Michael Gracie

I click on the tube (an infrequent action) and catch an ad from AOL. It is a pitch for AOL’s security offering, and it got me thinking. If the Walmart shoppers buying those cheap laptops go home and sign up for AOL, things might not be so bad after all.

The AOL service is providing anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-spam measures, as well as firewall software. Bundling security products may be the wave of the future, but I’m glad I don’t watch much TV.

So a whole bunch of people wind up fighting over low-priced laptops being sold at Walmart.

What does that mean for the rest of us? A bunch of computers are now floating around, invariably connected to “low-priced” broadband, in the homes of “low-intelligence” individuals, creating “low-friction” access on the part of “low-down” botnet creators and spammers.

I am so fricken glad I have a “high-priced” computer created by a “high-falootin” company like Apple.

If I happen to get infected by some strain of digital malfeasance, I am suing Walmart (with a “low-priced” lawyer of course).

Glenn Fleishman of The Seattle Times put together a nice little primer on PGP that I think all you paranoid types should take a look at.
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When asked if I want some automatic debit service for this or that vendor account, I steadfastly refuse to deal with any third-party providers. If the vendor cannot implement their own, I assume they aren’t competent enough to manage my data, and I move on.

Online trading account holders should consider this fair warning, as it seems Scottrade has fallen victim to one of those third-party processor screwups.

Open source software is getting folks attention. The money is pouring in, and while some think it is another bubble waiting to burst, I just don’t think so. It is making waves in the enterprise - more than 80% of CIO-type respondents to a recent poll said they had either implemented some open source software in their organization, or planned on doing so. That’s big.

One need look no further than here to realize OSS is going mainstream right under people’s noses. And working nicely, if I may add.
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Larry Ellison was accused of stock manipulation a few years back - everyone’s stock was headed down the tubes, so I think lawyers were looking at the billionaire as a scapegoat. He had money then, he has money now, and Oracle didn’t go down the tubes like many others (even though it might have a bit of trouble now).

Nonetheless, as part of a settlement on those charges, Mr. Ellison is going to be donating in upwards of $100 million to philanthropic causes. The timing is impeccable.
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A British politico says there is is great progress being made in ecommerce and broadband connectivity - the signs are there because the networks are clogged with botnets. I think most politicians are pretty clueless about tech - and they either can’t or won’t get competent advice on the subject. Nonetheless, calling mass botnet infections progress is ridiculous, particularly considering its harmful side effects - spam, identity theft, computer crashes, and lost productivity.

Maybe the UK government should look into licensing all its PC users.

Entrepreneurs and consultants often differ in their goals and thinking. And, we all know that politicians differ from most every other homosapien in their desires and intelligence. So when I hear about a guy who lacked credentials for his job, completely screwed up a major project, and was subsequently dismissed, I often think he is headed into politics next. Unfortunately, my thinking is off - he is starting a consulting firm right along his failed lines.

I call that different, mostly because given the same situation, I’d be rethinking my career path instead of running head on into it again.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - Benjamin Franklin

The Red Herring is touting the new found popularity of RSS, by noting advertising’s move to the feed. Google, Pheedo and a few others implemented this feature a while back - Spamroll isn’t doing it yet, partly because I am lazy, and partly because I wonder if readers will view it as tantamount to spam.

I’ve reduced the number of ads on Spamroll as of late because I viewed the space as a little cluttered. While Spamroll is still ad supported, some of the competitors in the space have been pounding ads, and I always wanted Spamroll to be a little different as well. Nonetheless, I am curious as to what users think (particularly those using feed readers). Is RSS advertising an aggravation readers do not want to see (like spam), or something they might find useful?

Lend me your thoughts.

Actually, you will probably get a chuckle out of this even if you are a moderate Republican. If you live in Utah or Idaho, just move on.