Pringles potato chips began selling like wildfire. Curiously, the contents of the cans were simply dumped on the sidewalk outside of retail outlets nationwide.
Similarily, duct tape is currently in extremely high demand, causing many stores to institute duct tape rationing.
One consumer, who would only identify himself as "D0k+04 1337" is actively protesting the rationing.
"Sure, it's a conspiracy, man. I mean, what good are Pringles cans without the duct tape? It's just the man keeping us under control."
Okay, I've not faced this specific problem yet. Most of the companies I deal with in my consultancy are willing to at least beta the idea and put up with some funny looking websites, as long as functionality isn't lost. So far, the tests are going well.
In any event, when faced with a similar situation, I generally follow this tack:
1. Write a memo (I'm better with the written word than the spoken word - additionally, the written word has a date on it) that clearly, unemotionally lays out the advantages/drawbacks to whatever I'm proposing. If you're fairly good with the written word, you can weight your bias, if you're so inclined. Even without bias, you can mention stuff like the TRUE costs of fighting a vulnerability (computer/worker downtime, multiplied by the number of users, estimated cost in your salary per instance, etc).
2. Submit the memo, and don't get offended if your idea is not taken. Even well reasoned, compelling arguments are not always enough. Keep in mind that we're focusing on base hits, not home runs.
3. Time is on your side. There will only be more vulnerabilities. This does not mean you should be happy with new vulnerabilities, but they are only serving to bolster your case. Hopefully you've made management aware of the associated costs of dealing with IE vulnerabilities. Keep in mind that management understands cost and benefit. They don't respond to features and feelings. Do a really good job of showing how the cost and benefits outweigh the inconvenience, and you'll usually have a green light.
Sure, when I arrive to my destination in Houston, it will be helpful to know to which pile in Bangladesh my luggage currently resides. I'm not convinced that the individual airports that will be adopting this are going to help me get my luggage where it needs to go.
Many government organizations have very strict guidelines about who can/can't do business with them. One of them is often that the support organization needs to be bonded for a large (generally $2m or more) sum. This is where I show my ignorance; maybe the organization in question is already bonded in order to be able to service government agencies. But it might be a factor in whether or not they'll even be able to step up to the plate.
Judge: You are ordered to pay 3 billion dollars to the people of Arizona. Microsoft Lawyer: Your honor, thats more than $1000 per citizen. (lie) We simply don't have that much cash around. (/lie) We have lots of these "Bill Bucks", though! Judge Okay, that'll do. (gavel bangs)
Feel free to mod me offtopic here, but I think only marginally.
I've recently managed to move my company (of one... okay, I'm not huge, but it's significant to me) to mostly open source software. I've used Codeweavers to maintain the last couple of Win32 dependencies that I have. In this mind-expandingly healthy process, I've wondered only one thing...
Let's assume that the more militant OSS folks get what they want, and Microsoft tanks due to the availability of free software that does everything that we all need. Regardless of what you think of Microsoft, they have served to motivate a lot of people to code something that works as well/better/more securely/more efficiently than Microsoft products.
Please keep in mind that I hold no particular love or hate for either Microsoft or OSS... I'm just into finding the right tools for the job. Please don't view this as an opportunity to flame one way or another.
Anyway, back to the question. We'll pretend that Microsoft is crumbling. What then? What do you think is the future of OSS? Please, don't provide utopian "virus free" scenescapes... instead, ponder this. OSS has done exceptionally well in proving that software can be produced securely, efficiently, and for a fair price (sometimes even free). Without the common enemy, will OSS lose direction, motivation? Or will it be able to manage overwhelming success as well as it has managed overwhelming adversity?
I actually run a computer consulting firm specializing in small businesses. I'll outline some of the more common recommendations - with what I think is the most important first.
From my experience, the best approach is to layer your defenses.
I'd REALLY recommend a UPS (I generally assume this is purchased with a server, but it isn't always) at very least. Your local power company is only required to provide you with something CLOSE to 120v. They generally can't keep it consistent enough for power supplies (and electronic componentry in general). Protect your investment, UPSes are generally relatively cheap.
The fact that you've got a backup solution is good, but (as you've seen) not enough. Evaluate it, and see if it's consistent with best practices - i.e., is it a tape (or optical) backup system that is done in rotation and taken offsite by somebody in the company? If not, set that in motion first.
Next, some sort of drive redundancy is in order. At very least, mirror your drives. I generally recommend RAID5 (or one of its variants), but in very small companies RAID5 isn't either required or affordable or both. IMO, the jury's still out on the long-term viability of IDE RAID, but I think it looks promising.
Finally, redundant power supplies and NICs (for those of us that are REALLY paranoid;) ). I've had a couple of servers' power supplies die on me, but the server kept right on ticking thanks to a redundant unit.
If it's affordable to your company, consider hot-swappable server components, as well. This significantly reduces downtime to your coworkers... and expense to your company.
I'd probably use it to prop open my door or somethng. Maybe set a coffee pot atop it. The problem with a Tbps router is that you'd need to feed it traffic.
And why do we need to route this much traffic? Because over 60% of all email is spam. Because unpatched systems are getting trojans, which in turn are contacting their makers.
I've been casting about for this as well. So far, the best one I've found is here. Check it out, it's pretty feature rich. Like anything, it will take a little up front configuration.
Novell is also tearing a page out of Microsoft's playbook. Remember when Microsoft rolled out the free Internet Explorer to compete against Netscape?
By releasing it to Open Source, Novell also broadened the development community, which will (hopefully) be able to keep pace with Microsoft's attempts to block non-Outlook solutions. Brilliant move, IMHO. Alternately, you can use Novell/Suse's groupware application (AKA OpenExchange) located here. This product creates an Exchange-like server for Outlook users to connect to. Or, use OpenExchange with Ximian and be done with it all.
I'm going to throw out a few random thoughts here...
First, your boss/employer seems to feel threatened by the concept of "flex time" as the rest of the world sees it. The "7:31 and you're late" thing seems like either an attempt to feel like they're in control OR (giving them the benefit of the doubt) they usually schedule group activities (ie, meetings, inspirational talks from the CEO, whatever) first thing in the morning.
Second, I agree in principle with the people that are saying that contracts only outline mutually acceptable conditions. In order for the relationship to prosper, both parties should exceed the terms of the contract.
Third, you are a broker for your time and talent. Your customer is your employer. I'm NOT implying that the customer is always right, rather it's up to you to decide if the relationship with the customer is profitable for you.
Finally, at the risk of over-simplifying, there are things that are not in your control and things that are. Focus on the things that are. You are not in control of their morning attendance requirements. You are in control over whether or not you will comply. And if you won't comply, you should probably be looking elsewhere for work. That's another area of your control. The "economic downturn" (not in your control) only limits your prospects, it doesn't prevent you from looking.
You've got a lot going for you, just some decisions to make. Good luck.
I don't know, I think it makes perfect sense. I wouldn't want to pay my high-priced (making gross assumptions here) coding talent to swap hard drives. Not only that, but I'm under the impression that our field is going the way of the medical industry - specialization. There's just way too much going on for your coders to be up to speed with networking issues, and vice-versa.
I'm a network nerd, and a damn good one. I don't know if you want to call what I write "code", since it would offend most that do it for a living, but it gets me by. Most of the "real" coders I know would rather not touch the wires that hold their workstations together.
Point: Good coders don't necessarily make good network techs, and I know for a fact that good network techs don't always make good coders.
There are going to be those that tell you "just say no". I know personally that sometimes that tactic isn't practical/feasible/whatever. I run into this quite often as a consultant; multiple clients have problems that require immediate attention.
The only diplomatic way I could find around this was in a prioritization scheme based on adverse impact. For instance, network issues supersede server issues, server issues supersede workstation issues, workstation issues supersede printer jams.
My initial problem was in trusting my clients to be understanding enough to "get it". To my surprise, when I laid it out, they were amazingly receptive, as most of them knew when it was their turn to have a network or server problem, they'd be at the top of the list.
I'm not sure how well that will play out in a corporate environment, but like my customers, your users may be more understanding than you are willing to give them credit for. You are one IT person. Everyone in the company can count to 1, I'm almost sure. They're also keenly aware of how out-of-whack the user/nerd ratio is. Conservative (read:CHEAP) companies will let it get to 70:1, users:nerd. Good companies will go 40:1. Exceptional companies will go 20:1.
I don't envy you your job, you've got to focus on efficiency. Good luck to you, it'll probably be either highly rewarding or we'll all see you on the 6 o'clock news pinning down your coworkers with an assault rifle. Let's hope for the former.
Hm. Reading through the posts, it occurs to me that people are dogging the concept of this game before even trying it. I dunno, I'm just not a natural born cynic I guess, but I try not to evaluate products or people before having had a chance to play with them.;)
Has anybody tried it? Or are you allowing your conclusions of what the Bible is cloud your objectivity? Maybe each should be evaluated on their own merits; not by accepting pre-conceived notions, but by examining the source material. This seems to work for me in a lot of areas aside from theology and/or game evaluation.
This is a very interesting question, because you're sort of asking how the Internet has altered a particular group.
It's interesting to me that my son has never known what vinyl LP's look like, has never known of a day without cell phones, and doesn't understand how the Internet revolutionized the way information is spread about. He uses it to play, to listen to music, to research homework, and communicate (not necessarily in that order).
There's a ton more information available now than in my college days. Sure, one can go to the library and get reams of information, but it's not sorted, as if I had typed in a search request to a popular search engine. So the amount of time I spent slogging over to the library and looking up the one book that might have a shred of information is instead used to put the finishing touches on the project. I'm not sure whether or not the colleges have risen to the challenge that the high availability of information has posed.
You know, I'm not sure I want to share our nice, roomy Genus with anyone or anything. We were here first. Maybe we could charge the other species a use tax or something. While it's not clear whether or not this is a move up for the other species, we DO have control of such concepts as fast food and premium coastal vacation spots.
--"Decommoditizing Protocols". Okay, so maybe it's not great grammar, but it's been in MS' core strategies from day one. Take something widely available, convince your users that your brand of it is better, add (or just change) some functionality to support your claim, and voila! Instead of XML, you've got MSML, or something silly like that.
I've been tasked with repairing a Compaq Ipaq with the "click of death" (user's term). While the data is still accessible, it's definitely giving signs that it's getting ready for the big plunge. Compaq's BIOS has a nifty utility for testing the DPS (Data Protection System), which tells me that it recommends drive replacement.
Those of you with Compaq Ipaq legacy-free models featuring DPS should check out your hard drive... bet you have the featured Fujitsu MPG3xxxx. Oh, didn't you read the article before reading this? Go back now, read it.
Microsoft has announced plans to buy Volvo and dub the car "XCar". It won't drive to as many destinations, and will probably lose the company a ton of money. The company plans to counter by suing owners of the car that allow unlicensed drivers to operate XCar.
Apple will release a similar auto, the MacDriver. It will be fully functional, but will only have one button for the driver to push. Additionally, diagnosis will be limited to a "Sad Mac" or "Bomb" icons.
Linux's automotive offering ("GNU-Car") will come in an Erector set complete with tools, detailed instructions on how to design and harden a car, and software that will allow you to run XCar's fuel... sort of. This auto promises to be a favorite of automotive enthusiasts, but the car-driving masses just won't get it.
It was alright, but only at matinee prices. A few entertaining lines, pretty decent effects a la the first one, however it's weak by comparison to the first installment. The story was a bit too rushed, I think. The opening 'toon was nicely done, though.
Slashdot Mirror
Within a week the tribe fired more arrows at a Google Street View van caught driving through their village.
Similarily, duct tape is currently in extremely high demand, causing many stores to institute duct tape rationing.
One consumer, who would only identify himself as "D0k+04 1337" is actively protesting the rationing.
"Sure, it's a conspiracy, man. I mean, what good are Pringles cans without the duct tape? It's just the man keeping us under control."
In any event, when faced with a similar situation, I generally follow this tack:
1. Write a memo (I'm better with the written word than the spoken word - additionally, the written word has a date on it) that clearly, unemotionally lays out the advantages/drawbacks to whatever I'm proposing. If you're fairly good with the written word, you can weight your bias, if you're so inclined. Even without bias, you can mention stuff like the TRUE costs of fighting a vulnerability (computer/worker downtime, multiplied by the number of users, estimated cost in your salary per instance, etc).
2. Submit the memo, and don't get offended if your idea is not taken. Even well reasoned, compelling arguments are not always enough. Keep in mind that we're focusing on base hits, not home runs.
3. Time is on your side. There will only be more vulnerabilities. This does not mean you should be happy with new vulnerabilities, but they are only serving to bolster your case. Hopefully you've made management aware of the associated costs of dealing with IE vulnerabilities. Keep in mind that management understands cost and benefit. They don't respond to features and feelings. Do a really good job of showing how the cost and benefits outweigh the inconvenience, and you'll usually have a green light.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
Microsoft Lawyer: Your honor, thats more than $1000 per citizen. (lie) We simply don't have that much cash around. (/lie) We have lots of these "Bill Bucks", though!
Judge Okay, that'll do. (gavel bangs)
I've recently managed to move my company (of one... okay, I'm not huge, but it's significant to me) to mostly open source software. I've used Codeweavers to maintain the last couple of Win32 dependencies that I have. In this mind-expandingly healthy process, I've wondered only one thing...
Let's assume that the more militant OSS folks get what they want, and Microsoft tanks due to the availability of free software that does everything that we all need. Regardless of what you think of Microsoft, they have served to motivate a lot of people to code something that works as well/better/more securely/more efficiently than Microsoft products.
Please keep in mind that I hold no particular love or hate for either Microsoft or OSS... I'm just into finding the right tools for the job. Please don't view this as an opportunity to flame one way or another.
Anyway, back to the question. We'll pretend that Microsoft is crumbling. What then? What do you think is the future of OSS? Please, don't provide utopian "virus free" scenescapes... instead, ponder this. OSS has done exceptionally well in proving that software can be produced securely, efficiently, and for a fair price (sometimes even free). Without the common enemy, will OSS lose direction, motivation? Or will it be able to manage overwhelming success as well as it has managed overwhelming adversity?
PC Pitstop
Cooldrives.com
Adaptec (DuraStor line... a bit beyond your stated price range, though)
Hope this helps!
I actually run a computer consulting firm specializing in small businesses. I'll outline some of the more common recommendations - with what I think is the most important first.
From my experience, the best approach is to layer your defenses. I'd REALLY recommend a UPS (I generally assume this is purchased with a server, but it isn't always) at very least. Your local power company is only required to provide you with something CLOSE to 120v. They generally can't keep it consistent enough for power supplies (and electronic componentry in general). Protect your investment, UPSes are generally relatively cheap.
The fact that you've got a backup solution is good, but (as you've seen) not enough. Evaluate it, and see if it's consistent with best practices - i.e., is it a tape (or optical) backup system that is done in rotation and taken offsite by somebody in the company? If not, set that in motion first.
Next, some sort of drive redundancy is in order. At very least, mirror your drives. I generally recommend RAID5 (or one of its variants), but in very small companies RAID5 isn't either required or affordable or both. IMO, the jury's still out on the long-term viability of IDE RAID, but I think it looks promising.
Finally, redundant power supplies and NICs (for those of us that are REALLY paranoid ;) ). I've had a couple of servers' power supplies die on me, but the server kept right on ticking thanks to a redundant unit.
If it's affordable to your company, consider hot-swappable server components, as well. This significantly reduces downtime to your coworkers... and expense to your company.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Oh yeah, FP ;)
And why do we need to route this much traffic? Because over 60% of all email is spam. Because unpatched systems are getting trojans, which in turn are contacting their makers.
Don't forget to donate!
By releasing it to Open Source, Novell also broadened the development community, which will (hopefully) be able to keep pace with Microsoft's attempts to block non-Outlook solutions. Brilliant move, IMHO. Alternately, you can use Novell/Suse's groupware application (AKA OpenExchange) located here. This product creates an Exchange-like server for Outlook users to connect to. Or, use OpenExchange with Ximian and be done with it all.
Well done, Novell!
First, your boss/employer seems to feel threatened by the concept of "flex time" as the rest of the world sees it. The "7:31 and you're late" thing seems like either an attempt to feel like they're in control OR (giving them the benefit of the doubt) they usually schedule group activities (ie, meetings, inspirational talks from the CEO, whatever) first thing in the morning.
Second, I agree in principle with the people that are saying that contracts only outline mutually acceptable conditions. In order for the relationship to prosper, both parties should exceed the terms of the contract.
Third, you are a broker for your time and talent. Your customer is your employer. I'm NOT implying that the customer is always right, rather it's up to you to decide if the relationship with the customer is profitable for you.
Finally, at the risk of over-simplifying, there are things that are not in your control and things that are. Focus on the things that are. You are not in control of their morning attendance requirements. You are in control over whether or not you will comply. And if you won't comply, you should probably be looking elsewhere for work. That's another area of your control. The "economic downturn" (not in your control) only limits your prospects, it doesn't prevent you from looking.
You've got a lot going for you, just some decisions to make. Good luck.
I'm a network nerd, and a damn good one. I don't know if you want to call what I write "code", since it would offend most that do it for a living, but it gets me by. Most of the "real" coders I know would rather not touch the wires that hold their workstations together.
Point: Good coders don't necessarily make good network techs, and I know for a fact that good network techs don't always make good coders.
The only diplomatic way I could find around this was in a prioritization scheme based on adverse impact. For instance, network issues supersede server issues, server issues supersede workstation issues, workstation issues supersede printer jams.
My initial problem was in trusting my clients to be understanding enough to "get it". To my surprise, when I laid it out, they were amazingly receptive, as most of them knew when it was their turn to have a network or server problem, they'd be at the top of the list.
I'm not sure how well that will play out in a corporate environment, but like my customers, your users may be more understanding than you are willing to give them credit for. You are one IT person. Everyone in the company can count to 1, I'm almost sure. They're also keenly aware of how out-of-whack the user/nerd ratio is. Conservative (read:CHEAP) companies will let it get to 70:1, users:nerd. Good companies will go 40:1. Exceptional companies will go 20:1.
I don't envy you your job, you've got to focus on efficiency. Good luck to you, it'll probably be either highly rewarding or we'll all see you on the 6 o'clock news pinning down your coworkers with an assault rifle. Let's hope for the former.
Hm. Reading through the posts, it occurs to me that people are dogging the concept of this game before even trying it. I dunno, I'm just not a natural born cynic I guess, but I try not to evaluate products or people before having had a chance to play with them. ;)
.02, and I honor refunds.
Has anybody tried it? Or are you allowing your conclusions of what the Bible is cloud your objectivity? Maybe each should be evaluated on their own merits; not by accepting pre-conceived notions, but by examining the source material. This seems to work for me in a lot of areas aside from theology and/or game evaluation.
That's my
This is a very interesting question, because you're sort of asking how the Internet has altered a particular group.
It's interesting to me that my son has never known what vinyl LP's look like, has never known of a day without cell phones, and doesn't understand how the Internet revolutionized the way information is spread about. He uses it to play, to listen to music, to research homework, and communicate (not necessarily in that order).
There's a ton more information available now than in my college days. Sure, one can go to the library and get reams of information, but it's not sorted, as if I had typed in a search request to a popular search engine. So the amount of time I spent slogging over to the library and looking up the one book that might have a shred of information is instead used to put the finishing touches on the project. I'm not sure whether or not the colleges have risen to the challenge that the high availability of information has posed.
Thanks for a thought provoking question!
You know, I'm not sure I want to share our nice, roomy Genus with anyone or anything. We were here first. Maybe we could charge the other species a use tax or something. While it's not clear whether or not this is a move up for the other species, we DO have control of such concepts as fast food and premium coastal vacation spots.
Those of you with Compaq Ipaq legacy-free models featuring DPS should check out your hard drive... bet you have the featured Fujitsu MPG3xxxx. Oh, didn't you read the article before reading this? Go back now, read it.
Microsoft has announced plans to buy Volvo and dub the car "XCar". It won't drive to as many destinations, and will probably lose the company a ton of money. The company plans to counter by suing owners of the car that allow unlicensed drivers to operate XCar.
Apple will release a similar auto, the MacDriver. It will be fully functional, but will only have one button for the driver to push. Additionally, diagnosis will be limited to a "Sad Mac" or "Bomb" icons.
Linux's automotive offering ("GNU-Car") will come in an Erector set complete with tools, detailed instructions on how to design and harden a car, and software that will allow you to run XCar's fuel... sort of. This auto promises to be a favorite of automotive enthusiasts, but the car-driving masses just won't get it.
It was alright, but only at matinee prices. A few entertaining lines, pretty decent effects a la the first one, however it's weak by comparison to the first installment. The story was a bit too rushed, I think. The opening 'toon was nicely done, though.
.02.
My