The Moral Hazard Effect ?

I was reading an article from a back issue of www.sciencemag.org, The Economics of Information Security and was introduced to the phrase moral hazard effect in which an atmosphere conducive to crime is created because those involved believe that customer complaints would not be taken seriously and they became careless and sloppy at their jobs.

Besides the interesting phrase I was reminded once again that if there is any possibility that money can be made from a new and evolving commodity people will find a way, even if they have to steal from someone else to do it.

This all had to do with the many conundrums involved in Internet security and risk assessment.
The vulnerabilities of software has for a long time been a point of concern for corporations and institutions and since some in the software industry would rather "ship it Tuesday and get it right in the next version" businesses have popped up that specialize in certification services to vouch for the quality of software products or websites.

Unfortunately, there are statistics that show that malicious websites as well as malicious software vendors have obtained a "good certification" subsequently circumventing the system. Someone didn't get the point.

I love this one...

There is actually something called a vulnerability market in which investment firms openly buy vulnerabilities (information about specific software security) and provide this info to their customers and well as the software vendors affected by the bad news.
What a set up. Does this remind you of recent banking issues.

It must take a lot a money, brain power and time to think up these "business models". I would think it would be easier to just invest one's time and money in a legitimate endeavor.

I am sure you have heard that it takes more muscles (work) to frown that it does to smile....
and since I am all for conservation of energy in all forms this article has me smiling.

Lorcan Demsey's on Twitter Flow

Lorcan Demsey comments on how libraries plug into their users "twitter flow" by implementing a WorldCat search through twitter. It was an entry made on July 18, 2010.

The blog would be of interest to librarians as well as archivist.

Popular Technology and the Information Economy

Working more intimately with computer technology these past few months than at times I have wanted or enjoyed I wondered what it all might mean to the "average jane or joe" (whatever that might be). Yochai Benkler's The Wealth of Networks discussion about how the phenomenon of "social production' is reshaping markets also got me wondering exactly whose markets are being reshaped?

Only if you participate are you directly effected by the technological achievements and the "new" information economy. What if you are unable to participate either because you do not possess the knowledge, the talent, the time, the resources, the money does it profit you in any direct way?

What do you do if you find yourself at a disadvantage because of your geographical location or your gender or your religion or "state of mind". How does the new social production found on the Internet give you the promised equality and freedom to follow your bliss?

I think the "average jane and joe" have their plate full just trying to keep an income that they don't have the time to exercise their responsibilities as citizens of any global economy found on the Internet.

Personally, I am grudgingly enjoying learning html and css to put together a portfolio, however I also have an idea of what technology, computers, the Internet may mean to someone who looks on all these techno-miracles as just something else that points to their "differences". Sort of like the Neanderthal vs Homo sapien. Hummm? I guess I better figure this portfolio thing out....

Publisher wars---ebooks the new frontier

It really is all about the money. Well, creativity in itself doesn't pay the bills or put food on the table. And so it goes...Amazon Snags Exclusive Deal for E-books

Internet access in Public Libraries: Who needs it?

I had heard on an NPR radio broadcast a couple of months ago how much American relied on services from their local public libraries. With the economy in such an uncertain state and federal and state governments cutting funding to everything including public libraries I was interested in reading more about the situation. I found this article below

Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries.


The article is based on the first, large-scale study of who uses public computers and Internet access in public libraries, the ways library patrons use this free technology service, why they use it, and how it affects their lives. It was conducted by the University of Washington Information School and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

inline html formatting

CCS has got to be more elegant than inline formatting. Not that anything I have done to date with html is elegant, but what I had to do to change the left side margin was grueling. It could also be that I did it the hard way...

Even if the style sheet is embedded in the document and not a separate link it must be easier to control the look of the webpage than using inline formatting.

html

The Dickens assignment has started out in the usual way for me. Technology is the most difficult hurdle. Kompozer is a breeze and actually fun to use. And I was able to download all the free software with ease (Kompozer, cyberduck and iterm). I had difficulty creating a html folder with the public folder on the mainframe. Cyberduck actually created the folder, but it wasn't showing up on the webpage.

I went in to the mainframe and used the programing info received during class and thought it should work. I still couldn't view the webpage and had to resort to making a call. I figured my lack of expertise with programming was probably the reason. Both I and the tech were on the mainframe together. The tech could not see my folders at his end, so he had me type in a command (I wish I had written it down, but was focused on what I was doing on the keyboard) which made everything visible. Nice.

I wish I actually understood what I had just done.
There are some mysteries that are better left mis-understood (sort of like the virgin birth...)

Koha assignment

I have to say that I am still having a hard time remembering to post something on the blog site. I don't think I will ever be successful at it.

Well,

Of all the cataloging software that we have used the Koha was the most intuitive and easiest to use.

I did visit the Omeka site and looked at some of the websites published with Omeka and have to say that I enjoyed "roaming" through the pages of the example sites. I liked the various themes that are possible for the front end of the sites.

it appears that it makes very nice online exhibits for museums.

For my Anthropology senior thesis paper I researched how museums utilized all the raw conservation data they had accumulated over the decades and if they used the data on their respective websites to inform and educate the general public.

I visited some of the majors through out the world and found that many were doing an excellent job of enlightening the public to what art conservation and preservation was all about.

When I looked at the websites created using Omeka I was reminded of the sites I had visited for the paper and wonder what web publishing software they had used. That was the farthest thing from my mind when I was researching for the paper. When I get some time I intend to re-visit some of those site and scrutinize them from a different perspective.

Trusted Computing

In my reading for an essay in LIS2000 I cam across a paper on trusted computing, "Trusted Computing: Promise and Risk", Electronic Frontier Foundation. I had never heard of it and was at first shocked on the first read.

"Trusted computing" enthusiasts believe that today's computer security issues can be solved through hardware changes in our personal computers.

To take advantage of the new hardware designs companies such as Microsoft are designing new OS software.

A consortium originally called the Trusted Computing Platform Alliance, now called the Trusted Computing Group (TCG) has been working on the new architecture which has four different "features"; Memory curtaining, Secure I/O, Sealed storage and Remote attestation.

Computing experts believe each of the features will be useful to computer security, although not foolproof. The idea is to contain and limit the damage that may result from a virus or other malicious activity.
To be used these hardware features need to be supported by software.

The computing community is skeptical and there are serious concerns especially in regards to the risks of possible anti-competitive and anti-consumer behavior.

These fears are directed particularly at the "Remote Attestation" feature which is capable of detecting "unauthorized" changes to software for example by a virus. Because the attestation is remote other computers that you and your computer interact with would be aware of the "break in" as well.

The article authors believe that the current approach to attestation is flawed because "it fails to distinguish between applications that protect computer owners against attack and applications that protect a computer against its owner". This reality can lead to the owner sometimes being treated as another attacker trying to alter the computer software.

If you are one who likes to modify the software on your PC this new hardware feature effectively eliminates your freedom to do so without risking the interoperability of your computer with others.

At this point in time software companies have no good way to detect what software you are using nor do they have any reliable way to compel you choose any specific software type. This status quo is a benefit to computer owners because it improves competition, allows for software choice and interoperablility. Basically, the computer owner is in control of his/her computer.

The Internet that is supposed to allow for a free and egalitarian use of a communication network may become another avenue for large corporations to control another aspect of life and make lots of money along the way.

I can guess where this "security" idea originated. Our government is afraid of cyber-wars and I understand their fears. And I am sure that there is a lot of research money being thrown at computing security issues. It would be wonderful if the hardware and needed software were successfully developed and implemented on government computers. Maybe they already are? But what will stop corporations from putting such security hardware on all the machines they produce?

What would be next? A web site such as your bank locking you out because you don't have the required "recognizable" browser?

Oh, Come on...like that would ever happen!