On the “Lets Over-Hype the Shit out of Something to the Detrmint of Our Own Good” front comes the story of Google and Verizon working together on the issue of Net Neutrality. Someone awhile back must have leaked what was going on, a few journalists not knowing the whole situation took the story and ran with it. And as in every case where someone claims big brother or evil doer of Google, Google comes away on top as they should.
In case you have no idea what I am referring to read the NY Times article from last week on Google, Verizon, and Net Neutrality. I refuse to link to it because it really blows things out of proportions and that article deserves no more hits. If you are interested, it is from 08/04/2010, just search. After the bad press both companies have been getting they released some statements that didn’t make things look any better.
But now today we know what is going on. The two companies were worried about the Comcast court case that not only cleared Comcast of wrong doing (which is BS) but set precedent that the FCC is unable to enforce Net Neutrality. Enter Google and Verizon, from Google Public Policy Blog:
In October, our two companies issued a shared statement of principles on network neutrality. A few months later we submitted a joint filing to the FCC, and in an April joint op-ed our CEOs discussed their common interest in an open Internet. Since that time, we have listened to all sides of the debate, engaged in good faith with policy makers in multiple venues, and challenged each other to craft a balanced policy framework. We have been guided by the two main goals:
1. Users should choose what content, applications, or devices they use, since openness has been central to the explosive innovation that has made the Internet a transformative medium.
2. America must continue to encourage both investment and innovation to support the underlying broadband infrastructure; it is imperative for our global competitiveness.
Seems pretty reasonable to me. Read on to see each of the major items in the legislative framework for more info. Also there is a link to the framework so you can read about it yourself.
I am thinking I am not actually missing that much and Google and Verizon both want a free and open Internet. Maybe because Google knows it certainly benefits them because they don’t have to pay extra and Verizon knows it benefits them because their DSL infrastructure is weak and would lose out to other high speed carriers thus not giving them many options for charging people for tiered services. At least they wouldn’t have the leverage of a Comcast.
In the long run Net Neutrality benefits no one and I think both companies realize this. So their proposed legislation just makes sense. Next time something like this story leaks, how about we seek out information rather than hype and then make a determination if a company is evil or if the end of the world is near.
Just downloaded new WordPress app for Blackberry. It works really well, just like the iPhone/iPod app. The thing I like best is you log right in to your blog just like you would from web access, but instead of using a mobile browser you have an app that allows you create posts.
Imagine driving a car to work on a Friday. Let it sit for 8 hours, and then aftwerword getting in and driving to Chicago. Most people would imagine doing such a task in their typical hybrid or standard combustion engine car. What if you could do this in an electric car? What if it didn’t take special space-age technology? What if you could do this with an electric car being manufactured right now with battery technology currently being used right now?
How is that possible? Use current physics, science, and technology and the solution is there, just hiddne from plain sight. To many of us, myself certianly included (until about 30 minutes ago), think about electric cars in terms of the battery being a “tank” for electrons. And in doing so the solution is impossible to find. What if the battery was the fuel?
Think of a car that can be charged at charging stations but also has a battery module system that can be swapped out for pre-charged batteries. Consumers buy cars without batteries included. The pay for the cost of a car and get a module that comes pre-charged. Then they charge the battery wherever they need to at charging stations and go to swapping stations for longer trips and such.
Now you essentially have infinite range on your car and it no longer matters how good current technology is. And as the technology for batteries and charging gets better, your fuel cost will decrease over time thanks to Moore’s Law. Where gasoline is actually increasing over time.
Lately I have been spending a lot of time at work trying to find this wireless rogue. A rogue is a wireless device that is not supposed to be in a given wireless environment. The device itself can be an AP, client, Bluetooth device, or anything putting out RF.
So I got a spectrum analyzer to analyze 2.4ghz to find this rogue. The analyzer will show anything communicating in this frequency. But the problem is that I am hunting down this rogue in a factory that produces engines. So lots of metal things that bounce RF signals everywhere.
What to do? The analyzer shows the signal decently strong at 70-90dbi, but will then fluctuate up 150 (which is a weak signal) and at random intervals. Which then makes finding the rogue damn near impossible. When the signal is at 80 it doesn’t seem to matter what direction I head, the signal never gets better than 80 but if I head out far enough in one direction it will eventually get worse.
Why are we even tracking this rogue? WiFi in the area where I think the rogue is located sucks pretty bad. In other words I think this rogue is blasting RF to the point where other WiFi devices have a hard time competing on the same channels.
Once executed, Downadup disables a number of system services, including Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender, and Windows Error Reporting. The worm then connects to a malicious server, where it downloads additional malware to install on the infected computer. Computerworld provides a more detailed report on Downadup’s potential dangers.
Since Downadup uses random extension names to avoid detection, Windows users should make sure their security software is set to scan all files, rather than checking on specific extensions, F-Secure recommends.
The alarmingly high number of Downadup infections led Microsoft last Tuesday to enable its anti-malware utility, Microsoft Software Removal Tool (MSRT), to detect the worm. So it’s important that Windows users, if they haven’t already, download the latest Microsoft security patch that went out earlier this week.
A Microsoft truck driving down the road on 74. I guess the got a new campaign going on called “Microsoft Mobile Event Experience”. I had trouble tracking down a link and in doing so found a security flaw in a Microsoft Partner’s website. I don’t want to divulge any more information than that, but I did find it midly humorous that a MS site had a major security flaw.
Oddly enough I saw the truck on the road as I was searching up information on Zimbra.
Welcome to my blog! Topics tend to focus on Science and Technology, but I throw in personal stuff too. I hope you enjoy!
