Computer News

IBM has figured out a new way to remove heat from processors. It takes the heat from the processor and moves it to a different location. They've also been testing out a way to actually run liquid over the processor to keep it cool.

Hot processors are largely an inhibitor of processing power expansion. Processors that overheat can cause many problems, problems that include damage to the system and an actual meltdown of the internal hardware. Manufacturers have to be very careful to place processors in good locations so the computer doesn't malfunction or overheat. That's why you see fans on computers or what a computer gets really hot in your lap (a laptop).

I know on the bottom of my Vaio, the Microsoft sticker is melting in a certain area -- though I've seen this on many computers, so it might just be a verification thing. Anyway, my computer does get quite hot if I leave it on in the summer like on my desk or something. It kinda worries me, but I back up often enough and have a protection plan :D It makes it ok.

Okay so I just looked it up and that's supposed to happen -- it's an antipiracy feature. It worried me the first time I saw it, though!

Net Neutrality

Net Neutrality is a term that refers to the internet being a neutral environment: that is a place where people can freely explore and travel through without barriers or restrictions based on your location or service provider.

I believe Net Neutrality is very important. It is what has allowed the internet the prosperity and expansion we’ve seen – everything from E-bay, to Cnet, to Google; these companies were allowed to freely expand and visitors were allowed to visit whenever and wherever they wanted. Without Net Neutrality, I believe it would be much more difficult for expansion. The internet would be a cumbersome tool and where would the restrictions stop?

I don’t want the internet to become some kind of censored tool like in China – the free exchange of information is so valuable and I think we should do as much as we can to ensure this free exchange to continue.

3 Interesting Websites

Alright, here they are:

http://www.myheritage.com/
By registering for free, you are able to upload a photo of yourself and,with photo recognition software, the site detects which celebrities your facial structure is similar to. There is an option to have it load a script to easily display your results on your myspace, blog, livejournal, etc. Just a fun little site.

http://reviews.cnet.com
I know you showed us this in class, but this has been one of my favorite sites for a long time -- It keeps me up to date on a lot of technological stuff and actually reviews it instead of merely introducing it. It is also a big help when I'm looking to buy new equipment.

http://www.flashkit.com
Though it has been a while, this was the site that taught me how to use Flash (the little I know). It is basically a forum of user-submitted tutorials, neatly separated into sections. When I first started using it, the site seemed a lot more clean and well-made, but recent visits have shown it to be a little more confusing and messy than I remember it being.


http://www.shibumi.org/eoti.htm
This one's just a bonus -- being the computer guru you are, you may have already reached this point.

-jc

Computer Gifts I Would Buy for Friends and Family

For my little bro, I think I'd buy him a tuner so he could watch TV on his laptop. He loves watching TV and since you need special software, cables, and connectors, I think it would be something he'd like but wouldn't buy for himself.

For my older bro, I actually got him something only available on computers for his birthday -- since he's on a tether and on house arrest, he could never go get movies or anything to entertain him at home, so I bought him Netflix for the next three months for his bday. It seems like he loves it.

I am unsure of what I would get my parents -- they're in their late 50's and don't really use the computer much. Maybe for my mom I would get some type of software that manages family trees and contact information -- also birthdays and such. She's kinda into that stuff. For my dad, I think I would get him something to manage his images from his digital camera. He doesn't know how to use any type of photo editing software, but I guess I could get him an entry-level one for him to try out. I don't think he'd have much interest in editing, since it seems like his favorite thing to do is read and not have much to do with the computer, but just software to manage the photos might be good.

Am I included in what I'd get for my family? . . . there's too much to post.

-jc!

Social Engineering

Social Engineering is applying knowledge of human behavior and faults in order to place malware or obtain otherwise personal information, usually for malicious purposes such as spreading a virus or observing behavior on the computer. Examples include trojan horses, spyware, malware, keyloggers, fake computer support lines, false emails impersonating a reputable company, watching someone type their password, relying on the user to pick an easy to guess password, etc.

One example of a high-profile actress that was "Socially Engineered" (is that a proper term?) is Paris Hilton. Her SideKick was hacked and all of the hottest names in Hollywood and around the globe had to change personal, house, and vacation numbers, emails, and other personal information due to this act of Social Engineering. This caused disruption in the life of those stars, as you can imagine, and although Paris is usually associated with fine wines and desserts, the taste this time around was a bit more bitter. In this instance, the "Engineer" pretended to be an employee of T-Mobile when he called another location and asked for the username and password to their system. Without much effort, he got it, and had access to many of T-Mobile's "secured" pages. The rest of the story can be found at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/19/AR2005051900711.html

-Jon