Virus Alert!!!

Mom,

Don't let your computer become a slave to criminals! There is a new computer virus called MyDoom. Basically it will come to you in an email with a subject line of "Mail Delivery System," "Test" or "Mail Transaction Failed." The email will contain a file that can allow hackers in through the back door. They can then install other programs on your computer. This will allow them to use your computer without your knowledge. Many times they will use it to attack large companies in order to take down their online services. If you would like to read more on it you can CLICK HERE.

Check to be sure that the anti virus program I installed on your computer is up to date. You can do so by right clicking on the red circle icon by the clock on the lower right corner of your screen. Also be careful when opening emails with the subject lines that I mentioned above.

Your loving and ever (obsessively) watchful son,

Matthew

Obama on Technology

President Barrack Obama is know to have a strong technology policy. For starters he used today's technology to win the election. He received huge amounts of donations from small online supporters. This was something that had never been done before. Here are some of the statistics for Feb. 2008 when he was running for office:

" * More than $45 million raised online in February
   * More than 90% of online donations were $100 or less
   * More than 50% of online donations were $25 or less"

Taken from http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0308/Obama_raises_55_million.html

These facts alone show that he knows the power of modern technology. Obama has a plan for today's technology with the following goals in mind:

• Ensure the full and free exchange of information among Americans through an open Internet and diverse media outlets.
• Create a transparent and connected democracy.
• Encourage the deployment of a modern communications infrastructure.
• Employ technology and innovation to solve our nation’s most pressing problems, including reducing the costs of health care, encouraging the development of new clean energy sources, and improving public safety.
• Improve America’s competitiveness.

Taken from "BARACK OBAMA: CONNECTING AND EMPOWERING ALL AMERICANS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION"

As you can see there is a lot to cover when it comes to Obama and Technology. I would like to just focus on net neutrality. He has shown support throughout his campaign and presidency. In a speech last September he expressed this support when discussing the new FCC rules for net neutrality. "The role of government (is) to set up common-sense ground rules to ensure that there's a level playing field for all comers who seek to contribute their innovations." (Obama Supports Net Neutrality Plan)

The fact is that politicians will always be politicians. They love to make promises and express their support but it remains to be seen whether or not anything will come out of it.

Chromium OS

This broadcast is about the OS that Google is coming out with. It is trying to gain an even stronger foothold in the computer industry. According to the report around 90% of the world's computers use Windows and no one has been able to take much from their market share. If you run a search on Google's search engine it holds anywhere from 65% to 70% of the search engine market (depending on which page you look at). These are both very strong companies.

When Google comes out with it's OS it will probably have a hard time getting into the OS market but if it has a free product I think it may attract a lot of people to use it. I sounds like it will be easier to use than Linux and it already has a name that markets user friendliness. Maybe the next time a person has to reinstall windows yet again they will decide to make the switch.

The major problem is that people don't want to change what they are comfortable with. If their OS works, they aren't going to install something else. If their version of Windows crashes, they may be inclined to install Google but if they have not already gotten a copy of it to install and their computer isn't working they may not have that option.

In the end, I agree with the closing comments of the report. Any competition for Windows is good and will benefit consumers in the end.

What is Linux?

Linux is an open-source operation system. This means that anyone can use it instead of Windows and they don't have to pay for it. I am trying to make myself transfer to Linux right now. I have it installed on one of my hard drives and switch between using Windows and Linux.

I think that the average computer user can't use Linux because program installation is a little trickier than Windows. For example if you want to install a flash player for an internet browser in windows you just download it and run the install program. In Linux you have to go to the terminal and type in a command to install it. It doesn't take much to get used to it, but you may have to do some online investigating to figure out how to do certain things.

Now, for people who are a little tech savvy, Linux is the way to go. There are almost no viruses on Linux. It is FREE and many of the programs you use on it are, guess what, FREE. So if you like to edit images you can use Gimp for free instead of paying some ungodly amount for Photoshop (although I hear the new version that is coming out of photoshop can do some pretty cool stuff, click here). Anyways I don't think you can use photoshop on Linux anyways.

Linux is also used as a standard OS for servers. I have been doing web design for a few years now and trust me, you don't want to put your website on a windows server. Too many conflicts and problems. Stick with Linux.

In conclusion, for the price and the lack of virus attacks Linux probably one of the best operating systems out there for those that have a little technological know how. We'll see what Google does with its Chromium OS later this year.

Internet Insecurity

This broadcast talks about internet security. Basically there are ways for hackers to turn your computer into a 'bot'. This is where they can take control of your computer without you knowing it. They can then use it to flood a money making site (such as an online betting site out of Vegas) and lock it up by trying to access it at the same time with a huge amount of computers. It is then held hostage when they call you and ask for money in order for them not to do this.

Barret Lyon (one of the guests on the show) said he started fighting this type of crime by going to the business and fixing their networks. Now he has a company that acts as a heat-sink when this happens. When an large influx of users attacks a company's site, his company will filter out the ones that are bots and let the others through to the actual site. Now he wants to go after the actual hackers and "make them suffer".

One of the main contributors to this problem is pirated operating systems. These are illegal copies of operating systems that are downloaded off the internet. The operating system is not necessarily unsecured but they don't get the correct updates to stop the little hacker programs from being installed.

Mr. Lyon's company began to track these criminals all because Microsoft had a protocol called SNMP which is a tool to "look inside the computer's brain". This can be turned on or off by the user. They thought this would be a good way to hack a computer and used it to track down the control server for the bot computers where they finally found the Bad Guys.

They then began to chat with the hackers online and learning about them. After infiltrating them they used software to find out where they logged on from and what domain names they may be using and then tracked that to the registry where they could find names and addresses.

Even though there were huge investigations, many of the people that were caught where never really punished. They were more likely to be absorbed by the governments of the countries where they were located. The country (like Russia and China) can then use the same 'denial of service attack' on dissidents within the country and well as on foreign countries and companies whom they oppose. This could eventually lead to possible terrorist attacks that can disable systems within the US and even take down the electrical grid.

I'd wonder what has comes out of all of this. All this investigating to stop internet thugs has just pointed governments toward a great resource of hackers that work in their country. Fighting it has made the beast bigger and badder. This is common with many types of crime (prohibition, drugs, etc.). Do we continue fighting it by going after the criminals or should we just bolster our defenses?

External Hard Drives - Suggestions Welcome!

This is the perfect assignment for me right now. I am thinking about getting and external backup drive and can now take this time to research it. Basically one of my hard drives went down and I didn’t have some of my work backed up. I would like something that I can run a backup every time I shut down my computer. I have a lot of the information I want to back up spread across various drives. I would like to find something with customizable backup software that I can tell which areas to backup. Another thing I am looking for is speed. I want something with a ESATA connection as well as a USB connection so I can hook it up to my laptop and my desktop. Finally I want something that will last for a long time. I don’t want to buy a backup drive that is just going to crash in the next 3-5 years.

Here is what I have found so far. While looking on CNET.com I found that there are many options to look for. I also found that many of these options are out of my price range. Most drives with eSATA and USB with large storage space are above $200.00. The best I have found it the Seagate BlackArmor WS 110 1 TB USB 2.0/eSATA for around $120.00. This seems to have everything I need but is only for a backup device that uses the software. I am afraid that this would impede my ability to use it as a storage device as well as a backup. There are also solid state drives which may end up being more reliable. Finally there are online backups which store your information on a server but you have to pay a monthly fee. As you can see there are many options. Please post suggestions in what you have used!

Floppy Drives

Floppy Drives (Project 8-1):

Today most internal floppy drives can cost anywhere from $8 to $30 depending on brand name and quality. An external floppy drive can be more expensive, ranging from $15 to $60. They usually use a USB connection.

I think that external drives are more expensive mainly because of demand. Most new computers (especially laptops) don't come with a floppy drive anymore. Today everyone uses flash drives or external hard drives. An external floppy drive can come in handy when you are trying to repair a computer. Many times, with older operating systems, a floppy drive is the only way to repair or reinstall the OS. If the computer doesn't have one you can just plug in an external floppy and you're off!

DMA - This is used as a time saver when processing data. It allows data to be transferred directly from the computer's memory to a device without using the CPU.

low level formatting - This is usually preformed by the manufacturer of a hard drive. It creates the initial tracks and sectors on a hard disc. With older hard drives uo could easily preform a low level format and often save a drive but now manufacturers want you to purchase drives more often so they don't suggest that you format anymore and have made it harder for you to do so.

SATA - This is a connector from the hard drive to the motherboard. These connectors are smaller than and IDE connector. This is better because they take up less room which allows for better cooling. It is also a faster connection, especially when it comes to using external drives (much faster than USB connections).

ATA - This is the general interface standards for how devices (HDD, CD, Floppy, etc.) communicate with the computer. There are many forms, such as SATA and IDE listed here. Basically they are the wires or cables that transfer information to the computer from the drive.

IDE - This connection is bulkier but allows for more than one device to be attached to a single connector (master/slave). Actually IDE stands for the how the hard drive works and not the connector but as time goes by words get used for generalizations. Most new computers use SATA for their hard drives but will still use IDE for floppy drives and CD/DVD drives.

Blog 7 - History of Memory

Computer memory started out as mechanical. There where sliding metal parts and the now famous punch cards. Back in 1948, electronic memory started with the Williams tube. This used electron beams, vacuum tubes, and phosphor to store up to a whopping 1 Kb of memory. Around the same time there was the Selectron tube which in some cases could store more data, was more reliable and faster than the Willams tube but was complex and expensive to produce.

There were some odd forms of memory like Delay Lines which converted bits into mechanical vibrations and which were sent through a tank of mercury until it reached the other side. There the vibrations where changed back into bits. This was a refreshable form of memory.

In the 1950's core memory came out. This was a complex cross-hatch of wires and magnetic rings that would store information. When it came out is was very fast for its age with a cycle time of 6 microseconds and eventually reaching 1.2ms.

In the 1970's core memory was taken over by transistors. Scientists first started messing with transistors in 1948 but it took quite a few years before they could overcome the core memory.

Although DRAM chips had been around for awhile, in 1970 Intel came out with the first commercial DRAM chip, model 1103. This eventually led to the home computer. Which eventually built up to the technology we have today.

Blog 6 - Resources for the disabled.

One of my favorite hardware technologies is the use of a neural net to communicate with a computer or other hardware. The original technology was a network of senors that had to be in contact with the skin and could read brainwaves. The patient would then train the computer to interact with his/her brain by thinking of moving his or her arm up or down. The computer would translate this into the mouse or cursor moving up or down.

Now they have newly developed hardware that actually uses a chip attached to the brain which sends information down a cable to a small proccesor. This information can be used to not only control a computer but to also control robotic hands and other prosthetics.

The future of this technology is astounding! Since this is pretty cutting edge stuff it hasn't gotten out on the market yet.

Another interesting technology that is still fairly new is the eyeball tracking mouse. This system usually uses a contact lens with sensors in it to tell the computer where a person is looking. This means that as a person looks at the screen the pointer will go where their eye goes. Usually when they blink it translates to a click. This is great for disabled people who don't have the use of theirs hands or arms. It is also much less intrusive than the above mentioned technology.

Blog 5 - Processor Terms

Explain the following terms to your mother (she is not very computer literate)

processor frequency: This determines how fast your computer can process information. This is determined by the number of times it "beats" per second (like a human heart). The higher this number is, the faster your computer will react when you tell it to do something. Examples of this are 800Mhz or 3.2 GHz

word size: This determines how much information (measured in bits) that a computer can process at once. Once again the large the number the faster. Usually this is expressed as 32-bits or 64-bits.

overclocking: This is when someone goes into the settings of the computer and tells it to "beat" faster, creating a higher processor frequency and making the computer run faster. This can be dangerous because it can make the computer overheat if the frequency is too high and damage it.

data path: This is similar to word size. It is the amount of information that can be passed to the processor. The word size is the amount that can be processed and can be smaller than the data path. The data path is also expressed in 32-bits or 64-bits. Basically if your data path is 32-bits and your word count is 64-bits only 32-bits will be passed to the processor at a time. Even if the processor can handle more. This reduces the efficiency of the processor.

SRAM: This is a small amount of memory that runs faster than other types of memory. It can do so because it can hold data as long as it has power. This memory speeds up your computer because when a program begins to run it can guess what will be needed for future steps and store it to the SRAM for faster access.

primary, external and memory cache: A memory cache is a location where a small amount of memory is stored. The primary cache is actually on the processor and can therefore be accessed quickly by the processor. An external cache is located outside of the processor and used as a secondary cache.

Blog 4 - Powerstax

I selected the APC500 Series power supply. Basically I found the size of the power supply as a full brick. It also says that it puts out 500 watts, which is necessary to know so that you are sure you will have enough power for the demand of your computer. It is a DC:DC converter (which means that it takes in a direct current and changes it to a different output). You can find its efficiency and even its price (although price is not stated on all of the products on this site.

After I figured out how this company set up their site it had a lot of information. The one problem I see is that these aren’t necessarily for your home PC. These are used in servers and various other industries. Through this site you can find out information about the company, it’s rating, where its located, and their website. You can also find information 26 different products sold by Powerstax plc. The different types of power supplies are General, Motor Drives and AC/DC. These are very general types.

Overseas Tech Support

Ongoing problems with overseas tech support are among the biggest user complaints for PC consumers. What do you think about this, especially in this economy? Is is better to save money or to have good customer service? What if you owned that company, would you feel the same way?

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I understand how people can be frustrated when they call customer support and get a person that they don't understand. This can be even more annoying if said person is already stressed out from trying to repair their computer. How important is good customer service? I have lived outside of the USA where customer service wasn't the highest priority but people get used to it and learn to accept it. Charter Communications has notoriously bad customer service. I know that they recently went through a bankruptcy but many companies have in the past year or two and they are still around. Most people I know have who have used them have had problems but when everything is working fine do we really care about customer service? Once the problem is solved we may complain a little about the service but in the end most people don't actually boycott the company.

I believe that the owners of the company are correct in trying to save money and put these jobs overseas. In an ideal world all of the jobs for domestic companies would remain in this country but the fact is that profit runs the real world (especially in this economy).

Real Problems, Real Solutions

1. The system bus is called FSB for Front Side Bus. The two bus frequencies that are offered are 533 FSB and 800 FSB.

2. In this ad, P4 stands for Pentium 4.

3. The four choices of frequencies for the processors are 330, 340, 530 & 540.

4. The brand of the processor is Intel.

5. The motherboard has 512MB of RAM and it will cost an extra $50 to double it by adding another Dual DDR400 RAM chip.

6. A PCI Express slot is used for the video card in this system.

7. The hard drive is described an 80GB SATA ATA150 8M buffer 7200RPM ATA 100 UIDE HDD and you can double the memory for $38 more.

8. The terms I don't understand completely are: 10-100 Network, Hyper Threading, SK775, buffer, ATX.

Seven things you don’t know about me

Seven things you don’t know about me...

1. I will try almost anything twice.
2. I have traveled to many countries in the Americas but none outside of the Western hemisphere (yet).
3. I am married to a beautiful Argentine woman.
4. My first car was a 1961 Chevy Impala that I still own (and finally want to sell).
5. I am bilingual (Spanish/English).
6. I have been a mechanic, car washer, line cook, librarian, dock worker, English teacher, translator, interpreter, marketing manager and a web designer.
   
7. I have a fat cat and an old dog.