Diary of a Network Geek

Is this really a danger?

Well, according to this story on Wired News, the Office of Homeland Defence seems to think so. In fact, they’re so sure it’s going to be an issue that they’re going to spend $33 million on protecting our livestock.
No, really, they are.

Okay, now, I’ll grant you that messing up the US food supply could be a really big problem, but is this really an angle that terrorists would take? Somehow, I doubt it. It would be a really effective way to cripple our economy, and our military, but it just doesn’t play well. I don’t think it would really strike fear in the hearts of innocents, which is what terrorism is all about. I mean, a random poisoning will have everyone looking over their shoulder and double-checking safety seals, but the USDA would stop 99.9% of any potentially bad meat or produce before it got anywhere. It’s what they do.
So, I don’t know. It’s important, I guess, but I don’t really think it’s very likely to be a problem.

It’s on the rise! Hey, aren’t you listening?!

According to AustralianIT, the US computer industry is improving. They claim that there are more jobs and more money being spent on IT. Well, a little bit of money on a very few jobs. But, things are definately looking up! And, eventually, we’ll actually notice.

Okay, somewhere in the US this might be true, but here in Houston, the tech job market is still pretty slow. And, there are still job postings for positions requiring MCSE and CCNA at $20/hour and less. That’s not looking real hopeful to me, but I guess stock analysts are desperate for any good news about the tech sector. God, things must be pretty bad for them to be clutching at that kind of straw. Well, maybe if they say it enough times, and loudly enough, people will start to believe it and actually start spending here in Houston.
Yeah, and maybe I’ll win the lottery.

I have my doubts.

But, according to this article on AustralianIT, that’s just what the W3C is argueing. Apparently, there’s a one-man company called Eolas who won a $521 million law-suit against Microsoft for allegedly infringing a patent covering technology that “allows interactive applications – plug-ins and applets – to be embedded in web pages”. Now, that’s not the entire web, but it’s a big slice of what Microsoft pushed over the years. Even this blog doesn’t fall under that category, I don’t think, because the programs that run it aren’t actually embedded in the web page itself. Frankly, that’s one of the reasons that I’ve been working on PERL lately. It’s not tied to one particular company or browser. Hey, it’s not tied to a browser at all!
What astounds me about this case, though, is that Tim Berners-Lee, the “inventor” of the web is going to bat for Micro$oft! He says the patent is invalid due to “prior art”. He goes on to say that any redesign of IE “will render millions of web pages and many products of independent software developers incompatible with Microsoft’s product”. My thought is, “so what”? People Micro$oft is NOT the Internet! They’re not even the Web! And most of these “plug-ins” that would be effected are just junk that slows me down anyway. I don’t want streaming sound or video to my PC, thanks. Just the words. Just the ideas. For that, I don’t need Micro$oft’s restrictive product.
In any case, Micro$oft is obviously going to appeal. It’ll be interesting to see how this one turns out.

…with a tiny foot-print!

Apparently, someone has developed the ultimate add-on upgrade for a PC. This little sucker, which is actually a series of PCI cards, turns a regular desktop PC into the world’s smallest supercomputer! According to this article on Wired News, this “upgrade” costs around $25,000, which is chump-change compared to the millions that supercomputers normally cost. Okay, now, imagine a Beowulf cluster of these! (Yes, I’m kidding. I can’t imagine that such a thing would actually be possible. It would be cool though, wouldn’t it?)
Anyway, it seemed like a good article for a Monday morning. Sort of inspiration for getting more done, or something. Well, it was cool. Every Monday should start with something cool.

Yes, there are some.

Returning to simple pleasures, like talking with my wife. Or, watching television with my wife and step-daughter. Losing weight because I “don’t really need that extra slice of…” or dessert, for that matter. A fire in the fireplace, or wood stove, is cozy and an opportunity to enjoy my wife. I learned that store-brand food, and other things, are just as good as the name-brand, and quite a bit less expensive. (We can feed three adult-sized people on less than $300 a month. Easily. And still buy beer once in a while.)
I may be a full-time employee of Loomis Fargo now, but I still remember what it was like. And, I’m not the only one who’s discovered some of these simple truths. David Dvorkin, who is still unemployed, has written an article about the “joys” of unemployment. Enjoy.

Well, the trademark holder of the Dewey Decimal system is suing a hotel for copyright infringment, anyway.

According to this article on Newsday, the Online Computer Library Center, who holds the trademark on the Dewey Decimal system, is suing the Library Hotel which overlooks the New York Public Library. The Library Hotel apparently uses the Dewey Decimal system to label floors and rooms. They even go so far as to match the books in the rooms to the Dewey Decimal system category that mark the rooms. Frankly, I think it’s a neat idea. Unfortunately, they didn’t get a license for the system before going into operation.
And this is the bit that surprised me when I first heard it on NPR, the Online Computer Library Center, who is non-profit, charges libraries a license fee that starts at $500/year to use their system! Who knew! Not my wife, who, ironically, is distantly related to Admiral Dewey, the inventor of the Dewey Decimal system. What a racket! I really need to invent a system like this…

or tech tradeshow?

You make the call. According to this article on Wired News, the TechxNY technology tradeshow, which was formerly known as PCExpo, was little more than an outsourcing bazarre this year. Representatives from Bulgaria, China, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Grenada, India, Romania, Russia and Nepal were all there trying to convince American companies to send jobs off-shore to their countries, where workers come cheap. A Russian representative was offering an experienced rocket-scientist at $40K. Frankly, from the description, the whole thing stank of a slave market. (And, not just to me, either. At least one person quoted in the article said the same thing.)
When is this going to end? What will it take to make, and keep, tech jobs in the United States? How long will we, the American voting public, let this go on? When will we wake up and put our neighbors first, before selling them out to cheap labor overseas?
The whole thing makes me sick. And, very, very glad to have a job in my industry. Not many of my tech-worker brothers and sisters can say the same.

I’m not sure if this is good, or not…

I tend to think it’s not good, but, then again, as someone who would like to make their living at producing copyrighted works, I like the protection it would give me. According to this article on Wired News, a pair of Democrats, Reps. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Howard Berman (D-Calif.), have introduced a bill that would land a person in prison for up to five years and impose a fine of up to $250,000 for uploading a single file to a peer-to-peer network.
At first look, this seems a little harsh, but that’s been the penalty for illegally copying software for a really long time. And, while it seems like a nasty penalty for something that so many people seem to be doing, violating copyright is illegal. I guess my problem with it is that there seems to be some issues involved here that haven’t been completely addressed. Things like, when I buy a CD, what do I really own? Is it the right to listen to the music? Or have I bought a license to the music, or the CD? Anyway, it’s a little bothersome, to me, that they don’t seem to have worked out all the details of what is really legal, but they’re already stumping for really big penalties.
This is one to watch, folks.

Other American workers agree with my position on outsourcing.

No, really, there’s an article on MSNBC about a retired fire-fighter who’s hopping mad about the level of “service” jobs being outsourced from his home state of Virginia to places like India. Frankly, it’s nice to know I’m not alone!
Okay, so I know that the global economy tends to make this kind of move a good idea financially, but it’s doing damage to our country’s economy. The article talks about $8.4 billion in outsourcing going to India, and about 60% of that is from the US. Why? Well, it really comes down to money. After all, that is what business is all about. So, I say, hit ’em where it counts. Do you do business with a company that’s moved jobs off-shore? If it bothers you, tell them so and then tell them that you’re going to stop doing business with them until they reverse that policy. Basically, I’m endorsing an economic boycott of companies that give US jobs away to foreginers.
Damn, maybe it is time to unionize!

Hmm, is there a market here?

It seems, according to an article on ZDnet, that Aisa is running out of TCP/IP addresses. Interesting and, frankly, not that suprising. After all, there are a limited number of IP addresses but an ever growing population. And, I can’t imagine a country with more issues in this regard than China.
Of course, the article pushed moving from IPv4 to IPv6, but I’m thinking along different lines. (Heh, heh, heh. Remember, I have a degree in Marketing!) Why not “broker” some of the dormant IP addresses here in the States? I mean, I know I pay for 5 static IPs, but I’m only using 3. That means I have have 2 I can “loan” to someone out there in “I-need-an-IP-address” land. So, why not make a profit off it, eh? How much is an IP addres worth per month? $5, $10? Hmm, now, why hasn’t someone like SBC picked up on this?