David Geer Talks Tech

Proving the security tools you use

2007-09-09T21:01:00.001-04:00

You can make good arguments against using free security tools. They can contain their own adware or malware (a means for the programmer to recoup their investment) and they can be inefficient, untrusted and open security holes of their own.

For the first argument, I suggest weighing the popularity and usefulness of the tool as well as mitigating its use by scanning the tool with trusted software.

For example, I use one freeware tool as a form of layered protection, knowing that it comes with adware. It's a popular and effective tool, so there are benefits. Further, I mitigate using the tool by scanning with a premium anti-spyware tool, which catches the tool's adware and disarms it.

In this way, I get the benefits of the tool without the harm.

As for the second argument, there are popular freeware tools that are simple enough to examine yourself, safe and effective, and come from known-good sources.

For example, I regularly update the hosts file from http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm in order to block known-bad sites. The file is a popular tool that comes from a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). The source is good and the tool is good.

Logic dictates that a simple hosts file that I can open in plain text and read, finding only known-bad site links mapped to the local home address 127.0.0.1, is not a threat.

Helio brings the more better!

2007-09-09T19:38:00.001-04:00

http://www.helio.com/page?p=homepage#devices

Some time back, I blogged about the Helio Ocean. At the time, coverage was not so great. But, Helio has my area coveredwith the exception of 3Gand there are four phones to choose from: the Ocean, the Heat, the Fin and the Drift.

OK. I'm not that much of a phoner for a tech guy; I use computers for the Internet and phones for phone calls. Pardon me for dating myself. What does that have to do with Helio?

The phones look great and pack some awesome features, but the best local coverage in my neck of the woods comes from Alltel (not Sprint) and the phones that come with Alltel for a few bucks (not hundreds) will suffice.

Helio wants hundreds for the phones and over a hundred for unlimited service. I'm sure they are worth it, if your last name is Rockefeller. Somebody see to my first million bucks for me and I'll rush right out and get one. Still "no thanks" on the iPhone.

How to open Internet Explorer when it's locked shut like a clam!

2007-09-02T18:52:00.000-04:00

Internet Explorer kicks Bob out. Bad Bob? No. Bad computer! Here are some things to try, one set of instructions at a time.

Right click on the Start button, left click on Explore from the menu.
Open the Local Settings folder in the left pane.
Under the Local Settings folder, open the Temp folder and delete anything the system will allow you to inside.
Open the Temporary Internet Files folder and delete everything it will let you delete in there. Close the current window.
If you do not see the above folders, you may have an older version of Internet Explorer. How old is the computer? How much RAM do you have? What version of Internet Explorer do you have? To check, click Help in the top menu and then click About Internet Explorer.
If you have enough RAM or can acquire more, upgrade to the latest version of Internet Explorer, version 7.

Go to Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup.
Check all the boxes and click OK.

In Internet Explorer, open Tools>Internet Options.
Under the General tab, under Browsing history select the Delete button.
Delete Temporary Internet Files, Cookies and History.
Close those windows.

You can run ScanDisk under Windows XP.
Open MyComputer, right click on the C Drive, left click on Properties.
Click on the Tools tab.
Under Error Checking, click Check Now.
Check both boxes in the new (smaller) window and click the Start button.
In the next window, click Yes.
Restart the computer and let it do its thing (perhaps for an hour or more) until it comes all the way up again.

You may want to acquire the following free files and programs to help clean up your system: the latest patches from Microsoft, a Hosts file for blocking known bad sites, SpywareBlaster, ZoneAlarm, AVG Anti-Virus, HD Valet, RegCleaner. You may need an elite computer guru to run these for you.

If you are running Spybot S&D or AdAware, buy SpySweeper instead and run that.

3. If none of these things work, comment here with as much information about the problem and your system and software as you can provide.

Microsoft aids Louisiana small businesses in wake of hurricane tragedies

2007-08-30T18:26:00.000-04:00

Microsoft aids Louisiana small businesses

This week at the yearly Summit for Hope and Recovery in Louisiana (re: on the anniversaries of hurricanes Katrina and Rita), Microsoft announced that it will give away the first of three years of business licensing for Microsoft software to affected small businesses.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2007/aug07/08-27reliefefforts.mspx

Here is an exclusive interview on the topic with Eric Ligman, Microsoft's senior manager of community engagement for the US small business team.

1. What qualifications must small businesses meet to be eligible?

To participate in the program, Small Businesses must meet the following criteria:

- Have been in business before August 29, 2005, the date of Hurricane Katrina's landfall, or September 24, 2005, the date of Hurricane Rita;

- Be based in one of the 19 federal disaster-designated Louisiana parishes;

- Have fewer than 200 employees;

- Have applied for small business assistance through SBA or SBDC, though the application need not have been approved for aid;

- Purchase a three-year Microsoft Open Value License for business software.

- Submit first year invoice from software reseller to LSBDC (Microsoft pays for the first year upon verification of proof of qualifying purchase).

2. What are the full details on how to apply?

Qualifying small businesses would submit first year invoice from software reseller to Louisiana Small Business Development Center. (Microsoft pays for the first year upon verification of proof of qualifying purchase).

The Process

- Business owner purchases a new Microsoft Open Value Agreement through any local or national reseller.

- Business owner brings first year invoice and documentation of federal/state assistance application to LSBDC.

- LSBDC enters agreement number and other pertinent information into Microsoft web-based application and faxes copy of invoice to Microsoft.

- Business owner leaves SBDC with "receipt" for their application, printed off the Microsoft web app.

- Microsoft processes the application to validate the agreement, etc.

- If approved, Microsoft issues a check for the1^st year payment and sends it to reseller with SBDC cover letter.

- Microsoft informs the SBDC that the check is cut or, if it's not approved, the reasons why not.

- LSBDC informs small business that the process is complete.

3. How do you arrive at the savings figures?

For the typical small business with 50 employees and 25 PCs, licensing Microsoft Windows Vista and the Office 2007 suite of programs, the free year can result in savings of as much as $12,000 per year.

Here's the math behind this figure:

If we assume 1 PC per employee, that would be 50 PCs. Since Small Businesses could purchase the Windows Vista Business Upgrade + SA and Office Enterprise L+SA for each of the 50 PCs, the estimated retail prices of the 1^st year payment on each of those are: $365 + $117 = $482 per PC. $482 X 50 = $24,100.

If we work under the standard assumption that there is 1 PC per 2 employees; there would only be 25 PCs and the savings would be $12,050.

*Note: All Microsoft products included in the Open Value Licensing Program are eligible for this offer, so savings could be larger or smaller depending on what products the small business acquires through this program.

4. How many small businesses have applied so far?

We will roll this program out in September, so we do not have those figures at this time.

5. How many small businesses exist in the area that could apply?

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita affected 125,000 small and medium-sized businesses across the Gulf Coast, and in Louisiana alone, more than 18,000 businesses were totally destroyed.

6. What else should I have asked and how do you answer it?

One more Q&A for you:

Will local partners in the Louisiana area benefit from this program? If so how?

As a part of the program, small businesses can purchase their software through any reseller. Local resellers have an opportunity to benefit as well, as much of the purchases will go through local resellers, putting additional revenue into the local economy.

The channel model will remain unaffected. Businesses will go to their reseller to purchase their software. Once the business receives the invoice, they will bring it to the SBDC office along with their approved application.

The LSBDC will verify that the business qualifies and submit the invoice through the tool. Microsoft will pay the invoice. The process will remain the same for the reseller.

In addition, small businesses that need installation or training assistance with the software licenses they acquire through this offer will most likely work with a local technology specialist, such as the Microsoft Small Business Specialist community located throughout Louisiana. This will provide the local partners with an opportunity to assist these companies with their services.

For small businesses looking for assistance, we provide a Microsoft Small Business Specialist locator on our Small Business Center website: http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness

How to stop Microsoft Error Reporting

2007-08-30T14:38:00.001-04:00

How to stop Microsoft Error Reporting

Start>Run>type services.msc in the Open field in the Run window and don't
misspell it!

Click OK.

Under Name in the new Services window, find and double-click on Error
Reporting Service.

A new window opens.

Find the menu next to Startup type: and select Disabled using the down arrow
at right.

Click on the Apply button.

Now click on the Stop button.

Once it is finished stopping, click OK.

Close the Services window.

iPhone unlockers heading to court? iCar a reality? Golden frog no midas touch! Vista SP1 or XP SP3?

2007-08-30T14:10:00.001-04:00

Don't snooze, here's the news!

It's legally hip to unlock iPhones

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2197688/legal-exemption-allows-iphones

Apple and AT&T lawyers are begging alright, but have they made any filings or petitions?

The DMCA has apparently already made the case for unlocking and linking the iPhone to other networks in the form of a clause / exemption. The clause or exemption, if not successfully circumvented in the courts, could make it legal for the consumer to unlock an iPhone and use it on another network until mid-fall 2009.

Apple and ATT attorneys say the clause is defeated by another in the DMCA that rules the iPhone a copyrighted work. I know you can trademark a phone, but can you really copyright one? I dealt with copyrights and contracts as a creator, not an attorney, for 20-years and I consistently got the push back that the definitions of what constitutes a copyrighted work don't include tangible, physical products that are not themselves media.

My guess is that the iPhone does not meet copyright law definitions of what constitutes a work. If the attorneys are not copyright law specialists, they may not know that, and they may be about to find it out the hard way.

VW + I = good news or bad for consumers?

http://www.dailytech.com/Report+Apple+and+Volkswagen+Could+be+Planning+iCar+Project/article8662.htm

Take the VW and sprinkle some iLife on it and poof! The Love Bug? Maybe not, but who knows what we'll get.

Apple and Volkswagen head honchos are meeting in semi-secret working on beaucoup ideas for a new era car/Internet collaboration.

The iCar, which gets its moniker from the media, is a marriage between many media tools and a car's peripheral technologies (no, you won't have to connect to iTunes for your car to start).

Computers and CEs have been creeping into cars this millennium like never before. And it's only the beginning by a long, long shot and a wide, wide margin. Now, if only one knew which companies to invest in for the ride?

Poisonous golden frog discovered in Colombia

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070830-poison-frog.html

Researchers found a tiny, half-golden frog inhabiting 50 acres of the well-forested central Colombia region.

The golden frog of Supata has been hiding on its home turf for who knows how long (estimates and figures aren't provided in this report).

The dart frog breed is poisonous to the tummy or the touch if you have open wounds or mucous membranes. This forewarns any frog eaters or open-wound-frog-touchers.

Vista SP1 due out next year

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/microsoft/2003859806_microsoft30.html

As with every Windows OS, Vista has required security updates and patches. When it gets easier to offer the group as a Service Pack, you see them made available as such. Microsoft will be offering SP1 for Vista early next year.

If I can wait the new OS out until SP2 and then some, I plan to do so. That's what I did with XP. I was using Windows 98 until six months after XP SP2 came out. That Service Pack had issues, and I had issues with that. We're all better about it now though.

I think with some loving care and more RAM, I can be happy with XP for another year or two. And with the announcement of an XP SP 3 mid-year '08, I may find a way to use it even longer.

I would like to hear from folks about whether it is becoming easier to find drivers for their other software and hardware?

Six hot tech stories in one!

2007-08-29T18:13:00.000-04:00

Here they are!

Microsoft: You can use our band-aids only if we apply them

http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=internet_business&articleId=9033614&taxonomyId=71&intsrc=kc_top

Microsoft sends cease and desist letters to websites that offer Microsoft patches and updates. So, people are allowed to have the updates, but if they don't get them directly from Microsoft, they're not allowed to have them.

So, you create a problem for your consumers, then you fix the problem and off the fix for free, but when anyone else tries to give away the same free software that you give away, they aren't allowed to do that.

Nokia enters the fray, challenging Apple's iTunes with a music store and music, games and maps downloads!

http://www.forbes.com/technology/ebusiness/2007/08/28/nokia-music-software-markets-equity-cx_po_0829markets16.html

Nokia is offering music, games and maps downloads via its online music store, in direct competition with Apple iTunes, iPods.

Sony admits to installing Rootkits, again.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803047

Well, there's a little bad and a little good in all of us, isn't there? And after announcing free recycling for consumer electronics, didn't it figure something bad had to follow?

Sony admits to installing Rootkits as part of its fingerprint reader. So, you got to pay for a fingerprint reader that secured your computer from everyone except the people who sold you the fingerprint reader. Nice.

Scientists in Amsterdam reveal projector software that can display a perfect image on any shape surface.

http://www.physorg.com/news107622617.html

To be used in facilities that offer movies that surround you

The Germans may use Trojan malware to spy on terrorists

http://www.physorg.com/news107624475.html

And I say, why not? If you already know they are terrorists, then what rights should you afford them? None, that's what rights, zip, zero, nada! (Don't let faith in the State keep you; many of us over here in the US have lost faith in our government but you don't see that stopping George W. from tapping everything with a wire on it, do you?)

Biologically attuned alarm clocks wake you when your body says they should

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL0878172320070829?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

Wrist-worn device wakes you when your body says you're not really sleeping (well) anyway. So, do you want something that will wake you several times during the night? I didn't think so.

Sensing bad water, air, naturally; Microsoft open XML document is Trojan horse of a different color; Intel chips become security conscious!

2007-08-28T12:38:00.000-04:00

Sensors warn world's citizenry of metal in water, air.

http://www.physorg.com/news107506995.html

The Cooperative Research Center for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC Care) is working on technology to warn the world's populace of significant metals contamination to their water and air.

By researching the affect of contaminants on water, CRC Care scientists hope to create field-testing equipment that can provide a basis on which to alert local authorities anywhere in the world of threatening contamination levels.

The impetus is globally located contamination that has lead to mass deaths in some cases. Contamination comes from sources other than tainted water such as tainted soil. So, the researchers are using water microbes, testing them for reactions that must be due to metals contaminations. In this way, the microbes serve as biosensors.

Some say new Microsoft open document format is the company's way to corner the market and customer data.

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSL2824601520070828?feedType=RSS&feedName=technologyNews

A decision is in sight from the ISO standards body with respect to adoption of Microsoft's Open XML (open document) format. It looks like the standard will pass.

Open XML is the native file save format in Office 2007. Naysayers reject Open XML claiming there is no need for a new standard when the Open Document Format (ODF) is already available and standardized.

Objections to Open XML include its lengthy source code, which turn what could be a useful, open standards software package into bloat ware that can't be translated from one format to another without Microsoft.

Objectors argue that Microsoft is using its format as a tool to make users more dependent on the company. By keeping the program from being truly open, Microsoft can control the data held in the format's documents, holding it for ransom against potentially climbing license fees. Microsoft could deny program access and with that access to documents to those who refuse to pay mounting license fees.

Microsoft's stance is that it has made such eventualities impossible by giving ultimate control over Open XML to Ecma, an independent standards body. Ecma could ensure the document format's availability apart from Microsoft.

But those against the format say Microsoft is attempting to lock customers in to their technology.

New Intel chips add security features

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136430-c,cpus/article.html

Intel's new vPro chips apparently pack more then power and speed. The chips offer increased cooperation with third party vendor security tools.

The chip adds malware detection to the chip and blocks off virtualized software, protecting it from security threats. The chips can collaborate with NAC security measures directly to help protect the host computer. By speeding security response times, the chips and attendant security software and network access controls can foil the growing base of attacks before they can do harm.

The leading chipmaker claims that the vPros can scan all out-going packets for suspected attacks.

The chips also add two features to protect against malware and data theft.

One feature, Trusted Execution Technology, removes data left behind when virtual systems close improperly. The feature finds and defeats attacks that would come between hardware and software.

The other feature, the Embedded Trust Agent, facilitates device authentication information sharing between the computer and network security systems.

Yahoo Mail texting mobile phones

2007-08-28T01:18:00.001-04:00

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/08/27/tech-yahoo-sms.html?ref=rss

but only in some countries, including the US and Canada, the Philippines and India.

By typing a mobile phone number and text message, then selecting the send button, computer users who may be mobile will be sending text messages to phones that certainly are mobile.

People who don't text can use the familiar email format to communicate with those who do. Basically, older folks will be able to text younger folks. Yahoo has not disclosed the list of mobile carriers that will receive the messages yet.

The added feature is intended to help Yahoo compete in an ever more socially networked society.

How to open the iPhone, link to blog with complete instructions! And other iPhone opening news.

2007-08-27T15:26:00.001-04:00

iPhone opened, world's networks climbing in!

http://weblog.infoworld.com/enterprisemac/archives/2007/08/the_unholy_appl.html

Engineers and teenagers around the world have opened the iPhone so you can use it on any network. By all signs, there is nothing Apple can do about it.

Soon enough, Apple's iPhone will be easier to hook up with a non-AT&T wireless provider than using a soldering iron on it yourself or paying some kid in Australia for SIM card that accomplishes it for you.

At $600, even if it were $300, Apple can still keep its iPhone. But if you have one and want to open it, here is a link to the blog with the (for most people) highly technical instructions on how to open the phone: http://iphonejtag.blogspot.com.

Seventeen and brainy, kid spends summer opening iPhone for the world!

http://weblog.infoworld.com/robertxcringely/archives/2007/08/hack_my_iphone.html?source=rss

At 17, I had a car that ran and a girlfriend who didn't. I had a brain but no particular inclination to use it.

This Jersey boy, George Hotz, spent his summer opening the iPhone to accept alternate wireless networks so iPhoners could hook up without hooking up with AT&T.

According to this young man's instructions for duplicating his feat, a case of Red Bull is as crucial an ingredient as a soldering iron (and the know how to use it).

The kid's got money brains as well as tech talent as the summer's work got him a mid-market sports car and three more iPhones with which to tinker.

The lad has left for college at the Rochester Institute of Technology, which I'm sure is all the more happy to have him now. But, how will he open all those iPhones for staff and students and get all his homework done? Perhaps he should make that his summer job to pay for college (no, not to help pay for college, to pay for college).

In the meantime, computer engineers in Israel have figured out how to open the iPhone, as well.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/26/content_6608481.htm

The result? IPhones that work on a network local to Israel. The three bright computer geeks have enabled the phone to work in Hebrew. The engineers have stated that the process of opening the phone is very simple, but have not revealed how they did it.

The phone has been made to work on other networks around the world:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=84791

Nuts&Volts features by David Geer now available online!

2007-08-27T00:16:00.001-04:00

http://www.nutsvolts.com/online-features.php

Along with writing a monthly column for T&L Publications' Servo Magazine, www.servomagazine.com, called GeerHead, I write the occasional feature for the sister publication Nuts&Volts, www.nutsvolts.com.

Sun Riders Ahoy at the Solar Cup Races - David Geer (August issue)

In the August issue is an uplifting story that combines vibrant high school kids, boating and boat construction, the environment, solar energy, the future of water and lots of fun!

High school students compete yearly in the Solar Cup races in which they build and race their own solar-powered boats on a clean water reservoir. Don't buy it, huh? Well, read the issue and find out.

Going Security Geek on Penetration by Ira Winkler - David Geer (May issue)

Computer system security guru Ira Winkler (one time Hewlett-Packard executive) spills on how companies hire "good-guy" hackers like him (no, not "Chucky"!) to audit, test and penetrate their networks to detect security holes.

If the holes are there, he finds them. It's an interesting topic and a great intro to the arena for the semi-computer savvy or anyone who thinks a "pen test" is a paper exam that must be handwritten.

Setting Up Dual, Flat Panel Monitors Under Windows XP - David Geer (March issue)

This is exactly how to do it. If you want twice the computer screen and all the other advantages of two monitors that act as one, this is the article for you.

The Sony Take Back Recycling Program, Part Three

2007-08-26T22:28:00.000-04:00

The Sony Take Back Recycling Program, Part Three

For details about the program and how to take advantage of it, see the media release and blog entry at these links: http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/corporate_news/release/31014.html;

http://news.sel.sony.com/electronicsblog/?p=12.

For the deeper skinny, I invite you to peruse this third and final installment of an exclusive interview with Rick Clancy, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and host of the Sony Electronics Blog for additional tidbits.

(Note: This author has not been compensated for posting this interview.)

Me: What kind of challenge does the Program put out there to other consumer electronics vendors to establish similar programs?

Rick: We would hope that other manufacturers follow our lead and join the program so that consumers can recycle other brands of electronic devices for free.

Also, we would like to see the federal government step-up with national environmental legislation embracing initiatives like the Sony Take Back Recycling Program.

One of the big problems for manufacturers today is that there is a hodgepodge of state legislation in this area that ultimately ends up adding to costs because manufacturers have to adjust to several different recycling models.

Me: With regards to the following statements, what kinds of savings are involved here? Who saves and how? "By recycling old electronics products, useful materialsuch as glass, plastic and metalscan be collected and re-used in the manufacture of other products.

Recycling not only minimizes the amount of waste disposed, it also minimizes the extraction of new raw materials from the earth and resources required for processing, saving energy and reducing greenhouse gases in the process."

Rick: The savings potential is huge. Hopefully, America will embrace recycling in the area of consumer electronics just as it has in basic household goods like paper products, plastics, bottles and cans.

Me: How are consumer electronics waste products then recycled back into manufacturing? What kinds of manufacturing?

Rick: The recycled components like plastic, metal and glass can be used in the production of a variety of new consumer products such as appliances and automobiles. Components can also be used in construction materials, industrial products and equipment.

I would like to thank Rick Clancy for participating in this series.

Sony recycles your CEs for free!

2007-08-25T21:32:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

The Sony Take Back Recycling Program, Part Two

For details about the program and how to take advantage of it, see the media release and blog entry at these links: http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/corporate_news/release/31014.html;
http://news.sel.sony.com/electronicsblog/?p=12.

For the deeper skinny, I invite you to peruse this second installment of an exclusive interview with Rick Clancy, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and host of the Sony Electronics Blog for additional tidbits.

(Note: This author has not been compensated for posting this interview.)

Me: How will the program impact the burgeoning amounts of consumer electronics hardware waste in landfills? Just by lessening what's added to those in the future?

Rick: One key product category is television.

As more consumers shift their TV purchases to flat-panel high-definition displays like Sony's BRAVIA LCD sets, there will be more and more of a trend for them to want or need to dispose of the old sets with Cathode Ray Tubes.

Historically, consumers have moved old sets to other rooms in the household or given them to family members or friends. Then, perhaps, they would donate them, if they are still working, to charities and other nonprofit organizations.

But eventually, they will need to be disposed of and the Sony Take Back Recycling Program will go a long way to help in this regard.

Me: Please brief us more thoroughly on the following statement:
"The Sony Take Back Recycling Program is part of Sony's broader global commitment to environmental stewardship, which spans product design, recycling, facilities management and energy conservation across all categories."

Rick: In addition to the new Sony Take Back Recycling Program launching here in the U.S. on September 15, the company supports a number of recycling initiatives around the world based on local practices and the laws of different countries.

Sony is particularly active in this regard in Japan and Europe.

Beyond recycling, Sony is developing "green" products and packaging made of biodegradable materials.

From a new technology standpoint, the company today announced a new battery technology made from sugar extracted from carbohydrates that may find its way into various electronics products in the future.

Related to batteries, Sony is very focused on reducing energy and power consumption in its products. An excellent example of this is the Sony Reader, an e-book that uses e-Ink technology and only consumes energy when a page is turned.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

More on Sony recycling program; TeRK robotics education kits for all; Toshiba's 32GB SDHC cards!

2007-08-25T11:59:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

The Sony Take Back Recycling Program, Part One

By all impressions, Sony’s free consumer electronics recycling program (debuting mid-September) should be a big hit with consumers and environmentalists.

For details about the program and how to take advantage of it, see the media release and blog entry at these links:
Sony media release;
Sony Electronics Blog entry.

For the deeper skinny, I invite you to peruse this first installment of an exclusive interview with Rick Clancy, Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications and host of the Sony Electronics Blog for additional tidbits.

(Note: This author is not compensated for posting this interview.)

Me: Rick, how much do you expect the Sony program to save Sony consumers and Americans in general by providing an avenue for proper recycling of Sony products?

Rick: Ultimately, our goal is to recycle a pound of end-of-life Sony products for every pound of new Sony products sold in the U.S. Sony Electronics is making a significant investment in this Take Back Recycling program.

There is no charge for consumers to recycle any Sony-branded products at the participating Waste Management recycling centers.

While we are starting modestly, our aim is to eventually have a WM depot within 20 miles of 95 percent of the American population.

Me: How does the program help Sony?

Rick: Eventually, we hope to be in a position to benefit from being able to reuse recycled components in the production of new products. Examples include plastic, metal and glass.

In the meantime, we know we are doing a good thing for the environment and hope that American consumers will step up to the idea of consumer electronics recycling.

Me: What are the other impacts Sony and consumers can expect from the program?

Rick: Consumers will have a free outlet for recycling their electronics products, including all Sony products at no charge and other manufacturers' products for a modest fee determined by Waste Management.

That said, we encourage other manufacturers to join the program so Waste Management can recycle their products at no cost to consumers as well at some point.

See coming blog entries for parts two and three of this exclusive interview.

The Carnegie-Mellon Telepresence Robot Kit (TeRK), appearing in this month’s Servo Magazine:
http://servomagazine.com/preview.php?issue=51

In my most recently published GeerHead column in Servo Magazine (August issue), I revealed some of the finer points of an educational robotics kit from Carnegie-Mellon University called TeRK.

Here are some tidbits on what you’ll learn about TeRK in this issue of Servo.

CMU created TeRK to aid robotics education for kids and adults around the globe. The affordable robot kit(s) teach robot construction and control using “recipes” rather than instructions.

Key parts come with the kits; many necessary parts do not. Some lessons you can learn from these kits are advanced.

Roboticists can easily control the resulting robots from a Web browser that connects through the Internet to a nearby wireless network, which communicates with the robots.

The robots are practical, useful tools and artwork fit for long-term applications. The kits are also re-usable for those who want to tinker with new designs repeatedly.

Toshiba delivers unprecedented 32GB SDHC cards:
http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2007_08/pr_j2201.htm

Available in Japan, January 2008, the new Toshiba memory cards rival the more-but-not-altogether common 4GB SDHC (secure digital high capacity) cards from other makers.

While SDHC cards are the favored choice among flash memory cards available today, the Toshibas will no doubt be the favored choice among SDHCs given their amazing capacity. (The SDHC cards have a theoretical capacity of 2,048GB.)

The downside is the thin selection of gadgets that support SDHC cards. You will have to invest in new devices if yours don’t support this technology.

Toshiba is releasing SDHC cards based on lesser capacities and special applications (mobile phones).

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

Hackers teach PI pros; Nikon fires shots at Canon; AMD a real reseller pleaser!

2007-08-23T09:26:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

Computer investigation borrows tips from low-rent hacking

http://www.pimagazine.com/FeatStoryAbst4.htm

PI magazine, the journal of professional investigators, recently published an article I wrote based on a conversation with RazorPoint Security Technologies president, Gary Morse. I had spoken with Gary for other pieces and he was happy to oblige. Thank you, Gary!

The article, “Computer Investigative Techniques”, basically applies low-end “hacker” moves (and I use the term hacker very loosely here) to the work of professional (private eye, or private “I”) investigators. Gary and I delved into key computer forensics approaches, as well.

Lest anyone think this article is an excuse to teach or favor illegal, unethical or dangerous computer hacking, the techniques detailed within simply show hacking novices how to use a browser to surf to information that others have left open to the Web.

Someone doing this kind of hacking is comparable to a cop going through the garbage you took to the street for pickup, at which point your expectation of privacy is gone in the eyes of the court (insert legal disclaimer here: I’m not an attorney, blah, blah, blah).

Just as you shouldn’t have put your bank statements, SS# or other personal or financial information in the trash without shredding it into a million confusing fibers, you shouldn’t have left your CCTV or Web camera link or other information unsecured and open on the Web so that it could be cataloged by Google.

In any case, while going through your garbage or surfing the Internet looking for unguarded tidbits are free (the latter is free at least at most local libraries), a copy of the issue with the full article is not. Truly elite hackers—those capable of doing any real damage—wouldn’t spend the money. They get better, more advanced tools and expertise off the Net, gratis.

Nikon fires shots at Canon!

Nikon, Canon report

Nikon is firing shots at market competitor Canon in the form of its mid- to high- end D300 and D3 digital single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras and marketing campaigns.

The new cameras for high- and mid- market consumers are due out in November. The marketing campaigns will be lead by youthful stars (an actor and a singer) in South Korea and China.

Canon is firing back with its own product releases and campaigns. As for me, I may move up from my old Kodak to something modern, sometime soon. My choices are narrowed to either a “Sony 7.2 MP Cyber-shot DSCW80/B Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom, Image Stabilization, Face Detection Technology, & HD Output in Black” or one of the following:

· Samsung 7.2 MP L73 Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom & Image Stabilization
· Sony 7.2 MP DSCW55 Cyber-shot Digital Camera, Silver
· Samsung 8.1 MP S850 Digital Camera in Black w/ 5x Optical Zoom, Image Stabilization, SDHC

Does AMD support resellers with the same fervor it applies when risking new architectures?

http://www.channelpro-digital.com/channelpro/20070708/?pg=45

As you probably know by now, AMD’s processor ‘kung-fu’ has exceeded that of Intel. Now, I’m not trashing Intel. I’ve never owned a computer with an AMD chip … yet. Next time around though, the chip that comes with the laptop will get some consideration.

AMD isn’t lacking in reseller support either. The company offers reseller benefits at three tiers, leading to strong support deep within AMD’s own highly visible marketing initiatives, which includes more than just the t-shirts. Partners get marketing-based exposure with AMD through AMD’s Where to buy and Shop AMD tools on the AMD site.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

PS3 TV and movie downloads; USAF picks HP; HP leading blade server market and then some; Google puts stars online!

2007-08-23T05:12:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

PS3/PSP TV and movie downloads!

http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9741620-7.html

The Xbox 360 offers TV downloads; once market leader Sony (PlayStation) is not to be surpassed forever.

The company has just announced TV and movie downloads for the PS3 and the PSP, according to the report. Sony will offer PS3 downloads, which will be transferable to the PSP, as well.

Sony needs the new PlayTV product / service, announced at the European video game event the E3, to compete with the XBox.

But, if the goal is only to catch up to second place rather than to surpass Wii, which remains in first, then how much will Sony really accomplish here?

USAF picks HP!

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070820a.html?mtxs=rss-corp-news

HP, I have loved you from the start (though I write this from my first and only laptop, an IBM Thinkpad R40, which has served me well; will my first Vista laptop be an IBM or an HP? Who knows; wait and see!).

Yes, my first and second PCs were HPs. Now, the USAF loves them, too, according to an HP media release.

HP is on the list for air force quarterly PC and laptop purchases. The air force has named HP the best for value for laptops and PCs, as well, this by the military division’s Information Technology Commodity Council (ITCC), which boasts representation from all major air force commands.

Maybe I will check out those HP laptops. If they are good enough to fly, they are good enough to buy; that is what I say. (HP has not purchased or leveraged this space or these comments, including those to come.)

HP leading blade server market and then some!

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2007/070823a.html?mtxs=rss-corp-news

All I have been hearing all week is how grand HP is. You may recall my recent post about IBM and Sun teaming up to compete with HP in the server market. Well, here is why.

HP’s blade server factory income has jumped by 72-percent over last year, according to this HP announcement. HP’s blade shipments are growing, too, according to the IDC report referenced with the media release. HP’s market share for blade shipments is an amazing 35-percent. HP has held the lead in the market for over five years.

Consistent reliability, market fit and customer service go a long way.

Stars starring on Google Earth!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.googlesky23aug23,0,1783403.story

See the stars from (just about) anywhere in the world thanks to Google. First, Google supplied us with Google Earth, so we could see the planet. Now, it gives us the heavenly bodies, too, according to this report.

Google and the astronomical astronomy community add the stars and planets, the universe as we know it from any telescope, to what you can view with Google Earth.

The new offering, Sky at Google Earth, is spell-binding (from what I understand; the Google Earth download servers are mighty busy since the announcement).

Genuine digital photography from either side of the planet combines to offer a view of space as deep as we can otherwise see it. Images come from far out places like the Hubble Space Telescope.

The images and service are feature rich and intuitive, and built to grow as more images and imaging technologies become available.

Involvement includes major astronomy science hubs like the UK Astronomy Technology Center, Carnegie-Mellon University, the Palomar Observatory, and the Anglo-Australian Observatory and of course the software engineers at Google Earth.

While some recent Google efforts like spreadsheets have received a C+ at best, this one sounds like it gets an A, maybe even an A+!

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

VMware on the move; Citrix' XenSource not far behind.

2007-08-21T06:17:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

VMWare is rocking steady at $57. And a week and a night ago I said so. Of course, the next time I reach for my crystal ball it will have a big crack in it, or I will get bad reception or a snowy screen.

So what's in store for VMWare now that it's famous? Well, $6.5 Billion more in available market share in the SMB (small- to medium- business) server market:
http://vmblog.com/archive/2007/08/20/vmware-launches-professional-partners-program.aspx.

VMware is making an appeal to resellers to belly up and offer up VMware for virtualization and product lifecycle management solutions.

In the meantime, Citrix' new acquisition XenSource adds competition to the virtualization market in the publicly traded sector: http://vmblog.com/archive/2007/08/20/citrix-buys-xensource-what-next.aspx.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

Precisely identifying chemical and nerve agent diseases

2007-08-19T20:19:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

With concerns over exposure to chemical agents and nerve-affecting agents heightened, the demand for accurate infection testing has risen. In response, a new portable test based on biomarkers is being developed that can determine whether a person is ill from exposure.

The tester, or biosensor, which looks like a combination of a pregnancy test and a cholesterol level blood test strip will increase its sensitivity levels many-fold, thanks to researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The biosensor will test individual blood and saliva.

Disease that results from nerve and chemical agents produces biomarkers, an identifiable alteration of the protein makeup. The researchers are developing a bridge between the protein evidence and the tester. The bridge will increase the detection of protein changes.

The bridge is a nanoparticle identifier, which takes test results beyond positive and negative to precisely identify disease. It does this by turning the protein evidence into electrochemical evidence.

In this process, the antibody or protein of a disease is used to attract the specific disease’ biomarker. Researchers are adding a nanoparticle label to an additional antibody to better read the biomarker.

By taking a nano-level protein particle called ferrin and extracting its iron content, researchers are turning it into a biomarker trap called apoferritin. The researchers fill the apoferritin with a different metal. By attaching this antibody to the existing antibody, the human body’s immune response antibody becomes electro active.

This increases the electrochemical signal many-fold by hundreds of times, increasing the precision of detection of the specific disease.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

Internet crime and piracy pay but not worth the risk

2007-08-18T18:52:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

Internet crimes and song and movie piracy do pay, but they're not worth the risk of being caught.

This is all not to mention the fact that decent people wouldn't do it, but before he got caught, the man who pirated the Simpsons movie and shared the file on the Internet and very likely sold or enabled others to sell DVD copies probably made a few bucks.

Arrested recently in Sydney Australia, the unnamed suspect made the original copy using his cell phone. The file was uploaded, downloaded thousands of times and is estimated to have sold DVD copies worldwide, all illegally.

The man was apprehended through the combined efforts of Australian police, private eyes and the News Corp Twentieth Century Fox movie studio company.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

IBM, Sun team against HP; iPhone bill bigger than the phone!

2007-08-17T21:23:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

IBM and Sun are desperate enough to beat HP that they are partnering with each other to do it:
http://www.themoneytimes.com/articles/20070817/solaris_10_unites_long_time_computing_rivals_sun_ibm-id-108190.html.

IBM and Sun have decided to partner on server operating system (OS) technologies. IBM will sell the Solaris OS in its servers.

The move expands on IBM’s Solaris support in its BladeCenter server line. Solaris and related applications will run on low-end IBM servers out-of-the-box. IBM will also bring Solaris onto the mainframe (eventually).

This is the kind of open partnering and market sharing that has stabilized more modular technology products from foreign companies long since.

In other news, iPhone owners are receiving book-thick phone bills from AT&T:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,136068/article.html.

Some detailed AT&T phone bills for iPhone service are book-thick, complain consumers.

One lady received a 300-pager, itemizing every text message. It came in a box. AT&T says consumers can switch to a small bill or no (paper) bill at all at any time. Apparently, that time would be now—before the next bill comes.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

Sony recycles electronics

2007-08-17T10:47:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

Sony recycling electronics

While some companies give back by giving, others give by taking away. Sony is watching out for the environment by offering its Take Back Recycling Program to recycle consumer electronics in the U.S.: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-08/17/content_6547380.htm. The products must be Sony brand (though the program does cover recycling other consumer electronics at some cost).

Consumers can drop recyclable Sony hardware at 75 Waste Management Recycle America eCycling sites across America, no charge, starting on September 15. Sony and Waste Management expect the number of participating sites to grow to 150 or more.

The companies also expect to eventually have enough drop sites so that most Americans can find a site close to them. People can also ship their used items in.

Today, a very small percentage of consumer electronics are recycled, with most going to landfills.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

China forecasts are super; Philips attaches iPod, Bluetooth technology

2007-08-16T20:42:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

Beijing is increasing the compute power behind its weather forecasts by 10-times thanks to an 80-server-strong supercomputer from IBM:
http://www.physorg.com/news106505546.html.

China’s new meteorological brain runs at almost 10 teraflops, top speed (the equivalent of about 1 trillion floating-point mathematical operations per second).

Another way to measure the speed of the new supercomputer purchase is to say it can measure and calculate 17,000 square miles worth of weather forecasts per hour.

The first application of the supercomputer will be to support weather-based decisions around the 2008 summer Olympics. From then on, the multi-processor computer brain will simply forecast the weather for the Beijing and surrounding areas, though much more precisely.

The supercomputer will also help gauge the air quality in Beijing, a significant health factor for citizens there.

In another announcement, home entertainment and home audio systems will deliver sounds courtesy of iPod docks and Bluetooth wireless: http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/08/philips-follows.html.

Following Sony’s news that it will add Bluetooth A2DP wireless audio receivers (for phones that broadcast music) and an iPod dock, Philips blasts its BTM630 stereo with iPod and Bluetooth A2DP.

The news confirms Apple’s dominance in the digital music arena as well as the trend for smart phones to follow suit.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

Citrix, XenSource ride VMware wave; Apple rolls up hill toward Windows; Wikipedia gets wise to spammers!

2007-08-15T22:45:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

VMware is hot, having reached near $60 at one point today and stabilizing at about $57. Whether in response or no, Citrix has made a half-a-billion-dollar bid for top VMware competitor XenSource: http://www.physorg.com/news106419314.html.

VMware, now worth $22B, cashed in heavily on its IPO, doubling it's stock price in two days. Citrix, seeing VMware's success and the opportunity to swallow the 'marketplace growth hormone' that successful rival XenSource must surely be, is leaping at the chance. Citrix' decision is likely also affected by recent XenSource product news: http://www.computerworlduk.com/technology/servers-data-centre/infrastructure-management/news/index.cfm?newsid=4550.

In other news, Apple's iMac is gaining ground on the PC and the Windows platform: http://www.physorg.com/news106419257.html.

Between the ability to run Macintosh or Windows and the new Leopard OS that will shortly take advantage of multicore computing, the new iMacs are a viable option for the Windows faithful. I even know some folks who have them and are very pleased.

Sure, you may have to get used to a slightly different GUI (graphical user interface) to know where to find things and what to click on, but once you do, I understand that you may never go back.

And finally, Wikipedia updates its site software to ID IP (Internet Protocol) addresses and catch those fraudulent posters: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/58856.html. IP addresses are like the electronic street address for destinations on the Internet, to put it loosely.

Competitors, company haters and scoundrels who seek to over-hype their own business or put down others can now be traced thanks to WikiScanner, which takes recorded IP addresses and looks them up with WhoIs look-up technology to see who owns the IP address.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

VMware trades tomorrow at $29

2007-08-13T23:16:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

Hold on to your hats and don't say I didn't tell you so.

I am not an investor, I am not money savvy. This comes totally from tech savvy, from the list of companies whose technologies were already craved by the corporate geeks years ago.

That's right, that's the same list of technologies that were used and loved by uber-geeks in the know before anyone else knew they existed.

VMware was on the same list as Google and RedHat. So, if you don't want to buy you some VMware tomorrow, would you please buy me some? J/K.

In reality, no one knows how the forces of the stock market, the times we live in, and the people holding most of the cards will affect the outcome of any stock on any given day let alone an IPO. But, if I had money to burn, I'd burn it on VMware tomorrow. We'll know in less than a day though, won't we.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications

Ionic wind engines very small, keep computers very cool

2007-08-13T18:15:00.000-04:00

Courtesy of http://www.geercom.com.

Welcome!

Nano-level fans combined with real ones could keep thinner, faster laptops cool. The technology from Purdue, supported by Intel, increased heat dissipation by 250-percent in the lab when combined with legacy fans.

Size, durability and about two more cycles through Moore's Law stand between you and one of those laptops, at least as far as this cooling technology is concerned. Those are the obstacles to production-level technology: they have to be much smaller and tougher and it's going to take about 36-months to do it.

That tiny fans are actually an electronic bombardment of electrons and anodes that results in heat moving away from the chip. However it works, it better work; computer chips aren't getting any cooler on their own.

The work has been supported by the NSF and Intel.

Best Regards,
David Geer
Geer Communications