Tech Talk Radio
December 2002
Sponsored by Stratford University
Saturdays at Noon EST on WMAL NewsTalk Radio
Turn the dial to AM630 or listen on the Internet at ListenLive
It's everything you always wanted to know about computers
and information technology, but were afraid to ask.

     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.

Show Selected Topics
December 28, 2002
<No RealAudio | MP3>
<No Newsletter>
top
  • Favorite Topics from 2002
    • Text Messaging for Cell Phones
    • Setting up a Wireless Network at Home
    • Internet Security (worms, viruses, Trojans, hackers)
    • HDTV and surround sound
    • MP3 Players and Digital Cameras
    • DVD Players (DVD-R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and DVD+R)
  • Casualties of Technology
    • Convergence of Voice and Data – Long Distance Phone Companies
    • Wireless (Cell Phones, LANS) – Local Phone Companies
    • Digital Camera – Film Companies
    • Commodity PCs more speed than needed –  Hardware Manufacturers
    • Ubiquitous Internet Access – National ISPs that charge a lot (AOL perhaps)
    • Voice Recognition and Intelligent Software – Desktop PC with traditional apps
    • Widespread use of e-mail -- Postal service
  • Student Gets Award for School Computer Hack
    • Reid Ellison, a 15-year old changed a grade at Anzar High School from A to D+
    • School project to hack into the school computer system
    • Weak password (Sylvia, the school secretary’s name) was the problem
    • Reid prepared a security policy for the school to tighten up standards
  • Vivato pushed wireless LAN to 7 km
    • 802.11b (2.4 GHz) phased array antennas
    • Use real time beam steering to increase SNR
    • Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) included (new Wi-Fi security standard)
    • FCC approval of phased array issued December 16, 2002
  • Marriott to add Wi-Fi to 400 Hotels
    • Dual band 802.11a and 802.11b
    • Teaming with STSN at competitor of T-Mobile (Starbuck’s provider)
  • High Flying Ideas for Wireless Net
    • Sanwire is working with 21st Century Airships
    • High Tech Blimps carry 4,000 pounds of telecommunications gear
    • Stratelilites Float up to 13 miles into the stratosphere
    • Communicate with users using 802.11
    • Needs FCC approval
  • Bush Administration Proposes Monitoring Internet
    • Proposal is part of report, “The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace”
    • Includes a centalized system to enable broad monitoring of the Internet
    • Report to be released early next year
    • ISP are concerned about privacy and violation of wiretap laws
    • Richard Clarke indicated that it would not include monitoring emails
    • Details are fuzzy. Controversy is high
  • Segway Human Transporter Available from Amazon
  • China Pushes Home Grow Chip
    • The Dragon CPU operates between 200 and 260 Mhz
    • Equivalent to Pentium I
    • Will be used for personal computers, mobile phones, televisions
    • Target production 1 million in 2003
  • WebCams a boom to home security
    • Wireless Webcams can link to high speed Internet access
    • Can be viewed from any remote location with Internet access
    • D-Links Wireless WebCam has built-in webserver for easy access
  • Stratford News
    • Grad Program Review
    • Undergrad Program Review
    • Next Start January 6th
December 21, 2002
<No RealAudio | MP3>
<No Newsletter>
top
  • Google Search Tools in Beta Testing
  • Other Price Comparison Tools
  • Search Term Snap Shot of 2002
    • Google Zeitgeist -- Google rundown of search patterns for 2002
      • Top Ten Gaining (spiderman, shakira, winter Olympics, world cup, avril lavigne, star wars, eminem, American idol, morrowind, warcraft3)
      • Top women (J Lo, Britney Spears, Shakira, Halle Berry, Jennifer Love Lewitt)
      • Top men (eminem, brad pitt, nelly, 2pac, vin diesel)
      • Top brands (Ferrari, Sony, nokia, Disney, Ikea)
      • Top Tech (mp3, sms, winzip, linux, ftp, dell, xbox, realplayer, microsoft, Java)
      • SMS is Short Message Service (text messages for cell phones)
    • Lycos 50 -- Lycos rundown of search patterns for 2002
      • Top Ten (Dragonball, KaZaA, Tattoos, Britney Spears, Morpheus, NFL, IRS, Halloween, Christmas, Pamela Anderson)
      • Dragonball was top in 2001
  • Forbes List of Top 85 Innovations
    • Great List that includes sneakers, Tupperware, integrated circuit, Internet, Viagra
    • Can be found online on Forbes.com
  • eBay Chief Leaves Goldman Sachs after IPO Revelations
    • Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, resigned from Board
    • She received 100 pre-IPO offering, sold quickly for substantial gains
    • Goldman Sachs offered these to CEOs that did investment banking with them
    • FTC Details Plans to Curb Telemarketers
  • FTC wants to curb 80% of telemarketing calls
    • Set up a list of banned numbers
    • Telemarketers could be fined $11,000 for each banned call
    • Will charge telemarketing licensing fee to pay for $16M program
  • Dimitry Sklyarov is Acquitted
    • First test case of new Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA)
    • Sklykarov worked for ElcomSoft, which developed code to crack Adobe Systems eBook copy protection
    • He also taught in a Moscow university
    • Tricked to visit US for conference presentation
    • Testified that he created software for backup or transfer purposes
  • 2002 -- Technology Year In Review
    • Year of the Copyright Fight (Death of Napster)
    • Year of SPAM
    • Rise of the Blog (short for Weblog)
    • Year of the Microsoft triumph
    • End of Free Software
    • AOL-Time Warner Merger Troubles
    • Backlash against Pop-Ups (even at AOL)
    • Rise of Big Brother Monitoring the Internet
    • IT Grows Up (Moves into the Boardroom)
  • Sharp’s 3D Monitor
    • Will provide 3D effect without special glasses
    • Can be thought of as a TFT sandwich
    • Thin film transistor (TFT) active-matrix liquid crystal display
    • Contains two TFT panels separated by a parallax barrier which directs pixel images to two separate regions
  • Rat-Brained Robot
    • Steve Potter of Georgia Tech combines electronics and neurons
    • Placed a droplet of solution containing thousands of rat neurons onto silicon chip
    • Chip is embedded with 60 electrodes connected to an amplifier
    • Robot sends signals back to the neurons for training
    • Trying to develop concepts for self-healing computers
  • Got a Robot Kit for My Birthday
    • Lego Mindstorms Robot Invention System
    • Lego Robotics Inventions System 2.0 ($189.00)
    • Lego Ultimate Accessory Kit ($58.00)
    • 10 Cool Lego Mindstorms Projects, Syngress Press, ($29.00)
    • Programming LEGO® Mindstorms™ with Java, Syngress Press ($29.00)
  • IT Career Trends
    • Web Applications and e-Business
    • Networking and Security
    • Distributed Computing
    • Long Term Health on Sector
  • Stratford News
    • Grad Program Review
    • Undergrad Program Review
    • Next Start January 6th
December 14, 2002
<No RealAudio | MP3>
<Weekly Newsletter>
top
  • eBay is Toy Industry Barometer
    • What is popular on eBay today, will be a toy tomorrow
    • eBay has become a bellwether for behavior
      • willingness to pay
      • popular trends
  • Start your own eBay business
  • Find Out Who is Making Polical Contributions
    • Opensecrets.org catalogs all reported polical contributions
    • Search by zipcode, donor, candidate, interest area, and more....
    • Easy to use and very revealing
  • Microsoft Bought Off Other Remaining States
    • Nine States and District of Columbia sued
    • Seven States and District of Columbia accepted settlement
    • Two states (West Virginia and Massachusetts) did not
    • Microsoft offered sweet deal to those accepting
      • MS would cover all legal fees
      • Provide additional pot of money to enforce settlement
    • California (which has financed most of appeal) agreed
  • Robotic for Kids (and for Dads)
    • Lego Mindstorms
      • Lego Robotics Inventions System 2.0 ($189.00)
      • Lego Ultimate Accessory Kit ($58.00)
    • Mindstorms Books
      • 10 Cool Lego Mindstorms Projects, Syngress Press, ($29.00)
      • Programming LEGO® Mindstorms™ with Java, Syngress Press ($29.00)
    • Robot Store -- our favorite
  • UPS (Brown) Uses Both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi
    • Bar Code reader (worn like ring) send data to Wi-Fi radio via Bluetooth
    • Wi-Fi radio (worn on belt) connects to central computer
    • System currently being tested in four package-sorting centers
    • No interference reported
  • Online Sales Soaring
    • $6.2B in sales for November
    • Up 22 percent from a year ago
    • 40% of shoppers said price was the key reason
  • Wi-Fi Sales Continue to Soar
    • $2 Billion in 2002
    • Public hot spots wave now supported by Intel, IBM, and AT&T
  • MS Internet Explorer Security Hole
    • Version 5.5 and 6 can be exploited
    • Patch available
    • Termed critical by Microsoft (belatedly)
    • Permits hacker to take over computer, alter data
  • IT Career Trends
    • Web Applications and e-Business
    • Networking and Security
    • Distributed Computing
    • Long Term Health on Sector
  • SPAM Not a Problem for Business
    • Businesses receive substantially less SPAM than personal email accounts
    • Usage pattern differences are the key
    • Personal email addresses are used in ways that facilitate harvesting
      • discussion groups
      • contests
      • mailing lists
      • personals
    • A SPAM filled email account probably indicated surfing on the job
  • Mailbag
  • Stratford News
    • Orphans Party last weekend (Stratford, ACF, and Epicurians Club)
    • Winter Graduation Held This Morning
    • Next Start January 6th
December 7, 2002
<No RealAudio | MP3>
<Weekly Newsletter>
top
Home Page
Top of Page