Published on
20090505 in
Stuff and Tech.
Tags: e-mail, glug, internet, internet connectivity solutions, linux, linux users group, local network, luser, mail, mail list, man in the middle attack, network, software, Tech, website, windows.
If you are an IT professional providing customers with Internet connectivity solutions you know that the internet is a scary place. Back in the dark ages (before 1993) when things started out everyone using the internet trusted each other. Unfortunately things changed drastically and trust is a thing of the past on the internet.
When you set up an internet connection for a customer you do everything you can to protect them, you set up a restrictive firewall, you have a proxy that enforces policy for web surfing as far as possible. You also use all possible means to block spam and viruses in e-mail before they reach the lusers that still believe Bill Gates will give them free Nokia cellphones.
After you did all the technical stuff, you tell everyone (you know it falls on deaf ears, but you have to try) that they must not visit those porn sites, that they must copy links in e-mail and paste them into their browser rather than simply clicking on them etc. So what happens when one of the lusers that actually listened goes to a legitimate website and still have his windows computer exploited? Or if they are lucky the lusers get a warning from their anti-virus software and the site gets blocked.
Continue reading ‘The internet is a scary place!’
Published on
20090404 in
Stuff and Tech.
Tags: bittorrent, blog, business model, commercialise, computer, creative commons licenses, decent money, downloaders, e-mail, free art, internet, jamendo, mail, musicians, network, ogg vorbis, pirate bay, share, Tech, three strikes laws, unauthorised copies, war.
The big media companies and their cronies are getting more and more desperate to try save their totally outdated business model. Modern computers make it ridiculously easy and cheap to copy and distribute any media. The media companies are however trying very hard to overcharge people for what they can do very easily themselves. Most people know that it is illegal to make unauthorised copies of copyrighted materials, but if the holders of the copyright charge way too much and chances are that you will not get caught people will simply copy the material illegally.
Continue reading ‘Will they ever learn?’
Published on
20090323 in
Tech.
Tags: e-mail, IMAP, imap mailboxes, imap server, linux, Mac, Mac OS, mail, mail client, mail clients, mail source, Mutt, Ruby, sup.
I have written about my favourite mail client Mutt before and still consider it the best around. There is another contender around that I heard about on the linux-elitist mailing list. It is also console based and is called “Sup” short for “What’s Up”
Continue reading ‘Whatsup! – There is another decent mail client on the block’
Published on
20080812 in
Stuff and Tech.
Tags: Boekehuis, bookshops, e-mail, international booksellers, internet, johannesburg, Literature, mail, mail list, niche, old technology, Saterdagstemme, small buisiness, south africa, Tech, technology, website, work, world.
About two weeks ago I googled for info on “Saturday Voices” (Saterdagstemme) at “Die Boekehuis” in Johannesburg. “Saturday Voices” is a regular event at “Die Boekehuis” where well known (and not so well known) authors, poets, critics or academics launch and discuss their work.
Continue reading ‘Do you need the web to sell 4000 year old technology?’
Published on
20080806 in
Stuff and Tech.
Tags: e-mail, INBOX, Mac, mac mail, mail, mail client, mail clients, mail list, microsoft, Mutt, pleasure, postfix, pretty pictures, sourcecode, spam, suck, windows.
I get lots of e-mail, about 300 messages a day (excluding spam). Ok admittedly I don’t really have to deal with all of it immediately but if you let it go you very soon have thousand of e-mails waiting in you INBOX. more....
Published on
20080725 in
Stuff.
Tags: asr, computer, crash, e-mail, fun, luser, Mac, mail, scary devil monastery, stressful job, sysadmin, system administrator, system administrator appreciation day, user, work.
Today is System Administrator Appreciation Day
You may ask “What is a System Administrator?”
The answers you will find at http://www.sysadminday.com/ are as good as any. Being a System Administrator is a somewhat stressful job and turns you into a cynic very quickly (see http://www.sysadminday.com/time.html ) and you start hanging out in places like the scary devil monastery. Your (l)users also stop talking to you mainly out of fear of hearing the truth because the last time they complained about not getting e-mail you answered “Well, maybe nobody likes you anymore”
Continue reading ‘If you can read this, thank your sysadmin’
Published on
20080330 in
Bad Tech and Stuff.
Tags: authentication, bad idea, blog, e-mail, exchange, fun, internet, ldap server, mail, mail server, memo system, mere mortals, open source, open source system, openldap, optimist, plugin system, postfix, runes, software, suck, systems, upgrade, user, vista, war, widows, windows, work.
WordPress, the software I use for this blog is great and has a wonderful plugin system that allows people to add functionality that is not originally included in wordpress. Unfortunately many of the available plugins are not so wonderful and often do not work as expected (advertised). more....
