TECH: Enterprises need a centralized IT so there will be someone else to blame!

Monday, June 26, 2006

Are the Users taking over from the IT Department?

***Begin Quote***

I heard a new term this week from an experienced CIO running a good operation, well matched to the enterprises business aims, etc. He reckoned that ‘Shadow IT’ is fast becoming the order of the day as the Users, individually or in groups, enact something locally. His problem was he didn’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing from the perspective of the business, though he certainly wasn’t too comfortable about it from a personal or professional CIO view.

***End Quote***

Bad thing! If you care about results.

Shadow IT, User computing, or the skunk works is all well and good. But, the chickens come home to roost, and the IT folks get blamed, when security, recovery, and blunders put a "below the waterline" hole in the enterprise ship.

Don't come running to me when your competitor buys a laptop with every customers' ssn on it.

Don't come running to me when the power surge corrupts your pc database that does the enterprise p&l in excel.

Don't come running to me when the alpha, beta, gamma, or bootleg software that you are running the mission critical app on goes "postal", "up in smoke", or develops the pc equivalent of an "OC7 or OC4" and you can't even find vendor, let alone get some support.

Just call India where you sent all the expertise.

Arghh. OK, beloved user, let's start putting the pieces back together. Now what is the business objective you are trying to accomplish?

There is a reason why the centralized IT is expensive. We had to pay tuition for all those lessons that you're now learning.


TECH: “MSFTWORD” … you can’t make it point to a specific html file?

Monday, June 26, 2006

Entertaining little "feature".

I have an html file. Actual lots of them. Representing alumni pages. I wanted to create a word doc html that would display their name and be clickable to their underlying page on my hd.

No problem.

Take the properties of the file, c:\yadayady\alum1.htm, and paste it to the html doc, hit the space bar, and WORD makes it a link.

Hole CNTL and tap the link.

(Should be "no prob" right? Buzz Wrong. Not in Microsoft land where all rules of common sense do NOT apply!)

You can't, or at least I couldn't make a link to anything but "C:\".

Now that's really useful! Sigh!


TECH: WALLNOTE … a todo list on your homepage … jury’s still out!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

http://www.wallnote.com/

Simple free hosted app. Valuable? Can't tell yet.


TECH: Microsoft’s insecure. Now selling security. That’s insincerity!

Saturday, June 24, 2006

WServerNews[tm] Electronic Newsletter
Vol. 11, #26 – June 26, 2006 – Issue #582
Published by sunbelt-software.com since 1996 – ISSN: 1527-3407
~ The secret of those "who always seem to know" ~
Read the web-version here: http://www.wservernews.com/index.cfm?id=582
***Begin Quote***

* Forefront: Am I Missing It?

At Tech.Ed several Forefront security team leaders attended and
spoke to journalists and analysts. Some of these reported that
enterprise customers like Microsoft jumping into the security
market. Others were doubtful. A quick SunPoll among system admins
shows that almost 50% do not trust Microsoft at all with their
security!
***End Quote***

I think it's ironic that Microsoft can make an insecure Operating System and then sell people things to make it secure. What are techies stupid? Add on the fact that you want checks and balances. You don't want to put all your eggs in one basket. Does anyone remember Microsoft's security server?

Nope, not for this fellow. I'm moving to Linux and Open Source. Where possible, I recommend it to Enterprise types. Nealy had it right "the network is the computer". Every computing platform has to protect itself. We've turned the world model inside out in that there is no hard shell around a soft core. You want security in Microsoft systems then you have to air gap them.

imho


TECH: Blogger gives the world a bumm steer on a Nuance product!

Friday, June 23, 2006

http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/001280.php

***Begin Quote***

The Preferred edition is the best choice for general use – it comes with a good headset/microphone and is available from Amazon for $120, with rebate.

Amazing!
***End Quote***

{So naturally, I let him know about my problems!} 

https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2006/02/25/windoze-installs-software-support-and-my-gripe/

https://reinkefj.wordpress.com/2006/04/12/ed-foster-ibms-brand-takes-on-a-different-nuance-that-me/

I personally would not buy anything tainted by Nuance’s support.

Since you recommended it, I would suggest that you put a caveat on “IBM’s” ViaVoice, Dragon, and Paperport that if it works for you “vundabar” but if it doesn’t don’t expect ANY help from the vendor.

Dealing with these products, I would suggest save your receipts and document every interaction. You are going to need it. You are about to enter “support hell” that will make Dell’s India operation look like nice guys with Phds.

If you even get a response from Nucance at all.

I’d suggest that you steer people AWAY from them. Unfortunately they have a corner on the marketplace for “voice transcription”. That being said, I’d suggest that it all depends if you are feeling lucky.
 


TECH: LUGGABLE WSOD at 1901! Reboot and back at 1911

Saturday, June 17, 2006

WSOD white screen of death ?


TECH: Power hit and inet connectivity lost!

Saturday, June 17, 2006

At 0717, I was dong my morning work (i.e., catching up with the news and opinion at may favorite sites). The ups protecting the tv in the living room beeped. It was short one, or maybe two chirps. And, my internet connectivity was gone. LUGable was reporting "limited connectivity". Sigh. I tried restarting my connection to the wireless lan. It said all was ok. Had to save all my work. Rebooted to no avail. So I went to the garage and cycled the "data center".

Everything computing is eventually hooked to one extension cord that end right by the door. One tug, everything powers down. Plug in, everything powers back up. Maybe? Arghh!

By the time I get back to LUGable is happily reconnecting all my apps to the net. The Clam AV tells me "we have had a disconnect" of some stuck drivel! I'm aggravated. And, I've lost 22 minutes. Double Argh! There has to be a better way.

UPS the wap? Or, was the problem the ISP at the pole?


TECH: Did you fall for Microsoft’s Window Genuine?

Friday, June 16, 2006

http://windowssecrets.com/comp/060615/

***Begin Quote***

Step 1. Stop the misleading installation of possibly unwanted programs.

Step 2. Disable WGA's incessant notifications.

Step 3. Prevent WGA from phoning home to Microsoft servers.

***End Quote***

Sigh, and you wonder why my next migration is to Linux?


TECH: “CHOICEMAIL” a spam preventative … free for one account!

Thursday, June 15, 2006

http://www.digiportal.com/

I put the free version up on one of my spammy email accounts. It seems to work like a charm. I haven't seen any spam slipping through. AND, I have not heard of any complaints about it incorrectly blocking good mail. More when I have it.


TECH: “MOZY” seems to be automagially backing up now.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

I didn't do anything but gripe to their support folks.