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Where leaping to conclusions is my primary form of forward motion.
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The Bellsouth Wizard
Into the Twilght Zone, aka BellSouth
Screwdriver, Matches, Vaseline, and a Note
What Not To Do
Into the Twilght Zone, aka BellSouth
Screwdriver, Matches, Vaseline, and a Note
What Not To Do
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Saturday, August 26, 2006
The Bellsouth Wizard
For grins I put the BellSouth "wizard" CD in my laptop and scanned it. My antivirus/anti-spyware tools tagged the included utility [westellmodemtest.exe] as a 'Trojan Horse - Generic.FFJ'.This doesn't necessarily mean anything - a google search on the term turned up nothing. I suspect the tool allows someone at BellSouth a way to access the modem or computer for diagnostics. But I sure didn't see any warnings or notices that BellSouth was going to put remote access software on my computer. Hmm.
BTW no, I don't install any software from any ISP on any of my computers. When an ISP does their job correctly they don't need to put software on my machines.
Into the Twilght Zone, aka BellSouth
For the past two years I have rented office space in the "Old Towne" district of my little Atlanta exurb. During that time I have had commercial-grade DSL service from Speakeasy. Using their OneLink DSL service I did not have to buy dial tone from the phone company - Speakeasy provided a dedicated high-speed line capable of 6Mb/1Mb service. In addition, I used Speakeasy VoIP service over that same line for my phone. After two years I can say that my satisfaction rating with Speakeasy is 90%+. While I had the occasional disagreement over small tech issues and a few minor billing snafus, the overall experience was excellent.Now I am moving my office. Tired of paying rent, I have built a small out-building behind my house to serve as a workshop and home office. Sadly, Speakeasy does not have service in my area. My only choices for a connection of similar speed are BellSouth and Comcast - a motley group to be sure, but all I have to work with.
Based on my previous experience with the cable company, and similar experiences shared by others, I chose BellSouth. What a freaking disaster. To date I've had three calls to BellSouth's incompetent Philippine-based tech support seeking three simple pieces of information - my static IP address (requested when I placed my order), with the corresponding gateway and DNS server addresses for use in my commercial firewall.
This is apparently rocket science for the idiots at BellSouth. Not one of the people I have spoken to knows what I'm talking about. One had the temerity to tell me I needed to put the DSL modem online and logon for her to see what my IP address was - a sure sign that she didn't even know what the word "static" meant.
For equipment, Bellsouth sent me a little Westell DSL modem/router configured by default with firewall, routing, and DHCP services enabled - completely oblivious to the fact that I might, just might, want to handle those functions myself without the f***king phone company's interference. Since there are NO instructions provided with this modem, figuring out how to disable these "features" is left to the user, and god forbid you need tech support. BellSouth is the corporate equivalent of a babbling retard.
That we are still held hostage by these infirm, self-important telecom companies is absurd. It's time we owned our own infrastructure.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Screwdriver, Matches, Vaseline, and a Note
All it takes to get a fighter jet escort these days is a small handful of normal, everyday items that anyone in America could be carrying in their pocket. Oh, and a note with the word al-Qaida somewhere on it.Anyone who thinks we are actually more secure with these ninnies scrambling fighter jets every time someone looks at them wrong is nuts. The TSA buffoons are now confiscating nasal spray. Vicks Sinex Nasal Spray, for christ's sake!
I realize it's all part of the, "If we can't do something useful let's at least do something visible" mentality that permeates our security efforts, but it really is stupid and makes these people look like abject morons.
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A London-to-Washington flight was diverted to Boston's Logan Airport after a distraught passenger pulled out potentially dangerous items, according to a media report on Wednesday. Fighter jets escorted the flight after the woman produced a screw driver, matches, Vaseline and a note referencing al-Qaida, the Associated Press reported, citing an airport spokesman. United Flight 923 landed safely, Logan spokesman Phil Orlandella said, the AP reported.
Posted by: 
Terry Frazier at 11:35 AM
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Categories: Homeland Security, Policy & Regulation
Terry Frazier at 11:35 AM
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Thursday, August 10, 2006
What Not To Do
Someone has no doubt spent millions developing this beautiful, and utterly unusable, digital book interface. (hat tip to Ernie.)
Posted by: Terry Frazier at 12:00 AM
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Categories: Books, Business & Finance, Future of Print, Publishing
Terry Frazier at 12:00 AM
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