Google’s +1 button, the search giant’s challenger to the Facebook Like button, is making its worldwide debut.
“Today, +1’s will start appearing on Google search pages globally,” Google Product Manager Nick Radicevic announced on Google’s AdSense blog.
“We’ll be starting off with sites like google.co.uk, google.de, google.jp and google.fr, then expanding quickly to most other Google search sites soon after.”
In addition to an international rollout on search result pages, Google is expanding its rollout of the +1 button on websites across the world. The company announced partnerships with several publications, including The Telegraph, The Independent, Last.fm, SnapDeal, and El Pais.
Google launched the +1 button last month as an attempt to increase its presence on the web. The button acts much like the Facebook Like or Twitter Tweet button. The company says it may use +1 data as a signal for improving search results in the future.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Friday, June 24, 2011
Google fails to placate Calendar users over lingering flaw
Months after problem is identified, Google promises fix this week to Google Calendar
Google has failed to resolve a long-running problem that is preventing numerous Google Calendar users from receiving email and text message notifications before events.
A Google help forum thread begun last September, titled "Google Calendar Email Notification not working," is running strong nine months later with users complaining about missed reminders up to this very day.
FRUSTRATION: Missed email reminders have plagued Google Calendar for years
Users have vented about Google's sporadic responses to their complaints. One claimed Google's failure to fix the problem violates the company's own Code of Conduct, which promises responsiveness to user feedback.
Another tried to rally users to be persistent, writing, "If enough people continue to contact [Google] in multiple ways to let them know this problem continues to exist, someone will begin to pay attention."
There have been multiple help forum threads on the problem, with Google employees occasionally telling users that a fix is coming soon, and offering workarounds that have worked for some but not all.
Google promised a fix is coming soon in a statement sent to Network World today.
"We're fixing the issue with email and SMS reminders and daily agendas not being received," a Google spokesman wrote in an email. "It's affecting less than 2% of calendars, and we expect it to be resolved within the next couple days. In the meantime, those affected may still experience some inconsistent reminders, and we're doing our best to shorten that timeframe. As part of the fix we've also implemented new monitoring that will allow us to better detect if reminders are not being delivered correctly. Solving this issue has taken longer than expected due to some infrastructure changes, and we're sorry for the inconvenience it has caused."
Google Calendar has tens of millions of active users, the spokesman said.
We passed Google's statement along to David Martin, one of the longtime Calendar users who has been frustrated by the ongoing notification problem, to get his thoughts.
"My first reaction is why didn't they post this communication on the support forum, where their lack of communication has damaged the Google brand and business," Martin, an adviser to software startups and nonprofits in San Francisco, wrote in an email. "My second reaction is I'll believe it when it's fixed ... and working reliably for a long period of time."
Similar problems have plagued Google Calendar for years, with support forum threads going back to 2008.
On May 16 of this year, a Google employee posting in a support forum said "we're rolling out a new fix" and that "the cleanup will take up to a week to complete for all users."
Martin, whose experiences were detailed in a Network World article last month, said the situation has improved over the past four weeks but hasn't been fully resolved.
"I'm getting about 90% of my daily agenda emails first thing in the morning, and about 75% of my email and SMS reminders, across the two free Google Apps accounts that I use daily," Martin wrote.
Google has failed to resolve a long-running problem that is preventing numerous Google Calendar users from receiving email and text message notifications before events.
A Google help forum thread begun last September, titled "Google Calendar Email Notification not working," is running strong nine months later with users complaining about missed reminders up to this very day.
FRUSTRATION: Missed email reminders have plagued Google Calendar for years
Users have vented about Google's sporadic responses to their complaints. One claimed Google's failure to fix the problem violates the company's own Code of Conduct, which promises responsiveness to user feedback.
Another tried to rally users to be persistent, writing, "If enough people continue to contact [Google] in multiple ways to let them know this problem continues to exist, someone will begin to pay attention."
There have been multiple help forum threads on the problem, with Google employees occasionally telling users that a fix is coming soon, and offering workarounds that have worked for some but not all.
Google promised a fix is coming soon in a statement sent to Network World today.
"We're fixing the issue with email and SMS reminders and daily agendas not being received," a Google spokesman wrote in an email. "It's affecting less than 2% of calendars, and we expect it to be resolved within the next couple days. In the meantime, those affected may still experience some inconsistent reminders, and we're doing our best to shorten that timeframe. As part of the fix we've also implemented new monitoring that will allow us to better detect if reminders are not being delivered correctly. Solving this issue has taken longer than expected due to some infrastructure changes, and we're sorry for the inconvenience it has caused."
Google Calendar has tens of millions of active users, the spokesman said.
We passed Google's statement along to David Martin, one of the longtime Calendar users who has been frustrated by the ongoing notification problem, to get his thoughts.
"My first reaction is why didn't they post this communication on the support forum, where their lack of communication has damaged the Google brand and business," Martin, an adviser to software startups and nonprofits in San Francisco, wrote in an email. "My second reaction is I'll believe it when it's fixed ... and working reliably for a long period of time."
Similar problems have plagued Google Calendar for years, with support forum threads going back to 2008.
On May 16 of this year, a Google employee posting in a support forum said "we're rolling out a new fix" and that "the cleanup will take up to a week to complete for all users."
Martin, whose experiences were detailed in a Network World article last month, said the situation has improved over the past four weeks but hasn't been fully resolved.
"I'm getting about 90% of my daily agenda emails first thing in the morning, and about 75% of my email and SMS reminders, across the two free Google Apps accounts that I use daily," Martin wrote.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Microsoft cuts jobs amidst revenue gloom
Microsoft reported disappointing results for the second quarter of its 2009 fiscal year, and announced up to 5,000 job cuts. Impacted by the overall economy, slumping PC sales, and low-cost "netbooks," revenue was $16.6 billion, while operating income was $5.94 billion, the company says.
As usual, it isn't easy to determine how Microsoft's embedded business -- hopefully relatively resistant to shifts in consumer confidence -- impacted its bottom line. Microsoft has five divisions: Client, Server and Tools, Business, Online Services, and Entertainment and Devices (EDD). The last of these, EDD, is responsible not only for Microsoft's embedded operating systems -- Windows Embedded Standard, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, and Windows Mobile, for example -- but also for consumer products such as the Xbox 360 gaming console and Zune music player.
Microsoft EDD revenue for Q2 of FY2009
According to Microsoft, EDD revenues increased by six percent year-over-year, going from $3.08 billion in Q2 FY2008 to $3.18 billion in Q1 FY2009. The company says revenues were buoyed by record sales of more than 6 million Xbox 360 consoles, a doubling of Xbox sales in Europe, and the fact that the Xbox 360 outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 by two to one in the United States.
Meantime, desktop editions of Windows, such as Windows Vista, Windows XP, and the newly announced Windows 7, are part of Microsoft's Client division. Here, revenue was said to have decreased eight percent year-over-year, to approximately $3.98 billion.
Calling the PC market "significantly below expectations," Microsoft said that the unit growth in OEM Windows licenses fell by one percent. In contrast, OEM licenses had grown by eight percent during the first quarter of the company's 2009 fiscal year.
Microsoft Client revenue for Q2 of FY2009
Results for Microsoft's Client division were particularly disappointing in that holiday sales had been forecast to result in revenue growth of between seven to 10 percent during the quarter. Instead, Client revenue fell by approximately six percent in Q2 FY2009, compared to Q1 FY2009.
Microsoft noted in its results that Windows now ships on 80 percent of low-cost mini-notebooks, aka netbooks. In another context, that might have been good news, but netbooks apparently do little to boost Microsoft's bottom line. Because most of the devices cannot run Windows Vista, they ship with Windows XP ULCPC (ultra low cost PC), a loss-leader edition of Windows XP Home.
Job cuts
Along with its financial results, Microsoft announced it would eliminate up to 5,000 jobs "in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months." Without providing further specifics, the company added that 1,400 of the cuts would take place today.
While not as severe as rumored -- some reports had suggested that Microsoft would shed up to 15,000 jobs -- the job cuts will clearly impact the company's embedded business. Microsoft watcher Mary-Jo Foley writes in her blog for ZDNet, "I'm hearing from my sources that the EDD unit ... is being hit with the bulk of the 1,400 person cuts."
Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer, said "We are planning for economic uncertainty to continue through the remainder of the fiscal year, almost certainly leading to lower revenue and earnings for the second half relative to the previous year. In this environment, we will focus on outperforming our competitors and addressing our cost structure."
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft said it would also cut travel expenditures, reducing spending on contractors, reduce marketing spending, and scale back capital expenditures.
As usual, it isn't easy to determine how Microsoft's embedded business -- hopefully relatively resistant to shifts in consumer confidence -- impacted its bottom line. Microsoft has five divisions: Client, Server and Tools, Business, Online Services, and Entertainment and Devices (EDD). The last of these, EDD, is responsible not only for Microsoft's embedded operating systems -- Windows Embedded Standard, Windows XP Embedded, Windows CE, and Windows Mobile, for example -- but also for consumer products such as the Xbox 360 gaming console and Zune music player.
Microsoft EDD revenue for Q2 of FY2009
According to Microsoft, EDD revenues increased by six percent year-over-year, going from $3.08 billion in Q2 FY2008 to $3.18 billion in Q1 FY2009. The company says revenues were buoyed by record sales of more than 6 million Xbox 360 consoles, a doubling of Xbox sales in Europe, and the fact that the Xbox 360 outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 by two to one in the United States.
Meantime, desktop editions of Windows, such as Windows Vista, Windows XP, and the newly announced Windows 7, are part of Microsoft's Client division. Here, revenue was said to have decreased eight percent year-over-year, to approximately $3.98 billion.
Calling the PC market "significantly below expectations," Microsoft said that the unit growth in OEM Windows licenses fell by one percent. In contrast, OEM licenses had grown by eight percent during the first quarter of the company's 2009 fiscal year.
Microsoft Client revenue for Q2 of FY2009
Results for Microsoft's Client division were particularly disappointing in that holiday sales had been forecast to result in revenue growth of between seven to 10 percent during the quarter. Instead, Client revenue fell by approximately six percent in Q2 FY2009, compared to Q1 FY2009.
Microsoft noted in its results that Windows now ships on 80 percent of low-cost mini-notebooks, aka netbooks. In another context, that might have been good news, but netbooks apparently do little to boost Microsoft's bottom line. Because most of the devices cannot run Windows Vista, they ship with Windows XP ULCPC (ultra low cost PC), a loss-leader edition of Windows XP Home.
Job cuts
Along with its financial results, Microsoft announced it would eliminate up to 5,000 jobs "in R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT over the next 18 months." Without providing further specifics, the company added that 1,400 of the cuts would take place today.
While not as severe as rumored -- some reports had suggested that Microsoft would shed up to 15,000 jobs -- the job cuts will clearly impact the company's embedded business. Microsoft watcher Mary-Jo Foley writes in her blog for ZDNet, "I'm hearing from my sources that the EDD unit ... is being hit with the bulk of the 1,400 person cuts."
Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer, said "We are planning for economic uncertainty to continue through the remainder of the fiscal year, almost certainly leading to lower revenue and earnings for the second half relative to the previous year. In this environment, we will focus on outperforming our competitors and addressing our cost structure."
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Microsoft said it would also cut travel expenditures, reducing spending on contractors, reduce marketing spending, and scale back capital expenditures.
Monday, June 20, 2011
TI's new ARM chip supports Windows 8 with DirectX 9 graphics
Texas Instruments (TI) has goosed the clock speed and graphics of its ARM Cortex-A9 SoCs (systems on chip). The Windows 8-ready OMAP4470 features dual CPU cores running at up to 1.8GHz, DirectX 9-capable Powervr SGX544 graphics, and support for three displays running at up to 2048 x 1546 pixel resolution, the company says
As we've already reported, Microsoft staged demos of a major operating system upgrade code-named Windows 8 yesterday in California, and earlier today in Taiwan. Offering both a new tile-based user interface and the ability to run old-style Windows applications such as Microsoft Office, Windows 8 was shown off both on a range of x86 devices and on ARM-based reference systems using chips from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and TI.
We haven't seen information on specifically which TI SoC was involved in the demos. However, TI is announcing an upgrade to its OMAP 4 line that is specifically targeting "the next version of Microsoft Windows." (If you prefer Linux or Android, the chipmaker says it will be able to help you there as well.)
TI's new OMAP4470 (right) is similar to the OMAP4430 and OMAP4460 (reviewed later in this story), enough so that this punctilious vendor did not find it necessary to provide a refreshed block diagram. Where the OMAP4460 tops out at 1.5GHz, however, the OMAP4470 pushes its dual Cortex-A9 cores to 1.8GHz.
According to TI, the OMAP4470 also includes two ARM Cortex-M3 cores to speed I/O. And, significantly, it also gains a GPU (graphics processing unit) based on Imagination Technologies' Powervr SGX544 IP.
First announced last June, SGX544 provides "maximum hardware acceleration," full support for DirectX 9 Feature Level 3, plus support for desktop OpenGL 2.1 (including X11 integration with DRI2, EXA and DRM support), OpenGL ES 1.1 & 2.0, OpenVG 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1 Embedded Profile, according to Imagination Technologies.
TI says the OMAP4470 will allow "customers to deliver a new set of applications to end-users, including DirectX-driven games and videos." Compared to the OMAP4430, overall graphics performance on the new SoC is 250 percent better, the company adds.
Hinting at future ARM-based notebook or desktop PCs, the OMAP4470 also boasts a dramatic improvement in potential screen resolutions. Where the earlier OMAP 4 SoCs were said to support resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, the OMAP4470 will support up to three displays at up to 2048 x 1546 pixels, says TI.
As we've indicated, TI alluded to Windows 8, Linux, and Android in its OMAP4470 announcement. The OMAP4470 is further said to be pin-to-pin hardware- and software-compatible with the earlier OMAP 4 processors, which means it will also run Windows Embedded Compact 7 (thanks to support that was announced by Adeneo early last month).
Background on the OMAP 4 processors
TI was an early adopter of ARM's Cortex-A9 processor core, which implements the same ARMv7 used on the Cortex-A8 and adds an MPCore interconnect layer for multiple processor support. While as many as four cores are possible with MPCore (see block diagram, here), TI's OMAP4430 and OMAP4440 were announced in February 2009 with two cores apiece, as depicted below.
OMAP44x function block diagram
(Click to enlarge)
In its 2009 Mobile World Congress (MWC) announcement, TI said it would begin sampling the OMAP4430 and OMAP4440 during the second half of 2009. That clearly didn't come to pass, and the company's February 2010 description of the OMAP44xx SoCs as "sampling today" was perhaps over-ambitious as well.
Last December, meanwhile, the chipmaker announced that the OMAP4430 and OMAP4440 -- originally said to be clocked at 720MHz and 1GHz, respectively -- would henceforward be clocked at 1GHz and 1.5GHz. (The 1GHz OMAP4430 since found a home in RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.) And this March, TI quietly renamed the OMAP4440 as the OMAP4460.
TI says both the OMAP4430 and OMAP4460 provide both hardware accelerated 2D and 3D graphics, support for 20-megapixel imaging, and 1080p HD video playback. The OMAP4430 supports dual (stereoscopic) five megapixel video cameras, taking 3D movies at up to 720p, while the OMAP4460 supports dual 12 megapixel cameras and takes 1080p 3D videos, the chipmaker adds.
Availability
TI says the OMAP4470 will start sampling in the second half of 2011, with complete devices based on it cropping up in the first half of 2012. The chipmaker doesn't yet have a specific OMAP4470 product page, but its website does offer overall OMAP 4 information.
Not to be forgotten in the context of Windows 8 support, TI announced OMAP 5 SoCs last February that will employ ARM's more powerful Cortex-A15 core, along with the same Powervr SGX544 graphics promised for the OMAP4470. TI has said the OMAP 5 SOCs will also sample in the second half of this year, with complete devices becoming available during the second half of 2012.
As we've already reported, Microsoft staged demos of a major operating system upgrade code-named Windows 8 yesterday in California, and earlier today in Taiwan. Offering both a new tile-based user interface and the ability to run old-style Windows applications such as Microsoft Office, Windows 8 was shown off both on a range of x86 devices and on ARM-based reference systems using chips from Nvidia, Qualcomm, and TI.
We haven't seen information on specifically which TI SoC was involved in the demos. However, TI is announcing an upgrade to its OMAP 4 line that is specifically targeting "the next version of Microsoft Windows." (If you prefer Linux or Android, the chipmaker says it will be able to help you there as well.)
TI's new OMAP4470 (right) is similar to the OMAP4430 and OMAP4460 (reviewed later in this story), enough so that this punctilious vendor did not find it necessary to provide a refreshed block diagram. Where the OMAP4460 tops out at 1.5GHz, however, the OMAP4470 pushes its dual Cortex-A9 cores to 1.8GHz.
According to TI, the OMAP4470 also includes two ARM Cortex-M3 cores to speed I/O. And, significantly, it also gains a GPU (graphics processing unit) based on Imagination Technologies' Powervr SGX544 IP.
First announced last June, SGX544 provides "maximum hardware acceleration," full support for DirectX 9 Feature Level 3, plus support for desktop OpenGL 2.1 (including X11 integration with DRI2, EXA and DRM support), OpenGL ES 1.1 & 2.0, OpenVG 1.1 and OpenCL 1.1 Embedded Profile, according to Imagination Technologies.
TI says the OMAP4470 will allow "customers to deliver a new set of applications to end-users, including DirectX-driven games and videos." Compared to the OMAP4430, overall graphics performance on the new SoC is 250 percent better, the company adds.
Hinting at future ARM-based notebook or desktop PCs, the OMAP4470 also boasts a dramatic improvement in potential screen resolutions. Where the earlier OMAP 4 SoCs were said to support resolutions up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, the OMAP4470 will support up to three displays at up to 2048 x 1546 pixels, says TI.
As we've indicated, TI alluded to Windows 8, Linux, and Android in its OMAP4470 announcement. The OMAP4470 is further said to be pin-to-pin hardware- and software-compatible with the earlier OMAP 4 processors, which means it will also run Windows Embedded Compact 7 (thanks to support that was announced by Adeneo early last month).
Background on the OMAP 4 processors
TI was an early adopter of ARM's Cortex-A9 processor core, which implements the same ARMv7 used on the Cortex-A8 and adds an MPCore interconnect layer for multiple processor support. While as many as four cores are possible with MPCore (see block diagram, here), TI's OMAP4430 and OMAP4440 were announced in February 2009 with two cores apiece, as depicted below.
OMAP44x function block diagram
(Click to enlarge)
In its 2009 Mobile World Congress (MWC) announcement, TI said it would begin sampling the OMAP4430 and OMAP4440 during the second half of 2009. That clearly didn't come to pass, and the company's February 2010 description of the OMAP44xx SoCs as "sampling today" was perhaps over-ambitious as well.
Last December, meanwhile, the chipmaker announced that the OMAP4430 and OMAP4440 -- originally said to be clocked at 720MHz and 1GHz, respectively -- would henceforward be clocked at 1GHz and 1.5GHz. (The 1GHz OMAP4430 since found a home in RIM's BlackBerry PlayBook tablet.) And this March, TI quietly renamed the OMAP4440 as the OMAP4460.
TI says both the OMAP4430 and OMAP4460 provide both hardware accelerated 2D and 3D graphics, support for 20-megapixel imaging, and 1080p HD video playback. The OMAP4430 supports dual (stereoscopic) five megapixel video cameras, taking 3D movies at up to 720p, while the OMAP4460 supports dual 12 megapixel cameras and takes 1080p 3D videos, the chipmaker adds.
Availability
TI says the OMAP4470 will start sampling in the second half of 2011, with complete devices based on it cropping up in the first half of 2012. The chipmaker doesn't yet have a specific OMAP4470 product page, but its website does offer overall OMAP 4 information.
Not to be forgotten in the context of Windows 8 support, TI announced OMAP 5 SoCs last February that will employ ARM's more powerful Cortex-A15 core, along with the same Powervr SGX544 graphics promised for the OMAP4470. TI has said the OMAP 5 SOCs will also sample in the second half of this year, with complete devices becoming available during the second half of 2012.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Microsoft rings alarm bell on fake Windows support calls
Not a new scam, but Microsoft claims 22% of people polled have gotten calls from phony support technicians
Microsoft today warned that scammers have taken to the phone lines to dupe Windows users into putting malware on their machines or paying for worthless help.
The ploy isn't new -- security experts have seen it in circulation for at least a year -- but Microsoft was the first to quantify the problem.
According to Microsoft, which sponsored surveys in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and Canada, 15% of the people polled said they had received unsolicited calls from fraudsters posing as computer support technicians who claimed they were offering PC security checks.
PATCH TUESDAY: Microsoft issues first patch for IE9 amidst 34 holes closed today
The scammers try to trick users into believing that their computer is infected -- often by having them look at a Windows log that typically shows scores of harmless or low-level errors -- then convince them to download software or let the "technician" remotely access the PC.
The con artists charge for their "help" and often get people to pay for worthless software. In actuality, the software is malware that steals online account information and passwords.
"They're taking advantage of ignorance," said Sean Richmond, a senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a podcast today.
In many cases, the scammer asks the user to open Windows' events log, which records significant events on the PC, including program errors. Richmond noted that the log typically contains scores of such errors, which may look alarming to many users.
Of the people who received such calls, 22% fell for the scam, Microsoft said.
Most who were duped suffered some kind of post-call financial loss, which Microsoft claimed averaged $875 per victim. Among the losses, people cited compromised passwords, balky computers, identity fraud and cash pilfered from their bank accounts.
"Criminals have proved once again that their ability to innovate new scams is matched by their ruthless pursuit of our money," said Richard Saunders, the director of one of Microsoft's public relations teams, in a Thursday statement.
Although the scam currently targets Windows users -- and for now is limited to English-speaking countries -- there's nothing to stop criminals from expanding their scheme. "Presumably, when these guys smarten up a little bit ... they could pull exactly the same trick [on Mac users]," said Paul Ducklin, Sophos' head of technology for its Asian and Pacific division.
Richmond agreed. "The demographics for Mac users is that they have more money to waste, so I wouldn't doubt that they would become a target," he said.
These phone scams aren't new. Last year, for example, Symantec noted similar schemes making the rounds.
"It's a natural extension of the fake antivirus stuff," said Marc Fossi, a director in Symantec's security response team, in an interview today.
Those scams, often dubbed "scareware" or "rogueware," use higher-volume methods -- poisoned search results and spam email -- to trick users into visiting malicious sites that proclaim a PC or Mac is heavily infected. Users are encouraged to download security software to fix the nonexistent problems, but to get rid of the resulting bogus alerts, victims must fork over fees that can reach $80.
Microsoft today warned that scammers have taken to the phone lines to dupe Windows users into putting malware on their machines or paying for worthless help.
The ploy isn't new -- security experts have seen it in circulation for at least a year -- but Microsoft was the first to quantify the problem.
According to Microsoft, which sponsored surveys in the U.S., the U.K., Ireland and Canada, 15% of the people polled said they had received unsolicited calls from fraudsters posing as computer support technicians who claimed they were offering PC security checks.
PATCH TUESDAY: Microsoft issues first patch for IE9 amidst 34 holes closed today
The scammers try to trick users into believing that their computer is infected -- often by having them look at a Windows log that typically shows scores of harmless or low-level errors -- then convince them to download software or let the "technician" remotely access the PC.
The con artists charge for their "help" and often get people to pay for worthless software. In actuality, the software is malware that steals online account information and passwords.
"They're taking advantage of ignorance," said Sean Richmond, a senior technology consultant for Sophos, in a podcast today.
In many cases, the scammer asks the user to open Windows' events log, which records significant events on the PC, including program errors. Richmond noted that the log typically contains scores of such errors, which may look alarming to many users.
Of the people who received such calls, 22% fell for the scam, Microsoft said.
Most who were duped suffered some kind of post-call financial loss, which Microsoft claimed averaged $875 per victim. Among the losses, people cited compromised passwords, balky computers, identity fraud and cash pilfered from their bank accounts.
"Criminals have proved once again that their ability to innovate new scams is matched by their ruthless pursuit of our money," said Richard Saunders, the director of one of Microsoft's public relations teams, in a Thursday statement.
Although the scam currently targets Windows users -- and for now is limited to English-speaking countries -- there's nothing to stop criminals from expanding their scheme. "Presumably, when these guys smarten up a little bit ... they could pull exactly the same trick [on Mac users]," said Paul Ducklin, Sophos' head of technology for its Asian and Pacific division.
Richmond agreed. "The demographics for Mac users is that they have more money to waste, so I wouldn't doubt that they would become a target," he said.
These phone scams aren't new. Last year, for example, Symantec noted similar schemes making the rounds.
"It's a natural extension of the fake antivirus stuff," said Marc Fossi, a director in Symantec's security response team, in an interview today.
Those scams, often dubbed "scareware" or "rogueware," use higher-volume methods -- poisoned search results and spam email -- to trick users into visiting malicious sites that proclaim a PC or Mac is heavily infected. Users are encouraged to download security software to fix the nonexistent problems, but to get rid of the resulting bogus alerts, victims must fork over fees that can reach $80.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Note-Taking Apps for the Apple iPad
Seeing as the Apple iPad is a 'tablet,' do it some justice and put it to use as a true writing surface with these five great note-taking apps.
As any efficient, organized, and focused person knows, finding the right note-taking app is crucial to getting the most out of your iPad. It is a "tablet" after all. Our favorite iPad note-taking apps are the ones that make use of Apple's spacious screen to let you write, draw, or scribble with nothing more than a finger or stylus. We put five of the best iPad note-taking to the test to help you sort out which one offers what you need.
Note-taking apps are a dime a dozen, but they don't all support the same features or offer equal functionality. Some let you sketch and draw directly, while others force you to stick to typing. Most let you record and save voice memos, photos, and Web clips, but not all of them let you draw on top of images to further annotate them. The best note-taking apps focus on not only making notes, but on finding and sorting them later as well.
The price range for note-taking apps on the iPad is huge, and the most expensive ones are not necessarily the best. We've found a free app that works just fine. And two iPad note-taking apps that we selected as our Editors' Choices both cost less than $5. On the higher end, one $10 app that we tested is more of a project management app than a straight note-taking tool, although what project manager doesn't need to reference her meeting notes, comments, and reminders, too?
For more note-taking app recommendations, see our round up of Note-Taking Apps for the iPhone.
As any efficient, organized, and focused person knows, finding the right note-taking app is crucial to getting the most out of your iPad. It is a "tablet" after all. Our favorite iPad note-taking apps are the ones that make use of Apple's spacious screen to let you write, draw, or scribble with nothing more than a finger or stylus. We put five of the best iPad note-taking to the test to help you sort out which one offers what you need.
Note-taking apps are a dime a dozen, but they don't all support the same features or offer equal functionality. Some let you sketch and draw directly, while others force you to stick to typing. Most let you record and save voice memos, photos, and Web clips, but not all of them let you draw on top of images to further annotate them. The best note-taking apps focus on not only making notes, but on finding and sorting them later as well.
The price range for note-taking apps on the iPad is huge, and the most expensive ones are not necessarily the best. We've found a free app that works just fine. And two iPad note-taking apps that we selected as our Editors' Choices both cost less than $5. On the higher end, one $10 app that we tested is more of a project management app than a straight note-taking tool, although what project manager doesn't need to reference her meeting notes, comments, and reminders, too?
For more note-taking app recommendations, see our round up of Note-Taking Apps for the iPhone.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Google, Facebook promise new IPv6 services after successful trial
Google leaves IPv6 on for YouTube; Facebook adds IPv6 to developers' site; Yahoo sees 'minimal risk' to IPv6
One day after completing a successful 24-hour trial of IPv6, Facebook, Google and Yahoo said at a joint press conference that they would begin permanently supporting this upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol on some of their key websites.
Joined by two content delivery networks -- Akamai and Limelight, which also pledged their commitment to IPv6 deployment -- these popular websites proclaimed the World IPv6 Day trial to be a resounding success. All three companies said they had handled a significant increase in IPv6 traffic on June 8 without suffering serious technical glitches.
IPv6 features an expanded addressing scheme, so it can handle vastly more devices connected directly to the Internet than its predecessor called IPv4. However, IPv6 is not backward compatible with IPv4, which means website operators have to upgrade their network equipment and software to support IPv6 traffic.
DETAILS: No news is good news on World IPv6 Day
Google said it has decided to leave its main YouTube website enabled for IPv6 for the time being. Since 2008, Google has supported IPv6 on separate websites -- such as www.ipv6.google.com -- rather than on its main websites.
"We saw 65% growth in our IPv6 traffic on World IPv6 Day," said Lorenzo Colitti, IPv6 Software Engineer at Google, who pointed out that Google added IPv6 support to several new services including Orkut for the trial. "This event has really been successful in galvanizing the community."
"At Facebook, we saw over 1 million of our users reach us over IPv6," said Don Lee, senior network engineer at Facebook. "There were no technical glitches in this 24-hour period. We were encouraged by the many positive comments on our blog. ... It is really interesting to see how passionate people were about IPv6 around the world."
Because of the positive results from World IPv6 Day, Facebook has decided to support IPv6 on its Website for developers, which is www.developers.facebook.com.
"We will continue to adapt our entire code base to support IPv6," Lee added. "IPv6 will allow the Internet to continue its amazing development."
BY THE NUMBERS: IPv6 traffic surges at launch of World IPv6 Day
World IPv6 Day was held yesterday and was sponsored by the Internet Society. The event attracted 400-plus corporate, government and university participants that deployed IPv6 on more than 1,000 websites for the day. MCTS Online Training - MCITP Online Training
Leslie Daigle, chief Internet technology officer for the Internet Society, said World IPv6 Day was designed to motivate service providers, website operators, hardware makers and software suppliers to test-drive IPv6 and to identify any remaining technical issues that need to be resolved with this emerging technology.
"It was perceived to be quite a successful day," Daigle said. "It was an amazing display of cross-industry participation. ... It's an important step in the Internet's progress. We are running out of IPv4 addresses, and IPv6 is definitely the way to move forward to make sure the Internet is a platform for innovation."
One day after completing a successful 24-hour trial of IPv6, Facebook, Google and Yahoo said at a joint press conference that they would begin permanently supporting this upgrade to the Internet's main communications protocol on some of their key websites.
Joined by two content delivery networks -- Akamai and Limelight, which also pledged their commitment to IPv6 deployment -- these popular websites proclaimed the World IPv6 Day trial to be a resounding success. All three companies said they had handled a significant increase in IPv6 traffic on June 8 without suffering serious technical glitches.
IPv6 features an expanded addressing scheme, so it can handle vastly more devices connected directly to the Internet than its predecessor called IPv4. However, IPv6 is not backward compatible with IPv4, which means website operators have to upgrade their network equipment and software to support IPv6 traffic.
DETAILS: No news is good news on World IPv6 Day
Google said it has decided to leave its main YouTube website enabled for IPv6 for the time being. Since 2008, Google has supported IPv6 on separate websites -- such as www.ipv6.google.com -- rather than on its main websites.
"We saw 65% growth in our IPv6 traffic on World IPv6 Day," said Lorenzo Colitti, IPv6 Software Engineer at Google, who pointed out that Google added IPv6 support to several new services including Orkut for the trial. "This event has really been successful in galvanizing the community."
"At Facebook, we saw over 1 million of our users reach us over IPv6," said Don Lee, senior network engineer at Facebook. "There were no technical glitches in this 24-hour period. We were encouraged by the many positive comments on our blog. ... It is really interesting to see how passionate people were about IPv6 around the world."
Because of the positive results from World IPv6 Day, Facebook has decided to support IPv6 on its Website for developers, which is www.developers.facebook.com.
"We will continue to adapt our entire code base to support IPv6," Lee added. "IPv6 will allow the Internet to continue its amazing development."
BY THE NUMBERS: IPv6 traffic surges at launch of World IPv6 Day
World IPv6 Day was held yesterday and was sponsored by the Internet Society. The event attracted 400-plus corporate, government and university participants that deployed IPv6 on more than 1,000 websites for the day. MCTS Online Training - MCITP Online Training
Leslie Daigle, chief Internet technology officer for the Internet Society, said World IPv6 Day was designed to motivate service providers, website operators, hardware makers and software suppliers to test-drive IPv6 and to identify any remaining technical issues that need to be resolved with this emerging technology.
"It was perceived to be quite a successful day," Daigle said. "It was an amazing display of cross-industry participation. ... It's an important step in the Internet's progress. We are running out of IPv4 addresses, and IPv6 is definitely the way to move forward to make sure the Internet is a platform for innovation."
Friday, June 10, 2011
Microsoft hopes to draw Android developers to Windows Phone
Microsoft is trying to woo Android application developers, offering them help in porting applications to Windows Phone.
The company has released a Windows Phone API mapping tool for Android developers to help them find their way around the Windows Phone platform. Developers should think of the tool as being like a translation dictionary, Senior Technical Evangelist for Interoperability Jean-Christophe Cimetiere wrote in a blog post.
REVIEW: Developers find a lot to love in Windows Phone 7 Mango
It has also published a white paper, "Windows Phone 7 Guide for Android Application Developers," describing the differences between the two platforms, including the way they handle inactive applications and multitasking.
For Windows Phone to become a success, Microsoft and partners like Nokia have to convince developers to add the operating system to the list of platforms they target.
Android and Apple's iOS are the most popular operating systems among developers, according to a survey by VisionMobile published this week. It found that 67 percent of developers target Android, and 59 percent target iOS.
Windows Phone is the seventh most popular platform, with just 36 percent of developers working on apps for it: More still target Symbian, the OS that Nokia is abandoning in favor of Windows Phone, the survey found, although Symbian's share fell to 38 percent in June from 46 percent a year earlier.
Microsoft has already reached out to iPhone app developers with specific Windows Phone guidance and an API mapping tool for iOS.
This summer, it plans to expand the scope of the API Mapping tools to include the features in Mango, the next major upgrade of Windows Phone.
Enterprise software developers are starting to show an interest in having their applications running across a range of mobile devices. Last week, German company Software AG acquired Metismo, developer of a platform that can convert Java apps to run natively on Android, BlackBerryOS, Windows Phone and webOS.
The company has released a Windows Phone API mapping tool for Android developers to help them find their way around the Windows Phone platform. Developers should think of the tool as being like a translation dictionary, Senior Technical Evangelist for Interoperability Jean-Christophe Cimetiere wrote in a blog post.
REVIEW: Developers find a lot to love in Windows Phone 7 Mango
It has also published a white paper, "Windows Phone 7 Guide for Android Application Developers," describing the differences between the two platforms, including the way they handle inactive applications and multitasking.
For Windows Phone to become a success, Microsoft and partners like Nokia have to convince developers to add the operating system to the list of platforms they target.
Android and Apple's iOS are the most popular operating systems among developers, according to a survey by VisionMobile published this week. It found that 67 percent of developers target Android, and 59 percent target iOS.
Windows Phone is the seventh most popular platform, with just 36 percent of developers working on apps for it: More still target Symbian, the OS that Nokia is abandoning in favor of Windows Phone, the survey found, although Symbian's share fell to 38 percent in June from 46 percent a year earlier.
Microsoft has already reached out to iPhone app developers with specific Windows Phone guidance and an API mapping tool for iOS.
This summer, it plans to expand the scope of the API Mapping tools to include the features in Mango, the next major upgrade of Windows Phone.
Enterprise software developers are starting to show an interest in having their applications running across a range of mobile devices. Last week, German company Software AG acquired Metismo, developer of a platform that can convert Java apps to run natively on Android, BlackBerryOS, Windows Phone and webOS.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Three things you need to know about Apple iCloud
“No doubt you’re going to see significant security issues with people uploading different things to the cloud,” says Nemertes Research analyst Andreas Antonopoulos. “You saw that over the weekend with the Chinese hackers who hacked into government officials’ Gmail accounts. Why were those people using Google for email when they’ve already been issued secure BlackBerrys?”
In other words, IT departments are going to have to find a way to deny permission to sync sensitive corporate documents or pictures over the iCloud.
Three: It’s likely to draw more people into the Apple Borg.
Apple’s goal has long been to use the computer as a hub for all personal and home entertainment applications, whether it involves listening to music, watching movies, surfing the Web or making phone calls. With iTunes, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad, Apple successfully branched out to create a line of popular products that acted as complimentary add-ons to its laptops and other computers. Giles Cottle, a senior analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, notes that Apple’s success has come even though it has eschewed the open-source philosophy of companies like Google, whose Android mobile platform can be modified by device manufacturers to be customized for different devices.
“Apple’s tight control of its device ecosystem means that iCloud is much more likely to, as Steve Jobs puts it, ‘just work,’” writes Cottle. “Apple’s total control of the device and content ecosystem has been heavily criticized in the past, but, if iCloud works as well in practice as it did in today’s demo, it’s a stunning validation of the power of closed ecosystems.”
Forester Research analyst Frank Gillett, meanwhile, thinks that Apple’s strong standing among consumers will make cloud computing a consumer staple in the same way the iPod made portable digital music a staple. What’s more, he thinks potential Apple competitors will have a tough time catching up.
“With the trifecta of iCloud, Mac OS X Lion, and iOS5, Apple takes the lead in personal cloud implementation and vision, with the broadest support across a user’s Macs, Windows PCs, iPhones, and iPads, and deep support for third-party developer integration into iCloud,” writes Gillett. “Google is worth watching as a number two player, but will struggle to match Apple as it tries to move the world’s apps into the Chrome browser. Microsoft, with no articulated vision for personal cloud and Windows 8 expected sometime in 2012, lags significantly. So Apple has lots of time to keep building momentum for its ecosystem of devices and cloud services.”
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Stupid user tricks 5: IT's weakest link
We pieced it together: Smoke was coming out of one of the executive's offices, and he had pulled the alarm. The fire department arrived and headed in. The exec talked to the firemen, all the while pointing over at us. When he's done, he steamed over and started berating us for buying "those cheap, piece of s#!t PCs." They were brand-new Dells, so we were confused. But sure enough, the fire department camesout just a few minutes later and said that the PC in this joker's office caught fire -- a little.
They let us back in and we trooped up to the exec's office to check things out. It took us a while, but we noticed that the seal on the back of the PC was broken and some of the case screws were missing. These were new PCs, so we knew none of us have had to service the thing. We gave the exec the stink eye and asked whether he opened the PC. He hemmed and hawed, then got all indignant.
As it happened, his son was a "real computer whiz" and told him to make sure all the "connections were set" or he wouldn't get the best performance. The executive opened the PC and "saw all these wires that weren't attached, just tied off and hanging" and decided to hook them up "to all the right plugs." When he went to turn it on, the PC "couldn't handle a full load" and gave off a bang and a lot of smoke.
Yeah, that was a fun conversation.
Fallout: An angry, embarrassed exec and a bill for a new PC.
Moral: Make sure your users know that the PCs you provide aren't for personal use. They're the property of the business; if they need to be opened, it'll be an IT staffer who does it no matter how smart your kid might be. Or not.
Stupid user trick No. 4: Introducing your IT infrastructure to a flight of stairs
Incident: Lava lamps in the server closet are one thing, but turning your infrastructure into a lounge might require more than just a backup plan, as one IT contractor relays.
Everyone has favorite clients, folks where you never know what you're going to find when you visit. This one time, we get called in on the hot line -- 911, major emergency, everything's down. Two of us got the assignment and went squealing out to the client site through Long Island traffic. We arrived, nodded to the receptionist who knows us, and headed up to the server room, expecting to find the company's IT guy with whom we contract. Only it's a lounge now: sofas, coffee tables, a vending machine, and a big-screen TV on the wall, but no servers. Well, that's the first clue as to why nothing's working.
We nosed around for the IT guy and found him in his office, desperately trying to expedite an order for new servers. Where are the servers we set up, dude? Oh, we moved them downstairs. There was a problem on the way, so that's why we need you to restore the servers. That was vague.
We did some digging and discovered that he asked the two mail guys (the office muscle) to move the server rack downstairs to a new room. Now this wasn't a relay rack, this was a full-on four-post server rack. And because Mr. IT wasn't sure he'd be able to hook it all up again, he told them to leave everything in the rack.
I'm not sure how these guys even got it to move across a flat floor. That thing had three servers, two switches, a router, a disk array, a tape drive, and a UPS installed. It must have weighed a ton. The two geniuses apparently decided that the freight elevator was too far, so they tried to move it down a flight of stairs "just one step at a time." Yeah, it fell on step two, one of the guys came close to getting killed and most of the stuff in the rack wasn't working anymore when it stopped its tumbling routine on the first floor.
Apparently, APC doesn't guarantee equipment in its racks if you drop it down a flight of stairs.
They let us back in and we trooped up to the exec's office to check things out. It took us a while, but we noticed that the seal on the back of the PC was broken and some of the case screws were missing. These were new PCs, so we knew none of us have had to service the thing. We gave the exec the stink eye and asked whether he opened the PC. He hemmed and hawed, then got all indignant.
As it happened, his son was a "real computer whiz" and told him to make sure all the "connections were set" or he wouldn't get the best performance. The executive opened the PC and "saw all these wires that weren't attached, just tied off and hanging" and decided to hook them up "to all the right plugs." When he went to turn it on, the PC "couldn't handle a full load" and gave off a bang and a lot of smoke.
Yeah, that was a fun conversation.
Fallout: An angry, embarrassed exec and a bill for a new PC.
Moral: Make sure your users know that the PCs you provide aren't for personal use. They're the property of the business; if they need to be opened, it'll be an IT staffer who does it no matter how smart your kid might be. Or not.
Stupid user trick No. 4: Introducing your IT infrastructure to a flight of stairs
Incident: Lava lamps in the server closet are one thing, but turning your infrastructure into a lounge might require more than just a backup plan, as one IT contractor relays.
Everyone has favorite clients, folks where you never know what you're going to find when you visit. This one time, we get called in on the hot line -- 911, major emergency, everything's down. Two of us got the assignment and went squealing out to the client site through Long Island traffic. We arrived, nodded to the receptionist who knows us, and headed up to the server room, expecting to find the company's IT guy with whom we contract. Only it's a lounge now: sofas, coffee tables, a vending machine, and a big-screen TV on the wall, but no servers. Well, that's the first clue as to why nothing's working.
We nosed around for the IT guy and found him in his office, desperately trying to expedite an order for new servers. Where are the servers we set up, dude? Oh, we moved them downstairs. There was a problem on the way, so that's why we need you to restore the servers. That was vague.
We did some digging and discovered that he asked the two mail guys (the office muscle) to move the server rack downstairs to a new room. Now this wasn't a relay rack, this was a full-on four-post server rack. And because Mr. IT wasn't sure he'd be able to hook it all up again, he told them to leave everything in the rack.
I'm not sure how these guys even got it to move across a flat floor. That thing had three servers, two switches, a router, a disk array, a tape drive, and a UPS installed. It must have weighed a ton. The two geniuses apparently decided that the freight elevator was too far, so they tried to move it down a flight of stairs "just one step at a time." Yeah, it fell on step two, one of the guys came close to getting killed and most of the stuff in the rack wasn't working anymore when it stopped its tumbling routine on the first floor.
Apparently, APC doesn't guarantee equipment in its racks if you drop it down a flight of stairs.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
4G faceoff: ThunderBolt vs. Galaxy
T-Mobile claims in its marketing information that the Galaxy S 4G is theoretically capable of reaching the speed of 21Mbps for downloads. This level of throughput does not seem to be available in the real world, even when we tested the device in a location recommended by T-Mobile as having extremely fast 4G service.
While measuring actual download speeds on mobile devices is fairly meaningless since there are so many variables that can affect any user, on any device at any location at any time, there did not seem to be any indication that the speeds suggested by T-Mobile were actually available.
However, the device does have a full set of other features, including T-Mobile's WiFi calling that allows you to make voice calls using a WiFi hotspot - something can be very useful inside buildings, outside the reach of T-Mobile's network or in countries outside the U.S. where roaming charges can be significant.
The Galaxy S 4G will also work as a mobile WiFi hotspot supporting up to five devices. Using this hotspot capability provided noticeably better throughput than you'd otherwise find in most public hotspots, provided you're in an area with good T-Mobile data coverage.
The T-Mobile Galaxy S 4G is smaller and lighter than many similar Android phones. It weighs a little over 4 ounces, and it's less than a half-inch thick. The Galaxy S 4G comes with a number of bandwidth intensive apps installed as well as a copy of the film "Inception." T-Mobile provides a high definition television service and you can access other video services as well. The phone was easy to use, as you'd expect from a modern Android device. You can show the full set of applications by swiping your finger sideways.
The only significant shortcoming worth mentioning is the lack of a flash for the rear-facing camera. Other versions of the Galaxy S have a flash, but for some reason T-Mobile chose to leave it off of this device. Other than that, the keyboard was easy to type on, considering it's an on-screen keyboard. There seemed to be a delay when you rotated the phone from portrait to landscape mode while typing, and in two tries the rotation of the keyboard caused the phone to exit the application. However the data previously typed wasn't lost when you returned to it.
Besides those relatively minor concerns, there are two other issues that prospective buyers must take into consideration. The first is T-Mobile's relatively scant coverage in the U.S. It's easy to find yourself without coverage even in some fairly urban areas. In addition, T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, has agreed to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T, which could affect the current 4G service as AT&T changes over to LTE from its existing HSPA+ network.
Verizon's HTC ThunderBolt
The HTC ThunderBolt is the first 4G LTE smartphone from Verizon Wireless. It joins a collection of other 4G devices, including a mobile hotspot and a laptop aircard, which were released several months ago. As long as Verizon's 4G LTE service was available, this smartphone performed well. However it is noticeably larger and bulkier than the Samsung Galaxy S 4G. Part of the reason is certainly the larger 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen.
While measuring actual download speeds on mobile devices is fairly meaningless since there are so many variables that can affect any user, on any device at any location at any time, there did not seem to be any indication that the speeds suggested by T-Mobile were actually available.
However, the device does have a full set of other features, including T-Mobile's WiFi calling that allows you to make voice calls using a WiFi hotspot - something can be very useful inside buildings, outside the reach of T-Mobile's network or in countries outside the U.S. where roaming charges can be significant.
The Galaxy S 4G will also work as a mobile WiFi hotspot supporting up to five devices. Using this hotspot capability provided noticeably better throughput than you'd otherwise find in most public hotspots, provided you're in an area with good T-Mobile data coverage.
The T-Mobile Galaxy S 4G is smaller and lighter than many similar Android phones. It weighs a little over 4 ounces, and it's less than a half-inch thick. The Galaxy S 4G comes with a number of bandwidth intensive apps installed as well as a copy of the film "Inception." T-Mobile provides a high definition television service and you can access other video services as well. The phone was easy to use, as you'd expect from a modern Android device. You can show the full set of applications by swiping your finger sideways.
The only significant shortcoming worth mentioning is the lack of a flash for the rear-facing camera. Other versions of the Galaxy S have a flash, but for some reason T-Mobile chose to leave it off of this device. Other than that, the keyboard was easy to type on, considering it's an on-screen keyboard. There seemed to be a delay when you rotated the phone from portrait to landscape mode while typing, and in two tries the rotation of the keyboard caused the phone to exit the application. However the data previously typed wasn't lost when you returned to it.
Besides those relatively minor concerns, there are two other issues that prospective buyers must take into consideration. The first is T-Mobile's relatively scant coverage in the U.S. It's easy to find yourself without coverage even in some fairly urban areas. In addition, T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, has agreed to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T, which could affect the current 4G service as AT&T changes over to LTE from its existing HSPA+ network.
Verizon's HTC ThunderBolt
The HTC ThunderBolt is the first 4G LTE smartphone from Verizon Wireless. It joins a collection of other 4G devices, including a mobile hotspot and a laptop aircard, which were released several months ago. As long as Verizon's 4G LTE service was available, this smartphone performed well. However it is noticeably larger and bulkier than the Samsung Galaxy S 4G. Part of the reason is certainly the larger 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen.
Friday, June 3, 2011
How To Find The Best Part Time Certified PMP Training
Today, Project Management Professional (PMP) courses and programs are garnering much popularity among numerous individuals and corporations. The object of such programs and trainings is to earn professional project managers and/or consultants, certified by accredited institutions.
Hence, PMP-certified consultants undergo different classes, trainings, courses, examination, and further requirements. PMP is just one of the diverse courses offered by the renowned Project Management Institute (PMI); thus one can enjoy several benefits of acquiring certification from PMI though enrolling in any PMP program may require relatively high costs.
Reasons for Enrolling
Seemingly, enrolling in PMP courses, classes, trainings, and other programs may be costly but it is absolutely worth the price. Enrolling can lead to achieving a PMP certification which can eventually assist individuals in career placements, and earning high salaries in the future. Both local and international organizations refer to certified employees or consultants since they are more capable, efficient, flexible, and credible in the field of professional project management. Apart from future reasons, signing up for accredited PMP classes can lead to building rapport between co-trainees and mentors, giving possibility to create big network of associates.
Financial Assistance
It is very true that pursuing a PMP career requires an aspiring consultant for high fees. But there are sensible considerations so as to lessen the relatively high cost of education and training. In very rare cases, some employers are willing to cover a certain percentage of their employees' PMP Training fees. That is why, desiring project managers can somehow ask for their employer's assistance before enrolling or signing up for any course or program. Nonetheless, employers are agreeable to assist since such certified courses can improve the knowledge, professionalism, and credibility of their employees.
Sensible Alternative
In order to cut costs, there is some part-time training readily available for candidates or applicants. Most of the courses, programs, and trainings offered by PMP entail flexible schedules as well as much affordable rates. These arrangements are efficient to those employed in specific corporations, but willing to undergo essential trainings to further satisfy their employers as well as clients, by providing more professional services. Similarly, clients tend to refer to certified professionals for better services, which is why PMP certification is very essential for a project manager. Taking part-time trainings may somehow alleviate expenses, but could take longer period compared to regular training programs.
Where to Find Part-time Trainings
Perhaps, the most reliable source of part-time trainings is to personally visit institutions that provide project management courses, classes, and other related programs. By doing this, you can individually examine target schedules, narrow down options, compare price rates, and further contributory factors. Moreover, searching through the internet presents boundless range of classes, programs, and trainings available for part-time applicants and/or enrollees.
Online Training
Other aspiring project managers and consultants prefer online PMP training for their certification. In fact, it can be one of the most convenient ways to obtain a professional training along with many benefits. However, taking an online education and training entails certain abilities and skills therefore it is not highly advised for everyone. Such types of preparation courses can bring about challenges or struggles with virtual classrooms. Hence, individual assessment is still vital to evaluate if one is capable of undergoing online education and trainings.
Hence, PMP-certified consultants undergo different classes, trainings, courses, examination, and further requirements. PMP is just one of the diverse courses offered by the renowned Project Management Institute (PMI); thus one can enjoy several benefits of acquiring certification from PMI though enrolling in any PMP program may require relatively high costs.
Reasons for Enrolling
Seemingly, enrolling in PMP courses, classes, trainings, and other programs may be costly but it is absolutely worth the price. Enrolling can lead to achieving a PMP certification which can eventually assist individuals in career placements, and earning high salaries in the future. Both local and international organizations refer to certified employees or consultants since they are more capable, efficient, flexible, and credible in the field of professional project management. Apart from future reasons, signing up for accredited PMP classes can lead to building rapport between co-trainees and mentors, giving possibility to create big network of associates.
Financial Assistance
It is very true that pursuing a PMP career requires an aspiring consultant for high fees. But there are sensible considerations so as to lessen the relatively high cost of education and training. In very rare cases, some employers are willing to cover a certain percentage of their employees' PMP Training fees. That is why, desiring project managers can somehow ask for their employer's assistance before enrolling or signing up for any course or program. Nonetheless, employers are agreeable to assist since such certified courses can improve the knowledge, professionalism, and credibility of their employees.
Sensible Alternative
In order to cut costs, there is some part-time training readily available for candidates or applicants. Most of the courses, programs, and trainings offered by PMP entail flexible schedules as well as much affordable rates. These arrangements are efficient to those employed in specific corporations, but willing to undergo essential trainings to further satisfy their employers as well as clients, by providing more professional services. Similarly, clients tend to refer to certified professionals for better services, which is why PMP certification is very essential for a project manager. Taking part-time trainings may somehow alleviate expenses, but could take longer period compared to regular training programs.
Where to Find Part-time Trainings
Perhaps, the most reliable source of part-time trainings is to personally visit institutions that provide project management courses, classes, and other related programs. By doing this, you can individually examine target schedules, narrow down options, compare price rates, and further contributory factors. Moreover, searching through the internet presents boundless range of classes, programs, and trainings available for part-time applicants and/or enrollees.
Online Training
Other aspiring project managers and consultants prefer online PMP training for their certification. In fact, it can be one of the most convenient ways to obtain a professional training along with many benefits. However, taking an online education and training entails certain abilities and skills therefore it is not highly advised for everyone. Such types of preparation courses can bring about challenges or struggles with virtual classrooms. Hence, individual assessment is still vital to evaluate if one is capable of undergoing online education and trainings.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
How To Do If you Lost laptop Administrator Password
In this article I will show a effective and simple way to solved the problem if you lost laptop Administrator password.
Note: Do not use this method to other people's laptop. Be especially areful if you use Encrypting File System in Windows Professional.
If you have other user account, you can log on to Windows with its password and perform the following steps:
Click the start button
Click "Run"
In the "Open" filed, type "control userpasswords2" (without the quotes)
Click OK
Windows opens a dialog box, click User Accounts. Choose a user with the lost password and double click OK and you're ready.
Now you can log on to your laptop account using the new password.
If you have the only account and forgot it to access your computer, What do you do? Do you sit there testing every password you might imagine of? Well, That can actually work. but what if it dose not work? Try the following strategies to reset your Windows password:
(1) The first step is to chill and let your intellect calm down. Leave your personal computer and get another one to worl on (unless there are files you need to access) You may just remember the password that you forgot. It basically works.
(2) Did you back-up your system? If yes, can you remember the passwords you need? If yes, then revive the system and use the passwords you can remember. However, be certain to lost any users or groups you lately added.
(3) Go ahead and install a parallel operating software on the same PC then using your own tricks, get access to the other system.
If you do not succeed with above techniques to reset windows password, all is not format to re-install the windows password.
Recovery programmes are available readily om-line to help remember your forgotten password and gain access to your computer. These software work for director and user accounts. Your password does not change, the software simply tells you the password you forgot.
Other third party tools to reset windows password like Windows password key 8.0 can also help recover or reset Windows Passwords. Active Password Changer is by far the only way to get rid of a forgotten password and there is no fear of losing info.
Note: Do not use this method to other people's laptop. Be especially areful if you use Encrypting File System in Windows Professional.
If you have other user account, you can log on to Windows with its password and perform the following steps:
Click the start button
Click "Run"
In the "Open" filed, type "control userpasswords2" (without the quotes)
Click OK
Windows opens a dialog box, click User Accounts. Choose a user with the lost password and double click OK and you're ready.
Now you can log on to your laptop account using the new password.
If you have the only account and forgot it to access your computer, What do you do? Do you sit there testing every password you might imagine of? Well, That can actually work. but what if it dose not work? Try the following strategies to reset your Windows password:
(1) The first step is to chill and let your intellect calm down. Leave your personal computer and get another one to worl on (unless there are files you need to access) You may just remember the password that you forgot. It basically works.
(2) Did you back-up your system? If yes, can you remember the passwords you need? If yes, then revive the system and use the passwords you can remember. However, be certain to lost any users or groups you lately added.
(3) Go ahead and install a parallel operating software on the same PC then using your own tricks, get access to the other system.
If you do not succeed with above techniques to reset windows password, all is not format to re-install the windows password.
Recovery programmes are available readily om-line to help remember your forgotten password and gain access to your computer. These software work for director and user accounts. Your password does not change, the software simply tells you the password you forgot.
Other third party tools to reset windows password like Windows password key 8.0 can also help recover or reset Windows Passwords. Active Password Changer is by far the only way to get rid of a forgotten password and there is no fear of losing info.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Computer Users Were Unprepared For Blaster
An e-mail survey from the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and Certkingdom Inc. showed that many a+ certification users were not ready to ward off the Blaster worm prior to the recent attack. More than 40 percent of the 2,000 computer users surveyed reported said that they had not taken steps, like downloading the available patch, to ward off the worm, also known as LovSan. In addition, one in five of these users said they do not perform routine cyber-hygiene tasks at all.
The survey respondents were drawn from a poll of 50,000 Certkingdom customers around the world. Around 50 percent of respondents work in the United States, and 53 percent said they perform computer or IT-related jobs. Because so many of the survey respondents work in IT-related positions, it is likely that far more people found themselves unprepared when the worm struck.
According to Harris N. Miller, president of ITAA, the survey makes it all too obvious that people need to be far more aware of computer security issues. Computers and networks are just as important to the nation's economic infrastructure as generators and electrical grids,said Miller.Imagine if New Yorkers had had a warning and been given specific instructions for preventing the blackout several weeks in advance and simply ignored the information.
Of the respondents, 55 percent said they, their company or a personal contact had been directly affected by the Blaster worm. Twenty-three percent said they don't download software upgrades to prevent attacks a certification exam on a regular basis, and 21 percent do not perform cyber-hygiene tasks like updating their anti-virus software. Forty-two percent did not download the fix provided on Microsoft's Windows Update Web site before the Blaster worm hit. Education and awareness are part of the problem, with 70 percent of respondents reporting that their companies had not alerted them about the worm, asking them to download the upgrade.
If you want to stand out from the crowd of job candidates at your next job interview, take our self-study MCITP certification web based training (WBT) course to prepare for the exam and become that IT professional you have always dreamed of being. You will learn how to be successful in the exam room via in-depth training videos that are in full-motion video and feature discussions, presentations, interactive demos, lectures and step-by-step instructions. The online MCITP certification training course also features quizzes and assessments to help track and monitor your progress and hands-on practice activities that give you real-world experience.
Do not fret if you do not have time for learning since our course allows you to learn whenever you want to, making it the best option for busy individuals with full-time jobs. Our course will not interfere with work or family time since you are in total control of MCITP certification when you want to study and prepare for the exam.
The survey respondents were drawn from a poll of 50,000 Certkingdom customers around the world. Around 50 percent of respondents work in the United States, and 53 percent said they perform computer or IT-related jobs. Because so many of the survey respondents work in IT-related positions, it is likely that far more people found themselves unprepared when the worm struck.
According to Harris N. Miller, president of ITAA, the survey makes it all too obvious that people need to be far more aware of computer security issues. Computers and networks are just as important to the nation's economic infrastructure as generators and electrical grids,said Miller.Imagine if New Yorkers had had a warning and been given specific instructions for preventing the blackout several weeks in advance and simply ignored the information.
Of the respondents, 55 percent said they, their company or a personal contact had been directly affected by the Blaster worm. Twenty-three percent said they don't download software upgrades to prevent attacks a certification exam on a regular basis, and 21 percent do not perform cyber-hygiene tasks like updating their anti-virus software. Forty-two percent did not download the fix provided on Microsoft's Windows Update Web site before the Blaster worm hit. Education and awareness are part of the problem, with 70 percent of respondents reporting that their companies had not alerted them about the worm, asking them to download the upgrade.
If you want to stand out from the crowd of job candidates at your next job interview, take our self-study MCITP certification web based training (WBT) course to prepare for the exam and become that IT professional you have always dreamed of being. You will learn how to be successful in the exam room via in-depth training videos that are in full-motion video and feature discussions, presentations, interactive demos, lectures and step-by-step instructions. The online MCITP certification training course also features quizzes and assessments to help track and monitor your progress and hands-on practice activities that give you real-world experience.
Do not fret if you do not have time for learning since our course allows you to learn whenever you want to, making it the best option for busy individuals with full-time jobs. Our course will not interfere with work or family time since you are in total control of MCITP certification when you want to study and prepare for the exam.
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