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    <title>cmdln.net_2007-12-09</title>
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    <outline text="Intro" Offset="00:17">
      <outline text="Honesty in action"/>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Security Alerts" Offset="03:19">
      <outline text="Cracking wireless keyboards" Offset="03:38">
        <outline text="http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2007/12/crackin_wireless_keyboard.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890"/>
        <outline text="This is actually a continuation in the arms race between hackers and vendors"/>
        <outline text="Hack-a-day article mentions earlier black hat talk"/>
        <outline text="Latest work is with encryption built into specific Microsoft models"/>
        <outline text="Encryption is a simple one byte xor"/>
        <outline text="The byte operand is determined at handshake between keyboard and receiver"/>
        <outline text="Can sniff that initial window"/>
        <outline text="Use of a single byte limits the search space"/>
        <outline text="A dictionary attack means any given byte key can be solved in 20 to 50 key strokes"/>
        <outline text="Just a reminder that the convenience of a wireless keyboard is a trade off with the security of a wired keyboard"/>
        <outline text="Have to bare in mind that wired keyboards also have problems, like key loggers"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="How to stop Facebook's controversial Beacon feature" Offset="06:10">
        <outline text="http://feeds.wired.com/~r/wired/topheadlines/~3/195674555/facebooks-is-al.html"/>
        <outline text="The problem is Facebook is tracking data after you log out"/>
        <outline text="Coupled with Beacon, which as a feature tracked external activity, this caused considerable back lash"/>
        <outline text="Beacon was emitting notifications of purchases, often ruining holiday shopping surprises for friends"/>
        <outline text="Changed Beacon to make it opt-in"/>
        <outline text="Further changed it to fully opt-out"/>
        <outline text="Was enabled by the extensive add network, correlating through third parties"/>
        <outline text="Similar to other practices, probably made damning by popularity"/>
        <outline text="Can also prevent third party tracking by preventing cookies"/>
        <outline text="Don't use &quot;remember me&quot; on any site"/>
        <outline text="Use your own, local password manager"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="News" Offset="11:30">
      <outline text="America's top anti-tech orgs" Offset="11:44">
        <outline text="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/boingboing/iBag/~3/194355461/americas-top-antitec.html"/>
        <outline text="The problem is unclear or absent values, principles">
          <outline text="Fair use, freedom of speech are not technology values, but independent principles"/>
          <outline text="Copyright, patent institute values but they are hotly debated"/>
          <outline text="Lack of a national broad band policy to define access, adoption, infrastructure"/>
        </outline>
        <outline text="I think putting as &quot;anti-tech&quot; is as much of a mistake"/>
        <outline text="Gives these organizations more power, will be able to continue to frame the debate"/>
        <outline text="Finding independent values provides a yard stick to measure all comers"/>
        <outline text="The tech companies of today could be the anti-techs of tomorrow"/>
        <outline text="Has happened before"/>
        <outline text="More on list of anti-tech orgs">
          <outline text="http://techdirt.com/articles/20071203/025437.shtml"/>
          <outline text="Points out some curious omissions and duplication"/>
          <outline text="Also disagrees with the underlying argument of the list"/>
          <outline text="Argues that all the companies should be &quot;pro tech&quot;"/>
          <outline text="Speculates about how industry would be different if they had embraced tech"/>
          <outline text="The implication is these are groups who've fought to put industry in stasis"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="&quot;Engineering&quot; usabiliy" Offset="16:54">
        <outline text="http://www.scottberkun.com/blog/2007/usability-is-not-a-verb/"/>
        <outline text="Argues usability is a quality of a product"/>
        <outline text="It is not an activity, like coding or testing"/>
        <outline text="Argues that as such, impact of a dedicated expert is limited"/>
        <outline text="Two approaches to getting usability into products">
          <outline text="Manage those who create it"/>
          <outline text="Become a more affective advocate"/>
        </outline>
        <outline text="With the latter, has more suggestions">
          <outline text="Learn how to better persuade, politic"/>
          <outline text="Target your efforts to those who directly contribute to product"/>
        </outline>
        <outline text="Good lessons for other qualities of software"/>
        <outline text="Security, for instance"/>
        <outline text="We have CSO's now and CIO/CTO who have to incorporate security"/>
        <outline text="Still have problems of effective advocacy in the security space"/>
        <outline text="Other principles even less served, like reliability, manageability"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="House passes SAFE act" Offset="20:22">
        <outline text="http://techdirt.com/articles/20071206/023423.shtml"/>
        <outline text="Another child protection law"/>
        <outline text="Still riddled with overly broad definitions of objectionable material"/>
        <outline text="Places burden on service providers, must register and report, as well as possibly retain data">
          <outline text="Not sure what constitutes being &quot;made aware&quot;"/>
          <outline text="Is this a complaint system like DMCA or actively policing like struck down portions of the CDA?"/>
        </outline>
        <outline text="Two curious aspects are how it was rushed and that there are already laws requiring similar responsibilities of service providers"/>
        <outline text="Is the rush a response to past defeats?"/>
        <outline text="Shouldn't sponsors, supporters take those defeats as signs they need to reconsider their approach to the issue?"/>
        <outline text="Re-considering the SAFE act">
          <outline text="http://feeds.arstechnica.com/~r/arstechnica/BAaf/~3/196438765/20071206-safe-act-wont-turn-mom-and-pop-shops-into-wifi-cops.html"/>
          <outline text="According to Ars, this is just an upping of penalties"/>
          <outline text="Also adds retention requirement"/>
          <outline text="Answers the question about active monitoring versus complaint"/>
          <outline text="ISPs are not expected to actively police, must simply respond when made aware, through complaint or other passive to them mechanism"/>
        </outline>
        <outline text="SAFE author claims not intended to cover WiFi">
          <outline text="http://techdirt.com/articles/20071207/113930.shtml"/>
          <outline text="Makes Techdirt's interpretation a bit more consistent with Ars"/>
          <outline text="Does worry that the text, not intent, is what judges will decide cases on"/>
          <outline text="Sadly, the bill's author makes no promises of amending the text"/>
        </outline>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Major breakthrough in spintronics" Offset="24:53">
        <outline text="http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/slashdot/eqWf/~3/195401491/article.pl"/>
        <outline text="Spin is a separate quantum effect with an electron from charge"/>
        <outline text="Similar to or a form of magnetism"/>
        <outline text="Can be used in conjunction with charge"/>
        <outline text="Used alone has lower power consumption, heat output"/>
        <outline text="Expected applications also include far higher density fixed storage and memory"/>
        <outline text="Has been used to varying degrees in mass storage since 1998"/>
        <outline text="Navy Research Lab has shown modifying, measuring spin in silicon"/>
        <outline text="Key step towards use of spin alone"/>
        <outline text="Use in silicon leads to natural transition from scale dependent electronics to spintronics"/>
        <outline text="Article doesn't say how spintronics scale"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="tail -f" Offset="27:40">
      <outline text="AT&amp;T claims openness for their network, too" Offset="27:59">
        <outline text="http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/195966166/"/>
        <outline text="No real details offered"/>
        <outline text="Means that they are defining openness as their use of GSM"/>
        <outline text="You can take a SIM card for any device to another device"/>
        <outline text="The fact that they would not say whether they would market open-ness says something"/>
        <outline text="This, along with Verizon, may have more to do with forthcoming wireless auction"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="Om Malik wants carriers to define what they mean by &quot;open&quot;" Offset="29:52">
        <outline text="http://feeds.boingboing.net/~r/boingboing/gadgets/~3/196226532/quotable-om-on-open.html"/>
        <outline text="Confirms this is a non-story"/>
        <outline text="Problem of defining &quot;open&quot; predates telcos"/>
        <outline text="Says this is the problem with recent telco activity, what does open mean?"/>
        <outline text="Suggest they are capitalizing on this lack of definition"/>
        <outline text="Doesn't entertain any speculation about open, though"/>
        <outline text="Again, a positive value would help"/>
        <outline text="I think open is more valuable across carriers"/>
        <outline text="Who cares if AT&amp;T uses TCP/IP and PPP if there practices or coverage suck otherwise?"/>
        <outline text="Number portability is not good enough"/>
        <outline text="How can small players innovate if they are effectively sandboxed per provider?"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
    <outline text="Outro" Offset="32:42">
      <outline text="Contact me">
        <outline text="Email to feedback@thecommandline.net"/>
        <outline text="Web site at http://thecommandline.net/"/>
        <outline text="IM to command.line@skype"/>
        <outline text="Listener comment line is 240-949-2638"/>
        <outline text="del.icio.us tag is &quot;for:cmdln&quot;"/>
        <outline text="http://twitter.com/cmdln"/>
      </outline>
      <outline text="I'd like to thank libsyn.com for AAC hosting and Wouter de Bie for MP3 hosting"/>
      <outline text="These notes and the show audio and music are covered by a Creative Commons license">
        <outline text="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/"/>
        <outline text="Attribution, non-commercial, share alike"/>
      </outline>
    </outline>
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