Irfan’s Corner on the Web On Mac, Linux, Grid, Virtualization and Software Technology

Last lecture of a Professor

This is the last lecture of CMU Computer Science Professor Randy Pausch. Its one of the most inspiring lecture I've probably ever seen. Randy Pausch has been diagnosed with a sever form of pancreatic cancer and has been told by doctors that he doesn't have long to live. Its 71 min long, but worth every second.

Why Your e-Books Are No Longer Yours

    I today stumbled on a post with the same title on slashdot, and it is so true.

Recently I bought an ebook from ebooks.com, the last book of the Star Wars Swarm War series. I was excited in reading the book, but when purchasing it, I was offered to buy the book either of the two formats: Microsoft Reader and Adobe Digital Media Editions, none of which have Linux clients! But I still went for the Adobe one,  thinking there might be some viewer for Linux. But I was mistaken. Adobe Digital Media Editions is something like: PDF + DRM. So I downloaded the official release of Digital Media Editions and installed it in my Windows XP Vmware VM, and started reading . I got probably to the 2nd chapter when I closed the application, and did some other work. When I came back the other day it would not open!! Digital Media Edition asked me to download it again from the service provider, and it tried itself to download but it always got the response "Transcation has been completed"!!! I went to my account on ebooks.com but there was no way I could download the book again. I was furious, thinking that I had bought this book to enjoy and now I could not open it in my computer anymore!. I had filled for support, but have not recieved a response.

Had it been another open format, I could have opened it in any platform I like. I understand DRM in Music, although I have issues with that as well, but I don't get DRM on ebooks. It is much better to own a hardcopy of the book than put up with the insanity that has gripped publishers.

NetworkSolutions Frontrunning Domain searches!

This story broke yesterday on Slashdot in this thread, then other sites like reddit, digg picked it up. So what are they doing? When you go to their website, and search for a domain name you might want to purchase, that very moment, NetworkSolutions registers it, and now you can only buy it from them. For example one domain I searched yesterday through their site: http://www.asklfjaskldfjalafdjkasdjflkasdjfkasdjf.com, and guess what? Its nor owned by NetworkSolutions. Check the websites whois record

And what does NetworkSolutions say in its defence? I found this post by one of their employees at this blog:

" I work for Network solutions and wanted to clarify our side.

We are not monetizing these domains, nor do we intend to keep them after the holding period.

Network Solutions is not front running. “ Front Runners” are people who register domain names known to have been searched, for the purpose of monetizing them and then selling them at inflated prices either directly to the customer who searched for the domain or through aftermarket channels.
We have started protecting all domain name searches at Network Solutions by holding the searched domains for our customers for a short period of time before releasing them. This gives our customers the opportunity to register names later without fear that the name will be registered by a “Front Runner.”.

We did this because we heard customers complain that queried domain names are being snatched up by other people as soon as they searched. Network Solutions makes sure its search data is secure and we do not sell it any third party. I know that Network Solutions has no intention of keeping any searched domain or monetizing it"

The fact is that they ARE monetizing the domains. By their own saying " “ Front Runners” are people who register domain names known to have been searched, for the purpose of monetizing them and then selling them at inflated prices either directly to the customer who searched for the domain or through aftermarket channels."

Now if you were to compare domain pricing amongst multiple registrars, you will see that NetworkSolutions is one of the most expensive, I can get a domain from HostMonster for $10, but they offer anywhere from $19-$34!! Other registrars are even cheaper. I guess because they offer domains not at the cheapest price, they know that many people who search for domains search at multiple registrars and buy the cheapest one. However by locking the domains to their registry, the consumer has no choice but to buy at inflated prices. Hence this is a clear case of domain "front running". ICANN had recently requested public to report instances of this kind of behaviour by registrars, and you can report this company (many of done it already), to ICANN.

Go here to find out more: http://www.icann.org/public_comment/#domain-tasting-2008 or email your comment here: [email protected]

Or to view already submitted comments here: http://forum.icann.org/lists/domain-tasting-2008/

Web 2.0 Logo Creator

Web 2.0 is a lot more than just fancy Ajax. It is the whole look and feel of the entire application. One of the most importants are Logo designs.

This really cool application allows you to design your own web 2.0 logos.

It has a very intuitive interface, and you can do just about create any kind of web 2.0 logo. A few clicks and edits on this interface

Results in this in no time

Corporate Logos, Web 2.0 style

Ever thought what logos would look like if everyone adapted web 2.0 styles?

Here is a 'preview'

http://enthree.com/files/random/web2logos/

Randall Munroe in Google Techtalk

Randall Munroe the founder of xkcd, talks about himself, xkcd and his comics.

Beware of Ebay Scammers!

Wow! My first ever selling experience on Ebay gets me nearly scammed. I thought it would be a good idea to sell my old cellphone on ebay. I created a pretty ordinary looking listing, and within 2 days it was sold at the reserve price I had set. But within hours I was mailed by ebay (the only official I got), that the transaction had been canceled because unauthorized use on the buyers account had been reported. Most probably some scammer had hacked some unsuspecting bonafide ebay users account and bought some items with it.

Within minutes from this mail I received a mail from the scammer.


Hello seller,
Hope this message meet very well for read and reply.Am the winner of the item you place on ebay and i want this item for my son in west africa as his Xmas Gift.I have add sum of amount to your money for extral shipping cost to west africa so that it can easy for you to ship quickly.Moreso I want you take it to your notice that i have contact paypal for the payment and the payment confirmation receipt has sent to me from PayPal .. I hope you will have got your payment confirmation from PayPal by now . Pls make sure you wrap this item very well for safety purpose .Pl's i really prefer you to mail the item via ROYAL MAIL FIRST CLASS SERVICE.Mode of shipping.Here is the shipping address below.........
Akinola Yemi
P.o.box 985 sapon,
Ogun State,Abeokuta.
Nigeria.
10011.
Hope to hear fro you very soon and Do get back to me with shipment tracking number
Thank for the business.
Akinola Lily
Nigeria!! The land of the 419 Scammers. After I failed to respond to this mail. The scammer send me another mail, faking it as if it came from ebay, telling me that previous correspondence about the cancelled transaction and unauthorized usage was false and the seller was indeed bonafide, and the money had been paid! However the sender was not someone form ebay domain, but "[email protected]"! So much for "professionalism", the scammer had completely screwed up by this time, the mail faked form ebay also contained spelling mistakes.
After no action was taken, the scammer then reverted to faking a mail form Paypal, the mail started saying:


You Have a Payment Pending!

Dear PayPal User,

This is to Notify you about the Payment made by "Akinola Lily" to your PayPal account. The payment has been successfully made but due to security reasons we have to receive the Shipment Tracking Number before your PayPal account will be credited.
This a new measure we are taking in order to protect both Sellers and Buyers against fraudulent activities. Once you have ship the Item, send the shipment tracking number to PayPal Customer Service Department: [email protected] immediately the Shipment tracking number is CONFIRMED, your account will be credited immediately.

We are sorry for any inconvenience.
Thank you for using PayPal

The PayPal Team
But lo and behold! The sender was [email protected], and NOT from paypal obviously!!

Today I got another mail, apparently threatening "legal action" for not shipping the item.

So the point of narrating all this is that it seems that scammers are out to get unsuspecting sellers and buyers. This guy probably was a newbie, because he could not fake sender email addresses, but there surely are more skilled out there.

And ebay is not innocent in this.

The biggest crime they do is give out sellers email addresses to buyers. This makes them vulnerable. All communication between sellers and buyers should be on site, and under jurisdiction of ebay. Ebay already has an onsite mechanism, and tries to promote communication between sellers and buyers through on site mechanism, HOWEVER it still gives away email addresses! By restricting all communication to onsite mechanism and not giving out email address, Ebay could seriously restrict these kind of scams.