How Google Changed the World

I was watching the Gilmore Girls with my wife last night, and was ROTFL at the scene in which Lorelai (Lauren Graham) tells her stuffy mom to 'Google' a recipe for Mock Turtle Soup.

Google has entered the vernacular in a massive way. I remember my summer interns showing it to me in 1999, when I still preferred Yahoo, and I have been hooked since. It is probably one of the greatest things since sliced bread. Lately Yahoo and MSN have been trying to improve their own searching technologies to compete better with Google - a war that only means the end users will see vast improvements and changes for the better. I just want to share two more Google tidbits:

Google Bombing - Since google ranks sites not just by content, but by the number of pages and terms that link to them, a clever Stanford student discovered that he could have his friend come up in the Google search as the first result for 'Talentless Hack' if he got enough people to link to his friends web site where the link text was exactly that term. There is a great Slate article that explains how this might and will be exploited. (Hmm... maybe I should start a campaign to link The Passion of the Christ to the Simon Wiesenthal Center's page about that movie? Or link the Palestinian Authority to PMW?

Where your name comes up - I will ocassionally do a narcissus search (i.e. one where I search on "Yonah Wolf" to see how far down my site appears on the list). More often than not it will come up first when I have made an update to my site, otherwise, the various message board posts I make show up ranked higher - because they were updated more recently. Yesterday and old boss of mine called me and asked me to play with how I mention her on my site, because she has just launched a new consulting business and my site comes up before hers. (Even though I don't mention anything disparaging about her, I do mention how the company bombed with the collapse of the .com era.

$15,000 for a cell phone anyone?

I like watches, I have a few - I particularly like those from Skagen of Denmark. I am also fully aware that there are 'upscale' watches that cost several thousand dollars - but let's face it, the likelihood of me being a Patek Phillipe is virtually non-existant.

Still, I recognize the fact that there are those fortunate individuals that have the ability and desire to 'take care of a Patek for the next generation'. I guess that is what Vertu was thinking. They have cellphones that cost between $5-$20,000! For that money I could buy a cell phone, a car charger, and the car to charge it with!.

My only question is given the abuse that my cell phone goes through, I can't imagine how nasty my Sterling Silver one would look after some usage!

A topic I haven't visited in a while...

I used to harp on securing wireless networks and listed 5 simple things you could to to secure yours:

1. Change the default SSID and Administrator Password
   
2. Enable MAC address filtration to only allow PCs you know to connect
   
3. Limit DHCP to the number of addresses you need so that you will have IP conflicts if someone gains unathorized access
   
4. Disable SSID broadcast if your router supports it
   
5. Install a personal firewall on each of your computers - this will not only help if your home network is compromised, but also protect you when you use public hotspots.
   
   

In any case, netgear has a similar document on their web site. Needless to say, it contains a lot of advice specifically about their products, but it is great generic Wi-Fi security info.

Why I love VoIP

Last June, I lost my phone and DSL service for two weeks due to a cable short that occured during a massive thunderstorm. I quickly came to the realization that we couldn't go without a phone in the house (a not just a cell phone, for various reasons), nor without broadband as well (my wife works from home one day a week, and I do on ocassion). So, we switched to a cable modem, and I went out and signed up with Vonage. My logic was if the phone went out, I would still have broadband and my VoIP phone; if the cable went out, I would still have phone service, and be able to use it for dial-up Internet access in a pinch.

Recently we switched our POTS (Plain Ol' Telephone Service) to an all-inclusive package with unlimited calling within the US and Canada. My wife wanted me to cut off our Vonage line, but I was hesitant, and it paid off.

Wed. Night, our phone went out of commission for several hours. I immediately reported the problem to the folks at IDT and they were able to route my home phone to my Vonage line - it was as if my phone never went out of service!

I think we'll keep the vonage phone. At about $17/mo. it is a good insurance policy.

Tired of the same old pictures? - Get a Digital Photo Frame

I just ordered a Digital Camera Today, and I was looking for accessories (as usual) to enhance it. I discovered that many companies (including Sony) are now making digital photo frames. Some like those from Pacific Digital let you download pictures directly from a camera. Other like those from Wallflower Systems let you copy files over a Wi-Fi network.

But one of the most popular frames out there is one from a company called Ceiva. Ceiva's frames connect to your phone line and dial-up a server every night to download new pictures that you designate. While I wouldn't necessarily buy this for myself, it is something that I would consider buying for my grandmother's birthday. She's turning 80 this year and I know that at least one of my cousins also has a digital photo frame. Maybe we could chip-in and buy her one of these, then we could upload digital pictures that we've taken for her and she can view them on her frame. Of course, we'd have to work out an agreement so that no one monopolizes all 30 slots :)