2600: The Hacker Quarterly

Given the increasing prevalence of cybercrime and related threats, this is a publication well worth being aware of.

It has been around for a long time, and hopefully it will continue to be published. It can be hard to find, but subscriptions are available.

It contains articles submitted by readers. Almost every issue has something quite interesting. In this issue (Autumn 2012) there are interesting articles about computers in prison (yes, prisoners DO have access to them), a cyberattack against a small bank, and some perils of using hotel wifi networks.

Even though the articles vary widely from issue to issue, one more or less constant factor is photographs of pay phones from around the world as well as a listing of hacker meetings!

Basic Electricity (Dover Publications)

This is Dover Publications reprint of Basic Electricity from the Bureau of Naval Personnel. It was originally published in 1970.

1970, you ask? How could it possibly still be relevant? Hasn't a lot changed since then?

Well, yes, a lot has changed, but a lot has also stayed the same. What has stayed the same are the fundamentals of electricity. Voltage, current, resistance, capacitance, inductance, magnetism and so on still work the same way today as they did in 1970 (and they worked the same way before 1970 as well).

This is a very thorough book, taking you from basic circuits to transformers and motors. Some may say that the technology in the book is a bit obsolete. In some respects, this may be true, but much of what you see pictured can still be found in industrial settings. After going through this book, take a trip to the electrical department of your local home improvement store-you'll be surprised at how much sense things will make!

Vladimir Rojansky: Electromagnetic Fields and Waves

Vladimir Rojansky served in the White Army during the Russian Civil War. His regiment retreated across Siberia. Rojansky continued his journey across the Pacific to America.

He was one of the first students of quantum mechanics; his thesis advisor was Nobel Prize winner, John van Vleck.

Rojansky taught for many years, and then worked on communications satellites and other projects at TRW.

This book, from Dover Publications assumes only a basic background in physics and calculus, but leads all the way up to the Maxwell equations. It is an excellent text, reflecting Rojansky's academic background and practical industry experience.

Apple OS X Lion

I finally made the transition to OS X Lion. Once the download was complete, it took about an hour.

I did not like the "new" look of Mail, so I'm very happy you can still use the "classic" look.

Many of the "changes" appear to be user interface issues, but others, such as enhanced security, go well beyond that and are worth further examination.

All of my key applications run without any problems, though not all of them support certain Lion features, such as the "full screen" view (this will probably come in time for most of the applications, and even if it does not, it is no big deal).

I do like the enhancements to Preview, which is underrated-it is much more than an "image viewing" application.

Apple OS X *is* the world's most advanced operating system, and this upgrade is well worth the price!

Review and commentary (c) 2011 by Patrick Jost

Mouse Tales

It is no secret that I love Apple products.

Their mouse (on the right) may be an exception. I have gone through two of them in as many years. What goes wrong? The little trackball stops working. The trackball is a wonderful idea, and if you fiddle with it (rub it on a piece of paper, etc.) sometimes it will work-for a while.

So, when the second one died, I looked for a replacement (sorry, Apple). I selected the Macally IceMini (on the left).

Nice little mouse, and it is little. Right and left buttons and a robust scrollwheel. You can only scroll up and down, not back and forth, but that is not a huge problem.

Review and commentary (c) 2011 by Patrick Jost

ThinkGeek: The Bag of Holding

It was time for a new shoulder bag, and, after much deliberation, I chose this one, the Bag of Holding from ThinkGeek.

It is named after a "gaming item" with (supposedly) infinite capacity. This bag WILL hold a lot of stuff…

It has several nice features:

1. A handle. The strap is nice, but there are times when you just need to grab the back and pick it up.
2. The zippers. You may not be able to tell by the picture, but they are metal and should last for a long time (unlike nylon zippers).
3. The bag uses magnetic clasps. You can see the "female" part of one to the right. These work very well, and do not seem to be magnetic enough to damage electronic equipment.

The bag has several compartments. My only complaint, such as it is, is about the front compartment, which has many small pockets in it. The pockets are almost too small to be useful (I have a flashlight in one). Heavy objects might fall out. I might have preferred more slots for pens.

All in all, though, a very nice bag, and I suspect it will last for a while.

Review (c) 2011 by Patrick Jost

Cyber Spying: Tracking Your Family's (Sometimes) Secret Online Lives

Cyber Spying, by Ted Fair, Michael Nordfelt, Sandra Ring and Dr. Eric Cole is really all about the subtitle "Tracking Your Family's (Sometimes) Secret Online Lives."

This book serves as an excellent introduction to spying and counterspying on computers.

The vast majority of the techniques described in the book, however, require what the authors honestly refer to as "intimate access" to the machine of potential interest. Some of the techniques described require the installation of additional hardware (keystroke loggers) or software in order to accomplish the task at hand.

If such access cannot be obtained, much of what is in this book is useless.

But, in cases where it is necessary to "spy" on a family member, such as a spouse or child, this book may be for you.

Interestingly, the last section of the book contains a detailed discussion of countermeasures applicable to many of the techniques appearing in the rest of the book!