Why Windows is necessary

I had some thoughts related to the recent blog entry about Linux. Someone asked me why I gave it up. I probably would have asked someone the same question at that point. I remember back in college being very anti-Microsoft.

As I get further in to my career, I've learned one thing. Linux is not going to overtake Microsoft any time soon as accepted in the general public, and there are some reasons.

A) After many semesters of teaching some of the introductory courses, I see the trouble people have with the Microsoft Windows operating system. I consider Windows to be simpler than the Linux operating system. If all machines went to Linux tomorrow, we'd be reducing access to computers and technology, which would hold back society. People will give up rather than learn it.

B) Managers are scared of open source software. If a catastrophic failure occurs, there is no one to sue. If, however, there was a flaw in the Microsoft operating system that caused problems, people can turn around and sue Microsoft. They may not win, but there is comfort in that.

C) There are a lot of applications that were designed for Windows that people use. Without the use of Windows compatibility layers, these tools don't run in that environment. Most companies won't bother emulating the operating system, because that adds complexity, and they certainly won't bother re-writing. The company my father used to work for had an OS/2 application that was written in the 1980's. They were still running this operating system in 2001 on a bunch of machines just for that one application.

D) People push how secure the Linux operating system is, as well as browsers such as Firefox. Are they inherently more secure? Yes, they are. I don't doubt this. Part of the reason, however, is that if I am a hacker I am not attacking those platforms. Why? Two reasons. First, because the people using them are more computer savvy, so you are trying to hack smarter users - and a hacker wants the easiest targets possible. Secondly, there are more people using Windows and Internet Explorer, so one nasty little targeted virus hits a larger user base. If there were suddenly a large portion of the market using any tool, be sure that people will attack it and find exploits. It's not worth it to write a Linux virus today.

The reality is that in many ways in our own lives, we tend towards "this is not what I know" as a reaction to new things. For all of you who are very pro-Linux, think of how you would react if someone wanted to replace something you are comfortable with with something new. Most people resist change, and that's just the way the world works much of the time.

These are the things you would have to overcome if you want to get a society over to Linux. It's not good enough to say "well, it's more secure" - because people won't give up what they know for that promise. In that way, being hacked is in many people's minds much like speeding - no one ever thinks they are going to be the one pulled over until it happens.

It doesn't mean I like it. This is just what I consider the reality. You can only change in small increments. You would likely never be able to walk in to a company and say "I think we should all go to Linux" because you'd probably hear "I think you should go to ...somewhere". The larger the company, the more resistance to change.

How readable is your Word document

Most programs have features that people don't use. As a matter of fact, I read a few years back that Microsoft estimates that people use less than 20% of the features in their tools. For example, in Word, things like file comparison, commenting and change tracking, mail merge, tables of contents, and many more go unused as people do things in a much slower and much less efficient way. As someone who uses these programs to a very high level, I rarely run across something I didn't know.

Earlier this semester, our internship coordinator was showing me a tool that will check how readable a document is. There is apparently something called the Flesch-Kincaid model, which analyzes word usage and will figure out what grade level and how easy to read your document is.

Out of curiosity, I just ran this on a recent assignment I gave in the class, and here are the grade levels:

• 14.6 (like a college sophomore level)
• 14.2 (same)
• 12.1 (just above a high school senior)
• 10.0 (high school junior)
• 8.0 (eighth grade)

You can do this yourself. Basically, you enable this option, and after you run a spelling and grammar check, it will show you the statistics. This is a pretty cool option, and if you find your paper is at a lower level, you can always improve it by doing a little editing. Try it out on your papers today!

Link to instructions

License plates for computer geeks

A friend sent this along and I had to click on it. These are some computer people-type license plates that folks have found pictures of.

http://royal.pingdom.com/2008/08/25/23-awesome-license-plates-for-computer-geeks/

I think my favorite has to be "su root". If you understand that, I wouldn't let you near my Linux box (that is, if I still had one).

Logic Puzzles

I always find logic puzzles interesting. For example, I will sometimes give my classes logic problems, just to get them thinking (depending on the class and how ahead or behind we are, of course).

For example, there is an old problem involving a wolf, goat, and some cabbage:

• A farmer needs to bring a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage across the river.
• The boat is tiny and can only carry one passenger at a time.
• If he leaves the wolf and the goat alone together, the wolf will eat the goat.
• If he leaves the goat and the cabbage alone together, the goat will eat the cabbage.
• How can he bring all three safely across the river?

(I'll leave this to your imagination, but no, it doesn't involve swimming).

Anyway, one day, a student of mine named Chris showed me a similar problem, except about 10 times harder. I always loved this one. Basically, you have a bunch of people to bring across a river, and a bunch of rules related to it. It's not easy, even for me, even having solved it (I just went back to it and it took me a few minutes, and this is after having done it before). If you take computer programming classes, you've learned that it is important to really plan before you work - and that should be the point, you're not taking programming classes just to learn a programming language, you are also doing it to expand your mind and learn how to problem solve.

My favorite logic problem can be found here. It's actually in Japanese, but the site below explains the rules in English and lets you click on the puzzle after that.
http://www.robmathiowetz.com/

Just because security is an illusion doesn't mean you can't be safer

I had a discussion with my CIS 101 course yesterday regarding protecting their computers. Even though security is an illusion, it doesn't mean you can't protect yourself somewhat. Basically, your goal is not to be airtight and perfect - if someone is motivated enough to hack YOU, they probably will be able to. However, if they are just looking to hack SOMEONE, you want to present enough challenge that they move on to someone else.

One of the problems is that the Windows operating system includes no virus protection and only the latest versions came with a firewall (which is rather basic). Another problem is that many computers may come with anti-virus software installed, but only for a trial period. The problem is that you are protected against any viruses that were released up to your last patch date, but that is all. Any new viruses can slip through and infect you.

There are ways that you can upgrade this protection for free.

First of all, many of our local students don't realize that if they have Optimum or Comcast, they are entitled to free security software. Both of the high speed Internet service providers give out security suites. Optimum gives you CA's Internet Security Suite for free, while Comcast gives you the free McAfee suite.

For anti-virus software, there is a free tool called AVG anti-virus that I always recommend to students. You can get the AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition on their Web site:
free.avg.com

In terms of a firewall, you can always upgrade from the Microsoft one. I used a free version of the ZoneAlarm software package for many years, until I got the free McAfee suite. You can download this from the following site:
zonealarm.com

Are any of these programs 100% foolproof? No. However, if you have nothing, this will make you a harder target, and really, that's all you can ask for. Remember, in a herd of animals, the predators go after the easiest targets. Don't be that easy target.

US Power Grid hacked

Apparently, China and Russia "cyberspies" have both hacked in to the US electrical grid. This does not shock me. It also may be possible that programs have been left behind that, in the event of war, could be activated and used to shut down power in the country. If this sounds a lot like "Live Free or Die Hard"...well, yeah.

Yet another example of how security is a mirage.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123914805204099085.html

Free Career Expo @ PCCC - 4/11/2009

The school is hosting a Career Expo this weekend in preparation for the job fair. This is on Saturday 4/11/2009. There are two sessions - 10 am to 12 pm and then 12 pm to 2 pm.

There will be a series of workshops (30 minutes, I am assuming) on the following topics.

• PANEL DISCUSSIONS ON CAREER PLANNING
• INFORMATION ON RESUMES & JOB SEARCH TECHNIQUES
• PRACTICAL ADVICE ON STARTING A SMALL BUSINESS
• CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Might be worth checking out, especially for free.

(Edit: location is in the Theater on the Paterson campus)

2009-2010 PCCC Scholarships - deadline extended to May 1

PCCC has made a bunch of scholarships available again this year. The deadline to apply is April 2nd MAY 1, 2009 at 4:30 PM. You can get applications in the Center for Student Success (Paterson) or the main offices in Wanaque or Passaic. You will likely need a letter of recommendation for this, so if you know of any faculty members who would recommend you, reach out soon.

As I've stated before, scholarships are a great thing to apply for. At worst, they say no, and at best, you pick up a little extra cash to help pay for school. I personally came from a family where I was the first person to go to college, and I didn't have a lot of money to pay for school. I did get two scholarships that helped a lot - without them, I don't know what I would have done. I received thousands of dollars a year in free money, because some groups wanted to provide opportunities for people like me.

Here are the general descriptions they sent us over the email. You will see some say "see additional requirements" - these are in the packets that they have in the offices.

Scholarship	General information
Academic Achievement	College level student, minimum of 24 college level credits, minimum 3.5 GPA, major in Humanities and/or Human Services, Business, Allied Health, Science or Technology.
Albert Payson Terhune	Part-time student, minimum 3.0 GPA, see additional requirements.
Eileen Thompson Academic Achievement	College level student, minimum 3.5 GPA, see additional requirements.
Professor Elaine C. Harrington	Full-time student, minimum of 12 college credits, minimum 3.0 GPA, NJ resident, see additional requirements.
Elizabeth Steinberg Memorial	Must have completed ESL or developmental courses, minimum 2.0 GPA, accumulated less than 24 credits, have unmet financial need.
Emmett & Evelyn Jones	May be part-time (minimum 6 credits); preference to GPA over 2.5, see additional requirements.
ESL Achievement	Current ESL student, minimum of 18 credits, minimum of 3.0 GPA.
Helyn and Larry Doby Memorial	Good academic standing, taking a minimum of 6 credits, demonstrates personal integrity, see additional requirements.
Manuel V. Lagos	Full-time student, involvement in PCCC activities or community service, minimum of 24 college level credits, see additional requirements.
Nursing Scholarships	Students accepted into the nursing program may also apply for scholarship aid through the department (office PAC 223).
Richard Pirozzi Memorial	Good academic standing with financial need, see additional requirements.
Rosalie Hojegian Memorial	May be part-time (minimum 9 credits), min. 3.0 G.P.A., see additional requirements.
Verizon	Matriculated student, minimum of 3.0 GPA, New Jersey resident, ineligible for other financial aid.

Good luck!

My blog on Facebook

For those of you who have added me on Facebook, I updated my account so that my blog posts will publish there. There is also a link back to blogger, if you want to comment, etc.

Nissan vs. Nissan

Back in the mid-1990's, there were a lot of prime Internet domain names that were available. Eventually laws were put in place regarding "cybersquatting" - buying domain names that contained someone else's trademarked name with the purpose of reselling.

For example, if I had purchased mcdonalds.com before they did, and I had no legitimate use for it, I couldn't simply "hold it hostage" from a company that needed it.

However, there are many companies that happen to have the same name. Let's say, instead of registering mcdonalds.com to hold it hostage, I bought it because my last name is McDonald and I had a computer repair shop, do I have the right to that domain name?

I'd say yes. However, this being America, you can sue anyone for anything, and they could sue me. Since they have many lawyers, I'd be more likely just to give up because I couldn't afford to fight.

Would this happen? Well, it did to nissan.com.

You may notice nissan.com is not the Web site for the car manufacturer. Instead, their Web site is nissanusa.com. The reason? A small computer corporation in North Carolina, run by a man named Uzi Nissan, bought the domain in the early 1990's.

Of course, once Nissan (the car people) figured out that this was the case, they wanted the domain name, and have been dragging Nissan (the computer person) through courts for ten years. Uzi Nissan's story claims that he's spent around 3 million dollars defending his Web site addresses.

Personally, my opinion is that Nissan (the car people) should be out of luck, but of course, they have millions to spend on lawyers, so they may eventually beat Uzi Nissan in to submission, and that's a shame.

Here's his story:
http://www.nissan.com/Digest/The_Story.php

PCCC Career Fair: April 16th

On April 16th on the Paterson campus, PCCC is having the annual Spring Career Fair.

Employers looking for employees will be there. Whether you are a technology major or a liberal arts major, there are companies that you might be able to find work with. It's a great opportunity to get to interact a little bit with potential employers, learn what questions to ask, etc. If you are going, you should definitely bring some copies of your resume so they can contact you!

Again, that's April 16, from 11 AM to 3 PM, in the gymnasium in Paterson, and of course, it's free to attend.

Conficker - The April Fool's Day Virus

Tomorrow (4/1/09) is a very important day. A virus is set to do some very nasty things tomorrow, or so they say. Basically, this Internet worm has infected many computers, and is set to start being exceptionally nasty starting tomorrow.

There have been many viruses that people see as something that could be a catastrophe that turn out to be nothing, but this one seems like it might have some teeth to it. Technical details are in the article linked above, but tomorrow could be a very interesting day. I wanted to make sure I said this before tomorrow arrives. Could it be that tomorrow we will wake up and the Internet will be crippled because of this virus? Will the estimated 3 million infected machines rise up and launch computer attacks on government sites, or e-commerce sites, or email sites? Or will this be something that just sort of overhyped, as many computer viruses were?

PC Magazine has a "To-Do" list - for home users and network administrators alike - on how to make sure they are protected. Basically, if you have an anti-virus software package installed and updated, and you've been running Windows (or Microsoft) Update, you should be okay. This is why I am secure enough to leave my home PC on tomorrow when I go to teach.

That is, if all the computers in the world haven't gone down by 11:45 am! :)

Thanks to Sue for the heads up on the "To-Do List"!

MLK Scholarship 2009-2010

This is the time of year for scholarships!

PCCC can nominate one student for this award.

The NJ Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Commission is proud to announce the 2008 - 2009 King Scholarship Program. Established in 1999 in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the King Scholarship Program recognizes NJ college students for their academic and extracurricular achievements to further the causes championed by the civil rights leader. Scholarships in the amount of $5000 are awarded annually.

Students must submit their application and supporting documentation to the Office of the Dean for Evening Administration/Associate Dean for Student Affairs (E101) by the deadline of May 14, 2009.

Eligibility Requirements

• Show evidence that they intend to pursue a course of study in social work, labor, history, political science, divinity or religion, sociology, psychology or other fields that will enable them to further the causes championed by Dr.King.
• Have attained a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Have demonstrated leadership ability through participation in community service, and/or co-curricular activities.
• Be a U.S. citizen or permanent legal resident in the state of New Jersey.
• Must have completed 15 credits.

Visit www.njmlkcommission.com for more information and/or an application. Remember - the documentation must be submitted to PCCC, not to the NJ MLK Commission.

Registration for 2009 Summer and Fall, already!

Advising and registration for the 2009 Summer and Fall semesters starts Monday (3/30/09)...already.

First step - see an advisor. If you are a college level student, you should no longer see anyone from the Center for Student Success for advice on classes - they are generalists. They know a bit about most programs, but are not experts in any of them - there are way too many programs for them to have expert level understanding of all of them.

IT and Business majors - this especially applies for you! There are many options and many schools with different transfer requirements, and it pays to see a faculty advisor. We don't get paid extra for this - I feel like this is one of those real chances we have as faculty members to make a real impact in a one-on-one fashion. Just remember you can see anyone in your major - so find someone who has convenient office hours and someone you can trust to ask some questions. See an advisor ... register now and get the sections of the classes you want and avoid the gym registration and avoid a class at 8:55 am followed by a class at 2:50 pm because all the sections are full.

I guarantee the nurses will start filling up the Anatomy and Physiology courses by 10 am Monday.

If you want to ask questions of me, my office hours are as always posted on the left hand side of my blog.

Free Applications for Windows

What a lot of people don't realize is that there are some very good quality software packages that are freeware that are just as effective as the paid ones.

(Side note: for some reason, what I just typed reminds me of a quote from the movie "Real Genius" - starring a very young Val Kilmer - "there's a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market that are just as tasty as the real thing". Classic when seen in context).

There are probably about 10,000 sites that have done this, but there is a site called freeapps.co.uk that promotes many of these products. It has a list of products for the Windows operating system here:
www.freeapps.co.uk/windows

What's kind of nice is that a lot of the things my student end up wondering how to get for free - for example, free anti-virus, free digital photo editors, free alternatives to Microsoft Office...most of the common software packages are listed there, and you can click on one for a more detailed description and a link to the publisher's Web site. This is a site that's trustworthy, and it does link directly to the download sites - you won't have to worry about spyware, you are downloading from the people who created the software.

If you are looking for something free (and also LEGAL), this is a nice little site to check out.