Just read this article and I thought that this is exactly the sort of thing that people need to be aware of. As per the attached article on CNET News, there is a DNS related virus which could impede people's ability to access the Internet this summer. Now - that having been said, do you own due diligence - as you should with ANYTHING that's published on the Internet. Being an electronic doubting Thomas is not a bad thing.
Still, here's the article.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-57418276-83/web-could-vanish-for-hordes-of-people-in-july-fbi-warns/?part=rss&subj=news&tag=title
In case there's a link problem, then just go to CNET news today and find the article. Also worth noting that later on, the article gives a website which can take a look at your computer to see if you're infected and affected! The link is http://www.dcwg.org/ but as always, TecHumanity does not endorse or recommend any website, product or service. As mentioned before, do your own due diligence!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Cloud Based Storage - Lessons Learned from the MegaUpload Kerfluffle
One of the neat aspects of cloud-based computing is that it gives us an ability to use the cloud as a conduit to backup our files and also to effectively transfer them between each of our electronic devices, or perhaps to be able to access from variable locations. This is one of those things that is absolutely wonderful and is a real benefit.
Like with anything else in technology though - everything has it's price, and the recent shutdown of MegaUpload illustrates perfectly the problem with cloud-based storage. One of the big disadvantages with cloud-based storage is that it's very obviously dependent on one's ability to access the website and service.
In this particular example, MegaUpload was a very popular site and was used by many people for storing their files on line - legally and within the TOS (Terms of Service). The problem was that many people were using this service as a mechanism to distribute materials that were protected by copy write. Recent legal action by the owners of this material has resulted in the entire site being locked down while this legal soup is navigated though. In other words if you were an innocent user who was just using this service to keep your in-progress-novel-of-the-year online, well, you were caught up in the huge copy-write infringement net, and there is absolutely nothing that you can do about this.
The lesson here is that whenever using a cloud-based service, a risk analysis needs to be done to determine what happens if you lose access to this service and to put a contingency plan in place.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
The Electronic Grim Reaper
Sometimes it might appear that I have a "problem" with cloud computing. I don't think that's really the case at all. I think that it's more that when it comes to technology, I tend to look at things with a critical and skeptical eye. Especially with technology, I think that this is an important thing to do, as one can quickly become dependent on the technology and if you haven't done your due diligence, then problems can occur in the future. But then again, like some many other cases, maybe I'm over-analyzing!
My latest aha! moment with cloud computing and one of the inherent problems with it came as I was reading the paper this morning. This article in question was about the author's relatively large iTunes collection and how he had stored it on iCloud (for convenience). What he then went on to ponder really shocked me as I had never considered the problem.
He started to question what happens when he passes away. With all of his digital purchases that exist within the cloud - how does he ensure that the access to these files doesn't expire when he does. He contacted Apple to discuss and the policy is that access to his iCloud account can be granted to his heirs, but in order for this to be done, Apple would need to see a copy of his death certificate in addition to the appropriate section of his will where he bequeaths his libraries. Holy Cannoli!. This means that I need list my digital purchases specifically in my will? The other thing is that going with this process will just give the heir access to the library, it wouldn't allow them to merge in the contents of the willed library with their own personal collection.
So here's the rub...for me, this is not really so much of an issue as I don't (yet) use cloud computing for anything more than as a backup mechanism. When I die, all of my digital purchases exist on the hard drive of my computer. Of course, given that I have two teenagers and they do not have an appreciation for my eclectic love of music in all it's forms, I better find someone better to give it to. If you have a particular genre or artist that you particularly like, leave a shout out and I'll will it to you :)
My latest aha! moment with cloud computing and one of the inherent problems with it came as I was reading the paper this morning. This article in question was about the author's relatively large iTunes collection and how he had stored it on iCloud (for convenience). What he then went on to ponder really shocked me as I had never considered the problem.
He started to question what happens when he passes away. With all of his digital purchases that exist within the cloud - how does he ensure that the access to these files doesn't expire when he does. He contacted Apple to discuss and the policy is that access to his iCloud account can be granted to his heirs, but in order for this to be done, Apple would need to see a copy of his death certificate in addition to the appropriate section of his will where he bequeaths his libraries. Holy Cannoli!. This means that I need list my digital purchases specifically in my will? The other thing is that going with this process will just give the heir access to the library, it wouldn't allow them to merge in the contents of the willed library with their own personal collection.
So here's the rub...for me, this is not really so much of an issue as I don't (yet) use cloud computing for anything more than as a backup mechanism. When I die, all of my digital purchases exist on the hard drive of my computer. Of course, given that I have two teenagers and they do not have an appreciation for my eclectic love of music in all it's forms, I better find someone better to give it to. If you have a particular genre or artist that you particularly like, leave a shout out and I'll will it to you :)
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The Transformation From Information To Knowledge
The idea for this article came as I was walking to work the other day. At the most fundamental level, I marveled at the wealth of information that’s available to us in this digital age. For me personally, having access to information and data is critical – I’m a very self-motivated individual who doesn’t mind wading through the plethora of data to find what I’m looking for.
Over the past few years, I’ve taken advantage of this data availability on numerous occasions. From looking up medical information, to helping me navigate the wonderfully complex and convoluted legal system, to using the Internet as a tool to research productions before I buy. All of this has made instant availability to information a very valuable tool in my kit.
The first problem that we face is that there’s just too MUCH information available. I know that sometimes I’ll be sitting there at Google and I have to think “What is it that I’m really looking for”. This is the core starting point for research and it dictates which branch of research that we’ll take. Quite often, I’ll take a look at the preliminary search results and I’ll say “no, this isn’t what I’m looking for” and I’ll go back to how I structured my search term and I revise accordingly. Sometimes just changing the order of the phrases can make a difference in the search results.
The second problem is that once I know that I’m going along the right path, and I’m looking at the sites that were returned by the search engine, there’s still a big challenge. It’s a critical task to ascertain the legitimacy, accuracy and objectiveness of the website. I’ve said this before, but I think that it’s so important to be eternally pessimistic about the objectivity of any online source. I try to always assume that there is bias in the information presented, and if it doesn’t seem right to me, I’ll cross-reference with another site or do a brief sojourn to a separate search on this one topic.
As this article started formulating in my own mind, the general theme mutated from being just about information access to something a little bit different, and that is, what is the difference between information and knowledge.
When I came up with this question in my own mind, I thought that it would be simply a matter of looking up the dictionary definition of knowledge and from that, I can draw a comparison between it and information. It turns out that this isn’t so cut and dried.
There are numerous philosophies on what knowledge is, and what it isn’t. I had no idea that there are many debates between people that are much more philosophical than me, so I will defer on diving too much into this debate with this article.
As I think about this topic some more, I have my own definition on what knowledge is and how it relates to information.
To me, information is the data; it describes a product, a process, a law or defines and describes something. Information on its own doesn’t draw an inference as to the underlying data or otherwise make correlation between other components. My definition of knowledge is the intellectual exercise that attempts to interpret the facts that are presented.
An example I could give of this is that at a trial, the evidence presented, would be equivalent to the information. On its own, it just exists. The prosecution or the defense infers and theorizes about the evidence – this is the knowledge (or in the case the theory, I suppose) that is based on the facts presented.
If I’m on the right track about this distinction between information and knowledge, then I would contend that we truly are in the “Information Age”, that what is available to us is the raw data. The sophistication of the “Knowledge Age” will be where our technology not only presents us with the “dumb” search results but will be able to intrinsically determine what it is that we’re REALLY looking for, and attempt to deliver results in a context that’s closer to what it is that we really need.
Over the past few years, I’ve taken advantage of this data availability on numerous occasions. From looking up medical information, to helping me navigate the wonderfully complex and convoluted legal system, to using the Internet as a tool to research productions before I buy. All of this has made instant availability to information a very valuable tool in my kit.
The first problem that we face is that there’s just too MUCH information available. I know that sometimes I’ll be sitting there at Google and I have to think “What is it that I’m really looking for”. This is the core starting point for research and it dictates which branch of research that we’ll take. Quite often, I’ll take a look at the preliminary search results and I’ll say “no, this isn’t what I’m looking for” and I’ll go back to how I structured my search term and I revise accordingly. Sometimes just changing the order of the phrases can make a difference in the search results.
The second problem is that once I know that I’m going along the right path, and I’m looking at the sites that were returned by the search engine, there’s still a big challenge. It’s a critical task to ascertain the legitimacy, accuracy and objectiveness of the website. I’ve said this before, but I think that it’s so important to be eternally pessimistic about the objectivity of any online source. I try to always assume that there is bias in the information presented, and if it doesn’t seem right to me, I’ll cross-reference with another site or do a brief sojourn to a separate search on this one topic.
As this article started formulating in my own mind, the general theme mutated from being just about information access to something a little bit different, and that is, what is the difference between information and knowledge.
When I came up with this question in my own mind, I thought that it would be simply a matter of looking up the dictionary definition of knowledge and from that, I can draw a comparison between it and information. It turns out that this isn’t so cut and dried.
There are numerous philosophies on what knowledge is, and what it isn’t. I had no idea that there are many debates between people that are much more philosophical than me, so I will defer on diving too much into this debate with this article.
As I think about this topic some more, I have my own definition on what knowledge is and how it relates to information.
To me, information is the data; it describes a product, a process, a law or defines and describes something. Information on its own doesn’t draw an inference as to the underlying data or otherwise make correlation between other components. My definition of knowledge is the intellectual exercise that attempts to interpret the facts that are presented.
An example I could give of this is that at a trial, the evidence presented, would be equivalent to the information. On its own, it just exists. The prosecution or the defense infers and theorizes about the evidence – this is the knowledge (or in the case the theory, I suppose) that is based on the facts presented.
If I’m on the right track about this distinction between information and knowledge, then I would contend that we truly are in the “Information Age”, that what is available to us is the raw data. The sophistication of the “Knowledge Age” will be where our technology not only presents us with the “dumb” search results but will be able to intrinsically determine what it is that we’re REALLY looking for, and attempt to deliver results in a context that’s closer to what it is that we really need.
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