President's Message

In my last column, I pondered the fear and uncertainty that had arisen following the attack on the World Trade Center and the specter of a struggle that extended to Internet commerce. One month later, although much of the uncertainty remains, there is a growing sense that the Internet threats are being contained and that many of the original fears may have been unfounded.

A sober reassessment of the terrorists’ capabilities would indicate that they have little practical use for digital technology, other than for e-mail communication and document transmission. Despite fears of embedded messages, a panel of experts scanned a sample of porn sites pixel-by-pixel and found no encrypted codes other than those which flag Internet search engines to put them at the top of the list (at this close-up resolution, the x-rated pictures were probably as stimulating as Gulliver’s view of the brobdignagian women). There are reports that Bin Laden communicates primarily by word of mouth, leaving the further dissemination of his plans to his subordinates. If there is any hidden meaning in the terrorists’ taped messages, it is drowned out by their self-incriminating threats.

Still, don’t let your anti virus programs get out of date--the hackers are still at large, and looking for new ways to penetrate even the most solid digital defenses and fire walls.

Return of Bucky Milam

A sign of getting back to normal is the return of Bucky Milam following a month’s hiatus. For Bucky, computing is an out of body experience, having yet to make that first personal step into the information age. His perspective stems from Marshall McLuhan’s view of modern culture, whereby the PC adds a fumbling level of interactivity to the passive indulgence of the TV tube. It is a refreshing irreverence that reminds us that we should never take ourselves, or our chosen avocation, too seriously.

XP Expo

If you haven’t spent your tax rebate yet, get ready. Microsoft is coming out with its latest version of Windows, and it’s a blockbuster. With XP, Bill Gates is carrying his battle for control of the desktop into cyberspace, and it will take nothing less that warp power to make it run Come for a test drive at the meeting on November 6.

Microsoft and Intel are betting that adding more functionality to Windows will tie up resources. That will jump-start PC sales by invoking Moore’s law, the dictum that chip capacity doubles every eighteen months to accommodate increased needs. PC sales had already been declining before the terrorist attack in September, and whether this strategy succeeds may be due more to the computing public’s willingness to absorb yet another upgrade along with the processing power to make it work.

Is Windows XP the desktop’s final frontier? Will the information highway become just a back road in Microsoft Country? Will the Justice Department shrivel up and become an icon on the Start/Shutdown menu? You probably won’t get the answers to these questions at the next meeting; but you’re guaranteed to get a glimpse at what’s in store for at least the next year, and be thoroughly entertained in the process.

Election time

December 5 is the date for DACS’ annual membership meeting and Board election. Board members are chosen for two year terms, with half up for reelection each year. Six seats are up this year, with one vacancy announced. Volunteers are urgently needed to run for these positions, with a stipulation that all be willing to roll up their sleeves and contribute sweat equity to the tasks at hand.

If you would like to be a candidate, please contact our nominating committee, Marlène Gaberel (mgaberel@ earthlink.net) Or Don Neary (donneary @prodigy.net).

--Allan Ostergren
dacsprez@aol.com