American cell phones verses the rest of the world’s
For those of you who travel overseas, you probably already know this: The United States has the worst cell phone service on the planet. Can you hear me now?
Not only that, but we pay a lot more for our cell calls and we’ve blown several opportunities to become more competitive, more standardized and more in-line with the rest of the world.
Yes, at least some U.S.-based cellular networks make use of the same GSM standard as the Europeans but our phones run on different frequencies, which means that you’ll need to have dual (or tri-mode or quad-mode) band radios in your phone.
As a result, our phones can be more expensive to make and they’re more liable to break. Plus, U.S. phones are often sold locked to a specific carrier, which limits their markets and keeps prices high, forcing most of us to sign up for two-year service contracts when we want new phones.
With the unlocked phones that are available outside the United States or if you get it unlocked here, you can easily add features from a variety of third-party providers.
And speaking of lockouts, remember when 300-baud modems were first invented and the phone companies tried to block their use, claiming that they would damage their networks?
Sadly, we still have some of the same attitudes today with newer devices that are on the phone networks.
Skype is trying to get the FCC to unlock its IP phones for American users so that any phone can be used with any VOIP provider.
And to make matters worse, the latest efforts by cell companies to provide high-speed data service are rewriting history once again, with incompatible systems between Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile and Cingular/AT&T networks. When will these guys come together with one single data technology?
Finally, for those of you who travel to Canada with your cell phones, don’t forget that you’re now making international calls at ridiculously high rates, even though Canada uses three-digit area codes.
There ought to be a better way.
Cyberterrorism: By Whatever Name, It’s On The Increase
Security Pros are hesitant to label Web attacks as “cyberterrorism” because of the volatile connotations of that phrase however, recent events in England and Russia point to an increased use of the Web to coordinate or launch such attacks aimed at cultural and political subversion.
A British court last week handed down prison sentences of up to 10 years to three Muslim men it called “cyber-jihadis” and convicted of using the Internet to urge Muslims to wage holy war on non-Muslims and in the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) reported politically motivated cyberattacks in Russia.
This type of cyberwarfare has been going on for months. The Web sites of Kommersant, a Russian newspaper and the Echo of Moscow, a radio station, suffered significant denial-of-service attacks in early May.
The editor in chief of Kommersant’s Web site speculated might be retaliation for the publication of a police interview with the expatriate billionaire Boris Berezovsky.
Even the generally neutral Swiss government has found itself in the middle of the emerging struggle against cyberterrorism.
Late last month, Swiss prosecutors charged a husband-and-wife team with running Web sites that supported terrorists by providing them with information on how to make bombs.
Similarly, the “Electronic Jihad Program,” available via the jihadi Web site Al-jinan.org, is an application that users can install and use to target specific IP addresses for DOS attacks.
The application includes a Windows-like interface that lets users choose from a list of target Web sites provided via the Al-jinan site, select an attack speed (weak, medium or strong) and then click on the “attack” button.
The site was down late last week, but Al-jinan has been registered for about 4-1/2 years. Its domain name server registration features a number of contradictions that make tracing its origins difficult.
Al-jinan’s domain name server is being hosted by Ibtekarat, a Web hosting company based in Beirut. The site’s registration information cites an address with a Los Angeles postal code, while listing the Egyptian city of Al Esmaeiliya as its “registrant city” and Iraq as its “registrant country.”
Electronic jihad hasn’t yet caused any major Web site disruptions, but the potential is there. Jihadists are interested in taking down Web sites and disrupting economies that they don’t like. It’s something to be taken seriously.
U.S. businesses would be greatly affected by large-scale cyberattacks because most of the country’s critical infrastructure is run by companies in the private sector.
The government and the U.S. business community are one-in-the-same target. Even businesses that don’t run critical infrastructure elements would be affected because there’s a cascading effect if you attack the infrastructure.
While companies that operate critical infrastructure must be especially wary of Internet-based attacks, everyone has to pay attention to security.
There may be some businesses that say, ‘No one will target us.’ but electronic jihad will target anyone if it creates economic disruption. Whoever’s vulnerable gets attacked.
Is Google’s Spam Fight a Sham?
Google may say it fights spam but I’m beginning to have my doubts. A recent post on Google’s Webmaster Central blog offers advice on how to build “startpages.”
What is a “startpage”? “Basically, it’s a Web page with a lot of links about a specific topic,” explain Selina & Jos, two members of Google’s Search Quality Team in Dublin.
So here’s the question: How is a “startpage” different from a “doorway page”?
Wikipedia offers this definition:
Doorway pages are Web pages that are created for spamdexing, this is, for spamming the index of a search engine by inserting results for particular phrases with the purpose of sending you to a different page.
In practice, a doorway page looks like… well, a Web page with a lot of links about a specific topic.
There are probably arguable subtleties that distinguish “stagepages” and “doorway pages,” but the major difference seems to be intent: Is the page author trying to create a useful information source or a deceptive information source?
And therein lies the problem: It’s hard to judge intent. Google admits as much by asking its users to submit spam pages so they can be removed from its index. If Google could do so algorithmically, it wouldn’t have to ask for help.
But it’s hard to credit Google’s sincerity in wanting spam pages to be removed from its index when Google supports and profits from domain parking.
It has an entire program called AdSense for Domains that lets domain name owners put ads on undeveloped or parked, domains that relate to the domain’s name. Google is currently being sued for the practice.
AdSense for Domains treats domain names like search keywords for the purpose of placing ads on the parked domain. Thus, a domain like bathtubfurniture.com might have ads for bath-related furnishings, if such items and the domain really existed.
Google, I know, would defend these ads as providing useful information to Web searchers.
If you ask me, it’s a spam service. Google doesn’t like people manipulating its index but it seems to be okay with Web pages posing as real content.
Michael Moore’s latest film Sicko
Michael Moore’s latest film Sicko has appeared online.
I watched it in its entirety on Google Video last night.
It has been removed since then, though it’s no doubt still available on various file sharing networks.
I’m tempted to send Mr. Moore a check for the $20.00 USD I won’t be spending at the movie theater this summer but to do so would be to shortchange him.
Sicko is a profoundly compelling film and if it has the effect on the rest of America that it had on me, Mr. Moore will have done this country a far greater service than can be paid back in dollars.
Whether you lean right or left or off the charts, you will be moved by the grotesque inequity in the U.S health system that Mr. Moore documents.
You may not agree with Mr. Moore’s argument that the U.S. should nationalize health care. You may not agree with the rhetorical techniques he uses to make his points. You may find his personal politics contrary to yours.
However, if you see Sicko, I suspect you will find it hard to deny that the U.S. heath-care system needs to change.
Writing about the unauthorized release of Sicko, The New York Times said, “Moore, 53, has been vocal in his support of downloading pirated movies as long as movie pirates don’t profit.”
If only the health care industry shared Mr. Moore’s willingness to think of something other than profit, fewer U.S. citizens would die for the sake of some insurance executive’s bonus.
Will Terrorists Use Google Earth?
Does Google Earth provide too much information? Could it become a tool of terrorists?
Over the weekend I was talking with some friends about random events going on in the world and I asked the question “do you think the CIA will ever censor Google Earth?”
Now we discover that the suspects being held for the John F. Kennedy airport terror plot possibly referenced Google Maps as a part of the supposed plan.
Here is a look at what the suspects said:
One of the plotters behind the alleged scheme to explode gas pipelines at John F. Kennedy International Airport directed his co-conspirators to use Google Earth to obtain detailed aerial photos of the targeted facility.
If you follow the link above you can see transcripts of the interrogation.
So Geek With Laptop readers, what do you think? Did the suspects actually reference Google Maps?
In a broader context, just how much information should Google Maps be allowed to show its users? Is there such a thing as too much transparency?
Why I love the Internet #5150
The internet is a great place to find all sorts of things and late last night I stumbled upon this video of an insane crazy lady going off on a telemarketer.
Small disclaimer: The things she says are not exactly work safe unless you work at a telemarketing office in which case you probably hear this sort of thing daily.
HAHA!! I almost wet myself laughing so hard watching this video.
I had my sound pretty loud and actually jumped in my chair when she let out her first squeal.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOW.
One of my favorite quotes from this lady:
I use to be an EMT. People died because my answering machine was full.
So what do you think Geek With Laptop readers? Does this sort of thing really happen?
Do people really go off on telemarketers like this? Comments of course always welcome.