All Shows

Show of 5-11-2002

  • Congressional Internet Caucus Update
    • Tuesday, May 7th
    • Wireless Internet Access with Marty Cooper
      • Marty Cooper is Chairman and CEO of ArrayComm and Father of the Cellular Phone
        • 2Mbps speeds to everyone?s cell phone is possible, if the spectrum is available.
        • Much of the spectrum has been reserved since the 1920?s. Unfortunately those who "own it" have no incentive to improve the spectral efficiency.
        • There is no lack of specturm, only a lack of spectral efficiency.
        • Spectral Auctioning system rewards deep pockets, not innovative technology that improves spectral efficiency.
        • FCC should delay further auctions until a coherent policy is established
      • Need to synchronize with European standards for 3G for worldwide economy of scale
    • New technology will make some existing companies obsolete, if they don?t adapt
    • Marty will be a Tech Talk guest on June 1st
  • Melissa Virus Update (continuation of last week’s story)
    • What happened to the person whose AOL account was stolen?
    • Scott Steinmetz, 37, civil engineer
      • Contacted by FBI
      • Nearly lost his job
      • Bad press
    • Probably lost his password through social engineering
      • ?Please submit your password to reconstruct our damaged database? is the biggest scam
  • How secure is your password?
    • A few useful techniques
      • Use first letters of phrase known to you
      • Then substitute number so letter (like 3 for E, 5 for h)
      • For instance
        • Ecuador is a great country in South America
        • "eiagcisa," which become "3iagisa"
    • Don’t share your password with anyone.
  • Meet The Chipsons
    • ID Chips implanted in Florida family
    • The Jacobs from Boca Raton, Florida, are being called the Chipsons
    • Implant used Verichip technology
      • Device may include GPS, medical history, ID
      • Size of a grain of rice
      • Will require FDA approval if medial info is included on chip
    • Company sees a market to million over the next few years
  • Security Flaw in FormMail
    • FormMail is the most popular Perl e-mail gateway
    • A patched version was released on April 21, 2002
      • This security hole in the program has been exploited by spammers
      • Update immediately!
    • I highlight this to show how spammers are able to continue to operate, despite legislation
  • Senate Hates Macs
    • Senate Office Sargeant At Arms (SAA), the office responsible for the IT infrastructure at Capitol Hill is strongly anti-Mac, according to Wired.com
    • Mac holdouts include
      • Ted Kennedy (D-Mass)
      • Tim Johnson (D-South Dakota)
      • Office of the Democratic Policy Committee
      • The most vocal Mac rebel is Ngozi Pole, in Kennedy?s Office. He rails against the ?SAA Mac Bigots? in the Wired.com article
    • SAA wants to simplify support by going to an all-windows system
  • First Fallout of the HP-Compaq Merger
    • HP plans to discontinue HP Jornado and concentrate on the Compaq iPac
    • TI makes chips for the Jornado
    • Intel makes the chips for the iPac
    • TI and Intel are now fighting for the chip business
  • Stupid Lawsuit of the Week
    • British Telecom is suing Prodigy for Hyperlink Patent Violation
    • Issues warnings to 16 other ISPs
    • Dates back to 1970?s research
    • British Telecom was then called British Post Office
    • 1989 US Patent 4,873,662 for its invention of ?information handling system and terminal apparatus therefore.?? Patent remains valid until 2006.
  • Xybernaut Wearable Computer Helps Disabled Kids
    • Helped 9-year old Jeremy, who suffers from autism, to communicate
      • His teacher, Lisa Zverloff, asked XyberNaut for a loaner
      • Asked for the 2 pound device with flat-panel display.
      • Revolutionized Jeremy?s life (He could communicate, order food, etc.)
      • Success repeated with Keven, a Cerebral Palsy student
    • Xybernaut is a local company that is struggling for survival
      • Lost 106M over past ten years
      • Stock dropped from $6 to 77 cents
      • Website: www.xybernaut.com
  • Northern Virginia ?War Drivers? Caught in Baltimore
    • Don Bailey and Company were scoping out Wi-Fi networks in Balitmore
    • Mapping available APs
    • Interviewed by Baltimore Sun
    • Don was a Tech Talk guest about one month ago
  • Stratford News
    • Graduate School Open House
      • Tuesday, May 14th, .
      • e-Business and Telecommunication Systems
      • Wireless Security with Alan Habib and Dr. Fred Ricci
    • Undergraduate Programs
      • Combining Business Administration and IT
      • Hospitality
      • Web Design
      • Security
      • Network Management
    • Next Start: May 27th