Alexander’s Blog

The Internet offers wide appeal to people with disabilities. But many of those same people find it frustrating or impossible to use a handheld mouse. Software developed at the University of Washington provides an alternative using one of the oldest and most versatile modes of communication: the human voice.

Vocal Joystick detects sounds 100 times a second and instantaneously turns that sound into movement on the screen. Different vowel sounds dictate the direction: “ah,” “ee,” “aw” and “oo” and other sounds move the cursor one of eight directions. Users can transition smoothly from one vowel to another, and louder sounds make the cursor move faster. The sounds “k” and “ch” simulate clicking and releasing the mouse buttons.

Versions of Vocal Joystick exist for browsing the Web, drawing on a screen, controlling a cursor and playing a video game. A version also exists for operating a robotic arm, and Jeffrey Bilmes, a UW associate professor of electrical engineering, believes the technology could be used to control an electronic wheelchair.

Read the rest of the story and watch the video here.

A Seattle-based company called Earth Class Mail is offering individuals and businesses an interesting mail service. Currently people in more than 100 countries are using their service. The company calls the online postal service “Earth Class” because it is global and delivers mail electronically anywhere on earth. Whether you are at home or on the road, you simply log-in, check your mail and decide whether to keep or shred each piece. Since Seattle in one of the leading cities in USA when it comes to recycling, the company emphasizes the environmental benefits of using their service on their Web site.

“For every ton of paper we recycle, we reduce the air pollution produced by new paper production by 74%, and water pollution by 35%. We also keep more toxic ink, formaldehyde, and other chemicals out of the landfills. For every ton of paper we recycle, we save 204 trees and consume 8,190 fewer gallons of petroleum.”

A local Seattle TV station King 5 covered this service in their newscast. Earth Class Mail explains how their service works:

“Once you sign-up for our service and change your address to one of our 18 locations throughout the U.S., we scan the outside of each incoming envelope and post it in your online account. You log-in, review the envelopes and direct what should be opened, scanned, recycled, shredded, or forwarded to you. We will soon have check processing, so we can even deposit your checks for you.

Earth Class Mail manages standardized process mail, such as claim forms, invoices, and checks, more efficiently and cost-effectively than ordinary document management and storage solutions. For businesses, mail addressed to specific departments or account numbers can also be set up with “automatic rules” to be opened and scanned upon arrival, with the case of warranty cards, surveys, or other forms of process mail.”

Check out Earth Class Mail’s Web site for more details.

Privacy International (PI), a human rights research and campaign organization, prepared a report following a six-month investigation into the privacy practices of key Internet-based companies. The following companies were included in the study:

* Amazon
* AOL
* Apple
* BBC
* Bebo
* eBay
* Facebook
* Friendster
* Google
* Hi5
* Last.fm
* LinkedIn
* LiveJournal
* Microsoft
* Myspace
* Orkut
* Reunion.com
* Skype
* Wikipedia
* Windows Live Space
* Xanga
* Yahoo!
* YouTube

Based on the study, PI ranked Google at the bottom of the stack. Here are some highlights:
* “…throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in Google’s approach to privacy that go well beyond those of other organizations.”
* “While a number of companies share some of these negative elements, none comes close to achieving status as an endemic threat to privacy.”
* “Google’s status in the ranking is also due to its aggressive use of invasive or potentially invasive technologies and techniques.”
* “…we have witnessed an attitude to privacy within Google that at its most blatant is hostile, and at its most benign is ambivalent.”
* “Google does not indicate how long the information collected through Google Toolbar is retained, nor does it offer users a data expungement option…”
* “Google fails to follow generally accepted privacy practices such as the OECD Privacy Guidelines and elements of EU data protection law.”
* “Google logs search queries in a manner that makes them personally identifiable but fails to provide users with the ability to edit or otherwise expunge records…”
* “Google fails to give users access to log information generated through their interaction with Google Maps, Google Video, Google Talk, Google Reader, Blogger and other services.”
* “Google has access to additional personal information, including hobbies, employment, address, and phone number, contained within user profiles in Orkut. Google often maintains these records even after a user has deleted his profile or removed information from Orkut.”

Here are brief excerpts from the report as to why Google and why not Microsoft.

Why Google?
We are aware that the decision to place Google at the bottom of the ranking is likely to be controversial, but throughout our research we have found numerous deficiencies and hostilities in Google’s approach to privacy that go well beyond those of other organizations. While a number of companies share some of these negative elements, none comes close to achieving status as an endemic threat to privacy. This is in part due to the diversity and specificity of Google’s product range and the ability of the company to share extracted data between these tools, and in part it is due to Google’s market dominance and the sheer size of its user base. Google’s status in the ranking is also due to its aggressive use of invasive or potentially invasive technologies and techniques.

The view that Google “opens up” information through a range of attractive and advanced tools does not exempt the company from demonstrating responsible leadership in privacy. Google’s increasing ability to deep-drill into the minutiae of a user’s life and lifestyle choices must in our view be coupled with well defined and mature user controls and an equally mature privacy outlook. Neither of these elements has been demonstrated. Rather, we have witnessed an attitude to privacy within Google that at its most blatant is hostile, and at its most benign is ambivalent. These dynamics do not pervade other major players such as Microsoft or eBay, both of which have made notable improvements to the corporate ethos on privacy issues.

Why not Microsoft?
The finding that Microsoft is a better privacy performer than Google is also likely to be contentious. Microsoft was awarded “orange” status, two bands better than Google’s position. However it is important, for the sake of clarity, to note that Windows Live Space received the more negative “red” rating, while Google’s Orkut avoided a black rating and was awarded red status.

The true difference between Google Inc and Microsoft Corp can be defined not so much by the data practices and privacy policies that exist between the two organizations, but by the corporate ethos and leadership exhibited by each. Five years ago Microsoft could reasonably be described as a fundamental danger to privacy. In more recent times the organization appears to have adopted a less antagonistic attitude to privacy, and has at least structurally adjusted to the challenge of creating a privacy-friendly environment.

The complete report called A Race to the Bottom: Privacy Ranking of Internet Service Companies is available here. You might also be interested in my article on privacy A Closer Look at the Fine Print in Privacy Statements.

Can’t edit a Web site on a 64-bit Windows Server 2003 using Microsoft Expression Web (EW)? Microsoft has replaced FrontPage with EW. Many administrators who were running FrontPage server extensions on 32-bit Windows Server 2003 and have now switched to 64-bit Windows Server 2003 are running into a problem when they try to setup their Web sites and edit it in FrontPage. Microsoft no longer supports FrontPage server extensions on a 64-bit Windows Server 2003 so you can’t use FrontPage to edit Web sites on a 64-bit Windows Server.

Well, here are 3 basic steps that you need to take to edit a Web site using EW on a 64-bit Windows Server 2003.

1. In IIS 6.0, go to the Properties of the Web site and make sure that on the Directory Security tab both Anonymous users and Integrated Authentication is selected.
2. On the Home Directory tab, check the boxes for Read, Write, and Directory Browsing. This is required for WebDAV.
3. In IIS Manager, under Web Service Extensions, enable WebDAV extension.

You should now be able to edit your site with an account that has appropriate permissions.

On May 10, I discussed a problem with opening Internet Explorer. Microsoft has posted a KB article that discusses the possible solution. Microsoft has confirmed that the problem is caused by the May 2007 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (MS07-027), as reported by several MVPs.

Problem: The problem is caused if you have the Temporary Internet Files (TIF) moved to a location outside the Users folder hierarchy while you have the Protected Mode and the Phishing filter enabled.

Solution: The solution is either to move the TIF back to its original location or to configure permissions for TIF folder as described below. If you move TIF folder out of Users folder hierarchy, e.g. to the root of drive C, then you would have to give the user full-control permission at the root of drive C, which may not be a good idea. For security reasons, a better option is to move the TIF folder back to it’s original location within the user’s profile while Microsoft investigates other possible solutions for this issue.

The following procedure is for modifying permission on Windows Vista computers. Make sure you understand the consequences of this procedure before you implement it.

1. Click Start Start button, type Internet Options in the Start Search box, and then click Internet Options in the Programs list.
2. On the General tab, click Settings in the Browsing History area.
3. Click View Files. The “Temporary Internet Files” folder opens.
4. In the Windows Explorer address box, click the folder name that comes before Temporary Internet Files.
5. Click Organize, and then click Properties.
6. On the Security tab, click Edit.
7. In the Group or user names box, click the name of the affected user. If the name of the affected user is not listed, follow these steps:

a. Click Add.
b. In the Enter the object names to select box, type the name of the affected user, and then click OK.
c. In the Group or user names box, click the name of the affected user.

8. In the Permissions for User_Name box, click to select the Full Control Allow check box.
9. Click Apply, and then click OK.
10. Close Windows Explorer.
11. Click OK two times.
12. Start Internet Explorer 7.

On a Windows XP-based computer or on a Windows Server 2003-based computer, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type inetcpl.cpl, and then click OK.
2. On the General tab, click Settings in the Browsing History area.
3. Click View Files.
4. In Windows Explorer, move to the folder that contains the “Temporary Internet Files” folder.
5. In the right-pane, right-click an empty area, and then click Properties.
6. On the Security tab, click the name of the affected user in the Group or user names box. If the name of the affected user is not listed, follow these steps:
a. Click Add.
b. In the Enter the object names to select box, type the name of the affected user, and then click OK.
c. In the Group or user names box, click the name of the affected user.
7. In the Permissions for User_Name box, click to select the Full Control Allow check box.
8. Click Apply, and then click OK.
9. Close Windows Explorer.
10. Click OK two times.
11. Start Internet Explorer 7.

For more information, check out the KB article 937409.