Author: Kent

Reader, writer, arithmeticer. Proprietor of Newsome.Org, a tech, music and life blog.

Tom Evslin's Blook

Tom Evslin has posted the first installment of his blook (a book serialized on a blog) at Hackoff.Com.

The novel takes place during the dot.com bubble and bust period of 1999-2003. It involves the murder of the CEO of a network security company, who was, it seems, a reformed hacker himself (see the “Chat Board” comments).

The neat thing about this project is the depth of the experience you get via the Hackoff.Com website. Not only can you read each chapter as it is posted (chapter 1 is up and chapter 2 is scheduled for 9/22/05), you can also click around to embedded links such as the link to the fictional company, and once you’re there to normal company related “About Us,” “Team,” “Support,” and even “Careers” pages (I think the job posting for “Portfolio Manager” is notable). The story begins with the CEO’s death in 2003, but chapter 2 will go back to 1999, as the company works towards its IPO.

Based on chapter 1, I’m interested in seeing where the story goes and look forward to reading, and experiencing, this project. It’s early but so far it reminds me of a more immersive Michael Crichton experience, which, in my book, is high praise.

One minor criticism: I don’t like it when movies use gratuitious cursing, and I don’t like it when books do it either. It is virtually impossible to offend me and, as my secretary will attest, I have been known to use a lot of colorful language. But I don’t do it around my kids or other kids. There is a word used on the fictional chat board that simply doesn’t need to be used. Granted, kids are unlikely to read this blook, but there are other less offensive words that could have easily been used for the same effect (the “b” word, while still a curse word, would be less offensive). I think that as blooks become more common, we need to keep in mind that they will be more accessible than traditional books (now I’ll step off my soapbox).

You can read Tom’s blook via the web site (which I recommend for the total experience) or via RSS or email subscriptions.

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The Mighty King of Love

I got back from my trip Friday afternoon. The trip was a sad one, as the reason for my return was to attend the funeral of one of my oldest friends, Kinney Stanton. There’s nothing I can say, in person or on the internet, that will dull the pain that Kinney’s untimely death has caused his family and friends. I was told that the line at the visitation at the funeral home on Wednesday evening was the longest in Cheraw history. I don’t doubt it- there were a lot of people there. I hope there’s a TV in heaven so Kinney could see how much he was loved and by how many. And of course so he can watch his Clemson football games.

One last gift Kinney gave his friends was to bring us together at and after his funeral. I saw some dear friends that I hadn’t seen for far too long. The afternoon at that bar on Highway 9 was special, as were the trips back to the ice house and dinner Wednesday night. Kinney was a “people person” and he brought people together, even after he could no longer join us. I rebuilt valued connections with a lot of people whom I care for deeply. Just one more in a long list of things Kinney did for others.

Kinney was not a perfect person- none of us are. But in the end people should be judged by their hearts. And Kinney’s heart was always in the right place. We were lifelong friends. We did good together. We raised hell together. We were allies and, on occasion, we strongly and even violently disagreed. We made each other laugh a lot, and we talked about life’s mysteries and challenges. But through it all, I never doubted Kinney’s heart. He cared for people deeply, maybe even too deeply.

Phil Lee has a song called The Mighty King of Love. The first time I heard it years ago, it reminded me of Kinney. The best part goes:

You call me the King of Love
Don’t I wish I were
I wouldn’t even call myself
A gifted amateur
I am the king of nothing
I am mostly skin and bone
And of all the broken hearts I broke
I mostly broke my own

One final thing I would note, to demonstrate the strength and kindness of the people who come from my hometown. At the visitation, in a time of almost unbearable grief, Kinney’s dad, who was one of my dad’s close friends, told me that he wanted to tell me a story about my dad sometime. The next day, just after the service, he sat me down in a folding chair and told me a story about my dad. The only stories I really know about my dad are the ones that he and others have told me, and I’m sure he knows that. The fact the he would take the time to tell me a story during such a sad time both humbles me as a human being and makes me unbelievably proud of where I come from. It is the Prettiest Town in Dixie, but not just because of the dogwoods.

My trip home was so intensely sad, but it was a healing thing as well. I am still sad about all the loss, but somehow it feels like things might turn out OK. There’s a ways to go, but thanks to the Mighty King of Love, we have a chance.

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Kinney (right) with Thomas Burr, another lifelong friend, on the playground at Robert Smalls Elementary, 1971

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Update: More on TIVO DRM

Engadget is reporting that the previously mentioned evidence of TIVO’s implementation of DRM continues to mount. My favorite part of that post is this comment by a reader:

“What is the point of a TiVo then? They’re crippling themselves, and even though I don’t own one, it pisses me off.”

I couldn’t agree more. The problem for TIVO is that it is caught between a rock (DirecTV non-support) and a hard place (Hollywood). It’s trying to recreate itself in a hostile environment. As a result, TIVO’s death throes are getting more and more hard to watch.

I’ll continue to hope that TIVO can beat the odds and remain a relevant and useful technology, as least until I conclude that TIVO is not telling the truth about this DRM business.

Note to TIVO: the best way to lose the last remaining part of your once large and loyal subscriber base would be to be less than forthcoming about this DRM business. DRM is a hot button for most of your subscribers, so the best way to address this mess is to play the “I have to do this to get the content you want” card. Blame it on the Hollywood cartel. No one likes them anyway.

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Tech Tips for Tweeners: Computer Security

babycomputer

One of the primary purposes of Newsome.Org is to introduce and explain computer-related programs and features to other in-betweeners like me- people who are the parents of the youngsters to whom computers and the internet are as integral as the telephone and the children of our parents who have no intention of ever embracing computers.

As the neighborhood computer geek, I get a lot of calls for help with computer-related problems. Without a doubt, the large majority of those problems are related to computer security, or the lack thereof.

There are 3 things that everyone must do to protect their computer and the data thereon. If you don’t do them, you will eventually encounter a problem. The only question is whether it will be a minor problem (such as a hijacked internet home page) or a big problem (like the loss of data or the theft of personal information).

Having said that, don’t avoid the internet like an unsafe neighborhood. The convenience and benefits are too great for that. We don’t give up driving just because there are bad drivers and potential carjackers out there. We simply wear our seatbelts, lock the doors and watch where we are going. There are a few simple things you can do to increase your computer safety and manage the risk.

One: Install a Firewall

A firewall monitors your incoming and outgoing internet (and other network) traffic and helps prevent traffic (e.g., connections) you don’t want from doing something bad to your computer. There are two kinds of firewalls: hardware and software. We are talking about the software kind.

Even if you connect through a router, you still need a software firewall.

There are a lot of choices out there, and I’ll recommend two. If you want to make things as simple as possible, use Windows’ built in firewall. You need to have Windows XP with Service Pack 2 installed in order to use Windows firewall, but (and this is very important) you need XP and SP2 installed for many other reasons. If you have an older version of Windows, upgrade. If you have XP make sure SP2 is installed. If your computer is too old to run XP and you are determined not to buy a new one, check out Zone Alarm (see below).

If you can’t or won’t use Windows’ built in firewall or if you want a little more protection, check out ZoneAlarm. There is a free version and a more robust ZoneAlarm Pro version, which is what I use. Both are easy to install and configure. $50 a year is not much money to protect your computer, so I suggest shelling out the dough. Also, unlike Windows firewall, ZoneAlarm works on Windows 98 (Second Edition) and later. If you have an earlier version of Windows, it is seriously time to junk it and get a new computer with a new OS (like Windows XP).

Two: Install Antivirus Software

After you get your firewall up and running, buy and install an antivirus program. Antivirus programs attempt to identify and eliminate computer viruses before they infect your computer. Unlike a firewall, which stops unwanted connections (where another computer “talks” to yours), antivirus software stops a usually hidden or disguised computer program from making changes to your computer.

Windows does not yet have an integrated antivirus program, although Microsoft is working on one. I’ll make two recommendations. One, which I use, is Norton Antivirus. You can buy it online, download it and install it right away. One note: resist buying the once indispensable Norton Utilities, which bundles other programs with an antivirus program. These once great programs have been largely rendered unnecessary by Windows XP and now serve mainly to cause unnecessary programs to run in the background, possibly slowing your computer down. The program costs another $50 per year, but is worth it.

The other program that I like, though less than Norton Antivirus, is McAfee Antivirus. Again, avoid buying a bundle of software. Buy only the antivirus program.

Important Note: No matter which program you buy, it is critical that you run regular updates, which can be automated if you like. The developers post regular updates that identify new viruses. If you don’t update the software regularly (at least once a week), you will not have adequate protection. Finally, make sure you have enabled email scanning, which allows the program to automatically scan every incoming and outgoing email for viruses. Most computer viruses are delivered via email, some of which may be disguised as emails from someone you know (once a virus infects a computer, it will often access the computer’s address book and email itself to the contacts therein- the idea being that people are more likely to open an email from someone they know).

Three: Install an Anti-Spyware Program

Firewalls keep hackers from communicating with your computer. Antivirus programs keep virus files from changing your computer, but there is still spyware. Spyware is malicious software intended to take partial control of a computer’s operation without the owner’s consent. Spyware differs from viruses in that it does not usually self-replicate (e.g., email itself via your address book). Like many recent viruses, spyware is primarily designed to exploit infected computers for commercial gain. I would also add that spyware is generally less damaging than a virus and is much more common on even a careful user’s computer. My unfortunate experience has been that spyware, particularly the tracking kind (that allows some program you have installed or some website you have visited to track where you go on the web), is virtually inevitable. The goal is to regularly scan for it and delete it.

Microsoft is also working on an integrated anti-spyware program and there is a beta version available for free. I haven’t used it, so I can’t comment other than to say that this will, like Windows firewall, become the easy choice in future versions of Windows. In the meantime, I’ll make two recommendations. First, Ad-Aware, the program I use. Like ZoneAlarm, there is a free version and an Ad-Aware Plus version for $40). I use the free version and it has always worked well for you. One note: the pay versions claim to prevent spyware before it infects your computer (and perhaps making spyware less inevitable). I haven’t used them, so I don’t know how well the prevention works. If anyone has any thoughts, please post a comment.

Another good program is Spyware Doctor. I have only used it a little, but it got a great review from PC Magazine. I stay with Ad-Aware, because I have used it for years. If I were starting anew, I’d shell out the $30 for Spyware Doctor.

Conclusion

I don’t want to overstate my point and cause undue concern about computer security. I use the internet for everything from banking to shopping to data storage and I have never suffered a serious security problem. The reason I am so comfortable using the internet so extensively is because I understand the risks and take these steps to manage them. It will take a couple of hours to buy and install these programs, but if you install them and keep them updated, you will protect yourself against some very real but manageable problems. Get to work and happy surfing!

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Stones and Other Concerts

Fred Wilson has posted a review from the Stone’s Giants Stadium show last night. He lists the entire set, with a little commentary. I took Cassidy to see the Stones the last time they were in Houston (1/25/03), because one of my graduate school friends went with his parents to see The Beatles when he was four and I wanted to give Cassidy a similar story to tell.

I’ve seen the Stones 4-5 times and have tickets for the Houston show in a few weeks. Absolutely are they great live. Here are a few of my all-time favorite concerts:

1) REM – Fox Theatre, Atlanta (1984): Simply the best rock concert I have ever been to. Every moment was magical.

2) Bruce Springsteen – Charlotte Coliseum (around 1976): He played for 4 hours, including 30 minutes or so after the lights were turned on. I was just getting into Bruce at that point, but I knew I had seen a show I’d never forget.

3) Allman Brothers – Somewhere in Charlotte (around 1979): The only time I have ever seen one of my all-time favorite bands in concert. It was at some outdoor place. I didn’t drive, and I can’t recall exactly where it was.

4) Lynyrd Skynyrd – Charlotte Coliseum (around 1976): Also the only time I ever saw the second greatest southern rock band (behind only the Allmans).

5) Neil Young – Houston Music Hall (around 1987): We were afraid it was going to be a rockabilly show, but it turned out to be a Crazy Horse reunion show and an amazing one.

6) Boz Scaggs – Charlotte Coliseum (around 1977): I got drug to this when all I knew about was Lowdown and before I knew about his blues roots. He rocked the place and I was so glad I went.

There are no Grateful Dead shows on the short list, because even though they are my other all-time favorite band and I saw them 6-7 times, I never caught a magical show like a lot of folks talk about. All of them but one were very good. But none of them were magical enough to make the list (the closest one was the Southern Star Amphitheatre in 1985). I got into the Dead late (in the late 70s), which may explain why I never caught one of the magical shows.

Honorable Mention: Commodores (around 1980), Earth, Wind and Fire (around 1980), Mother’s Finest (around 1977) and of course the Stones (any of the shows).

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Friday’s Link: Memorandum

techmeme

Memorandum is a very popular site that links to content from selected blogs. It’s a little hard to explain, but basically Memorandum contains links to blogger discussions on hot topics (meaning topics that a lot of people are talking about).

One problem I had with the original iteration of Memorandum was that the topics were too heavily weighted towards political discussion, and I don’t care a whit about politics. In fact, it bores me to tears.

Now, Memorandum has split into two sites: politics and tech. Personally, I don’t read the politics version, but the tech version is one of my every day reads. Politics or tech- either way you can find some good content fast via Memorandum.

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3 Things I Remember About: 1966

This is the second in a series. Part 1 is here.

robot-790659

(1) I was a robot in my kindergarten play. My dad made a costume out of a cardboard box, a hat box and some wrapping paper tubes. That costume remained in my mom’s attic until she died in 1998.

(2) I started first grade at Cheraw Primary School, in Mrs. Lawrimore’s class. I remember nervous about starting “real” school. Whit Fowler must have been nervous too. He threw up on my arm before I even made it into the classroom.

(3) Someone drug me to see The Sound of Music, and the scars still haven’t healed. I really, really don’t like that movie. I honestly believe that my continuing distaste for musicals originates from that one movie.

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Homeward Bound

For the first time since 1998, when I went back to bury my mother, I am headed home today. The reason why is not a happy one. I will write about that this weekend when I get back and have a chance to sit down with a bottle of whiskey and reflect on things.

House Ice Storm

Today I am thinking about how long I’ve been away. I have warm feeling about my hometown and I love quite a few people who live there. My extended absence comes down to a couple of things. One is my mostly (but obviously not entirely) subconscious desire the break the chain of sadness and loss that began there with my dad’s death in 1968 and ended with my mom’s in 1998. More importantly, however, is the combination of the great distance and my post-9/11 desire to keep my children’s feet on the ground. Cassidy has flown once or twice in 7+ years. Delaney has never been on an airplane. Some (actually most) of my friends think I’m nuts, but anyone who knows me knows that where my kids are concerned, I’m not subject to peer (or any other) pressure. If my hometown was 4 hours away, we’d go all the time. But it’s not. It’s halfway across the country (actually it’s on the edge of it; we’re halfway across it). So until I can plan a cross-country drive, my kids are going to have to wonder what Daddy’s hometown is like, kind of like they wonder about Paris, Sydney and NYC. Yes, my position will soften as they grow up and demand to see far away places, but we aren’t there yet.

Nevertheless, as I return to my hometown, I fully realize that I am going back to face my failures. My failure to visit. My failure to call often enough. Sometimes even my failure to send a Christmas or birthday card to people I love. It’s hard, but it’s only hard because I haven’t worked to keep the connections that once meant everything to me- that made me who I am.

It’s going to be a strange and sad trip. But my hope is that some small good will come of it. That I can remind a lot of good people that I care about them. That they are a part of me, and by association a part of my children. That they have been in my prayers every night since I left (at least every night I remember to say my prayers).

If I can tell a few people that, maybe it will be easier than I think. I hope so.

Telephone Rage

telephonerageI sort of understand road rage. I’ve never suffered it (though I have teetered on the abyss a few times). I’ve been the victim of it in small ways a couple of times. I’ve mostly honked or been honked at. Once in a while I’ll shoot the bird or have one shot at me.

What I understand much better is telephone rage. Specifically as a result of someone I need to call not having call waiting. I talk on the phone all day long at work. Sometimes, I am on a call with two more people on hold. I try as hard as I can to get through the calls and get to everyone, but that’s just the nature of business in general and mine in particular.

Because I talk on the phone so much at work, I rarely talk on the phone at home. I would estimate that I get maybe 6 personal phone calls a year at home. The other 7,000 or so are for Raina or one of the girls (technology has all but eliminated sales calls in our house). I probably make about 6 personal calls a year from home too. And you can be sure that 5 of those will be to the only 5 people in America who don’t have call waiting. It drives me nuts. I would like to have the Publishers Clearinghouse gig. The second I got a busy signal I’d do two things: first, I’d move down the list and award the prize to the first person who didn’t greet me with a busy signal; second, I’d book an add for the next Superbowl to announce how Mr. or Ms. No-Caller-ID forfeited the big prize by jabbering away while I was trying to call them.

The bottom line is that I have to need to talk to someone really bad to call back after getting a busy signal or two. Other than my sister, who has been on the phone for hours, I can’t think of anybody I need to talk to that bad.

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More Bad TIVO News

Apparently, TIVO is not satisfied dying on the vine thanks to its abandonment by DirecTV. Now comes news that the new TIVO operating system has the ability to place a bunch of DRM restrictions on the shows we record.

nailcoffinAccording to this post at PVRblog, the new DRM implementation allows TIVO to place limitations on how long certain shows can be saved (before now, one of the options was “Save Until I Delete”). Additionally, some shows cannot be copied using TIVO Togo (I wouldn’t know since my $1000 doorstops previously known as the TIVO HR210 never supported TIVO Togo).

A post on Tivo Community Forums, a very popular TIVO site that I visit regularly to talk about neat ways to use my $1000 doorstops, contains a bunch of screenshots (here, here, here and here) clearly showing the significant DRM restrictions.

PVRblog has an update that says the DRM on that old King of the Hill show was a mistake on the part of the TV station. Nevertheless, this little accident of grace shows that TIVO has implemented DRM and indicates that it may use it to prevent its (undoubtedly dwindling number of) loyal subscribers from doing what they have been allowed to do for a long time.

All in all, this is just one more reason why TIVO is dying on the vine. Whether TIVO is doing all of this stuff on its own (highly unlikely) or being required to do it by the TV network cartel (very likely), doesn’t matter. The result is the same: less appealing service that alienates its subscribers.

Bye Bye TIVO, it’s been nice knowing you.

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