A Few Words of Wisdom

The world sucks. Get over it. There are people who will try to take advantage of you. There are people who cheat, lie, and steal to get what they want. Don't be one of these people. I can tell you now that doing these things might make you successful in the world's eyes, but it won't in yours and it will not make you happy. If you cheat your way to success, you will have nothing you can be proud of, and it will catch up to you. Do your own work, do it well, and you will be all the happier. Define your own ethics.

Face Stealers Redux

A little Video

Here is a change up.  I this post as a video.  Follow this link.  Enjoy!

I Have a Ten Cow Wife

Would you ask a plumber how to wire an electrical socket? Of course not (at least I hope you wouldn't). However, I have met many people who make this same mistake when seeking information about a religion. Now, I am not just talking about all the misnomers about the Mormon Religion (our temple spires are not missile silos thank you very much!). Getting information from random people off the streets or random anti-mormon websites on the internet will not only give you a very skewed perspective, but will, in fact, give you misinformation. If you want to know about Mormons, ask a Mormon (or you can go to Mormon.org for starters). If you want to now about Catholicism, ask a Catholic. So please, the next time you find out a coworker is Mormon don't ask him how many wives he has.  It is just bad form.

Catholics, Muslims, and Operating Systems?

There have been many Holy Wars over the years. The Crusades, WWII, and the Iraq War. The most recent Holy War is the Mac vs. the PC. Many of you probably have seen the commercials. Mac bashes on the PC (which runs Windows) and Windows rebuttals by simply showing all the cool new features it has (most of which it has stolen from other operating systems). Now, I am not going to take one side or the other. I have had both. Each has their advantages, and each has their disadvantages. I have had issues and qualms with both OSX and Windows. The fact is each person needs to decide which operating system best fits their needs. If that is a Mac more power to you. If it is a PC I suggest getting Windows 7, or (if you are a like to tinker with things and/or are a masochist) try Linux. Either way, please don't try to proselyte me to one side or the other. It won't work.

Outsourcing the Competition

Why has College enrollment in the Computer Science Major been significantly low the past couple of years? It is an interesting (at least to me) field of study with a potentially large starting salary. The answer comes from a statement by my professor Dr. Charles Knutson.  He stated (I am paraphrasing) “What have parents been telling their children about technology jobs these last couple of years? … Since the mid 2000s they have been telling their children their jobs will be outsourced”.  I can't tell you how many times I have heard that very sentiment. But is it true?

It is true that Companies are continuing to increase their IT outsourcing.  You only need to google “outsourcing statistics” to find a disturbing number of articles about companies outsourcing.  However, when you look more carefully you find that the news is not all bad.  There are companies that are hesitant or even against outsourcing (take for instance The DOD).  So, who do you believe?

My answer is both. Companies will continue to outsource tech jobs.  Tech jobs will continue to be created here in the United States (or wherever you are from) as both technology advances and the market for that technology expands.  Sometimes the market will expand faster than the outsourcing and sometimes it won't.  To stay employed you only need to stay current in your skills, continue to learn new ones, and make yourself indispensable.  That way you will be less likely to be outsourced, and if you are outsourced you will still have other avenues for employment.  If that fails, try finding a job that is likely not to be outsourced (for example get a job for the DOD).  If you are worried about being outsourced just ask the same question Dilbert is trying to answer in this comic.

Really? I Mean, Really!?

It is insane the things people patent. For instance take a look at the patent found here. It is pretty much a linked list with a couple extra links. Basically, it is extension of a basic data structure used on almost a daily basis. Heck, this is the first data structure most computer programmers learn how to program, and someone has managed to patent it. Being able to do this is pure stupidity, and it shows how broken our patent laws are. You shouldn't be able to patent something that is already widely used. Period.

The Oldest Tricks in the Book

If I asked you for your password to your email, Twitter, or Facebook account (hopefully they are not the same!) would you give them to me? What if I told you I was a system administrator? This is exactly what phishing attacks do, and what is more disturbing is that they are extremely successful. The reason they are so successful is not a technology flaw, it is a human one. Phishing attacks are successful because of successful social engineering. As outlined by an article on CNN many of these attacks seem legitimate at first glance. They use tinyurls and web pages that look like the real thing. Be careful, educate yourselves about phishing attacks, and for goodness sakes don't give your passwords to strangers.

Do I need to say more?

It seems like common sense to block peer-to-peer file sharing on computers and networks that contain sensitive data(ie credit card numbers or medical records).  Apparently, some companies(and government offices) missed that memo.  According to CNET, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, issued notices to over a hundred private and public organizations that sensitive information about their customers was being distributed through peer-to-peer networks.  In other words, these companies either each have shady people in their employment or they all hired idiots.  I like to think the latter.  Come on people, most file sharing applications scan your computer for files to share.  If you are not careful they open up your computer so anyone can download any file! So, the moral of the story is either higher smarter people or disable peer-to-peer file sharing on networks with sensitive data.  Come on people!

For more info go to CNET.

Sex, Drugs, and a Firewall?

There are people who have unprotected sex, ride motorcycles without protective gear(including a helmet!), text while driving, and do all manner of other stupid things. We call these people stupid(at least I do). If these things can be considered stupid then why is it okay to leave your personal computer unprotected. I can't tell you how many computers I have seen without the latest security patches, has no virus scanner, the firewall disabled, and/or a password I could guess on the first try(hint: try 'password'). When I ask these people why they always answer “its just easier that way.” To those who agree with this sentiment, and have done one or all of the above, you are asking for trouble(hackers, viruses, and identity theft oh my!).

Now, I am not advocating spending hundreds of dollars to make your home computer an electronic Fort Knox. You don't need your own private army and a barbed wire fence to protect your house against a bugler. You just need secure locks and an alarm system. Security on your personal computer follows the same principle. The following are just a few simple steps to secure your personal computer:

• Pick a secure password. Include numbers as well as letters.
  
• Keep your computer up to date. Companies like windows and Apple release these updates to fix a hole in your software some hacker has exploited. If you don't install these updates then the holes are still there!
  
• Use a firewall. For windows this is built in. Don't disable it!
  
• Get a good virus scanner. For Windows I recommend Avast. It is free and has a lot of the features others don't.
  

Having an alarm system in your house can't guarantee you won't get robbed.  Similarly, following these steps won't make your computer hacker or virus proof. It will, however, make it that much more difficult for them to get into your computer and give you the tools to clean up if and when they do.

For more information go to the Internet Safety Wiki.

What is your Pedigree?

Recently I was asked an interesting question. I was asked where I came from.  My knee-jerk response was that I am from Virginia. In retrospect this was a poor response. Not only do I come from a proud European history, but I also have many forbearers in my field of study, Computer Science. Where would I be without their work? What would I do if we didn't have computers?  These men who pioneered the industry, who pushed the limits of their imaginations and creativity, not only gave us the tools to be more productive but shaped our very way of life. So, today I would like to thank everyone from Alan Turing, who first imaged what a computer can do, to Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, whose work in operating systems influence how we use the computer on a daily basis. So I ask you, where do you come from?

Definition of a Crime

In an earlier post I talked about the disjoint between rights and responsibilities that has occurred in our society today. Recently in the news there is an example of that very thing. The article found at www.cnet.com (link) talks about a recent case of what is called cyberbullying. If you don't know what it is look it up. It is a sad read, but it does have one highlight if you follow the cyberbully link (link). States are starting to enforce crimes perpetrated on the internet. In particular Missouri has passed a cyberbullying law. This is a step in the right direction. By having the government define and enforce punishments for crimes perpetrated on the internet it will help enforce the fact that with each right comes the responsibility to use that right appropriately. It is not a cure-all, but good news all the same.

Where's the Discrimination?

I am a white male who is from a middle class family. Until I declared myself independent from my father, I literally had no chance to receive any federal grants or subsidized loans. I have survived college, paid rent, tuition, and even paid(in part) for my own wedding by working year around at a job on my college campus. So where is the discrimination against women? I don't see the vast opportunities and financial aid that I am supposed to have because I was born with a Y chromosome. In fact, I tend to see the opposite. My wife has a long list of scholarships that are only available to her because she is a girl in a scientific field. The fact is that if we wish to eliminate discrimination in distributing financial aid and scholarships we need to base them more on genuine fiscal need than on race or gender.

The Copyright Police are Out to Get You

How does one stop one's copyrighted material from being illegally distributed and downloaded? As outlined in the Cnet article, found at the following URL: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10437176-93.html?tag=mncol;title, Verizon has implemented an interesting solution. They have started cutting off the offenders from the internet. This might seem like a breach in contract, but I feel that it is an amazing solution. It does not cause expensive drawn out legal battles and still stops the offenders from continuing to distribute or download the copyrighted material. I do not think that this is a cure all, but it is a step in the right direction.

My First Smallish Post

The internet, as a medium for communication, has fostered a culture of overextended rights and misinformation. Though the internet is good stage to share and debate opinions, the availability of the medium(such as this blog) allows anyone to post their views no matter how degrading or damaging on any subject matter whether or not they are knowledgeable. Under the guise of 'Freedom of Speech', they can do this without disclosing their identity eliminating any sense of accountability. This has led the common people to feel that their freedom of speech overrides any other freedom the affected actually has. Thus, not only is misinformation propagated by those who have no right or place to speak but others rights are trampled by their ever growing 'Freedom of Speech'. In other words the Internet has fostered a culture where rights and freedoms have been separated from their associated responsibility, and will continue to do so until users are held accountable for what they state on the internet.