This is an essay on the NPR speech about Google’s new operating system.
Google’s new OS “Chrome” is coming to market next year. Google already has an operating system for smart phones called “android”, however moving into the PC operating field will pt them in direct competition with Microsoft. Whether Google will be successful may be in doubt, due to Microsoft’s advantage in already providing OSs for 90% of the worlds PCs. There is always inertia that helps prevent companies that have a system that works move to another system.
Goggle may counter this by making their profit off the added value having their own operating system will give advertising on their search engine. However if they give away their system entirely, or undercut Mycroft’s price too drastically, I would expect some lawsuits concerning antitrust violations and unfair business practices.
It will be nice to see a bit more competition in the OS field.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Blog 11, Curtis Klein
What is Linux and who would use it? Would you? Keep in mind this is worth 10 points so it will be graded accordingly. Also, remember to use your own thoughts and ideas.
The following is a direct quote from http://www.linux.org/ :
“Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linux Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License , the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.”
What this means is that Linux is an operating system for computers (or computer like devices) similar to Windows, however it has some important differences from windows. Probably the most important difference is that Linux is free and Microsoft charges fees for using Windows. This makes a big difference if you are writg a program for your own use, running a business and need to watch your bottom line, or simply a philanthropist who wants to give away his work. Also: Microsoft has a very bad reputation for limiting it’s applications to working only with Microsoft products, a policy that many consider an antitrust law violation. As nothing is ever perfect it is necessary to keep in mind that Linux also has some problems. There are often compatibility problems between Microsoft products and programs written in Linux: for instance you may not be able to copy and paste from Microsoft Word to a Linux based system. Also there are license based rule that apply to those using Linux. For instance: If you are a company writing proprietary software for your products in Linux, you are required to release your source code to anyone that asks for it. This leaves you open to having your work copied, and knockoffs sold. Technically speaking, software is not written in Linux. Linux is the operating system, and UNIX is the programming language it is written in.
The following is a direct quote from http://www.linux.org/ :
“Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linux Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License , the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.”
What this means is that Linux is an operating system for computers (or computer like devices) similar to Windows, however it has some important differences from windows. Probably the most important difference is that Linux is free and Microsoft charges fees for using Windows. This makes a big difference if you are writg a program for your own use, running a business and need to watch your bottom line, or simply a philanthropist who wants to give away his work. Also: Microsoft has a very bad reputation for limiting it’s applications to working only with Microsoft products, a policy that many consider an antitrust law violation. As nothing is ever perfect it is necessary to keep in mind that Linux also has some problems. There are often compatibility problems between Microsoft products and programs written in Linux: for instance you may not be able to copy and paste from Microsoft Word to a Linux based system. Also there are license based rule that apply to those using Linux. For instance: If you are a company writing proprietary software for your products in Linux, you are required to release your source code to anyone that asks for it. This leaves you open to having your work copied, and knockoffs sold. Technically speaking, software is not written in Linux. Linux is the operating system, and UNIX is the programming language it is written in.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Blog 10, Curtis Klein
On your blog write a synopsis of what you heard on this NPR interview.
There is a new (or what seems to be new, but is really an expanded old problem) threat to computer security called “denial of service attacks”. It is caused by “gangs” that operate over the internet for extortion, political, malicious, or other reasons. They can use banks of computers to send thousands of contacts to a company’s server over the internet, and overload the company’s ability to operate their computers and internet access. One example is offshore internet gambling companies that were forced to pay extortion to prevent this action, which would have put them out of business. Because this is done over the internet the organizations who do this can be anywhere in the world, along with fact that these peoples skills are often very useful to their governments, makes law enforcement extremely difficult, if not impossible. This is not only a problem for businesses; put is also a serious threat to national security and anyone else using the internet.
Do to the ability of these organizations to control thousands of computers remotely; these gangs do not even need to be that large. They can access innocent people’s computers, and use them to act as “robots”, without the owner’s knowledge. To add to this vulnerability: many developing countries use pirated software and operating systems, which can not get the upgrades that would help protect them.
One of the ways to prevent this is to have a protection of very large capacity computers that can handle more traffic than the criminals can send, and have them act as buffers. Barrett Lyon and Joseph Menn, the interviewees in this NPR interview, have managed to track some of the perpetrators be determining which of the corrupted computers used in the attacks had their SNMP (A remote viewing protocol) enabled, access the computer, and backtrack the hackers. He was able to contact them, gain there trust, and over a period of time get enough information to physically track them down. However legal action was not applied, because they are in Russia, and Russia uses them for political and military purposes, as China is also well known for.
There is a new (or what seems to be new, but is really an expanded old problem) threat to computer security called “denial of service attacks”. It is caused by “gangs” that operate over the internet for extortion, political, malicious, or other reasons. They can use banks of computers to send thousands of contacts to a company’s server over the internet, and overload the company’s ability to operate their computers and internet access. One example is offshore internet gambling companies that were forced to pay extortion to prevent this action, which would have put them out of business. Because this is done over the internet the organizations who do this can be anywhere in the world, along with fact that these peoples skills are often very useful to their governments, makes law enforcement extremely difficult, if not impossible. This is not only a problem for businesses; put is also a serious threat to national security and anyone else using the internet.
Do to the ability of these organizations to control thousands of computers remotely; these gangs do not even need to be that large. They can access innocent people’s computers, and use them to act as “robots”, without the owner’s knowledge. To add to this vulnerability: many developing countries use pirated software and operating systems, which can not get the upgrades that would help protect them.
One of the ways to prevent this is to have a protection of very large capacity computers that can handle more traffic than the criminals can send, and have them act as buffers. Barrett Lyon and Joseph Menn, the interviewees in this NPR interview, have managed to track some of the perpetrators be determining which of the corrupted computers used in the attacks had their SNMP (A remote viewing protocol) enabled, access the computer, and backtrack the hackers. He was able to contact them, gain there trust, and over a period of time get enough information to physically track them down. However legal action was not applied, because they are in Russia, and Russia uses them for political and military purposes, as China is also well known for.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
blog 9
The assignment is to find a multimedia device or software that I have not used before.
I found the ipad, a tablet computer I have never used before. It is lightweight an easy to carry: 9.56 inches x 7.47 inches, with a depth of ½ inch. It weighs 1.5 pounds. The basic model uses wi-fi, however a 3 G model is available. The display is 9.7-inch diagonal, touch screen display. The battery will last for up to 10 hours. The ipad is available with a16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive. The price starts at $499.00. So far this may sound like an advertisement, which is not surprising as I got this information from apples website at http://www.apple.com/ipad/ .
There is a review at http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/01/ipad-first-impressions-review.html , where they basically rave about it. Another reviewer at http://gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad really did not like the ipad. It seems that the only serious drawback the author found is that it does not allow multi-tasking. On of the things I was surprised to find is that the ipad 3G can be connected by any phone company and the monthly prepaid cost runs as low as $15 a month.
I found the ipad, a tablet computer I have never used before. It is lightweight an easy to carry: 9.56 inches x 7.47 inches, with a depth of ½ inch. It weighs 1.5 pounds. The basic model uses wi-fi, however a 3 G model is available. The display is 9.7-inch diagonal, touch screen display. The battery will last for up to 10 hours. The ipad is available with a16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drive. The price starts at $499.00. So far this may sound like an advertisement, which is not surprising as I got this information from apples website at http://www.apple.com/ipad/ .
There is a review at http://www.ubergizmo.com/15/archives/2010/01/ipad-first-impressions-review.html , where they basically rave about it. Another reviewer at http://gizmodo.com/5458382/8-things-that-suck-about-the-ipad really did not like the ipad. It seems that the only serious drawback the author found is that it does not allow multi-tasking. On of the things I was surprised to find is that the ipad 3G can be connected by any phone company and the monthly prepaid cost runs as low as $15 a month.
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