Media Watch

So you're back online after another vicious attack on your computer.  You're sick of all the troubles you've been having.  How are you going to prevent this kind of this from happening again?  Consider using an email program that is nearly virus proof, like Pine, a text-based program that composes and displays text email, which is, after all, what email was intended to be. Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express are huge targets for attackers because they're hugely popular (Outlook express comes with every new Windows computer) and because there are so many features to exploit.  Don't get me wrong.  The features Microsoft build into their software help make using it easy and pleasant -- for the most part.  But remember that the more bells and whistles you build into a program, there more places there are for breakage (and expoits) to occur. Old-school computer users sit back and chuckle at all the troubles people have with their fancy-schmancy...

Some time ago, I had an occasion to set up a wireless network for some friends.  They had a broadband connection to the Internet through a cable modem provided by Mediacom and two desktop computers.  I suggested they buy an 802.11b gateway and 802.11b cards for each computer they wanted connected. After installing and connecting all the hardware they bought, each computer seemed to be able to connect to the Internet fine, and we were able to do some file and print sharing between them.  But it all wasn't fine.  I quickly discovered that the computers could surf the net, but not at the same time.  It is then that I discovered that they'd purchased an access point and not a gateway. A wireless access point does one thing.  It broadcasts a single RJ-45 jack to multiple wireless network cards.  It merely provides direct connectivity to the public.  In this case, the public network sees all the computers connected.  This is a proble...

Lots of people assume that you need broadband (cable or DSL modem) to have wireless networking.  Not so.  You can still use your single dialup connection and share it with all users on your home or office network.  But there are a few complications, including slower surfing and downloading. In order to share dial up internet, you need to have a modem doing the dialing.  There are a number of ways to get dialup internet into your network, but none are all that common, or even very easy: A dedicated server , such a Linux computer with a modem and a network card.  This machine will act as a gateway between the Internet and your local network.  Whenever someone tries to get on the net, the server will make a dialup connection.  You can also use it as a file and print server.  The advantages her...

The premiere season of "The West Wing" is expected to be realeased late this year on four discs and will retail for $60. Gag reels to commentaries may also appear on the set. More...

In a bold move, Yahoo!, one of Google's best customers, has acquired some contender Internet search engines to go head-to-head with the biggest dog on the block. Microsoft isn't fdar nehind, chomping at Yahoo!'s heels. More...

F-Secure says Sobig.F is among four major virus threats discovered in a week. It's an email worm that sends a .pif or .scr file to recipients in users' address books. It also prepares the computer to receive orders and tries to download files from the Internet, according to one news report. If the infected computer is on a shared network, the worm tries to copy itself to the other computers on that network. The worm is programmed to stop spreading on Sept. 10. More...

Got your attention, didn't I?  What's this about?  In June, 1967, during the Six Day War, Israeli war planes attacked and nearly sunk a US spy ship staffed with NSA intelligence gathering personnel.  Israel calls the attack a horrible accident; a case of mistaken identity. Survivors and conspiracy theorists say that's a load of crap.  You decide.  I'll deliberately leave out my viewpoint in all this, and instead suggest you read what's being written about the incident.  Do your own Google searches and read the words on the web sites on the two sides and make up your own mind.  Here are some links in no particular order: Washington Post story: The Assault on the USS Liberty Still Covered Up After 26 Years USSLiberty.org Jewish Virtual Library's USS Liberty story Judge AJ Cristol's web site on the Book, The Liberty Incident HonestReporting.com's href="http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/critiqu...

Can I just say, "Oh my God!" When I heard Rush Limbaugh playing the blame game and turning the eastern seaboard power outage of last week into a partisan issue, it made me sick to my stomach. I think the power companies have going one of the best games in town. They do a much needed service, providing for us the so-called comforts of home. But he who provides for our needs can certainly take away what we need, and that's just too much power for one industry to have. And don't tell me that's a partisan problem. I think more than power companies lost a lot of steam last week. I just hope the failure did some good, that is awakened us to several of the issues that face us. Is anyone else tired of listening to politicians bicker? Republicans want to impose religious belief on me. Democrats want to socialize the world. I hate them both equally! Fact is, democrats and republicans alike want more than anything to be elected into power without regard for...

Nearly everyone has insurance of some type, and most have several: car insurance, life insurance and medical insurance. But is the basic concept of insurance, paying insurance premiums and subsequently filing claims, really the best way to pay for unplanned expenses? Let's look at the benefits and the effects: Insurance is good because it allows us to better buget our money, and provides a safety net in case a crisis arrises. But let's look beyond the known benefits and get to the actual societal effect. Most people agree that prices consumers pay for goods and services should be set by free market forces, such as supply and demand, cost of living and simple competition. But when you put the insurance company between you and the doctor, as in health insurance, then basic market forces are all but lost because the insurance company -- and not you -- writes the checks to pay the bills, which frees the health care industry to increase prices to levels far above what c...