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.

• Bandwidth Options
  • New DSL line for the Falls Church Campus
    • Maximum available rate 384Kbps, upload and download
    • Took some line tuning to get maximum rate
    • Many testing sites (look up :”speed test” on Google for a list)
  • Still have ISDN at home
    • Cable not available
    • DSL not available
    • Forced to used ISDN at 128kbps
  • 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
• Problems with Stratford Website
  • Valueweb has moved from Highly Recommended to Not Recommended
  • I am giving them a chance this week and will let you know.
  • How do ISP’s Host Website
    • Assign fixed IP address
    • Set up a DNS entry
    • Hardware configurations
      • Shared Hardware
      • Dedicated hardware
  • Where did ValueWeb go wrong with Stratford?
• Stratford  News This Week
  • Team of educators reviewed our Falls Church programs this week
  • Team led by Dr. Joyce Caton and Ms. Kelly Leanard.
  • A wonderful experience. I could not have been prouder of the staff and faculty. A wonderful team effort.
  • The visit forced the cleaning of my office
    • Sorted through a decade of software and pitched most of it
    • Very nostalgic time for me
    • I could remember installing and using those programs
  • Next Start for Undergraduate Programs (February 11^th)
  • Next Start for Graduate Programs (March 18th)
    • ^{All undergraduate programs}
• Intel Secretly Works on Itanium Backup
  • Itanium is Intel’s 64-bit server chip.
  • It cannot run 32-bit apps
  • It is competing with AMDs 64-bit Hammer technology that can run both 64 and 32 bit apps
  • The next generation Penturum chip called Prescott would have 64-bit extensions in case Itanium is a marketplace flop
  • Based on Yamhill Technology, named after a small town near an Oregon river of the same name.
• Palm to unveil new wireless device
  • Secure wireless email through Palm.net
  • $449 with a Secure Digital expansion card
  • Aimed at corporate market
  • Palm is struggling to keep up with Mindspring, which was founded by former Palm employees
• Domain Name Growth Slowing
  • Verisign Reports the follow:
  • 2% increase in total domain names in 2001
  • 300% in 2000
  • 200% increased in 1999
  • Verisign bought Network Solutions, the first Domain Name Registrar.
• CIA Technology Company is local
  • In-Q-Tel is the agencies technology investment arm
  • Q stands for fictional Bond’s gadget master
  • Currently has seven pilot projects and another seven in demonstration phase.
  • Knowledge management are the most exciting according directory Gilman Louie
  • For example, combining data e-mail, pagers, computers and web sites
• War of the Maps
  • AOL’s MapQuest is established with great features
    • Maps, Driving Directions are its strength
    • Very complete database
  • Microsoft's MapPoint boast both web and phone interface
    • 1-800-555-TELL to get driving instructions
    • Based on XML and integrated into .Net
• Pope Issues Statement about Internet
  • Calls it a ‘wonderful instrument” to spread the word of God and encourage global peace.
  • Does not necessarily provide wisdom and could be perverted to demain human dignity
  • Public authorities have the responsibility to guarantee this marvelous instrument serves the common good and does not become a source of harm.
• Bidding for Olympic Torches lights up eBay
  • Last week 20 torches were listed
  • Eight were still open
  • Bidding has reached more than $2,000 in many cases and $6,100 in one case.
• CERT Advisory CA-2002-02
  • Buffer Overflow in AOL ICQ
  • May permit someone on the Net access to harddrive
  • AOL recommends all uses upgrade to 2001B Beta5.18
  • All versions prior to 2001B are vulnerable.
• SEC Sets Up Fake Website to Warn Investors
  • McWortle Enterprises
  • Manufactures BioHazard Detector

• The Enron Story: Where is this e-Business Go Wrong?
  • Set up Enron Online a Market Place for Commodities Trading
  • They served as third party to every deal.
  • Enron bought commodities and then resold them
  • They made money on the margin
  • They did not use the eBay model of simply connecting buyers and sellers
  • System depends on buyer and seller confidence in Enron
  • Off-book accounts, used to hide loses, to push stock prices up unraveled it all
• SatireWire: Microsoft Agrees to Breakup in a Surprise Move
• Microsoft has agreed to be broken up into two companies
• One will produce operating system and application software
• The second will produce patches
• Tech Talk Guest: Matthew Clemente
  • Successful Stratford Graduate
  • After completing Stratford's programming curriculum, Matt secured a job that involves both network management and database-driven web site design and deployment.
  • Prior to Stratford, he was a customer service representative with a publishing company.
  • He completed his BA in Spanish from Denison University in 1991.
  • Stratford provided the right "skills packaging" to get Matt started in his new career direction.
• Popular Mechanics Editors Choice for Consumer Electronics Show
  • Xybernaut Wearable Computer
    • Fairfax, VA company
    • Poma Wearable Computer
    • Eyeglass monitor, mobile mouse, CPU on the belt.
    • $1,500 price tag
  • Mobile Modem
    • MobileModem by Motient Corp from Reston Virginia
    • First device to provide real-time always-on access to e-mail messages for Palm V PDAs
  • Wherify GPS locator
    • Wherify Wireless, Inc
    • Worn on the wrist
    • Can locate a child’s whereabouts via the Internet
    • Will be released soon.  About $400, plus monthly monitoring charges.
• Qualcomm turns cell phones into GPs
  • Can convert cell phones to GPs devices by adapting emergency-tracking technology
  • GpsOne positioning technology uses assisted GPs (A-GPS)
  • A-GPS uses cell phone towers to assist GPs satellites to fix a cell phone position
• MillionManLan Party
  • The MillionManLan organization brings together two of the most successful lanparties in the country.
    • Lantrocity on the west coast
    • Lanwar in the east.
  • Together these two parties have serviced over 10,000 gamers in the past 5 years
• AOL/Time Warner Rumored to Buy RedHat Linux
  • Source of rumor: Washington Post
  • A great strategic move
  • Go for it.
• Stratford News
  • Next Start February 11^th
  • Stratford at the 4 Your Health Expo all weekend
  • Ted is in admissions this morning
  • Traffic to Stratford’s website is up 40% this month

• 2002 Comsumer Electronics Show
  • Held in Las Vegas this week
  • Sponsored by the Comsumer Electronics Association (CEA)
  • The most noticeable product this year: H-Y-P-E
  • The second most noticeable products: convergent PDA.
    • It’s not your Dad’s Palm anymore.
    • PDA’s with everything
      • Wireless Phone, Address Book, Schedules
      • Pocket PC (Word, Excel, etc)
      • Browser, MP3 Player, TV,Embedded Cameras
    • One example HipTop ($200) sports PDA functions, cell phone, web browser, e-mail reader, and pager.
    • Convergence of Wireless Devices Super Session
      • Cingular Wireless, Handspring, Audiovox, CNET, Wireless Week Magazine
      • Phone combos very poplular (Phone/MP3 or Phone/PDA)
      • Bluetooth or 802.11 will allow wireless synching with PCs
  • Home Media Servers may the next wave
    • Moxi Media Center is most complete product
      • The latest brainchild from WebTV co-founder Steve Perlman
      • An all-in-one, broadband-capable set-top box, the Moxi combines a satellite receiver or digital cable box with
        • Personal video recorder
        • CD/DVD player,
        • Digital music jukebox (holding roughly 6,000 tracks)
        • Internet gateway
        • Home media server.
        • Distribute recorded or live TV shows, music, pictures and games throughout the house without wires, by adding optional extension modules in other rooms.
        • Sports an 80G hard drive and probably 802.11 wireless technology.
        • Funded by AOL
          
    • Pioneer's Digital Library Server is similar to Moxi
      • Organizes and transmits music, video clips, photos, and other digital content throughout the home
      • 60G hard drive would hold 1,500 CDs
      • Wireless This represents are real trend toward wireless connectivity in the home using 802.11b (10Mbps) or 802.11a (60Mbps)
• High Definition Television (HDTV) Rundown
  • Portland, Houston, Indianapolis offer 100% digitall HDTV
  • Washington will become the fourth all digital city in 2002
  • FCC is pushing the technology
  • Washington WUSA (NTSC Channel 9, HDTV Channel 34) has the most local digital offerings
    • 60 Minutes, Survivor, The Ellen Show, Everybody Loves Raymond
    • That's Life, 48 Hours, Touched by An Angel, The District
    • The Education of Max Bickford, The King of Queens, Yes, Dear
    • Becker, Family Law, JAC, First Monday, Judging Amy
  • HDTV (US Standard) vs. Conventional NTSC
    • Non-interlaced vs. Interlaced
    • 1050 vs 525 Scan lines
    • 960 vs 484 Active lines
    • 675 vs 242 Vetical Resolution
    • 600 vs 330 Horizontal Resolution
    • 2.5H vs 7H View Distance
  • Jumping the CCC Hurdle (Cost, Content, Cable) in 2002
    • Cost is as low as $1100
    • More stations are offering HDTV, plus Satellite
    • Cable now converging on HDTV (Comcast first of the big ones)
• Unions Having Trouble Invading D-Coms
  • Webvan.com and Etown.com out of business
  • Amazon closing Seattle service center
  • Just we they think they can organize, the business goes belly up.
• Judge Tosses Out Microsoft Settlement
  • Settle designed to settle 100 private class-action lawsuits
  • US District Judge Fredrick Motz agreed that settlement would be anticompetive
  • MS would give $1B in money, software, services, and training to 12,500 underprivileged school children.
  • Not enough administrative dollars.
  • Judge felt it unfair competition to Apple
• Missed News from 2001
  • Computer Chip Inventor wins Nobel Prize October 2001
  • Jack St. Clair Kirby developed the Integrated Circuit at Texas Instruments around 1960.
  • Shares $915,000 prize with two others
  • Bell Labs invented transistor, TI invented integrated circuit, Intel invented programmable computer on a chip (CPU)
• Security Update
  • CERT gives thumbs up to Universal Plug and Play Patch for MS Windows
  • Systems affected (XP, Me, 98 with Internet Connection Sharing)
  • Make certain to get this critical Microsoft Update
• Stratford News
  • Job Fair at Stratford Very Successful
  • 4-Your-Health Appearance (January 19^th and 20^th)
  • Next Start February 11th

• Getting sold out tickets over the web
  • Ticket brokers are the only option
  • Maximum price regulated by NYC regulation.
  • Cannot exceed premium ticket cost.
  • You can check with NYC Consumer Affairs
    • Illegal Ticket Broker Listing from NYC Consumer Affairs
    • I had good luck with Tixx
      • Phone number is 1-800-800-TIXX for those without computer.
  • Another listing for tickets from many brokers is FindShowTickets.
  • Find many brokers by using Google Search engine
    • For instance to find tickets for NYC use the key words (ticket brokers new york city)
• IT Career Rundown
  • Is what you're looking for in a job down another tech career path?
  • Here's a checklist of some common positions to help you transition.
  • With the tech industry, your skills can lead you to a variety of positions.
  • Selected IT Careers for which Stratford has programs
• Help desk (hardware, software, user interaction, troubleshooting)
• Network specialist (troubleshooting, monitoring, upgrading networks)
  
• Programmer (creating software for business , documenting, fixing code)
• Website site development/maintenance (front-end, back-end design)
• Systems administration (troubleshooting, monitoring, upgrading servers)
• Database administration (troubleshooting, monitoring, upgrading database)
• Wide Area Network Engineer (Cisco, Telecommunications)
• Security Specialist (Firewalls, Security policy, enjoy countering wiley hacker)
• Telecommunications Systems Engineer (design, deploy, maintain wireless systems)
• E-Business Manager (CRM, ERP, Supply Chain Mgmt, distributed databases)
  
• Security Issues
  • AOL Fixes Hole in Instant Messenger
    • Discovered by w00w00, an American firm started by a 19 year old.
    • Allowed hacker to take control of computer
    • Transfer and delete files
    • Could be exploited by worm
    • Patch now available
  • MS Fixes Hole in XP
    • Patch now available for Universal Plug and Play (UPNP) bug
    • Universal Plug and Play manages peer-to-peer connections
    • Too many, unused features activated in default install.
  • Home is where the hackers are
    • High value computers
    • High speed, continuous connections through DSL and Cable Modem
    • As good as business targets
• Intel Roadmap Released
  • One-billion transistors by 2007
  • Up from only 42 million in Pentium 4
  • Process will shift from
    • 90 nanometer lithography in 2003
    • 65 nanometers in 2005
    • 45 nanometers in 2007
  • Packaging will be the key
    • Plastic organic bumps will be replaced
    • Move to bumpless package with buildup layers (BBUL) by 2005
  • Moving toward terahertz transistors
    • Fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI)
    • Every carrier needs to be turned off to reduce leakage
  • Sticking with extreme UV lithography, since e-beam lithography is too slow.
• Court Back California Anti-Spam Law
  • e-mail must be identified as advertisement
  • Opt-out must be available
  • Sender must be identified
  • Stratford has be victimized by unlawful spammers
    
• More Shoppers Disappointed Online
  • Jupiter Media Metrix Survey indicates Web sites in a number of industries are doing poorer
  •    Survey 250 automotive, BtoB, financial, health, music, packaged-good, retail, and travel sites between November 23^rd and December 10^th
  • Only 30% responded to and resolved customer inquires with the six-hour window which shoppers said they expected.
  • Although 90% said they would be happy with a two day response, 75 of the retailers could not respond that quickly.
  • All had automatic call routing systems.
  • Those that failed did not have automatic e-mail routing systems.
• New NASA Bionic Eye Technology
  • To be tested in humans in 2002
  • Artificial retina includes 100,000 tiny ceramic detectors, each 1/20 the size of a human hair
  • Arrays attached to polymer film 1mm X 1mm in size
  • Polymer film will dissolve leaving only the array behind
  • Brain will have to reprogram itself to see
  • Ceramic is used rather than silicon for biocompatibility
  • Research performed at Space Vacuum Epitaxy Center in Houston
• Stratford News
  • Classes start this week.
  • Still time to enroll
  • Call the school at 888-444-0804
  • Both Woodbridge and Tysons Corner Campuses are enrolling