Journal

New Data Spill Shows Risk of Online Health Records

2011-08-22T00:36:26Z

Until recently, medical files belonging to nearly 300,000 Californians sat unsecured on the Internet for the entire world to see. The files were placed on a website that was thought to be available only to employees, but was not passworded or protected from a Google search. As the person who found the records put it, the data were "available to anyone in the world with half a brain and access to Google." Link here to the story.

New Technology Supplementing TV Viewing, Not Replacing It

2010-03-29T00:49:23Z

SFGate notes a growing trend that I have seen in myself, and am not surprised to find it in others. More and more, people are going onwhile watching TV and using that to add to their viewing experience. For example, one person notes that while watching a show, she often wonders what else she has seen that person is in, and immediately goes to the Internet Movie Database to find out. As she notes, she no longer has to wait for the credits for that kind of information. (Also posted at Basic Training.)

New Malicious Virus Targets Facebook Users

2010-03-19T01:14:45Z

An email is going around telling folks that their Facebook account has been compromised, and to click on the link to change their password. Of course, clicking on the link downloads all manner of bad things onto the computer, including a key logger that steals passwords. A pretty common tactic, but the new wrinkle on this one is that up until now, Facebook users have usually been targeted through Facebook's own messaging system, while this one uses regular email to do its thing. Given that a fair percentage of Facebook's users are somewhat naive when it comes to safe computing (at least judging by some of the folks I know), this one could spread fairly quickly.

A Sign of Things to Come?

2010-03-18T03:27:15Z

A car dealership in Austin found themselves dealing with a headache when droves of customers started complaining about their cars refusing to start or constantly honking their horns. Turns out the cars were equipped with a web-enabled technology that let the dealership remotely disable the cars or honk the horns if customers were late with payments, and was viewed as a step that could be taken before repossession. Problem was, a disgruntled ex-employee got hold of the company's customer database and started bricking cars. He has since been arrested on computer intrustion charges.

Who Knew? Time Spent Playing Video Games Means Less Time To Do Other Stuff

2010-03-17T02:42:26Z

In a blinding flash of the obvious, a new study finds that playing video games hinders learning in boys. Before we all rush to throw the Playstations into the trash, there are a number of things that make this "study" suspect. First, it was done with boys because the researchers assumed that girls would naturally play less video games (so much for unbiased research.) Second, the way it was conducted was that out of a group of children, half were given video game consoles and half were not. Unsurprisingly, the half given consoles started playing video games, and the researchers found a corresponding drop in other activities and scholarship. The conclusion: time spent playing games is less time spent studying. You have to get an advanced degree to figure this out? So how do you limit the amount of time on the console? How about an old fashioned thing called parenting?

In Memoriam: Peter Graves, 1927-2010

2010-03-16T04:00:44Z

Peter Graves, best known for his work on the original Mission Impossible televsion show and, to later fans, the satirical Airplane movies, passed away yesterday at the age of 83 of an apparent heart attack.

We'll miss you, Peter. One bit of trivia regarding Graves is that he was not the only actor in the family: his big brother, James Arness, starred in the long-running Gunsmoke television series.

Happy Birthday, dot COM!

2010-03-16T03:41:30Z

Today, 15 March 2010, marks the 25th anniversary of the first Internet name ending in .com. That honor went to Symbolics, a computer company in Cambridge, MA that registered Symbolics.com. Turns out that the name is still in use, even though the name was sold to another company just last year. As it happens, out of the 100 oldest .com domains still in use, most of them belong to early technology giants.

iPhone Use Runs Rampant at Microsoft

2010-03-15T03:38:14Z

In a not really too surprising bit of news, turns out that iPhone use at Microsoft is pretty widespread, equaling about 10 percent of the Microsoft workforce. This in spite of the fact that Microsoft President Steve Balmer went out of his way to chastise a Microsoft employee using an iPhone at a Microsoft conference last year. But it's not too surprising since the Microsoft crew are among the most tech savvy in the world, and they know a good piece of technology when they see it. Incidentally, when asked about the level of iPhone adoption at Apple, employees answered they couldn't remember the last time they saw someone at Apple using something beside the iPhone.

FCC Proposing 10 Year Plan To Reimagine US Communications

2010-03-13T22:27:52Z

The New York Times says that the Federal Communication Commision will submit a 10 year plan that will have a permanent and long-term effect on communications in the United States. The plan assumes that most communications, including telephone and television, will be delivered through the Internet rather than the existing telephone and television infrastructure. To support and encourage this move, the 10 year plan includes a proposal to subsidize the installation of broadband in rural areas.

The FCC Wants You to Test Your Broadband Speed

2010-03-12T03:11:03Z

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced a website, http://www.broadband.gov/, where the public is invited to test their broadband connections from home, work, or wherever they happen to be. The FCC is concerned by reports that Internet providers routinely inflate the reported speed of their connections by up to 50%, and they want to gather a clearer picture of the availability, reliability, and speed of broadband in the US. For those squeamish about privacy, be aware: the site collects your IP address, ISP, and street address in order to gain a clear picture how how fast connections are in different places. According the the privacy policies, this information will only be used in aggregate, and not to indentify individuals. Use at your own risk.

I was pleasantly surprised to find my connection rated at about 22 MB down and 2.5 MB up, which was also corroborated at speedtest.net. My old go to test service, however, dslreports.com, reported my connection at about 15 MB up and 1.5 MB down. That may be because the closest dslreports test server is about 350 miles away in a large metropolitan area, while the speedtest server is 70 miles away in a mid-size city. Broadband.gov does not give any indication of server location.