Technology

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Technology

Microprocessor

In general, those of you who have access to the web are pretty computer-literate. Perhaps you can't open your laptop with whatever's handy, throw in some more RAM, speed up your CPU by "clock-chipping" it, all while making a triple espresso, but you're not talking into your mouse either.

While this "birds of a feather" phenomenon is interesting, it means that we meet only people that are rather similar to ourselves. This is a bad thing. We creatures of the net have lost touch with dancers, artists, polyglots, culinary miracle workers, and people older and younger than we are. Too much of our web culture is intimately tied to our cult of computers, so much so that it has a tendency to overshadow the humanizing aspects of community and tribe.

I have purposely not made my web pages an odessey of geek-related adventures: if you want to soak in technical minutae, there are many such places on the net where you can drown your sorrows and escape reality (such as we know it). But my web pages would be incomplete without some computer-related things, especially where humanity and computerdom run headlong into each other.

Much of my site has become personal, how things affected me, how I dealt with them.

Amateur (Ham) Radio
  Amateur radio has long been an interest of mine. In recent years I've used it to volunteer for public events.
  frequencies
  california
  ca-towns-a-thru-c
  ca-towns-d-thru-i
  ca-towns-j-thru-m
  ca-towns-n-thru-r
  ca-towns-s
  ca-towns-t-thru-z
  ca-yosemite-freqs
  sf-ca-fleet-week-freqs
  hawaii
  kauaii-hawaii-freqs
  Health ramifications of using a chest pack
  I'm very concerned about the health ramifications of using my handheld ham radio attached to a chest pack. Here are some words from folks in the know.
  Kenwood TH-78: fixing the broken antenna mount flaw
  The Kenwood TH-78 handheld transceiver
  Modifying the Kenwood TH-78a handheld transceiver
  The Kenwood TH-78 handheld transceiver has lots of undocumented features and possible modifications that extend the functionality of the radio. This guide doesn't cover anything the manual does, although it does clarify some features.
  San Francisco Office of Emergency Services frequencies
  The database coördinator of the San Francisco Office of Emergency Services sends me updated information about the frequencies we use.
  The Resurrection of KPH, the wireless giant of the Pacific
  Amateur radio has long been an interest of mine. In recent years I've used it to volunteer for public events.
cell phones
  apple
  iPhone
  handspring
  treo
  Handspring Treo 180
  Whereupon I take my first convergent item of mobile computing / conversation to Europe a month after starting to use it. The good, the bad, the exceedingly ugly truth.
  speaker
  Handspring Treo 180: Dead Speaker Syndrome repair, page 2
  Handspring Treo 180: Dead Speaker Syndrome repair, page 3
  Handspring Treo 180: Dead Speaker Syndrome repair
  One of the sad realities of the Treo 180 is the wire used to connect the speaker to the main unit breaks.
  motorola
  Motorola RAZR v3
  palm
  treo
  gallery
  Palm Treo 600: photo gallery
  Here's are some photos from the Palm Treo 600's 0.3 megapixel camera.
  howTo
  Palm Treo 600: Configuring Snapper for Google GMail
  The steps required to have Snapper fetch Google GMail on my Palm Treo 600.
  misc
  Palm Treo 600: What's on my Treo?
  Here's what I have running on my Treo 600 right about now.
  Palm Treo 600
  After the fiasco of the Handspring Treo 180 what on earth could motivate me to buy the Treo 600?
Digital Cameras
  Apple QuickTake 100
  I purchased my Apple QuickTake 100 about a year after it was released. The next day I took a trip to Eivissa and Gran Canaria, snapping photos all the way.
  Casio Exilim EX-Z4
  Casio Exilim EX-Z4U
  Casio Exilim EX-Z750
  Kodak DC-120
  In the late 1990s I moved up to a second-generation digital camera, the Kodak DC-120. It stored images on a PCMCIA card, which made it truly useful.
  Nikon CoolPix 950
  At the close of the 1900s I upgraded to a Nikon CoolPix 950 digital camera. It's the third generation for me, and it's impressive.
  Pentax Optio W10
  Pentax Optio W20
  Sony DCR-TRV20
  In the weeks before Burning Man 2000 I purchased a digital video camera so that I could take video of my son, Isaac. I checked out the word on the street, and in reviews, and would up buying a Sony DCR-TRV20.
hardware
  Apple
  Apple Computer has been the research and development engine for much of the popular computer industry.
  MacBook Pro
  After the IBM PowerPC-powered Apple PowerBook comes the Intel-powered Apple MacBook Pro.
  Macintosh
  While I've needed to be competent on Macintosh, Windows, and Unix systems for my professional life, I far prefer Macintosh to the others. I feel that Macintosh gives me the greatest flexibility in concentrating on my work, rather than concentrating on my computer.
  A cracker attacks and disrupts our ability to serve web pages
  In 1996 my web server was located at a school in the mid-west. A cracker broke in and disrupted our operations. Here's the story.
  Computing's Holy War
  Cary Lu's 1995 article about the battle between the Macintosh and Wintel worlds. A must read for either camp.
  Connectix's RAM Doubler: how it works
  Discussions with (then) Connectix employee Thom Hogan about RAM Doubler.
  misc
  The secret weapon Apple threw away
  In 1993 a stealth group of engineers from Apple Computer and Novell took on a challenge many thought impossible: to make the Macintosh operating system run on Intel Corp. processors.
  PowerBook: how to display 1024x768
  On c.s.m.h a user claimed to have gotten his PowerBook to display 1024x768 on an external monitor. Despite prodding, he was unable or unwilling to describe how he accomplished this feat. Today, completely by accident, I figured out how to do it.
  security
  PGPdisk
  The goal of CryptDisk (now PGPdisk) is to provide transparent military-grade partition encryption for Macintosh. Here are the original 1995 words of its author, Will Price.
  PGPdisk (formerly CryptDisk) source code review
  A cryptographer gives his impressions, in 1995, of a source code review of CryptDisk 1.0.
  The Macintosh as Web Server
  In 1994 Brad Schrick told us why there's no reason not to use a Macintosh as a production web server. Years before MacCrack.
  Troubles with Lombard (and Wall Street)
  It's 1999. Lombard is the fastest laptop on the planet. And yet there are still lingering boneheaded design problems. Doesn't anyone at Apple actually use these things?
  Newton
  Thoughts on the Apple Newton MessagePad line, from my first (a transparent 110) to my last (a 2100).
  PowerBook
  My ode to the almighty PowerBook, my computing hardware of choice since the line of Macintosh laptop line was created in 1991.
  QuickCam
  My first exposition on the (then) newly-released Connectix QuickCam.
  Connectix QuickCam Audio
  From 1994: is (was) there a problem between the Connectix QuickCam audio and CU-SeeMe (or with other software)?
  Connectix QuickCam Frame Rates
  The factors by which the Connectix QuickCam frame rate is determined.
  The Connectix QuickCam FAQ
  Connectix's QuickCam FAQ of 22 January 1995 is reproduced here courtesy of Thom Hogan.
help
  Baud versus Bits Per Second
  This posting explains why it's inaccurate to make mention of a 14,400 baud modem.
  Dad Asks
  Dad's gone from being behind the digital times to surfing my web pages on his own PowerBook. Here are the answers to some questions of his.
  eudora
  Dad Asks: Fetching Message Remainder in Eudora Pro
  It's a good idea to have Eudora Pro limit the incoming message side so you don't waste time downloading unwanted attachments. But what about attachments you want?
  Dad Asks: Sending Digital Images (Pictures) with Eudora
  I gave Dad a digital camera of mine. Now he's got images he wants to share with the world, but he doesn't know how.
  other
  Dad Asks: Cut and Paste Between Applications
  One of the tasks facing Dad is how to transfer something he's written in a word processor to an email message. Here's a visual guide, for when he's in a rush.
  timbuktuPro
  Dad Asks: Configuring Timbuktu Pro 4.x for Remote Administration
  Here's how to configure Timbuktu Pro 4.x so I can remotely administer your machine.
  Dad Asks: Connecting with Timbuktu Pro 4.x
  Remote administration of Dad's Mac with Timbuktu Pro 4.x is a breeze, once I get the dynamic IP address assigned to him for the current dial-up session.
  Dealing with Flicker
  How to minimize flicker when you point a camera at a monitor or TV. Wherein I coin the phrase 'camera-monkey' and sow the ire of videographers worldwide.
  What is Bandwidth?
  A discussion about different types and sizes of data transmission 'pipes'. Probably of general interest to net users. Includes information about European standards.
Horology
  I have a passion for time-keeping bits of hardware.
  clocks
  Greenwich Observatory Shepherd Gate Clock
  The clock on the line.
  Wristwatch
  The wristwatch is the promise of the complexity of the universe in a tiny, controlled package.
  Stocker & Yale SandY P650 Type 6 military
  My daily-wearer; survives all the knocks of family life.
  twenty-four
  Twenty-four hours each day should mean twenty-four hours on the timepiece's face.
  Universal Genève
  My favorite wristwatch company.
  Universal Genève Tri-Compax
  One of the Twentieth Centuries best?
  Yema Transanarctic Bi-Pole (Transantarctica Polar Navigational) wristwatch
  One of the Twentieth Centuries best?
Medicine
  Emergency Medicine
  I've been involved with emergency medicine for decades, as a radio ham, Emergency Medical Technician, rescue diver, junior ski patrol, etc.
  1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers
  A day in the life of a volunteer to the Bay to Breakers footrace in words and pictures. The day was 19 May 1996.
  1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers (page 2)
  1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers (page 3)
  1996 San Francisco Bay to Breakers (page 4)
  Search and Rescue
  Emergency medicine, search and rescue in particular, has always been an interest of mine. So I joined up.
  A Wilderness EMS Medical Kit
  Keith Conover of the Wilderness EMS Institute presents the WEMSI Personal Wilderness Medical Kit and related footnotes.
  Bay Area Mountain Rescue Unit
  BAMRU was the first wilderness search and rescue unit I experienced. Their professionalism and enthusiasm were a great place to learn human tracking and related arts.
  Haight-Ashbury Emergency Response Team
  The Haight-Ashbury Emergency Response Team - HAERT - is one of San Francisco's Neighborhood ERTs.
  Haight-Ashbury Emergency Response Team Boundaries
  Mental Health
  A Mood Scale Inventory
  Cognitive Therapy
  NationalMentalHealthAssoc
  Answers to Your Questions About Clinical Depression
  The National Mental Health Association Order Form
  The National Mental Health Association
  The NMHA Clinical Depression Self-Screening Test
misc
  screencaps
  screen captures
  A virtual time capsule, screen captures show a whole environment frozen in the moment.
  software
  Software Categories
  How do you pay for software? Depends on what's expected. Is it freeware, shareware (time-bomb-ware, usageware, crippleware, nagware, guiltware), costware, updaters, demoware, or just plain data?
  www
  Graphical building blocks for your web pages
  A bit about transparent, interlaced GIFs that I use as building blocks around this site.
Privacy
  Privacy, Security, Reputation, Cryptography, and You
  groups
  CypherPunks
  Defenders of your personal digital freedoms. Their contributions are worth a read.
  contributions
  A Plea against the Communications Decency Act
  There's just everything wrong with this bill. It's just amazing.
  Cypherpunks Write Code!
  Separating [figuratively] the men from the boys via their contributions.
  e$: Beastie Boys do Finance
  The first description - of which I'm aware - of a monetary exchange for electronic scrip.
  Johnny Get Your Modem - Scientology's War with the Internet
  The Cult of Scientology wages war with everyone.
  More from the Church of $cientology
  The Cult of Scientology wages war with everyone, again and again.
  ZLDF
  The Zimmermann Legal Defense Fund (ZLDF)
  cv
  Curt Karnow
  Vital Statistics
  Eben Moglen
  Vital Statistics
  Phil Dubois, Lead Counsel, ZLDF
  Vital Statistics
  Philip Zimmermann
  Vital Statistics
  Dubois' correspondence
  Things officially said by Dubois about the Zimmermann case.
  funding
  Funding the ZLDF
  The Zimmermann Legal Defense Fund, the ZLDF, was founded to help defray the costs of PRZ's legal battle.
  ZLDF Appeal
  Hugh Miller's original request for support of the ZLDF. In one short missive, Hugh gave a short history, compelling reasons to support, and concise and complete instructions on how to help
  ZLDF Virtual Yellow Ribbon Appeal
  Nathaniel S. Borenstein's appeal for funds - the Virtual Yellow Ribbon Appeal - was the first time that the idea of placing a notice of support for the ZLDF in signatures was widely disseminated.
  ZLDF/Europe
  The ZLDF had a European branch, which did an excellent job of outreach and fundraising.
  ZLFD Pro Bono
  If you contributed to the Zimmermann Legal Defense Fund, the ZLDF, this is how your money was spent.
  Liason's editorial about PGP
  misc
  CIA running anonymous remailers
  Did the CIA run anonymous remailers in a (perhaps successful) attempt to read the encrypted email coming across them?
  GAK, Netscape, CyberDog, and you
  The problem is Governmental Access to Keys (GAK), the solution might lie in Apple Computer's CyberDog technology.
  Jim Clark's Netscape supports the US key escrow plan, aka Fortezza
  There's quite an important debate raging on the Cypherpunks list these days over Netscape CEO Jim Clark's recent decision to support the US govt's Fortezza (escrowed key) cryptographic system in certain versions of the Netscape web browser.
  PGP (sung to the tune of Casey Jones)
  A friend passed these songs along to me.
  Who watches the Internet?
  By monitoring computer message traffic and alternative news sources from around the world, the military might catch early warning of impending significant developments, says a paper written in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict for the Department of Defense.
  Phil Dubois announces the investigation's end
  Phil Dubois called. He excitedly announced that the investigation against Philip Zimmermann was dropped, and the threat of indictment that had hung over PRZ for three years was gone.
  Dubois' email announcement of the investigations end
  When the government's investigation of Philip Zimmermann ended, this is what Dubois had to say.
  Dubois' email followup to Zimmermann's reaction to the investigations end
  Dubois had more to say.
  Sattler' email announcement of the investigations end
  When the government's investigation of Philip Zimmermann ended, this is what Sattler had to say.
  Zimmermann' email announcement of the investigations end
  When the government's investigation of Philip Zimmermann ended, this is what Zimmermann had to say.
  ZLDF Cast of Characters
  These are the people you'll meet in our twisted little neighborhood, through the U. S. Attorney's looking glass.
  ZLDF Rogues Gallery
  Pictures of the legal defense team.
  topics
  Anonymous Remailers
  Basic Issues and Concepts in Privacy and Cryptography
  An introduction to the issues and concepts.
  Digital Money
  PGP Keys and Public Key-Servers
  PGPFone
  Pretty Good Privacy
  Factoring - State of the Art and Predictions
  misc
  Adding PGP to MajorDomo
  Hostile Attack on BlackNet's PGP Key
  MIT Press Indicts Zimmermann
  My PGP Story
  pgp-docs
  Philip Zimmermann's PGP FAQ
  Why do you need PGP?
  Sources of Cryptographic Software
  Steganography
wheels
  BMW
  I venture into BMW land, crossing the Bimmer versus Beemer stream, heading towards my new car's user manual.
  1995 BMW 318is
  Perhaps not the ultimate driving machine, but way more fun than any of my VWs.
  100 mph
  It's not your BMW until you've taken her over 100 miles per hour (mph).
  BMW Hints
  Things I learned about my 1995 BMW 318is.
  cleaning the car
  Fighting entropy is such a silly thing, but we do it to protect our investment.
  cleaning wheels
  Where the rubber meets the road is where the dirt sticks the worst of all.
  Immobilized Bimmer
  Wherein my 37-pound 3-year-old immobilized my 3021-pound Bimmer.
  install
  How to install the BMW keyless remote entry vehicle security system
  installing the alarm, p. 2
  installing the alarm, p. 3
  installing the alarm, p. 4
  installing the alarm, p. 5
  repair
  new windshield seals
  repairing the backlight
  1997 BMW 318ic
  Oh, finally a convertible for me :-)
  events
  50 Miles of Pure Twisties
  We see what our wheels can do in the twisties.

So, for your enjoyment, here are my offerings in the silicon smorgasbord. (Related items may be found on my Humor master page.)

"ISP adventures": Ever want to quit your boring job and live the glamorous life of an Internet service provider? These pages include real-life techno-horror stories of my ISPs (yes, I have several because of my various networking setups at home). Read about warking modems, laugh at the crazy antics of the telephone company and hardware supplies, enjoy seeing Murpy's Law in action, have sympathy pains when you read about late-night hacking to placate a restless and evil client base. Then be happy about your job.

Baud versus Bits Per Second: a pithy exposition about the differences between these technical terms and why almost everyone gets it wrong.

Cornell University's CU-SeeMe desktop videoconferencing software.

"Philip Zimmerman"'s now-famous Pretty Good Privacy (PGP) software and its political ramifications.

The in-your-pocket extention to PGP is digital cash (which you can spend at our EShop). Here you can find pointers to the software, the seminal work, and shops where you can spend, spend, spend.

Have you found errors nontrivial or marginal, factual, analytical and illogical, arithmetical, temporal, or even typographical? Please let me know; drop me email. Thanks!
 

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