mikeguentzel's blog

Because of malicious software found on Sony Music CDs, some government agencies and educational institutions are banning the use of these CDs in institutional computers (article from Boing Boing).

You have probably heard about the recent Sony Music CD debacle that is giving the company a black eye these days.  If you haven't, here's a summary:

• Sony wants to prevent people from copying music from their CDs to their computer, so they put a "rootkit" on each CD that would install itself on your computer without your knowledge.  A "rootkit" is malicious software that is used by hackers to manipulate a PC without the users knowledge.
• Sony executives claim the rootkit isn't bad and/or not important since consumers don't know what a "rootkit" is.
• After the public outcry, they offered a rootkit uninstaller.  Unfortunately, the uninstaller left computers vulnerable to other attacks.
• Now Sony is recalling the CDs and facing a class-action lawsuit from people who purchased the CDs.

I find it interesting because it's a fascinating study in how a good company has tarnished their image by making a series of poor judgments (for a complete list, check out this Boing Boing post).

One of the benefits of being in IT, is that there is no end to the number of publications you can turn to that will give you advice and information.  I'm sure I'm not on every mailing list, but it feels like it.  I get pounds of thin glossy National-Enquirer style publications every month. 

I'm not saying there isn't good information out there, I just can't always get to it.  Why can't there be RSS for print publications?  Maybe Google Print will get there.

At any rate, I found some useful information regarding blogging and social networking.  Chris Gonsalves writes in his article "Blogging indeed is here to stay" that there is a fundamental and significant shift going on in how the marketing gurus see the community:

Old media insider Jeff Jarvis—a guy who has worked for New York Daily News, TV Guide and People; founded Entertainment Weekly; and now consults for The New York Times—is typical of blog converts and evangelists.

"The days of 'we own the community' are over," said Jarvis, taking a shot at the traditional media that employed him for decades. "We owned the free press for a century; now the people own it."

Jarvis made a point early on at BlogOn that became a theme for the show: the idea that marketers would be better served plugging into the blogging community rather than trying to control it.

"You don't own the community. You don't start the community," said Jarvis. "The very notion that you can start a community is ludicrous. A community is not a place where you go. Stop thinking you have a message to get out. Use the tools available to listen."

Like me, some of you might have participated in a great "webinar" put on by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) this past Thursday.

Public Relations representatives from a number of different colleges and universities viewed the presentation of a WebEx session.  Even though I knew much of the subject area (Blogs, RSS, Podcasts and Wikis), I found it extremely useful to see how other higher ed entities are using these new technologies.

We had several of our PR reps from McCombs in attendance and we had an interesting discussion after the seminar.  We had a few people wanting to jump in with both feet and we had others who wanted to wait and see.  We're already doing some limited blogging and limited RSS.  I think we could probably use wikis internally, I'm not sure we would use them for the general public; I guess I would have to see some more ideas. 

Podcasting has been somewhat controversial here.   While some faculty are comfortable with the idea of recording their lectures to be disseminated via a podcast, there are many others who don't like the idea.  "If you podcast, students won't come to class," they argue.  Others don't want to give the clearance to use their material because it's copyrighted.  It will take some time, but I think podcasting will come around.  

An interesting article in today's New York Times online edition talks about higher education institutions resisting the call to upgrade their online systems so they can be monitored by the government.  University IT departments are balking because of the high price of conversion:

The action, which the government says is intended to help catch terrorists and other criminals, has unleashed protests and the threat of lawsuits from universities, which argue that it will cost them at least $7 billion while doing little to apprehend lawbreakers. Because the government would have to win court orders before undertaking surveillance, the universities are not raising civil liberties issues.

Is there money in your budget to do this?  If not, there might be some relief around the bend:

The F.C.C. says it is considering whether to exempt educational institutions from some of the law's provisions, but it has not granted an extension for compliance.

I'm finding a few feeds that look like they're updated regularly.

The Chronicle of Higher Education (from their RSS Help page):

• Daily News
• The Wired Campus

Syndication for Higher Ed

New York Times education feed

Washington Post education feed

Weblogs in Higher Education Blog

More as I find them.  When I get enough, I'll put together an OPML file.

This has been a fast and furious week.  I've been trying to keep up two blogs.  One here at Educause, and one back at McCombs.

I'll proabably post more over there than here, so if you want to check it out, here are some links:

Guentzel's Blog site at McCombs: http://community.mccombs.utexas.edu/blogs/guentzel/default.aspx
Guentzel's Blog RSS (2.0) feed: http://community.mccombs.utexas.edu/blogs/guentzel/rss.aspx

What do you do when you're stuck in the airport hotel?  I have ESPN on TV; I've put in for my wake up call; I made a few strategic purchases; I dined at Macaroni Grill. 

I picked up the October 18, 2005 issue of PC Magazine and found some useful tidbits on Blogs and RSS.  Thankfully, they publish their articles on their website.

John Dvorak writes a great article deconstructing the anatomy of a blog (not a web diary, but a real blog).  This might be a good guide for faculty, staff and students if we decide to go that direction.

Since RSS (Rich Site Syndication) is finally catching on, more mainstream publications are doing informational articles on what it is and how it's useful.  Larry Magid writes a great RSS primer that's worth reading if you want to get a good foundation.  It's also good to send to those you're trying to evangelize to RSS. 

Magid also does a piece on creating your own podcasts.

Well, not the conference...

My stay in Orlando has been extended thanks to Continental Airlines.  They overbooked my 3:15pm flight by at least 17 and I was without a seat assignment. 

They have rewarded my patience and understanding with a room at the Hyatt and a voucher for future travel. 

Do I take this time to blog?  I dunno.  It's the weekend!

In the morning session now.   Despite being the last day and a pending hurricane, the session is well attended.

Session Details General Session Friday, October 21, 2005 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. Exhibit Hall West A2

Speaker(s)

• * Randy Cohen, Columnist, NY Times Magazine, New York Times
• * Deborah G. Johnson, Anne Shirley Carter Olsson Professor of Applied Ethics, University of Virginia
• * Debra Saunders White, Vice President for Technology, Hampton University
• * Howard Schmidt, Former White House Cyber Security Advisor and President & CEO, R & H Security Consulting LLC

Abstract
Although Google tells us that "computer ethics" appears on 130,000 Web pages, many of our legislators, professors, and judges would argue that it's nowhere to be found. The question of right and wrong in cyberspace confronts us daily in an age of file sharing, spam, pushbutton plagiarism, and tell-all blogs. This session explores some of the Internet's most challenging ethical issues with a panel of experts.

The entertaining Randy Cohen is leading a discussion on the explosion of web based technology in the classroom.

I sat through a very interesting session this afternoon that discussed having LDAP and AD coexist and talk to each other.

Session Details Track 5 Thursday, October 20, 2005 2:20 p.m. - 3:10 p.m. Meeting Room W207C Speaker(s)

• * Harold Esche, Chief Information Officer, University of Calgary
• * Jeremy Mortis, Manager, Web and Email Services, University of Calgary
• * Session convener: Reba C. McMillan, Network Administrator, Boise State University

Abstract Managing identities across multiple systems and platforms is challenging. Learn how the University of Calgary provides unified user authentication and authorization services across the enterprise via an integrated metadirectory built on LDAP and Active Directory.

The guys at University of Calgary are attempting to have all of their authentication occur within a LDAP directory with some synchronization that occurs with Active Directory.  McCombs has a similar dilemma and I was able to pick up a few ideas.

It's a little confusing, but basically U of C has set up an identity vault that houses all of your different types of authentication.  As long as you log in through their portal, you will be given the appropriate amout of access based on the application.  You can log into your UNIX account or your Exchange account using a single Userid and password.