Posts tagged IT
Book Review: Newton’s Telecom Dictionary
0If there was one book that Information Professionals should have on their bookshelf, it should be Newton’s Telecom Dictionary. I recommend this to every new information technology manager, manager of system administrators, IT consultant, and help desk technician.
This book has so many wonderful features that it is hard to limit my praise to just a few. I believe that its format, context, and thoroughness are what makes it so great.
The format of this work is one of its truly strong points. It is organized just like a standard dictionary. This means that you get two dense columns per page of information with illustrations. This means that you often find just as much relevant information from the entries near the actual topic that you are looking up as you do from your target. It also means that you only have to be 65% accurate on the spelling to hit your goal. The illustrations are great because you can actually search the book by looking for pictures of your connector or cable so long as you have an idea of its name. The density is even useful because you can almost always drill down on 2-3 pages instead of dozens. These are huge advantages over a Wikipedia search.
I always point out the context this book employs to unfamiliar colleagues. It assumes that you have a bachelors level of technical education for search, but offers PhD levels of technical specificity. It is refreshing to use a reference book that does not treat you like an idiot. Concepts like bus, CPU, and networking are assumed so this is not a “Tech for Dummies” book. The entries that you will find always start basically, but then contain enough technical detail to let you get the job done.
I have never once found a networking or computer term older than two years that was not contained in this book. That makes it as thorough as I and you need. Its inclusion of very old terms and tech has saved my bacon on a number of occasions when I needed to refresh, discover, or come up-to-speed on a protocol that I had forgotten or never seen before. This can be a real life saver if you are working in an enterprise that might be upgrade challenged like government or education. This tome can be your guide to the outmoded, but fully functioning standards that are often found there.
My only constructive criticisms of this fine work are twofold. First, I wish that it was available in color. The black and white drawings are reminiscent of the dictionaries that it is named after, but leave you wanting for more. Color would enhance the product. Second, a reference like this almost needs to be updated on a yearly basis like the Encyclopedias used to be. With the accelerating pace of technology development, a four year gap can create chasms in knowledge of the latest and greatest. I would pay for more frequent updates to the work. [UPDATE: Since I initially drafted this review, it has been announced that The Newton Telecom Dictionary is now going to be updated and published annually! I guess that I was not the only one who had this recommendation. Another great example of the quality of this group’s dedication to their core customers.]
If you are an information professional, manage them, or consult for them, this reference is one that you should have access to. Besides filling in when you forget, introducing you when you have never seen, and teaching you new things, this book can serve as your super-geek when needed. I highly recommend the Newton’s Telecom Dictionary.
This is my Information Technology (IT) Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for October 6, 2009.
Image credit: Amazon.com
Web Content Filtering – Information Age Cat and Mouse
2The Internet is all abuzz with discussions about what are and are not appropriate employee uses for business networks. Can they shop? Can they use social networking sites? Can they Twitter? Are they permitted to check personal webmail? There is of course, no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. The most important thing is that your organization employs a deliberate and formal decision-making process to promulgate a consistent policy that is enforceable.
Today’s post concerns how you, as Information Professionals, go about implementing web filtering policies for said employees. While there could be endless ways to do it, primarily one of the following approaches are taken:
1. Block by Default. This is the most secure, but least collaborative stance. This also called a "white list rule" where only those sites permitted can be accessed. Always hard to enforce and rarely necessary.
2. Allow by Default. This is the least secure, but most collaborative positioning. This is referred to as a "black list rule" where you add restricted sites to a "do not permit" list regularly and as needed. Very common approach, but is easily circumvented by proxy servers, URL redirectors, and such.
3. Filter based upon content. This is usually combined with another rule, but can stand alone. Instead of creating URLs to block, you employ a static filter to screen incoming content. Can be very complex or very simple. There are also services that will supply you with the filter rules based upon research.
4. Dynamically filter based upon content. Can stand alone or be used in tandem. Complex and costly, but effective. Here you filter based upon a rule set, but that rule set is constantly updated in near-real time by a professional team to be up-to-the-minute relevant for known restrictions. One downside is that the dynamic nature of the filter means that you risk unintended restrictions, high instances of false positives, and the necessity to deal with a third party.
Choosing a scheme is only the start of the implementation, though. Managing the cat-and-mouse game of web content limiting requires an entire game plan for proper execution. Don’t underestimate this overhead.
So how does your organization make decisions about permitted web content that gets to come into your network? After you have made the decision, how is it implemented? What is the ratio between technical and non-technical employment means? How often are these decisions reviewed for relevance? How formally are these decisions made? Who makes them and who checks them? A lot of great questions that hopefully you can answer before it is needed!
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for October 2, 2009 by Scott Coughlin
Poll: Microsoft Windows Seven and You
0Today, our Information Thought of the Day (ITTOD) is a poll subject.
Today, in the United States, it is the lunch date for Microsoft’s next version of Windows: Windows Version Seven. You can go to any number of other sites to read all about it, but I wanted to know what we thought about it’s relevance. There is absolutely no doubt that, unlike Vista, it is the future Operating System of every Windows machine on the planet. My question is what do you think of this?
I will be sure to share the results.
Do you like polls as a daily topic? Do you have a recommended one for another week? Please let me know.
That is my Information Technology Thought of the Day (ITTOD) for October 22, 2009 ©Scott Coughlin .