Google's Communication Breakdown

Google's Communication Breakdown

Thought that this was part news, part an insite into life at Google.

The headquarters of the most popular search engine in the world is a remarkably unimpressive place.

Google's base is more industrial than architectural

Mountain View, California, sounds like a glamorous address. But the home of more than 5,000 Google staff is a sprawl of low rise, nondescript buildings on an industrial estate about 20 miles south of San Francisco.

The main building has a novel name - the Googleplex - but there are warehouses in the British Midlands that are more architecturally interesting. Similarly, one spot is known as the "amphitheatre" - but nothing could be less classically inspired or artistically stimulating.

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CertCities.com’s 10 Hottest Certifications for 2006

CertCities.com’s 10 Hottest Certifications for 2006

_omni_ suggested this item and I can't believe I haven't posted it here already. Thanks _omni_.

So we’re at it again: Trying to predict the future of IT certification with our annual hot cert list. If you’ve read previous installments of this article, you probably already know everything we’ll cover in the following introduction by heart, but we have to say it anyway to make sure everyone’s clear on what we are -- or aren’t -- trying to do here. To start off, this is NOT a list of overall popularity. If we did that, Microsoft’s MCP would win every year. Instead, we’re looking for the certifications that we think will be the most influential in 2006, the ones that will grow the fastest, the ones that we think will show the true future of IT certification. As a simple analogy, think of it more as a Billboard Hot 100 singles list -- instead of the most popular songs, we’re looking for the...

Running VMware Player under Linux

Running VMware Player under Linux

After testing VMware's new Player on Windows a few weeks ago, I wanted to see how it performs on Linux. While the Player is a great tools for Windows users who want to see what its like to run Linux, the inverse of that equation doesn't play out the same way. Curiously, Microsoft wasn't interested in loaning me a Windows XP image, but that was OK. I tried another operating system instead -- a Linux distribution that looks like it could be a lot of fun. The process of getting VMware Player installed on Linux was time-consuming. When I realized that it wasn't going to go as smooth as butter, I was a little disappointed. I don't have a few spare days to tinker with my computer. Linux on the desktop has come a long way in the last few years, but apparently not all the kinks are gone.

Read the entire article at Linux.com.

NTFS Hacks to Improve Windows Performance

NTFS Hacks to Improve Windows Performance

One way of improving the performance of your Windows XP machine is to tweak the NTFS file system. In certain scenarios, simple changes can make a big difference; that's because hard disks are often a primary bottleneck in today's machines, which have fast processors and lots of memory. Let's look quickly at ten ways you can boost performance using NTFS (or not using NTFS) on Windows XP.

To read the entire article, click Here.

Chinese attack Parliament using Windows security hole

Chinese attack Parliament using Windows security hole

Chinese hackers launched a major attack on the UK Parliament earlier this month, the government’s email filtering company MessageLabs has confirmed. The attack, which occurred on 2 January, attempted to exploit the Windows Meta File (WMF) vulnerability to hijack the PCs of more than 70 named individuals, including researchers, secretaries and MPs themselves. Emails were sent to staff, with an attachment that contained the WMF-exploiting Setabortproc Trojan. Anyone opening this attachment would have enabled attackers to browse files, and possibly install a keylogging program to attempt the theft of passwords. None of the emails got through to the intended targets, MessageLabs said, but the UK authorities were alerted.

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Finding Your Niche: Certification Paths to Support Specialized Careers

Finding Your Niche: Certification Paths to Support Specialized Careers

With the proliferation of certifications that have come and gone over the past 10 years, choosing a certification path to pursue can be bewildering. Marketing programs and advertisements from many of the certification programs dramatically oversell their ability to—on their own—help you find high-paying careers with reasonable chances for further experience and advancement. So what’s a smart person like you to do? Luckily, there are strategies and alternatives for sharpening your career with well-selected “niche” certifications. With the proliferation of certifications that have come and gone over the past 10 years, choosing a certification path to pursue can be bewildering. Marketing programs and advertisements from many of the certification programs dramatically oversell their ability to—on their own—help you find high-paying careers with reasonable chances for further...

Linux the focus of new Australian Masters degree

Linux the focus of new Australian Masters degree

Charles Sturt University (CSU) has partnered with Linux vendor Novell to offer a two-year postgraduate Masters degree which includes formal Linux certification. Novell said in a statement the course would be the only postgraduate-level qualification which would include the achievement of Novell Certified Linux Engineer (Novell CLE) status as a key requirement. "Students will study for their Masters degree via a mixture of distance education coupled with hands-on practical training courses with Novell's leading IT training provider Excom Education," Novell added.

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Internet Explorer 7 leaks onto Internet

Internet Explorer 7 leaks onto Internet

Microsoft had promised to go public on Internet Explorer 7 in the first quarter of this year. But as a part of Microsoft's eternally-delayed Windows Vista, one might have thought IE7 would suffer the same setbacks. However, some Windows fans took matters into their own hands when last Friday it was revealed that a build of the new browser - version 5299 - along with numerous screenshots, was available online. Not that Microsoft had anything to do with the leak. Its involvement was limited to taking down the link to the code where it was posted on Windows techie forum JCXP.net. But that was not before several thousand expectant fans had got their browsers pointed at it.

Find out more Here.

Your SSID Isn’t Hidden Forever

Your SSID Isn’t Hidden Forever

A common security practice among wireless network administrators is to disable Service Set Identifier (SSID) broadcasting on wireless access points or routers. The reason is that disabling SSID broadcasting is supposed to hide and protect their wireless network. Even if an individual knows there is a wireless network at a certain location, this person must know the SSID to establish a connection with the network. Therefore, hiding the SSID by disabling SSID broadcasting helps to prevent others from connecting to the network. Don’t let this give you a false sense of security, however. People with the right equipment can easily retrieve the SSID of the network.

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Firefox hits 20 percent mark in Europe

Firefox hits 20 percent mark in Europe

Since the summer 2004 news that Internet Explorer saw its first-ever drop in market share, keeping tabs on web browser market share has become a popular pastime for some. Since Firefox 1.0 was released in the fall of 2004, we've seen its market share inch upwards, breaking the 10 percent barrier last November. Apparently, it's doing even better in Europe. According to the French-speaking portion of the Ars staff (Ken and Herschell), French web metrics firm XiTi says that on a recent weekend, a sample of 32.5 million web site visits showed that Firefox has passed the 20 percent market share figure in Europe. The percentage of Firefox users was highest in Linux creator Linus Torvalds' homeland of Finland, where usage hit 38.4 percent. Firefox is also popular in Slovenia (35.6 percent) and Germany (30.3 percent). In contrast, Ukraine, Belgium, and Denmark sit at the bottom with 9.5 percent, 10.2 percent, and 10.4...