bdpnetworks
newsletter - issue #6bdpnetworks
newsletter - issue #6NEWSFLASH:
Yahoo resets all personal marketing preferences to "Yes."
Information
about my services
• Who is this guy?
• What is this all about?
Fun
& Cool
• Homestar Runner
• Muffin Films
• ArsTechnica: What is .NET?
• Traffic Cone Preservation Society
• Secret Lives of Numbers
Welcome once again to the bdpnetworks monthly newsletter, an eclectic but hopefully useful assortment of information in a condensed format.
If you find any of this information useful or fun, please do me a favor and pass a copy of this newsletter on to at least one other person you know. I would really appreciate it.
As always, if you have any questions or comments about anything at all, please don't hesitate to contact me at info@bdpnetworks.com. I do NOT charge for simple e-mails and questions (even for non-customers), so give it a shot. :)
NEW! I'm now offering fixed-price Project bids, and fixed-price Maintenance Retainer contracts! For details on these and more information on bdpnetworks, please see the section below entitled Information about bdpnetworks.
Special thanks to Katerie Prior for helping to proofread this newsletter. Visit her writing website at http://www.writers-confidant.com
Thanks again for reading!
Issue 4: I discussed groups such as Seattle Wireless and their plans to eventually provide free Internet access to large communities. This is a bit inaccurate--their primary intent is to build Neighborhood Area Networks (or NANs, see Network Acronyms Demystified in this issue) that will link the community together. "Free" Internet access will often be available in most locations as a side-effect. Still, a very cool concept. Learn more about it here:
http://www.seattlewireless.net
Yahoo! has inexplicably reset everyone's marketing preferences to "Yes." This means that if you have a Yahoo! e-mail account or a "My Yahoo!" homepage, you may now get e-mail, postal mail and phone advertising that you did not sign up for.
This is truly annoying, and a company as respected as Yahoo! should know better than this. To reset your preferences, login to your "My Yahoo!" account below and select "Edit your marketing preferences."
http://subscribe.yahoo.com/showaccount
In Issue 4,
I wrote about WiFi (802.11b) a.k.a. Wireless Ethernet. It’s a standard
designed to allow people to connect to LANs and the Internet without wires.
Bluetooth, another wireless data standard quickly gaining popularity, is designed
for a different purpose than WiFi. Bluetooth is to USB as WiFi is to Ethernet.
The new buzzword to remember here is PAN, or “Personal Area Network.”
Personal area networks will become more popular as people buy more and more
small special-purpose electronic devices that need to communicate with their
computers, such as cameras, audio players and PDAs. Right now, the best way
to hook these devices up is via USB or by the much faster FireWire, two different
“wired” standards. But with Bluetooth, you can construct your own
PAN with very little effort, just by bringing your devices to within 30-50 feet
of each other.
Bluetooth-enabled devices automatically recognize other similarly-equipped devices
nearby and attempt to communicate with them. Companies such as Palm, Inc. are
pushing for Bluetooth-enabled PDAs (personal digital assistants, or handheld
computers) that will automatically synchronize their information with the nearest
computer. Likewise, many cell phone manufacturers are including Bluetooth with
their latest generation of digital phones, to facilitate the exchange of contact
databases with desktop software. Imagine entering a phone number on your cellphone
and having it automatically show up in your PC’s address book and also
your PDA! Right now, this is a difficult if not impossible task with most software
and devices. Bluetooth could really simplify this process.
Why not use WiFi to connect these smaller devices? It's technically possible,
but WiFi is a much more complex protocol that has greater power requirements.
It is designed for speed at the expense of power. Bluetooth is designed to be
inexpensive to implement and requires less power, which is especially important
with small battery-operated devices.
Bluetooth will not only allow easy access to your complex digital devices, it
could also replace the wires you use to hook up your simpler peripherals such
as keyboards, mice and printers. Bluetooth includes built-in security (like
WiFi) to make this viable without having to worry about nearby eavesdroppers
tapping into your keystrokes. Additionally, you’ll be able to easily transfer
information from computer to computer as long as they’re near each other.
A presenter could transfer their entire presentation to the audience’s
laptops, and the people in the audience could easily exchange files amongst
each other. You could even exchange files with the person sitting next to you
on the plane (assuming Bluetooth passes FCC regulations).
So in the next few years, we’ll have several important ways to connect
devices. WiFi for wireless Ethernet/Internet access, USB for connecting small
devices, Bluetooth for connecting small devices without wires, and FireWire
(or the upcoming USB 2.0) for connecting high-speed devices. This will certainly
be a major improvement over the old serial/parallel connectors that we all used
to use!
The official bluetooth website is located here:
http://www.bluetooth.com
The network acronyms are coming fast and furious these days, and seem to be created by people who are simply trying to confuse everyone. Most acronyms only refer to a general geographic designation for a type of network, but some (such as NAN, SAN, NAS & PAN) are specialized and require more description. Here’s a brief rundown of those network TLAs (Three Letter Acronyms)....
WAN - Wide-Area Network. Usually characterizes links between cities or
countries over big, fast communications channels (like T1, T3, OC3, OC12, OC24,
OC48 & other really high speed links you’d never use in a home or small
office because of extreme cost.)
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network. Refers to a high-speed network within
a city or large metropolitan area that links large network access points, businesses,
and Internet Service Providers with lots of bandwidth.
NAN - Neighborhood Area Network. Generally refers to a smaller-scale
network within a neighborhood. Some hobbyist groups are using WiFi/Wireless
Ethernet (802.11b) to establish local "neighborhood" network communities.
SAN - Storage Area Network, refers to a separate, high-speed network
of higher-end devices such as arrays of hard drives and tape units that is solely
dedicated to data storage and backup. This allows more flexibility when designing
mid- to large-sized corporate networks that have growing storage needs, and
isolates storage traffic from the rest of the network. It also enables useful
technologies, such as live data backup and server clustering, where a bunch
of servers can act as one and continue to operate even if any of the individual
units fails or crashes.
NAS - Network Attached Storage, easily confused with SANs, but refers
specifically to a class of “appliances” that are usually used as file
servers. A NAS device can be used in place of a traditional file server, and
often makes sense for a smaller organization that doesnt’t have dedicated
support staff. It is usually easier to maintain and simpler to operate, but
is not as flexible as a a traditional server with a separate server operating
system. Incidentally, these devices often run Linux and other similar free UNIX-based
operating systems for low cost & high reliability. Some good examples of
NAS devices are the MaxAttach (formerly Snap! Server) by Maxtor, or the Cobalt
Qube server. Plug it in, configure it, and forget about it.
CAN - Campus Area Network, a geographic designation for a network that
spans a corporate or educational campus.
LAN - Local Area Network, generally refers to a network that spans a
single office or building. The granddaddy of network acronyms.
PAN - Personal Area Network, refers to a new trend in small wireless devices that need to exchange data. A new wireless technology termed Bluetooth, with much lower power requirements than 802.11b, will allow these devices to automatically find each other at close range. This will help you to easily synchronize your address book on your PDA (Personal Digital Asistant), your cell phone, and your PC.
MAPS (SPAM spelled backwards...) stands for the Mail Abuse Prevention System. It is a loose-knit community of people who have taken it upon themselves to rid the world of spam, one server at a time. Their goal is to open detect SMTP relay servers, that will willingly allow mail from any unidentified sender to flow through them. SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) is the standard way of getting e-mail from one system to another. If a person generating lots of spam e-mail were able to use someone else's server to send their mail on to unwitting users, that server would be considered an SMTP open relay. When MAPS detects an open relay, that e-mail server is put on a blacklist which other organizations subscribe to. Those organizations may choose not to send or receive ANY mail to or from the domain that has the open relay server.
It works like this: Say a spammer has a list of e-mail addresses they want to send mail to. They don't want to send mail directly to those addresses from their own servers because this would be too easy to trace and would put a big load on their system. Instead they search the net for mail servers (SMTP servers) that are willing to do the work for them.(Strangely enough, most Internet mail servers actually come preconfigured with little security which makes them easier to set up, so unless someone has configured the mail server correctly it may be willing to relay messages for anyone right out of the box.) Once the spammer finds this open relay that is willing to remail something, they send their message along with a lengthy list of e-mail addresses. The open relay is happy to oblige and takes the message and sends it to each address, using its own network resources for the work. This technique allows spammers to quickly send mail to thousands of addresses on someone else's dollar. An effective spammer doesn't need super-fast Internet access or big servers to get their message out to tens of thousands of people.
This is where MAPS comes in. They figure that by systematically blacklisting mail servers that have open relays, spammers will eventually give up trying to find servers to do their work for them. This sounds like a good idea, but there are some caveats: if a system administrator doesn't know their network is being blacklisted, it can cause big headaches for their users & for the people trying to communicate with them via e-mail. MAPS usually makes an attempt to e-mail the postmaster or mail administrator of the e-mail system, but too often that e-mail is lost or ignored.
MAPS has no legal right to block e-mail to and from your domain, but most people generally apply the latest patches to their SMTP server and turn off its ability to act as a relay. MAPS has a feature that allows you to queue up a rescan of your site. This may take a day or so, but if you are properly patched & configured, you should be dropped off the blacklist.
MAPS's approach has been quite popular and several other organizations (such as ORBZ) have popped up that do basically the same thing with different procedures. But I'm a bit concerned about the power MAPS and these other organizations wield. They report to nobody as they are self-policing. While MAPS itself operates with good intentions and is generally reputable, some smaller organizations have popped up under the guise of "keeping the Internet safe from spam" and may have too much power over mail flow. These organizations may not have the same security measures in place that the more established ones do, and it wouldn't take much for a malicious hacker to easily use these systems to block e-mail for a large number of organizations in a short amount of time.
Further, it has not been proven one way or another that these organizations actually do anyone any good. Despite their increase in numbers, I still get lots of spam in my inbox all of the time, and I'm not alone. Some of these organizations are for-profit, further blurring the line between community service and profit-driven greed. If a larger company were to ask me if it made sense to subscribe to one of these RBLs (Realtime Blackhole Lists), I would recommend they not do so. It sounds like a good idea, but it could ultimately backfire.
Here's a list some of the RBL organizations I know of:
And if you get blacklisted, following the steps at this site may help:
http://www.mail-abuse.org/tsi/ar-fix.html
For some more viewpoints on why these organizations may be counterproductive, check out these links:
http://www.ifn.net/rblstory.htm
http://www.mail-abuse.org/anti-rbl.html
http://profitmall.sysop.com/MAPS_for_DISASTER.htm
I agree that MAPS and other systems are a dangerous concentration of unaccountable power, but disagree with some of the reasoning in the articles above. Some of these other organizations simply want to exercise their "right to spam."
If you are having any difficulties with one of these organizations, give me a call and I'll see what I can do.
If you have read this far, THANK YOU!
bdpnetworks (located in Seattle, WA) is owned and managed by Brian Place (that's me!), and I maintain a network of contacts with other independent computer consultants and support firms for subcontracting purposes. I've been doing this consulting thing for quite a while as an employee of other computer service companies. While my experiences were very enriching, I've generally been frustrated by the lack of consistency or innovation at those companies and the overhead a lot of them carry. I think I can do a better job by myself at a lower cost, so I formed bdpnetworks in June, 2001.
Many companies are pouring vast sums of money into their infrastructure just to keep it stable, let alone add value or features to it. This doesn't have to be the case; I have the experience necessary to help get these networks running well again and the know-how to add innovative features that will benefit everyone. My focus now is primarily on small businesses in and around the Seattle area. I enjoy working with small companies and am looking forward to forming new relationships, especially with organizations near my Capitol Hill office.
I offer a free one-hour onsite consultation to new clients, so you have NO RISK! If you would like to set up an appointment, give me a call at (206)351-7964 or e-mail me at bdp@bdpnetworks.com
Additionally, I am now offering fixed-price bids for projects as well as Maintenance Retainer contracts. Fixed-price project bids mean you can control the cost of a project up-front & know that costs won't spiral out of control. Maintenance Retainer contracts are especially great for small companies that need extra computer support but can't hire their own administrator--I will drop by at least twice a month to check backups and virus protection as well as fix any "laundry lists" of workstation-related problems. With a Maintenance Retainer contract, I will also respond to computer emergencies within four hours, and most of those problems will also be covered under the same contract! It's easier to budget for, and you'll enjoy peace of mind knowing that your systems are always up-to-date and well cared for.
For more information, please call me at (206)351-7964 or visit my website at http://www.bdpnetworks.com
Almost inexplicable Anime-style madness. Be sure to read the e-mail to Strong Bad. Very entertaining.
From the site: "This page and the films within it were made by Amy Winfrey for her MFA thesis project at the UCLA Animation Workshop. All films are about muffins." I like #4 the best.
A good primer on Microsoft's forthcoming .NET strategy - it may not be exactly what you think.
http://arstechnica.com/paedia/n/net/net-1.html
An amazing use of cutting-edge user interfaces to display a huge amount of information on an intriguing subject.
http://www.turbulence.org/Works/nums/index.html
(c)2002 Brian Place for bdp networks. All Rights Reserved.
Proofread by Katerie Prior of The Writer's Confidant, http://www.writers-confidant.com
Feel free to forward a copy of this to whomever you wish; please leave the contents intact.
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Thank you for reading!
INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND FREEDOM FROM INFRINGEMENT. NEITHER BRIAN PLACE NOR BDPNETWORKS TAKE ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES RESULTING FROM THE USE OF ANY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT.