Month: August 2003

You may be following the news describing the newest online virus threat. F-Secure provides a good description of SoBig and offers advice about countermeasures.

The blog has been silent for several days. Cindy (now back from Japan) and I have been on the road. The vacation this summer consisted of a trip to Vancouver, BC. It is really a great place to visit (especially since they are already into preparation for the 2010 Olympics), but the real motivation was to pick up our youngest daughter at the conclusion of her cross-country bike trip. The tradition, if going east to west, is to dip your back tire in the Atlantic and then your front tire in the Pacific.

It was a great accomplishment for all participants and supported a great cause – Habitat for Humanity.

I spent a lot of time in the car, but read several books that I will comment on here in the days to come. I would have spent some time during the trip, but we camped and most locations had a single Internet connection in the office. I can’t think with people looking over my shoulder waiting for their turn at email.

Does generation N exist? It’s about access, ways of doing things, and ways of thinking. Are younger people different? In comparison, yes. However, many are being left out and this may predict future difficulties.

Simson Garfinkel writes on the Net Effect in Technology Review.

I tend to think other people are paranoid – other people dream up conspiracies. This is the way I react to the idea that we are losing our privacy and that others are methodically gathering information about us and using this information to manipulate or take advantage of us.

I am starting to wonder if I should rethink my position on the privacy issue. I have been getting a lot of emails offering me access to Viagra lately. Why this product? If the evil marketers wanted to target me, why don’t I receive solicitations for Lipitor, Zocor, or Pravachol – I do have cholesterol issues. I have this mental image of a giant database somewhere and the one product or service listed in my personal record is Viagra.

So – here is some advice to all spammers. Diversify your offerings a bit and be a little less obvious. We 50+ year old males are very sensitive.

CNN reports that a new Department of Education study indicates that the popularity of online learning is growing.

Bruce Johnson offers a article on Cameras (video) in the classroom through techlearning. A good review with some useful links.

It appears that “the official” HyperStudio site is back. However, I still can’t locate SiteCentral. It does appears there is no new activity associated with these products.