Slashdot Mirror

Chris Lowth writes "Network security administrators sometimes need to be able to abort TCP/IP connections routed over their firewalls on demand. This would allow them to terminate connections such as SSH tunnels or VPNs left in place by employees over night, abort hacker attacks when they are detected, stop high bandwidth consuming downloads - etc. There are many potential applications. This article describes how a Linux IPTables based firewall/router can be used to send the right combination of TCP/IP packets to both ends of a connection to cause them to abort the conversation. It describes the steps required to perform this task, and introduces a new open-source utility called 'cutter' that automates the process."

Eugenia writes "Not one, but three LindowsOS-based PCs (in the value range of $199 USD) were reviewed online by WashingtonPost. A TigerDirect PC, the traditional WalMart/MicrotelPC and one from Nova Computech. The reviewer says that these PCs while are very low-end today, compared to PCs 2 years ago, are actually pretty good solutions for home usage. The reviewer found them lacking in the gaming (no respectable 3D gfx card included), expandibility departments and while he mentions that Linux-based LindowsOS is affordable, is not a panacea as it lacks in good USB support and other demanding areas of our modern times."

maliabu writes "Boeing has named its new plane DreamLiner with plans for its future, which is set to fly in 2008. It'll be interesting to see how 'internet-ready' this 7E7 is. It can be very entertaining for all ages as you can brower the net, check emails, weather, watch movies (on demand), listen to music (on demand) or even cut codes some 30,000 feet in the sky! These articles also stated that "The 200-seat 7E7 is meant to replace [a faster plane called] Sonic Cruiser as Boeing's next new major commercial initiative" " I think most people following the airplane builders knew the Sonic Cruiser was dead before birth; but I still don't see how this plane is going to solve Boeing's sales problems.

brianlmoon writes "Car Audio Electronics Magazine has a story about the auto industry switching to 36/42-Volt systems starting in 2004 and being completely switched by 2020. The demand for luxuries in cars has grown to where 12/14-Volts is just simply not enough. The automotive sound enthusiasts are going to benefit greatly as amplification will be much easier and cleaner with 3 times the voltage availble. Mobile computing will also benefit: "One of the real benefits of jumping to 42-volt systems, especially for hybrid vehicles, is the ability of the vehicle to offer regular 110-volt electrical outlets". It seems cars will have dual systems for a while for legacy equipment."

An anonymous reader writes: "David McNett has noticed an apparent discrepancy between the Red Hat Linux EULA and the GPL. He has written an open letter to the FSF asking for their opinion on the matter. Does Red Hat have the right to "audit your facilities and records" to ensure compliance with their license?" McNett misreads the Red Hat documents. Their contract is for the various services, not the software, and for the services they are entitled to demand whatever concessions they think the market will bear.

Thanks to an anonymous reader for pointing to a Gamesindustry.biz article describing Nintendo's attempts to stop European retailers importing Gamecube/GBA games. According to the piece, "..cease and desist orders have been issued to a number of independent retailers by Nintendo this week, demanding that they stop selling imported Nintendo titles and supply details of their suppliers." With handheld titles such as Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire lacking regional lock-outs, and even US/Japanese Gamecube games being playable with the help of Freeloader, Nintendo are clearly worried about imported titles taking away from native European sales, but as Gamesindustry.biz points out, "..the move will prevent [consumers] from playing titles which Nintendo of Europe has failed to release in this territory, such as the highly acclaimed Animal Crossing."

JakiChan writes "According to this story on Yahoo! news the BSA commissioned a study that decided that 39% of all business software is pirated, down from 40%. The decline is attributed to the BSA's enforcement techniques. 'The piracy rate was calculated by comparing the researchers' estimates on demand with data on actual software sales.'" In other words, some guys sat in a room and decided that people probably wanted to buy ten copies of software, but only five were sold, so the piracy rate must therefore be 50%. By a similar process we can calculate that 99% of all ocean-front homes are pirated.

Jacek Fedorynski writes "I present to you an urgent and confidential request: I request your attendance at The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your distinguished colleagues, learn new marketing techniques, and spend your hard-earned money. Attending this conference demands the highest trust, security and confidentiality between us."

IgD writes "Pirate's Den is a DirecTV hacking website based in Canada. The site features a very busy chat forum where 'hobbyists' research and discuss ways of hacking satellite TV. The site makes money by selling advertisements and subscriptions to the chat forum. The owner claims all he is engaging in is free speech. He does not appear to directly market circumvention devices. DirectTV doesn't agree however. They apparently are demanding the owner close the site, transfer the domain and pay a settlement fee. Another interesting twist to all this is the fact that DirecTV is not legally able to market its services in Canada. You can read more about this legal battle at FreedomFight.ca."

theodp writes "Seeking to emulate the pricing models utilities use to charge customers for kilowatt-hours of electricity based on the ebb and flow of power demand, HP Researchers have come up with a new unit-of-computing metric, the Computon, which is not to be confused with the 'Power Unit' and 'Service Unit' pricing metrics from Sun and IBM. California, here we come!"

Thanks to Blues News for pointing to this online petition demanding a sequel to Daikatana. Reasons for wanting a follow-up to John Romero's infamous PC FPS include the fact that "Daikatana's former notoriety has left many people with a feeling of nostalgia for the days leading to the game's completion." Some of comments attached to the 37 current signatures also add insight, including Attila Houtkooper's comment - "Daikatana has changed my life, I need Daikatana 2 to change it back the way it was!"

Scott Abel writes: "If you are even considering a content management system for your organization, you owe it to yourself to read Managing Enterprise Content. The book is perhaps even more important to those of you who find yourselves in the midst of a content-management nightmare today." The goals here include saving money, time and effort in creating and using information (everything from Web content to help-desk troubleshooting scripts), and the book is not only suited to corporate environments -- read on for the rest of Scott's review. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy author Ann Rockley, with Pamela Kostur and Steve Manning pages 592 publisher New Riders Publishing rating 10 reviewer Scott Abel ISBN 0735713065 summary Provides the concepts, strategies, guidelines, processes, and technological options that will prepare enterprise content managers and authors to meet the increasing demands of creating, managing, and distributing content.

The authors, Ann Rockley, Pamela Kostur, and Steve Manning, make the case for their "Unified Content Strategy" -- a practical and logical way of researching, planning, preparing, testing, implementing and selling content management across an enterprise. The lessons contained in this easy-to-read volume are not lost on smaller organizations, however; departments, small work groups, even individuals, will also benefit from learning innovative ways to effectively create, use and manage content.

The author's main message is that a well-planned "unified content strategy" can provide a dramatic improvement in the way content is created in an organization. A "Unified Content Strategy" is defined as "a repeatable method of identifying all content requirements up front, creating consistently structured content for reuse, managing that content in a definitive source, and assembling content on demand to meet your customers' needs." According to the authors, improvements that result from implementing such a strategy include "increased quality and consistency and long-term reduced time and costs for development and maintenance. In addition, reuse provides support for rapid re-configuration of your content to meet changing needs."

Of particular importance, the authors provide guidance on selecting a strategy before you get started; they explain their Unified Content Strategy, the importance of single sourcing (write it once, use it often), and how a properly planned content management initiative can help your organization deliver the right content to the right people at the right time in the format they desire. The authors also cover topics including: information modeling (the key to content reuse), content analysis, usability, IT and Business partnerships, metadata strategies, the importance of XML, tool selection, change management, training and more.

Section one of the book includes three chapters that address content creation, content reuse, and the return on investment a Unified Content Strategy can provide content-laden organizations. The authors set the stage for the introduction of their methods in Chapter One, "The Basis of a Unified Content Strategy," by illustrating the demons involved in what they call, "The Content Silo Trap" -- a common situation in which content is created by authors working in isolation from one anther, oftentimes re-creating the same types of content over and over again for different purposes (e.g. print, web, online help, marketing collateral, call center/help desk, computer-based training, etc.) The authors say content silos negatively impact the bottom line of any organization because they don't promote collaboration, leverage existing content creation activities, nor do they support the overall goals of the enterprise. Far too often, according to the book, silos create inconsistency, inaccuracy, and costly, unnecessary content re-creation expense. By adopting a Unified Content Strategy, organizations can enjoy faster time to market, reduced costs, improved quality and usability of content, improved workplace and customer satisfaction, as well as unique opportunities to innovate. Each of these topics is explored in the chapter with examples sprinkled throughout the book.

Chapter 2 describes, in detail, the "Fundamental Concepts of Reuse." It's an excellent chapter for those attempting to better understand the content their organizations create and how content re-use can help streamline the content creation process. The authors explore why you should re-use content, who's been doing it and why, as well as the two types of content reuse -- opportunistic and systematic -- and the benefits and drawbacks of each. Examples are provided for these methods in addition to a description of circumstances where reuse may not be appropriate. The entire chapter is available for download.

Chapter three, "Assessing a Return on Investment," helps readers determine the anticipated savings realized by adopting a Unified Content Strategy. A discussion of how to quantify and qualify the goals of such an effort are discussed, and information is provided to help you start assessing your actual costs (training, technology, consulting, lost productivity, etc). If you've got to sell your project to upper management and demonstrate potential ROI, this chapter is an excellent starting point. Don't overlook the section on developing metrics -- it's extremely useful.

Section two, "Performing a Substantive Audit: Determining Business Requirements," is a four-chapter compendium of information designed to help you establish where the content pains are in your organization and how you can address them. Chapter four and five help readers identify and understand their "content lifecycle" (to determine where improvements can be made to your existing processes) and chapter six, "Performing a Content Audit," seeks to help readers gain an "intimate understanding" of the nature and structure of the content to be managed. The authors describe how to perform a content audit, and provide several excellent examples of the process using scenarios that many readers will understand (medical devices, consumer electronics, banking institutions, learning materials). Instructions for building a reuse map -- a tool that identifies which content elements are reusable, where reuse would be beneficial, and whether the content would be reused "as is" (identical reuse) or with modification (derivative reuse) -- are provided. This section will not be lost on IT pros who have been using object-oriented programming reuse strategies for years. However, managing content is not the same as managing code. Content appropriate for public consumption has some unique considerations that the authors discuss in detail. Practical examples will help you think through content issues you may not have considered before.

Chapter 7, "Envisioning the Content Lifecycle," examines requirements gathering by using two fictitious companies as examples. A series of tables and explanatory text is provided to help readers better understand how to tie requirements to a return on investment. Readers are encouraged to use the exercise as the basis for designing improvements to your business processes and tool selection. In many organizations, IT departments are ill-equipped to develop solutions that address content lifecycle issues because IT staffers don't fully understand issues affecting content creation, management, publishing, archiving and translation. The authors attempt to shine light on this issue by exploring the importance of involving a team of subject matters experts, users, clients, etc. to help ensure the requirements gathered will help create new and improved business processes. The lesson: There's no sense automating a bad business process.

Section three tackles the issue of design by introducing the concepts of information modeling, metadata, dynamic content, workflow and implementation. Each chapter is jam-packed with real-world information and examples that simplify the concepts presented. Of particular interest is Chapter 8, "Information Modeling," which helps readers understand the significance an information model plays in the formalizing of content structure, and the subsequent creation of DTDs and schemas. As well, Chapter 9, "Designing Metadata," does an excellent job of exploring the role metadata play in labeling, categorizing and describing content, thereby enabling organizations to provide dynamic content to users on demand. This chapter is also available online. Visit "A Metadata Primer" at CMSWatch.

The remainder of the book discusses objectively the tools and technologies you can use to support a Unified Content Strategy. Such familiar topics as Extensible Markup Language, selecting tools, and evaluating vendors are discussed, as well as various authoring, workflow, and delivery systems -- necessary parts of any content management initiative. The book gives equal coverage to collaborative authoring, change management, implementation challenges and transition planning, although the authors admit they aren't able to cover each topic in as much detail as some readers might desire. Readers will need to seek out additional resources for such information. A useful glossary of terms, an extensive bibliography, and several appendices are also provided. Appendix A is a "Checklist for Implementing a Unified Content Strategy"; Appendix B explores the issues affiliated with "Writing for Multiple Media"; Appendix C examines vendors and their products; Appendix D includes a "Tools Checklist"; and Appendix E explores "Content Relationships."

The book could be improved by lengthening some examples, and by providing a few more case studies (although they are admittedly hard to obtain in such a new arena). As well, the book publisher should have abandoned their table structure for one that would better accommodate the information provided. However, providing access to a companion web site is a great idea that will allow the authors to provide additional information to readers when issues arise that are not discussed fully in the book.

Regardless of your particular situation, if you've got an interest in content management, I highly recommend Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy as well as the book's companion web site. The site provides a solid overview of the strategy, a free chapter from the book, a Return on Investment (ROI) calculator, glossary, white papers and more. The content on this site is extremely useful and is indicative of the quality content found in the book.

Scott Abel is a content management strategist who assists his clients in planning and preparing for content management initiatives. Scott is a frequent presenter at industry and professional service seminars, an instructor at Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis Community Learning Network, and vice president of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), Hoosier Chapter. You can purchase Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

jboogs writes "Gamesarefun.com has a news story about a college in Camden, New Jersey that is offering majors in video game design. All these past years of Gaming was just preparing you for your future!" The school says they've been bombarded with calls from hopeful students after only two days since the program was announced. There's only a handful of schools that offer similar programs, but it might not be long until demand makes such schools more commonplace.

adamsmith_uk writes "The FT features Wall Street's renewed love affair with dotcom stocks on Monday with the latest in a $6bn string of acquisitions that has helped set light to the once-defunct online commerce sector. Could this be the signs of the tech ComBack ?" But hold onto your hopes; ekarjala writes "According to this CNet article, a recent survey by theInformation Technology Association of America indicates that IT hiring in the US is expected to remain flat or decline slightly over the course of 2003. The main drivers are lack of demand for IT products/services and outsourcing IT functions offshore."

Mr.Intel writes "The NY Times is reporting that 'The Bush administration and leading Senate Republicans sought today to give the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon far-reaching new powers to demand personal and financial records on people in the United States as part of foreign intelligence and terrorism operations.' Although the measure was beaten back in committee, it appears that the administration is not satisfied with Patriot or Patriot II type powers..."

An Anonymous Coward, in name only asks: "I've been asked to write about the Future of DVD technology for a newsletter and I've been doing some thinking and research regarding this. It seems pretty clear that DVD is a dead-end technology, due to be replaced by Video On Demand. Already Disney is launching a VOD service, albeit through traditional broadcasting. It's to be a brief piece, and I plan to touch on how VOD will affect viewers as well as professionals. What is a realistic timeframe for beefing up broadband (such as Powerline Broadband?) and smartening compression (On2's VP5 , MPEG7?) to create a workable VOD system that will replace DVDs? Is delivery more likely to be based on an open or proprietary standard? What do you see as the future of Digital Video? Any input is greatly appreciated." While I don't think that Video on Demand will spell the end of DVDs, it would be interesting to know how far the technology has progressed, and how much further it would need to be developed before you could can pick-and-choose your movie-of-the-night from your own living room.

Roland Piquepaille writes "On April 15, the Human Genome Project's announced that it had completed the task of sequencing the collection of genes that make up the human code. In fact, only 99.9 per cent of the 3 billion pairs of DNA have been sequenced. How will we find the missing pieces? The Hindu reports that "the biotech community is increasingly turning to Pradeep Kumar Chatterjee, Head of Genomics and Bioinformatics at the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute (BBRI) of North Carolina Central University, U.S." He has perfected a process called "deletion mapping technology" to map genes by checking both the sequence of every DNA pair as well as its position in the strand. This is a powerful tool for those who now want to use the genome map to analyze specific strands of DNA to attack individual diseases. Check this column for more details and discover Chatterjee's future projects."

WatkinsDore writes "The Executive's Guide to Information Technology is a book focused on the 'business' pieces of managing IT, such tasks as IT organization design, vendor selection and management, communicating with business users, IT human resource management, establishing IT steering committees and managing the overall demand within the IT department." Read on below for more of WatkinsDore's review. The Executives Guide to Information Technology author Baschab / Piot pages 500 publisher John Wiley & Sons rating 9 reviewer Quentin Watkins ISBN 0471266094 summary A guide to the business aspects of managing IT with a focus on senior executives and IT managers

This book is interesting because it fills a well-known gap between current book offerings that address vocational issues, such as "how to program in java" and academic research such as the most effective data access algorithms.

In fact, it addresses some of the questions that have been asked by slashdotters in the previous few months for books on the general management of IT, principally in these Ask Slashdot questions: Books on IT (not Project) Management?,Best Computer Books For The Smart?, and General IT Books?

The Executive's Guide to Information Technology is targeted at IT managers, and also senior executives who want to better understand how IT can be effectively managed.

Interestingly, it starts by analyzing the question "Why have an IT department at all?" and answers the question with productivity statistics and other anecdotal evidence of the importance of IT. The premise of the book then emerges, asking "If IT is important, then why does it seem to fail so often, and cause so much trouble for companies?"

The answer, predictably, is that IT is often a poorly managed function within a company. IT managers seldom receive the appropriate business training to manage a large, mission-critical function and budget, and non-technical executives get lost in the maze The authors show that many of the symptoms of poor IT departments (overspending, overstaffing, project budget overruns and failure to complete) are caused by, or at least are related to poor management within IT.

The remainder of the book covers the key topics that, according to the authors, are the key components to the effective management of IT departments. (The table of contents for the book appears below.)

Review:

Overall the book does a good job making the case that the key principles it outlines are the best predictors of a successful IT department. The book is replete with real-life, and often-humorous anecdotes from the authors' experiences in turning around distressed IT departments. IT managers will quickly recognize many of the symptoms of an IT department in trouble. The book is written in a easily readable, conversational tone, and there are charts and graphics throughout to further explain key points.

At just over 500 pages, the book is lengthy compared to competing offerings; however, it is written in a way that lets the reader pick and choose specific chapter topics, without losing much of the context. At $75, it at first seems a bit pricey for a general management book, but low for a textbook. Compared to other books on a price-per-page basis, the book seems more reasonable based on the large volume of content and page count (over 500 pages).

The book also has a CD-ROM with documents, spreadsheets and links to the underlying research that went into the book.

Slashdot even gets a mention in a couple of chapters as a good source of "unbiased customer experience information" although the authors say that for many blogs "it can take some effort to separate fact from opinion on the blogs, and the signal-to-noise ratio on a given topic can sometimes be low."

In all, the book is a relatively easy read, thought provoking, and a great reference for IT managers (or aspiring managers) who want to learn to think like senior executives and ensure that their IT departments are firing on all cylinders. Based on previous threads on Slashdot, the book fills a clearly needed niche on the general management of IT.

The book also has a supporting website that has information on the book - www.exec-guide.com.

Table of contents:

1. The Effective IT Organization
   1. The IT Dilemma
   2. Sources and Causes of IT Ineffectiveness
   3. Information Technology Costs
2. Managing the IT Department
   1. The IT Organization
   2. The IT Director
   3. IT Direction and Standard Setting
   4. IT Operations
   5. Application Management
   6. IT Human Resource Practices
   7. Vendor Selection
   8. Vendor Management
3. Senior Executive IT Management
   1. Working with the Business
   2. IT Budgeting and Cost Management
   3. Effective Decision Making and Risk Management
   4. IT Demand Management and Project Prioritization
   5. IT Performance Measurement
   6. IT Steering Committee

Highlights:

Opening chapters on "why MIS departments matter" and the symptoms of under-performing IT departments.

Vendor selection and vendor management chapters.

IT steering committee chapter - why have one, what it can help IT accomplish.

IT budgeting chapter - shows key components of IT budget, how-to's and benchmarking information.

Nice forward by Professor Lynda M. Applegate from Harvard Business school.

Lowlights:

Portion of chapters on IT organization describing in painstaking detail the exact roles and responsibilities for every position on the IT team. This stuff needs to be there to make the book comprehensive, but not new news for experienced IT professionals.

You can purchase The Executive's Guide to Information Technology from bn.com. Slashdot welcomes readers' book reviews -- to see your own review here, read the book review guidelines, then visit the submission page.

Goonie writes "This BBC article reports that Concorde flights are to come to an end in October. It may be a noisy and costly anachronism, but it's sad to see the end of perhaps the coolest commercial plane ever to fly." The financial wires carried a story the other day showing how much jet fuel demand has dropped recently.

chewedtoothpick asks: "How many of you have had dental work where they had to numb your tongue and everything? I did about six months ago and my tongue never became UN-numb. Aparently they hit a nerve, which seldom occurs and shouldn't happen according to a few dentists and a family member who is an oral surgeon. The dentist told me that it can take as long as six months to heal, but I have also heard from a few people which this has happened to; that if it's not normal within a couple of months that it will never come back. I know one lady who is a regular client at my shop who has had a numb tongue for almost 10 years! Luckily; in my case, this is only half of my tongue, so I am not completely impaired in speech or taste. What I do want to know is what would all or any of you do? Would you sue, and how much for? Would you demand a full refund for the dental work?"