Online LaTeX

LaTeX is a document markup language and the de-facto standard for writing research papers, especially where special formatting (such as math and chemical formulas) is needed.  It has a pretty steep learning curve, and if you don't really need to use it, its hard to justify learning for occasional use (or at least, that's how I've always felt about it). 

Enter WriteLaTeX, an online, real-time LaTex editor and collaboration site.

Fuzzycast

File under: things I wish I had time to play with AND things that should be used more widely.

Fuzzycast is a multicast distribution system that allows for pause, rewind, fast forward of Video on Demand (VoD) content.  Multicast is useful for one-to-many distribution of content, but generally must be watched in real time (as it streams) by the clients. 

Fuzzycast addresses these problems.

Two stories from the "I must be insane" front

PEPCO, the power utility that serves the District of Columbia, Prince George's County (MD), and most of Montgomery County (MD) is being forced to offer non-RFID smart meters to customers.  The concerns, as further explained in a previously written article, is that the meters emit radio frequencies.  So, the concern isn't about the couple of hundred volts and amps that is coursing through the meter, to power things that generate radio frequencies (really, how many homes in MoCo do you think are WiFi free?), rather, the concern is about a few milliwatts originated by a device on the outside of a house.


Stop the Insanity!!!

If the concerns arre about the privacy of the information generated by a smart meter, or its security, then I understand.  Sure, there's a lot of work to be done to ensure these devices are not attack vectors or are not leaking information.  But if someone says they don't want one because they are concerned about RF?  My answer: disconnect the service if RF is that much of a concern.




And in the bite-the-hand-that-feeds-you moment, let's turn to AIG, the giant insurance company that was bailed out by the US government a few years back.  Seems that the money we lent them, the money they couldn't get on the open market, the money that was needed to avoid bankruptcy, was "too expensive"- we charged them too much interest.  It is considering joining a lawsuit saying that they weren't treated fairly.  The Board says it has a fiduciary responsibility to consider the lawsuit.

I suppose they all live in houses with smart meters.

Regular Expressions in Python

Good overview of regular expressions in Python, especially if you are familiar with Perl regular expressions.

End of November Random Links

A good site to find out what the rest of the networking industry is doing for operational best practices:

IP Best Current Operation Practices

Interesting piece on 21st century computer architecture from the  Computing Community Consortium (CCC). Direct pdf link to the white paper:

21st Century Computer Architecture 

GPS based NTP server

Inexpensive, small form factor NTP server with GPS receiver: NetBurner's PK70

Also useful for an embedded system or where a small machine is needed.

Doing a background check on yourself

The Consumerist has a good collection of links on how to run a background check on yourself.
The usual suspects are there, the three credit reporting agencies.  There are also a number of surprising places where information about your is warehoused, such as :

• The Retail Exchange (tracks your return activity with retailers)
• A number of sites keeping employment history
• A number of sites keeping tenant history 

someone is always watching