TECHNOLOGY: The “cloud” can disappear in a heartbeat

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Frugal aka frugal_squirrel to reinkefj

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The Fiction Forum has been closed and will not be reopening.

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Argh!

This was my first real forum where I posted my original writings. Got good feedback and encouragement. Read interesting stuff.

Gone.

In a flash.

All the bits just vaporized. Lost connections. Lost ideas. Lost a collective “soul”.

CEOs, CIOs, CTO, and Users best take this to heart. When you cast your bits into the “cloud”, they may NOT be coming back. Better include that in your plans.

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TECHNOLOGY: “Human Resouce” problems on both sides of the fence

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/071811-10-hard-truths-it-must.html?page=4

10 hard truths IT must learn to accept
Unsanctioned devices, compromised networks, downtime — today’s IT is all about embracing imperfections
By Dan Tynan, InfoWorld
July 18, 2011 06:08 AM ET

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IT concession No. 6: You will never have enough hands on deck. IT departments often want a fairer shake when it comes to outsourcing and head count reductions, but they’re not likely to get it, says Meikle.

Because the tech outsourcing industry is much more mature than, say, legal services or HR outsourcing, IT is often the first to suffer when corporate bloodletting occurs. That’s not likely to change.

The solution to IT manpower problems, says Meikle, is to take advantage of third-party outsourcers and integrate with them as much as possible. The bodies are still available; they’re just not under your own roof anymore.

Also, says Meikle, be sure look out for No. 1. Keep your tech chops current with an eye on the next job before the current one evaporates.

“IT pros need to understand they work for themselves first, the organization second,” he says. “They need to continue developing their network and contacts, marketing themselves, and developing a personal brand even when they are employed. Like it or not, IT pros may have to pony up some dough personally to pay for their education and marketability, but that will pay dividends when the chips are down.”

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I see several facets in this item. None good for folks stuck in the old memes!

1. Corporations are going to need help. Regardless of their plans for HR.

2. Employees must recognize that they are “consultants”. Very expensive and very expendable.

3. Technology obsolescence will quickly and silently hit corporations and individuals.

Make plans accordingly.

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TECHNOLOGY: “Cramming” on the phone bill

Monday, July 25, 2011

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2011/07/18/crammed-a-shocking-utility-tale/

Crammed! A Shocking Utility Tale
Monday, 18th July 2011 (by Donna Freedman)

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Sometimes we don’t pay attention. Sometimes we don’t do what we know we should do. Sometimes life happens. But life also goes on. So learn from my mistakes. Read your utility bills, whether you get them on paper or online. Dispute charges you don’t recognize. Don’t give a crammer a dime of your business.

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Argh!

The politicians and bureaucrats setup this system for us to fail?

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TECHNOLOGY: Big professional Irish dance shows today use a “click track”?

Sunday, July 24, 2011

http://www.irishcentral.com/story/irishdance/go-feis–the-irish-dance-blog/countdown-to-ireland-the-show-red-carpet-premiere-125699878.html

Posted on Saturday, July 16, 2011 at 09:51 PM
Countdown to Ireland-The Show Red Carpet Premiere!

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IRELAND-The Show premieres Sunday, July 17th at the Granada Theater in Santa Barbara, California and FEIS AMERICA on IRISH CENTRAL will have exclusive coverage of the Red Carpet and Show!

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Owen Barrington: The thing that makes Ireland-The Show special from most other shows is that we perform 100% completely live. Most big professional Irish dance shows today use a “click track” in which the taps are pre-recorded and the dancers dance on top of that. Dancing every night, completely live, without the assistance of pre-recorded taps, raises the level of difficulty because you must be spot-on every single show, there’s no other way around it. The benefits of dancing live though are a more genuine show and it gives us the freedom to change steps around at a moment’s notice if we feel it’s necessary.

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Irish dance shows are faked milley vanilley syle?

I am shocked. and not the Captain Renault style either.

I’ll never look at another performance the same way again.

Now I know how my Mom felt when she found out that pro-wrestling was fixed.

I feel dirty.

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“I’m shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!” Captain Renault in Casablanca

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SERVICE: Verizon Wireless’s America’s Choice II calling plan

Friday, July 22, 2011

If you subscribed to Verizon Wireless’s America’s Choice II calling plans, you could receive benefits from a class action settlement.

Para ver este aviso en español, visita http://www.cowitsettlement.com

A proposed settlement has been reached with Verizon Wireless (“Verizon Wireless”) in a class action, Cowit, et al., v. Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless, No. A0505869 (Ct. of Common Pleas,Hamilton County, Ohio), related to a lawsuit about whether Verizon Wireless failed to provide roaming service without any roaming charges under the America’s Choice II Calling Plan. Verizon Wirelessdenies all of the claims.

WHO IS INCLUDED? The Settlement Class includes all current and former customers of Verizon Wireless who, since February 21, 2005, subscribed to its America’s Choice II Calling Plan. If you are a member of the Settlement Class, you have certain rights and options, such as submitting a claim for benefits, requesting exclusion from the settlement, or objecting to the settlement.

SETTLEMENT BENEFITS. In summary, current Verizon Wireless customers whose calling plan provides for a specific allowance of minutes as part of their monthly access fee automatically will receive 25 additional wireless calling minutes, which they can use for a period of one year, or, in the alternative, if these class members submit a Claim Form they can receive a transferable PIN for 40 calling units, which will be valid for 24 months, that can be used to make domestic or international long distance calls. Current Verizon Wireless customers whose calling plan provides for an unlimited number of minutes as part of the monthly access fee will automatically, without filing a Claim Form, receive a transferable PIN for 40 calling units, which will be valid for 24 months, that can be used to make domestic or international calls. Former Verizon Wireless customers must submit a Claim Form to receive a transferable PIN for 40 calling units, which will be valid for 24 months, that can be used to make domestic or international calls. You can submit your claim online at http://www.cowitsettlement.com or by mail. The claim deadline is November 8, 2011.

As part of the settlement, Class Counsel will submit a request for attorneys’ fees, expenses, and incentive awards for the Class Representatives as more fully set forth in the Full Notice described below which will be paid by Verizon Wireless and will not affect the benefits to the class under the Settlement.

OTHER OPTIONS. If you do not want to be legally bound by the settlement, you must exclude yourself by September 27, 2011. If you stay in the Settlement Class, you may object to the settlement, the attorneys’ fees or the incentive payments by September 27, 2011. The Full Notice includes complete information on how to request exclusion or object to the settlement. The Court will hold a hearing on October 28, 2011, to consider whether to approve the settlement and the request by Class Counsel for attorneys’ fees and incentive payments.

THIS IS ONLY A SUMMARY NOTICE. A more complete description of this class action and proposed settlement, including how to exclude yourself from the class, claim benefits, or object to the settlement, is contained in the Full Notice. You may review the Full Notice at http://www.cowitsettlement.com, or send a written request for a copy to: Verizon Wireless America’s Choice II Litigation, c/o Epiq Systems, Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 3967, Portland, Oregon 97208-3967, or call 1-866-408-4551.

© 2011 Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless | One Verizon Way | Mail Code: 180WVB | Basking Ridge, NJ 07920

We respect your privacy. Please review our privacy policy for more information

If you are not the intended recipient and feel you have received this email in error; or if you

would like to update your customer notification preferences, please click here

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TECHNOLOGY: Kick Google at your own risk

Friday, July 22, 2011

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/16/0028255/Belgian-Newspapers-Delisted-On-Google

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D H NG writes “After being ordered by the Belgian courts to ‘remove from its Google.be and Google.com sites, and in particular, cached links visible on Google Web and the Google News service, all articles, photographs and graphics of daily newspapers published in French and German by Belgian publishers,’ Google had removed all traces of the newspapers in question from all its search services. The newspapers, however, are crying foul, and alleged that it was done in retaliation for being sued for copyright violations.”

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Doesn’t seem like you can have it both ways. Either you want Google or you don’t.

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TECHNOLOGY: MAC OSX 10.7 LION

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Not for me. Apple has demonstrated that it’s not the “champion of the people”.

Don’t like the Evil Empire, Microsoft.

But Apple is no better.

Argh!

So I’m not upgrading or otherwise investing in their products.

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TECHNOLOGY: Verizon pulls the rug on FTP webpage update

Thursday, July 21, 2011

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,26111924

Dear Verizon Internet User:

As part of our ongoing enhancements to the online customer experience, Verizon continues to ensure security for our Internet customers. As a result of this ongoing effort, Verizon Online is making modifications to the Internet access provided to you. These modifications will occur on August 21, 2011. For security reasons, Verizon will no longer allow users to FTP their HTML files to the personal web site Verizon offers.

Verizon recommends that current FTP users download their files prior to August 21, 2011 to prevent any data loss.

If you still wish to have a Verizon website, please go to our site builder tool available with Personal Webspace which can be found under My Services in My Verizon at:

»my.verizon.com/central/vzc.porta···WebSpace

Remember, after August 21, 2011, you will not be able to use FTP for uploading your files.

Thanks for being a valued Verizon Online customer. We encourage you to act now to protect your private information.

Sincerely,
Verizon Online

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And, why would you allow an ISP to control you?

Don’t use their email address, their webspace, and certainly if you do, don’t use it for anything important.

Cloud? Use it on whose terms?

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TECHNOLOGY: “because he looks like another driver”?

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

http://tech.slashdot.org/story/11/07/18/0335204/Facial-Recognition-Gone-Wrong?

“John H. Gass hadn’t had a traffic ticket in years, so the Natick resident was surprised this spring when he received a letter from the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles informing him to cease driving because his license had been revoked. It turned out Gass was flagged because he looks like another driver, not because his image was being used to create a fake identity. His driving privileges were returned but, he alleges in a lawsuit, only after 10 days of bureaucratic wrangling to prove he is who he says he is. And apparently, he has company. Last year, the facial recognition system picked out more than 1,000 cases that resulted in State Police investigations, officials say. And some of those people are guilty of nothing more than looking like someone else. Not all go through the long process that Gass says he endured, but each must visit the Registry with proof of their identity. Massachusetts began using the software after receiving a $1.5 million grant from the US Department of Homeland Security as part of an effort to prevent terrorism, reduce fraud, and improve the reliability and accuracy of personal identification documents that states issue.”

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Gooferment’s overreaching and using technology wrong.

What happened to “innocent until proven guilty”?

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TECHNOLOGY: The risks of relying upon the Cloud

Sunday, July 17, 2011

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Facebook Bans Google+ Ads by samzenpus

Barbara, not Barbie writes “Not content with making it hard for people to export their Facebook contacts to Google+, Facebook has now banned all ads from app developer Michael Lee Johnson, who ran an ad saying ‘Add Michael to Google+.’ Facebook sent him the following message: ‘Your account has been disabled. All of your adverts have been stopped and should not be run again on the site under any circumstances. Generally, we disable an account if too many of its adverts violate our Terms of Use or Advertising guidelines. Unfortunately we cannot provide you with the specific violations that have been deemed abusive. Please review our Terms of Use and Advertising guidelines if you have any further questions.'”

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This is an example of why you can’t depend the Cloud for “production”. It can disappear on a whim. Taking all your data with it.

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