"The bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you refuse to take the turn. ” – Anonymous

 

Top Picks

The problem is information insecurity

“We’re not paying to improve the security of the underlying software. We’re paying to deal with the problem rather than to fix it.”

http://www.securitywatch.co.uk/2008/08/10/the-problem-is-information-insecurity/

[Great article]

 

Flush With Energy

This is a great article by Thomas Friedman who discusses a recent trip to Greenland and Denmark and the perspectives on energy conservation that he sees there compared to the US.  They have been innovating new means to conserve power since the 1973 oil crisis and the results show.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/opinion/10friedman1.html?_r=1&em&oref=slogin

 

Verdiem's Edison Helps Green-Computing Trend

“Verdiem's Edison is a free software app for Windows PCs that lets you control PC energy consumption and cut down on carbon-dioxide emissions. If one percent of PCs used Edison, seven billion pounds of CO2 would be removed from the environment. Microsoft supports Verdiem, and asks Windows users to control their power settings with Edison.”

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=013000Q8QJIF

 

IT Process Improvement / Quality Management

Capacity Management and Green IT

“In the current socioeconomic situation of skyrocketing energy costs, concerns over global warming and the need to manage risks, IT organizations would be very well served to take a closer look at the ITIL Capacity Management process as a means to better manage energy consumption.”

http://www.itsmwatch.com/itil/article.php/3763086

 

Do You Believe?

“I have been in some very dysfunctional IT shops with warring factions that somehow got the job done.  In peeling back the layers to understand current state, and interesting common trait became apparent.  They all profoundly believed in the organization’s mission.”

https://swarm.jupitermedia.com/itsmwatch/2008/08/do-you-believe.html

 

Microsoft, Others Push Green Computing

“Microsoft has allied with various tech giants and a non-profit group to tout energy-efficient "green" computing. This effort, however, is aimed at consumers, and includes free energy-saving software called Edison that is a scaled-down version of a product Verdiem sells to corporations.”

http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/99952/microsoft-others-push-green-computing.html

Microsoft’s Environment Website:  http://www.microsoft.com/environment/

 

Driving change through energy efficiency

“Sustainability, energy efficiency and cost savings have become integral components of green computing, or green information technology (IT).”

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/8/9/business/22012369&sec=business

[This is an interesting article about corporate responsibility in Malaysia regarding Green IT.]

 

Travelers Will Be Able to Surf the Internet while Flying

“Several companies have announced that they will introduce or that they are making tests to see if they can introduce WiFi Internet access on the airplanes that form their fleet. The announcement is one that certainly pleases tech-savvy airplane passengers.”

http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Travelers_Will_Be_Able_to_Surf_the_Internet_while_Flying_21865.html

 

Security and Risk Management

Hackers steal 40 million credit card numbers

“The indictments, which alleged that at least nine major U.S. retailers were hacked, were unsealed Tuesday in Boston, Massachusetts, and San Diego, California, prosecutors said.  It is believed to be the largest hacking case that the Justice Department has ever tried to prosecute.”

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/05/card.fraud.charges/index.html

 

Army to Probe Security of U.S. Laboratory That Handles Anthrax

“The Army, confronted by congressional criticism, said it will assess security at the Maryland biodefense laboratory that employed the scientist the government now blames for the anthrax attacks of 2001.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aXEX50w3dmXs&refer=home

 

Hackers' Latest Target: Social Networking Sites

“Social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn are fast emerging as some of the most fertile grounds for malicious software, identity thieves and online mischief-makers.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/08/AR2008080803671.html

 

Top 10: A week full of security news

“The biggest tech stories of the week were about security, whether it was news from the Black Hat conference, Facebook hacks, or ID theft”

http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/08/08/Top_10_A_week_full_of_security_news_1.html

 

Defcon 16 Kicks Off In Controversy

“Would you expect the 16th annual hackfest to begin any other way? Whether it's the arrest of security researchers, or the outted undercover TV producer of years gone by, Black Hat's sister security and hacking conference, Defcon, always causes a stir.”

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/08/defcon_16_kicks.html

 

Healthcare / Bio-Informatics / Care Delivery Organizations (CDOs)

3 Southern California hospitals accused of using homeless for fraud

“Facilities in Los Angeles and Tustin allegedly churned thousands of indigents through their sites and billed Medicare and Medi-Cal for costly and unjustified medical procedures.”

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-skidrow7-2008aug07,0,1923750.story

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/us/10homeless.html?em

 

Hospitals try to calm doctors' outbursts

“North Shore is part of an emerging effort to crack down on what some call healthcare road rage. The push is inspired by a growing body of research suggesting that swearing, yelling, and throwing objects are not just rude and offensive to co-workers, but hurt patients by increasing the likelihood of medical errors.”

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/08/10/hospitals_try_to_calm_doctors_outbursts/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed1

[The same is true in IT too.  “Star” performers whose outbursts are tolerated will generate negative effects.]

 

Human Error / Safety / Environment

Tropical Warming Tied to Flooding Rains

“Scientists studying variations in tropical heat and rainfall since the mid-1980s have found a strong link between warm periods and a rise in the frequency of the most extreme downpours.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/science/earth/08rain.html?ref=world

 

Why solving global warming may not pay off

“You have $75-billion (U.S.) to give away in the next five years. You are tempted to direct all of it to solar power research - to help avert the end of human existence - but you know that it would be prudent to do some cost-benefit analysis first.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080808.RREYNOLDS08/TPStory/Business

[An interesting article - basically it talks about arriving at consensus among researchers where the best return on investment for mankind will be.  This year it is micronutrient research for children.]

 

Global News / Business / Economics

Comment: Ireland’s knowledge economy needs a rethink

“Irish policy towards education and innovation appears to take a rather mechanistic approach: as long as we produce more and more graduates and PhDs, we will turn into a knowledge economy in which innovation takes centre-stage.”

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS+FEATURES-qqqm=nav-qqqid=35048-qqqx=1.asp

 

Microsoft launches open source lab in RP

“In a press briefing on Thursday, officials of Microsoft Philippines and the government’s Commission on Information and Communication Technology said the laboratory will spur the development of open source technologies.”

http://www.gmanews.tv/story/112115/Microsoft-launches-open-source-lab-in-RP

 

Rise of The Sea Turtles

“China has a long tradition of chauvinism, and for some sea turtles [Chinese nationals who have lived overseas and returned home], intimate acquaintance with Western attitudes has only intensified their feelings of defensiveness.”

http://www.newsweek.com/id/151730

 

US News / Business / Economics

Big Three face bankruptcy fears

“With their sales plunging as fewer consumers are willing to buy gas-guzzling pickups and SUVs, some experts fear that GM, Ford or Chrysler could be forced to head for bankruptcy.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/06/news/companies/big_three_woes/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

Freddie: Losses soar, dividend slashed

“Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac, in a sign of continuing woes for the housing and financial markets, reported a much bigger than expected second quarter loss and slashed its dividend on Wednesday.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/06/news/companies/freddie_results/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

Where the big jobs are

“Despite the slump at lowlier levels of the job market, there's currently a war for senior management talent. In fact, 70% of executive recruiters surveyed by networking organization ExecuNet (www.execunet.com), say there's a shortage of people who can step in and run things.”

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/07/news/economy/where.jobs.are.fortune/index.htm?cnn=yes

 

Credit Card Industry Faces Reforms

“Stricter regulation of the credit card industry will probably be approved by the end of the year, consumer advocates, members of Congress and banking officials said as the comment period on the Federal Reserve's proposed actions drew to a close last week.  Nearly 56,000 comments poured into the agency via e-mail and regular mail, a record response for any Fed proposal, said agency spokeswoman Susan Stawick.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/08/09/AR2008080900138.html?hpid=topnews

 

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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