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.
The threat of “cyber-terrorism” still strikes many as abstract, a symbolic fear first represented in seminal works such as William Gibson’s Neuromancer, followed by an explosion into pop-culture fantasy through the Wachowski Brothers’, “The Matrix.” While these dark visions of man’s accelerated move towards techno-slavery have certainly colored our perspectives, the reality of cyber-terrorism has existed since the 1950’s, when state secrets were first buried in dense programming language instead of manila folders labeled “top secret.”
Behind the curtain, the borderless battlefield is virtual and the threats are as imposing as those posed by nuclear weapons. After all, launch codes are just that—codes that are developed, stored, distributed, and controlled within cyberspace. The following podcast interview features Bruce Hoffman, a cyber-terrorism expert who outlines the precise nature and ominous implications posed by this threat. Mr. Hoffman also presents us with an in-depth report on how the U.S. government has redirected its’ counterterrorism strategies. Do you see a future where the Internet is under government control? Let’s think inside the box and brainstorm on the possibilities. Thanks.
Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
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.
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 Kit Cowan for permission to use this Photo.
I had to go about shopping for a new KVM switch at my work to replace one that had gone bad. This gave me the idea to write a short blog piece about KVM switches. A KVM switch allows a user to control multiple servers or workstations with a single monitor and mouse/keyboard. In a typical datacenter, each rack of servers will be connected to a KVM switch which has an assigned monitor/mouse/keyboard. Because of KVM switches, organizations don’t have to purchase a monitor and keyboard/mouse set for every single machine. This makes sense since users do not dedicate themselves to a server desktop as they do a workstation.
Each computer is connected to the KVM switch with a special VGA or USB cable. Higher end KVMs allow standard Ethernet cables to connect computers. KVMs usually come in 4, 8 and 16 port versions, meaning that it can accommodate that many machines. When a user wants to access a particular machine, he simply hits an assigned key on the keyboard to view a menu of the computers that are managed by that KVM. He then selects the machine he wishes to view and the monitor then brings it up. Imagine if you were downloading and installing Windows Updates on 8 servers. You could pull up each server at a single monitor and complete the tasks without leaving your chair.
KVM switches are not utilized as much as they have been in the past due to the ease of tools such as Microsoft Remote Desktop which allows one to remote into any windows server at will and pull up the server desktop wherever they are in the world. These remote applications due have one big limitation in that they do not allow a user to view the booting process of the server or access the BIOS as one normally is able to. Unlike a KVM, if you reboot a machine while remoting into it, you lose your connection. Because of this, KVM switches continue to be a valuable tool for networks today.
One of the biggest players in the KVM market is Avocent. Visit their website at www.avocent.com to learn more about their product line and KVMs in general.
Bill Gates toured five North American Universities in February speaking about the coming IT labor shortage. Across the country, colleges across the U.S. and Canada have seen a steady drop in the number of students entering the field of computer science ever since the dot com bust at the start of the decade. K12 schools as well are seeing fewer students interested in the field of IT. These indicators point to a looming shortage of skilled workers in the IT field in the coming decades. Although this will greatly benefit those in or just beginning their careers in IT, it puts into question the leadership in technology that the U.S. has enjoyed up to now.
In order for our country to continue to be a major economic player in the world we must have the IT talent to spur further technological innovation and support our current and future infrastructures. It is because of this dire possibility that leaders such as Bill Gates are publicly addressing young people concerning the exciting possibilities and unlimited opportunities that await them in the IT field.
So how did this come about? There are several factors. The dot com bust of 2000 did a lot to taint the field. Many high school students changed their minds about IT after reading how many IT jobs were lost during that time. Parents discouraged their middle and elementary aged students to pursue the field as it offered little promise of opportunity they thought. The overplay of the media discussing the many IT support jobs that migrated to India also provide fodder to parents and young people to not consider IT. Unfortunately though, these concerns have been exaggerated and now the pendulum has swung so far in the other direction that those in the IT field today have the benefit of knowing that their skills are and will continue to be in high demand.
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
In reference to my introduction to VMware, one of the most exciting networking software applications to come to fruition in some time, I wanted to offer a little background what a SAN (storage area network) is. First off, VMware’s parent company, EMC is the #1 manufacturer of SANs in the world. A SAN is also required in order to make the most of VMware. SANs have also been transforming the data storage market over the past several years.
There are three types of storage today:
Direct Attached Storage - a tape unit attached to a server
Network Attached Storage - a dedicated storage server that resides on the internal network
Storage Area Network – A collection of storage devices that reside on a separate private LAN
Direct Attached Storage is still used today in small organizations with only a few servers although some organizations may still use this outdated method in larger organizations. It consists of have a separate tape storage device directly attached to each server. The backup process is managed by some type of backup application which automatically backs up the server at a specified time each night. However, it does require someone to change the tapes every day. The personnel cost and management of this model doesn’t make it viable for a large network structure. Also, the replacement costs of multiple tape drive units are cost inhibitive as well.
Network Attached Storage consists of a server placed on the network built of numerous very large hard drives. In most instances, all backup processes of network servers are managed by a backup application such as Veritas from a designated server. The application then directs all involved servers to backup their files to the NAS server. This is a very simple and relatively inexpensive model to implement. The problem with the NAS model is that the NAS resides on the Ethernet network. This means that the backup traffic competes with the other traffic on the network for bandwidth. Although organizations almost always run their backups at night, for many organizations with terabytes of data, backups must run during active network hours as well. This will slow down the network and impact its efficiency.
In a surprise announcement, Microsoft vowed to increase the openness of its key products!
Yes this is still February, April 1st is several weeks away yet!
So what did Microsoft say in this release? Well,
Specifically, Microsoft is implementing four new interoperability principles and corresponding actions across its high-volume business products: (1) ensuring open connections; (2) promoting data portability; (3) enhancing support for industry standards; and (4) fostering more open engagement with customers and the industry, including open source communities
Several times in the last few years I have advocated for Microsoft to Open SourceWindows and Internet Explorer and while this announcement doesn’t go that far, it does seem to be a step in the right direction.
According to Microsoft’s CEO-in-waiting and current Chief Software Architect, Ray Ozzie
“Customers need all their vendors, including and especially Microsoft, to deliver software and services that are flexible enough such that any developer can use their open interfaces and data to effectively integrate applications or to compose entirely new solutions,” said Ozzie. “By increasing the openness of our products, we will provide developers additional opportunity to innovate and deliver value for customers.”
The Microsoft products this refers to are Windows Vista (including the .NET Framework), Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Office 2007, Exchange Server 2007, and Office SharePoint Server 2007, and future versions of all these products. (more…)
I enjoyed this insightful video interview on the growing power of Participatory Web Media. The interviewees are acknowledged in the industry as leading figures in the social media marketing realm. You’ll notice their cynicism regarding companies who attempt to “spin” or manipulate social media with little understanding of new media culture. I agree that these companies are doomed to fail in the online market. As an internet marketer, you can’t just follow the ”buzz.” You have to understand the the ”buzz” and relate to it from the consumers’ perspective. After you’ve done your research, you can begin figuring out where your business might fit in and ultimately add value to the consumers’ experience. Continue working hard through your program studies. There are exciting careers waiting for those who dedicate themselves to their education and training. I believe you can be one of these dedicated people with bright futures. Stay focused.
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