Why Ubuntu Linux?

Tomorrow, October 29, 2009, Canonical Software will release Ubuntu 9.10 – the most recent release of a widely-popular Linux distribution. Watch the following Google Docs presentation to learn why Ubuntu Linux may be a great alternative to a Microsoft Windows (R) 7 upgrade for the small to mid-range business.

Why Ubuntu Linux? | Oct 2009

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Hoax: Microsoft Outlook Update from Microsoft

If you receive an email that looks anything resembling the following, simply delete it. It’s not real – it’s a hoax that is used to install a worm on your computer:

From: Microsoft Customer Support [mailto:no-reply@microsoft.com]<br /> <strong>Sent:</strong> Tuesday, June 23, 2009 8:09 AM<br /> <strong>To:</strong> email<br /> <strong>Subject:</strong> Critical Update for Microsoft Outlook</span></p> <h1 class="style13">Update for Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express (KB910721) Brief Description Microsoft has released an update for Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express. This update is critical and provides you with the latest version of the Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express and offers the highest levels of stability and security. Instructions To install Update for Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express (KB910721) please visit Microsoft Update Center: http://update.microsoft.com/microsoftofficeupdate/isapdl/defaultaspx?ln=en-us&id=56291199138963864756364612591348087600040672644169 Quick Details File Name: officexp-KB910721-FullFile-ENU.exe Version: 1.4 Date Published: Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:08:34 +0100 Language: English File Size: 81 KB System Requirements Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000; Windows 98; Windows ME; Windows NT; Windows Server 2003; Windows XP; Windows Vista This update applies to the following product: Microsoft Outlook / Outlook Express Contact Us © 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Contact Us |Terms of Use |Trademarks |Privacy Statement

Microsoft does not release update notifications in this way – through sending direct email messages to users. As this message is crafted to look legitimate, you may wish to advise others in your circle to avoid this threat. Meanwhile, if you wish to update your Microsoft products, open Internet Explorer and go to:

http://update.microsoft.com

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5 Rules of Thumb for Windows 7

Microsoft will release its latest version of Windows this week. If you’re a small to mid-range business, here are five rules of thumb if you’re considering an upgrade.

1. Don’t.

Well, don’t “upgrade”. If you’re technically capable, install the operating system clean instead of upgrading and restore your data from a backup. This may help avoid a lengthy upgrade process; some instances of upgrades from Vista to Windows 7 are reported to take upwards of six hours to complete. You can install the o/s cleanly and avoid many migration hassles. In fact, you may wish to just purchase a machine with Windows 7 already loaded on it and forget about the upgrade – especially if you’re running Windows XP. There’s no upgrade path from XP so you’re going to have to install clean anyway.

2. Backups.

“Don’t get cocky, kid.” It was good advice from Han, and you can use it, too. You need to realize that an operating system upgrade isn’t the same risk as installing a hotfix or a service pack. This is a major upgrade that may prevent your system from restarting correctly, and may even contribute to data loss. Don’t be a fool: back up your critical files prior to the upgrade. In fact, now would be a great time to review why anything “critical” is on a PC anyway and try to relocate that data to your network. Start to consider your PC as a disposable asset whereas the real treasure of information is available on network resources. Even better, start thinking about what you can do to get rid of that server… but that’s a topic for another day.

3. Compatibility.

Windows 7 is perfectly compatible with your existing Microsoft networking solutions. What you may run into are problems with legacy software applications and hardware drivers. You may want to make a list of critical applications that you just can’t live without, and check with the vendor on whether or not they’ve been tested on Windows 7, and can run on that platform. Believe you me: you don’t want to be in a situation where you’ve gone through the trouble of upgrading and suddenly can’t run your mission-critical apps. As for hardware requirements, the kernel is the same as Vista, so if your machine ran Vista fine, you can expect the same performance and response from Windows 7, so let’s dispell any idea that you’ll get some performance of this.

4. What are your Reasons?

I think you need to be very clear – with yourself and your stakeholders – why an upgrade to Windows 7 is necessary. What’s the strategic, compelling reason for an upgrade “right now”. Is it timing? Is it compatibility with upcoming vendor solutions? Is now a better time than, say, 2nd QTR 2010? What motivates you for introducing the new window dressing now? Certainly, for the small to mid-range business, it’s hard to see a strategic reason to upgrade to the next release of Windows very rapidly. Windows 7 will not change the way that you get your work done. It won’t change the way you see the Internet. It won’t change the way you collaborate and use data. It will change the way you view files on your hard disk, how your applications perform, and how you access the settings on your computer. Think very carefully about your reasons for introducing Windows 7 to you and your team right now.

5. Consider a Test.

When you buy a car, you want to test it. You want to drive it around the block a few times and make sure that it meets your needs. The same is true with 7. Don’t take the hype for granted: install the upgrade on a separate, non-production workstation and see how you like the look and feel. Give it a whirl. Get some feedback from others in your workplace. They can sit behind the wheel and give it a shot, too. You can decide then if you really want to deal with the learning curve now, or, put it off until a later date.

Just a couple of practical pieces of advice before you take the plunge. Listen, be practical: think about a strategy. Who will you upgrade? When? Why? What’s the purpose? When could you upgrade all of your machines, not just one, as to reduce the complexity of your technology environment? When is the best time to facilitate training with your staff? Which members of your staff would be good candidates for beta testing the product on a spare machine? What’s your company going to do if the PC’s don’t start back up the way they should? How about a means to recover lost data? Don’t look at this as something your company is doing for kicks and giggles: take it seriously, and have a plan.

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What Constitutes a Good Facebook/Twitter Update?

Had an interesting comment on my Facebook profile today from a friend of mine that lead to me to believe that I post less than “quality” Facebook/Twitter updates. Now, I’m all about quality control. I’ve measured myself before using Twitter Grader, in which I had a pretty good score, but I’m really curious: what do you think makes a good Facebook/Twitter update?

My issue is the tragedy of the commons. There’s only so much interest in, like, “I’m eating a ham sandwich today”, and I really hate to tell people what’s circulating through my digestive system anyway. Just seems silly – if I wanted to waste your time, I’d do it much more inventive ways. Instead, I strive for the meaningful. I like to talk about stuff that makes sense to my industry, students, circle of friends, and community. Call me crazy but I feel that if I’m saying anything, I should say something relevant, and I keep the spam to a minimum. So that’s been my approach.

What’s yours? What’re your ideas on what makes a good Twitter/Facebook update?

R

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Microsoft Security Essentials

If you’re an individual party with a Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Vista computer, and you’re not joined to a domain (a larger company security context), you need to download this application: Microsoft Security Essentials.

A background application, Security Essentials is an antivirus and antispyware application that helps protect your computer from viruses and malware attack. I’d recommend this to anyone who has been using free AV/anti-spyware solutions from the likes of AVG, for example, but haven’t made an investment in a commercial application.  This application integrates with the Windows o/s to search out, identify threats, and prevent your system from being infected by crippling malware like the Vundo virus and all of its manifestations (like AntiVirus 2010, for example).  Meanwhile, Microsoft Malware Protection Center (MMCP) is working overtime to identify new threats and pass these along automatically to your computer.

This isn’t a perfect solution and doesn’t work with enterprise computing, and to my knowledge, won’t install on server operating systems. Microsoft has had this solution in beta testing for the last year and it works reasonably well. It does provide a baseline of protection for regular users that can prevent malware infestation and limit the problems associated with troubleshooting failed machines.

You really ain’t got much to lose. This isn’t a bad tool and, for those who were following me on Twitter last week, saved my bacon in getting rid of a troublesome malware infestation on a client PC. Give it a whirl today.

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Say it With Me: No More Newsletters

I’ve decided to take a forward-thinking track and abandon publishing my monthly newsletter, Technology Reflections. Well, okay, why?

Primarily, I’ve found that I don’t have the time to keep up with the other forms of social media that I’m engaged in and the newsletter. I just haven’t been able to keep up with the schedule. Secondly, I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to say that consumers have reached a saturation point with email. Too much email simply turns people off and I didn’t want to continue contributing to the problem. Third, too much broadcasting could lead to my domain being blacklisted and I didn’t want to encourage that. Four, developing content for both the newsletter and my website has proven fairly tedious.

I suppose that – if I were to really think strategically about this decision – email newsletters were useful in an age without Twitter and RSS feeds, where one needed to use a form of direct marketing to stay in touch with your clients and remind them of your brand. Given the evolution of the technology and the self-service approach to feeds (consumers can choose what information service they wish to subscribe to), I think the use of the newsletter has become a bit tired. I want to encourage students and clients to stay in touch with me but not at the expense of their mail filter or their time. That’s what this social media stuff is all about.

I think that if I were to advise anyone on the use of direct mail/email correspondence, I’d try to rethink that mode of communication and keep it reserved for only the most critical interactions like account notices or payment schedules, whereas everything else can be voluntarily subscribed to. Not only will this reduce the clutter in the inbox for the consumer, but, reduce traffic loads on mail servers, and, prevent the accidental blacklisting of the transmitting domain.

So, I think I’m going to change-up my strategy here and discontinue the newsletter. Archives are still available here.

Thanks yall.

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Teach Thyself

A student approached me recently. He asked if there were hands-on educational opportunities for learning Oracle and SQL Server. Here’s a synopsis of my response, and I thought this would be practical to share.

The thing about tech today is that everything you need to learn on your own is readily available to you; much different from when I was growing up (grin) – even free software. In my opinion, your individual access to information is even stronger than what any college can offer you because a college curriculum is dated and the exposure you have to the application is limited by the scope of the lesson. Today, it’s really a determination of how much time and energy you wish to sink into these things.

Here are some resources.

1. Google Books.

There are a number of great books available to you for free across Google Books. Here’s a couple of ideas for SQL and DBMS solutions:

• Mastering Oracle SQL
  http://books.google.com/books?id=Rl2_4LhDjZkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=oracle&ei=cRnKSqv-J46GlQSOicmxAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false
• Hands-on Oracle Database 10g Express Edition – Building Express Applications
  http://books.google.com/books?id=pOAr4unL0JYC&pg=RA1-PA207&dq=oracle+express&ei=mRnKSsKsBqmGlAS77e3GAw#v=onepage&q=&f=false
• SQL Server 2008: A Beginner’s Guide
  http://books.google.com/books?id=3bxGC7LDUOUC&dq=microsoft+sql+server+2008+express&source=gbs_navlinks_s
• MySQL
  http://books.google.com/books?id=WjIQh9bo7DoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=mysql&ei=ChrKStDmG4bekwTYzPm4Aw#v=onepage&q=&f=false

2. Open and Express Editions of Software.

Many firms release trialware or open versions of their product. Microsoft and Oracle are no different. You can download these products and start using them now.

• Oracle has a free Express edition. You may find that practical:
  http://www.oracle.com/technology/products/database/xe/index.html
• So does SQL Server:
  http://www.microsoft.com/express/sql/default.aspx
• MySQL is an open product:
  http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/

3. Open Lesson Plans and Course Materials

Even still, some students like the structure of following tasks and assignments set forth in a curriculum. Think you need to pay a college for that? Well, think again: here’s a set of lab assignments and documents for Oracle and SQL from MIT’s (yes, MIT!) Open Courseware:

• http://search.mit.edu/search?__EVENTTARGET=&__EVENTARGUMENT=&site=ocw&client=mit&getfields=*&output=xml_no_dtd&proxystylesheet=http%3A%2F%2Focw.mit.edu%2FOcwWeb%2Fsearch%2Fgoogle-ocw.xsl&proxyreload=1&as_dt=i&oe=utf-8&departmentName=web&courseName=&q=sql&btnG.x=0&btnG.y=0

Download the assignments and follow them. If you wanted the rigor of a full class, you can download the entire syllabus and supplemental materials, maybe even be able to find the book through Google Books – although that’s not always possible.

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4. YouTube Instructional Videos

And if you need help, go ahead and pull up some tutorials and videos off of YouTube on Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL to help you learn the concepts:

• MySQL
  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_users&search_query=oracle
• Oracle
  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mysql&search_type=&aq=f
• SQL Server
  http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=microsoft+sql+server+2008&search_type=&aq=f

In this case, what I recommend was that the student set up a practical range of goals he was interested in, learn more about it through reading, then apply your the to a problem, or, lab work through setting up a virtual machine on your production system (here’s an open solution: www.virtualbox.com) or a separate box for your use.

The thing is, there is so much good information, tools, and materials out there to teach yourself practically anything – not just technical stuff but literally anything – and it’s just a factor of how much time and energy you wish to devote to it. College can give a structured framework for learning that introduces you to the basic concept and theory of a discipline. Some like that structure; others can extend that structure, or, create their own, with the resources available to them now. So, don’t waste any time: set yourself up with a couple of goals for the year, stop making excuses, get out there and create your _own_ curriculum, and start learning!

R