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Please note: Older issues may contain information that is now out of date. How To Subscribe
and Unsubscribe is at the end of this note. Mailing List Trouble? See http://www.langa.com/help.txt Please recommend the LangaList to a friend! (And maybe win $10,000 !) An easier-to
read formatted HTML version of this newsletter is available on line at The LangaList 2000-10-30 A Free Email
Newsletter from Fred
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Several
months ago, we asked the question “It's 2000. Where Are The Robots?”
In that column, we discussed the current state of the art--- and the market---
in robotics, looking at everything from robotic toy dogs and lawn mowers to
semi-autonomous “Micro-Air Vehicles” and tiny robo-ants that may one day
clean up spills of hazardous materials---or even explore the surface of Mars!
(See http://www.byte.com/column/BYT20000719S0004) By mostly-happy
coincidence, three important events in robotics happened just after that column
appeared. One is about the
lightest, frothiest, and most-fun robotic application you can imagine. Another
is a jaw-dropper: A for-real commercial security robot that you can order today.
In fact, it's so capable, the US Army ordered half a million dollars worth of
these 'bots--- apparently the first time any military agency has relied on an
off-the-shelf mobile robot workforce, at least, outside of fiction! But the third one
is deeply disturbing to me and may herald a trend that I almost guarantee will
result in a headline in the not-far-off future when the first human life is
taken by robotic intelligence. It’s a sobering prospect. Come get the
details--- and stay ahead of the headlines--- by checking out the
"Monitor" column at http://www.Byte.Com
starting today (2000-10-30)! Click
to email this item to a friend In the last issue, I mentioned how
some extremely simple physical maintenance work can help keep a PC in top form.
(See http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-26.htm#2
) I mentioned at the end: "Some
users like to leave their PCs plugged in (but turned off) while they work on
them, in order to retain electrical connectivity to the home or office ground
wiring. But some PCs keep their motherboards (and therefore, their cards and
peripherals) energized with a trickle of current even when nominally switched
off. So I prefer to unplug my system entirely to ensure everything is 100% inert
when I'm working inside the case." That seemingly-innocuous comment
generated a ton of email. <g> So, let's look at the issue a little more
closely: There are two main concerns: human
safety and component safety. Obviously, although both are important, the safety
of humans is far more important than the safety of some chips. That's why it's
essential to have a foolproof, fail-safe means of ensuring that the PC is
totally powered off (and not in a standby or deep suspend) mode when you're
working on it. The simplest thing is to unplug the
machine from the wall. Unplugging
the machine makes it inert, and safe to work on. Unplugging works for all
machines, regardless of power supply type or local wiring standards. It's
essentially foolproof, and works reliably for users of all skill levels,
everywhere. However, as I originally mentioned,
unplugging does break the electrical connectivity to the home or office's ground
wires (called "earth" wires in some parts of the world), and so
increases the risk of static discharge, which can damage electrical components.
Unplugging guarantees human safety, but does allow a small risk to the PC's
components to remain. But if you touch a sturdy metal part
of the PC's case before you reach inside, then you and the PC will have the same
electrical potential. Even if it that potential is not zero, if there's no
differential between whatever static charge you carry and the one the PC
carries, then no current can flow and there can be no static discharge between
you and the PC's components. That's why the method I suggested works: It's all
you usually need for short-duration, routine repairs such as the one we were
discussing. But can you do more? Sure! See the
next item. Click to
email this item to a friend If you have the skill and ability,
or if you're frequently poking inside the case or performing long-duration tasks
(such as building or rebuilding a PC from the ground up) then extra precautions
are a great idea. For example: You can leave your PC
plugged into a good surge protector, and use the surge protector switch to
power-off the PC. In a properly-constructed surge protector, the ground wire
continuity will never be broken, and so while the switched-off PC will be inert,
it will still be fully grounded ("earthed"), and thus will have no
static charge. Then, when you touch the PC's case, any residual charge in you
will likewise safely drain away, and both you and the PC will be safe. Trouble is, the only way to be sure
if this will work is to explore the operation of your surge protector with a
multimeter to ensure that the ground remains available even when the switch is
off. (It *should* be, but you can't tell by external visual inspection.) Similarly, some machines have a
positive-off switch on the back of their power supply, separate from the on-off
switch you normally use. This *should* completely unpower the PC and leave the
grounding circuit alone, but the only way to be 100% sure is to test for
continuity with a multimeter. There are grounding clips and straps
you can use to ensure that both you and the PC are connected to a good grounding
source. Some readers said they made their own PC-grounding cords by snipping the
"hot" and "neutral" wires in an old PC power cord, leaving
only the ground wire intact; others snip off the actual prongs on the plug,
leaving only the grounding pin intact. Either way, when the PC is connected to
the wall with this special cord, the only connection made will be between the PC
and the ground, and that's what you want. If you explore specialty catalogs,
you also can find antistatic work surfaces on which to place your PC; antistatic
mats to stand on; antistatic area sprays you can use to suppress static
temporarily in an entire room; and you can use a humidifier to prevent
static-inducing, too-dry air in your work area. You'll have to decide what's
appropriate for your needs. For me, for routine inside-the-case maintenance, I
do exactly what I suggested--- I unplug the PC, and touch the case before
working inside. Period. If I'm doing something really
extensive--- say, running a long series of back-to-back tests on various plug-in
cards--- then I may put on a little $3 grounding strap on my wrist; the other
end of the strap connects to the PC chassis, and ensures that the PC and I
remain at zero relative electrical potential all day long. But for the most part, simple
precautions and common sense are all you need to work safely inside your PC. In
general, you *don't* need a Tyvek bunny suit, booties, a hair net, and a
"clean room" environment, honest!<g> Thanks to *all* who wrote in! And
for one extra bit of advice, see the next item. Click to
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Most people don't realize it, but in
the USA, telephone wiring carries about the same voltage as you'll find in
standard electrical circuits (around 110 volts)! The amount of current is
modest, and so telephone circuits are unlikely to be a major safety risk to
persons in normal health; but even so, if your PC has an internal modem, there's
at least the potential for a, er, shocking surprise, as reader Steven Todd
warns: There's just one comment
I'd like to add in regards to tinkering inside one's PC: If the machine
has an internal modem, DISCONNECT the phone line going to it from the wall jack.
Parts of the modem may carry a significant voltage thanks to the power
supplied by the phone line itself. I've been zapped a few times, hard enough to
make the muscles in my forearm twitch, by my internal modems and so have learned
the hard way to keep the modem unplugged whenever there's any chance I might
touch the modem's energized parts. Generally, I've gotten zapped while trying to
grasp the circuit board -- and the open circle ringed with metal in its upper
corner, next to the bracket -- in an attempt to remove the modem. Good advice, Steven. In fact, the
simplest thing is simply to unplug *all* the cords connected to a PC. That way,
the PC is disconnected from *everything*--- and is easier to move, too! Click to
email this item to a friend If you've tried any recent version
of Netscape--- including the beta Netscape 6--- and you have a good firewall
installed (such as ZoneAlarm; http://www.zonelabs.com
), you may have wondered why the Netscape browsers want to set themselves up as
"servers" on your machine. What are they serving? And to whom? I'll let reader Brian Eargle's
mail--- which also quotes Steve Gibson (of "Shields-Up" fame at http://www.grc.com
)--- speak for itself. (Thanks, Brian!) Fred: There appears to be a
great deal of discussion about "NS6PR3 as Server" in the Netscape
forum netscape.public.beta.feedback on the secnews.netscape.com news server. The next is from Steve
Gibson's latest newsletter from GRC.com: _________________________________ I have created two
resources for you: 1. A comprehensive new page
on my web site which discusses this threat at greater length and shows the
detailed contents of "spyware packets" as it was leaving a test
machine of mine http://grc.com/downloaders.htm 2. A very active PUBLIC
DISCUSSION FORUM which you are invitedto use for asking questions and getting
more information...Just click the link below to launch your reader and begin
participating ... news://grc.com/newsletter
Or, if that doesn't work, you can access the forum through our web-based
interface (though it is much less cool.) http://grc.com/newsletter.htm The SERIOUS New Spyware
Threat ... NetZip's "Download Demon" was licensed by Real Networks and
renamed "Real Download". Netscape/AOL also licensed it and call it
"Netscape Smart Download." By watching the "packet traffic"
flowing out of one of my machines while downloading a file through the Internet,
I verified ... [that] in their default configuration ALL of these programs send
back a report of EVERY FILE DOWNLOADED from ANYWHERE on the Internet (even
places that might not be anyone's business).... Perhaps you don't mind
being watched and tracked as you move around the Internet ... and having every
file you download reported. But the idea of this being done WITHOUT YOUR
KNOWLEDGE, seems quite invasive to me. And even if you carefully read the
program's license you might not be aware that this is going on or that "you
agreed to it" when you accepted their terms! A Class Action lawsuit was
recently filed against Netscape/AOL because of this privacy invasion, so perhaps
the PC industry will begin to receive the message that this sort of secret
spying and profiling is not okay with the rest of us, even if it is buried
within a lengthy license agreement. You decide. Click to
email this item to a friend --- ( Your
Clicks On Ad Links Help Keep The LangaList Free! ) --- Have You
Noticed The Repeat Advertisers In The LangaList? Give it a
try for your product, service, web site See http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm <a
href="http://www.langa.com/ratecard.htm">AOL
Users: Click here!</a> --------------(
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On 2000-10-31, I'll select more
monthly winners of a copy of "Poor Richard's E-Mail Publishing: Creating
Newsletters, Bulletins, Discussion Groups and Other Powerful Communications
Tools." This book has been described as "An excellent, straightforward
manual on email publishing, banner ads, driving traffic and especially
ethics." To have a shot at winning, just use
the following link to recommend the LangaList to a friend. Your friend just may
find a new source of useful information; I just may gain a new subscriber; and
you just may win a book! (Full details also available via this link): http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm#2 The more times you make a
recommendation, the greater your chances are of winning! Or, if you'd like to try to win
$10,000(!), try this link (full details also available here): Either way, thank you, and good
luck! Click to
email this item to a friend I've gathered all the free downloads
at Langa.Com into one place to make them easy to find. Long-time readers will
recognize them all, but with the subscriber rolls growing so fast, some of these
*16* free files may be new to you: Increase Your Internet Explorer
Safety! Stuck On An Unwanted Home Page? Add A Win95-Style Start Menu To
Win98 Scrub Your Hard Drive Clean! The new front-end to all the above
is at http://www.langa.com/downloads.htm
And best of all--- unlike some, such as those mentioned in item #5--- I won't
track your downloads. <g> Enjoy! Click to
email this item to a friend Do you have a home page or website?
(It doesn't matter what size.) Please click over to http://www.langa.com/code.htm,
and maybe you can join the hundreds and hundreds of LangaList readers who have
"Loaded the Code!" (If you've already "Loaded The Code" and
are wondering if your site will appear here or on the Langa.Com web site, please
see http://www.langa.com/link.txt
) Speaking of which: Here's another
eclectic sample of reader sites--- some professional, some very personal: Attic
Photographs Design by
Gatita Click to
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I guess we're on a musical roll
here. Last issue, it was a spoof of the Python's "I'm a lumberjack..."
(see http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-10-26.htm#10
). This time, reader Michael D Noonan sends along this (unattributed)
"Ballad of Computer Hillbillies (sung to the tune of the TV show 'The
Beverly Hillbillies')". Come and listen to a story
'bout a man named Jed, A poor college kid, barely kept his family fed, But then
one day he was talking to a recruiter, who said, "They pay big bucks if ya
work on a computer..." UNIX, that is. CRTs.
Workstations. Well, the first thing ya
know ole Jed's an Engineer. The kinfolk said "Jed, move away from
here". They said "Arizona is the place ya oughta be", So he
bought some donuts and moved to Ahwatukee. Intel, that is. Dry heat.
No amusement parks On his first day at work,
they stuck him in a cube. Fed him more donuts and sat him at a tube. They said
"your project's late, but we know just what to do. Instead of 40 hours,
we'll work you 52!" O.T. that is. Unpaid.
Mandatory The weeks rolled by and
things were looking bad. Schedules started slipping and some managers were mad.
They called another meeting and decided on a fix. The answer was quite simple,
"We'll work him 66!" Hours, that is. Stressed
out. No social life. Months turned to years and
his hair was turning grey. Jed worked very hard while his life slipped away.
Waiting to retire when he turned 64, Instead he got a call and escorted out the
door. Laid off, that is.
De-briefed. Unemployed. Now the moral of the story
is listen to what you're told: Companies will use you and discard you when
you're old. So gather up your friends and start your own firm, beat the
competition, watch the bosses squirm. Millionaires, that is. Bill
Gates. Steve Case. Y'all come back now ya
hear? Click to
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See you next issue! Best, Please recommend
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the advertisers: Langa Consulting LLC will never knowingly accept
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(Please see full disclaimer here: http://www.langa.com/legal.htm.)
Abbreviated version: The tips and other information given in the newsletter are
researched and are believed to be accurate, but we cannot and do not guarantee
that all the information here will work on all systems, for all users, all the
time. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind.
Neither Langa Consulting LLC, nor its employees nor contributors are responsible for
any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application
of any information presented here. This newsletter is a free
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