All this hooplah about the iPhone. It's all that newspapers from the L.A. Times to the Wall Street Journal would talk about this week. I thought about getting one because the phone sounds like it has wonderful features.
I love gadgets! If and when I have extra bucks to spend, I am one to buy a gadget just to fulfill the desires of my wannabe techie heart:o) A lot of my friends were wondering if I would add an iPhone to my collection of phones that I alternately use. Currently I have a Samsung D807 from Cingular that I got with my service contract, I have a white Sony Ericsson 810i walkman phone I got from my last trip to the Philippines (because I craved a white phone) and now I have a Blackberry Pearl that my ex-boyfriend gave me because he had such big hands to own such a slim and tiny Blackberry. With this array of phones, do I want or need an iPhone? Need, well NO! Want, Yes! Yes! Yes! The phone is eye candy to gadget hounds like me. Would I line up to get it? Definitely, not. For all the hype and what sounds like a great phone, I don't know if I am willing to shell out that much money (full price) with a 2 year contract. I also don't want to get a 1st generation phone that would be re-done to have better and cooler features months from now like they did with the iPod Nano 2 years ago.
I wonder though if the wi-fi feature will deliver well enough that you can dispense of your laptop and just use this all in one mobile communicator. That remains to be seen.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Linux, a coder and a murder case
I got the July 2007 issue of Wired Magazine and I saw an article about a guy who is a brilliant coder, a Linux geek and a murder suspect...Hans Reiser. Hans Reiser was known in the tech world as "a cantakerous but visionary open source programmer, whose work was funded by the government and that he was widely credited and reviled for rethinking the structure of the Linux operating system." Last year, Reiser was accused for murdering his ex-wife, Nina, who went missing in September and whose body is yet to be found.
It was the mention of Linux that got my attention since I figured I might get some info that I could write about in the blog. Sure, I learned about file systems. I learned how a file system organizes data on a computer, how it tells the processors where to find data, how it decides how to place info on the hard drive. Reiser says that "a file system represent the roads and waterways of the operating system."
As a casual user of computers (by casual I mean I know how to type, to use some programs, get on the internet to find online information, shop etc.) I'm not one to know the intricacies of programming. If you ask me about operating systems and file systems, I give you a blank look and maybe bat my eyelashes and smile to indicate what I want to blurt out which is..."hmmm, I dunno!"
This article gave me a bit of an insight of how the mind of programmers work. Although I saw the Linux part as a possible point of topic for my tech blog, the nosy-law-and-order-detective-wannabe in me prevailed because in the end it was the juicy bits of the murder case that held my interest :o) The article was well written in a geeky way...actually, it's interesting if a bit troubling.
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-07/ff_hansreiser?currentPage=1
It was the mention of Linux that got my attention since I figured I might get some info that I could write about in the blog. Sure, I learned about file systems. I learned how a file system organizes data on a computer, how it tells the processors where to find data, how it decides how to place info on the hard drive. Reiser says that "a file system represent the roads and waterways of the operating system."
As a casual user of computers (by casual I mean I know how to type, to use some programs, get on the internet to find online information, shop etc.) I'm not one to know the intricacies of programming. If you ask me about operating systems and file systems, I give you a blank look and maybe bat my eyelashes and smile to indicate what I want to blurt out which is..."hmmm, I dunno!"
This article gave me a bit of an insight of how the mind of programmers work. Although I saw the Linux part as a possible point of topic for my tech blog, the nosy-law-and-order-detective-wannabe in me prevailed because in the end it was the juicy bits of the murder case that held my interest :o) The article was well written in a geeky way...actually, it's interesting if a bit troubling.
Here's a link to the article:
http://www.wired.com/techbiz/people/magazine/15-07/ff_hansreiser?currentPage=1
Sunday, June 24, 2007
My Google Search Engine
http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=013599156865616757077%3Atvs6s6vxdxw&hl=en
When I first created this search engine a couple of weeks ago, I did not add relevant sites. I added 10 to this new version. Hope it works out fine.
When I first created this search engine a couple of weeks ago, I did not add relevant sites. I added 10 to this new version. Hope it works out fine.
Bloglines - Scopus Library
http://rpc.bloglines.com/blogroll?html=1&id=DoraBulay
I think I now have some lesions in my brain that are bleeding slowly after completing this array of assignments. My head is hurting like crazy and I am not sure if I did everything correctly.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
De-worming
My laptop is not as sick as it was a couple of days ago. I think I managed to remove most of the Brontok worm if not more because I am now getting some error messages about some kind of a host.exe could not be found. It's time to take the next step. I have to take it to the "hospital" in this case, Fry's, so they can diagnose what is wrong with it and give me a prognosis. I can only hope that my files will be saved!
Monday, June 11, 2007
Worm
I have always been very careful with my laptop. I try not to upload or download unknown files, songs, pictures, etc. Unfortunately, I do not have the notebook with me 24-7. Today, I got home from work to find that my laptop has been infected with the worm Brontok.
What is Brontok?
From http://www.microsoft.com/security/encyclopedia/details.aspx?name=Win32%2fBrontok -- Win32/Brontok is a family of mass-mailing e-mail worms. The worm spreads by sending a copy of itself as an e-mail attachment to e-mail addresses that it gathers from files on the infected computer. It can also copy itself to USB and pen drives. Win32/Brontok can disable antivirus and security software, immediately terminate certain applications, and cause Windows to restart immediately when certain applications run. The worm may also conduct denial of service (DoS) attacks against certain Web sites.
I hate this worm!!! I tried a few times to clean it out but it insiduously finds its way back into my laptop. I was successful in my previous attempts but today, my niece uploaded some pictures to her myspace site using a flash drive she's used with computers at her school. Obviously the flash drive was infected because just last week I used a removal tool to rid my laptop of the annoying worm.
I got a tip from a friend to reboot my laptop and before Windows restart to hit F8 repeatedly until it takes me to this window that will give me the choice of running on safe mode with networking. From there I went to http://housecall.trendmicro.com and ran Housecall. The complete scan went on for 2 hours and when I found there were other malwares in my laptop. Housecall was successful in removing all but one, and horror of horrors, it's the stupid brontok worm that wouldn't go away! I have to rerun Housecall and it's still running as I am writing this.
My notebook is still under service warranty so now I am wondering if it will do me well to just take it to Fry's and just ask them to clean it up for me. I'm going boinkers with this already and I cannot have this interruption this close to the end of my program. I will give an update tomorrow how successful my attempts are in removing such destructive and annoying worms. I curse the people who have nothing better to do than create these things! I hope they really get worms that would burst out of their skin!!!
What is Brontok?
From http://www.microsoft.com/security/encyclopedia/details.aspx?name=Win32%2fBrontok -- Win32/Brontok is a family of mass-mailing e-mail worms. The worm spreads by sending a copy of itself as an e-mail attachment to e-mail addresses that it gathers from files on the infected computer. It can also copy itself to USB and pen drives. Win32/Brontok can disable antivirus and security software, immediately terminate certain applications, and cause Windows to restart immediately when certain applications run. The worm may also conduct denial of service (DoS) attacks against certain Web sites.
I hate this worm!!! I tried a few times to clean it out but it insiduously finds its way back into my laptop. I was successful in my previous attempts but today, my niece uploaded some pictures to her myspace site using a flash drive she's used with computers at her school. Obviously the flash drive was infected because just last week I used a removal tool to rid my laptop of the annoying worm.
I got a tip from a friend to reboot my laptop and before Windows restart to hit F8 repeatedly until it takes me to this window that will give me the choice of running on safe mode with networking. From there I went to http://housecall.trendmicro.com and ran Housecall. The complete scan went on for 2 hours and when I found there were other malwares in my laptop. Housecall was successful in removing all but one, and horror of horrors, it's the stupid brontok worm that wouldn't go away! I have to rerun Housecall and it's still running as I am writing this.
My notebook is still under service warranty so now I am wondering if it will do me well to just take it to Fry's and just ask them to clean it up for me. I'm going boinkers with this already and I cannot have this interruption this close to the end of my program. I will give an update tomorrow how successful my attempts are in removing such destructive and annoying worms. I curse the people who have nothing better to do than create these things! I hope they really get worms that would burst out of their skin!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Impressionst Art Search Engine
I just created my first search engine through Google Co-op. It was an interesting process in that I realized that Google has all these gadgets you can create, manipulate and use. I always just used Google to search for information but until this class, I never thought of using the other gadgets available.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Contract Negotiations
Today, I sat in with the firm chief librarian and a procurement manager to negotiate our contract with the reps from one of the library vendors. The vendor is one of the biggest publishers out there for legal publications.
The meeting started at 10:30am and I expected to be out of the conference room by 11am so I can buy lunch from the L.A. Fire Department fundraiser. We have this fundraiser every year when they close off a block in downtown L.A. so that firemen from different stations sell meals, raffle tickets and gear to raise funds. It's like a huge block party where there are good looking firemen manning the grills and the booths :o)
Anyway, the negotiations lasted for almost two hours. The point of contention? Well, it's the issue of "Online v. Print" that plague many libraries these days. With the increase of available online information services in the market, librarians nowadays face the question of what print products could be cancelled to make way for the ourchase of online publications and services.
The vendor who for the past years had very good deals (in fact underpriced for last 3 years) on their online products felt that they have to catch up to current market adjustments. They are proposing a 100% increase on their prices and for a firm our size that means tens of thousands of dollars. The bad news is that it is a very tricky time to even propose price changes because the firm's executive director is wanting to cut the library budget by $1M and we are trying very hard to cancel titles and services that have low or no usage at all.
It was interesting to watch my boss take a stand with the negotiations. She was adamant without being too aggresive and I have to say the reps impressed me too in that they were not too pushy as most sales people are when it come to selling their products. It was like watching a fencing match where one party would thrust and the other party parries. Although I had no direct say in the negotiation, I was there to learn from the "master" and also to answer questions about invoices and usage.
With a firm of this size (we have over 700 attorneys) there is always that debate as to what should we keep in print and what are we willing to let go. The extensive legal online databases available to librarians and the users (lawyers, secretaries and paralegals) is great to have if the library has the budget for it but there still are many users out there who feel the need to have the print version available for them to check out.
We have been this vendor's custome for decades now and they are proposing that although the increase in price is fair perhaps in order to balance the budget, we can cancel some of the print materials. Our stand is that if we agree with them and their proposal, perhaps the vendor can agree to do the price increase in increments for the next three years instead of a one time increase of 100%. For example, the price difference on the online business library they offer from last year's subscription price is over $100,000.00 and that alone can break any firm's budget!
What strikes me as funny is that there was a time that I thought online searching is usually free or if there is a fee involved, it can't be that much. In the past, as a college student, I mostly just "yahooed" or "googled" out the information I needed and think that it is free, accurate and current and that it is authoritative. In the real world, I began to realize more and more that if one wants the best information out there, it will cost beaucoup bucks!
The meeting started at 10:30am and I expected to be out of the conference room by 11am so I can buy lunch from the L.A. Fire Department fundraiser. We have this fundraiser every year when they close off a block in downtown L.A. so that firemen from different stations sell meals, raffle tickets and gear to raise funds. It's like a huge block party where there are good looking firemen manning the grills and the booths :o)
Anyway, the negotiations lasted for almost two hours. The point of contention? Well, it's the issue of "Online v. Print" that plague many libraries these days. With the increase of available online information services in the market, librarians nowadays face the question of what print products could be cancelled to make way for the ourchase of online publications and services.
The vendor who for the past years had very good deals (in fact underpriced for last 3 years) on their online products felt that they have to catch up to current market adjustments. They are proposing a 100% increase on their prices and for a firm our size that means tens of thousands of dollars. The bad news is that it is a very tricky time to even propose price changes because the firm's executive director is wanting to cut the library budget by $1M and we are trying very hard to cancel titles and services that have low or no usage at all.
It was interesting to watch my boss take a stand with the negotiations. She was adamant without being too aggresive and I have to say the reps impressed me too in that they were not too pushy as most sales people are when it come to selling their products. It was like watching a fencing match where one party would thrust and the other party parries. Although I had no direct say in the negotiation, I was there to learn from the "master" and also to answer questions about invoices and usage.
With a firm of this size (we have over 700 attorneys) there is always that debate as to what should we keep in print and what are we willing to let go. The extensive legal online databases available to librarians and the users (lawyers, secretaries and paralegals) is great to have if the library has the budget for it but there still are many users out there who feel the need to have the print version available for them to check out.
We have been this vendor's custome for decades now and they are proposing that although the increase in price is fair perhaps in order to balance the budget, we can cancel some of the print materials. Our stand is that if we agree with them and their proposal, perhaps the vendor can agree to do the price increase in increments for the next three years instead of a one time increase of 100%. For example, the price difference on the online business library they offer from last year's subscription price is over $100,000.00 and that alone can break any firm's budget!
What strikes me as funny is that there was a time that I thought online searching is usually free or if there is a fee involved, it can't be that much. In the past, as a college student, I mostly just "yahooed" or "googled" out the information I needed and think that it is free, accurate and current and that it is authoritative. In the real world, I began to realize more and more that if one wants the best information out there, it will cost beaucoup bucks!
Monday, June 4, 2007
Reminiscing
I had a computer when I was a high school student back in the Philippines in the late 80s. My parents were a bit indulgent as long as it would help with my education. On one of their trips to the U.S. they came back with an expensive treat, a brand spanking new Commodore Amiga 500 personal computer. When I opened the box, I was scared because I realized that I could not even use a regular typewriter without mangling the keys, what's more a personal computer with a soft keyboard and with programs that can be deleted accidentally. The computer was set up in my room and although I was sent to computer programming schools, the machine pretty much collected dust in my room because I was afraid to break it and get a sound beating. The only use it got from me was to type up my essays, reports and featured articles for the school paper or make banners for parties at home and at school with the attached ginormous dot-matrix printer that they bought along with the system.
The Commodore A500 was released in 1987 and discontinued 1991. Along with a monitor and printer, it filled a huge study desk that a carpenter had to custom make for my room. It had a processor running at 7.16 MHz 7.09 MHz with a (PAL) Memory 512KB (9.5MB maximum). That was 20 years ago, these days the notebook that I purchased 3 years ago runs on Pentium M at 1600MHz 591MHz with 504 MB of RAM. If you think about it, a complete computer system puchased for over $1000 at the time it only had 512KB in memory...512KB nowadays is just one 3 MP jpeg photograph which 1% of a 512MB micro-SD card that can blow away if you sneezed on it.
I thought about the Commodore because I was reading about Telnet and Unix. Before I got a pentium computer in 1997, my only exposure to computers was at the first lawfirm I worked for in the early 90's. Even then, I only used computers to print labels for books. Later on I learned to use Telnet to chat with my boyfriend who lives in Toronto to this day. Talk about meeting one's destiny online :o) Before I went back to get my undergraduate degree in Buffalo, NY (thus bringing me closer to my guy) I bought my first PC, a Gateway 2000. It was then that I learned how to chat using IRC, mIRC, etc. At Canisius College in the late 90s, our email interface was UNIX. I did not learn to use Outlook until my senior year in 2001, by then I was in my late twenties. Nowadays, we chat via different chat programs out there, Yahoo, AIM, even voice over IP communications like Skype or Vonage, most with video conferencing capabilities.
I guess the whole point of this long and winding reminiscing is the thought of how far technology has brought us. I for one would not resist a technological advancement wherein you can dial in a destination, i.e. teleporting a la Star Trek...well, I guess as long as I get to my destination alright without missing an appendage or half my hair or without messing the make up of my DNA :o)
The Commodore A500 was released in 1987 and discontinued 1991. Along with a monitor and printer, it filled a huge study desk that a carpenter had to custom make for my room. It had a processor running at 7.16 MHz 7.09 MHz with a (PAL) Memory 512KB (9.5MB maximum). That was 20 years ago, these days the notebook that I purchased 3 years ago runs on Pentium M at 1600MHz 591MHz with 504 MB of RAM. If you think about it, a complete computer system puchased for over $1000 at the time it only had 512KB in memory...512KB nowadays is just one 3 MP jpeg photograph which 1% of a 512MB micro-SD card that can blow away if you sneezed on it.
I thought about the Commodore because I was reading about Telnet and Unix. Before I got a pentium computer in 1997, my only exposure to computers was at the first lawfirm I worked for in the early 90's. Even then, I only used computers to print labels for books. Later on I learned to use Telnet to chat with my boyfriend who lives in Toronto to this day. Talk about meeting one's destiny online :o) Before I went back to get my undergraduate degree in Buffalo, NY (thus bringing me closer to my guy) I bought my first PC, a Gateway 2000. It was then that I learned how to chat using IRC, mIRC, etc. At Canisius College in the late 90s, our email interface was UNIX. I did not learn to use Outlook until my senior year in 2001, by then I was in my late twenties. Nowadays, we chat via different chat programs out there, Yahoo, AIM, even voice over IP communications like Skype or Vonage, most with video conferencing capabilities.
I guess the whole point of this long and winding reminiscing is the thought of how far technology has brought us. I for one would not resist a technological advancement wherein you can dial in a destination, i.e. teleporting a la Star Trek...well, I guess as long as I get to my destination alright without missing an appendage or half my hair or without messing the make up of my DNA :o)
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