Author Archives: ward
botnets
There’s a lengthy but interesting article at the Washington Post about botnets. Brian Krebs interviews a guy who makes quite a lot of money running such botnets and infecting people’s computers. He gets paid by spyware companies as he installs … Continue reading
Posted in Free Software/Open Source
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vitals
If you’ve ever read Greg Bear‘s Vitals, you might find this article about mind control parasites more than a little disconcerting…
Posted in Books
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wasteful
Our tea kettle broke. It’s an electric model. I took it apart, and sure enough, the heating element inside that was supposed to have a 10 Ohm resistance now has an infinite resistance. So I thought I’d get a replacement … Continue reading
Posted in Everything else
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German
OK, today I learned a most impressive German word from a Spanish friend. In German, when you want to say ‘receding hairline’, you say Geheimratsecken. It sounds mysterious, doesn’t it? Litterally, it means ‘the corners of the secret council’. How … Continue reading
Posted in Everything else, Personal
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network neutrality
The Google blog has a short entry today about Vint Cerf’s excellent testimony [PDF] before the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. He was speaking in defense of the crucial network neutrality principle. Go Vint! In other news, … Continue reading
Posted in Open Standards, Politics
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Doc Searls on the Producer Electronics Revolution
The first in a series of reports titled “The Producer Electronics Revolution, Part I” by Doc Searls is an excellent read, and it touches on a lot of the pressure we’ve been seeing to close and lock down our open … Continue reading
IE Chauvinism
Paul Murphy asks what the costs of IE/Windows chauvinism are. For me, that’s quite simple – any organisation that is so braindead that it only supports IE and/or Windows clients loses my business. Can’t buy airline tickets on your site … Continue reading
Challenger
I remember this day, 20 years ago. Rest in peace, astronauts.
Posted in Everything else
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record label against RIAA lawsuits
An important Canadian record label, Nettwerk Music Group, has decided to join a RIAA lawsuit against a 15 year old Texan – on the side of the defendant. Quote from Michael Geist’s excellent blog: Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride says: “Suing … Continue reading
silly mailing lists
I really wonder what list I’ve ended up on. I’ve been getting ‘business subscription’ offers for the Wall Street Journal in the mail. And for Men’s Health. Yes, I believe it was a business subscription offer to Men’s Health. But … Continue reading
Posted in Everything else
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