*CyberCoyote - January 24, 2008*

NEWS, NOTES and NOTICES

*Next week*
Kathy Jacobs, Microsoft MVP (PowerPoint and OneNote) is a PowerPoint and OneNote consultant,trainer, and writer. She has her own site and blog (Vitamin CH). Kathy will be telling us about Microsoft OneNote. She will not be selling anything during this presentation. The goal of her presentation is to introduce you to a piece of software she loves and thinks you need to see!
http://www.OnPPT.com/

TIPS, TOPICS and TWEAKS

*Don't defrag that flash drive!*
You may know that writing to a flash drive (saving files) is what wears them out. Well, defragging may burn up a huge chunk of a flash drive's life, and it's not even necessary!
http://tinyurl.com/2kj4v7

*Windows after Vista*
When will Microsoft release the next version of Windows (Windows 7)? I'm on record with an "end of 2009" guess for a new version. I may be half right. New information suggests that 2009 is right, but Win7 may be nothing more than SP2 (second service pack) for Vista. I.e., a major tweak, but by no means a "new" version. Win8, the new one, would likely arrive around 2012 under this scenario. Not that it matters much, but we'll see.
http://tinyurl.com/2djtlv
http://tinyurl.com/28d4k4 -- the Live side

*Best Free Browsers*
The link takes you to my notes about the browsers that I use these days, and I've included a link to the ones an old salt recommends.
http://htccfeed.blogspot.com/2008/01/best-browsers.html

*WiFi class follow-up*
I failed to bring up the myth that a wired Ethernet connection, for example in a hotel, is a safe alternative to a WiFi hotspot. There's also new information on router security and hotspot security (red text).
http://cybercoyote.org/classes/wifi/wifi-home.shtml -- revised class notes

When you plug into the Internet in your hotel room, you may be sharing the network with dozens of other computers. A hacker in another room can use his to intercept any traffic on the network, and can also easily attack any vulnerable computers.
http://blogs.cnet.com/8301-13554_1-9854369-33.html

And obviously, it can be even more risky to use a public computer, for example at a library. They don't call it the wild wooly web just for fun. ;-)
http://tinyurl.com/ynk35v

WEB PICKS

*Assembling the Mighty 8th Airforce*
This is a (short) narrative about bomber operations out of England. It was written by a pilot who was with the 8th Airforce in England at the time. In his words:

"To think of launching hundreds of airplanes, in a small airspace, many times in total darkness, loaded with bombs, with complete radio silence, and no control from the ground, and do it successfully day after day, with young air crews, with minimum experience, is absolutely mind boggling." --Lt. Col. (Ret) Leslie A. Lennox

The Second Air Force ran training exercises in the midwest in the 1940s. On a few occasions, squadron after squadron of B17s, and later, B29s flew right over our farm in Kansas. There were several hundred bombers in each exercise. It took over an hour for all of them to go by.
http://tinyurl.com/2kfvql

The secret story behind the air operations is just as amazing, and very few know much if anything about it even now, 60 years later. Steve Blank recently gave a talk -- "The Secret History of Silicon Valley" -- at Google. In the first 20 minutes he explained the war within the war. It's a long video, but well worth seeing if your Internet connection has the bandwidth.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFSPHfZQpIQ

"Over the last 25 years, Steve Blank has been part of, or co-founded eight Silicon Valley startups. These have run the gamut from semiconductors, video games, personal computers, and supercomputers." --LinkedIn.com

ODDS and ENDS

*Non Sequitur*
No doubt something he learned at computer club. ;-)
http://tinyurl.com/2zfbne

*Looks easy enough*
Next time you're out on your bike, try a couple of these moves.
http://www.hiren.info/funstuff/funny-video-clips/lady-with-bike

*That's all, folks.*

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