Category: Technology

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The Amber Alert System in British Columbia

I was unaware until this week that BC has its own Amber Alert System in place. I found out about it due to an alert that was issued and resulted in locating the child, fortunately, without harm. I’ve read other accounts where people caught news of the alert flashing on bus signs. That’s pretty impressive. This goes a little beyond the usual highway signs and news outlets that I’m familiar with, but it makes so much sense. You can declare this one a success.

My brushes with the Iowa Amber Alert System gives me some insight on this. My chief engineer back at WSUI/KSUI, Jim Davies, was one of the main guys getting the Amber Alert to work through the Iowa Emergency Alert System (EAS). This stuff doesn’t simply work from the start. It takes a lot of work and testing to make all the information flow correctly, not to mention the politics of what constitutes an alert or not.  Have to give my congrats to BC for this one working so well.

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You’re Not Getting My Messages

An update to Microsoft Messenger was released today for the Mac.  Aside from not having the same ability that Windows to Windows users have in their versions, the last release had a lot to not love about it.  For some reason, I could try to send message after message to Rebecca at work, only to have those IM’s go off to la la land and not know where they ended up.  She would get snipets of what I would be saying or nothing at all.

Let’s hope this update is better.

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Could We Get One, Steve?

I’d like to see Apple open a store here in Vancouver. I mean, Toronto is getting their third one. Reno, Nevada is getting one, so what about Vancouver?

There is no shortage of places to buy apple products, but when we were over in Kits a few weeks ago, they password protect the computers so you can’t play with them.  It takes a lot to compare to an Apple Store.  I haven’t been to Mac Station yet, but you can’t tell me that Vancouver wouldn’t be a great place for an Apple Store.

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Studying the Spread of Computer Viruses

F-Secure has long been a site where I’ve looked towards to track the latest developments in the world of computer worms and viruses. Lately they’ve unveiled their world map to the public. It’s a great tool to see the spread of the lastest threat as well as older threats that are still out there. It gives you a sense of the urgent need for technical security of electronic information.

Remember, just because you patched your computer and don’t have any problems does not mean that you will always be safe from the old and new. This is an informative tool, but creepy all at the same time.