...more recent posts
Tough night for the internet. A massive worm exploiting a known (and patched) hole in Microsoft SQL Server (that's a database) is doing a pretty good job of grinding the net to a halt. Here's a disassembly of the 400 or so bytes being sent by infected systems. (No, I can't make anything out of that either, but it's kind of cool to look at.)
The worm isn't doing anything (it's not trying to destroy the infected databases,) it's just broadcasting information as it spreads creating a massive denial of service type situation. Basically a giant traffic jam. Theoretically this should be pretty easy to get under control, because all outbound traffic from infected machines is directed at the same port which can just be closed.
But I still can't get to my colo'd mail server with any regularity.
I've been hiding out. Making good progress on my project, but I haven't been able to deal with anything else. Sorry if I've been ignoring you.
I'm wrestling with something. I'd say more, but that's about all I know.
The next couple posts are some of the stuff I would have been blogging if I'd been writing more recently.
Wes Felter said this a few days ago:
I have to admit that I'm skeptical of the whole Open Spectrum thing. Is there no limit to wireless capacity or is there a really large limit? If I pile up a thousand radio-of-the-future gizmos all trying to talk to each other, what actually happens? And how much do these whiz-bang smart radios of the future cost, anyway?Damn these sensible questions. I wish someone would answer him in a way that would reassure me. Is this going to turn out to be just the latest in a series of utopian visions that always seem "right around the corner" but never quite get here? Maybe there's some purpose in that.
Still, I believe this story for the minute. Once we start building radios out of software, our radio devices (cellphones, wireless computers...) will be able to reconfigure themselves on the fly, not just maximizing potential network capacity over a given area, but actually increasing it as the number of devices on the network increases. How does it do this? Unlike now, where your radio is sending and receiving signals with special devices that form the network (cellphone towers, wireless base stations...,) the new whiz-bang network will be made up of the devices themselves, which are now so smart that nearby devices can automatically configure themselves into networks without the help of centralized infrastructure (cell phone towers and telco computers,) and then route traffic for the network in the background, while still serving their original function as clients on the network.
But yeah, you have to wonder, will that really work? I just mean technically, to start. After that there's the little issue about nobody making any money from such a network. And don't forget the billions of dollars invested in present day non whiz-bang networks.
Cory Doctorow's book Down And Out In The Magic Kingdom was released. You can download a free digital version here. He's utopian like that. Salon also published a shorter story Liberation Specturm. He also is the man behind boing boing which might be the best site on the internet. And he's also the outreach coordinator for the Electronic Freedom Foundation. You should give them some money.
Bruce Sterling had a really interesting quote about Sci-Fi being in a strong position right now to influence policy because of it's power to flesh out the complex technical questions we face today. Except his words were to the point and made you think "wow, that's a good point" whereas mine were probably a little more on the "huh?" side. But because I haven't been keeping up I don't have the link.
This is what you get.
So I have been thinking more in terms of science fiction. Not that I could write a book, but it's fun to think about. My story would have these whiz-bang wireless communicators. They're cigarette pack size, except all the corners are rounded. Like a bar of soap at perfect mid life. Fits right in your hand.
It uses a software defined radio. Speaks any flavor of wireless you download into it. It's all screen on the outside. High resolution. Touch sensitive.
It's our latest techo approximation of the philosopher's stone. Or at least the pocket Palantiri. Now what will the user interface look like?
Dear Operating System Vendor, I no longer want to know where my files are stored....
I've been laughing to defectiveyeti, maccers, and mimi smartypants which is sure better than a poke in the eye.
I still take my guilty pleasure in debka, and now thanks to dave I have added defensetech to the list of politico/military sites I don't know why I read.
Kevin Werbach's blog is a must for telecommunication industry watchers. Reiter's Wireless Data Web Log is just that. And you already knew about Glenn Fleishman's 802.11b News, even if you didn't know that it's been renamed Wi-Fi News.
I mentioned this before, but don't forget William Gibson's new blog. If you miss a day make sure you hit the archive, because he only shows the most recent day on the first page.
And if you really can't get enough Apple in your life Dave Hyatt (formerly of mozilla followed by Chimera fame, and now one of the men behind Apple's new Safari browser) has a (new) weblog Surfin' Safari. OSXAudio keeps up with - yes it's true - the world of OS X Audio. And speaking of which, here are a bunch of applescripts for iTunes. And also, OS X now has it's own category at freshmeat so you can find cool free software that you may or may not be able to figure out how to get running.
Don't say I never did anything for you. Updated sidebar links for this page coming real soon now.
Well, I'm finally getting something done. Unfortunately it involves building DHTML pop up menus which I knew would be a pain. And I wasn't wrong. Seems to be working, but I'm sure there is some browser/OS combo out there that will break it. This kind of work is not very satisfying for me. The problem is too artificial (working around the various rendering bugs in all the different browsers.) But I do want to make these people happy. And it might be something I can repurpose for other uses.
Did you ever read something you knew was only mildly funny, yet it stuck in your head and made you laugh out loud on multiple occasions when, let's say, maybe you shouldn't have been laughing? Like, because it wasn't really that funny? Still, sometimes I can't help myself.
From defective yetti:
ConfessionI don't even have to finish the sentence. To my brain, that's funny.
Tonight for dinner I ate both pasta and antipasta...
David Weinberger has put together an excellent Open Specturm FAQ. You should read it.