Thursday, March 5, 2009

Human Kind and Information Technology


By Brenda Williams

Human kind is the most intelligent and evolving species to have inhabited this world. It is therefore always seeking knowledge, convenient ways of communication and development in general.

It is the result of this quest that in the early 40's the precursor of modern day computing machines was first invented. Ever since there has been no letting in the pace of progress in this exciting field which has profound effects on almost all the aspects of the modern day human beings.

The most important and sought after offshoot of the computer or information technology is the internet. It opens up unlimited vistas of knowledge in a fraction of second for the user. The possibilities are literally limitless.

One major branch of internet is the E-commerce. In its early days, it existed simply as a form of facilitation for commercial and financial transactions. Since then it has really transformed.

Technologies such as electronic data interchange and electronic funds transfer were introduced and they allowed the freedom to the businesses to communicate documents such as invoices via electronic network systems, securely. The growth of telephonic banking, credit cards and automated teller machines are all too well known and form the back bone of e-commerce. There are many vistas in this regard which are growing as per the users need and information technology is providing an efficient and secure platform to them.

The major electronic payment systems that govern current online transactions are credit cards processing systems and electronic payment gateways. The electronic payment gateways facilitate financial transactions online by authenticating credit cards and online bank accounts authorizing transactions. They connect the merchant's website and the credit card companies. In doing so, the user has the liberty of doing such transactions from the safety of the home or office and avoiding the physical hassle of going to the financial institutions or the vendors.

E-banking and business of many sorts is now a normal occurrence and part of the daily routine of a sizable population.

The internet has eliminated the distances between friends and family. The internet provides web services of different sorts like, social networking services, chatting services with real time interaction and portals providing free lance business opportunities.

In the beginning no one had envisioned the growth spurt of the internet and its allied e-commerce. The web browsers are instruments which have the ability of finding and organizing the information quickly and thus have become indispensable tools in the hands of common people.

The web was lately considered a medium for sharing mere text files. Now with advanced user interface, animations, video and radio streaming the internet has really evolved.

It is professed that the computer technology especially the internet has a more profound effect on people's lives as compared to the radio or television. This magical box, the computer with its flexibility has become one stop solution to all the media needs of a modern day person.

So it can be safely said that the computers and the information technology are a part and parcel of the modern day man's life and in the years to come are going to flourish even more.


Do's and Don'ts For Your Computer Cleaning Session


By Pattrick S Savarna

To see your computer working uninterruptedly, its cleaning at regular intervals is extremely necessary. However, the cleaning of your computer should not be for the sake of cleaning only, rather it has to be done in such a way which doesn't prove detrimental to your computer.

It has always been found that while cleaning our computers, computer parts and laptops accessories, we messing up the things a lot and damage them. These damages, most of the times, are not visible to our naked eyes. Thus we force our personal computer systems to go nastier rather than helping them to come out clean.

Here is a series of tips and tricks which will help you to clean your computers in the 'cleanest' way ever possible.

Adult Job : Cleaning computers is not a child's play. Their enthusiasm brings many irreparable damages to your computers. However, do it by yourself in front of him/her. That could be a computer cleaning training session for your kid.

Hit The Hidden : Many people tend to clean the external or visible dirt first. Instead, they should try to clean the hidden dirt, below the keys or inside the CPU, before doing so. This can be easily done using vacuum cleaners made specifically to suck up stubborn dirt, strands of hair etc. Such vacuum cleaners have special nozzles, meant for computer cleaning only, to do the same.

No Direct Spray : While cleaning your keyboard, mouse or other computer parts, always refrain from spraying the liquid computer cleaning products directly onto them. It may creep to dirty corners and make them greasy. To avoid such situations, spray the formula onto a small piece of cotton fabric and wipe away all the dirt using it. However, before you use the cloth, you can use a brush too to have an effective cleaning.

No Clothes for Inner Parts : The cleaning of the outer portion of a keyboard or a mouse or a drive can be safely and easily done by a wet piece of cloth. But the cleaning of delicate parts such a motherboard etc. should not be done with a piece of cloth at all, even if it is a dry one. Rather, use specific computer cleaning products such as vacuum nozzles.

Improve Your Habits : Like a human being , even your computer can be sensitive and allergic to many things. For example, don't force your computer to go for passive smoking. Also, beware from giving it something to drink and eat. Definitely, it eats up some amount of power only. Thus while smoking and eating/drinking something always maintain a safe distance. Also, buy only qualitative computer cleaning products to clean your computer.

Cleaning Pattern Differs : Not all the desktops are same, so are the laptops. Thus there is a variation in the way we clean them up. So if you are cleaning your computer for the first time, it would be better if you throw a look into the user's manual. They always carry some specially relevant tips and tricks telling you how to use computer cleaning products judiciously.

Check out a classic range of computer products.

Pattrick Savarna is an expert technology writer. His technology tips and tricks are widely recommended.

Tech News to Help You Make Better Buying Decisions


By Darren W Cho

The technology world is a fun and ever changing world. Today, there are literally thousands of products in the marketplace. We are simply swarmed by the sheer number of products that we can choose from. And these are not big ticket items. They could be just small little gadgets like a mobile phone, a portable printer, or a digital camera.

Of course, if you have the budget, a seemingly small item may end up costing you a small fortune. When making a buying decision, you need to be discerning enough to strike a balance between the price and your own needs and wants. One way to achieve this balance, is to rely on technology news to help you come to a better decision.

How technology news can help you.

Make a quick visit to any technology news website. There are a plethora of tech sites out there on the Internet. Some are well established websites (think CNET), and others are run by small publishers. Both have their merits.

A big publisher usually releases tons of tech related news on all sorts of products. The problem is, due to the huge scope of coverage, the focus is usually diluted. You will find different types of content - reviews, product releases, specifications, etc. Some of these content are written by paid tech writers, so there is a commercial element involved. Perhaps some writers are more inclined to write positive things about the products? Maybe.

Smaller publishers tend to be more focused, and they usually release news on hand picked products only. Being small, they can't possibly cover everything under the sun. So it's a wise strategy to adopt. Often, you find articles that are much more in depth. The owners are also more likely to be very passionate about the tech products they are writing about.

When buying a tech gadget, you usually pay more for newer technology. The important here is to remember that everything new comes with a much heftier price tag. The technology may not be necessarily better (e.g. buggy since it's new), but you still end up paying substantially more for the product anyway.

If you want to save some money, just be patient. Keep browsing the tech news to keep yourself abreast of the changes. For instance, how is the technology improving? What are others saying about the brand new gadget? If you read nothing but great reviews on the product, that is a good sign.

You may need to suppress your own desire a little, so that you don't end up rushing to be the first in line to buy that new camcorder, new television, or new mobile phone. Just wait a little. The price will come down soon enough as soon as the masses start to adopt the new technology. That way, you get a more stable device, at a much lower price.

Read more Product Reviews and Tech News on our website.


How to Get Through Your Inbox Quicker - Tips For Busy Moms


By Cammie Moise

I do not know about you, but my email is starting to take over my computer! Not long ago, I had over 2000 emails in my inbox and it looked as though I have not read over 750. That doesn't even include my Junk Email. It can get overwhelming and difficult to remember what I have responded to and what I need to respond to. And trying to find an email that I need can take a lot of time. I recently found a few tricks that are helping me organize this chaos. Now the unread email is gone by the end of the day.

Here are my tips for Outlook Users.

Flag email

Microsoft Outlook lets you flag messages for follow-up. You can highlight the email and click on the flag/follow up button. Select the type of follow up you would like and a reminder.

Categorize e-mail messages

Outlook helps you categorize e-mail. You can quickly view categorized messages related to a specific project.

Select a message and click Actions>>Categorize. Select a color-coded category for the message. If the category has not been used before, you can create a category name.

Categorized messages appear in the Categorized Search Folder, organized by category.

Make New Folders

Microsoft Outlook lets you make new folders below your inbox. Right click on your Inbox and click on New Folder. Type in the name of your new folder. When mail comes in, click and highlight that message and drag it over to the new folder. Below are some of the names of my folders and how I use them.

Follow Up - If I need to address something soon, but cannot do it right away, I will add to this folder. I just have to make sure I check it every day, but if I flag it with a reminder, that helps.

Organizations - I have several different organizations or areas of my life and I list them out separately. Such as Girl Scouts, the school that my kids attend, etc.

Names of Friends/Family - Some friends or family members have their own folder.

Create Search Folders

Search Folders in Outlook automatically collect e-mail based on criteria you specify. You can use the folders to find particular messages quickly.

Right-click Search Folders and select New Search Folder. Use the list to select your criteria. Contextual options may appear at the bottom of the box. Click OK to create the folder.

Cammie's blog site http://www.MomsMaterial.com gives moms ideas they want. She talks books for kids and moms, party ideas, school, parenting, great gifts ideas and how to look good doing it all.

How to Copy Your iPod to a New Computer


By Albert Eshbach

If you have ever had the misfortune of suffering a computer crash or hard drive failure, then you know how stressful it can be when you face the reality that all of your data may be lost. This situation often becomes even more depressing if you have also lost all of your purchased music or downloaded music in your iTunes library. Yes, some of it is recoverable by re-ripping CD's to a new or repaired computer, but the purchased music is lost forever...or is it?

You suddenly remember that your entire music library (or at least your favorite parts of it) are still on your iPod. You decide you will just download it all from your iPod to your new computer. The problem you encounter, however, is that the iPod is not setup to transfer in that direction. It only transfers from the PC to the iPod and not the other way around. Your depression returns and you start searching for solutions.

That might be the scenario that brought you to this article. You have hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars worth of music that you have purchased sitting there on your iPod and you cannot get it on a new computer without the risk of iTunes erasing it all...for good.

There is good news though. There are numerous computer software programs on the market today that allow you to easily copy everything on your iPod back to a new computer. No matter if you are a PC or Mac owner, you can still save your valuable data.

One program to consider is Lenogo's iPod to Computer Transfer. The manufacturer offers versions for both PC and Macintosh users and it is compatible with all version of the iPod and iPhone.

Another good one to consider is iPod 2 Computer from the Boys Down Under. This is an easy to use program, but is only available to customers running Windows.

To Read Reviews of the Best iPod to Computer Transfer Software and More, Visit the Video Format Converter Guide Now at http://videoformatconverter.net/category/ipod-transfer-software/

Cloud Cover - VMWare's Market Charge


By Guy Smith

No sooner did I speculate on who will make a run at providing p-cloud (private cloud) management tools than VMWare comes charging like malcontent bull in a Pamplona ally.

Like Apple before it, VMWare is co-opting a single letter of the alphabet to brand a series of products. Apple owns 'i' and VMWare now owns 'v'. I hereby establish my claim to 'g' for everything I create, such as g-confusion and g-discontent (good thing I don't sell musical instrument strings).

One of VMWare's initiatives is vCloud, which is one component of their broader Virtual Datacenter Operating System (VDC-OS) gestalt. VDC-OS - a clumsy acronym in an otherwise slick acronym flooded market - seeks to virtualize the data center in very broad terms. It already has select virtualization components for CPUs, storage and network and a 2009 road map for central management.

What is interesting about their announcement this week is the addition of a security module. Though conceptually there is nothing fancy about their security addition, it is the addition itself which is telling. As I recently mentioned, the winner in the p-cloud space will have to stitch together all the normal IT functions into one tool that allows the total abstraction of the data center - auto-discovery, server classification, network segment management, virtualization, provisioning, monitoring, redundancy, failover, alerting and more. That VMWare has taken on a small aspect of security shows they understand the whole product definition for p-cloud management is incomplete.

It is good that they recognize the problem. I wonder if they foresee the solution.

P-clouds present a perpetual problem with whole product development, namely that nobody can do it on their own. The primary reason the high tech business is rife with alliance that change faster than smoochers at a spin-the-bottle party is that everyone is seeking to create a whole product by getting other companies to provide some part of the total solution. As markets and competitive realities change, so do alliances.

The closest thing to a permanent relationship in Silicon Valley exists between Larry Ellison and his ego. After that the longevity of a press release is the nearest runner-up.

So VMWare faces a problem. To virtualize the data center requires providing in a virtualization management tool all the infrastructure management components that CTO's have bought over the years from best of breed vendors. VMWare would be certifiably insane to try building VDC-OS by itself. They do not have not can they acquire and rapidly integrate expertise in all the different facets of data center management. They have to partner and open VDC-OS in such a way that other solution providers can port their existing technologies into VMWare's evolving infrastructure.

Cisco helps. Nobody knows networking like Cisco, and they have tagged with VMWare on some other projects. Since virtualizing the network is part of the whole product definition for p-clouds, VMWare has a head start. Expect partnerships with HP (monitoring ala OpenView), possibly AlarmPoint (alerting) and others. VMWare has already implemented an API to bridge VDC-OS the data center cloud to external clouds, so perhaps the APIs will enable other technologies to aid in managing a p-cloud.

Do not expect a lot of participation from Microsoft and Citrix.

In the oddest alliance since Microsoft and Novel made kissy-face, Redmond has partnered with Citrix to bridge not only Hyper-V and Xen but Citrix's more capable virtualization management tool. This is a shotgun marriage where two competitors with nothing even close to a whole product are teaming to block VMWare's inertia. Microsoft and Citrix stand to lose enterprise mindshare if (or perhaps when) VMWare brings true p-clod capabilities to the market.

VMWare has a vision, and at first glance appears to understand that they need to open their architecture to extend it outwardly. As interest in VDC-OC grows, they VMWare will feel the heat to open further - ala Salesforce.com App Exchange - to allow nearly any addition functionality to be added without VMWare having to build it themselves.

Once I see that, I'll know who will lead ... nay, who will own the p-cloud market.

Guy Smith is the chief consultant for Silicon Strategies Marketing (http://www.SiliconStrat.com). Guy brings a combination of technical, managerial and marketing experience to Silicon Strategies projects. Directly and as a consultant, Guy has worked with a variety of technology-producing organizations. A partial list of these technology firms include DeviceAnywhere (mobile applications), ORBiT Group (high-availability backup software), Telamon (wireless middleware), Wink Communications (interactive television), LogMeIn (remote desktop), FundNET (SaaS), DeviceAnywhere (mobile applications), Open-Xchange (groupware), VA Software (enterprise software), Virtual Iron (server virtualization), SUSE (Linux distributions and applications), BrainWave (application prototyping) and Novell.

Why IT Professionals Should Not Hate Auditors, and Should Not Become Sick With Compliance Guidelines


By George J Lekatis

Which is one of the most common characteristics of Information Technology (IT) professionals? They hate documentation and auditors, and become sick with compliance guidelines.

Some IT professionals are different. They have realized that when persons that understand systems and the technical issues, understand also compliance and risk management, are really valuable for organizations. IT professionals with a risk or compliance certification stand out from the crowd.

There is a legal duty to comply with laws and regulations. Compliance is of paramount importance to all organizations that have to demonstrate to the society in general and to their shareholders, auditors, supervisors and employees in particular their strong commitment to excellence, profitability and international standards.

A good compliance program provides assurance that the firm is able to prevent illegal and unethical conduct encourages employees to report problems and to help resolve issues, minimizes loss and reduces the exposure to civil damages, penalties and criminal sanctions.

Compliance starts from a set of clear policies. A policy is not something employees have (a document), but something they know, they understand, they do. Compliance is always taken into account in evaluating all managers and employees.

Compliance awareness and training for all employees is important, but a different compliance training program is needed for different employees. IT professionals need to understand the legal and regulatory problems organizations face after errors or omissions in the IT departments.

IT persons are very nice and friendly. They are willing to share videos and songs, sometimes creating shared folders to do that. They usually underestimate the importance and the consequences of Intellectual Property and Copyright law. They don't believe that is such an important problem if they download some pictures, videos or documents that do not belong to their organization and share them with their colleagues using the corporate network and structure.

Become a Certified Information Systems Risk and Compliance Professional (CISRCP). Instead of just training, you have much more:

1. Training
2. Certification
3. Membership in our Association
4. Monthly newsletter with news, alerts and opportunities
5. Networking and exposure to the best headhunters

To learn more:
http://www.risk-compliance-association.com/Distance_Learning_and_Certification.htm.