Info Manager

Info Manager for September 8, 2003

[*]   Virginia Tech Building Power Mac G5 Supercomputer

[*]   Just looking for Cool!

[*]   iTune at Auction? Going, going...

[*]   Good Apples, Bad Apples Reunite

[*]   Apple to run an Intel based PC?

[*]   Moms and Dads brace for "Virus" fines

[*]   Inside the Wormer's Mind: Jeffrey Parson

[*]   "Blaster" Virus Writer Pursued

[*]   FTC: Identity Theft Worse Than Estimated

[*]   Symantec Fights Back against Blackmarket

[*]   Feds catching up with Porno mavins

[*]   Music prices fall

[*]   Court Blocks FCC Media Regs

[*]   iTunes Music Store opens to Windows?

[*]   New Dock Menu from Trucker

[*]   World's Slimmest Multimedia Device?

[*]   LaCie still in the game

[*]   GeeThree reasons to get iMovie Plug-Ins

[*]   [Cool] Free P2P Web Telephone... from Kazaa?

[*]   [Grins] Segway Banned in San Fran, Okay in NJ

[*]   Quote for back to school:
 

Virginia Tech Building Power Mac G5 Supercomputer

Mere hours after breaking this story in the "InfoManager" column last Thursday, I had the opportunity to chat with fellow JMU professor John Woody about Virginia Tech's new data processing cluster. He had just returned from Tech reporting they've already taken delivery on most of the 1,000 dual-processor Power Mac G5 computers.
      The Virginia Tech project is departing from monolithic mainframe supercomputing to a new, grid-like "supercomputer cluster" configuration that promises to be among the fastest in the world.
      Woody is the lead guru in JMU's School of Multimedia Arts & Design (SMAD)
Linux Insider carries another more detailed look at this emerging technology at Vriginia Tech. Linux Insider.com/

Just looking for Cool!

Apples are popping up all over the place, and my class rosters at JMU are sprouting Mac and iPod owners like never before. Arriving in my all-new class/lab with the latest flat-panel iMacs running the latest OS X, I ask "How many here have a Mac, or at least have experience in OS X" -- usually the number of hands may be one or two, but this semester it's running more like 50%.
      I'm not alone. According to this story in WIRED yesterday, over the summer, Apple became one of the coolest companies in America. [Quote] At least that's what youth marketing experts who follow the tastes of teenagers say. Thanks to the iPod, the iTunes Music Store and the PowerMac G5, Apple is one of the hottest companies in youth culture, say so-called "cool hunters," researchers who track buying trends among young people. [ End Quote] Respondants to the survey cite "cool new gadgets" as picture-taking cell phones (topping the list) followed by the iPod and Sony's PlayStation. Apple's iMac and iPod were voted No. 1 as "extremely well-designed products." The survey targeted 15 to 34-year-olds, though most are in their mid-20s. http://www.wired.com/

iTune at Auction? Going, going...

AACUG "SafeNet" pundit Joe Showker sends this interesting tidbit noticed in Macintouch:
Testing the frontier of digital rights, George Hotelling is auctioning an iTune on eBay, as described in a news.com story:
[quote] Consumers can resell CDs purchased in a record shop, but what about digital music files downloaded from an online store?
      George Hotelling wants to know. In a move that could spark a novel legal test of Internet music resale rights, the Web developer in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday night put a digital song he purchased online at Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store up for auction on eBay.
      Hotelling said he isn't all that concerned about getting his money back for the Devin Vasquez remake of Frankie Smith's song "Double Dutch Bus," which cost him 99 cents. Instead, he said he's using the attempted sale to probe some thorny consumer issues stemming from commercial online music services, in particular, technology known as digital rights management that's used to prevent unauthorized copying. In that spirit, he's promised to donate anything above his purchase price to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), an activist Internet legal group. [end quote]
News.com

Good Apples, Bad Apples Reunite

Wired has an interesting report in the "Cult of Mac department about the biggest reunion of Apple employees. The event will be held next month in Silicon Valley, and organizers hope it will elicit a wealth of company lore. Full story by Leander Kahney HotWired.com/

Apple to run an Intel based PC?

According to a story in the Aussie Tech publication "Smarthouse", Apple is set to announce an Intel based PC that will run on an Apple operating system. Although still in rumor stages, these folks report that the first system is expected to shown at Macworld San Francisco in January 2004 -- and that software companies like Adobe, who develop for the Mac platform and Intel based system have already been briefed on the proposed move. Read it and stay tuned... SmartHouse.com.au

Moms and Dads brace for "Virus" fines

Ted Bridis, AP Technology Writer, has filled this story on the AP shedding some light on how colleges and universities are coping with the epidemic of virus brought by returning students.
      Students returning to classes are finding themselves unplugged if their computers are infected, and Oberlin College in Ohio is threatening to fine students $25 for inadvertently spreading a virus. The University of North Texas claims to be removing viruses from roughly 16 computers every 90 minutes, incurring a $30 cleaning fee. Vanderbilt University found infections in 25% of returning 5,000 students, and Salisbury University in Maryland had to resort to shutting down its entire network.
      So, Moms and Dads don't be surprised to get a call from school for 'more money'! See: Yahoo News.

Inside the Wormer's Mind: Jeffrey Parson

The 18-year old alleged "cyber-hacker" suspected of creating a variant of the Blaster worm has spilled the beans (er, uh, worms) in a no-holds-barred interview on MSNBC. While the press blurts "he's a troubled kid" citing "reckless driving" and "no stranger to law enforcement" Jeffrey laments "I don't know where this stuff came from -- I don't even have a driver's license, and I don't drive!" And, accoarding to the MSNBC article, none of the accusations are true.
      Eric Ortner, a producer for NBC's "Weekend Today" show reported: Parson claimed his role in the attacks had been greatly exaggerated and his actions relatively benign despite the government's focus on them. Parson's parents charge the GOV has trampled their son's rights in order to address America's frustrations with cyber terrorism and hold him accountable for someone else's crime.
      Parson was charged with intentionally causing damage to a protected computer; if convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Authorities say Parson admitted to modifying the original Blaster worm in an interview with FBI and Secret Service agents. He has not yet entered a plea in the case.
      IMHO: This kid's got talent. Someone should hire him, and let him write worms that target only spam and porno servers. Then the MSNBC story would have a "happy" ending! It's a fun read with photos

"Blaster" Virus Writer Pursued

In a story from Tech News World Jay Lyman reports on another suspected writer of a Blaster variant -- this time from Romania. "The amazing side of this peculiar situation is that two people are to stand trial for having modified original code of MSBlast.A (the first Blaster worm), but the creator of the worm is still out there!" The U.S. arrest and European investigation involve copycat versions of the original Blaster worm, which pounced on hundreds of thousands of vulnerable Windows PCs last month. Romanian Dan Dumitru Ciobanu (24) could be facing a maximum prison sentence of fifteen years. Read the Techworld story, or the Yahoo News story

FTC: Identity Theft Worse Than Estimated

You probably saw this one on "News Tonight" -- it's good to know main stream media is beginning to get the hints that online crime is a lot bigger than anyone thought. Now the FTC brings the story home with their latest crime data. Their latest survey on identity theft reveals more than 27 million victims of identity theft crimes in the last five years. While they did not differentiate Internet-related ID theft from standard ID theft, most agree that perpetrators are leveraging technology to commit this kind of offense today. Just take a look at your email box. Get the full story and recommendations on Identity Theft at: www.ftc.gov
A good news story covering the survey can be found at: Techworld and Yahoo

Symantec Fights Back against Blackmarket

You've heard it again and again. Last year we reported on several law cases involving Symantec's fight against blackmarket sales of their Norton and Norton Antivirus products. With each new epidemic of virus or worms, the blackmarket rolls out millions of spam emails offering the popular Symantec product for pennies. We're seeing a resurgence of this with today's SoBig worm.
      This week, Symantec rolled out the latest Norton Antivirus software with a slight twist: a major move by the company to combat widespread software piracy. Earlier this yeat Symantec tested the digital-rights management (DRM) addition to the software, and now they plan to add it to all their products.
      The new version of Antivirus will protect users from new kinds of emerging nonvirus threats -- such as spyware and keystroke-logging programs. See: Symantec.com

Feds catching up with Porno mavins

Federal agents arrest a Florida man who authorities say operates thousands of websites that use misspelled Web addresses to direct minors to porn sites using a maze of pop-up advertising. Read: "Website Owner Nabbed in Porn Scam"

Music prices fall

What do Eminem, 50 Cent, Mary J. Blige and Shania Twain have in common? Not music, that's for sure! But their albums will get discounted as much as 30% at the end of the month when Universal Music slashes CD, and cassette prices. CD Albums from such artists which previously sold for $16.98 to $18.98 each, will be dropped to $12.98. Universal is the biggest player in the industry with roughly 28% of the market according to Nielsen ratings. This USA TODAY article says the "move could lower music CD prices across the board"

Court Blocks FCC Media Regs

U.S. federal court judges grant a stay order that prevents the new Federal Communications Commission media ownership rules from taking effect. The ruling marks the latest skirmish in the battle over media market reforms. From the Wired Business department

iTunes Music Store opens to Windows?

Businessweek's BYTE OF THE APPLE column by Alex Salkever says it's "Time for Apple to Spread the Beat." While Dell is reported to have taken over Apple's schoolyard, the cool iPod could be just the thing to get the kids excited again. Salkever advocates Apple's online Music Store go PC-compatible -- setting the stage for Apple to grab a huge chunk of the back-to-school market -- the payoff in iPod sales could prove stupendous. Best quote:
"Mom and dad have spoken, and what they say is this: Why should my child work on a Mac in class when most people use PCs at home and in the office?"

New Dock Menu from Trucker

Trucker's new "Workspaces" gives new meaning to managing and using multiple open applications. Trucker says it's "the world's best workspace solution for Mac OS X" -- You decide, and it's only 15-bucks!
See an Interface Picture, Trucker's "Chooser" (animated picture), or click to Download. for the full story: Truckersoftware.com

World's Slimmest Multimedia Device?

Gadget hounds will be anxious to get their hands on Panasonic's "next generation" portable audio/video entertainment devices: the new SV-AS10. It's a a 2.0-megapixel digital camera, a QuickTime video recorder, an MP3 music player and a digital voice recorder all rolled into one neat little package for under three bills! The footprint of this puppy is not much larger than a business card -- measuring a mere 4-1/8 inches long by 2 inches wide by 1/3 inch thick. While it's not going to set the world on fire with quality imaging, usually 2 megapixels is plenty for viewing on a PC. It's set up to share content with a wide variety of SD-enabled products, including camcorders, laptop PCs, PDAs, printers, cell phones, DVD recorders and so forth. With its built-in microphone and speakers, you create and listen to voice recordings, taking notes, reminders, or recording meetings. Click for a picture You even get to select from metallic blue, silver or copper colors! See the Panasonic web site

LaCie still in the game

You read my account of Macworld, and I, like so many others, wondered what happened to the former Mac giant LaCie. Well, they were there, tucked away in the corner of another vendor's booth. But folks, don't give'em the count yet. They're back with an awesome line-up of contemporary DVD, CD and hard drives designed by the legendary team at Porsche Design -- and, they have no intention of forsaking the Mac market. Here's a photo to wet your appetite. Check'em out at:
Lacie.com

GeeThree reasons to get iMovie Plug-Ins

If you're an iMovie fan, you'll want to grab the three new iMovie plug-ins just released by GeeThree. The Slick series of plug-ins expand the standard iMovie effects feature set. They've added numerous new titles, effects and transition features -- Volume 5 includes over 100 new plug-ins including animated titles, fun effects, and slick transitions. In Volume 6 you now have Color Correction, Film Reel, a Stopwatch, and the impressive Whiteboard. An additional side-order is called "Slick Caption" for fast, simple captions and subtitles to DV footage.
      Slick Volume 5 and Slick Caption are available for US$49.95 each, while Slick Volume 6 is available for $69.95.
      If you haven't checked out their Free Slick Transitions and Effects, grab these nine fully functional plug-ins for iMovie 2 -- free! Download the Slick Sampler for OS X and OS 9 (983K)
GeeThree.com

[Cool] Free P2P Web Telephone... from Kazaa?

Skype is a simple, easy-to-install client that offers IP telephony connections, claiming it's better than the "old telephony system." For the time being, Skype is free. While Kazaa file-swapping software has become a target for the entertainment industry, Skupe could open some new opportunities for its maker. This is a BETA version, but the maker claims in the future users may be able to chat with users of other instant messaging clients and to place calls to traditional telephones. Read more at Skype.com and see the PCWorld story

[Grins] Segway Banned in San Fran, Okay in NJ

Since many readers are following the Segway story, I thought I'd pass along this tidbit:
      AP Business Writer Michael P. Regan says the Segway has the "Celebrity Effect" -- [Quote:] In two weeks of riding one of the lawnmower-looking scooters around Hoboken and New York, I received more looks from the ladies than a GQ model. And I'm no Brad Pitt (news - web sites). Heck, I'm not even a Harvey Pitt. ... would you get your money's worth if you plunked down $5,000 for this two-wheeled, self-balancing scooter? All I can say is this is the most fun I've had on two wheels since the days when I fancied myself a dirt bike daredevil. [End Quote]
Here's the AP Photo, and the story can be read at: Yahoo News.

Quote for back to school:

A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
      Henry Adams (1838-1918)

 
      pau

 

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---

Also see: MUG NEWS bursts from the AACUG Mac User Guide (MUG)

Note: Features schedule

The InfoManager invites user groups to use his column in full or in pieces in their newsletter. Or add a link to their web site. He would appreciate word that you are doing so however and if you can, please send a pdf version of the newsletter for his perusal. Or provide him with a link. The address is InfoManager@user-groups.net. You can also use that address for feed back.
Note: Features schedule
1st Monday Vendor of the Month; (VOM)
2nd Monday "InfoManager's Humble Opinion (IMHO);
3rd Monday TBA (What would you like to see?)
4th Monday: User Group Tips. (Send them in)
5th Monday: Nothing extra - my day of rest. ;-)
Of course I could make adjustments to this schedule as I see fit and will take suggestions. Have a great week! Note: In light of the new AACUG MUG tabloid publication, I may be changing the above schedule. Please send me your input.
Pau

The Info Manager is a veteran of the UGN (AOL User Groups Forum) and User Group Network. He's been a supporter and volunteer on many, many UGNet and User Group Academy projects. As a long time user group member, he's served as volunteer from Honolulu to Boston and many points in between. Currently working with the Apple Corp of Dallas, the Dallas Mac Pack, Cowtown MUG of Ft. Worth and TUMS (the Tulsa Users of Macintosh Society) doing newsletter articles and the monthly CD-ROM Update. Post a lead Info Manager should follow up on.

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