David Burd and Dr. Richard Shurtz, President of Stratford University, host Tech Talk, a program about computers and information technology.
     Links to selected programs are below. All programs are archived in RealAudio format. Just click on the RealAudio link below the date to listen. Older shows are archives as transcript summaries. You can listen live over the Internet by clicking ListenLive during show time.

• It’s Tech Talk, Live From New York
  • Home of the Cell Phone (Cell Phones do not work on the subway)
  • Today’s show
    • Setting up Tech Gifts for the home
    • 2001 in Review…what to expect in 2002
• Home Networking
  • Different Home Networking Technologies
    • Wired Ethernet
    • Wireless Ethernet (Recommended Solution)
    • HomeRF
    • HomePhoneLine
  • Connecting the Computers Together
    • Ethernet (Netgear, D-link, 3com)
    • Wireless Ethernet (Netgear, Intel, 3com)
  • Sharing an Internet Connection
    • Using a Gateway
    • Using Internet Connection Sharing
  • Protecting the Network
    • Required for Cable Modems and DSL
    • Firewalls
      • ZoneAlarm (www.zonelabs.com)
• How to Use Your New Mp3 Player
  • Selected Players
    • Rio Players (Rio600, Rio800, RioVolt)
    • Creative Lab's Players (Nomad, Nomad JukeBox)
    • Archos Players (Jukebox)
  • Rip the Songs from a music CD (128kbps sampling rate is a good compromise between quality and file size)
  • Download the Songs from the Internet (128kbps)
    • Napster (not operational now), Morpheus, RioPort (actually buy digital media online)
  • Transfer them to the MP3 Player
• How to set up your WebCam
• Desirable Cam features
  • USB Port Connection
  • Pan and Tilt
  • External connection for Video Camera
  • Low Light Performance
• Creating snapshots for e-mail
• Creating avi Movies for e-mail (or CD ROM production)
• Use InetCam (www.inetcam.com) for WebCasts
• This is the year for Broad Band
  • What is BroadBand?
    • Cable Modem (Shared 10Mbps to Cable Operator, DOCSIS provides security)
    • Digital Subscriber Line (DSL, ADSL, SDLS)
  • Check for DSL Availability
    • www.covad.com
    • www.verizon.com
  • Check for Cable Modem Availability
    • www.rr.com
    • www.comcast.com
    • Go to local cable company website
• Online E-Tailers are Beaming
  • Yahoo reported an 86% jump in sales between Thanksgiving and Christmas compared with last year
  • BizRate, a comparison shopping site, said that online retail sales this season are up about 36%.
  • $6.4 billion in online sales from Nov. 19 to Dec. 25
  • Last-minute shoppers bought $54 million on Christmas Day (up 26 percent from 2000)
  • On-line gift certificates selling fast
• Retail Gift Cards Unprotected
  • Hackers can steal unsold card numbers
  • Check the 800 to see when they are activated and retrieve their value
  • Program their card to drain value from the card
  • Vendors do not guarantee the safety of the gift card
  • Buyer Beware
• Internet Gift Exchange
  • RichFX, based in New York City
  • Developing the "virtual gift exchange".
  • Available Next Christmas
  • Gift can be exchanged before it is shipped
• More Web Attacks Expect in 2002
  • 2001 was the worst year for computer viruses
  • December 2001 was the worst month
  • Worms with multiple propagation methods were most effective
  • The payloads are getting more malicious (file deletion or DDOS)
  • Cost as of early December
    • Corporations had spent an estimated $12.3 billion to clean up virus
    • According to Computer Economics, a Carlsbad, California
  • Get ready for more of the same
    • Next wave will hit wireless devices
    • Text messaging a likely target
• Year of the X
  • Linux Celebrating 10^th year (X birthday)
  • Windows XP
  • Mac OSX
• Linux Expands to e-Commerce Sites
  • Amazon.com saved Millions by moving to Linux
    • A filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that Amazon was able to cut technology expenses by about 25 percent, from $71 million to $54 million.
    • Two factors cited – reduced telecom costs and movement to Linux
    • HP provides the servers, RedHat Stronghold Webserver, an Apache derivative
• Google runs on Linux
• Windows XP is a an excellent OS
  • Sales sluggish
  • 95, 98, 98SE, Me have made users wary
  • Networking is simplified
  • CD burning, MP3, graphics – looking more Maclike every day
  • Excellent stability – based on Windows2000 kernel
  • Check if your hardware compatible (get the CD or go online)
• Mac OS X is a winner
  • The Good: More stable than previous Mac OSs; beautiful, fast display of text and graphics; multilingual support built in; better memory management means fewer crashes; compatible with nearly all software; built on open BSD Unix, Java2, XML, PDF, and OpenGL standards so that third-party developers can add applications more easily.
    The Bad: Few native OS X apps available, so best features of OS untapped; Classic applications run and load slowly
  • The bottom line: Mac OS X is a promising foundation for the best Mac operating system ever, but it's not yet ready for the masses. Wait for release of more apps.
    
• NanoTechnology 2001 Breakthrough of Year by "New Scientist"
  • Diagnostic nanomachines that could monitor blood chemistry or administer drugs from the inside
  • Ultrafast, ultrasmall circuitry that could eventually boost computing power to new heights
  • Molecular-scale quantum computers that could tackle problems far beyond our current capability.
• Stratford News
  • Next Start is January 7th
  • Graduate Programs
  • Undergraduate Programs

• Next Generation Pentium 4 Described by Intel
  • 3.5 GHz, scalable to 10GHz
  • Hyper-Threading
    • Makes a single processor appear to be two processors
    • Switches from one data stream to another every few nanoseconds
    • 30% performance increase
  • Will ship in first quarter of 2003
  • AMD is getting left behind with its 2GHz AthlonXP technology
• Radio on a Chip (RoC)
  • Being developed by Atheros Communications (www.atheros.com)
  • AR500 chip set is 802.11b compliant
  • Operates in 5GHz band (rather than 2.4GHz band)
  • Supports speeds up to 54Mbs, up to 72Mbps in Turbo mode (rather than 10Mbps)
  • Uses standard CMOS processing and uses one-sixth the power of current 802.11b products
  • Suitable for handheld PCs and notebooks
  • Bluetooth is going get squeezed by this product
• Fashion for Geeks
  • Dockers Mobile Pants with pockets for everything ($52) (www.dockers.com)
    • PocketPC, CellPhone, Palm, etc
  • Levi’s ICD jackets with pockets to hold everything (www.levis-icd.com)
    • Pockets can be wired together
    • Hidden headphone on collar
  • Reima Smart 3305 Belt ($304) (www.reima.com)
    • Wired for Nokia mobile phone with
    • Pull take to activate Group Audio Messaging
    • Made for skiers and snowboaders who want hand-free conversation.
  • Nike SDM Triax 100 ($199) (www.nike.com/techlab/indexflash.html)
    • Accelerometer connects to shoe
    • Wireless connection to wrist watch that computes  speed, distance, laptimes, etc.
  • Scott eVest ($159) (www.scottevest.com)
    • 15 pockets
    • Personal Area Network inside the lining
  • Sanyo Fashion Raincoats ($185 to $695) (www.sanyofashionhouse.com)
    • Features specials pockets for portable tech devices
    • Pockets buttons feature Palm logo
    • These coats are very stylish
  • Techno-bra (www.pdd.co.uk)
    • Also called Intelligent Bra
    • Measures heart rate
    • A sharp change in heart rate is automatically triggers a medical alert via wireless communications
    • Special order directly from manufacturer.
• Security101
  • 25 to 35 new virus and/or worms each month
  • Normally 2 of these are rated serious (on many sites, with damaging payload)
  • Everyone needs virus scanning software
  • My recommendation is Norton (www.norton.com)
  • Cable Modems and DSL need a firewall (www.zonelabs.com)
  • Download all patches (especially if you have XP)
• Popular Tech Gifts
  • Robots
    • Bio-bugs by Hasbro ($40 list, $29 in stores)
    • Baby Aibo Dogs by Sony ($90 list, not like their $850 big brother)
  • Computers
    • P4s are cheap, P3s are cheaper
    • Flat Screen Displays have come down in price (ViewSonic is a great value)
  • Microsoft Xbox (if you can find it)
    • Barebones price $299. Expect to pay an additional $100 for accessories.
  • Supports HDTV
  • Has 6Gig Harddrive
  • Blaxing graphics. Best game box technology currently available
  • 20 games have been released
  • Uses full size DVD and can play DVD movies
  • Digital Cameras
  • 5/6 MegaPixel about $700/800
  • 3 MegaPixel about $300. (This is the price/performance sweetspot for December 2001)
  • 1 MegaPixel $150
  • MP3 Players
    • Creative Labs
      • Nomad Jukebox ($299) 6GB Harddrive for 100 House
      • Nomad ($199) 64MB Memory for up to five hours
    • Rio 600
      • $149 with 32MB memory
      • Many stores offer up to $50 in rebates
  • CD-RW ($150 for 20X Write speed, excellent to store Digital Images and MP3)
  • HDTVs (DishTV, selected broadcast channels, get HDTV or DVD movies or Xbox). Double the price of regular TV
• Microsoft News
  • Microsoft asks for a delay in the March 11 hearing before Circuit Court
  • FBI and Pentagon quiz Microsoft about XP holes (fear they could bring down the Net)
• Last Minute Webshopping Setting Records
  • Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, eBay, and WalMart.com all setting records
  • Online sales post 32% increase over last year during past 30 days (4.37billion to 5.77 billion)
  • Amazon has three times the number of visitors as the number two site
• Stratford News
  • Students served at Orphans Party (NCAA and Epicurean Club)
  • Next start January 7^th
  • Still time to enroll.
  • Some classes have already closed.
  • Graduate placement is strong
               

• Security Update
• Buffer Overflow in System V Derived Login (CA-2001-34)
• Recent Activity Against Secure Shell Daemons (CA-2001-35)
• Congressional Activity
  • Cyber-Security Enhancement Act of 2001
    • Toughen Cybercrime Penalties
    • Reduce ISP culpability
  • NSF to fund Cyber Security Research
    • $800 Million over next five years
    • Each marked for colleges
• Insider Critical of Legislative Efforts
  • Funded programs fail to address real problem: buggy software
• Wireless Shakeout
  • Bluetooth versus 802.11b
  • Both operating in 2.4GHz range
  • Compete and interfere with each other. Both groups are now trying to coexist.
  • This may make Bluetooth outlook rosier
  • Initial release of XP included 802.11b, but not Bluetooth
  • Summer 2002 update will add Bluetooth.
  • Upside for consumer: The end of wires. A tidy computer room
• Covad to Emerge from Bankruptcy
  • Coming out date December 20^th
  • $150 Deal with SBC Communications
  • Good news for the consume
• Tech Talk Guest: Billy Ball
  • Billy is a Linux guru and author of over fifteen Linux books. He is a strong advocate for the open source software movement and has been Microsoft-free since 1994. Billy currently teaches Linux and other open source courses at Stratford University.
  • He has provided links relating to the following topics.
    • What is Linux?
    • History of Linux
    • Getting started with Linux
    • Hardware Requirements and Linux Documentation
    • Setting up a Web Server with Apache running on Linux
    • Joining a Linux User Group
  • Billy Ball's Website: http://www.tux.org/~bball
  • To peruse a definitive early history of Linux (by its author, Linus Torvalds), browse here: http://www.li.org/linuxhistory.php
  • Linux distributions vary in the amount and type of included software, support, installation methods, and administrative tools, even though they are nearly all the same underneath, as they run the Linux kernel and use the X Window System to support a graphical interface. To get the best and most current information about a particular distribution, go to the distributor's Web page. For example:
  • Red Hat Linux, perhaps the best known 'brand' and most popular: http://www.redhat.com
  • SuSE, Inc.'s version of Linux, which includes a distribution on DVD, and  which uses a unique system-wide configuration tool named Yast (Yet Another  Setup Tool): http://www.suse.com
  • Caldera's Linux product lineup: http://www.caldera.com/products/linux/
  • Mandrake Linux, a very popular edition, with a unique set of graphical  configuration tools, and with all packages optimization for Pentium-class  Intel-based CPUs, rather than the base x386 CPU: http://www.mandrake.org/en/
  • Debian Linux, a noncommercial Linux distribution containing no proprietary software: http://www.debian.org
  • Linux PPC 2000, a Linux distribution for Motorola PowerPC-based computers: http://www.linuxppc.com
  • Yellow Dog Linux, from Terra Soft, is a Red Hat- and RPM-based operating system for PowerPC computers: http://www.yellowdoglinux.com/
  • and hundreds of others!
  • You can obtain today's copy of the Linux kernel at: http://www.kernel.org
  • If you're new to Linux, you can get some basic information at: http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ or http://www.linuxnewbie.com/
  • Definitive Linux documentation, manual pages, HOW-TO documents and FAQs are available at: http://www.linuxdoc.org/
  • Laptop user interested in installing and using Linux can browse to: http://www.linux-laptop.net/ or browse the Linux Laptop HOWTO at: http://www.mobilix.org/howtos.html
  • For information about a free version of the X Window System for Linux and other operating systems, browse to: http://www.xfree86.org/
  • For information about using Apache, or to download the latest version, browse to the Apache Software Foundation's home page, which hosts the Apache HTTP server project: http://www.apache.org/
  • For a categorized set of links to the latest Linux applications, browse to: http://www.linuxapps.com/
  • To find nearly any Linux application or up-to-date Open Source or GNU General Public Licensed software, browse to: http://freshmeat.net/
  • For up-to-the-minute geek information about Linux, Open Source software projects, and other tech issues, browse to: http://slashdot.org
  • To download an ISO9660 image of a Linux distribution suitable for burning onto CD-ROM, browse to: http://www.linuxiso.org
  • To read about, join, or participate in a local Linux User Group (LUG), browse to: http://www.linux.org/groups/
  • To read about the Northern Virginia Linux Users Group (NOVALUG) (or for Washington, DC), go to: http://novalug.tux.org
  • Finally, to find information about Linux (and nearly any topic) quickly and easily, use the best Internet search engine in existence - Google, which is run by thousands of Linux computers: http://google.com
• Stratford News
  • Next Start: January 7^th
  • All Programs
  • Master Degree
  • Undergraduate Programs (Networking, Programming)
  • Hospitality (Culinary Arts, Hotel and Event Management)

• Tech Talk Guest: John Dailey, Microsoft Technology Specialist
  • John is one of the two Windows XP technology leads in the Mid-Atlantic District. John will discuss Microsoft's response to security breaches, the .Net initiative, and Windows XP features. Tech Talk has agreed not to ask John about the status of the DOJ antitrust case.
  • John has provided the following links for the Tech Talk Audience
    • Microsoft Training Events and Seminars
      • http://www.microsoft.com/usa/
    • Ongoing Security Issues
      • http://www.microsoft.com/security
      • http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security
      • http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/virus/badtrans.asp
      • http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/current.asp   
    • The .Net Technical Issues
      • http://www.microsoft.com/net
      • http://www.microsoft.com/net/xmlservices.asp
      • http://www.microsoft.com/myservices/default.asp
    • Windows XP
      • http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp
      • http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/evaluation/whyupgrade/top10.asp
    • DOJ Antitrust Case
      • http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.asp
• Security Update
• W32/Goner Worm
• Released December 4, 2001
• High risk
• Affects Outlook, Outlook Express, ICQ
• Email sent to all parties in address book
  • Subject: Hi
  • Body: How are you?  When I saw this screen saver, I immediately thought about you. I am in a hurry, I promise you will love it!
  • Attachment: goner.scr
• Disables anti-virus software
• May participate in denial of service attack
• W32/BadTrans Worm
  • Released November 27, 2001
  • Execution of code for certain MIME attachment types
  • Records keystrokes in encrypted file
  • Keystroke file sent to a central site.
• Multiple Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Internet Explorer – All Versions
  • NIPC Recommend turning off Windows Scripting Host
  • Set OE to use Restricted Sites Zones (Default for OE Version 6)
  • Turn off ActiveX and Scripting Host in Internet  Zone
• FTP Vulnerability found in some Unix and Linux systems
  • Some executable commands are not screened
  • Allowing user provider data to be executed.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) Attacks on the increase
  • Computer Emergency Response Team (cert.org) attacked December 5^th
  • Many ISPs have noted a substantial increased in DDOS attacks since September 11.
• Microsoft Antitrust Status
  • DOJ and Microsoft have a proposed remedy
  • Behavior controls regarding distribution channels
  • Nine states and the District of Columbia have proposed their own settlement
    • Nine states include: California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Utah, and West Virginia.  Plus the District of Columbia
    • Key elemenets include
    • Porting of apps to other platforms
    • Reveal IE source code
    • Reveal Windows source code, if MS still in violation
    • Microsoft opposes the states' remedy proposal
• Excite@Home goes down in flames
  • High stakes game between investors and AT&T
  • AT&T withdrew buyout offer 300 million and simply took over 850,000 subscribers
  • Investors are left with empty shell and no customers
  • AT&T service is not satisfactory, however
• Shoshkeles make Banner ads look good
  • Animations that block the web content
  • Run around the page, sound enabled
  • Can’t be ignored
  • Very, very annoying
• Making Linux look harder than it is
  • Many guru’s relish the thought of confusing the "newbie"
  • Command line, rather than easy to use a Graphical User Interface (GUI), are emphasized
  • However, commercial distributions are quite good and easy to use
  • We are going to address this issue next week with Billy Ball, a Linux instructor at Stratford
  • Billy is author of over 15 books and a noted Linux expert
• Stratford News
  • Graduation Last Weekend
    • Largest ever
    • Move to a larger venue
  • Next Start: January 7^th
    • Master Degrees (Enterprise Business Management, Telecommunications)
    • Undergraduate Programs (Networking, Programming)
    • Hospitality (Culinary Arts, Hotel and Event Management)