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.

• Game Console Shootoff
  • Microsoft’s Xbox (DVD, HDTV, HardDrive, Memory Stick, 15 games, $299++)
    • A Tech Talk recommendation
  • Sony’s PlayStation2
  • Nintendo Gamecube  (Mini-DVD, regular TV, no HardDrive, 7 games)
• Christmas Gifts for Geeks and Geek-Wantabees
  • New PCs
    • Desktops for under $1,000
    • Laptops for under $1,500
  • RW-DVDs and/or RW-CDs
  • Personal Digital Assistants
    • Palms
    • Handheld Computers (Compac iPac, HP Jornado)
  • Digital Cameras (Number of Pixels, Memory Size, I/O, Support Software, Zoom)
  • Windows XP Upgrade
  • Wireless Hubs (802.11b has finally arrived)
  • Robots (Hasbro BioBug, $40 and Sony Aibo Dog, $1000)
  • MP3 Players (Memory type and capacity, I/O, Menu System)
• Microsoft Settlement News
  • Nine States have rejected settlement offer
  • Lead by California, Iowa, and Connecticut
  • DOJ has email address for public comment
    • microsoft.atr@usdoj.gov
  • Judge Collen Kollar-Kotelly must make final decision
• The Eyes Have it at Comdex
  • Retinal scanning devices for security are the hit at Comdex
    • Panasonics Iris Recognition Camera costs $250.
  • Smart Cards everywhere
  • Milimeter wave cameras for weapons detection are also popular items.
• Police Raid Counterfeit Software Hub
  • Arrests made in LA
  • 31,000 Windows
  • 4.000 Copies of Operating Manual for Windows XP
  • Symantec Antivirus Software
  • Contained in 40-foot container shipped from Taiwan
  • Value over $100 Million
• Stratford News
  • Next Starts
    • November 19^th, 2001
    • January 7^th, 2002
  • Programs
    • Culinary Arts, Hotel and Event Management
    • Computer Programming and Computer Networking
    • Business Administration
    • Masters Degrees

• Pixar’s Revolutionary Graphics Technology
  • New software called Fizt (Fizz-T) used for Monster's Inc.
    • Understands physics of characters and virtual environment
      • 3 million hairs on each monster
      • Simulates movement of skin, clothes, fur when influenced by wind, gravity, or other objects
    • Uses RenderMan Interface
  • Hardware Software
    • Operating System: Unix
    • Sun Sparc and Silicon Graphics Workstations
  • Each 3 to 10 second shot took two hours to create (previously one to two weeks)
• Study on Sex Drive and Cell Phones
• Italian Study on 300 volunteers
• Study showed loss of cell phone meant loss of sexual prowess
• AT&T Data and IP Services portend the future
  • 13 Data Center distributed across the country
  • Designed for out sources IT services that require secure 24/7 delivery
  • Companies can offload their IT infrastructure to focus on information management
• Winners and Losers for 2002 with Corporate Purchases
  • Cahners In-Stat Group says that overall IT spending will decline in 2002
  • Based on InternetWeek research
  • Winners
    • Wireless LANs
    • Routers and Switches
    • Systems that increase communication options (PDAs, Cell Phones)
  • Losers
    • Big supply chain software implementations
    • PC upgrades
    • Windows XP
• Stealing MS Passports Wallet
  • Marc Slemko developed a technique to steal a person’s Microsoft Passport, credit numbers by getting the victim to open a Hotmail message.
  • MS Disabled the Virtual Wallet on Friday, pending a fix.
  • Raises questions about the linchpin of MS .Net initiative
• Microsoft News
  • Proposed Settlement between MS and DOJ
  • States have until Tuesday to get onboard
  • Windows XP will be free of any significant restrictions
  • Some provisions include
    • Disclose server protocols so competitors software can run efficiently
    • No retaliation against OEM or software developers who use competitive products
    • No exclusive use contracts to squeeze out competitive products
    • Restrictions to last five years
    • Government team to have access to source code for validation.
  • Microsoft very pleased (“fair and reasonable”)
  • Sun may still files suit against Microsoft (settlement has “outs, loopholes, and vagaries.”)
• Robots in the News
  • Robots used for search and rescue WTC
    • Marsupial machines that spit smaller robots out of the “stomachs”
    • Shape changing robots that flatten themselves to crawl through tight spaces
    • Two teams have fielded robots
  • NASA Bulldozer Rover Robots to Scoop Mars Dirt
    • Same processor and software as the Nanorover, which was designed for the Japanese asteroid project.
    • Developed by NASA to mimic a bulldozer and dump truck
  • Robot Dog versus the BioBug (A difference in design philosophy)
    • BIO Mechanical Bugs from Hasbro ($40, available September 2001)
      • Don’t rely on big computer brains to function
      • Designed to “herd” with own kind and battle with other species.
    • Aibo Dog from Sony (Reduced from $1,500 to $1,000)
      • Intelligent robot with powerful brain and complex processing
      • Add on software, Aibo Life, can fake emotions, instincts, growth, learning
  • Robot See, Robot Kill
    • Self aiming camera that responds to audiovisual stimulation
    • Originally developed for aiming a camera for video conferencing
    • Using an adaptable neural network to mimic the brains, Superior Colliculus
    • Research funded by ONR would develop robots that fire guns if attacked.
  • E-Nose Technology
    • Developed at Illinois Institute of Technology to smell bacteria
    • Eight sensors to identify hundreds of odor fingerprints
    • Smart Refrigerator and Mailrooms (Anthrax)
  • UN World Robotics Report
    • Issued by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
    • 750,000 deployed robots worldwide
    • Robot Market is about 100 robots per employee in industrialized countries (300 in Japan)
    • World wide market for robots increased by 25% in 2000 driven by high labor costs.
• Stratford News
  • Next Start November 19th
  • Visit Stratford website to listen to shows.