Thursday, January 06, 2005

Quick Hits

For the geeks: An account of using a SQL injection attack to raid an intranet database. The database runs on Microsoft's SQL Server and it shows what can happen when poor practices are followed (which, according to my casual observations from across the web of medium to small and even some large businesses, is all too often).

The final pro audio tape (as in cassette and reel to reel) factory has closed it's doors. It's a sign of the dominance of digital recording tools. I feel nostalgic about this, having sold reel to reel machines during the 80s and played with cassettes and 8 tracks a large part of my life. In fact, I still have a lot of cassettes in a case under my bed. This NPR story, in digital streaming media, explains a bit more than the article above and is where I first heard of this. For instance, the NPR account accurately notes that Bing Crosby was an early investor and user of tape machines brought from Germany. He recorded his 1940s era radio shows and made a killing on the investment. Just another reason to admire Bing.

CNN has reportedly fired Tucker Carlson, which means that Crossfire will soon be off of the air. That's good news for anyone who appreciates discourse and hates day after day shoutfests. Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire earlier this year and skewered the hosts, pointing out that they do not debate issues, but rather talk over each other. He pleaded with them to stop hurting America. Said CNN's chief executive, Joel Klein yesterday:

I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon
Stewart camp


Good for Klein.

Women's eNews reported yesterday that a new study confirms what women across Europe and in 6 states already know: Access to emergency contraception does not increase risky sexual behavior. Now, will someone tell that to the FDA?

Finally, if you're wondering what Microsoft's new anti-spyware program (obtained by purchasing Giant last month) is going to look like, wait no more. This is the beta software and the link is to the direct download.

Have fun!

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