Bulletin September 2007

BENTSEN GROVE RESORT COMPUTER CLUB BULLETIN
Month of September 2007

SUMMER

MEETINGS
SECOND

MONDAY
EACH
MONTH
10:00AM

Dining area
Main Hall

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS:
If you would like to meet in a small group to discuss special computer related subjects or form a Special Interest Group lets discuss it.

Harold

Our bulletin is also available on line by visiting http://www.bgrcc.com/ and clicking on bulletin. You may also select bulletins by its subject.

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EMERGENCY

RESPONSE

TEAM

John Abbott……424-7113
Harold Buechly...581-3180
Corinne Higbee...585-5664

UPCOMING EVENTS:
Monday September 10, 2007 Summer meeting in dining area, main hall. 10:00 AM second Monday each month.

It's not a Thumb Drive By Harold Buechly
It looks like a thumb drive but it really isn't. It's much more. This new item is a TV tuner that will convert your laptop or desktop to receive, display, record to your hard drive digital video including regular TV channels and High Definition direct over the air waves.
pctv

Pinnacle Systems Inc. is marketing 3 different models.
1. PCTV HD pro stick with antenna and software as shown on the left.
2. PCTV HD pro stick with antenna and software and remote control.
3. As #2 plus both s-video and composte connections for use with camcorder, VCR or other video input.
Also included in the 3 above units, Pinacle Studio Quick Start V10 that may be used to edit movies and shows you put on your hard drive.
Starting at less than $100. plus shipping direct from the manufacturer, www.pinnaclesys.com but also available from www.buy.com, www.amazon.com and others often at a lower price and sometimes with free shipping.
During installation and setup I found it simple and straight forward. After the software is installed, it will search for signals and set up a channel list which you can use to select the channel to view. The interface is easy to use and understand. Using the supplied antenna only about 5 inches tall, imagine what you can receive using an outdoor antenna or cable. Compatible with Vista and XP Media Center Edition.

Google Earth By John Abbott
The newest version of Google Earth includes a flight simulator. Though simple in comparison to full-blown simulators, Google Earth's is fun and addictive. To get started, press Ctrl+Alt+A for the initial dialog (on OS X, Command+Option+A). Then choose your plane (F16 or SR22) and initial airport. Joysticks are supported; it has even been reported that force feedback works. The game's controls are sensitive so it takes some getting used to. Here are all the available controls. For a quick overview, check out this YouTube video.

What is Net Neutrality? — An Editorial
By Bruce Jacobs, Editor, Phoenix PCUG, AZ
Editor(at)phoenixpcug.org http://www.phoenixpcug.org

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

Usually the articles in the newsletter are very black and white. The articles tell how to do something, or why you should backup… This article deals with a subject that is more controversial than that. It is my attempt to explain a subject is complex and which I can not discuss without my opinions coming into it. My opinions do not necessarily represent the opinions of the user group.

So what is Net Neutrality? In simplest terms it is a movement which has as a goal creating legislation or federal regulations which will regulate some plans of some ISPs.

The specific plans that are proposed that have people the most upset is the idea of charging websites for preferred access to their customers. For example, they would like to get money from Google and if they do not they may slow the connection between you and Google.

I have to give some history here to explain some of what is going on. The Internet was mostly free of regulations. You can put almost anything up on a site and people could access it or they can ignore it. Your ISP is paid to give you access to the internet and does not care what you do while online unless you share your connection with your neighbors. There was no spam and very very few internet viruses.

ISPs also “oversold” their connections they knew that everyone would not try to get online at the same time so they used formulas to determine how much infrastructure they would need for each customer. In the old days this was mostly how many phone lines they needed for each customer. (How many remember getting busy signals when dialing in?). Even today, when browsing the web, typically you go to a site, its contents are downloaded to your computer. Then the computer becomes mostly idle while you read the page.

Most of the original ISP’s were companies which had as their primary business providing access to the internet. They were not phone and entertainment providers like we have today. Also there was no real conflict of interest if they were owned by a phone company.

Things have changed over time. As dedicated lines became available, the ISP’s started to separate the customers into two classes: Business and Home users. Business customers were likely to use their connection 24 hours a day and use more bandwidth. The business customers were charged more for access because of this. They at first policed this mainly using the honor system. In some rare cases, they would cut a violator off.

We now have lots of malware on the internet. This malware has caused lots of problems for the ISPs. Frequently a customer’s computer would get infected and would attack the computers belonging to other customers of the ISP. Computers would get infected and start sending out millions of spam emails. Or the infected computer would turn itself into a webserver to host pirated music or other nasty content. One partial solution to these problems was to use filters at the ISP to block this traffic. This was necessary evil in my opinions

Some people also are considered by the ISP to have abused the network. All of the above things that computers can do because they are infected have been done by customers on purpose. There are other things customers have done which have resulted in a single customer using more resources that the average customer. Sometimes these uses are not considered legitimate by the ISP.

Many ISPs have set up limits on how much bandwidth a customer can use in a month. I frequently download software from the internet. Legal downloads like Linux CDs and trial software. Because of this I am sure that I frequently use several times the average amount of bandwidth of the average user some months.

Perhaps I need to step back for a second and describe some of the costs of business that ISPs have. They have the typical costs of doing business: buildings, labor, taxes, electricity, etc.

They also have special costs that are almost unique to ISPs. They pay for the infrastructure that connects them to their customers (sometimes it is indirectly). The faster the connection to the customer, the more it costs the ISP. Frequently in the United States, the hands of the ISP are tied and the ISP can not easily increase the connection speed between them and the customer.

The ISPs also pay for their connection to the Internet backbone. This is the part of the internet that connects all the ISPs together. The cost of this access is based in large part on the amount of data they send over the backbone and how fast a connection to the backbone they have.

Companies like Google, have to make contracts with ISPs and pay for their bandwidth and connection to the backbone either directly or indirectly as well.

Another revolution is occurring on the internet. This is the media revolution. New services are coming to the internet, which are only possible because more and more users have high speed access. I can purchase music or other content on line and download it to my computer. I can listen to an internet radio broadcast of a basketball game. I can watch a movie from YouTube or a live broadcast of an event. People are also using their high speed connections to make free phone calls using services like Skype.

According to ISPs these activities are putting stress on their networks in ways they had not planned for.

Many ISPs would like to use the filtering tools they have in place to limit the speed of access to these services. Critics of these plans point out that the ISPs have been advertising these same services to the public for years as a way of driving customers to their high speed access plans. Whether this is legitimate or not is a matter of opinion. If these types of changes are made, customers should be made aware of them so that they can make inform decisions when deciding which ISP to sign up with and what plan they want.

Another change that has occurred is the ISPs have changed from a business point of view. In today’s world, ISPs are not generally the small companies that only provide internet access. They are phone companies, cable companies, cellular, and entertainment companies. Access to free phone service, movies and music is in direct conflict with the interests of the parent companies.

The ISPs would like the right to discriminate against some of this traffic and let other traffic go through unimpeded. This would probably be something like having two lanes of traffic. A fast lane for approved traffic, and a slower lane for the rest.

If you have made it this far, you can understand some of my opinions on these issues. You may not agree with them but the background was needed so you could understand.

I believe that ISPs have some right to regulate the traffic that is going through their network as long the primary purposes is to ensure that the network stays useable and they are upfront about what they are doing to everyone evolved. There is currently no law on the books that I am aware of that makes this a requirement.

However, no one should have to pay an ISP for priority access to their customers. I pay GoDaddy every month for use of a server and access to the internet based in large part on how many people visit our sites. We should not have to start sending checks to ISP’s as well. Because the web is so democratic and diverse is why the web is as great as it is. If the ISPs are allowed to do this in market where they provide service, they will not be able to do this with fairness.

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

Net Neutrality: It’s Time For Us To Speak Out!
By Linda Gonse, Editor, Orange County IBM PC Users’ Group, California
Editor(at)orcopug.org
http://www.orcopug.org

Obtained from APCUG with the author's permission for publication by APCUG member groups.

What is ‘Net Neutrality?

Briefly, "Net Neutrality" (short for Network Neutrality) is the guiding principle that preserves the free and open Internet. “It means no discrimination. Net Neutrality prevents Internet providers from speeding up or slowing down Web content based on its source, ownership or destination,” according to savetheinternet.com.

“Net Neutrality is the reason why the Internet has driven economic innovation, democratic participation, and free speech online. It protects the consumer's right to use any equipment, content, application or service on a non-discriminatory basis without interference from the network provider. With Net Neutrality, the network's only job is to move data — not choose which data to privilege with higher quality service.”

Why is Net Neutrality an issue?

It’s an issue because it involves the transmission of data over broadband networks (e.g. DSL or cable internet services). As the number of sites on the Internet continues to grow and the quality of data becomes more sophisticated—encompassing video and audio files and other multimedia applications—broadband service providers (generally cable and phone companies) are seeking to regulate how material flows to users through their increasingly taxed networks. For most large providers, this has come down to one general desire: They could establish a tiered system of content delivery in which companies with data-heavy content can pay a fee to the providers in return for "special treatment" in transmission. However, advocates project, this also would allow large telecom companies to block or censor things they don't like without consequence.

Moreover, colleges worry that research and distance education could be left behind if broadband companies are allowed to favor certain content. (The implications go far beyond open access.) The Internet-for-hire has profound implications for education, library and publishing services in general. And, for users, there is either a future of poor service, or additional costs, or some combination of the two. Low and fixed income internet users’ would lose their access equality.

What is being done to preserve Net Neutrality?

In a nutshell, nothing permanent has been done to pass a law to ensure freedom of the Internet. It is still a gigantic struggle of ordinary Internet users, educational institutions, online companies—such as Amazon and Google—non-profit companies, and others, against the massive lobbying efforts of the largest telecommunication companies.

Events that have unfolded since Net Neutrality became a significant issue include:

“This past summer (2006), Congress took up the issue. Following a huge lobbying campaign by both sides, including millions spent by the cable and phone corporations, the House voted down an amendment to the Act that would have made the Federal Communications Commission responsible for enforcing neutrality. In the Senate, a similar amendment was defeated in committee, but net neutrality legislators managed to table a vote on the telecommunications bill indefinitely in hopes that they can somehow force the issue back to the forefront,” Bill Moyers, a respected news commentator and journalist, said on the PBS site at http://tinyurl.com/yhx7lz.

In January of this year, a bill was introduced by Senators Olympia Snowe and Byron Dorgan to amend the Communications Act of 1934, which will ensure all content is treated equally and fairly on the Internet. The law also requires providers to offer consumers broadband Internet access that is not bundled with other services like phone, cable or VoIP. The title of their bill is the Internet Freedom Preservation Act.

In March, the discussion over Internet governance continued on Capitol Hill. All five FCC commissioners testified in front of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet.

In May, the bill passed the House Judiciary Committee: 20-13.

In a June 2007 report, the Federal Trade Commission urged restraint with respect to the new regulations proposed by network neutrality advocates, noting the "broadband industry is a relatively young and evolving one," and given no "significant market failure or demonstrated consumer harm from conduct by broadband providers," such regulations "may well have adverse effects on consumer welfare, despite the good intentions of their proponents."

We've already had a taste of what can happen if telecommunication companies are handed authority to create tiered service and to have authority over what users can access. Before any decisions have been made, AT&T censored lyrics critical of Bush twice this month during Pearl Jam webcast concerts! http://tinyurl.com/2gqv4n This foreshadows what we can expect if Net Neutrality is not made into law permanently.

Pearl Jam appears to feel the same way. "AT&T's actions strike at the heart of the public's concerns over the power that corporations have when it comes to determining what the public sees and hears through communications media,” they said.
Bill Moyers provides background and details on the subject at: http://tinyurl.com/hfyb3. A video segment from Moyers on America PBS show, titled "The Net at Risk,” illustrates the remarkable, but unlikely, cross-section of allies on the issue at http://tinyurl.com/yuylej
There are also links to several articles and videos on the main page of our
website: http://www.orcopug.org

What can you do to support Net Neutrality?

Internet Neutrality advocates are pushing for people to sign an online petition. One of them is at: http://action.freepress.net/campaign/savethenet. The petition says: Congress must preserve a free and open Internet. Please vote for enforceable network neutrality and keep tollbooths, gatekeepers, and discrimination off my Internet.

California Senators Boxer and Feinstein do not accept email from constituents sent through third party sites. So, people should email legislators directly, in addition to adding another name to the online petition so the numbers can be used for clout by Save The Internet.com, FreePress.com, and openinternetcoalition.com, who support the legislation. Boxer and Feinstein are already "believers" but it helps to let them know that the base on this issue is widespread.

The SavetheInternet.com Coalition is more than a million everyday people (partial list of members) who have banded together with thousands of non-profit organizations, businesses and bloggers to protect Internet freedom. The Free Press is a national, nonpartisan organization working to reform the media. Through education, organizing and advocacy, it promotes diverse and independent media ownership, strong public media, and universal access to communications. The OpenInternetCoalition represents consumers, grassroots organizations, and businesses working in pursuit of keeping the Internet fast, open and accessible to all Americans.

You can find contact information for legislators throughout the U.S. at: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/

People can read Google's Guide to Net Neutrality for Google Users at: http://www.google.com/help/netneutrality.html and, they should also sign up to receive updates about Internet Neutrality from one of the sites supporting this legislation, such as http://www.savetheinternet.com/.

Once people understand the issue of Internet Neutrality, supporters should inform others about the threat to this essential freedom, and encourage their involvement.

Finally, people who believe in an open Internet need to be aware that organized supporters fighting big telecommunication businesses need money to continue and to win the fight that affects us all. https://secure.freepress.net/05/net_neutrality -- even small donations will help this cause.

This article has been provided to APCUG by the author solely for publication by APCUG member groups. All other uses require the permission of the author (see e-mail address above).

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