Year: 2005

Google's Defense on AOL

Post ImageYou might recall that last week I mentioned there were rumors of Microsoft talking with Time Warner about AOL. At the time, I said it would likely be a play for access to the content that AOL controls, but it’s pretty clear now that Microsoft talking to AOL is more a business tactic – they want to eliminate the revenue Google gets from AOL. So news of a possible Google takeover of AOL should be no surprise:

Google could try to bid for America Online to preempt a Microsoft takeover and protect the $380 million in revenue Google gets from its biggest partner, according to an analyst.

“We believe it is entirely possible that Google could consider making a bid for AOL as well,” Lauren Rich Fine, an analyst at Merrill Lynch, wrote in a Friday report on the implications of an AOL-Microsoft Network deal. “This would certainly protect Google’s revenues from AOL as well as enable Google to keep 100 percent of the search advertising revenues as well as gain a significant amount of content.”

This is so much more exciting than Microsoft versus Netscape or any of the battles of the past, because Google has tons of cash too. Not as much as Microsoft, but enough to make things interesting.

Read: CNET News.com

Ford vs. Microsoft

Post ImageFellow blogger Larry Borsato and I have a friendly little discussion taking place in which we’re comparing Ford and Microsoft. It started with Larry’s comments on Microsoft’s $100 million campaign promoting the new version of Office and the comment I made on that post. Larry then posted a pretty indepth comparison of Ford and Microsoft:

He has an excellent point, and though it is difficult to compare the tangible Ford truck with the less tangible software, I feel it necessary to try.

And he does a pretty good job too, but there’s a few things I felt it was important to point out. Let me start with some of the things I disagree with.

Not Quite!

First of all, I guess it is technically correct that software doesn’t “wear out” in the same way a mechanical product does. On the other hand, the “platform” that your Ford truck requires to work will change very little in say, 20 years. What do I mean by that? Well your Ford truck requires roads and highways to operate on. Your operating system and by extension the software applications that run on top of it require a computer with certain hardware components. In 20 years, roads won’t change much, but your computer hardware sure will.

I’m not sure this is really a software issue:

So let’s use my laptop that died the other day as a basis for comparison. So basically my Ford truck has just stopped working, and a bunch of indicator lights are lit. The laptop indicated that the system file was corrupt; that I should use the Windows XP CD to restore it. Ok, but I didn’t get one with my PC, so now I had to buy a copy for $129.

Why didn’t you get a restore CD? Almost all major computer manufacturers provide a restore CD with their computers, so in the worst case, you can restore your machine to the state it was when you purchased it. And they work quite well too! I just restored a Sony laptop for a client last week, and it was extremely simple. Not having a restore CD isn’t so much a Microsoft issue as it is a vendor issue. It’s kind of like buying your Ford from a dealer that neglected to give you a spare tire (or donut spare). You can still use the truck, but if something goes wrong, you’ll likely need that spare tire.

I think patches are kind of like oil changes. You need an oil change once in a while to keep your vehicle running smoothly, just like you need a patch once in a while to keep your software running smoothly. I realize that an oil change doesn’t “fix” anything whereas a patch is usually repairing some problem, but intuitively they are the same – something that needs to be done once in a while. And in XP, Microsoft has made patches pretty painless with Automatic Updates – you can’t have your oil changed automatically.

The other argument is that a Ford truck never requires something like Service Pack 2, where the guts are changed and improved. While that’s true, think of it this way. If Ford decides to change the interface of the truck to make something easier, you have to buy a new truck to get it. With SP2, Microsoft made many things much simpler, like wireless connections for example, and they made it available for free (unlike Apple). That’s a feature thing though, what about problems? Well vehicles are not immune, and there have been many recalls over the years. Faulty tires, driving columns that would catch fire, etc. How to fix them? You’ve got to take your vehicle in to have it serviced. With your computer, you’ve just got to download and install a service pack. It’s fairly unobtrusive by comparison.

Room For Improvement

Now there are many areas that software, and in particular Windows, can be improved. One such area is in backups – they are far too hard. Restoring your computer from a CD may allow it to become operational again, but all of your data is lost. This is a problem, and it needs to be easier! Unfortunately, part of the problem lies with hard drives, which are not the most reliable pieces of machinery ever invented. Software plays an important role though too.

Most of all, a year after I buy an F-150, Ford may try to entice me with a new Ford based on more power, more features, or new body styling, just like Microsoft. But they won’t tell me how stupid I am to have bought last year’s model; that I’m a dinosaur because I’m not buying the newer model. In fact, Ford is proud of the fact that their cars are durable.

Good point. Microsoft doesn’t seem very proud of their old operating systems, but it is kind of related to what I mentioned above – the roads are still the same, but the computers are quite a bit different.

Software reboots need to be eliminated! So far the stuff I have read about Vista shows that progress is being made in this department – fewer reboots required when changing operating system files. This needs to get to zero reboots, but that will take time.

And my truck won’t start driving more slowly as the day goes on. Provided I get regular oil changes of course.

Too true. The operating system needs to do a much better job of keeping things running smoothly. In the software world, the “regular oil changes” are akin to defragmenting and memory management, both of which a user should never have to see. They should just happen automatically in the background.

It Takes Time

Ford wasn’t always very reliable (and some would argue they aren’t today either when compared to Toyota). It took time for Ford vehicles to get to the point they are at today – over 100 years in fact. By comparison, we’ve really only had ten years of widespread operating system use, since Windows 95. What will software look like in another 90 years?

Read: Larry Borsato

Using Firefox? You're not safe!

Post ImageI have said it before, and I’ll say it again: Firefox isn’t really all that secure! It only seems more secure because it doesn’t have a large enough market share to warrant attacking. Fortunately, some other people have noticed this and done some excellent analysis, like George Ou and ZDNet:

Now that Firefox has become the first viable contender to Microsoft Internet Explorer in years, its popularity has brought with it some unwanted attention. Last week’s premature disclosure of a zero-day Firefox exploit came a few weeks after a zero-day exploit for Internet Explorer appeared on the Internet. Firefox not only has more vulnerabilities per month than Internet Explorer, but it is now surpassing Internet Explorer for the number of exploits available for public download in recent months.

In the post, George shows that since March of this year, Firefox has encountered 40 vulnerabilities, compared with Internet Explorer’s 10. And since April 2005, there have been 11 exploits for Firefox compared with only 6 for Internet Explorer. One could make the case that Internet Explorer 6 has been around longer and thus many of it’s problems were fixed prior to March of this year. It would be interesting to see some data on that. Of course, Firefox shouldn’t have had any of the same vulnerabilities though, as it was released after IE6 and should have been able to learn from it’s mistakes, right?

A new report from Symantec found similar results, but also noted that hackers still focus their efforts on IE – no doubt because of the size of IE’s market share and installed base:

According to the report, 25 vendor-confirmed vulnerabilities were disclosed for the Mozilla browsers during the first half of 2005, “the most of any browser studied,” the report’s authors stated. Eighteen of these flaws were classified as high severity. “During the same period, 13 vendor-confirmed vulnerabilities were disclosed for IE, eight of which were high severity,” the report noted.

The average severity rating of the vulnerabilities associated with both IE and Mozilla browsers in this period was classified as “high”, which Symantec defined as “resulting in a compromise of the entire system if exploited.”

See the browser wars aren’t really Firefox versus IE at all. No, the browser wars are hackers versus vendors.

Notes for 9/18/2005

Seems like the last week has just flown by, but maybe it’s just me.

  • Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone! Thanks for dinner Yeo & Family!
  • My favorite social bookmarking tool del.icio.us turned two years old this week. Happy Birthday!
  • It was announced this week that Northern Voice is happening again in February.
  • I watched part of the Emmys tonight, and I couldn’t help but think that awards ceremonies are just an excuse for the networks and celebrities to try to convince us that they care about the disaster du jour. I long for the awards ceremony where no one thanks God for their award, and no current event is mentioned in any detail other than perhaps in passing. Otherwise, why don’t we just post the winners online with a generic acceptance speech – “I’d like to thank God, and express my deepest condolences for the families affected by 9/11 or Katrina or Iraq or etc.”
  • If you know of any podcasting projects or experiments at the University of Alberta, let me know!
  • Speaking of the UofA, there are some good suggestions for wireless in the comments of this post.
  • Microsoft’s PDC ended Friday, and while I wasn’t there, it sure was amazing. Lots of excellent stuff coming. I agree with Brad Feld – 2006 Will Be The Year of Microsoft.
  • There is no “grilled cheese” on the menu at Denny’s, but if you ask for it they’ll make it anyway, and it’s damn good. One day I’m going to start my own grilled cheese restaurant, something like Grilled Cheese NYC.

Piracy in China

Post ImageThere always seems to be something in the news about China (and to a lesser extent, India) these days, and it’s usually about how China is changing in one way or another. Even articles that seem to talk about a lack of change really talk about change:

But one thing never seems to change, and it’s as obvious on street corners today as it was six years ago. In 1999, when “Star Wars Episode 1–The Phantom Menace” debuted, it was quickly pirated on DVDs that sold throughout China for next to nothing.

Fast forward to May 2005–four years after China joined the World Trade Organization and embraced its stringent rules on intellectual property rights. When “Star Wars: Episode III–Revenge of the Sith” opened in U.S. theaters, copies again hit the streets of Beijing within days. Sold out of bicycle baskets by roving vendors, available in mom-and-pop retail stores everywhere, the counterfeit DVDs retailed for about 75 cents each.

Yes, piracy is a big problem in the world, and not just in China though the problem is particularly evident there. Why is it bad though? Change!

What’s standing in the way of better intellectual property rights enforcement? “It’s not a plot,” says Bruce Lehman, former commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the chairman of the International Intellectual Property Institute. “It’s the result of a system in transition.”

It’s a pretty safe bet actually, when you hear China, just guess change!

Read: CNET News.com

Inukshuk Wireless Internet

Post ImageSay it with me now – wireless everywhere! Looks like it’ll be happening in Canada sooner than expected too, according to Om Malik:

The Canadians are taking a lead on the US, and are putting together a nationwide fixed wireless broadband network, according to Digital Home Canada. Two Canadian incumbents – Rogers Communications and Bell Canada have decided to pool all their licensed wireless broadband sepctrum into a new company – Inukshuk Internet – that will be equally owned and controlled by the cable guys and the phone company. They will also equally share transmission capacity and will work with other wireless broadband providers such as Clearwire to make sure that wireless broadband users can roam on other networks. Inukshuk will build and operate the network, that within three years should bring wireless broadband to two-thirds of Canadians. It is going to cost $200 million and will cover 40 cities and approximately 50 rural and remote communities across Canada.

This is a glimpse into the future my friends, mark my words. It won’t be long until we can walk anywhere and be connected to the Internet. And when a cable and a phone company team up, well you know it’s got to be important.

The Globe and Mail has more on the story:

“The promise of wireless broadband is here and Bell and Rogers have the expertise, resources and commitment to make it happen,” said Bob Berner, chief technology officer of Rogers. “This is a powerful tool for Canadian businesses and consumers — both of whom will benefit from the substantially increased and accelerated competition the network will bring.”

I think the name is particularly interesting, Inukshuk. An inukshuk, similar to the logo chosen for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, was historically important for navigating across the arctic tundra. As there were no natural landmarks (just endless seas of white) native peoples would build inukshuks to help them mark where they had been and to find their way to various locations. In that sense, inukshuks kind of connected the north. Wireless everywhere is going to connect the north again.

Read: Om Malik

Great Idea: NAIT's OokSTICK

Post ImageUSB Memory Sticks are incredibly inexpensive now, and as a result, it seems that everyone has them. The great thing about a memory stick though, is that you can never have too many! That’s why I think NAIT’s OokSTICK is an amazing idea:

Full-time students who are registering for courses this fall at NAIT [Northern Alberta Institute of Technology] are getting off to a great start with a memory stick and virtual magazine.

The 256MB USB stick not only contains plenty of storage space for student assignments, it also features OokMAG – the NAIT Student Virtual Magazine, a 40-page electronic publication loaded with information about life at NAIT.

Wonderful! This is something all post secondary institutions should be doing. It’s a great way to share information with students, and an even better way to show students that you’re willing to do something for them once in a while. I think tuition would be easier to swallow if I got a USB memory stick as part of the deal (not easy to swallow, just easier).

Read: NAIT OokSTICK

Northern Voice 2006

Post ImageJust saw on Darren’s blog that Northern Voice is happening again in 2006. Here are all the details so far (from Darren’s post):

  • It’s a two-day conference now, with Friday being a self-organizing thingy in the tradition of Foo Camp and Bar Camp. Saturday will be similar to last year’s conference. You can register for either or both days.
  • It’s going to be Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11.
  • It’s slightly more expensive than last year, but still absurdly cheap at CAN $30 for either day or $50 for both.
  • It’s back at UBC Robson Square.
  • We’re seriously considering holding a potluck dinner on the Friday night.

I really enjoyed Northern Voice 2005, so I am definitely looking forward to the second one. I really like the idea of Moose Camp too, that’s a good idea. Here’s the new website (I think the old green is nicer than the blue).

Read: Nothern Voice 2006

Fuel cell powered MP3 player

Post ImageI like to think that my Zen Touch has a pretty damn good battery life, at least when compared to other audio players like the iPod. Not as good as the new fuel cell powered MP3 player that Toshiba has developed though:

Toshiba, who wears the belt for world’s smallest methanol fuel cell, has now developed two fuel-cell powered MP3 player prototypes. A flash-based player measuring 1.4 x 4.3 x 0.8-inches is said to run for 35 hours on a single 3.5ml charge of highly concentrated methanol while a hard drive based player swells to 2.6 x 4.9 x 1.1-inches and runs for about 60 hours on a single 10ml charge. Those dimensions are pretty sweet (the 60GB ipod is 2.4 x 4.1 x .75 inches by comparison) and will certainly get smaller once optimized for production.

That’s pretty crazy, no?! Though I am not sure if storing methanol would be that much better than just plugging the player into the wall every now and then,

Read: Engadget

Want to build a satellite?

Post ImageWhat would you do if you could launch your very own satellite? What would you design your satellite to do? I don’t think I know enough about the possibilities to even hazard a suggestion! Check this out:

An ambitious program called CubeSat, developed at Stanford University and California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, is giving students and companies the opportunity to build and launch functional satellites into low Earth orbit, or about 240 to 360 miles above the planet.

The satellites are tiny–they weigh a kilogram and generally measure about 10 centimeters on each side–but they cost far less than conventional commercial satellites. A CubeSat unit costs roughly $40,000 to build and only $40,000 to launch. As part of the program, Cal Poly takes care of the bureaucratic and logistical hurdles.

By contrast, a conventional satellite can run between $150 million and $250 million to build and $100 million to launch.

Think of this like the start of computing. Computers were finally “inexpensive enough” for an individual to buy (though far more expensive than they are today), and so they did. And look what happened! Is the information age going to have to make way for the true space age, where it’s not governments exploring the galaxy but you and me?

Read: CNET News.com