Author: Pat Skinner

So the past few weeks have been pretty crazy in my life; updates are in order. My courses this quarter have been the busiest and hardest ever…but still quite fun and interesting nonetheless.

Network administration has singlehandedly got me more interested in networking than ever before…now that network class no longer comprises “build an ethernet cable..derrrrr” but instead “build a secure connection for any protocol’s traffic between here and a foreign host, then hack Windows 98 LM passwords” things get pretty interesting. I spoke to the man behind RIPE, the root DNS servers in Europe, and learned how a lot of current popular tech is overly trusting and insecure (DHCP anyone?).

I was really hoping Interface Design would be more about…interface design. It turns out the course is really more about interaction design, but the prof is really fun and down to earth. (hi weez!) The team project isn’t about a computer interface [emo tear] but rather an in-sink dishwasher, affectionately titled “N*Sink.” But because I’m such an interface design junkie, I opted to take up weez’s kind offer for her grad course this Winter about real interface design. The “grad” part is kind of scary, plus only ‘stronger’ IT students have been asked to participate…but it looks really fun at the same time. I have high hopes and ambitions for this class.

Microecon is surprisingly interesting considering every lesson is a new context behind supply and demand…but the damn exam questions are pretty unfair. Every successive question is entirely dependent on the previous question’s answer…and of course I cleverly manage to get the first question not quite right, shooting myself in the foot from the start. I would like to pursue econ though, its an interesting way of seeing how the world works.

Website Design and Implementation has been largely stuff I already taught myself through running this website, but hey, now I have a class/title to support my knowledge. The team project is due next week; it’s coming along pretty well so far but its definitely crunch time.

I heard back from those crazy guys that make Windows, Office, and X-Box. They want me to start working there this January. Holy job Batman! I get more details next week but its pretty exciting so far.

The Internet is a well established entity these days. When was the last time “the Internet” was down? Exactly.

But while we are used to the physical networks resilience to all sorts of technical, human, and political problems, there is one crucial service running on these networks that is largely unregulated – DNS and the root servers. These are the servers that popularized the Internet as we know it, letting people go to google.com instead of having to memorize 216.239.57.99.

If you control these servers, you effectively control a huge part of what makes the Internet so useful. These servers, currently operated by the United States, are facing pressure to be transfered to international control and increase accountability for everyone involved.

I found a pretty interesting take on how badly managed the existing system has become, and what needs to change to make accountability a factor.

The system has worked so far because everyone has been reasonable at compromise, but it’s current state is fragile. The author raises the alarmist sounding but still possible scenario: Imagine a nation who declares war on the US, and consequently has its VoIP traffic intercepted because skype.com resolved into a US military intermediary for that country’s network addresses? The DoD already runs root server G and the Army H – the technical know how is certainly there.

The future of what we know of as the Internet is potentially in for some changes.