Thanks to Sherrie G. for permission to use this Photo.
A few days ago I purchased a new computer. The computer has a 4 gig hard drive — not much space for many programs. Well, I downloaded the updates or SP2 service pack the second day that I owned the computer. As we may see the hard drive is not built for that much data. Long story short; the hard drives capacity was reached.
Here is the solution: Re-install the software after a format and new partition. Well, the computer is small and has no CD drive. So, what to do? I thought that I could try to copy the software to a memory card and or an external hard drive and install from there. Guess what? The software was installed but the format was not in existence. The new installation files were copied right on top of the already full hard drive. Two other times the files were installed to the memory card and external hard drive.
After all this trouble the hard drive (c:/) did not register. Even better, the computer asked me what OS I wanted to load! I did make a selection but I had no luck. At that point I was without a functioning computer.
The problem: The programming or software on today’s memory cards and external hard drives are not always set to handle these installation problems. What we need is a solution to this problem. I have heard from other students that there is software for this situation, but it must not be an every day item. I have not seen much . . . to talk about.
Finally, I just paid for the external CD drive and I was back in business. Two things: 1. Attempting something new with available resources can lead to win, lose, or newly gained insight into a problematic situation. 2. Attempting something new can very much so be devistating to our equipment.
What did I gain, well; I understand that from a situation like this I can see what problems non-techs may have when they work with today’s computers. Although, I will be able to walk away from this task knowing that I can create software that is built for the common man or woman. I think it is a policy in today’s computer companies to think about the problems that can arise with software before it is sent out to the public. The main problem is the company that produced this computer did not realize that a 4 gig hard drive is not enough for today’s world. Solution: Do not allow the software to update, if it does the millions of customers out there will suffer the same fate that I did. Easy solutions for head-acking problemes!
The 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study was recently released. A total of 7,548 professionals in the field were surveyed. The complete study can be downloaded at https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/content.cgi?category=510
The most interesting headline from the study was the fact that 70 percent of all respondents reported that their own employees are the biggest threat to their organization’s security. This is contrary to the common belief that organizations must throw most of their resources at the outside perimeter of the organization’s network to prevent outsiders from accessing their network.
This premise is supported by a recent finding that email is now no longer the number one manner in which viruses access an organization’s network. With the ease at which employers now bring in thumb drives, personal laptops and PDA’s. Network security plans must focus on an umbrella approach that guards the entire network.
Thanks to David K for permission to use this Photo.
Back in 2000, we were constantly told that the world was running out of IP addresses. This was because IPV4, the IP standard we use for IP addresses only has so many mathematical combinations, thus there is a defined limit to the number of IP addresses that can be utilized. Due to the wide spread use of IP in the world, a usage rate far beyond what the creators of IP ever visualized; the IT world was stressing out as to how to address the problem. The solution was a new standard called IPV6 which introduced more bits into the addressing scheme. In turn, millions of additional mathematical combinations were created, resulting in an equal number of additional IP addresses.
Unfortunately, IPV6 is more complicated than its predecessor, requiring a degree of training for networking professionals. We were told back then that IPV6 would be implemented by the middle of the decade and alleviate the crisis.
Well guess what? It’s 2008 and the world hasn’t run out of IP addresses which is why IPV6 is barely used in the industry today. This is because of the wide popularity of NAT, Network Address Translation, which is used by most organizations that have a WAN presence.
For those unfamiliar with NAT, Network Address Translation allows a single device, such as a router to act as an agent between the Internet (or “public network”) and a local (or “private”) network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers. This isn’t to say that IPV6 will wither on the vine. As of right now, government offices are required to transition to IPV6 within the next couple of years and other organizations are planning such an implementation in the future, but IPV4 is and will continue to be alive and well for some time to come.
Thanks to 3ep Media for permission to use this Photo.
I received a couple messages yesterday from student bloggers who were having difficulty embedding videos on their blog. In the spirit of open community resources, I’d like to provide you with the same wordpress plugin that I’ve found very easy to install and quite reliable. Here it is. Let me know how it works out for your blog!
Thanks to Jamie Hladky for permission to use this Photo.
You have to learn how to crawl before you learn how to walk, but once you learn a foundation of IT skills in Ashworth University’s information technology programs and anchor yourself in the IT labor force, here are the ten hottest tech skill sets you should aim to learn in the next five years according to Tech Republic.
Voice over IP - sales of pure IP PBX systems for the first quarter of 2007 increased 76% over the first quarter of the previous year
Unified Communications - the convergence of different communications technologies, such as e-mail, voicemail, text messaging, and fax
Hybrid Networks – Networks are no longer all Windows or all Linux, they are a hodgepodge of different systems and IT pros need to learn more than one of them.
Wireless Technologies – everything’s going wireless it seems.
Remote User Support – with more employees working off-site today, help support personnel must provide remote support to anywhere.
Mobile User Support – more and more organizations are providing blackberries and other smart portable devices for their employees that must be supported.
Software-as-a-Service – or SaaS as it is referred to in technical articles. With the popularity of Web 2.0, the trend is to now provide software applications over the Internet rather than installing them on each and every computer.
Virtualization – With the dominance of VMWare and the soon to be released 2008 Virtual Application from Microsoft, virtualization is THE buzzword today along with its countless benefits.
IPv6 – Although this standard has not grown in popularity as of yet, mostly because the wide usage of NAT has allowed us to not run out of IP addresses on the Internet as fast as predicted, this standard is going to come about within the next five years.
Security - A skill set that will probably always be in the top 10.
It appears as if all the rumors about Flickr’s development of new video sharing applications has finally become a reality. The kings of community based online photo sharing now provide their pro users with the ability to upload and of course share 90 second videostreams within their traditional photopools. Click here to learn more about Flickr’s exciting news. This is an intriuging advancement that I’m going to be following closely, especially since I think there are many innovative ways we can utilize these new video features on our own Ashworth University Flickr page. We encourage all our students to join our Flickr community and begin to share photos and now even videos from your everyday lives! If you need any help getting started on Flickr, just send an email to aublogspot@ashworthuniversity.edu and I’ll show you how everything works. I look forward to hearing from you.
Thanks to Miguel Lopes for permission to use this Photo.
The architecture of cyberspace is interconnected, timeless, and invisible from the inside-out. On the Ashworth University Blog, we’re not afraid of the matrix and try to share perspectives from around the world, just a 0 1 code, on the technology issues that influence how this network will evolve in complexity, and most of us would like that evolution to be open rather than closed in principle. Earlier this year, the nation of Estonia was involved in what by any measure must be considered one of the most large scale and sophisticated “cyber attacks” in history, an attack that operated on several levels simultaneously, resulting in the virtual collapse of this nation’s electronic infrastructure. Instantly, the fundamental question, “who did this?” was buzzing with elements of fear and conspiracy. Did Vladimir Putin and Russia conduct this operation in the shadow of political revenge? Was the attack the work of loosely connected and politically marginalized hackers who were sending their own message to an establishment attempting to exert increased state control over the Internet, i.e. you’re more vulnerable than you think and we’re waiting for your next move. The following video consists of an interview with information security expert, Dmitry Skylyarov, in which he shares his inside perspective on what occurred and the big picture implications of what is perhaps the most misunderstood yet powerful of political weapons; the large scale, well conceived, organized, and executed cyberattack. This is a must watch interview. Click on the image above to watch this video. We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
If you are in the IT Field or considering getting into it, you don’t need rose colored glasses to see a promising future for yourself. The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently reported that IT will be the fastest growing sector of our economy for the next ten years. They also report that the three fastest growing jobs in the US are network system and data communication analysts, computer systems analysts and software application engineers. In fact, in just about any top ten list, you will find IT has the most positions of any field.Now couple this tremendous growth with the following statistic:
The labor force for the 25 to 54 age group in IT will only grow at a dismal .2% between 2006 and 2016.
Do you want to be in demand for the next decade? Stay committed to your program studies and your hard work will pay off. The bottom line is that it’s important to obtain as many skill sets as you can in the rapidly expanding IT industry. If you need assistance with your lessons, I encourage you to reach out to me in the comments section of this blog. I always look forward to hearing from my students!
Thanks to Isaac Wayton for permission to use this Photograph.
IT has already been paying close attention to the green revolution as it applies to technology. Last year, the Chief Network Engineer for Google came out with a startling quote, “If the performance per watt of today’s computers doesn’t improve, the electrical costs of running them could end up far greater than the initial hardware price tag.” Consider that while a typical server in the 2000 consumed only 100W of power, the average server today consumes at least four times as much.
To compound this, the number of servers in networked organizations has expanded drastically in the past decade as the ccommon practice up to now for server management was to allow rack-mounted servers to run just one workload. This is exemplified by a 2005 study by Stanford University that showed that Servers in the United States and their attendant cooling systems consumed 45 billion kilowatt-hours of energy in 2005. That’s more than Mississippi and 19 other states.
Now factor in the exploding economies of China and India and the number of servers they are putting on line each day and one can easily recognize the strain on resources that the IT industry is levying on the world. It leaders across the country are recognizing that the current network model is unsustainable in the years ahead under realistic budgetary constraints. Energy consumption is one more reason why more and more organizations are turning to virtual servers, centralized storage and virtual or multi-user desktops.
The annual IT Salary and Skills Report conducted by Global Knowledge and Tech Republic was released this week for 2008. Here are some of the points of interest from the study:
The average salary in the IT industry was $73,963, up 3.25% from 2007. 80% of workers reported an increase of pay for 2008.
The average salary for those with a college degree was $76,446. Those with a certificate or degree from a technical college had an average salary of $65,712.
Those 25 and younger with 2 years of experience or less make $39,883 on average. This same age group made $46,303 with 3 to 4 years of experience.
The average IT worker is 43 years old and has been in IT for 14.3 years.
59% have a college degree
78.7% report that they are very or mostly satisfied with their career choice
IT is the third highest paying industry field
42% plan on obtaining an IT Certification within the next year.
34.4% hold a Microsoft Certification of some type
The highest paying IT Certification is the Project Management Professional (PMI) at $101,695. The lowest paying IT Certification is Comptia A+ at $41,726.
On average, those with a Cisco CCNA make $64,260. Microsoft MCSEs make $71,980.
Help Desk Support professionals make an average of $48,773.
Admin Support personal make an average of 51,819
Network Administrators make an average of $56,277
Web/Internet Professionals make an average of $62,658
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