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Hosted PBX Systems a Technology For Growth

2012-02-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Fragmented communication works as a speed breaker on the road of business. It’s just for the reason of fact because businesses today, involve video, voice, email and messaging which need to be accessed from both work and home. So, there needs to be a connection between all the content one wants to share and with whom we want to share. The need of situation and demand of the world goes with a communication tool that provide a solution to all the telephony communication which businesses today face. Business is all about cost and profits. Business transformation requires you to choose the technology that ensures higher growth with the minimum possible inputs. Hosted PBX system is the very same technology that can deliver the desired outputs with its scintillating features.

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Hosted PBX is something; business market has been waiting for so long, to ease their communication with clients. Hosted PBX is that communicating system which makes communication in a business easier. It folds a vow with itself to bloom in a tight budget. It is used by large number of firms across the world, satisfying them. Hosted PBX will not allow a second thought to develop in your mind with its dynamic characteristics.

Providing international numbers is an asset for a business, to be in contact with overseas clients. For small, growing businesses it’s costly and painful. Hosted PBX is the solution for all, providing connectivity within a budget. With international numbers company can add local phone numbers across the world and allow inbound calls at lower rates.

In a small company, good communication with customers and suppliers is critical. Most small businesses can't afford to buy or maintain expensive phone systems. Hosted PBX Systems has an easy set up and thus saves money.

With Hosted PBX you can keep a core competence in your business rather than, worrying about the telephone related issues. It is economical, provides number of services such as call return, call parking, call queue management, IVR, automatic screen pop ups and many more.

PBX VoIP is used by large number of firms across the world, satisfying them. It is an eye catcher for its variety of features and services like:

• Presence of a person: If the person is available via any device he owns, he can participate in a real-time chat or a call. Otherwise, the message gets stored in the voicemail box. This leaves a security in the heart of client.

• Single number: There is only a single number by which your clients can reach you. All the other numbers of the various phones you own work in background. A customer doesn’t have to go through list of numbers before reaching you.

• Globalization: It gives you a globalization in your business. To reach your clients from across the world. They don’t have to struggle with the communication gap. It gives you remote workers and multiple site locations to participate in the business' central communication system.

• Small Budget: Lack of physical investments and hardware requirements is not an issue to avail Hosted PBX.

• Minimize travel expenses: These systems make you hear a crystal clear voice and notice visual expressions. Video conferencing has made the work lot easier. It saves time and cost to travel and one is easily in touch with the client.

Best of all,Hosted PBX Systems come with a startling array of versatility that not only makes them easy to use, but flexible as well. The wide variety of features can be added or discarded from individual phones and computers quickly enough, while the number of extensions may increase or decrease in amount without compromising quality, service, or hardware efficiency.

Software Development Services Has Become a Part of Our Life

2012-02-03T06:14:00.000-08:00

Be it a big or a small software development company each one of them is booming with business right now. It has become a part and parcel of every business procedure in this high competition scenario. No modern organization can run without accessing the services of these companies. By adhering to the new age development methodologies the organization are increasing their profits with better efficiency and productivity. Software development services reduce the workforce of an organization by minimizing the number of employees required for any complex task. It not only increases the efficiency but also helps in fast processing of projects which can be combined with other services of web solutions and different tools employed for the business requirements.

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In addition to all the benefits that can count for the credibility of software development services it also affects the expenses in a positive manner when these services are outsourced. Hiring a software development company is the choice of majority of organizations. Considering the demands of web development for the entire major sectors it has become mandatory for these companies to outsource web solutions services for better utilization of resources. Although in the earlier times when the internet was just spreading its wings the web development was not very affordable for small organizations. The main reason to turn towards outsourcing is to effectively reduce the cost of software development.

Even the big players in the industry are opting for outsourcing their development needs to companies situated in countries like India, Russia, etc. These companies either completely provide services from their end or they provide you with a developer onsite. A software development service in it is big and tedious task which can be very tiresome and complicating for an organization if they don’t have any prior experience. A software development company comes to the rescue in this scenario by lending you a helping hand and taking over all the development targets. This ensures that no part of the development process interferes with the internal processes of an organization leading to better efficiency.

All types of IT services require experience and skills for the achieving targets on time. For example, web solutions for your business can distract your strategies if they are not integrated with the right kind of tools necessary for site building. It gives you great deal of staff flexibility as no recruitment procedures will performed at your end for setting up an IT department. Operational costs will also be reduced considerably. Hiring a software development company is not only cost-effective but also assures you of positive results at the end of the day. Considering the cut-throat competition in the market software development services providers are working at highly competitive rates.

Everything in this world has positive and negative side associated with it. This also happens in the case of hiring a software development company. Apart from all the benefits offered by these companies they can also be disastrous if the right choice is not made while hiring them for software development services. First of all, you need to make sure that the company you are hiring is capable of delivering you the services or not. For your satisfaction you can ask a company for their previous work samples such as the kind of web solutions they have provided in the past and if they relate to your work domain.

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Follow the Simple Steps to develop the iPhone App and Submit it to App Store

2012-01-27T01:30:00.000-08:00

It is not as hard or as simple to develop an iPhone App that one might think. As many people have misconception that iPhone Application development is really very hard, I want to remove this conception and motivate them to go for it by following the steps mentioned in the article below.
“Cooking” up an iPhone application also involves a process similar to Cooking. You can find here the steps which should be followed from head to the bottom i.e. from an app idea to its upload on the iTunes.
It must be clear to you that creating an iPhone app or the iPhone application development is not entirely free; also you will need a Mac at some point and so need to use specific Mac-happy code to develop the application.

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Are you excited now? Follow these exhilarating steps:
1. Design a Smart and Unique Idea

Think of a unique idea and craft the design in a way that one want to use your app. Develop the app in a way that people can pay you for that as they will get more in return of their money.

Please cross check about your idea in the app store that there is no app having the same idea. If you found one, go for a better app which already exists.

2. Get a Mac and Register on Apple as an Developer
As the iPhone development tools are available only for Mac Users, so it is necessary to get a Mac to have your app in the App Store. Mac mini will also serve the purpose.

After having a Mac, go for the free registration to become an official Apple Developer by providing them with your details and agreeing to their terms. Only once the registration is needed. After registration, you can develop iPhone apps for any of the Mac products.

3. Download iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK) and XCODE

Now you are an Official Apple Developer, you are allowed to download iPhone SDK. As SDK comes with all types of documents, sample codes and all the other things you might need later. So, the download is HUGE, and so will take a few hours. Do take care of its version, as it depends on the OS you are using.

As per Apple, “XCode is a complete, full-featured IDE built around a smooth workflow that integrates the editing of source code, with the build and compile steps, through to a graphical debugging experience – all without leaving the view of your source code.” So, go for this and download it.

4. Use the Templates in SDK for iPhone Application development
Start designing the app with the templates available in the SDK. In the SDK, you can find lot of templates to choose one from and also have great You tube clip tutorials to tell you how to use these templates effectively.
5. Program your App using Objective-C

Understand the basics of Objective-C and program your app. You can take screenshots as you precede that helps you remember what you tried. Time required by the apps totally depends on the app features and the details you want in it.

6. Test the application

Make the full use of the huge download of SDK you have done. SDK comes with a lovely iPhone simulator, load your app in it and test it on the simulator. Use the app in all the possible ways one can use and try to work out as many bugs as you can. Test it completely.

7. Upload the iPhone application on iTunes for Approval

Loading an app into iTunes costs a one time member fee of $99 (USD), and it is must to be paid. There is no way to get away of this amount. But, if your app is worthy, you can earn it back in many folds.

Test your App completely and work on all the issues and then submit for approval. Apple takes few days to approve it so be patient and wait for the response.

Major Symantec breach highlights risks of running old software

2012-01-25T23:49:00.000-08:00

Symantec says it has fewer than 50,000 users of pcAnywhere, a remote-access program that has been around for decades. It now says, for safety’s sake, those users should pull the plug. Immediately.

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PCAnywhere was ancient in June 1996, when Symantec shipped pcAnywhere 7.5 for Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation 4.0. That’s the oldest press release I can find online, and it’s introducing version 7.5. The product already had seven releases at the dawn of the Windows era. And the software industry didn’t run at Internet speed back then.

People are still using versions even older than that. I am pretty sure the MS-DOS version of the remote-access program goes back to the late 1980s. And yet I found a support request on Symantec’s forums from May 2010—less than two years ago—from someone who needed to connect to a computer running MS-DOS 6.22 and PC Anywhere 5.0 for DOS.

This was well into the 21st Century.

pcAnywhere version 12.0 shipped in 2006. It’s had incremental releases since then, but Symantec hasn’t found any of those events important enough to issue a press release.

Let’s paint this picture in stark black and white: This is a six-year-old software program, built on decades of legacy code written in pre-Internet days, that is now in maintenance mode. Or, if you prefer, on life support.

And now Symantec is urging its users to pull the plug, at least temporarily. The company revealed the gory details this morning not in a press release, but in a 10-page white paper (PDF):

Upon investigation of the claims made by Anonymous regarding source code disclosure, Symantec believes that the disclosure was the result of a theft of source code that occurred in 2006. We believe that source code for the 2006-era versions of the following products was exposed: Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition; Norton Internet Security; Norton SystemWorks (Norton Utilities and Norton GoBack); and pcAnywhere.

I wouldn’t be worried about those antivirus and security programs. They have been regularly updated and heavily rearchitected since 2006, with significant upgrades every year. But pcAnywhere has been in maintenance mode, a forgotten product.

Symantec says fewer than 50,000 people are still using pcAnywhere. And now the company says, in no uncertain terms, they should stop:

With this incident pcAnywhere customers have increased risk. Malicious users with access to the source code have an increased ability to identify vulnerabilities and build new exploits. Additionally, customers that are not following general security best practices are susceptible to man-in-the-middle attacks which can reveal authentication and session information. General security best practices include endpoint, network, remote access, and physical security, as well as configuring pcAnywhere in a way that minimizes potential risks.

At this time, Symantec recommends disabling the product until Symantec releases a final set of software updates that resolve currently known vulnerability risks. For customers that require pcAnywhere for business critical purposes, it is recommended that customers understand the current risks, ensure pcAnywhere 12.5 is installed, apply all relevant patches as they are released, and follow the general security best practices discussed herein. [emphasis added]

I am not sure I have ever heard of a company advising its customers to stop using a product completely because it was too dangerous. But apparently the risk with pcAnywhere is so great that this is the only sane option.

There are many, many modern alternatives to allow secure external access to your business network or your home PC. If you’ve been hanging on to pcAnywhere, you’re now officially out of excuses to switch.

Update: Reached for comment, a Symantec spokesperson replied vie e-mail with a statement that repeated, almost word for word, the advice contained in the white-paper advisory. The spokesperson also referred customers to a Symantec site that hosts information on the breach:

Avaya launches iPad app for Flare Communicator

2012-01-24T14:43:00.000-08:00

Avaya said it plans to add consumer devices and operating systems later in 2012 for Flare Communicator. Android would be an obvious next step.

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Avaya has launched an iPad app for its Flare Communicator communications and collaboration systems.

Flare Communicator, generally available today, is a system that enables enterprise voice, instant messaging, presence and email over various networks. The app, which is available via Apple’s App Store, is an end point for Avaya’s effort to manage the consumerization movement.

According to Avaya, its Avaya Aura architecture with Flare Communicator are designed to manage bring your own device efforts at enterprises.

The company said it plans to add consumer devices and operating systems later in 2012. Android would be an obvious next step.

Flare Communicator allows for two simultaneous voice calls, contact lists, multitasking and secure connections. The app is free on Apple’s App Store and businesses with Avaya Aura 6.1 or later get 50 access licenses with no cost through Jan. 24 to April 30.

FC0-U41 Q & A / Study Guide

2012-01-23T04:53:00.001-08:00

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QUESTION 1
Which of the following statements about a riser card is true?

A. It is used to connect a computer in a network.
B. It is used to connect extra microprocessors.
C. It provides extra memory for expansion cards.
D. It is used to extend slots for expansion cards.

Answer: D

Explanation:
Riser card is a circuit board that is used to extend slots for expansion cards and provides the
ability to connect additional expansion cards to the computer. These cards are used with LPX
motherboards. With the introduction of ATX motherboards, riser cards are rarely used. In ATX
motherboards, the expansion cards connect directly to the computer motherboard instead of using
riser cards.
What is LPX?
LPX is a motherboard form or that is used in some desktop computers. In LPX motherboards,
expansion cards are inserted into a riser card that contains several slots. Unlike other common
form ors such as AT and ATX, the expansion cards in LPX are not vertical, but parallel to the
motherboard.
The LPX form or is designed for smaller cases, and usually it is used for connecting two or three
expansion cards.

QUESTION 2
Which of the following devices is used for accessing the data on Secure Digital (SD) card, MMC
card, and CompactFlash (CF)?

A. E-book reader
B. Memory card reader
C. Smart card reader
D. Barcode reader

Answer: B

Explanation:
A memory card reader is a device, typically having a USB interface, for accessing the data on a
memory card such as a CompactFlash (CF),
Secure Digital (SD) or MultiMediaCard (MMC).
Answer option C is incorrect. Smart card readers are used to read smart cards. It is used as a
communications medium between the smart card and a host.
Answer option D is incorrect. A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is an electronic device for
reading printed barcodes.
Answer option A is incorrect. There is no such device as e-book reader.

QUESTION 3
Which of the following can be used to accomplish authentication?
Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose all that apply.

A. Biometrics
B. Encryption
C. Password
D. Token

Answer: A,C,D

Explanation:
The following can be used to accomplish authentication.
1. Password
2. Biometrics
3. Token
A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove
identity, or gain access to a resource.
What is authentication?
Authentication is a process of verifying the identity of a person, network host, or system process.
The authentication process compares the provided credentials with the credentials stored in the
database of an authentication server.
What is biometrics?
Biometrics is a method of authentication that uses physical characteristics, such as fingerprints,
scars, retinal patterns, and other forms of biophysical qualities to identify a user. Nowadays, the
usage of biometric devices such as hand scanners and retinal scanners is becoming more
common in the business environment. A token may be a physical device or software token that an
authorized user of computer services is given to ease authentication.
Answer option B is incorrect. Encryption can be used to accomplish security and not
authentication.

QUESTION 4
Which of the following devices can cause great harm to one's life with lethal electric shocks?
Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose two.

A. SMPS
B. Floppy drive
C. Monitor
D. Keyboard.

Answer: A,C

Explanation:
A computer monitor and SMPS are at high voltage. Therefore, these devices can be fatal. They
usually have large amount of electric charge stored in capacitors for days after they have been
unplugged from power source.
What is SMPS?
Switch Mode Power Supply (SMPS) is a device that converts raw input power to controlled voltage
and current for the operation of electronic equipment. SMPS uses switches for high efficiency.
Answer options D and B are incorrect. Keyboards and floppy drives do not store electric charge.
Therefore, they cannot cause lethal electric shocks.

QUESTION 5
Which of the following ports on a computer are used to connect a keyboard?
Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose two.

A. USB
B. DB-25
C. PS/2
D. DB-9

Answer: A,C

Explanation:
The PS/2 and USB ports on a computer are used to connect a keyboard.
What is USB?
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a high speed bus standard developed by Compaq, IBM, DEC, Intel,
Microsoft, NEC, and Northern Telecom. It provides the Plug and Play capability of Windows to
external hardware devices. USB supports hot plugging, which means that a USB device can be
installed or removed while the computer is running. A single USB port can be used to connect up to
127 peripheral devices, such as CD-ROM drives, tape drives, keyboards, scanners etc. USB 1.1
has a maximum data transfer rate of 12 Mbps, whereas USB 2.0 has a maximum data transfer
rate of 480 Mbps. USB 2.0 is fully backward compatible with USB 1.1.
Answer options D and B are incorrect. The DB-9 and DB-25 port types on the computer are used
as serial ports. A DB-9 male type port has 9 pins, whereas a DB-25 male type port has 25 pins.
What is a serial port?
Serial port is the primary means for connecting modems and mouse to a computer. There are two
types of serial port connectors, 9-pin and 25-pin. The word serial refers to the data is sent in
series, one bit at a time, over a single wire. This design is significantly slower than sending 8 bits
at a time via a parallel channel, but serial signals can travel much farther without degradation.

QUESTION 6
Which of the following features are related to power management?
Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose two.

A. Hot plugging
B. Hibernate mode
C. Standby mode
D. Safe mode

Answer: B,C

Explanation:
The Hibernate mode and Standby mode are features related to power management.
Hibernate mode is a power saving feature for computers. In hibernate mode, the current state of a
computer is saved to the hard disk, and the computer shuts down. A user will have to power on
the computer to restore the previous settings. When a computer resumes from hibernate mode, it
reads the saved settings from the disk and restores the system state as it was before it entered
hibernate mode. By default, hibernate mode is disabled. If a computer is not ACPI-enabled or
APM-enabled, users will have to enter hibernate mode manually. Users cannot set the computer
to automatically hibernate after a certain time. With ACPI-enabled and APM-enabled computers,
users are able to set hibernate mode automatically.
The standby mode is a power saving feature for computers. In this mode, a computer does not
shut down completely. The computer goes to low power state and, as a result, it consumes less
power.
When the computer resumes from the standby mode, full power is restored to its devices. During
the standby mode, if the power supply is disconnected or interrupted, data might be lost. The
standby mode is available automatically on ACPI-enabled or APM-enabled computers. Users do
not need to enable this mode manually. This mode is not available in non-ACPI and non-APM
based computers.
Answer option A is incorrect. Hot plugging is a feature in which a device can be installed or
removed while the computer is running.
Answer option D is incorrect. Safe Mode is a Windows feature used to start a computer with basic
drivers, such as mouse, keyboard, etc. It bypasses blocking issues, such as system corruption, or
installation of incompatible drivers or system services, enabling the Administrator to resolve such
issues.

QUESTION 7
Which of the following are types of LCD monitors?
Each correct answer represents a complete solution. Choose two.

A. SVGA
B. Active Matrix
C. Passive Matrix
D. X-Matrix

Answer: B,C

Explanation:
Two types of LCDs are available.
Active matrix
Passive matrix
Active matrix LCDs uses individual transistors to control each pixel on the screen. This type of
LCD consumes more power but provides sharper images than the passive matrix LCD. Passive
matrix Passive matrix screens do not refresh quickly to rapid changes. The passive matrix screen
displays weak colors. LCDs consume less power and are cheaper than Active matrix LCDs.
Answer option A is incorrect. SVGA is a type of CRT monitor used with the Desktop computers,
and not the LCD monitor.
Answer option D is incorrect. There is no LCD display type such as X-Matrix.

QUESTION 8
Which of the following transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel digital audio?

A. DVI
B. S-Video
C. SVGA
D. HDMI

Answer: D

Explanation:
HDMI stands for High-Definition Multimedia Interface. It is a standard, uncompressed, and alldigital
audio/video interface. HDMI is capable of delivering the highest quality digital video and
multichannel digital audio on a single cable. It provides an interface between any audio/video
sources, such as a DVD player or a computer and a digital television (DTV) or video monitor.
HDMI transmits all ATSC HDTV standards and supports 8-channel digital audio, with extra
bandwidth to accommodate future enhancements. HDMI has two types of connectors. Type A and
Type B. Type A and Type B connectors use 19 pins and 29 pins, respectively. The Type B
connector is designed for very high-resolution displays that are expected in near future.
Answer option B is incorrect. S-Video, also known as Y/C video, stands for Super-Video. It is a
technology for video transmission. Using this technology, the video is transmitted into two
separate signals. One is used for color, and the other for brightness. Sometimes S-Video signals
are considered as a type of component video signal. However, its quality is inferior to other
complex component video schemes such as RGB. This technology produces sharper images than
those produced by composite video, which carries the entire set of signals in a single line. For
using SVideo, the device sending the signal must support S-Video output and the device receiving
the signal needs to have an S-Video input jack.
Answer option A is incorrect. DVI stands for Digital Visual Interface. It is a standard for high speed,
high resolution digital display invented by
Digital Display Working Group (DDWG). DVI accommodates analog and digital interfaces with a
single connector. New video cards have DVI as well as VGA ports built into them. Most of LCD
monitors come with a 15-pin VGA connection cable, even if they are capable of handling digital
signals coming from DVI connections. However, some monitors come with both types of cables.
DVI has three main categories of connectors. They are. DVI-A, DVI-D, and DVI-I. DVI-A is an
analog-only connector, DVI-D is a digital-only connector, and DVI-I is an analog/digital connector.
DVI-D and DVI-I connectors are of two types. single link and dual link. DVI supports UXGA and
HDTV with a single set of links.
Higher resolutions such as 1920 x 1080, 2048 x 1536, or more can be supported with dual links.
Answer option C is incorrect. A VGA or SVGA connector is a 15-pin, three rows, female connector,
on the back of a PC used for connecting monitors. Reference. "http.//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-
Definition_Multimedia_Interface"

QUESTION 9
You are handling IT support for a sales company. One of the sales representatives complains that
his laptop does not have a network card. You wish to add one via an expansion slot. What type of
expansion card should you use?

A. MCA
B. PCMCIA
C. PCI
D. AGP

Answer: B

Explanation:
PCMCIA is a widely used expansion card slot for laptops.
What is PCMCIA card? Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA)
card is also known as PC card.
The PC card uses a small expansion slot and is primarily used in laptops. However, PC cards are
also available in some of the desktop computers. There are three types of PCMCIA cards.
1.Type I
2.Type II
3.Type III
Answer option C is incorrect. PCI slots are used in PC's, not laptops.
Answer option D is incorrect. AGP is a legacy graphics slot for PC's.
What is AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port)?
AGP is a high speed 32-bit bus designed for high performance graphics and video support. It
allows a video card to have direct access to a computer's RAM, which enables fast video
performance. AGP provides a bandwidth of up to 2,133 MB/second.
Answer option A is incorrect. MCA is a legacy PC slot.
Reference. http.//www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-expansion-card.htm

QUESTION 10
Which of the following terms refers to an anti-virus software file that is updated from time to time to
protect a computer from new viruses?

A. Definition
B. Modules
C. Service pack
D. Hotfix

Answer: A

Explanation:
Definition is an anti-virus software file that should be updated at regular intervals to protect a
computer from new viruses. This file is also known as virus definition file. The virus definition file
contains information about the latest viruses, which helps identify new viruses and protect
computers from them.
Answer option D is incorrect. Hotfix is a collection of files used by Microsoft for software updates
that are released between major service pack releases. A hotfix is about a problem, occurring
under specific circumstances, which cannot wait to be fixed till the next service pack release.
Hotfixes are generally related to security problems. Hence, it is essential to fix these problems as
soon as possible.
Answer option C is incorrect. A service pack is a collection of Fixes and Patches in a single
product. A service pack can be used to handle a large number of viruses and bugs or to update an
operating system with advanced and better capabilities. A service pack usually contains a number
of file replacements.
Answer option B is incorrect. This term does not refer to any anti-virus software file. Reference.
"http.//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus"

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2012-01-23T04:53:00.000-08:00

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Mozilla touts Firefox impact in SOPA blackout

2012-01-22T14:53:00.000-08:00

Mozilla yesterday extolled the impact of its 12-hour participation in Wednesday's anti-SOPA strike, saying Firefox users and fans generated over a third-of-a-million emails to the U.S. Congress.

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Two days ago, Mozilla blackened Firefox's default home page and redirected its websites to an "action page" asking users to contact their federal representatives and voice their opposition to "Internet blacklist legislation."

Mozilla joined other websites, including Craigslist, Google and Wikipedia, in a one-day "virtual strike" to drum up resistance to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA), bills being considered by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively.

Since Wednesday's blackout, Washington politicians have backpedaled on the legislation. Today, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) postponed next week's vote on PIPA, while Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said the committee was also postponing action "until there is wider agreement on a solution."

According to Mozilla, Firefox users were instrumental in getting the message to Congress.

"Ultimately, 360,000 emails were sent by Mozillians to members of Congress, contributing a third of all the emails generated by EFF's campaign site," said Mozilla in a blog post Thursday.

Both the revised Firefox home page and the special action page offered users a button that led them to a page hosted by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), a San Francisco-based Internet rights advocacy group. The EFF page provided a way for visitors to quickly email their House and Senate representatives.

More than half of the people who reached the EFF page from Firefox or Mozilla's websites fired off emails to Congress.

In a separate statement today, the EFF said it had helped users send about 1 million emails.

Mozilla also said approximately 30 million people in the U.S. saw the darkened Firefox home page in their browser, and that 1.8 million visited the open-source organization's own SOPA information and action page.

Mozilla's contribution to the anti-SOPA drive was small potatoes compared to Google's: The search giant, which reportedly signed a deal with Mozilla that guarantees the latter $300 millionannually for sticking with Google on the Firefox home page, collected over 7 million signatures Wednesday on its own online petition.

Avaya SMB collaboration platform gets robust new mobile client

2012-01-19T21:25:00.000-08:00

Android and Apple iPhone devices will get a richer conferencing and unified communications experience with Avaya IP Office 8.0.

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The latest version of Avaya’s unified communications platform for small and midsize businesses boasts two major changes: a robust mobile application and the ability to integrate communications features into certain key business applications.

The mobile component of Avaya IP Office 8.0 is called one-X Mobile Preferred for IP Office. Initially available for Android devices (Apple iPhone is coming soon), the application allows users to manage who is on a conference call — allowing them to invite, view, mute or drop participants. The mobile application is recognized by the IP Office presence application, so that people can tell when you are available or shouldn’t be disturbed. There also is a “geopresence” feature that broadcasts where someone is located. (Part of me can see the usefulness of this feature, but it also smacks a little bit of employee babysitting.)

one-X Mobile Preferred is an extension of Avaya’s Essential Mobility technology.

The other major enhancement to Avaya’s latest SMB unified communications platform update comes in the form of new plug-ins to widely used business productivity applications. For example, small businesses can use the Avaya platform to make or receive a call from within a Salesforce.com page; they can also go to a single location to view Google Talk and IP Office contact lists.

Opinion: How Apple has changed enterprise computing, forever

2012-01-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

Led by the fast-emerging BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) trend, Apple [AAPL] is crunching into the enterprise market, creating a growing market share with the Trojan Horse of its mobile devices and a fast-growing interest in its Macs.

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We need promises that deliver

With Windows 8 the latest Microsoft promise to woo the corporate markets, this is a time of decision. Many enterprise-class tech purchasers are looking at whether it's worth upgrading to the next MSFT OS on strength of the firm's mobile-meets-PC promise, or whether to take on any of the two main alternatives for this dream you see around today: Apple or Android.

Despite my reservations concerning Google's moral prerogative when it comes to the way it created Android (I'm an Apple Holic and do feel the feeling of betrayal between Apple and Google has some good reasons to run deep) it must be said that in conjunction with iOS and OS X, these two big firms have freed the enterprise world from the rubber-clad silvery handcuffs of the Microsoft-based hegemony. And the latter firm's CEO, Steve Ballmer, has been unable to crack the whip to preserve the firm's control of the corporate world.

Evidence-based dreaming

This isn't just a pipe dream. Think on this:

-- A UK YouGov survey recently claimed iPad usage in business has doubled in the last year.
-- An Aberdeen Group survey points out that 96 percent of businesses have at least one iPad in use.
-- SAP now has at least 3,300 corporate--owned iPhones and over 11,000 iPads -- a move which has reduced tech spend by a significant amount.

That's just Apple's ecosystem. Google still has work to do to deliver a truly credible alternative to Cupertino's lead -- there's over 500 samples of Android OS malware in the market, with Websense predicting this will rise to "thousands" this year. What does that mean?

It means that at this stage, faced with a choice between re-investment in Windows 8 and the subsequent investment in PC upgrade for machines capable of running that OS, or a move to the credible and secure Apple ecosystem, tech buyers face a truly credible choice for the first time in years.

I said, evidence-based

And this is happening. Recent Gartner and IDC figures show a huge slump in the PC market worldwide -- but also reveals that Mac sales continue to climb, delivering Apple a PC marketshare in excess of 10 percent for the first time in years. I can still recall a time when critics, trolls and naysayers said this would never happen. A note to them: it did.

So what's next? I'm not arguing Apple will ever take over the enterprise, but it must be true to say that true security comes from not being 100 percent dependent on any one OS or computing platform. It makes the chosen platform too attractive to malware-makers: check out the domestic users with broken, virus-laden PCs they can't afford to fix as evidence of this.

The future of enterprise tech will not be Microsoft's. Instead the future will consist of heterogeneous collections of mixed-platforms. This will benefit everyone. Business will gain a more stable work environment. Consumers will benefit from their data shared with and within enterprises being safer than before -- at least, they will in the event enterprise users get it together to make the right decisions to ensure rock-solid security across all platforms.

Make good decisions, please

Virtual Private Networks; App installation policies; usage agreements for private devices on corporate networks; malware protection; fast software upgrades and switched-on, flexible disaster management policies will be among the topics which will matter deeply to business IT planners.

The danger is that in the event the wrong choices are made, then the promise of a global, heterogeneous and secure computing environment could be undermined.

Assuming these questions are resolved, then it's clearly arguable to say that, since 1997, Apple has ably fought back, disrupting not just the MP3 player, digital music, mobile and tablet markets, but also the enterprise sector.

Smart education

Intelligence led its decisions. Rather than compete directly, brandishing its cutlass of platform superiority, Apple achieved this PC tech revolution not through a frontal attack on Microsoft's hegemony, but through a focus on delivering the best devices out there, buoyed by the massive success of the iPad, iPhone and iPod.

Career Paths For A CompTIA A+ Certified Technician

2012-01-16T06:46:00.000-08:00

The world is your oyster. Where you decide to take your career after this is entirely up to you. There are some things to consider depending on your geographic location. If you happen to live in or near the larger populated cities, competition for entry-level technical positions can be fierce. More and more IT graduates enter the workforce each day. By obtaining your A+ certification you can have a substantial advantage over your competition in the career world, as well as having a good foundation for adding more certifications too.

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Computer repair and technical support can however be quite lucrative. Here are some of the common fields that your A+ cert can make you a part of:

Field service technicians
Help Desk and Customer Service
PC technicians
Computer Manufacturing (DELL, HP, IBM etc.,)

However the opportunities for advacement and alternate fields are virtually endless. Here are some areas where specialized training and skills are in large demand:

Computer Forensics
(Due to an increase in computer related crimes such as identity theft etc., lead to a greater need for people to analyze data without corruption.)
Disaster prevention and recovery
(Oh-No!, I forgot to back-up my files. Now what do I do?)
Personalized Training
(Teach corporate and home users how to use software applications, prevent data loss and identity theft.)
LSDBMS and VLSDBMS
(Large Scale Database Management Systems and Very Large Scale Database Management Systems) otherwise know as terabyte data warehousing.

Other Career Paths:
Once you have gone through the IT industry right of passage, the CompTIA A+ certification. Your career path can go in any direction you decide to take it. Let's take a look at some different paths to follow.

The Hardware Path:
You can go from simple computer repair to manufacturing high-end workstations and servers.

The Technician Path:
The next step is taking the Net+ Exam and installing network cabling, supporting corporate end users and managing the corporate desktop.

Administration:
Network support, configuring routers and managing user accounts on the corporate servers.
(This is also the well known Nework+/ MCSE/NOVEL CNA/Cisco CCNA track)

Development:
Design and manage the companies web presence and intranet.
(.NET, ASP, MsSQL, PHP, MySQL, Oracle, ColdFusion)

As you can see from just this small list the possibilities are astounding. This is only a small percentage of the technologies and career paths for you to choose from. The table below lists various other certifications that you can combine with A+ to take your career in a new direction.
Hardware:

Server+
Manufacturing

Technician:

Net+
MCDST
MCP/MCSA (Microsoft Track)

Administration:

Network+
CCNA/CCNP (Cisco Track)
CNA/CNE (Novell Track)
RedHat (Linux Track)
MCSE (Highest level Microsoft Track)

Development:

.NET (dot net, web development)
MCDBA (Microsoft Database Track)
PHP/MySQL (Open-source Track)

Information technology is an ever changing arena. And while you may have decided on a specific career path, the benefits of the CompTIA A+ certification will remain a solid foundation for you to build on.

What To Prepare For The MCSE Examination of IT individuals worldwide

2012-01-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

The Microsoft Certified Programs Engineer or MCSE examination offers all professionals within the data expertise field that rare opportunity to be the very best in what they do. Microsoft puts premium in the talents of individuals who are eager in making a distinction in information systems. The company itself comes up with a web-based and classroom-primarily based instruction learning middle to boost and improve the technical skills of IT individuals worldwide. The expertise of a MCSE focuses on handling Home windows Server 2003 systems edition. Work tasks include the implementation of network protocols using particular Microsoft software. The implementation process tackles community procedures involving the installation, the designing and the configuration of the systems. As well as, a mcse exam professional should also be capable of exercise bother taking pictures duties within the networking environment.

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The Microsoft Firm has launched its online data programs with the intention to assist IT professionals across the globe to manage up with new and upgraded technical and pc-primarily based networks. A full entry to the information about community programs is available. Producing a proficient methods engineer is important to the global operation of Microsoft. However, to qualify for the MCSE exam, it can be crucial that an individual has a major exposure in networking environment. Without the appliance experience, an IT particular person will find it difficult to understand the ideas pertaining to network processing. A relevant employment length is certainly important to ensure that an individual to know the ideas of methods application.

The preparation resulting in the actual MCSE exam is vital to every IT skilled who needs to be on top of their discipline when the outcomes come out. As a result of tough means of getting a passing mark, the availability of reference supplies about networking techniques is numerous. Nonetheless, examiners should strategy all practice methods with caution. Not all materials are useful or beneficial to the individual. There are knowledge which includes the mandatory solutions for network problems however such info may be thought of insignificant. It must be famous that the software used throughout the examination is principally related to the Home windows Server 2003 version. Matters that do not comply or match with the server is kind of useless. For an MCSE to be prime level materials, getting that certification means everything.

Making ready for the mcsa exams takes more than just information to get through. The practical check concerned throughout the examination will be a activity reserved for technical familiarity regarding the community environment. So as to focus solely on relevant sources of information about the check, it's advised that review supplies to be utilized should bear the Microsoft Licensed Practice Take a look at Provider logo. The contents of these preparation instruments will guide the examinees in the direction of gaining enough knowledge and skills to hurdle the examination. Regardless of the accessible reference products from Microsoft, various sources about community systems open their doorways to many at a worth which tempting for most people to consider. The prices of these so-referred to as references are cheaper in comparison with the software from Microsoft. Precaution in opposition to useless contents of these products have to be applied. It's most well-liked that demo tests have to be checked prior to purchasing practice examination items. The MCSE examination is supported by authorized teams that provides software program helpful throughout the preparation. Consultations amongst examinees should also be accomplished as a way to share helpful information. Furthermore, a Microsoft simulation examination software is available to help the IT professionals get a really feel of the actual test.

220-702 Study Guide

2012-01-07T01:48:00.000-08:00

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C H A P T E R S E V E N

Hardware

The first domain for the 220-702 exam is hardware, which is a continuation of the hardware domain in the 220-701 exam. Different from the hardware domain in the 220-701 exam, the 220-702 exam focuses on installing, configuring, and troubleshooting the hardware components of the PC. Out of the four domains for the 220-702 exam, the hardware domain is the largest and takes up 38%.

The given objectives for this domain of the 220-702 exam are as follows:

. 1.1—Given a scenario, install, configure, and maintain personal computer components

. 1.2—Given a scenario, detect problems, troubleshoot, and repair/replace personal computer components

. 1.3—Given a scenario, install, configure, detect problems, troubleshoot, and repair/replace laptop components

. 1.4—Given a scenario, select and use the following tools

. 1.5—Given a scenario, detect and resolve common printer issues

1.1 Given a scenario, install, configure, and maintain personal computer components

. Storage devices

. HDD

. SATA

. PATA

. Solid state

. FDD

. Optical drives

. CD/DVD/RW/Blu-ray

. Removable

. External

. Motherboards

. Jumper settings

. CMOS battery

. Advanced BIOS settings

. Bus speeds

. Chipsets

242 Chapter 7

. Firmware updates

. Socket types

. Expansion slots

. Memory slots

. Front panel connectors

. I/O ports

. Sound, video, USB 1.1, USB 2.0, serial, IEEE 1394/Firewire, parallel, NIC, modem, PS/2

. Power supplies

. Wattages and capacity

. Connector types and quantity

. Output voltage

. Processors

. Socket types

. Speed

. Number of cores

. Power consumption

. Cache

. Front-side bus

. 32-bit vs. 64-bit

. Memory

. Adapter cards

. Graphics cards

. Sound cards

. Storage controllers

. RAID cards (RAID array—levels 0, 1, 5)

. eSATA cards

. I/O cards

. Firewire

. USB

. Parallel

. Serial

. Wired and wireless network cards

. Capture cards (TV, video)

. Media reader

. Cooling systems

. Heat sinks

. Thermal compound

. CPU fans

. Case fans

1. Which of the following determines the master or slave in a system that supports two IDE devices?

❍ A. A twist in the cable

❍ B. Which device was installed first

❍ C. The jumper settings

❍ D. The BIOS

❍ E. Which drive is connected at the end and which drive is connected in the middle

2. You just installed a second new IDE hard drive in a computer system.

However, the system does not recognize the new hard drive.

What should be the first thing you check?

❍ A. The BIOS

❍ B. The cabling

❍ C. The jumper settings

❍ D. The drive

3. You have been asked to install a SATA hard drive in a computer that already has a PATA HDD and CD-ROM drive installed. Which cable should you connect the new drive to?

❍ A. The secondary signal cable

❍ B. The primary signal cable

❍ C. The 15-pin SATA signal cable

❍ D. The 7-pin SATA signal cable

4. While installing an IDE device, you find that the cable to connect the IDE device is not keyed. Which of the following should you do? (Select all that apply.)

❍ A. Locate the red stripe on the cable, and connect to the device with the red stripe lining up to pin #1.

❍ B. Attach the cable any way that fits.

❍ C. If there is no red stripe, locate the blue stripe on the cable and connect to the device with the blue stripe lining up to pin #1.

❍ D. Purchase a new cable.

5. When installing an IDE CD-ROM drive on a computer with a single IDE hard drive on the primary chain already configured as master, which of the following would be the best configuration for the CDROM drive?

❍ A. Master on the secondary IDE controller

❍ B. Slave on the primary IDE controller

❍ C. Master on the primary IDE controller

❍ D. Slave on the secondary IDE controller

6. What is the maximum number of IDE devices that can be installed in an ATX computer?

❍ A. 1

❍ B. 2

❍ C. 3

❍ D. 4

7. Which of the following are legitimate PATA drive configuration options? (Select all that apply.)

❍ A. Master

❍ B. Cable select

❍ C. ID source

❍ D. Slave

8. Which option must be enabled in the CMOS setup to support large hard drive sizes and allow the IDE controller to convert the sector/ head/cylinder addresses into a physical block address that improves data throughput?

❍ A. Type 1

❍ B. Fast-throughput

❍ C. LBA

❍ D. ECHS

9. When installing a SATA hard drive, how many connectors or cables do you have to install?

❍ A. 1

❍ B. 2

❍ C. 3

❍ D. 4

10. How many serial ATA drives can you connect to a single data cable?

❍ A. 1

❍ B. 2

❍ C. 3

❍ D. 4

11. Which of the following is the SCSI ID number generally recommended or the CD-ROM?

❍ A. ID 0

❍ B. ID 5

❍ C. ID 2

❍ D. ID 3

12. How do you configure several SCSI drives connected to a single SCSI chain?

❍ A. All the hard drives are terminated and have consecutive IDs of 0, 1, and 2.

❍ B. The chain is terminated and all hard disks have the same ID.

❍ C. Both ends of the chain are terminated and each hard drive has a unique ID.

❍ D. The host adapter is terminated and has a unique ID.

13. Which type of hard drive is based on a daisy chain?

❍ A. Parallel ATA

❍ B. Serial ATA

❍ C. SCSI

❍ D. eSATA

14. Which of the following is a task that you have to perform when installing SCSI devices?

❍ A. Set the jumpers for master/slave

❍ B. Perform a low-level format on the SCSI drive

❍ C. Assign each SCSI device a unique ID number

❍ D. Set the drive type in the CMOS setup

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Google acquires 200 more patents from IBM

2012-01-06T06:54:00.000-08:00

Google has acquired over 200 more patents from IBM, adding to the 1,000 patents it bought from the technology giant last summer.

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Google is ramping up its efforts to bolster its patent position, as it acquires 217 patents from technology giant IBM.

The patents range from server infrastructure technologies to mobile phones, databases and even self-driving cars; something the search giant has been venturing into in recent months.

Google acquired 187 patents and 36 patent-pending applications, adding to the 1,000 it bought off IBM in the summer. From the $12.5 billion Motorola Mobility purchase, the search giant will take 17,000 patents and over 7,000 patents-pending.

But it failed in its bid to acquire a crucial platter of 6,000 patents from bankrupt telecoms giant Nortel.

According to sister site ZDNet UK, the new IBM patents cover areas “pertinent to Android”, such as NFC-enabling technologies and availability policies on virtual machines.

The company continues to spend billions on its technology portfolio in efforts to fight off competitive action from its rivals.

In August, Google accused Apple and Microsoft amongst others of conspiring to attack its Android mobile operating system, saying they were waging a “hostile, organised campaign” of “bogus” patents to make Android more expensive.

Google’s acquisition plans of Motorola Mobility hit a roadblock late last year as European regulators suspended the review. While Google is “confident” that the proposed merger is good for competition, the European antitrust authority seeks the access of further documentation.

The patents alone are worth a goldmine to Google, rather than ‘what’ it can do with the smartphone maker.

Google is also embroiled in a legal spat with Oracle that is expected to go to trial later this year. It is alleged that Android technologies relating to Java infringe Oracle’s patents.

As Android remains in the limelight of global patent turf wars, Google continues the battle with its rivals and competitors in court.

It’s wake-up time for Google, as the company realises that it is late to the game. By bolstering its patent portfolio, it can not only have itself a nest egg for licenses but an additional layer of protection for its valuable mobile operating system from future attacks.

220-701 – 220-702 Study Guide

2012-01-02T04:45:00.000-08:00

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Contents at a Glance
Introduction 1
Part I A+ Essentials 220-701
CHAPTER 1 Hardware 3
CHAPTER 2 Troubleshooting, Repair, and Maintenance 57
CHAPTER 3 Operating System and Software 95
CHAPTER 4 Networking 147
CHAPTER 5 Security 185
CHAPTER 6 Operational Procedure 211
Part II A+ 220-702
CHAPTER 7 Hardware 241
CHAPTER 8 Operating Systems 285
CHAPTER 9 Networking 339
CHAPTER 10 Security 375

Table of Contents
Introduction. ......................................................................................................................... 1
Part I A+ Essentials 220-701
Chapter 1:
Hardware. .............................................................................................................................. 3
1.1 Categorize storage devices and backup media . ...................................... 3
1.2 Explain motherboard components, types, and features. ...................... 6
1.3 Classify power supplies types and characteristics. ............................... 16
1.4 Explain the purpose and characteristics of CPUs and their features.
................................................................................................................................. 18
1.5 Explain cooling methods and devices . ................................................... 21
1.6 Compare and contrast memory types, characteristics, and their
purpose. ................................................................................................................. 22
1.7 Distinguish between the different display devices and their characteristics
. ................................................................................................................ 25
1.8 Install and configure peripherals and input devices. ........................... 27
1.9 Summarize the function and types of adapter cards . ......................... 29
1.10 Install, configure, and optimize laptop components and features.
................................................................................................................................. 32
1.11 Install and configure printers . ................................................................ 35
Quick-Check Answer Key . ................................................................................ 40
Answers and Explanations . ............................................................................. 41
Chapter 2:
Troubleshooting, Repair, and Maintenance . .............................................................. 57
2.1 Given a scenario, explain the troubleshooting theory. ...................... 57
2.2 Given a scenario, explain and interpret common hardware and operating
system symptoms and their causes . ................................................... 60
2.3 Given a scenario, determine the troubleshooting methods and tools
for printers. .......................................................................................................... 64
2.4 Given a scenario, explain and interpret common laptop issues and
determine the appropriate basic troubleshooting method . .................. 67
2.5 Given a scenario, integrate common preventative maintenance techniques
. .................................................................................................................. 71
Quick-Check Answer Key . ................................................................................ 81
Answers and Explanations . ............................................................................. 82
Chapter 3:
Operating System and Software . .................................................................................. 95
3.1 Compare and contrast the different Windows Operating
Systems and their features. ............................................................................. 95
3.2 Given a scenario, demonstrate proper use of user interfaces . ....... 107
3.3 Explain the process and steps to install and configure the
Windows OS. ................................................................................................... 113
3.4 Explain the basics of boot sequences, methods, and startup
utilities . .............................................................................................................. 123
Quick-Check Answer Key . ............................................................................. 127
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 129
Chapter 4:
Networking . ..................................................................................................................... 147
4.1 Summarize the basics of networking fundamentals, including technologies,
devices, and protocols . .................................................................... 147
4.2 Categorize network cables and connectors and their implementations
. ................................................................................................................... 159
4.3 Compare and contrast the different network types . ......................... 164
Quick-Check Answer Key . ............................................................................. 169
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 170
Chapter 5:
Security . ............................................................................................................................ 185
5.1 Explain the basic principles of security concepts and
echnologies . ...................................................................................................... 185
5.2 Summarize the following security features . ........................................ 193
Quick-Check Answer Key . ............................................................................. 199
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 200
Chapter 6:
Operational Procedure . ................................................................................................. 211
6.1 Outline the purpose of appropriate safety and environmental
procedures and, given a scenario, apply them . ...................................... 211
6.2 Given a scenario, demonstrate the appropriate use of communication
skills and professionalism in the workplace . .................................. 221
Quick-Check Answer Key . ............................................................................. 229
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 230
Part II A+ 220-702
Chapter 7:
Hardware. ......................................................................................................................... 241
1.1 Given a scenario, install, configure, and maintain personal computer
components . ..................................................................................................... 241
1.2 Given a scenario, detect problems, troubleshoot, and repair/replace
personal computer components . ............................................................... 252
1.3 Given a scenario, install, configure, detect problems, troubleshoot,
and repair/replace laptop components . ................................................... 260
1.4 Given a scenario, select and use the following tools . ...................... 261
1.5 Given a scenario, detect and resolve common printer issues . ....... 263
Quick-Check Answer Key . .............................................................................. 270
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 271
Chapter 8:
Operating Systems . ........................................................................................................ 285
2.1 Select the appropriate commands and options to troubleshoot
and resolve problems . .................................................................................... 285
2.2 Differentiate between Windows Operating System directory structures
(Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Windows 7) . .............................. 296
2.3 Given a scenario, select and use system utilities/tools and
evaluate the results . ........................................................................................ 299
2.4 Evaluate and resolve common issues . ................................................... 310
Quick-Check Answer Key . ............................................................................. 319
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 321

Chapter 9:
Networking . ..................................................................................................................... 339
3.1 Troubleshoot client-side connectivity issues using appropriate
tools . ................................................................................................................... 339
3.2 Install and configure a small office home office (SOHO)
network . ............................................................................................................ 352
Quick-Check Answer Key . ............................................................................. 361
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 362
Chapter 10:
Security . ............................................................................................................................ 375
4.1 Given a scenario, prevent, troubleshoot, and remove viruses
and malware . ................................................................................................... 375
4.2 Implement security and troubleshoot common issues . .................. 379
Quick-Check Answer Key . .............................................................................. 395
Answers and Explanations . ........................................................................... 396

==================================================================
Introduction
Welcome to CompTIA A+ Practice Questions Exam Cram. The sole purpose of
this book is to provide you with practice questions that are complete with
answers and explanations to help you learn, drill, and review for the CompTIA
A+ certification exam. The book offers many questions that will help you practice
each exam objective and will help you assess your knowledge before you
write the real exam. The detailed answers to every question will help you reinforce
your knowledge about different issues involving the concepts associated
with the updated A+ exam (2009 Edition), which also includes topics on
Windows 7 and IPv6.
Who This Book Is For
If you have studied the content for both the 220-701 and 220-702 exam and feel
you are ready to put your knowledge to the test, but you are not sure that you
want to take the real exam yet, this book is for you! If you have answered other
practice questions or unsuccessfully taken the real exam, and want to do more
practice questions before going to take the real exam, this book is for you, too!
Even when the exam is done and you have passed with flying colors and have the
A+ certificate in your pocket, keep the book handy on your desktop to look for
answers to your everyday security issues.
What You Will Find in This Book
This book is all about practice questions! The practice questions in the book,
some very easy and others with a little complicated problem scenario, all are
intended to raise your confidence level before you take the real exam. You will
find questions that you will face in real life.
This book is organized according to the objectives published by CompTIA for
the 220-701: CompTIA A+ Essentials and 220-702: CompTIA A+ (2009
Edition) exams. Each chapter corresponds to an exam objective, and in every
chapter, you will find the following three elements:
. Practice Questions: These are the numerous questions that will help
you learn, drill, and review exam objectives. All of the questions in this
section are multiple-choice type. Choose the correct answer based on
your knowledge of security.
. Quick-Check Answer Key: After you have finished answering the questions,
you can quickly grade your exam from this section. Only correct

CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-701 Practice Questions Exam Cram
answers are given in this section. No explanations are offered yet! Even if
you have answered a question incorrectly, do not be discouraged. Just
move on! Keep in mind that this is not the real exam. You can always
review the topic and do the questions again.
. Answers and Explanations: This section provides you with correct
answers as well as further explanations about the content posed in that
question. Use this information to learn why an answer is correct and to
reinforce the content in your mind for the exam day.
Note
It is not possible to reflect a real exam on a paper product. As mentioned earlier, the purpose
of the book is to help you prepare for the exam and not provide you with real exam
questions. Neither the author nor the publisher can guarantee that you will pass the exam
only by memorizing the practice questions given in this book.

Hints for Using This Book
Because this book is a paper practice product, you might want to complete your
exams on a separate piece of paper so that you can reuse the practice questions
again and again without having previous answers in your way. Also, a general
rule of thumb across all practice questions products is to make sure that you are
scoring in the high 80% to 90% range for all topics before attempting the real
exam. The higher percentages you score on practice question products, the better
your chances for passing the real exam. Of course, we cannot guarantee a
passing score on the real exam, but we can offer you plenty of opportunities to
practice and assess your knowledge level before you enter the real exam.
When you have completed the exam on paper, use the companion CD to take a
timed exam. This will further help you gain confidence and make a self-assessment
in case you need more study. Your results will indicate the exam objectives
in which you need further study or hands-on practice.
Need Further Study?
Are you having a hard time correctly answering these questions? If so, you probably
need further review of all exam objectives. Be sure to see the following sister
products to this book:
CompTIA A+ Exam Cram, Fifth Edition by David L. Prowse, (ISBN:
9780789747921)
CompTIA A+ Cert Flash Cards Online (220-701, 220-702), Retail Packaged Version,
Third Edition, by Scott Honeycutt (ISBN: 9780132674553)

1 C H A P T E R O N E
Hardware
The first domain for the A+ Essentials (220-701) exam is hardware, which
focuses on teaching you to identify components and to demonstrate a basic
knowledge of hardware technology. This domain is essential because it gives
you a background for the other domains and also counts as 27% of the test
score, the largest percentage of all the domains. It also includes the most
objectives because today’s PCs have such a wide variety of hardware and
technology:
The objectives for this domain are as follows:
. 1.1—Categorize storage devices and backup media
. 1.2—Explain motherboard components, types, and features
. 1.3—Classify power supplies types and characteristics
. 1.4—Explain the purpose and characteristics of CPUs and their features
. 1.5—Explain cooling methods and devices
. 1.6—Compare and contrast memory types, characteristics, and their
purpose
. 1.7—Distinguish between the different display devices and their
characteristics
. 1.8—Install and configure peripherals and input devices
. 1.9—Summarize the function and types of adapter cards
. 1.10—Install, configure, and optimize laptop components and features
1.1 Categorize storage devices and backup media
. FDD
. HDD
. Solid state vs. magnetic
. Optical drives
. CD/DVD/RW/Blu-Ray
. Removable storage
. Tape drive
. Solid state (e.g., thumb drive, flash, SD cards, USB)
. External CD-RW and hard drive
. Hot swappable devices and non-hot swappable devices From <

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70-271 Exam Q & A / Study Guide

2011-12-28T01:50:00.000-08:00

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QUESTION 1
You work as a technician at ABC.com. The ABC.com network only has workgroups. All client
computers are configured to run Windows XP Professional. All ABC.com employees have
administrative privileges on their own computer. ABC.com does not want file encryption to be
used.
You use a computer named ABC-WS25. You are promoted to a new position and have been
replaced by a new employee named Mia Hamm. You are worried that Mia Hamm will be able to
open your files.
How can you prevent Mia Hamm from opening your files and folders on ABC-WS25?

A. The data should be compressed in a folder.
B. The user should be removed from the ACL of the folder.
C. The operating system should be reinstalled with Windows XP Professional.
D. Your user account should be deleted from ABC-WS25.

Answer: D

Explanation: Your best option in this scenario would be to delete your user account from ABCWS25.

QUESTION 2
You are the newly appointed technician at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain named
ABC.com. The client computers are configured to run Windows XP Professional.
Employees search the Web using Internet Explorer. To accomplish their tasks employees log onto
the ABC.com Web site. You implement a digital certificate to enhance the security of the ABC.com
Web site. The next day an employee of ABC.com, Ally Wagner, informs you that she is having
problems connecting to the Web site when she enters the URL for ABC.com in her browser.
Which action should you execute to resolve this problem?

A. Ally Wagner should add the www.ABC.com Web site to the approved Web sites in Content
Advisor.
B. Ally Wagner should access the Web site using the HTTPS for opening the URL..
C. Ally Wagner should set the Privacy setting to Medium in the Internet Option in the Control
Panel.
D. Ally Wagner should add the Web site URL to the trusted sites in the security zone.

Answer: B

Explanation: Your best option would be to select Option B. The scenario states that digital
certificates are used by ABC.com to secure the information on the website and in order to
establish a secure communication channel you have to use https instead of http. Https is http over
SSL.

QUESTION 3
You work as a graphics designer at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain named
ABC.com. The client computers on the corporate network are configured to run Windows XP
Professional. You use a computer named ABC-WS271.
You want to increase the display size of your screen. However, you get an error message stating
that the Display menu on the control panel has been disabled.
How can you have the resolution of your screen increased?

A. You should set the hardware acceleration to full.
B. You should enable Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) support in the system
BIOS on the computer.
C. You should configure the display settings to work in dual-monitor mode.
D. You should request that the Remove Display option in Control Panel be disabled.

Answer: D

Explanation: Your best option in this scenario would be to select Option D. The Deny Access to
the Display Settings option will disable the display settings control panel icon as well as stopping
users from accessing any display settings. This setting can be applied either by a GPO or by
modifying the registry.

QUESTION 4
You work as a technician at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain named ABC.com. All
client computers on the network are configured to run Windows XP Professional.
You bring your personal laptop computer to work and attempts to logon to the domain from your
laptop. However, you are not able to log on. Your laptop computer is configured to run Windows
XP Home Edition.
How do you ensure access to the domain using your laptop? (Choose TWO. Each answer forms
part of the solution.)

A. By joining your laptop to the domain.
B. By installing Service Pack 3 on your laptop.
C. By logging on as a member of the Power Users group.
D. by changing the Custom settings in the Setup Wizard.
E. By uABCrading to Windows XP Professional.

Answer: A,E

Explanation: Your best option in this scenario would be to have ABC-WS25 uABCraded to
Windows XP Professional and join it to the domain. Microsoft has crippled the Home version of
Windows XP and made it impossible to join it to domains. It thus forced the majority of companies
to invest in the slightly more expensive Windows XP Pro.

QUESTION 5
You work as a help desk support technician at ABC.com. The ABC.com network consists of a
single Active Directory domain named ABC.com. The servers on the ABC.com network are
configured to run Windows Server 2003 and all client computers Windows XP Professional.
You have administrative privileges on a client computer named ABC-WS10. ABC-WS10 has a
hard disk that is formatted as a single partition. You realize the next day that you failed to backup
the Boot.ini file on ABC-WS10 and now get a message stating that the boot disk is unable to be
read and as a result Windows will not be started. You thus decide to run the Recovery Console
and reboot ABC-WS10.
You advise Rory Allen to reboot his computer with the Windows XP Professional CD-ROM and
make use of the Recovery Console.
Which of the following is the task that Rory Allen should complete next?

A. Rory Allen should reinstall Windows XP professional.
B. Rory Allen should execute a system restore on ABC-WS10.
C. Rory Allen should execute the bootcfg command with the /rebuild parameter.
D. Rory Allen should execute the diskpart command.

Answer: C

Explanation: Your best option in this scenario would be to select Option C. The bootcfg command
is a Microsoft Windows XP Recovery Console command that manipulates the Boot.ini file. This
command has a function that can scan your hard disks for Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft
Windows 2000, and Windows XP installations, and then add them to an existing Boot.ini file. The
function can also rebuild a new Boot.ini file if one does not exist.

QUESTION 6
You work as a network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a domain named
ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows Server 2003 and all client computers
run Windows XP Professional.
A ABC.com employee named Clive Wilson is a member of the Marketing department. Clive Wilson
is due to present a report to top management. The conference facility has a projector as well as a
laptop computer named ABC-WS25 that contains the latest graphics card. During the course of
the morning Clive Wilson informs you that he is having difficulty displaying complains that, during a
sales presentation to senior management he encountered a problem with ABC-WS25.
He informs you that the cables were connected properly and that ABC-WS25 was configured to
display to the projector. However, the message projected by the projector stated that it could not
project the image. You thus decide configure ABC-WS25 to show on the LCD but is unsuccessful
as you are presented with a ‘No signal’ message.
Which of the following actions should you take to rectify this problem?

A. The current video resolution on ABC-WS25 should be changed.
B. The projector should be checked to see whether it supports the IEEE 1394 standard.
C. The Video Graphics Array for ABC-WS25 should be listed in Device Manager.
D. The projector should be checked to see whether it supports the USB 2.0 standard.

Answer: A

Explanation: The error has occurred due to the fact that laptop computers often use a high
resolution while projectors have a much lower resolution. It is therefore needed that employees
assigned laptop computers make the necessary changed to the resolution settings prior to
connecting to the projector, unless the computer hardware takes care of this itself.

QUESTION 7
You work as a network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network consists of a single
Active Directory domain named ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows
Server 2003 and all client computers run Windows XP Professional. The ABC.com network has a
file server named ABC-SR04 that is accessed by network users.
A ABC.com employee named Ally Wagner was assigned a computer named ABC-WS10. Ally
Wagner says that she cannot access ABC-SR04. No other employees are experiencing the same
problem. You confirm that the ABC-WS10 network cable connection is correct.
Which actions should you take to make sure that ABC-WS10 can make a connection to ABCSR04?

A. ABC-WS10 should be configured to make use of mnode for NetBIOS name resolution.
B. ABC-WS10 should be configured to automatically obtain an IP address.
C. ABC-WS10 should be configured with the correct DNS server IP address.
D. ABC-WS10 should be configured with the correct IP address of the default gateway.

Answer: C

Explanation: The scenario states that the cable is connected and other users are able to
communicate on the network. It is therefore not a physical network problem. It is likely to be a
configuration problem on ABC-WS10.

QUESTION 8
You work as a network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network consists of a single
Active Directory domain named ABC.com. All servers on the ABC.com network run Windows
Server 2003 and all client computers run Windows 98.
ABC.com wants to uABCrade the client computers to Windows XP Professional. You are
concerned that performance might be slow after the uABCrade. You are particularly concerned
about response times when opening windows and menus.
Which of the following is a task that you would perform to address this issue?

A. Set the screen refresh rate to a lower value in Display settings.
B. Access the Performance Options dialog box and choose the Adjust for best performance
option.
C. Modify the Advanced Display settings to configure the display DPI setting to 120 dots per inch
in the Display Properties dialog box.
D. Access the Performance Options dialog box and modify the System applet.

Answer: B

Explanation: In this scenario you need to select the Adjust for best appearance option in the
Performance Option dialog box. The graphical nature of Windows XP Professional has progressed
as they are more extensive in their use of colors and shading, and they drain more system
resources. Trimming back the level of graphical representation in your Windows XP desktop can
save system resources and boost overall application and network performance.

QUESTION 9
You work as a network administrator at ABC.com. The ABC.com network has a workgroup named
ABC. All client computers either run Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional.
A ABC.com user named Kara Lang is assigned a new Windows XP Professional computer named
ABC-WS25. Kara Lang is assigned the permission to create a file for her department. The file will
be used by four other users. Each user is responsible for a specific task and permission has to be
assigned in accordance to the duties they will perform on the file.
Which of the following is an option that would enable Kara Lang to perform the functions
mentioned in the scenario?

A. On ABC-WS25 you need to have the option of simple file sharing deselected.
B. On ABC-WS25 the Full Control permission should be assigned to Kara Lang.
C. On ABC-WS25 the NTFS permissions was reset after the uABCrade.
D. On ABC-WS25 a link should be configured in My Computer to the shared folder.

Answer: A

Explanation: Your best option would be to have simple file sharing disabled as it is enabled on a
Microsoft Windows XP-based computer if the computer is not a member of a domain. Simple file
sharing allows you to share folders with everyone on your workgroup or network and make folders
in your user profile private. However, if simple file sharing is enabled, you cannot prevent specific
users and groups from accessing your shared folders. If you turn off simple file sharing, you can
permit specific users and groups to access a shared folder.

QUESTION 10
You are employed as an administrator at ABC.com. The client computers on the ABC.com
network are configured to run Windows XP Professional.
The ABC.com Sales department manager, Rory Allen is assigned a client computer named ABCWS25.
During the course of the day Rory Allen make use of the Windows XP Professional driver
to install a Canon MP250 color printer on ABC-WS25. The Canon MP250 color printer will be
shared with another manager in the department.
After the installation you receive complaints from the two managers informing that they are only
able to print monotone graphs. You receive an instruction from the CIO to ensure that they are
able print the graphs in color from the printer. You thus decide to install a printer driver on ABCWS25
from the CD-ROM provided by the manufacturing company but find that the problem
persists.
Which of the following should be your next option?

A. You should configure the appropriate printer option in the BIOS.
B. You should have a signed printer driver installed on ABC-WS25 that was obtained from the
company.
C. You should run use the Add Printer Wizard to connect to the printer.
D. You should reconfigure the properties of the print server in Printer and Faxes.

Answer: B

Explanation: You should install the correct printer driver on ABC-WS25. The computer of the
other manager will then receive the correct driver from ABC-WS25 when he attempts to print.

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UC Berkeley's email system: Microsoft to Google

2011-12-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

UC Berkeley is planning to make Google Apps for Education their new campus calendar and email system, having compared Google and Office 365 using their ‘Assessment Matrix’.

After several months of evaluation and in the aftermath of recent CalMail outages, UC Berkeley is now planning to make Google Apps for Education their new campus calendar and email system, according to campus officials.

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This move is part of ‘Operation Excellence’ — a cost cutting initiative designed to save the educational institute $75 million annually.

As part of their Productivity Suite project, UC Berkeley currently offers their campus faculty, students and staff access to commonly used Microsoft software, as well as access to Adobe Creative Suite free of charge.

On December 21, campus officials signed an agreement to begin providing Google Apps for Education in January, as well as moving their main calendar and email systems over to Google.

An email sent across the campus community Wednesday evening stated:

“While both products are feature rich and offer advantages over our current environment, the analysis concluded that the Google offering was the better overall fit for the campus at this time.
The selection of Google Apps for Education does not impact the campus’s recent announcement to provide Microsoft software under a site license agreement. In fact, the products are complementary in many areas and we expect University-wide deployment of both Google’s online offerings and locally installed Microsoft software.”

In their evaluative studies, Google Apps for Education was chosen over Microsoft Office 365 on the basis of ‘items of particular interest to UC Berkeley’.

One tool used to to assess whether or not to move over to Google services was the ‘Assessment Matrix’, a study focusing on components including service improvement, operating cost, deployment speed, architectural issues, accessibility, storage and security.
Email, calendar cloud and local solutions:

Google’s email services were the clear winner, based on these factors:

Web-based interaction: Google was considered to possess better migration facilities and optimization for online use. The trade-off is that to fully take advantage of the cloud facilities, more resource output would be required by CU Berkeley.
Office 365’s integration and performance records are not considered ‘exceptional’. Maintaining a central infrastructure and operations are more expensive than Google’s Education Apps.
Functions: Google has significant advantages that UC Berkeley can implement quickly and cost-effectively. Its main weakness is a lack of integration with an on-premise solution that Office 365 offers, allowing password and authentication information to remain on-site.
User familiarity: Google is better known and used by students as an online application. Gmail and Google calendars are already in use, and the interface is familiar. A previous analysis of CalMail revealed 25 percent of students forwarded email with Google, with the corporation claiming the largest percentage share by far.

Calendar functions:

Calendar users on campus were divided between three main user categories; those who do not use an online calendar or don’t schedule with others, ‘average’ CalAgenda users who only use basic functions and may schedule items occasionally, and ‘power’ CalAgenda users who used the schedule facility frequently.

Google Calendar was considered an acceptable alternative for the first two categories, and allowed easy adaptation in conjunction with a familiar interface.

The third category would probably find the transition to Google Calendar more difficult, especially within the transition period. It could cause the most disruption to university administrators who are the frequent users of CalAgenda.

Transition problems with a move to Office 365 were estimated at being less than a migration to Google would cause. There is generally more experience in the area of transition to Exchange, and fewer areas of solid incompatibility between Exchange/Office 365 and Oracle Calendar than between Google and Office 365.
Security and privacy:

Google was found to be ‘inferior’ in every category in comparison to Microsoft, if only by a small margin.

Microsoft offers a better AUP policy, better e-Discovery options, and better terms on data location.
Contractual factors:

Microsoft was considered to contain a ’superior contract’ due to the following factors:

A suitable business associate agreement in place for HIPAA.
Data transfer and storage. The majority of data will remain in within U.S borders according to Microsoft.
Account suspension: Microsoft gained the upper hand due to Google’s policies on rights to suspend accounts due to Acceptable use policy violations.

Google’s ’superior’ area in conjunction with contractual obligations was evaluated to be limitations on liability. Where Google does not limit their liability in terms of Confidential information, Microsoft caps ‘free’ services liability at $5000, including any damages related to Institution Data short of Gross Negligence or Willful Misconduct.

The decision will not effect the current agreement arranged through the Operational Excellence scheme, and students will still be able to download Microsoft Office software free of charge from early January. CalMail and CalAgenda will remain in use until the transfer is complete.

Integration of the new systems are due to begin in early 2012.

Article: Idea Management For Creating Success

2011-12-25T05:58:00.000-08:00

A lot of company managers wants to encourage their personnel to come with ideas regarding how to make the company a better workplace as well as ideas on new or modified products to be able to sell more. By having the ideas come from the personnel you will not only get ideas from the experts but also have the employees work harder since they feel they are part of the decisions in the company.

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The reasoning around this is very straight forward and it is not hard to understand that this means success in the easy world. But, in the real world it is not always that easy.

There are a few things to think about before giving the opportunity to the personnel to give ideas.

1. Why do you want ideas from the personnel and in what areas?

It is easy to decide that you want to have ideas from the personnel but not always so easy to act on the ideas you receive. There are probably more companies around the world that have been implementing idea management without acting on them than the other way around. By giving the opportunity without acting on it will discourage the personnel and make them produce less in their daily work.

It is important to create a strategy before you let the personnel hand in ideas. Some questions that should be answered are:

* What area/s do we want ideas about?
* Why do we want ideas (purpose is always very important to think of)?
* Do we have a deadline for when the ideas should be handed in?
* What should we do with the successful ideas and should we award the contributors?
* How should we handle the “bad” ideas without making the personnel unmotivated?
* Who should prioritize the ideas and who should decide which ideas are good for the company?

2. How do you want to receive ideas?

Some people use a letterbox to collect ideas and some people use an idea management software. Whatever method you choose to use it is important to understand that you will need some kind of system to organize the ideas and to prioritize them. Whether that is a proper idea management software or just Excel is depending on a lot of factors, but too many businesses lose the ideas they receive and never seem to find them again.

3. How often do you go through the ideas?

You need to go through new ideas and prioritize them every now and then. It is also important to remove old ideas or at least make sure that the “bad” ideas are not mixed with the good ideas to be able to have focus on the right ideas. A lot of systems allow creating your own views. This way you can create a view to only have the high prioritized ideas visible.

4. How do you implement the ideas?

So, you have decided that you want to act on one of the ideas that is now on top priority in the idea management software. So, how do you now implement this the best way?
It is important to understand the psychological effects of idea management. The energy someone can give if he/she can be part of implementing their own idea is invaluable for the organization.
There are also psychological effects to take into consideration regarding not involving someone who came with a good idea, how to handle bad ideas, etc. You do not want to create bad energy from something that should be positive.

One could probably write a book on what to think about around idea management. If you choose to start receiving ideas from your employees it is always good to start small. Perhaps you can have ideas about what activities to do for the next company event or perhaps some new functionality for the next version of your product. This way you will be able to understand what to consider and how idea management should work in your organization. Add the ideas to some idea management software to start understanding how some technical system can help you in the process.
Another last point is to understand that idea management takes time even though it often gives much more than it takes. You have to set aside time for some people to manage the idea management process.

Mattias Lind is CEO at Buissy.com Ltd, The B2B Market Place for Business Software that includes business software for numerous categories and offers the possibility for purchasers to find software and also compare software that suits their company the best.

The Importance of Learnability for User Interface Design

2011-12-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

As the computing landscape evolves to include an ever more sophisticated range of products and form factors the usability of the software and websites we use is continually being reviewed and refined. A crucial component of user interface design is usability. Simply put, a user interface design with poor usability is going to frustrate users and drive them to seek alternatives as quickly as possible. Another important factor tied to usability is learnability. After all, there is always a learning curve associated with every new user interface design we come across with varying degrees of steepness.

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For the longest time building a user interface design (User Interface Design, Interface Design) meant optimizing usability for one particular dimension, if I may call it that. This dimension, of course, is the venerable desktop. Nowadays there are smartphones and tablets to contend to, all of which need a unique user interface design by virtue of touchscreens and other natural user interfaces as the favored mode of input rather than, say, the mouse. This stratification of user interface designs across devices means that not every UI design element can be instantly usable. At some point users are going to have to learn how to use it. Learnability in this case means making decisions on which features to bury in advanced settings and which ones should be on the default user interface design (this is what users see when they use a website or app for the first time). There are a couple of things to consider when optimizing a website or software application's user interface design for learnability:-

• Importance – How critical is your website or software application to a user? Users are far more likely to spend time learning a user interface design if it is crucial to their workflow, for example. One has to look no further than, say, Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. Both are complicated software applications yet everyday users spend time learning how to get the most out of the complex user interface design to fulfill their aims.

• Frequency – We humans are creatures of habit. Despite the countless number of websites and software applications out there we tend to have a core nucleus of favorites that we revisit again and again. The more we use a user interface design the more quickly we learn to use it, with each repeat visit making us use it all the more efficiently.

• Cost – The more someone pays for an application the more time they are going to invest in learning how to use it. This could have something to do with the Value Attribution theory whereby we assume something expensive is worth our investment and the resultant heightened expectations help us persevere with a user interface design longer. This, however, is no justification for charging exorbitant prices!

• Alternatives – The number, and quality, of alternative tools available to users also determines how long they spend learning a user interface design. The more unique or the higher quality inherent in your website or application the more likely users will stick by you. However, be sure to fix all usability issues before a better alternative crops up to tempt your users away.

• Simplicity – For the sake of learnability it is important to keep the default user interface design as simple as possible. Jamming every possible feature in the default user interface design only serves to make it appear to require more time to get to know. This can put off potential users who may seek a simpler solution elsewhere.

A great proponent of incorporating learnability into a user interface design is Google, which is hardly surprising considering how great user interface design (User Interface Design, Interface Design Software) has always been one of their traits. A lot of their apps have a simple default user interface design that most users can learn to use relatively easy yet there are a number of advanced features available. The Google iOS app is an example of this. When it is loaded for the first time there is a tutorial overlay that sits on top of the default user interface design giving concise introductions to the features of the app. A lot of other iOS and Android apps are similar in the way they gently provide a new user with enough information to get them comfortable with the app rather than simply letting them muddle through via trial-and-error. In effect learnability is all about how user interface designers help users to help themselves.

Cisco: Leaner, meaner, more aggressive?

2011-12-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

Cisco is positioning to fend off competitors such as Juniper, HP and Avaya.

Cisco Systems’ analyst meeting went so this well that analysts are expecting the company to start punching back Juniper, HP and other rivals.

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On Tuesday, Cisco CEO John Chambers outlined the company’s new targets for the next three years:

Revenue growth at 5 percent to 7 percent;
Continuing economic uncertainty;
Operating margins of 25 percent or show;
Earnings per share growth at 7 percent to 9 percent.

But the biggest takeaway is that Cisco doesn’t plan to pull any punches with its rivals. Stifel Nicolaus analyst Sanjiv Wadhwani said:

The “new” Cisco will be aggressive against competitors. The company
seems to be particularly targeting Juniper, who it sees as being the most vulnerable and spread too thin. Cisco pointed out that aggressive stance against competitors does not necessarily translate into aggressive pricing; in fact the company will intensely focus on gross margins going forward with value engineering.

Wedbush analyst Rohit Chopra said:

Cisco takes the gloves off and adopts an aggressive posture versus key rivals. Management reiterated its intention to aggressively protect share and pursue growth several times during the presentation. As part of its strategy, management said it will seek to compete aggressively with Juniper (in switching/routing), HP (in all areas) and Avaya (in switching/routing). While acknowledging that Cisco was playing defense earlier in the year, given its completed restructuring and subsequent stumbles at Juniper and HP, management believes it can compete effectively. Huawei, however, poses a tougher challenge and the company expects to take the fight to China, particularly in the service provider market.

Jefferies analyst George Notter said:

Cisco is talking tougher on their desire to compete more aggressively for deals that – in the past – they might have passed up because of profitability concerns. Of course, HP – with much lower average corporate margins – remains a significant threat in the Switching business going forward.

Add it up and there’s going to be one fun battle ahead in the networking market.

University accuses Oracle of extortion, lies, 'rigged' demo in lawsuit

2011-12-17T05:18:00.000-08:00

New details have emerged in Montclair State University's lawsuit against Oracle in connection with a troubled ERP (enterprise resource planning) project, in a court filing that includes more information about Oracle's alleged failings and also accuses the vendor of extortion as well as "inducing" the institution to take on the implementation.

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Montclair's amended complaint, which was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, states that Oracle made an array of "intentionally false statements" regarding the functionality of its base ERP system, the amount of customization that would be required, and the amount of "time, resources, and personnel that the University would have to devote."

"Ultimately, after missing a critical go-live deadline for the University's finance system, Oracle sought to extort millions of dollars from the University by advising the University that it would not complete the implementation of the ... project unless the University agreed to pay millions of dollars more than the fixed fee the University and Oracle had previously agreed to," it adds.

Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger declined comment.

In a response earlier this year to Montclair's original complaint, Oracle said the university was to blame for the project's woes.

"When issues arose during the course of the project, it became clear that MSU's leadership did not adequately understand the technology and the steps necessary to complete the project," it stated. "Instead of cooperating with Oracle and resolving issues through discussions and collaboration, MSU's project leadership, motivated by their own agenda and fearful of being blamed for delays, escalated manageable differences into major disputes."

But much like its original filing, MSU's revised complaint tells a much different tale.

MSU wanted to replace its legacy systems with a new one requiring minimal customization, according to its revised complaint. The school spent a year developing a detailed requirements list that ended up totaling some 3,200 items.

This list was given to vendors, including Oracle, who responded to the school's original request for project bids several years ago, it adds.

In January 2008, Oracle told the school that its base PeopleSoft system for higher education institutions would satisfy 95 percent of MSU's business requirements, the complaint states. "This representation was false."

Before it won the bid, Oracle also conducted live demonstrations of its software that used test scripts prepared by the university. One demonstration involved "a robust on-line application process for Undergraduate and Graduate Admissions ... that it falsely represented was an existing part of the base system and satisfied the University's requirements," the complaint states.

But in fact, "Oracle's ultimate implementation plan was to sell the University a third-party product called 'Embark' to satisfy those requirements, suggesting the initial 'live' demonstration was rigged," it adds. A "substantial" amount of customization was needed in the end, according to the complaint.

Oracle also misled Montclair State about how long the project would take, saying it could be done quickly through a methodology it had developed, the complaint states. At the same time, Oracle was working out a contract with the Lone Star College System to install a similar set of software, it adds. Oracle repeatedly told MSU that the Lone Star project was comparable to its own plans, according to the complaint.

In fact, "the number of personnel and resources available to the Lone Star College System to complete its implementation ... was four times greater than the personnel and resources available to the University to implement its ERP system," the complaint states.

Ultimately, most of the work Oracle performed, for which the university has paid more than US$6 million, won't be reusable, according to the complaint. Depending on which vendor MSU hires, the cost to finish the project will exceed Oracle's original $15.75 million bid by up to $20 million, Montclair has said.

The revised complaint also includes a partial list of MSU's project requirements and in all runs 60 pages, nearly twice as many as the original filing.

"This is a textbook example of how to file a legal action against a vendor for failure to deliver," said analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research, who reviewed the updated complaint on Wednesday.

MSU made some smart moves to protect itself, such as documenting all conversations and interactions with Oracle, and working out an escalation procedure in the event the project ran into problems. It also was wise to use real-life use cases for the demonstrations, Wang added.

"The documentation on this complaint is solid," he said. "Whether it's true or not, we'll let the courts decide."

Another expert pointed out that it remains to be seen whether MSU or Oracle is responsible for the problems.

"The fact that Montclair produced a detailed list of Oracle project issues does support their claim that work was not completed as expected," said Michael Krigsman, CEO of Asuret, a consulting firm that helps organizations conduct IT projects successfully, in an email.

"However, the detailed fact list does not establish cause," he added. "The case hinges on the respective roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the parties in driving successful project results. In and of itself, the mere fact that something went wrong does not help us understand either why the problem occurred or which party was responsible."

Cloud Computing Has a Much Wider Scope

2011-12-16T12:11:00.000-08:00

Cloud computing is a term used to describe both a platform and a type of application. A cloud computing platform dynamically provisions, configures, re-configures, and de-provisions servers as needed. Cloud servers are physical machines or virtual machines. Advanced clouds typically include other computing resources such as storage area networks (SANs), network equipments, firewalls, and other types of security devices. Cloud computing also describes applications that can be easily accessed through the Internet. Cloud applications utilize huge data centers and robust servers that host Web applications and Web services. Anyone with a suitable Internet connection and a standard Web browser can access a cloud application.

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Cloud comprises of a huge pool of virtualized computer resources. A cloud can host a variety of different workloads, including batch style back end jobs and interactive, user facing applications. Cloud allows workloads to be deployed and scaled out quickly through the rapid provisioning of virtual machines or physical machines. Cloud supports redundant, self recovering, highly scalable programming models that allow workloads to recover from many unavoidable hardware and software failures. Cloud computing technology allows monitoring of resource use in real time to enable rebalancing of allocations when ever required.

Cloud computing environments support grid computing by quickly providing physical and virtual servers on which the grid applications can run. Cloud computing should not be confused with grid computing. Grid computing involves dividing a large task into many smaller tasks that run in parallel on separate servers. Grids require many computers, typically in the thousands, and commonly use servers, desktops, and laptops.

Cloud computing technology also supports non-grid environments, such as a three tier Web architecture running standard or Web 2.0 applications. A cloud is more than a collection of computer resources because cloud computing technology also provides a mechanism to manage those resources. Management includes tasks, such as, provisioning, change requests, re-imaging, workload re-balancing, de-provisioning, and monitoring.

Cloud Computing Benefits

Application hosting service providers which utilize cloud hosting technology allow small and medium size enterprises or SMEs to achieve more efficient use of IT hardware and software investments. They do this by breaking down the physical barriers inherent in isolated systems, and automating the management of the group of systems as a single entity. Cloud Computing is an example of an ultimately virtualized system, and a natural evolution for data centers that employ automated systems management, workload balancing, and virtualization technologies.

A cloud infrastructure offers a cost efficient model for delivering information services, reducing IT management complexity, promoting innovation, and increasing responsiveness through real time workload balancing.

The Cloud makes it possible to launch Web 2.0 applications quickly and to scale up applications as much as needed. The platform supports traditional Java and Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP (LAMP) stack based applications as well as new architectures such as MapReduce and the Google File System, which provide a means to scale applications across thousands of servers instantly. Cloud Hosting is possible for many applications - Windows Server software, MS SQL Server, QuickBooks accounting software, MS Office Server, ACT! CRM, ProSeries Tax software, Drake Tax software, Lacerte Tax software, ATX tax software, MS Project, etc. Storage and maintenance of large volumes of data is a reality with cloud hosting technology.

Large amounts of computer resources, in the form of virtual machines, can be provisioned and made available for new applications within minutes instead of days or weeks. Developers can gain access to these resources through a portal and put them to use immediately. Several products are available that provide virtual machine capabilities, including proprietary ones such as VMware, and open source alternatives, such as XEN.

Many customers are interested in cloud infrastructures to serve as platforms for innovation, particularly in countries that want to foster the development of a highly skilled, high-tech work force. They want to provide startups and research organizations with an environment for idea exchange, and the ability to rapidly develop and deploy new product prototypes.

SAP Business One Small ERP Package with Worldwide Availability

2011-12-13T00:16:00.000-08:00

We often hear the question from small business owners: ‘We cannot afford expensive high-end corporate ERP solution and at the same time we are active participant in international business. Which accounting solution should we consider for implementation?’ This question is very good as it allows us to come through accounting packages and try to categorize them. First of all there are small and mid-market ERP products that are available in United States only and plus probably in English speaking countries. If you begin your research with one of the consulting firms selling product available on the USA market exclusively then they probably suggest you to pick one of the local accounting packages available in the targeted country with the option to consolidate financial statements. Good examples are Microsiga in Brazil or 1S Accounting in Russian Federation. This tandem solution theoretically should work but here you have to pay twice for software licenses, implementation consulting and probably expect some overhead in communication between your USA based consulting firm and foreign consultants who are implementing accounting for your overseas location. We would like to suggest different approach by looking at SAP B1. If you remember the history of late 1990th when such ERP vendors as Great Plains Software, Oracle and SAP were trying to introduce scaled down version of their high-end Corporate ERP packages, good example would be Small Business Financials (initially Small Business Manager) from Great Plains Software. Later on big players realized that scaling down is not an ideal solution and the development of the story was acquisition of future Business One by SAP and similar steps from other vendors:

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1. Corporate ERP Localization concept overview. If you have one of the accounting packages implemented in the United States this doesn’t automatically mean that you can deploy the same application in the overseas located office. There are hurdles associated with local country language support and compliance to business code in such areas as taxation, state and federal reporting. Here in the USA we have requirements to file 1099 to report about payments to your contractors as well as W2 to report on employee wages and taxes. United States are pretty liberal and encouraging healthy business climate. Foreign country might be more restrictive and exercise higher control including money repatriation to the States. The XXI century seems to be the century of rising China and South East Asia. Initially in earlier 1980th and through 1990th accounting packages were concentrating on North American and European markets and paying only minimal attention to China and India. Good example in Microsoft Dynamics GP or formerly known as Great Plains where Dexterity IDE doesn’t support Unicode characters (two bytes long and covering all languages including Chinese hieroglyphs)

2. SAP B1 and its position on the international Small Business ERP market. SAP policy seems to be pursuing ERP market worldwide including such countries and regions as China, Brazil, Latin America and Russian Federation. It doesn’t have issues with Unicode and supports all kind of hieroglyphs as well as its recommended managerial reporting tool Crystal Reports (SAP acquired Business Objects few years ago)

3. Version 8.8X. Here we see the merge of A and B flavors (compare to 2005A/B and 2007A/B). This might be considered as small progress however think about the way to install SB1 on central server located in the headquarters and exposed to international users via Citrix, VPN or Microsoft Terminal Server

4. Simple Discrete Manufacturing. What are you doing in the foreign countries? Typically you are manufacturing your finished goods with the destination to the European and American consumer market or you sell your products to the local consumer or in B2B environment. Business One has simple bill of materials, MRP as well as powerful Sales set of modules

5. Please call us 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904 (for international customers, where our representatives pick up the phone in Naperville and St. Joseph, MI call centers). help@efaru.com. We have local presence in Atlanta, Chicago, Southern California, South West Michigan, Houston and Dallas areas of Texas. We serve customers USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil nationwide and internationally via web sessions and phone conferences (Skype is welcomed). Our consultants speak English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian and Chinese. One of our experiences is international Corporate ERP and Consolidated Financial reporting

Andrew Karasev is SAP Business One consultant and Great Plains Certified Master, MVP, MCSE and MSDBA, help@efaru.com 1-866-304-3265, 1-269-605-4904. He is also the initiator of eFaru project http://www.efaru.com and founder of Alba Spectrum information space. Please note that we implement and support Dynamics GP directly through Alba Spectrum

How to woo the MBA admissions committee

2011-12-12T07:07:00.000-08:00

What do admissions committees look for in an MBA candidate? The answer is as varied as the motivations of the applicants and the many flavours of MBA degrees that now make up part of the Canadian business school landscape.

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When it comes to gaining entry, previous academic performance and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) scores are critical. "We look for a solid B in the final two years of an undergraduate degree and we have minimum required scores on both the quantitative and verbal sections of the GMAT," says Isabella Piatek, manager MBA programs at the DeGroote School of Business. That said, there are other qualities that can help sway the decision. "We look for a well rounded candidate to bring a diverse set of experiences, who can communicate well, has passion and is engaged," says Ms. Piatek.

One of the key areas of focus for Brock University is fit, says Shari Sekel, director of graduate programs for the university's faculty of business. "We are trying to make sure that what a student is trying to achieve with their MBA is something our program is capable of delivering. Not all MBA programs are alike. There are similarities, but they all have different specializations, styles of learn-ing, opportunities, extra-curricular activities. We want to make sure there is a good fit between the expectations of the student and the realities of our program."

Who is a good fit for Brock's MBA program? "Someone who looks beyond the books. Some of our courses base 30% of the final grade on in class contribution," says Ms. Sekel. "We are looking for people very comfortable in participating, sharing ideas, asking questions. We are also looking for them to get involved outside the classroom and have a lot of extra-curricular opportunities to help them round out the graduate experience."

It is exactly for that reason that Ms. Sekel has concerns about the emphasis placed on GMAT scores. Administered by U.S.-based Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the GMAT has become the standard assessment tool to measure the likely success of MBA candidates used by business schools around the globe. The test is divided into three parts: verbal, quantitative and analytical writing skills.

"The GMAT is well regarded and widely used but I'm torn on the subject. The admissions function is all about predicting who is going to be the most successful in the MBA program. The GMAT serves as a common evaluation tool because all students have to write the same test. That's one of its most important uses," says Ms. Sekel.

"On the other hand, we have to recognize the GMAT is not the only piece of an application that's important, particularly when you are looking at students fresh from undergraduate programs. If you have students even in history or science who are scoring well, getting As, these are students with a good work ethic, they are motivated and those are some of the skill sets that will serve them well at the MBA level. The GMAT holds less weight in those instances for us."

Jenni Denniston, associate director of MBA recruiting and admissions at the Richard Ivey School of Business, sees another drawback to the GMAT. "The way the three components of the GMAT are tested is not the way they are going to be tested in an MBA program."

And for international students, the fact that the test is written in English can pose challenges. "When you assess GMAT performance for strengths and weaknesses, it is difficult to separate out what percentage of their score relates to language strength or challenge, versus what part of the score represents quantitative content," says Ms. Sekel.

"Maybe it doesn't matter. Maybe some schools are using the GMAT as a language assessment as well. But I find that it muddles the analysis a little bit for nonnative English speakers."

Even so, top-tier accredited MBA programs rely on the GMAT - and sometimes, so do employers. "Some recruiters look at your GMAT score as a differentiator. Typically, your top consulting firms and banks want to see the GMAT in addition to grades when they are looking at applications," says Ms. Denniston. "Not a lot of people realize that."

While Ms. Denniston appreciates the apples-to-apples comparison the GMAT offers, she cautions against focusing too narrowly on the score. "We look at candidates holistically. You can have some strong, successful people who can't take standardized tests.

"On the flip side, you can get fantastic test takers who aren't able to contribute to a learning environment. I think it's an important data point, but I don't think it's the most important data point."

Different Types of Topologies

2011-12-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

Lane Topologies

Each PC on the network must have access to the network cabling structure so that there is a manageable and systematic flow of information between the file server and workstations. The LAN adapter board produces and regulates this flow. It is the electrical design of the actual LAN card that determines what kind of cable topology it requires.

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The physical layout of the LAN, or the way the workstations are connected to each other, is called the LAN topology, or architecture.

There are three basic LAN topologies in general use today; the Linear Bus, the Star and the Ring. Some vendors use hybrid topologies combining elements from two of the three basic topologies. Each of three basic topologies has distinct characteristics.

Ring Topology

A ring topology is one in which all stations are linked to form a continues loop. A single channel connects all the computers and there is no central computer in this topology. Data may flow around the ring only one direction. A coded electric signal called a token passes around the ring from station to station. The data transfer rate ranges from 4 MHz Bits per second to 100 MHz bits per second. Depending on the channel selected for transmission.

Advantages of Ring Topology:

1. It provides for deterministic response and access to the LAN.

2. Often has an extensive fault-tolerant feature to ensure proper operation.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology:

1. It is possible that a failed or powered off MAU may cause the LAN to fail.

2. If the central ring is served, the ring will fail.

Star Topologies:

The Hub is installed in a central wiring closet, with all the cables extending out to the network nodes. The advantage of having a central wiring location is that it's easier to maintain and troubleshoot large networks. All of the network cables come to the central hub. This way, it is especially easy to detect and fix cable problems. You can easily move a workstation in a star topology by changing the connection to the hub at the central wiring closet.

Advantages of Star Topology:

1. Each user has direct access to the shared controller.

2. If a PC workstation fails, the rest of the LAN is unaffected.

3. If a cable is cut or damaged, only the workstation attached to it is cut off from the network.

4. Using media diagnostic tools such as a Time Domain Reflectometer (TDK) is more time consuming and detailed.

Disadvantages of Star Topology:

1. If the shared controller fails, the entire network fails.

2. The number of ports on the controller device limits the total number of PC workstations supported.

3. The more PCs sharing the controller, the slower the aggregate response time.

4. The specialized dedicated controller devices are very expensive.

5. The cabling can be difficult to relocate if a PC is moved another office.

6. Because each PC has its own dedicated cable to the central controller device, the installation can be costly and difficult.

Distributed Star Topology:

The distributed star topology is a hybrid topology. It begins like a linear bus but at interval along the bus a junction box or hub may be attached. From the hub to the workstation it resembles a star type of topology. It is possible to install sub hubs for the purpose of further branching. The distributed star topology is usually combined with the token bus access method. This method allows for a deterministic response to the LAN.

Advantages of Distributed Star Topology:

1. It is usually accompanied by a deterministic access scheme.

2. By using hubs, it is possible to have a large network of cable.

Disadvantages of Star Topology:

1. In order to increase cable or the number of workstations, expensive hubs must be purchased.

2. The more PCs on the LAN, the less time each PC may use the cable.

3. The number of hubs increases the possible number of failure points.

4. It is more time consuming than a linear bus.

5. Each workstation requires its own individual cable.

Tree Topology

Tree topology is the hierarchical bus topology or generalization of bus topology. The node where one or more cables start for branching is called head end, the branches could have more branches for developing complex tree networks. Data travels from every station before reaching the destination.

Bus Topology

Bus network is the most simple and inexpensive of all the networks. A bus has no central controller, and so each network component must be equipped to handle interface problems. The network vendor generally supplies these hardware/software interface elements for specific types of equipments. The data transfer rate is between 1MBPS to 50 MBPS depending on the channel used, with certain limitations.

Advantages of Bus Topology:

1. The linear bus is the most popular topology.

2. It is easy and inexpensive to install.

3. It is very easy to add workstations.

4. It is a very well proven architecture.

5. If a PC fails or is powered down, the LAN is unaffected.

6. A PC booting onto the network has no effect in the LAN.

Disadvantages of Bus Topology:

1. If a piece of the trunk cable is cut or damaged, the entire segment will go down.

Points for Outsourcing IT

2011-12-09T14:19:00.000-08:00

Outsourcing is often involved with big corporations and industries simply because they founded its evolution. It absolutely was, for a start, fraction of the conceptualized approach supplying awareness of the core business to establish competitive edge. Tapping a alternative party in order to provide the supplementary business work is generally deemed the groundwork of outsourcing movement. This may be ideally expressed that along the progression, outsourcing initiated specialized fields, and among them is definitely information technology, hence, the beginning of IT outsourcing. IT outsourcing constitutes a large chunk of the outsourcing world like customer services, business processes, human resources, back office and technical support, to recognize just a few, surely because technologies have an impact on whatever business these days.

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In the beginning, IT outsourcing encompasses major enterprises and corporations. Yet of late, it extended all over startups and small and medium enterprises utilizing the solution strategies administered by multinationals, starting with defining the operations which may be definitely not as the core business including payroll services and It support. And taken from that phase, they had identified what components of the business can be outsourced.

In the midst of economic recession in some areas in the planet, IT outsourcing is definitely thriving. Actually, IT outsourcing is helping businesses deal with the pressing circumstance. Here include the concerns of outsourcing IT.

First is expense cutting. The moment the brainchild of outsourcing had been conceptualized, money not the infamous rationale why industries outsource their secondary procedures. It is actually allowing alternative party to carry out the task that they are certainly not competent at doing. However, it turned out in the 1990s that outsourcing to minimize expenditures has been initiated. And the trending seriously persists in these days.

Second, it creates connection to leading IT specialists and providers provided. Specially for startups and even small industries where hiring IT professionals can be financially demanding, IT outsourcing serves as a remarkable alternate. one can potentially save money but can choose and avail of the superior services offered by the brightest IT expert within the industry.

Third, it facilitates concentration to core business. In particular small-scale firms have now acknowledged the benefit of outsourcing IT granted that it empowers attentiveness towards the business they are basically engaged in. This is completely valuable especially those that are only starting the venture as well as the small-scale ones who would want to expand.

Why there is such a lot of importance on core business? The Complete Idiot’s Guide states, “Whether you offer a service or product line, failure to grasp the core of your business inevitably leads to wasted development effort, ineffective marketing campaigns, an off-target web presence, and, ultimately, dissatisfied customers.” The prosperity of the enterprise is entirely linked with focus.

Fourth will be getting rid of non-core procedures. Non-core tasks consist of the service features in the organization not immediately integrated in the fulfillment of the value proposition with the clients like systems management, payroll services, and human resources. These features when outsourced can ultimately minimize expenditure.

Lastly will be cost diminishment on IT investments. Speed is a important tool for hitting productivity in any types of business big and small. To help complete the duty at a higher speed, technology is the formula. However, IT infrastructure is in itself quite expensive and forever evolving. Becoming abreast with the top of the line technology can get even exorbitantly costly. Consequently, outsourcing It can certainly save a lot of money. Parachute IT are providers of IT Support, Managed IT Services, Data & Security Services. We provide a range of Cloud Based Services. Liberate Your Business IT! it outsourcing it outsourcing companies

Get magnificent iPhone4 agreements and blackberry deals web-based

2011-12-07T16:15:00.000-08:00

The launch of newest 5th Gen iphone 3gs is approximately the spot and in consequence retaining this aspect mind, numerous retailers are featuring amazing iPhone4 agreements. The iPhone4 contracts have actually managed to get it easy for mid variety to customers procure the handset without any banking limitations. But approving to penetrate a few hire by using a community supplier just means which the end users be required to stick to that exact driver to have a determine length of time.

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So if yourself don’t have any issues staying with follow for some time, it is indeed a nice alternative for get the best iPhone4 agreements available in the market nowadays. All chief complex stores are supplying reservations special offers thereafter you may use this possibility for your advantage.These agreements for the iPhone4 recommend wonderful style of advantages to mobile phone subscribers. This kind of programs add some fruitful offers and free appeals to call one or two. Apart from having a mobile phone at miserly costs, a number of system operators even recommend free of charge awards like Liquid crystal display TVs, computers and even more.Many bond experiences all of this Apple inc mobile phone have all capabilities like low contacting rate, absolutely free chat both time and mark downs. Thus in any case that you go with Pay and go pact, you may also gain quite a few programs akin to handsets with many absolutely free gifts. These kinds Iphone4 deals are endowed with titanic global popularity available the fact that manufacturer is on the struggle a challenge supply the huge amount of handsets. Markedly the cellular telephone special offers for providing such Apple iPhone4 will continue to be most visited for an extended period of time now. Guys looking forward to get the mobile phone can go by way of on the web agreements and go get the simplest one.Also, the Apple iPhone5 promotions are on offer because the element of deal advertisements. Mentioned above promotions assist the end users to have handsets at no excess charges and 1 may even obtain the possibility to undertake a absolutely free on-line game console, personal computer LCD Television broadcast, DVD and a lot more. Gratis Internet access, business a short period of time and text messages are a handful of one other rewards which could you'll be able to delight in with all the ipHone5 treaty you would like to go with.To possess the finest of agreements on your blackberry., you may require holding a message check on different programs sold by time for them to precious time. Bond contracts can serve as always the best option for you personally as you can get them at low-priced charge. Merely just spend money every month charter during the deal. As majority of the movable producers frequently traffic jam utilizing favorite group users, they're thus qualified to provide splendid handsets like iPhone5 by using pre installed group service and certain approach of other favourable freebies similar to free of charge moments, emails and also the remembrance. If you are being usually the one whom undertakings so incessantly, then it may possibly be best for to opt for a pay as you go iPhone5 treaty respect you are going to to protect a large amount on roving premiums.Linger forget about and obtain the best iPhone4 and blackberry special offers sold at the net.

iPhone4 dealsare very famous in the market these days. You can even opt for upcomingiPhone5 dealsavailable on the net.

Moving Again? Let’s Do It Right This Time!

2011-12-05T03:21:00.000-08:00

It’s that time again! You have either been transferred in your occupation to a new city or your rental contract has expired. It’s time to move. When setting aside all the excitement and wonder of starting somewhere new, it is difficult to get over the anxiety of the actual process of moving. Very few people have the time these days to take care of all that needs to be considered when moving. Instead of taking more time off work and rather than doing it yourself, let someone else worry about it.

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The following are some helpful considerations when planning your next move and finding the right company in the Maryland area:

Internet Reviews: With the power of the internet at your fingertips, you are now able to search through scores of different Maryland movers. With strong competition for your dollar, you can take the time to find those who are most professional and have the best track record. Rather than being the test-dummy for a new start up company, take time to view online reviews to observe the experiences of others first. If a company has a tendency to break items during a move, perhaps you need to think twice.

In addition to review sites, message boards can be a valuable resource. Find a board which discusses other’s experiences with MD movers. These boards tend to be very honest and opinionated, both for and against a company.

Some additional helpful sites to consider are the Better Business Bureau as well as the American Moving and Storage Association. Typically, poor reviews from the BBB and AMSA will be reflected within online message boards and reviews.

Assess Your Needs: Not every move is exactly the same. For instance, you may find yourself moving within Maryland or to another state without a place to go. Perhaps you are living temporarily with a family member or friend until the right place has been found. For situations such as these, rather than shopping for a Maryland storage facility, see if the moving company already has storage benefits. At times, purchasing both the move and the storage from the same company can be cost effective.

In addition to storage, will you need packing, storing or assistance with realtors? If so, there may be a moving company that can offer you all of these benefits so that you don’t have to worry about shopping around for weeks to ensure that this whole process is in harmony. Much like reserving an airline, hotel, and rental car in the same place can offer fantastic discounts, the same concept can apply here.

Lastly, be sure to compare your needs to the amount of money who hope to pay. While most moving companies will offer to pack for you, perhaps this may be an area to save cost and do it yourself.

Does the Mover Carry Insurance? Although the moving company of choice may have high reviews on the internet and by peers, and although they may do their very best to ensure all the items are moved carefully, something is bound to break. Because moving companies abound, you can take the time to be picky and find a company who has movers insurance. This will cover both them and you in the event that some pricey possession breaks.

Whether or not the company is insured, it will be helpful to notify the company ahead of time of large, fragile or special objects which they should give careful attention to. Doing so may minimize the need to tap into insurance if needed.

Payment Method: Although most moving companies take credit card, there will be some that require cash, certified check or money order as payment (they do this for their own security). It may be helpful to know this ahead of time in case this causes a conflict. Don’t assume that the moving company will take credit card, you can avoid this by researching or asking before starting the job. This will avoid a potentially embarrassing or sticky situation.

Get an Estimate and Understand What it Entails: When contracting work with another company, it is very helpful to get all expectations in writing. Prior to making final payment, it is helpful to then review these expectations to ensure that the terms of the contract have been met.

Occasionally, the person who offers an estimate is not the same person who is performing the job. Furthermore, with all the fine details being discussed, it is easy to assume that the movers understood you clearly. Then, even if they did understand your needs, perhaps you may not clearly understand those items which are not part of the moving package and may act as additional charges to the bill. Poor communication with the moving company can lead to frustrating results and perhaps money down the drain.

Do not settle for an estimate over the internet or phone. Your best estimate typically comes from an in-home visit.

Distance of Move: When considering hiring a mover, the distance of your move may make a big difference. Although local moving companies may occasionally charge less (their local proximity reduces their cost and thus this discount may be passed on to the consumer), there may be some limits to the distance which they are willing to travel. If you are moving a long distance or out of state, be sure to find those companies who are versatile and able to meet these needs.

Will Your New Place Be Ready? The last thing to consider is if your new place will be ready to receive the movers. Because time is money, if the moving company must wait an additional day longer than contracted to move your possessions into the new residence, you will be charged for this lost time. It will be very difficult to pay for movers for doing absolutely nothing.

Now that you have these great tips, begin your search for well-reputed and professional movers in the Maryland area. The time invested in finding the right company will save you in the end.

Verizon says it doesn't use Carrier IQ software

2011-12-03T06:25:00.000-08:00

Verizon Wireless said Thursday it doesn't add to its phones any software from Carrier IQ, the company that has come under fire in the past few days for what some say amounts to spying on mobile phone users.

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Also, Carrier IQ put out another statement clarifying what its software does, in an attempt to calm the uproar, which began when a security researcher published a report showing the software could be used to collect data such as user locations, keys pressed on phones and what applications are running. Phone users typically aren't aware that their phones have the software and they aren't able to turn it off.

Apple, AT&T, Sprint, HTC, Samsung and T-Mobile have said some of their phones use the software. Research In Motion and Nokia have said they don't load the software onto their phones.

On Twitter, Verizon spokesman Jeffrey Nelson wrote on Thursday: "We do not add Carrier IQ to our phones. We do not use other similar software on our devices."

Carrier IQ, meanwhile, continues to assert that it doesn't collect any private information about phone users. In a statement it reiterated that its software does not record, store or transmit the contents of text messages, emails, pictures, audio or video. It captures information such as whether an SMS was delivered and which applications drain the battery, the company said. It "vigorously disagrees" with people who allege that Carrier IQ violates wiretap laws.

On Wednesday, Al Franken, the U.S. senator from Minnesota, sent a letter to Carrier IQ asking it to respond to questions about what kind of personal information it collects about users without their knowledge. He suggested the company might violate privacy laws.

His letter followed Carrier IQ's threat to sue Trevor Eckhart, the researcher whose report kicked off the uproar. Carrier IQ has since withdrawn that threat and apologized for it.

Eckhart reported that Carrier IQ software runs on Verizon phones as well as those from RIM and Nokia. Developers have reported that they have some evidence that shows some Verizon phones run the software. Verizon did not immediately respond to a request for comment about those findings.

Make Your Study More Flexi With Online Degrees

2011-12-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

Due to today’s competitive job market, importance of degrees and other professional qualifications are raised. The people are also considering for obtaining degree for their career growth. Generally working people have difficulties to give their efforts time to attend regular classes and pursue courses. Those who wish for advance their education, must consider for online degrees. The online degree is most well-situated way to get learning from any other remote areas and give opportunities at lesser cost than regular learning. People can pursue their desired online degree courses by spending few times. There is no time bound for obtaining education in such way. The courses can easily pursue with working and your work won’t affect your studies. You can continue your learning after returning home from office or work place. The expectant people need to give few hours for learning. The online courses will also help you expand better paying jobs in the field in which you want to work. Just cut your little time of your daily routine and put it in your online learning that will fulfill your dreams.

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Online learning has got much rapidity in recent years and many colleges and universities offer online courses to expectant students. The degrees are very favorable for students as it is too easy and flexible to get. The education online is also more enjoyable. You can receive similar worth of education and degrees as attending a campus learning but difference is that your degree is earned from home with the flexibility of own time. A quality education starts with the quality educational places. There are several online colleges and universities offer online degree courses with the rapid and prompt methods to appraise student’s development. They offer a range of courses with the view of student’s need and also mind need of today’s global job market. Such colleges and university offer exclusive and rare challenges to learner that will help to prepare them for work place. Are you looking for online education but you cannot seem to discover best colleges and universities. The 123onlinedegreecourses is a leading education portal that gives you all detailed information.

The home schooling is considered as formal schooling. Now day, people think that this mode of learning is suitable for their children. Most people believe that home schooling is become more competitive day by day but increasing of numerous online home schools are offering lots of opportunities that helps people to give a perfect education to their child. The online learning is also build strong technically because this mode of learning is only accessible by computer with connection of internet. The home schooling helps to create virtual ambiance of learning and child gains much. It helps also to make online friends and share their same thinking process. The children don’t face any racism or harsh attitude and can build their strong personalities. There is not limitation of time and children can study any time as per their wish and give freedom of learning. If you are considering for bestow education your child with such mode, must look for ample of reputed home schools.

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IBM, HP still server top-dogs, amid sales dip on last year

2011-11-29T06:45:00.000-08:00

IBM and HP remain all-but joint partners on Gartner’s third-quarter estimates for 2011, after the two giants took a collective 60 percent of the market.

IBM and HP remain the market leaders in the server business sector, according to latest quarterly figures by analyst Gartner.

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The market grew by a touch more than 5 percent to $12.3 billion in revenues, with 2.2 million servers sold.

While worldwide shipments in the third-quarter grew by 7 percent year-on-year, revenue only increased by just over 5 percent year-on-year.

But while Dell grew 6.3 percent from 2010’s third-quarter, Oracle did not grow at all, remaining with a 4.7 percent marketshare, losing an estimated $25 million in revenue.

That said, the third-quarter was strong and the markets can enjoy profits back to nearly how they were before the global financial crisis hit in 2008.

While the markets appear healthy in the U.S. and Canada, predictions about Europe’s markets seemed hedgy at best; a wise decision considering the current turmoil in the European markets, where even the financiers do not know whether the single-market currency, the Euro, will be around this time next year.

IBM attained just shy of 30 percent worldwide server marketshare in the third-quarter, who marginally took the crown from HP with 29.3 percent of the marketshare. But IBM and HP were side-by-side in revenues collected, both accounting for $3.8 billion.

Looking at the figures by-unit, HP sold 694,000 servers, averaging out at a price of $5,500 each, with IBM selling nearly a third of that at 288,000, with an average market price of $13,000.

HP said its sales of industry standard servers — those running regular Intel chips — were down by around 4 percent, while its business critical servers — running Intel’s Itanium chips — were down by nearly a quarter. A significant drop, not helped by the ongoing ding with Oracle, where Oracle had said it would cease support of the Itanium chip because Intel did not plan to keep the platform alive ‘over the long run’.

European antitrust regulators are yet to respond to HP’s calls to investigate Oracle, as the spat reaches the next level.

Dell and Oracle grabbed a 15 percent and 6 percent marketshare respectively in the last quarter.

3M, Infor in legal battle over millions in software fees

2011-11-28T14:31:00.000-08:00

In a case that hinges on interpretations of software contract language and the respective rights of customers and vendors when it comes to third-party support organizations, 3M wants a court to declare that it doesn't owe Infor millions of dollars in fees.

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For more than a decade, 3M has used Infor's BCPS and Infinium software, which is "indispensable" to its operations domestically and abroad, according to a complaint 3M filed last week in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

The relationship stems from a contract 3M initially signed in 1997 with SSA Global, which Infor later acquired, according to the suit. That pact gave 3M "a perpetual, personal, nontransferable and non-exclusive right and license to use the software," it adds.

Over time, 3M has gained the right to 8,000 license seats, most recently adding 1,000 in December 2009 at a cost of US$1.5 million, it states. Only 7,000 of the seats are currently in use.

The deal also includes annual maintenance payments to Infor, which currently total about $1 million per year, for updates, upgrades and technical support, according to the suit. However, the contract also specified that other necessary services wouldn't be provided by Infor, and that 3M was able to hire other companies to fulfill those needs, it adds.

But the agreement also contains a provision that bars 3M from giving access to the software "(without SSA Global's prior written consent) to any service bureau or other agent or third party whose primary function shall be to provide [3M] with day-to-day management and support responsibility of the software."

Meanwhile, the software has been highly customized for 3M's needs, with only about half of the code used at 3M "original to Infor," the suit states. Because of this, Infor employees are unable to provide much of the needed support, according to 3M.

3M signed a services agreement with Cognizant in November 2009 to help it manage the software, the suit states.

Infor "has long been aware" of 3M's relationship with Cognizant and in fact "expressly approved of Cognizant as a third-party provider for 3M, thereby lulling 3M into a false sense of security with respect to its relationship with Cognizant," according to the suit.

At one point, Infor sent 3M a "proposed use and confidentiality agreement" for Cognizant to sign, it adds. Cognizant kept the document "for many months without comment," and ultimately never signed it because "Infor had not properly defined Cognizant's duties" regarding the software.

In March of this year, an Infor contact told 3M he considered the Cognizant agreement "stale," but otherwise and since has "said nothing to indicate any objection or concern with Cognizant gaining access to the software," 3M said in the filing.

This year, Infor conducted an audit of 3M's software usage. In the process, Infor asked whether 3M had "outsourced the day-to-day operation and/or maintenance of the Infor software," the suit adds. 3M responded that it had, and identified Cognizant as the provider.

"The audit did not ask whether 3M had outsourced management of the software," it adds. "In fact, 3M has never outsourced management of the software."

In July, Infor sent 3M a letter claiming it had breached a confidentiality clause in the companies' contract due to Cognizant's involvement, and demanded $20,923,526 in exchange for giving Cognizant access rights, according to the suit. Infor later dropped that amount to between $17 and $18 million, it adds.

Earlier this month, 3M dissolved its contract with Cognizant "in an effort to maintain its relationship with Infor," believing that based on "previous representations by Infor" doing so would resolve the companies' differences.

Yet on Nov. 10, Infor "made yet another demand that 3M pay fees based on an unexplained 'analysis' for 'back usage' by Cognizant," it adds. In this instance, Infor asked for about $7.8 million but said it was willing to discount that amount to roughly $5.9 million, according to the suit.

3M is seeking a declaration that Cognizant "did not perform the 'primary function' of 'day-to-day management and support responsibility of the software,'" and therefore 3M is not in breach of its contract with Infor, it states.

The conglomerate also wants a declaration protecting it even if Cognizant did perform such activities, as well as attorneys' fees and other relief.

But the case could end up being settled before trial.

"Infor has a reputation for service and support excellence, and 3M is a valued Infor customer," said Infor spokesman Dan Barnhardt in a statement. "We are currently working with 3M to bring this matter to a speedy and satisfactory resolution. All software agreements necessarily restrict access to and modification of source code by third parties to encourage and protect substantial investments in continuous innovation."

3M's complaint does not mention source code modification. "I don't think that [Infor's statement] pertains to 3M's lawsuit at all, as 3M did not modify Infor source code," said Wendy Wildung, an attorney for 3M, said via email on Monday.

While it's impossible to know exactly what transpired between the companies on this front without more information, vendors have no legal claim or control over any customizations created by a customer that don't touch the underlying source code, said analyst Ray Wang, CEO of Constellation Research.

Apple's 'Black Friday' sale cuts Mac prices up to 10%

2011-11-27T06:51:00.000-08:00

Apple today cut Mac prices up to 10% in a repeat of the last two years' stingy "Black Friday" deals, which authorized resellers again trumped.

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For the second year in a row, Apple also sold the iPad at a discount.

Apple's one-day sale reduced most Mac prices by $101, a 10% cut on the entry-level 11-in. MacBook Air, which sold for $898 on Friday. The across-the-board $101 translated into discounts of 6%-8% for 13-in. MacBook Airs, 4%-8% for MacBook Pros and 5%-8% for iMacs.

The Mac Mini and the Mac Pro were not included in the deals.

Apple's Mac discount was identical to those of the last two years' Black Friday sales, although unlike in 2010, Apple did not exclude its lowest-priced notebooks this year.

"The most popular Apple Mac product this holiday season will be the MacBook Air," predicted analyst Brian White of Ticonderoga Securities, in a message to clients today.

The iPad 2 was reduced between $41 and $61 depending on the model, a discount of between 8% and 9%, and for the priciest iPads, slightly more than in 2010. Apple also dropped the price of the iPod Touch between $21 and $41, and cut prices for the iPod Nano by $11.

Apple's prices were good at both its online and brick-and-mortar stores through the day. Many of the latter opened at 6 a.m. local time in the U.S., several hours earlier than usual.

Some rival online sellers, however, beat Apple's sale prices.

Amazon.com, for example, listed the least-expensive 11-in. MacBook Air at $849.99 and the entry-level 21.5-in. iMac for $1,049.99.

Apple also discounted several software packages today, including the three-license edition of Microsoft's Office for Mac Home & Student 2011, which was priced at $128. But others beat Apple's sales price on that product, too: Amazon listed the application suite at $99.99, or 33% below list.

Data links managed IT services, cost reductions

2011-11-26T16:28:00.000-08:00

New research from CompTIA suggests that almost half of businesses were able to cut IT expenses at least 25 percent by shifting some to some managed services relationships.

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First, a definition, since I know that those of us in the high-tech industry tend to throw around phrases and acronyms with little regard for what they actually mean. I suppose that works to marketers’ messaging because where there is mystery, there is more opportunity for a conversation. But that doesn’t really help you or your company.

In any event, I’ve heard the term “managed services” tossed around willy-nilly for longer than I care to admit. Many people tend to equate this phrase with remote network management, but in truth it carries much broader meanings in today’s IT economy. In my mind, the term managed services as they pertain to IT infrastructure describes relationships that are ongoing and predictable in the sense that you know exactly what to expect as far as support, updates and technology management goes.

With that as a backdrop, I just got through considering some new research about managed services conducted by industry association CompTIA. The data, which reflects interviews with 400 IT and business professionals conducted in June 2011, suggests that 46 percent of companies have cut their technology expenses by 25 percent or more by moving to managed services for some or all of their IT infrastructure needs. Approximately 13 percent of those companies reported that they have cut at least 50 percent out of their IT expenses.

That doesn’t mean that money is just being cut forever, mind you. It seems that it is being diverted elsewhere.

More than half of the survey respondents indicated that one of the big reasons that they are turning to managed service providers for things such as security (antivirus or firewalls), web hosting, network management or help-desk support is that it will free up their internal IT staff for more strategic projects.

If you would like your team to spend more time focused on technology projects that could help generate revenue, it might be time to consider a managed service relationship to help automate some of the tasks that are bogging it down.

Cool mobile solutions for 2012

2011-11-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

It’s difficult to imagine a world more technologically advanced than the one we live in today. Until we remember saying the same thing ten—even five—years ago. Up until recently, limited bandwidth prevented most people from enjoying streaming videos, but today a system that can’t handle streaming content is considered obsolete. Technology can and does change that quickly.

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The technology we might see in the next ten years is mostly speculation, so for now we’ll focus on what to expect in 2012.

Mobile solutions for the mobile worker

We’ve been able to access documents on-the-go for a while, but printing those documents while out of the office has often been a challenge—until now.

“HP’s history of innovation runs deep, and we continue to leverage 1110_SMB_spurl_2012_lazymanchairs601171712352.9254that legacy and build on it for future growth,” said Vyomesh Joshi, executive vice president, Imaging and Printing Group, HP. “While printing in the traditional sense will continue to be integral to what we bring to the world, we are disrupting the market with leading innovations beyond the page as well.”

HP ePrint allows you to email office documents, presentations, and photos directly to HP ePrint-enabled printers—like the HP Officejet Pro 8600 e-All-in-One Printer—using any device with email capabilities. [1] All HP ePrint-enabled printers have their own email address, so you, your coworkers, or even your clients can email print jobs directly to the printer without installing any drivers or software from across the room to across the country.

Having the ability to work while you’re on the move is a luxury. Having the power to complete that work shouldn’t be. Products like HP’s line of EliteBook Notebook PCs are designed for powerful computing, as well as demanding workstation applications and essential security. You’ll work confidently—and fast—with a mobile workstation that enables your business to work more efficiently.
Store and print—in the cloud

One of the hot topics in the computing world these days is cloud storage. Quite simply, cloud storage allows data to be stored on multiple virtual servers—freeing up the need to have physical storage devices either on- or off-site.

The choice to implement a cloud computing solution is different for every organization. Some important things to consider:

Security measures whether corporate and customer data is secure in the cloud.
Open infrastructure provides a choice in cloud delivery models without adding complexity.
Automation improves the speed and efficiency of your cloud services.1110_SMB_spurl_2012_googlecloudprint777306327656.4817
Resilient technologies meet defined service levels for cloud availability, quality and performance.
Seamless integration combines public and private clouds with traditional delivery to create a unified IT service portfolio.
Cost considerations must be met in order to provide the best return on investment.

With HP ePrint-enabled printers and Google Cloud Print, all you need is the cloud to print—no drivers, no PC connection and no software. [2] Cloud Print is part of HP’s ePrint mobile-printing portfolio, enabling you to print where life and business happen.
Scan more than just flat objects

The HP TopShot LaserJet Pro Multifunction Printer M275 is 1110_SMB_spurl_2012_topshot17557713128.632412HP’s first web-connected color laser multi-function printer with the power to scan 3D objects. These objects can be scanned and used to create unique artwork and presentations. Click here to learn more.

In addition to 3D objects, converting your paper documents into electronic form allows you to store, share, and use them more effectively. Considering document management with
scanners like the HP Scanjet 5590 is just smart business.
Less clutter and higher efficiency

Improvements in technology aren’t all about processor speed and the amount of memory. Computers and peripherals now need fewer cables than ever before, freeing your desktop from clutter so you can get back to business.

Other benefits of an All-in-One (AIO) solution are:

Less packaging = lower shipping costs. With the rise in shipping costs, one of the easiest ways for businesses to save is to ship less. HP AIO PCs ship in a single box, enabling significant cost and time savings. Fewer boxes and cables make it easier for businesses to manage their IT investment.
Higher efficiency = lower energy bills. A typical PC and monitor can use up to 250 watts per day. HP AIO PCs use as little as 34 watts. HP AIO PCs won’t eat up your energy budget like typical PCs, leaving more resources for the things that really matter.
Just one cord to plug in. Traditional PCs require a nest of cables just to get started. Simplify your life with the HP AIO PC’s elegant out-of-the-box experience.

While we couldn’t imagine some of this technology a few years ago, we can certainly understand how to apply it to our daily work lives. Whether it’s printing on-the-go, scanning 3D objects, or implementing an AIO solution, it’s hard to argue that technology is heading in the right direction.
Slate 2.0

Don't forget about HP's newest Tablet PC. Ideal for people with jobs that frequently take them away from traditional desks, yet need to remove productive in a familiar Windows environment. Optimized for Windows® 7 Professional, the HP Slate 2 Tablet PC is also intended for those who use custom applications that must operate in a Windows® environment.

Google Health: First Failure of 2012

2011-11-23T21:34:00.000-08:00

At the stroke of midnight on New Year's day, Google Health, the personal health record data aggregation service for consumers, will shut down for good.

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Google first made the announcement quietly, in a blog post last June. But the closure of Google Health next month is also an important inflection point for public cloud-based services.

Google's failure shows that there are limits to how far users are willing to go in allowing access to personal information in exchange for free services. Google's idea of using an unregulated, private, advertising-supported business model as the aggregation point for highly sensitive personal health data is dead. Will other initiatives soon follow?

Google's goal was "to create a service that would give people access to their personal health and wellness information," all in one place. It did not provide federated access to the data, but physically moved the data to its servers. It wanted to "translate our successful consumer-centered approach from other domains to healthcare and have a real impact on the day-to-day health experiences of millions of our users," according to Google's blog post.

Google anonymized users' personal health data for purposes of data mining, and famously provided trending information on influenza outbreaks. But it also used the data as a mechanism to sell targeted advertising. And while advertisers didn't know who was getting their messages, the idea of receiving highly targeted ads for specific health conditions cited in users' personal health records struck many as creepy.

Google was also unable to allay privacy fears for the data consumers were entrusting to it. The problem can be summed up in one sentence on Google's privacy pages: "Unlike a doctor or health plan, Google Health is not regulated by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law that establishes data confidentiality standards for patient health information."

The idea that users would be willing to transfer personal health record data from health care providers, where data privacy is protected by law, to Google servers, where it is protected by non-binding privacy policies that can change at any time, was flawed from the start. Although Google's motto is "Don't be evil," many users viewed this deal as a Faustian bargain.

While there is an unmet need for an aggregated view of all personal health records, both for consumers and for medical professionals, Google Health was not the solution.

In-depth: Google's Ice Cream Sandwich -- a new era for Android

2011-11-22T11:49:00.000-08:00

Google's Android 4.0 operating system is more than just another upgrade.

Android 4.0, also known as Ice Cream Sandwich, marks the start of a new era for Google's mobile platform. The release ushers in the biggest changes the software has seen since the launch of Froyo in 2010 -- maybe even Eclair back in 2009. Nearly every facet of the OS has been made over, and the very core of the Android user experience has been completely reimagined.

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The more you use Ice Cream Sandwich, the more you realize just how radical a change it represents.

(Note: For the purposes of this review, I'm focusing on the smartphone side of Ice Cream Sandwich. At the time of this publication, the software had not yet been made available on any tablets.)

Getting to know Ice Cream Sandwich

The first thing you notice when you start using Ice Cream Sandwich is that Android suddenly seems a lot more friendly. While the OS has always been powerful and versatile, simple human relations weren't exactly its strong suit.
Now, powering up an Android 4.0 device (in my case, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, which I've been testing for several days) is like running into an old college buddy who's evolved into a slick professional. He has the same smarts, the same heart and soul you've always appreciated, but now he really has his act together -- and he's dressing better, to boot.

At a glance, Ice Cream Sandwich seems similar to the Android of years past. You have five home screen panels that hold any combination of app shortcuts, folders and live functioning widgets. Each is made up of an invisible grid that, like previous phone-based versions of Android, can support as many as 16 shortcuts (four across and four down). But beneath that basic shell, ICS is a whole new game.

You can practically see the fresh paint everywhere you look in the system. Gone are the harsh green and black colors of yore, replaced now with a soft blue-and-gray-based scheme. System icons are more brilliant, with bright colors and three-dimensional textures. New transitions and animations are sprinkled throughout the OS, adding subtle but important layers of polish.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Ice Cream Sandwich provides a new favorites tray that stays in place at the bottom of the screen. Click to view larger image.

As for the home screen itself, Ice Cream Sandwich provides a new favorites tray that stays in place at the bottom of the screen as you swipe from one panel to another. The tray houses a permanent link to your app drawer along with four customizable icons; you can anchor any shortcut or folder into those spots by simply dragging and dropping it into place.

ICS also introduces a new persistent search box across the top of the home screen. Tapping the main part of the box brings up Android's universal search field, which simultaneously covers the Web and most content on your phone. Tapping the microphone at right end of the box, meanwhile, brings up Google's Voice Actions utility, which allows you to conduct a Web search, place a phone call, send a text or email, or get driving directions by speaking into your device.

(Don't tell Siri, but that's actually a function Android has had for more than a year.)
The button-free philosophy

Perhaps the most striking shift with Ice Cream Sandwich is its move away from the four physical buttons that have long been Android phones' most identifiable feature. In fact, the Galaxy Nexus -- the flagship Android 4.0 phone -- has no buttons on its face whatsoever.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich
Instead of physical buttons, you get three icons at the bottom of the display. Click to view larger image.

Instead, you get a trio of virtual buttons at the bottom of the display: one to go back a step, one to return to your home screen, and one to multitask, or toggle among recently used applications. These buttons will be familiar to Android tablet users; they actually first appeared in Honeycomb, as did an early implementation of the button-free philosophy. But for Android phones, they mark a major shift.

As someone who's used Android intensely for years, I expected the lack of physical buttons to be a shock. I'm happy to say, though, that I've found the adjustment surprisingly painless. It's really a natural evolution, as the on-screen buttons appear when and where you need them. If you rotate your device to a horizontal position, they move along with it. And if you don't need them on-screen -- say, if you're viewing a photo or video -- they disappear, turning into tiny dots that can emerge when beckoned but stay out of your way otherwise.

That said, the shift in button strategy does change the way you interact with the phone, especially when it comes to the search and menu functions that used to have permanent places on the front of the device. The elimination of the menu function is intended to make Android more user-friendly: Rather than having to press your phone's menu button to find commands, as you did with previous versions of Android, apps designed for ICS show all your options in a new "action bar" that sits at the top of the screen. The action bar's commands are context-sensitive, too, so they vary based on what task you're performing.

When you open Google Voice, for example, the action bar gives you one icon to compose a new text, one to refresh your inbox, and one that holds an overflow list of less commonly used functions (Ice Cream Sandwich's on-screen equivalent of the old menu button). When you're viewing an actual message in Google Voice, the action bar changes to give you options to call the person from your conversation or compose a new message to someone else.

This approach is excellent in theory. In execution, however, it has one glaring problem: Ice Cream Sandwich lacks a certain level of consistency with the placement of some key functions. Search, for example, is sometimes an icon in the action bar, and other times an option in the on-screen overflow menu (as is the case in Google Voice).

Even that overflow menu itself moves around somewhat from application to application: On most apps that have been optimized for ICS, it lives within the action bar at the top. But on older apps that have not been updated to reflect the new design standards, it appears squished in alongside the main navigation icons at the bottom. A similar inconsistency occurred within Honeycomb. My hope is that, as the new interface reaches more and more devices, app developers will update their programs to support the new approach.

(With existing phones that have physical buttons, by the way, the physical buttons will continue to function as they always have; you'll just use those instead of the new on-screen alternatives. The full ICS effect will be seen only on the Galaxy Nexus and subsequent button-free devices.)

The app drawer and home screen customization

Ice Cream Sandwich introduces a newly designed app drawer that puts all of your installed applications and widgets in a single centralized place. The drawer swipes horizontally, with a pleasant scroll-and-fade animation effect as you move from one screen to another. An icon at the top of the drawer gives you direct access to the Android Market as well.

Customizing your home screens is now done right from the app drawer, streamlining a process that used to be far less intuitive. With ICS, you simply touch and hold any app shortcut or widget in the app drawer, and the system automatically shows you a preview of all five home screen panels. You can then drag and drop the item anywhere you want. You can get detailed information about an app or uninstall it while you're there, too -- tasks that used to be buried within layers of settings menus.
Home screen widgets have long been one of Android's most powerful and distinguishing features, and with Ice Cream Sandwich, they become even more valuable. Following the lead set in the tablet-focused Honeycomb OS (and seen in some third-party launcher replacement utilities), ICS allows you to interact with home screen widgets by scrolling or flipping without having to enter the actual apps.

Noteworthy examples include the Gmail widget, which lets you scroll through messages, and the Photo Gallery widget, which lets you flip through thumbnails of images on your phone. Widgets can now also be resized to take up more or less space on your home screen.

Home screen folders get a makeover with ICS, too, with a fresh new look and highly simplified setup. Creating a folder is now as easy as dragging one app on top of another; you can add or remove more apps by dragging and dropping, and you can change the folder's name by touching it.
Notifications and multitasking

Ice Cream Sandwich gets a brand new notification bar that houses icons and information about incoming messages and alerts. It's essentially a prettier and more powerful version of what's existed in the past.

On the cosmetic side, the new notification area has a transparent gray background with blue and white text, matching the rest of the OS's revamped design. Functionality-wise, the notifications now support a new system-wide swiping gesture that allows you to dismiss any individual item by flicking it left or right. This is a welcome touch that gives you greater control over what you see.

The Ice Cream Sandwich notifications area includes interactive commands for controlling music playback when the Music app is active. That means you can pause or skip tracks right from the pulldown area, without having to interrupt what you're doing. Unfortunately, this feature appears to work only with the system Music app at the moment; third-party programs like Pandora are not currently compatible.

Along with the new notification system, Android 4.0 includes a revamped multitasking interface. It's activated by tapping the new "recent apps" button, located next to the virtual back and home commands. This brings up a scrollable list of all the apps and services you've recently opened on your phone, showing each app's name, icon and a thumbnail of its most recent state. As with the new notifications area, you can tap any item to activate it or flick to dismiss it.

The improvement here over Android's old system -- long-pressing the home key to bring up a small and limited list of icons -- is immeasurable. The new multitasking interface is easy to find, fun to use, and a true highlight of the 4.0 platform.
The ICS keyboard and voice input

Google has really gone a long way in improving the system keyboard in Ice Cream Sandwich. Compared to past Android releases, the ICS keyboard is far better at predicting and correcting text, which means you can type quickly and/or sloppily and it'll almost always figure out what you're trying to say.
The new keyboard has a few nice bells and whistles, too, like built-in spell checking and a tremendously improved cut and paste system. I tend to be a fan of slide-based keyboards like Swype, but the stock Ice Cream Sandwich keyboard is good enough that I'm actually fine with -- and even enjoying -- using it.

On the voice-input front, the familiar microphone icon allows you to dictate text anywhere in the system, as it always has -- but now, text is transcribed continuously, so words show up as you're saying them instead of in one big chunk when you're finished speaking. You can also pause and stop speaking and the system will wait for you to continue instead of stopping the session. (To signal that you're finished, you press a "Done" button that appears on the screen.)

If the voice input mishears a word or two, error correction in Ice Cream Sandwich is quite easy: The system automatically underlines any words it thinks might be iffy, and then you just tap a word to see a list of likely alternatives and pick a replacement.
You wouldn't think there'd be much to say about a phone's lock screen, but with Ice Cream Sandwich, this seemingly simple system component is jam-packed with tasty new treats.

If you don't set any security options, the default ICS lock screen uses a circular unlock gesture similar to what's seen in Honeycomb. The lock screen offers a lot more functionality now, catching up with options that some third-party utilities have previously offered.

For example, you can now access and interact with notifications, see album cover art and music playback controls, and jump directly to your camera without ever having to go to the home screen.

Another nice touch: When your phone is locked and you receive a call, the lock screen features a new text-and-reject feature that simultaneously declines the call and sends a message to the person explaining why you can't talk. You can pick from a list of generic responses or add your own custom message. (You can permanently edit/change the list of default responses by going into the settings section of the Phone app.)
As with past versions of Android, Ice Cream Sandwich gives you the ability to set a security pattern, password or PIN to protect your phone. It also introduces an intriguing new option: facial recognition for phone unlocking. Once configured, all you do is hold your phone in front of your your face. If all goes well, within a second or two, it recognizes your features and unlocks your device.

I found the facial recognition system to be fairly accurate and incredibly satisfying to use. In my tests, the system was able to recognize me roughly 90% of the time, even when I was wearing eyeglasses or a hat or making some silly face (for testing purposes only, of course). The times when it didn't work were usually when I was in an extreme lighting condition or holding the phone at an unusual angle. But getting your face rejected, while perhaps mildly demoralizing, is not a big deal; you just enter in a backup password or pattern and you're good to go.

Google does note that the facial recognition option is less secure than a pattern, password or PIN; a disclaimer on the phone goes as far as to tell you that "someone who looks similar to you" could potentially unlock your phone with the feature activated. Some users have reported being able to trick the system into unlocking by holding up a photo of the phone's owner; I tried and was not able to replicate that. I also tested the system with my brother, whom people often mistake for me, but the phone wouldn't unlock with his face.

The take-home message: Facial recognition is convenient, novel and impressive -- and in most cases, it's pretty secure. But if you really need to safeguard your data and can't take any chances, it might not be the right choice for you.

Camera and Gallery

Android 4.0 includes a brand spankin' new Camera app that's chock full of surprises. The app's interface boasts some significant improvements, but the added functions are what really steal the show.
One of the high points is the newly implemented support for zero shutter lag. That means you can snap one photo after another in rapid succession without ever having to stop or wait. It's actually a little strange at first -- and can make it somewhat challenging to get your image focused, if you're moving really fast -- but it's a fantastic feature that makes photo-capturing easier than ever.

The Camera app has a cool single-motion panorama mode, too, that lets you take wide-perspective images. All you do is tap the panorama icon and press the shutter button, then move your camera slowly across the area you want to capture. When you're finished, you tap the shutter once more, and the software puts the whole thing together into a single seamless image. It works amazingly well.

On the video side, the Camera app now includes a range of live-video effects -- distorting your face, for example, or making it appear as if you're floating in space. They're more for fun than anything, but I found they provided some light-hearted amusement while video-chatting with friends. The Camera has a few serious new video-related tools as well, including a snapshot-capturing utility that lets you grab still images while you're recording video.

The new Camera app and the redesigned Gallery app put photo sharing front and center, with a host of on-screen options to send images to any share-ready service. Ice Cream Sandwich also includes native photo and video editing tools. I found the video editing suite to be a bit limited in its capabilities, but the photo editing options are quite robust, with commands for cropping, sharpening, removing red eye, modifying lighting and making a variety of color adjustments. The photo editor can apply quite numerous special effects, too, if you're into that sort of thing.
Other Ice Cream Sandwich sprinkles

I could write an entire book trying to cover and review everything that's new in Ice Cream Sandwich. I haven't even gotten into the revamped system settings menu -- it's far simpler and easier to use -- or the new NFC-based "Android Beam" function that lets you share info with other phones by tapping the devices together (cool in theory, but fairly limited in practice at the moment).

You've also got random flourishes like the long overdue ability to capture screenshots and the new fine controls for managing and monitoring your network data usage. Many of the system apps are vastly improved as well, including Gmail, Calendar, People (formerly Contacts) and the browser -- which now features faster page loading, automatic Chrome bookmark syncing, offline page saving and graphical tabbed browsing.

But you get the picture. Ice Cream Sandwich is more than just another upgrade; it's a significant new beginning for the Android platform. It isn't perfect -- the software has a handful of inconsistencies and areas for improvement -- but it's astonishingly good. I suspect it'll go a long way in delighting both hardcore enthusiasts and casual smartphone users.
Bottom line

Android has always been a powerful platform. With Ice Cream Sandwich, its power reaches new heights -- and its polish makes the power more palatable than ever.

Career Paths For Comptia A+ Certified Technician

2011-11-21T14:59:00.000-08:00

You can go from simple computer repair to manufacturing high-end workstations and servers.

The Technician Path:
The next step is taking the Net+ Exam and installing network cabling, supporting corporate end users and managing the corporate desktop.

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Administration:
Network support, configuring routers and managing user accounts on the corporate servers. This is also the well known Nework+/ MCSE/NOVEL CNA/Cisco CCNA track.

Development:
Design and manage the companies web presence and intranet.
(.NET, ASP, MsSQL, PHP, MySQL, Oracle, ColdFusion)

As you can see from just this small list the possibilities are astounding. This is only a small percentage of the technologies and career paths for you to choose from. The table below lists various other certifications that you can combine with A+ to take your career in a new direction. Also visit Comptia's Related certification page for more information on how to apply A+ towards advanced certifications by vendors such as Cisco, Microsoft and more.

* Hardware: Server+, Manufacturing

* Technician: Net+, MCDSP, MCP/MCSA (Microsoft Track)

* Administration: Network+,CCNA/CCNP,CNA/CNE,Linux Track, MCSE

* Development: .NET, MCDBA, PHP/MySQL (Open-source Track)

Information technology is an ever changing arena. And while you may have decided on a specific career path, the benefits of the CompTIA A+ certification will remain a solid foundation for you to build on.

Cisco invests in Korean venture for smart buildings and cities

2011-11-19T10:12:00.000-08:00

Cisco is acquiring a minority stake in a subsidiary of KT, a South Korean telecommunications services company, which will offer managed services for smart buildings and smart city projects from January.

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The investment in KC Smart Service (KCSS) is part of a global strategic collaboration between the two companies to bridge the IT and communications markets, Cisco said on Monday.

The new venture will be funded with starting capital of US$30 million from KT and Cisco. KT will be in charge of the overall management of the operations of the new company which will be headquartered in Korea.

KCSS will initially target 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan and China, Cisco said. The company will have 30 staff to start with, including experts in the areas of smart space, which may be increased to 70 by next year.

The venture will deploy technologies from both KT and Cisco, including Cisco's Unified Service Delivery Platform, Cisco said. The companies have executed agreements that establish the framework for their collaboration, enabling KCSS to have the ability to incorporate the technologies and tools of KT and Cisco.

KT and Cisco are also looking at collaborating in business-to-business services and cloud computing. KT has plans to establish a cloud business by the end of the year, and establish a research and development (R&D) center in Silicon Valley early next year.

Cisco said in July it was taking a minority stake in U.Life Solutions, a company focused on delivering managed smart and connected community services to residents and businesses in Songdo International Business District, a new city on the coast of Incheon in South Korea.

KT said last month it would launch a tablet, called the Smart Home Pad, that includes a number of smart home services such as home security on a Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi

Learn About IBM 000-229,000-236,000-252 Certification Exam

2011-11-18T07:06:00.000-08:00

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Provide Your Network System With The Cisco Boost

2011-11-17T00:37:00.000-08:00

To enable an assimilated network that, adapts to the contemporary and prospective business needs, you need various equipment to control them. When looking for network accessories, consider good quality equipment that are updated and of good quality.

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Our contemporary businesses are all mainly computerized. So, with the increase in the competition, it often becomes very important to keep up with the changes in the systems used. As, these changes result into added revenue and ensure the smooth running of the businesses. Consequently, whether you are a startup, or an already established business, updating or setting up of network hardware technology can be an expensive job. Especially, opting for high-end and quality products offered by Cisco. In this case why not opt for a gently-used or refurbished Cisco IT products? Refurbished products often make a good investment for businesses.

There are many retailers who resale from new to slightly used, Cisco products, to meet all your network systems needs, like:
* Cisco Routers

* Cisco Switches

* Cisco Access Servers

* Cisco Content and Storage

* Cisco IP Telephony

* Cisco Security

* Cisco Wireless

Whilst looking for a resale retailer it is important to ensure that they provide:

Customer service: they provide you with excellent and up to date information to enable you to make your important IT purchasing decisions. They always make themselves available to answer any questions you have before, during the whole process. Be it before, whilst you make the purchase or after the purchase is made. And they also provide impeccable customer service n times of an emergency whilst maintaining the optimum quality of work.

Value: whether new or used Cisco equipment, they have the resources to help you get your start-up off the ground. In addition to ensuring that your current business is progressing. They are likely to provide you impressive discounts on new products and up to 90 percent off listed price for used and refurbished I.T. equipment. Thus, ensuring you are provided by optimum value added service at inexpensive rates.
Quality: Despite being resale products, the quality of the new and used Cisco equipment is vigorously tested. They are only sold when they are deemed worthy for deployment. Remarketed, gently used and surplus I.T. equipment are meticulously cleaned before being resold. In addition to that, expert technicians carefully inspect and application-test all equipment according to the highest standards in the industry.
These used Cisco products, apart from the end user, can also be used by:

Systems Integrators: As, they manage the multilayered process of processing, storing, and categorizing data. Furthermore, they also bring together component subsystems into a plausible and measurable system.

IT Consultants: Since, they make use of information technology effectively and efficiently to meet evolving business challenges. The resale Cisco products enable them to balance hard budget realities along with pressing tech necessities. Thus, matching quality with affordability by resourcing gently used and surplus IT equipment, at a true value for the discerning consumer.

Network Architects: As Cisco sets the standard for network platforms and telecommunications, demand for used Cisco equipment follows. Network Architects looking for a reliable technology vendor with a comprehensive inventory of tested and inspected components can avail these services.

Government and Education Industry: Services such as, municipal, state and federal government agencies, universities and school districts also need high quality, reliable, and affordable Cisco IT parts and equipment. Good as new Cisco components, at a huge discount, are often what governmental and educational purchasing departments working under strict budgetary guidelines, need the most.

This article has been written by an expert associated with Network System Resale, a global seller of new and gently used Cisco network hardware technology.

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2011-11-17T00:30:00.000-08:00

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Google Apps closes in on big win with General Motors deal

2011-11-06T06:37:00.000-08:00

Google Apps continues to replace desktop-based solutions like Microsoft Office in the enterprise world.

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Google continues to secure its spot as one of the top (if not the top) provider for email and online collaboration software to the enterprise world.

The latest customer set to sign up for Google Apps appears to be General Motors. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google is close to inking a deal to provide its cloud-based suite of productivity apps to more than 100,000 GM employees.

However, the WSJ also reported that Google must meet certain requirements before GM will ultimately deploy its software.

Those requirements haven’t been specified publicly yet, nor has Google or GM announced anything officially just yet.

Nevertheless, if this goes in Google’s favor, it will be a huge win for Google. Up until now, General Motors has reportedly been using IBM’s Lotus Notes.

More importantly, it points towards a major shift among business customers (and even consumers) away from the old guard of desktop-based software like Microsoft Office to a preference for moving everything to the cloud.

And why not? Options like Google Apps are cheaper (companies with more than 10 employees pay $50 per year for each user), more accessible — the latter of which matters most when it comes to collaborating on work-related projects. Google Apps is also typically far easier to understand and utilize for the average computer user, and it is more flexible when scaling for companies of all sizes.

Firewall Fundamentals

2011-11-05T05:10:00.000-07:00

The essential guide to understanding and using firewalls to protect personal computers and your network

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An easy-to-read introduction to the most commonly deployed network security device
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Includes configuration, deployment, and management checklists

Increasing reliance on the Internet in both work and home environments has radically increased the vulnerability of computing systems to attack from a wide variety of threats. Firewall technology continues to be the most prevalent form of protection against existing and new threats to computers and networks. A full understanding of what firewalls can do, how they can be deployed to maximum effect, and the differences among firewall types can make the difference between continued network integrity and complete network or computer failure. Firewall Fundamentals introduces readers to firewall concepts and explores various commercial and open source firewall implementations--including Cisco, Linksys, and Linux--allowing network administrators and small office/home office computer users to effectively choose and configure their devices. Firewall Fundamentals is written in clear and easy-to-understand language and helps novice users understand what firewalls are and how and where they are used. It introduces various types of firewalls, first conceptually and then by explaining how different firewall implementations actually work. It also provides numerous implementation examples, demonstrating the use of firewalls in both personal and business-related scenarios, and explains how a firewall should be installed and configured. Additionally, generic firewall troubleshooting methodologies and common management tasks are clearly defined and explained.

CompTIA 220-701 Exams Q & A

2011-11-05T02:07:00.000-07:00

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QUESTION 1
Which of the following RAID levels uses striping across three or more disks with parity?

A. RAID 1
B. RAID 3
C. RAID 5
D. RAID 10

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 2
A customer reports that while attempting to print a document it seems to queue up fine, but the
printer does not print the job. Which of the following may be the cause?

A. Outdated or corrupt print driver.
B. The application used to create the document is incompatible with the printer.
C. A print job is waiting in the print queue.
D. Printer configuration is incorrect.

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 3
A print job fails to leave the queue. Which of the following services may need to be restarted?

A. Printer Driver
B. Windows Spool Service
C. Print Spooler
D. NIC driver

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 4
A technicians company prints forms on multi-layer carbonless copy paper. When asked to replace
the printer, which of the following printing technologies will allow the technician to continue to use
the companys copy paper?

A. Transfer
B. Dot Matrix
C. Thermal
D. Laser

Answer: B

Explanation:

QUESTION 5
A customers computer crashes consistently when a specific application is launched. The
technician has looked at the computer and confirmed the cause of the crash. Which of the
following is the NEXT troubleshooting step the technician should take?

A. Verify full system functionality.
B. Document the findings, actions, and outcomes.
C. Establish a plan of action to resolve the problem.
D. Question the user and identify changes the user has made to the system.

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 6
Which of the following programs can be scheduled to delete unwanted compressed old files?

A. Disk Management
B. Check Disk
C. Disk Cleanup
D. Disk Defragmenter

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 7
Which of the following chipsets is responsible for controlling the data flow between a PATA optical
drive and the processor?

A. Northbridge
B. BIOS
C. Southbridge
D. DMA controller

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 8
A KVM will allow the user to:

A. prevent unauthorized users from removing devices from a computer.
B. network multiple computers to gain optimum use of system resources.
C. connect multiple computers to save on resources.
D. allow multiple users the ability to share a single computer.

Answer: C

Explanation:

QUESTION 9
Which of the following bus slots is in a laptop?

A. AGP
B. PCMCIA
C. PCI
D. AMR

Answer: B

Explanation:

QUESTION 10
A technician is called to a school lab to fix a computer. The computer worked fine the day before,
but now does not power on. The computer is plugged into a power strip with another computer.
The other computer works fine. Which of the following could be the problem? (Select TWO).

A. The power strip is overloaded.
B. The monitor is unplugged.
C. The power cable is unplugged from the computer.
D. The power strip is unplugged.
E. The voltage switch on the computer is set incorrectly.

Answer: C,E

Explanation:

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Microsoft's IE posts biggest share drop in three years

2011-11-01T19:09:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) last month lost the largest amount of usage share in three years, a Web metrics firm said today.

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The slide of IE, which dropped 1.8 percentage points to 52.6% during October, came on the heels of a fall of nine-tenths of a point in September. Only IE's November 2008 plummet of more than 2 points was larger, according to data from Net Applications.

In the last three months, IE has lost 3.3 points, or 6% of its total share as of July 31, the biggest three-month drop since October-December 2009.

As has now become rote, Google's Chrome and Apple's Safari were the winners in the browser race in October, boosting their shares by 1.4 and four-tenths of a percentage point, respectively.

Chrome ended October with a 17.6% share, while Safari accounted for 5.4% of all browsers used globally during the month. Both were records in Net Applications' tracking of desktop browser usage share.

Microsoft did not directly address the continued decline of IE today, but instead stuck to the message that it has used for much of the year, that Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) has increased its share on Windows 7, the company's newest operating system.

Worldwide, IE9 had a share of 22.5% on Windows 7, an increase of 1.4 points. That put the browser in second on Windows 7 behind only Microsoft's own IE8, and far above the third-place Chrome 14, which accounted for 18.1% of all browsers used on the operating system.

In the U.S., IE9 had an even larger share of 34.9% on Windows 7, more than that of all versions of Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox combined.

While IE9's gains have been impressive, the new browser -- launched last March -- has not stopped defections from older versions of IE to alternate browsers.

In October, IE9's share of browsers running on all operating systems, not only Windows 7, grew by 1.1 points to 9.8%. At the same time, however, IE8, IE7 and IE6 lost a collective 2.7 points, or more than double IE9's increase.

IE8's share dropped nine-tenths of a point to 29%, while IE7 and IE6 lost six-tenths and 1.1 points, respectively, to end October at 5.4% and 7.5%.

It's possible, of course, that when older versions of IE near extinction, that the desertions will slow or cease. But by the time Microsoft's long-game plan plays out, IE will have lost its majority position and fallen under the 50% mark.

According to projections based on Net Applications' data, IE will slip under 50% as early as January 2012, and if the losses of the last three months continue on their torrid pace, Microsoft's browser will account for just 43.7% by June 2012.

Chrome gained most of the share that IE lost, continuing a trend established in late 2009 when Firefox's growth stalled. Firefox ended October with a 22.5% share, unchanged from September.

Firefox remains in in danger of losing its second-place spot to Chrome: If the two browsers keep to their current trend lines, Chrome will overtake Firefox in April 2012.

Chrome should crack the 20% mark in either January or February 2012.

Net Applications calculates browser usage share with data obtained from more than 160 million unique visitors who browse 40,000 Web sites that the company monitors for clients. More browser statistics can be found on the company's site.

Microsoft Recognized for Advancing Accessibility

2011-10-31T14:41:00.000-07:00

Microsoft’s efforts to advance accessibility were recognized at the end of the past week in a ceremony hosted by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Julius Genachowski.

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The Redmond company is offering a comprehensive collection of resources designed to streamline the work of developers building accessible software, equipment and websites.

Dubbed the Microsoft Accessibility Tools & Training Resources, the set of offerings has been available free of charge to devs worldwide.

Because its dedication and work to support accessible technology, the software giant received the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility at FCC.

“The awards were presented for the development of individual mainstream or assistive technologies introduced into the marketplace, the development of standards, or the implementation of best practices that foster accessibility,” noted Laura Ruby, director, Trustworthy Computing - Accessibility Policy & Standards, Microsoft.

“The timing of the a ceremony was very fitting because October is Disability Employment Awareness Month, and also marks the first anniversary of the Twenty-First Communications and Video Programming Accessibility Act (CVAA).

The accolade comes to reflect the Redmond company’s long time commitment to advancing accessible technology.

Offerings such as the Microsoft Accessibility Tools & Training Resources, make it possible for people with disabilities or additional impediments such as injuries or age-related difficulties to use computers, devices, applications, websites, etc.

“Microsoft initially developed the online tools and training courses to increase accessibility awareness and expertise among its own developer groups,” Ruby added.

“In response to growing customer demand for accessibility guidance, however, Microsoft decided to make the resources available, free of charge, to corporations, governments and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) around the world that want to make technology more accessible.”

According to the FCC, the Chairman’s Awards for Advancement in Accessibility come to celebrate the work done to push accessibility forward and open up technology to people that might otherwise find it impossible to use.

Facebook for Windows Phone version 2.2 is out

2011-10-31T12:20:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has released Facebook for Windows Phone version 2.2, adding support for Mango. You can grab it now from the Windows Phone Marketplace.

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Microsoft has released version 2.2 of its Facebook app for Windows Phone. The biggest addition is support for Windows Phone 7.5 (codenamed Mango). While most of the apps that come with Windows Phone were updated with Mango, the Facebook app wasn’t, until now.

If you’ve got the Windows Phone Marketplace live tile pinned to your start screen, you should have already gotten a notice that an update is available. You can download the new version from this link: Facebook for Windows Phone.

Version 2.2 gives you the ability to pin elements such as Messages, Events, the News Feed, and Photos directly onto your homescreen. It also includes tile notifications for events, friend requests, tags, and so on.

Microsoft still doesn’t seem to offer an official changelog for its Facebook app. If you know otherwise, please let me know.

220-702 Exam Q & A

2011-10-31T07:00:00.000-07:00

QUESTION 1
A client can no longer print from their computer to the default printer. The client successfully prints
a test page directly from the printer. The printers queue shows the job ready to print. Which of the
following is the BEST recommendation that the technician can make?

A. Restart the print spooler service.
B. Delete the print job and resubmit it.
C. Verify the correct paper is being used.
D. Reinstall the printers drivers.

Answer: A

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QUESTION 2
Which of the following will occur if %temp% is executed from the run command?

A. The operating systems temporary folder will be opened.
B. Applications located the %temp% folder will be executed.
C. Applications will be deleted in the %temp% folder.
D. The current users temporary folder will be opened.

Answer: D

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QUESTION 3
A technician needs to upgrade memory on a laptop with one available memory slot. The type and
amount of memory has been confirmed to be correct. Once the new memory is added, the BIOS
reports the original memory size. Which of the following is the NEXT step to perform?

A. Replace all of the laptops memory.
B. Reseat the laptop memory.
C. Perform a Windows Update.
D. Replace the motherboard.

Answer: B

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QUESTION 4
Which of the following contains the user profile directory for Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP?

A. Users
B. My Documents
C. Documents and Settings
D. Application Data

Answer: C

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QUESTION 5
A technician needs to add an expansion card to a computer. The documentation with the card
states it requires a PCI x4 slot. The computer has PCI x1 and PCI x16 slots available. Which if the
following should the technician do?

A. The technician can install the card in a PCI x16 slot and get four times the performance.
B. The technician can install the card in a PCI x1 slot and get half the performance.
C. The technician can install the card in a PCI x16 slot with normal performance.
D. The technician can install the card is a PCI x1 slot and get normal performance.

Answer: C

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QUESTION 6
Which of the following is used to test all computer hardware before installing an operating system?

A. An operating system needs to be installed
B. POST card
C. Another computer
D. BIOS setting

Answer: B

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QUESTION 7
Which of the following should be installed to support Gigabit Ethernet within a home network?

A. 10Base2
B. 100Base2
C. 100BaseT
D. 1000BaseT

Answer: D

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QUESTION 8
A laptop LCD screen needs to be replaced. Which of the following tools would be BEST used to
open the case?

A. Flathead screwdriver
B. Plastic shim
C. Metal shim
D. Pliers

Answer: B

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QUESTION 9
A technician is dispatched to a malware infected system. Upon arrival, the technician notices the
malwares pop-up on the screen. Which of the following boot methods would the technician utilize?

A. Reboot in Safe Mode
B. Reboot in Recovery Console
C. Reboot in Last Known Good Configuration
D. Reboot in System Debug Mode

Answer: A

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QUESTION 10
Which of the following devices can assist a technician in troubleshooting computers that will not
start?

A. Anti-static pad
B. Loopback plug
C. ISA card
D. POST card

Answer: D

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Google+ Tips: 4 Tools to Boost Your Social Networking Experience

2011-09-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Getting the hang of Google+ and looking for more? Check out these four Google+ tools that let you easily upload photos in bulk, find new people to follow, translate posts and more.

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CIO — While rumors continue to swirl about when the Google+ API will be released to developers, that's not stopping some people from getting in on the Google+ action.

Whether you're just starting out on Google+ or consider yourself an advanced user, more and more Google+ enhancements and add-ons are popping up across the Web.

Here's a look at four new ones that do everything from streamlining bulk photo-uploading to helping you increase your network reach.

1. Google+ Photo Importer for iPhone
If you store your photos on multiple sites such as Facebook, Flickr, Instagram or Photobucket, there's a new download available in the Apple App Store that lets you upload 100 photos in less than a minute to your Google+ account. This tool is especially handy if you plan on shifting your social networking focus to Google+.

The Google Plus Photo Importer by Dropico costs 99 cents, and while uploads I tested generally took longer than the advertised 60 seconds, it was still impressively fast.

10 Google+ tips for Beginners
Google+ Privacy: 5 Settings You Need to Know

2. Find People on Google+
Looking for more connections on Google+? While its own search feature only lets you find people by name, you can dig a bit deeper to find groups of people with certain characteristics at FindPeopleOnPlus.

Here, you can not only search for people by name, but you can also search by profession, location, relationship status, gender, education, employer, occupation and more, which makes growing your network and tailoring it to your needs a lot easier.

You can also choose to add yourself to its directory. This will keep your FindPeopleOnPlus profile updated and in-synch with your Google+ profile.

3. PlusClout
Akin to Klout.com, a site that measures your social media influence, PlusClout measures the influence a user has on Google+ and rates it from 0 to 100.

When you visit the site, PlusClout will ask you to insert your Google+ ID in order to generate your score. Your ID is the string of numbers that appear in the URL of your profile page.

PlusClout says that while its formula is still evolving, right now it calculates your number based on 15 million public Google+ profiles and items shared, such as posts, comments, +1s, the number of followers you have and the frequency and volume of information sharing.

Cloud Computing: What You Need to Know About PaaS

2011-09-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Cloud computing discussions invariably begin with the “IPS” taxonomy: Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service and Software as a Service. This taxonomy has the virtue of being comprehensible and neatly partitioning assessment requirements Microsoft 70-640 Training .

Want an application? Look to a SaaS provider for a single purpose application (HR, financials, printing, etc.)

Want to write your own application? Look to an IaaS provider that lets you create your own custom application.

Want to understand the concept of leveraging someone else’s software smarts to manage the plumbing while you focus on application functionality? Then look at something like Google App Engine to get an idea of what PaaS could be.

This latter category was always kind of an afterthought because it lacked very strong entrants. However, that’s changing–big time. I wrote about this a few weeks ago in my blog, where I noted “PaaS is where it’s at.”

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Cloud providers of every stripe are converging on what will be the development battleground of tomorrow–PaaS. They’ve clearly identified this as a crucial market–one in which the victors will enjoy huge spoils. It’s also a market that will present significant challenges to users.

The evidence of this convergence is all around us. Amazon, by far the most successful IaaS provider, has steadily been surrounding its core services with additional functionality that, while not announced as “platform,” has the undeniable effect of providing a set of services that help build applications faster and manage collections of resources easier. Think RDS for managing and scaling databases; direct connect for securing external application access; virtual private cloud to segregate applications within AWS (Amazon Web Services) data centers; and CloudFormation for application management.

At last week’s Dreamforce event, Salesforce outlined its PaaS offering based on the recent acquisition of Heroku. While once a Ruby on Rails-oriented offering, Heroku has been extended to support Java. It’s also been integrated with Salesforce’s Database.com. And it’s supported by the Database Rights Option, which integrates on-premise data with Salesforce applications. Salesforce may call it “the social enterprise,” but the collective offering is clearly aimed at providing a generalized platform for application development.

Of course, it’s not just big players staking a claim here. A number of small firms have recently been funded, each providing a slightly different framework for building cloud-based applications. While each of them (including one from VMware, which is certainly no startup) claims to be open and multi-cloud, it remains to be seen how well they deliver. Just as likely, in my view, is that cloud providers will adapt (aka “improve”) each platform in a way that hampers its vision of application portability.

The net effect of this is that the neat IPS taxonomy is rapidly breaking down into a much more complicated cloud computing world in which every provider is seeking to offer a solution that covers a large proportion of customer computing needs. Your SaaS provider wants to help you write your own applications. Your IaaS provider wants to surround its infrastructure with useful functionality that makes your developers more productive. In this new cloud computing combo plate world it’s far more difficult to easily discern just what a provider brings to the table, and that ambiguity presents definite challenges for enterprises Microsoft Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training..

Measuring the success of Ed Tech: Not all about test scores

2011-09-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, technology gets thrown at struggling schools as a panacea for a variety of ills with predictably bad results. How should we be measuring those results, though, in the schools that are doing it right?

The New York Times ran a feature on Saturday called “In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores”. The article is part of a series called “Grading the Digital School” and asked some tough questions about whether technology in schools can actually improve student achievement. Most significantly, it pointed to the lack of hard data around the quantifiable success of investing in technology-rich schools. While we have a responsibility to ensure that technology is adding value in schools, I’m inclined to believe that the lack of supporting data is the result of poor measures rather than poor results.

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As noted in the article,

Since 2005, scores in reading and math have stagnated in Kyrene [the Arizona school district featured as an example of a technology-rich environment], even as statewide scores have risen.

To be sure, test scores can go up or down for many reasons. But to many education experts, something is not adding up — here and across the country. In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning.

Let me start by saying that I’ve seen too many technology implementations in schools that add no real educational value, but take a nice dent out of taxpayer wallets. There are plenty of ways to go about making a school “technology-rich” that actually take away from the real business of learning. When rollouts are half-hearted, teachers and parents don’t completely embrace the approach, students and teachers lack accountability, and teachers aren’t provided with the right training and coaching, then schools end up buying a lot of expensive toys. eSchool News recently highlighted schools in New Mexico that are saddled with hefty repair bills and failing, aging, abused computers from their 1:1 efforts.

I am not in the give-everyone-computers-and-watch-them-succeed camp.

However, I wouldn’t be in the business of Ed Tech if I didn’t think that the potential existed for kids to learn in new, engaging ways that prepared them for real-world challenges and managed to better differentiate instruction so that every student could be better served in our public schools. What’s happening in a district like Kyrene where everything seems to be happening the way educational technologists believe it should? Kyrene has solid community investment, good teacher buy-in, and progressive techniques. Why aren’t standardized test scores following?

On counterpoint in the article sounded fairly familiar:

Karen Cator, director of the office of educational technology in the United States Department of Education, said standardized test scores were an inadequate measure of the value of technology in schools. Ms. Cator, a former executive at Apple Computer, said that better measurement tools were needed but, in the meantime, schools knew what students needed.

It would be nice to think that schools know what kids need, but we also need to find ways to measure the more intangible skills that students acquire using technology in relevant and (I believe) powerful ways. We see technology breaking down barriers to collaboration, improving writing and criticism, providing software that differentiates instruction and gives real-time feedback to teachers on student strengths and weaknesses, and allowing teachers to guide students through rich and varied resources. Standardized tests, all too often, measure students’ abilities to take tests.

Some of the best standardized tests get at students’ critical reasoning skills and their ability to tease out abstract concepts from real-world problems. Even these, though, may not be aligned with the way students are learning, particularly in more constructivist settings where technology enables a different kind of creativity. And even in states with tests widely acknowledged as “good”, most students will see short-term bumps when schools teach to the test.

Real learning, the sort that many hope will happen in technology-rich environments, is rare when curricula are closely aligned with test materials. Don’t get me wrong - Alignment is the name of the game and tests should assess what students are learning. Too frequently, though, schools tweak and rework their curricula based on minute analyses of yearly test items. Those schools that delve deeply into subjects may find their scores for the year distinctly lacking, even if their students are richer for the deep dive. Imagine, for example, a school-wide, year-long focus on statistics and data analysis, where students use spreadsheets, scientific probes, online surveys and other tools to really explore the world around them. Invariably, scores relating to measurement, statistics, expository writing, and reporting will improve overall. However, there won’t be time that year to teach 27 other standards in English and math, no matter how many important skills and concepts students take with them.

The tests will also not measure the ability of students to manage projects independently or search the web for research materials, both of which would have been key outcomes of the project-oriented learning I described above.

Yes, we need better tests. And we need data about the real value of tech in the classroom. But more than that, we need research into pedagogy that supports the use of tech in the classroom. We need students to focus on developing portfolios rather than racking up test scores. We need students to know how to tackle a project when they encounter one (and not just Google “statistics” but really manage resources and develop and implement a plan). And we need teachers to not just have a day of professional development before school starts on how to have kids use Google Docs; they need ongoing coaching from experts in the field to ensure that all of these technology investments are adding real value, even if the tests left over from NCLB don’t have the chops to assess that value.

Age bias in IT: The reality behind the rumors

2011-09-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

Is high tech really that tough on older workers? Or are they simply not pulling their weight in an industry that never stops innovating?

Computerworld - Age bias: Some consider it IT's dirty little secret, or even IT's big open secret.

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To be sure, IT isn't the only profession in which older workers are vulnerable if they haven't kept their skills up to date. Administrative assistants who don't know the latest office productivity software, or journalists who don't have multimedia skills, for example, are in the same boat.

In fact, as technology pervades more and more professions, the pressure to keep up with the pace of change is affecting a wider swath of the population, especially baby boomers who are reluctant, or unable, to retire.

"It's the same thing everywhere, except in IT it happens faster," says Wadhwa. "In IT, you're at the epicenter of the earthquake in technologies."

Hot jobs vs. no jobs

Certain types of IT jobs appear less susceptible to ageism than others. Systems architects and project managers, for example, are relatively safe, observers agree, as are IT employees with highly specialized skills such as scientific programming or mobile application development, provided those skills remain in demand.

And management can be a safe haven for aging IT folks who have people skills. Quan's research showed that, in management if not elsewhere, older IT workers made higher salaries than the under-40 set.

These days, companies seem more willing to hire older IT executives than they were five to 10 years ago, says Steve B. Watson, a managing director at executive recruiting firm Stanton Chase. Companies "need someone who can hit the ground running," he says. "There's less interest in giving a honeymoon period to a newcomer, less time for training than there was in the past." In addition, he sees a talent gap in management, probably created by the fact that baby boomers are starting to retire.
Don't miss these related stories

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Aging gracefully in IT

Likewise, companies are willing to look at older workers who come ready-made with skills the organization needs. For example, Axcelis Technologies, a maker of semiconductor capital equipment, needs professionals with highly specific skills -- including physicists, experts in robotics and programmers with expertise in FORTH -- says Lynnette Fallon, executive vice president of human resources and legal at the Beverly, Mass.-based company. "Sometimes it's hard for us to find people who are good at this software," she says.

Fallon doesn't see any negatives to hiring older people. Because they are mature and experienced, they can mentor younger staffers, and mentoring is "the best kind of training," she says. Experienced professionals do cost more, she acknowledges, which means the company must weigh the cost of hiring veteran workers against the benefits they offer. "You obviously need a balance in the workforce," she says.

Too old to code?

In contrast, programmers who are over 40 can face a bleak future -- particularly if they didn't get on the management track or didn't keep their skills up to date. "In some IT departments, you could hang on till the company gets into trouble," says Wadhwa, "but when it does, you'll be the first to go."

When McMullin has interviewed people for the WANE project, some respondents have talked in negative terms about those who were "too old to code," she says. "People would be giving us these descriptions of ZZ Top-looking programmers sitting in the back corner working in Cobol."

The difficulty for programmers is twofold: For one thing, the desired skills keep changing and changing again, requiring them to refresh their talents on a nearly continuous basis. And, unlike managers, programmers often don't have a clear career path within an organization.

Dennis O'Connor is one programmer who, through a combination of hard work and lucky breaks, has managed to hang on in high tech without taking the management track. O'Connor is 72 and still working, most currently as a programmer/analyst for the Alexandria, Va., city government.

O'Connor started out at Blue Cross of Virginia in 1965 as a computer operator on a Honeywell 400 mainframe. He moved on to programming Cobol on a 360-30 mainframe, and spent some years in banking before moving into municipal government -- a sector that high-tech industry watchers consistently identify as being more accepting of older workers than its corporate counterparts.

He was hired by the city of Alexandria 11 years ago to service a Cobol-based payroll system, with the understanding that the system was scheduled to be phased out within a year and a half (but that has yet to happen, O'Connor points out with some amusement).

CompTIA A-Plus Training Programs Examined

2011-08-30T16:57:00.000-07:00

Training for your CompTIA A+ has four specialist sections - you'll need exam certification in 2 different areas to be seen as competent in A+. For this reason, the majority of colleges restrict their A+ to just two of the training options. We think this is selling you short - sure, you can pass an exam, but experience of all four will set you apart in your working life, where you'll need to know about all of them. That's why we believe you require information in everything.

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Qualifying in CompTIA A+ on its own will give you the ability to repair and fix laptops, Macs and PC's; principally ones that aren't joined to a network - essentially the domestic or small business sector. If you add Network+ training, you'll also have the ability to take care of networks, which means you'll be able to move further up the career path.

We can't make a big enough deal out of this point: Always get full 24x7 professional support from mentors and instructors. You will have so many problems later if you let this one slide. Don't accept certification programs which can only support trainees through a message system after office-staff have gone home. Trainers will try to talk you round from this line of reasoning. Essentially - you need support when you need support - not when it's convenient for them.

Keep looking and you'll come across professional companies that offer direct-access support all the time - no matter what time of day it is. You can't afford to accept anything less. Online 24x7 support is the only kind to make the grade when it comes to computer-based study. Maybe burning the midnight-oil is not your thing; but for the majority of us however, we're out at work when traditional support if offered.

The world of information technology is one of the more thrilling and changing industries that you could be a part of. To be working on the cutting-edge of technology puts you at the fore-front of developments affecting everyone who lives in the 21st century. Technological changes and connections on the web is going to noticeably alter our lifestyles in the near future; overwhelmingly so.

Incomes in IT are not a problem moreover - the usual income in the UK for a typical person working in IT is noticeably higher than in other market sectors. Chances are that you'll receive a much better deal than you could reasonably hope to get in other industries. The search for properly certified IT professionals is certain for many years to come, due to the constant development in the technology industry and the very large deficiency still in existence.

Ask any knowledgeable consultant and they can normally tell you many worrying experiences of how students have been duped by salespeople. Only deal with an experienced industry advisor who asks lots of questions to uncover the best thing for you - not for their pay-packet! You need to find the right starting point of study for you. With some real-world experience or base qualifications, it may be that your starting point of study is very different to someone completely new. It's usual to start with some basic user skills first. It can brush up on your current abilities and make the slope up to the higher-levels a less steep.

Authorised exam preparation and simulation materials are essential Free MCTS Training and MCTS Online Training - and really must be supplied by your training company. Due to the fact that many examination boards in IT tend to be American, you'll need to be used to the correct phraseology. You can't practice properly by simply answering any old technical questions - they have to be in the same format as the actual exams. Ensure that you have some simulated exam questions so you'll be able to check your comprehension at any point. Simulated or practice exams add to your knowledge bank - so you're much more at ease with the real thing.

Webcast: “Mango” Jump Start! Aug. 23-24! Pass it on…

2011-08-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

That's right, Microsoft MVPs Rob Miles and Andy Wigley are back! Microsoft Learning hosted a Windows Phone 7 Jump Start (plus an update course) last year and it was an absolute smash. Mobile application developers raved about the fast-paced, demo-rich approach, the timeliness of real-world content on new technology, as well as the engaging and often-times humorous delivery. Now that "Mango" has made such a huge splash, they have put together another great course.

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This two-day live virtual class, Building Applications for Windows Phone Mango Jump Start, is specially tailored for developers looking to build cool applications and games for the new Windows Phone Mango Platform.

Dates: August 23-24, 2011
Time: 8:00am – 4:00pm PST
Duration: 8 hours/day, including hour lunch break
Registration Link: http://bit.ly/Mango-Jump

Mango is an important leap forward in Microsoft’s overall mobile strategy and the developer community has taken notice. Now is the time to embrace the “tile-and-app” UI and reap the rewards Mango provides your development team and user community. Here's an overview of what Rob and Andy will cover:

Day One — August 23, 2011 | 8am-5pm PDT | Live online training
• Building Windows Phone Apps with Visual Studio 2010
• Silverlight on Windows Phone – Introduction
• Silverlight on Windows Phone – Advanced
• Using Expression to Build Windows Phone Interfaces
• Windows Phone Fast Application Switching
• Windows Phone Multi-tasking & Background Tasks
• Using Windows Phone Resources (Bing Maps, Camera, etc.)

Day Two — August 24, 2011 | 8am-5pm PDT | Live online training
• Application Data Storage on Windows Phone
• Using Networks with Windows Phone
• Windows Azure and Windows Phone
• Notifications on Windows Phone
• XNA for Windows Phone
• Selling a Windows Phone Application

What’s a “Jump Start” Free MCTS Training – MCTS Online Training .Course? | Training specifically designed for experienced developers and technologists whose jobs demand they know how to best leverage new, emerging Microsoft technologies. These advanced courses assume a certain level of expertise and domain knowledge, so they move quickly and cover topics in a fashion that enables teams to effectively map new skills to real-world situations.

Some Requirements For MCITP Certification

2011-08-23T14:08:00.000-07:00

Before you take one exam, you should know what kind of questions it will be, which part of the knowledge of this exam that you should pay more attention to. In a word, you should know the requirements of the exam. So, today, I will tell you some requirements for MCITP Certification, just to those who still have no idea of what MCITP Certification requires.

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MCITP certification validates the comprehensive skills that are necessary for performing a particular job specialization role which includes enterprise messaging administration or database administration. MCITP certification also builds up technical proficient that are measured in the Microsoft certification informational technology professional. Hence, candidate can obtain more MCITP certifications to earn credentials in this certifications.

Successful candidates who are holding their MCITP certification will be capable of designing, deploying, building, optimizing as well as operating technologies of a particular specialized job role. Successful candidates will also design and make decisions regarding the technology in an effective way to bring successful technology implementation of projects.

MCITP Certification Examination:

In order to obtain the this certificate, candidate has to take up the examination and score a minimum scaled points. The following are the examinations for the MCITP certification.

Windows client:

1) 70-680 or enterprise desktop administration 7
2) 70-686 or enterprise desktop administration 7
3) 70-620 or consumer support technician
4) 70-623 or consumer support technician
5) 70-620 or enterprise support technician
6) 70-622 or enterprise support technician

Windows server:

1) 70-640 MCITP or enterprise administration
2) 70-642
3) 70-643
4) 70-624 or exam 70-620 and exam 70-647
5) 70-640 MCITP or server administrator
6) 70-642
7) 70-646

Microsoft Office Project Server:

1) 70-632 or enterprise project management with MS office server 2007
2) 70-633
3) 70-634

Microsoft exchange server:

1) 70-236 or enterprise messaging administration
2) 70-237
3) 238

All these above examinations are required to take part by the candidates to obtain the certification and they can be taken part in any order.

AMD pushes Microsoft virtual desktops through new GPU

2011-08-22T15:11:00.000-07:00

AMD's new FirePro V9800P GPU will be able support up to 22 Windows 7 virtual-desktop sessions

Advanced Micro Devices on Monday announced a FirePro graphics processor for businesses that can deliver Windows desktop sessions to remote client PCs through support for Microsoft's desktop virtualization technology.

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A single FirePro V9800P GPU will be able to deliver up to 22 Windows 7 virtual-desktop sessions per graphics card, said Mitch Furman, senior product manager at AMD. The virtual desktop sessions can be delivered to a range of remote clients, including PCs and diskless thin clients, through Microsoft's proprietary RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) transport protocol.

The remote desktops are delivered by harnessing the parallel computing power of graphics processors, Furman said. GPUs are considered to be faster than CPUs at specific scientific and math calculations, and AMD is trying to add more commercial applications so graphics processors find wider use in data centers. Graphics processors are used in some of the world's fastest supercomputers for specific calculations.

The V9800P is targeted at customers looking for workstation replacements through virtualization, or at companies like engineering firms looking to create clusters for execution of scientific or math tasks. The GPU supports Microsoft's RemoteFX, a virtual desktop technology in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2011, to deliver a graphics-based desktop environment to client PCs.

The graphics card also supports DirectX 11, a Windows 7 technology that can harness the parallel processing capabilities of GPUs to improve gaming and application performance on PCs. The GPU also supports OpenCL, a set of programming tools to develop and manage parallel task execution.

The GPU does not yet support VMware and Xen hypervisors, and Furman couldn't say when support for the technologies would be added.

Dell is now offering the graphics card with its PowerEdge M610x server, Furman said. The V9800P has 1,600 computing cores, with each core running at 825MHz. The graphics processor draws a maximum of 225 watts of power. The graphics processor is priced starting at US$2,499, and AMD did not immediately comment on worldwide availability.

Inspector Gadgets: Windows 7 Gadgets for Monitoring Your PC

2011-08-20T13:20:00.000-07:00

It's been nearly two years since Windows 7 was released, and yet there are still some features that Windows 7 users may not be taking full advantage of -- such as desktop gadgets. Similar to the Mac's Dashboard Widgets, Windows desktop gadgets are mini-applications that reside on your desktop and can display live data, perform simple functions like search or password generation, or give you a sneak peek inside the inner workings of your PC.

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Network Meter gadget

Network Meter displays a wealth of information about either a wired or a wireless connection.

Network Meter takes the concept of "utility" to its natural conclusion. It's chock-full of key networking data, including current upload and download speeds as well as total data moved. It even shows your system's internal and external IP addresses.

The gadget can show you data about a wireless or wired connection as well as the network interface card in use. It's a great first step in troubleshooting a faulty Web connection, helping you pinpoint where to start: the router, the broadband connection or inside the PC.

You can adjust the gadget's size, color scheme and how often it gets new data. At any time you can refresh the local or external IP address, which in itself can save a minute or two of clicking. There's also a link to SpeedTest.net to check your online bandwidth.

Download Network Meter (79KB)

DC Wireless Network Monitor

The DC Wireless Network Monitor gadget, on the other hand, shows only the Wi-Fi basics in a tiny rectangle that takes up almost no room on your desktop. Below the main signal strength bar is the name of the network you're connected to as well as the system's IP address and a padlock symbol if it's an encrypted link.

And that's about it, except for the ability to change the color of the gadget. It's ideal for minimalists who just want to keep an eye on their wireless connection.

Download DC Wireless Network Monitor (42KB)

Disk space and usage

O&O DiskStat

Wondering how much space you have left on your hard drive or whether your drive is working too hard or overheating? O&O DiskStat brings that info and more to your desktop.

By default, the gadget shows two circular gauges: One is a pie chart of drive capacity and availability, and the other shows the drive's activity level. When the drive is idle, it shows 0%; when it's maxed out, it shows 100%.

If the S.M.A.R.T. drive-monitoring technology is enabled on your system, DiskStat shows the hard drive's temperature below the gauges. You may be able to enable S.M.A.R.T. in your system's BIOS or use a utility like Ariolic's ActiveSMART ($30), which doesn't require a system restart to work.

Click on any part of the DiskStat gadget and it doubles in size, revealing a new section with more details about the drive, including its size and free space.

O&O DiskStat can look at only one drive or disk partition at a time; you choose which drive to monitor in the setup screen. Click on the monkey wrench icon on the right side to get to it.

Security rundown for week ending Aug. 19

2011-08-19T15:52:00.000-07:00

Debate over wisdom of firewalls, passwords and SSL -- plus, Anonymous strikes again

And speaking of anonymity and disruption in the more sinister sense of the words, this week didn't go by without the shadowy hacker group Anonymous yet again hitting more targets for what are apparently their activist causes.

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The group Anonymous released personal data belonging to more than 2,000 public transport customers in the San Francisco area in retaliation for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) transit system's shutdown of mobile phone service on Aug. 11.

That mobile phone and Wi-Fi shutdown was a decision made by BART to try to slow a planned public protest against a police-related shooting awhile back.

BART last week officially apologized to the public that its network was hacked and customer data publicly exposed. But it didn't end there. Another hacking break-in took place at the website of the union representing the rank-and-file BART police, an attack which may also be traced back to Anonymous.

Many thought BART went too far in cutting off communications to hundreds of thousands of BART commuters as an attempt to stall a planned protest, and, as an editorial from the San Francisco Chronicle noted, no one held the high ground in the conflict -- not Anonymous, not the BART bureaucracy, not the protesters.

In addition, the Federal Communications Commission also took an interest last week, saying it was investigating what happened. "We are continuing to collect information about BART's actions and will be taking steps to hear from stakeholders about the important issues those actions raised, including protecting public safety and ensuring the availability of communications networks."

It was a pretty busy week for Anonymous, as the group also allegedly hacked yet another U.S. Department of Defense contractor, this time Vanguard Defense Industries. Anonymous says its latest haul, posted at Pastebin, includes internal meeting notes and contracts, schematics and non-disclosure agreement, among other things. Our reporter notes that a cursory look does seem to match the description provided by Anonymous, and one email shows Vanguard's chief executive responding to a U.S. DOJ contact regarding the suitability of its ShadowHawk drone for use by the U.S. Marshals. Anonymous earlier this year said it would be turning its wrath against governments and corporations around the world in retaliation for anything of which it disapproves.

Hackers have a wide variety of motivations. Last week, Jason Cornish, 37, formerly an IT staffer at the U.S. subsidiary of Japanese drug-maker Shionogi, pled guilty to computer-intrusion charges in connection with an attack on that company's network last February. He wiped out 15 VMware host systems running email, order tracking, financial and other services at the Florham Park, N.J., company. The disruption is believed to have cost Shionogi $800,000.

So why did Cornish do this? It's apparently a variant on the disgruntled employee/insider threat. He was a former IT staff employee who was still able to log in to the company's network from a public McDonald's Internet connection with a password. Hmm, maybe the NTSIC program and the Jericho Forum do have a point about reusable passwords ... and should we hope Anonymous one day weighs in on whether firewalls are keeping them out? These days, malicious emails loaded up with malware are apparently a favored route to break into the corporate network. And Google issued a report last week detailing how it's getting harder to detect Web-based malware.

Important IT cert news that you can't miss out

2011-08-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

As a 1-Stop IT Certification Solution Provider, Upcert wants to let you know an important news about CompTIA certification:

“As of January 1, 2011, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications are no longer valid for lifetime as before. All these 3 certifications obtained after 2010 are valid for three years from the date the candidate becomes certified. A “valid through” date will appear on all certificates and certificate holder CompTIA ID cards.”

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For more information about this new renewal policy, please refer to:

http://www.comptia.org/certifications/listed/renewal.aspx#fifteen

Since these 3 CompTIA certs are among those most popular IT certs in 2010 – 2011, we would like to invite you to get your lifetime CompTIA certs before Dec 31st, 2010. As a special promotion, we are offering a $300 discount code for the first 20 customers. Please get your code at the following URL:

Microsoft IE9 RC Arrives With Improved Privacy, Security Features

2011-08-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate has a number of enhancements aimed at improving privacy and security controls.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate arrived Feb. 10 with privacy and malware protections built in to protect users.

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At the forefront of those features is the new TPL (tracking protection list), which enables users to choose to visit only certain Websites if they click on a link or type in the address. The feature is meant as a privacy protection against online behavioral tracking. By limiting the calls to these Websites and resources from other Web pages, the TPL limits the information these other sites can collect.

“IE9 enables consumers to express their preference for privacy, and also gives consumers a mechanism to enforce specific aspects of that preference,” blogged Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president for Internet Explorer at Microsoft. “Consumers can do this by choosing Tracking Protection Lists from organizations they trust. These lists can block and allow third-party content in order to control what information consumers share with sites as they browse the Web.”

The TPL feature is Microsoft answer to calls for better controls to block tracking online. Other browser vendors are making plays as well. Mozilla recently added a “Do Not Track” HTTP header to the latest beta release of Firefox 4, while Google released an extension called “Keep My Opt-Outs.” However unlike other solutions, IE9’s benefits users even if Websites do not respect the user’s preference not to be tracked, Hachamovitch wrote.

Also new in the release candidate is an ActiveX Filter that gives users more control over ActiveX controls. ActiveX has long been a source of criticism by security researchers due to vulnerabilities and exploits taking advantage of the technology. According to Microsoft, in IE9, the filter makes it easy to turn off ActiveX for all sites, and then re-enable it site by site.

Other security features in IE9 include integration between the SmartScreen Filter and Download Manager. The SmartScreen Filter was introduced in IE8, and works by checking Websites against a list of known phishing sites as well as sites that may contain malware. The integration with Download Manager in IE 9 is meant to use reputation to remove unnecessary warnings for well-known files and show more severe warnings when the download has a higher risk of being malicious, Microsoft has said.

“On today’s Web, consumers are increasingly wary, often out of necessity,” blogged Hachamovitch. “They face security risks like malicious sites and phishing scams. Even on sites consumers know and trust, bad things often happen. It’s easy to almost follow a bad link from a friend on Facebook, or become a victim of malvertising when a malicious advertisement appears on an otherwise trustworthy site.”

2011-08-07T02:46:00.000-07:00

Facial-Recognition Tools, Facebook Photos Threaten End to Anonymity: Study
LAS VEGAS — A Carnegie Mellon University researcher used Facebook photos to demonstrate how facial-recognition technology can be used to identify people as they walk down the street.

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Using off-the-shelf facial-recognition software and students' photos posted on Facebook, Alessandro Acquisiti, a CMU researcher, showed attendees at the annual Black Hat security conference how he was able to positively identify 30 percent of students walking around campus.

Acquisti also searched dating sites for users within 50 miles of a zip code and correlated them with approximately 110,000 Facebook profiles of users who also lived in that same area. The cloud-computing cluster at CMU obtained results in 15 hours and was able to positively identify 10 percent of the users on online dating sites, according to Acquisiti. Narrowing the geographic area increased the match rate.

Acquisti also combined the results with his previous research on predicting Social Security numbers and found he could guess within four tries the correct number for 28 percent of the subjects.

“The goal here is not to generate fear, but we are very close to a point where the convergence of technologies will make it possible for online and offline data to blend seamlessly ... and for strangers on the street to predict certain information about you from your picture," Acquisti said.

As more services include facial-recognition capabilities and as developers can create applications using the technology, the privacy implications are staggering, Acquisti said. Law enforcement officials can use publicly available information and government databases to compile detailed information dossiers on everyone in the country. These applications can be used on pictures of crowds at protests and demonstrations, creating a new form of crowd control.

Someone can snap photos of people at a public event and an application can cull through publicly available information on social-networking sites to identify these strangers and their friends, and list their likes and dislikes. Or online dating sites become no longer anonymous as the technology would be able to identify people by the photos.

“Notwithstanding Americans' resistance to a Real ID infrastructure, as consumers of social networks, we have consented to a de facto Real ID that markets and information technology, rather than government and regulation, have created,” Acquisti wrote in his report, titled "Privacy in the Age of Augmented Reality."

Google developed this kind of technology and withheld it because it was deemed to be too dangerous to release publicly, former CEO Eric Schmidt had said.

"That genie is already out of the bottle," Acquisti said.

Facebook has made it easier for people to tag their friends, and there is no way for users to opt out of getting tagged. Security experts have long said Facebook should allow privacy-conscious users to have a one-click option to stop tag-happy friends, instead of having to manually un-tag every instance.

Facebook also integrated facial-recognition technology into the social-networking platform to auto-suggest users to be tagged in photos. As all things privacy-related in Facebook, all users were included in the recognition database by default.

The researchers said the technologies will soon “democratize surveillance,” as sinking costs make peer-to-peer facial recognition cost effective and available to everyone.

German data-protection officials recently requested that Facebook disable its facial-recognition software and delete any previously stored data. Making facial-recognition technology opt-out runs afoul of European and German data-protection laws, John Caspar, Hamburg, Germany's commissioner for data protection and freedom of information, said in a letter to Facebook Aug. 2.

If Facebook does not comply with the request, German authorities would take action and the company could face fines of up to $425,490, or 300,000 euros, Caspar said. Germany, takes online privacy much more seriously than many other countries and its laws generally restrict photographs of people and property, except in public places, such as a sporting event, without a person's consent.

"The legal situation is clear in my opinion," Caspar told German newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt. "If the data were to get into the wrong hands, then someone with a picture taken on a mobile phone could use biometrics to compare the pictures and make an identification," Caspar said.

Such a system could be used by undemocratic governments to spy on the opposition or by security services around the world. "The right to anonymity is in danger," said Caspar.

Oracle Launches Java 7 as Innovation Sprouts From the Community, Others

2011-08-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

The issue of innovation in Java has been a topic of discussion and debate for some time now. Many observers say the incumbents—Oracle/Sun, IBM and Red Hat/JBoss—are no longer running the show in terms of Java innovation and that others, including several newer, smaller companies, are pushing innovation. In fact, many believe Oracle and IBM are content with incrementally pushing enhancements to the platform and enjoying the spoils of the enterprise space where Java appears to be winning over .NET. Last year’s Oracle and IBM deal around OpenJDK signaled how cozy the two companies have become.

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Meanwhile, innovation is still happening from the outside of that cabal, with notable contributions coming from the activity of smaller vendors and startups around dynamic languages built on the JVM, the area of development integrated with operations or “devops,” and Agile development and ALM (application lifecycle management). VMware’s SpringSource has been pushing the Java innovation envelope in a variety of ways.

There has also been innovation on the PaaS (platform as a service) front, with technology such as VMware’s CloudFoundry, Amazon’s Elastic Beanstalk, and offerings from CloudBees and others getting into the fray with new runtime environments for Java.

Rod Johnson, general manager of VMware’s SpringSource division, told eWEEK: “Most of the innovation in the Java world is coming from outside the traditional incumbents. And these days just about all innovation in Java is in open source. I think the evolution of the Java language in Java 7 and 8 is sound: real benefits without disruption. Just as with Java 5, I think applications will become that bit simpler and more elegant.”

Johnson ought to know a bit about innovation. He developed the Spring Framework, an enterprise Java development framework that caught on with developers so much that Johnson’s Interface21 startup (later renamed to SpringSource) drew the attention of several bidders, with VMware coming out victorious.

However, it's not just about the language, Johnson says. Java is strong because of the JVM, the class libraries and the frameworks that help people do useful work, he said. “Increasingly, I think we'll see innovation tend to come higher up the stack, where there's more leverage,” Johnson said. “For example, Grails and Spring Roo don't just provide a framework; they help developers while they work, in a similar way to Rails.”

Moreover, Johnson said he believes the industry will see a lot of movement in how the Java ecosystem works with emerging technologies. “For example, how to talk to nonrelational databases and how to write applications that target today's proliferation of nontraditional client devices, which communicate to the server differently,” he said. “And, of course, an increasing number of Java applications will be targeted toward PaaS.”

While some view enhanced innovation as what is needed for Java to continue to thrive, others say a steady hand is probably what Java needs most.

“Oracle has had a major impact on Java,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse Foundation, which provides popular tools for Java developers.

Indeed, Milinkovich breaks down Oracle’s contribution to Java:

“First, they have invested in the Java platform development team and in the engineering resources to build, test and release a major platform like Java. That is absolutely key for a mature enterprise software platform such as Java. Second, they have provided stability and leadership for Java. They can be criticized for some of their decisions since taking over Java, but there is absolutely no doubt what the rules are, who’s in charge and where they’re taking it. During the last couple of years of Sun’s existence, those attributes were sorely lacking. That clarity is having positive effects on the Java ecosystem, as SAP’s recent decision to join and contribute to OpenJDK clearly shows.”

The Eclipse Foundation also has had an impact on Java over the past couple of years, Milinkovich said. Eclipse has been directly involved at the governance level of both the JCP and OpenJDK. And on the technology side, “Eclipse remains the ubiquitous tooling platform for Java developers, and our recent Indigo release has some of the coolest new features in years,” he added.

IDC’s Hilwa agrees that Oracle has brought balance to the Java landscape. According to Hilwa:

“In many ways Java has been rescued from stagnation. The JCP process had gotten overly political, and the beginnings of the split with Android took roots in Sun’s last year of custody of Java. Oracle brought a no-nonsense attitude to managing Java, pragmatically splitting the features into two new releases, one of which has already shipped. It cleaned up the work around JavaFX, and perhaps unexpectedly kept investing in NetBeans and GlassFish. Overall, it is a good story and they have made progress. Oracle managed to rally everyone around JDK, including IBM, Apple and Red Hat. One of the victims has been the loss of Apache from the JCP, but I have a feeling that over time that rift might get repaired.”

Upcoming Gadgets Worth Waiting For

2011-07-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

None of these highly awaited products has a firm release date, but they have us excited for their arrival.

July 30, 2011—When it comes to new technology, the old adage is true: Waiting is the hardest part.

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Technology manufacturers have a habit of getting us psyched about forthcoming products, but leaving us hanging when it comes to actual release specifics. Though frustrating, it’s a smart marketing tactic, really. Get people talking about your gadget, building up so much anticipation that we can barely wait to get a hold of the thing. The annual Consumer Electronics show is a perfect example. We see tons of cool tech every January, companies let us put our hands all over it, but what we never see are dates. For every gadget at the show, there’s a nebulous future release timeframe, and we often don’t see it in the lab for testing until many months later—and sometimes not at all. In the interim, we wait.

This approach can also backfire. Sometimes the hype gets so huge that there’s no possible way a single phone, tablet, camera, or other device could ever live up to expectations. Remember the iPad 2 release back in March? Since Apple offered no advance information about the tablet, the maniacal rumor mill assigned all sorts of possible new features that never came to be. And when we wound up with only modest improvements over the original iPad, many people were disappointed.

Either way, this results in consumers scratching their heads, wondering if they should stick it out with their old gear, or pull the trigger on a new gadget. The eight products in the slideshow are the ones we think are worth waiting for.

5 reasons to embrace Microsoft Office 365 (or at least some of it)

2011-07-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Last week, I offered you 5 reasons why you should avoid Office 365 -- the new cloud service from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT). This week, I want to offer the flipside of the coin. Let's see the glass half-full in The Long View...

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Office 365 is a replacement for (and superset of) Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS), its previous cloud collaboration offering. The two key components of BPOS are cloud-hosted versions of Exchange Server 2007 and Sharepoint Server 2007.

Office 365 updates the software to the latest versions, and adds additional functionality. Much of my criticism last week was aimed at how the new functionality presents itself. However, we shouldn't lose sight of the fact that the parts of Office 365 that are inherited from BPOS have some killer advantages over the competition.

So here are my favorite five: AD federation, the ability to do hybrid hosting, no need for retraining, the service's low price, and its high reliability. Some of these may seem like a surprise, compared with what I said last week, so read on for more...