Aug 20

BCS Data Centre Specialist Group

By admin 24x7 Management And Support, cloud computing, design concepts, disaster-recovery, it-management, operating systems & collaborative tools No Comments »

The Data Centre environment provides the foundation for the reliability, availability and security of systems and networks that power the world’s economy. The consumer’s drive for 24/7 availability of goods and services places increasing pressure on the availability of the facilities, systems and networks that provide these services. Underpinning the service reliability is the provision of a suitable, stable and reliable operating environment. The Data Centre is this environment.

As applications, data and infrastructure grow they have an increasing impact on the Data Centre and in turn an increasing impact on the environment. Business and consumer demands for richer functionality and interfaces are driving more complex applications which create demands on processing and data storage that can outstrip performance growth. This brings increased power and cooling requirements for the Date Centre. The economic and environmental impacts of this growth now require serious consideration.

The IT industry as a whole has charged forward without much attention paid to its impact on the environment. Among today’s hot topics are the inefficiencies found within Data Centres, including the facilities themselves and the IT equipment they house. One of the key areas the DCSG is focused on is working with the UK, EU and North American legislative bodies to ensure our industry is properly focused on driving the changes required to become more efficient with our use of energy.

Whilst there are many individuals in our industry with useful knowledge and experience in Data Centre engineering, their information is not easily accessible. The DCSG has been formed to create a forum for open and honest discussion, information sharing and evaluation of Data Centre-related issues and technologies.

What does the future of the Data Centre look like and just how critical a role will it play in business, the environment and the economy?
The DCSG aims to hold around twelve meetings/events per year that will focus on the hot topics of the moment and provide a forum for communication while further fostering professionalism through the industry.

Zahl Limbuwala FBCS CEng CITP MIET

DCSG Founder & Chairman

Data Centre Specialist Group.

Apr 30

Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Features | Ubuntu

By admin MobileOS, OS, it-management, media-tools, training No Comments »

Browse the web

Ubuntu includes Mozilla Firefox – for fast, safe web browsing. You can also choose alternative open-source browsers from the Ubuntu Software Centre.

Create professional documents and presentations

OpenOffice.org is fully compatible with Microsoft Office and has everything you need to create professional documents, spreadsheets and presentations. OpenOffice.org is easy to use, packed with the features you need and completely free.

Get free software

The Ubuntu Software Centre gives you instant access to thousands of free open-source applications. Browse software in categories including: education, games, sound and video, graphics, programming and office. Software is easy to find, easy to install and easy to remove.

Email and chat

Get chatting with Empathy. Quickly integrate your chat accounts from Yahoo, Gmail, MSN, Jabber, AOL, QQ and many more. Evolution Mail provides easy, intuitive email.

Social from the start

New in 10.04. Read and update your social networks instantly. Ubuntus new Me Menu lets you access your Facebook and Twitter accounts and more straight away. Connect to your chat channels and make updates through a single window. Being sociable has never been so easy.

Buy music while you listen

New in 10.04. Ubuntus new music player includes an integrated store, so you can buy and download new tracks with just a few clicks. And thanks to Ubuntu Ones file-sharing magic you can store your music online and listen to it from other computers and music players. Ubuntu works with most music and media players.

View, store and edit photos

Ubuntu is ready for all your gadgets. Connect your phones and cameras to download your pictures. You can organise your photos with F-Spot and use popular tools like Picasa, Facebook and Flickr. For advanced photo editing, find a free application from the Ubuntu Software Centre.

Mobilise your digital life!

All Ubuntu users get a free Ubuntu One account. Ubuntu One allows you to store all kinds of files online so you can access them anywhere. Store bookmarks, contacts, music and pictures. Take everything everywhere with Ubuntu One.

Make, play and edit video

Watch all your favourite content from YouTube, iPlayer, and MSN Player. Play your own videos with Movie Player or use Pitivi to edit your videos.

Start fast with Ubuntu

Ubuntu loads quickly on any computer, but its super-fast on newer machines. After loading, opening a browser takes seconds, unlike other operating systems that leave you staring at the screen, waiting to get online.

Choose from hundreds of free games

The Ubuntu Software Centre offers hundreds of games, including puzzles, adventures, tactical challenges and more. All free to choose and free to use.

Accessibility

At the core of the Ubuntu philosophy is the belief that computing is for everyone and access should be free and complete whatever your economic or physical circumstances. Ubuntu is one of the most accessible desktop operating systems around.

via Ubuntu 10.04 LTS Features | Ubuntu.

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Feb 28

Apple admits using child labour

By admin employment, environment, green-it, hardware, insights, it-management, ngo No Comments »

At least eleven 15-year-old children were discovered to be working last year in three factories which supply Apple.The company did not name the offending factories, or say where they were based, but the majority of its goods are assembled in China.

Apple also has factories working for it in Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, the Czech Republic and the United States.Apple said the child workers are now no longer being used, or are no longer underage. “In each of the three facilities, we required a review of all employment records for the year as well as a complete analysis of the hiring process to clarify how underage people had been able to gain employment,” Apple said, in an annual report on its suppliers.

Apple has been repeatedly criticised for using factories that abuse workers and where conditions are poor. Last week, it emerged that 62 workers at a factory that manufactures products for Apple and Nokia had been poisoned by n-hexane, a toxic chemical that can cause muscular degeneration and blur eyesight. Apple has not commented on the problems at the plant, which is run by Wintek, in the Chinese city of Suzhou.A spokesman for Wintek said that “almost all” of the affected workers were back at work, but that some remained in hospital.

Wintek said n-hexane was commonly used in the technology industry, and that problems had arisen because some areas of the factory were not ventilated properly.Last year, an employee at Foxconn, the Taiwanese company that is one of Apples biggest suppliers, committed suicide after being accused of stealing a prototype for the iPhone.Sun Danyong, 25, was a university graduate working in the logistics department when the prototype went missing. An investigation revealed that the factorys security staff had beaten him, and he subsequently jumped to his death from the 12th floor of his apartment building.

Foxconn runs a number of super-factories in the south of China, some of which employ as many as 300,000 workers and form self-contained cities, complete with banks, post offices and basketball courts.It has been accused, however, of treating its employees extremely harshly. China Labor Watch, a New York-based NGO, accused Foxconn of having an “inhumane and militant” management, which neglects basic human rights. Foxconns management were not available for comment.In its report,

Apple revealed the sweatshop conditions inside the factories it uses. Apple admitted that at least 55 of the 102 factories that produce its goods were ignoring Apples rule that staff cannot work more than 60 hours a week.The technology companys own guidelines are already in breach of Chinas widely-ignored labour law, which sets out a maximum 49-hour week for workers.

via Apple admits using child labour – Telegraph.

Feb 08

Olympics and Green tech: ‘No room to fail’ – Vancouver Winter Games

By admin 24x7 Management And Support, communication-standards, design concepts, disaster-recovery, document-management, green-it, industry best practise, insights, it-management, it-projects, media-tools, network-security, operating systems & collaborative tools, proffesional bodies, server architecture, training, uncategorized No Comments »

This is not your grandfather’s winter games. Every Olympic city makes major investments in technology, security and infrastructure in the 21st Century, and the Vancouver Winter Games are no exception.  The Olympic Cauldron will be lit on February 12, 2010. And yet, the hard work began immediately after Canada was selected to host the 2010 Winter Olympics back in 2004.

Want some examples?

1)      Technology companies are certainly talking about their unique role in these Games.  Green technology is a central element. Check out this Canadian website on technology related to the Olympics.

2)      Stopping terrorism is essential. One article back in 2005 estimated that the security budget would be about $177 million with a 50-50 split between the federal and provincial governments, but USA Today called actual security spending to be closer to $1 billion. More than 1000 security cameras are in place for the Winter Olympics.

3)      Infrastructure development has been important. There are plenty of stories online about the people behind the scenes who make the Olympic Games happen. There are also stories about the technology being used. If you look hard enough, you’ll find just about every big IT company is involved in some way. One example is Sun, but AT&T and others are right there as well.

4)      The economic development aspects and wider role of the Olympics can be seen in YouTube videos like this one.

5)      The role of the city mayors and Vancouver Government overall has been a huge part of this story.

Bottom line, this is big business. Just like the involvement of the South African Government in preparing for the 2010 World Cup in June, the Vancouver Olympic Games required an incredible investment in everything that we do in government technology every day. The difference is the scale, and the number of people watching.

So when you watch that beautiful opening or closing ceremony, when the US Hockey Team is skating to victory or those international downhill skiers fly past your TV screen, remember the technology and security infrastructure that made it all possible.

Let the games begin…

Jan 29

Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses, 2nd Edition | Book Review

By jeromewagner disaster-recovery, industry best practise, insights, it-management, proffesional bodies, training No Comments »

The book addresses disaster planning for small businesses in three stages: prepare, recover and respond.

The section on how to prepare for a disaster is the most detailed, and contains generic as well as practical suggestions.

The author provides logical common sense guidelines for the realities of how to prepare for, respond to and recover from problems, and this has a thoroughness brought about by experience.

The examples of specific problems encountered, which are provided throughout, help to keep the focus on why being prepared is important for the small business.

Specific suggestions whilst preparing are to not plan for the worst case only, as this causes planning paralysis and might result in the assumption that if it is not possible to plan for everything don’t bother to do anything at all. Also, the recommendation to prepare in a step-by-step fashion, prioritising what is important to your business, is key.

Part two covers the immediate response to a disaster, and the flexible implementation of the disaster planning. The final section addresses business recovery to the pre-disaster state.

Overall, the common sense suggestions are useful, but the detailed instructions on who to contact, how to register, and so on, are too USA-specific for a UK audience. I estimate the book is probably 75 per cent applicable outside the USA.

via Prepare for the Worst, Plan for the Best: Disaster Preparedness and Recovery for Small Businesses, 2nd Edition | Archive | Book Reviews | Opinion, News, Analysis | BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT.

Dec 23

Benefits of project management software | BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT

By jeromewagner it-management, it-projects No Comments »

Benefits of project management software

December 2009

Mouse, keyboard and pen. How can these benefits be realised asks Barry Muir Managing Director of Innate.Project management software has a simple goal; to help those involved in managing projects to achieve their objectives. For individual projects, the objective is to deliver the expected output from the project on time, within cost and to the quality expected. However, for those that manage multiple projects, project management software must do a lot more:

via Benefits of project management software | IT Management | Browse by subject area | Opinion, News, Analysis | BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT.

Dec 15

Hosted Security for Email, Web and Instant Messaging

By jeromewagner 24x7 Management And Support, cloud computing, communication-standards, disaster-recovery, document-management, green-it, hardware, industry best practise, it-management, it-projects, media-tools, ngo, proffesional bodies, uncategorized No Comments »

Hosted Security Services for Small & Medium Businesses

MessageLabs Hosted Services provide an easy and affordable way to secure, control and manage email, web and instant messaging communications. Cheaper, quicker & easier to deploy than in-house solutions, MessageLabs Hosted Services deliver proven technology from a market leader, allowing IT Managers to free up resources & concentrate on running their business.

Benefits of MessageLabs Hosted Services

Strategic Benefits Operational Benefits

Predictable costs for budgeting Lower total cost of ownership compared to in-house solutions

Less on-site hardware/software to install & maintain

Scalable service grows with your business

Only pay for the users you have

Hosted services from a market leader Helps your business to operate without interruption

Service levels you can rely on

Happy, productive end users

Proven performance

Effective resource management Threats blocked at the internet level, freeing up bandwidth

One supplier for your email, web and IM security needs

Intuitive web based portal to administer the services

24/7/365 telephone and email support as standard

A full suite of Hosted Security Services

More than just email anti-spam & anti-virus, MessageLabs Hosted Services offer solutions for email security, email management and web & IM security. Our services are flexible and can be bundled to meet your specific requirements.

via Hosted Security for Email, Web and Instant Messaging.

Dec 15

Past Events | Service Management Specialist Group | Our Groups | Specialist Groups | Membership and Networking | BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT

By jeromewagner 24x7 Management And Support, cloud computing, disaster-recovery, document-management, email-branding-disclaimers-and-signature-management, employment, green-it, hardware, industry best practise, insights, it-management, it-projects, media-tools, network-security, offsite-backup, online tools, proffesional bodies, server architecture No Comments »


Dec 01

Engadget

By jeromewagner disaster-recovery, insights, it-management, network-security, operating systems & collaborative tools No Comments »

Well, maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds, but it’s still not so good. As you’re probably aware, over the last week or so Windows users of all stripes not just Windows 7 users, as it turns out have been complaining of a plain black screen that appears upon login — at which point the systems lock up, and. that’s it.

Aside from some users getting an additional My Computer window lucky devils the system grinds to a halt. According to a Microsoft email that’s making the rounds, the company is “investigating reports that its latest release of security updates is resulting in system issues for some customers.” Until that time, what’s a poor PC user to do?

Privx, a UK developer of anti-malware software has surmised that a recent Windows security patch changed Access Control List ACL entries in the registry, preventing some software from running properly and prompting Engadget to whip up a Bergman-inspired graphic.

If your machine should find itself afflicted, Prevx has put together a fix that it claims will do the trick. Keep in mind that we don’t know these guys, so don’t blame us if it blows up your computer — or gives you the Bubonic plague.

We’ll let you know when we hear back from Microsoft on this one. Good luck!

via Engadget.

Nov 01

Enterprise Architecture SG: View Event | Enterprise Architecture SG | BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT

By jeromewagner employment, industry best practise, insights, it-management, proffesional bodies, training No Comments »

Developing Architects

Enterprise architecture is still an emerging profession. As well as the specific technical skills required, there are some critical talents, skills and approaches that architects need in order to operate effectively inside organisations.

They must have a broad perspective on the organisation they serve – its business goals and how the IT strategy supports them – and be able to weigh up competing dimensions and help stakeholders make trade-offs between their respective needs to achieve the right solutions for the enterprise as a whole. They will need to concentrate on the things that really make a difference and earn a position of influence within all of those teams engaged in the actual delivery of business and IT change projects and programmes.In this session, Sally Bean and Peter Haine will draw on their extensive experience with architecture groups in the public and private sector to examine the key architect roles that are required, how to develop the broad range of competencies needed to fulfil them, and ways of organising architecture teams for maximum effectiveness.

They will also provide insights from their experiences of leading communities of practice in architecture.

This presentation will focus on:

The different types of architect you need in your organisation and how you work out which team structure will be most effective

The necessary distribution of competencies soft and hard and responsibilities across the different architect role types

Practical career development paths for architects

The characteristics of high-performing architecture teams

via Enterprise Architecture SG: View Event | Enterprise Architecture SG | BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT.

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