When I was growing up, my favorite toy was my Lego set. Now, this was in the days before motors, sensors, etc. All I had were some blocks and my imagination. In fact, I remember one Christmas waking up at 3:00 AM, shaking one present and hearing that distinctive Lego rattle. I opened that gift and didn’t stop playing with it until my mother insisted that I open up more gifts at about 10 o’clock!
Apparently, I was not the only one who loved Lego. A gentleman by the name of Anders has created a software program that lets you design Lego structures right in your computer. The program, BlockCAD, is a freeware application and it really helps to free your imagination. It has more Lego pieces than any kid could dream of and even can show you step by step how to build your Lego masterpiece.
Lego also has their own version called Lego Digital Designer. It adds some other cool features that are not available in BlockCAD and there is also a Mac version. But, be aware, that it is also a lot bigger (17 MB).
If you are planning on getting your kids Lego this holiday season, do yourself a favor and download one of these programs. You will have almost as much fun designing as you will building. The only downside, you will probably end up buying more Lego as you realize which pieces you absolutely “need”!
There are a lot of dumb ideas out there. And I will be the first to admit that I contribute my fair share of them! But there are certain areas that dumb ideas are just plain dangerous. For example, the automotive industry. Dumb ideas such as making safety featured optional can cause someone their life. There simply needs to be someone willing to say, “Thanks for your input but that will eventually destroy someone’s life so we’re not going to do it even if it makes up an extra $34 million annually!”
The same thing goes for computer security. While there may be less of a chance of someone’s life being ruined (or maybe not, e.g. identity theft>, there are still serious repercussions. The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security is a great article that talks about some of the dumb ideas and decisions we as IT professionals make on a regular basis. The editorial goes into good detail as to why these ideas are dumb and what we should be doing different.
I have always considered myself to be a hacker in the true sense of the word. I look for unique solutions by trying to approach problems and issues from a different angle. That is typically why I can find solutions where others may fail.
A big part of the mandate of this website is to give some of these unique solutions to people so that they can see how they are done and maybe com up with their own solutions. And, I would often consider many of these solutions to be considered hacks.
But, ever since I wrote Recovering Your Lost Passwords, my inbox has been flooded with request for help. Some of these requests may be legitimate requests by users who truly find themselves in a bind. Others are offers to exchange obvious criminal activities for money.
Either way, I need to decline the offers. I simply can not risk doing something that could potentially be viewed as illegal by someone. It is one thing to recover a password from my own system. It is another to get passwords for an individual to a corporate VPN (yes, I did receive such a request and was offered $250,000 for it).
Each week, I am going to highlight a different magazine that you can get a free subscription to by simply filling out a form. This week’s free magazine is eWeek.
eWeek has provided me with a lot of really good information over the past number of years and you can now get the same subscription at no cost.
eWeek is the essential technology information source for builders of e-business. Through a combination of news, analysis and evaluation, it guides readers in making the best technology decisions for their enterprise. Focusing on e-commerce, communications and Internet-based architecture, eWeek enables readers to successfully evaluate, deploy and leverage new technology solutions for competitive advantage.
eWeek is available in print to both US and Canada subscribers and digitally throughout the world.
When I was growing up, my favorite toy was my Lego set. Now, this was in the days before motors, sensors, etc. All I had were some blocks and my imagination. In fact, I remember one Christmas waking up at 3:00 AM, shaking one present and hearing that distinctive Lego rattle. I opened that gift and didn’t stop playing with it until my mother insisted that I open up more gifts at about 10 o’clock!
