I tend to see two extremes whenever there are arguments about what should be the default (I’m speaking specifically of arguments on the Ubuntu Forums, but this could be applied to really anything in technology or anything in life in general). One extreme is that defaults don’t matter at all. It’s not worth arguing about.… Continue reading The Power of Defaults
Tag: Computers
The limitations of car-computer analogies
I’m less understanding of those who don’t want to learn how to take care of and fix their own computers than of those who don’t want to learn how to take care of fix their own cars. In many ways, cars and computers are similar—both cars and computers are complicated machines made up of various… Continue reading The limitations of car-computer analogies
Freedom for the short-term or the long-term?
As a Ubuntu Forums veteran, I’ve seen many disgruntled potential migrants return to Windows from Ubuntu because they wanted things to “just work.” They would say things like “I don’t really care about software freedom. I just want to be able to play video files and do what I need to do. The computer is… Continue reading Freedom for the short-term or the long-term?
Giving OpenDNS a try
With stories in the tech news about a recently discovered DNS flaw that allows malicious parties to redirect even properly-typed-in URLs to spoof sites’ IP addresses, I got curious about this OpenDNS I keep hearing about. Supposedly it’s faster and also blocks phishing sites, has patched the DNS flaw, has 100% uptime, and allows configuration… Continue reading Giving OpenDNS a try
The effectiveness of “security through obscurity”
I don’t believe that security through obscurity is ideal or ultimately effective. I don’t believe it’s a generally good security approach. Nevertheless, it is not often the same as no security at all. Security through obscurity can have its place. A few years ago, when it was brought to light that the newest (at the… Continue reading The effectiveness of “security through obscurity”