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June 19 2008 – Blu-ray Wins The Day

In Elseware on May 19, 2008 at 12:54 pm

Over the years there have been many wars fought, in the entertainment industry, over formats. There was the battle between 45RPM and 33 1/3RPM records. Neither won outright, with the result being both singles and LPs. Then there was the skirmish between cassettes and 8-track cartridges. They were both seen as a replacement for reel-to-reel tape recording. The 8-track cartridge never really took off outside the USA, with the cassette being the more popular of the two formats. A real fight ensued between VHS and Betamax, two different formats for video cassette recording, and even though Betamax was the superior of the two, VHS won. Vinyl didn’t put up much of fight when CDs came along, but lately vinyl seems to be adopting a rearguard action. The DVD was announced as an attempt to replace VHS. The war of attrition has been so prolonged that the DVD is now going to disappear, while VHS tapes still appear in the shops, although in ever decreasing quantities. A replacement for the DVD has been on the cards for some time now, but the champion was only announced a while ago. The two formats slugging it out were HD DVD, a high definition format of the DVD, and Blu-ray, another high definition format, that gets its name from the blue light of the laser that reads the disc.

The majority of readers would be totally unaware that Sony and Toshiba have been trying to convince Hollywood to accept their format for all future movie releases. This spat between the companies has been going on since the turn of the century, and Toshiba finally threw in the towel in February of this year, announcing that they would no longer make HD DVD players. This means that Hollywood will be using Blu-ray, and leaves the path clear for consumers to make a decision about which player to buy, without having to worry about which format will have more discs on the video shop shelves. One problem is that the Xbox from Microsoft was designed with the HD DVD drive in mind, and Microsoft still say there are no plans to go with Blu-ray, leaving owners of the Xbox in a quandary. Meanwhile the PS3, from Sony, is already Blu-ray equipped.

Blu-ray promises the same, high definition picture that some TV programmes already appear in, on Freeview. Of course, not only will you need to replace your DVD player with a Blu-ray player, but also a new HD capable TV is required to get the full benefit. Audio quality is claimed to be much better than CDs. Neil Young, who has always been a critic of CD, and MP3 audio quality, has announced that he will be releasing a 10 disc collection on Blu-ray. Some Blu-ray machines will play CDs and DVDs, so need to worry about replacing your whole collection again.

Two other features that come with Blu-ray are, BD-Live, which will allow connection to the Internet for downloading of content that was not on the original disc, for instance the trailer for a new film in the same series, and BD-Java, which adds an interactive capability to watching films.

A bone of contention, for many, may be the digital rights management (DRM). Each disc contains a virtual machine, software that runs as a small computer within the Blu-ray player. This allows the Blu-ray system to check if the player has been tampered with allowing pirating of the content. Sounds like Hollywood is assuming that every customer is a criminal.

May 8 2008 – DAB+ The Future Of Radio Is Digital

In Elseware on April 16, 2008 at 3:39 pm

It sat in the corner of the room, on a shelf. A shiny wooden box, 600 by 400 mm, a row of knobs, below a lit dial, that listed names of exotic places like Hilversum, Cologne, Vienna, Luxembourg. It was the family radio, and it was a big part of my young life. As I grew, the radios got smaller, the big wooden box being replaced with one the size of a biscuit tin, then one you could clip to your belt, and now I have one that is no bigger than my thumb. Not only is the thumb sized device a radio, but it also plays MP3s, and is a voice recorder.

I grew up loving radios, and the sounds that came out of them. Now I hardly listen to anything other than the news on National, and find the current programming, provided by the commercial stations not to my esoteric musical tastes. All this could change with the introduction of digital radio.

Coming to New Zealand, some time in the very near future, is DAB+. It may sound like a new, wonder dishwasher powder with added gunk removal, but DAB+ is the format chosen by Kordia, the government-owned transmission company, to be the way we receive radio in the future. It is trialling DAB+ broadcasts in Wellington.

Currently, radio is broadcast in analogue format. Basically the fluctuations in air pressure caused by a sound, move a diaphragm microphone, this creates similar changes in an electric circuit, which are then broadcast through the ether, and a radio receives them, converting them back to sound by vibrating a speaker. However with digital radio, the sound picked up by the microphone is converted into a string of zeroes and ones, and the equipment then transmits those bits to a radio that converts them to sound. The reasons for converting to digital is an improvement in sound quality, and the ability to make more slots available to broadcasters. Where once there was one station broadcasting classic hits and banal chatter from announcers, there can, with digital, be many more. The lucky Norwegians, living in Sørlandet, now have 21 stations instead of 6. There may be many more stations, but the expected increase in sound quality was not experienced in parts of Europe, due to the broadcasting companies lowering the bit rate, so that they could squeeze in more stations. A high bit rate equals better sound. Listeners to the BBC classical station, Radio 3, complained, and the bit rate was increased to 192 kbps, which is, as near to CD quality as can be.

Kordia has chosen to go with DAB+, despite the fact that commercial stations keep mumbling about being unhappy with having to purchase new frequency licenses, and wanting to use HD radio which can be used on their current FM licence. HD is the digital format used in the USA. The reason for Kordia’s decision is that DAB+ is a relatively new standard that has superior specifications, hopefully making the radio experience more enjoyable.

All this does mean that, some day in the near future, you will have to replace the radios in your house, and your car. Current models in the UK cost around $70. However you can look forward to the new DAB+ radio’s features such as pausing, and rewinding live radio, and an electronic programming guide, allowing tuning stations, by name. There may even be slide-shows to accompany the music, true Radio With Pictures. And don’t forget that better sound-quality. I just hope there is better programme quality.

April 3 2008 – Freeview Vs Sky

In Elseware on March 20, 2008 at 11:04 am

Until recently there was only one choice, if you wanted digital television – SKY/Saturn. This has all changed with the introduction of Freeview, and receiving Freeview is about to get a lot easier.

Digital television promises many more channels, and much better picture quality, via the the use of high definition television (HDTV). SKY, along with its partner in Wellington, Telstraclear’s Saturn, have been offering digital television, either by satellite or in Saturn’s case, by cable, since 1998. Freeview came on the scene in May 2007. Both SKY and Freeview require the fitting of a satellite dish and a set-top box. However from April Freeview will also be available by using a UHF aerial, although a set-top box will still be required.

The UHF aerial is the same as the one used to watch Prime, Maori TV, Trackside, or Triangle. So if you currently get a good picture from one of these channels, it is more than likely you will have no problems receiving Freeview.

We all know what SKY has to offer, the many channels of sport, movies, entertainment, news, ethnic content, and audio, but what does Freeview have to offer? Currently available are 12 channels, TV1, TV2, TV3, C4, Maori TV, and some new channels: TVNZ 6, an advert-free entertainment channel for children, family and adults; TVNZ 7, again advert-free, showing documentaries, news and current affairs; TVNZ Sport Extra is sports coverage when available; Parliament TV, allowing you to watch the proceedings from the House live; Stratos, ethnic and educational programmes from around the world provided by Triangle TV; CUE, local news and sports; and Te Reo, a 100% Maori language TV service from Maori TV. Added to this is Radio New Zealand National and Concert. A programme guide, giving full details, is available on the Freeview website.

You will notice that Prime and Trackside are missing from the list. This should not be a problem, because if you are using your UHF aerial to receive Freeview, you can get Prime and Trackside, the same as usual. That is until analog TV is switched off. Did I forget to mention that sometime between 2012 and 2016 the current analog TV service (the way we currently watch television via an aerial), will be switched off, and we will need to have either SKY or Freeview. By this time it is hoped that the Government will have passed a “must carry” law, enforcing both SKY and Freeview to broadcast any free-to-air TV channel. This means that SKY must show TV1, TV2, TV3 etc and Freeview must show Prime.

So what do you need, to ensure you will be able to watch TV in the future? First off you have to decide if you want to have SKY/Saturn or Freeview. It is possible to have them both, if you wish. Secondly, for Freeview, you must purchase a set-top box, and if you do not have a UHF aerial decide if you want one installed, or use a satellite dish. Lastly, should you wish to benefit from the superior picture quality from HDTV, you would need to invest in a new HDTV-capable television and a capable set-top box. It is expected that, later this year, new televisions will have the required electronics included, so that a Freeview set-top box will be unnecessary.

November 29 2007 – The Storm Botnet

In Elseware on November 29, 2007 at 8:23 pm

Don’t look now, but in the corner of the room there may be a zombie, just waiting to do what his bokor, or master, bids. It is not a reanimated person, but your computer. The latest, great threat to the Internet, is a virus that takes control of your computer.

The idea of a virus spread by email, and taking infected computers under control, is not new. The Storm Worm, which began infecting computers sometime in January 2007, has been exceedingly successful at it. No-one knows how many computers Storm controls, but guesses range from 1 million to 50 million, or more. So many that the combined computing power is estimated at more than the biggest, fastest, super-computer in the world. This collection of controlled computers is known as a botnet.

It all starts with an email arriving in your inbox. The subject title may seem very real, relevant, or even enticing. The subject changes, and has ranged from “A killer at 11, he’s free at 21 and kills again!” to “Fidel Castro dead”. Recently the emails have been offering free mp3s from Britney Spears, The Eagles and others. Lurking in the emails is a nasty little program that installs itself on your PC. The first thing the program does, is run through your email address book sending emails to everyone, in order to spread itself. Now your computer is a zombie.

You may notice the PC runs a lot slower than normal. That’s because your processor is being used to send thousands of spam emails. Maybe it is part of a denial-of-service-attack (DDoS) on a business, or government computer. DDoS is where millions of requests are sent to a computer acting as an Internet server. This volume of requests, all received at once, block real requests getting through, and eventually causes the server to fall over. This sort of attack was used recently against Estonia. You may end up paying for extra bandwidth because of the increased traffic.

The Storm Worm is described as being “patient, resilient, adaptive and invisible”. In attempts to thwart detection, it evolves every 30 minutes, making it difficult for virus detection software to find it. When the servers that control the botnet are discovered by researchers, their own computers become the victims of DDoS attacks, making it difficult to continue their research.

Rumours claim the enterprise is being offered for sale, or rent, to the highest bidder, either in whole or part. Whatever happens it’s scary. I imagine that the “owners” of the Storm Botnet are not worried who buys, as long as they get paid.

The main problem is that Windows is inherently insecure. This means that users end up paying extra for virus scanning software. This software must then be kept up-to-date, by downloading the latest virus signatures. If you want to make sure that your PC is not a zombie, update your virus signatures, and do a scan. Sometimes it may pay to do a complete re-install of Windows, and then install a firewall, and virus scanner.

A switch to an alternative operating system, such as Apple OS X, or Linux, would make it more difficult to become infected. Even these are not completely immune, there have been some rare reports of virus attacks on them.

In the end responsibility rests with you, the user, to be more aware of the consequences of having an unprotected system, and the effect that it has on everyone else connected to the Internet.

September 13 2007 – W32.Deletemusic

In Elseware on September 13, 2007 at 8:24 pm

W32.Deletemusic is a worm, and a new threat that you should be aware of. Similar to a computer virus, a worm is a self-contained, self-replicating program, that usually exploits the file transmission capabilities, found on many computers. From its name you can guess that W32.Deletemusic is not something you want your PC infected with. It will delete all the mp3s it can find.

The good news is, that computer security experts have given the worm a low risk category. That may be because it is difficult to catch. It spreads from machine to machine via removable flash drives, the USB pens, or keys, that are so easy to use, and seem to have replaced floppy discs.

Protection from this beasty is, as easy as, switching the autorun option off. Autorun is an option in Windows which allows a program to be automatically run when a CD, or USB key, is loaded into the machine. This is an option that should be switched off. There will be a link to a website on the eStuff web page, that shows you how to do this. It would also be a good idea not to put your USB key into any machines, other than your own. It is certainly not a good idea to insert your USB key into PCs, at Internet cafes.

It seems an opportune moment to remind readers of the eStuff virus-help, web page. This is a special web page that is available on the eStuff website that has links to important sites you may need in your battle against viruses. In particular there are links to eStuff articles on protecting your PC from viruses, rootkits and Spyware.

The other thing that readers should be doing is backing up their data. This has been made easier with by the growth in remote backup services.

A remote backup service provides PC owners with the ability to backup data, using the Internet. These can usually be set up to run independently, on a scheduled basis, for example, once a day. The backup program will ensure that all files that are new, or have been changed since it last run, will be backed up to a remote site. The data is sent to the remote site in compressed format, and only the changed data is sent. This ensures that bandwidth usage is kept to a minimum.

There are many services available to companies both large and small, and a search in Google produces many hits. Luckily there are also several options available to small home users.

Mozy and IDrive-E will allow you to backup 2GB of data for free, and if you have more data than that, it will cost US$4.95 a month for unlimited backup space. Xdrive has more genourous 5GB for free, and up to 50GB for US$9.95 a month.

If those services do not appeal, there is always the Gspace option. Gspace turns the 2GB of a Gmail account into free, online disc space. There is also a Firefox extension that allows you to access your Gspace files through the Firefox web browser. It should be noted that Google’s Terms and Conditions, for the use of Gmail, may specifically forbid you from using it in this manner. But that doesn’t seem to stop thousands of people from doing so.

Please don’t become a victim of viruses. Ensure that you secure your PC, practise safe computing, and backup your precious data.

August 23 2007 – ODF Vs OOXML

In Elseware on August 23, 2007 at 8:14 pm

On display, in The British Museum, is an unimposing chunk of rock known as the Rosetta Stone. Discovery, and later translation of this stone, enabled a better understanding of Egyptian hieroglyphs. There may be a time in the future when archaeologists struggle to read our digitised documents, trying to break through the secret, patented, propriety format they were saved to disc, with.

In our own time-line we have all used software to create documents, whether they be spreadsheets, word processing documents, or something else. We save the file, and think no more about whether we will be able to read them in the future. Some of us may have experienced the headbanging anguish of trying to open a document many years old. It was written using a piece of software that is no longer installed on your computer. Microsoft Office will not open it, and the hunt through the drawers, and cupboards, for the old install discs proves fruitless, and, in most cases, the discs fail. That is assuming you still have a floppy drive on your new, 21st century PC.

Then there are the problems of sharing this data with other computer users. A document written in the latest Microsoft Office format is often not readable by PC users who have older versions of the software. It is one way Microsoft can force everyone to upgrade their software.

Can we ensure that the priceless information stored on all the computers in the world will be able to be read in the future, if not by archaeologists, at least by future employees in the organisation, and those they share the documents with? Several states in the USA, Massachusetts, Florida, Texas, California and Oregon, have legislated that all State Government documents must be in a open document format. They are joined by countries such as France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Malaysia and India.

Luckily file formats exist that will suit their needs. The files are stored in Extensible Markup Language (XML), basically a format that self defines the contents. It is like each file is its own Rosetta Stone.

There are two, main, competing methods of using XML, available. Open Document Format (ODF), is an open format that any software company is free to use in their products. The development of this format is guided by an organisation called the Organisation for Advancement of Structured Information Systems (OASIS). It is currently available in products such as OpenOffice.Org and Star Office. The list of companies behind ODF is impressive, Red Hat, IBM, Novell and Sun Microsystems, to name a few.

Microsoft is behind the other format, Office Open XML (OOXML). As with all Microsoft products this is protected by patents, and therefore can hardly be considered an open format in the true sense of the word. To use this format, a license fee would have to be paid to Microsoft.

Microsoft is currently waging a campaign to ensure that it is OOXML that wins this format war. They are, of course, worried about market share. Microsoft has always tried to lock users into their products, and using proprietary file formats is a good way to achieve this aim.

Microsoft is not making it easy for users of ODF to share their files. They are being very slow to support this format in their Office software, so much so, that a plug-in for Microsoft Office is being provided by the OASIS group. It remains to be seen which of these formats will win the battle. It is more than likely that both formats will coexist.

June 14 2007 – Estonia, Cyberwarfare, and Internet Dependence

In Elseware on June 14, 2007 at 8:18 pm

Estonia is a small country nestled between Russia, Latvia and the Baltic sea, with a population of 1.3 Million. The country has had centuries of foreign rule by the Danish, Swedish, German, and Russians. It briefly gained Independence after the First World War, but was swallowed up by the USSR in 1940. It finally regained its freedom when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Relations between Russia and Estonia have never been cordial. Recently the Estonians moved a memorial, a statue of a Red Army soldier, that was erected in memory of the Russians who died during World War Two. This action provoked riots by the ethnic Russians, who make up 25% of Estonian’s population. The Russian Government has also complained about the removal, and has retaliated by delaying the delivery of oil. Ostensibly due to maintenance on the railway.

Estonians are very well connected – to the Internet that is. Estonians bank on-line, communicate with government offices on-line, even vote on-line. Since April this became increasingly difficult as many companies, and government offices, are under attack from mysterious hackers. The denial of service (DDoS) attacks make it near impossible to carry out any business on-line. Estonia is blaming the Russian Government, and nameless Russian hackers for the attacks.

You can imagine the situation here in New Zealand, where we also perform much of our business on-line. Despite the hurdles put in place by Telecom, it is easy to function nationally, and internationally, on-line.

The Internet owes its existence to a US Defence Department project started in 1969. The whole idea being to develop a communications network that would withstand a nuclear war. It wouldn’t matter where the bombs fell, the network was distributed, and the remaining sites would still be able to communicate.

It is ironic that the Internet is now being used as a weapon itself. More and more countries are becoming dependent on digital technologies. VOIP, email, web pages, on-line banking, we all, either, use these, or at some stage, will use them. Even the media is moving on-line. Traditional newspaper sales are dropping as more people read the news on-line. Radio and TV are going digital, it is possible now to listen to radio stations, and watch TV, on-line.

What if our reliance on the Internet became our weakness? During warfare the first things that get bombed are power stations, water works, and any centre of communications. How much easier if you don’t have to send planes, or have your infantry invade the country? In the future will warriors simply sit behind a computer, and program viruses and trojans, which they will send off with a press of the enter key, and bring a nation to halt?

In 1909 the English writer E.M. Forster wrote a short story called “The Machine Stops”. In this story people on earth have become dependant on a global machine that provides all they need and require. the population live underground, each person in their own “cell”. They no longer travel, and they communicate to each other via the machine. Unfortunately the machine develops problems, and stops, but life goes on because some people have rejected that way of life, and choose to live on the surface, dependant on nature.

Science Fiction often carries visions of the future that are frighteningly close to real events. Lets hope that fiction remains just that, and despite the obvious benefits of a global connected “machine” we still remain able to live a life without dependency on its existence.

April 5 2007 – Wellington City Council’s Broadband Vision

In Elseware on April 5, 2007 at 8:12 pm

The Wellington City Council has a vision – “by 2012, all of Wellington city will have affordable access to an open broadband network“.

Wellington has been luckier than other New Zealand cities. Past Councils made many decisions ensuring a technological infrastructure was put in place. They started, in 1990, with free connections to the Internet via City Net. Later they helped establish City Link, stringing broadband cables, on trolleybus wires throughout the central city.

Through the 2020 Communications Trust, they were involved in the “Smart Newtown” Pilot Project and Wellington Community Net (WCN). “Smart Newtown” bought computers, and the Internet, to the Newtown area, while WCN acts as a free website host for community groups. Since then, the 2020 Trust have been involved in other projects.

Of the current Council’s vision, Mayor Kerry Prendergast has said “Outside of the Wellington CBD there is limited access to high-speed, cheap broadband. This is extremely frustrating for many businesses and residential customers, many of whom work from home and are trying to compete in a global market.”

This is very true, but since the ground-breaking early days this Council hasn’t exactly made decisions that have put Wellington on the right path. First of all, in 2005, they turned down the chance to re-invest in City Link. Then in 2006 they ignored the Government’s Broadband Challenge. A Government scheme making money available to increase broadband utilisation. While it’s gratifying to hear of their “vision”, it would be more so to witness some action.

In order to achieve their vision, first the Council will put in place about 100km of cable around the city. This will connect major buildings, libraries, medical centres, schools and businesses. The second stage will extend the network out to the suburbs, completing the “last mile” with copper cable to each home. The cost of this will be in the region of $40 million. A third stage would see the installation of a much faster, fibre-optic, cable, which would increase the cost enormously if every house were to be connected.

One method the Council is investigating, is hanging the cables onto the trolleybus wires, which is exactly the method used by City Link, before the decision not to continue the Council’s investment.

Perhaps Wi-Fi may reduce the cost of the vision’s third phase. Wi-Fi requires no cables to connect to the Internet, you just need to be close to a Wi-Fi connection point. Worldwide, there is a growing number of cities that realise Wi-Fi is an important part of their infrastructure (1, 2). In New Orleans after the devastation by Katrina, a Wi-Fi network, utilising lamp-posts as connection points, allowed emergency services and businesses to continue to communicate, while the conventional network was restored (1, 2).

Before finalising their vision, the Council must ensure that Wellington doesn’t have an out-dated network paid for, at the rate payers expense. It must be rugged enough to survive the “big-one”, so that after the earthquake Emergency Management can utilise the network. It must also take into account the fast pace of change in the world of information technology and communication, blink, yawn, stop for a cuppa, and you’re behind the times. When 2012 rolls around, who knows what we will doing on the Internet. Five years ago, who would have thought that we would watch video via the Internet, or make phone calls using Skype.

January 25 2007 – Take A Look Back

In Elseware on January 25, 2007 at 8:16 pm

eStuff has been running in The Wellingtonian, and its predecessor, since April 2001. A lot of the old articles still have relevance today, and are still available in the eStuff Archive (on the left). Now seems as good a time as any, to revisit some of the more interesting of them.

The first eStuff article, in April 2001, was about Broadband and Streaming. While the majority of readers will now know what broadband is all about, back in 2001, that was not the case. Broadband was also the subject of three articles (1,2,3) in 2006. In these, broadband is explained, and the alternatives to Telecom are discussed. These are of more interest, now that the Act forcing Telecom to restructure has been passed.

Two of the most important things that PC owners should do, is to backup their data and to ensure that they have adequate protection against viruses, spyware, and rootkits. An article from 2001 explains about backups, and eStuff has a special page to ensure that readers are aware of the perils of uninvited guests.

eStuff has tried to expand readers knowledge of the range of software available for their computer. There have been articles on Instant Messaging, and Gtalk (1,2), both ways of using the Internet to communicate with people. In 2004 there was an article introducing Skype, or VOIP, now phones are available that allow you to use this service. Articles, on alternative web browsers to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (IE) have introduced you to Firefox, and Opera, and also an alternative to Outlook, in Mozilla Thunderbird.

Another article attempted to help readers manage their finances with personal financial software, such as Quicken and Microsoft Money.

Trying to keep readers at the leading edge there was mention of RSS and news aggregators, back in May 2003. This innovative way of reading your news, and keeping up with the latest updates to your favourite websites, has still not reached mainstream use. There is hope that the Live Bookmarks feature in Firefox, and IE 7, will ensure more people are aware of this helpful feature. Podcasts were introduced to eStuff readers in March 2005. Once again an innovation that has yet to reach the mainstream. Although with the growing ownership of iPods, or equivalent mp3 players, Listening to podcasts may yet become more popular.

I can say that, since starting to write eStuff, technology has certainly advanced, but not perhaps as fast, or in the direction predicted. Where will be in five and half years time?

October 5 2006 – Bridging The Digital Divide

In Elseware on October 5, 2006 at 8:04 pm

The digital divide separates, mostly, Third World nations from access to existing and emerging technologies, making their journey to self-sufficient, thriving communities, even more difficult.

Several projects are giving these nations a leg-up, helping them to bridge that gap.

The Simputer, started in India in November 1999,is a small hand-held device that provides simple computing functions. It’s based on the Linux operating system, and looks like a PDA. A browser developed especially for the Simputer, creates a simple interface. A touch-sensitive screen allows handwriting recognition, while a speech synthesiser, in conjunction with images, displayed on the screen, make it possible for the illiterate, and non-English speaker, to use the device.

Unfortunately the uptake of the Simputer has been slow. According to Wikipedia, only 4000 of the, approximately US$200 machines, have been sold. It has been used to process land sales in one Indian state, and for education in another. Several industries have also adopted it for various functions, ranging from automobile engine diagnostics, to Electronic Money Transfer.

Another system, this time developed in Cambridge, England, is The Ndiyo Project. Ndiyo is the Swahili word for “yes” and is pronounced ‘nn-dee-yo’.

The Ndiyo Project has been setup to answer the problems that surround networked computing. They believe that the original concept of one user/one PC is flawed, because it’s too expensive for most of the world to afford, damages the environment, and is too complex. As they put it “… although it has worked for the first billion people on the planet, it cannot be the long-term solution for providing IT to the world.”

Their answer is an “ultra-thin-client”, a little box called “nivo”. About hand size, the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are plugged into it. The nivo is then plugged into the local network. Sitting in the local network is the server computer. This server provides access to computing functions for a number of nivos.

The project have developed the “Internet Cafe in a Box”. This allows several nivos, to be connected to one PC running Ubuntu Linux. Only one computer, where there would have been many, the cost savings are obvious for a small office, school, or home.

The Ndiyo Project hope that in the future, the nivo will be be an integral part of the monitor, allowing it to be directly hooked into the local network.

Getting a lot of coverage in the media lately, is the One Laptop Per Child Project (OLPC). Announced at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January 2005, the projects aim is to get laptops to Third World children at the cost of US$100 each. It is being driven by Nicholas Negroponte, a computer scientist, and ex-director of MIT’s Media Lab. Several organisations are backing this, including Google, Red Hat, AMD, and News Corporation. Each of these have donated US$2 million, this has to be the best funded of all these projects.

You may have seen the prototypes on the news, a green plastic case, with a large yellow crank handle. After all there is no electricity in most of the places the OLPC is destined to end up. A lot of criticism has been thrown at this project, because it is not answering the need of basic housing, heath, and education. It is difficult to see why anyone living in a shanty town with no running water, sewage system, or electricity, would give high priority to a laptop computer for their children. Yet the first systems are expected in Thailand towards the end of this year.

Wikipedia:

July 19 2006 – RFID Tags

In Elseware on July 19, 2006 at 7:56 pm

A recent TV news item showed a supermarket, where self-service scanners allow the customer to push a trolley around, select items, then when finished, pass each item over a scanner, pay, and then pack their own bags. No checkout-chick involved. Some supermarkets already allow the scanning of items by a hand-held device, as they’re put into the trolley. Both may soon be museum exhibits.

A new technology, gaining ground, is the RFID tag. Pronounced arphid, it stands for Radio Frequency Identification. The tag is a small computer chip that can be attached to anything. When in proximity to a special reader, that needs only to be as close as a few metres, the information stored on the tag will be transmitted to the reader.

Wal-Mart, the USA equivalent of The Warehouse, has been demanding that its suppliers use RFID tags, as a replacement for the ubiquitous barcode. The benefits, say Wal-Mart, are that each supplier will know exactly how much product is in each store, and whether it is on the shelves, or in the back warehouse. Wal-Mart, of course, benefits because it also has this information, and can do away with checkout staff.

Checkouts, as we know them, will disappear, because the RFID tags are also being placed into credit cards. Mastercard has already announced that trials of RFID enabled cards will take place in Australia. All you would have to do then, is leave the store with a trolley full of goods, and wave your card at the scanner.

Of course the applications, for RFID, tags do not stop at shops. They could replace the bus ticket as we know it. Just passing by the driver will debit your account. Libraries could place RFID tags on all the books, so passing through the exit will record the books to your card. In an effort to cut down the theft of cars, some car manufactures have already started to use them as immobiliser keys. These contain an encrypted code that when transmitted to a reader on the car activates the ignition.

New technologies always have a backlash effect, and the RFID tag is no different. In fact it may have one of the fastest growing, and biggest backlashes to technology,since the Luddites destroyed textile machines in the 19th century.

The major fuel for this backlash is a best selling book in the USA by Katherine Albrecht – “The Spychips Threat: Why Christians Should Resist RFID and Electronic Surveillance”. Christian fundamentalists believe that RFID tags are the “mark of the beast”, as described in the apocalyptic book of the Bible, Revelation.

There are also problems with the devices themselves. The tags used in a trial by ExxonMobil, in the USA, have been found to have encryption which is all too easy to break. This allows the criminal element to buy petrol on any account they like. It is also possible to break into cars by defeating the encryption of the immobiliser keys, even if the rate of theft, for cars fitted with them, has declined by 90%.

Other concerns being raised by consumer groups and privacy agencies, are that anyone with a scanner will be able to read the tags in our house, car, or on our person. Thus enabling all sorts of data to be catalogued about our personal habits.

We will soon be able to see for ourselves, if these problems are true. The Warehouse is already investigating the use of RFID tags in its stores. So those other arf-id tags, the dog chips, won’t be the only ones causing a storm.

June 8 2006 – The Case Of Gary Mckinnon

In Elseware on June 8, 2006 at 7:57 pm

If you think that the world’s most secure computers are owned by the US military, then think again.

Gary McKinnon, a 40 year old Scot, living in North London, is currently appealing against a UK judgement, that he should be extradited to the USA. There he would face trial for hacking into NASA, and US military computers between February 2001 and March 2002. He is also charged with US$700,000 in damages to these computers.

The US government alleges, that shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, McKinnon changed and deleted files in a US military computer, and, by doing so, made critical systems inoperable. They also claim that he managed to bring down a network of 2,000 US Army computers. All this in an attempt to gain access to classified information.

If Gary McKinnon is extradited to the USA, he could face up to 70 years in prison, or be held under Military Order Number One, a presidential order enabling prisoners to be detained indefinitely, possibly in an institution like Guantanamo Bay.

McKinnon does not deny his guilt. He does deny that he did any damage, other than installing his hacking programs, or that he was spying. All he was looking for was information about UFO technology, which he claims is being held secretly by the US.

The frightening thing is, that it was so easy to achieve. McKinnon claims to have used “off-the-shelf”, commercial software, in his cyber break-in. He also found that the military had made his task so much easier by using “image” installs. Image installs are where an operating system (OS) is installed and configured for use. Then a copy is made. This “image” is then restored on any number of PCs you wish. In the case of the US military, thousands. McKinnon discovered that the OS being used was Windows. This allowed him to test the administrator logon, and see if he could break the password. It was much easier than he expected. The installers had not changed the password from that supplied at install, which is blank. He was now free to logon to as many military computers as he wished.

The charges layout a trail of hacks from one military installation to another across the US, rather like taking a bus trip through the continent. During his sojourn in the secret computers, he says he came across many other hackers from around the world, all enjoying the hospitality of the US military computing system.

He did find some evidence that the US has knowledge of technology that would enable the world to have “free” energy, and also describes an image of an object in orbit around the earth, that shows no signs of rivets, seams, or any other method of construction used by earthlings.

The question is not whether McKinnon is guilty, or if he should be extradited to the USA. He would be naive to think that there should be no retribution for his misdemeanours. The question is, has the US military learnt from these breaches, and have they sacked, demoted, or court-marshaled, those responsible for the appalling lack of security.

Somehow I doubt it. In the 1990s Mathew Bevan, another hacker, was arrested in the UK for similar crimes. The USA portrayed him as a master spy, when in fact he was just a clued-up teenager, who seeing a door open, walked in.

The door may still open, and you can bet the mat says “Welcome”.

Update 4 April 2007 UK hacker loses extradition fight

September 29 2005 – Saving Power

In Elseware on September 29, 2005 at 4:54 pm

Although the total power consumption of a typical PC and monitor, is around 175 Watts, there is still room for making savings in an area where we should all be doing our bit.

The amount saved depends on how you utilise your computer. Some people will only switch on their PC for the short periods that they use it. More addicted, or as I like to think, “super users”, will switch on the PC in the morning, and only turn it off, when they are ready for bed. Perhaps they work from home, or run a small business, using the PC.

Research in the USA shows that, most of the time PCs are on, they are not actively in use, and an estimated 20% are left running at night, and on weekends. In an office environment, a PC is only used 4 hours each work day.

There are lot of myths surrounding computers, and powering them on and off.

* Turning your PC off and on, does not use more energy than leaving it on. That small surge of power used, when turning it on, is much smaller than the amount used, while it’s switched on all day.

* Turning your PC on and off, does not wear it out. In the early days of PCs this was probably true, frequent on/off-ing could damage the hard disks. These days PCs are designed to to switched on and off, about 40,000 times before failure. Not a threshold that is likely to be reached during the, expected, five year lifespan of a PC.

* Screen savers do not save energy, in fact they probably use more energy. They were originally designed to stop “burn-in”. Old monitors which were left switched on, for long periods, would have the screen image “burnt” into them. Late-model monitors do not have this problem.

* Your computer will not use power, when it is switched off. The only way your PC will not use any power at all, is if it is unpluged from the mains. All PCs use a trickle of power to maintain some base functions.

“Super users”, who love to have their machines on at all times, are still able to save power by several means.

# Put your computer to sleep (Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Power Options). This allows your PC to drop into low-power mode when you’re not using it. To “wake” it up, just move your mouse.

# Set your computer to “hibernate” (1, 2, 3). Windows saves everything to the hard drive, and shuts down the hardware. When you restart the computer, everything is restored, just as it was, when you left it. The power usage is virtually the same as turning your PC off.

# Most power can be saved by ensuring that the monitor is switched off when not in use. A monitor typically uses 2/3 of the power of the combined PC and monitor setup. You do not have to unplug it, just use the power button. So if you are going to be away from the PC for more than 20 minutes, turn the monitor off.

September 15 2005 – Ergonomics

In Elseware on September 15, 2005 at 4:52 pm

Is your computer workspace setup ergonomically? If you are anything like me, you tend to start off, sitting in what you think is, the correct position, and slowly, end up with your back curled, chin supported in one hand, while you read the words on the screen. When you consider, that in an office environment, you can spend hour upon hour, staring at a computer monitor, it is important to make sure your posture is correct. This turns out to be a lot more complicated than it sounds.

It is no good just plonking the computer down on any old table. It has to be set up just right. A purpose-designed, computer desk, is probably going to be your best option. Although it is possible to construct your own unit, either free standing or built-in.

When it comes to comfort, or posture, that old dining-room chair is not adequate. The best chair, for computer use, should be adjustable. This allows for the user to ensure they are sitting in the optimal position, for their body shape. It also allows, where the computer is used by more than one person, for the adjustment to be changed, each time the computer swaps pilot.

The way you sit in the chair is important, push your hips as far back as they can go in the chair. Then adjust the seat height, so your feet are flat on the floor, and your knees equal to, or slightly lower than, your hips. Adjust the back of the chair, to a 100° reclined angle, in relation to the seat. Make sure your upper and lower back are supported, using cushions if necessary. You may need a footrest to ensure that your thighs are in the right position, parallel to the floor.

To take the strain off your neck, a copyholder is recommended. When positioned correctly, this will ensure that neck bending is kept to a minimum.

It is important to ensure that the computer monitor is positioned correctly. The screen should be about an arms length away from you. When you look directly ahead, you should be looking at the very top of the monitor. If you wear bifocals, the monitor may need to be lower, so you don’t have to tilt your head backwards.

There is nothing more annoying than not being able to read the information on the screen, because of glare or reflection. These can be eliminated by judicious placement of the computer desk, in relation to the light source. Place the screen at right angles to the window, or source of bright light. This includes overhead fluorescent lighting. It is best to have these parallel to your line of sight. If you are bothered by overhead lighting causing a reflection on the screen, try tilting it forwards.

Now that you are ensconced behind the correctly-setup computer, remember it is important to take micro-breaks. Deep vein thrombosis, and OOS are still problems, even with a correctly-setup work environment. Take short 1-2 minute stretch breaks every 20-30 minutes. After each hour, take a break, or change tasks, for at least 5-10 minutes. Always try to get away from your computer during lunch breaks. Avoid eye fatigue, by resting and refocusing your eyes periodically, by looking away from the monitor, at something in the distance. Rest your eyes, by covering them with your palms for 10-15 seconds.

For more information visit the ACC website

August 11 2005 – e-Books and e-Paper

In Elseware on August 11, 2005 at 4:39 pm

I am unconvinced that books will soon be replaced by a computer screen. It is inconvenient to have to sit in front of a monitor to read a novel. Humans like to relax in a comfy chair, with a coffee, or glass of wine, or recline in bed, when they read. Sitting in front of a computer screen is too much like work, and besides, you can’t relax, and eventually, you end up in a slouch.

It hasn’t stopped people making electronic books (ebooks) available. There are several sites where you can download all sorts of books to your PC.

Project Gutenberg has been providing out-of-copyright books, free, since 1971, and moved to the Internet early in its history. Authors from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Jane Austin, to Karl Marx, are available. The books are provided in a .txt format, which means that most word processing programs will be able to display them on a computer monitor.

Sites such as eBooks, and eReader, provide fiction from a variety of authors, such as James Patterson, all the way to Douglas Adams, and also a large selection of non-fiction. Each site has its own format for the books, and you will need to download a special reader, depending on the device on which you read the book. Devices such as Palm, a Pocket PC, a Symbian Smartphone, or Windows/Macintosh computer are supported.

There must be a growing interest in ebooks, because even a Scottish newspaper, and The BBC are offering books for download.

The Scottish Sunday Herald has a small, but growing selection, provided in PDF format, which requires the Adobe Reader. Currently available are: Some Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Prince by Niccolo Machiavelli, and The People of the Abyss by Jack London.

The BBC has, as part of its promotion for the new Dr Who series, released several Dr Who ebooks, which can be read online, or downloaded for reading on a handheld device, or for printing,.

For general acceptance, I believe that technology must advance to the stage where we can hold something in our hands, and I don’t mean a handheld PC device. I mean something like paper.

The race is on to develop a material that can be treated in same manner as paper, but uses a similar technology to computer screens. The Dutch company Philips, claim to have developed the most flexible electronic display yet. This display could allow, for example, a fully updatable newspaper to be read, and can also be rolled up, and put into a coat pocket. Seiko Epson, is another company that is working towards “electronic paper”, although it might be five years before you are reading your daily news on epaper.

Epaper displays will be about 0.2 mm thick, and hopefully A4 in size, and should last several months before they wear out. The more the epaper is folded, the quicker it will wear out. As with all new technologies, cost is, at first, going to be too prohibitive for general use. Each sheet expected to cost US$100, but you will only need one, rather than the 20, or so, in each mornings newspaper, or the hundreds in each book.

December 23 2004 – T3G & Mobile Broadband

In Elseware on December 23, 2004 at 11:27 am

In the TV advert, “Fast Eddie” bashes away at his mobile, going through his email faster than Superman can read the Encyclopedia Britannica. How does he do it? He is using Telecom’s Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network with Evolution Data Only (EV-DO).

CDMA is the method used by Telecom to transmit voice, and data, over their 027 network. CDMA was developed by the British during World War II, and used to baffle the Germans. It broadcasts using several frequencies, instead of the one, normally used, therefore, jamming the signal proves to be very difficult. The US military picked up the technology because, using several frequencies is extremely secure, making it difficult for eavesdroppers to hear the whole message. EV-DO is the protocol, or rules followed, for the transmission of data over a CDMA network.

Telecom are calling this technology T3G, because that is what it is – The third generation mobile network. T3G is Telecom’s attempt to revolutionise the way mobile phones, and laptops, are used. “Fast Eddie” is using Mobile Broadband, only one of the features available with T3G.

To use Mobile Broadband on your laptop, or even on your Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), you will need a Mobile Broadband-capable mobile phone and data cable, or a Mobile Broadband data card. These allow you to connect to the Internet, using the 027 mobile phone network.

You should make sure that the option you choose, allows speeds up to 2Mbps. Telecom have a multiple speed network, delivering up to a maximum of 2Mbps, within specific areas, and to a maximum of 153Kbps, outside these areas.

Once you’re connected, you will be able to do anything you normally do, with a PC connected to the Internet. This includes reading your email. For reading your email, you must have things set up, just right. If you only use a laptop, everything is fine. If you use a laptop and a PC, you will have to change the way you read your mail. This is because downloading mail to your laptop, will mean you have some mail on your laptop, and some mail on your PC, which could be confusing. It would be better to switch to webmail. Most ISPs provide this function, or you can use services like Gmail, or Hotmail.

Telecom also provides several options, allowing you to connect your laptop into your office LAN.

Of course there are costs involved. They range from a Mobile Broadband Casual user who would pay only $8.00 per MB, to a Mobile Broadband 500 user at $199.00 per month, for 500MB, with each extra MB costing 50 cents (5). How much is a MB? It is 1,024,000 bytes, a byte is the equivalent of a character, be it a letter, number, or punctuation mark. The Authorised Version of the Bible is about 4MB. So the cost to download the whole of the Bible for a Mobile Broadband Casual user would be $32.00.

It might pay to switch images off in your browser and email client, thus saving the MB charges associated with downloading them.

September 23 2004 – Trojan Diallers

In Elseware on September 23, 2004 at 8:26 pm

A hefty, unknown, charge on your phone bill, could mean that your PC is infected with malware (malicious software). A Trojan dialler has wormed its way into your computer. At intervals it will use your telephone to make calls to 0900 numbers, or other pay-to-phone numbers.

Both Telecom/Xtra and TelstraClear provide information on their websites about Trojan diallers. If your computer is connected to the telephone system, via a modem, it will pay to read these articles. Xtra provide much more information than TelstraClear, and this information, is still valid, for the most part, for connections to any company. It doesn’t matter which ISP you use, your modem will dial these numbers using your telephone company, not the ISP. For instance, people using Actrix or Orcon, will still fall victim.

Recently a Whakatane couple, Nicole and Danis Mazar, received a $1200 phone bill from Telecom. To add insult to injury Telecom wants them to pay. If it happens to you, your telephone company will expect you to pay for these calls. TelstraClear state this, quite plainly, on their website. Needless to say the Mazars are not happy.

The Consumers’ Institute is of the opinion that the telcos should be prepared to waive the charges, where it can be shown they were caused by illegal software. The problem is that the 0900 numbers are not operated by the telephone companies, but administered by a company called Oneseek NZ Ltd, who are responsible for the collection of the charges and payments to the provider.

It would be nice to see Oneseek, take the initiative from British Telecom who are blocking calls to numbers known to be suspect.

It is a very simple matter to protect yourself from Trojan diallers. The easiest method is to remove your modem connection from the phone socket, and convert to TelstraClear/Paradise cable, or Xtra Jetstream. It is also an expensive option if you only use the Internet rarely.

For those not wanting to take such a radical step do the following:

* Ask your telecom provider to block 0900 calls

* Install Spybot, see the eStuff Spybot article

* Keep your virus and spyware scanners up-to-date

* Install a pop-up window blocker, see the eStuff pop-up article

* The safest way to close a pop-up window is with a right-click on the pop-up icon in the taskbar, at the bottom of your screen, then select “close” from the menu that appears. On some pop-ups even a the “close” or “No” button may install the Trojan

* Remove your modem from the phone connection, when not in use, or if you are not going to use the Internet for a prolonged period.

February 5 2004 – Telecom’s Monopoly

In Elseware on February 5, 2004 at 11:36 am

National pride demands that New Zealand should do well in all areas, and it’s always fascinating to find out where New Zealand stands, in a ranking of any sort, whether it be sport, movies, or the Internet. It is edifying to look at New Zealand’s ranking in Internet use, compared with the rest of the world.

At the last count, in the year 2000, New Zealand had 1,380,000 PCs placing the country at 36th in a list of users. This puts us below countries such as Australia (9th with 9,000,000 users) and Chile (at 35 with 1,420,000). In matters like these, it is better to use the per capita figures, which give a better idea of the usage. New Zealand has 353.12 PCs per 1000 people, interestingly, placing us 16th in the ranking. Australia has 460.43(8th) and Chile drops to 55th with 91.62 per 1000 people. The surprising result of a per capita listing is that the USA, who, of course, is first in the number of PCs, with 161,000,000, drops to number two (573.85 per 1000), below San Merino (737.47 per 1000 or 20,450 PC in total).

The figures for Internet use are interesting. 527.12 per 1000 people use the Internet in New Zealand, giving us a ranking of 13th below Australia (543.82) at 9, the UK (573.79) at 8, but above Germany (385.58) at 21 and Japan (441.03) at 18. The USA comes in at number 7 with 590.78 per 1000. It is Iceland who are number 1 with 787.45 per 1000. Iceland only has 110,000 PCs but there 393.72 per 1000 people, slightly more than New Zealand. (1)

The last eStuff column discussed the penetration, or lack of, broadband Internet connections in New Zealand. It is interesting that New Zealand does not even feature in the top fifteen countries with broadband connectivity. (2)

Certainly, from the above figures, it appears that, as a nation, we have had a wipe-out while surfing the knowledge wave. The Government has been praising itself on the uptake of technology in this country, but the “Principal’s Report” says “could do better”.

If our number of PCs per capita is close to that of Iceland, why does our use of the Internet fall so far behind? Perhaps part of the problem is Telecom’s monopoly. Competition for phone and Internet customers can drive the price down, as has been proved in Wellington, where TelstraClear offer an alternative service, on their own cables.

A recent decision by the Commerce Commission allows Telecom to retain its monopoly of the local loop, in exchange for wholesaling their DSL to other ISPs. This is not much of a change from the current position, where Telecom allows other ISPs to on-sell the DSL service. (3)

Certainly Hutt, Upper Hutt and Porirua city councils agree that something must be done. Taking a cue from CityLink in Wellington (4), they have started Smartlinx3 (5) (6) in an effort to provide affordable broadband to business in these areas. Perhaps this will inspire other local councils to do what central government will not.

June 12 2003 – Free Computer Courses!

In Elseware on June 12, 2003 at 8:50 pm

If I told you that you could get professionally produced and presented computer courses for no charge, gratis, free, no money down and nothing to pay, you wouldn’t believe me, would you?

Well you should. The government is sponsoring free computer courses in an effort to ensure that everyone is able to utilise the e-government initiative. E-government is a way for the government to use the current, and emerging, technologies to provide easier access to government information and services. For example the New Zealand Government On-line website.

The courses are provided by tertiary institutions throughout the country. In the lower North Island the courses are offered by Whitireia Community Polytechnic, Wellington Institute of Technology, and Waikato Institute of Technology. In some areas the courses may have been contracted out to private companies by a tertiary institution.

Each institution offers the same basic introduction, and courses on Word Processing, Spreadsheets and the Internet, but have additional course that vary between each provider. Check at the websites above to see which one provides the subjects you are interested in. To enroll for the courses you must be a New Zealand Citizen, or Permanent Resident, aged 16+.

After completion of the courses you will be eligible to sit the International Computer Driving Licence test (ICDL). The ICDL is based on the European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) which was launched in Sweden in August 1996. The ICDL is recognised in over 67 countries and is NZQA accredited. The aim of the qualification is to build your personal confidence and knowledge of computing, and demonstrate to an employer that you have computer skills competence at an internationally recognised level. To achieve an ICDL Certificate you must have pass rates of 80% or better. The test is not free, there is a $45 fee.

The courses are based on Microsoft Office 2000 products and Windows 98 (or above, but preferably 2000). If you do not have access to these products, check with the provider if the course is appropriate for you.

According to Dennis Murray, who along with Richard Warren, are directors of Technocatz, a provider of courses on behalf of the Waikato Institute of Technology, their courses have proved to be very popular, with several thousand people from all walks of life attending. Parents, who want either, to help their children become familiar with computers, or catch up with their children who seem to learn about computers by osmosis, have also found them helpful.

Each course is 20 hours long and is self-paced, so that you won’t get left behind, or held back, by others. You must spend the first two hours in the classroom, then you are given password for 10 weeks access to continue learning at home, the office, or wherever you can find an Internet linked computer.

There is no fear that, by not being in a classroom, you are left to sink or swim. as help is available during the 10 week period via an 0800 phone number, email, or even going back into the classroom.

The courses are proving so popular that Technocatz are looking for institutions, like community centres, or schools, to expand coverage. If you do not yet have the free courses available in your area, and would like to provide them to the public, please contact Dennis or Richard on 0800-843-733.

CORRECTION

The cost of the International Computer Driving Licence Qualification mentioned is $255 ($80 skill card, 7 x $25 module tests) not $45.

Whitireia Community Polytechnic wish to make it clear that their free community computer training is held at all three campuses, but the Wellington City Campus, phone 472 4281, has the most available hours. You can book a computer, and practice your computer skills for up to 3 hours a day. A Step by Step book for whichever module you are studying is supplied and a help-desk person is always available, should you get stuck.

November 28 2002 – Where To Get Help

In Elseware on November 28, 2002 at 8:00 pm

You know how it is. Try as you might, the software just does not do what you want it to do. You have tried several different things. You’ve had to retype the data at least five times. How can you get the rotten thing to do what you want? With the differing and vastly bewildering number of alternative software products available, one person can not be the fountain of all knowledge. Where do you go for help?

The first place to start is with the manual. Most software will come with a manual, either printed, or on CD. A little time spent reading the manual can save a lot of time later on. I know from experience, that it’s better to spend the time to get to know your software intimately. Don’t be scared to try things out. Remember it is better to “play around” when you have the time, than to tear your hair out, minutes before a deadline.

Once you and your software understand each other, it may be quicker to get assistance from the Help. For those quick answers to small problems, just try a click on the Help selection in the Menu bar.

Every now and again, you can get really stuck. Sometimes there is a situation where neither the manual, nor the Help, provide a clear answer to that vexing problem. What do you do then?

That’s when I turn to the Internet.

The first place to go would be the web site of the software manufacturer. That should be easy to find by looking, of course, in the manual or perhaps by clicking Help. For instance, Microsoft have a web site dedicated to customer support, Corel’s Support Services site provides support for Wordperfect and their other software, and Adobe can be reached via their customer support site. Unfortunately there is no logic applied to the URL (web site address) that each company chooses to use. If you are in doubt, try typing www.comanynamehere.com. If that fails use the company, product name, and the word “support” in a search engine like Google.

Sometimes there are sticky situations that even company support sites can’t help you with. That’s when it is time to turn to other help sites.

New Zealand PC World’s PressF1 is a forum where you can search through questions that have been asked by other people, or leave your own questions. Then more knowledgeable members will leave answers.

There are several sites running similar services including, PC User, and a very interesting site called The PC Guide. This site tries to provide a one-stop shop for information and a forum for gaining help. There is also a tutorial section that starts with the basics of hardware, and takes you through to a system optimization and enhancement guide.

Finally, if you still can not find an answer to your problem, the last resort is that complete gem of a site Google. Just type in your query in the search box. For instance the search “how do i set section breaks in word 6″ returned hundreds of links, with the answer in the seventh link.

Remember, if someone tells you the answer, you will forget it but, if you find the answer for yourself you will remember it.

November 14 2002 – Teddy Bear Virus

In Elseware on November 14, 2002 at 7:58 pm

It’s fairly obvious from my inbox that a number of you have had problems with Bugbear. I hope that, by now, you have cleaned your system of this annoying pest.

I have also heard from people who received an email warning about the Teddy Bear Virus. The email explains that if you find a file called jdbgmgr.exe on your hard drive, you should delete it. It is called the Teddy Bear Virus because the file has the icon of a cute little teddy bear.

Whatever you do, do not delete this file! The email is a hoax. The perpetrators of this hoax are hoping that, with all the hoopla surrounding Bugbear, people will assume their system has been infected by another virus, and will remove jdbgmgr.exe from their hard drive.

jdbgmgr.exe is a crucial part of something called Java. It is, in fact, the Java Debugger Registrar, which is shipped with Microsoft Virtual Machine (Microsoft VM).

If you have deleted this file, as long as you do not use Java, you will not notice a thing. If you do use Java there are instructions on how to restore jdbgmgr.exe available at McAfee Security. You do not have to be a McAfee user to follow these instructions.

For more information visit:

What have we learned from this hoax?

Never believe any email you receive that contains a virus alert. Not even if that email came from a well-meaning friend or family member. Go to the web site of your virus scanning software company, and read the virus warnings. That way, you will be sure to get the correct information.

Some of you have told me that you haven’t installed any virus protection. This is not a good idea. Please read my article on protecting your PC.

A few of you may be unable to install the virus scanning software that you can buy in the shops. This may be because your version of Windows is not up-to-date enough, or it may be that you need to upgrade your PC in some way. For these people, I have managed to track down a free virus checker that you can download from the Internet. It is called AVG and is available from Grisoft. It is easy to download and install, and comes with all the basic features you could want. AVG will scan your incoming email, scan programs as you execute them, allow scanning on demand, perform regular scheduled scans, automatically update the virus signatures, and automatically correct infected files. There is even a newsletter you can subscribe to for receiving information on new viruses and hoaxes discovered by Grisoft’s virus research laboratory.

Lastly users of non-Microsoft software should be aware that, they too, are susceptible to security flaws. News has broken of security holes in the Mozilla browser for which, as I write, there do not appear to be any updates.

September 19 2002 – WiFi And Warchalking

In Elseware on September 19, 2002 at 8:10 pm

This northern summer strange signs started appearing all over Europe and the USA. These signs were not crop circles and were found in cities, written on walls and footpaths in chalk.

Riding on the back of the adoption of wireless networks by companies seeking to find an easier way to integrate their PCs and to access the Internet, an increasing numbers of hackers have started to venture outside, possibly for the first time in months. Taking laptops they walk, drive, fly and even use boats, in what became known as warstrolling, wardriving, warflying, or warboating. Searching for a wireless (WiFi) network that has not been secured by the company that installed it. Every time an available network is found, a chalk mark is left to make it easier for future hackers. From the companies’ WiFi network, access to the Internet is easy, and at no cost to the hacker.

This phenomenon is called warchalking a concept derived from the signs that hobos, or tramps, would leave for each other detailing places to sleep or to get food . A “how to” guide has been published, and a web site set up for spreading news between the warchalkers.

Warchalking is on the grayside of legality. There are groups of hobbyists, worldwide, trying to organise legal wireless access points. From Europe to America, Canberra, Sydney and other parts of Australia, and even in New Zealand.

Some entrepreneurs, seeing that money could be made, are providing access points. In the Czech Republic, a co-operative enterprise called CZFree.net has been set up as a response to the intolerably high prices charged by Czech Telecom for broadband Internet access, monthly fees start at $133. CZFree, on the other hand, offer WiFi access to the Internet for free at a speed of 32kbps (less than your average 56kbps dial up modem), and will charge $14 – $20 for faster access.

In the USA, Sky Dayton, who already has the success of EarthLink behind him, has started a company called Boingo. This will provide WiFi access to hotels, airport, and even bowling alleys. Starbucks also provide WiFi access for customers, at a cost.

Closer to home, just north of the Bombay Hills, RoamAD has built a WiFi network for Aucklanders. Meanwhile in Wellington, Citylink are building on their broadband network by offering CafeNet.

Alas others see it as an annoyance. Several large ISPs providing broadband access to the Internet are clamping down on wireless access to their services.

It is possible to set up a home network using WiFi, after all that is what it was originally designed for. Daniel Bricklin the creator of Visicalc, which lead to Lotus 123 and Excel, has written an explanation of how he built his own home wireless network using WiFi. Remember that prices quoted are in US dollars.

Certainly wireless networks are not going to go away, and will be just something else we all have to get used to, like cell phones.

July 25 2002 – Palladium – The End Of Computing As We Know It?

In Elseware on July 25, 2002 at 5:53 pm

If Microsoft told you that its next computer system would stop you getting viruses, stop people sending you spam, encode your data so that it was secure, validate electronic payments without the worry of loosing your credit card information to unscrupulous people, and also prevent hackers breaking into your computer, you would be overjoyed and hand over the children’s education fund for the system. Wouldn’t you?

If you then found out that Microsoft and its associated companies had control over your computer, could remove any files that were “illegal”, stop programs running that were “untrusted”, prevent you listening to that CD or MP3, and allow government agencies to read data on your hard drive, you would be a bit annoyed. Wouldn’t you?

Fantasy, I am afraid not.

In the USA, it may become lawful for record companies, and film studios, to search your hard drive and delete any MP3s, or movies that are pirates or infringe copyright in any way. According to the BBC Californian congressman Howard Berman, is currently trying to get this passed through the US Congress.

Have you upgraded to the new Windows Media Player yet? You have, well did you read the End User License Agreement (EULA)? No! Well perhaps you should have done. Aardvark reports that if you accepted this EULA, which you have to do in order to use the program, you have opened the door on your PC to Microsoft. They are now able to “disable your ability to copy and/or play Secure Content and use other software on your computer” when they see fit.

Microsoft, together with chip makers Intel and AMD, are working to produce Palladium. This will probably not be released to the public until 2004-2006, but could have devastating effects on the way you use your computer when it is available.

Palladium comes in two parts. The first is the “nub”, a small chip that will be a component on the mother board of your new computer. The second is software in a future release of Windows.

The “nub” stores encoding information to ensure that your data is safe from prying eyes. It will also allow your PC to be authenticated, by passing to the software component a unique ID. This ID can then be used to allow you to visit web sites, play movies or MP3s, or even just read email that someone sent you.

All your Word documents/email will be encoded. It will be possible to encode them in such a way that only certain people will be able to read them. They could even self destruct after a number of days or readings.

There are claims that this will stop viruses, spam and hacking, but not all commentators are convinced that this is possible. Some people just see it as a way for Microsoft to remove that pesky-little-upstart-of-a-free-operating-system, Linux.

The most important function of Palladium is Digital Right Management (DRM). It will allow the record companies, and film studios and software suppliers to be sure that the copy of that movie, MP3, or program you have on your PC is not a pirate.

I have gathered together links to the articles that this column is based on so that you can read more about Palladium.

A copy of the original article by Steven Levy, of Newsweek. A number of the links below refer to the Newsweek article but the original link is no longer working. In this article Levy presents a rather glowing picture of what Palladium is all about.

A transcript of an interview with Steven Levy that appeared on MSNBC. Levy talks about Palladium, answering ‘viewers’ questions.

The Microsoft patent for a Digital Rights Management Operating System (DRMOS). This is the patent that Palladium is based on. Warning Technical.

A very technical article describing how Palladium will work, but well worth the read. This is based on notes that Seth David Schoen took during a meeting with Microsoft and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, to discuss Palladium. Warning Technical.

The TCPA FAQ. Palladium is dependent on TCPA. Although technical in parts, it does explain very well how this system will work. Warning Technical In parts.

An article appearing on kuro5in written by a software developer who has worked at Microsoft. He explains the reason Microsoft is very keen to develop a DRMOS. Warning Technical In parts.

Two articles from Robert X. Cringely, who is a commentator on technical issues for the PBS One discusses the death of TCP/IP, which is the lifeblood of the Internet. The other is Cringely’s take on Palladium. Warning Semi-Technical.

The Guardian’s excellent summary of what Palladium is going to mean to the average consumer, and the Observer sees it as Microsoft’s attempt to strike back at the free software, Apache, used by servers on the Internet. Warning Semi-Technical.

The Register discuss the implications of Palladium for computer users. and go in boots and all describing what Palladium means for Linux users

On ZDnet, David Coursey asksMS: Why we can’t trust your ‘trustworthy’ OS, while Martin Reynolds and David Smith tell us that the Microsoft security initiative could face a backlash, and Matt Loney asks Who trusts Microsoft’s Palladium? Not me

A well balanced discussion asking What’s Palladium? Depending on who you ask, it’s either a catalyst to turn silicon into gold for the PC industry, or it’s the stuff the black helicopters are made of. at Wired.

A very readable article from Salon asks Can we trust Microsoft’s Palladium?

Not all the Powers-That-Be are on MIcrosoft’s side. Wired report that the EU may block their moves to foist Palladium on the public.

May 30 2002 – Beware Of Greeks Bearing Gifts

In Elseware on May 30, 2002 at 7:56 pm

Greek mythology tells us that after a ten-year siege of Troy, the Greeks decided to use cunning. They built a vast wooden horse in which they hid, possibly, the world’s first SAS troops. Leaving the wooden horse at the gates of Troy they pretended to retreat. The Trojans, thinking the horse was a gift, wheeled it into their city. That night the hidden troops came out of the horse and opened the gates to the city letting in the the waiting army.

It is from this myth that the we get the term “Trojan Horse” used in the computing world to describe a program that may appear to be doing one thing, but is in fact performing nefarious acts.

Despite warnings on the need to protect your PC, there are still people who have invited the Greeks into their computer.

In October last year a Wainuiomata woman found that her Xtra account had a $650 charge for usage that was not hers. The Consumers’ Institute even got involved.

Mandy Corderoy was not the only one. The hacker had hit about 100 people so that he could surf the net at other people’s expense.

IDG have just released news of a similar event in Auckland.

These incidents were probably achieved by the use of a Trojan horse. With this program installed on your computer the hacker can gain access to any of your files. And I mean ANY of your files. Not only can they see your password and account id for your ISP, but, if you keep them on your computer, they could also read your financial records, and your credit card numbers, along with your letters to Aunty Marama in Taihape.

You can protect yourself from this sort of attack. It is a simple matter of installing virus detection and firewall software like Norton Antivirus and Zonealarm.

You should also choose a password that is not easy to guess. So do not use things like your partner’s name, or the name of your pet. It is no good just choosing a word. Passwords that are just normal words can be easily discovered by using a program that runs through every word in the dictionary. Invent a password that is meaningless. Use both uppercase and lowercase letters and put some numbers in it. For example jaM6Is8. You must also change your password regularly, so that if it is discovered the window of opportunity for the hacker is small.

Another problem for computer users is the Virus hoax. These hoaxes arrive in your email usually from a well meaning friend or relative. The latest one I received warned that a program called jdbgmgr.exe is a virus and should be deleted.

I have received a couple of these with different programs mentioned, but with the intention of getting me to delete a program from my C: drive. You should never delete any of these programs. Invariably they are important Windows operating system programs.

If you receive an email warning of a virus, treat it with caution. 99.9% of these warnings are hoaxes. Your friends/relatives are just spreading the hoax, and could also now have PC trouble of their own.

The first thing you should do is check the following web sites:

You will find lists of the latest hoaxes, and instructions on how to recover any programs that you have deleted.

Reply to the email, and let the person who sent it know about the hoax. Perhaps you can get back to them before they have damaged their own system.

May 16 2002 – Fredom Of (ISP) Choice

In Elseware on May 16, 2002 at 7:55 pm

“In the land of the free, use your freedom of choice,” sang Devo on a track from their 1980 album. How many of us do just that? In Wellington there is the freedom to choose between two telecommunications companies, and goodness knows how many electricity suppliers. However it’s just too easy to stay with the one you have.

This freedom of choice applies to Internet Service Providers (ISP). These are the companies that connect you to the Internet. There are more of these than beans make five, so making a choice is difficult. It is even more difficult if you don’t know on what basis to make that choice.

Like most things, choosing an ISP is a matter of sorting out your requirements and seeing which ISP best fits them. Changing your ISP may save you money or give you better service. Some of you may be concerned about the loss of Zfree. Hopefully this week’s column can give you some guidelines.

Firstly establish what you use the Internet for. Some people will be using it just for email. Some will add browsing the Web, while others may want to download MP3s, listen to radio streams or watch TV/movies online.

These requirements help you to consider how long you will be using the Internet each time you logon. Email only, can mean short sharp sessions. Surfing the web can mean long sessions, while the convenience of being connected always, allows for large downloads, easy browsing and immediate email.

Now study the offering from the ISPs to see which one best suits your needs. This can be difficult, because sometimes you are comparing apples with oranges. The ISPs do not all offer the same packages. To make this job easier there are some pointers that may help you.

Is technical support going to be a requirement? Some ISPs provide free support 24/7, while others offer an 0900 phone line and charge, and a few offer no support at all.

What is the modem to client ratio of the ISP? It is no good having a connection to the Internet if you always get the busy signal when you are logging on. The modem to client ratio allows you to judge how long it will take you to get a connection.

How long is the idle time before being logged off? This could be important, for example, if you are reading a long page on the web. You may find yourself having to re-dial the ISP because you have been logged off for being idle.

Possibly most important is price. This is where it can be difficult sorting out those apples from the oranges. Having worked out your requirements before hand will help you compare ISPs at the price level. You should include in the price comparison any setup fees. Some ISPs charge them, others don’t. Work out the fee as a yearly charge and add it to your first year’s annual access fee, this will give you a better way of comparing the fee with those that don’t charge for setup.

Find out what is the minimum contract time you can purchase. Are you signing up for a set time or can you you change ISP anytime you like?

If you are going for broadband access, do you want to use DSL or cable. Those of you lucky enough to live in the area served by TelstraClear will be able to use Paradise.net cable as an alternative to Jetstream or the Sky-Fi + Xtra package.

Finally, two sites exist to help you choose your ISP.

  1. New Zealand ISPs
  2. Netguide

April 18 – Happy Birthday To Me

In Elseware on April 18, 2002 at 9:42 pm

Happy Birthday To Me

It is time to celebrate! eStuff is one year old. During that year I have received feedback from people via email, and in the real world, telling me how much they enjoy their fortnightly dose of eStuff. I thank you all.

The last column, on how your CD writer could turn you into a buccaneer, drew several emails. I have to admit that owing to an over active manipulation of the mouse I lost two of these before I could read them. If you sent me an email on Saturday 6 April and have not heard back from me, it is not because I am rude, it is just that I don’t know what you said, or who you are. Would you please send them again?

If you missed some of the eStuff columns throughout the year you can now read them at the eStuff archive. Also, a reminder that, instead of typing in those long web site addresses that appear in the column you can go to the estuff site and just click on the quick links provided for that week.

Now is a good time to point you to the Royal Family’s web site. At the time of writing it features a tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, with a link to a memorial website. There is also information about the Royal Family, and the role it plays in British life and history. This is a stunning site that makes good use of the web for imparting information.

On the subject of the Queen Mum, the BBC have a page that gathers all the links for all the audio and video coverage of the events after her death.

On a brighter note.

Inspired by the birth of their baby daughter Tiana, Tia and Angela Paul have set up a site called BabyETA. At BabyETA expecting parents can register the impeding birth for $12.95. This creates a personal area which allows friends and relations anywhere in the world to share the joy. The concept is that each visitor can register their own guess as to the arrival date of the baby, and even the weight. The closest to the date and/or weight wins. Depending on how it’s set up, the parents can opt to ‘reward’ the person whose guess was most accurate. This is done by making a donation to an organisation of their choice.

If you are a community group in New Zealand looking for funding The Funding Information Service may be able to help you.

Blair Poly sent me an email containing information about the Wellington Online Gallery of New Zealand Art. There are some wonderful examples of NZ artwork available at this site. You can view the works and then contact the artist for further information and purchasing.

One of the things that I like about the Internet is the fact that anyone can start a business or web site very easily. Olmec Sinclair and his partner have done just that. With a computer, some software, and of course their own skills, they started doLithe. doLithe allows any business, or organisation, to set up its own website using a series of ’skins’. These ’skins’ give an individuality to each site, and the results, judging from the sample links, look very impressive. Olmec says “These sites can be created in a matter of days and allow us to provide local businesses with a cost effective solution to promote themselves and their product ranges to a domestic and international market.”

April 4 2002 – Are You A Pirate?

In Elseware on April 4, 2002 at 9:40 pm

Did that CD-Writer you bought the other day come with an eye-patch, wooden-leg, parrot and hook? It should have done, because CD-Writers have the potential to turn us all into pirates.

At one time all of us have used a cassette tape for recording music on. If you did you broke the law. Simple as that. No “Get-out-of-jail-free card” here.

Now the potential to break the law is with us in a new way. With a CD-Writer it is possible to make perfect copies of your CD collection. They will sound exactly the same as the originals. With tape, there was always some hiss and loss of quality.

Some people are shifting their prized collection from 78s (ask your grandparents), 45s and LPs (ask your parents) to CD-Rs. Removing the sounds of frying bacon as they go. Others may be “ripping” their CDs to MP3 format for playing from their computer’s hard disk, or on a portable player. Do either in New Zealand and you’re breaking the law.

It is even possible to buy a contraption for making labels to go on the CD copies, and inserts for the CD case. Both helping to make the final product look semi-professional.

The ability and ease with which everyone can make these duplicates is a great worry to the record companies and artists who hold the copyright. So much so, that the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) has been running a campaign – BRN&GTBRNT.

Why is this software available if it is breaking the law? The problem is that the Internet has made us a global village, but the copyright laws for each country differ. In the USA, there is something called “fair use”. This probably allows any US citizen the right to make copies of CDs for their own use. Other countries have taken different paths. Canada could soon be taxing blank CDs and Germany is making CD-Writer manufacturers pay a tax. Both to be passed eventually to the copyright holder, who is not always the recording artist.

None of this applies to New Zealand. Making any copy of any music, from any source, for any purpose, is breaking the law. There are exceptions, teaching how to make sound tracks or for distance education. You may also “time-shift” that is record from radio or TV to listen later.

RIANZ categorically states that the law in New Zealand (Copyright Act of 1994) means it is illegal to duplicate CD music unless within those very, very limited and narrow exceptions.

The BRN&GTBRNT campaign has one main objective – to stop illegal CD burning – and has two primary strategies. The first strategy is to educate people about the law; the second is to prosecute those who flout the law for their own profit. It is unlikely any action would be taken against someone burning one copy for private use. However, RIANZ believes it has an obligation to point out the illegality.

It should be pointed out that this a civil law requiring action to be taken by RIANZ, or the copyright holder through the Ministry of Economic Development, against the perpetrator. Action has already been taken against a DJ in Christchurch, and two Auckland commercial burners have been warned and may yet face further action.

So if you are a pirate, think again. Make money from burning in New Zealand and you are committing a crime. Not to mention stealing from the artist.

January 24 2002 – The Consumer Electronics Show

In Elseware on January 24, 2002 at 5:49 pm

The Consumer Electronics Show is a yearly event where the makers of all the tech-toys get together to show off their latest creations. It takes place in Las Vegas and this year was held from January 8th to 11th. I was able to keep track of what was happening using the magic of the Internet.

The word to sum up this CES is convergence, or the amalgamation of different technologies into one device. One example is you won?t need to carry around a cellphone and a PDA in you pocket or purse.

The Sanyo SCP-5150 is a flip-top phone, if that is the right name for a device such as this. It comes with a 256 colour display allowing you to browse the web and use it as a PDA to keep track of your appointments and contacts. When the phone rings, a picture of the caller pops up on the display, taking caller-id to the ultimate.

Going one step further is Samsung. With their Nexio they combine, in this piece of electronic wizardry, a 3G cell phone with a handheld PC, using a 5″ display and Microsoft Windows CE operating system.

Of course Microsoft were there in person, with Bill Gates making a keynote speech.

Microsoft are now targetting the home entertainment market. There seems to be a three-prong assault. Firstly with MSN, the Microsoft entertainment and information web site (via xtramsn.co.nz in NZ). Then the Xbox, the, yet to be released in New Zealand, answer to Playstation II. Finally a convergence of PC with your TV and Stereo with a product code named Mira.

Mira will allow the use of a PC anywhere in the house, and control your TV, video recorder, and stereo. It will provide owners with a tablet like device to interface with the PC. Rather than sitting at a desk, you will be able to relax in your armchair and read the news, email etc.

Steve Perlman came up with the idea of WebTV. WebTV allows people to use their TV to surf the World Wide Web. He later sold the company to Microsoft for US$503 million, took the money, and set up a company called Rearden Steel Technologies. Now renamed Moxi Digital Inc. they developed the Moxi Media Center, This non-Microsoft alternative to Mira is already available in America.

Mira is five devices in one:

  1. Multi-tuner digital cable or satellite receiver which allows users to use multiple TVs in different rooms watching or recording different programs
  2. Digital Music Jukebox which stores 100?s of CDs and MP3s
  3. Video Recorder allowing 60 hours of video to be recorded
  4. DVD Player
  5. Cable/DSL Modem, Internet Gateway and Firewall

Meanwhile down in San Francisco, Macworld 2002 was taking place at the same time and Steve Jobs announced the new Apple iMac iMac. If you thought the old coloured/see-through iMac was sexy, just wait till you see this this. Right! Hands up those who want one right now.

January 13 2002 – The Great Windows CD-R Backup Saga

In Elseware on January 13, 2002 at 7:29 pm

In my column of 6 December 2001 I state:

The only problem with using CD-RW is that the backup program supplied with Windows does not support them, so you would have to purchase one that does. Willow Creek Software sell one for US$19.95 www.willowsoft.com/backup. I don’t use this so can not comment on the quality of the software. You can try it for 90 days before buying.

I had an email from a reader, John, which stated:

In your e-stuff article ‘Gone with the Windows’ [Contact, December 6, 2001] you say that the backup program supplied with Windows does not support CD-RW.
This statement surprises me. I regularly use the Windows backup program to do my backups on CD-RW. The program is nice and flexible with files being backed up and restored efficiently and quickly. Where is the problem?

I asked John what he did to get the backup to work he replied:

In the ‘Where to back up’ section, I just changed the drive from A: to D:
(my CD writer).
Initially I select ‘All selected files’ and tick the square boxes for My
Documents folder and a few other files/folders on my C: drive. I then select
‘New and changed files’ for subsequent backups. The program remembers which
files and folders I chose to backup previously.

So in my column of 20 December 2001 I said I was wrong and that there was no problem with doing a backup using CD-R and the Microsoft backup program.

Since then I received an email from another reader, Patrick, and he states:

I am a regular reader of your “e-stuff” articles and was interested in your December column where you mention WIN 98 will back up to CD-RW.

In particular I want to back up some of my Outlook Express file to a CD and I read the link you gave and used my WIN back up wizard program to get under way.

All went well until I came to the ” Select a destination for the back up ” prompt.

I was under the impression my CD Writer was in my D: drive so I put that in but got the answer:

“Invalid file name entered. Make sure the file name and path are correct”

As I had followed the previous instructions and ticked the box next to the file I wanted to back up ( my ‘Inbox’ ), I presume the problem is the path ( i.e. “D:” ) I have selected. I checked it out using ‘properties’ option in My Computer and it showed up as CD-ROM. Maybe that’s the wrong one. Maybe I have to find CD-RW – if so I don’t know where that is on my computer. It is, of course, installed because I use it often to burn CD’s.

Patrick followed up with the following email:


Thanks – I asked the question on the excellent protonic.com site and they
gave me this answer ….

“Windows backup does not support backing up to CDR / CDRW without supporting
software that controls it. Adaptec / Roxio’s Easy CD Creator has Direct CD
as a part of this that does support this action however MS Backup cannot
span backups to more than one CD (if you can get it to work it at all).

A better backup to CDRW solution is to use an application designed for CDR /
CDRW such as Drive Image “

…… so backing up to CD-RW on WIN 98 is not as simple as it seems.
Software needs to be purchased

Adaptec Direct CD is available from First Choice for US$44.95.

I wrote to John asking what he thought about this new information and received the following reply:


My HP CD-Writer came with DirectCD which allows me to copy files to a CD-RW
just as I would to a floppy. So I guess Backup also uses DirectCD in the
same way – in the background.

So far I have not needed to use more than one CD-RW for my data backup
(mainly document files and spreadsheets). It seems from the advice you have
been given that I won’t be able to use more than one CD-RW. That’s ok for
now – I shall test it if and when the time comes. …

So it seems that I was right in the first place. You do need special software, and it is going to cost you money. If you have used the Willow Creek Software write and let me know.

Amanda wrote in response to this on 11 Janurary 2002:


I’ve just read your article backup/html on the website. I use MS Backup with Windows 98 to backup onto CD-RWs. All my backup CD-RWs have been formatted using DirectCD, which came with my computer. The formatting takes about 45 minutes per disc, but once it’s done you can use the CD-RW as if it was a floppy or another hard drive (just drag and drop onto it). The one catch I’ve found is that if you then give one of these CDs to someone who doesn’t have DirectCD, they can’t read them.

My files have now got so big that they won’t all fit onto one CD, so I have set up several different backup jobs (in MS Backup) to backup different stuff. I have one backup job which is for all my personal files and another couple for work related files. It’s not too much hassle, I just have to remember to set each backup going. I backup work files every day, and personal files each time they get modified. I have 12 backup CDs which I rotate so I always have backup copies of work dating back several months.

It’s all very easy and straightforward.

If anyone would like to add anything to this discussion please email me

September 27 2001 – SeniorNet

In Elseware on September 27, 2001 at 8:25 pm

The older you are the harder it seems to come to grips with the new technologies thatare presented to us on what appears to be a daily basis. Since April 1992 SeniorNetWellington has been assisting those people 55 and over to develop PC skills.

Wellington had the first group of its kind in New Zealand. It was set up as a result ofa talk by Telecom to the Retired Persons’ Association in which details about SeniorNetin San Francisco were included. The growth in its membership has been phenomenaland since 1997 has almost doubled to 1120. It was recognised by the Adult andCommunity Education Association Aoetearoa NZ with an Innovative Provider Award in2000. The SeniorNet idea has spread throughout the country with 80 clubs having amembership of approximately 20,000.

There are three training rooms in the SeniorNet complex in the Betty CampbellCentre. Each room has five computers and each computer is individually linked to theInternet. All students receive a manual for each course that they take home withthem. There are 16 courses to choose from, ranging from Introduction to Computers,to subjects like Databases, Spreadsheet, the World Wide Web, and even Genealogy.

The length of each course session is two hours and the number of sessions variesfrom course to course. Every class is managed by two tutors. The cost of eachcourse depends on the number of sessions. Membership of SeniorNet is $20.00 peryear which includes the Introduction to Computers course.

I spoke with John Nimmo, the chairman of SeniorNet Wellington about the servicesthey provide. He told me that SeniorNet has been very successful because the groupof volunteers go out of their way to ensure that the learning experience is not onlybeneficial, but enjoyable. The small size of the classes, and the fact that there aretwo volunteer tutors, makes sure that each member receives the personal attentionthey require.

All committee members and volunteer tutors have worked their way through thecourses, so they are all familiar with the problems newcomers to computingexperience. They realise that some may be intimidated, if not frightened, by the boxesof magic in front of them.

The membership seems to be evenly split between males and females, and over 600people attend the courses each year. The oldest being in their 80’s and even 90’s. So don’t feel that you will be an embarrassment to yourself or anyone else. It doesnot matter if your own computer is an older model. The courses are tailored to besuitable for all models and release of software. You have no excuse left now, comeand, as John put it “Participate in the age we live in.”

You can contact SeniorNet Wellington on 473-1510 or visit their website. If you are outside Wellington your localbranch should be in the phone book, or visit this website.

Site Of The Week

Street Legal is back on our television screens again. For fans of David Silesi, hiscar, and the rest of the characters in this New Zealand production, there is a web site. So read about Jay Laga’aia and theother actors, learn about the Ford Jailbar and catch up on the episodes you havemissed.

August 30 2001 – Computers In Homes

In Elseware on August 30, 2001 at 7:52 pm

Consider how you would have managed through life if books had been unavailable toyou because your family and school could not afford them. The advent of the PCs and the Internet has created a new group of disadvantaged. As a nation we now have two groups of people separated by a digital divide. The 2020 Communications Trust is trying to bridge this gap.

Wellington City Council has been at the forefront of technology. It launched City Net computer network in 1986 and the following year installed a fibre-optic cable,strapped to the trolley-bus wires, between buildings in the city. This ensured that Wellington received international recognition for being one of the first cities in the world to install a city-wide broadband network.

It didn’t stop there: City Net was expanded to provide a free Internet service to Wellingtonians. In 1996, the 2020 Community Trust was established as a partnership between the council, the community, and local businesses. Their aim was to ensure that every citizen was “equipped with the essential values, information, skills and opportunities to fully participate in creating the Information Society.” From this grew the 2020 Communications Trust. The Trust isnow responsible for a whole gamut of projects running throughout the country.

On 16 August I attended the launch of Computers In Homes at Newtown School. During the ceremony 3 families each received one of the 25 computers available. The Newtown School project was made possible by the donation of 25 computers by WCC and $30,000 from the Government.

Computers in Homes has also started in Cannons Creek, South Auckland, Whakatane and two rural schools on the East Coast. Already the success stories have started: A35 year old woman has managed to find work for the first time since leaving school due to her computer experience via this project. A web café in Apia had a queue form outside as families waited to check the email from their relatives in New Zealand. Afather claims his daughter can no longer call him stupid because he can use a PC.

The success of the Computers In Homes project has seen the Trust become a finalist in the Stockholm Challenge. Thisis a yearly award given by the City of Stockholm, Sweden, for innovative use of IT.

The 2020 Communications Trust doesn’t end there. Several other projects are also underway.

  • Smart Newtown hasseen computers provided by Fujitsu installed in a special computer room at Newtown Park Flats.
  • Wellington Community Network provides a base for all community organizations in Wellington from Arts to Sport, from Health to Religion. It allows these groups to create web sites and hosts them free of charge.
  • Computer Access NZ Trust recycles donated old machines and makes them available to schools and not-for-profit organisations.
  • Marae Net isan attempt to ensure that all Wellington Marae have a web presence.
  • Netday One very well known and successful project run in conjunction with Telecom. The aim is to help schools network their computers.

Site Of The Week

The world is encircled by lines we cannot see, Longitude and Latitude and where they meet is a confluence point. The aim of the degree confluence project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude intersections in the world, take pictures and tell the stories behind them. Be part of it.

Feedback

A quick word about CAT5 cables Grahame from Codecraft contacted me to say they can provide cheaper cables.

July 5 2001 – 3G Mobile Phones

In Elseware on July 5, 2001 at 8:05 pm

As I write, the cellphone cognoscenti are awaiting the announcement from Telecom ofCode Division Multiple Access or CDMA. This is the digitalreplacement for the current analog 025 network.

Meanwhile Vodafone has already put in place a General PacketRadio Service (GPRS) as an addition to itsdigital Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networkThis conversion by the major cellphonecompanies is called 2.5 generation (2.5G) and will help to make the transition to thirdgeneration or 3G easier.

What does this all mean to the consumer?

The device that we call a cellphone will become a personal communicator, able do alot more than just furnish conversation or text messages (SMS). By adopting 2.5G andmigrating to 3G technology your cellphone company will provide services such asemail and Internet access, hi-fi audio, file transfer, video, and interactiveentertainment. Just imagine watching the morning news on your cell phone orlistening to MP3s, while checking your appointments and email as you ride the traininto the City.

You can already utilise some of this technology via Wireless Application Protocol(WAP). A technology that allows you to browse speciallydesigned web pages from WAP capable cellphones. If you want to see what WAPcan do visit gelon, where you can use a “wapalizer” to view web sites, orselect a phone from the page and use WAP on a simulated phone.

You are not being forced to change to a 2.5G phone. However should you opt for aCDMA phone your 025 number will change to a new 7 digit number. Current 7 digitnumbers will change by having an 027 prefix, and 025 6 digit numbers will have 027 4as the prefix. Eg 025 123-4567 will become 027 123-4567 while 025 123-456 willbecome 027 412-3456.

Why have Vodafone and Telecom decided on two different technologies?

Telecom decided on CDMA because they believe it is the superior technology. It wa soriginally designed for US military use making it very secure. The CDMA phone that you buy will be compatible with the network changes in the future. As the CDMA network capability grows on the way to 3G you won’t have to buy a new phone.

Vodafone have picked GPRS because it is the most popular of the two technologies worldwide and they already have GPRS networks in several countries. This will makeit easier for travellers to take their phone overseas with them.

The final question is the cost. This technology means that your cellphone is always connected to the network, rather than paying for the time of each call, you will be paying for the amount of data that is transferred. At the time of writing only Vodafonehas announced their pricing structure. The cheapest rate being $30 per MB. That means that a 3 minute MP3 you want to play on your phone will cost you $75 + GST. Ouch! I have read that compared to the current charge of 20 cents for a text message, which works out to $1250 per MB, it is cheap! Telecom has said thattheir pricing structure will be different.

Site Of The Week

Response from the last column on viruses has been overwhelming. Tony writes thatwilders.org provides a comprehensive coverage of security issues. He recommends downloading HTAstop.exe from them and Noscript.exe from Symantec this will disable theWindows Scripting Host.

May 10 2001 – I Have Seen The Future

In Elseware on May 10, 2001 at 8:12 pm

The aroma of fresh coffee wafts through the apartment. The alarm clock by thebedside softly plays music and says “Miranda wake up, Miranda you must leave earlytoday.”

It did this after checking road conditions on the Internet and deciding the morningdrive will take longer due to road works. It then carries out it’s usual functions 30minutes early, like starting the coffee machine.

“Clock, I’m awake,” says Miranda. “PDA, What have I got on today?”

“You have a nine o’clock appointment with the Finance Committee, your afternoon isfree. I have e-mailed the office advising you maybe late. There is a hold up on thehighway.” replies the PDA.

Troy rolls over as Miranda hits the shower, he is working from home. Miranda’s driveto work is not wasted. As the vehicle guides itself down Highway 1, she watches thenews on the dashboard Internet screen and uses her laptop to check her report for themeeting.

In the evening Miranda arrives home to find Troy scanning the groceries and puttingthem away. They were ordered automatically by the fridge and have just beendelivered.

“What’s for tea?” she asks.

“The fridge recommends steak and salad, there’s a recipe on the screen for Waldorfsalad. It suggests we use the apples up as they’ve been there for a week.”

“Sounds good to me,” Miranda says as Troy gets out the steak and apples and swipesthe barcodes across the reader. The fridge does a quick check and decides it needsto order more steak.

Not quite the Jetsons but reality is catching up with fiction. You can get this e-stufftoday. Making some of it possible are two technologies, Bluetooth and Thalia.

Bluetooth eliminates the cables connecting appliances together. A micro chip with abuilt-in radio allows appliances within a 10 metre range to talk to each other atspeeds of 6Mb/s. Over 2000 companies are rushing to get the technology to you. By2002 Bluetooth will be everywhere.

According to Bluetooth you will soon be using a three-in-one phone. Athome, it will be a portable phone. Leave home and it becomes a cell phone. When itis within range of another Bluetooth phone it’s a walkie talkie. Your cell phone willallow you to surf the Internet wherever you are. Best of all, Bluetooth will allowautomatic synchronisation of your desktop, laptop, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)and your cell phone. So, as soon as you come in range of your desktop all addresseswill be updated in your PDA and phone numbers kept up to date in your cell phone.

Thalia is a joint effort between Sun Microsystems and Sunbeam. Home appliances will be able to communicate using your house electrical wiring.

The smart fridge is available from Electolux.

Several universities are working to produce driverless cars. The University of Arizonaexplains it’s attempt and links to some others sites. The National Automated Highway System (NAHS) in the USA is described here.

“By the way Miranda, the doctor’s surgery called today. Seems the toilet contacted itafter your visit this morning and you are pregnant!”.

Site Of The Week

Coolblue – An Auckland radio station that you can also hear on the Net.The playlist as I write is an eclectic mix including Frank Sinatra, Tracy Chapman, and John Coltrane. Listen, enjoy, even e-mail and ask them to broadcast in Wellington as well.