Archive for May, 2009

haiyeer asked:


BlackBerry company has released a series of mobile phone such as BlackBerry pearl, BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve. The Blackberry Storm is among the latest additions to the BlackBerry mobile phone family. Since its release, it has storm the markets with its impeccable features. why is it so popular and what’s the features of BlackBerry Storm?

The Blackberry Storm has probably the greatest touch-screen of all the phones made so far, because when you touch it, you really push the display, like a normal button. The technology is called Click-Through and currently is exclusive for the Blackberry Storm.

Also, it has something special for all the text lovers. When writing text messages, you can actually hold the phone in landscape mode and use the QWERTY keyboard. Fortunately, the phone will figure by itself if you hold it in portrait or landscape mode and switch keyboards, also the keys will glow when pushed.

The Blackberry Storm will run Blackberry’s OS 4.7, the latest version, which is cool, because it comes with supports for lots of email accounts, Blackberry Enterprise, Lotus notes, IMAP4, POP3, Microsoft Exchange and much more.

Until now, Blackberry has been known for its business devices, however this one tries to attract all kinds of users, from businessman to music fans. Its functions has ranged from business to entertainment, it features a Media Sync software, that supports a plentitude of file formats, like MP3, WMA, AAC, MPEG4, WMV and H.264. Also the Media Sync can synchronize with iTunes. On the other hand, It features 128MB of flash memory and 1GB of integrated memory, which can be expanded via the microSD / SDHC memory card slot to up to 16GB, large numbers of videos and songs can be instored.

Beside BlackBerry Storm, other BlackBerry phones such as BlackBerry Pearl, curve and bold also support media functions. Here are some information of BlackBerry video and audio file formats and parameters. These references may help you to get perfect video and music files into your Blackberry phone.

BlackBerry Storm 9500:

support MP4, M4A, 3GP, 3GP2, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA and MP3 formats.

Recommended video format: MP4, 480*360 pixels, up to 2 Mbps, 30 frames per second.

BlackBerry Curve 8900

support MP4, M4A, MOV, 3GP, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP3 formats.

Recommended video format: MP4, 480*360 pixels, up to 1500 kbps, 24 frames per second.

BlackBerry Bold 9000

support MP4, M4A, MOV, 3GP, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP3 formats.

Recommended video format: MP4, 480×320 pixels, up to 1500 kbps, 24 frames per second.

BlackBerry Pearl 8100, 8110, 8120, 8220 smartphones

Support MP4, M4A, MOV, 3GP, AVI, ASF, WMV, WMA, MP3 formats.

Recommended video format: MP4, 240×320 pixels, up to 768 kbps, 24 frames per second.

Then I wil give you two powerful software to experience BlackBerry entertainment: Nidesoft BlackBerry Video Converter and Nidesoft DVD to BlackBerry Converter.

Nidesoft BlackBerry Video Converter is powerful and wonderful Movie Converter for BlackBerry mobile phone. It could convert video and audio files to all BlackBerry movie and music format. The source files formats that could be converted by this BlackBerry Video Converter include: MPEG, VOB, MP4, M4V, WMV, ASF, AVI, 3GP, FLV, YouTube, etc.. Additionally, you could use this BlackBerry Converter to convert MOD to BlackBerry video. To free downlaod it here and have a try: nidesoft.com/downloads/blackberry-video-converter.exe    

and you may get more information about it here: nidesoft.com/blackberry-video-converter.html   

After download and install this software, you may get video into your BlackBerry this way:  

Step 1: Click “add” button to import your videos from your computer.

Step 2: click the “format” drop-down list to select the BlackBerry format                 

Step 3: click the “convert” button and start the conversion.       

Ok, after the conversion finished, you may get the movies and music for your BlackBerry.

Nidesoft DVD to BlackBerry Converter is an excellent BlackBerry Video tool which could convert DVD to BlackBerry video and music: 3GP, MP4, MP3, etc. This powerful BlackBerry Converter supports all the BlackBerry family, including BlackBerry 8800, BlackBerry 8830, BlackBerry 8820, BlackBerry Pearl 8800, BlackBerry Curve 8300, and even the new released Storm! You may free download it here and have a try:nidesof.com/downloads/dvd-to-blackberry-converter.exe  and get more information about it here:nidesoft.com/dvd-to-blackberry-converter.html   

After download and install it, you may get videos and music into your phone in this way:    

Step 1: Insert the DVD disc into the DVD Drive. Click the Open DVD button, browse your computer, find the DVD folder of the movie, open it and selsect tiles and chapters you want.    

Step 2: Click the “profile” button and select the BlackBerry format.

Step 3: Click the “convert” button to start the conversion.        

In few minutes, the conversion will be completed and you may get the videos and music for your phone from DVD. Now, you may enjoy videos and music with the BlackBerry Storm.

BlackBerry storm is not only a convenient business phone but also a great media phone. With Nidesoft you may enjoy your Blackberry comfortable and easily.

 

           



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James Banicar asked:


The goal of my paper will be to explore the topic of Social Engineering in all its facets.  But what really is social engineering?  Is it a term that can be applied in any field other than Information Technology?  Your Dictionary references Webster’s Dictionary, which defines social engineering as thus (Your Dictionary, 2006):

A deceptive process in which crackers “engineer” or design a social situation to trick others into allowing them access to an otherwise closed network, or into believing a reality that does not exist.

 

However, in a much broader sense, social engineering can indeed take place outside of a technical field or applied to describe a non-I.T. related situation, because in reality, the act essentially involves deceiving another individual into divulging information that should be kept secret.  The following definition better describes social engineering in this light (Social engineering (security), 2009):

Social engineering is the act of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information. While similar to a confidence trick or simple fraud, the term typically applies to trickery or deception for the purpose of information gathering, fraud or computer system access; in most cases the attacker never comes face-to-face with the victim.

 

 The goal of this paper aims to explore these many situations that others might not classify as an social engineering act to steal information, and in addition to that goal, explore similar objectives throughout: to create a conversation about social engineering by generating awareness, discuss the many different kinds of social engineering methods, cite examples of real world social engineering events & the people responsible, and finally, cover a list of best practices to avoid social engineering attacks.

 

        So now that we have established a “working definition” by which to base the foundation of this discussion on social engineering, the next logical step would be to mention a few of the well-known techniques employed in social engineering acts (Granger, 2001). 

A very widely recognized form of social engineering occurs over the phone, which gives all the anonymity in the world a person with malicious intent could ask for.  Those that are particularly vulnerable to this type of threat are help desks, customer service reps, and of course, the common victim: the innocent individual minding their own business at home, on the comfort of their couch.  But just because most of these attacks are known to occur over the phone, does not mean that you are safe when actually using the phone yourself.  What do I mean by this?  IT’s known as shoulder surfing (Dwyer, 2008), or when someone else gleans your PIN number or ATM number by simply standing over your shoulder at either a large airport or phone booth. 

Another great example of why social engineering isn’t just something to worry about at the workplace is how often thieves thrive on another technique known as Dumpster Diving, which involves hackers or anyone with malicious intent attaining information such as: calendars showing when employees might be out of town, policy manuals detailing how internal systems are protected, or even hard drives that can be restored & vital information discovered (Berg, 1995).

But my favorite form of social engineering has to be the form described as Quid Pro Quo.  (Wikipedia, 2009) Imagine, if you will, that the “attacker” attempts to randomly ring up someone claiming to be returning their technical support call; eventually, said attacker will find someone who is grateful to have been called back, who will have no problem following whatever instructions the attack doles out… which will most likely be either a series of malicious commands or the giving up of valuable information (such as a credit card number or name and password).

        While there are certainly many more techniques that could be discussed, I would like to focus the next section on elaborating on the techniques described above with specific, real world scenarios of social engineering taking place.  A very fascinating example of an attacker making the victim believe that he is of a higher authority is described by McAfee Avert Labs and SANS analyst Lennny Zeltser (Kumar, 2009):

Apparently, yellow fliers were placed on vehicles in a parking lot, and the fliers claimed that the vehicles were in violation of parking regulations. The fliers further stated that the owner could visit a certain website to get more information and pictures about the offense.

 

Now you can imagine the result of this very clever form of social engineering: said victim sees the fliers and once they reach home, attempt to visit the designated website – only to be told to download a toolbar or some other form of disguised malware, which in turn infects their PC with even more malware. 

Kevin Mitnick, who was once one of the most wanted hackers in the U.S. in the late twentieth century, wrote a book entitled The Art of Deception (Mitnick, Amazon, 2009).  In his book, he describes several examples of social engineering, and in one he describes how someone could wait for a snow storm to occur, and then calling the network center posing as a… you guessed it, snowed-in employee.  In other similar examples, Mitnick gives a smaller example of how someone could get a police officer to divulge when he might be out of town, and by scheduling a court date at that specific time; get out of the speeding ticket (Mitnick, Social Engineering Books, 2006).   

        A few of these examples of social engineering are really quite startling.  How can one hope to avoid falling into these tricks when many of them are so clever?  There are a few “best practices” that can be taught which will help falling into the social engineering traps.  Some may be ideal for teaching fellow employees and others might just be applicable to the individual, helping him or her to live a more secure life in regards to their important information’s safety. 

        Some of the best techniques to teach employees, as identified by US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team), are as follows (McDowell, 2004): 

Be suspicious of any phone calls, visits, or email messages from individuals asking about employee or internal information.  Always ask any individual claiming to be of a legitimate organization to verify their claims; this is especially true if they could use your position as a gateway to attain privileged information (for example, you work at a help desk).  Almost never reveal sensitive information over the internet.  Never.  Before doing anything with any amount of sensitive information, consult a higher authority or person with full knowledge of your company’s security policy. Always shred any company documents before discarding them.  Even the slightest bit of information can give an attacker inside knowledge as to who works at the company, their operating hours, or phone numbers.

Richard Steinnon of the website CIO Update decries what is often touted as the “best defense against social engineering:” training.  He stipulates that if you determine a mandatory training in order to sharpen peoples’ awareness is needed in order to avoid social engineering attacks… then you already have a hole in your defenses.  Ultimately, the very best defense against a good social engineering attack is: enforce policy (Stiennon, 2009).

            In conclusion, I have covered a wide ranging of topics all of which involve a discussion centered on Social Engineering.  What began as an initial exploration into the definition of Social Engineering, the discussion then progressed into examples of the varying types of social techniques that attackers employ to trick others into divulging sensitive information. 

Many common examples of real world attacks were also covered and how devastating their implications can be to the victims; corporations or individuals are not safe against any sort of Social Engineering attack.  Chief among those who used to be considered the most dangerous of all, Kevin Mitnick, wrote a book describing in detail how wide-ranging Social Engineering attacks can be. 

And finally, I briefly covered some “best practices” to avoid such social attacks from occurring to you or future employees.  While it may seem obviously to a technically inclined individual, everyone can be a victim of these kinds of attacks when not following the most basic of policies.  Being intelligence with information essentially keeping it to yourself.  But rest assured that there are those out there who are constantly inventing new and dangerous ways in which to trick innocent people into giving away important information.  And it’s only with constant diligence and a re-affirmation to confidentiality can we hope to avoid the trap known as Social Engineering.

 

 

Works Cited

Berg, A. (1995, November 11). Social Engineering. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from Packet Storm Security : http://www.packetstormsecurity.org/docs/social-engineering/soc_eng2.html

Dwyer, J. (2008, January 12). Picking Pockets? Nah, Surfing Shoulders. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/nyregion/12about.html

*Granger, S. (2001, December 18). A True Story. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from Security Focus: http://www.securityfocus.com/infocus/1527*

Kumar, L. (2009, February 4). Real World Social Engineering. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from McAfee Avert Labs Blog: http://www.avertlabs.com/research/blog/index.php/2009/02/04/real-world-social-engineering-to-spread-malware-online/

*Major, S. D. (2009). Social Engineering: Hacking the Wetware! Information Security Journal: A Global Perspective , 40-46. *

McDowell, M. (2004). Tips. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from US-CERT.GOV: http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST04-014.html

Mitnick, K. (2009). Amazon. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Art-Deception-Controlling-Element-Security/dp/0471237124

Mitnick, K. (2006). Social Engineering Books. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from Social Engineering: http://www.social-engineering.eu/books/artofdeception/

Social engineering (security). (2009, April 16). Retrieved April 19, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_(security)

Stiennon, R. (2009, October 19). The Best Defense Against Social Engineering. Retrieved April 19, 2009, from CIO Update: http://www.cioupdate.com/trends/article.php/3638951/The-Best-Defense-Against-Social-Engineering

Wikipedia. (2009, April 16). Retrieved April 19, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_engineering_(security)

Your Dictionary. (2006). Retrieved April 19, 2009, from http://www.yourdictionary.com/hacker/social-engineering



Content

vista guide asked:


vista problem troubleshooting article guide you how to troubleshoot various windows vista error problem and in detail windows vista troubleshooting solution.

There are lots of problems with windows vista and those are vary difficult to troubleshoot for a layman user. Here are the list of windows vista problems and troubleshooting guide for those vista problems.

Vista problem kernel data inpage error status no such device

During re-enumeration of a previously enumerated ide controller, a race condition exists between atapisys and pciidexsys or between Ataportsys and Pciidex.sys. In this race condition, the following conditions are true:

Atapi.sys and Ataport.sys use the stm method to select a transfer mode on a channel. The stm method is in the advanced configuration and power Interface bios. pciidex.sys verifies whether that channel exists by checking for the ide decode enable bit.

If the bios implementation of the stm method has cleared the ide decode enable bit, pciidex.sys determines that the channel does not exist. When this behavior occurs, pciidexsys does not enumerate the channel.

vista troubleshooting guide for this error

Because atapisys and ataportsys never run the stm method as long as there is i o on the channel, the stm method does not have to clear the ide decode enable bit. Therefore, BIOS manufacturers should not clear the ide decode enable bit in the stm method.

Path maximum transmission unit black hole router detection.The following is a list of black hole router detection changes that are included in windows server 2003 sp2.

By default, black hole detection is turned on.

Black hole probing is performed only for connections in established or advanced states.

Black hole probing is performed only for connections on which there is no full-size segment acknowledgement.

If black hole probing fails, the tcp maximum segment size of the connection is restored to what it used to be before probing.

• With black hole router detection turned off in versions of Windows that are earlier than windows server 2003 sp2, a connection times out approximately after 63 rtt. In windows server 2003 sp2, connections time out after 71 * rtt.

Remove Hibernation in Windows Vista troubleshooting

Hibernation is not made unavailable when you set the value of the hibernate after setting to never by using the power options item in windows vista control panel.

To make hibernation unavailable on windows vista, follow these steps:

1. Click start, and then type cmd in the start search box.

2. In the search results list, right-click command prompt, and then click run as administrator.

3. When you are prompted by user account control, click continue.

4. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe hibernate off, and then press enter.

5. Type exit, and then press enter.

To make hibernation available, follow these steps for vista troubleshooting:

1. Click start on windows vista, and then type cmd in the start search box.

2. In the search results list, right-click command prompt, and then click run as administrator.

3. When you are prompted by user account control, clicks continue.

4. At the command prompt, type powercfg.exe hibernates on, and then press enter.

5. Type exit, and then press enter to close the command prompt window.



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stevefranklis asked:


Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.

With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.With a sleek aluminium finish, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic phone blends an array of features with an iconic design. At only 9.9mm thick and weighing less than 71 grams, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic fits comfortably in a pocket or purse. Equally important, the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic offers up to 18 hours of music playback, memory for up to 3,000 songs** on an optional 4GB microSD card and dedicated music keys. With a 2-megapixel camera and a bright 2-inch QVGA screen with up to 16 million colors.



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Ankita asked:


Mobile phones have brought a sort of revolution in the field of technology and in our lives as well and Nokia is the world leader in mobile phones. Nokia’s history starts in 1865, when engineer Fredrik Idestam established a wood-pulp mill in southern Finland and started manufacturing paper. Nokia mobile phones have the market share of around 35% at present. Nokia mobiles have its presence in every segment and it offers the cheapest and best Nokia phones with the most basic and latest features. The Nokia 1011 was the first GSM mobile phone designed by Nokia mobiles and in the year 1998 Nokia mobiles became the world leader in mobile phones, and from that time Nokia mobiles are popular all over the world. The year 2005 was the important year in the history of Nokia mobiles, in this year Nokia mobiles sold its billionth latest Nokia phones and also introduces its most popular N series.

There is no doubt about technologies provides by Nokia to its mobile users. The superb Nokia includes the world’s best digital technologies in the fields of mobile phones, telecommunications networks, wireless data solutions and multimedia terminals. There is a huge range of Nokia mobiles that are available in different designs and different colors. The most popular series by Nokia is N Series that includes the models N79, N85, N72 and Nokia N96. Nokia mobile phones are equipped with latest features such as GPS phones, Internet access, high resolution Camera phones, music phones and many more.

The Nokia 5800 Xpress Music and 5320 Xpress Music are two beautiful music phones designed by Nokia mobile. You can choose your proffered Nokia phone that is available in slider, Flip, and candy bar designs. Nokia Mobile phones are available for every class of people, from cheap to high range, but keep the one thing common that is quality of features. Nokia mobiles are also available with the deals like Cheap Contract phones. Nokia N85, 8800 Carbon Arte, N97, Nokia E71 and 6600 slide or fold are some beautiful and well featured model designed by Nokia mobiles. Nokia phones provide the user excellent battery backup, durability and superior performance. In the highly competitive world of mobile phones, Nokia mobiles still has a lot of market presence and will continue to do the same for a long time.



Content for WordPress

Jeff Merritt asked:


Abstract

 

 

Open source software has generated much interest, especially in the wake of a slow economy.  This has forced many Information Technology (IT) departments to cut back on spending.  One of the main reasons open source technology is being considered by more IT departments is because open source technology is perceived as being free of charge.  While that perception is not all together true, this article will discuss an example of the real cost savings of open source technology as an enterprise system solution.  All costs related to the implementation of an open source server operating system including the hardware costs to run the operating system software, training costs to setup the operating system software, support cost to maintain the operating system software, and staff salary to administer the operating system software will be recognized in this article. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Open Source Technology – The Cost at the Enterprise Level

 

     Open source refers to any program whose source code is made available for use or modification as users or other developers see fit. (Historically, the makers of proprietary software have generally not made source code available.)  Open source software is usually developed as a public collaboration and made freely available (Open Source, 2008).  When companies are deciding on whether to use open source products versus commercial products the benefits of both choices are apparent.  Commercial products typically favor visible features (giving marketing advantage) over hard to measure qualities such as stability, security and similar less glamorous attributes. Some experts describe this phenomenon as quality versus features (Benefits of Using Open Source, n.d.).  This paper examines the enterprise level cost of an open source technology system.  Different factors discussed in this paper include the cost of open source software, the cost of open source hardware, the cost of open source training to support this platform, and the salary requirements for open source administrators.  For the purpose of this paper, the total cost of ownership of an open source production database server will be discussed in detail.

     There are many different distribution options or ‘flavors’ a technology manager can choose from that are considering an open source operating system.  Linux is about freedom and choice, so one has plenty of freedom to choose the flavor of Linux that best fits the business needs (Linux Distributions, n.d.).  Common flavors of Linux include:

Red Hat Enterprise Linux Mandrake Linux The Fedora Project The Debian Project Knoppix SUSE Linux Slackware Linux MEPIS Linux Ubuntu Linux Xandros PCLinux OS Linspire

     Jim Klein (2009) writes that Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) can be defined as all of the costs of acquiring and maintaining a network of computers. This includes the cost for Hardware and software technology – client computers, servers, software, printers, networking equipment, external service providers

Direct labor - those responsible for purchasing, training, implementation, management and support of the computer environment Indirect labor – time spent by users in training, dealing with computer and networking issues, and effect of computer or network down-time.

     Red Hat Linux is one of the most supported Linux operating systems on the market.  Red Hat provides operating systems for the individual users as well as the large enterprises.  When pricing operating systems it’s very important to know the hardware that this operating system will reside on.  For example, it makes a difference if this operating system is a dual processor or a quad processor.  For the purpose of this paper, the server we want to install Red Hat on is a quad Intel processor.  Because this server is a production server, 24/7 support is required.  According to Red Hat, the best license option for this configuration is the ‘Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform, Premium Subscription’ (Server Operating Systems, n.d.).  When you subscribe to a Red Hat subscription, you’re renting the use of that software.  With the Premium Subscription of Red Hat Enterprise Linux Advanced Platform you get the following:

Unlimited CPU processors Unlimited virtualized guests Red Hat global File System and Cluster Suite Web and phone-based comprehensive support 24×7 coverage 1 hour critical response (4 hour normal response time) Red Hat Network Update Product Updates Installation and documentation media Covered under the Open Source Assurance program Server applications to include ISV applications, Apache, Samba, nfs, ftp, Tomcat, MySQL, and PostgreSQL

     For the purpose of this paper the server this Red Hat software will run on will be a Dell PowerEdge Energy Smart Quad Core Intel Xeon L5410 server.  This server comes with 8 Gig of ram and 3 73 gig hard drives.  The cost of this server is $6250.00 (Dell, Select Components, n.d.).  This hardware is approved by Red Hat as a supported hardware platform. 

     The skill sets required to support an open source environment requires a person who completely understands how each component in an environment works.  In most environments this person’s title would be a Linux administrator.  A capable Linux administrator will have a variety of skills.  Jay Beal (2004) provides skill sets a Linux Administrator should have would include security, operating system hardening, software installation, hardware installation, system assessment, troubleshooting, and intelligence gathering (Essential Linux Skills, 2004).

     Security in any environment is essential.  A Linux administrator must understand that any port on any server is venerable to an attack.  Every port must be accounted for and the Linux administrator needs to know what log files are tracking all port traffic.  Those log files need to be monitored daily for malicious attacks.  In case an attack occurs, a Linux administrator should know how to recover from a server that has crashed.

     Most default server installations install more services that are generally needed.  A Linux administrator needs to be aware of the purpose of the server and understand specifically what services need to be running and just as important, what services do not need to be running.  Those services that do not need to be running should be shut down and the Linux administrator needs to recognize these services and shut those services down along with the ports they use.

     At some point, the server may need software and/or hardware upgrades.  A Linux administrator needs to be prepared to apply upgrades or patches for software upgrades.  Those software patches may require more hardware in order to run optimally.  In this case a Linux administrator needs to be comfortable upgrading the hardware if there is a need to do so. 

     Finally, the Linux administrator needs to be able to assess the system and if there is concern, research the problem and find the solution.  Because open source software is mostly supported by the ‘community’, it can be tedious to find solutions to complex problems.  If the Linux administrator is fortunate, support is paid for when the subscription is obtained.  If support is not paid for, the Linux administrator has to rely on good research skills to solve the problem.

     Finding a good Linux administrator to administer the open source environment is hard to do.  When you do find them, it is obvious that they are in great demand by the salary requirements they are demanding.  A seasoned Linux administrator that is industry certified will demand as much as $90k – 120k per year if he/she is considered a full-time employee (Salary Search, n.d.).  Linux contractors range from $60.00 – $120.00 per hour. 

     One of the benefits of having an open source environment is training courses are usually reasonably priced.  The only difficulty is finding a training center that specializes in open source technology training.  Most 3-day classes will range anywhere from $1200 to $1400 dollars per class.  Most 5-day classes will range from $1800 - $2200 dollars per class.  If your Linux administrator is a good self-learner there are many options online that he/she can take advantage of.  Many websites offer free online training videos and free training manuals for anyone interested in taking advantage of them.

     As it is evident, the notion of open source technology being free is far from true.  However, many experts agree that the total cost of ownership is less than it would be if commercial software was being used.  Dan Orzech (2002) writes that the cost of Linux is roughly 40% that of Windows, and only 14% that of Sun Microsystem’s Solaris based on a study of various operating systems over a 3 year period.  Below is a table that summarizes the total cost of ownership for a typical open source database environment.

Total Cost of Ownership

(Annual)

 

Description of Service

Cost

Linux OS Software including Premium Support

$1299.00 per year

Linux Administrator

$100,000 per year

Ongoing Training

$1500.00 per year

Total Cost

$102,799.00 per year

 

Total Cost of Ownership

(One-Time Cost)

Server Hardware

$6250.00 purchase price

Total One-Time Cost

$6250.00

 

     As one can see from the table above, open source technology is not free.  Open source proponents and proprietary companies disagree on the total cost of ownership. Proponents claim that even if open source requires more expertise, the TCO is ultimately lower.  Companies claim that the required expertise is daunting and the other costs of proprietary solutions are exaggerated (Open Options, 2005).  Yes, there are some ways that prices could be cut.  The Linux administrator could be contracted out on an ‘as needed’ basis.  It is also possible to purchase a server with fewer features and less processors if cost was a factor when purchasing hardware.  Training could be kept to a minimum or even limited to online training only.  Even with all this being said, the myth that open source technology is free just is not a true statement, especially in a production environment.  However, open source technology is the preferred technology in many IT shops for reliability reasons. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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Steve W Sharpe asked:


I decided to purchase Windows Vista Home Premium for one reason and that was because of the improved parental controls. I have a problem where my son spends so much time on the computer he has started to lose his social skills. Not to mention the fact that once I go to bed he gets up and starts playing games on the pc until 3 or 4 in the morning.

So the advanced parental controls in Windows Vista really appealed to me, especially the time controls. This is where you can allocate time slots for each account. So as soon as I installed it, the first thing I did was to specify what times he is allowed to access the computer. For this reason alone, the cost of upgrading was well worth it.

Well that’s my reason, but what is the rest of Vista like?

Well Vista arrived, via the postman, on Tuesday morning. Once unwrapped, you are presented with a very nicely packaged box. Not sure this level of packaging is required, when you consider you’ll probably only use it once or twice before the next upgrade to the Windows family is released.

So after backing up all my critical data, I put the Vista disk into my machine. It started checking my PC and came up with a message that I had to rename a data file and uninstall Nero. So once this was done, I had to start Vista again. This time it passed the checks and I spent the next four hours twiddling my thumbs! It is not a quick process let me tell you that!

However, once the four hour upgrade had been completed, I was ready to check out all the new features!

The way Windows Vista presents itself is absolutely stunning compared to older versions. Two things I really like are the Windows sidebar and the screen switching button (Areo Feature).

The screen switching button is great, as when you have a number of screens open you can press it and Vista shows all the screens in a 3D cascade in the middle of the screen. It looks great and is really useful.

The sidebar is also equally as good. The sidebar is a collection of small info gadgets that are fixed to the side of the screen. On mine I have an analogue clock, a calender, a local weather panel, cpu usage meter, latest $ to £ exchange rates and yahoo news. Other gadgets can be added, and I believe more can be downloaded via the web. This is an excellent utility as I always found it difficult to find out the date when working at the pc under older windows versions.

Another good addition is the ability to review what programmes are in your start menu. As I’ve had my pc for over a year there were programmes in there which I very rarely use and it is really easy to turn them off using this utility.

The start menu is much slicker than it used to be on XP. On clicking the start button, you are presented with similar information to that of XP but it is organised much better. All the programs in the All Programs menu are now listed sequentially in a scrolling box as opposed to expanding right across your screen as in XP. The usual shortcuts are also there, like control panel, recent files, etc…

Windows Mail is much improved. Essentially Microsoft has taken Outlook and integrated it right into Windows Vista. Mail can be checked at a click of a button. The features of Windows Mail have not been scimped upon, with 99% of Outlooks features available, i.e. calender, tasks, etc…

Windows Explorer has changed quite substantially and it is so easy to find the files you are looking for. As you drill down through the directories, a link to each directory/subdirectory is displayed above the main window so going back on yourself is very much simplified. Also the used/free space on each drive is shown in a bar above the drive letters, much like a progress bar when downloading something off the web. My Documents, My Pictures, My Music are now given a specific short cut link at the top of the Explorer Window, which makes finding your media files really easy. Also Microsoft have dropped the ‘My’ part of the directory name. Something which always used to bug me!

Security is much improved. When you try to install anything, Windows pops up a question confirming you requested this action. Should help to stop some of those Trojans I guess.

Having used Internet Explorer 7.0 on XP and now on Vista, I can see why I had so many problems with XP. The 7.0 update was designed to integrate into Vista and this is plainly obvious when you use it for the first time. Pages load faster and IE is much more stable in Vista. I used to get 2 or 3 crashes a day in XP.

Other updates include, Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows DVD Maker, Windows Meeting Space, Sync Center, Ease of Access Center, and some great new games. I haven’t had chance to play with these new additions yet, except a few games of Mahjong, but on the surface they look really good.

The Control Panel is one area where Microsoft have really improved things, everything is now organised more sensibly into various categories, i.e. security, system & maintenance, user accounts, appearance & personalisation, network and internet, etc…

Perhaps the biggest addition is the Media Center. This allows you to view all your pictures and videos either on your desktop or onto a linked TV. You can also watch, pause and record live TV if you have a TV tuner in your machine.

Conclusion

I’m a bit of a gadget freak and love anything new. This is why I bought XP when it came out and now Vista. I have to say though that Vista is without doubt a massive improvement on XP. Everything about the operating system is so much more stable and it’s packed with useful utilities and gadgets.

So is it worth the investment? You bet it is!



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Amelie Mag asked:


The new buzz in the world of computers is the new operating system developed by Microsoft: Windows Vista. The versions that preceded this version of Windows did not have more than three years between their releases, yet Vista was released five years later than Windows XP.

This new operating system has some additional features over its predecessor. To start with the technical requirements, Windows XP could run on a 233 MHz processor and 64 MB of RAM with some limitations, whereas Vista’s minimal requirements to run on a computer are an 800 MHz processor and at least 512 MB of RAM, and that’s for the version with the least features.

If you want to get the most out of Windows Vista and watch all the graphical designs that Microsoft has enriched it with, you need some pc tips in order to benefit from them. These pc tips refer to the hardware requirements we were talking about afore.

If you used Windows XP, you would know that if you had a high performance processor, for example at least 1.8 GHz, and 512MB of RAM, then the performance of your computer would have been more than acceptable and the operating system could be used in its entire splendor. Windows Vista tips inform us that for a similar performance, your CPU should be about 3GHz and your RAM should be around 2GB.

While on the subject of hardware profiles for a computer, you should keep in mind other Windows Vista tips. For instance, if you use Windows XP and you put 4GB of RAM on your computer, the operating system would not see them entirely, even for the 64-bit versions. The same thing applies to Vista. All the 32-bit versions cannot support more than 4GB of RAM, but some 64-bit versions can support up to 128 GB of RAM.

Other pc tips regarding Windows Vista include boosting the performance of you hard drive. This can be done by using the disk management options, but there is a risk. For desktop computers, in case there is a power failure, the files written on the hard drive may be corrupted and therefore unusable.

The latest version of Windows includes a lot of interesting features that are over its predecessors. The graphical design is much more interesting and the security options are also on top of the previous versions. All of these show us that the five years wait for another version was worth it.

There are lots of other Windows Vista tips regarding the use of this advanced operating system. You can find different ways to use the available side-bar, the interesting AERO interface and much more. All you need to do is research and you will find out things you didn’t even dream of.

If you surf the web you may come across these pc tips for Windows Vista. In your endless search to find different opinions and the things you can achieve with your Vista operating system, take the time and visit the website girishk.com.

The reasons why I recommend this website is because here you will find all the Windows Vista tips you need to make your home or business computer function with a revolutionary designed operating system. Visit it and you’ll see for yourself.



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Suraj Kumar asked:


The iPod series is the audio player of Apple, and it is the fastest moving players in town today. Ever see someone walking around with a white wire hanging from their ear? They are either using an original iPod or fake iPod earphones. Everyone wants to have an iPod or an iPhone.

Buying an iPod or iPhone, however, can be a strain on the pocket, especially if you are a student without a part time job. Finding the iPod you can afford does not have to be like climbing Mount Everest. You can find an original cheap iPod easily, if you persevere and do the proper research.

Before you start going around begging for money to buy your iPod, you should first check out the different kinds of iPods available in the market. Then, once you have made your choice of model, you can go out and find that cheap iPod for sale, with our help, of course.

There are 4 kinds of iPod to choose from: the iPod Nano, iPod shuffle, mega iPod, and the iPod touch. Each model has corresponding memory capacity which dictates its price. The cheapest iPod for sale is the iPod shuffle. It is a tiny device that has 1 GB and weighs only 15 grams. You can bring it along with you easily by clipping it on to your bag or outfit.

The next cheapest iPod for sale is the iPod Nano. You can get one with either 4GB or 8GB. This means you can carry over 1000 tunes in your Nano unlike the shuffle which has a memory capacity for 250 songs only.

The iPod classic is Apple’s audio device that has a tremendous memory capacity of 80 to 160 GB. You can upload not only music, but also videos and pictures. This is the ultimate toy on the go.

Finally, the iPod touch. It’s almost like the iPhone without the phone. With this model, you get a bigger screen, greater memory, and Wi-fi.

Knowing the model you want will help you get your iPod or iPhone faster. There are many ways to get a cheap iPod or iPhone. For one, you could take your chances and join a contest that gives out the Apple products, except the chances are slim that you will win an iPhone or iPod.

Have you ever considered an auction? There are reliable sources on the internet that offer cheap iPods for sale, and cheap iPhone for sale as well. By bidding on the Apple product you want, you can get your cheap iPhone at a price you can afford. In most cases, you just have to make sure that the auction website you transact with is trustworthy and reliable. Make sure you choose a site that has credibility and good reviews.

Finding a cheap iPod and a cheap iPhone will mean buying one that has been slightly used or refurbished. This is why you need to check who you are dealing with. Remember that cheap iPods and cheap iPhones for sale do not mean they are inferior products or are fake. Not at all. If you go to a reputable auction site that sells cheap iPods, it will only mean that the iPod or iPhone has been used by its owner, and for some reason, needs or wants to sell it.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with getting your iPod or iPhone the cheap way. It would only mean you have good business sense, you are practical, and resourceful. Now, those are great traits to have, so use them to get your cheap iPod and iPhone at a sale price that will be well worth the effort.



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Matthew Bredel asked:


Anyone that is interested in ensuring that they experience success in their home based business should take the time to learn about two very important things:

1. About SEO (search engine optimization)

2. About social media (web 2.0) tools that can help them

SEO and Social Media

SEO is an acronym that stands for search engine optimization and it’s the act of attempting to optimize your site so that targeted visitors can find you. SEO can apply to a website and to individual online pages that reside on other sites as well.

Social media tools are tools that help you to socialize online in various ways. Likeminded individuals can share information and network and both of these factors can work in your favour if you learn to use them to your business’s advantage.

How to capitalize on search engine optimization and Web 2.0

New web 2.0 marketing tools are being released on a constant basis and they help you do a lot with your website. Learn to use the power of social network marketing and you’ll drive both human traffic as well as search engine spiders to your site.

Getting search engine spiders (the little software programs used by search engines to help discover new websites) to your site and getting them to index you as highly relevant for the right keyword phrases will result in even more search engine traffic being sent your way and then if you get the right people onto your well-optimized site, this can translate to great profit potential for your online business or profit seeking efforts.

There are plenty of different social marketing sites such as:

- Sites that let you put up your articles (that contain your by line) for free

- Ones that allow you to post marketing and informational videos on the internet

- Websites that let you blog for free on their sites

- Services that encourage socializing through micro blogging and life streaming

- Websites that want content for the purpose of generating advertising revenue

- Free utilities that enhance your site in many ways

- Services that want you to bookmark the things you enjoy online.

- And the list grows on a constant basis…

All these websites can help your website’s search engine optimization for the keywords and keyword phrases that you want to rank for. They can also bring people to your site or page as well and if you are able to successfully target the right people, this can help you sell more of what you’re seeking to sell.

Search engine optimization and social media are two things that compliment each other nicely so it would work to your advantage to learn all you can about both.

Learn how to: find the right keywords, how to position yourself well, how to figure out what people want, how to convert more browsers to buyers, and learn to get new clients to become repeat clients.

The more you learn about unleashing the power of social media tools with your own social networking campaigns, the more successful your online business can be.



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