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.

Assistant Secretary Bruce Mehlman (center) with Dr. Richard Shurtz (left) and David Burd in the Stratford Virtual Faculty Lounge just after the show

• Tech Talk Guest: Bruce Mehlman
  • Current Position
    • Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy
    • US Department of Commerce
  • Prior Positions
    • Telecommunications Policy Counsel for Cisco Systems
    • Policy Director and General Council for House Leadership Office under J.C. Watts. Instrumental in Y2K and China trade legislation.
  • Bruce’s Current Focus
    • How can the US retain its global innovation leadership in 21^st century?
    • How can regions and communities in the US and around the world best support knowledge clusters and technology entrepreneurship?
    • How can we accelerate the usage of broadband applications to maximize organizational productivity, competitiveness and societal benefit?
    • How can we get more American students studying and pursuing careers in math, science, and engineering?
  • Other Topics of Interest
    • Digital Content and Rights (file sharing and DVD copy protection)
    • State of 3G Phone Technology (will European and US standards converge)
    • Wi-Fi deployment (Good or bad for broadband?)
    • Telecommunications Act of 1996 and Tausin-Dingle (Good for broadband?)
    • Spectrum allocation (Does it impede innovation?)
    • Dot com meltdown (Lessons learned)
    • How do biotech and nanotech play into the future? (Role of Research clustering)
    • Bush’s High Tech Agenda
      • Secure $103B R&D budget, Make R&D tax credit permanent
      • Strengthen intellectual protection laws,
      • Improve K-12 math and science teaching,
      • Secure Tax cuts, Expand Free trade
      • Harden national defenses including infrastructure and cyber security, Emphasize E-government.
• Peer-to-peer piracy prevention bill
  • Sponsored by Howard Berman, D-CA
  • His 26^th District includes North Hollywood
  • Legalizes hacking of P2P networks like Kazaa or LimeWire
  • Will legalize antisocial Internet activities
  • Coming soon to a computer near – Hollywood Hackers
• SysAdmin Day -- Special Acknowledgment Is Deserved
  • Annual event the last Friday of July  (July 26^th)
  • Ted Kekatos came up with the idea three years ago
• Wireless War Driver Charges with Hacking
  • Stepan Puffer indicted by Grand Jury on two counts of fraud for breaking into the Harris County district court’s wireless computer system
  • Puffer demonstrated it to the local newspaper
  • System was brought down the next day
• Saving Memories of the Dot.com Excesses
  • Smith School of Business at Maryland University and Webmergers.com is collecting data from the dot.com era.
  • Effort lead by Professor David Kirsch
  • Greatest failure is WebVan, which burned $800M in two years
• Princeton accused on hacking into Yale's recruitment system
  • FBI was informed by Princeton last week
  • FBI is currently assessing the charges
  • Mr. Lemenager, from Princeton admitted accessing the system, but only to check its security.
• China Third in Global Internet Usage
  • More than 45 million Chinese are now logging onto the Net
  • The average Chinese spends 8 hours and 20 minutes a week on the Net
  • Only the US and Japan have more citizens logging onto the Net
• USA Today Site Hacked this Week
  • For 15 minutes several bogus stories were posted to the site
  • Incident reported to Fairfax County Police
  • Site was brought down for 3 hours to harden systems
• Domain name fight heats up
  • Canada.biz sought by Molson Canadian Beer
  • Won in court, but Zak Muscovitch is appealing
  • Lack of formal appeal process is a problem
  • Another ICANN can of worms
• Hip DJ’s now spinning MP3
  • Ben Kirendall leaves his records at home
  • Uses to 10G Hardrive packs for his iPod to play music
  • Calls himself the Podiatrist
• Microsoft throws its weight behind 802.11b
  • XP already supports Wi-Fi natively
  • Will roll out a wireless portable monitor in January
• Sratford News
  • Next Start is a week from Monday, August 5^th
  • Master Program Seminar Series to begin September 17^th
    • 30 years of Technology – What’s next
    • Are you ready for onsite wireless?
    • E-Business – who is making money and why?
    • Manage your Career – Survival Skills for working through the System
    • Telecommunications and Security

• Tech Talk Guest -- The Stratford Team
  • June Cunha, System Administrator
  • Ted Hart, Assistant Director of Admissions
  • Lavona Suppes -- Dean of Education
• Maintaining the PC
  • Repairing Damage to Disk Directory
  • DeFragging the Hard Drive
  • Cleaning the CD ROM
• Strategies for entering the IT Marketplace
  • Entry level positions in network management
  • Entry level positions in programming and web design
  • Moving up within the same company by changing from admin. support to IT
• Data Driven Website Design
  • Backend Databases include Oracle, MSSQL, MySQL, Sybase
  • Database scripting technologies (JSP, ASP, PHP)
• Internet Access in France
  • Cybercafes
  • Airports
  • Hotels

• Tech Talk Guests -- Windows versus Linux/Unix
  • Billy Ball, Stratford Linux/UNIX Expert, Instructor, and Author
  • Jake Lagdameo, Stratford Windows 2000 Expert and Instructor
• Window Trends and Topics
  • Operating Systems compared (2000, XP, next 64-bit OS, etc.)
  • What is best for the home consumer and the business?
  • Microsoft's newfound commitment to Security?
  • Hardening tips for IIS, Win2000 Server, Win2000 Workstation, etc.
  • Impact of Microsoft's .Net initiative
  • Certification tips for those entering the workforce
• Linux/UNIX Trends and Topics
  • What is Linux? FreeBSD?
• What is open source?
• What is a distribution?
• First time user guide for smooth installation of Linux
• Hardening tips for Linux, UNIX, Apache, etc.
• Lindows -- is it any good?
• United Linux -- good or bad for the movement?
• What about Linux applications?
• Other topics
  • Open versus Close Source Code
  • Linux performance versus Windows performance (single processor, multiprocessor, etc.)
  • Number of Linux/UNIX versus Windows web servers (Linux/UNIX guys love this stat)
  • Linux security versus Windows security (a Linux/UNIX favorite topic)
• Stratford News
• Classes Start: August 5

• Tech Talk Guests – Women in IT
  • June Cunha --  Stratford Grad
  • Linda Lo -- Stratford Grad
• Women in Technology
  • Women in Technology International
  • WITI Potomac Chapter
    • Next meeting July 11^th, 2002
    • 6:00—8:30PM
    • Networking Session – Women Advancing Technology
    • Microsoft Corp
      • Chevy Chase,MD/Washington, DC
      • 5335 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Suite 500
      • Washington, District of Columbia 20015
  • Association of Women in Computing
    • Dorothy Denning, recipient of the 2001 Augusta Ada Lovelace Award
    • Award June 15^th, 2002
    • Ms. Denning is Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and Director of the Georgetown Institute for Information Assurance
• Government IT Workforce Panel Addresses IT Worker Shortage
  • CIO Council endorsed the study
  • Lead by Ira Hobbs, acting Director of the Workforce and Human Capital Committee
  • Plan Focuses on Training and Career Development
  • Recommends a “market-driven, pay for performance system”
  • Federal employment is shaping up to be an opportunity for IT workers
• Worldcom Balance Sheet and P/L Statements Declared Works of Art
  • A Satirewire Special Report
  • In a surprise decision that exonerates dozens of major companies, the US Supreme Court today ruled that corporate earnings statements should be protected as works of art, as they "create something from nothing."
  • The impact of the ruling was widespread. Investigations into hundreds of firms were canceled, and collectors began snatching up original balance sheets, audits, and P&L statements from WorldCom, Enron, and Global Crossing.
  • Auditing firms such as Arthur Andersen (now Art by Andersen) were reclassified as art critics, whose opinions are no longer liable.
• One Billionth Computer Shipped
  • Between 1970 and today one billion have been shipped
  • Two billion mark is expected to be reached by 2008 according to Gartner Research
  • China, Latin America, and Eastern Europe are emerging markets
• Virginia Beach Deploys Face Recognition System
  • Virginia Beach Police Department purchased a FaceIt Argus system for an upgrade to its CCTV network on the beachfront.
  •  The system will be tested over the Independence Day Holiday weekend and is expected to be ready for full use within two weeks.
  • The contract, which includes the installation of 3 new cameras to the existing 10-camera network, new fiber optic cables and the integration of the Argus system
  • The installation was approved by the Virginia Beach City Council in late 2001.
  • Same system used in Tampa/St. Petersburg and at last year’s Superbowl
• Telephone Tooth
  • Also known as “molar mobile”
  • James Auger, 31, and Jimmy Loizeau, 34, developed the device while enrolled in a master's program at the Royal College of Art in London on the way technology is used today.
  • Theoretically, the device would allow spies to receive instructions secretly, or athletes to hear from their coaches while on the field, or spin doctors to talk to politicians
  • Does not allow people to talk back to callers or make outgoing calls
  • Technology would place a small device in a person's back molar that includes a wireless, low-frequency receiver and a gadget that turns audio signals into mechanical vibrations, which would pass from the tooth directly to the inner ear as clear sounds.
• Mafia Leader Jailed using Keyboard Bugging Software
  • Nicodemo Scarfo was sentenced to 33 months in prison
  • Government agents placed a keystroke-logging device on Scarfo’s computer
  • A key point in the case as reached when Judge Pisano ruled the evidence was admissible.
  • Placement was made using a search warrant, rather than a wiretap warrant
  • Logging device gave agents Scarfo’s passwords and user names
  • Scarfo was considered a geek in “wise-guy” circles
• California Scraps Oracle Contract
• A $25,000 donation from Oracle to Governor Gray Davis
• Sparked criticism when it was discovered a Oracle gave campaign funds to a Davis official after a $95 million contract was awarded.
• Last week, officials said the state of California would officially cancel the contract.
• Search engines growing in use according to Pew Internet Project
  • More than 80% of all US net users have used a search engine
  • 29% of people use search engines every day
  • 52% of net users check e-mail everyday
  • Men are more likely, 30%, to look for themselves online than women, 24%.
  • Google is by far the most popular general search engine based on the average number of minutes people spend using it per month.
  • The MSN search engine is the most popular overall, largely because anyone typing a keyword into the address box on Internet Explorer gets taken to the MSN search page.
• Video Pill to be tested on Humans
  • Contains miniature video camera, a battery, a tiny light and a transmitter
  • Video-quality images are picked up by a Walkman-sized receiver worn on a belt around the waist
  • 1 inch in length and one-third of an inch in diameter
  • Developed and tested in Israel
• INS Launches New System for Tracking Students
  • Eligible schools can now use the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS).
  • Schools will be brought online between now and August 16^th
  • Change of status reports are expected to be filed within 30 days
  • Attention all registrars, “This is a great tool.
• Search Engine Tips
  • Use Google, it’s has the best engine
  • Use advanced search techniques
    • All of the words (AND)
    • Any of the words (OR)
    • Exact phrase (quotation marks)
    • Exclude selected words (minus sign)
  • Other Google features include Image search, Page translation, Safe search filtering
  • Google is noted for its simplicity and fast retrieval speed
    • Index of 2 billion Web pages
    • Responds to more than 150 million search queries per day
    • Typical response time less than half a second.
• Internet won't sink even if Worldcom bites the dust
  • UUNet, a Worldcom subsidiary
  • 50% of Internet
  • 70% of all US e-mail traffic
  • 50% of all worldwide e-mail traffic
  • Worldcom offers Internet access in over 100 countries
  • UUNet is Worldcom “crown jewel” and many believe the new CEO will never let it fail
• Woman Faces Fraud Charges Related to eBay
  • Massachusetts filed suit against Theresa Smith
  • Bilked $750,000 out of would-be Apple computer buyers
  • Sold 260 computers nationwide, but didn’t have any inventory
  • Computers never delivered and refund checks bounced
  • Buyers Beware: Always use an escrow agency when making large online auction purchases
• Mailbag
  • Replacing memory discussion – buy the good stuff!!
  • What about Broadband deployment?
• Stratford News
  • Next Start: August 5^th