Goggles

Privacy implications have Google running scared
Take a photograph, press search, and Google's new technology will put a name and biography to the face ....

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/privacy-implications-have-google-running-scared-1839884.html

History of a font

See the history of Comic Sans

Backup Log example

My Moodle site runs backups and other tasks when I tell it to. It keeps a log of what's happened. Here's an example:

Server Time: Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:04:18 +0100   Starting activity modules Processing module function assignment_cron ...Processing assignment submission 210 Processing assignment submission 237 Processing assignment submission 239 Processing assignment submission 208 Processing assignment submission 214 Processing assignment submission 240 Processing assignment submission 201 Processing assignment submission 227 Processing assignment submission 203 Processing assignment submission 189 Processing assignment submission 196 Processing assignment submission 238 Processing assignment submission 211 Processing assignment submission 241 Processing assignment submission 209 Processing assignment submission 213 done. Processing module function chat_cron ...done. Processing module function forum_cron ...Starting digest processing... Cleaned old digest records Sending forum digests: Monday,  28 September 2009, 11:04 PM Removing old forum read tracking info... done. Processing module function scorm_cron ...done. Processing module function wiki_cron ...done. Finished activity modules Starting blocks Processing cron function for rss_client....     http://newsrss.bbc.co.uk/rss/newsonline_uk_edition/technology/rss.xml# ok 1 feeds refreshed (took 0.015044 seconds) done. Processing cron function for search....Global searching is not enabled. Nothing performed by search. done. Finished blocks Starting admin reports Finished admin reports Updating languages cache Removing expired enrolments ...none found Starting main gradebook job ... done. Running clean-up tasks... Deleted old cache_text records Emailing admin about 15 failed login attempts Notified login failured Synchronised metacourses checking for create_password Executed tag cron Cleaned up contexts Cleaned cache flags Built context paths Finished clean-up tasks... Running backups if required...     Checking backup status...OK     Getting admin info     Deleting old data     Checking courses         Skipping deleted courses             0 courses         ICT Learning             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         INFO 1 - Practical problem solving in the digital world             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         INFO 4 - Practical issues involved in the Use of ICT in the Digital World             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         Year 11 2009-10             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         Year 10 2009-10             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         A2 ICT Projects             SKIPPING - hidden+unmodified             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         INFO 1 Practical problem solving in the digital world copy 1             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         Old INFO 1 Practical problem solving in the digital world             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         Old INFO 1 Practical problem solving in the digital world copy 1             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM         Old INFO 1 Practical problem solving in the digital world copy 2             Next execution: Tuesday,  29 September 2009, 12:00 AM Backup tasks finished. Running auth crons if required... Cron script completed correctly Execution took 15.344315 seconds

User guide example

The process of setting up a page hit counter is well documented at:

http://www.statcounter.com/

Virus attack

A good example of trickery. Here's an email I received today - correctly filtered by the school system into Junk.

Dear Customer!

Thank you for ordering at our online store.
Your order: Sony VAIO A1133651A, was sent at your address.
The tracking number of your postal parcel is indicated in the document attached to this letter.
Please, print out the postal label for receiving the parcel.

Internet Store.

The attachment also triggered some good behaviour by our system, which replaced it with this:

PureMessage has replaced this part of your message with this text.
Incident information:
Event: Virus infection detectedLocation: nz.zipMessage ID: XXXX Junk E-mail/{EFA34491-C61F-4DD4-BB8E-E70374551FE6}.emlDate: 19/09/2009Time: 10:08:37Server: JSERVERJob: Exchange Store ScanningVirus name(s): Troj/Bredo-G

Anniversary

http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/09/0915ACM-founded

Innovation

Good item from New Scientist at:

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17705-innovation-go-to-hospital-to-see-computings-future.html?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=dn17705

BBC NEWS | Technology | Tech Lab: Sydney Padua

BBC NEWS | Technology | Tech Lab: Sydney Padua for the full story

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Cloud computing perspectives and questions - WikiContent

An interesting piece about Cloud Computing - thanks to Dr Howard Harris

Cloud computing perspectives and questions - WikiContent

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Software Evaluation Service - how good is your software?

SOFTWARE EVALUATION SERVICE
US $ 499 .

In today's overfilled market, quality is everything. When you release your software, you have to be sure that it's ready. This is why we've launched our new Software Evaluation package.Our Software Evaluation service allows you to have your application assessed and evaluated by a professional.

The process is as follows:
* The software is installed on a basic and stable test system
* The software is given a thorough and extensive evaluation
* All experiences are recorded in detail


A thorough report is generated covering the following areas:

• overview of the software
• general usability
• interface and product design
• features and implementation
• help file (overview)
• marketing advice
• recommendations
• analysis and conclusion

For a more detailed description of these services as well as excerpts from previous evaluations, please have a look at our website:

www.software-evaluation.info

Software Evaluation Service - how good is your software?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Employees facing redundancy are tempted by data theft - Times Online

Employees facing redundancy are tempted by data theftGeneral view of a memory stickA memory stick can contain vast amounts of data and is easily concealedMichael HermanCompanies face a new challenge in protecting sensitive information, says Michael Herman /A memory stick can contain vast amounts of data and is easily concealed.However bad the economy gets and no matter how nervous white-collar workers become about losing their jobs, most are unlikely to sneak out of the office with a hard drive concealed under their jackets.But when it comes to pilfering the contents of their office computers, many are far less scrupulous, leaving businesses with an enormous commercial and legal headache.A recent survey from Cyber-Ark, the IT security group, found that 58 per cent of British workers would be prepared to take confidential company data if faced with redundancy. Perhaps more alarmingly, the same survey found that with job losses rising, 40 per cent of UK staff are already removing confidential data and would be willing to use it to help to negotiate a new job.Related Links * Emergency consolidation cuts competition * Bank of England can intervene to revive lending * Put transparency and trust back into banking Cyber-Ark listed client or customer databases as the most likely forms of data to be stolen, followed by business proposals and product information. The financial services sector is traditionally considered the most at risk from employee data theft, but Mark Weston, a partner at Matthew Arnold & Baldwin, the law firm, said that it was a serious issue that affected all industries. Mr Weston argues that although criminal gangs are active in data theft, the single biggest threat is from a company's own employees, a point emphasised by a recent survey by McAfee, the IT security group, which found that 68 per cent of businesses were most concerned about the “insider threat”.The opportunities for removing data discreetly have improved in recent years through the availability of memory sticks. These are small devices - often the size of a pack of chewing gum - that can store many gigabytes of data and work with most office computers.Adam Bosnian, a vice-president of Cyber-Ark, said: “The damage that insiders can do should not be underestimated. It can take just a few minutes for a database that has taken years to build to be copied to a memory stick. With a faltering economy resulting in increased job cuts, deferred promotions and additional stress, companies need to be especially vigilant about protecting data loss from nervous or disgruntled employees.”While some data can harm a business as soon as it is taken, much stolen information becomes a threat only once it is used by a competitor. So while the Cyber-Ark research found that well over half of British employees would be prepared to steal and use confidential data if faced with losing their jobs, it is perhaps more alarming that statistics from the High Court show that British workers are increasingly making good on those intentions.The number of court cases brought to stop former employees using confidential data in their new jobs climbed sevenfold between 2006 and 2008, according to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC). a law firm. The number of cases may have increased only from three to twenty-three, but RPC says that there will have been many more similar cases that were settled privately.Cath Thorpe, an employment partner at RPC, said that the shaky economy and poor job prospects were directly to blame. “Rising job insecurity is encouraging more employees to use confidential information obtained from their current employer when they begin working for a competitor,” she said. Ms Thorpe added that with alternative jobs increasingly difficult to find, other employees are starting up their own businesses and “using confidential information in order to compete head-to-head with their former employer”.Although litigation is expensive and not guaranteed, the 23 court cases brought last year should reassure business that it does have the ability to remove or reduce problems arising from employees jumping ship with confidential information.In one recent high-profile case, UBS, the Swiss bank, sued Vestra, a start-up business formed by 78 former employees. The case settled on confidential terms, but not before a High Court judge gave an interim ruling barring Vestra from approaching any UBS clients.Fast-moving employers have a more adventurous option, in the form of a “search and seize” order. Businesses with strong evidence of a former employee removing significant information - such as CCTV footage of someone leaving a secure data area with files - can apply for a court order authorising them to search the home of a former employee and remove company data.Although the police are not involved, the former worker who obstructed the search would be in contempt of court, a criminal offence. Mr Weston warned that aside from having to get up early to catch them unaware, another downside to raiding the home of a former worker was that if nothing were found they may be able to claim compensation for the inconvenience.

Employees facing redundancy are tempted by data theft - Times Online

Blogged with the Flock Browser

When it comes to IT, big is not beautiful | George Osborne - Times Online

When it comes to IT, big is not beautifulAgile, modern technology can transform public services and relieve taxpayers of bloated budgetsGeorge OsborneOne of the central questions we face as a nation is how, in future, we can live within our means. The next government will face the highest budget deficit in modern British history and the urgent task of delivering better value for taxpayers' money. Information technology should be at the heart of this agenda.In other walks of life, we have seen how IT has transformed customer service, expanded consumer choice and opened up new freedoms. It has driven productivity improvements and efficiency gains across industries. Unfortunately, this exciting potential has not been realised in government.We all remember the individual failures in government IT: the NHS supercomputer shambles, the SATs marking disaster, the catastrophe of the rural payments agency.But even in the light of these failures, yesterday's report in The Times that the £100 billion that the Government spends on IT is running nearly £19 billion over budget was genuinely shocking.Background * £18bn scandal of Whitehall IT projects * COMMENT: We must break this cycle of failure * Computer deals that cost taxpayers billions * CASE STUDY: Patients ‘sent to wrong hospital’ It shocked me because it showed that these failures were not just a series of individual mistakes, but also that IT incompetence in government appears endemic.That is why we have been working for some time on how we can harness the latest ideas to make government IT more efficient and effective. Here's what we need to do.First, government needs to stop thinking that when it comes to procuring IT systems, big is always beautiful. The Government runs some of the biggest IT systems in the country, covering every single citizen. Yet the very size of the projects too often makes them unmanageable and means only a handful of companies can compete to deliver them. Not only does this lead to higher costs but it means that even when suppliers let the public sector down, the Government has few options but to keep handing them new contracts. So how can we change that?We need to move in the direction of what are known as “open standards” - in effect, creating a common language for government IT. This technical change is crucial because it allows different types of software and systems to work side by side in government.At a stroke it means big projects can be split into smaller elements, which can be delivered by different suppliers and then bolted together. Because smaller projects are inherently less risky, this approach reduces the chance of cost overruns and opens up the procurement process to innovative start-ups.Second, we need to follow the example of businesses all over the world and take advantage of “open source” technology. Open source is a way of developing software so that the source code is made openly available to licensed users. It started out as a communal philosophy but it's now mainstream. It has been harnessed by companies such as Amazon and Bebo to enable them to keep down costs and more easily improve their products. Amazon, for example, estimates that using open source has slashed its IT spending by a quarter. And 20 per cent of online Europeans - including me - now use the open source Mozilla browser to surf the internet. Unfortunately the Government is lagging far behind, with open-source suppliers all too often locked out of its contracts.Last week the Conservative Party published an independent report by Mark Thompson of Cambridge University which sets out detailed proposals to create a level playing field for open source. His report showed that the Government could save more than £600 million a year if it made more use of open source as part of a competitive procurement system. That's the right way forward. We're not saying that government should not use traditional licensed software - simply that open source should be used where it makes sense and can deliver better value for money.Third, we need to see changes in Whitehall that fit the wider Conservative agenda of entrenching a new culture of financial discipline across government. Astonishingly, there is no formal approval process for government IT schemes. Too often, schemes are approved without thinking about how they will fit into wider objectives or how they will deliver value for money. Ministers are often to blame for this, by changing project specifications at the last minute, which leads to spiralling costs. That needs to change.In the 1980s a unit based in the Treasury provided expertise to departments on handling complex privatisation projects. Similar strategic leadership and advice is needed for large IT projects.Getting value for money in IT goes hand in glove with delivering value for money more broadly. At a political level that means setting clear goals and sticking to them. And it means getting the whole government machine focused on value for money.IT has the potential to transform the relationship between citizen and State, and deliver more efficient and effective public services. Our plan will help us to make the most of this potential. Under the Conservatives, government IT will be about getting value for money for the future, not adding to the bills of the past.George Osborne is Shadow Chancellor

When it comes to IT, big is not beautiful | George Osborne - Times Online

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The reality of large public sector IT projects -Times Online

Sir, Nigel Harper (letter, Feb 4) suggests using university computer science departments for large public sector IT projects, together with a collaborative use of open source software. While this would lead to better-engineered software and a correspondingly lower risk of code failure, there are remarkably few IT projects that are simply computer code. IT systems today are a complex mix of technology, commercial principles, business processes, human nature and interactions, legal contracts, people and money. Whether in the public or private sector, these are frequently affected by politics, personal ambition, financial pressures, accountability and the desire to deliver and achieve. No amount of software engineering can address these variables.Few IT projects fail because of technology. IT falls victim to overexpectation, unco-ordinated decision making, lack of clear objectives and relentless cost paring without a corresponding and realistic reduction in the desired outcome. All these are driven by those setting out the needs for planning, managing and approving the project. Today’s IT professional has to be far more than just a computer scientist. He or she has to be skilled in psychology, business matters, diplomacy, project management and politics.Alan PollardPresident, British Computer Society

The reality of large public sector IT projects -Times Online

Blogged with the Flock Browser