So after some access violations in the Windows registry on booting up, I decided to check out my system for viruses. I find the Housecall system - a remote virus scan, to detect any nasties in the system - a particularly good tool for this purpose. Sure enough, SWEN was found on my system. Now it wasn't doing anything because this is a virus which exploits the security loop which was closed if you updated your system in the week before SOBIG_Ccame out. So my system, updated as it was, wasn't going to be damaged by this virus. But its presence all over my PC was causing other problems. So I set about trying to get rid of the thing. And do you think I could? After several attempts to delete the bugger from my Temporary Internet Files register, and running multiple SWEN removal tools, I ended up having to use the Symantec removal tool, renamed with a command suffix (*.cmd) and then run system wide maintenance tools to fix up what had been lost in the removal process.
For a virus which couldn't do anything to my computer system, it's certainly wasted a lot of my time today. Being attacked by the Borg would be less painful.
One of the great university towns of the US, Massachussetts (home of the MIT Media Lab, which in itself, is an institution), has decided to give Microsoft products the flick and is opening its state-wide computer systems to open source, including Linux.
And in other news, it's farewell to Richard Alston as Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, here in Australia. Alston will be remembered for his staunchly rationalistic position on telecommunications, believing till the last in the full sale of Telstra, and an open market for ICTs. The incoming Minister will be former Attorney General, Darryl Williams. I doubt if the new Minister will hold widely differing views from his predecessor.
I have to admit the fact that I'm a North Melbourne supporter to begin with. But seeing as North aren't playing, my loyalties rest entirely with Brisbane Lions for this afternoon's Grand Final - not just because this is my adopted home town, but because any old Melbournite knows that Collingwood is the Enemy. I wish them Colliwobbles as usual.
Channel 10 has the worst coverage of the Grand Final leadup in human history. WTF is Bert Newton doing on the panel?
The weather in Melbourne is hideous - was less than 8° Celsius till about 11:00am and is now only 10°. In contrast, Brisbane is 31° C, and has been since 11am. The weather will inevitably favour Collingwood, but having said that, the last match between Lions and the Magpies with bad weather actually produced a Lions win so we'll just have to wait and see.
It'd be so nice to see the Lions get a hat-trick! A great testament to a great team, and a special sentimental favourite as a result of my collegial relationship and great friendship with Brisbane Lions Board Member, Associate Professor Susan Dann. Susan - all the very best to you down there today!
I'm off now to watch the game on a decent sized TV at Kev's place. Thanks for inviting me babe. Much appreciated :-)
Yes I'm having a hard time believing my luck too. Clearly whatever deities of well-being out there have a vendetta against me at the moment.
I have all the symptoms of food poisoning - stomach cramps, chills (although these seem to have subsided since yesterday) and a complete inability to keep anything in my system. Nothing else - no body ache nor headache so it's clearly just a toxin thing. I'm drinking water and sleeping because that's all I have the energy to do. I'm guessing I'll be back feeling fine sometime tomorrow, but in the meantime, all vibes much appreciated.
Yes it's been three days since I've blogged and there's been no geeky stuff. Yes I know. It's coming, I promise. Just as soon as I get my work done. In the meantime, for monitor buffs, I thought this 92 inch chain of screens may suffice.
And special vibes are being sent to friends who are going through some tough times at the moment.
Just home from the baptism of little Ethan, and I am now officially his Godmother. This is about as close as I'm ever going to get to having a child of my own so he's pretty special to me. A very small selection of photos are up here. Enjoy!
In a few hours' time I will be formally named as one of the Godmothers for the son of my friend Melissa, at a baptismal ceremony at St Patricks Catholic Chruch at Fortitude Valley in Brisbane. I am joined in this role by two more very dear friends, Liz and Raechel. It's lovely to be linked to these three girls in such a beautiful way. I feel extremely honoured to be asked to be Godmother to Ethan, and I wish Melissa, Michael and little Ethan all the very best for the day, today.
After a meeting with Martin Moore, one of the graduates from the Brisbane Graduate School of Business's Executive Master of Business Administration program today, I thought I'd draw my readers' attention to the subject of our meeting: Nicholas G Carr's article in the Harvard Business Review, entitled "IT Doesn't Matter". In that article Carr argues that the era of new IT investment and treating the use of IT as a basis for competitive advantage is now over. Because IT is now ubiquitous, competitive advantage cannot be gleaned from the IT infrastructure itself. Instead, it becomes necessary to reduce spending in IT infrastructure and focus on risk management as a basis for developing business plans. This is strategic use of information technology for the beginning of the 21st century: finding the most economically viable means of using information technology and capitalising on the specific needs of your market. I could go on, but it's probably better to read the explanation of the original article in the Business Review Weekly interview with Nick Carr.
Martin and I both agree that the title of the original May article was a misnomer. It's not that IT doesn't matter; without IT businesses would quickly find themselves flailing. It's simply that IT should be more prudently employed and maintained. Thus new investment in IT won't be in the hardware, but in the assessment of the most efficient means of employing that hardware. Thus spending in IT will be in those minds who are best placed to assess the market for an IT implementation, and in the process of bringing that assessment into a business plan. So - fabulous news for IT managers - new investment in IT will be in people, not infrastructure. Of course, the Linux geeks have been saying this for years.
In other news.... Woah. I went back for a full day at work today and nearly passed out on my way in to work. My energy levels are pretty low now at the end of the day, and I think I'll be hitting the sack pretty early tonight. This illness has really knocked me around. Clearly I need to take things pretty slow for a while yet.
This is probably one of the best pieces of digital dance performance I've seen. Chunky Move in Australia has been working on this sort of thing for years (I saw Gideon Obarzanek's first work at the tiny George Fairfax Studio theatre in the Victorian Arts Centre about 9 years ago - June/July 1994), and the advantage of a professional dance company doing digital performance art is that they are working on real dancers. But this is the first non-dancer-based digital work that actually works for me.
Thanks to Westy for coffee and then impromptu dinner last night! Was great to catch up, dude, and hope you had fun putting the new computer together after I left. Would have loved to have helped, but as I'm in catch up mode generally, it's just a matter of fitting everyone in! I would love to take up your offer of another evening for more catching up anyway in a week or so.
Also my very best wishes to Amy today for the resolution of the financing on her townhouse. Hope all goes well for you Amy!
I have finally updated my blog on blogging, with a discussion of social currency partly based on the Rushkoff article from my previous post and on other sources. It's more of a springboard for further research which now at last I have time to pursue.
In my email in-box, the news from the IT section of The Australian is probably the best set of links to IT stories in ages. Firstly, great news that Labor and the Democrats are rejecting the legislation tabled in Parliament for tough new anti-terrorist powers over telecommunications. Thank goodness some elected officials realise that denying net and telephony access to people who are deemed to "prejudice national security" is a practice tantamount to censorship. The Attorney General would have been the body who would have determined whether an individual did or did not "prejudice national security", on advice presumably from ASIO, the latter of which deemed a rather innocuous breakfast radio crew from a community radio broadcaster in Melbourne to be suspect. Hardly a sensible determination, and hardly a sensible piece of legislation.
Secondly, it's an interesting move for Sun Microsystems to be offering a suite of programs to compete with Microsoft's operating system and Office programs to those who don't want or can't afford the Microsoft software.
Thirdly, I'm amused that Microsoft's Steve Ballmer has finally had to make a public announcement promising to tighten security in its software, as it has finally occurred to everyone that weaknesses in the Microsoft operating system software have been the basis of massive and damaging computer virus outbreaks on a global basis.
Fourthly, it's probably no surprise to anyone that Telstra is resisting the development of wireless 'hotspots' for free public internet access. Did anyone really think they would want to set up the infrastructure to rob themselves of income? What planet are these policy makers living on?
And finally, things are looking up for business investment in IT infrastructure and projects, according to the Technology Forecast 2003-2005 released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Good news for my students!
Thanks once again to all those who have been supportive, sending wishes and vibes for my return to good health! I have been in for tests and all seems pretty good, so I'm relieved to say I'm pretty much back on track.
On the links scene, I found Doug Rushkoff's latest article on Social Currency rather at odds with my own theories of content dissemination. And that's odd, because I agree with a lot of other theories of Rushkoff's. He believes it's not content that will drive wireless communications, but contact. I struggle with this because I have seen too many instances of free or subsidised access to wireless networks which are simply not used, and the reasons given for the slow uptake range from difficulties with setting up wireless communications to questions about whether there is a need for the technology. Once again, I would tend to argue it is content rather than contact that matters.
On an entirely different note, I've shared this with a few friends thanks to an email link from my uncle (thanks David!), but it's worth showing others, as it's done the rounds of blogs via Joi Ito's site. It has to do with the manner in which we read: ordering of letters doesn't matter if the first and last letter of a word is correct because we read words as a whole.
Finally, happy birthday wishes to Van for yesterday, thanks to Troffie for the warning of the Dr Who special last night, and thanks to the Space Cadet for keeping me guessing this morning :-)
Fabulous night. Thanks to Kevin for coming over and keeping me company while I watched the usual Saturday night Star Trek marathon on FOXTEL's TV1. Thanks also for the wine and for braving my cooking! Next time I'll do something more inspiring than pasta :-) Plus it made me stay home and keep getting better without feeling disconnected from the world. You're the best, babe.
In an entirely unrelated series of observations:
1. Powderfinger are sounding more and more like INXS with every album they release
2. I love the way headlines in New Scientist can be both parody and accurate at the same time
3. Cringely's latest post, "How to Steal $65 billion" is a ripper: go read it
4. Supernova is on in Brisbane
5. The weather in Brisbane is superb at the moment. And for all you Doubting Thomases out there, the relative humidity is extremely low, and the dew point (the way the air actually feels) is the lowest I've ever felt it here. Of course that isn't good for bushfires (there have been a few in the past few days) but basically it's good for outdoor enjoyment.
More blogging later. Maybe.
Thanks to all who have sent vibes. I'm still recovering, but am taking things very slowly as yet. I'm coming in to work today but will be taking things very easily for a few more days before I'm really 100%.
On genuine blogging issues I found the move by (Google-owned) Blogger.com to shut down its "premium" paid services rather interesting. Clearly it just wasn't worth the costs of maintaining the differentiated service option. This should benefit greatly the perception of Blogger in the blogging market. Too many of the blogging tools have become premium service-driven, without genuine benefits being available to subscribers.
I have not yet mentioned the anniversary of September 11, 2001, partly because it brings back too many painful memories. The event itself was horrific, but I also remember it for the end of other things in my life. That aside, I found Wil Wheaton's tribute to the anniversary absolutely beautiful.
Thanks finally to my wonderful drinking partner for a get-well-soon drink last night. Really appreciated it, babe.
That's what I'm doing all day today. I don't think I was too affected by the presentation yesterday other than feeling extremely tired. I ended up sleeping for around 12 hours. Later today I want to start properly blogging technology again.
In the meantime, I want to wish my dear friend Lou a very Happy Birthday! Have a great day hon! Really miss you, my dear, and wish you could be here in the warmth and sunshine to celebrate. We could have had my champagne punch and be sunning ourselves on my balcony! Well - I am with you in spirit anyway, and hope you enjoy your day. *hugs and much love*
Never let it be said that I don't work hard, and sacrifice pretty much everything to my job. Today I presented to a delegation from the Chinese Government, associated with the Science and Technology Division. While I didn't have much of a voice, it was useful that my translator (and student), Barbara, was able to cover and speak for me while I sipped water and tried to revive my voice every few minutes during the 2 hour presentation.
I love presenting to Chinese nationals. They are always so gracious and so generous in their appreciation. They presented me with the most beautiful carved Jade plaque and invited me to contact them all in China for consultancy purposes.
I hope my presentation was useful for them: I provided an outline of Australia's technological and political position in the information and communications technology sector which was perhaps a little more enlightening than direct political policy or commercial advertising would tend towards (one of the advantages of academic distance and commentary). There seems to be some similarities between Australia's position on "the last kilometre" between the main telecommunications backbone and consumers of multimedia and interactive applications. The costs of rolling out broadband connectivity, both in terms of infrastructure and in terms of content and programming are an issue for both Australia and China. Perhaps we may well be able to work collaboratively to develop some cost-efficient solutions.
That's all I have the energy to report today - now home and heading back to bed to recover from this illness. But at least I still have an unblemished report card of presentations. Doesn't matter how sick I get - the show must go on. I just have to make sure that I spend the rest of the week recovering.
... to all who have been expecting communication from me. The update is that I am to have tests in hospital next week and that in the meantime I'm supposed to stay at home. I know this is a bit of a shock to colleagues but the fact that I can't and won't be in at work for much of the rest of the week is just something you're all going to have to deal with for the present. Sorry, but that's that.
To those who have been sending vibes and good wishes - you are all wonderful. Thankyou. And to one gorgeous creature - you know who you are - thankyou for making me chuckle this afternoon, and for wanting to make me better. Star Trek will never be the same for me now, will it? ;-)
The title says it all. I'm feeling worse today than I did on Friday. Off to doctor's again tomorrow for another round of anti-biotics.
Sorry folks. I will get back to you all. I just have a body which isn't functioning at all well at present.
I still haven't managed to get to my emails and student queries but plan to do so probably tomorrow. In the meantime, for those vaguely interested, I've uploaded a paltry 5 photos from my trip to Bangkok and Sydney. I'm just not one for taking a lot of photos I guess.
Here I am with a working internet connection (fixed while I was away) back home in my nice warm BrisVegas. My head feels about as heavy as lead and I think I'll probably end up sleeping much of tomorrow, but it's good to be home.
HUGE thanks go to my brother though, for putting up with his sick sister who not only took over his bed, but failed to get him anything for his birthday. I promise to send something soon, AG. Thanks also go to Pam and Marcus - sorry to miss you Marcus, but I was just too unwell to contact anyone the last couple of days.
Thanks to others for their well wishes and vibes. I do feel better this evening than I was feeling earlier in the day, so I do suspect the Sydney water. But this headcold will still take a few days to get through my system, so it'll be fluids and rest for me for a few days. Plus I will get back to students' emails over the weekend. I promise. That is, unless I find out I actually have SARS and am admitted to hospital. Then I'm afraid you're on your own.
That's right. I have the Sydney flu or something like it. Mild headcold, but the key symptoms are inflamed glands and an inability to keep anything down. Bizarrely though, I have no aches or pains at all. I get tired by walking around but feel fine sitting here at the computer.
I strongly suspect I have reacted to the Sydney water. I have just gone out and bought bottled water and am drinking that. Interestingly, I feel better having drunk that bottled water than I did after drinking the filtered stuff of my brother's. So Stephen - you were right - this water is really bad for Brisbanites. Particularly for people who may have a slight cold to begin with.
I want to apologise to Pam for not getting back to her, and to my students who haven't heard from me. After spending yesterday in bed and today just taking things very slowly indeed, I think all I'll be able to manage is the flight home later today. Will be good to be home anyway.
Finally a HUGE thanks go to my brother for putting up with a very sick sister sleeping in his bed all day and not spending time with him. Was good at least to see you for a little while in the studio last night, dude. You've been fantastic.
Now I'm off to rest before packing up and departing Sydney town. See you all from home. Thanks for all the good wishes being sent my way.
I have managed to come down with a headcold whilst in Sydney. Yay me. I've spent the entire day in bed sleeping so far and my neck is all blown up. So much for socialising.
At least I had a good day yesterday. Thanks to Pam for an afternoon of strolling around Sydney and to both Pam and Sarah for Mars watching at the Sydney Observatory last night. Was great to catch up and seeing Mars was fabulous.
Thanks to everyone for their good wishes and patience with my responses to emails. I'm back in Australia and now in Sydney staying with my very kind brother, who has given up his bed and is sleeping on the couch while I stay with him in his unit at Pyrmont.
The flight back to Oz was long and I got no more than 2 hours' sleep, regardless of the fact that I was lucky enough not to have anyone sitting beside me. I just don't sleep well on planes. Had a bit of trouble with swollen limbs too: my arms and hands got really sore, but my legs were fine. Go figure. I'm looking forward to a quiet few days in Sydney before returning home to BrisVegas late this week.
The IDP Thailand trip was relatively successful. We made about 60 offers and I'm hoping a couple will make their way in to the MBA program at BGSB.