Ted's Radio Weblog

Moving notice

Tue, 16 Jan 2007 16:32:24 GMT

with a tip o' the cap to printfree.com

On this day our address will change __31-Jan-2007_ Please update your records
Our name was: Ted's Radio Weblog
Our new name is: Ted Roche's Weblog
Our old address: http://radio.weblogs.com/0117767	Our new address: http://www.tedroche.com/blog
RSS Feed: http://radio.weblogs.com/0117767/rss.xml	New RSS: http://www.tedroche.com/blog/?feed=rss2
Old Motto: Mission: Interoperable. Competition breeds Innovation. Monopolies breed stagnation. Working Well with Others is Good.	New Motto: Open: It's Just Better. Competition is not the opposite of Cooperation. Interop isn't just good: it's required.
Software: Radio Userland	Software: WordPress
Platform: Closed, proprietary, Win/Mac only.	Platform: Open (GPL), any platform that runs MySQL and PHP
Notes: Comments may take a while to migrate. Thanks to the Userland staff for several years of great blogging and hosting. It's time to move on.

FireFox and Thunderbird security updates...

Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:39:24 GMT

Security is a process and not a feature. One of the easier tasks is keeping up with updates. FireFox (2.0 and 1.5) and Thunderbird each have security updates coming. They should automatically notice the new versions and offer to update it, but you may need to force it manually if you've somehow disabled updates, or you are working with an older (pre-auto-update) version.

Skype worm: click here if you're foolish...

Tue, 19 Dec 2006 23:08:48 GMT

SANS Internet Storm Center, InfoCON: green reports "Skype 'worm' whinnies..., (Tue, Dec 19th). It appears that the possible Skype "worm" that we reported on yesterday is actually more of a Trojan Horse..."

One more time: an attachment, whether it shows up in email, IM, Skype, floppy disk, USB tab or in the transporter room, is from an untrusted source until you can confirm what it is, where it comes from, why its here and whether you should click on it. There are no trusted sources. "Click here for something really cool" is not an offer you should be taking up!

Spam surging in volume again; what's behind it?

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 15:03:06 GMT

Perhaps it's not your imagination. Over at eWeek, Larry Selzer asks "Who's Behind the Spam Surge?". "As I discussed several weeks ago, everyone's seen that there has been a massive surge in spam over the last couple of months. More researchers are weighing in on what's behind it."

Vista Zero-Day exploit for sale

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 14:07:18 GMT

Slashdot posting: Vista Zero-Day Exploit For Sale. Snakepit Bit writes "Underground hackers are hawking a zero-day exploit for Windows Vista at $50,000 a pop, according to computer security researchers at Trend Micro."

I wouldn't pay for it. I hear if you wait a while, it'll show up on your Vista machines, free.

It's all about ... choice

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:09:16 GMT

LXer points to a page with logos of 352 Linux distributions. So little time, so many possibilities.

Choice is good, and choice is bad. Edubuntu, for example is a distribution designed specifically for young children, with approachable games, education and entertainment. TrixBox is a distribution focused on small- and medium-sized business phone management (PBX).

So how can choice be bad? David Pogue reviews Vista in last Thursday's New York Times. Vista will be available in 5 different versions, and it's not so much about what's added as what's taken away in the lower priced versions. That's not a feature. Pogue goes on to say:

So after five years, how is Windows Vista? Microsoft's description, which you"ll soon be seeing in millions of dollars' worth of advertising, is "Clear, Confident, Connected." But a more truthful motto would be "Looks, Locks, Lacks."

So, choice can be bad when it's between evils. A better choice if you're facing Vista? Mac OS X? Stay the course with Win2K or XP? 352 Flavors of Linux?

It's your choice.

Eben Moglen keynote from Plone 2006 conference

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 15:19:41 GMT

On the way back from a client this week, I got to listen to an audiocast of Eben Moglen's keynote speech from the Plone conference. Darned if I can find the link that brought me to the MP3, but there's a video and audio link here. Mr. Moglen is Chief Counsel for the Free Software Foundation among several other notable tasks, and has some remarkable and far-ranging insights into the importance of Free Software. Worth a listen.

Skype announces long-distance plans for 2007

Wed, 13 Dec 2006 18:57:54 GMT

Over at Ars Technica, Ken Fisher writes, "Skype unveils yearly long distance package. Skype's promotional free long distance deal was time-limited from the start. What happens when the two-double-o-seven arrives?"

"Now Skype hopes to turn those users into paying customers, as the company has now announced its intention to sell long distance packages for a yearly rate. When the free long distance hangs up on Near Year's Day, Skype will begin a month-long promotion: $14.95 for one year of long distance. The promotion will also include 100 minutes of SkypeOut for International calls and over $50 worth of coupons for purchasing Skype-certified hardware products. After January 31, the yearly fee will increase to $29.95."

Fifteen bucks a year is a deal for long distance, even if it has to route through a computer. Interesting market offer.

I used Skype for 3-way interstate conferencing on a project this year, and we probably racked up 100 hours of voice time this way. At five cents a minute that still adds up to a few dollars. For solo businesses, this could be the way to go. For slightly larger SOHOs, TrixBox might be a bit more scaleable, with a bit more investment up front.