My Archives: August 2001
Friday, August 31, 2001
Daypop
Interesting search site that trolls activley updated news and info sites, including weblogs at least once a day.Posted by Elmer @ 11:00 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Thursday, August 30, 2001
Digital Copyright Review Seeks Some Changes
A study released on Wednesday on how revised U.S. copyright law is working in the digital age recommends some legislative changes to clarify fair use by purchasers of legal copies.
But the U.S. Copyright Office study did not find sufficient evidence for a digital provision in that part of traditional copyright law that allows the owner of a legal copy of a work to sell or give it away.
There were problems, it said, ensuring that the sender of a digital work destroyed his or her copy. Physical copies degraded with time while digital formats could be reproduced flawlessly and disseminated nearly instantly to almost anywhere at little cost.
"We find the analogy to the physical world to be flawed and unconvincing,'' the study said.Posted by Elmer @ 10:50 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
This form takes your web page and turns it into RSS 0.92. This is especially useful for Blogger users.
Posted by Elmer @ 10:44 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
News: Nations uniting for open source
Governments around the world have found a new rallying cry--"Software libre!"--and Microsoft is working overtime to quell it.
A recent global wave of legislation is compelling government agencies, and in some cases government-owned companies, to use open-source or free software unless proprietary software is the only feasible option.
This legal movement, earliest and most pronounced in Brazil, but also showing signs of catching on elsewhere in Latin America, Europe and Asia, is finding ready converts as governments struggle to close sometimes vast digital divides with limited information-technology budgets. So far, there is no evidence that similar legislation is being considered anywhere in the United States, experts said.Posted by Elmer @ 10:33 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Tuesday, August 28, 2001
Duck - Interactive quiz and testing
Posted by Elmer @ 07:32 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Sunday, August 26, 2001
How to create a Linux-based network of computers for peanuts - Aug 23, 2001
A couple of days ago I had to add another workstation at work. Fortunately, we already had a monitor, mouse and keyboard, so all we needed was a PC with enough umph to run KDE, Star Office, AbiWord, and Netscape, which we use to access our browser-enabled applications.
I schlepped down to the local computer shop and shelled out $25 for a PC, another $1 for an Ethernet card, and $1.30 in sales tax. I was a bit miffed at myself for spending so much since the machine was a bit overkill for our needs, but who doesn't overspend when buying hardware?Posted by Elmer @ 12:24 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Linux Magazine | June 2001 | FEATURES | MySQL Performance Tuning
With tools like Apache, Perl, PHP, and Python, building great MySQL applications is easy. Making sure that they are fast, however, requires quite a bit more insight. Here's what you need to know.
MySQL has a well-deserved reputation for being a very fast database server that's also quite easy to set up and use. (We looked at the installation process in the March 2001 issue, available on the Web at http://www.linux-mag.com/2001-03/mysql_01.html.) With its growing popularity as a back-end database for Web sites, its visibility has increased dramatically in the last year or so. But few MySQL users know more than how to create a database and write queries against it. Just as thousands of folks are learning about Unix by experimenting with Linux in their spare time, many are learning about relational database systems by playing with MySQL. Most of these newcomers to MySQL have neither a background in relational database theory nor the time to read the entire MySQL manual.Posted by Elmer @ 09:51 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Saturday, August 25, 2001
Computer Experts Say 'Good Worm' Is Bad Idea
A new ``worm'' software program that purports to rid computers of malicious viruses actually leaves the viruses intact and chews up files instead, security experts said on Friday.
The worm, dubbed Win32.All3gro.A, is only posing as a ``good worm,'' the experts said, highlighting the dangers of a new fad for creating self-propagating applications to delete malicious programs that resurfaced after the Code Red II worm scare early this month. Code Red II installs a ``back door,'' leaving computers vulnerable to hacking.Posted by Elmer @ 04:59 PM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Thursday, August 23, 2001
US House of Representatives XML and Legislative Documents
The purpose of this website is to provide information related to the ongoing work of the U.S. House of Representatives in relation to the eXtensible Markup Language (XML). Under the direction of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and the House Committee on Administration, the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House have worked together with the Library of Congress and the Government Printing Office to create Document Type Definition files (DTDs) for use in the creation of legislative documents using XML. As this is an ongoing project, it is important to note that the DTDs presented here have not been finalized, and may change over time. Any documents or programs created with these DTDs should be treated as beta material and not used in a production capacityPosted by Elmer @ 09:01 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Wednesday, August 22, 2001
ArGoSoft Mail Server is fully functional STMP/POP3/Finger server for Windows 95/98/NT/2000, which will let you turn your computer into the email system. It's very compact, takes only about 1Mb of disk space, does not have any specific memory requirements, and what is the most important - it's very easy to use.
Posted by Elmer @ 11:41 AM EST [Link] [Karma: 0 (+/-)] [No Comments]
Monday, August 20, 2001
Israeli Baby Computer Learning to Be an Adult
Meet Hal. Like any 18-month-old toddler, he likes bananas, toys and playing in the park. He especially enjoys bedtime stories.
But while other children are flesh and blood, Hal is actually a chain of algorithms -- a computer program that is being raised as a child and taught to speak through experiential learning in the same way as human children.
Posted by Elmer @ 06:35 PM EST [Link]
InternetNews - Business News -- @Home: At the End of Its Rope?
Excite@Home Corp.'s situation appears to have gone from bad to worse as investors reacted to the company's 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Monday -- a filing which admitted that the company has "substantial doubt" as to its ability to continue as a going concern."Our stockholders have approved a reverse stock split which would, if our board of directors elects to implement it, increase the trading price of our Series A common stock above $3, but we cannot assure you that this would result in a sustained increase above the minimum bid price requirements," told the SEC. "Therefore, our existing cash and other liquid assets may not be sufficient to fund operations through the end of 2001. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern."
Posted by Elmer @ 06:27 PM EST [Link]
Thursday, August 16, 2001
Palm seeks software boost with Be buy - Tech News - CNET.com
Palm announced on Thursday that it is acquiring the assets and intellectual property of software maker Be for $11 million in stock, as it seeks to bolster its software division.
The handheld giant is hoping the acquisition will strengthen its ability to create development tools and communications, Internet and multimedia technologies.Posted by Elmer @ 03:21 PM EST [Link]
Wednesday, August 15, 2001
American Bar Association - ABALawinfo.org
Your gateway to information on legal topics that affect your daily life. Just click on an icon below to see what the ABA offers you.
Posted by Elmer @ 06:39 AM EST [Link]
Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Court: Posters' IDs can stay under wraps
In a decision hailed as a victory for anonymous speech, a California judge rules that Yahoo won't be compelled to reveal the identities of people who posted critical remarks online.
In another victory for online anonymity, a California judge has ruled that Yahoo does not need to reveal the identities of some message board posters.Posted by Elmer @ 12:29 PM EST [Link]
Monday, August 13, 2001
Welcome to LinuxProgramming.com!
TclSOAP seems to be generating lots of discussion, interest and
activity. The TclSOAP package is now up to version 1.6. There was
also a discussion on the pros and cons of adding TclSOAP to tcllib.
http://groups.google.com/groups?th=38509c75786448a3,1
http://groups.google.com/groups?th=5545446b4a22cd6e,16Posted by Elmer @ 10:01 PM EST [Link]
Welcome to MT News. Here you can find all the info you ever wanted to know on MT News. First off, what is MT News? Well, MT News is a news script that can be customized to fit your site. It has features such as headline only posting, archiving, comments, user registration, free tech support, 3 levels of power, and other common features. The installer is easy to use, and it's as "to the point" as I could make it.
Posted by Elmer @ 01:11 PM EST [Link]
Posted by Elmer @ 09:43 AM EST [Link]
Posted by Elmer @ 09:43 AM EST [Link]
Learn to provide three levels of support with only five people
In a small help desk, as few as five people need to provide two or three levels of support. Managing a small team presents unique challenges to ensure that phone coverage is effective and efficient. In this article, the first of a two-part series, I'll share some ways to provide adequate coverage and extend your small help desk's presence. The tips and techniques you can use include the following:
- Get Real: SLAs for the small help desk
- Importance of metrics
- Creating generalized specialists
- Self-help Web sites
- Peer support/PC liaison programs
- Remote control utilities
- Scheduling techniques for queue coverage
NB: Getting this article requires registering at TechRepublic, which happens to be a great site anyway.Posted by Elmer @ 08:38 AM EST [Link]
TechTV | Top Five Tips for Online Community
Got a website? Thinking of adding community features such as Web boards and chat rooms to let your users talk back? Here are a few tips for happy community building online from Derek Powazek, whose book on the subject, Design for Community, comes out on August 15.
Posted by Elmer @ 05:45 AM EST [Link]
Friday, August 10, 2001
Posted by Elmer @ 09:07 AM EST [Link]
BlueDisk, Bringing Educational Writing and Testing into the 21st Century
Posted by Elmer @ 09:06 AM EST [Link]
Makers of Exam 4.0
Posted by Elmer @ 09:00 AM EST [Link]
Monday, August 6, 2001
Posted by Elmer @ 01:13 PM EST [Link]
MP3s may be hazardous to your career.
Carla Tomino, a secretary at NorthWestern University in Evanston, Ill., says she was fired July 23 amidst accusations that she had stockpiled some 2,000 music files on her work computer in violation of a policy that bars personal use of company resources.
Such policies are frequently overlooked for such things as e-mail and phone use, but Tomino said a human resources officer explained that the volume of material found on the computer had triggered the termination.Posted by Elmer @ 10:20 AM EST [Link]
Help Net Security - Articles - Installing and running Tripwire
Tripwire is easily described as a file integrity tool, meaning it is designed to maintain a database of software packages installed on your system, allowing you to quickly examine and trace changes on your system. Tripwire can prove to be very effective measure against malicious code, sniffers, trojans or any other software post installed to your system. Please notice that Tripwire, effective as it is, cannot help you if your system has been compromised prior to the installation of Tripwire. So, in order to use it properly, I advise you to install it just after you install and set up your system. But, to go one step at the time...
Posted by Elmer @ 10:15 AM EST [Link]
InformationWeek > Wireless Networks > Law Students Plug Into Wireless LAN > August 2, 2001
For law students at Hofstra University, there's no escape from coursework. And both students and university administrators like it that way. Students and teachers at Hofstra's School of Law are connected via an in-building wireless data network, which has increased student satisfaction and lowered networking infrastructure costs for the school.Posted by Elmer @ 10:14 AM EST [Link]
Saturday, August 4, 2001
Posted by Elmer @ 08:20 AM EST [Link]
Friday, August 3, 2001
Accessibility software - Web Building - CNET.com
Considering the needs of all users when designing a Web site isn't just a good idea, it's the law. Just as it's illegal to build a public building or a park that's not accessible to all visitors, the law also applies to virtual spaces and mandates that they must be equally open to everyone. As of June 21, 2001, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act has made it illegal for the federal government--or any company or industry working with or selling to the government--to have electronic information, including information on Web sites and intranets, that isn't readable by everyone. Sites must be checked and fixed for many infractions, such as reliance on Java or Flash and improperly labeled tables and graphics, so that those using screenreaders or lacking a mouse can read them.Posted by Elmer @ 06:03 AM EST [Link]
Back to the future - Software Reviews - CNET.com
Think about the last costume party you went to. Remember all those ordinary people who suddenly turned into cops, pirates, nurses, and French maids? Now imagine the same kind of shenanigans happening on your PC.
Why settle for what's offered today on Windows or Macintosh when you can relive the glory days of gaming on the Atari 2600 and the ColecoVision? If you're intrepid, you can dress your machine up as an old-fashioned arcade game.
With just a few pieces of software--namely, game emulators--you can turn your computer into a souped-up Sybil, giving it more personalities than even Sally Field thought possible. Emulator software can make your PC think it's an old-fashioned video arcade, a console like an Atari or a Nintendo, or even a classic Macintosh. Jump back!
Posted by Elmer @ 05:27 AM EST [Link]
Wednesday, August 1, 2001
InformationWeek > Digital Entertainment > Sony, Yahoo Agree To Hold Hands >
In a counter to AOL Time Warner, Yahoo Inc. and Sony Corp. revealed Tuesday a wide-ranging relationship that combines Sony's electronic devices and entertainment content with Yahoo's vast online audience and array of services. The two companies will develop a co-branded Web site, called Sony on My Yahoo, as well as cross-sell and promote each other's content, products, and services. Yahoo also will provide consulting services on the development of the Sony U.S. Group Portal, a unified online gateway for Sony. Terms of the agreement were not divulged.
While the two companies are far from merging, the relationship bears a similarity to the merger of AOL and Time Warner, which brought together AOL's online audience and technical know-how and Time Warner's content and distribution network. Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America, says Sony will capitalize on the technical expertise Yahoo brings to the relationship to access previously unavailable digital distribution channels. The companies declined to speculate on whether their relationship could deepen, but Stringer made it sound as if the two are inextricably tied. "We've been dating a long time," he says. "If this isn't an absolute marriage, we're certainly holding hands. What we learn and where we go, it's too early to tell."