Internet Safari

Column for week of May 30, 2004:

I’ve noticed a pattern in my last couple of
columns; the pattern being that I have been real
stingy with Web site addresses (URLs). It’s not
that I don’t have many addresses to share with my
readers, it’s just that sometimes I get a little
long winded when writing about one in particular.
This week’s column will be different though.
I’ll endeavor to cover a lot of ground – so, our
first stop will be
publicworks.cityofclovis.org
Just about everyone in Clovis has heard about the
City’s Department of Public Works, but few folks
truly understand the depth and breadth of that
organization’s responsibilities; that should all
change once you’ve visited the Web site.
Another new Clovis Web site is the one for the
Municipal Airport. If “outsiders” are
contemplating on whether or not to relocate to
Clovis, either for personal reasons or to set-up a
new business – the availability of a nice local
airport just might be the key decision factor.
With that in mind, the City of Clovis endeavored
to build a Web site that was both truly functional
and helpful – and, that could generate some good
“P.R”. Just fly on in to:
airport.cityofclovis.org -
and check it out for yourself.
If you are interested in aviation in any shape,
form, or fashion – you might check out the “Civil
Air Patrol” link on the new airport Web site. That
organization is always looking for volunteers and
there are plenty of opportunities to fly, learn
about search and rescue, and to contribute
positively into young people’s lives. The link
provides information about the local chapter, and
if you navigate on over to
www.cap.gov/
you will then be “connected” with the national CAP
Web site.
The first time I ever went "online" was back in
1987 - Computer Bulletin Boards were very popular
back then. Those bulletin boards were not
connected to the Internet but there were a lot of
similarities. My first modem allowed me to connect
at 300 baud - baud not Kilobits - that is very,
very slow. I then eagerly advanced up to a 1200
baud modem, life was grand then. When the 2400
baud modems became available, I thought to myself
"I don't see how things could get much faster than
this". It wasn't long though, and the 28,800 bps
modems exploded onto the scene - talk about
blistering fast! The jump to 33,600 bps modem
connections wasn't all that impressive, but
impressive was the quick jump up to 56,000 bps (in
all reality though the average speed was more like
42-46 Kbps).
Now, just about the time the majority of folks are
getting accustomed to broadband connections
(500,000 to 1,000,000 bps), information about
"Internet2" is making its way into the news.
"Internet2" offers 10 times the speed of our
current broadband - can you believe that? It won't
be available to the general public for a few years
though – right now it's used by universities and
government agencies for the sharing of research
data. Hmmm, that's exactly how the use of the
original Internet started out - it appears that
history is again repeating itself. To learn more
about “Internet2”, just jump over to
www.internet2.edu
If you have begun piddling around with computer
graphics or Web page design, and you’ve been
looking for some artwork to use in your creations
– help is at hand. Hop on over to
www.tigerdirectart.com -
and you’ll have access to a pretty good selection
of clipart, backgrounds, borders, textures and
fonts. The best part about this whole “deal” is
that it won’t cost you a penny. The artwork is
provided free of charge from the folks at Tiger
Direct, based out of Miami. They offer some great
deals on computer equipment at their Web site:
www.tigerdirect.com

Tom DiFrancesca III is a freelance columnist and a
resident of Clovis, New Mexico. He can be reached at
www.trackertom.com

Column for week of May 23, 2004:

I brag often on the search engine Google – it
deserves it. The creative and brainy folks behind
the company have come up with yet another new
service to offer people. The new service is
e-mail, but don’t go jumping over to google.com so
quickly – the service is in beta-testing right
now.
Beta-testing means that a limited number of
individuals are currently utilizing the service to
see how it works, and to make sure that all of the
“bugs” are out of the programming. I’m a fortunate
one, I was invited to test the e-mail service a
few weeks ago – and, I just found out that I’m the
envy of the Internet – not just me though. It
seems that anyone with a “Gmail” account should
count themselves blessed and highly favored.
Diehard Internet users are chomping at the bit to
get one of the first “Gmail” accounts – for a
couple of reasons. First of all, so they can have
a more personal e-mail address – one without a
bunch of numbers at the end of it. Secondly, there
are folks out there that just love Google so much
– that they can’t go on with life if they don’t
get a “Gmail” account.
You think I’m joking don’t you?
I can legitimize my claim – just hop on over to
www.gmailswap.com
and you will see what I mean. Some strange person,
with way too much time on their hands has created
a Web site that allows people to offer goods,
services, and money for a “Gmail” account.
Can you believe that?
There is even a pet monkey available
– to be given away by its owner, simply for an
e-mail account with Google.
Currently the only way to get a “Gmail” account is
to be invited by someone who already has an
account, and the option to invite someone is not
available to all users – it’s pretty weird. I was
afforded an opportunity to invite two people and
so I did – a co-worker, and my brother Tony in
West Texas.
So, what is so great about yet another Web based
e-mail account you may be asking yourself. First
of all, the account is free. The second and by far
one of the most important features of this new
service is that it’s offering one gigabyte of
space to store e-mail. Now that is a lot of e-mail
– probably three or four years worth for some
folks; maybe a year for an Internet geek like me.
There is a third key feature of “Gmail”- that some
folks consider even more important than the
available storage space; and that is the search
function. Yes, I know that some of the free Web
based e-mail accounts (Yahoo, MSN, etc.) do offer
a limited search function – that is, you can
search for keywords in the “From/To” or “Subject”
lines only. But, Google goes one better - users
can perform a keyword search, and every part of
every e-mail message is searched – that includes
the body of text.
Any drawbacks to using Google’s e-mail service you
may be wondering? There is a catch – the catch is
that Google’s computers will scan every incoming
e-mail for keywords that will trigger text based
advertisements to appear on the right side of the
viewing screen. Some folks see this as a breach of
privacy, some see it as genius. The Google folks
have insisted that no human being ever lays their
eyes on a single e-mail.
Let’s get real here folks, don’t ever consider any
e-mail on any service as being totally private –
if you never want to see what you’ve typed in
print someday, or possibly show up on a Web site -
don’t type it and then send it into Cyberspace.

Tom DiFrancesca III is a freelance columnist and a
resident of Clovis, New Mexico. He can be reached at www.trackertom.com

Column for week of May 16, 2004:

In recent surveys, folks who use the Internet
report that those annoying pop-up boxes are the
second most irritating thing about the World Wide
Web (SPAM is number one).
I’ll have to agree.
One of the most popular methods of getting pop-up
boxes to appear on your computer screen is to get
you to install “spyware” software on your
computer. Of course, if you were a pretty normal
person – you would never voluntarily install that
“stuff”. So, in order for the “spyware to get onto
your computer, it has to be camouflaged.
Camouflaged as in sneaking it onto your computer
as you install one of those latest and greatest
“free” programs. Or, the “spyware” may come guised
as a really nifty little toolbar that you add to
your browser. That “helpful” little tool isn’t
really designed to be all that helpful though. A
lot of freeware (free software) and browser tools
are meant to do nothing more than to track your
Web surfing habits, your online purchasing
patterns, and to bombard you with lots and lots of
pop-ups.
Now, isn’t that helpful?
I’ve mentioned in the past, that two very useful
“spyware” eradication programs are “Spybot Search
& Destroy” and “Adaware”. Both of those programs
are free, and can be downloaded at
www.download.com .
So now, along comes another program used to remove
“spyware” – and it works well with the other two
programs mentioned above. Thanks to my fellow geek
and cohort, Paul Nelson – who shared the
information about “Spyblaster” with me this week,
I’m able to share the news with you – and, I’m
able to finish tightening down the security on my
own computers. Just hop on over to
www.javacoolsoftware.com/
and download this very valuable, very free tool.
How many times have you thought to yourself while
surfing the Internet – “I would really like to
learn more about the Web”? How many times have you
been tempted to purchase one of those big fat,
“fluff” filled, expensive Internet training books
at the bookstore, but didn’t carry through with
it? I don’t blame you; many of those books aren’t
really very good. So, if you had access to a whole
bunch of free training material about the Internet
– and it starts at the most basic of levels, would
you consider giving it a try? If you are up for
the challenge, then you’ll have to try the courses
that are offered by the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC).
I mean, who hasn’t heard of the BBC?
They have a very high quality Web site that
covers almost every aspect of every communications
medium in existence. To access the free training
courses, just navigate over to
www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/learn/
and you will be very impressed with the quality
and quantity of training material offered up to
the general public – a fine gift from our British
friends.
Anyone happen to know what the word “Zeitgeist”
means? Well of course, even if you did – you
certainly couldn’t share it right now with anyone
reading this column, so – I’ll explain it for
those folks who don’t know what it means.
Dictionary.com defines “Zeitgeist” as “The spirit
of the time; the general intellectual and moral
state or temper characteristic of any period of
time”. So, which “rabbit trail” am I headed down
now? It’s the trail that leads to the “Google
Zeitgeist” page at
www.google.com/press/zeitgeist.html
And, why would anyone want to go there you might
be thinking? Well, if someone does decide to go to
that URL, they will be fascinated with the fact
that they can observe some of the most popular
searches being conducted through the Google
Internet search engine.
I won’t divulge much else though, go check it out
for yourself – you’ll be enlightened.

Tom DiFrancesca III is a freelance columnist and a
resident of Clovis, New Mexico. He can be reached at www.trackertom.com

Column for week of May 9, 2004:

Worms, I wish I were talking about the wiggly kind
that we take fishin’ with us – but no, alas - I am
writing about the Internet type today. The “Sasser
Worm” started off by plaguing computers in Taiwan
last weekend, and then with a fury, it starting
striking computers in North America on Monday
morning. By mid-week, millions of personal and
work computers had been stricken.
The primary result of a computer being
“contaminated” with the new worm virus - is that,
the computer will just keep re-booting itself. No
real damage is done to the computer, nor - to the
files and programs stored on it.
The Google search engine defines an Internet Worm
as “a self-replicating program”, it also reports
that the first Internet Worm program was unleashed
in 1988, and almost brought the entire Internet
down. To obtain that information, I went to
google.com, and typed in “Definition: Internet
Worm” – I didn’t use the quotation marks though.
I’m just using them here to explain to you how to
do it. You can use that same procedure to look-up
just about any word or phrase that exists.
Google is grand “ain’t” it?
“Windows Update” – it’s a very useful tool and it
should be used often, more than most folks care to
do though. People who use Windows based computers
– who ignore my suggestion to run “Windows Update”
– even weekly, seem to encounter so many more
worms, viruses, and additional calamities than
others do.
Point in case, Microsoft released the
patch that prevented the “Sasser Worm” from
invading a Windows based computer - on April 13th,
which was a good two weeks before the worm began
its invasion. The folks who I’ve spoken with,
whose computers have been attacked – had not run a
recent update.
I also can’t tell you how many people that I speak
with, that although they are very active on the
Internet, have “24/7” connections to broadband
access, and still – don’t use firewalls or
anti-virus programs. They are sitting ducks, about
to be shot, plucked, and eaten.
Although there are decent online anti-virus
scanners available for free, such as the one at
www.pandasoftware.com -
there is absolutely no excuse for not purchasing
and installing a full-fledged, licensed, fully
armed copy of a “real” anti-virus program. Same
thing goes for a personal firewall. By using a
firewall – the computer operator controls what
goes in and out of a computer. Windows XP has a
built in firewall, that needs to be activated –
but, by all reports – the software is not very
good.
Personally, I use a free firewall program
offered by Sygate and it works very well. Here is
the URL to access the download page directly:
smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm
Sorry that the address is a little long, but going
to the main Web site, and trying to find the link
for the free edition of the software - can be a
little tricky.
Computer security, that folks, is the primary
topic – today, tomorrow, and for the rest of your
life, if you plan on using the Internet. Even as
security/protection software and technology
improve, so will the skills of all of the hackers
and crackers. Remain alert, use a firewall, use an
anti-virus program, turn off your computer if you
aren’t going to use it for a while, use a “pop-up”
stopping program, and be very careful about the
programs that you download and install.
I told my wife Miss Susie Q. the other night, that
anymore – a person has to keep their computer
tighter than the security at Ft. Knox.

Tom DiFrancesca III is a freelance columnist and a
resident of Clovis. He can be reached at www.trackertom.com

Column for week of May 2, 2004:

I was driving back to Clovis a few weeks ago,
ending what had become a 3000 mile trek across the
country. Somehow (well, I needed gasoline for the
Dodge), I ended up in Post, Texas. While filling
up the truck’s fuel tank, and – while grabbing a
bite to eat at McDonald’s – I noticed that the
city of Post, seems to be growing and improving,
just like Clovis.
I observed fresh paint on the downtown buildings,
a great deal of business establishment remodeling,
and - quite a bit of road improvements and
construction going on. Having never really paid
much attention to Post the few times that I had
driven through it in the past, I found myself
impressed with it on that day.
The thought of making a weekend getaway to that
small west Texas town, has now been on my mind
ever since that last visit. I think I’d like –
even if for a very short time, to become a part of
the “Post experience”. I’d like to explore its
“innards”, to enjoy its amenities, and to share in
the enthusiasm that its citizens must be feeling
right now.
Anyone else out there game for it?
To get your driving directions to Post, you can
use MapQuest at
www.mapquest.com -
you will see, that it’s about 150 miles to Post
(from Clovis that is), that’s about a 3 hour drive
for most folks. Now, don’t get me wrong though,
wherever you live – Post is accessible, you just
have to make plans for it – fit it into a
cross-country trek someday maybe. Post is also an
hour ahead of Clovis, being in the Central Time
Zone – you’ll need to remember that when planning
your trip.
Of course, the first stop for anyone contemplating
a “Post Adventure”, will want to check out
www.posttexas.com
because it’s a great resource. At the Web site,
you will learn that the city was founded by the
famous breakfast cereal magnate Charles W. Post.
Who hasn’t heard of C.W. Post?
I’d heard of the “Old Mill Trade Days” in the
past, but wasn’t real sure what that was all about
– I won’t give it away here either. You’ll have to
go to
www.omtd.com
to find out for yourself. I will most certainly
coordinate mine and Miss Susie Q.’s getaway to
coincide with that once a month event.
Another great attraction in Post, is the Garza
Theatre. The theatre has an extensive history; and
a great reputation for providing awesome
entertainment. You can find out all about that
establishment by going to
www.posttexas.com/garzathr.htm
Although, there appears to be quite a few lodging
options available in Post – the Hotel Garza seems
to be the most inviting. The hotel, now serving as
a “Bed and Breakfast”, was built in 1915. You can
learn more about the hotel by jumping over to
www.hotelgarza.com .
After learning about the hotel, you’ll be anxious
to get your room reservations made.
All in all, I think maybe Clovis could learn a few
things from Post. Although Clovis is considerably
bigger, and much of its small town atmosphere is
waning as the city continues to grow – maybe, just
maybe – we could develop some attractions that
would help us hold onto to the memories of a city
that we have all grown to love.

Tom DiFrancesca III is a freelance newspaper
columnist and a resident of Clovis, New Mexico. He can be
reached at
www.trackertom.com