There's always lots of talk of computers becoming autonomous and self-aware and able to make their own decisions about their environment and operation. Many films and TV shows over the years have based their entire plot around this very fact.
Yesterday I was fully expecting to be able to start a normal day of work, but then I heard the tell tale click-click-click of a dying hard drive. To me, this isn't a problem (it's backed up, afterall, although as a large drive it'll take me a day or so to achieve that).
The link? Yesterday I got confirmation that the new hardware (servers and drive storage) that will be replacing these older components will soon be shipped.
I took a brief vacation over the last two weeks, taking days here and there to fit around a range of family events and numerous trips to the outside world. I thought, rather foolishly, that by taking individual days that I'd be able to keep on top of the email, requests and other jobs that take a little time each day, but don't make up the bulk of my typical daily workload.
Unfortunately it's taken me the best part of a week afterwards to go through all the non-urgent emails I hadn't covered and make a new list of things that need to be done. At one point, there were so many, topics I realized that I'd have to build a list of things to do in order to build the final todo list.
I took a brief vacation over the last two weeks, taking days here and there to fit around a range of family events and numerous trips to the outside world. I thought, rather foolishly, that by taking individual days that I'd be able to keep on top of the email, requests and other jobs that take a little time each day, but don't make up the bulk of my typical daily workload.
Unfortunately it's taken me the best part of a week afterwards to go through all the non-urgent emails I hadn't covered and make a new list of things that need to be done. At one point, there were so many, topics I realized that I'd have to build a list of things to do in order to build the final todo list.
There's a whole range of advice here, from ensuring that your physical security is in place and effective, to using encryption.
There are also some less well used solutions, such as ensuring that your backups and archiving solutions are also secure (and the method used to transfer and store tapes is also secure).
Best of all, he argues that ensuring that the mechanisms used are not a barrier to actually using and accessing the data.
There's a whole range of advice here, from ensuring that your physical security is in place and effective, to using encryption.
There are also some less well used solutions, such as ensuring that your backups and archiving solutions are also secure (and the method used to transfer and store tapes is also secure).
Best of all, he argues that ensuring that the mechanisms used are not a barrier to actually using and accessing the data.
The whole Windows Live thing seems to be passing me by.
Some of these I probably use already (Windows Live Messenger, for example) and I've tried some of the new tools (I really like certain elements of Windows Live Writer, the blogging tool), others I don't even comprehend from their names (Windows Live Agora - apparently it's a marketplace for Windows Live tools, but that hardly seems obvious from the name!). You can get a list of the current services from The big list of Windows Live services.
The whole Windows Live thing seems to be passing me by.
Some of these I probably use already (Windows Live Messenger, for example) and I've tried some of the new tools (I really like certain elements of Windows Live Writer, the blogging tool), others I don't even comprehend from their names (Windows Live Agora - apparently it's a marketplace for Windows Live tools, but that hardly seems obvious from the name!). You can get a list of the current services from The big list of Windows Live services.
I used to bank with First Direct here in the UK, an arm of the massive HSBC, and they were one of the first to offer a mainstream and comprehensive online banking service. I've been using their online banking service since it was first announced - certainly for five years or more. There are some things to love about the service - for example, they have an integrated SMS service that I can control through my Internet banking interface, so I get a message on my mobile when the balance is getting low, there's been a big payment or deposit, and at regular intervals so I can keep an eye on my finances without having to login. Everything is coded, so it's impossible to tell, even if a stranger had stole my phone, what account the message is referring to.
I used to bank with First Direct here in the UK, an arm of the massive HSBC, and they were one of the first to offer a mainstream and comprehensive online banking service. I've been using their online banking service since it was first announced - certainly for five years or more. There are some things to love about the service - for example, they have an integrated SMS service that I can control through my Internet banking interface, so I get a message on my mobile when the balance is getting low, there's been a big payment or deposit, and at regular intervals so I can keep an eye on my finances without having to login. Everything is coded, so it's impossible to tell, even if a stranger had stole my phone, what account the message is referring to.