Monday - 28 August 2000
OS Vulnerabilities. InfoWorld's Security Watch column (see it here) points to some interesting statistics over at BugTraq (see it here). They (BugTraq) tracked the number of reported security vulnerabilities over the last four years by operating system (OS). Below are those numbers sorted by total. While seeing Windows NT near the bottom of the list is no surprise, seeing Solaris and AIX is. Be sure to read all of the disclaimers over at BugTraq. And as they say; "We leave the interpretation of these numbers to you."
| OS | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | Total |
| MacOS X Server | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| BeOS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Netware | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| MacOS | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| OpenBSD | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 9 |
| BSD/OS | 6 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 15 |
| SCO Unix | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 15 |
| NetBSD | 1 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 18 |
| Unixware | 0 | 3 | 14 | 2 | 19 |
| Slackware | 3 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 21 |
| HP-UX | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 24 |
| SuSE | 0 | 0 | 21 | 5 | 26 |
| FreeBSD | 4 | 2 | 18 | 6 | 30 |
| Debian | 2 | 2 | 29 | 5 | 38 |
| BSD (aggr.) | 8 | 8 | 26 | 7 | 49 |
| IRIX | 26 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 50 |
| Win3.1/95/98 | 1 | 1 | 46 | 13 | 61 |
| RedHat | 5 | 10 | 38 | 17 | 70 |
| AIX | 20 | 38 | 10 | 3 | 71 |
| Solaris | 24 | 31 | 34 | 7 | 96 |
| WinNT | 4 | 6 | 99 | 37 | 146 |
| Linux (aggr.) | 10 | 23 | 84 | 30 | 147 |
No Rest for the Weary. In what will soon become a common refrain here, I need to get going. I have a hundred pages to read by tomorrow for my class so I am out of here. Aloha!
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Tuesday - 29 August 2000
The Tao of Steve. The Los Angeles Times has an article on Duncan "Steve" North (see it here). So who is he? Other than the subject of the sneak hit of the Sundance Film Festival, author of his own advice column (here), soon to be published author, and 245 lb. (111 kg.) womanizer. Womanizer?
Yes. Womanizer. Since the age of 16, when he first picked up a woman and realized the secret to success was threefold (loosely based on the Tao):
Rid themselves of desire;
Exhibit excellence;
and then retreat.
He apparently has problems keeping a relationship going but he sure seems to be able to start then okay.
DSL Meltdown at Pacific Bell. The Times is also reporting that Pacific Bell is "mishandling one of the largest business opportunities in the telecommunications industry's history, failing to efficiently deliver high-speed Internet access to excited consumers and disaffecting tens of thousands in the process, according to public records and state regulators" (see the story here).
The story goes on to say that customers are "fuming over no-show installers, 'lost' orders, and broken promises." And when DSL is finally installed, they suffer through "double-billing errors, conflicting information about DSL availability, delayed installation and repairs and poorly trained technicians." Gee, sounds like the actions of a monopoly.
Faulty Torpedo Sank Kursk? The New York Times reports (see it here) acoustic evidence recorded aboard the attack submarine USS Memphis, and US spy ship Loyal, both monitoring the Russian exercises in the Barents Sea, indicate the sinking of the Kursk as a result of "a rocket-propelled torpedo being loaded or launched as part of an exercise misfired, its engine or its fuel exploding."
The Times also quotes "a former submarine officer (Sergei V. Zhekov) who is a member of a governmental commission investigating the explosion said a new weapons system was being tested on board the Kursk when it sank."
More reading to do for class this evening so I am out of here. Aloha!
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Hump Day Wednesday - 30 August 2000
Popping Up Allover. There was a
Backchannel question on how to automatically open a new
browser window. I know of at least one way. And it involves
using the javascript command
window.open. You can take a look at a
sample page I put together to demonstrate its use here. Note that your
browser must allow the execution of javascript. I've tested
it with IE 5.50 and Opera 4.02 and both work. But when I
used Netscape 4.75 it refused to display the popup. I don't
know why. If you do, let me know.
In either case, the page is for demonstration purposes only and I take no responsibility on how people use it. Most people find it annoying to have windows popup before their eyes. So if you do use this, use it sparingly and wisely.
FormMail 1.6 Another question came up this morning via the Backchannel. Namely, what Perl script to use when you want to send the contents of an HTML form to a mail server. The one I've seen used the most, the one I use, and one that Pair.com (the host to my domain) uses is Matt Wright's FormMail (see it here). It uses the POST action to move the data to the script. The script then parses the data and sends it on to your mail server. As always, using Perl scripts do entail a security risk (hey Tom!). So you must decide whether the risk is overcome by the benefits of using scripts.
Sony, No Baloney. I forgot to mention that we got SWCNBD a new PC this past weekend. The one she had been using, a P-5 166 was getting a little long in the tooth. So we replaced it with a Sony VAIO PCV-J100 (see it here). We got it from CompUsa for $799 (after rebates) including a 15-inch HMD-A100 Sony monitor (see it here). The CPU is a 600 MHz Celeron. 64MB of RAM. And 16GB ultra66-ATA HD. Its got most of the twiddly bits that you would want, including a CD burner, FireWire ports, Fast Ethernet card, modem, and various pre-loaded programs. Not a bad deal for the price. It won't win a speed contests but its response is crisp and the monitor is also.
Yes, Dear. So, last night, my wife tells me to take out the trash because it's trash day today. So I dutifully say; "Yes, Dear." Gather up the trash. Take it out to the bin. And start taking the bin out to the curb. About half-way there I realize that no one else has their trash out. Thinking at the speed of an 8088, I realize that trash day is Thursday, not Wednesday. Sigh. Age. If you're lucky, you too will get to my age and feel the way I do.
I only have 50 pages to read for tomorrow nights class so I am out of here - Aloha!
***** Noon Update *****
We interrupt this program to point you to a link on Dr. Keyboard's site ( here). It's in the second paragraph. The one that begins with "This is funny." And it is. Funny that is. And more than that. Much more.
And while I can't say for sure whether or not events occurred exactly as depicted. I hope they did. Now, for those folks who don't have grease under your fingernails and high test coursing through your veins (diesel? Tom? Diesel?!?!), don't go there. Because all you will see is a couple of demented crazies flagrantly breaking the law and doing some very, very foolish things.
But for those who can appreciate the kind of camaraderie shown there, it just doesn't get better than this. Good Show, old Chap!
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Thursday - 31 August 2000
Robots Inch Forward. The journal Nature has an interesting article (see it here) on a computer simulation that designs forms that can move. Well, what's so interesting about that?
Glad you asked. They way the program does that is to evolve a form over hundreds of generations using algorithms that imitate genetic mutation. At the end of the cycle, the program then evaluates the products and chooses the ones most adapted to the task and sends instructions to a fabricator to build the new robots.
While these are just the first steps in creating programs that can design and manufacture robots without human guidance or intervention, the researchers can see a time, five or ten years from now, in which much more complex systems can be created.
HAL, open the pod bay doors.
Sony CLIÉ. As Frank announced yesterday, the Sony CLIÉ (pronounced CLEE-ay), using th Palm OS, will be available next month. This being Sony, expect their PDA to have multi-media capabilities. However, one of the limiting factor appears to be the OS itself. The first version will not have sound (nor a color display). Two very large limitations. One wonders why Sony went with the Palm OS rather than the MS Pocket PC OS given Sony's strong proclivity towards multi-media. In either case, it will cost you about $400 to get your own (see it here).
Two Thumbs Up. Siskel and Ebert. Two names synonymous with movie critics for over 20 years. However, with the passing of Gene Siskel in 1999 (see his biography here), it was almost inevitable that a new partner would be found.
And so, starting this weekend, it will be Ebert and Roeper and the Movies. They didn't stray very far to find Richard Roeper. Both Ebert and Roeper are syndicated columnists at the Chicago Sun-Times with Roeper occasionally filling in for Ebert when needed. And only time will tell if Roeper can fill the very large shoes of the beloved Siskel. But I guess either way, time moves on. Long live the King.
You know the drill by now, more reading to do. So I am out of here - Aloha!
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Aloha Friday - 1 September 2000
It's Friday!
Welcome Back, Dave!
David L. Farquhar, author of the O'Reilly book Optimizing Windows for Games, Graphics & Multimedia, is back from a prolonged break from the keyboard.
Dave's bout with carpel tunnel syndrome (for a summary of what this is, see this article from Michigan State University) first became noticeable in February of this year. It progressed to a point where he could not do any keyboarding without suffering excruciating pain.
As a way of continuing his love of writing, Dave began testing voice recognition software (see his article here at O'Reilly. Note that the link will expire when they update the page). The results were less than salutary.
In the end, it appears complete rest and snarfing down gobs of vitamins helped Dave to recover.
Farquhar, a St. Louis-based writer, published his first article at age 16. Now in his mid-twenties, he keeps an on-line journal of his thoughts here.
I will try to see if I can do a Noon Update, but for now, I need to get to work. Aloha!
***** Noon Update *****
Shameless Political Promotion. This weeks newsletter (see it here) from Dana Blankenhorn's A-Clue.Com talks about, among other things, US Federal Trade Commission head, Orson Swindle (look for the paragraph entitled; "My Baloney Has a First Name, It's O-R-S-O-N") and his fight against Internet user privacy laws. Hawaii has a connection to Swindle in that he ran for Congress from here.
Fortunately, the good citizens of this district decided we did not need a carpet bagger from the mainland running for office (we have enough of our own to import more). Unfortunately, after he lost, the Republican's in Washington, D.C. appointed him to a cushy political patronage position (Horrors! You mean to say there are such things? And Republicans hand them out?) so that he could be paid while screwing things up for everyone else.
Being a good Republican, Swindle is opposed to any privacy laws (otherwise, how would the Republicans get more campaign contributions from industry giants like [name deleted to protect the guilty - Ed.], et al. And so far, he has been able to short-circuit all attempts at creating a meaningful federal Internet privacy law.
But now, the states are forcing his hand since they (the States) are bypassing the Feds and creating their own laws. This immediately got the attention of Swindle's Big Business Friends (BBF). Some of whom are now being proactive and trying to get their own federal privacy law passed to override the states. You can bet their (BBF) effort at "reform and improvement" will mean you will have no privacy and BBF will hold all the cards.
But as Blakenhorn states;
Well, privacy is a fight the industry can win until it loses. A President Bush and a GOP Congress can prevent any new laws from being written, for now. But there's always a new election, this one can be lost, and eventually the other side always triumphs. Politicians like Orson Swindle can't protect you forever.
Remember this in November when you are voting. Republicans don't give a rodent's okole about small business or people in general. They get their money from BBFs. So that's who they support. Is this what you want? You decide. And then vote.
Speaking of Privacy, or Lack Thereof. The Los Angeles Times tells of how Amazon.com amended their privacy policy yesterday (see the report here). The change includes a notice about the transfer of personal information when they buy other companies, or should other companies buy them.
Personally, I don't have any problems with that. In fact, I can't see how they could operate if they didn't. But I guess someone at the Times felt it was news worthy. Does it point to the fact that more and more about you is being known and possibly aggregated? Yes. But you can choose not to use such services and thus remain private. So you have a choice. Exercise it.
Speaking of the Campaign. The Times is also reporting (see the article here) on the mud slinging on the part of the Bush campaign lately. This, not coincidentally, coincides with the slide in the polls of Bush. I guess it was inevitable that Bush would go negative once the race got close and Gore began to lead.
But the Republican spin meisters are doing their best to make black look like white. And while all campaigns have people who do that, Republicans take it to new depths. I am continually amazed at, what can only be described as bald-faced lies, coming out of the Bush camp.
Speaking of the Presidency. The New York Times reviews a book by Fred I. Greenstein (see the review here) about the different leadership styles of the last 11 Presidents. In his almost 300 page book, The Presidential Difference - Leadership Style From FDR to Clinton, he defines leadership style by the following attributes: "communication, organization, political skill, vision, cognitive style and emotional intelligence."
Greenstein further defines "emotional intelligence" as being the 'ability to manage his emotions and turn them to constructive purposes, rather than being dominated by them and allowing them to diminish his leadership.' He believes that this is the key element in defining leadership style. However, I am not sure you can judge how "good" a President was by this criterion alone.
Notwithstanding that, and focusing on just emotional intelligence, Greenstein finds Eisenhower, Ford, and Bush as stand outs in this area. Hmmm. You decide.
Have a Great Weekend Everyone. And since Monday is a US holiday (Labor Day), my posting will be a little later than usual.
© 2000 Daniel K. Seto. All rights reserved.