Sweden to set up embassy in Second Life
January 28, 2007
We all knew it was only a matter of time: Sweden is to become the first country to establish diplomatic representation in the virtual reality world of Second Life, officials said on Friday. "We are planning to establish a Swedish embassy in Second Life primarily as an information portal for Sweden," Swedish Institute (SI) director Olle Wästberg told AFP. Link--->
SpamHaus – Irresponsible Net Citizens
January 28, 2007
I think in general that spam blocking databases are a good thing. I am as frustrated with spam as the next person. However, I think SpamHaus is irresponsible in the service they provide for the simple reason that they abuse their power and refuse to implement levels of granularity in their database. For example, right now my organization the Terrorism Research Center is being blocked by SpamHaus. We've operated on the same single static IP address for five years and we have never had a complaint against our IP address with SpamHaus. So why are we being blocked? Because according to SpamHaus we live in a bad Internet neighborhood and should be blocked because another IP address in our same subnet sent a direct mailing for Staples.…
Why Second Life Fails?
January 27, 2007
In December I wrote a blog post that predicted that over the longer-term Second Life fails because there is no governance. I am a big fan of SL, but to me it increasingly resembles some sort of phishing scam. In one month, I had games of chance that didn't pay out on winning hands, vendor machines that took my money but offered no merchandise, and watched mini-organized crime groups rotate through avatars on a weekly basis to engage in fraud against SL residents. Linden Labs, the creators of SL are no help in the matter as they always provide a canned response: Linden Lab cannot verify, enforce, certify, examine, uphold or adjudicate any oath, contract, deal, or agreement made by the residents of Second Life. This includes the odds,…
In Loving Memory – Dr. Robert Garigue
January 12, 2007
I was extremely saddened to learn today that my good friend Robert had quietly passed away at the age of 55. I first met Robert back in 1994 when our paths crossed based on a mutual interest on the topic of information warfare. We would keep in touch periodically over the next several years often meeting at conferences and exchanging email. In 1997, I had the distinct honor (and challenge) of putting together the Coalition Vulnerability Assessment Team to perform penetration testing against classified networks in the United States, Canada, U.K., New Zealand, and Australia. I was delighted to learn that Canada had designated Robert as their delegate to the team. We quickly schemed a plan of global domination and advanced the bar for…
Five Steps to a Killer iPhone
January 10, 2007
I am as excited about the release of the Apple iPhone and it will likely be on my shopping list come June. However, here are five key components that I think are missing in the first generation of the device as described during the keynote and on the Apple website. No third party applications. If this device is truly running OS X, then I don't expect Apple to be able to predict or deliver the full suite of applications I might need. We need a way for users to intall applications and/or support for some general productivity apps like word processing. No VOIP. This one has me stunned. I need iChat with VOIP or ability to load Skype. I fear that this is a result of the alliance with Cingular. If so, it is a damn shame. Want to really…
Nokia N80i – More Comments
January 9, 2007
I've spent two full business days with the N80i and given it some really heavy use. Here are some additional impressions... Pros: Voice quality is excellent. As good as any cell phone I have used. Pairing with BT headset (Jawbone) worked great. Very seamless. Reception has been good. Certainly equal to my Razr (Cingular as well) and Pearl (t-mobile) User interface continues to be intuitive. Lots of little things (remembering my spot in the address book) that mean a lot but probably go unrecognized most of the time. Camera takes decent pictures. Better than any camera phone I have owned. Battery life is great. I read complaints of this on other reviews, but it has not been an issue. Heavy use and I still have 1/2 charge left. I…
Steve Job’s takes us five years into the future…
January 9, 2007
Just got done watching the Steve Job's keynote. The new iPhone is a rule breaker, paradigm shaker and it will be fun to watch this unfold over the coming six months. The implications of the interface far exceed the mobile phone market. I've been using a zero touch keyboard for two years that allows gesturing, etc. I expect we'll be seeing more of that type of device in the future. The future of human interface design drastically changed today. More comments on my Nokia N80i later!
Nokia N80i First Impressions
January 6, 2007
I've been playing with the N80i a bit over the weekend and have been reasonably happy. The first thing I did (before even moving my SIM card to the new phone) was test the VOIP features. As a Mac user I did not use the Nokia CD, which I am assuming had the Gizmo Project software as I could not find it natively on my phone. However, a quick Google search revealed a web site where it was easily downloaded and installed to the phone. After literally 30 seconds of set-up (entering my Gizmo username/password) I was able to make phone calls over my home wireless network using VOIP. Sound quality was very good. As good as my hardwired $300 Polycom phone connected to my Voicepulse bridge. (Update: By going to my download folder and selecting…
Curse of the Blackberry Pearl
January 4, 2007
My Blackberry Pearl has started failing on me after only 45 days of use. The external speaker no longer works so the phone does not ring and the speakerphone does not work (nor does playing MP3 files without the headset). I decided that I would move back to a two device configuration and get a really "good" phone and then carry the BB when I needed access to email (e.g. not when I am out to dinner with my wife). The Nokia N95 was at the top of my list, but with a $800 potential price tag and a release date yet to be determined, I looked elsewhere. One model that quickly rose to the top of my list was the Nokia N81i ("i" meaning Internet Edition). This phone has all the features I am looking for, plus one killer application in that it…
Wow…what a great presentation!
January 3, 2007
I don't care what side of the fence you fall on regarding this issue....this presentation by Larry Lessig is worth your time. Link--->
Umma/Oprah – Osama/Obama
January 2, 2007
Unfortunately, this wasn't on the late show... Found here: Link--->
Disruptive technology
December 31, 2006
I'm not posting this because Saddam is dead. That is important, but being covered elsewhere. What I find interesting is how the presence of a cell phone camera disrupts all of the previously held conceptions of his hanging. The grainy images are believed to have been filmed on a mobile phone. Unlike on the silent, official film showing a subdued Saddam Hussein, the execution is a charged, angry scene. In it people chant the name of radical Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and tell Saddam Hussein to "go to hell", while the former leader mocks their bravery. Link--->
Living in a science fiction world
December 29, 2006
Interesting post by Warren Ellis today.... ...I share a conviction with Steven Shaviro, whose most recent book was CONNECTED, that we live in a science fictional world. Not the one everyone expected, of course — no jetpacks. But good science fiction, challenging science fiction, is never about the future we expect. Sf has never been about predicting the future. It’s been about laying out a roadmap of possibilities, one dark street at a time, and applying that direction to the present condition... Link---> If you don't get it, you don't get it.
Unabomber’s Secret Code Cracked
December 29, 2006
A decade after the feds tracked him down, CBS 5 Investigates has uncovered exclusive new information about Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, including a secret code he developed, and the confessions revealed as the code is broken. Link--->