BREAKING SURF
| The Art of Reputation Management |
| Weblog Power Laws Followup |
| Chicago |
| Minivan Activities |
| "Bubba Ho-Tep" |
| "Turist Omer Uzay Yolunda" - the Turkish "Star Trek" |
| The Techniques of Visual Art |
| The Best of Industrial Design 2002 |
| Netsurfer Recommendations |
| Remedy and Her Principles, Sitting in a Tree |
| Unmanned Eyes in the Sky |
| A Revolution in Digital Photography |
| Tit-Watching |
| Water Crystals |
| Medical History Portal |
| Our Friends, the Cephalopods |
| Diabetes Info |
| BOOK REVIEWS |
| LETTERS TO THE EDITOR |
| Contact and Subscription Information |
| Credits |
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BREAKING SURF
US National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace
The Bush administration has come down squarely on the side of persuasion and cooperation rather than draconian regulation in its plans to decrease the vulnerability of the Internet and protect the information system infrastructure from attack. The newly published policy statement, "The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace", and supporting documents put out by the White House call for an ambitious program of cooperation and coordination that engages all elements of society. The five key components of the plan are a national security response system, a threat and vulnerability reduction program, security awareness and training, securing the government's cyberspace, and a robust counterintelligence posture with strong international ties to other friendly nations. CNET reports that industry experts are fairly pleased with the plan, but some doubt that it has enough teeth to ensure widespread adoption of effective best practices, particularly in the private sector. There's a similar program for physical security.The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace: http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1001-984697.html
The Government Wants You To Be Ready for Terrorism
The U.S. Office of Homeland Security has created a web site designed to help the public prepare for the possibility of a terrorist attack. The web site specifically targets biological, chemical, nuclear, radiation, and plain old explosive threats. It provides information about what to do in case you should survive the initial assault. There are three basic recommendations - make an emergency kit, keep informed about what is going on, and have a plan about what to do and where to go. As you would expect much of this is common sense information, not much different from what you should do in any emergency such as a fire, earthquake or alien invasion. So is this information useful or just a blatant target for satire? We'll reserve judgment and just say that it's better then nothing.http://www.ready.gov/
Data Mining... - Well, Everything
Each day, more rain falls into the ocean of data known to mankind, and unbelievable technology is starting to help analysts track the ripples of each incoming drop. The technology, for the most part, comes not from the NSA or any other intelligence agency, but from the casino industry. Offshoots of the technology are now sprouting in the retail sector and, yes, in the War on Terror, as well. This article in MIT's Technology Review describes how, had one of these analytical systems been deployed in August 2001, the events of the subsequent September might have been averted. Google may be a great search tool for most of us, but it's old tech when compared to the stratification that's being quietly applied today. This lengthy and spellbinding article gives you a glimpse at just how far data mining and other operations have come over a short period of time. Americans value their privacy, but openness may prove the best defense.http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/waldrop0303.asp
Iraq Blocks US E-Mail Campaign
Psychological warfare has entered the 21st century. The US Army has repeatedly sent e-mail to Iraqi e-mail addresses to warn the recipients against participating in the use of weapons of mass destruction in any coming conflict and to ask the recipients to cooperate with UN inspectors. It's a campaign similar to that aimed at potential Iraqi dissidents, on which we reported in NSD 9.02. Unfortunately for the 212th Mechanized SMTP Regiment or whomever, most intended recipients are not getting these messages. Whenever the US tries this particular strategy, Iraq shuts down Net access to expunge the e-mail from hardly private accounts and inboxes across the country. Iraq also tries to block all e-mail from US Internet domains as a matter of course, but isn't too effective. A Wired article gets at the multiple levels of irony involved in this particular military project.NSD 9.02: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v09/nsd.09.02.html#BS11
Wired: http://www.wired.com/news/conflict/0,2100,57648,00.html
CNN Caught Altering Transcript of Blix Speech
For certain folks, life is a lot tougher than it was before the Internet. Take the people who bring you the news. Chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix briefed the UN Security Council on the progress of his team in Iraq on Feb. 14. You'd figure what he said would be important enough to make the public record, and you'd be right. CNN and the BBC, among other news outlets, posted transcripts of the Blix speech at their Web sites - but somehow, they posted different transcripts. The difference wasn't just a silly argument over whether words should have the letter "u" or not, either. CNN's transcript had nearly 900 fewer words, and some key words had been changed to alter the meanings of phrases. It's possible that this editing was an error or just unwise, but the material cut or altered includes some awfully suspicious bits. CNN posted a more accurate transcript Feb. 17. We're loath to choose conspiracy over incompetence, but others aren't. Check out Kuro5hin and Dan Hon, for example. They have links to the relevant transcripts.Kuro5hin: http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/2/16/211910/416
Hon: http://danhon.com/ec/mtarchives/000411.shtml
Internal Memos claims to possess the largest collection of corporate messages online. This one from Clear Channel, entitled War Plans, maps out what talk-radio stations KFBK and KSTE (in Sacramento) will do when war starts, and has a ring of authenticity about it. It's mildly voyeuristic to read about making sure to call Joe and Jack if war starts after 10:00 a.m. The memo exhorts staff to remember that it's vital to grab people in the early hours of coverage and how wonderful a war is for grabbing new listeners. Keep your list of experts ready to go. Keep the story going, using the best coverage whether local or network. Get a shortwave radio and turn it on in the newsroom. Monitor CNN. Keep up with the Clear Channel newswire. And don't forget about the time zone difference between the US and the Middle East. Remember to own being first, promote relentlessly, and keep it coming. The jargon is kind of intriguing if you're unfamiliar with it. Watching or listening to news will never be the same after this peek behind the scenes.
Internal Memos: http://www.internalmemos.com/memos/memodetails.php?memo_id=1329
Clear Channel: http://clearchannel.com/
Music Label Makes Money the New-Fashioned Way
The RIAA is crying over lost sales to music piracy based on numbers that are dubious at best. One music label has taken a different approach to music-copying, and it saw sales rise 33% last year. Smithsonian Folkways Recordings (SFR) owns an archive of generally older, occasionally obscure music. When someone wants to buy an album, SFR burns five CDs with the music and sells it, a model known as just-in-time sales. (The other four CDs are kept as stock for future sales.) SFR doesn't make music videos, it doesn't pay Clear Channel to play its music, and it doesn't advertise a whole lot. All it does is make money. The New York Times has an article on SFR and Slashdotters chime in as well. As for the RIAA's claims of damage due to music-sharing, the Inquirer puts the kibosh on that with a substantial look at analyses of the RIAA claims.SFR: http://www.folkways.si.edu/
Times: http://nytimes.com/2003/02/17/business/media/17FOLK.html
Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/articles/03/02/18/1734201.shtml
Inquirer: http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=7555
For a nerdy genius inventor, Dean Kamen sure knows marketing. In early 2001, his secret invention, then known as Ginger or IT, caught the world's imagination. In NSD 7.01, we doubted that what we called a "glorified moped" would change the world, as the buzz said it would. Two years on, Segway, as Kamen's machine is now called, indeed has yet to change the world, although it has provided the impetus for some changes in law. Is the Segway doomed to failure or to a niche market as a high-tech expensive toy? Or can it truly live up to its early hype? Wired looks at the state of the Segway, with an undeniably pessimistic undercurrent. Segway enthusiasts have a different view, and congregate online at sites like SegwayChat and the Book of Seg. Regardless of its future, we can tell you this after having been passed by a Segway in O'Hare airport: they are amazingly silent and amazingly cool.
NSD 7.01: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v07/nsd.07.01.html#BS3
Wired: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.03/segway.html
SegwayChat: http://www.segwaychat.com
Book of Seg: http://www.bookofseg.com/
Software Distribution Sites Disappearing
Online storehouses of freeware/shareware are following the lead of the rest of the formerly free Internet, and the largest download sites are at the front of the parade. It costs money to store and serve up files, and with online ad revenue crashing, distribution sites such as Tucows and CNET have moved to a fee basis. These two charge software authors to post their wares; other creative approaches involve charging authors for a premier listing. About 60 free download sites have shut down over the last year, and while some survivors now charge monthly or annual fees to users who wish to download files, we suspect that approach won't fly for long. Cash flow is a target of any online software distributor who wants to stay in business. Free sites aren't going away entirely - they will continue to exist through philanthropy and demand - but finding them is becoming more challenging each month. PCWorld has a story.http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,109311,00.asp
An Online Multiplayer Game with a Difference
A Tale in the Desert (ATITD) is a multiplayer Net game with a couple of interesting twists. The game takes a refreshing break from the ol' hack and slash, substituting non-violent challenges and tests which must be passed to progress. To play, you register for an account, download the Windows or Linux version (70 MB or so) for free, and log on. The first hour of game play is free, but after that, it costs $13.95 a month to play. ATITD is set in ancient Egypt and combines aspects of role playing with elements of real-time strategy. The game designers will literally succumb to mob rule: gather 1,000 signatures on a petition to change a rule and the petition will be put to a vote. Win the vote and someone from the three-person eGenesis development group will implement the change. ATITD's Web site bristles with links to comments, previews, interviews, screenshots, and so on, and is more than enough to give a good idea of what you're getting yourself into. It appears to be an intriguingly different riff on an old theme and gamers who participated in the beta tests seem enthusiastic. Whether such a wholesome game can provide ongoing interest once the novelty wears off remains to be seen.http://www.atitd.com/index.html
Is broadband slow to come to your part of the world? If so, why not do what the residents of Kingsbridge, England did to protest British Telecom's slow roll-out of DSL? The citizens purchased a set of MeshBoxes that provide the town with free wireless access. MeshBoxes are just the latest way that Wi-Fi is changing the politics and economics of Internet access. This Wired article has a good discussion of the technology and its implications, plus some links for more information. The telcos are already frightened.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,57617,00.html
False PayPal E-Mail Seduces Victims
Most of us don't need this warning, but as a public service, we feel compelled to state the obvious again: just because you receive e-mail from Microsoft or Yahoo or, in this particularly nasty case, PayPal, don't assume it's legitimate. Especially, don't run any attachments and do head for the Web site of the purported sender. Many PayPal users could have saved a headache by following the above rules but didn't, ending up victims of worms or Trojans. These have included keyloggers, designed to intercept and transmit your every keystroke, as well as backdoor Trojans designed to allow a remote user to gain full control of your system. Wired has a short article on the latest attacks, replete with links.http://www.wired.com/news/ebiz/0,1272,57673,00.html
It's back to the playground with the Onion. This time, Onion interviewers ask a bevy of celebrities who they think they can take in a fight. The answers come from a range of famous people including William Shatner, Laurie Anderson, and Emo Phillips. The last claims he can take on Stephen Hawking and Christopher Reeve, but only one at a time. Shatner says he can win against Selma Hayek. Most of the others choose either old women, young children, or flight.
http://www.theonionavclub.com/avclub3905/avfeature_3905.html
Google Buys Blog Powerhouse Pyra Labs
Google jumped into the blog business with both feet this week when it bought Pyra Labs, the company behind the Blogger authoring service and the BlogSpot blog host. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Evan Williams, the CEO of Pyra Labs, says he just bought a car for the commute to Google HQ. We assume there was more to the deal than just enough for a new car. Many folks are speculating what Google will do with Blogger, where a reported 4.7 million users maintain their blogs. Dan Gillmor broke the news in his blog, and Williams comments on the sale in his. Gillmor links to generally worthwhile commentary in other blogs about this important development.Williams: http://www.evhead.com/archives/2003_02_01_archive_default.asp#104545291840524070
Gillmor: http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000802.shtml
Blogger: http://www.blogger.com/
Overture, once known as Goto.com, has offered to buy out AltaVista, once known as the premier Web search engine. AltaVista has faced hard times ever since it adopted the portal business model and Google appeared on the scene. Overture's main line of work these days is selling search engine placement, and the purchase of a search engine seems to be a natural match. To our eyes, the deal is of no significance other than to point out how far AltaVista has fallen since its heyday. It's not like this deal is going to make anyone start searching there again, especially now that the taint of paid placement is so much more obvious. CNET has the details and Slashdot has reaction.
CNET: http://news.com.com/2100-1023-984968.html
Slashdot: http://slashdot.org/articles/03/02/19/0159202.shtml
ONLINE CULTURE
The Art of Reputation Management
If you look at the Internet as a form of mass media, then it makes sense to ask if the same rules of reputation apply online as they do for, say, the newspaper business. If you look at the Internet as a giant business marketplace it also makes sense to ask if the same rules of reputation apply as they do in choosing a reputable seller of, say, inflatable boats. Nicholas Carroll examines the phenomenon of reputation and the differences between how reputation manifests itself in traditional media such as newspapers, radio, and advertising versus how it works on the Internet. Along the way Carroll reviews the evolution of reputation on the Net, from the early individuals of ARPAnet and email lists, through the discussions on Usenet, the web, and ultimately to the sophisticated reputation based online businesses like Epinions.com. A good, wide ranging overview of the topic.http://www.mindjack.com/feature/spin.html
In NSD 09.06 we wrote about Clay Shirky's "Power Laws, Weblogs, and Inequality", an excellent analysis of blog social networks. This week Kevin Marks delves more deeply into the subject from a mathematical point of view, noting that Shirky's original piece made "a couple of classic mistakes". Kevin specifically points out that Shirkey's analysis has a sampling bias which ignores the vast majority of less popular blogs. He goes on to provide some examples of how the data can be plotted to bring out finer levels of detail illustrating the relationships between weblogs. Rather technical, but of interest to those studying Net social systems.
NSD 09.06: http://www.netsurf.com/nsd/sub/v09/nsd.09.06.html#OC1
Kevin Marks: http://homepage.mac.com/kevinmarks/powerlaws.html
ONLINE TRAVEL
Learn about the great city of Chicago at the American Experience Online, an adjunct of the "American Experience" show on PBS. Offering a video re-creation of the Great Fire of 1871 as it licks 73 miles worth of streets and a recreation of the anarchist riots of 1886, the site also tosses around maps, graphs, and photos old and new. If you think you know Chicago, take the trivia quiz. Teachers might want to take a look at a guide meant to help them and their students make the most of the offerings available. Whether it's the settling of the American prairies or the creation of the vertical city, find insight here.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/chicago/
Inspired by childhood memories of road trips, one mom has decided to help parents answer the eternal question, "Are we there yet?" She outlines many ideas for fun car activities for kids, carseat safety information, and road-trip tips. Best of all, the info is all organized by age group so if you've got a stable of toddlers, you can focus your last minute search more accurately. A perfect example is the travel scavenger hunt in which the child has to spot particular items from the car. The lists of bingo items differ depending on the environment (city, suburbs, or rural), although the inclusion of "armadillo" kind of limits their utility outside a couple of states. Other ideas include a travel journal, singing daft songs, and counting cows. All family cars should come with this advice.
http://www.momsminivan.com/
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
"Bubba Ho-Tep" is a film with the premise that Elvis traded places with an impersonator (it was the bloated impersonator that shamed the myth of the King by dying on the toilet, full of drugs and cheeseburgers) and is living out his years in a retirement home with an elderly black guy who reckons he's the real JFK. To make matters more bizarre, the retirement home is stalked by a stetson-wearing Egyptian mummy, the eponymous Bubba Ho-Tep, who sucks souls from his victims through their butts. It sounds the sort of film that could go either way - grimly comic cult masterpiece or tiresomely wacky piece of auto-proctology. The critics seem to love it, though, and Bruce Campbell of "Evil Dead" fame is apparently superb as the King. The film's Web site certainly has enough to pique our interest, with the press reports being particularly intriguing. It premieres later this month, having received raves on the festival circuit, but it seems that the film may not be distributed for general release, which would be a great pity.http://www.bubbahotep.com/main.html
"Turist Omer Uzay Yolunda" - the Turkish "Star Trek"
Apparently, Turkey has a rich tradition of remaking American entertainment on a painfully obvious shoestring budget. This review of "Turist Omer Uzay Yolunda", a remake of "Star Trek", puts it more bluntly: Turkey "turns it on its head and kicks the living crap out of it." The film has no subtitles, which means that you can only guess at what is being said if you're not a Turkish speaker. Everything else about the film - its ludicrous costumes, antediluvian special effects, and farcical action - suggests that not understanding the dialogue is no great loss. The reviewer of the film obviously speaks no Turkish, but has a brave stab at suggesting what the plot is all about. The best we can say, in terms of plot, is that it goes where no man has gone before, or, for that matter, would want to go unless under the influence of non-prescription pharmaceuticals. Don't miss the links to Turkish versions of "The Wizard of Oz", "Star Wars", and "E.T."http://www.thewavemedia.com/pagegen.php?pagename=article&articleid=22646
This new art education site goes one step beyond the typical "download the pretty pictures" brief by providing step-by-step demonstrations of the visual elements and principles that artists use to create works of art. The Artist's Toolkit offers an animated demonstration of basic concepts like line, color, and shape, as well as more advanced ideas like visual rhythm and complementary colors. Each concept is accompanied by examples from museum art, and finally you get a chance to create your own printable masterpiece using simple drag-and-drop toolbars. The Artists in Action section allows the budding artist to observe professional artists using the demonstrated techniques to create original compositions, while the Encyclopedia is an in-depth guide to all the artistic building blocks covered. This is an ideal resource for any budding artist or could be used as inspiration even by more experienced painters.
http://www.artsconnected.org/toolkit/
The Best of Industrial Design 2002
Industrial design is all around us, yet most of us take it for granted. Inventors and designers are always looking for the right mix of practicality, ergonomics, usability, and aesthetics in every product they create. Creativity, ingenuity, and workmanship have gone into every product we use - to one degree or another. The Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA) pay tribute to the best designs in the US and around the world. From business and industrial products to medical and scientific equipment, you'll see some of the best designed products to make it into the marketplace. View annual winners since 1996 if you wish, or check out the best industrial designs of the last decade. After visiting this site, you'll never think of a chair as just a chair again. Maybe you'll switch from that generic razor you use to one of the Gold Medal winners of the decade, the Gillette Sensor Razor for Women.http://www.idsa.org/whatis/seewhat/seewhat.htm
BOOKS & E-ZINES
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Items our staff likes and you might too. Click on the image or title to order at a hefty discount from our affiliate Amazon.com, and send a few pennies our way as well.
For more selections, check out: Netsurfer Books: http://www.netsurf.com/nsb/ Netsurfer Library: http://www.netsurf.com/nsl/ |
Fixing Intelligence: For a More Secure America
The Best Time Travel Stories of All Time
802.11 Security
Stan and Ollie: The Roots of ComedyRemedy and Her Principles, Sitting in a Tree
The flower children and tree-huggers of the '60s have nothing on 28-year-old environmental activist Remedy. Since last summer, Remedy has been living in the branches of Jerry, an ancient redwood in Freshwater, Calif. Sitting 150 feet above ground level, this Earth First environmentalist is protesting the clearcutting of this centuries-old forest by Pacific Lumber. Until recently, Remedy has had limited communication with the rest of the world, but thanks to a group of tech-savvy activists, she's now online and providing a bird's-eye perspective from her abode at the Treesit Blog. In addition to her infrequent posts, Remedy provides various links to more in-depth information about environmental issues affecting the world. Take some time to read the visitor comments; Remedy invites both compliments and criticism. One thing is for certain: her antics evoke emotion and seemingly touch us all. Wired provides coverage as well.Treesit Blog: http://www.contrast.org/treesit/
Wired: http://wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,56660,00.html
SURFING SCIENCE
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of a sort have been around since the US Civil War, but of course today they are a lot more sophisticated. Hot-air balloons were once the rage; today, we have small, quiet, highly maneuverable drones capable of capable of taking surveillance images or launching missiles. The PBS staple NOVA provides a wealth of information here, as usual, yet what the site presents is only a hint of current UAV capabilities. Of striking interest is a link to a 2002 photo released by GlobalSecurity.org that shows new construction at the Tuwaitha nuclear center in Iraq. The interview with master photo interpreter Dino Brugioni is particularly illuminating. After reading it, you may never look at a photo in quite the same way. This is a must-visit spot for historians, geeks, patriots, paranoiacs, and French politicians.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/spiesfly/
A Revolution in Digital Photography
Digital photos are sweeping the photographic world. They're dominating news photography already, and are poised to overtake film in the world of consumer picture-taking, although purists still prefer film for its finer resolution and smoother tonal values. Up to now, digital cameras have relied on image sensors that can't do what color film does: record all three primary colors of light at each point in the image. They cheat, the way a three-colour CRT does. The new X3 sensor from Foveon's Corporation's X3 chip, however, uses a three-layer design that captures red, blue, and green light at each point. The results are spectacular. The X3, installed in an $1,800 camera, produces results that for smoothness and resolution far exceed traditional color film. If the X3 proves commercially viable, its technology will dominate color photography in short order. Discover had a superb article in December.Foveon: http://www.foveon.com/
Discover: http://www.discover.com/dec_02/featphoto.html
The Parus genus of birds is widespread in Europe. These adaptive little birds fill many ecological niches, largely in woodlands both coniferous and deciduous. Some of the family, particularly the loveable P. caeruleus and its larger cousin P. major, are frequent visitors to gardens. They are more commonly known as tits, and we feel that it is this accident of nomenclature which is more of interest to the Royal Tit-Watching (Ornithological) Society of Britain, and especially its Web site, than anything else. Still, you can learn something about these birds and the society at the site as well as shopping for some tit merchandise. A "Nice Tits" T-shirt, with a picture of a pair of P. caeruleus (just in case anyone gets the wrong idea) might make a neat gift for the lady in your life. Come to think of it, you might want to clear the site's URL from the browser cache just in case your wife gets the wrong idea about your Net use.
http://www.nice-tits.org/
Few would dispute the exquisite beauty of snowflakes and snow crystals. The Snow Crystals site, created by Caltech professor of physics Ken Liebbrecht, is a gallery of truly extraordinary super-high-resolution snowflake and ice crystal photos. The photos can be considerably enlarged via the zoom mechanism of most browsers or graphics software. Separate areas chronicle natural crystals, and "designer" or lab-grown snow crystals. If that wasn't enough, there's a complete discussion of the physics of crystal generation and growth, all in fairly accessible (to the non-physicist) language. If the crystal-growing bug bites, you'll find the handy directions for building a crystal growth set-up based on an empty 20-oz Coke bottle, a Styrofoam cup or two, and dry ice. Let the personal snow crystals begin.
http://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/
The MedHist site offers a wide range of predominantly UK-based medical history resources, most of which are technical papers. The site can be useful for lay visitors, but its target audience is clearly medical researchers. For them, it's a gold mine with advanced and efficient search and browsing tools. Non-professional visitors will get less, but still be able to find material both interesting and useful. Don't be misled into thinking that only human medicine is covered. The site offers access to veterinary, agriculture, natural world, and many other resources as well.
http://medhist.ac.uk/
We'd guess that this place - although featuring a considerable amount of region-centric (Seattle-area) material - could pretty much address any issues you may have regarding octopus. It's quite comprehensive, featuring brief articles relating to cephalopod care for the pet owner, among other items. The articles may be brief, but there's a lot of information here. If you're interested in octopuses (and that is the preferred plural form), you'll want to bookmark the site. It should be on the list for any aquarist keeping or planning to keep an octopus. We got kind of suckered in here, ourselves.
http://tonmo.com/
Everyone has heard of diabetes, but many of us may not know that diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death in the US. It behooves you to understand and seek out ways to prevent any health risk, and diabetes is no exception. This Web site is an invaluable resource that will help you understand this all too common ailment. You'll find it a welcome change from many medical information sites. You won't find obscene amounts of information here. It's basic, straightforward, and easy to understand, presumably in any of the six available languages. You can browse statistics, news and developments, and diabetes FAQs to boost your knowledge of this often fatal condition. Created by a 20-something University of Florida student, the site will help out those of us who have been directly or indirectly affected by diabetes. Even if you haven't been affected by diabetes, knowing the facts is the first step toward a healthy life with many productive years ahead.
http://www.type1diabetic.com/