Category Archives: Lemonisms

Posted on by
Reply

Testing another operating system … ReactOS … virtually!
I haven’t yet written about my experiences with Microsoft Virtual PC (formally a product from Connectix) however I am using it again today … to take a look at another operating system – ReactOS.

First some comments on Virtual PC. While I was working at Novell, I had the opportunity to use VMWare, a product that allowed me to run multiple operating systems on my laptop – at the same time. Connectix created a similar product and was then bought by Microsoft … and that product is now Microsoft Virtual PC. The incredible thing about Virtual PC is that I will now test and experiment with almost any operating system now … since I don’t have to find an extra computer with a clean hard disk! Now I just run Virtual PC, create a “virtual” computer, and then boot the CD ISO image and install! All of this is while I’m sitting here typing this blog post, and watching my e-mail.

I have now installed numerous operating systems in Virtual PC – including an old version of CP/M 86 that I found – and it’s amazing to have the ability to run almost any operating system as an application under Windows.

ReactOS appears to be an open source attempt to recreate Windows NT v4.0 … or something close to it. The installation went very smooth, however booting it within Virtual PC didn’t take me too far. I got to where it’s checking the C: drive … and it hangs.

Looks like I’ll have to take a look at it when the next update is released … or when I can find some physical hardware. It might be a while.

ReactOS 0.1.3. A GPL open source implementation of an operating system like Windows NT [freshmeat.net]

Posted on by
Reply

RSS … the alternative to e-mail …
I really like the essay that Adam has written about using RSS as an alternative to the existing protocols used by traditional e-mail. In the “essay” link below, Adam outlines many of the advantages and ways that this could become a much more effective medium for communication when compared to e-mail.

The one area that I have to disagree a little – or at least have my own ideas – is when it comes to managing the “publish-subscribe” relationship creation. He indicates a variety of ways to encrypt the content, however after doing a lot of work in the past on digital identity, I have to think that there are some ways that I like the “username/password” schemes much better.

In my own thoughts, I believe there is a space for the creation of a new “personal introduction” protocol for the creation of digital relationships. This protocol – and I’m only beginning to think through how this would work – would automate the management of identity information, and the exchange of the necessary information to create the relationship.

I have to agree with Adam, that once such a relationship has been created between two people (or entities) then the ability to terminate the relationship becomes much easier. The entire process becomes a “pull” of information that I am interested in … instead of being spammed with information that I do not want!

email dying – rss alternatives. Steve Outing [via sn]: “Any e-mail publisher with a survival instinct should be publishing RSS feeds of the content that it currently e-mails.” Nomention of my essay, so here’s the link again. [Adam Curry: Adam Curry’s Weblog]

Posted on by
Reply

Oh yeah … the posting gap!
I forgot to post today about getting Radio back up and running. Just before Thanksgiving (just after my last posts) my hard disk on my laptop died. It was finally time to move to my new laptop.

I’ll be writing more about the adventure, however the short version is that I have almost recovered everything, I have learned about being better about backing up, I am now using Windows XP and all of it’s new features, and I really like my new Dell Latitude!

So I’ll be posting more to catch up on other events … stay tuned!

Posted on by
Reply

Open Source Terrorism?
I can understand that many people are upset and confused about the SCO Group and their issues with Linux. Some of these people are, however, taking an approach that is a modern form of terrorism to demonstrate their upset.

Numerous times now, hackers on the Internet have mounted large Distributed Denial Of Service (DDOS) attacks on SCO computers and web sites. To do this, they have hacked into hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of computers on the Internet, and have installed “zombie” software that sends packets of data to the SCO computers. All of these packets can then overload the capacity of these computers, and makes the SCO web site, and other service, unavailable.

There are numerous issues with this approach to dealing with being upset. First, this is a blatant form of terrorism. No matter what anyone “feels” about the situation, SCO is following the letter of the law to pursue its rights. Within the Democratic society that we live in, SCO is using the courts and legal system to pursue the resolution of the issues that it has with its licensees. It is absolute terrorism if all companies across the globe can expect to be attacked for using the judicial system that we have created.

Secondly, as this article talks about, these attacks are not only impacting SCO, but many other companies. This again is a form of terrorism where “innocent bystanders” are being impacted by the attacks aimed at SCO.

It is too bad that even in this new age of computers and the Internet, there are those who still resort to these tactics to attack those who are pursuing their rights within the systems we have created.

SCO DOS Harming Innocent Bystanders [Slashdot]

Posted on by
Reply

Steve Mann is still leading in new directions …
As always, I am impressed with Steve Mann and his thoughts on “cyborgs” and the extension of humans using technology. He has already run into numerous societal issues, and always explores the extreme edges of wearable computers, and “mediated” reality.

Cyborgs unite!. Professor Steve Mann just may be the world’s first cyborg rights activist. It is a future, he says, that is no longer the exclusive preserve of science fiction. [CNET News.com]

Posted on by
Reply

TMDA … an anti-spam solution …
Several years ago, while at Novell, I began work on a simple idea that I called AgreeMail. It never went anywhere, however it was an anti-spam solution based on an idea that I got at a Foresight Institute conference.

The idea was pretty simple. For any e-mail that was sent to me, the AgreeMail engine would check to see if it came from an “approved” sender. If it wasn’t, then it would automatically kick back an e-mail to the sender with an “agreement” that had to be replied to. When the AgreeMail engine received the “agreement” it would add the person to the approved list and let their e-mail through.

Well … years later … here is the solution as an Open Source project! I am now updating my mail server, and will soon be installing the TMDA engine.

This article is a great overview of TMDA, and the benefits!

TMDA Ends Spam. Tagged Message Delivery Agent (TMDA) is a challenge/response style anti-spam system which I’ve been using successfully for about six months. The system is based on a white list. When someone not on the list sends me a message, their message is held in a queue, and a challenge is emailed back to them. When they respond to the message, they’re added to my white list, and their original message is delivered to me. I’ve seen some resistance to systems like TMDA. This resistance comes in two basic objections: (1) it doesn’t work, and (2) it’s too rude. These objections are based on encounters with systems with various obvious faults, but condemning all challenge/response systems based on some bad implementations is like saying that cars are a bad idea because the Model A Ford has some problems. I intend to show that TMDA works well and that the real debate is over whether a system like it makes victims out of the people who aren’t using it. [kuro5hin.org]

Posted on by
Reply

Google … an amazing entity …
From my early days on the Internet, I have been facinated with Internet Directories and Search Engines. The various players have come and gone … and some have stuck around. Yahoo! is still one of the “old-timers” in the industry, as Excite, Infoseek, Lycos, and Altavista have all gone there own ways.

The one “newer” player that has come to dominate the landscape is Google. With their radical new architecture for gathering, storing, and indexing web content, and then “ranking” based on URI linking frequency, they have created an amazing solution for managing the wealth of information on the Internet. Ouside of all of this technology, there is also the “clean” and lightweight design of their website. Google appears to be the most used resource for searching the web.

There is another side to Google that many people do not see, nor understand. It is the core technology, and how is can be used and repurposed … and expanded. This is what I am most interested in with Google. If you have not visited their Advanced Search page, or explored the Google Labs, then you might not have seen some of the other aspects of Google.

Over the next month of so, I am going to be posting about a model that I have created in my observations of Google and what they are developing. I am hearing more and more about the impending IPO of their company … and I have to admit that I believe they are on to something. I believe they are creating something that is truly amazing.

Posted on by
Reply

Time Management for kids and ???
While I’m here writing about Utah companies, I might as well mention Time Scout. Time Scout is a cool little product for controlling the amount of time that any electronic product is used. The target market is for parents who want to control the amount of time their kids watch TV, play video games, or even use the computer.

It’s based on a simple hardware device that plugs into the wall. The electronic device is then plugged into the Time Scout and locked. There is then a simple control panel that consists of a card scanner and LCD display. The child is given a card that identifies them, and the parent assigns an amount of time in minutes. When the child wants to play, they scan their card and the LCD display shows their remaining time and counts down the minutes. When they are done they scan their card and it stops the counter.

This is a pretty cool gadget that allows parents to allocate an amount of time, and allows the child to learn how to manage the time that they have. I’m thinking that there might even be other uses for this product … I’ll be thinking about them!

Posted on by
Reply

Skiing with my MP3 Player and Cell Phone …
With this latest snow fall (which is still going as of today!) I can only start thinking about getting out and doing some skiing and snowboarding. Lately when I have been going, I like to take some CDs or an MP3 player. Of course I also carry my cell phone.

One of the problems with this is how do you listen to tunes, and also be aware of your cell phone? Well, a little company called Skull Candy from Park City, Utah has a solution. With their product, I can plug a single set of headphones into my MP3 or CD player, and my cell phone at the same time. I can then listen to tunes, and hear my phone ring. I can answer the phone and then return to my listening.

I’m really thinking of getting one of these to try. The one limitation that I can think of is that I carry three devices with me … not two. When I ski or board, I’m always carrying my tunes, my cell phone, and a Motorola FRS radio. My friends and family use the FRS radios to stay in touch on the slopes.

Posted on by
Reply

The continued growth of RSS and blogging …
This is an awesome example of the breadth of coverage and use of RSS as a standard for information syndication. PRWeb is now offering a broad range of RSS news feeds of information for free.

I still believe that this is simply the tip of the iceberg for the various uses of RSS. Some friends and I are currently looking at using this as a medium for the distribution of work and applications to do work. What would be delivered to me via RSS would not be just a flow of inforamtion, but instead a flow of work for me to do.

416 new RSS 0.91 feeds from PRWeb. # [Scripting News]