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1. Comment - T-minus two days...Ready or not, here comes Conficker

   (Apr 2, 2009 - 10:30 AM)

   One of my better tech tales is about a 97 year old man who couldn't reload his OS with the help of his manufacturer's telephone tech support. What the phone tech couldn't see was that the 97 year old man was trying to put the CD in the drive, jewel case and all. The jewel case was still in shrink-wrap which, because of his age, he could neither feel nor see.
   
   If you asked me to launch the space shuttle, I would be able to push the button, but I wouldn't know anything about the inner workings. I would be like the 97 year-old man, not knowing what was safe to push, or how to fix it if it wasn't safe.
   
   Many computer users are no less overwhelmed by the complexity of their computer, than I would be by being made responsible for the space shuttle. My mother, for instance, keeps threatening to give up her computer because she can't figure out how to check her email after my nephew has been playing games on it.
   
   If you want real cyber-security, the industry has to allow for people whose computer skills extend no further than playing Solitaire. Is the government going to license computer users like vehicle drivers? Or do we need to make appliance-type, ROM based computers that can't be infected?
   
   I agree something needs to be improved, but mistaking ignorance for idiocy does not move us toward a solution.

2. Comment - High resolution satellite images offer up-close view of North Korean missile site

   (Apr 1, 2009 - 10:29 AM)

   During the Vietnam war Army recruits were taught that the North Koreans would shoot at you if you pointed a camera, or even just a finger, into their territory. If it is correct that the two missing American journalists were arrested/kidnapped for filming North Korea from the Chinese side of the border, then North Korea's attitude hasn't changed much in the last forty years; in fact, I have read about an exchange of machinegun fire across the border within the last year. Given the above, in the eyes of the hypersensitive North Koreans, this photograph demands a response. Given their demonstrated tenacity, I think we can expect to see North Korean satellite killers launched within five years. It will take longer for them to attack the Internet, but they must see the Internet, too, as a violation of their personal space.

3. Comment - Study: The Internet's spam problem is getting worse

   (Dec 13, 2007 - 1:52 PM)

   Al Capone was only captured after they created a special law just for him: income tax evasion. But Al is long dead and we are still living with that law.
   
   How do we stifle the BotMasters without over-empowering government? A government tax of email is like the camel's nose in the tent.
   
   On the other hand, if email cost a penny per, the owner of a zombie machine would be motivated to get it fixed.
   
   Suppose email cost a millionth of a penny per, payable only after it accrues to $10. Most people wouldn't care, but it would convert the BotMasters' social crime into an economic crime... and economic crimes the law can deal with.

4. Comment - Russia Poised to Shutter AllofMP3

   (Dec 4, 2006 - 10:06 AM)

   Young bands (I hear) are not looking for a label. They look for loyal fans. 100,000 sales at $15 per CD breaks even for the label, but the band is still hungry. 2000 sales via Internet makes the band feel rich. Maybe allofmp3 should be trying to promote new artists, to grow a market the RIAA can't claim control of.