HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

Abbreviation of HAPPY NEW YEAR sms. HAPPY NEW YEAR stands for the following

H- Happiness is something that one settles for

A- After the ups and downs of ecstasy.

P- Perhaps one doesn’t know what one is looking for;

P- Perhaps one doesn’t realize one is free.

Y- Year’s end is time to tally up the tentacles,

N- Needing an occasion to take stock.

E- Everywhere are angels singing canticles

W- Well beyond the confines of the clock.

Y- Years, no more than seconds, are but moments,

E- Each eternity again, again.

A- All live on the wheel of joys and torments,

R- Returning to the ramparts of the wind

Mark Zuckerberg

Age: 23

Fortune: self made

Source: Facebook

Net Worth: $1.5 bil 

Country Of Citizenship: United States

Residence: Palo Alto, California , United States, North America

Industry: Technology

Marital Status: single,

Education: Harvard University, Drop Out

Tech's newest golden boy founded addictive social networking site Facebook in February 2004 from his Harvard dorm room. Left school for Silicon Valley later that year; scored initial $500,000 investment from PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel. Venture firms soon swooned, among them Accel Partners and Greylock Partners. Today Facebook boasts 66 million active users. Estimated annual sales: $150 million. Expanding beyond being a college-only message system and photo album; now courting users to 55,000 different high school, business and city networks. Problems with privacy: installed "News Feed" in 2006; program automatically alerted users' friends to changes they made to their profiles. Outcry over privacy concerns led company to backpedal; Zuckerberg issued apology. Similar controversy ensued after release of Facebook Beacon late last year; program automatically alerted friends of activities on selected outside sites, including eBay and Fandango. Microsoft bought 1.6% stake for $240 million last October; deal led many to suggest the company is worth $15 billion. Some analysts—and even a few Facebook investors—suggest the company's value is far lower.

Facebook Vs. Google: The Battle For Internet Dominance

Google and Facebook will continue to duke it out over the top spot in the display ad market.  Mark Zuckerberg’s social network remains one of the main competitive risks to Google’s absolute dominance of the Internet.

“Facebook has posed serious problems for Google, most notably by walling off the social network’s content from Google’s search engine,” explained Baird’s equity research analysts in a note on Friday.

The problem, for Google, is that its business model relies on its ability to “index the web.”  Thus, when Facebook walls-off its site, it’s essentially blocking a significant, and growing, portion of the web.  “Google’s index has been faced with an ever-increasing blind spot for search,” wrote the analysts.

Google remains the undisputed king of the Internet.  It clearly dominates search advertising, with over 65% of the U.S. market and more than 50% of the global market (Yahoo has 16% share in the U.S. while Microsoft’s Bing has been growing fast and now accounts for 14%).  It has one of the fastest growing mobile operating systems, Android, where its share is even larger than in PCs and growing faster than Apple’s iOS.  In 2012, Google will rake in more than $36 billion in revenue.

But Facebook is creeping up.  Mark Zuckerberg’s social network has risen to become the second most important online property, behind Google.  Facebook reaches about 43% of the web over the last three months, according to Alexa, and counts with more than 5% of global page views.  It makes the difference in engagement, though: users spend an average of 24 minutes and 45 seconds on Facebook, compared with 11 minutes and 52 seconds on Google.

Facebook’s social networking model creates a host of problems for Google.  The social network counts with more than 750 million users, 50% of which log on daily.  This translates to about 700 billion minutes of usage per month, or about 16 hours per user, with about 70% of those coming from outside the U.S., according to Baird’s analysts.

This directly undermines Google’s communication tools, particularly Gmail, both in its chat and e-mail forms.  While the company founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page has launched its own social network, Google+, a report by Enders Analysis from December 19 suggests it will “remain niche.”

Furthermore, Facebook could jeopardize Google’s online dominance by developing its own search capabilities.  Currently, Facebook’s search capacities are very limited, but “theoretically [Facebook could] enter the market by first creating a vertical search engine focused on social, and then broadening the scope to encompass more generic search capabilities,” explained Baird’s research analysts.  Thus, Facebook would count with a differentiated search product aided by the “valuable social signals [that] could be used to improve search relevance.”

Google seems set to continue to grow its businesses in 2012 and beyond, particularly given its dominant position.  There is little doubt that Google will loosen its hold on its highly profitable search business in the medium-term, but it definitely faces a powerful challenger with Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook.  The social network is one of the largest display players, and, sitting on the number two spot of the web, has the opportunity to eat into Google’s formidable share.  The battle for Internet dominance promises to be an interesting one.

Four technologies that will shape 2012 solutions

Yes, we know hardware, software and other infrastructure gear are merely parts of IT solutions these days.

Yes, we know that very few truly value-added resellers obsess (that much) over product margins.

And, yes, we know most of you are leery of recommending first-generation anything, unless you bill yourself as a provider of leading-edge innovative solutions.

But, pretty much every technology solution provider is a closet geek. What’s more, technology is at the heart of IT solutions. So, SearchITChannel.com spoke with solution providers about the products and technology categories most likely to drive their designs and deployments in 2012. Here are four technology themes that emerged, in no particular order:

#1: Get ready for “ultrabooks”

Systems that fall into the ultrabook category are defined as those that are less than 0.8 inches thick and that offer a full-fledged operating system. They might also boast some of the consumer electronics features that many of us have come to crave, such as always-connected wireless capabilities, solid state drives, longer battery lives and even instant-on. The price range (ideally) is sub-$1,000. Perhaps the best-known example of this product type is the MacBook Air.

In November 2011, research firm IHS iSuppli forecasted that the ultrabook category would claim about 43% of the total global notebook PC market share by 2015. That is up from about 2% in 2011.

It doesn’t hurt that Intel has become a big supporter of the concept. Intel’s ultrabook design calls for second-generation core microprocessors and the forthcoming Microsoft Windows 8. Among the early proponents are Acer and Asustek.

“Ultrabooks just make sense for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which is because they just work,” said Kevin McDonald, executive vice president for managed service provider Alvaka Networks Inc., in Irvine, Calif. “I don’t really think this will affect tablets as much as it will affect netbooks. Netbooks will definitely get squeezed.”

ISuppli also said ultrabooks could represent a paradigm shift for the technology industry. In its latest comments about the category, the firm writes: “With the introduction of the Ultrabook, the computing industry is poised for yet another paradigm shift. The technology now exists that actually could bring about a convergence of major mobile devices. If an attractive price point can be achieved and the consumer deems this a must-have product, the entire semiconductor manufacturing supply chain could rapidly reorient itself to serve the fast-growing Ultrabook market. Such an event could end the current slowdown in the semiconductor and electronics manufacturing industries.”

#2: Video applications usage will continue to climb

The Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that as of its May 2011 survey, 71% of adult Americans revealed they were using the Internet to view video information. In addition, a growing percentage of Americans are now doing this on the run: A Nielsen poll from October 2011 found that at least one-third of mobile device users engage regularly with video on their smartphone.

Both of these trends point to accelerating use of video applications within work environments, solution

providers said.

“People are coming up with all sorts of interesting applications for webcams as they become more ubiquitous,” said Mauro Lollo, chief technology officer at Genuit Inc., a business solutions developer in Oakville, Ontario. “It isn’t just videoconferencing. We’re talking about building and home video surveillance, remote design reviews -- applications that really make use of digital cameras.”

#3: The urge to converge continues

Now, the movement is starting to spread beyond early enterprise adopters into the midmarket. The impetus appears to be preparation work for private cloud deployments that allow businesses to treat IT services as utility resources within their own companies.

“We have definitely seen a pick-up in momentum over 2011, and 2012 will continue that trend,” especially within large enterprises, said Chris Ward, vice president of consulting and integration for GreenPages Technology Solutions, a consulting and integration company in Kittery, Me. “When projects come up, when we are talking to people about private cloud initiatives, this is where our attention lies. Increasingly, midmarket companies are getting involved.”

That means a whole range of complex services to support these deployments beyond the initial design and implementation, such as capacity planning, provisioning, automation and monitoring, Ward said.

A word of caution: Converged doesn’t necessarily mean that companies will readily adopt pre-integrated building blocks combining server, storage and networking capabilities. Be leery of the one-size-fits-all approach, solution providers say, while striving to keep it simple.

#4: “A” isn’t just for Apple, it’s for Android

Market research company Nielsen reported in late September that Android smartphones had reached a penetration rate of 43% of all smartphone users. More than half of “recent acquirers” (56%) had bought an Android device, and the close ties of Android with Google applications is proving to be a boon among users who are considering smartphones as much for their professional lives as for their personal lives.

“Changes in share aside, the smartphone pie is getting bigger,” wrote Don Kellogg, director of telecom research and insights for Nielsen, in a blog about the data.

Android is poised to have a potentially bigger impact on the media tablet category (i.e., tablets with touchscreens and substantial video support that were designed for consumers but snapped up for business uses). Earlier this year, Gartner Inc. predicted that by 2015 the market share for Android tablets would reach about 39% of the total market. That compares with almost 20% in 2011. Much of that growth will come at the expense of the Apple iPad platform. During the same time frame, that product’s share will slip to slightly more than 47%, compared with the 68.7% market hold it had in 2011, according to Gartner forecasts.

“Not many businesses understand just how quickly this is happening,” said Tom Gobeille, president and CEO of Network Computing Architects (NCA) Inc., a solution provider in Bellevue, Wash. “The adoption of this sort of technology is having a big impact on business culture, on workflow, on security.”

So much so that NCA plans a new business process consulting service in 2012 specifically to deal with the operational and organizational impacts that mobile devices will have on small and midsize businesses.

While no one is naïve enough to suggest Apple won’t continue to be a huge force in touchscreen smartphones and media tablets -- after all, it pretty much pioneered both categories. Android devices have claimed an avalanche of market share this year and will continue to do so in the next 12 months.SearchITChannel.com just published a story in early December about the pick-up in converged infrastructure solutions, and the topic came up again when solution providers were asked to identify busy areas for 2012.

For those of us who still require or desire a keyboard as an input device, but who don’t want to skimp on features, there is a fast-emerging new portable computer form factor, the “ultrabook.”

Use Your Facebook Timeline Profile for Your Career

I spoke to Brian Carter about how professionals can use the new Facebook timeline to advance their careers. Brian offers social media training to B2C and B2B businesses of all sizes and he’s been an internet marketing consultant and trainer for 11 years. He is the co-author of Facebook Marketing, and author of The Like Economy. In this interview, Brian discusses the Facebook timeline privacy settings, how the new timeline pages will affect businesses, the best way to measure Facebook ROI, and more.

How will the Facebook timeline affect professional users? Should they hide their profiles?

I see the Timeline, especially the big new “cover” photo as a big plus for professionals. People certainly can connect to you in a bland way over on LinkedIn, but when they come to Facebook they expect a little more personality and creativity. They want to know who you are. They’re looking for a way to connect emotionally. I use mine to show me speaking, since I’m promoting myself as an expert speaker and trainer.

It’s very important to learn the privacy settings so that if you “allow subscribers” you’re only posting publicly the things you want everyone in the world to see. And you can create friend lists to post more personal things to your best friends and family. But some people make their profiles TOO private, and I can’t see anything about them, even when they’ve requested me as a friend. Sometimes you request a friendship when you’re in the getting-to-know you stage and you need some kind of professional-but-colorful way for them to learn something about you that will make them want to accept your friendship.

How will it affect businesses when it’s rolled out for fan pages?

Facebook hasn’t said exactly what the next evolution of brand pages will look like- only that they’re thinking about it. It’s not clear yet if there will be a historical timeline approach. I’m not sure that makes sense for all businesses, or if they’d even want to show some parts of their history. But we’re all hoping that the brand pages begin to look as exciting as the Timeline profiles do now. The folks doing graphics for brands would love to have more options.

What are some Facebook marketing strategies that worked a few years ago that are no longer effective?

It’s less and less acceptable to just push out content without thinking about how it will be received. The threshold for what’s interesting enough has risen, because there is more and more noise (more people and more pages posting). That means it has become even more important for page admins to understand what leads people to like and comment on posts. I think the new “reach” metric has surprised some brands about how few of their fans they’re reaching. They may need new, more targeted fans to combine with interesting content and calls to action like “Click like if…” and “Comment below about…” if they want greater reach.

How do you measure success in Facebook? What is the answer to the dreaded ROI question?

You measure success according to your goals. If it’s sales, you measure true ROI. I’ve seen numerous companies measure this and succeed with Facebook profitability (my clients and clients of JB Chicago, aimClear and Upward Wave, to name a few). Also, I’ve seen multi-touchpoint analytics evidence from Buddy Media and aimClear that the awareness and interest initially generated by Facebook is often attributed entirely to search engines. If you want to answer sophisticated questions like, “How does Facebook marketing impact my sales?” then you need to install sophisticated analytics.

How have you used Facebook to grow your brand?

I’ve used Facebook pages to some degree, but as a professional, the networking I do in Facebook groups has actually led to more business opportunities for me. I also post blog posts in some of these groups and on Twitter. My social networking relationships plus the quality of the posts leads to greater exposure. Results vary by post, so you have to keep writing! I’ve used Facebook ads for my new book, “The Like Economy”, which has led to 4.5 million ad views for just over $500. Again, branding can’t always be tracked, and there’s no way to track book sales accurately on Amazon, but my opportunities to get paid speaking and doing services for companies have increased since I started advertising.

HTC Thunderbolt Review: Verizon's Searingly-Fast First 4G Phone

Been let down by spurious 4G claims before? Not this time--the Thunderbolt even bested my home internet speeds
By Dan Nosowitz

The HTC Thunderbolt is important for one reason: 4G. But that one reason promises to change the way mobile phones are used, the same way that the move from dial-up to broadband at home led to a completely revolutionized computing experience. The Thunderbolt is, on the whole, a really nice phone: it takes proven hardware and taps it into Verizon's ludicrously fast LTE 4G network. But should this be your next smartphone? Well…maybe not.

What's NewThis is Verizon's first big boy HTC phone, packing a 4.3-inch screen. It has a front-facing camera for video chat, which is another first for Verizon. Most importantly, though, it's the first phone to use Verizon's brand-new LTE 4G network, which is available in most urban areas and is screamingly fast.

What's Good

HTC has been churning out the same phone, with minute differences, for years now. It's a good phone, don't get me wrong, but it's time for something new. That something seems to be the Evo 3D, which looks excellent. But in the meantime, the Thunderbolt is basically Verizon's version of the Evo 4G or Inspire 4G.

Hardware: That being said, one of the benefits of making essentially the same phone over and over is that you get pretty good at it. The Thunderbolt is a well-crafted phone, with a pleasant, metallic heft and no weak spots to creak or bend. It's a bit plump, which we can chalk up to the new antenna and large battery--at 13mm, it's thicker than the very similar Inspire 4G and significantly thicker than the 9.3-mm thick iPhone 4. It's heavy, too, but I kind of like heavy phones--they feel more solid and better-constructed than featherweight plasticky phones. The Thunderbolt isn't unattractively obese or anything, and fits well in the hand. I do very much like the kickstand--it's sturdy, and places the Thunderbolt at an ideal angle for movie viewing. With a screen this big, it's nice to be able to prop it up on an airplane seat-back table to while away a flight with episodes of Jersey Shore.

The HTC Thunderbolt is important for one reason: 4G. But that one reason promises to change the way mobile phones are used, the same way that the move from dial-up to broadband at home led to a completely revolutionized computing experience. The Thunderbolt is, on the whole, a really nice phone: it takes proven hardware and taps it into Verizon's ludicrously fast LTE 4G network. But should this be your next smartphone? Well…maybe not.

What's NewThis is Verizon's first big boy HTC phone, packing a 4.3-inch screen. It has a front-facing camera for video chat, which is another first for Verizon. Most importantly, though, it's the first phone to use Verizon's brand-new LTE 4G network, which is available in most urban areas and is screamingly fast.

What's GoodHTC has been churning out the same phone, with minute differences, for years now. It's a good phone, don't get me wrong, but it's time for something new. That something seems to be the Evo 3D, which looks excellent. But in the meantime, the Thunderbolt is basically Verizon's version of the Evo 4G or Inspire 4G.

Hardware: That being said, one of the benefits of making essentially the same phone over and over is that you get pretty good at it. The Thunderbolt is a well-crafted phone, with a pleasant, metallic heft and no weak spots to creak or bend. It's a bit plump, which we can chalk up to the new antenna and large battery--at 13mm, it's thicker than the very similar Inspire 4G and significantly thicker than the 9.3-mm thick iPhone 4. It's heavy, too, but I kind of like heavy phones--they feel more solid and better-constructed than featherweight plasticky phones. The Thunderbolt isn't unattractively obese or anything, and fits well in the hand. I do very much like the kickstand--it's sturdy, and places the Thunderbolt at an ideal angle for movie viewing. With a screen this big, it's nice to be able to prop it up on an airplane seat-back table to while away a flight with episodes of Jersey Shore.

 HTC Thunderbolt vs. HTC Inspire 4G: On the left you see the Thunderbolt, using Verizon's 4G, and on the right is the Inspire, which uses AT&T's "4G." One of these is impressive.  Dan Nosowitz

4G: Verizon's LTE network is just as fast as you've heard. Unlike AT&T's "4G" network, which in our tests proved to be mostly a marketing boondoggle, Verizon's network routinely delivered speeds faster than my home internet. Using the SpeedTest.net app, the Thunderbolt averaged 17.51Mbps download and 28.43Mbps upload speeds from our Manhattan office. Compare that with AT&T's "4G" network (an HTC Inspire 4G scored 2.01Mbps download, 0.24Mbps upload) and Verizon's 3G (an HTC Incredible scored 1.81Mbps download, 0.79Mbps upload), and it's pretty clear that the other networks aren't in the same league as LTE. Hell, my home internet connection in Brooklyn only averaged 15.54Mbps download and 2.87Mbps upload speeds.

We also tested tethering speeds, since that's one of the uses that'll benefit the most from the added boost of speed. It seems Verizon is putting a cap on tethering speeds, but it's still far higher than the other options. Using the built-in Wi-Fi hotspot app from HTC, the Thunderbolt managed 4.44Mbps download and 5.39Mbps upload. The HTC Inspire 4G could only score 1.95Mbps download and 0.28Mbps upload. As for Verizon's 3G network, my only Wi-Fi tethering option was a Palm Pre Plus, and the different OS and different software adds some variables that might complicate the findings. Still, to give an idea of the massive leap from Verizon 3G to 4G, the Pre Plus scored 1.33Mbps download and 0.43Mbps upload.

What's BadWhat would be mindblowing is a genre that has emerged as a gaping hole in the otherwise thriving Android Market: video. There is no legitimate, widely-used streaming video app in the Android Market--no Netflix, no Hulu--and even though the Thunderbolt has a front-facing camera, there's no Skype for video chat. You can't use other video-chat apps, like Fring, either--the front-facing camera is basically useless at the moment. This isn't just a case of an app's absence being kind of a bummer: Without Netflix, Hulu, and Skype, the Thunderbolt's ability to get the most out of that blazing fast network is seriously undermined.

Qualcomm, makers of the near-ubiquitous Snapdragon chip, has announced that they'll bring Netflix to Android as soon as possible, but only for certain phones. The Thunderbolt, with a fairly modern Snapdragon, is more likely than most to actually see a Netflix app, but there's been no confirmation, and we can't recommend a phone based on something that might happen sometime down the road.

The Thunderbolt's hardware is also straddling the line between current-gen and last-gen. It's not outdated, exactly, but there are much more powerful phones on the market and it'll seem outdated soon. The 1GHz processor, the 768MB of RAM, and especially the 800x480 resolution screen--that's a year-old configuration, easily bested by dual-core beasts like the Motorola Atrix 4G and LG Optimus. The next iPhone, likely coming in June, will also probably have a dual-core processor like in the iPad 2, further prematurely aging the Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt feels slightly sluggish in comparison with those phones (or even the single-core Nexus S), occasionally stuttering over a command or failing to keep up with a fast scroll.

Battery life is usually the first thing to suffer when using more data than usual. The Thunderbolt's spiritual predecessor, the Evo 4G, had notoriously abysmal battery life, and while the Thunderbolt's isn't quite that bad, it's definitely less than we'd like. The problem seems to stem from the fact that it's not possible (at least, I couldn't figure out how) to manually switch to 3G to conserve battery life. That forces the Thunderbolt to use 4G at all times, which is nice and fast, but pretty tough on the battery. My tests aren't scientific, but in daily use, I found my Thunderbolt needing a recharge by mid-evening. If you're very careful, using minimal screen brightness, turning off Wi-Fi and GPS, forgoing battery-killing activities like streaming music or watching videos, I'm sure you could make it through a whole day--but what's the point of that? This is a supercharged phone; I want it to be as impressive as it possibly can be, all the time.

The Price$250, with a two-year contract. Most top-tier Android phones cost $200, but this is the first 4G phone, plus it comes with a ton of storage (8GB internal and a 32GB SD card), so we think the price is fair.

The VerdictUsing the Thunderbolt feels better than using a 3G phone: Streaming audio doesn't need to buffer, apps download instantaneously, web pages load in a snap. But without the apps to really make use of that speed, we're left with merely a general feeling of speediness, rather than those moments of "Whoa." that we wanted. Not to keep harping on it, but Verizon should have nailed down Netflix, Hulu, and Skype before releasing this phone.

I'm really excited about Verizon's LTE network. It's everything we wanted, and I don't even mind the cap on tethering (let's leave some bandwidth for everyone else. Selflessness is important!). The Thunderbolt is a great first step, and is without a doubt the best Android phone on Verizon at the moment, but unless you're an early adopter, it might be smart to wait for the next step--a dual-core phone from Motorola? A multimedia wonder from Sony? There will be a phone, and soon, that blows minds. The Thunderbolt is more like a tasty amuse bouche.

The Logic Behind a Credit Card Number

Any credit card or a debit card has a 16 digit number that’s unique in the world. But did you know these are not just random string of numbers but it reveal a little more than you think.

The first six digits of the credit card number is known as the Issuer Identification Number and this is to identify the institution that issued the card. VISA cards follow the series 4xx while MasterCard uses 51-55 as the prefix.

The first digit of the card represents the category of industry which issued your credit card. Taking away the 6 identifier digits and 1 check digit leaves the 9 digits in the middle that form the “account number”. and the last digit of the 16 is known as the “check digit” which is generated in such a way as to satisfy a certain condition.

Below is a visual illustration on how one can verify if a given credit card number is valid or not using simple addition.

Netbook vs Tablet – How to choose the best solution

We’ve seen the tablet market heat up to amazing levels here in mid 2011. Most of the major manufacturers have released an Android tablet and there are plenty more coming as the rush to Holiday 2011 shopping season gets closer.

We also appreciate the fact that you may not have come to a conclusion about buying a tablet and whether a netbook is something you are comparing a tablet to. It makes sense, both tablets and netbooks are in the same genre which is a secondary and portable computer. So when it comes to netbook vs tablet, what is the best choice?

The fact is, with the Asus Transformer tablet and the very popular keyboard dock, you can see where buying certain tablets allows you have have a netbook experience. We certainly think that this is the trend. The netbook vs tablet debate is becoming less of a debate because tablets are starting to have keyboard dock accessories. So you can pretty much get the netbook world even though you bought a tablet.

The one main different right now between netbook vs tablet is with the operating system. Netbooks ship with the Windows 7 operating system. If you want a tablet that also runs Windows 7, your options are a lot more limited. There are 2 real top tablet picks for Windows 7 tablets and those are the Asus EP121 12.1-inch tablet and the new Gigabyte 10.1-inch Windows 7 tablet. Aside from that there aren’t many. So if you’re adamant about having Windows 7 on a tablet, we’re not sure you will be satisfied with your options.

Windows 7 is not a tablet optimized operating system but the 12.1-inch Asus EP121 does seem to be big enough to overcome the Windows 7 tablet shortcomings.

So ultimately in 2011 and beyond, the netbook vs tablet debate will simmer and possibly go away. We see most manufacturers stealing the Asus docking concept and actually having a full fledged keyboard dock that includes a battery just like Asus. It certainly seems like the future. For those Windows operating system fans, the debate for now is a bit more valid. You will see Windows 8 likely early in 2011 and at that point, expect the options to expand significantly.

Log Management

If you are in any way involved with technology, you have at one time or another dealt with logging. You either didn’t have what you needed, spent hours looking a needle in the haystack, or had to go find someone to help you get what you needed.

In networking and security circles, logging is usually a hot-button topic. I’ve spent many man-months working with logs, investigating logging solutions, praying to God for a solution to logging, tweaking open-source logging programs, and discussing logging technology with various vendors. I’ve collected some of the more relevant articles on the topic and have some additional commentary / insight.

First and foremost, the primary problem of Log Management is often not the log(ging) portion – most systems spew limitless log data – the problem is the management of the log(ged) data. You’ve heard 1000 times, management styles vary by manager. Management of network, servers, and security differ wildly.

Networks and servers are managed by exception, they get attention when they need it otherwise they just purr and no one bothers them (until Patch Tuesday or until Cisco has a bad day). Managing security is altogether different, because security for a given organization is the net sum of all the parts of said organization, and in order to properly manage security, information from all the parts must be reviewed on a routine basis.

This routine review of information is where the problem comes in and it is why nearly every regulation, guideline, or contract stipulation (read PCI DSS) has mandatory language about reviewing logs. Again there is seldom anything about requiring systems to output logs, because that is rarely the problem. Technology is often times misapplied in attempts solve human-created problems, log management is an ideal instance for technology to come to our rescue. How else would a sane person cull through gigabytes or terabytes of log data from ten’s or hundred’s of systems or network elements? <Don’t answer that question, I’ve done it myself .>

Logging resources

•Anton Chuvakin’s Security Warrior Blog
•Network Systems Design Line: Security Event Correlation Article
•GEEK Speek Blog: Dealing with Logs
•TaoSecurity: Log Mgmt Summit
•SANS Reading Room: Logging Technology / Techniques

Dealing with the actual logs and delving into whether you want to collect log data, consolidate the log data, correlate log data, and or perform event management usher in the next set of issues / challenges when dealing with logging. Originally logs might have been aggregated onto one server or they might have been aggregated by log severity using syslog-ng or syslogd. Network or systems management systems (CiscoWorks or HP OpenView) might have received logs and performed parsing or filtering on key events that drove alerts and alarms but these systems likely discarded the log data itself, so investigating the root cause of an alert or incident became next to impossible.

Compliance came to the scene and brought innovation in log collection and log management; software became available to manage logs from multiple sources but you had to pick your poison: Windows with MS SQL back-end, Solaris or HP-UX with Oracle, or Linux and MySQL. Aggregation and consolidation were solved by tiered deployments and agents were usually installed to siphon off Windows Event Data. Security hit the mainstream and event correlation was the big buzz word.

The problem was how the intensive resources necessary to store the log data competed with the intensive resources necessary to correlate dissimilar log formats to produce alerts or suppress logged events. Gartner and others coined the the term SIEM, which combined log collection and event correlation, and a new market arrived. Most SIEM (SIM, then SEM, finally SIEM) are really good at the collection piece (historical) or really good at the correlation (real-time) piece, while few are good at both. Go, go Magic Quad. rant! If you hadn’t already noticed, I’m not a fan of combining these technologies (I don’t mix my food while I’m eating either). I like my logging solution to have plenty of evidence preservation goodness and I don’t want it muddied because a correlator had to normalize the data before it could parse, alarm on, or display the log data.

Some of the options for solving log management challenges

•LogRhythm
•LogLogic
•ArcSight
•Splunk
•Got a PIX?
•Yummy Kiwi
•Collection of Log options

Just scratching the surface, more please?

CCNP Wireless – Not for the Faint

I recently had the privilege of reviewing some CCNP Wireless material. Although my CCNA expired a long time ago, I’ve worked with a lot of CCNP’s, CCIE’s, and Cisco gear (including wireless) over the years. I expected the material and content to be similar to other Cisco material I’ve read/studied. I have a CCNP Study Course sitting on my desk, if I can ever get to it.

Anyway, after reviewing the syllabus for CCNP Wireless, I can honestly say that you’re a Cisco Wireless Guru if you can pass all four of the exams without doing at least one cram course or buying the soon-to-be on-the-market Study Guides. You’ll need some strong experience and a good instructor to tackle this beast.

On a side note: I will say that from a security and manageability perspective, Cisco Wireless Solutions are hands-down the most secure, total solution I have seen.

For the CCNP Wireless, you’ll need to know about cool things like Cisco Mobility and a variety of acronyms like: WLAN, WLC, WCS,WDS, MSE, MAP, RAP, MAR, MFP, LWAPP, RMM, EIRP (no G), NMSP (and SNMP), and LOCP.

There is definitely some cool technology at work in the Cisco Wireless Solutions that allow RFID tags to be tracked, mobile routers to appear as wireless clients, a myriad of security features, and multicasting over wireless networks. Of course, you’ll be questioned on all the cool stuff too!

Actually, the high-end features of the Cisco Mobility Solution are what makeup a lion’s share of the certification. If you read through the focus areas for the exams, you’ll see: WCS Navigator, Mobility Groups, Mesh Applications, VoWLAN, Chokepoints, WCS Mapping, CCX Versioning, Radio Roles, and various QoS options/settings.

Luckily, CCNP Wireless is broken down into 4 parts: implementing Mobility services, implementing wireless voice networks, conducting site surveys, and implementing wireless security.

The Configuration Guides and Design Guides for the Controllers and the various WLAN Solutions will be very helpful along with some virtual lab time, unless you’re building an actual lab or attending the Cisco courses. I’d still recommend some practice questions and a review of the Cisco guides.

Wireless IP TV

Cisco this week said it launched a wireless IPTV service with AT&T. Cisco says it is the sole provider of the wireless IPTV system, including receivers and access points, for AT&T's U-verse service.

The Cisco gear will be deployed across the entire U-verse footprint beginning Monday, October 31.

The system is intended to allow consumers to access high-definition video services throughout their homes wirelessly, enabling them to watch TV in any room in their home even if that room is not wired for TV. 

Content is sent from the Cisco wireless access point via in-home Wi-Fi to the Cisco wireless receiver next to the TV.

The TV itself just has to be plugged into a power source and have a high-definition multimedia interface or other audio visual connection, and then the wireless connection can be established by clicking two buttons, Cisco says.

Cisco's wireless TV system delivers both standard definition and high definition programming to multiple receivers with integrated Wi-Fi. One access point per home can support two wireless receivers connected to TVs, Cisco says.

The receiver and access point - their brand names are the ISB7005 and VEN401, respectively -- are part of Cisco's Videoscape line of Internet TV products unveiled at the CES show in Las Vegas early this year. The Videoscape strategy was thought to be in danger this summer as Cisco essentially gutted its consumer business, followed by the departure of the head of its Service Provider Video Technology Group.

But then last week, Cisco acquired startup BNI Video, a maker of video delivery software for service providers, for $99 million. Cisco said BNI would help to advance its Videoscape strategy.

Getting back to the wireless IPTV products, Cisco's ISB7005 wireless receiver is designed to deliver live TV channels and interactive services, and also functions as an HD DVR. Consumers can view and manage DVR recordings wirelessly from a wired DVR in the home, Cisco says.

For the service provider, the Wi-Fi TV setup allows them to possibly differentiate their video offerings and ease home installation while accelerating service activation. The integrated Wi-Fi receiver also includes remote diagnostics so service providers can monitor the device's performance over the network, Cisco says.

The Wi-Fi IPTV products are based on the IEEE 802.11n standard, Cisco says, and include enhancements to manage delivery of video over Wi-Fi.

VoIP : Smart Strategic for Business

In the current era of business competition, many people said that small business/firms were more able to survive than large firms. However, of course, the proper strategy is needed so that small businesses can survive and one way is to conduct operational cost efficiency. With limited resources and space, a small business must find Economical and efficient Airways to make up for on their lack of size.

One of the largest companies operating costs to be paid every month was the cost of the phone. On the other side, the needed of telecommunications among employees and between companies with business partners is very essential.

In the 90s era therefore, come up one of new technology that utilize an internet network as communication device such as telephone, ie Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).   VoIP is very interesting community because it is considered capable of providing telephone service with cheaper rates than regular phone.

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is the latest in telecommunications technology that uses broadband Internet as the backbone of the company to transfer communication signals around the world. Also referred to as Internet telephony or IP telephony, the technology is gaining popularity among small, medium and large businesses company.  VoIP phone services for small business are very appropriate because of cost-effective, compared to regular landline and mobile communications business and can help companies save large amounts in the monthly phone bill.

Small business VoIP solutions are the best alternative because all the functions of a PBX are available with reduced fees at the host system. All features provided by your traditional telephone service provider such as caller ID, voicemail and call forwarding is available in audio via IP phone as a standard feature and most of providers do not charge of them.

Some advanced features VoIP based which is provided for small businesses include:

• High security for calls using protocols such as Transport Protocol Secure Real-time
• Parallel data exchange such as the exchange of messages or data files, along with a phone call
• Top VoIP to VoIP phone calls
• Cost-effective voice conferencing

Another benefit with the implementation of Small business VoIP solutions in your office phone system is the ease of upgrades. While more complex traditional systems might require an extensive remodel of the office layout and the actual phone lines themselves, a Voice over Internet Protocol upgrade can be as simple and easy as a software update. Likewise, with the ease of upgrades, VoIP is better suited to deal with the changing needs of businesses.

Apple Patented ‘Drawing’ Technology on Display

Designing the interface for the touch screen is not an easy job. The number of movements that must be captured and responded by the screen sometimes made to work extra hard, even overwhelmed, so the screen becomes less sensitive and responsive to touch.

During this time, the touch technology only can adopt two touch commands simultaneously on one screen. Typically this is used for playing games. However, what if the sweep movements of our finger form a certain areas, whether the display can respond it?

In February, Apple Inc. registering a patent for the ‘multi touch’ screen technology with a special interface elements. For example, to open a site or a new window, users no longer need to click the browser engine. Simply by moving his fingers like making a rectangle, then the web page will be displayed.

Likewise, if the user wants to create a new file or folder and transferred them from phone to computer or vice versa. In short, this ‘multi touch’ technology tries to understand the movement and graphics to obey certain commands.

Although is not clear yet what OS that will adopt this ‘multi touch’ technology with this particular element, in the file patent filing, Apple is giving the examples of that multi touch performance to tablets, mobile phones, and computer touch screen.

Galaxy Tab 10, The True of Android Tablet

Galaxy Tab 10,1 comes with a 10.1 inch, look more sexy and charming.  Embedded operating system was the latest version of Android, the Honeycomb, which is designed by Google specifically for larger screen. When you first held, this tablet feels very light, thin, and looks elegant.  Thickness is only 8.6 millimeters or 0.2 millimeters thinner than the iPad 2. Its weight was 36 grams lighter than the iPad 2, precisely only 565 grams.

Thanks to Android Honeycomb latest version 3.1, all the existing problems in version 3.0 is resolved. For example, no longer crashes when running the application simultaneously.  Similarly, when changing the size of the widget on the main screen, no problems encountered. The main screen display can be set at will the owner.

3.1 Honeycomb Android operating system already feels right for a tablet. Even so, Samsung increase it by entering TouchWiz interface.

Physical appearance of Galaxy 10.1 admittedly able to make people who see it feel amazed. Thin and sturdy.  The body was covered with aluminum.

The power button and volume control are the only buttons that stand out in the body of the Galaxy Tab 10.1. While the 3.5 mm jack and port earphone 30-pin, serves as a charger, located on the inside.

Super-AMOLED Screen

The technology on mobile phone S Galaxy II ultra-bright AMOLED Super Plus is tested immersed in the Galaxy Tab 10.1. The results, levels of screen brightness and the color look so alive with a density of 1,280 x 800 pixels.

Tablet screen is already adopting capacitive technology, which means, the touch accuracy was very high. Similarly, movement of fingers on it, is quite responsive. Pinch or expand the screen as well.

But, the glass touch screen of Galaxy 10.1 which is so glossy was easy to leave finger print marks. In addition, if not careful, the screen is easily scratched.

In order to look very thin, Samsung seems to be willing to shed some of the features that are quite vital, as there is no additional memory card slot.  There is also no USB port. In fact, Google has complete Android

3.1 Honeycomb with the ability to read the USB port. That way, the accessory on the market, such as mouse or pen drive, can not be used on this tablet.

Galaxy 10.1 using 7000 mAh battery that able to be used up to 10 hours (for normal use). But, if it is used to watch high definition movies continuously, the survival less than 10 hours.

Galaxy 10.1 can be said as one of the best current tablet. Only the absence of memory card slots and USB ports a little disappointing.

PEN MOUSE

During this time, mouse is usually having a standard shape, an oval, but the Genius offers a pen-shaped mouse. With its sleek, user can operate a computer cursor just like to write so it does not have to always be gripping the mouse on the table.

This device not only has a functions as a mouse, but also can be a presenter. At presentation, users can directly use it to manage a Power Point display on the screen.

Pen Mouse also uses a wireless connection through a wave of 2.4 GHz which can connect up to a distance of 10 meters. Users can use it by simply connecting the dongle to the USB connector, and then activate the

Pen Mouse. Furthermore, this unit has a power saving function and auto-detection sensor, so that when not in use, Pen Mouse will immediately change the mode to sleep mode. And to re-use it, simply press any key for activation.

Pen Mouse also has a 1200dpi optical sensor so as to provide comfort when using it because it can be used in any work environment, not necessarily in the flat. Multi-functional design is also added to this unit, you can use it on 400/800 and 1200 DPI resolution to achieve the maximum ergonomic capabilities.

For the convenience of browsing the web or document needs, Pen Mouse develop auto-induction function, which will automatically recognize the X axis and Y axis and track to act, thus reducing soreness in the finger when using in a long time or pressure that is too often.

Pen Mouse has interface features which are suitable for left or right-handed users, the user can adjust to any holding position till they found a comfortable position for them through the built-in UI and this can help reduce tension in the wrist.

This device only works on computers with operating system Windows XP / Windows Vista / Windows 7.

Magic Mouse

Introducing Magic Mouse. The world’s first Multi-Touch mouse.

Now included with every new iMac. And available on its own for just $69.

It began with iPhone. Then came iPod touch. Then MacBook Pro. Intuitive, smart, dynamic. Multi-Touch technology introduced a remarkably better way to interact with your portable devices — all using gestures. Now we’ve reached another milestone by bringing gestures to the desktop with a mouse that’s unlike anything ever before. It's called Magic Mouse. It's the world's first Multi-Touch mouse. And while it comes standard with every new iMac, you can also add it to any Mac with Bluetooth wireless technology for a Multi-Touch makeover.

Seamless Multi-Touch SurfaceMagic Mouse — with its low-profile design and seamless top shell — is so sleek and dramatically different, it brings a whole new feel to the way you get around on your Mac. You can’t help but marvel at its smooth, buttonless appearance. Then you touch it and instantly appreciate how good it feels in your hand. But it’s when you start using Magic Mouse that everything comes together.

The Multi-Touch area covers the top surface of Magic Mouse, and the mouse itself is the button. Scroll in any direction with one finger, swipe through web pages and photos with two, and click and double-click anywhere. Inside Magic Mouse is a chip that tells it exactly what you want to do. Which means Magic Mouse won’t confuse a scroll with a swipe. It even knows when you’re just resting your hand on it.
Laser-Tracking Engine

Magic Mouse uses powerful laser tracking that’s far more sensitive and responsive on more surfaces than traditional optical tracking. That means it tracks with precision on nearly every surface — whether it’s a table at your favorite cafe or the desk in your home office — without the need for a mousepad.
Wireless

Magic Mouse connects to your Mac via Bluetooth wireless technology, so there’s no wire or separate adapter to worry about. Pair Magic Mouse with your Mac and enjoy a reliable and secure connection up to 33 feet away. When you combine Magic Mouse with the Apple Wireless Keyboard, you create a workspace free of annoying cables.

And because Magic Mouse is wireless, it can venture beyond the confines of your desk. A quick flick of the on/off switch helps conserve battery power while Magic Mouse is tucked in your bag. Even when it’s on, Magic Mouse manages power efficiently, by detecting periods of inactivity automatically.

Make one great gesture after another.Multi-Touch technology on the iPhone and iPod touch introduced a breakthrough way to interact with your content. Magic Mouse, with its Multi-Touch surface, does the same thing for your Mac. When you use gestures, it’s as if you’re touching what’s on your screen. For instance, swiping through web pages in Safari gives you the feeling of flicking through pages in a magazine. And scrolling with Magic Mouse isn’t your everyday scrolling. It supports momentum scrolling (similar to iPhone and iPod touch), where the scrolling speed is dictated by how fast or slowly you perform the gesture.

Give it your personal touch.
Maybe you want scrolling but don’t want swiping. Or two-button clicking instead of one. Whatever the case, Magic Mouse works the way you want it to work. All you do is go to the Magic Mouse preference pane in
System Preferences to enable or disable features.

The ambidextrous design of Magic Mouse means it fits comfortably in your right hand if you’re a righty or in your left hand if you’re a lefty. And left-handers can easily swap left and right button functionality using System Preferences.

System Requirements
Mac computer with Bluetooth wireless technology
OS X v10.5.8 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0* or OS X v10.6.1 or later with Wireless Mouse Software Update 1.0
Existing keyboard and mouse for setup
Two AA batteries (included)

Network Zoning – Be the Zone

A while back I started a series on Network Zoning and like most procrastinating, over-achievers: I got side-tracked (is that a self-induced form of ADD?) ! I have had the pleasure of interacting with a number of folks on the zoning topic, and so I wanted to take a moment to tack on an additional concept that doesn’t always get much attention but is very relevant in your network zoning design.

PERSPECTIVE and the impact of perspective.

Perspective in Network Zoning is a little like determine the perspective of an email without knowing the sender. If you’ve ever sent a witty email to someone who didn’t share your sense of humor, you’ve been impacted by perspective. Please be careful not to confuse perspective with context. Perspective deals with a vantage point, while a context is the surrounding details.

When zoning, the perspective of the actual components, users, and threats dictates a given device’s zoning requirements. Theoretically perspective actually defines the security posture.

Did that hurt? Just a little?

The configuration for each of these devices in this illustration is relative to their location in the network. Their perspective determines their configuration. Obvious right? Please keep in mind, the External Firewall or Internal Firewall could easily be a router with ACL’s

Consider that the External Firewall in this illustration sees untrusted incoming traffic and passes only traffic based on rules for the more-trusted networks.

This “trusted” traffic of the External Firewall is actually UNTRUSTED TRAFFIC for the Internal Firewall! After all this is the UNTRUSTED interface on the Internal Firewall.

The Internal firewall can be configured with the same blocking rules of the External Firewall in addition to new rules that are applicable to protecting the Internal Networks.

The addition or the difference in security configuration for internal or external firewalls will be controlled in-part due to perspective because you could obviously implement the same overall security policy on both firewalls but the expectation for what threats exist where will be based on perspective.

In the same light, your zones will have traffic or usage patterns and requirements relative to their placement in the network. External DNS servers will be configured and protected differently than Internal DNS servers.

Network resources talking across zones will work differently than talking inside a zone. Your security practices and configuration will change accordingly. The configuration for a given zone will be driven by perspective – requirements will map out differently based on the perspective of users, threats, and policies.

Perspective will show up within the logs as well. When you review the logs on your devices, you will react differently to external threats to your internal servers logged on the actual internal server versus the External Firewall.

When you build out your network zone, be sure to keep perspective in mind. You may choose to overlap policies as a defense in depth practice, but please take care to define your zoning appropriately.

What’s your perspective?
Drop me a line and let me know!