"There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” – Aldous Huxley

 

Top Picks

Hysteria over swine flu is the real danger, some say
“’We have people without symptoms going into the emergency rooms asking to be screened for swine flu at the expense of people with real illness,’ said Cathy Gichema, a nurse in Pikesville, Maryland.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/03/swine.flu.react/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/05/02/worried.well.hospitals/index.html

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

 

I’m researching some issues on governance and audit right now.  The following are some interesting resources I turned up:

·         Deloitte’s “The Risk Intelligent Chief Audit Executive”
http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/dtt_ERS_CAE031907.pdf

·         “Risk Management and the Board of Directors” Legal Report posted at Harvard.edu
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/corpgov/files/2008/11/risk-management-and-the-board-of-directors.pdf

·         “Questions Directors Should be Asking About Risk management”
http://www.boardoptions.com/riskmanagement.htm

·         “Corporate Directors May Not Be Providing Sufficiently Robust Enterprise Risk Oversight”
http://www.conference-board.org/utilities/pressDetail.cfm?press_ID=2893

 

Kurt’s Corner

News and views from Kurt Milne, the managing director of the ITPI.  He can be reached at: kurt.milne@....

 

Microsoft server application virtualization – sneak peek
Per Microsoft - the goal is to get to the point where separation between the operating system, the middleware and the applications means that the only traditional installation IT will have to do is laying down a hypervisor on physical server hardware.
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/042909-microsoft-server-app-virtualization.html?netht=ts_043009&nladname=043009dailynewsamal

 

Legal perspective on cloud security – do you know where your data is?
Tanya Forsheit’s net net - there just isn't yet a practical solution for protecting data in the cloud to meet current laws.  The law as we know it does not really sufficiently contemplate the world as it exists -- that data is already in the cloud.
http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/community/features/interviews/blog/theres-more-than-one-way-to-tackle-privacy-in-the-cloud/?cs=31854&utm_source=itbe&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MCS&nr=MCS

 

Do current health care IT cuts jeopardize Electronic Health Record vision?
President Obama's plan to extend healthcare coverage faces a significant test on the IT front. Healthcare IT News reports that a new American Hospital Association survey indicates that more than half of American hospitals are responding to recent economic pressure by either scaling back IT projects or tabling them altogether.
http://blogs.cioinsight.com/knowitall/content001/infrastructure/healthcare_it_hit_in_recession.html?kc=CIOMINUTE05012009CIO1

 

Data Centers / Cloud Computing / Green IT

Why virtualization is shaking up IT data centers
“Simply having a uniform (or near-uniform) software layer between the physical infrastructure and your compute workloads means you can begin to assemble a homogeneous physical infrastructure to support a heterogeneous abstract IT environment.”
http://news.cnet.com/8301-19413_3-10168613-240.html

[I don’t recall seeing this article when it came out and the message is a good one – reduction in variation is beneficial.]

 

Security and Risk Management

USPS Probes Security Breach
“CBS News has learned of another data breach potentially compromising the personal information of thousands of people. Companies Lexis Nexis and Investigative Professionals have notified up to 40,000 people whose ‘sensitive and personally identifiable’ information may have been viewed by individuals who should not have had access.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/01/cbsnews_investigates/main4982989.shtml

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Dangerous climate change may be just 50 years away, study warns
“If you haven’t done much lately to reduce your carbon footprint, a new analysis in the journal Nature may motivate you to start living a more eco-friendly life. When human injection of carbon released into the atmosphere gets up to one trillion tons, the result will be a dangerous climate change, says a paper in the journal.
 http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/05/01/2009-05-01_dangerous_climate_change_may_be_just_50_years_away_study_warns.html

 

US News / Business / Economics

Chrysler shutdown pushes suppliers closer to edge
“With all 30 of Chrysler's plants idled through the automaker's bankruptcy process, its cash-strapped parts suppliers will have no new revenue for the next 60 days -- or indefinitely.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE5405SM20090501

 

Global companies fear Obama's new tax proposals
“Multinational companies on Monday said President Barack Obama's proposals to rein in corporate loopholes will make them less competitive, while consumer advocates said the changes are long overdue fixes for abuse.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/economicNews/idUSN0440647120090504

 

Technology & Science

Looking for a Wi-Fi hot spot? Try 10,000 feet up
“A number of domestic airlines have recently begun offering Wi-Fi Internet access aboard planes, and other airlines say they are working toward making it happen.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/business.travel/05/04/airplane.wifi/index.html

 

Exploding star is oldest object seen in universe
“The object, known as GRB 090423, is about 200 million years older than the previous record-holder for oldest object ever seen.  Berger isn't just interested in the record books, though -- the gamma ray burst extended the frontiers of human knowledge about the history of the universe.”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/29/gamma.ray.burst.space/index.html

 

End Notes

The News is brought to you by George Spafford, Principal Consultant at Pepperweed Consulting, LLC.  Pepperweed is nationally recognized as a leader in IT Management Consulting.  For more information, check out our website at www.pepperweed.com or call 888-229-0145. Please let us know if you see stories you think should be included in the next issue of The News, and feel free to forward this email on to others.

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