Two weeks ago, a serious security issue was discovered with Bluetooth cellphones : a weakness in the pairing and authentication systems used by some of these devices potentially allows malicious users to remotely steal a user’s address book without his knowledge… Scary, uh ?

Unfortunately, such issues are not limited to the Bluetooth world : everyone knows how insecure WEP is — especially considering that software is now available that allows any reasonably skilled user to crack a key in a few clicks…

Luckily for us, computer geeks, such issues are quite easy to deal with : you simply pick your phone carefully, pay attention to the services you turn on and buy access points from security-conscious vendors like Apple that now allows even older computers to rely on the more secure WPA with the same ease of use. Simple !

Well, it may seem like it is : after all, such problems do not get lots of press coverage and people who do not pay attention to the computing news — most users in fact — are likely never to hear about them.

However, when you begin to think about it, this situation becomes scary ! Now that some large companies have begun handing out poor quality wireless products to their employees like promotional pens, even the slightest exploit can have some catastrophic consequences… Nowadays, any employee carries some mildly confidential information with him : internal phone numbers, e-mail addresses — all kinds of clues that can be used as a basis for some very effective social engineering. At the same time, they are surrounded by HotSpots, strange e-mail services that involve a laptop, a Bluetooth cell phone and a data subscription or wireless headsets…

There is no need to be a security expert to see all the potential issues that this wireless frenzy raises… In fact, the damage is already done and many big corporations have taken back their wireless gizmos after having suffered from data losses and information leaks !

Don’t get me wrong, I am not trying to point fingers here : no technology is inherently secure and even the best products sometimes experience security issues. In fact, l am convinced that most of these wireless technologies are great and that they truly are the future of networking — just look at how WiFi has inspired businesses, educators and artists worldwide…

However, I am afraid that, by putting such powerful, and therefore potentially dangerous, technologies in the hands of new users without as much as a word of warning, we may be ruining their magical appeal and the trust people will be willing to put in them for the years to come.

Early adoption sure is a key component in the success of technologies and in no way am I implying that we should restrict their availability — I am a firm believer in openness. However, for now, I think that we should put an emphasis on training and accept that, as great as wireless technologies are, they are not suited for every use.

After all, the future of networking is at stake here ! Only by proceeding carefully can we successfully build the next generation networking protocols…

Until next time, dear Mac users, enjoy thinking different !

And you, how do you secure your wireless communications ?

Related link: https://workforceconnections.dol.gov/

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released its Zope-based Workforce Connections software as Open Source. The software is described as:

Workforce Connections is a set of Web-based tools that enable content managers, with no programming experience, to dynamically create and manage online content in a secure environment. Workforce Connections; is an open source custom distribution available under a general public license (GPL) by the U.S. Department of Labor, it empowers non-technical individuals to create, acquire, share and control knowledge in real-time. Users can leverage Workforce Connections to build and maintain traditional Web sites, online courses, knowledge repository, online coach, and communities of practice portals.

They list sites using Workforce connections at:

https://workforceconnections.dol.gov/Sites

The software was developed by devIS. You can learn more about their approach to open source in the public sector in a the February issue of Linux Journal where Peter Gallagher and Martin Hudsun (of devIS) are interviewed in an article titled:

LAMP Development at Public Sector Web Sites

I’ve downloaded but not yet installed the Workforce Connections software. If you have, let me know what you think and how you are (might) use it.

I have been thinking of writing this entry for about a year now, but somehow I never got around to it. Recently, however, Tim O’Reilly pointed to a news item that discusses combining presence detection (the “I’m online” signal in instant messenging) with GPS technology. He remarked, “Definitely a taste of the future here…”

Let’s step back four years…

I was consulting for a number of tech companies in the DC area, when a company called PresenceWorks asked me to join their start-up as a full-time employee (#3). It had some high profile backers, but it was the technology that excited me. The company had developed a presence detection engine which could detect the signals from AIM, MS Messenger, and others. As proof of concept we had setup an online job site where people could find workers who were online and available to work immediately. This allowed people to negotiate a short-term gig in real-time.

And while we were preaching presence to the world, it turns out that most of the world was not ready to hear about it. First to market has been the death knell of my career on more than one occasion.

After leaving the company to pursue a writing career, I continued to consult for PresenceWorks, and my ideas for the technology continued to grow. I was not only pitching the idea of presence and positioning, but also combining that technology with proximity. Although I was saying it years ago, I’ll state it once again. Presence + Positioning + Proximity does not equal the future, because the future is already here. Presence technology is much more efficient than making phone calls, using radio communications, and certainly more cost effective. If you currently use calls to distribute information, you are wasting valuable resources. I want all the corporate execs and government agencies out there to pay attention to the rest of this entry, it will change how you do business forever (call me!).

Let’s look at some examples of what I wanted to see happen with presence years ago, and how it can still be applied today.

Law Enforcement & Emergency Services

Solution 1: The FBI
There is a terror alert in a suburb of Washington DC. How do you mobilize an entire team of agents? You issue presence/gps enabled phones to every agent in the FBI across the country. When the alert comes through, the presence server looks for every “available” (availability is denoted by presence) FBI agent in the area of the alert. Using a combination of presence and proximity, it can automatically notify, by instant message, every available agent. It could send specific instructions to each agent on what the problem is and where to respond. Since the server knows who is available and who is not, it only contacts the viable agents. When additional agents come online, it would be able to notify them as well. The beauty of this solution is that you know where your people are and their current status. You also can tie a presence server to specific data about agents. For example, if you need to find every agent who is qualified as an expert in a certain field, who happens to be in a certain area, just ask your handy presence server.

Solution 2: Emergency Services
A terrorist attack on the city puts it into chaos. The presence server can coordinate Police & Rescue personnel to respond to the attack based on their proximity and availability. Also, the presence server can look for additional rescue personnel as they become available. In fact, it can make intelligent decisions based on specific criteria to notify even off duty personnel based on the level of the emergency. Not every officer or rescue worker is within the range of a radio, but they can be required to carry their phone at all times.

Now let’s expand on this idea. Because of the chaos that ensues and the danger level of the attack, the presence server can send highly specific information to individuals based on proximity and location. For example, perhaps certain roads are closed or traffic is bad. The presence server can send instructions to each individual which would help to route their travel in a more efficient way. Rescue personnel can stay one step ahead of the bottlenecks.

Solution 3: General Alerts/All Points Bulletin
Broadcasting an all points bulletin over the airwaves is not always the best solution, if you are trying to keep that information from the individuals you are looking for. And you certainly don’t always want the news media poking their nose in. In this scenario, the presence server can send very specific data on the alert to all members of law enforcement, (ATF, the FBI, police) to maximize the odds of catching the individual. Since this relies on presence and mobile phones, you can send this data across agencies without the use of the police band radio. And since it only notifies individuals who are “available,” the level of efficiency is amazing. The server only notifies people as they appear.

Industry

Solution 1: Trucking
The trucking industry spends millions, if not billions, of dollars each year outfitting their trucks with sophisticated GPS tracking technology that costs a fortune. The same technology can be provided for a fraction of the cost with off-the-shelf mobile phones and a presence/proximity server. I mean, your truckers already have a mobile phone, so why buy more technology?

Let’s say you have a fleet of a thousand trucks. You outfit each trucker with a presence/gps enabled phone. Now your entire fleet is not only trackable through mapping technology, but you can push data to those truckers based on their availability. Traffic or construction issues, the presence server can send the data to the appropriate trucks to help them make the right decisions. All types of messaging can be sent to truckers without the added expense of a phone call. Plus, you can push data to these truckers regardless of their actual location (perhaps they are away from the truck).

Solution 2: Sales
You have a very mobile sales force, in a company with thousands of employees. A lead comes in from a very specific area. The CEO wonders to himself, “Who do we have who is qualified in that area right now?” A simple consultation with the presence server tells you who is currently in that location with the qualifications you need. A click of the mouse and all the relevant information on the lead is sent to the right person. No phone calls made.

Solution 3: Stock Trading (just presence)
Making trades is something that needs to occur in a matter of minutes. To have a client list that requires a call or an email (which can get lost or hung up), is an absolute waste of time and resources. If you have a client list that requires notification of time sensitive information, by setting up a conditional logic list, you can find the contacts in your database who match the requirements and send them all that information based on their availability and it can be tailored to their specifications. And folks…it’s instant.

The Public

Solution 1: Amber Alert
People could subscribe to a nationally sponsored, presence enabled Amber Alert. Since the alert uses presence and proximity, it can send out the alert to people as they become available within a certain region. For example, if you are from LA, but you are visiting San Francisco, and an Amber Alert for SF goes out, you would also be notified. If privacy concerns are an issue for you, people could opt out of the proximity and just subscribe to a region.

Solution 2: Personal Proximity
One of the problems I have with Instant Messaging is the inability of the messenger to know where I am and how to resolve issues of location. For example, with the use of Bluetooth, I could specify that when I go out of range of my computer, to switch my active IM to my phone. As I approach my computer, the IM would switch once again.

Solution 3: Objects
Presence and proximity should be tied and embedded into everyday objects. An example of this would be the Roomba robotic vacuum. The vacuum would use standard presence technology combined with proximity detection (through Bluetooth) to report its status to me at all times, regardless of whether or not I’m in the house. I can tell which room it is in, how full it is, the battery status, and even tell it to clean a specific room. It can also tell me when it has a problem.

Remove proximity, and just add presence to any number of objects around the house. Fridge, coffee maker, etc. I would have killed for this last summer when the freezer in the basement crapped out and I lost $400 in food. A simple communication of voltage issues would have told me it was about to die. Of course, even though the compressor caught on fire and died, it could have told me it was no longer working

Which leads me to smoke/carbon monoxide detectors. Why not presence enable them? I know when they need a new battery, I know if my house is burning down. And that same technology can be built into my security system.

You don’t need to use some newly created networking technology to do this. If AOL were smart, they would build this technology off of their already successful AIM platform and beat MS to the punch. Seriously, this is the competitor to the Microsoft SPOT technology they plan to embed in consumer electronics. Firstly, AOL had the leading IM in the world, so they have market penetration. Secondly, it could run over the existing network, only under a different designation (instead of people, objects). And lastly, I already use their presence engine in OS X. Adding a panel of object presence (in addition to people) would be a no brainer.

The Future is Now

All the components for the above already exist. It is just a matter of some smart people to put it together or give me some money and I’ll do it for you. I’ve spent the past four years thinking about how to use presence, it is good to see the rest of the world starting to pay attention.

Make checks payable to…

I was visiting London last week when I decided it was time for me to replace my trusty old Palm Zire. Indeed, the lack of backlighting and the relatively low screen resolution made writing blogs and articles on the go increasingly difficult…

After giving a good look at the various handheld technologies out there, I replaced it with a Zire 71 : it has just the features I want, it’s small and lightweight… In other words, I love it ! However, since I have added it to my gizmo repertoire, many of my Mac friends have asked me why I have decided to pick a Palm, right after their latest announcements…

Why ? Because I think that the love story between Palm and Mac users isn’t about to end… I know what you are thinking but I can assure you I am not writing these lines under the influence of an Earl Grey overdose — I love that, by the way !

Indeed, Mac users have long considered Palm as the handheld brand and still do. Some may argue that the Palm OS lacks an exciting interface but, in the end, it is very stable, even under heavy usage, easy to understand even if you don’t want to take the time to do so and, best of all, the Graffiti input method features an unrivaled accuracy.

I certainly wouldn’t want to invest in a Pocket PC to have the joy of worrying about viruses, trojan horses and crashes on the go ! No, I don’t want to “press any key to continue” either and blue is not my favorite color…

My latest Palm purchase gave me this warm, fuzzy feeling I was accustomed to : what I had bought was useful and reliable … except for one thing : the Palm-provided applications for my Mac.

The HotSync system written by the Palm engineers for Mac OS X is very stable and effective. So stable that even Apple relies on it to power part of its amazing iSync application.

However, the Palm Desktop that once used to be a useful application is now a pain to install and to use — I have dropped it in favor of iSync, iCal and Address Book as soon as Apple announced them and never looked back. Worse, the installer provided is able to install HotSync perfectly but gets lost when you try to install Palm Desktop — it works but displays error messages…

All the Mac users I know now rely on no-Palm solutions and use conduits that allow them to sync their Palms with their Apple applications. The system works beautifully and, in fact much better than if there was a special Palm software to receive the synced data.

After all, when we are not on our Palms, we organize our life in iCal, take notes in Stickies or TextEdit and use Address Book because of its integration with Mail… Keeping two devices in sync is already enough and we certainly don’t want to worry about multiple applications on one of the devices too !

Therefore, when I am asked if I am surprised or angry at Palm for their latest decisions, I can only answer “No !”. In fact, I am quite glad ! Let everyone focus on what he is excellent at : the PalmOne and PalmSource engineers will design the Palm OS and Palm handhelds and let Apple and third-party developers design the syncing solutions. As strange as it may sound, I think that our Palm experience will very soon be much better than the one enjoyed by PC users who will rely on Palm software to do the job — and it already is for iSync users. Indeed, I’d much rather use a good third party application than a clunky manufacturer-provided one — how many Mac users soon forgot about the software that came with their cameras after iPhoto was released ?

However, I am very sad. But I am sad for Palm. The Mac customer base is very loyal and can establish very strong links with a brand. The latest Palm moves have angered many Mac fans and the company has lost dozens of millions of potential customers around the globe. For any company, dozens of millions of units makes a very big difference and I am afraid that PalmOne cannot really afford such a loss. The few developers who have tried that in the past have soon gone back and re-opened their Mac development department quite quickly. In this industry, you cannot do without the Mac — and you shouldn’t do “without” anyone anyway !

I, for one, will enjoy my new Zire for the years to come and I am waiting for the new syncing features that will soon be offered to us : many companies have already announced that they are ready and I would be surprised if Apple hadn’t a treat for us up its sleeve…

The latest news seem to indicate that Palm is already trying to ease things… In fact, the more I think about it, the more it looks like they simply realized that they couldn’t compete with third-parties on the desktop front and were better off relying on more experienced developers to do that… That is probably the case, but that certainly is bad PR !

Until next time, dear Mac users, enjoy thinking different !

PS : I am sorry I slightly changed my blogging schedule this week. I was working on my new website, FJZone.org, and am pleased to announce that it is now online. As usual, I really do welcome your comments and feedback.

And you, how do you sync your Palm ?

PMA 2004 (Photo Marketing Association) just wrapped up its mind-boggling trade show held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. I spent two days on the expo floors (two levels) where thousands of vendors — from Axiom Connection in England to Wonder Technical Company in China — provided us with a glimpse into the immediate future of photography.

I was hoping to see more about wireless and GPS capability in upcoming consumer cameras. Nothing to report there yet. But what I did find was evolutionary refinement on nearly every front of digital photography. Here are a few examples.

• The Foveon image sensor will appear in its first consumer digicam with the Polaroid x530 camera. I was wondering if this ground-breaking technology would spread beyond Sigma’s Digital SLRs. Polaroid had a preproduction prototype on hand, but I didn’t get to shoot an actual working model. We should hear more about this in the coming months.
• Kyocera seems to have solved the nasty shutter lag problem that plagues pocketable digicams with the Contax SL300R T*. The technology is called RTUNE Image Processing, and it works. The camera powers up in less than a second, and shutter lag has been reduced to 0.07 seconds. I tried this camera and found it amazing. This model is 3.17 megapixels with a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar zoom, and is available now for $499. You can get the FineCam SL 300R version with the Kyocera zoom instead of the the Vario Sonnar for $399, and I was told they will release a 4-megapixel version of the FineCam soon.
• Olympus continues to gain momentum in the serious amateur/pro market with their new E1 Digital SLR. This is the first DSLR that uses the new 4/3 format, and the combination of pro features, sexy body, and high performance glass is turning many heads. This camera is particularly good for shooters who don’t already have an investment in Canon or Nikon glass. But look out, it is pricy.
• Keep an eye on Konica Minolta too. They announced the DiMAGE A2 at PMA that features 8 megapixels with a 28mm - 200mm optical zoom and their ground-breaking anti-shake technology. This is a tempting camera for the serious shooter. And they’ve entered the Digital SLR fray too.

Canon, Nikon, Fuji, and HP dominated the entrance to the first floor. Canon is looking very strong and should continue their momentum into this year and beyond. HP is clearly on the rise and seems to be taking a page out of Apple’s book by pushing the digital lifestyle. They have a lot of energy and a compelling product line to support the hype. You should keep on eye on them.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous weblog, Apple seems more focused on digital music than photography at the moment. They didn’t have a presence at PMA while their digital hub PC rival HP looked very strong. It feels like a missed opportunity for Apple.

I did notice however, an abundance of PowerBooks in other vendors’ booths. Seems to be a case where the customers are a little ahead of the manufacturer when it comes to digital photography on OS X. It will be interesting to watch how Apple contends with HP on this front in 2004-2005.

I also discovered many other gadgets and goodies. But I’m saving those for my upcoming digital photography book, which I hope O’Reilly will be announcing in the next month or so.

Related link: https://sxsw.com/interactive/web_awards/finalists/

What do these sites have in common? All are SXSW Web Awards Finalists for 2004 in the Classic category:

• ACTE3
• David Bowie/Ziggy Stardust 30th Anniversary
• Lord of the Rings
• O’Reilly Network
• waferbaby

If you’re not familiar with the SXSW Web awards, here’s how they work: sites can be nominated in a wide variety of categories, but the focus is on sites which have been launched during the previous year. Only the “Classic” category can include sites which have been around longer. And now that the finalists have been selected and announced, voting begins for the People’s Choice awards, an additional award based purely on web voting. You can vote once a day until March 5, so surf on over and support your favorite site! Winners will be announced at SXSW on March 14.

It can be quite entertaining to browse among the finalists in all categories, too. While you’re there, don’t forget to check out the “Bits and Bytes” on the SXSW Interactive home page, where SXSW speakers answer questions in a sort of “preview panel” leading up to the interactive conference, March 12-16.

Of course, those of us behind the scenes at the O’Reilly Network are thrilled to be in such good company. It’s a real tribute to our fine authors and webloggers, and the lively community of members who comment in the talkbacks.

Helen?Greiner, of iRobot Corporation, is giving a keynote presentation this morning at the O’Reilly E-Tech conference. In case you weren’t familiar with the company, they make the fantastic (from what I’ve read) Roomba robotic Floorvac.

I desperately wanted one of these (my wife won’t let me buy one - she doesn’t think it will work), but more importantly I’d love to see this conference. I think that what iRobot has done is phenomenal. They are the first company to deliver on the promise of consumer orientated robotic products (that perform necessary tasks), while not being priced beyond the pockets of mere mortals. I find this a very exciting time and I can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeve for the future.

And if not being “allowed” to buy one wasn’t bad enough, I’m not able to make it to see Helen Greiner’s presentation. But in honor of her appearance, I thought I would share the following faux-news story (no real names were used - as far as I know).

—–

(Washington) Riding on the recent success of the Mars M2K4 mission, NASA has recently announced plans for Stage 1 of a manned mission to Mars. Facing a number of budget crunches, NASA has stumbled upon what promises to be a new era in space exploration.

“We think we’ve found a good fiduciary balance for our Mars exploration programs. By using more readily available consumer technologies, we’re able to cut costs while still serving the public,” said Allen Johnson, Chief Scientist for Mars Exploration. “We found that significant money could be saved by using more off-the-shelf technologies.” Johnson says that the idea came to him while reading about how Apple Computer was able to build the iPod faster and cheaper, using already developed technologies.

Mars Exploration
NASA has decided to use an already proven technology for the exploration and collection of soil samples on the surface of the planet. “We’ve ordered 1,000 Roomba robotic floor vacuums from the Sharper Image,” said Johnson. In a move of what could be considered fiscal genius, NASA also opted for the five year extended warranty. “How can we lose? If the project is a failure, we just make them replace the non-working units and we can sell them on eBay. Have you seen how much money people will pay for stuff with an official NASA sticker on it?”

Image of the Roomba 1 Mars Explorer

Johnson went on to mention that NASA saved so much money on this project, they were able to buy each team member an Ionic Breeze air cleaner and a massaging chair for their office.

The Science
The project, set to launch next year, will propel 1,000 Roomba units into space for the several month journey. On Arrival, those units will be deployed across multiple geographic locations, which will allow a diverse collection of surface materials. “In the past, we’ve had to build in sophisticated GPS and communication technologies. This has had a significant impact on our financial resources. Out of the box, the Roomba will collect samples over an area the size of three medium rooms, for 90 minutes,. That’s almost 600,000 sq ft,” Johnson said.

Computerized rendering of Roomba 1 deployed to Mars surface.

Unable to get a quote on the viability of the technology for this project from Roomba’s manufacturer, iRobot, we were able to retrieve the following from their website:

“Instead of thinking the way you do about finding dirt [soil samples] and picking it up, Roomba has a machine’s view of the world. It uses artificial intelligence algorithms to clean [explore] most efficiently, even though it isn’t anywhere near as smart or sensitive as a human [scientist].

Computerized rendering of Roomba 1’s exploration algorithms

Computerized rendering of Roomba 1’s soil collection

Future Projects
While the Roomba project is definitely a first for NASA, there is talk of plans for future exploration with consumer products. “When we sent out Voyager, we were extremely limited in what we could send along with it. If you remember, we were only able to send out one LP, and it only had one half of The Best of Burl Ives on the b-side. Now with an iPod, we can not only send out Burl Ive’s best, but the entire catalogues of Ray Coniff, Andy Williams, and Henry Mancini.” said Johnson.

Stage 2
The next stage to this project will be to send a manned mission to Mars in order to collect the Roomba units and return them to Earth for analysis.

—–

I’m excited to see that the Roomba has been a great success. I wish them all the best and I can’t wait to see Roomba Deux. Someone send me the audio of the presentation!!!

An increasing number of Windows users are running away from Microsoft, feeling threatened, abused or [fill in the blank] by a giant company… This movement is relayed by the general media that publishes increasingly detailed articles about how wonderful all open-source solutions are, as opposed to proprietary operating systems.

I am afraid that, in the excitement, many users are mixing up the company that they try to escape ( Microsoft ) and companies in general, leading to a very confusing and potentially dangerous situation — and I am not talking about economics here…

Before closing your browser tab and deleting all my articles from your hard drive, allow me to explain myself !

I have nothing against Linux, BSD, Open Source or the people who make these great projects possible ! On the contrary : I think that most of the amazingly great technologies that have emerged lately have roots in the open source movement — just look at OpenOffice, Mozilla, OpenSSH, the BSD family and many, many more… ! I use open source applications with great pleasure in my daily workflow and would probably never go back to their commercial counterparts.

Unlike some users, though, and unlike what most articles suggest, I am not trying to escape companies by doing that : I use open source software when it is superior to its commercial counterparts.

My computer of choice is a Macintosh with Mac OS X v. 10.3, Panther, loaded with Apple applications. At first sight, some users may think that it is as proprietary as you can get. But if you look closer you will see that I also use OpenOffice, Mozilla Thunderbird, Mozilla Firebird, Camino, KOffice, Chatzilla… and that all of this sits on a standards-based, open source operating system !

Why ? Because I think that open source truly shines when it can be combined with proprietary solutions, in an elegant way.

Indeed, only a company can create a large, unified group of developers, interface designers, marketers, support advisors, resellers… And only a company can work closely with multiple vendors to create perfectly integrated, compatible applications like FinalCut, QuickTime or XGrid.

Even open source projects that try to provide support now have to ask for money — and isn’t this the beginning of what some are trying to escape ? If you need help with a Mozilla product, you will need to pay $39.95, for example. If you become a Mandrake Club platinum member, you are paying for almost a full-price copy of Panther every month — the “recommended level” would bring you down to a copy of Panther per year.

No open source project — or company, for that matter — has released an operating system that matches the elegance and efficiency of Mac OS X — in terms of appearance, ease of use, and technology.

But, in the same way, only open source movements can guarantee freedom — since there isn’t one company that can decide what it does with the code –, form a group of culturally diverse, talented developers — since there is no formal office needed –, create great specialized software — since profit is not a concern –, mix and match various technologies…

By combining the strengths of these two philosophies, we could get the best of both worlds and provide users with solutions that are at the same time polished and free — as in “not proprietary”.

Apple is the first company that works so closely with the open source community, while releasing commercial products on such a scale. The open source community helps Apple and Apple helps it by giving back some code they have developed internally.

Let’s take a few examples ! Darwin, a fully open source operating system, is the foundation of Mac OS X, the world’s most advanced operating system. Mac OS X server leverages many open source technologies and allows many users who would not know what to do with the raw project files to use them. Best of all, Safari is the result of a true collaboration between Apple and the KHTML team.

I simply wish that more companies could follow this trend that is beneficial for them and for the open source community. Some of them do, of course, but not all, far from it.

I certainly appreciate why someone would want to work with all open-source solutions and in no way am I trying to imply that open source projects should be “integrated” into companies — since this would negate the “open source” part. But how many users actually take the time to read the source of what they install ? Yes, they could but most of them don’t : how could you read millions of lines of code alone ? How cheap is an operating system or server solution that you cannot install or maintain yourself ?

Many of the PC users I know installed a Linux or BSD distribution on their machines, tried to use them and to set them up, only to go back to Windows a few weeks later. Why ? Because they ran into compatibility issues, because they didn’t want to read books and post in mailing lists to learn how to use their new OS. That’s really a shame since these people are clearly missing something, tons of great open source stuff that they could be using today on their Macs, along with iLife and QuickTime.

In a word, I do not believe in “all proprietary” ( this would be 1984 ;-) but, at the same time, I don’t believe in “all open source” either. Both worlds have their strengths and weaknesses and the Mac seems to be at the center of their reunion ! You wouldn’t want to miss that, would you ?

Until next time, dear Mac users, enjoy thinking different !

Related link: https://winmoblogs.net/

Winmoblogs.net connects bloggers connected with the upcoming Microsoft Windows Mobile DevCon. Microsoft also created a site containing 5 presentations from the 2003 conference that presents useful information for those interested in developing for the Pocket PC or Microsoft Smartphone.

Microsoft Mobile DevCon 2004 bloggers

Microsoft Mobile DevCon 2003 Highlights

Heading to Microsoft Mobile DevCon 2004 (I’m not unfortunately)?

Now that MyDoom, Novarg and others have begun to attack servers and break into Windows computers worldwide, ? serious ? newspapers are full of advice for business users and companies who want to protect their valuable assets…

Since I always find interesting to see what PC users are told to do, I read them carefully and, instead of the basic-but-correct advice I was expecting, I found that many publications had turned their computing pages into annoyingly long advertisements for anti-virus software and third-party firewalls. But apparently, they are not at fault — and are merely following the latest trend.

You think I am exaggerating ? Well, read on !

No operating system is perfect, that’s for sure, and they all have their security issues — even the best, most bullet-proof ones. Therefore, I always advise users, on any platform, to indeed install anti-virus software and to purchase a good firewall. Knowing how to protect oneself is important and using the appropriate tools is the first step…

By the way, if you’re a Mac user, this is what I usually recommend.

However, it seems that the Windows world is now going one step further and is expecting security companies to do most of the work that the OS and applications authors should have done.

Just have a look here : these posters are supposed to give users advice about how to protect themselves against viruses and hackers… The idea is good and they look quite nice…

But could someone tell me what McAfee and Symantec are doing here ? And why on earth are Dell and HP advertising next to them ? If these posters were designed with the user’s security in mind, I would have expected to see the name of some industry-wide alliance or the address of the sites that, every day, list all the issues that are discovered ( on any platform ) and publish security advisories…

But to me, this means ? if you want your PC to be safe, install an application from a third-party company ?.

I have nothing against Symantec and McAfee — I have used or am using products from both of them. However, the latest events have showed that, even with extensive resources, they cannot repair a faulty operating system and faulty applications. What they can do, however, is add a layer of security, in case the security systems put in place by the original vendor didn’t work as expected.

In the real world, could a doctor tell a patient to keep on swallowing antibiotics to avoid catching something ? If a patient has a serious illness that would require him to do this in the short term, then, he is offered a better, long-term treatment that will actually help solve the issue.

As a Mac user, I am glad to see that Apple provides us with security updates ( when needed ) and information but doesn’t ask security companies to do what it should do. I just hope that more companies could follow the same policy and provide their users with accurate information that would really help them avoid issues.

Until next time, dear Mac users, please enjoy thinking different !