Archive for August 7, 2010

| August 7, 2010
Comments Off on Zombie Cookies

Zombie Cookies

Zombie CookiesIf you are a frequent visitor to YouTube or just stopped by Scribid to check it out just once, or any other Flash site the odds are you have zombie cookies lurking on the computer that you thought were long gone according to an article at Helium. A lawsuit has been filed against major web properties for installing zombie cookies on computers. The suit alleges that the Quantcast cookies violate eavesdropping, hacking, fair trade laws, and have a pattern of covert online surveillance. The firms named in the suit include:

  • Zombie CookiesABC
  • ESPN
  • HULU
  • MySpace
  • MTV
  • NBC
  • Scribid
  • YouTube
  • Most other sites utilizing Flash

Adobe Flash logoWhen you visit a website they generally place a cookie on your computer, which you can delete. But you delete a zombie cookie it comes back to life in a sense – hence the cool name. The problem was first identified at UC Berkley. They noticed that they were deleting cookies, but they kept coming back over and over. No amount of deleting them would kill the nasty little buggers off. After tracking down their location the only fix that was easily available at that time was deleting the cookies and Adobe Flash Player (ADBE).

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
| August 5, 2010
Comments Off on Wall Street Up Jobs Down

Wall Street Up Jobs Down

Wall Street Up Jobs Down

The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently pointed out that while Wall Street has already made up all the profits lost in the depression, recession, economic slump, the job market remains stalled. The country’s labor market still has far fewer jobs than it did at the start of the recession in December 2007.

Corporate profits have recovered, but job market still depressed

The chart from EPI shows trends in both corporate profits (both privately and publicly owned) and employment since the start of the recession. The chart indexes both to 100 at the start of the recession so the lines show how far profits and employment have recovered. Although corporate profits suffered in the early part of the recession, they have been steadily growing for more than a year and are now 5.7% greater than they were at the start of the recession.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| August 4, 2010
Comments Off on Michigan Broadband Below Average

Michigan Broadband Below Average

Michigan Broadband Below Average Ookla, the Seattle-based firm that runs www.speedtest.net website has just released a mountain of data at Netindex.com that identifies the uploads and download speeds for a myriad of locations across the globe. According to the website, the index compares and ranks consumer download test results from Speedtest.net. The value is the rolling average throughput in Mbps over the past 30 days where the mean distance between the client and the server is less than 300 miles. The results are not good for the US or Michigan.

As of 08-01-10, the Global household download index is 7.61 Mbps and the US  household download index is  8.88 Mbps. The United States  ranks 27th, in the world wand trails countries as:

The results for Michigan are equally disappointing. The Michigan download index is 8.02 Mbps, below the US download index number. Michigan ranks 35th. Michigan ranks 31st for upload speeds. The US national upload index is 2.14 Mbps Michigan’s is 1.62 Mbps.

Most Michigan citys’ download speeds pale when compared internationally. Niles Michigan ranked 1st in Michigan for download speed of 18.41 Mbps, but nowhere near the best speed available in Seoul, South Korea. The following table lists the top-performing Michigan cities and compares them to the international competition as well as major Michigan cities.

LocationMbps - Download
Seoul, South Korea31.59
Bucharest, Romania22.72
Vilnius, Lithuania19.29
Niles, Michigan18.41
Cebu, Philippines17.73
Sault Sainte Marie Michigan17.23
Amsterdam, Netherlands16.16
Oxford, Michigan15.75
Omsk, Russia15.17
Big Rapids, Michigan15.12
San José, California14.41
Marquette, Michigan10.62
Ann Arbor, Michigan10.52
Lansing, Michigan10.50
Grand Rapids, Michigan9.3
Based on millions of recent test results from Speedtest.net, this index compares and ranks consumer download speeds around the globe. The value is the rolling average throughput in Mbps over the past 30 days where the mean distance between the client and the server is less than 300 miles.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , ,
  Recent Entries »