billso.com

Engadget reports on a new Windows Mobile PDA that census takers might use for data collection. bandwidth is provided by Sprint. The batteries last 10 hours – an amazing result on a PDA that is deisgned for heavy data entry and network usage in the field.

The US Constitution requires a national census every 10 years. One early use of Hollerith cards was in the 1890 US Census. The previous census in 1880 used manual methods and took 9 years to complete. With Hollerith’s cards and tabulation equipment, the Census Bureau finished the 1890 count within 7 years at twice the cost of the 1880 census. The reports and data were far more complex and complete than any previous census, however.

I keep a stack of vintage Hollerith cards in my office, so I can remember the good old days.

One of my favorite blogs, Passive Aggressive Notes, provides two examples of neighborly wireless network management. Many students, roommates and neighbors think nothing of borrowing or piggybacking someone else’s wireless Internet connections, with or without consent.

Changing the SSID on your wireless router is one way of marking out some wireless territory. I have a better idea: turn on encryption and use a strong password. I’m always amazed at how many people run their wireless access points wide-open, without any security measures at all. In many cases, they’re using the default SSID and password that was set at the factory. About.com has a good list of tips and links here.

This is not a new issue

Here’s a good October 2006 interview with Corey O’Donnell. He discusses various issues with WiFi security. CNet ran this discussion in 2005 – I’ve often used a phrase from this article to describe how an unsecured WiFi network is like an unlocked front door. Mark Rasch discussed it in 2004, for example. InformationWeek had a good article on this topic in 2003, also.