Recently Microsoft convinced a US judge to issue a court order shutting down 277 internet domains infected with malware and being used by the Waledac botnet. It is estimated that 80% of unsolicited email originates from botnets and an estimate of 1.5 billi
on spam messages were being sent from these “zombie” computers everyday. In many cases the owners of these machines were entirely unaware that their computer was infected at all. Upon receiving the permission of US courts to disrupt this system, Microsoft severed the connection to most of these computers and cut off traffic to Waledac’s website. The effect of this action is however unclear as experts are divided as to the degree to which this has reduced worldwide spam proliferation. Richard Cox, the cheif information officer at the anti-spam service known as Spamhaus was quoted as saying “Waledac was not a high threat, its less than 1% of spam traffic.” Regardless public opinion is virtually unanimous in condoning this step as a favorable one. I personally see this as a small step towards success in the war against spam e-mail, but I am pessimistic about it having any long lasting effects. Spam it seems is the unintended negative consequence associated with the convenience of e-mail. People have resigned themselves to, in many cases, having to spend ten of fifteen minutes each day sifting through the morass of junk mail. As the world shifts away from the tangible mail of the past towards electronic mail the effects of this spam will become all the more widespread. True elimination of this problem would, however, require giving a few individuals a large degree of control over the internet, which many people are not willing to do at the moment. Perhaps, however, as more and more people turn to email as a main source of communication these attitudes towards spam will shift and harsher measures will be taken.
Archive for February, 2010
One Small Step Against Spam….
February 27th, 2010Do electronic kiosks work?
February 26th, 2010
When we look at successful electronic kiosks, what comes to mind are the types that promote advertizing, those that collect information and ATM’s. The question is, are there other uses for electronic kiosks now that handheld devices have become such an important part of our lives?
A group out of Connecticut has created a kiosk which they believe will introduce the generation of kiosks to the main-stream market. The group has designed a kiosk which will allow the use of tools we are familiar with such as using the internet and ordering products online, as well as collecting information from customers in order to sell to targeted business groups. Either to the retail partner where the kiosk is placed or to marketing groups which could use the information to send emails or mailers for selected products or offers.
So the question is will potential customers be interested in using such a kiosk to order products and become subjected to these marketing campaigns or are we more comfortable ordering products from the comfort of our own homes from sites where we usually do our shopping?
The technology aspect of these kiosks is interesting in its own as it does give companies the ability to offer more products, sizes and selection, than would be offered in their brick and mortar environment. It also offers stores the added use of the digital displays while customers are shopping, as additional advertising space, attracting customers to special offers or the latest products. Could this advertising space more valuable than the database of collected information or is the combination of the two which becomes that next generation of kiosks we will see in the malls, coffee shops, bars and in traditional retail stores themselves?
If we take a look at how technology has changes over the last 5-10 years, handheld devises have become the latest way of searching the internet and ordering products right from our mobile devices. In most cases we are comfortable linking our cells to websites and if we happen to be on campus or in a Starbucks or Penera, we might have to enter a little bit of information to gain access to the Wifi offered on-site, but it becomes second nature and accept the risks that come along with it. We know we might expect small amounts of spam from registering at a new location, but for the most part we know where the information or to whom, it is being offered to. With a kiosk in a mall, are we really sure who will get our personal information and have we as a collective, become leery of where we give what information?
No Such Thing as a Free Lunch; Google Buzz Encounters Privacy Issues
February 24th, 2010http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=3822&tag=nl.e101
Over the last decade, Google has had the reputation of being the “golden child” in the tech world, claiming to put the needs of the users first, and being focused on engineering over profits. Users have tacitly trusted Google to only use their information for explicit needs such as searching and emailing. But the recent unveiling of Google Buzz is causing a privacy stir. Within hours of its launch, Buzz was turning contacts most often emailed into Google Buzz Friends, exposing the world to the person’s Google profile. In creating the automatic friends list, Google was trying to streamline the process of setting up a new social media site. What the company thought was helpful turned out to be harmful. Perhaps it has to do with age – younger users don’t think twice about personal information and pictures so readily accessible. The older set feels more strongly about one picture of them with a beer in their hand haunting them in their next life. The bottom line is, your privacy is sacrificed as soon as you register for a free email service or social website. I think I’ll buck up and go back to RCN.
New Technology = New Garbage
February 23rd, 2010Everyday is seems like a new piece of technology comes out, and another one of your possessions gets outdated. It’s getting harder to keep up with the “latest new thing”. Pressure on people to always be updating their electronics has led to a giant surge of E-waste. E-waste is the surplus, obsolete, or broken electronic devices that become un-discard able garbage. Although it is great for the economy that people have to update things like cell phones, computers, televisions, and especially refrigerators, the dark side of the matter is that nobody knows what to do with the rest of it.
Although there are laws and regulations in the U.S. the prevent people from irresponsibly disposing of outdated goods, there are many countries that just don’t really care about the problem. What ends of happening is there are mass amounts of E-waste that are shipped off to these developing countries and improperly disposed of. You would be surprised how many poisonous materials go into the making of these products and even more surprised at how close in contact people are coming to them.
A child sits amoungst a pile of wires and E-waste
By 2020, E-waste levels in some of the most affected countries (Including India, South Africa and China) will increase by some 500 percent. Not all countries are suffering from imported waste, in fact, China has banned imported E-waste, but is still suffering in its own toxins being the number two contributor to the problem, second to the United States. In 2010 China produced 2.3 million tons of E-waste, U.S. produced 3 million.
Toxins in computers include barium, beryllium, cadmium, hexavelent chromium, lead, mercury, phosphorus, and PCBs. In China, a popular form of disposal is burning the waste, which released deadly toxins into the air. Children actually play in the mountains of trash that has accumulated in their backyards. Some computer manufacturers such as Dell, HP, and Apple have committed to making more eco friendly computers in response to pressure from local organizations such as Greenpeace.
Maybe the UN can band together and set some international laws in stone. Awareness of the subject is increasing and hopefully we wont be seeing those predicted numbers ten years from now.
Read from:
UN: Tidal Wave of E-Waste Poisoning Developing Nations
On Technewsworld.com
Kindle Dwindle
February 22nd, 2010
CNet.com article: Feb 18, 2010
Amazon recently announced they released a new Blackberry app which allows users to download the Kindle software to purchase and read books on their Blackberry. Two other mobile devices where the Kindle application is presently available are the IPhone and the IPod Touch. Plans to offer this application to Macs and the IPad are currently in the works. The idea behind this move is to take an advantage over other eBook distributors like Barnes and Noble by allowing other hardware to operate the software and increasing the availability. The Kindle is priced at $259 and is sold exclusively through Amazon. The Blackberry download is free and the average cost for purchases is $9.99.
While it does expand the product availablity, I believe that it actually hurts Amazon.
They developed the Kindle to enter a previously vacant market. By enabling use on different hardware, it actually deters consumers from buying an actual Kindle. I believe that this is just a lazy attempt to try and hold on to the eBook market without having to invest money to create upgrades to the already existing Kindle. I believe they had a great idea and other brands such as Barnes and Noble and even Apple thought so too, hence why they have manuevered into the eBook reader market. A little investment and innovation could propel their original idea into the dominating hardware. Instead I get the sense that Amazon is smelling blood in the water and it’s their own. They have one thing going for them. Flexibility. An appealing feature is that once you purchase a book from them you can read it on a Blackberry, Kindle, Ipod Touch/IPhone, and Windows PCs. This offers greater flexibility in minimizing the amount of gadgets you carry on a daily basis. Personally, this alone is attractive as I have one or more of the devices that support the Kindle software. This is also appealing to customers who might not typically buy the Kindle. As a Blackberry user, I can’t imagine that this would be good to use for long term reading. The screen on a Blackberry isn’t very big. So the text would be small and very hard to read or large and would take longer to read. In addition, depending on the model of Blackberry, the battery life might not last as long.
I think that Amazon should stop playing the game conservatively and just go for it. They have generated enough of a customer base to make changes to their current hardware offering by listening to their customer needs and develop a Kindle product tailored more towards what their customers want and what would convert new potential customers. In order to maintain an edge means that you have to change. If not, Amazon runs the risk of being overshadowed by hardware manufacturers who develop deals with the publishers directly vs. dealing with Amazon.
Google Attack
February 22nd, 2010http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-10457629-245.html :
While this article does not give enough detailed evidence to say that the Chinese government is basically sanctioning cyber-warfare against an American corporation, I would say that this article seems fairly damning to a Chinese government that denies any involvement in the Google issue. I remember reading somewhere about a Chinese military officer who wrote a report which encouraged a methodology of total warfare for the 21st century. I am reme
mbering it because in the report, the officer specifically called for the Chinese government to use cyber-warfare. We know well China’s human rights issues, so the hack into activists accounts is very suspicious to begin with. Add to that that the computer attacks originated from a school that probably does have ties to the Chinese military. I really would not be surprised to learn that the Chinese are utilizing students to launch cyber-attacks against “threats foreign and domestic.” It’s a great way to subvert the trail that leads back to the Chinese government itself.
At&T Now Offers The Android
February 22nd, 2010In this article, http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20100218/bs_nf/71736, entitled AT&T Becomes Last of Big Four Carriers to Offer Android, talks about how AT&T now carries an Android based phone and will come out with two more Android based phones within the first half of the year. AT&T claims that there will be a new smartphone from HTC and Dell’s first smartphone will be released within the first half of this year.
Now the idea of AT&T releasing an Android based phone seems almost pointless because in my opinion, AT&T has the worst service out of the major cell phone carriers and the only reason that they are still doing alright now is because they offer the iphone exclusively. I just don’t see why someone would choose to purchase an Android phone with the AT&T network. I dont’ even see why anyone would decide to go with AT&T as their carrier unless they were doing so specifically to obtain an iphone, so the idea of introducing an Android seems somewhat pointless to me. 
Web is among world’s ‘destructive’ technologies
February 22nd, 2010Sam Harris is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. He was recently aked a question by CNN producer John D. Sutter while at TED Conference in Long Beach, California.
The question was what is the most destructive technology on the planet? Surprisingly, he answered that the internet is. He did say that its not necessarily the internet but what we can use the internet for that is dangerous and destructive. Here is the full article.
I do not agree with him in the sence that the internet is not a problem at all. The problem is us humans and what we do with it. It is up to our conscious and intelligence to use any tool for the betterment of humanity. A perfect example of this is the atomic bomb. Yes its purpose was for mass destruction. But it also ushered in the atomic age. We now have nuclear power plants that provide us with much cleaner energy than other methods. When the arrow was invented, it probably was invented for hunting, yet it was also used for war.
Any new technology has the potential to be used for both good and bad. We have always had to choose between those two options. Nothing has changed. What we really need to worry about is to educate ourselves about the internet and its diversity and put it to good use.
Alysson Luiz Bastos
Netbooks vs. iPad
February 22nd, 2010
With Steve Jobs recent announcement regarding the release of the iPad, many consumers have already begun to stack Apple’s newest product up against its closest competitor, Netbooks. One article that I ran into listed 42 reasons as to why Netbooks are better than iPads. Some of his more convincing reasons include: Java compatibility, multi-tasking, and the inclusion of of USB ports. While it is hard to argue against some of these more compelling reasons, the author fails to mention some of the iPads distinct advantages over Netbooks. I’ve listed five such reasons below:
1) The iPad comes with integrated 3G. The fact that AT&T is not requiring a contract to use the service only underscores this advantage. While it is possible to get 3G network cards in Netbooks, it is not industry standard, at least yet. The iPads integrated, pay per-month 3G access will facilitate its second advantage, which is
2) Web browsing is more pleasurable on a multi-touch screen. The iPad takes the web browsing style that people fell in love with on the iPhone and iTouch to the next level. The added multi-touch ability will make surfing the internet even more fun.
3) Better average battery life. Battery life has been an issue on a number of Netbooks. With the iPad, the battery is standardized and should last 8-10 hours, which is longer than most Netbooks, which average 4-6 hours.
4) The iPad is more powerful. The average processing power of a Netbook is less than that of the iPad. The additional power leads to better gaming, video and e-book experiences.
5) Access to all iPhone/iTouch applications. Undoubtedly, there will be a number of applications that will be specifically designed for the iPad. But, until then, the iPad will still benefit from all of the apps that are available for the iPhone/iTouch. Many of the applications are unique and do not have similar substitutes on Netbooks.
These are just five of a number of different advantages that iPads have over Netbooks. Furthermore, if Apple ever manages to release a version of OS X for the iPad as well, many of the critics’ complaints will be silenced. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how the sales stack up before we can declare any definitive winner.
Will the Internet Ultimately Kill the DVD?
February 22nd, 2010In an article I read on Boston.com entitled “Online movie-streaming options may turn discs into dinosaurs” Haiwatha Bray talks about how the dvd and blue ray will eventually go the way of the laser disc and vhs tape as streaming movies through the internet becomes ever increasingly popular.
I agree with a good amount of what the author is talking about because just like any advancement in technology, something old has to go due to a decrease in usability. What bothers me though is that she writes “And a Netflix spokesman said his company fully expects to be renting discs by mail for the next 20 years”. I wholeheartedly disagree with this statement because it only took dvds a few years to take over the VHS market and now with the technology available to stream movies straight to Internet ready televisions in pristine 1080p resolution with no lag its only a matter of time before every household will want to use this technology. There is also a huge advantage for the environment by going through the Internet because there will be less dvds being produced which means less broken discs.
I have only had the chance to use the Netflix application through friends xbox 360’s and I was very impressed with it. one part that really impressed me was that the streaming helps the movie studios cash in on compulsive spending because alot of people are willing to watch a certain movie at a certain time but they either do not want to drive to the store or they do not want to wait the 2-4 days it takes Netflix to reach your mailbox depending on your location. Also with dvd by mail you run the risk of the dvd arriving in a damaged state which can be very frustrating because that means another week of no movie while you wait for them to send you a new one
