Thursday, December 6, 2007

One Laptop Per Child and Microsoft

The Scoop

In a blog post earlier this week, Microsoft has expressed interest in having it's Windows XP operating system run the XO, the $200 machine from One Laptop Per Child (OLPC). Currently, the XO is not capable of running XP due to hardware limitations - specifically, it only has a 1-gigabyte storage capacity. Microsoft is pushing OLPC to add a slot for an SD card, adding the 2 gigs of extra capacity that a slimmed-down version of XP would require. Currently, the XO runs a version of Red Hat Linux.


What OLPC Stands For

Upon a quick review of OLPC's website, it's pretty easy to tell where they stand on open-source software and hardware. Phrases about giving teachers and kids "the freedom to reshape, reinvent, and reapply their software..." and that they don't want "any ceiling imposed on those children who choose to modify their machines" make their stance very opaque. On their wiki, on of the five core principles they list is "free and open source."


What about Microsoft?

Firstly, the stuff that comes out of Redmond is about as closed-source as it gets. A "port of Windows XP to the OLPC XO" isn't a project they could make much money off of. After they throw it together and spit it out into the market, it would take a back shelf. Minimal bug fixes. Total insecurity. Don't believe me? Internet Explorer - need I say more?

Windows XP is an eight-year-old operating system, and last year was the first time that a budget computer ran it with any sort of speed. It's a monster, especially once we start talking about running off the XO's 433mhz processor. And let's not forget about running the anti-virus software required on Microsoft OS's. Of all the software options in the world, XP might be the absolute worst bang-for-the-megahertz choice for the XO. Besides, do we really want to run yesterday's software on today's hardware?


Linux Software on the XO

Red Hat Linux is one of the most stable operating systems of our day. Linux, in general, can be fine-tuned and ported to all things big and small. From cell phones and PDA's, to datacenters and supercomputers, Linux does it dependably. With Red Hat on hardware like the XO, you can enjoy the stability and security of a modern-day operating system.

We hear about security all the time but most users don't really understand what that means to them. Security is about not having your credit card numbers or you identity stolen. It's also about the millions and millions of viruses that Windows users deal with every day and they money they spend getting them off and keeping them off. We're trying to lead students and teachers of developing nations into technology, not repulse them. Most Linux users don't require an anti-virus because the OS is built around security.


The Business End

As a business decision, here's where Microsoft sits. If they are able to make any actual money off of this project, through product-liscensing, or whatever, it would have to be minimal before OPLC would even consider it. I'm convinced that Microsoft isn't motivated by making money from the OS itself (that's basically $0), they are instead driven by two things: selling other software for the machine like MS Office, and they're acquainting the future of developing nations with their product. It's about spreading their name (and steering users clear of open-source, for that matter), and it's about getting them ready for a lifetime BSOD's. This decision isn't about helping children, or helping third-world countries. And it's not about making money right now. It's about raping the people of these nations for money a year from now, and ten years from now - the very same people that this project is trying to help.

Microsoft, stop trying take advantage of people who need help - it's already bad enough that you litter our country with the garbage you call software.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

The Writer's Strike

The Writer's Strike that's going on right now: what's the deal? Over the last couple of years, the networks have started hosting streaming episodes of shows on their websites. These streamed shows include ads that generate revenue for the networks, though at present, writers do not receive any compensation for streamed shows. However, the writers want to be paid for their work.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers claims that it's too difficult to determine a method of paying writers for the new media right now. They say it would cost them too much. These are the basic facts.

Strikes are bad for everyone. Analysts are saying that if this strike goes on for long, a lot of our favorite shows will be postponed. How is this going to affect viewers? Some may watch a few more movies until their shows are back on. Some will watch re-runs, or a different show they like less. A lot of people will change their viewing habits completely, meaning that once the shows come back on the air, viewers won't ever turn them on again. Ratings for late-night shows, sitcoms, and prime-time series will be very low once they come back.

How much money do the writers stand to make with lower ratings? What about when the shows cancel? And when they're out of work?

As mentioned, one of the reasons the writers are 'losing' money is because of the internet. Ironically, because of the strike, the GOP debate this month will be on YouTube. This huge event will draw thousands of viewers to the internet, many for the first time. 'Click and Play' is much more convenient than making sure you're home and free at nine o'clock every Monday night. Once more people discover the ease of viewing news, shows and movies online, TV will be seeing even less viewers than ever. How deep of a hole are the writers willing to dig?

Carson Daly is resuming his show in spite of the strike. He is calling upon non-guilded writers to help with material. The Writers Guild of America is very disappointed with his decision, though I applaud him. His move may be more of a publicity stunt (Carson Daly has a show?), but I admire him. He's telling the guilded writers that he doesn't need them.

There are plenty of fantastic writers out there who aren't associated with a guild. How many lower-paid writers would be willing the cross the lines and join successful shows? I know I would - in a second, union or not. Strike or not. Each and every one of those writers is choosing not to work, so I suggest hiring people who want to work.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

The Big Circle

Last week I submitted this blog to Google (according to spell check, I just spelled blog and Google incorrectly). Tonight I thought I'd Google my name to see if the blog came up. It did not. And for those who couldn't guess, I don't have a very common last name. On the second page of the Google results, something interesting came up. It was a burial plot listing with my name on it. Joseph Holod, 1935-1991. That makes me feel like I need to put things into perspective. He died just after I came to be. Was he anything like me, or, rather, am I anything like him? I would doubt that there is another Joseph Holod right now. Is there always just one Joseph Holod at a time? If that's the case, then I wonder what the ones before I were like. Holod is a Czech name, and Joseph is Biblical name. I suppose it wouldn't take someone being an American immigrant to have the first name Joseph - the name has been around for over 2,000 years before the United States was even colonized. Joseph Holod's could have been around now for millennia! It makes one wonder. It's strange to try and come to turns with the idea that in the circle of life, you really aren't the first or the last.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Swimming 4-Wheelers and Frozen Berries

Today I taught my 4-wheeler how to swim. Her name is Sasha. Some may call that a girl's name, but not the French. So I was driving around today with Sasha checking out some potential dog trails when I came across this creek that I drove through. No problem. From there I couldn't really find a trail, but there was this dried up creek bed that I drove in. There was a small sheet of ice there, but just some air underneath.

I was driving along, going slowly, obeying all laws of physics, and then SAWOOOOSH! Broke through the ice into 2 1/2 feet of water! It was an OUTRAGE! Sasha was STUCK! I was soaked from the knees down, and that's something that doesn't mix well when it's 18 degrees outside (Fahrenheit - yeah, that's cold).

Lucky for me, Sasha offsets her lame 3-wheel drive with a nice winch. Twenty-five minutes of some Joe-magic and I had Sasha free and we were rolling home! That drive back to the cabin may have been the coldest part of the entire fiasco, especially since my Carharts had a blowout earlier in the ordeal.

Things could've been worse, though. I was 2 miles from the nearest road. After hours in from of the wood stove I can finally laugh about it!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

1408, Sam Jackson Beer, Scrubs

So, 1408. Not too many scary movies have A-list actors in them. This one did. John Cusack was pretty good in it, too. I am personally not a fan of scary movies, AT ALL. I can't stand them. I actually hate them. There's usually no plot, they're usually very predictable, and usually lots of people die. Without ruining the movie for anyone, 1408 was not a typical scary movie. Plus, Samual L. Jackson was in there.

Have you seen the Chapelle Show where Dave does the pretend Samual Adams commercial? I keep imaging that in my head, the part when he's hollering "I'm Samual Jackson. This is how I talk!" Anyway, I thought it was pretty good.

And how about Scrubs? This is a show that walked into my life very recently. I had a friend loan me the first 5 seasons on the DVD. What a funny show. Probably my full time favorite is Dr. Cox. He's pretty much my hero. Favorite episodes would include: S05E09 'My Half Acre', the episode when Turk dances to Poison. This was a most excellent episode. Also, S03E04 'My Lucky Day' was incredibly funny due to my part time favorite, Janitor. JD plays a joke on Janitor by telling him a riddle, but it backfires with "It's a riddle. Two guys destroyed your bike with a crobar and a bat. One of em wasn't me." Also, the DVD commentary between John C. McGinley and Neil Flynn is pretty good.

Maybe more later.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

The Night I Became A Vampire

Prologue: I wrote this my first year in college as a free writing assignment. I was accused of plagiarizing it by my professor. My honesty was insulted, however, it was a bit encouraging for the writer in me. The written text has not been altered or changed since that day I turned it in, October 5th, 2003. Here it is, in it's entirety.



05 Oct 03

The Night I Became a Vampire

It was not yet three years after we lost the colonies in the Americas. The majority of what my father had left me was invested in a Virginia plantation, though I had never left England. During the Rebellion, I lost it all. It was burned to the ground. My English home, just outside Thurnham, was but a day’s ride from Lancaster. It sat atop a lush rolling hill, overlooking a small cemetery two miles or so in the distance. The cemetery was ancient, becoming more visible each day as the leaves fell off the trees surrounding it. Some members of the Lancaster Royal Family lay here, cold and stale. My father was buried here on the first day of 1774.

I sat in a courtroom all day, defending a client accused of stealing chickens. I knew he had done it, he’d told me so. The judge wasn’t very sympathetic of him. I remember the way he gazed at me from under his white wig. The great arbitrator was searching, as I was, for the answer as to why I went on. More than thirty years had passed since the departure of my loving parents, whom he knew. They didn’t live to see me marry, or their grandchildren born. I shed a tear for them every day.

On my ride home that evening, a deep fog filled the air around me. I trusted my horse knew the way, and thought nothing of the road out of town. I couldn’t keep at bay the thought of the coming season. I wondered if I would have enough firewood to last winter. I imagined that things could be worse, but I couldn’t visualize how. Alice and I just added another hungry mouth to the family. Martha was almost five months now, as old as Robert when we lost him. She had begun eating solid food. Our other six kids were very thin. We have very little income since losing the plantation, and bread was scarce. I knew Alice would cry once she heard I lost another case.

I could look no further than my horse’s ears. I pat him, and his ears perked just as I told him he was a good horse. Just then, the fog cleared some. Contradictory to my previous remark, I realized that we were in the middle of the cemetery. I pulled at the moist reins. We had gone at least a few miles out of the way, I figured. When my eyes began to search around, they almost immediately locked on a headstone reading ROBERT CLARKE, 1686 – 1743. Shocked as I was, I didn’t move. I just stared, gazing into each letter of my father’s name. Nearly twenty years have gone by since I laid my eyes on this very stone, the layers of green moss indicating that I may have been the last person to wipe it clean. My mother lie next to him.

My horse began to breathe more noticeably, kicking his hoof. He didn’t like it here. The atmosphere denoted his nervousness, making me feel a bit uncanny as dusk neared. I thought I heard the gravel churn a short distance away. Startled, I immediately turned my body to face my back left side. My eyes scanned the area, detecting nothing. I let down my guard, sighing with relief. I could smell pleasing the scent of the freshly fallen leaves in the air. I took one last glance at my parents’ graves, touched my chest four times and perked my back up straight. It was time I got home. Just as I squeezed my thighs, I heard six footsteps right ahead of me. They were very close together, something was running. At me. Straight at me. I froze with fear, a cold chill running down my spine. With my eyes popping out of my head, they stopped, ten or twelve feet in front of me. My jaw dropped, and just as it did, something grabbed me right off my horse. I thought it was a man. It was him running at me, and jumping at me. He wrapped but one arm around me when he hit me, and I joined him in flying through the air. And in landing on the ground, right against a sarcophagus. We nearly knocked the lid from it, remembering nothing thereafter for I was knocked unconscious…

Copyright 2007, Joseph R. Holod. You may link to this copy of the work, all other rights reserved.

Thursday, January 4, 2007

eBay is a great thing... for Scam Artists

I need to do a little venting. I've been trying to sell a laptop on eBay now. It just got relisted for the second time tonight.

First things first. eBay is a wonderful thing. It drew thousands of people to the internet whom would otherwise never touch a computer. It has transformed modern-day economics the way the internet eventually would. Let's face it, without eBay, buying and selling things on the internet would be very difficult. eBay has made virtual storeplaces something that anyone can do, whereas without eBay, PayPal and their clones, even an above average computer user/business person would have many discouraging hurdles in the way.

My problem with eBay is that right now, there are hundreds and possibly thousands of scam artists on there. I never even realized it, until last week. In the item description of the laptop I'm selling, I very specifically state that there is NO international shipping. 50 states only. I included the 'Buy It Now' option in there so that maybe I could make some extra bucks off someone who wants the thing in a quick hurry - half the reason the option even exists! A couple days after I list the item, I get some emails from this goon. It says, "Hi, I'm blah blah. I live in the UK but I'm in France on business right now. I bought this laptop for my Grandson in Nigeria. Would you ship it to him?"

Being naive, I said sure. As soon as I receive payment. Shipping will be this much extra. The next day I got this email from PayPal saying that I received payment from this goon, and here's the mailing address. Looked fishy, so I logged into PayPal (something everyone should do to check, even if you sold a $5 pair of sunglasses to your best friend). Didn't say anything about that payment whatsoever.

Here's what they do: They send you an email from PayPal (not even from a real paypal address). It says , "Hi. This is paypal. We're holding funds for this goon. As soon as you send us (paypal) the tracking information for this item, you'll get the funds." As far as I know, paypal doesn't even DO that.

So, that's a roadblock to be selling this item. I really need the money from it, like, last month. I relisted the Item, and the same thing happened. AGAIN. This time, instead of a brand new eBay user, it was from someone who had a rating of 40 or so, and they had 100% feedback. Their profile said they were in the US. The feedback comments for the user went back to 2002. So what I basically think happened, is, some goon from wherever hijacked this person's eBay account. Is that terrible, or what? A person who worked real hard to keep a 100% feedback rating, and some foreign phisher hacker jerk decides to exploit it.

eBay sellers beware. Be sure to use the 'Block Users...' options to protect yourself. If you receive any emails from eBay or PayPal then make sure that you open your browser, type in ebay.com, and paypal.com, and check things for yourselves. Also, maybe not including a 'Buy It Now' option could help as well.

eBay, you need to do something about this.


So I relisted the item a 2nd time, and found that you can block buyers not from places you ship. Clicked that on! I also removed the Buy It Now option.

Trying to sell this item coast me $22 the first time and $22 the second time. I owe eBay money because they think I actually sold the item and received payment for it.