Morning Guys, hope you are all well.

I am quite happy at the moment. After a couple of weeks missing out on my daily dose of Xanaga subscriptions, and after fiddling, asking and a lot of head scratching, the e.mail list has started again. So I can again see, in easy sections, the postings and comments of my xanaga friends.

Isn't it surprising how quickly the heat of Summer turns to the coolness of Autumn. Here , in the UK, it has been one of the warmest, consistant summers that I can remeber for a few years. What does make me smile is that the Experts are using this as evidence of further Global Warming. I have seen the pictures of deserts growing, droughts, the lot. But I also know that through out world history the weather has "cycled". Gone from warm to cold, from Ice Age to Tropical Forest. It is, of course, impossible to ignore the fact that, in the past two hundred years, and even more so in the last hundred, that Mankind as a whole has wasted the planets resources and damaged the enviroment in which we live, in so many ways that have NEVER happened in ages past, but is the future so doom ladened as they say?

I am pleased to say that, after the possible brush with Menigitis, that Laura's suspicious rash has turned out to be nothing more than a reaction to some anti-biotics she had been taking. "Happily" (and you take that with a pinch of salt - ) she is back to her bossy, insufferable, cuddly, lovely self, she is even sleeping over at a friends as I type. It's good to have her back to normal, and I'm glad to have removed the worry from a heart of a couple of fretting parents.

What has bothered me a little bit is the seeming demise in the Opera Browser. Not that long ago, I used Opera almost exclusively. It was a good product, even if the free version was supported with adverts. But over the last year, that love has lost its lustre. So much so, that, although I have tried the latest version, it has been superceeded in my affections by the Mozilla Firebird Browser - a smalll basic footprint, you add what you wish - and it works OK. One thing to bare in mind with Firebird is that, on some sites , it can suffer the same problems as Netscape, i.e. Internet Explorer is all conquering, but apart from that I like it.

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AOL Blocking All Links From LiveJournal Not exactly sure what's going on here (and it could just be an honest mistake), but apparently, AOL is now blocking all links to AOL from LiveJournal, the popular blog hosting site. In other words, if AOL can tell you're coming from LiveJournal, it will look as though the AOL site in question doesn't exist. Of course, the rumors are flying as to why they're doing this. The innocent theory is that it's just a mistake on AOL's part. It's possible they wanted to stop people hosting pictures on their AOL accounts and having them show up on LiveJournal, but just went overboard. The more sinister theory (which would certainly need a lot more proof before it could be believed) is that this is part of their blogging marketing strategy. AOL, of course, just launched their own, competing blogging offering, so some are suggesting less-than-friendly reasons for AOL blocking all links from LiveJournal. I think that's a pretty far-fetched theory (though, the timing is odd). If AOL is actively blocking LiveJournal links for that reason, it would be a clear overstepping of their bounds, and would be just one more reason for folks to avoid AOL altogether. [via Techdirt]

What do you think to that? AOL have only just started to supply a weblogging service, and they are already causing trouble. I'm sure that this could well be, as suggested, an innocent error. But being the cynic that I am, I tend to suspect the alternative, more sinister answer - they are using their size and postion to control the "market" their way. I mean, lets be honest, what benefit, apart from focing people to use their service (hence having to have an AOL account) would they gain form blocking access to other weblogs site. I know they will suggest security, virus exclusion, and no end of other excuses, but in the end people only want access to a pool of pictures they already have - so what

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Bloglines: web-based RSS and blog syndicator Bloglines : Free, Web-Based News Aggregator. From their front page: Bloglines is a free service that makes it easy to... [via CSL BLOG]

Anyone interested in keeping track of some of the favourite blog sites without having to hunt them out individually?

I already use the Xanaga Subscription Service for my Xanag Sites, and the Newzcrawler NewsReader but Blog Lines gives you another option. It is a web based service which you can sign up for and then view from your normal web browsers. In the inital setup you can pick some of the more common sites, and then you can add any additional sites you wish to view as you go. Worth ago if that's what you want.

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To Satisfy Patent Demands Every Browser Must Change More fallout from Microsoft losing their patent case against Eolas. Because of this, every browser is going to have to change, meaning that many things that currently work on the web, won't work after the changes are made. Microsoft is already adjusting their technology, and the W3C has started to look into what changes all browsers will need to make to avoid stepping on this patent. So, basically, right now we have a system that works, and because of a patent that wasn't used for anything other than to threaten a patent infringement lawsuit, every single browser needs to change, breaking stuff along the way. That's encouraging innovation? Also, how, exactly is the idea of embedding programs within the browser something that is non-obvious? It seems like software applications have been embedding other programs for years before this patent was ever filed.nbspnbspnbspnbspnbsp [via Techdirt]

Microsoft preps IE changes in response to patent ruling W3C mulls implications          [via The Register]

 

I have only just come across this story, but I suspect it has been running on in the background for a while. Basically Microsoft has lost a patient case against a company called Eolas. I don't pretned to know the full story, but I do know the outcome. Mivrosoft lost the case, and the upshot is that they will have to alter the way that Internet explorer works - the practical upshot being the possiblity that a lot of sites that can be viewed with IE will become unviewable because of the alteration (that is my understanding at least). This will involve no end of people and companies (my self included) with additional work to alter their websites so that they can be viewed in the "ammended" browser.

 

I suppose it will be a wait and see sort of situation. Maybe it is, again, doom laden omens that turn out to be internet nothings, but then again.

 

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Should We Have Cyber Bounty Hunters? With the increasing cyber security questions along with viruses and worms, it's pretty clear that folks like the FBI can't keep up with online crime. So, here's a suggestion to start offering cash rewards for tracking down cyber-criminals. Clearly there are some problems with the idea, but will online bounty hunters be the method for tracking down online criminals in the future? You certainly get more manpower - who might have more tricks than the authorities. However, it also opens up people to do abusive things in the name of "tracking down cyber criminals". Sounds similar to Larry Lessig's idea of having bounties on spammers.

[via Techdirt]

 

FBI to arrest teen involved in Blaster attack ZDNet Aug 29 2003 9:58AM ET      [via Moreover - ZDNet]

FBI closes in on MSBlast worm suspect ZDNet Aug 29 2003 9:54AM ET          [via Moreover - ZDNet]

 

Back to one of my favourite moans. It would appear that the US Authorities are actually going to arrest someone for the creation of the MSBlaster worm. And it appears to be a teenager (I have seen a news story that says they have actually got him - but as usual you can never find it when you want it - LOL). This, I think, is good news in the fact that the person responsible for causing hundred's of thousands of Internet Users un-necessary pain and heart ache will have to anwser for what he has done. However, paying a Bounty for someone to hunt them down - now that's a different thing. I know in some countries, Bounty Hunters are "accepted" as a means to an end, but it always worries me when you offer money to achieve a conviction. A reward for information leading to conviction - hum!!! , but to post an actual Bounty??? Not sure at all.

 

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Relatives split over 9/11 tapes Relatives express mixed views as transcripts of final conversations with 9/11 tower victims are published.     [via BBC News | World | UK Edition]

Tapes rekindle horror of 9/11 Transcripts of frantic calls made as 9/11 victims tried to flee the burning twin towers are released in New York.    [via BBC News | News Front Page | UK Edition]

 

 

When I saw these stories I was horrified. Is it not bad enough that the families of the victims of 9-11 have had to suffer the loss of a family member, in such an un-natural, brutal manner, but then to have the last deperate calls "published" as though it were another product to sell really worries me deeply. I know the effects of that day are still reverberating around the world today, and although we in the UK suffered losses to those attacks, the main victims are still those in the US, and New York specifically. It's one of those historical events that will shape the future for a long time. Also, with the anniversary of 9-11 only a couple of weeks away, the timing leaves something to be desired.

 

But then , on the other hand , I saw this story, via fellow Xangian deejer, that is probably even more distrubing. ( Click here to link to story). But what I find even more distrubing is the fact that I can sort of understand where they are coming from. Do we not celebrate, and pay homage, to our war hero's too?