Instant China

My friend Wendie is in China on business. She has been sending emails to a group of people, emails I’ll continue to compile and then host when she returns.

She doesn’t think there’s anything special in the writing. Maybe so. Maybe I’m more impressed that I get to hear what’s going on in nearly real time.

Tonight, after getting an email, I quickly replied and said I was on Instant Messenger. She had no IM client on the laptop she was using (and, it being a work laptop, couldn’t install one). I suggested AIM Express.

I’m not sure how I found out about this little program, but it allows you to use AOL Instant Messenger from any computer, just by using your web browser. Ingenious.

A few seconds later, Wendie was on live from Beijing.

It’s not like there was earth shattering news to discuss. She told me how polluted and dirty Beijing is and some of the things that were going on. I told her how a hillside in Laguna Beach, CA gave way this morning.

We didn’t chat long, but it was one of those high tech moments when the world seems a little smaller.

I’m naive here, aren’t I? This technology is used by others in just this way, every single day.

I’m sure there are students at Yale, just down the street from where I work, having Instant Messenger conversations back to Asia (or wherever) every hour of every day. To them it’s commonplace. To me it’s cool and new.

You’ve got to keep up with this technology or be swept under by others who do.

New Virus Delivery Method

I was in the midst of typing something on my PC when an Instant Messenger window opened. It was from XFaDEtOBlACk8705. I have no idea who that is.

The message was carefully crafted to look like one of a zillion IM’s, though probably one sent by users younger than me (which, of course, is nearly everyone nowadays).

damn http://secure.stro***it.com/picture.com looks like me&#185

Brilliant. This is social engineering at its finest. This message is screaming, “click on me.”

Here at my desk at work I’m on a Linux computer. It won’t run Windows programs, so I safely clicked. A warning box came up telling me this was an executable program! I’m not sure what payload this file delivers, but it can’t be good.

A few minutes later, I noticed XFaDEtOBlACk8705, so I sent him a message. Did he know what was going on? He did not, but had opened an IM earlier and then watched as IM messages spawned across his screen!

He did something foolish in clicking on the link, but it was specifically written to trick him. I guess that’s a little bit mitigating.

I sent off a note to AOL security, though I’m pretty distressed after having read the message at the bottom of the form. Don’t expect to hear back from us, they said.

We appreciate the time you have taken to help us by documenting the issue you encountered. The information you have sent will be processed as soon as possible. Not all issues can be addressed in the current version of the Instant Messenger software, so look for new releases which may contain the features you desire.

Unfortunately we cannot reply to each report individually. If you require technical support in addressing the issue you encountered you can look in the Frequently Asked Questions section. There you can find general troubleshooting information that may help you. Thank you for your continued support of the AOL

Reading Slashdot

I like to read Slashdot. It’s one of my top two websites.

For the uninitiated, slashdot.org (no www necessary – thanks) is where geeks go for geeky news. If someone has built a monorail in their backyard, perfected stovetop fusion, or said anything good about Linux (or bad about Microsoft), it can be found on Slashdot – “News for Nerds. Stuff that matters.”

There are no Slashdot reporters. This is a site that aggregates from other sites, much as Matt Drudge does. Everything that’s posted is submitted by one of the zillions of readers.

Because of the site’s dedicated readers, smaller sites that get mentioned get overloaded with the aptly named “Slashdot effect.” It is funny to see an interesting post and then note comments, only moments later, proclaiming the linked site as unreachable!

I like reading Slashdot, and I like submitting articles. It’s good to help steer the nerd news agenda.. It’s also a good way to get this website a little free publicity, as they list the URL or email address of those who submit stories.

I’m sure my Slashdot posts had something to do with my rise in the Google rankings. Slashdot is a 9 or 10 in Google’s page rankings. So being mentioned there is very important.

If you’re interested in what interests me, here’s my list of Slashdot submissions – some accepted, some rejected. You’ll notice there’s one pending, a story about burning audio CD’s at concerts.

2004-05-03 17:02:03 Take Home The Concert on CD (articles,media) (pending)

2004-04-28 18:00:25 Sweet News for Open Office Suite (articles,software) (rejected)

2004-04-28 07:34:19 Outsourcing Doesn’t Always Pay (articles,tech) (rejected)

2004-04-25 18:03:14 Linux/Unix computers hacking target (articles,linux) (rejected)

2004-04-06 00:44:51 My personal Linux frustration (askslashdot,linux)(rejected)

2004-03-01 05:06:14 Fighting Piracy is Bad for Business – Honest! (articles,media) (rejected)

2004-02-23 03:38:55 How Geeks REALLY Use High School Gyms! (articles,tech) (rejected)

2004-02-15 02:15:35 I’m Watching Those Who Watch Me (articles,internet) (rejected)

2004-02-08 22:39:48 Microsoft search (askslashdot,microsoft) (rejected)

2004-01-19 23:08:31 Commercials come to the net (after this word) (articles,media) (accepted)

2003-12-06 23:09:58 Perfect Weather on the Net (science,science) (accepted)

2003-11-23 20:27:55 Synthesized Singers (articles,music) (accepted)

2003-11-19 22:37:35 Bill Gates and the Nightclub Video (articles,windows) (rejected)

2003-11-03 01:58:19 Is this the future of TV? (developers,tv) (rejected)

2003-10-29 08:10:39 Fire photos – amateurs as the new chroniclers (articles,media) (rejected)

2003-10-24 07:17:56 Here Comes the Sun(spots) – they’re huge (radio,science) (rejected)

2003-10-24 04:37:54 AOL tweaking users computers… and not telling (articles,spam) (accepted)

2003-10-02 06:41:07 Experience one hour in only thirty minutes (articles,games) (accepted)

2003-09-25 03:12:13 Do geeks really need planes to fly? (articles,hardware) (rejected)

2003-08-20 18:38:39 If you know… how can you stop it? (askslashdot,tech) (rejected)

Blogger’s note: McD points out, all my accepted Slashdot submissions can actually be seen in context by clicking here.

More And More Linux Frustration

This is a rant born of frustration. I guess I’m looking for some sort of community consensus – not how I should solve my problem, but how the Open Source community should attack a real problem of usability.

In my heart of hearts, I so want to love Linux. But now, after months of trying, I’m wondering if I’m not ready for Linux, and more importantly, if Linux isn’t ready for me.

Some quick background. I took my last computer course in 1968 (that’s no typo). To my friends, I am tech support. My wife has watched me guide others through menu after menu, all while in bed, with my eyes closed. The computer I’m typing on was assembled by me from parts I specified. The one next to it has just received a motherboard/cpu transplant on my kitchen table.

I am not a technophobe. Still, Linux frustrates me in nearly every possible way.

Over the last week, since rebuilding my auxiliary computer, I have loaded and reloaded and reloaded again. My estimate is a dozen loads of 5 or 6 different flavors of Linux. Each of them similar. Each of them different.

I’m starting to get worried Comcast will flag me for overly taxing their system with all the iso’s I’ve scarfed up.

On some distributions my audio card is recognized. On others it’s not, or is only after some minor tweaking. On one (and I wish I could remember which one) my TV card plays. On others, it’s cryptic error messages – messages which make Microsoft’s error messages seem kind and gentle. On one distribution, the box for the TV is blank, but the rest of the screen is full of noise, which seems to be the disjointed TV video.

The only way to get the printer to work (it’s attached to an onboard print server on my router) is by first making believe it’s attached directly to this computer and then editing the file. Clever.

None of the Linux variants I’ve used knew what to do with the video system on my motherboard – though it’s far from esoteric. I am stuck with a generic VESA driver, which means my system is running slower than it should.

I have tried to fix all of these problems, but let me use the video problem as my example. Doing a Google search for the video chip (KM400 from Via) and Linux leads to some interesting suggestions. There are some that seem to be translated to English from Chinese, but not well enough that anyone speaking English could follow. Others originate in German, then English, and again something is lost in translation. Steps are missing or just hinted at. No two suggested remedies are exactly the same.

As I look through the Usenet responses, it’s tough not to pick up smart ass disdain from many of the cognoscenti! And, I expect to get some of that here.

One of the things that’s touted as a strength of Linux, and weakness of Windows, seems to be the opposite. Windows lives in a standard world. My Linux box does not. Will the Debian driver work in my Mandrake distribtution? Maybe, though probably not.

Does my 2.6 Kernel need different care and feeding than a 2.4? Seems like it. But, I don’t really know what a kernel is, much less why 2.4 and 2.6 eat different food.

My motherboard came with all the Windows drivers I’d need – none for Linux.

Will I have to compile a package? Can I? How do I do it?

I want this to work, yet I feel Linux is fighting me. The Linux community seems anxious for this to work… and at the same time it’s scared that their baby will go mainstream… afraid that someone will do to Linux what they perceive AOL did to the Internet!

I’m not going to give up. But, I am getting very frustrated – very. I can’t believe I am alone.

Slashdot – The Geek I Am

I love slashdot.org. It’s the website with the slogan: “News for Nerds. Stuff that matters.”&#135 There’s lots of attitude… maybe too much attitude at times. There’s certainly a lot of Bill Gates – bad; RIAA – bad; Big Government – bad; Linux – good.

Linus Torvalds, the Linux founder and gatekeeper, is worshiped with the ferver normally reserved Britney Spears or (until this past week) Michael Jackson.

To my friends and relatives I am a computer expert; the guy who’s called upon to provide tech support. On slashdot I’m way below the median in tech knowledge… way below.

What makes slashdot so interesting, and what is difficult to figure out when you look at the site, is that each subject gets about the same amount of space for easily accessible comments (with a little effort, everything is there). It is the vote or moderation of members that decides what stays and what is shuffled off to the back shelves.

So, as subjects get more comments, it is more likely that they will be interesting on-topic comments, and the off topic stuff and flamebait will disappear. It’s pretty ingenious and only works because of the huge size of slashdot’s audience.

In fact, when small websites mentioned on slashdot get swamped with browsers, it’s called being slashdotted.

Though moderation is the major arbiter of whether your comments stay or go, there is also the matter of “karma.” Karma is given based on how your previous postings were moderated, and whether you’ve submitted articles (usually just links to articles published elsewhere) that were added to slashdot itself.

Here’s how I’ve done:

2002-09-18 18:18:54 NYTimes endorses Open Source and Linux. Yes, endo (articles,news) (rejected)

2003-01-22 04:38:06 Earthquake data (articles,news) (accepted)

2003-08-20 18:38:39 If you know… how can you stop it? (askslashdot,tech) (rejected)

2003-09-25 03:12:13 Do geeks really need planes to fly? (articles,hardware) (rejected)

2003-10-02 06:41:07 Experience one hour in only thirty minutes (articles,games) (accepted)

2003-10-24 04:37:54 AOL tweaking users computers… and not telling (articles,spam) (accepted)

2003-10-24 07:17:56 Here Comes the Sun(spots) – they’re huge (radio,science) (rejected)

2003-10-29 08:10:39 Fire photos – amateurs as the new chroniclers (articles,media) (rejected)

2003-11-03 01:58:19 Is this the future of TV? (developers,tv) (rejected)

2003-11-19 22:37:35 Bill Gates and the Nightclub Video (articles,windows) (rejected)

2003-11-23 20:27:55 Synthesized Singers (articles,music) (accepted)

That’s 4 accepted of 11 received. I would complain, but to quote slashdot, “Note: grousing about rejected submissions is Offtopic and usually gets moderated that way. It happens, don’t take it personally.”

&#135 – Why Nerds is spelled with a capital “N” is beyond me. It’s not a proper noun, it should be “n.”