A reminder: This afternoon I’m heading to San Francisco for the RSA Conference on information security, all on Microsoft’s tab. I’ve also discovered that it’s the Electronic Frontiers Foundation’s 21st birthday party this Wednesday night, and San Francisco Beer Week. What could possibly go wrong?
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A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets. It’s a bit thin this week, thanks to the Australia Day holiday, clearing junk out of the house before moving, and the ridiculous heat Sydney is experiencing at the moment.
Articles
- Microsoft’s record revenue, but for how long? for Crikey, covering the third big company to release its quarterly figures. I am not particularly complimentary about Steve Ballmer’s stage antics.
Podcasts
- Patch Monday episode 73, “Inside Intel’s second-generation core”. My guest is systems architect Benno Rice.
Media Appearances
- On Sunday I was a guest on the Parity Bit video podcast. At least the recording was on Sunday afternoon.
It’s likely to be the early hours of Monday before the episode appears online. I will update this post to link directly to the podcast once it’s online.And here it is.
Geekery
- I’ve been amazed to see that people are willing to pay good money for some of my ancient old technology on eBay. For example, my 6-year-old Apple PowerBook G4 is attracting bids well over $100, and a 2005-model iPod Photo classic is currently over $50. And there’s still nearly a day left in the auction!
Corporate Largesse
- As previously mentioned, Microsoft has invited me to San Francisco to attend the RSA Conference 2011 next month. It’s all about information security.
Elsewhere
Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.
[Photo: Assange's Truth is Out There, a paste-up on the old post office on Enmore Road, Enmore in Sydney, featuring WikiLeaks' Julian Assange and the old X-Files slogan, photographed 28 January 2011.]
[Updated 8.40pm to link to the Parity Bit podcast.]
[Updated 31 January 2011 to link to the Parity Bit podcast on the program website rather than YouTube.]
I’m off to San Francisco again next month for the RSA Conference 2011, one of the world’s biggest information security conferences. On Microsoft’s tab.
Microsoft is obviously keen for me to hear their guy Scott Charney, who’s giving a keynote entitled “Collective Defense: Collaborating to Create a Safer Internet”. This follows on from his presentations last year about treating internet security like a public health problem. Word is he’s starting to get a few converts.
But I’m also interested in hearing the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, William Lynn III, outlining the Pentagon’s Cyber Strategy, and a panel discussion on cyberwar that includes the redoubtable Bruce Schneier.
Once more I’m staying on for a couple of days to explore the city some more. Last time I asked for suggestions of places to visit and things to do, but as it happens I ended up doing none of them. Well, except taking a photograph of a seagull. I just prefer random exploration of a city over museums and packaged tourist experiences. And I did find some great little places to eat and drink. I’ll give them a plug over the next couple of weeks.
As for the conference, by all means have a squizz at the agenda and let me know if anything strikes your interest. I’ll be collecting material for the Patch Monday podcast, and filing stories for ZDNet.com.au and anyone else who’ll have me.
RSA Conference 2011 runs from Monday 14 to Friday 18 February at the Moscone Center. I’ll be staying in San Francisco until Sunday 20 February.
A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets and in the media and so on and so forth — and this week it seems like I’ve been consuming more food and drink than producing media.
Articles
- NBN Co business case — truly a curiously inadequate document, for Crikey. The “curiously inadequate” line is a quote from opposition spokesperson Malcolm Turnbull’s blog post about the rather odd NBN Co Business Case Summary [3MB PDF], which contains neither business nor case. This article will sit behind the Crikey paywall for two weeks, but you can register for a free trial. Or you can comment over here.
- “Gadgets: a geek’s Christmas”, part of the Crikey Weekender Christmas Guide 2010 [2.9MB PDF]. This was actually published on 19 November but I forgot to mention it last week. So sue me.
Podcasts
- Patch Monday episode 66, “Inside the internet’s China syndrome”. A conversation with infosec specialist Crispin Harris about that story of China supposedly hijacking 15% of the world’s internet traffic for 18 minutes back in April. Needless to say, the story is somewhat of an exaggeration. I’m pleased with the opening montage on the program.
Media Appearances
None.
Corporate Largesse
With six bullet points in this section — four of them from the one day! — and it still being November, there’s clear evidence that my liver may not survive until the actual day of Christmas. Wish me luck.
- The Australian Communication Consumer Action Network (ACCAN) fed me lunch while I gave them a briefing on the National Broadband Network on Tuesday. My largess to them is probably worth more than theirs to me.
- I had cakes and other sweet items while attending the eCrime Symposium on Thursday. The organisers also gave me a bottle of Yering Station pinot noir.
- AARNet paid for lunch at Est Restaurant while their CEO Chris Hancock gave us a briefing on their plans on Thursday.
- Nate Cochrane, editor in chief for some of Haymarket Media’s mastheads in Australia including iTnews.com.au, bought me a couple of beers while we discussed the media industry in Australia and the future of journalism.
- I popped into a drinks session being staged by Securis Global, and they bought me a couple of beers.
- Continuing the busy Thursday, I went to the CBS Interactive Christmas Party at The Italian Village in The Rocks. ZDNet.com.au is one of their mastheads and I file stories for them, so I’m not sure if this actually counts. But someone from one of Microsoft’s PR firms bought me a double scotch, so that definitely counts.
Elsewhere
Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.
[Photo: A platform sign at Erskineville station, Sydney. I have no idea why I took this photograph, so obviously you need to see it too.]
A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets, for those suffering from early-onset dementia.
Articles
- Is Brisbane’s sewer broadband a crock of …?, for Crikey. Believing that the National Broadband Network will take too long to solve Brisbane’s internet problems, Lord Mayor Campbell Newman has signed a deal with the i3 Group to run fibre through the city’s sewers. As you do.
- Cloud security? Better get a lawyer, Son!, a 2000-word feature for ZDNet.com.au. As the intro says, “Moving your data into the cloud creates a raft of security challenges, but according to information security specialists, those challenges are less about hackers and more about data availability and signing the right contracts.”
Podcasts
- Patch Monday episode 61, “Microsoft exposes the botnet threat”. My guest is Microsoft Australia’s chief security advisor, Stuart Strathdee.
- A Series of Tubes episode 117. Richard Chirgwin’s podcast returns after a bit of a break. Apart from my usual natter about stuff, we hear from i3 Group’s CEO Elfed Thomas about that Brisbane sewer-based fibre project.
Media Appearances
- Again it’s not strictly “media”, but on Tuesday I took part in a lunchtime discussion about the future of book publishing, hosted by Blurb. I haven’t had time to write it up yet, but here’s Ross Dawson’s summary.
Geekery
- Wait for it…
Corporate Largesse
- Blurb paid for Tuesday’s lunch at History House on Macquarie Street. And very pleasant it was.
- I was invited to a few other things this week, but I was a tad crook and didn’t go. Ethics are restored, or something.
Elsewhere
Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.
[Photo: Staff of The Duke, Enmore, dress up for The Village People concert at the Enmore Theatre. I won't link to a higher-resolution version. We have suffered enough.]
A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets, for those who haven’t been paying attention properly. Once more I’ve skipped a week, but I haven’t been all that prolific so I’ll think you’ll cope.
Articles
- Coalition objection to NBN opt-out is just scaremongering, for Crikey. Debunking some of the not-quite-totally-accurate statements that Opposition communications spokesperson Malcolm Turnbull is making about the National Broadband Network.
Podcasts
- Patch Monday episode 60, “Credit cards risked by standards failure”. My guest is Mark Goudie, head of the forensics practice for Verizon Business in Melbourne. I also chat with journalist and telco analyst Richard Chirgwin about the NBN opt-out issue.
Media Appearances
- While it’s not strictly “media”, the panel No Man’s Land at the National Young Writers Festival the other weekend went remarkably well. I did make a crappy phone-quality recording of the session, and if that can be turned into a podcast I will do so. Eventually.
Geekery
- I finally completed the migration of all my Prussia.Net internet hosting clients to a new server. For those who care about such things, it’s a leased dedicated server at ServePath running CentOS and the cPanel/WHM hosting control panel. I had its security improved by the good folks at ConfigServer, and Bobcares continue to provide user support. I’ve also used Linode to supply a bunch of secondary DNS servers.
Corporate Largesse
I’ve decided to introduce this new section, where I declare who’s bought me food and drink or given me gifts, so you can properly judge whether I have been influenced by them in my media coverage. In the last two weeks that’s:
- NetSuite paid for lunch and wine at the Ocean Room, Overseas Passenger Terminal, Circular Quay, along with a dozen or more journalists and analysts. Their message was about how they’re seeing increased demand from middle-sized businesses for their cloud-based products.
- Microsoft Australia provided breakfast at the Australian launch of Windows Phone 7.
- I had coffee and biscuits — quite good biscuits, in fact — at the Sydney Opera House for the launch of the YouTube Symphony Orchestra 2011. They really should provide healthier breakfast options.
- I had lunch at the Carlisle Castle Hotel, Newtown, with a couple of people from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN).
Elsewhere
Most of my day-to-day observations are on my high-volume Twitter stream, and random photos and other observations turn up on my Posterous stream. The photos also appear on Flickr, where I eventually add geolocation data and tags.
[Photo: Realising her full potential, a billboard which caught my eye at Town Hall station in Sydney. For having "realised her full potential", this young woman seems remarkably unexcited. Plus I'd have thought that "full potential" is only realised once you get into your career, not just when you get your Bachelor of Commerce or Economics degree.]
A weekly summary of what I’ve been doing elsewhere on the internets, posted a day early because I’m about to go off-grid for the weekend.
Articles
- Inside Microsoft’s Security War Room, my debut for iTnews, along with a photo gallery. During my Microsoft-funded trip to Redmond, Washington, I visited the War Room where they work on critical security patches for all Microsoft products.
- The political naivety of the digital elites for ABC Unleashed, in which I bemoan the way some people seem to see all politics through the narrow, narrow prism of the Australian government’s mandatory internet censorship policies. The comments are fascinating, especially those who seem to think I’m in favour of Senator Conroy and the government’s internet censorship plans.
Podcasts
- Patch Monday episode 46 covered the news from Canberra: the calls for the sacking of Senator Stephen Conroy as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy and replacing him with Senator Kate Lundy; and the parliamentary report Hackers, Fraudsters and Botnets: Tackling the Problem of Cyber Crime.
[Photo: A sign spotted outside the ZanziBar, Newtown, last night, offering free Snuggies for hire. "Snuggie"? If you haven't heard of this device before, check their website or watch the infomercial.]
Starting today, each Saturday or Sunday I’ll post a list of the stuff that I’ve had published elsewhere in the previous week.
- Patch Monday podcast #44: Microsoft versus the cybercriminals. A look at some of the less-well-known work Microsoft is doing in this field — including Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit sponsoring a pop song in Nigeria, a legal tactic for taking down botnets, and how they identify malware through reputation analysis.
- How evil is Google, exactly? for ABC Unleashed. My argument is that Google’s collection of random Wi-Fi data isn’t the massive privacy breach some people are making out, but that it does raise serious questions about whether Google can be trusted. The comment stream is fascinating.
- Turks hack Israeli Facebook accounts over Gaza blockade incident for Crikey. This appears to be the first time that individual Facebook users’ accounts have been the target of political hacking, as opposed to those taking an active part in the propaganda war.
I also did a radio spot on 891 ABC Adelaide early on Monday morning, but I wasn’t quite awake and I forgot to record it. If I recall correctly, I spoke about my visit to Microsoft’s Redmond campus.
If you’re still short of reading for this long weekend, you can always dig back further into my media output.
Despite having an appalling cold for the last ten days, I managed to knock off four articles for Crikey this week. I haven’t been linking to them in individual posts here — should I? — but here they are now.
- Letter from Redmond, Washington: inside Microsoft HQ is a colour piece about my visit to the world’s second-biggest tech company. “What a waste of electrons,” said the only commenter. Oh well, can’t please everyone.
- Startpage: a ‘private’ search engine, but who’ll care? looks at a metasearch engine — that is, a search engine that really just compiles results from other “real” search engines — whose key selling point is that they don’t log what you do. Startpage is an interesting idea, but I suspect Australians are not yet sufficiently distrustful of Google for this to fly here.
- Crikey Clarifier: Why Facebook users are quitting, including me is a quick guide to the Facebook privacy issues which triggered my own departure from Facebook.
- Mavi Marmari photos faked by Israel? Probably not is an attempt to debunk a conspiracy theory that certain photos posted by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs are not really of weapons seized aboard the MV Mavi Marmari but were taken some years previously. What fascinates me about the comment stream for this story is that some people so want to believe in the fakery that they simple cannot accept the far simpler explanation that the cameras’ clocks were set wrong.
If any of the stories are currently behind Crikey‘s paywall, you can either sign up for a free 3-week trial or wait until they emerge from the paywall two weeks after their original publication date.
Now as I say, I haven’t been creating a post here for every Crikey article of every Patch Monday podcast. I figure that if you’re interested you’ll subscribe directly to those RSS feeds, and in any event I always mention them in my Twitter stream. But what you you prefer? A brief mention here and a link to the piece, as individual posts? An end-of-week summary like this? Some sort of “Stilgherrian master feed” that combines everything from here, my new Posterous stream and my Flickr photos? What say you?
A quick reminder: I’m about to head to Seattle for the rest of this week, returning to Sydney on Sunday 30 May 2010. Why? I’m visiting Microsoft to talk security. I’ll be posting pictures and stuff at my new Posterous site, Stilgherrian’s Stream. Also on Sunday, we’ll be watching Eurovision on the big screen at Kelly’s on King, Newtown, gathering there from about 6pm. See you then?
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