- Jon DiPietro is Domesticating IT

High Five for Week Ending 15-Nov

Published on November 15, 2009 by Jon DiPietro in High Five

HighFive 300x275 High Five for Week Ending 15 Nov

Weekly High Five lists the most interesting, compelling, and/or useful links of each week.

This week’s High Five is all about cyber security. There are a couple of stories about protecting yourself, and two very important stories about protecting critical infrastructure.

#5: EU Wants Consent for Every Web Cookie

This is a story about the nanny state run amok. Cookies are little chunks of text that web sites leave on your computer so that they can remember who you are when you return to their site, and store some information about your preferences and habits while on their site. Limiting their use will lead to a greatly reduced user experience, not mention tremendous expense to all web site providers who will need to rework their architecture.

Link: TechRadar.com

#4:Stop Paying for Windows Security; Microsoft’s Security Tools Are Good Enough

Lifehacker makes the case the the free suite of security tools from Microsoft have reached the point where they are at least as good as the paid versions like Norton Antivirus. The reality is understanding how to avoid scams and dangerous web sites is at least as important security software.

Link: Lifehacker

#3: Banned Xbox 360s Flooding Craigslist, Ebay

If you’re looking for used bargains this Christmas season, be particularly wary of purchasing used Xbox 360 consoles. Microsoft recently began “actively banning consoles from Xbox LIVE that have been modified to play pirated games.” These castrated units are now finding their way to the classified ads.

Link: PC World

#2: Cyber War: Sabotaging the System

60 Minutes broadcast an important story about vulnerabilities in critical infrastructure and the threats posed by hackers and nation states. While parts of the story are a bit sensationalized (I know, shocking) if not downright misleading. However, we still need an awakening with regard to cyber security and the crucial role every user plays in keeping our systems safe.

Link: CBS News

#1: Control system cyber events, 60 Minutes, disclosure, and FUD

The previously mentioned 60 Minutes story touched off a firestorm of discussion on a cyber security mailing list I subscribe to. This article is a response by Joe Weiss, who is one of the world’s foremost experts in cyber security of process control systems and has even testified before Congress.

Link: ControlGlobal

Feel free to provide your thoughts and/or contributions…

High Five for Week Ending 8-Nov

Published on November 8, 2009 by Jon DiPietro in High Five

HighFive 300x275 High Five for Week Ending 8 Nov

Weekly High Five lists the most interesting, compelling, and/or useful links of each week.

This week’s High Five is all about technology as a the unstoppable force in shaping market trends. The markets include computers, communication, entertainment, publication, and social networking.

#5: Windows 7 sales exceed Vista sales by 234%

Windows Vista is a Microsoft product failure arguably only eclipsed by Windows Me. The cleansing process has begun with the release of Windows 7, a clear improvement. I successfully upgraded a laptop this week and the process was smooth and error-free.

Link: The Windows Blog

#4: Skype, Founders Settlement in the Works

Skype is a fantastic VOIP (voice over IP) service that was purchased by eBay. The complicated case centered around eBay’s plan to spin off Skype and threatened the service itself. As of the this writing, it is widely being reported that the settlement has been reached and we Skype fans can breath much easier.

Link: GigaOm

#3: Creative’s next big thing is a Zii MediaBook

As someone who is an avid reader and intrigued by e-readers but put off by their price, competition is a great thing. Amazon’s Kindle is under attack from Barnes & Noble and now Creative.

Let the content wars begin!

Link: EpiZENter

#2: Best Buy Prepares for the Post-DVD Era

This is a company that just “gets it.” They are not afraid of change. In fact, it seems to me they are addicted to it.

Link: The New York Times

#1: The chat room/forum problem (& an apology to @Technosailor)

Robert Scoble is one of the pioneers of blogging as a corporate communication platform and is as about as authoritative as you can get in that area. This article is a very interesting retelling of the history of forums and chat rooms, with lessons learned and how they apply to the current landscape of social networks. One of the most interesting aspects of this article is watching how his own opinions about services like Twitter and FriendFeed have changed and why he thinks Twitter will not devolve the way chat rooms and forums did.

Link: Scobleizer