Macs get viruses. And the trojans are getting more deceptive.

For years, virus makers have been tricking people into installing trojans under the disguise of a program intended to actually remove trojans that weren’t there. They usually did so by disguising themselves as part of Windows XP – which was an obvious fake for anyone using any other operating system. But today my boss ran into this and asked … Read more

Chrome OS reflects the future of computing, but is it premature?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVqe8ieqz10

Google’s launching the Chromebook this year, which is the first all-in bet on a computer that uses the Web as its one and only software platform.

On one hand, the concept shows incredible promise: Web technologies are now powerful enough that they’re capable of performing many tasks that had to be done using more native technologies – technologies that are exclusive to closed platforms. Platforms that come with all kinds of annoying maintenance, stability and usability issues. Now that the Web can do intense graphics, multimedia manipulation, and all kinds of productivity applications, why can’t we cut out the bloated layers of software that stands between us and our browser? That’s what Chrome OS tries to do.

But are people ready for such a major shift? A lot of the tech that Chrome OS puts front and center is bleeding-edge, and many folks probably have a more conservative idea of what they use “the Web” for and what they use “Applications” for, when the lines dividing them are becoming increasingly blurred.

Is this futuristic concept going to catch on, or will it be rejected by a market that isn’t ready to make the leap to a “nothing but the Web” computer? Personally, I’d be a lot happier if they weren’t launching it on Netbooks; radically innovative software deserves to be on innovative hardware, not 2008’s fad of cramming the IBM PC of the ’80s into as small and cheap a package as possible.

Reacting to Osama bin Laden’s death

I’m filled with all kinds of mixed emotions about Osama bin Laden’s death and the subsequent reactions in the media and my social network feeds. Anything I might say wouldn’t do justice to the many aspects of what is an extremely complicated situation from all angles; instead of this blog’s usual role as my personal soapbox, I’ll opt to respect the weight of the topic by choosing to spend my time in contemplation instead.

This poem was written on September 11, 2001 and published the next day. It touched me then, and it’s far more worth sharing than anything I’d have to say myself:

Read more

Going the “turbo Honda” route with my new computer

MacBook Pro internals with upgrades labeled: Crucial C300 6Gbps SSD, 8GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM, MCE OptiBay Hard Drive bay

2011 is my upgrade year for the “main machine.” I had been spending a while trying to figure out the best fit between performance and portability, and had settled on the $2,199 15″ MacBook Pro. But I ended up going with the $700 cheaper 13″ model and investing less than half the savings in some … Read more

Music, movie, and software piracy is a market failure, not a legal one

This comes as no surprise. From Michael Geist, University of Ottawa Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law:

Trademark and copyright holders frequently characterize piracy as a legal failure, arguing that tougher laws and increased enforcement are needed to stem infringing activity. But a new global study on piracy, backed by Canada’s International Development Research Centre, comes to a different conclusion. Following several years of independent investigation in six emerging economies, the report concludes that piracy is chiefly a product of a market failure, not a legal one.

Read more about the 400-page report commissioned by the Canadian government at thestar.com .