Posted 1:50 PM (0) comments

Bill Gates' Glasses are Rose-colored

At the world economic forum in Switzerland, Microsoft chief Bill Gates is quoted as saying "We'll End Spam in Three Years." He cites three methods:

1) filters (rarely more than 60% effective)
2) Challenge-response systems (even less effective as no one wants to use them)
3) and a quirky pay-for-email-only-if-someone-claims-its-spam scheme called "payment-at-risk".

Finish the Trustworthy Computing initiative first, Bill. Then we'll talk.

Posted 3:46 PM (0) comments

Stop-press: Internet not secure!

A minority of people studying an internet voting test scheduled by the Pentagon for service personnel to use for absentee balloting have jumped the gun and released a Chicken Little report claiming that "Internet Voting is Inherently Flawed". The majority of the researchers, however, have yet to release the actual study report.

Evidently, the actual report may not be as incendiary as these folks would have you believe. But one of the four, Avi Rubin of Johns Hopkins was also the co-author of the equally wildly incendiary report on the supposed documents (pilfered from Diebold) about electronic voting machines and their vulnerabilities.

The press, in its typical uncritical way, simply accepts whatever these luddites wish to attempt to put over on them. Electronic voting is no less secure than any other method (with the possible exception of caucusing). Internet voting can be made as secure as internet buying. There are precautions that should be taken and safeguards that should be introduced but none are beyond our current technology. Unfortunately, these bozos seem to think that, unless you "pull a Dean" (i.e., imitate the howling of Howard Dean) then no one will pay attention.

Posted 5:34 PM (0) comments

Jacques Chirac est un air timbré! :)

So, as part of the new law to ban scarves in schools in France, I could (with the facial hair conspicuous in the picture on the left) attend a French school since I grew the beard only because I'm too lazy to shave. But if I were a Sikh or a Hassiddic Jew, and grew the beard because I was required to do so by my religion, then I would have to shave it off to attend a French school.

Not only do the French admire Jerry Lewis' "comedy", they strive to emulate it in their everyday life!

Posted 9:15 AM (0) comments

Spinning Dr. Dean [Update: 1/22]

The blognoscenti have already started their effort to distance themselves from the Howard Dean campaign while trying to proclaim that they still are a force to be reckoned with. Don't Dismiss Net Politics, says  Dan Gilmore because "even if the candidate [i.e., Mr. Dean] has turned off many voters...the Internet is changing politics in major ways".

What Gilmore and the other blog overlords fail to see, though, is that politics is using the internet just as it has used every other bit of technology that's come along since cavemen discovered fire - and used it to signal the results of the tribal poll. Its just a tool, guys - a means to an end. It isn't the "end" itself. Get over yourselves.
UPDATE Andy Orlowski has a wicked take on this in the Register today.

Posted 10:04 AM (0) comments

Spike's new "McBride"

According to the BBC,  Linux users in Europe  who do not buy one of SCO's licences to use Linux could end up in court as the Linden, UT company expands its shakedown worldwide. Of course, the company still hasn't demonstrated that it owns anything needing to be licensed. As I've said before, this is extortion - its the mob's "protection racket" dressed up in high tech clothes. Germany forced SCO to withdraw unfounded accusations last fall. Let's hope some prosecutor looking for publicity (or just wanting to do what's right), steps up and demands that SCO either demonstrate ownership or cease & desist with the threats - or brings criminal charges. Darl McBride has a great name for an inmate...