This Weekend’s Unanswered Questions (123105)

Another installment in a nearly-regular series of mysteries and pseudo-mysteries (usually 3-4) this inquiring mind would like to have answers for (some links included may require free registration):

QUESTION 1: Will the security nightmares end when (if?) Microsoft’s new Vista operating system is released?

The latest exploit is so bad, it may, and probably should, mean the death of a file format (also, a very serious warning to Google Desktop users; link was included in original article):

Opinion: How bad is the new WMF bug? Research suggests that the WMF format has been officially ruined.

Microsoft really has improved the security of its code over the last few years. The fact that every now and then a bug like the new WMF bug still comes along just goes to show how careless the old code is.

The problem with the WMF (Windows Metafile) file format turns out to be one of those careless things Microsoft did years ago with little or no consideration for the security consequences.

Almost all exploits you read about are buffer overflows of some kind, but not this one. WMF files are allowed to register a callback function, meaning that they are allowed to execute code, and this is what is being exploited in the WMF bug.

As a result, it is surprisingly easy to get hit with this attack, even if you are being careful. I’ve heard stories of experienced researchers being hit while researching the attack.

One way this might have happened, and it’s a good example of how easy it is, is through Google Desktop. F-Secure has demonstrated that Google Desktop users can become infected simply by downloading an infected file. When Google Desktop indexes the file it launches the exploit.

Imagine how much further along the economy could be if so many billions of dollars weren’t being spent fighting viruses and other malware. Let’s hope Vista is a cure, and not just another cause of yet more disease.

QUESTION 2: Will Delta or Northwest fail to emerge from bankruptcy in 2006?

Delta lost $182 million ($164 million excluding reorganization costs) in November on revenue of $1.3 billion, and had $2 billion in cash. Since then, the company has won some concessions from pilots, but needs more from them and others. It seems that Delta will require airfare increases at least as much as cost-cutting to survive. Given the competition, I don’t see big domestic fare increases sticking without a big upward spike in overall travel traffic.

Meanwhile, Northwest lost $129 million (second item at link; $64 million excluding reorganization costs) on revenue of $947 million, and had $1.5 billion in cash. Their mechanics, who have been on strike since before the September bankruptcy filing, rejected the latest offer from the company, which has been using replacement-worker mechanics since the strike began. From here, it seems Northwest is in better shape than Delta because of its more profitable Asian routes, and because the Japanese economy appears to be on a serious roll for the first time in about 15 years.

Both companies must be praying for a travel boom in 2006.

QUESTION 3: How is this going to keep from falling, let alone get built?

The coming New Year is time for optimism. Even so, this report from a few weeks ago is taking “Can you top this?” to an unfathomable extreme (HT Wasp Allergies):

Blueprints for a kilometre-tall skyscraper have been drawn up by UK architects, who hope to see the record-breaking structure commissioned in Kuwait.

At 1001 metres, the enormous tower would be almost twice the height of the world’s tallest building today, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which stands at 509 metres. The new building would also dwarf the Burj Dubai, a building under construction in Dubai that is expected to stand 700-800 metres tall once completed in 2008.

Architecture firm Eric Kuhne and Associates, based in London, UK, has drawn up plans for the skyscraper. Although the designs have yet to be made public, the company is reported to be in talks with the Kuwaiti government about construction.

Representatives told the Architects’ Journal that the Kuwaiti government is considering commissioning the building for a city called Madinat al-Hareer, or the “City of Silk”. The skyscraper could house 7000 people, but would cost an estimated £84bn to construct and could take 25 years to complete.

File the towers that will be done in 2008 under “marvels.” File the “Kilometer Tower” under “I’ll believe it when I see it.”