My password is bigger than your password

Posted: August 16th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC, tech | Tags: , , , | 4 Comments »

My password is bigger than your password. And that’s a good thing.

According to researchers at Georgia Tech, GPU-accelerated brute-force password cracking techiques are getting really good:

“Right now we can confidently say that a seven-character password is hopelessly inadequate,” said Mr [Richard] Boyd, “and as GPU power continues to go up every year, the threat will increase.”

Instead, Boyd recommends “a 12-character combination of upper and lower case letters, symbols and digits.”

That’s good advice. But alas, we live in a world where 75% of the population uses the exact same password for their email and social networking accounts, and the 5 most popular passwords go like this:

  1. 123456
  2. 12345
  3. 123456789
  4. Password
  5. iloveyou

Personally, I use 1Password1 to generate and manage strong passwords, and I love it. I have to say, there’s a special warm, fuzzy, geeky feeling that goes along with knowing you’re using good passwords. It’s not unlike the feeling I get when I know my family photos are redundantly backed up.

My next CBC tech column (Tuesday on CBC R1 afternoon shows across Canada) is all about generating good passwords. It’s good advice to hear anytime, but if you use the same password for more than one site, seriously, change it now.

  1. There are many other tools that do this. See: RoboForm, KeePass, MyPasswordSafe, Password Agent, Password Safe, Sxipper, Passpack, TurboPasswords, etc.

Google-Verizon, the CRTC’s open consultation on basic service, and Canadian rural broadband

Posted: August 10th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC | 3 Comments »

Yesterday, Verizon and Google announced a joint policy proposal for an open Internet, suggesting that

there should be a new, enforceable prohibition against discriminatory practices. This means that for the first time, wireline broadband providers would not be able to discriminate against or prioritize lawful Internet content, applications or services in a way that causes harm to users or competition.

Taken alone, this seems like a boon for net neutrality. But, Google and Verizon continue:

we both recognize that wireless broadband is different from the traditional wireline world, in part because the mobile marketplace is more competitive and changing rapidly. In recognition of the still-nascent nature of the wireless broadband marketplace, under this proposal we would not now apply most of the wireline principles to wireless

So, Matthew Lasar at Ars says, “Wireless network operators can discriminate and prioritize to their heart’s content.”

This news is particularly interesting for Canadians, because it comes at a time when the CRTC is actively soliciting comments as part of its open consultation on basic service. Among the questions that the CRTC poses:

Do you think that wireless services (e.g. Wi-Fi, 3G networks or satellite) can be substitutes for landline services to connect to the Internet? Explain why or why not.

Given than in the US, under Google-Verizon’s proposal, wireless internet providers would be exempt from net neutrality principles, this could set the stage for a tiered internet system in Canada. I suspect this question is particularly relevant for underserved rural Canadians. According to recent numbers, 1 in 5 rural Canadian homes does not have access to broadband internet service. Based on its questions, the CRTC seems to be considering wireless technology as a possible way to ensure broadband to all Canadians.

In addition, the CRTC asks the following internet-related questions:

  • For what activities do you use or expect to use your Internet service?
  • what role, if any, should the CRTC play in ensuring that all Canadians have access to broadband Internet service?

This week, my CBC Radio tech column is all about the CRTC’s open consultation. It airs Tuesday on afternoon shows across the country. The consultation runs until August 20 (not August 10, as the FAQ indicates), and you can particpate at o2s.publivate.ca.


In Praise of the Dumbphone

Posted: July 30th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC, phones, tech | 7 Comments »

It’s been a summer of mobile phone announcements. The Droid X. The iPhone 4. The Blackberry 9800 is expected to be announced on Tuesday. And there’s been a lot of talk: “Should I upgrade to the new iPhone 4?” “Should I switch to an Android?”

Strangely, there’s little talk of downgrading to a “dumbphone.” You know, a plain old cell phone that makes calls, sends texts, and not much else.

About six weeks ago, I sold my used iPhone 3G, and I’ve been living with just such a dumbphone: a Motorola L7. As it turns out, I’m not the only one living life without a data plan and full QWERTY keyboard. Only 15-17% of the world’s cell phones are classified as “smartphones,” which means the vast majority of cell phones are not smart.

Still, the smarties get all the press.

So, what’s life like with a dummy? After the initial shaking, tears, and denial, I was surprised at how easy it was to shed my data plan. And there have been noticeable benefits:

  • I’m way less compulsive about checking email/Twitter/random trivia
  • I’m way more observant about the world around me. I pay more attention, because I’m less distracted.
  • My dumbphone is way cheaper to operate. My Fido bill for July was $15.63, compared to $80-85/month with the iPhone

For my CBC tech column this week, I’m talking about the virtues of the dumbphone: why regular old cell phones aren’t necessarily sexy, but are still a good choice for many people.

Do you have a dumbphone? Do you love it? I’d love to know why. Leave a comment or shoot me an email: dan@misener.org


CBC Jobs RSS feed

Posted: July 5th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC | Tags: , , | 3 Comments »

Here’s the short version of this story: The CBC’s jobs website doesn’t have an RSS feed. So I made one:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/cbcjobs

This feed is completely unofficial, and comes with no guarantees. You can also follow @cbcjobs on Twitter if you’re into that sort of thing.

You’re welcome.

Here’s the longer version of the story: The CBC’s jobs website (“Powered by Taleo“) is basically pretty terrible. And astonishingly, it doesn’t have an RSS feed. If you want new CBC job postings via RSS, you can get them from a couple of places, but these sources aren’t exactly what I was looking for:

So, using Yahoo Pipes and Feedburner, I cobbled together a feed that I hope will be useful to some people. Basically, this pipe takes the frequently-updated MJSC feed, and then filters out postings that don’t have “CBC RADIO-CANADA” listed as the Company. Then, it grabs the 8-character CBC job number (e.g. EDM00183) from the title, and appends it to

https://cbc.taleo.net/careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=

to create a permalink. Feedburner makes the feed pretty, and periodically sends new postings to @cbcjobs on Twitter.

Obviously, it would be much better if the CBC made official job RSS feeds available, but until then, I hope this helps some people out.


Good advice

Posted: March 20th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC | Tags: | 1 Comment »

Alanna quotes Johanna Schneller’s advice to the producers of the Academy Awards:

Stop courting the audience that doesn’t care about you, and stop alienating the audience that does.

If you ask me, a whole lot of CBC programs would be smart to take the same advice.


Ukulele on GO!

Posted: February 28th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC, go | Tags: , | No Comments »

This past Saturday, along with Jimmy the Uke and Steve McNie, I was once again on GO to pimp the ukulele. It was a lot of fun, as always. Here’s an mp3 of the segment:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

There’s a photo gallery at the GO website, and courtesy of Tom, YouTube clips of Jimmy the Uke playing “When You’re Smilin’”:


and Jimmy, Steve McNie, and me playing, “We Will Rock Uke”:



Of the web

Posted: January 19th, 2010 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC | Tags: , | 2 Comments »

The other day, my Dad suggested that I might like the Stack Overflow podcast, so I subscribed.

At around 46 minutes into episode 79, Joel Spolsky mentions brochureware-style web design:

You know the kind of site I’m talking about? It’s just like you can imagine it printed on glossy paper and being given to you by hand. And it just doesn’t look like a web page.

But it’s the next line that’s the kicker:

It’s on the web. But it’s not of the web.

And right there, Joel put his finger on exactly what bugs me about so much of what CBC does online, particularly with radio show websites. Yes, it’s on the web. But it’s not of the web.


Me and Sook-Yin Lee, animated

Posted: September 15th, 2009 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC | Tags: , , | No Comments »

A few weeks ago, I spent some time in Winnipeg with team DNTO. While I was there, we watched the world premiere of three short animations based on some of Sook-Yin Lee’s stories. This one, directed by Jim Goodall, is my favourite of the three, and I’m not just saying that because they used my voice (very briefly):


You can check out all three animations on DNTO’s YouTube page. The CBC “Entertainment” “Portal” has copies too, but lacks permalinks, so I won’t bother linking there.


Why your radio show should put transcripts online

Posted: August 25th, 2009 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC, Radio | Tags: , , , , | No Comments »

Bruce Melzer on why NPR.org makes transcripts of its radio stories free online:

There are solid business reasons for making transcripts free. Sales have been dropping over the years. As people search for, discover and share content, offering free transcripts will boost the traffic to NPR.org, traffic that can be monetized with sponsorship. Finally, search engines like text. Many of our stories could not be found by the search engines because they did not have enough text. Now it will be easier for the search engines — and ultimately the users — to find and enjoy NPR’s stories.

On the Media from WYNC puts transcripts of all of its interviews online, and they’re extremely helpful. It’s something we’ve tried on Spark, and would like to do more of. And, as Julien Smith says, “the web is built around text, not sound.”

Update: My pal Rhiannon makes another excellent point:

i like when radio puts up transcripts. it’s really useful for me if i’m listening to something, say on a morning show (especially pre-coffee), and i’m like “wow! this would be great info for my/ someone else’s research!!” listening to the radio is great, but to be able to pass the info along to others (or save it for myself) who can use it at a later time is really useful from an academic’s perspective. i wish cbc did more of this all around.


Content as a composition

Posted: August 18th, 2009 | Author: Dan Misener | Filed under: CBC, Radio | 1 Comment »

Jowi Taylor, speaking at PAB09 about his award-winning radio series, The Wire:

Our idea was to treat content as a composition, and to treat the listeners as active participants in the listening experience.

If you haven’t heard The Wire (or the follow-up series, The Nerve) find a copy now and listen. If you can’t find a copy, email me and I can probably help.