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January 01, 2003

January 31, 2003
Register Away
By Lori MacVittie at 03:20 PM

I just couldn't let it sit.

You can now register as a customer of NWC Inc.

I'm going to tell you now - do NOT enter real credit card information. Make it up. We don't want real info in those fields.

You can enter as much other "real" info as you like. If you'd like to be able to interact with NWC Inc. as we move forward, you might want to consider using an e-mail address that you periodically check out, cause we'll be doing some neat things soon that will hopefully get you involved. But remember - you don't have to enter anything real and we won't sell or use the info in any other way if that's your choice. We're assuming if you put a real email in there that you want to be involved. So if you don't want to be involved, don't use a real e-mail address.

Thanks - and as always, your feedback and comments are welcome and appreciated!

Posted here at 03:20 PM in NWC Inc

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Place your orders, please
By Lori MacVittie at 02:07 PM

Well finally. I managed to get back into the swing of things and get the order process complete. At least from an order entry standpoint.

You also get to choose a delivery method:

NWC Standard (guy on a bike) $5.95
NWC Second day (guy in a car) $15.95
NWC Next day (guy on a plane) $25.95

Because if we're selling 'em, someone has to deliver them.

On a development note, when I create a new Servlet via WebSphere Studio, I'd expect that it extend HttpServlet by default. It doesn't. It extends whatever class I had selected. This caused no end of trouble. I kept seeing a "Class Cast Exception". Finally it occurred to me to actually look at the class definition. WebSphere AS was right - it wasn't a servlet class. Now it is and it's working just fine.

Posted here at 02:07 PM in NWC Inc

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January 30, 2003
Simulations
By Lori MacVittie at 04:31 PM

Our base simulations are now running. We're receiving orders and getting new inventory on a daily basis.

An average of 720 transactions per day will be occuring. Right now they aren't scheduled around any specific time of day. A cron job is running a
php script that calls a Java servlet that randomly chooses a customer and then creates an order for that customer - randomly, of course.

Our mail simulation is not up and running yet, as we had to replace some hardware in the simulation servers recently and haven't downloaded and
installed LoadSim once again - but soon!

Posted here at 04:31 PM in NWC Inc

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January 29, 2003
IT Minute: Lotusphere 2003 Report
By Brad Shimmin at 10:06 PM
Hi folks, I've just posted a Real Audio report by Ron Anderson, direct from this week's Lotusphere conference in Orlando Florida. Tune in to hear Ron talk about Lotus' plans to migrate away from NFS and toward DB2, its new e-mail only server, and the company's move to J2EE and WebSphere.

Posted here at 10:06 PM in

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RSS info on tap
By Brad Shimmin at 01:52 PM
For those of you who are experimenting with or just interested in content syndication via RSS, I've compiled the following set of articles, tools and syndication feeds.

I hope you find this list and our own set of RSS feeds valuable. As a matter of fact, if you're currently browsing our content via RSS, I'd love to hear from you.

Posted here at 01:52 PM in

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January 28, 2003
SQL Sapphire/Slammer: MS apps that installe MSDE:
By Mike Fratto at 09:54 AM
If you have these deployed applications deployed, you need to patch them against the SQL worm.

Posted here at 09:54 AM in

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January 27, 2003
Apple eat your, um, core out
By Brad Shimmin at 06:07 PM
Who needs Ellen Feiss, when you've got Ubergeek.tv and its new Switch to Linux animation.

Posted here at 06:07 PM in

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SQL Saphhire: Woe to Those Who Don't Patch
By Mike Fratto at 09:02 AM

As you're probably aware, a massive worm attack using Microsoft's SQL Server 2000 surfaced over the weekend. It's a nasty worm; reports on various lists claim packet loss on NAPs (network access points) reaching 90 percent. Those of you who don't manage Microsoft SQL servers but were hit by this worm should be annoyed at your colleagues who didn't stay on top of patches or properly manage and maintain your company's servers.

Certainly, a lot of Microsoft bashing is going on. But you know what? You really have to stop blaming Microsoft for every little ill that comes your way. Take some responsibility. Of course, this was--another--problem with a Microsoft product, but a patch has been available since June 24, 2002. That's what, almost seven months. Say it with me now, s-e-v-e-n long months.

Now, it seems to me that Next Generation Security Software Ltd., which discovered this vulnerability, took the correct, responsible disclosure route: The company's researchers found a problem, notified Microsoft, worked with the developers in Redmond to solve the problem and then announced its findings. I don't think exploit code was even in the wild, so you can't blame this attack on script kiddies.

The fault for this weekend's debacle falls at the feet of the person in your organization who manages your SQL servers. The only people who are blameless are those who tried to install the patch and found that it broke some critical functionality. These people rightfully--for obvious business reasons--could not install it. Otherwise, you don't have a leg to stand on. It's just irresponsible. Period. No excuses.

If you don't have time to read the advisories, you can < a href="http://register.microsoft.com/regsys/pic.asp">have them sent to you, or you can subscribe to alert newsletters like our own Security Alert Consensus.

Yes. Bite the bullet and get a stupid PassPort account. Have fun; just make sure you supply an e-mail address you actually read--or at least scan. And then put those patches and hotfixes into your calendar and roll them out.

For this particular problem, install the patch and don't forget any MSDE (Microsoft SQL Desktop Engine) deployments. Users with Visio or Visual Studio installed, to name two, will need to be patched. The patch only works with SQL Server Service Pack 2, which you can download here. .

Otherwise, get SQL Server Service Pack 3.

Posted here at 09:02 AM in

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January 26, 2003
It's a mad world
By Brad Shimmin at 06:11 PM
Up for grabs on ebay:

Complete staff of ZDNet Tech Update, formerly a vital division of one of the top ten highest-trafficked sites on the Web, currently available to instantly implement professional Web site or print magazine. Bi-coastal staff has familiarity with information technology issues, HTML, Vignette, and AP style.

Posted here at 06:11 PM in

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The most annoying spam of 2002
By Brad Shimmin at 06:03 PM
According to a BBC News article, 30 percent of all email is spam. Of course anyone could tell you that, but have you ever wondered what the top 10 spam messages-types were for 2002? The folks at Surf Control did a little research and came up with their list of most annoying messages. Enjoy (or should I say lament...)

XXX Your Free Adult Sites Password
Check out our new lower prices. Many "drug" types available. (Viagra)
Get Cash Out! Refinance while rates are still low�
Urgent and Confidential (Nigerian Hoax)
Remote Control Car The Size of a Hot Wheel!
Rated #1 Best Online Casino
#1 Pasta Pot As Seen on TV
Get Out of Credit Card Debt
Meet Singles in Your Area
Copy Any DVD in One Click

Posted here at 06:03 PM in

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New site content
By Brad Shimmin at 05:50 PM
Hi everyone,

We've just posted the first installment of our February 6th issue. In this issue we've got a very comprehensive review of Dual-mode Access Points by Jesse Lindeman & Julio Caraballo. Plus we have a workshop on how to plan for Voice over IP infrastructure by Lee Badman.

As always, you can grab the entire contents of the new issue from our RSS feed, or you can browse for stories here.

Also, we've posted some nifty non-magazine content as follows.

Posted here at 05:50 PM in

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January 24, 2003
Switches!
By Tom LaSusa at 01:28 PM

We now have our new Cisco stuff and things are very cool now. Lori should be getting around to configuring that stuff soon and we will get the cabling done soon. We also got 12 more p4 workstations for the lab and we will be setting them up soon. The vendor unfortunatly sent us them without CDROM drives or floppy drives, so we have to install them separately. Ah well. Everyone have a good weekend and we will see you next week.

Posted here at 01:28 PM in NWC Inc

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January 23, 2003
Cable Management
By Lori MacVittie at 07:49 PM

We received a happy package today filled with colorful cables. We'll be using them to distinguish between network, KVM and management connectivty.
With the multitude of cables we have in the infrastructure, we're thinking it'll be easier to deal with if we know at a glance what's what.

I also managed to get Visual Studio .NET installed today - which took much longer than I thought it would. Four CDs and a couple reboots later... It's up.

Posted here at 07:49 PM in NWC Inc

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January 21, 2003
There's Penguins everywhere...
By Donald MacVittie at 04:08 PM
Hello folks;

This is my first post on the Blog, so I thought I'd start by being controversial. Sorry, it's in my nature.

Take a look at the IBM Linux site for some fun Penguin videos: IBM Linux

And think that they are now saying all of their e-series is Linux enabled.

Then think about the HP statement that $2Billion of their income was "Linux related".

Add to that the statement by Goldman Sachs that Linux would rule the datacenter.

Then stop to consider why your organization is still pretending it's not a force in the IT marketplace.

We've said it before. The Penguin is coming.

Don.

Posted here at 04:08 PM in

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January 19, 2003
New issue online now
By Brad Shimmin at 06:37 PM
Hello folks, we've just posted the final installment of our January 23rd issue of Network Computing. In this issue, we've got a terrific feature on the state of security by Greg Shipley. Here's a quote from Greg.

You don't have to be a statistician to know that computer-related crime is on the rise, and as society grows more dependent on information systems, our risks increase proportionally. Despite substantial progress, the infosec challenge is simply not being met. The problem stems partly from technology shortcomings riddling the systems we're trying to defend, partly from a lack of executive support, and partly from our lack of understanding of our true resource requirements.

In addition to the normal fair, we've we've added the following items to the site today.

As always, you can grab the entire contents of the new issue from our RSS feed, or you can browse for stories here.

Posted here at 06:37 PM in

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January 16, 2003
Linux prognostications, withstanding the test of time
By Brad Shimmin at 06:52 AM
That was then.

"Time is on Linux's side. Should the OS continue to evolve at its current pace, Linux's widespread adoption in the enterprise space will be inevitable."
---Network Computing, Jun, 2000.

This is now.

"Linux will emerge as the dominant operating system in corporate data centers, according to a new study by Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news)."
---Yahoo News/Newsfactor, Jan, 2003.

Posted here at 06:52 AM in

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January 15, 2003
We're Back
By Tom LaSusa at 06:25 AM

Sorry to all about the long silence, we had to get our vacation in before the beginning of the year and then we had a Network Computing Editorial Conferance for a week. It's been busy here, however. I expect that we will have our Cisco switches in the next two days. Booya. Our Snap 4100 died again yesterday in the Lab part of the network. What a nightmare. Your not SUPPOSED to have two drive failures within five minutes. Well, we'll have more in the next couple of days. Take care, all

Steven

Posted here at 06:25 AM in NWC Inc

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January 12, 2003
Our first issue of 2003, now online
By Brad Shimmin at 06:49 PM
Good morning everyone, we've just posted the first installment of our January 23rd issue of Network Computing. In this issue, we return to Life Time Fitness to discuss IT budgeting practices for 2003. We also tackle Resilient Packet Ring (rpr), bridging the world of Sonet and Ethernet. We're also pleased to bring you the following new site services/content offerings.

TechQuiz: Data Security
Last Mile call for Entries: Geek project and top 11 list.
Compare IT: Managed Firewall Services

As always, you can grab the entire contents of the new issue from our RSS feed, or you can browse for stories here.

Posted here at 06:49 PM in

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January 05, 2003
Web Services Project: Welcome!
By Brad Shimmin at 05:12 PM
Hello everyone. If you're interested in Web apps, I invite you to take a look at our newly launched weblog, Project Web Services. Edited by Lori MacVittie, our newest weblog will let you work hand-in-hand with her as she sets up and tests Web Services solutions for our upcoming print issue. Here's a quote from Lori:

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, readers of Network Computing, is to join us in conducting this review by commenting on test criteria, plans, methodology and product selection. Make suggestions! Make comments. Be bold. This review is for you, so let us know what's important to you and what you think.

Today Lori has posted her test criteria, weightings and a brief description of the test environment. So take a look and share your experiences and thoughts. You can also post questions for Lori on our Shop Talk forum. Enjoy!

Posted here at 05:12 PM in

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January 04, 2003
2002 Network Computing Search SiteGeist
By Brad Shimmin at 09:34 PM
In honor of google.com's yearly Google Zeitgeist, we've put together our own little list of the search terms used on www.nwc.com during during 2002.

Most popular search term: Search
Five most popular (sensible) search terms:
1. vpn
2. wireless
3. voip
4. backup
5. san
Most popular company name: Cisco
Most sought after NWC Editor: Lori MacVittie
Longest search phrase: enterprise information portals or enterprise portals or portal software or content management or information management or business intelligence or knowledge management or km or bi or cm or customer relationship management or crm or categorization or classification or classifier or classification software or search engines or enterprise search or summarizer or summarization technology or automatic hyperlinking or personalization or concept search or semantic network or neural network or theme extraction or concept extraction
Most disturbing search phrase: serial killer or killer or murderer
Most popular misspelt search term: encryptinon
Most geeky search term: foo
Most popular freeware search term: sendmail
Search term least likely to yield results: hells angel
Search term most likely to represent a hacking attempt: password
Most painful search term: network collisions
Most off-topic search term: pottery barn
Biggest cry for help: how make backup server
Most non-committal search phrase: harbor or harbour or port
Most yummiest search term: yogurt

Posted here at 09:34 PM in

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Welcome to Shop Talk
By Brad Shimmin at 05:14 PM
Hi folks. I'm pleased to announce our newest forum, Shop Talk. Unlike Ask the Experts, where you can post specific questions for our forum moderator, Shop Talk provides a spot where you can express thoughts and questions about the industry, products, jobs, our editors, and even their stories. Feel free to voice your opinions or post your quandaries here.

Bear in mind that this forum is for and by Network Computing readers, so look for our moderators to step in only when there's a scuffle or ruckus. That said, watch for our editors to post questions for you from time to time.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at bshimmin@nwc.com. We hope you enjoy this forum.

brad

Posted here at 05:14 PM in

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New CEO Minute
By Brad Shimmin at 04:46 PM
Hi folks. I've just posted an interview with Joseph P. Beninati, CEO of Greenwich Technology Partners, a global consulting firm that specializes in assisting IT departments realize their potential. They also work with us to produce our quarterly IT Exams. In our interview, Joseph talks about priorities in IT spending and compelling technologies for 2003. I hope you enjoy it.

You can use the list below to jump right to a given topic, or you can stream the whole thing here. This requires RealPlayer, of course.

Posted here at 04:46 PM in

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January 03, 2003
WiFi at sea
By Brad Shimmin at 05:58 AM
Happy New Year everyone. Where there's a niche, there's a market, some would say. Obviously in agreement with this axiom, Wheat Wireless is building out a coastal WiFi network, targeting (you guessed it) cruise ships and other maritime wayfarers. Though still unrealized, Wheat's seagoing network is said to reach as far as 300 miles out into sea.

My analysis? As if mystery flu epidemics weren't motivation enough, now we're being given the "opportunity" to take work with us on a cruise? Thank you, but no.

Posted here at 05:58 AM in

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