North Coast Connections

OK, this will give those Microsoft bashers and open source freaks some comfort in their mania. Seems that a recent CNN story chronicles a seamy scheme involving Microsoft's attempt to edit Wikipedia's content to take the edge off criticism of MS vis-a-vis its open source counterparts in the programming world. For those of you not familiar with Wikipedia, it is a self-edited encyclopedia of sorts that defines various tech and non tech topics in a free wheeling exchange of intellectual discourse.

I am a self admitted Wikipedia freak, using it as a definition source for most of the technical terms that I use in this blog. While there are some conspiracy theorists out there who claim it is part of some cabal to control common wisdom on what is and isn't the truth, there is some allure in a self correcting list of definitions that doesn't rely on educational or PR institutions to define common terms and phrases.

In this case, Microsoft claims it disputed various claims concerning open source in Wikipedia listings and tried to resolve the dispute by calling it to the attention of Wikipedia authorities. After hearing no suitable response, they contacted an Aussie blogger to look into the matter and post an "independent" edit of the offending material.

Setting aside whether you are an open source affectionado or Microsoft supporter, the bottom line is that there are means to address disputes in Wikipedia definitions that Microsoft either failed to follow or didn't know about. Disputes that are brought to the attention of Wikipedia management and result in no edit are supposed to be resolved by writing a research paper, posting it on a website and then posting that link on the offending listing as a dissenting opinion.

I can't say that I disagree with this protocol. It keeps the spirit of an open and freewheeling dialogue while disallowing public relations rewriting of history and definitions at will.

Once again, I try my darndest not to be a Microsoft apologist and I support open source and Macintosh alternatives to Windoze and the big Redmond, WA tech behemoth. But I also recognize that 90%+ of the world operated in the Microsoft environment and those of us making money in the tech world have to at least be conversant in MS if not operate largely in these systems and software.

Still, they were smarmy by trying to get around the commonwealth definitions of competitive operating systems and programming languages. Let the market define itself. Whatever that definition is, it will likely include a huge market for Microsoft (like it or not).

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 03:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have not encountered an invasion of spyware, adware and viruses in your computer, you either have very strong firewall and protection software or you are a Mac or open source user. Even these folks get hit once in awhile, so some discussion about the topic is in order.

I came across a great article in Small Business Computing online magazine in which a particular anti-spyware software package called Spy Wall from Trlokom Software was praised. But more important, the article covered the growing threat of spyware and its various permutations. I found their glossary to be particularly impressive:

• Virus: a program that infects other software
• Worm: a program that transmits itself over a network to infect other computers
• Trojan: a malicious program that presents itself as something innocuous or desirable in order to tempt you to install it.
• Spyware: malicious software designed to intercept or take partial control of a computer without your consent.
• Adware: software that serves up pop ups and banner ads or sends marketing data about your computing habits to other sites.
• Keylogger: malware designed to record and relay keyboard strokes. This is a way to detect passwords and financial information.
• Browser Hijacker: a program that alters your computer's browser settings and redirects you to Web sites you had no intention of visiting.
• Rootkit: software tools that conceal running processes, files or system data so that an intruder can maintain access to a system without detection.

If you have ever installed anti-spyware software and still got infected, Rootkit is probably the cause, and apparently this is increasingly the way that spyware hides itself within your system. According to Pat Bitton, a Redwood Technology Consortium member and Tech Beat author, "the average PC has some 70 or 80 items of spyware on it at any given time." Pat's telltale signs of infection include:

- A growing number of pop-ups
- Your home page changes
- Strange toolbars appear in the browser
- Mysterious icons appear on the desktop
- Your PC runs slowly

Pat's second Tech Beat article on this topic suggested some software solutions. As for me, I have used the free America Online spyware protection service with acceptable success, but recently loaded the Spy Wall package just to be extra safe. Sadly, it looks as if more than one protection feature is needed to make sure your system isn't hijacked. For those of us running small businesses who depend on our computing systems, it is a small investment considering the alternatives.

Some other tricks to make sure you can recover from a virus, spyware or adware attack are:

Use a reliable strategy to backup your files (see my Tech Beat article on the topic). I prefer Web-based backups that also protect from fire or other disaster.

Use your system restore feature on your Windows XP systems. It will at least allow you to return to pre-infection status.

Get and use anti-spyware, anti-virus and firewall software to prevent infection in the first place (or at least make it difficult).

Y'all be careful out there, ya hear?

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 12:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Paul Glenn, an engaging speaker and author from C2 Consulting wrote an informative piece for Tech Republic magazine in which he reveals that HOW you compose email often reveals a lot about you to the recipient in either a good or bad way.

I came across the article on the heels of a visit over the holidays by an old friend. We had a great time getting reacquainted since we hadn't seen each other for at least 7 years. After the 2nd day I excused myself to check email so I wouldn't get inundated or miss some timely and important message. My friend disclosed that he didn't have email and wasn't inclined to get it. He didn't fit the profile of a non-techie so I found it noteworthy. In the light of this article I reflected that my friend has always been direct, insightful and quick to emotionally connect with an idea and the one he is conversing with. Much of this is hard to achieve using email.

So what does your email say about you? According to Glenn, it says a lot. Here are some of the clues you give about yourself in email ...

SPELLING / GRAMMAR
Some people don't bother using spellcheck or proofing an email before sending to make sure context and syntax are correct, making even an intelligent author look lazy or stupid.

SIGNATURE BLOCK
Providing no clue who you are is arrogant, while providing your entire contact information and advertising jingle is ill advised (for identity theft) and desperate.

SUBJECT LINE
Try to give the reader a clue of why you're writing. Misleading subject lines are annoying and missing subject lines show laziness.

FORMAT / LENGTH
Do you write in sentences and paragraphs? That's what most readers expect. Writing in long blocks of text, or using stream of conscious style is pretentious and hard for the reader to follow. It's also best to keep emails short and covering as few topics as possible.

GRAPHICS
OK, so you're artistic. That doesn't mean you should load every email with extensive graphics and background wallpaper. Not only can this be garish, but for dial-up readers, it can take forever to load.

Here's a good reality check ... try sending yourself a blind copy of some of the email you send to others. You'll get a chance to see how your email looks to those on the receiving end. It is surprising how bad formatting, misspellings, bad grammar, lack of salutation, lack of signature block or poorly composed messages come across on the end product.

All the seemingly trite observations fit here. In this case, however, they are true ...

1. You only have one chance to make a good first impression. If you are writing to someone for the first time, pay extra attention to how you are coming across.

2. Don't ask for someone's confidence while showing that you are not trustworthy. Why would someone buy your product or do business with you when you apparently can't spell or write proper English.

3. The first rule of class is courtesy. Just because you are writing an email to someone doesn't give you leave to omit a salutation or sign-off. Doing so shows arrogance and disregard for the feelings of others.

OK, the etiquette class is over. Now get out there and WRITE !!!

Chris Crawford
www.justiceserved.com

Posted by Chris Crawford at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)