Requiem for the Blackberry

Last week’s Blackberry outage has caused lots of withdrawal pains. The blogs and message boards are filled with comments defending and vilifying Research in Motion (RIM) Blackberry’s creator. Network interruptions are inevitable as we have seen with Sony, Google, Microsoft and Netflix. Someday we may have uninterruptable networks, but the departure or threatened departure from Blackberry seems to be more about the availability of multimedia, cooler mobile devices than a network disruption.

 
For years Blackberry has been the choice in mobile devices for corporations. You can argue that this is because they are more secure because of how RIM handles encryption or the limitation of online features. Certainly iPhone and Android users can be more social online because their devices support many more apps. They can access Facebook, Tweet, Farmville and Angry Birds from anywhere that they have a signal. The available apps make it easy to stay connected. But with the convenience of being online all the time, some sacrifices are made in being secure. If you want a real scare, google “mobile device hacking” and read some of the recent hacking successes and access your vulnerability.

It really comes down to which device you are most comfortable with and how easily you can change. Corporations like Blackberry for many reasons including solid systems and the ability to regulate users. Often corporations don’t change their infrastructure because of the expense of installing new equipment and training employees to use and support the new system. Rationale always states the benefits of one technology over the other to support the choice, but equal arguments can be made for practically any technology choice.

As interesting and amusing as it is to read the comments from the technology aficionados, but it is as important to balance the arguments with facts. Facts may not change the product choices we make – that’s a subject for another blog – some products will win and others will lose based completely on preference and little on the superior technology. Blackberry once led the pack but is now struggling for market share in a sea of products that offer more. The loyal followers of Apple and Google are happy to share their opinions on why their choice is the best and the features that make mobility fun and efficient.

It's a jungle out there - be smart online

Recently, I posted a job on craigslist for a senior systems and network engineer. Although craigslist is a popular site, I have never used it and had some concerns about posting on a site that has received so much bad press. After researching, I decided to post our job and have been very happy with the response. But it's a jungle out there and I knew to expect some scam artists to use the ad to try an attack.
Then today, I received an email from updates-craigslist: Updates!New Terms - Accept: June 29, 2011 with the following message:

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craigslist
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Dear Customer,
We need your help resolving an issue with your account. To give us time to work together on this, we've temporarily limited what you can do with your account until the issue is resolved.
We noticed some unusual activity .
How you can help?
You must reverify your account and take the time to accept and read our terms: log in here
It's usually pretty easy to take care of things like this.
Ad: # 318-277-551-175
We understand it may be frustrating not to have full access to your account. We want to work with you to get your account back to normal as quickly as possible.
Thanks,
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Copyright ©2011 Inc. All rights reserved. CL #73445897433\

It's a scam and has all the characteristics (without typos) of a phishing attempt. It tries to get you to login with their fake link and get you to input your account information. Once your username/password was obtained, the phishers would take over your account and get as much information as they could about you. They can't do much on craigslist except make some inappropriate postings under your name, but they could use the username/password to break into other accounts like Twitter, Facebook or bank accounts.

So as a reminder, don't fall for email scams. When in doubt - don't click, reply or forward. Use strong passwords and make sure you have a good spam filter and malware protection.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday

This year just about every retailer is using the term Black Friday and Cyber Monday to advertise their special “specials” and grab the attention of holiday shoppers. Those seem strange terms, not very glamorous or even illustrative of a bargain. In fact, they sound more like viruses and cyborg attacks out of a sci-fi movie. So why have they caught on?

Used to describe sinister or catastrophic events occurring on a particular day of the week, Black Friday has been used for everything from massacres to meltdowns. Today, we most often use the term for shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Coined in the late 1960s by the Philadelphia police because of the choking traffic and crowds, the moniker caught on and by the mid-1970s was being widely used. Later the term Black Friday was redefined to mean the day that retailers become profitable or put some black ink on the ledger. It is an urban legend that Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. Actually the Saturday before Christmas handily wins as the top shopping day fueled by procrastinators and bargain hunters alike. But Black Friday has risen as a contender most likely because of all the hype and ads promoting the day.

Cyber Monday invented by shop.org (that’s a dead give-a-way) as the Monday after Black Friday where all the returning workers shop online for the bargains they missed over the weekend. This does have negative connotations in that people are spending otherwise productive time shopping at work and that they don’t have the ability to shop at home. Both of these facts are probably widely exaggerated especially with Cyber Sunday overtaking Cyber Monday as the biggest online shopping day. But there is no doubt that online shopping is deeply rooted in our shopping psyche especially if free shipping applies.

We all love a bargain especially as we go into the holiday shopping season. Our habits as consumers are researched, analyzed and baked into marketing strategies that grab even the most resistant shopper. Successful marketing campaigns are the stuff of legend giving the next generation of business school graduates an idea to admire and study for years to come. Whether highly orchestrated or completely accidental, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are here to stay at least for a while.

But it’s not bad to see consumers spend money. It could help our anemic economy and put us all in a festive mood. Early indications say there might even be a 3% increase over last year’s holiday sales. So shop in earnest, virtually and physically, but always beware of deals that are too good to be true!

For more technical notes and information go to: www.lansystems.com/technotes.html

More Monitor = More Job Productivity & Satisfaction

The NEC commissioned University of Utah study shows increased productivity, job satisfaction and an incredible return on investment. It is not surprising that a monitor manufacturer would recommend larger and multiple monitor arrangements, but what do users think? There are two trends. The first is for smaller, lighter, mobile devices for on-the-go professionals and the second is for more screen real estate for the stationary worker.

On-the-go professionals need access from anywhere, anytime so they can stay connected. The screen sizes of mobile devices are definitely trending up, but in general they are still much, much smaller than desktop monitors. Most mobile users don't need multiple windows. They can switch between applications or use tools to work more efficiently. Mobile devices are great for staying connected and having information at your fingertips. They are not efficient for programming that requires in-depth analysis or complicated tasks. Many types of IT systems do not allow access or control from a mobile device because of the chance of errors and security concerns.

Stationary users benefit from larger or dual monitors depending on the work they do on the computer. If a user has two or more applications that they cut-and-paste between, dual monitors are a great for increased productivity and error reduction. You don't have to stop with a dual arrangement. Triple and quad monitors are used in many situations, like control monitoring, that give the user needed information at a glance without having to switch between windows. But size does become a diminishing return and if the monitor is too big it can be a productivity drain. The NEC report shows single 26 inch and dual 20 inch as the upper limit.

Desk space is important. With flat panel monitors, desk space is not a problem as with CRTs. Usually you can comfortably place two monitors or a larger monitor on a desk without obscuring view. If you want to be accessible to your customers, co-workers and employees, don't sit with your back to the door or with a monitor hiding your face.

There is a good bit of research on monitors and productivity that you can use. Read the NEC Study or do some Internet research for more suggestions on how to be more productive with your computer monitors. Make a list of what tasks cause you and your staff the most irritation and solve them first.

If you have suggestions or comments, please contact me at: mary@lansystems.com.

For more technical notes and information go to: www.lansystems.com/technotes.html

Microsoft Office 2010: The best new features in Access

If you have never used a relational database because you felt it was just too complicated, give a look at Access. Access 2010 has simplified database functions and added ready-to-go templates to get you started. Information stored in spreadsheets and documents can be easier to understand and less time consuming to manage in a relational database model. Not only can you save time, but you can make your data more meaningful and perform more meaningful analysis. And if you are using a product that uses Access to store your data, you will be able to better understand the tables, reports and relationships.


Fast, easy database creation

Ready-to-go Templates - Use the available templates to create a marketing list or sales pipeline without being a database expert. The templates are designed to give you the structure you need to get started and let you expand as you become more familiar with using Access.

Use modular components - These prebuild components allow you to build the most common tasks into your database. Go to Create – Application Parts after making your selection, the wizard will guide you through the setup and make your choices obvious. There are on-demand help videos that explain how to use Access. The videos are surprisingly easy to follow with clear language and demos that take you through the screens step-by-step.

Forms and reports with realistic, targeted analysis

Conditional formatting - Use data bars to manage your rules and create professional reports that are understandable and informative. Rather than trying to “crowbar” your data into available formats, you can customize the presentation and make your data mean more to organization. Stay focused at your sales and marketing meetings by using reports that everyone will recognize and appreciate.

Office themes - Choose themes with fonts, colors and designs that match your other Microsoft Office products that demonstrate consistency and branding.

Backstage – The Microsoft Office Backstage view replaces the traditional file menu with an ergonomic approach that uses In and Out features for efficiency. The improved Ribbon lets you access your favorite commands quickly and create custom tabs to personalize the way you work.

Developer quality without writing code

Expression Builder - Enhanced functionality with IntelliSense to greatly simplify formula and expression building. With these intuitive tools you will spend less time troubleshooting relationship errors and more time building a valuable database.

Macro Designer - Add basic logic to your database, quickly and easily even if you are not familiar with databases. If you’re an experienced Access user, you’ll find the enhancements allow you to use the complex logic move efficiently than ever. Extend your database application with increased performance and confidence.

Work from anywhere

Online – Post your database online and then access, view, and edit them from the Web. Users without an Access client can open Web forms and reports via a browser and their changes are automatically synchronized.

For organizations of all types and sizes, Access 2010 allows you to be more productive, flexible and cost-effective. You can combine tasks in Access that previously required several programs and labor intensive analysis to make better decisions for your business.

For more technical notes and information go to: www.lansystems.com/technotes.html

If you have any questions or need help with the instructions, email me at: mary@lansystems.com.

A non-technical post: My tomato garden

Usually, I write about computer and engineering topics but today it's all about my tomato garden.

I'm not a great gardener, but I have good luck with tomatoes. For years, Early Girl, Big Boy, Beefsteak and Parks Whoppers (my favorite) have given us tomato sandwiches, tomato pies and ratatouille. It's not just a tomato garden but has eggplant, maybe some squash and cucumbers.

Even though Georgia has been droughty for several years, my tomatoes have been well watered and have flourished. We like big tomatoes where one slice gives you the perfect sandwich and cucumbers fresh off the vine. Over the years, the tomatoes have become tastier and tastier. We don’t buy those tasteless, hot house grown tomatoes and even at a restaurant the tomatoes are disappointing.

My husband is from South Georgia and insists that you have to put your tomatoes in on Good Friday for the best crop. This year I was late in planting, over a month late, so I bought some 3 and 5 gallon tomatoes to make up for my tardiness. Some of the plants even had little tomatoes on them. I carefully planted and tended them knowing I was going to have the best harvest ever.

This year my garden had big problems. Most of my tomato plants drooped away or dried up. Those little tomatoes already on the vine died and even my Parks Whoppers have only average size fruit. We had a few red tomatoes early and I taught my granddaughter to pick them, but when we ran out of red ones, she started picking the green. Any other year, she would have had loads of tomatoes to pick and wash. But not this year.

Usually, I start with seedlings, so I don't know if the problems this year are the larger plants or the weather. It is disappointing especially now that we are at the peak of the season and it doesn't look like a bumper crop. But it's not all bad - haven't had many bugs this year!

My tomato troubles this year, made me realize that there is more skill and technology to tomato farming than I thought. I am looking for advice and am going to find some blogs for tomato growers.

For technical notes and information go to: www.lansystems.com/technotes.html

If you have suggestions or advice, email me at: mary@lansystems.com.

August 2010 Puzzle - This month a Riddle

This thing all things devours
Birds, beasts, trees, flower,
Gnaws iron, bites steel,
Grinds hard stones to meal,
Slays king, ruins town,
And beats high mountain down!

What is this thing?

On a scale of effortless to diabolical, this rates special literary knowledge!


Send your answer to puzzle@lansystems.com. All correct answers will be entered in our monthly drawing.

Or visit:  http://www.lansystems.com/Monthly_puzzle.html

A strong password is your first defense

The evolution of computers is astounding. The increase in computing power, bandwidth and accessibility has made almost everything people do with computers easier. Information technology not only satisfies our need for instant gratification, but changes the rules for trivial pursuit. No doubt, computers have changed our lives.


Today’s computer looks much different from the main frame days. Back then most users had a “green” screen to input data, starting with username and password. There was little graphics and most user input was entered at a prompt. Now, the graphics are remarkable from backgrounds to programs to games. The modern computer and display makes the virtual world come alive in ways that were hard to imagine twenty years ago. But with all the advancements one key feature hasn’t changed, we still use a username and password to log in.

Most computer systems still require input of the username and password to authenticate. There are some computer systems that use biometrics, digital certificates or smart cards, but even those seemingly high-tech features are still anchored in providing old fashioned authentication in the form of username/password combinations. Two-factor authentication requires two separate ways – something you know (username/password) and something you have (biometrics/smart card/digital key) - to verify identity, but even these methods have weaknesses. Still your first defense is a strong password.

Strong passwords contain upper and lower case letters, numbers, special characters and are at least 8 characters in length. Here are a few examples:
?lACpAs56IKMs"
areWEtherey3t
shirt.3cloud

Important accounts should have unique passwords. Even if you reuse passwords, don’t use on too many critical accounts and make sure the password is strong. If a password is compromised, change all accounts that use that password. You can create a less stringent password to use on non-critical accounts.

If you cannot remember all your accounts and passwords, you will have to record them. You can keep in a password book or file, but this is where your best security can be compromised. Keep your book behind lock and key. Be sure to encrypt your password file and call is something innocent. (Don’t call it password.file.) There are programs that will organize and save your accounts and passwords. To avoid malware infections, only get these programs from reliable sources. A good rule to follow is “when in doubt – don’t.”

A few password tools:
Create a strong password
Test your password strength
Generate a strong password online

If you have questions or suggestions for other topics, please leave a comment or contact me at mary@lansystems.com.

For more technical tips, please visit our website: http://www.lansystems.com/resources.html