Author: Rick

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Netbooks versus Notebooks

Dell Mini 9 NetbookMany DC area clients have asked me whether they should buy a netbook or a full notebook.

Netbooks (small laptops) have become very popular. We have written several articles about them. They started with the Acer Eee PC, followed by the Aspire Aspire One, then proliferating to dozens of models from suppliers including Dell and HP.

Price

Netbooks are typically cheaper, having started out at the $299 price point. Old models can be found for less and new models are now over $500.

This is a decent price for a computer, but keep in mind that 1) the netbook does not have a CD/DVD drive and 2) there are often online deals from sites such as Newegg that will provide a full size laptop for the same price. Dell also has online deals and stackable coupons periodically which you can find out about at Slickdeals.

Size

If you are looking for the smallest laptop possible, then you want a netbook. Be sure to try one though, because typing on a smaller keyboard and using a smaller screen make using a netbook less practical for longer stretches of work. DC area residents can go to Microcenter in Fairfax, Virginia to type on and test lots of netbooks and notebooks.

Speed

Netbooks are typically much slower, using Atom CPUs. A new line of Atoms, combined with the NVIDIA Ion platform, will allow full HD video decoding, so these laptops are getting faster. Still, one of the reasons that these laptops are cheaper is that they are slower. This is fine if you are typically just browsing the web and writing email. But if you need to use a few programs at once or work in more complex programs, the netbooks will feel a little slower.

Operating Systems

Netbooks typically come with Windows XP or a version of Linux, which is free and cuts down the cost. Linux is a great operating system that I use regularly. However, if you have regular software such as Word and Excel that you want to use, you will find it difficult to load that software on a Linux computer. There are good open source alternatives such as Open Office if you are okay using something that is similar to Office.

Recommendation

Laptops are a very personal purchase, depending on your preference on keyboard, mouse, and screen size. While I use netbooks for low-weight traveling, I would not use them to replace a laptop for extended use.

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Swine Flu on Google Maps

There is now a Swine Flu Google Map at http://swinemap.org. Black indicates confirmed deaths from H1N1. Grey are unconfirmed deaths. Red are confirmed infections. Pink are probable infections. Blue are influenza-like illnesses. As of this writing, North Dakota looks like a good place to set up your post-apocalyptic compound while you develop an anti-swine flu serum.


View 2009 H1N1 Flu Outbreak Map in a larger map

Follow CDC recommendations and thoroughly gargle after kissing any pigs that have not yet been tested. Ok, their real information is at:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

UPDATE: This post has been updated with a new Google Map that has more information.

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Cheap WiFi Antenna Boost

We recently setup a wireless antenna and bridge for a customer in Occoquan, Virginia that needed WiFi to be transmitted across a large building and through floors. While the setup worked, the signal was poor. This caused lows speeds and even occasional lost connections. Therefore we setup a cheap directional antenna to point the signal directly where it needed to go. This fixed the problem by increasing the signal strength by about 40%.

How To Build The Antenna

Go to freeantennas.com’s Ez-12 page to download the image at the bottom of the page. Then resize the image as needed, print it, use business-card strength paper, glue on the aluminum foil, and put it together. Patrick Norton explains this simple project on his old DL.tv show.

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Analog versus Digital Sound

When we setup home theaters, we still get asked about the differences between analog sound, such as that from vinyl records, and digital sound, such as that from CDs. While most people are perfectly content with CDs given budget limitations and poor listening environments, analog vinyls will still produce the best sound if you use the most expensive high-end equipment.

michaelfremerSimilar discussions occur when comparing solid-state amps with tube amps, and when comparing digital synthesizers and samplers with analog synthesizers.

With the advent of SACDs, even extreme audiophiles can not distinguish between digital samples and the analog vinyl versions of songs. Similarly, modern digital synthesizers such as the Nord Lead are now considered indistinguishable from true analog synthesizers by most musicians.

Gizmodo has an article about audiophile Michael Fremer and the subject of digital versus analog. Their main point is that while most people shouldn’t spend hundreds of thousands on a music theater, it is important that some people are obsessed with having the best listening experience.

After hearing I’m a Bowie fan, Fremer drops into his near limitless stacks and spins a pressing of “Heroes” with part of the title track’s chorus in German. I’m giggling with pleasure at the frankly obscene level of detail I hear (Ich! Ich werde König!), but of course, I’m hearing the pops and crackles that a 30+ year-old record is likely to have. Shouldn’t a $350,000 stereo system be completely free of such impurities?

“It’s like when you go to the symphony, and the old men are coughing-same thing,” Fremer says. Necessary impurities. Reminders of being in the real world.

This 1993 news story from MTV featuring Michael Fremer is still applicable today:

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Conficker Continues

The BBC has an article on Conficker, the virus that everyone seemed to think passed us by on April 1st.

The Conficker worm has started to update infected machines with a mystery package of data.

Computer security firms watching the malicious program noticed that it sprang into life late on 8 April.

The activity on its update system delivered encrypted software to compromised machines. It is not yet clear what the payload contains.

The Conficker virus variants are thought to be present on millions of PCs around the world.

Spam connection

The updating activity has begun about a week later than expected. Analysis of the “C” variant of Conficker (aka Downadup) revealed that its updating mechanism was due to go live on 1 April.

The belated updates were spotted by researchers for Trend Micro following the arrival of a new file in one of the directories in so-called “honeypot” machines deliberately seeded with Conficker C.

Analysis showed that the file had arrived via the peer-to-peer file transfer system that infected machines use to communicate.

In a bid to avoid alerting people to its activity, the update is slowly being trickled across the population of machines harbouring the C variant. Exact figures for the number of Conficker-infected machines are hard to determine, but the minimum is widely believed to be three million.

“The Conficker/Downad P2P communications is now running in full swing,” wrote Ivan Macalintal from Trend Research on the company’s security blog.

Once it arrives on a machine, the package of data randomly checks one of five different websites – MySpace, MSN, eBay, CNN and AOL – to ensure its host still has net access and to confirm the current time and date.

Following this check the data package removes all traces of its installation.

The strong encryption on the payload has, so far, prevented detailed analysis of what it actually does. However, security experts speculate that it is a “rootkit” that will bury itself deep in Windows in order to steal saleable data such as bank website login details.

Security researchers are continuing to analyse the payload to get a better idea of what it is intended to do.

Symantec said it too had noticed the increased activity of Conficker and its analysis suggested a link with another well-known virus called Waledac. This malicious program steals sensitive data, turns PCs into spam relays and opens up a backdoor so the machine can be controlled remotely.

The security firm noticed that the update also included an instruction to the worm to remove itself on 3 May, 2009. However, the Waledac imposed backdoor on the machine will remain open, so its creators can still control compromised PCs.