearly any Windows application.



I grabbed this for my students.

http://www.usd.edu/trio/tut/excel/

TRIO programs at the University of South Dakota

This is a basic tutorial of Excel. START HERE Specific examples may refer to Excel (but most items discussed should work in other spreadsheets).

I might also add some more advanced examples w/downloads if there is interest and I find some time.



One of those amusing and educational British shows. The one on the FAX machine traces the history back before the telephone was invented...

http://digg.com/videos_educational/The_Secret_Life_Of_Machines

The Secret Life Of Machines

hemphill81 submitted by hemphill81 20 hours 43 minutes ago (via http://sciencezero.4hv.org/tslom.htm )

If you like Myth Busters you should check out The Secret Life Of Machines. This show was great I love the washing machine episode where they flip a car to show you how a solenoid valve works. I recommend using the BitTorrent downloads.

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