Social Networking History

Monday, January 31st, 2011

If you are interested in Social Networking you could do worse than listen to

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00xw14v/The_Secret_History_of_Social_Networking_Episode_1/

Cutting edge IT, do we need the history? “How can you tell where you’re going if you don’t know where you are coming from.” Any way if you have been cutting edge for a while you may be a part of it!

What do business security and national cyberwar defence have in common?

Monday, January 31st, 2011

It is not too much of a stretch to think of protecting national critical infrastructures and preventing data damage during a cyberwar scenario as being in the same general ballpark as protecting your enterprise systems and business data. After all, IT security is IT security no matter the who’s and what’s and why-fore’s. But that’s not what I was getting at when I entitled this blog entry ‘What do business security and national cyberwar defence have in common?’ to be honest.

Nope, it’s a little less obvious and a lot more worrying to be fair.

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Sex at work? Just say no!

Saturday, January 29th, 2011

Is the sex industry online driving the Internet forward or dragging it down? That’s the question I was posed by a friend of mine, who just so happens to be that rare breed mix of academic, businessman and geek, as I lay in bed recovering from facial surgery last week. And before you ask, no I wasn’t having a nose job, facelift or sadly any other cosmetic procedure so there’s no need to replace the existing head and shoulders image accompanying my bio! But anyway, back to the interesting question at hand.

I say interesting as, for me, the sex online question is not quite as black and white as it is for those on a moral crusade or championing sexual freedoms in the modern age. Geek that I am, I cannot help but look at the online adult industry from a purely technical perspective.

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Echoing a duck’s quack over TCP

Friday, January 28th, 2011

It is a well established urban myth that a duck’s quack doesn’t echo – and when I say myth I mean dingo kidneys

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/birds/p/Ducks-Quack-Echo.htm

This has nothing to do with a Telnet or TCP echo which is a useful way of testing comms . Open a link to the “echo port” and whatever you send is echoed back – even a quack. Linux normally has an echo server built in – just connect to your Linux host on port 7. For windows you’ll need to run a server, there are plenty of freebies about, it is a nice app to write to test your socket handling!

The one I use is here http://www.lenholgate.com/blog/2005/11/simple-echo-servers.html
I run D01-EchoServer-1.0.exe -port=23
to give me a standard Telnet port for testing Telnet connections.

This is the TCP/IP equivalent of a loop back connector for serial comms.

Windows comes with a simple terminal app (Accessories, Communications Hyper Terminal but I believe it is it is an optional install). Start your echo server, start hyper terminal, pick a name and select TCP/IP from the “Connect using” drop down and enter your host name (if you’re unsure type ipconfig on your host and use the IP address).

Wow, you get to see what you type sent back to you. Not that exciting but if you’re learning about TCP/IP or need to test some comms it might be useful…

Don’t throw tablet-sized rocks when you live in a glass greenhouse

Wednesday, January 26th, 2011

Toshiba is the latest computer manufacturer trying to muscle its way into the potentially huge tablet market. The Japanese giant has previewed an Android 3.0-based tablet with specifications very similar to those of the Motorola Xoom. Just as interesting as the actual product itself though, is the website promoting it, www.thetoshibatablet.com .

If you visit the site on a laptop or desktop computer with Adobe Flash Player installed, you get the usual specs, interactive graphics, photos and other information you’d expect from a product website. But what happens if you visit the site from a mobile device without Flash, such as an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? You see the following page at thetoshibatablet.com/mobile/apple.html:

Slightly smug in tone, but nonetheless true for an iPhone or iPad visiting a Flash-dependent website. But not this particular Toshiba site if you remove the apple.html part of the address and reload. You then you get a mobile-optimised version of the site with almost all the information and photos from the full Flash site:

Although this mobile-optimised Flash-less site has now been taken down, it does undermine Toshiba’s smugly-made point about the lack of Flash on Apple’s iOS devices.

Although the iPad has its fair share of flaws, it’s still a pleasure to use and it has the advantage of actually being widely available. Unlike Toshiba’s as yet unreleased Android 3.0 tablet. Or the Libretto W100, Toshiba’s dual-screen Windows 7 tablet currently in very limited distribution. Or the Folio 100, Toshiba’s first attempt at an Android tablet which was hastily and mysteriously recalled shortly following its launch just before Christmas.

Plus, our own tests reveal that Flash video can drain your mobile device’s battery life more quickly than H.264 video. Its new tablet may turn out to be great, but Toshiba really shouldn’t count its eggs before they’re hatched or, as another old saying goes, throw rocks from a glass greenhouse…

Holy Wi-Fi Allpay!

Monday, January 24th, 2011

We are often writing about the lack of rural broadband connectivity and the need for investment, along with hearing the complaints of village residents begging for a decent connection.

Well, in Herefordshire, it seems some of their prayers may have been answered.

A service provider going by the name of Allpay claims to have “blessed” rural communities in the area with broadband equipment installed… wait for it… in the parish churches.

Yes, a number of holy buildings have been kitted out as Wi-Fi towers, providing 4Mbps connections as standard and even claiming the potential of 35Mbps for business customers.

The director of communications for the Diocese of Hereford (yes, I didn’t realise they needed one either) said the church was “delighted” to be involved and was excited her parishioners would be able to get the same type of services that “urban places take for granted.”

Well, as a spoilt city dweller, I am impressed. The Church as an organisation can never be cited as one of the most forward thinking, yet it has remained a hub of many a rural community for hundreds of years. To convert it into a hub for the digital era too and help smaller regions get online is a superb move.

Obviously, it is not all out of the goodness of their Christian hearts. Each church hosting the kit will receive a £500 sweetener to go towards the church roof fund or some new pipes for their organ. But again, if they are willing to boost Britain’s broadband I think it is a great thing.

Let’s just hope divine intervention doesn’t control what people want to use that internet for. From my youth growing up in a Hampshire village, I can reassure you it isn’t all going to be listening to The Archers on iPlayer and looking up jam recipes the residents want to use their Mb for…

Is Facebook unweaving our social fabric?

Monday, January 24th, 2011

Social networks like Facebook and Twitter are making us less human – or so says MIT professor Sherry Turkle.

Her new book Alone Together – due out next month – explores the detrimental effects of today’s modern technology, warning about substituting human interaction with “social robots.”

“Humans need to be surrounded by human touch, faces, and voices,” Turkle writes.

Whilst it seems her book will not offer a caustic response to the damage being done by today’s increasingly technology-dependent world, it should get some much-needed conversations going.

One big issue I have with social networks today is their allowance for another persona, another social mask to place on top of the ones we usually wear in the outside world. It allows people to play another role, further distancing themselves from any kind of personal truth.

For Karl Jung, the Persona was a tool people adopted partially to hide something of the real self. Whilst they are fantastic for sharing information, the likes of Facebook and Twitter let users add more than one additional Persona, building up barrier after barrier preventing conveyance of real emotions.

Anyone who has seen The Social Network, which (SPOILER ALERT!) sees Zuckerberg (portrayed as a social moron anyway) left alone on his creation, repeatedly refreshing the Facebook page of an ex-girlfriend, will understand what I’m getting at.

I don’t want to become a Facebook-obsessed agoraphobic, happy being part of some virtual diaspora that never surfaces into daylight, rather than living a fulfilled existence with real people. I’d sooner turn into the proverbial old lady with only innumerable feline friends to keep me company.

Having said all of this, I still spend an inordinate amount of time on social networks, bothering people with mainly meaningless updates for which I wholeheartedly apologise. Ah, the life of a hypocrite… a beautiful thing.

Elgato’s Turbocharger

Friday, January 21st, 2011

On the day Apple’s new App store opened I had a quick look at the programs available, downloaded iPhoto 11 and then saw there was an update to Elgato’s Turbo264HD software. The full package includes a USB hardware accelerator as well as the software but the latter runs without the dongle. I asked politely and those nice people at Elgato sent me the serial number for the software. (more…)

Wake Me Up Before You Go Go

Friday, January 21st, 2011

The most annoying thing about the recent iPhone alarm clock bug is that we have no guarantee that it won’t happen again. It happened last year when British Summer Time ended and again during the New Year transition. Even more annoyingly, the effect is different each time – the BST bug affected recurring alarms, while the New Year bug affected non-recurring alarms. What next? Chinese New Year comes round and suddenly alarms set for Wednesdays don’t go off? Apple should really sort out this embarrassment.

The iPhone has failed me for the last time. However, I’m not here to moan about the problem, I’m here to glorify the solution. The obvious thing to do is to download an alternative alarm clock app from the App Store, free or otherwise. That shows a distinct lack of imagination though.

Much more fun is the Star Wars Lego Alarm Clock – an alarm clock in the shape of a Lego Stormtrooper figurine.

Impractical you say? I find your lack of faith disturbing. Setting both the alarm and the time is easy enough using the push button controls on the little fella’s back. His non-removable helmet serves both as a five minute snooze button and illuminates the digital clock face. His legs and arms are fully articulated (for a big Lego man anyway).

Disappointingly, the alarm sound itself is a simple beep rather than a John Williams theme or sound effects from the film. There’s also no way to store multiple alarms, set different alarms for different days or alter the duration of the snooze. Although far smaller than an actual stormtrooper, the wee lad isn’t ideally suited for traveling along in your luggage. Although no bigger than a thermos, his slightly awkward shape and reliance on a pair of AAA batteries hidden behind a screw-on hatch are things most travelers wouldn’t want to deal with.

Still, the only thing better than a Lego Stormtrooper alarm clock is the upcoming Lego Darth Vader alarm clock. Both can be ordered from Firebox for just £20. Just don’t get clocky kid.

Here there be geeks

Friday, January 21st, 2011

You never usually think of the medical profession as geeky, more nerdy perhaps, as they delve deep into human physiology and psychology. Personally I am delighted they are so interested or else I wouldn’t be here today. Or to be more accurate, my legs wouldn’t be and I am rather attached to those.

This week I came across a doctor with the geekiest technology so far, in the angioplasty suite at our local hospital. It’s a bloody job in all senses but at least he gets to use some lovely kit. (more…)