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              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.

1. 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 
2. Unified Communications - the convergence of different communications technologies, such as e-mail, voicemail, text messaging, and fax 
3. 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.   
4. Wireless Technologies – everything’s going wireless it seems.    
5. Remote User Support – with more employees working off-site today, help support personnel must provide remote support to anywhere. 
6. Mobile User Support – more and more organizations are providing blackberries and other smart portable devices for their employees that must be supported. 
7. 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. 
8. 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. 
9. 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.
10. Security - A skill set that will probably always be in the top 10. 

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician/Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

 
              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.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University School of Information Technology

                   Thanks to פיקוס for permission to use this Photo.

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!

Brad Rudisail
Computer Network Technician-Network Security Instructor
Ashworth University

Photo courtesy of Mike_Licht

On more than one occasion, I’ve jokingly referred to this blog as being, not so much a source of film criticism, but rather more of a P.S.A. — of information that nobody is really looking for in the first place, most likely. This week, however, that statement is almost not a joke: undoubtedly many of you have noticed the astoundingly low prices advertised on HD-DVD players and discs of late. There’s a reason for this sudden plunge in prices; and a reason why you should not — under any circumstances — buy one. The reason is this: the HD-format war is over, and Blu-ray has won — but that won’t stop manufacturers from trying to unload their backlog of players and discs on you, the unwitting consumer.

For those not in the know, a brief re-cap. Approximately 3 years ago, Sony and Toshiba both introduced their competing and not-compatible-with-one-another high-definition video formats: blu-ray and HD-DVD, respectively. Manufacturers knew from the git-go that conventional DVD’s storage capacity was inadequate for encoding high-definition video — so, the need for a replacement format was imminent. Toshiba’s attempt at one, HD-DVD, had the benefits of being cheap to produce and backwards compatible with existing DVD technology. Sony’s more advanced blu-ray format has a greater storage capacity and a more robust dynamic rewriting schema, making it a better choice for computer and gaming applications. At first, The major studios were evenly divided in their support of the formats — but late last year, Warner Bros. decided to support Blu-ray exclusively; slowly but surely, all the other studios followed suit — until, on February 19th of this year, Toshiba announced that they would no longer manufacture HD-DVD discs or players — effectively rendering the format obsolete, even though there are a few other manufacturers out there who have yet to give up the ghost. But with the creator of the format abandoning it, we can safely say that HD-DVD has gone the way of 8-track tapes, floppy discs and VHS — to an early grave. (more…)

Electronic Arts Inc. established itself as a leading pioneer in the gaming industry back in the 1980’s, long before most experts could have predicted a multi-billion dollar videogame market would ever be possible, but this market is now a reality and gaming has been transformed from a teenage obsession to a mainstream lifestyle practiced by young and old alike.  The following podcast features Nick Earl, Vice President and GM of Electronic Arts.  Mr. Earl is the ultimate insider and he shares his thoughts on where the gaming industry is headed, from mobile game distribution to user generated content, Earl presents a compelling vision of this medium’s limitless potential.  Calling on all gamers to put down the controls and share your visions with your Ashworth University community.  Take care.

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University