Iron Wil

Microsoft has been developing a product called “Home Server“. This software product is being touted as the product to protect your network and backup all of your Windows machines. It has been tested [beta version] by some consumers and industry pundits. Paul Thurrott, of WinSuperSite and Windows Weekly, has given a good review and looks forward to seeing the finished product.

Yesterday, Ars Technica published a story briefly detailing that some of the HP Home Server pricing and model specs had been leaked online. While this is not really big news yet, what the Home Server will do could be. The promise of automatic backups, easy restores, automatic software updates, and vendor specific customization is rather tasty. [If it works well, I know a set of parents who will end up with one.]

Since most homes don’t have a server or a unified way to protect the data on their computers Microsoft has come up with a solution that promises to be easy for the average user to use [meaning . . . some of you will still need to give it to your teenager and ask them to set it up]. I am looking forward to seeing this product in action and to hear/read the reviews of others.

iron wil

I have heard a fair amount of speculation in the past months on what Apple is doing and where Apple is going. On a recent edition of the Apple Phone Show Scott Bourne and Andy Ihnatko talked about how Apple keeps claiming to be a software company. Which really confuses a lot of people since Apple makes some really fantastic hardware. [Really the new iMacs rock!] I mean who doesn’t know what an iPhone or iPod are, not to mention that Apple Retail Stores are popping up in every major city in the US and Internationally [true - they are not as pervasive as McDonald's].

So, I have been thinking about this and pondering what Apple may be doing in the next 3 to 5 years. I mean we have iTunes and Quicktime for Windows; and earlier this year they released Safari for Windows [much to the chagrin of the Firefox community - speaking of the keynote]. I think that we are going to see three things happen, all of the ⁽¹⁾iLife and ⁽²⁾iWork Suites will be released for 79$ to Windows users. Then finally Apple will release ⁽³⁾OX for beige box hardware. Now you are thinking what’s the catch? Well, the way I see it, they would provide a list of hardware that they have written drivers for or they will form partnerships and “encourage” the vendors to write drivers according to their specs.

Okay, breathe now, get out your paper bag. If they are a software company as Steve & Co. claim it would only make sense to offer their software to every computer user no matter what hardware they are using. I will have to admit that would really change the dynamics of the “PC” market. Just think HP, Dell, Alienware, all offering Windows, Linux, and OS X! Really think about it, cheaper pc hardware and one of the safest operating systems in the world for 129$.

Think of the OS X on x86 team, proving that Tiger for Intel can run on a WinBox pc. Yes, it totally voids the warranty and is totally illegal according to Apple Legal. However, it is being done. Now Apple just has to make it official. I would love to get a cheap Dell laptop for 1000$ and be able to run OS X on it; however, it is more likely that I will be getting a cheap Dell with XP and then dual boot Ubuntu [fav Linux distro]. After, I have saved up enough $$ for that fully loaded 17″ MacBook Pro [can you say triple boot!!!] I will be happy to purchase my dream laptop, but for now . . ..

I don’t know if these ideas are out of the question, yet it seems to be a logical progression to me. It could very well never happen or it could happen in a year from now. We don’t really know what Apple Computer Inc. is doing until leaks find their way out of Apple’s InfoDam.

Personally, I am excited to see what they are up to, their products turn heads. Their hardware is cutting edge design, and they prove time and time again that Apple knows how to create a product frenzy [can you say iPod or iPhone?].

iron wil

Notes:

1) Ars Technica, Ars Technica Article on OX on Intel/AMD.

It’s All Downhill From Here

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Patrick Norton, John C. Dvorak, and Bill Machrone

Who’s editing Wikipedia?, why MP3s don’t move you, and the end of the world as we know it…

get yours here.

iron wil

Leak Test

Hosts: Steve Gibson with Leo Laporte

Steve, the creator of the original leak test program, talks about leak testing and how hackers work to get around them.

get your here.

iron wil

IT Business Canada and Information Week both published a story about a new trojan called ‘Storm’. “This is the biggest since Sober in mid-to-late 2005,” said Sam Masiello, the director of threat research at MX Logic, referring to a long-lasting worm whose variants struck repeatedly in the second half of 2005…”¹.

This botnet has a defensive mechanism which “is set up to launch a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack against any computer that is scanning a network for vulnerabilities or malware”². This means that Storm will attack any servers trying to scan a network for bots and malware. Information Week also reports that this is potentially a bigger problem for schools because of the way most of their networks are set up.

Security researchers have also “discovered that the Storm worm authors have taken their full attention off of e-mail-based attacks and have started creating malicious Web pages. E-mail-based attacks — phony e-cards and fake news alerts — have worked exceedingly well, helping the attackers build up a massive botnet”².

So, in short, don’t open eMail from people you don’t know, that are MAILER-DAEMON, or for some fantastic deal, most SPAM is annoying and some of it can infect you with a nasty bit of malware. Use Anti-Virus and be smart.

iron wil

Notes:

(1) IT Business, Canada Technology News, New Trojan deadliest in history.

(2) Information Week, Storm Botnet Puts Up Defenses And Starts Attacking Back.

ComputerWorld reprinted a list of Linux terminal [or command line] commands that are specific for Ubuntu, however, most can be used in other Linux distros [editions].

You can find the list here.

iron wil

I again am flabbergasted by Microsoft. They are lobbying countries in the Standards Community to get their OpenXML approved as a second standard to ODF. I would think that they would understand that the world community only needs ONE! And that one is ODF, it has already been chosen.

I have to give kudos to Mark Shuttleworth for his post regarding the situation. He has provided additional insight and some information on what to do to help defeat Microsoft’s attempt to push itself into the arena instead of accepting the ODF standard. His final point is that this is like HTML, one standard with many implementations¹. One can use Firefox, IE, Safari, or Opera to surf the web. Why can’t we have a document format like this?

We have a good solid standard. We need to support the ODF standard and get others on board. Speaking of which, Malaysia just announced their support and backing of the ODF standard². You would think after the ZD Australia article and the commenting and criticizing of Microsoft across the web, including here, that they would see some of this and get a clue as to what the people want. But as we know, they are more concerned with their bank account.

I believe that the better standard has ‘won’ and that OpenXML will follow in the footsteps of things like Passport and Bob.

iron wil

Notes:

(1) Mark Shuttleworth’s Blog, Emerging consensus in favour of a unified document format standard?

(2) ZD Net Asia, Malaysia formally embraces Open Document Format.