2006 BizIT101 Archives   by Gregory B. Michetti

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December 2006

Six Days on the Road

by Gregory B. Michetti

According to the late Erma Bombeck: "When You Look Like Your Passport Photo, It's Time to Go Home."

Actually, that’s the title of her very popular 1991 book but anybody who has covered a lot of miles in a short period of time knows exactly what she means. Including me. I left Edmonton at 7 AM on Monday October 9 and returned Saturday, October 14 at 6 PM. In those six days I covered a major Symantec press event in New York City followed by an intensive two day session at Hewlett-Packards Dublin Inkjet Manufacturing Operation in Ireland.

The Symantec event was directly across East 42^nd street from the main entrance to Grand Central Station in Manhattan, in a terrific looking historical building now operated by the Cipriani restaurant chain.Complete with ornate columns and marble floor mosaic architecture, this former Bowery Savings Bank was built so well, it was never broken into in its 85 year history. Perhaps this example of super-security was the subtle message Symantec Chairman and CEO John Thompson was trying to send to his audience at Security 2.0, the name of this media “vision” event.

In addition to bringing out a line of new consumer products and showing the corporate direction for 2007, Thompson and his crew addressed the growing issue of security issues “outside” of the local personal computer.

“At its heart is the realization that the battleground for security is no longer just the device, - as it used to be in Security 1.0 – but rather it’s shifted to the information and interactions,” said Thompson in his keynote. In other words, the Web is the big security risk; not the desktop.

Symantec is trying extremely hard to change its image from being known as an “antivirus” company to a full blown, Internet Security firm. After all, viruses are old news and we haven’t seen a good one for a few years now, “Phishing, identity theft, malicious users – these are the new threats,” adds Thompson. “Criminal elements are going after what’s truly valuable in this day and age – information.”

            He is, of course, correct as more than ever, consumers are doing on-line banking and on-line purchasing with credit card transactions. Symantec's "Internet Security Threat Report," points out how home users were the most targeted group online, representing 86% of all attacks in the first half of 2006. However, other recent studies show that fear of identity theft has stopped 53 percent of Internet users from giving personal information to Web sites and 14 percent from paying their bills online.

             Norton Confidential Online Edition 

            On the consumer product line, there’s Norton Confidential Online Edition, which will be available next year and provides Web browsing protection and confidential information management and protection. Aimed at financial institutions, it also provides crime ware protection and anti-phishing protection via Web site authentication to help customers safely conduct online transactions. For example, in July of this year, TD Canada Trust launched an earlier version of Norton Confidential Online Edition called Norton Confidence Online, which has resulted in more than 100,000 downloads of the tool.   

Symantec Mail Security 8300 Series 

Another announcement, this time for the corporate sector is Symantec Mail Security 8300 Series. Like earlier versions, it scans incoming and outgoing email for viruses and deals with spam, but now, it takes it a step further by scanning and filtering predefined key words and expressions; including attachments. For example, if somebody in the accounting department is regularly emailing confidential financial company documents to an unauthorized third party, the system flags it and notifies the system administrator or company president of any irregularities.

For additional information on Symantec's Security 2.0 vision go to Symantec's Canadian Web site is at www.symantec.ca.

 DIMO: the Dublin Inkjet Manufacturing Operation 

On Tuesday night, October 10, it was off to JFK airport where I took an overnight Delta flight to Dublin; arriving at 11 AM the next day. The following day we were off to DIMO, the Hewlett-Packard Dublin Inkjet Manufacturing Operation. The facility, located about 30 minutes out of the city is where HP manufactures inkjet cartridges for its deskjet printers.

Inkjet Cartridges – The Skinny

Now we all feel printer cartridges cost more than they should. However, research and development, 7,000 printing patents, top level scientists and a first-rate manufacturing facility like DIMO all cost money.

Not surprisingly, the obvious take-away from the DIMO event was to demonstrate the superior quality of the inkjet process over the inkjet cartridge re-manufacturers or re-fillers. Known affectionately at HP as the “remans,” these cartridge cloners simply sell regular ink in a variety of schemes but mostly as do-it-yourself packages, where a syringe-like tube is used to inject inexpensive ink into an empty HP printer cartridge. Problem is, you get what you pay for and the “remans” ink doesn’t print nearly as well in terms of quality, speed and durability as the real thing. According to the HP-supplied information, about 70 percent of the HP laser printer imaging system technology is built into the LaserJet print cartridge itself; meaning a lot is going on inside.

To put this into perspective, here’s what happens when you hit the OK button on the Print dialog box:

HP cartridges deliver ink to the page with up to 408 tiny nozzles, each finer than a human hair. With HP’s thermal inkjet technology, invented way back in 1979, ink is quickly heated to 300 degrees C and creates an expanding vapor bubble that ejects a tiny ink droplet. As the bubble collapses, the ink chamber is refilled. The only moving part of a thermal inkjet print cartridge is the ink itself.

Now, the thin film of hot ink must be formulated to avoid decomposition on the resistor surface. At the same time, it must generate a high quality image. Inks contaminated with impurities – like that from the remans - can clog the nozzles, slowing down the ink delivery system.

As the printed document feeds into the output bin, the cleaning blade scrapes any unused toner off the rotating drum into the toner waste hopper. A blade that is worn or not built to HP specifications can cause unwanted toner particles, known as “background scatter” across the page, reducing image quality.

Now most of this is far more detailed than it appears; a fact HP wants us to consider relative to the “remans.” In addition to patents, certain ink properties, ingredients, and manufacturing processes remain HP trade secrets, which make HP inkjet inks difficult to reverse engineer. There are only about 100 people in the world privy to the HP trade secrets.

Business is probably better than usual for HP these days. The stock price is nudging $40 and the company is extending its lead from the competition pack in several sectors. Last month, both Gartner Inc. and IDC had HP passing Dell as the world’s leader in personal computer shipments during Q3; with a 16.3 percent share of the global market versus 16.1 percent for Dell.

At the time of this writing, HP had not yet announced the results of its October 31 year end but all signs point to a very solid corporate year end.

November 2006

BizIT101

Encrypt-Stick USB Memory Key

by Gregory B. Michetti

Like most people “in the business” I use as many hi-tech gadgets as possible including a Blackberry and a notebook PC with an “air” card. This means I can use a cell phone, check my e-mail and, above all, get to the Internet from anywhere. For me, being connected is everything.

However, in order to remember some of the log-on information, or for quick and dirty PC fixes, I also had a 1-GB USB memory stick attached to my keychain.In addition to containing anti-virus software and anti-spyware downloads, the device also held various documents with sensitive client information. This included my personal passwords as well client VPN and Remote Desktop connections, com-plete with IP addresses, log-on user names and stored administrator passwords.

If I ever lost my keychain, I wouldn’t simply lose the keys to my car, office and home. Indeed, the person who found the USB key would have the ability to access the information systems and networks of over 100 file servers, several hundred personal computers and thousands of e-mail accounts.

Did somebody just say yikes?

That, however, was then. Today, I still use a USB key but it comes with encryption—it’s pretty much impossible for others to get into this removable drive if it falls into the wrong hands. The device I use is called Encrypt-Stick, a combo USB drive and special software from ENC Security Systems, Inc. of Pitt Meadows, near Vancouver, B.C. According to the product information, no one has ever been able to hack into an ENC-encrypted file.

Here’s how the Encrypt-Stick works: Peel the USB key out of the package, insert it in a spare USB slot, unzip the application files and you’re halfway there. Like most other USB keys, it shows up as a removable drive on your system.

Now, run the application file (an unzipped executable file that is on the key) and a Windows Explorer-like box opens and displays the drives and folders on the left hand side and the corresponding files on the right. Below is a third pane where you simply drag and drop the files you would like to encrypt or protect. That’s it.

The Encrypt-Stick application protects your files with a unique algorithm key that, once encrypted, makes the files unreadable by anyone. The Encrypt-Stick application software is run from an Encrypt-Stick enabled flash drive and, unlike other encryption software, is never installed on your computer.

Retrieving the protected files is just as easy. Go to another PC, insert the Encrypt-Stick and run the application; remembering, once again that it is ON the stick. An authentication screen appears where you enter your password and when the now familiar three-pane window appears, select the encrypted file and remove it from the list or decrypt it to another location on that PC. Yes, you can select more than one file or folder at a time. There are a few more options, including overwriting of existing files, removing them from archive and, of course, the ability to rename the newly decrypted file.

OK, so what happens if I actually DO lose my Encrypt-Stick? Well, first, you must have backed-up your Algorithm key and your Password. Both pieces of information are required in the event of loss. Naturally, you don’t store this backed up file on your computer. Burn it to a CD or floppy and store that media in a secure location. ENC cannot decrypt your files for you so you must back-up your algorithm key. However, you will be able to get access to any encrypted files on your PC; provided you had registered with ENC when you did the set up.

The 512 MB USB device sells for (US) $99.95 and includes the appropriate software. Alternatively, you can use your own key and for (US) $49.95 can down-load the encryption software from the ENC website.

ENC is the brainchild of former Edmontonian Ed Rusnak, who has a 10 year background in encryption technology that includes the development of remote wellhead reading devices for Alberta’s oilpatch. ENC began in 2005 when Rusnak realized “The whole world is going to security.” I’ll say. According to Rusnak, “ENC uses polymorphic ciphers which have sustained all types of cryptanalytic attacks by others in an attempt to break this code since 1999.”

Encrypt-Stick works with Microsoft’s Windows 98 SE, ME, 2000, and XP and you can encrypt any file type.

Early adopters of the Encrypt-Stick include NAIT and Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) Tax Incentive Program branch in BC. Other adopters are people like me or any other individuals who are carrying the “e-keys” and passwords to several systems, servers, workstations and user accounts.

Check out the ENC website and watch for other encryption systems that are in final stages of development; www.encrypt-stick.com

October 2006

BizIT101

Website Design Templates - Just Add Content

by Gregory B. Michetti

When was the last time you baked a cake right from scratch?

Wow. That long ago, eh?

Chances are you make your cakes the same way I do: Buy a handy cake mix from the local supermarket, add milk and ta-da; there it is. Even I can’t screw that up.

Same thing applies to today’s creation of simple, basic websites. Most designers, especially those novice types doing a relatively standard site, will use a set of templates or one they’ve recently completed, just to get the new project up and running. Templates—pre-designed layouts you can adapt to your own information—also work well if you’re the local, one-person, in-house computer support team who gets a request from the boss to overhaul the existing web production.

Thankfully, there are several places that sell website templates, much like supermarkets sell cake mix. All you do is shop for the one that best fits your requirement, pay for it on-line via credit card or PayPal, download and extract the zipped file and add your content via an application; like Microsoft FrontPage 2003.

Now FrontPage isn’t the most user-friendly app written by the Gates Gang. However, it is not that expensive (less than $200) and users familiar with other Microsoft Office apps will recognize the similar look and feel. Function-wise, there are clearly better applications—like the Dreamweaver-equipped Macromedia Studio 8 set of design tools—but the learning curve is steep and the cost approaches a G-note. Keep in mind you are designing a simple site for Luigi’s Radiator Shop; you are not writing the front end for Amazon.com.

Problem is, the sample templates that come with FrontPage are downright awful: boring, plain, no pizzazz whatsoever. Thankfully, entrepreneurial programmers and business types have recognized this empty market niche and have created third party templates. Some of the best, cost-effective templates come from an online firm called AllWebco Design Corporation, located at http://allwebco-templates.com

You can choose from (all figures US) a $15, four-page site to a $125, 20-plus page site with three expandable product pages, built-in Paypal and 2CO forms for payment processing. If yours is a software firm, you can even buy a template that allows for sales of automatic downloads of your products. In most cases, there are at least eight, Flash-equipped image pages linked to standard .jpg images. These sites have global editing features, meaning you can simply edit a single JavaScript text file to update all pages.

All of the templates are compatible with any server and can be set up using any hosting company. Pages can be edited with Microsoft FrontPage, GoLive, Dreamweaver, Notepad or any HTML editor. The template sites are completely set up by the user, and AllWebco templates require no graphics knowledge or software. Each site comes with a searchable help database page and, if you can’t figure that out, a quick e-mail to the AllWebco support team fixes you up fast, as they generally reply within a couple of hours.

Although plenty of replaceable images are included in each template, you can easily insert your own pictures and change colours. My guess is that an AllWebco template takes you 75 percent of the way to making your own site.

However, what’s best part about the AllWebco templates are the choices you get for the price you pay. There are general, cool, “graphix” and corporate categories, several photographer-style templates, and a very, very snappy-looking MP3-style template that looks downright big-league. There is even a set for budding Web designers looking to hustle up their web-building skills to the world.

The second best reason for buying these templates is they look good. The AllWebco team has a great eye for colour, design, fonts, layout, and just the right amount of Flash to make the site look professional. This is an especially big deal because nearly all the geeky computer people I know—including programmers, DBAs, integrators, and especially me—have absolutely no artistic sense whatsoever.

Summary: You can’t afford not to use these guys because a hundred dollars or so is chump change compared to what it takes to make a site from scratch, no matter what great tools you have.

Better yet, just think of all the time you’ll have to bake a cake.

Gregory B. Michetti of the Alberta-based systems integration firm Michetti Information Solutions, Inc. can be reached via www.michetti.com  or e-mail IT101@edmontonians.com 

Click here to see archive editions of BizIT 101by Gregory B. Michetti.

September 2006

The PC Turns 25 - What to Buy today.

by Gregory B. Michetti

August marked the 25th anniversary of the personal computer.

And if location, location, location represent the three key words in real estate, then headroom, headroom, headroom are now the three most important words for those looking for a new PC.

That’s because this year’s new PC takes on new meaning: It might be easy to make a buying mistake.

I’ll explain. Right now, PCs are astonishingly inexpensive—especially during the September buying period which is second only to Christmas in terms of hardware purchasing activity. You can easily get a new, modern, clone “box” from your friendly corner computer shop for around $500, sans operating system. Sheesh, the iPod, Sony PSP or a late model HP iPaq are in the same cost neighbourhood.

However, keep three key factors in mind: First, Microsoft will be releasing Vista, its new operating system either late this year but most likely in early 2007. Second, in anticipation of Vista, Intel has just released its Core 2 Duo processor for desktop computers. Third, Microsoft expects 45 percent of the new PCs shipping with Vista will be 64-bit computers, not the 32-bit we all see today.

Like it or not, there is a good chance you will want to upgrade to Vista in spring… and if you buy a new el cheapo PC now, how happy are you going to be if it moves along at glacier-like speed and only displays half the available graphics?

So now let me ask you again: Will that $500, 32-bit, no OS, Pentium 4 level computer with a basic graphics card be worth the dough you laid out for it mere months before? Probably not.

In other words, be careful of these low prices. Always make sure your new PC is Vista-ready with enough graphics, processor, memory and disk space for the new OS.

There’s way more to a new system than just the box, too. What gives with that old CRT-style monitor you’ve had since the mid ’90s? Toss it, will ya? Look at buying a new 19” flat panel LCD monitor—while you’re at it, get two. Why? Take a look at engineering, law, graphics design and accounting firms. The dual monitor support in Windows XP means they can keep their working file open on one monitor while the second one displays e-mail, a web page that constantly refreshes as well as a running TV feed from CNN.

Just because the new flat panel comes with built-in speakers, don’t get duped into thinking they’re good enough. Most of the time, the audio from the built-in speakers is awful. (What do video guys know about audio, anyway?) So count on laying out some coin for a good set of speakers and sub-woofers. The media features in Vista are designed to take full advantage of audio and TV feeds.

Also, some users have a main working monitor and a second one which is simply a feed from their Tablet PC. When they want to head to a meeting, they “undock” from the keyboard, mouse and ’Net connection and leave. They remain connected via WiFi as they stroll to the meeting room.

Also, make sure your PC is dual processor capable… that way, you don’t have to buy two now but you’re ready when you want a second. Incidentally, a GB of RAM is the new minimum. Disk space? Naturally, get as big a hard drive as possible but also consider a 250 or 500 GB external NAS or USB 2.0 device that connects to your network or PC respectively. This is important for back-up ideas and critical if you want to keep all those tunes you downloaded during your Napster days.

OK, you say you wanted to work on your home PC, too? A new version of Microsoft Office, called 2007, will ship this fall. There are several SKUs—and my guess is they will range from about $250 to $1,000; depending on what you really need and if it is a new copy as opposed to an upgrade. It’s about time you moved up from that Office 2000 suite you forgot to return to your old employer when you left the job three years ago. In other words, check the upgrade requirements as you may or may not qualify for an upgrade to Office 2007.

Oh yeah, the days of CD burners are over. Dead. Too small. Make sure your new PC comes with a DVD-ROM and has a DVD burner too. (CDs hold 650 MB; DVDs nearly five GB)

Now back to the 64-bit PCs mentioned earlier. Supposedly, it is going to be around $100-$200 higher than a comparable 32-bit unit. Problem is there aren’t that many applications written to take advantage of 64-bit computing so a 32-bit unit should suffice for the next two years.

Lifetime expectancy? Glad you asked. Most new PCs have a lifetime of about two years; maybe three. After that, they are passed down to younger family members or up to retiree-types. So there is some solace in knowing that PCs just don’t get tossed away: We simply find other uses for them. Still, at a time when new operating systems and processors are being released, remember this:

It’s not really about the PC—it’s about what’s connected to it

August 2006

Mayor Dead Wrong on Blackberries

by Gregory B. Michetti

The other day Edmonton Mayor Stephen Mandel discussed banning the use of Blackberry devices during city council meetings.

The following day, Scott McKeen, used his Edmonton Journal column to applaud Mandel and berate Blackberry owners, suggesting they were anti-social, selfish and out of touch with the rest of the world. Both Mandel and McKeen seem to think that glancing at your Blackberry is downright rude when you’re in the presence of others.

Now first, let me clarify that I think Mayor Mandel is doing a terrific job for the city, and the Journal... well, one out of two isn’t bad. Anyway, I’ll bet a C-note right now that neither Mandel nor McKeen owns a Blackberry. I will also double that bet to say they do have cell phones.

Portable e-mail devices, like the Research in Motion Blackberry product, have emerged as one of the premier productivity boosters ever made, especially for those in the hi-tech business. The RIM website notes that five million units have been sold.

In most cases, the e-mail the user is thumbing out is an important one—the majority of other messages will be answered the conventional way: back at the user’s computer.

Let’s dig deeper

However, there might be more to this Blackberry ban than meets the eye. Edmonton likes to champion the fact we are technological leaders. Maybe.

But maybe not. We’ve heard how the city will eventually be a wired “hot spot”—we’ll be able to get Internet access via WiFi from Ellerslie Road to the Yellowhead, from 215th Street to the Park. So far, other than normal political posturing, I haven’t seen anything coming from the city outlining a plan of any kind. Are we really walking the walk?

Just how strong are Mandel’s technological beliefs? A mayor who tries to un-ring the technology bell by banning Blackberries doesn’t sound like he gets the bigger techno-picture.

Furthermore, a golden revenue opportunity could be missed. Charging citizens for use of a new wireless system—say, $25 per year—is an easy way of drumming up some dough. Anybody remember Edmonton Telephones? By the way, visitors to the city would log in for a nominal fee. And, um… it will be $35 for Sherwood Park and St. Albert folk. Sorry.

Let’s dig even deeper

However, there’s probably a bigger reason our mayor dislikes Blackberries. That is, city councillors can simply e-mail or “PIN” each other with an instant message; kind of like sending a secret e-note without anybody knowing. Consider this hypothetical sample:

Councillor Phair: hey jane. how are you voting on this cat leash by-law?

Councillor Batty: i’m voting against it and you? btw did you have the tuna for lunch? mine was dry.

Councillor Phair: yo andy [Councillor Anderson], what’s your vote going to be? And btw, did u no there’s some mustard on your upper lip?

So what if they take a five second glance away from an exciting, Michael-Phair-no-tax-hike-this-year speech to see if they’ve received an e-mail from a relative? Something tells me there wouldn’t be too much missed. Last time I checked, those city council meetings, which progress at glacier-like speed, provide for several readings before votes are cast.

By the way, I’ve actually seen city councillors pass handwritten notes back and forth to each other during a city council meeting. Generally, they read the note, make eye contact with each other, then look at a common person (eg: the mayor). Next, they look back at each other, simultaneously nod their heads and smile.

I’m BBerrying—So what?

Now comes the fun part. Let’s imagine Blackberries are banned from city council meetings, and let’s imagine somebody deliberately breaks the rule and gets caught. What’s the punishment?

Kneel in the corner? Call Police Chief Mike Boyd? Five for fighting? Detention?

Can you imagine the international media attention that would be generated if a councillor actually got tossed? Woo hoo. Personally, I love to see my councillors use a Blackberry. It shows me they are capable of a) multitasking, and b) getting the bigger picture.

Where Mandel and McKeen are dead wrong is what they perceive as rudeness is actually the way people communicate these days. It is becoming much more socially acceptable—so suck it up guys and get with the program. You will never win a fight against technology.

So, Mayor Mandel, for starters, float some concrete action on the WiFi front. Next, get with the new tech millennium, get with thinking proactively and, above all, get a static IP.

If you’re not sure what that is, e-mail me at gmichetti@rim.blackerry.net

Even if I’m in a meeting, I’ll get right back to you.

July 2006

PODCASTS: IS ANYBODY LISTENING?

by Gregory B. Michetti

Podcasts… a dash of Tivo, a handful of audioblog and a whole lot of Wayne’s World all wrapped up in iPod cool. Defined as the broadcasting of video or audio files over the Internet for playback on a PC or portable device, the two-year old process evolved from the words “broad-casting” and Apple’s iPod music.

A single web site like podcast.net boasts literally thousands of available podcasts; with over 6,000 in the entertainment category alone. The variety is downright astonishing.

The heart and soul of podcasting perso-nifies the freedom of the web. It’s creating audio and video content for those who want to listen or view it exactly when, where and how they want.

However, there might be one funda-mental flaw with podcasts and podcasting: Is anybody really listening?

PODCASTS: ANYBODY HOME?

Podcasts are similar to blogs—maybe the only people who read blogs are those who write to them.

Time out for a quick survey: How many blogs have you read and how many pod-casts have you listened to lately? That’s what I thought.

However, for some, podcasts threaten the entire broadcasting business.

Canadian Association of Broadcasters President Glenn O’Farrell has expressed solid concern: “If we allow technology to irreversibly undermine broadcasters’ ability to continue in that tradition, we risk losing, little by little and bit by bit, the most powerful vehicles of cultural expression in Canada.” Further, he has hinted at some type of government intervention to help deal with technological advances he feels will hurt the industry. Call me crazy, but isn’t hiding behind the government skirt in an attempt to un-ring the Internet bell a tough thing to do?

CONTENT IS KING

Thankfully, O’Farrell’s view isn’t shared by all in the business and away from the politics of Ottawa. The CBC, Corus Entertainment and CanWest/Global—Canadian media heavyweights, view this electronic adversity as opportunity.

Doug Rutherford, veep of news/talk programming for Corus, sees podcasting as another means of distribution and similar to satellite radio. “Podcasts are something that represent new territory for broadcasters coming of age and we have to adapt. Now, I don’t have all the answers… but I do know that radio broadcasters are a very creative bunch.”

So, what will make podcasts work?

“Anything that makes memorable content,” says Rutherford. “If it is talk radio or music delivered via terrestrial, web or podcast, the message is the same: Content is king.”

“There are now three devices to view information: the personal computer, the television and a mobile unit like a cell phone or PDA,” says Vyomesh (VJ) Joshi, executive vice-president at Hewlett-Packard Imaging and Printing Group.

“In the months and years ahead, the big money in this consumer market segment is going to be made in the methods the three devices connect, or talk to each other. Con-sumers want this done easily, seamlessly and don’t really care how it happens. But they will pay for it.”

PODCASTING 101

Let’s look at education. The University of Calgary will be the first university in the country to introduce podcasting on a large scale featuring portable MP3 technology as a teaching tool in four courses. Students can listen to lectures at their convenience, either on a home computer or a portable MP3 player

“Utilizing podcasts means providing educational material that is portable, functional, relevant and convenient for both faculty and students,” says David Johnston, director of the U of C’s e-strategy project.

“We are taking relatively new technology and using it in new ways to enhance the teaching and learning experience. Students … are very interested in the portability and convenience of podcasts.”

Says Ryan Cameron, 20, a third-year student who is pursuing a double major in computer science and English, “There are always good points made in every class... if it’s podcast, you can listen to it over and over, and wherever you want.”

Dr. Harry Vandervlist, who will teach iENGL 231, adds: “It’s important that the recordings be well done and interesting. Using podcasts probably won’t save instructors any time, but what they will do is give both the instructors and their students more flexibility in how they use their time.”

 MOTHERCORP

Meanwhile, if anybody gets podcasting, it’s the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where its CBC Radio 3 is arguably the premier location in the world for undis-covered artists to easily upload their music and have it available for everyone to play.

Claude Galipeau, executive director of digital programming and business develop-ment of CBC, points out the success of its podcast-laden CBC Radio, and the overall success of its website, the most visited by Canadians. The Mothercorp deserves full marks for staying well ahead of the curve on all this. Since it owns part of the SIRIUS satellite radio operation in Canada, I’ll wager CBC will be very aggressive in the video podcasts arena when that matures. The industry just has to figure out how to make money from a platform—the Internet—that has a lot of free attached to it.

So, will podcasts decimate the radio and TV business as we know it? Heck no; not even close. If anything, they will complement it by offering users exactly what they want, when they want.

Better yet, there is a good chance the next undiscovered Shaina Twain is out there creating her own podcast right now.

June 2006

Motorola - The real Phone Sex by Gregory B. Michetti

NEW YORK, NY – Just after the Java programmers and product engineers have added functionality—and just before the money guys start figuring out distribution channels, margin and EBIT—your typical mobile phone-in-the-making gets handed off to a crowd less keen on numbers.

That’s because the prototype is now passed on to the designers: that yellow-power-tie-loud-cuff-link group who often make or break the entire deal. In other words, this is where the marketing types see how “branding, packaging, positioning, style and colour” apply to the newest mobile phone model.

The smaller the mobile device, the more personal it becomes; meaning what’s right for me probably isn’t right for you. While techie end-users are concerned mostly with functionality, the vast majority of mobile telephone buyers, such as those between the ages of 13 and 23, are equally—if not more—concerned about making a fashion statement. It’s not just about a phone; it’s about who they are and, hey, oneuppersonship runs rampant.

“It’s cool to drool,” says Jim Wicks, chief designer at Motorola at a recent media event here in the trendy, studio-loft area of the West Side of Manhattan.

Wicks, an individual with an impeccable track record—he designed Sony’s first handheld cell phone—possesses near rock-star status within the electronic gadget design community. As quarterback of the Motorola design team, it’s his job to make the product visually appealing for the masses, give it a sexy name and, at the same time, maintain low production costs and, oh yeah, keep all the oh-wow features, too.

Incidentally, you did know that RF performance (reception) is influenced by colour, didn’t you? And you did know that different Telco carriers have different definitions of what they call pink?

All joking aside, Wicks’ job is much more difficult than it appears because no matter how much research and development dough you throw at a problem, how the technology is packaged for the consumer really counts.

Let’s take the PEBL, a smooth, oval-looking unit with a dual-hinge mecha-nism that lets you open and close it in a one-handed, beam-me-up-Scotty style that is guaranteed to raise pointy eyebrows at your next Star Wars retreat. Complete with MPEG4 video capture and playback, picture caller-ID and Bluetooth wireless technology, it comes in a soft-touch finish of your choice of green, pink, blue and orange. Heck, it evens come in a cool, “slider-like” box reminiscent of a slider phone. Uh, see what I mean about packaging?

A Motorola technology, called SCREEN3, gives you zero-click access to news, sports, entertainment and other content directly from the PEBL home screen. This helps you get to the web without pushing a series of keys to launch a browser. The carriers will love this feature as much as you… mainly because it gets you to a chargeable sweet spot faster and easier than before.

Like the earlier RAZR model, a slim unit aimed to fit in the tightest of jeans, a feel-good phone like the PEBL didn’t just happen. In addition to the technical features, Motorola researchers study furniture design, home interior, automotive and consumer trends. They even have an annual colour and material forecasting workshops, which puts together trend and colour consultants, current paint suppliers, and Motorola’s CMF (colour/material/finish) product teams. They gather to share trend information and insights.

By the way, Motorola researchers found that we are more stressed than ever and are searching for simplicity. We consumers will also be willing to pay for luxury and self-expression and, above all, we want fun products.

Gregory B. Michetti of the Alberta-based systems integration firm Michetti Information Solutions, Inc. can be reached via www.michetti.com  or e-mail IT101@edmontonians.com 

Click here to see archive editions of BizIT 101by Gregory B. Michetti.

May 2006 Tips and Tricks for the Spring   by Gregory B. Michetti

Every consultant, support technician and programmer directly involved in the hi-tech industry has a set of tips, tricks, shortcuts and cute applications they use on a day to day basis.

In fact, one of the best ways to be more productive is to belong to as many user groups and attend as many events as possible. I can’t tell you how many great ideas I’ve picked up at places like Sun’s JavaOne, Microsoft’s Tech-Ed, or Interop in Las Vegas.

If any of these shows is on your 2006 calendar, make sure you get good value by participating in as many sessions as possible. Show up early, stay late and attend the parties, too. You will be amazed at the tips you pick up simply by being involved in informal discussions with fellow attendees… especially when you can share ideas over a refreshing, adult beverage.

For example, who doesn’t use Google? If you have a technical question, most people simply key in the phrase and search the entire web. However, changing your selection to Groups at the top means you will search the User Groups that generally contain e-mail threads on the exact tech support issue you are looking for. In other words, it searches the technical locations where the answer to your query is more likely to be found. Google is addictive—the more you use it, the more you depend on it.

And, who doesn’t use Microsoft Outlook?

Do you know where your Outlook file is stored? First, do a Search and locate it, making sure you select the advanced option of including Hidden Files in your search. Normally called outlook.pst, it is located in a very hard-to-find place if you are a single user and/or not using Microsoft Exchange Server. Anyway, your life would probably be over if you lost your e-mail contacts, rules, e-mails and calendar.

So if your pst file is not stored on the corporate file server (which should be backed up daily) are you making a backup? If not, the best tool to use is the Microsoft Outlook personal folders backup program available as free download from www. microsoft.com. Designed for use in Outlook 2000, just download the application, install it and back up your entire PST file easily and quickly to another location—such as another folder; a shared folder on another PC, a removable USB drive, or right to your desktop where you can then burn it to a CD.

The best part about the tool is how it attaches to your Outlook menu and prompts you for regular backups. Even if you are using Exchange Server and the system is backed up at night, I advise making a backup of Outlook anyway.

Speaking of backup, are you using the built in backup tool that ships with Windows XP Pro? Check the accessories folder on your start menu and try it out. For example, a home user can easily back up the data only to a folder on a hard drive, then burn to CD or move it to another PC or laptop. For the few bucks it takes to do that, it is well worth it. Remember: Backup only data to save room. You can usually reinstall all the applications from CD or DVD.

Have you ever attended a meeting and somebody handed you a sheet of paper covered mostly with numbers? I don’t know about you, but my eyes glaze over. Sure, give out the numbers but also provide a simple bar or pie chart graph. With Microsoft Excel, graph creation is easy. It surprises me how many accountants fail to do this and still expect everybody to get their point.

Speaking of graphs and visual explanations, spend about $10 and download DiskPie Pro from PC Magazine.

This application does a far better job of showing you just what is occupying disk space on your hard drive. For example, it will display how much room those MP3s take up, and how huge your Outlook PST file has grown… not to mention all those dumb video jokes Cuzin’ Vern has sent you since 1998.

DiskPie Pro also assists you in cleaning up your drive—you can delete the files from the interface—and it monitors usage, too. It can also be set to notify you if a file type (eg: your daughter’s pirated movie downloads) exceeds a specified limit. Handles networked drives too (eg: your daughter’s PC).

Even if you think your act doesn’t need cleaning up, your hard drive probably does.

April 2006

What's New for the Small Business Office?      by Gregory B. Michetti

Like most small firms, your business IT department is probably a guy called Jerry.

Most often, it is you—the company owner—who must look out for new hardware, software and solutions... from personal computers to backup applications to colour printers. Here’s a little strength and direction to help you survive.

One new application clearly worth a look-see is Adobe Acrobat 3D, one of the new releases from Adobe. I had a chance to kick its software tires last week and I must say I am impressed.

While I believe most businesses could use it, the program is most applicable to design engineering and technical publishing. It is primarily aimed at creative professionals in manufacturing industries such as automotive, aerospace and industrial machinery, and those in the architecture, engineering and construction market. For starters, you can easily create a PDF file from several sources including Microsoft Word, Excel or WordPerfect documents. It even converts web pages to PDF. The strength of this program is how it easily converts 3D models from the major computer-aided design (CAD) formats and turns them into Adobe PDF files. You only require Adobe Reader to view them. Every construction/engineering shop should have this application—if for no other reason than to help create “fillable” PDFs for distribution to customers, sub-contractors and vendors.

Adobe is beefing up its product line to help prepare for the upcoming scrap with Microsoft, which will release Adobe-style products later this year and in 2007. For example, Microsoft’s Expression family of competing tools includes Acrylic Graphic Designer which is described as a painting, illustration and effects tool; Sparkle Interactive Designer, a user-interface design tool; and Quartz Web Designer, a layout and deign tool for actual website creation.  

Speaking of Microsoft, you may want to download the beta version of Internet Explorer 7.0 which will be released at the same time as Vista.  The parental controls are impressive, the search view is nice and you will wonder how you made it without the multi-tab layout. From a business spending angle, Vista will include antivirus software, so your antivirus software costs should drop. However, watch for the Windows Defender AntiSpyware application to soon carry a price tag instead of the free download it is now. 

The absolute hottest colour printer to buy right now is the Hewlett-Packard 2650n. This is an eight-page per minute colour unit that is good for companies that print 10,000 to 15,000 pages per month. It comes with a 250-sheet paper tray, is networkable right out of the box (thus the “n” in 2650n). The $500 price tag makes it affordable.

Keep in mind that the “time-to-first-page” is slow (20 seconds) but once it gets going, it’s fine.

Finally, Greg’s software tip o’ the month is also on colour, and how it relates to the organization of your Microsoft Outlook e-mail settings. We all use Inbox rules to re-direct our e-mails to one of our folders based on who it is from, the subject line and so on. However, another good way of handling e-mails is by using colour.

To do this, simply highlight an email and from the menu bar, select Tools and then Organize. Your screen will display a box where you select Using Colours. Pick a colour for the e-mail and, from then on, any e-mail from that sender will be highlighted in that colour.

Gregory B. Michetti of the Alberta-based systems integration firm Michetti Information Solutions, Inc. can be reached via www.michetti.com  or e-mail IT101@edmontonians.com 

March 2006

VIRUSES: THINGS OF THE PAST?

 by Gregory B. Michetti

What happens if you release a virus but nobody comes? Worse yet, what if the virus didn’t work very well?

Last month, most of us saw announce-ments on a possible new virus threat—the Kama Sutra worm.

Actually called the W32. BlackMal.E-@mm mass-mailing worm, it was designed to affect Microsoft Office and PDF documents on February 3rd. Problem is, nobody really got hit. Now that I think about it, nearly two years have passed since a virus was unleashed that actually did some damage. Are the good old Anna-Kournikova-I-Love-You virus days over?

Symantec Security Response had rated the Blackmal.E as a Category 2 threat on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most severe. Blackmal.E attempts to disable and remove Internet security software. This worm, or “malware” contains code that will overwrite most files on a computer on the third day of each month, replacing them with error messages. Computers become infected if a user opens a PIF (Program Information File) attachment contained in an e-mail. Next, everyone in your Outlook contact list receives the same worm… courtesy of you, of course.

Here’s the strange part: The e-mail uses pornography to entice recipients to open it. Most people are pretty nervous about opening this type of e-mail and, accordingly, don’t do so. This might explain why the virus wasn’t wide-spread and points to the calibre of the virus writer. Any good virus writer worth his or her salt wouldn’t use something as Mickey Mouse as porn.

There’s more. Actually, that should read “less” because there even appears to be a bug in the virus!

Symantec announced that, while investigating the workings of the pay-load, researchers determined a flaw in the virus that prevents the worm from doing damage to newer computers.

When Blackmal.E is searching through drives to find files to over-write, the worm will skip the first drive and then try to overwrite files on the next drive. This means if a computer has a floppy drive (A:), it will skip this and move onto the next drive, which will generally be the user’s hard drive (C:). However if the computer does not have a floppy drive, which is common on newer machines, the first drive will be the hard drive (C:) and the worm will skip this drive and try to overwrite files to the next drive (D:). In many cases this will be a CD/DVD ROM, which the worm will not be able to access and the process will abort.

“While data is safe today, users infected with the virus should still get a removal tool to clean and repair their systems,” said Vincent Weafer, senior director at Symantec.

Bottom line: Good, destructive viruses are very rare nowadays. Accordingly, anti-virus software is now so low cost, it has reached commodity status. For example, Microsoft will have some variation of anti-virus software included in Vista when it ships in the fall.

Browser hijacking, phishing and spy ware are much more of a problem and should be the major focus of security efforts. After all, any good spy ware writer operates from a business plan because there are generally dollars involved as a result of his efforts.

Meanwhile, viruses are written by the same kind of guys who kick the head-lights out on all the cars parked on a neighborhood street. They’re not real bright… all you have to do is look at the Keystone Kops-like effort displayed by the writers of the Kama Sutra worm.

Gregory B. Michetti of the Alberta-based systems integration firm Michetti Information Solutions, Inc. can be reached via www.michetti.com  or e-mail IT101@edmontonians.com