Today, some questions from the in-box.
Q: I often see on TV and read about a so-called Smart Grid, and one recent report said that it is not safe or secure against hackers. Can you explain?
A: Basically, a Smart Grid monitors individual electricity usage at homes, reports back to the main station digitally and attempts to manage electricity use to its best effect. While this seems a great idea, there are some problems.
First of all, because it would be a centralized entity, any successful attack by hackers or such forces would affect a large number of people on the network. Also, it's been shown over time that a complex system such as this tends to fail more often and more seriously than a simple one.
Assuming the Smart Grid works correctly, there would be a positive side to this as well. It would be a simpler matter to allocate power where and when it is needed with much less waste. Also, patterns of use could be studied and outlined, therefore making planning for the future needs of users much simpler. There is an excellent article on Smart Grid technology at wikipedia.com if you would like to know more.
Q: I read today that something called HTML 5 will eliminate the need for something called Flash-explanation. In English, please ...
A: Well, there are a lot of so called geeky words in computer and tech work, so let's break this down.
HTML stands for Hypertext Mark-Up Language. This is the language used to create and code Web pages. HTML 5 will be the next implementation of this language when it is finally approved by all Web parties concerned.
Up until HTML 5. the arguably most popular way to display video on a page was to use a technology called Flash. Flash began as an animation tool and expanded into video later. It is great for video because it loads and plays quickly when designed and implemented properly. It is the most used format for online video, according to most Web surveys and stats.
However, there are some problems with using Flash for video, primarily that it relies on what's called a browser plug-in on the user's side, as well as coding on the Web page creator's side. This means that you must have the current version of Flash installed for your browser to get optimum use of it.
HTML 5 aims to simplify all of this by allowing the Web site creator to simply include the video on a page without having to deal with Flash at all. It will be a bit until HTML 5 is finalized and accepted by all vendors and web creators. Until then Flash will have to do, and generally it does very well.
Q: What does it mean to "jailbreak" an iPhone or other cell phone?
A: Jailbreaking an iPhone means to alter it so that it will run applications not sold in the Apple App Store. As you might imagine, this is a controversial subject with strong feelings on both sides of it. Jailbreaking the iPhone has even allegedly led recently to some malware problems. However, there will always be people who want to run unapproved apps, so it's not likely this situation will change anytime soon.
Q: You seem negative toward MySpace, why?
A: Actually MySpace has made some very smart moves lately, trying to re-position itself as a powerhouse online music center. By redefining itself and ceasing any pretense at competing with Facebook or Twitter for social networking, I think they can be very successful. My principal point about them was that they were standing still or going backwards in social networking popularity while Facebook and Twitter were gaining ground, especially Facebook.
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