"I'm of the opinion that the user *must* come first - so maybe I'm fundamentally at odds with the basic premise of their work. But from 15+ years of experience with computers and I.T., I've become convinced that usability MUST trump security, or else you've wasted your money. The trick is to make things as secure as possible, without crossing the line and damaging usability/usefulness of the environment."
You're coming at this wrong. For large companies, yes, the users come first. But there are a great many different groups of users. For example, the usergroup A wants to implement X right now. X has some security holes that may potentially damage usergroup A, B, C and D's data. You need to look at the big picture.
It may well be that some app's been coded using a fundamentally broken (from a security point of view) architecture - it's usable, the users are loving it, but there's a hole in your network you could drive a truck through.
As for usability trumping security, I just don't understand what you're getting at here.
Yes, usable systems are, well, usable. Usable, but horribly insecure systems may be usable in the short term but completely hose your business in the long term - it's all about looking at the sum and then the parts.
Crap. All businesses using laptops (with very few exceptions) will be using docks, so people can't sue them for RSI for using a laptop keyboard and pointer for 8 hours a day. That's what *makes* them business laptops: e.g. Dell Inspiron vs Lattitude line.
In today's climate, if you think businesses are going to fork out for 2x hardware per person plus 2x support costs per person, then you're plain wrong.
I can imagine the number of calls a helpdesk would get if users were expected to manually plug in all peripheral cables every morning, and then successfully get their machine working on the external monitor, and it's not pretty.
You are a fucking idiot.
Have a nice day pretending you can throw people off plains for making a choice in consumer electronics you don't agree with.
Twat.
on the 650, it's easier as you suggest. On the 600, it's a very convoluted thing that one person can do, but not do easily. However, this is a good thing: they document it in the manual, tell you the keys to press and you definitely won't do it by accident.
Ric
...you're only paying a fixed price per month for your electricity, so it's *just fine* for you to waste as much as you want. Screw the environment, screw the costs you're passing on to others - both financial and ecological. It's not coming out of your wallet, so fuck the World.
Tell me, do you set US foreign policy?
Take it back to the dealer, there's something wrong with it. Particularly on US roads you should be getting 43-51mpg stock. A VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda 1.9 PD130 turbo diesel (130bhp stock) can be software remapped to 180-195 bhp without hurting the economy, too...
if you're working on qualified systems (e.g. ones bound by GxP, FDA, etc) then you need to have documented and tested your systems right down the LRF* level. Any changes, including patches, need to be fully assessed for potential scope, validated, tested formally, documented and applied under strict change control. The constant stream of patches from Redmond makes this an enormous overhead for organisations like ours.
yep. just did MAN to PHL on Sunday and this is what I did: no carryons so laptop bag inside suitcase, packed with a jumper on each side. my normal laptop bag had my A4 pad I always carry on top of the lid to protect it and disappate any impact, and a wooly jumper on the other. arrived fine. worst problem i've got is that it's 86 degrees in philly now and i have a couple of wooly jumpers i don't need that i've got to carry round...
the value of your data, assuming you're not a complete asshat that is, should be the related to the inconvenience that loss of that data would cause you. If you encrypt your data then in virtually every case you'd have a worst case scenario of having to resend the data out and buy a new laptop to put it on: unless you're doing something that is time-critical. If you *are* doing something time-critical that could potentially cost you $4m if it goes missing for a few days, then you really shouldn't be relying on one guy with a laptop...
No, but this kind of proves the point about this not being uncommon though!
I know a lot of Shell SSI people (at least the ones not in Bangalore!) and they have a similar viewpoint...
1) assumptions about hardware? It's already bloody obvious what hardware you'll need, and every big PC manufacturer's corporate desktop models will cover it as standard in the next line of desktops they put out, to whit a dx9 compliant onboard graphics card in the main. it'll run just fine on older stuff without Aero, I'd imagine
2) You start planning enterprise rollouts some 2 years or so before implementation
3) You'd love to know the business benefit? It's common bloody sense: it's OS lifecycle management. If you're using closed source OSs and apps then you *cannot continue to operate* on unsupported software. You'd get hit by any number of industry-specific requirements, SOx compliance etc. Same reason you need to keep moving on to the currently supported version of stuff like Oracle.
...it'll be rolled out WHEN WE'RE READY, AND WHEN WE'VE QUALIFIED IT. it's not going out as soon as the corp isos are first released, for fuck's sake. I'm just saying we WILL move to Vista, rather than staying on 2000.
Any fool who asks "how hard would it be to move to Linux" whilst assuming the answer is "not very" is an idiot.
we've about 65,000 desktops in Europe (same again in US, plus a chunk in Asia) and they're all going to Vista. We didn't move to XP as we still had perfectly adequate Win2K platform, supported by MS until 2010, so there was no real advantage moving to XP. Now's the time to look at our next generation as lifecycle for 2k's getting shorter - so we're going Vista. We're not alone in this - all the organisations who didn't really see the point in XP in a corporate setting when they already had Win2K will be in the same boat.
If it's ready, then it's ready: putting it out on a corp volume licence implies they're satisfied it's up to enterprise-level stability. Going corp first implies their confidence that it *will* be ready is high. If it isn't, and they were to put out an unstable build on volume licencing then that'd be about it for MS...
...also works on CDs.
Turns out the refractive index of nose grease (i.e. wipe your finger down the OUTSIDE of your nose!) is approximately the same as celluloid. Hence wiping it on scratches on negatives makes them disappear. Also kind of works on CDs - same refractive index means less refraction from the scratch...
it's not all about the signal strength: that's only part of it. For GSM, each cell tower can only make a limited (and surprisingly small) number of simultaneous voice and data calls. This means you can have perfect reception, but not be able to make a call. In cases where the contention ratio's been reached and you're already on a call, you may find your call dropped if someone else tries to make a new call to the emergency services - all part of the GSM specs.
..the trick here is keeping slightly ahead of the average. It's like a herd: you don't want to be the slowest, most tempting target. So you lock your car doors. When everyone locks their doors, you lock yours with a high-security lock and maybe an immobiliser. When everyone else does this you look at having a Tracker or Lo-Jack fitted...
I'm in the process of switching myself. No more Windows. No more DRM nightmares. No more "trusted computing". No more paying over the odds for software and hardware.
I'm switching to Ubuntu.
You're arguing that tales of mobiles interfering with devices etc is an old wives tale. You counter with...wait for it...another old wives tale.
Way to go.
I'm sitting here next to a commercial ECG telemetry system. By taking a call with my cell phone and walking around near the telemetry transmitters, I can *see* the interference on the monitor screen. I can also *see* the interference as I walk near clinical trials subjects with holter ECG recorders on. I'm doing it now: the disturbances are also present in the electronic data captured from those ECG machines. If I were to go to our sister site and make a call within earshot of the coronary care unit, I'd get punched for using one because it *visibly and demonstrably* fucks up the readings and traces which are used for live, safety-critical monitoring.
Sure, there are areas of hospitals where it won't affect anything, but there are areas where it will, and it's safer and easier to ban the use over a wider area rather than trying to enforce a policy of allowing it in one room but not the one next to it.
Banning mobile phones in certain areas is just common sense - it's all about whether you can prove, beyond all doubt, that it *doesn't* interfere. If there's any doubt, or you just can't prove it, don't do it.
i've personally cleaned it off about 15 dells now. you just have to uninstall the AOL main program first, and not the sub entries in control panel.
granted, i'd prefer it if they didn't put that shite on there in the first place.
It's not as bad as the McAfee trial they put on there though, that will only uninstall in safe mode...
Slashdot Mirror
You're coming at this wrong. For large companies, yes, the users come first. But there are a great many different groups of users. For example, the usergroup A wants to implement X right now. X has some security holes that may potentially damage usergroup A, B, C and D's data. You need to look at the big picture.
It may well be that some app's been coded using a fundamentally broken (from a security point of view) architecture - it's usable, the users are loving it, but there's a hole in your network you could drive a truck through.
As for usability trumping security, I just don't understand what you're getting at here.
Yes, usable systems are, well, usable. Usable, but horribly insecure systems may be usable in the short term but completely hose your business in the long term - it's all about looking at the sum and then the parts.
Crap. All businesses using laptops (with very few exceptions) will be using docks, so people can't sue them for RSI for using a laptop keyboard and pointer for 8 hours a day. That's what *makes* them business laptops: e.g. Dell Inspiron vs Lattitude line.
In today's climate, if you think businesses are going to fork out for 2x hardware per person plus 2x support costs per person, then you're plain wrong.
I can imagine the number of calls a helpdesk would get if users were expected to manually plug in all peripheral cables every morning, and then successfully get their machine working on the external monitor, and it's not pretty.
You are a fucking idiot. Have a nice day pretending you can throw people off plains for making a choice in consumer electronics you don't agree with. Twat.
...you lose the lot. not a great solution.
on the 650, it's easier as you suggest. On the 600, it's a very convoluted thing that one person can do, but not do easily. However, this is a good thing: they document it in the manual, tell you the keys to press and you definitely won't do it by accident. Ric
So it's ethical to just use as much as you possibly can, right? Because it's not like there's a national grid or anything...
...perfect for big screen YouTube!
...you're only paying a fixed price per month for your electricity, so it's *just fine* for you to waste as much as you want. Screw the environment, screw the costs you're passing on to others - both financial and ecological. It's not coming out of your wallet, so fuck the World.
Tell me, do you set US foreign policy?
Take it back to the dealer, there's something wrong with it. Particularly on US roads you should be getting 43-51mpg stock. A VW/Audi/Seat/Skoda 1.9 PD130 turbo diesel (130bhp stock) can be software remapped to 180-195 bhp without hurting the economy, too...
...re point two - how about this?s port/Audi_R10_TDI.html
http://www.audi.com/audi/com/en1/experience/motor
Just won Le Mans, 650BHP...
*Little Rubber Feet
...now i'm off to make *you* look stupid...!
yep. just did MAN to PHL on Sunday and this is what I did: no carryons so laptop bag inside suitcase, packed with a jumper on each side. my normal laptop bag had my A4 pad I always carry on top of the lid to protect it and disappate any impact, and a wooly jumper on the other. arrived fine. worst problem i've got is that it's 86 degrees in philly now and i have a couple of wooly jumpers i don't need that i've got to carry round...
the value of your data, assuming you're not a complete asshat that is, should be the related to the inconvenience that loss of that data would cause you. If you encrypt your data then in virtually every case you'd have a worst case scenario of having to resend the data out and buy a new laptop to put it on: unless you're doing something that is time-critical. If you *are* doing something time-critical that could potentially cost you $4m if it goes missing for a few days, then you really shouldn't be relying on one guy with a laptop...
F1 cars do not run on alcohol...
No, but this kind of proves the point about this not being uncommon though!
I know a lot of Shell SSI people (at least the ones not in Bangalore!) and they have a similar viewpoint...
1) assumptions about hardware? It's already bloody obvious what hardware you'll need, and every big PC manufacturer's corporate desktop models will cover it as standard in the next line of desktops they put out, to whit a dx9 compliant onboard graphics card in the main. it'll run just fine on older stuff without Aero, I'd imagine
2) You start planning enterprise rollouts some 2 years or so before implementation
3) You'd love to know the business benefit? It's common bloody sense: it's OS lifecycle management. If you're using closed source OSs and apps then you *cannot continue to operate* on unsupported software. You'd get hit by any number of industry-specific requirements, SOx compliance etc. Same reason you need to keep moving on to the currently supported version of stuff like Oracle.
...it'll be rolled out WHEN WE'RE READY, AND WHEN WE'VE QUALIFIED IT. it's not going out as soon as the corp isos are first released, for fuck's sake. I'm just saying we WILL move to Vista, rather than staying on 2000. Any fool who asks "how hard would it be to move to Linux" whilst assuming the answer is "not very" is an idiot.
we've about 65,000 desktops in Europe (same again in US, plus a chunk in Asia) and they're all going to Vista. We didn't move to XP as we still had perfectly adequate Win2K platform, supported by MS until 2010, so there was no real advantage moving to XP. Now's the time to look at our next generation as lifecycle for 2k's getting shorter - so we're going Vista. We're not alone in this - all the organisations who didn't really see the point in XP in a corporate setting when they already had Win2K will be in the same boat. If it's ready, then it's ready: putting it out on a corp volume licence implies they're satisfied it's up to enterprise-level stability. Going corp first implies their confidence that it *will* be ready is high. If it isn't, and they were to put out an unstable build on volume licencing then that'd be about it for MS...
...also works on CDs. Turns out the refractive index of nose grease (i.e. wipe your finger down the OUTSIDE of your nose!) is approximately the same as celluloid. Hence wiping it on scratches on negatives makes them disappear. Also kind of works on CDs - same refractive index means less refraction from the scratch...
it's not all about the signal strength: that's only part of it. For GSM, each cell tower can only make a limited (and surprisingly small) number of simultaneous voice and data calls. This means you can have perfect reception, but not be able to make a call. In cases where the contention ratio's been reached and you're already on a call, you may find your call dropped if someone else tries to make a new call to the emergency services - all part of the GSM specs.
..the trick here is keeping slightly ahead of the average. It's like a herd: you don't want to be the slowest, most tempting target. So you lock your car doors. When everyone locks their doors, you lock yours with a high-security lock and maybe an immobiliser. When everyone else does this you look at having a Tracker or Lo-Jack fitted...
I'm in the process of switching myself. No more Windows. No more DRM nightmares. No more "trusted computing". No more paying over the odds for software and hardware.
I'm switching to Ubuntu.
You're arguing that tales of mobiles interfering with devices etc is an old wives tale. You counter with...wait for it...another old wives tale.
Way to go.
I'm sitting here next to a commercial ECG telemetry system. By taking a call with my cell phone and walking around near the telemetry transmitters, I can *see* the interference on the monitor screen. I can also *see* the interference as I walk near clinical trials subjects with holter ECG recorders on. I'm doing it now: the disturbances are also present in the electronic data captured from those ECG machines.
If I were to go to our sister site and make a call within earshot of the coronary care unit, I'd get punched for using one because it *visibly and demonstrably* fucks up the readings and traces which are used for live, safety-critical monitoring.
Sure, there are areas of hospitals where it won't affect anything, but there are areas where it will, and it's safer and easier to ban the use over a wider area rather than trying to enforce a policy of allowing it in one room but not the one next to it.
Banning mobile phones in certain areas is just common sense - it's all about whether you can prove, beyond all doubt, that it *doesn't* interfere. If there's any doubt, or you just can't prove it, don't do it.
i've personally cleaned it off about 15 dells now. you just have to uninstall the AOL main program first, and not the sub entries in control panel. granted, i'd prefer it if they didn't put that shite on there in the first place. It's not as bad as the McAfee trial they put on there though, that will only uninstall in safe mode...