Here comes the tech

Well, I really don't have much in the way of readers at this point.  You're mostly either friends or people who listen to The Real Deal (however, it looks like I've gotten a tad of traffic from blog indexing sites).  If you're one of the foolish few who've subscribed to my blog, I must give you a warning now:  I'm occasionally going to have some posts that get kinda technical.  I work as a computer networking consultant and some of my posts will be born out of that.  I will also be posting on other nerdly pursuits from time to time (you did see the title and tagline, right?). 

A couple of programming notes:  My next blog goes into reverse DNS a little bit.  I have another potential post on spamming but I'm saving it for a bit.  I changed up how I wrote it a bit to potentially get it published in a local business journal.  I want to wait until I hear anything about that before I post it here.  When I get around to posting it here, I'll probbaly re-write it to closer to how I originally wanted to write it. 

Anyway… on with the tech.

Dvorak blog contributor blast Gates on incomplete information

OK. Here's a case where I think someone who only has part of the conversation is getting the analysis all wrong. SN, over at John C. Dvorak's blog, is quoting a post where David Card is only providing some highlights of the notes he took of Donny Deutsch's interview of Bill Gates. Card even specifies they aren't direct quotes.

The section SN picks out is Card's notes from the interview directed at search and Microsoft vs. Google. SN says it looks like Gates is saying there should only be one link to click on after performing a search query. My take is Gates is saying your search results should provide you with the answer to your query. Not a bunch of results that could be the answer.

Next, SN says it seems that Gates is saying "results should only be provided from sites where a prior business relationship has been made." I don't think that at all. This just builds on what Gate said previously. Not only should you be provided with the answer to your query but there should also be some way to insure the aswer is accurate and valid.

Lastly, SN claims Gates is saying "the Internet should fit his software" and Microsoft won't list your site in its search results unless you're using their software. What did Gates say? "Microsoft builds platforms for information organization. We’re not going to organize the world’s information for it." To me, this says Microsoft builds the tools to organize information. It's up to the rest of the world to actually organize it. This is the opposite of what SN is claiming. Gates isn't saying he's trying to exert control over the world's information sources. He's saying he's going to be a facilitator for everyone else to organize information. He doesn't even say everyone has to use his tools.

Remember, though, that I'm also working from only part of the story. I have not seen any of Deutsch's interview with Gates other than what Card is paraphrasing. I think this is a case of someone who's anxious to blow up at Microsoft jumping the gun. I'll certainly criticize Microsoft when I think it's waranted, but I don't think this is one of those times.

In the interest of full-disclosure, I pretty much owe my job to Microsoft. I don't work for them but I work for a Gold Certified Partner. The bulk of my billable hours goes to working with Microsoft products.

No new laws

Spotted this over at c|net:

"Verizon Communications on Thursday dismissed concerns about Net neutrality as "hypothetical problems" and suggested that new laws mandating the concept were premature."

I kind of agree with them here.  Unless it's of case of foresight guranteeing an absolute need, I'm not for creating new legislation before it's needed.  Unless we can prove the telcos are already engaging in bandwidth favoritism, I say "Just leave it be."  The providers have heard the outcry.  They see people are serious about moving towards legislation guaranteeing 'net neutrality.  Hopefully, they'll just table the ideas.

But let's think about things a little.  Back in the 90's, I read an article in Wired magazine about Jaron Lanier.  I've been searching Wired's site for a while but I can't find the article.  One of the points he brought up is the design of the Internet is not reliable for certain applications.  For instance, you could not run a virtual reality simulation where you had a pitcher throwing a baseball in Los Angeles and a batter swinging at it in New York.  Sure, you could set it up but it wouldn't be practical.  The system could not reliably simulate a true representation of the flight of the ball from pitcher to the batter. 

Anyone who's ever played World of Warcraft should know what I'm talking about.  Character representations will sometimes jump around the screen in various places.  Can you say "Lag?"  Take streaming video as another example:  buffering… buffering… buffering.  You do not have a direct connection from one point to another.  The Internet is even designed so that packets don't necessarily arrive in the order that their sent:  imagine the baseball reaching the catcher's mitt before the pitcher even throws it.

How do we make it work?  I'm not an expert in these matters, but I'd say the Internet probably needs to be redesigned for this all to work right.  We're probably talking more than a decade (two?) before we see anything like that.  In the mean time, maybe the solution is some kind of bandwidth prioritization.  I'm talking prioritization based on the type of content, not necessarily where it came from or where it's going. 

But who decides what get's priority?  One might say that VOIP would deserve priority but an argument can be made against it because you could always use the plain old telephone system (POTS).  If VOIP needs it, why not streaming audio?  Listening to music isn't the same as trying to have a conversation with someone but try telling that to those who's revenue is reliant on their ability to successfully deliver straming audio.

I really don't have any answers here.  But hopefully, I've made you think.  I firmly believe people would do far fewer stupid things (like a telecom trying to extort Google to gurantee reliable delivery of video traffic) if they stopped to think for a bit.

Stop fighting SPAM or we’ll SPAM you!

This story has been getting some attention the last few days.  Additional information here and here.

At the center of this is a company called Blue Security out of Israel.  Here's a rundown of their service.  Basically, you register your e-mail address with their  do-not-e-mail service and then forward unsolicited e-mail you receive to them for analysis.  If it's determined to be spam they'll lodge a complaint with any web sites/addresses associated with the spam.  If the spammer continues to spam you, they'll continue to lodge complaints — pretty much annoying the hell out of the spammer.

 It seems the tactic might be paying off as the spammers are now attacking Blue Security and their clients.  They've been able to determine a number of the addresses registered with Blue Security.  They're using this list and other lists they've accumulated to warn people not to use Blue Security's service or they'll spam them some more.

 Huh?  Don't try to stop our spam or we'll spam you?  This makes sense how? 

It’s about time: Original Star Wars trilogy coming to DVD

I glommed this from Slashdot today.

In response to overwhelming demand, Lucasfilm Ltd. and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will release attractively priced individual two-disc releases of Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Each release includes the 2004 digitally remastered version of the movie and, as bonus material, the theatrical edition of the film. That means you'll be able to enjoy Star Wars as it first appeared in 1977, Empire in 1980, and Jedi in 1983.

<fanboy rant>

Greedo  did not shoot first, damn it.  Han Solo is a swashbuckler.  He's a smuggler.  He's not going to let a bounty hunter attack first.  If he has the drop, he's going to take advantage.

</fanboy rant> 

Blogging — getting started

So you wanna blog?  How do you get started?  I'm certainly not an authority here.  I've tried to start a blog a couple times but never stuck to it.  However, I've been reading blogs for a while and have been giving the subject some thought.  Tom Merritt, who hosts c|net's The Real Deal podcast and is co-host of Buzz Out Loud (these are great podcasts — check them out), recently asked listeners for their thoughts on his upcoming podcast about blogging.  I sent him an e-mail with my thoughts that actually kind of turned out to be an article.  Tom gave me an unofficial co-writer credit during the podcast. (BTW:  It totally made my day when I heard it).
 
What follows is the e-mail I sent him — with a little editing.
 
1.  Where to blog?
    — Myspace?
2.  What to blog about?
    — Beware about what you blog
3.  How often should I blog?
    — Not everyone is Scoble
4.  How do I get people to read my blog?
    — Be interesting and fresh
    — Be original
    — Be easy to find
    — Don't be desperate
   

1.  Where to blog?   There are tons of sites on the net that host blogs.  Geekswithblogs, Livejournal, Blogger, Typepad and WordPress are but a few.  If you're geeky enough to host your own web server, you can even host your own blogging site — WordPress offers their binaries for you to download and install on your own server. Blogger has been mentioned as being an easy place to get started.  Livejournal is an option but I've generally looked at them as more of a personal diary host.  In Tom's blogging podcast, he referred to them as more of a social networking site.  I've liked what I've read about WordPress relative to other blogging hosts so I've decided to start my blog here.  I could set it up on one of my servers at home, but I'd rather my time was not spent dealing with technical issues when they arise.  Let's face it:  no matter how good software is coded, there's always something to go wrong.  And like Murphy says, it usually does.
 
However, there are certainly other options.  If you have a particular subject you're going to blog about, you might be able to find a blog host that caters to that audience.  For instance, Geekswithblogs is a blog host for people blogging about Microsoft technologies.

You also might want to consider where not to blog.  That would be sites like Myspace.  This isn't meant as a knock on Myspace — I have an account there myself.  My best friend just reconnected with one of the best friends of his youth — who he hadn't seen or heard from in over a decade — because of MySpace.  Myspace does have a blogging feature but you probably want to chose a host that's geared primarily for blogging.  Myspace is more for social networking than blogging.  It just happens to also include blogging.  Choose a site like MySpace for more personal blogs directed to your circle of friends.  It's OK to have more than one blog for separate purposes..

2.  What to blog about?  This is probably one of the toughest things for a potential blogger.  This actually should be relatively simple.  Determine what topics interest you and make your blog about that.  Why does this topic interest you?  Is there something you've really wanted to get off your chest?  Check the news and comment on a news story that piqued your interest.  Share blog writing duties with a friend and riff off each others' posts.  Though it's a podcast, I think Buzz Out Loud  is probably infinitely more interesting and the hosts have more to talk about because they have each others' contributions — along with the e-mails and voicemails from their listeners.

However, beware of what you post.  Don't post anything you wouldn't want your friends, family, or employer to see.  What you write can come back to bite you at any time.  Stuff on the Internet tends to hang around.  Take a good look at search results at Google.  See where it says "Cached?"  That means Google has a copy of that page saved.  Your blog posts end up there.  And guess what:  they back their servers up so there's a copy of what you've written on a tape somewhere — just waiting for somebody to find it.  Also, check out the Wayback Machine.  They save web sites at various points in time.  So, even if you delete a post or totally edit it, there's a chance they've saved a copy of the original version of your post.  There's no telling when your online past will come back to haunt you down the road.

3.  How often should I post?  There's no definite answer to this.  The simple answer is to post whenever you have something to type about.  What happened to you today?  What happened in the world today?  What was the news of the day concerning your topics of interest?  The thing to remember is you want to keep your content fresh and updated.  New content is keeps people coming back.  Posting three or four times a week is probably enough.  However, there's nothing stopping you from posting as much as you want. 

What you need to keep in mind that not everyone is Robert Scoble.  With as much as he posts, you'd think it's his job.  Well, what do you know:  it is his job.  OK… his job isn't just to blog.  However, he's a Microsoft evangelist which is primarily PR.  Blogging has become a fairly effective tool for public relations.  You don't have to be nearly as prolific with your blog.  If you're worried about keeping up with new content, you can always invite a friend to share blogging duties — as mentioned above.  Robert Scoble recently had someone fill-in for him when he decided to take a week off of blogging.  Alex Eckelberry, President of Sunbelt Software, frequently has other Sunbelt staffers post on the Sunbelt blog .

4.  How do I get people to read my blog?  Make your blog interesting and fresh.  Blog frequently enough to keep readers coming back.  If your blog get's stale, people will come back less and less until they finally just stop caring.  Post comments in other popular blogs and link back to your blog.  However, don't be annoying.  Don't post just to get your blog linked — actually add to the discussion with your comments.  You don't want to annoy your potential visitors.  Plus, if you have something valid or interesting to say, a reader might get curious about what else you have to say and visit your blog. 

Make your blog easy to find.  Give your blog a memorable name that's easy to remember and type in.  On the other hand, depending on your audience, there's a certain cachet in being exclusive and hard to find.  You'll have to gauge that for yourself.  Also, make sure your blog indexed by sites like Technorati.

Be original.  Don't parrot every other site you see out there.  People don't want to see the same thing over and over again.  Write about an under served topic.  Provide a new perspective.  Don't steal others' posts and claim them as your own.  You will be found out.

But don't look too desperate for attention.  Anyone with any kind of brains will see through your attempts and it will look pathetic.  On the other hand,  the Internet is not exactly known as a bastion of high intelligence so it just might work.
 
 
Getting started blogging really isn't all that difficult once you have a little information.  The hard part is keeping it going.  It's easy to get lazy and just let it sit.  Sign yourself up.  Make your first post.  Contribute in community forums.  Get yourself noticed.  Make yourself heard.

OMG First!!11!!! :-P

Well, I've sat on my ass long enough.  It's time to get started.  I'm just going to start off without customizing anything at all.  I figure I can tailor this thing as I go along.  Otherwise, I might spend all my time fussing over how this looks instead of actually writing.

Will I stick with it?  Time will tell.