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Microsoft and Google Set to Wage Arms Race
Microsoft and Google Set to Wage Arms Race
Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, described Google in an interview late last year as a worthy adversary, a company to test Microsoft's mettle. "This is hypercompetition, make no mistake," Mr. Gates observed.
The rivalry between the companies is growing more combative, and with good reason: the outcome is likely to shape the future of competition in computing and the way people use information technology.
A measure of how seriously Microsoft takes the challenge came last Thursday when it announced that its spending would rise sharply next year, about $2 billion higher than previous estimates. Much of the extra money, analysts say, is going to meet the threat from companies offering advertising-supported Internet services and software, led by Google.
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Beginners Corner: RF/Wireless Basics 2006
Beginners Corner: RF/Wireless Basics 2006
As with any large-scale project, adding an RF system into your business can seem a daunting task. But being properly prepared, along with finding the right assistance, will go a long way toward making the implementation a successful one, and one that will reap benefits for your company. This white paper from LXE is an introduction to wireless data collection networks, products, standards and solutions.
Download this free white paper in pdf format Here.
Book Review: Peter van der Linden's Guide to Linux
Book Review: Peter van der Linden's Guide to Linux
Review by James Pyles
April 19, 2006
This is the third of my three-part series of reviews on books written for people migrating from Windows to Linux. The first book was Marcel Gagne's Moving to Linux, Second Edition and the second was Spring into Linux by Janet Valade.. You might want to read those reviews before this one, since I draw comparisions between them.
Peter van der Linden's Guide to Linux (what a mouthful) at first blush, seems more akin to Gagne's Moving to Linux, Second Edition than Valade's Spring into Linux. Guide's focus seems to be to convince the Windows user to jump ship and join up with Linux based on Windows shortcomings. Chapter 1 starts right in with Windows and Windows viruses and progresses to other problems such as such as issues with Windows XP SP2 and Windows being (relatively) easy to compromise from the Internet. Traditional problems listed are spyware,...
Working With End Users Toward an Effective Solution
Working With End Users Toward an Effective Solution
A study released recently by Forrester Research showed that only 53 percent of respondents to a survey of 2,138 technology users within U.S. companies were satisfied with their help desk experiences. Two of the primary issues behind the substantial dissatisfied minoritys frustrations were the overall time it took to resolve their requests and the ability to solve their problems the first time around. In a perfect world, every call you took from end users would involve them asking you a simple, straightforward question and you responding with a simple, straightforward answercase closed. But its hardly ever that easy. Its frequently a non-linear process that entails taking two steps forward, then two steps back, then another two steps forward, and so on. Most customersand a good many help desk professionals, tooget really frustrated in these circumstances. Yet youve got to maintain a clear...
Dangerous: Viewpoint Media Player!
Dangerous: Viewpoint Media Player!
As I turned on my computer today, McAfee gave me a nice little notice that "ViewMngr.exe" was trying to access the Internet. This not being my first encounter with Viewpoint, I knew to block the Hell out of it. Of course, I wondered "Where did I get such software?" I ran Ad-Aware, Spybot, and various Microsoft scanners... all that came up were tracking cookies. I thought "Maybe Viewpoint removed itself once it realized that I wasn't going to allow it get to the Internet." Sure enough, in the Program Files folder rested a little folder called "Viewpoint" which contained a thirteen megabyte "Viewpoint Media Player" and a half megabyte "Viewpoint Manager." The Return of the Media Player. This was my third dual with the demon. Instead of simply removing it, I wanted to know the cause - something that everyone should know and will by reading this article.
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Book Review: Spring into Linux
Book Review: Spring into Linux
Review by James Pyles
April 13, 2006
This is the second of a three-part series of reviews on books written for people migrating from Windows to Linux. The first book was Marcel Gagne's Moving to Linux, Second Edition. You might want to read that review before this one, since I draw comparisions between the two.
Janet Valade compresses 19 chapters into 360 pages of text and screenshots including information on both the KDE and Gnome desktops, how to install Fedora, Mandrake, and SUSE (What...no Debian-based distro?), and how to write a shell script. While the book is touted as for Linux newbies, it is expected from the start that the reader be computer literate in Windows or on a Mac. Unlike Moving to Linux by Marcel Gagne', this book's target audience doesn't seem to be quite focused on the average home user but rather higher level end users who may want to learn Linux.
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Book Review: Moving to Linux, Second Edition
Book Review: Moving to Linux, Second Edition
Even a casual look at the front and back covers of this book tells you that the author is serious about converting the Windows faithful to the Linux bandwagon. While the subtitle Kiss the Blue Screen of Death Goodbye! is perhaps more overstated now than in the days of Windows 98, Marcel Gagne' is passionate and driven about the benefits of Linux as a home desktop platform. This book is written for the average home user who is tired of dealing with the downside of the Windows 98 or XP (how many home users boot Windows 2000 Pro in their dens or family rooms?) and has heard there is an alternative to the Microsoft machine. With that in mind, I put on my Linux newbie hat pretending I didn't have a clue about Linus Torvalds' brain child, cracked the cover and was on my way.
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Interviewing Techniques: Impressing Potential Employers
Interviewing Techniques: Impressing Potential Employers
An IT job isnt like a lot of other professions: The typical workday doesnt always fall between 9 and 5, needing a certification to maintain employment is the norm, and being available at a moments notice, even if that moment is 3 a.m., isnt out of the question. So if should come as no surprise, then, that interviews for IT jobs dont follow the mainstream either. According to Allan Hoffman, Monster.coms tech jobs expert and author of the article Tips for Technical Job Interviews, interviews for technical positions often include challenges beyond the usual questions about career goals. Interviews might include everything from an informal meeting to an on-the-spot programming exercise. Candidates should be prepared for the unexpected.
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Microsoft Unveils Open-Source Site
Microsoft Unveils Open-Source Site
"Yep, you read that headline right. A few years ago, emphatic promotional efforts around open source emanating from Redmond, Wash., would have been unthinkable. Yet last week, there it was: Port 25, a new Microsoft Web site aimed at publicizing the companys commitment to open-source techniques and technologies." read more...
For more information, read here.
Preparing for Performance-Based Tests
Preparing for Performance-Based Tests
Ever since IT certifications were conceived, one of the criticisms regularly lodged against them has been their dubiousness as a means of dependably identifying talent. In the 1990s especially, many certification testing environments had inadequate protection for exam content, so information could be memorized and later distributed physically or virtually by ersatz (or not) candidates to those preparing to take the test. However, had cheating never even entered the picture, reliability would still be an issue, especially if prospective hires had little more than certifications as their qualifications. Employers are wary of people who might be good test-takers, but have little practical familiarity with a particular role or technology. These kinds of applicants will likely be passed over by people who have proved themselves to be proficient through years of on-the-job experience.
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