Author: Vince Kimball

The Economist: Faster, cheaper, better. Interest in these high-powered beasts waned in the 1990s, as computing talent was drawn to the internet. This has been changing in recent years. The ability to build powerful computers cheaply, combined with growing commercial demand for high-end computing power, is creating a renaissance in the field of supercomputing. [Tomalak's… Continue reading Faster, cheaper, better

FCC: Why No a La Carte Cable?. The cable industry tells the FCC that a la carte cable subscriptions would hurt advertising and cost too much. But FCC staffers ask tough questions in return, and hear from others who say the industry is full of it. Michael Grebb reports from Washington. [Wired News]

Robert Kaye on LiveJournal's backend. Brad Fitzpatrick wrote an excellent explanation of LiveJournal's backend in the #124 issue of LinuxJournal. Now Robert Kaye has an excellent article – on his impressions of that backend and where MusicBrainz fits into the cycle. [O'Reilly Network: OSCON] Highly recommended reading for geeks. Marketing guys and gals stay away.… Continue reading Robert Kaye on LiveJournal's backend

Amazon advertising money. Amazon advertising money: There isn't any. They plough it back into user experience improvement instead. Mark Hurst compares that with a client who spent $30 million on advertising to lure people to the site, then only $20 thousand on how they reacted when they actually used the site. I think Amazon has… Continue reading Amazon advertising money

InfoWorld – NIST says DES encryption 'inadequate'. Massively parallel computing has rendered DES breakable, standards institute claims The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is proposing that the Data Encryption Standard (DES), a popular encryption algorithm, lose its certification for use in software products sold to the government. The advent of massively parallel computing… Continue reading InfoWorld

The Definition of a Great Blog, Example #1. I am such a fan of Jack Vinson's blog, Knowledge Jolt with Jack, which covers knowledge management and work practices. Here's how good it is. Jack writes a post called Annual Ammonia Symposium. Not only do I look at it, but I read it, think about how… Continue reading The Definition of a Great Blog, Example #1

Least Privileges + Games = Microsoft Achilles Heel?. Today I want to discuss something that is more practical when it comes to issues with least privilege, and things Microsoft is going to need to do about it. If anyone reads my blog from the division that publishes Microsoft games, listen up! I want to discuss… Continue reading Least Privileges + Games = Microsoft Achilles Heel?

It's an epidemic!. I'm declaring spyware and browser hijackings as an epidemic based solely on this: Just about everyone I meet who knows what I do for a living, starts asking me about how to clean this crap out of their systems! Seriously, the guy who does building maintenance for our office just stopped by… Continue reading It's an epidemic!

Instant Messaging Rules. Book report of A Business Guide to Managing Policies, Security, and Legal Issues for Safe IM Communication, by Nancy Flynn. full article on HBS Working Knowledge Technology July 26 To avoid electronic communication problems, Flynn has these eleven warnings and rules: 1. Instant messaging is a form of e-mail—written correspondence that creates… Continue reading Instant Messaging Rules