My Archives: October 2001
Tuesday, October 23, 2001
News: Launch of .biz addresses delayed
Companies registering Web addresses under the new .biz domain will have to wait two more weeks for the Web sites to go live while the overseeing registry company readies its system, the company said Wednesday.
The .biz registry was supposed to be up and running for real-time registrations beginning Oct. 23, but that has been pushed back until Nov. 7, according to NeuLevel.
It was the second setback in less than a week for the Sterling, Va.-based company that has been charged with distributing the new Internet addresses.Posted by Elmer @ 12:25 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Brief: OASIS to set Web services standards | Computerworld News & Features Story
Looking to create a platform for next-generation Web services, many high-tech heavy hitters are joining under the umbrella of the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) to set standards for the multichannel access to those services.
Announced today, the OASIS Web Services Component Model (WSCM) Technical Committee will look to establish XML vocabularies and interfaces that allow Web services to be displayed agnostic of the formats or devices involved in its transmission.Posted by Elmer @ 12:13 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Wednesday, October 17, 2001
ApplyWeb: Online Applications: Law Schools
Posted by Elmer @ 05:47 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Law schools using embark.com
Posted by Elmer @ 05:42 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Tuesday, October 16, 2001
Linux Today - MySQL 4.0.0 Released
The long awaited version 4.0 of the MySQL database is now available for download at the MySQL website. The new version is intended as a platform for building mission critical, heavy load database solutions, and much effort has been put into providing a solid foundation for planned enhancements, some of which are included from the start. Although the current release is an alpha version, the development team expects to release a beta version after rapid initial testing and will also add a number of new features in the weeks to come.Posted by Elmer @ 09:35 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Technology News | New Net Domain 'Fiasco'
Media sources reports that up to a quarter of the early registrations for the new .info domain name could be bogus.
According to BBC Online, a study of 11,000 registrations has shown a failure of the steps taken to stop people winning control of domains they do not have the right to run.
Legal experts have called the whole process a fiasco, and have told BBC Online news that the company administering the .info domain could face legal challenges from those denied a chance to apply for some generic .info domains.Posted by Elmer @ 09:26 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
XML.com: Using W3C XML Schema [Oct. 17, 2001]
The W3C XML Schema Definition Language is an XML language for describing and constraining the content of XML documents. W3C XML Schema is a W3C Recommendation.
Posted by Elmer @ 09:19 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Monday, October 15, 2001
InformationWeek > Help Desks > Help Desks Think Bigger > October 11, 2001
The help desk used to be the lowliest job in the IT department, and for good reason-help-desk employees spent all day answering simple, repetitive, unchallenging questions. That's changing. Users' questions are getting more sophisticated, and in response, the role of the help desk is evolving from one of troubleshooting to one of understanding and supporting business strategy. "The skill of the help-desk person needs to evolve to a business-unit support role," says Rick Mapes, IT department division manager for the city of Aurora, Colo.
Part of the reason is that more companies, and more employees within companies, are using sophisticated business applications such as enterprise resource planning and customer-relationship management systems. Rather than just worrying about problems on their desktops, IT users are more likely to be affected by issues of application use and business process that are outside the traditional purview of the help desk.Posted by Elmer @ 12:54 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Friday, October 12, 2001
Linux Ethercard Status, Diagnostic and Setup Utilities
This is a collections of user-level programs to report the status of and verify the basic functionality of an ethercard. Most programs report the link status and interface configuration. The chip-specific programs can read (and sometimes write) the EEPROM setup table of software-configured cards.
These program also provide example code for accessing hardware device from a user-level program in Linux. They enable access to I/O space registers using ioperm() or iopl() . The PCI diagnostic programs demonstrate user-level access to PCI configuration information. Several ISA diagnostics (e.g. e21.c) demonstrate access to ISA shared memory regions using mmap() .Posted by Elmer @ 08:56 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
The Register | Intel's Small Form-factor Desktop Roadmap
Intel's latest desktop processor release schedule includes a new category: small form-factor machines. Some industry analysts have been banging on about how these slimline desktops will soon come to dominate corporate PC purchasing, and it appears Intel is beginning to take note.
It all sounds a bit too much like previous fads for ergonomically designed computers and, later, thin-client systems to us, but clearly there must be something to it or Intel wouldn't be sniffing around the (potential) market.Posted by Elmer @ 12:56 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Thursday, October 11, 2001
Outlining with Manila under Linux - S.Kittle's Homepage
This article documents my efforts in outlining with Manila under Linux. The best feature of Manila for me is its use of XML-RPC for scripting and its use of OPML for writing (ok, best features). This page is about the steps needed to compose, convert, and upload OPML outlines to a Manila server using its XML-RPC interface.
Posted by Elmer @ 10:33 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Wednesday, October 10, 2001
StarOffice 6: Free Alternative to MS Office
We recommend that IT administrators download the StarOffice 6 beta and evaluate for themselves how well the suite works with the spreadsheet, word processing and presentation files in use in their organizations. (StarOffice can be downloaded from www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/6.0beta/get.html.)
Posted by Elmer @ 08:25 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Gartner: Most IT security problems self-inflicted | Computerworld News & Features Story
IT professionals in charge of computer security need only look in the mirror to meet their biggest enemy.
About 90% of security breaches occur because attackers take advantage of software that IT staffers have either misconfigured or failed to patch, a Gartner Inc. analyst said Monday during the company's Symposium/ITxpo 2001 in Orlando. Thus, by fixing known vulnerabilities and properly configuring software products, IT departments could prevent most security incidents, such as Web site defacements, information theft and denial-of-service attacks.
"We have met the enemy, and they are us," said analyst John Pescatore.Posted by Elmer @ 08:23 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Sophos article: Sircam - still spreading in the wild
Sophos technical support continues to receive a significant number of calls from computer users affected by the W32/Sircam-A worm, first reported in July 2001.
"It's hard to believe people are still being infected by this virus when it is so easy to stop through up-to-date anti-virus software," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos Anti-Virus. "Sircam can cause particular problems for businesses because of the way it breaches company confidentiality by distributing documents and spreadsheets found on your hard disk."Posted by Elmer @ 08:09 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Update: Supreme Court rebuffs Microsoft appeal | Computerworld News & Features Story
In a widely expected move, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Microsoft Corp.'s appeal to overturn a lower court's ruling that the software behemoth violated antitrust laws, a Microsoft spokesman confirmed today.
"We understood that very few cases are granted for review by the Supreme Court, and we were disappointed that ours wasn't one of the very few," said Microsoft spokesman Jim Desler.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in July of this year upheld a lower court ruling last June that Microsoft violated antitrust rules by holding a monopoly in the PC operating systems market.Posted by Elmer @ 08:00 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Tuesday, October 9, 2001
Supreme High Court Rejects Microsoft Antitrust Appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court (news - web sites) on Tuesday rejected Microsoft Corp.'s request to overturn an earlier ruling that the software giant violated U.S. antitrust laws.
The high court declined without any comment or dissent to review the June 28 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, leaving it for the District Court to review. That ruling, which concluded that Microsoft had illegally maintained its monopoly over the market for personal computer operating systems, is currently before the bench of U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly.Posted by Elmer @ 06:45 PM EST [Link]
The PHP Firewall Generator is a simple PHP script that generates a firewall script for iptables or ipchains based firewalls. The script is created based on configuration rules entered by the user. The aim is to support a rule set similar to those supported by commercial Firewall systems, and have it easy to configure.
Posted by Elmer @ 08:38 AM EST [Link]
Monday, October 8, 2001
ZDNet: Tech Update: Enterprise Applications / MySQL database to get revamped
MySQL AB plans to make major changes to its namesake open-source database technology by year's end, including support for SSL and nested queries.
The company will launch Version 4.0 this month and upgrade it to Version 4.1 in December, according to CEO MÅrten Mickos.
With Oracle Corp., IBM and Microsoft Corp.--the so-called Big Three of the relational database industry--battling over features, market share and price, some users are turning to the open-source world for database technology. This is where MySQL hopes to make its mark.Posted by Elmer @ 08:58 PM EST [Link]
Computerworld |The DA's Office Goes Digital
In Queens County, N.Y., the district attorney's office was running out of storage space as fast as it was running out of money to rent more.
Many of New York City's agencies suffered from the same problem, and they were all scrambling for affordable answers. Working with a $100,000 funding allotment from the state government, the district attorney's office was the first to find one. Together with custom integrator ImageWork Technology Corp. in White Plains, N.Y., the office tried a novel approach. It used Linux for something other than running Apache Web servers.
Posted by Elmer @ 11:37 AM EST [Link]
The Webalizer is a fast, free web server log file analysis program. It produces highly detailed, easily configurable usage reports in HTML format, for viewing with a standard web browser.
Posted by Elmer @ 08:05 AM EST [Link]
build your own Mac clone. If you think that you can only do this with Wintel, you'd be wrong.
Start with a used Umax S900 or J700 from eBay. That should cost about $150.
Add a Sonnet Crescendo 400 MHz G4 card for $300, and add another $30 for software that will let it run OS X.
Add more RAM. RAM is cheap these days, except for older machines. Get at least 128 MB to add to whatever came with, which should cost about $100.
Next, a new hard drive. You can get a 40 GB IDE drive for about $75, which will require that you also get a SCSI/IDE bridge card, which goes for around $70.
As long as you're working inside, you might as well get a PCI/USB card, so you can use any USB peripherals you have lying around. That's about $20.
Total cost: under $750, plus tax and shipping.Posted by Elmer @ 07:57 AM EST [Link]
Sharp hones new Linux handheld
Developers will soon get their hands on a new Sharp PDA that uses a Linux (news - web sites) operating system, according to sources. The device, aimed at the business market, will pack an Intel 206MHz StrongARM chip.
Sharp is preparing to release a handheld computer in the United States that uses a version of the Linux operating system, according to sources.
In the coming weeks, sources said, the consumer-electronics maker is expected to make the handheld available to developers. A consumer version is expected in the first quarter.Posted by Elmer @ 07:52 AM EST [Link]
Iomega Corporation, a global leader in reliable portable data storage, today began offering a free downloadable utility to Microsoft® Windows® users that streamlines the movement of their files, application settings and system settings to new PCs featuring the Windows XP operating system.
The Iomega utility, available today at www.iomega.com, guides the user through a simple data migration process using Iomega® Active Disk technology, the Microsoft Files and Settings Transfer Wizard and Iomega Zip® disks. This complete migration solution takes a snapshot of the user's personalized work environment and stores that snapshot on Iomega Zip disks for transfer to the user's new computer. The result is a convenient two-step migration to new Windows XP computers, preserving the user's application data, Internet and e-mail settings, font and folder options and other Windows settings.Posted by Elmer @ 07:49 AM EST [Link]
Friday, October 5, 2001
Posted by Elmer @ 03:36 PM EST [Link]
New .info Web registry back online after two-day shutdown | Computerworld News & Features Story
The new domain name registry for .info Web sites reopened for business this morning after being shut down due to performance problems shortly its launch on Monday (see story).
Afilias Ltd., which operates the registry that keeps track of all Web sites registered under the newly-available .info domain, said that "unacceptable system slowness" bogged down the open registration process when it began Monday, so the system was taken off-line for repairs.
"[The system] was overwhelmed by the amount of business coming in," said Roland LaPlante, a vice president and chief marketing officer at Afilias in Newtown, Pa. "We're getting the kinks out of the system."Posted by Elmer @ 11:53 AM EST [Link]
XML.com: Web Services: It's So Crazy, It Just Might Not Work [Oct. 03, 2001]
Web Services: It's So Crazy, It Just Might Not Work
by Clay Shirky
October 03, 2001
That high-pitched sound you hear is the Web Services hype machine revving up, as words like "revolution' and "paradigm" begin making their regularly scheduled appearance in the press and white papers, where we are promised a Shiny New World of on-the-fly software creation.
The hype is happening just as practical applications for XML-structured data beginning to appear. Web Services can reduce the effort and quicken the process of creating standards between developers or businesses which want to work together, an important if somewhat modest improvement in the Internet's plumbing.
Unfortunately, though, Web Services are being sold not only as improved plumbing but also as a way to create fantastic new software, seamlessly and automatically connecting any two business processes or applications anywhere on the network as if by magic.Posted by Elmer @ 11:46 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, October 3, 2001
eBay users hit by alleged fraud ring
MORE THAN HALF a dozen eBay users last week alerted the online auction company to an identity theft and a series of fraudulent auctions allegedly stemming from Ukraine. However, the victims of the scam are accusing eBay of being slow to respond because of its 30-day waiting policy for accepting fraud complaints online.Tim Bass, CEO of security consulting firm The Silk Road Group in Centerville, Va., and a longtime member of the Internet security community, first noticed that there was a problem after he won an auction for a Sony Picture Book, a combination laptop and digital camera. Bass' suspicions were raised after a good Samaritan online user in Germany notified him that the alleged seller claimed to live in Quebec, used a Russian e-mail account, and requested that the funds be transferred via Western Union to the Ukraine.
Posted by Elmer @ 03:01 PM EST [Link]
FREESCO - free replacement for commercial routers
Posted by Elmer @ 12:11 PM EST [Link]
Monday, October 1, 2001
It has been a very mixed month for Microsoft. Although the top line figures appear to present steady growth in adoption of Microsoft-IIS, this masks some significant events.
The impact of Code Red has resulted in around 150,000 Microsoft-IIS sites on 80,000 ip addresses disappearing from the internet, one of the most visible proponents of Microsoft technology for mass hosting has closed down, and Gartner Group has issued a strongly worded advisory, recommending that people presently running Microsoft-IIS should replace it as quickly as possible.
On the plus side, receipt of a site list from homestead.com which has over a million small sites based on NT, has more than offset the losses from Webjump, and from the empirical evidence to date it appears that people are not yet inclined to act on Gartner's advice.Posted by Elmer @ 06:11 PM EST [Link]
PCWorld.com - NVidia Unveils Titanium Line of Graphics Chips, Boards
NVidia is upgrading its GeForce3 and GeForce2 graphics processing units by unveiling the Titanium series GPUs for release in mid-October.
The chips are claimed to be NVidia's fastest yet, and use new shadow techniques that the vendor calls its most realistic. The GPUs will find their way into the boards of "all the usual suspects," according to Brian Burke, an NVidia spokesperson.
Current GeForce3 boards and GeForce2 Ultra and Pro boards will be phased out as the Titanium boards become available, according to Brian Burke, an NVidia spokesperson. They're keeping the GeForce2 MX 200 and 400 lines.
The announcement comes just a few days after main rival ATI started shipping its new Radeon 7500 graphics boards. Like the new Radeons, Titanium boards will support Windows XP. Users can download the new Detonator XP drivers for all NVidia boards and support for Windows 98, 2000, Me, and XP from NVidia's site.