Network Neutrality

Network Neutrality was in the news again today in a dispute between Comcast and Level 3 communications a competitive local exchange provider (CLEC) and Internet Service Provider (ISP.) See the full article here:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703945904575645251061168526.html?mod=rss_Technology

It appears that Comquest is afraid of losing its cable TV business to Netflix and as a result wants to charge Level 3 for transmitting Netflix video over its broadband access.

How to Protect Yourself From Technologies Darker Side

In today’s technological environment new dangers lurk. Precautions need to be taken to prevent undesired consequences. The following are examples of some of these dangers:

Identity Theft, Phishing, Viruses, Trojan Horses, Worms, Spyware, Spam, and Information Piracy.

Identity Theft, especially, is a major problem. In this instance a criminal captures information such as your name and social security number and then pretends to be you. They open bank accounts, take out loans, and try to get as much money out of your identity before giving up use of your identity. The worst part of this crime is that you will end up in a database used by other criminals so you may have this problem for life. As a result, it is imperative that you take precautions to avoid being victimized by this crime.

What precautions can you take to protect yourself?

1. Only give out information that you have to give out. If a field in an online form is not mandatory (usually marked with a red asterisk.) Do not fill it in.

2. Do not use a simple password. Use a complex password made up of at least 9 characters, both alpha and numeric characters and at least one non alpha numeric character such as the tilde (~).

3. Do not put telephone numbers or social security numbers on personal checks. In fact do not use personal checks if possible.

4. Use a telephone blocking device and program it to only allow your known friends to ring through. This will block all unwanted calls from people like telemarketers or scammers. They will automatically be forwarded to voice mail where you can screen them.

5. Always purchase goods with a credit card. If purchasing online, be sure the merchant uses an encrypted link such as SSL to process your credit card information. If they do not do this do not purchase from them. Look for a “lock icon” at the end of your URL or address bar for the website. Also, look for a security badge that describes what kind of protection they are using such as SSL.

6. Check your credit reports once per year.

7. Be sure you have a good state full firewall on your Internet link. This is usually incorporated into your wireless router.

8. Do not open emails from unknown sources and definitely do not open attachments unless you know who sent it and why they sent it.

9. When you receive an email from a bank or other financial transaction oriented company never click in the link in the email. Always close the email and then go to your online account thought your browser. Once there you will see an account alert if there is a problem. This is called Phishing. The email may look very official with the proper logos and other artwork. However, when you click on the link you are taken to a remote website that spoofs the original site prompting you for your user name and password.

10. Be careful when using your ATM to withdraw cash. A device called a skimmer can be installed on the outside of the ATM matching the case and trim of the ATM. When you use the ATM the device captures the information from your magnetic strip on your ATM card and camera captures your PIN while you enter it.

11. Never comment on your plans for leaving or going on vacation on social networking sites. Potential criminals can watch this and know when to break into your home.

Network Neutrality

Many of my students have difficulty with the concept of Network Neutrality when it is introduced in one of my classes or heard on the daily news. If you hear it on the news please be aware that it is a very important topic and should not be ignored. The tendency is to answer the question about what it is with a one or two sentence answer which is simply not possible and results in a poor or 0 grade or not understanding the concept. The next attempt is at copying the definition straight out of Wikipedia or another on line resource which is not only plagiarism but is only a copy of one or two sentences which still leaves the answer incorrect and the understanding at best incomplete.
Complicating matters further Network Neutrality (NN) continues to change and evolve. In today’s news, for example, National Public Radio (NPR) announced a story on NN with a slant on wireless broadband, titled “Wireless Firms Count on the Future of the Internet” which can be found at http://www.npr.org/2010/11/17/131378404/big-business-exerts-more-control-on-wireless-industry.
There has been a lot of interest, of late, on how the Internet is evolving from wired to wireless and the use of portable devices to effect this change. There is also the misconception, out there, that wireless access, vis a vis 3G, 4G, or Wi-Fi is of limitless bandwidth when in fact it is not. It is certainly of less bandwidth than the state of the art wired technique, fiber optics, which is presently limited to about one terra bit per second (Tbps) or one trillion bits of data per second. Practical bandwidths for fiber optics, especially for residential access are much lower than that and are more around 45 Mbps equivalent to the optical transmission hierarchy rate of optical carrier 1 (OC-1.)
So it is likely, that for a long time the Internet will be a wired and wireless hybrid with wireless methods feeding into wired backbones. In order to ensure NN all of the players in this transmission will need to meet the rules of NN and an enforceable methodology will need to be put in place.
Add to this the current evolution of TV from cable or satellite to the Internet with such services as Netflix streaming, Roku, Hulu Plus, and others and you get an idea of how complex and difficult this topic can be.
In order to understand NN you need to know who the players are. The primary players today will not necessarily be the primary players of tomorrow. For example, wireless broadband will become an ever increasing part if not all of the last mile access methods which now include DSL, Cable TV, Ku band Satellite, and Wimax. In the Tampa area, Wimax will be offered primarily by Clearwire and resold by T-mobile and others.
Also, in today’s news at http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/net-neutrality-groups-push-fcc/comment-page-1/ an interview with the FCC chairman explains how he will have a more difficult time keeping the administrations campaign promise of a fair and open Internet due to the GOP taking the position that nothing needs to be done and that less government is better. This of course helps the large corporations that are Internet Service Providers (ISP.) It is up to each and every one of you to be aware of this issue and help keep the Internet open and fair for all players.
Consider this information about an incoming republican who seeks to curb the FCC’s powers “The FCC’s regulatory compass must be broken as they continue in their unrelenting pursuit to impose so-called network neutrality regulations, regardless of whether the agency has the legal authority for such a blind power grab, and whether such regulations will actually undermine the FCC’s ability to achieve the goals of the National Broadband plan,” Upton wrote. “The FCC must stand down from pursuing a course unauthorized and opposed by Congress.”
Since 1989, Upton has received $93,600 from AT&T — his second largest career campaign contributor — $51,500 from Comcast, and $47,550 from Verizon, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/11/net-neutrality-groups-push-fcc/comment-page-1/

Lightning Time of Year

Here in Florida as well as in other areas of the country summer time means the beginning of lightning season. Lightning is the bane of all electronic devices. Lightning can strike some distance away and still cause damage to your electronic equipment unless you have taken steps to protect it. This electronic equipment includes your computer and all devices attached to it including your DSL modem, router, switch, printer, scanner etc. as well as other microprocessor based electronic equipment. This equipment includes LCD or LED TV's, music players, DVD players, and DVR's (Digital Video Recorders.)

One of the best ways of protecting everthing from your computer to your flat screen TV is with a small UPS (Uniterruptible Power Supply) such as this one: APC Back-UPS ES 8 Outlet 550VA 120V. This small UPS will protect your equipment much more than a surge protector. For example the UPS works by taking AC from your wall outlet (where the lightning comes in) converting it to DC and then using the DC to charge a battery. The battery is then used to power an inverter which converts the DC back to AC for output to your electronic device. In the process of doing this on a continuous basis the electricity is filtered through the battery on a continuous basis. This eliminates any dangerous electronic spikes caused by lightning no matter how fast they are.

UPS units have traditionally been used to provide back up power so that a device such as a computer can be shut down in an orderly manner when the power goes out and before the UPS battery runs out of juice. However,the UPS should be considered as more protection for transient spikes of electricity and brown out protection
than for back up power. This is especially true when the UPS is small and inexpensive and does not provide much back up time.

In the case of a surge protector like this:Belkin 12-Outlet Home/Office Surge Protector with Phone/Ethernet/Coaxial Protection and Extended Cord there is a small amount of time while the surge protector switches off or limits the power to protect your device. During this time your device could be damaged because lightning is.. well lightning fast and may get into your device while this switching is occuring. In addition, something may occur called a brown out during other times of the day when there is an unexpected large demand on the electrical grid causing a shortage in voltage. This results in your device trying to operate at a lower voltage and drawing too much current. This could also fry your device and is prevented by using a UPS.

So, it's worth it to spend $50 for a small UPS rather than $25 for a surge protector. And if that weren't enough you will also be able to continue using your device during short outages such as when power is being rerouted after a transformer has been struck. The power may only be out a few seconds but meanwhile you may have to reboot your computer, reacquire a satellite signal, or otherwise wait while your equipment powers up. With a small UPS you will keep running while everthing else in your house powers down and back up again.

A small $50 UPS may only be able to keep your equipment powered up for a few minutes in a power outage but that may be enough to prevent a lot of inconvenience. Add to that the additional power spike and brown out protection over a surge protector and you've got a case for spending the $50. Remember, you have to buy one of these for everthing that you want to protect inlcuding your large screen HD TV. These are computer processor based devices and can be fried by lighting just as your computer can. And do not forget to plug your DSL modem, router, and or switch into the same UPS your PC is plugged into to proved them protection as well.

Other considerations for lightning protection include fiber optics and wireless both which still rely on conventional power sources and outdoor equipment that are also sources of lightning damage. For example, you may use an outdoor satellite antenna for wireless reception of TV. This antenna is susceptable to being struck by lightning and subsequent transmittal into the home of the high voltage spike that could damage your new HD TV. Be sure the outdoor antenna is properly grounded. It must be tied to a moist earth ground. When mine was installed they attached it to the hose bib on the outside of the house which converted to PVC pipe the minute it went inside of the wall. This meant it was not grounded. I removed the ground wire and purchased a ground rod such as thisErico 613840UPC Copper Ground Rod 3/8"x4'. I then made sure I pounded the ground rod into the ground outside the edge of the over hang on the house to be sure it was a moist earth ground. This properly grounded the satellite antenna and helped shunt some ot the lightning to ground before it came into the house. The same would be needed for any outdoor antennas you have.

How to Purchase a Computing Device

Many times I am asked how to go about purchasing a new computer. There has been much written on this subject but I found there is a need for a summary that includes some common sense. Common sense I have obtained from being in the computing business for many years.
The first axiom I convey to my students is to buy equipment on the cutting edge of technology not the bleeding edge. By this I mean; do not be too quick to buy the latest gadget just to have to show off to your friends. You will find it is frought with suprises and bugs. Let's consider the new Apple Ipad for example Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi). Users will find that it lacks an external storage card such as an SD slot or the new Micro SD slot for a Micro SD card such as this: SanDisk 16 GB Class 2 microSDHC Flash Memory Card SDSDQ-016G (Bulk Packaging). In buying an Ipad with memory you cannot add storage with an SD card and you cannot transfer photos to it by plugging in an SD card from your camera. Take a look at the customer reviews under this link Apple iPad MB292LL/A Tablet (16GB, Wifi) and you will see many other features not on the Ipad that will be on soon to be available competitive devices.
To be sure in a year or so other manufacturers will introduce models that have many more features, including an SD card slot. If you wait this year you will be able to buy cutting edge technology with additional features at a lower cost instead of bleeding edge technology to show off to your friends.

Integration
Integration is a process in computing manufacturing that takes large individual hardwired components such as the WiFi TRENDnet 54Mbps Wireless G Broadband Router TEW-432BRP (Blue) and LAN cards such as this one StarTech.com ST100SLP Low Profile 10/100 Mbps PCI Ethernet Network Adapter and creates them on the same chip or motherboard as all of the other main components such as the processor. By doing this the overall device can be made smaller, lighter, and less expensive. This is also the basic process that is used in going from a desktop computer to a laptop such as this one: Toshiba Satellite L505-GS5037 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black). Individual seperate cards that can be easily replaced by unplugging and plugging in a new one in a desktop computer are now hard soldered to a single printed circuit board inside the laptop that cannot be modified. If you need to upgrade your wireless interface you may be able to plug an external PCMCIA card such as this one Cisco-Linksys WPC54G Wireless-G Notebook Adapter into a PCMCIA card slot if you have one. If not you are out of luck and will have to buy a new laptop.
Integration is also occuring at a lower level. Individual components that are on the individual circuit boards are being included inside of the silicon chips themselves allowing the circuit boards to shrink in size and increase in capability. But of course, the same problems occur as with integration of the circuit boards themselves. The new higher feature lower cost chip is limited to the configuration it was shipped with from the manufactur and cannot be changed.
From both of these Integration trends one would almost surmize that larger is better. That is, always buy the largest device to increase flexibility and allow future changes. This is certainly the case in deciding to buy a laptop versus a desktop such as this one Compaq Presario CQ5300F Desktop PC (Black).
In the case of a laptop versus a desktop the price will be several hundred dollars more for the laptop than the desktop and you will be sacrificing features and flexibility. Think long and hard before buying a laptop over a desktop. Do you really need the portability? Do you really want the extra wait to carry around. If you have a desktop in class already why do you need to bring a laptop? It will not only save your back but will save you money as well if you buy a desktop for use at home and use the desktop at shool when you are at school.

Reliability
In additon to the factors mentioned above in deciding to buy a laptop or a desktop you need to consider reliability. A laptop is more portable but it is also more easily damaged as a result of being carried around. For example, inside of your new laptop will be a standard hard disk drive that was originally designed to remain stationary in a desktop computer. You cannot walk around with your laptop in active mode while the drive is spinning (typically around 5000rpm.) If you do and you bump the laptop you will almost certainly have something called a head crash. A head crash is a serious hard drive failure that wipes out the data on your hard drive and makes it almost impossible to retrieve without paying an expensive specialized service to do it. Be sure to put your laptop in hibernate mode whenever you move it. Never use it on a soft moveable surface such as a bed or couch. In addition to the movement issue you may also cause it to overheat. One solution to overheating is a laptop cooler such as this one Kinamax FAN-NTP3 Business Notebook Cooler Pad with Three Built-in 60 mm Fans for Laptops. The cooler is USB powered and will shorten the batterly life on your laptop. Be sure to consider this when planning recharging times.

Let's consider the desktop. A large case with plenty of cooling both on the the CPU chip as well as on the outside of the case means the processor will run better and longer. You're not going to be moving it around while the drive is running so you won't have a head crash and it is more easily upgraded than a laptop by opening the case and plugging in a new board or chip. One caveat however, do not put your desktop case under your desk where you will accidentaly kick it while the drive is running. You may cause a head crash and loose your data. The same is true while vacuuming. It's best to keep the case off the floor.

One final fact to consider on buying laptop versus a desktop is the impact the new touch screen tablet computers such as the Ipad will have. You will probably be better off with one of these in addition to a desktop computer at a later date when you decide to buy a touch screen tablet. It will be lighter and more reliable than a laptop since it uses solid state storage and does not ustilize a hard drive.

Art and Computing

Recently, I heard the comment "What has art got to do with computing?" The answer to this question is clear to me but may not be so clear to everyone else. So I decided to start putting this in writing. Firstly, regarding digital art, there is no clear dividing line between traditional mediums ie oil paint and digital mediums ie 2D or 3d animations. Most professional digital artists start out their designs with a traditional medium and then convert to digital. For example in the 3D animated movie Avatar Avatar the artists who designed the Pandorians started with sketches, then sculpted clay models, and finaly created the 3D animation. This is mostly due to process.

The natural creative processes are severely hampard by the user interface and entry process in todays 3D animation programs such as Maya and 3DS Max both owned by Autodesk http://www.autodesk.com/. They are difficult to use and tedius and are more akin to programming than art. I have used both programs and find them impossible to use as a creative tool reverting back to charcoal and newsprint to begin the creative process and then replicate the sketch in clay and finally in the 3D program. In the future, 3D scanning technology will eliminate the need to enter and use the 3D programs such as Maya and 3D Max to create new models. Instead these programs will be used to maintain or modify models that started in clay, were then scanned, and finally finished in a 3D program. Secondly, my students offen ask what careers are the best careers for them to train for. Remember their time horizon is usually at least two years into the future (a long time in computer technology time.) I usually refer them to Dan Pink's book "A Whole New Mind" A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. In this book Mr. Pink talks about the need for right brain thinking skills. The arts are the best way to develop these skills and this side of the brain. But first, let me explain the difference between right and left brain thinking and skills. The left side of the brain which controls the right side of the body is the literal and logical side. That is, it remembers and uses computational and logic skills to make decisions and to learn and process.

The right brain, however, is quite the opposite and much more powerful, using intuition and higher self type thinking to learn and create. For more information on this see Betty Edward's book: The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
For example, an Artist creates their best work after making the "shift" into right brain thinking while creating. In our daily lives we spend most of the time in left brain thinking asa result it tends to dominate the right or creative side. In fact, many people cannot make the shift at all and have no understanding of it. They live each day in a rather mundane uninspired fashion while having the nagging feeling that something is missing in their lives. Some of these people never find it and wander from place to place, relationship to relationship, looking for that missing something.

There have been times when I have made the "shift" that the high has been so enjoyable as it must be similar to the high experienced by drug users. I have often thought that might be one of the reasons I have never needed drugs or alchohol is I was able to achieve a natural high by listening to my favorite music (italian classical) and grabbing my paint brush. Once I was lost in my painting hours would fly by until I emerged to stand back and appraise by work from a left brained point of view (technical things such as composition and color.)