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Technology Industry News & Career Management information, brought to you by BrainWave Consulting Company.
September 2007 - Posts
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Dear Bob ...I started in a new position 6 months ago. From my experience so far, I have concluded that the people in the whole organization either don't want or don't know how to be managed. (I hope it's not me, but then again, if I was that sure, I'd tell them to write to you, and I'm writing myself...)I Read More...
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From 1000 Days Non-Stop at Sea: Last evening we were lying down on the pilothouse bunk discussing some technical problems we were having, when we heard the fishing line go out. " That's not a fish." I said. The line... Share Post: Read More...
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The U.S. has a patchwork of deposit laws on soft drink bottles and cans. Most states have no deposit, but some states -- Michigan, for example -- have deposits. The cans are the same, so you can make ten cents... Share Post: Read More...
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Neal Koblitz publishes -- honestly -- a rant about the cryptography field. The interesting part to me is when he talks about the uneasy relationship between mathematicians and cryptographers. Cryptographers, he says, toss the term "provable security" around much too... Share Post: Read More...
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Well, sort of. This paper from the Goddard Space Center, "NiCd Space Battery Test Data Analysis Project, Phase 2 Quarterly Report, 1 Jan. - 30 Apr. 1967," uses "cryptanalytic techniques" -- some sort of tri-gram frequency analysis, I think --... Share Post: Read More...
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Video. The corn dogs don't have sticks in them.... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...So, how do visionaries find seconds-in-command or generals ("Jung at heart," Keep the Joint Running, 9/24/2007)?I've been the "visionary" at two of the companies I've co-founded, but I haven't been able to find someone I'm "in sync" with for the last several years... and I need the engagement, Read More...
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Reuters has an article on future security technologies. I've already talked about automatic license-plate-capture cameras and aerial surveillance (drones and satellites), but there's some new stuff: Resembling the seed of a silver maple tree, the single-winged device would pack a... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...Did you catch this news over at Intel yet (link below)? It's about Intel's internal layoff process (called by Intel, 'redeployment'). The blogger I've linked to seems to be a manager that has to use certain criteria to keep or lay off employees and the struggles he/she has to go through to Read More...
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Excellent blog post: So cholera has now reached Baghdad. That's not much of a surprise given the utter breakdown of infrastructure. But there's a reason the cholera is picking up speed now. From the NYT: "We are suffering from a... Share Post: Read More...
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It's easy to eavesdrop on a copper cable; fiber optic cable is much harder. Here's how to eavesdrop on a fiber optic cable: total hardware cost less than $1,000.... Share Post: Read More...
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Oh, this is funny: A team of researchers and engineers at a UK division of Franco-German aerospace giant EADS has developed what it believes is the world's first hacker-proof encryption technology for the internet. [...] Gordon Duncan, the division's government... Share Post: Read More...
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Weird: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has gone to many strange places in its search for ways to identify terrorists before they attack, but perhaps none stranger than this lab on the outskirts of Russia's capital. The institute has... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I am pursuing a career as an independent contractor in IT PM and have 15+ years of overall IT experience. I have primarily worked through recruiters, but would really like to be out on my own, generating my own business and keeping more $$$ in my pocket. Any ideas on how to start and run Read More...
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Caught on film, first time ever: "We looked hard and saw a tentacle of a squid hanging from its mouth and there were other pieces of squid stuck to the whale’s body. It made a number of brusque movements on... Share Post: Read More...
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Imagine if this happened in Boston? Empty fridges suddenly popped up in the financial district, causing puzzled looks from passersby. [...] Security personnel weren't impressed. When security got wind of the stunt, they arranged to have the fridges scooped up.... Share Post: Read More...
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Anyone know what's going on? Star Simpson, 19, had a computer circuit board, wiring and a putty that later turned out to be Play-Doh in plain view over a black hooded sweat shirt she was wearing, said State Police Maj.... Share Post: Read More...
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This article is a detailed writeup of the actual investigation. While it seems that intercepted emails where instrumental at several points during the investigation, the article doesn't explain whether the intercepts were the result of some of the wholesale eavesdropping... Share Post: Read More...
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Interesting article. London's 10,000 security cameras don't reduce crime: A comparison of the number of cameras in each London borough with the proportion of crimes solved there found that police are no more likely to catch offenders in areas with... Share Post: Read More...
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As the name implies, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are anonymous. You don't have to sign anything, show ID or even reveal your real name. But the meetings are not private. Anyone is free to attend. And anyone is free to recognize... Share Post: Read More...
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Pakistani Army officer as suicide bomber: According to reliable sources in the local police, a Pashtun army officer belonging to the elite Special Services Group, whose younger sister was reportedly among the 300 girls killed during the Pakistan Army's commando... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...Great piece Bob ("The causes of greatness," Keep the Joint Running, 9/10/2007).[Short version: Great organizations are the result of:LeadershipGreat employeesFocus on achievementTeamworkWillingness to innovateWillingness to not innovateEvidence-based decision-making- Bob]My question: how Read More...
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Multics was an operating system from the 1960s, and had better security than a lot of operating systems today. This article from 2002 talks about Multics security, and the lessons learned that are still relevent today.... Share Post: Read More...
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What is it with sports and spying this month? Now it's the Chinese spying on the Danish women's soccer team.... Share Post: Read More...
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This story is poised to become a bigger deal: Peer-to-peer (P2P) poisoning company MediaDefender suffered an embarrassing leak this weekend, when almost 700MB of internal company e-mail was distributed on the Internet via BitTorrent. The e-mails reveal many aspects of... Share Post: Read More...
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The Norwegian Ministry of Transportation asked the EU to lift the liquid ban on airplanes. This ban is annoying for the travellers and a large cost for society, and we need to examine if the benefits are in relation to... Share Post: Read More...
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Yet another sports spying scandal, this one from Formula One racing.... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I'm writing to comment on "The causes of greatness," (Keep the Joint Running, 9/10/2007) in which you criticize the idea that you should immediately fire any employee who is irreplaceable.There are two reasons why an employee becomes irreplaceable. The critical difference is tools versus Read More...
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The details are still fuzzy, but if this is true, it's a huge deal. Not that Microsoft can do this; that's just stupid company stuff. But what's to stop anyone else from using Microsoft's stealth remote install capability to put... Share Post: Read More...
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Maybe: Behind the sailor's lore of fearsome battles between sperm whale and giant squid lies a deep question of evolution: How did these leviathans develop the underwater sonar needed to chase and catch squid in the inky depths? Now, two... Share Post: Read More...
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To the average home user, security is an intractable problem. Microsoft has made great strides improving the security of their operating system "out of the box," but there are still a dizzying array of rules, options, and choices that users... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I am B.Tech & 10 yrs experience in Plant management of FMCG companies and working as General Manager . I want to get a MBA for better business development careers in goof organistaions . Which MBA will be better for me . Marketing , Finance or Supply Chain .- Career PlannerDear Planner Read More...
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Interesting research: The study, carried out by graduate student Earl Barr and colleagues in the computer science department of UC Davis and the University of New Mexico, exploited the workings of the Chinese firewall to investigate its effectiveness. Unlike many... Share Post: Read More...
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There's been a lot of hype, but finally there's a good article about the cryptanalysis of the KeeLoq electronic car-door entry system. Presentation here.... Share Post: Read More...
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The New England Patriots, one of the two or three best teams in the last five years, have been accused of stealing signals from the other team. The "Game Operations Manual" states that "no video recording devices of any kind... Share Post: Read More...
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In the UK: Ms Lewis, 36, said: "I was having a game of bingo while the little one was on the 2p machine with my dad Desmond. "She had her hood up on her cardigan, a young lad came across... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I liked this weeks' Keep the Joint Running ("The causes of greatness," 9/10/2007).You have an assertion - that good employees who work together as a team outperform great employees who don't.For a very long time I've been looking for a reference that provides some/any evidence for this, apart Read More...
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A New Yorker article on light pollution has a paragraph on light and crime: Much so-called security lighting is designed with little thought for how eyes -- or criminals -- operate. Marcus Felson, a professor at the School of Criminal... Share Post: Read More...
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Lot 1102 Rare 17th Century work on Cryptography Title: Cryptomenytices et cryptographiae libri IX. In quibus & planissima Steganographiae à Johanne Trithemio, abbate Spanheymensi & Herbipolensi, admirandi ingenij viro, magicè & aenigmaticè olim conscriptae, enodatio traditur. Inspersis ubiquè authoris ac... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...What are the tricks for applying the 3,1,3,4 ("Secretive solutions," Keep the Joint Running, 9/3/2007) to government entities? I just made the switch from private industries to county organization, and it’s been a real ‘eye-opener’, in every sense of the word… Any help/tips/support there? Read More...
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More and more, we're seeing electronic postage stamps: stamps you can print directly onto envelopes from your printer. This story from Germany illustrates some of the problems when security collides with convenience.... Share Post: Read More...
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Cory Doctorow has been writing a semi-weekly column for The Guardian on DRM and the entertainment industry. He's written three so far, and they're all here.... Share Post: Read More...
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It's easy. Find a fast-food restaurant with two drive-through windows: one where you order and pay, and the other where you receive your food. This won't work at the more-common U.S. configuration: a microphone where you order, and a single... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ..."More bridge lessons" (Keep the Joint Running, 8/25/2007) included the statement, "Your job isn't to be right about all of this, then to say I-told-you-so when something goes wrong."But saying "I told you so," is so much fun!Recently the company where I work found out that the chief engineer Read More...
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Amazing pictures. Note that it lives at 2000-3000 feet below sea level, in no light and almost no dissolved oxygen. On the other hand, it's also only 1-inch long.... Share Post: Read More...
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Or, at the very least, someone who has consorted with terrorists. It had to happen sooner or later; even a broken clock is right twice a day.... Share Post: Read More...
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Article, ACLU press release, some legal commentary, and actual decision. From the article: The ACLU had challenged the law on behalf of an Internet service provider, complaining that the law allowed the FBI to demand records without the kind of... Share Post: Read More...
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The APEC conference is a big deal in Australia right now, and the security is serious. They've blocked off a major part of Sydney, implemented special APEC laws allowing extra search powers for the police, and even given everyone in... Share Post: Read More...
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You can't make this stuff up. Authorities say crime syndicates find it easy to tamper with branding or tattooing of the cattle -- hence the idea for photo identity cards which should be difficult to falsify. Valid for two years,... Share Post: Read More...
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Some days it seems like Microsoft still has a lot to learn about being a team player on a global stage where customers and regulators are interested in open standards and interoperability. They recently got spanked with both the ISO and the IEC while...( read more ) Share Post: Read More...
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Sports referees are supposed to be fair and impartial. They're not supposed to favor one team over another. And they're most certainly not supposed to have a financial interest in the outcome of a game. Tim Donaghy, referee for the... Share Post: Read More...
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It stops terrorism, you see: Vijay Mukhi, President of the Foundation for Information Security and Technology says, "The terrorists know that if they use machines at home, they can be caught. Cybercafes therefore give them anonymity." "The police needs to... Share Post: Read More...
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On the BBC website: "They are starting to pop up left and right," said Tim Eades from security company Sana, of the sites offering downloadable hacking tools. "It's the classic verticalisation of a market as it starts to mature." Malicious... Share Post: Read More...
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Dear Bob ...I've recently started a new job where my primary role is to write an information management framework for the organization. This framework will eventually be adopted at a fairly high level as a strategy document by a branch head.My problem is that I've never had to write strategy documents Read More...
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This is a big deal: Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers sued NASA and the California Institute of Technology on Thursday, challenging extensive new background checks that the space exploration center and other federal agencies began requiring in the wake... Share Post: Read More...
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The story seems to have started yesterday in the Financial Times, and is now spreading. Not enough details to know what's going on, though. From the FT: The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the... Share Post: Read More...
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UniBall is using fear to sell pens. I admit that check washing is a problem, but I don't like the fear-mongering in the advertisement.... Share Post: Read More...
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