February, 2008

Overheard: MS Roundtable product placement on CSI

I was watching CSI: New York last night and spotted two MS Roundtable devices on a conference table.  Props to the UC guys for the product placement, Roundtables after all are very cool desktop video conferencing devices but maybe someone should tell the CSI chaps they only need to have one in the room. Stuff-O-Rama

Video: Embarrassing videoconference moment

This video is making the rounds. Nobody seems to know if it’s staged or real. Either way, I can picture it happening. The only surprising thing to me is that anyone at the meeting was paying attention enough to notice. Although on second thought, I can remember watching someone spend an entire meeting twirling in his chair. He thought he was dark — and we were so entertained and suprised by his twirling that we didn’t let him know we could see him.

Overheard: If it isn’t documented, it wasn’t done

The validation consultant’s role could be to develop requirements documents and a compliance validation plan for the client. We’d also arrange for user training, coordinate the installation and testing of the system, and write a validation summary report when the testing is complete. It’s an extremely formalized process for “kicking the tires.” Mikie McGinnes, QA Edge Inc.

I had an interesting email exchange with Mikie McGinnes this week (pictured with her dog Chloe). She has an IT-related job I didn’t even know existed. Mikie is a validation consultant. And she loves her job!

Sometimes when you work in IT, it’s tough to explain to outsiders what exactly it is that you do for a living. Well, Mikie’s the one you call when your company needs to figure out how to prove it’s being compliant.

We need to add a definition for compliance validation to WhatIs.com. Mikie said:

When regulated industries install or change any equipment that impacts the identity, strength, or quality of their products, their regulatory agency requires that the company collect documented evidence to show that the equipment or process is operating as intended, that it produces the expected results (or product), and that the equipment or process will continue to operate as intended in the future. This “collection of documented evidence” is the validation.

Overheard: Wikileaks and the Streisand effect

It’s a perfect example of the Streisand effect. This was a really small thing that no one heard about and now it’s everywhere and everyone’s talking about it. Mike Masnick as quoted in Wikileaks Case Due Back in Court

Techdirt’s Mike Masnick invented the term “Streisand effect” after actress Barbra Streisand went to court to try and have satellite photos of her Malibu house taken down from an Internet website. The press surrounding her lawsuit actually helped spread the photos faster.

If you belong to Facebook, we have a group there called I want to invent a new tech word. Join us!

Overheard: Using caller ID spoofing to listen to someone else’s voicemail

Another problem that has arisen with Caller ID Spoofing is when a voicemail service uses only CID to authenticate a mailbox holder and does not ask for the pin. You can actually get in and listen to messages on someone else’s account. I have seen it done with a mobile phone’s voicemail account on a prepaid phone from Cingular (now AT&T). Rick Fiore, IT manager

Overheard: Presidential Directive 54

After Pentagon officials revealed that cyber-spies had penetrated government servers in June 2007 and stolen untold amounts of sensitive data, government security agencies have tightened security of sensitive federal data. Andy Greenberg, Bush’s Double-Edged Cyber-Security Plan

In March, the House Committee on Homeland Security plans to hold public hearings on Presidential Directive 54, a project that will expand cyber-monitoring of all federal agencies’ networks. That’s right. We’re already up to PD 54.
According to Mr. Greenbert’s article (above) Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Laura Keehner says the $30 billion monitoring program will be concentrated on the federal networks, although it “will work with the private sector to harden their security.”

When I read this, I couldn’t help but think about AT&T whistleblower Mark Klein describing how the NSA had him installing a dumb splitter to capture communications. So the spokespeople are saying “we’re only monitoring this part” but the technicians installing the monitoring equipment are saying “the stuff we’re using isn’t sophisticated enough to monitor specific communications — we gotta grab it all.”

There’s some kind of irony here. We end up with Big Brother watching and listening to everything we do because our technology isn’t smart enough to be Little Brother.

Overheard: Terrorists and criminals in Second Life?

US intelligence officials are growing increasingly wary of Second Life and other virtual worlds, which they say could soon become havens for terrorists, money-launderers and criminals engaged in corporate espionage. Dan Goodin, US spooks see Sadville as potential terrorist paradise

Ok, I can understand how SL might be used by criminals. Money laundering makes sense to me. But corporate espionage? How would that work?

Video: Vint Cerf talks about Net neutrality

Net neutrality is the principle that data packets on the Internet should be moved impartially, without regard to content, destination or source.

Video: TCP/IP

An animated explanation about how data is moved around on the Internet.

Video: Using your PC as a phone