Anyone reading my page has probably heard of Palladium. Just in case anyone's not up to speed, Palladium is basically Microsoft's attempt at creating a hardware-based DRM (Digital Rights Management) platform. They always accompany it with such phrases as "trusted computing" and "better security." I won't even get into the irony of MS using terms like "secure" and "trust" to describe anything relating to them or their products, but needless to say, many people feel that MS could use this new-found control of your PC to even further exploit their illegal OS monopoly.

Microsoft and other Palladium backers are, of course, denying any malicious intent for the platform. I can buy this, as it does have legitimate use for such industries as entertainment. However, my fear is that once MS controls the keys to our computers, does anyone really think they'll be content to just leave it at that? If you do, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you.

A recent article on The Chronical discusses many of these fears and doubts. It's geared towards the education sector, but the issues discussed apply to everyone. Definitely worth reading.

And needless to say, I will be thoroughly pissed if this in any way affects my my ability to run Linux, or other open source software.

In yet another display of Microsoft's amazing knack for security, it's possible to gain Administrator (or any other user) access to the Windows XP filesystem by simply booting into the Windows 2000 Recovery Console.

One more reason to switch to a real operating system.

Wow, I hope this isn't indicative of the cloning process in general...

LONDON - Dolly, the world's first mammal cloned from an adult, has been euthanized, scientists said Friday.

A veterinary exam confirmed the six-year-old sheep had a progressive lung disease. Her cells had started to show signs of aging faster than a typical animal.

Complete story

Known as 802.11g, the specification increases the bandwidth of wireless networks from 11Mbps, under the 802.11b standard, to 54Mbps. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers said Friday that a consensus had been reached to establish the latest version of the 802.11g specification, version 6.1, as the standard to be used in the industry

Now maybe we wont have the same problems like we did with 802.11a and 802.11b...

Link to Article

As a follow-up to the story posted below, a secret plot by Microsoft to promote OSS has been exposed. See http://www.linuxworld.com/2003/0212.petreley.html for all the details.

According to this c|net article, on Thursday, London-based market intelligence firm Mi2g said that the worm caused between $950 million and $1.2 billion in lost productivity in its first five days worldwide. That puts the worm at No. 9 on the company's list of the most costly malicious code, behind the likes of the Code Red worm, with its average of $2.6 billion in productivity loss; the LoveLetter virus, with $8.8 billion; and the Klez virus, with $9.0 billion.

And you wonder what systems the majority of these viruses are infecting :P

I've been customizing the webmail client, and I've added a LOT of functionaility and other miscellaneous options to it. Anyone with an e-mail account should check out the new options next time they log on.

Let me also just say that in general I'm not a fan of webmail clients. I've yet to find one with an interface I really care for, features all the options I expect in a good mail client, or that just plain doesn't suck. Squirrelmail (the webmail client used for LegRoom.net), though, is truly a great e-mail client that impresses even me. For those of you who don't know me well, that's quite an endorsement. :-) You can check it out for yourself at http://www.squirrelmail.org/. Enjoy!

I just wanted to send a big "thanks" to Steve over at thisbeitz.com. He created the majority of graphics used on this site, as well as the LegRoom.net theme. He also helped numerous times with the many problems I've run into getting PostNuke configured correctly. So, thanks Steve, and be sure to visit his site.

LegRoom.net e-mail accounts are now available. E-mail me to request one. E-mail accounts are only available to registered members.

E-mail access is currently available through both a webmail interface and POP3+ssl connections. Additional features, such as spam filtering, will be added in the near future.

Good news: Most of the problems with the site have been worked out, and most of the content is now back online. Fully functional modules include: PostCalendar, DailyStrips, Downloads, News, Query Tools, Photo Gallery, Powered By, Server Information, SSH Applet, Submit News, Topics, WeatherCenter, and Website Statistics.

Bad news: Web Links are still down (argh!), and it'll take a long while to get everything back up. Open Directory is still completely down. Still have no clue what the problem is, but I'm working on it. Also, as I mentioned before, my photos are back up, but I still have to comment everything. Won't take too long once I get started.

Changes: I've added some security to the site. The Members List, Query Tools, and SSH Applet modules should now only be accessible to registered users (free to join, register here).

As always, suggestions are welcome.