اخبار دنیای شبکه

[patris1]

Cisco gaining mindshare in security, says research firm

Feb 23, 2010 01:53 am | Network World
by Ellen Messmer

A survey of 259 information security professionals shows Cisco gaining clout with them as a network-security provider, according to research firm TheInfoPro.
"We're interested in looking at vendor preferences," says Bill Trussell, TheInfoPro's managing director of security research, who notes that "Cisco, as a provider, has come up the list of what we call 'exciting vendors,' when we ask, what products or services do you consider 'exciting.'" He notes the questions are presented in an open-ended way, without a set of preconceived list of answers to chose from. The survey is done twice a year.
The "Information Security Study" based on interviews with chief information security officers and directors of information technology at large and midsize enterprises in North America and Europe, found McAfee topped the list of "exciting vendors," with Symantec falling to second place, followed by Cisco and Palo Alto Networks.
In midsize enterprises, Cisco and Palo Alto topped the list, with McAfee and Symantec falling below the top five, according to the report.
"The fact that Cisco is now near the top of the list is worth being mentioned," Trussell says. In a series of questions about security vendor and contract negotiations, Cisco, Symantec and Juniper were among those most frequently cited as providers that would benefit from procurements.
In other findings from the interviews, data-loss prevention was cited by about a third of enterprises as a top initiative for this year. Symantec was named as "the clear market leader for 'in use' and 'in plan' citations," according to the TheInfoPro report, with McAfee also cited as having "a growing following."
The survey also asked about virtualization and cloud computing strategies.
All but 2% of the Fortune 100 participants said they had virtualization "in use" in their organizations or had plans to use, with 33% expecting virtualization to impact their security procurements. Check Point was cited most frequently as a vendor they chose to solve security concerns at this stage, the InfoPro report states. Among midsize enterprises, 41% said they were "very concerned" or "extremely concerned" about security in a virtual environment due to concerns about the complexity of it introducing a higher level of security risk.
In a question about cloud computing, the survey found about 35% of Fortune 1000 companies said they were already using cloud-computing services, with 25% planning to use them in the next two years.
Twenty-nine percent of respondents cited "human resources information systems" as the most likely application to be transitioned to cloud services, followed by e-mail and enterprise-resource planning systems. Trussell said he found it somewhat surprising that HR systems were cited as the most likely application expected to transition to the cloud "since there's sensitive information in HR systems." Moreover, 72% of organizations also were said to be "extremely concerned" or "very concerned" about security in the cloud environment, the report points out.
Read more about wide area network in Network World's Wide Area Network section

[patris1]

Windows 7 early adoption beats Vista's 2-to-1

Feb 23, 2010 07:03 am | Computerworld
Five months after release, Microsoft's newest OS owns twice the share of Vista at the same point
by Gregg Keizer

In the five months since its release, Microsoft's Windows 7 has captured twice the usage share than did Vista in the same time period, a Web metrics company said today.
According to NetApplications.com of Aliso Viejo, Calif., Windows 7 accounted for 9% of all operating systems in use online for the month through last Sunday. By comparison, Vista had a 4.5% share five months after its late-January 2007 release to retail.
Microsoft shipped Windows 7 on Oct. 22, 2009.
Windows 7's trajectory has been faster than Vista's ever since the former's release, with the newer operating system beating Vista to the 4% mark by several months. By the end of January 2010, Windows 7's usage share was 7.5%, also double the 3.75% that Vista enjoyed by the end of its fourth month.
"Looking at the trends, the [Windows 7] growth rate seems to be strong and consistent, with no visible decline," said Vince Vizzaccaro, executive vice president with NetApplications.
Vizzaccaro also noted that the difference in Windows 7's weekend and weekday scores has been increasing, a sign that, "personal usage is growing faster than corporate usage, which fits the expectations," he said. In the past, Vizzaccaro has explained that the usage share of newer versions of Windows climbs on weekends as a greater percentage of computers online are home machines. Enterprises traditionally lag behind consumers in the uptake for new versions of Windows.
Microsoft's operating systems accounted for a combined 92% of all OSes powering computers that went online last month. The bulk of that, 66.3%, was Windows XP, with Vista at 17.4%. Apple's Mac OS X controlled just 5.1% of the usage market.
If the trends of the last three months persist, Windows 7 will overtake Vista as the second-most popular operating system -- and grab the No. 2 spot behind XP -- by June.
NetApplications measures operating system usage by tracking machines that visit the 40,000 sites it monitors for clients, which results in a pool of about 160 million unique visitors per month.
Gregg Keizer covers Microsoft, security issues, Apple, Web browsers and general technology breaking news for Computerworld . Follow Gregg on Twitter at @gkeizer , send e-mail to gkeizer@ix.netcom.com or subscribe to Gregg's RSS feed

[patris1]

IBM extending sensor use beyond data centers

Feb 23, 2010 07:54 am | Computerworld
Plan endorsed by Al Gore would manage energy use in buildings, cities
by Patrick Thibodeau

LAS VEGAS - IBM yesterday outlined plans to to expand into a new line of business that may ultimately incorporate futuristic technologies, such as paint infused with nano-sized sensors, for managing energy usage in buildings and even cities.
The IBM plan calls for centralizing the management of and extending the use of sensor technologies outside the data center. Sensor technologies are already widely used to monitor environmental conditions and to pinpoint problems in server racks and data centers.
IBM said that it now plans to partner with companies that make infrastructure systems, such as Johnson Controls Inc.
IBM and Johnson Controls agreed several years ago to work on integrating data center technologies, and yesterday announced that the agreement has been extended to include work on improving building efficiency. Johnson Controls, based in Milwaukee, Wis., is a major designer and supplier of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning equipment and other building systems. It has 130,000 employees.
IBM detailed its general direction at the Pulse2010 service management conference here this week, where it enlisted the help of former Vice President Al Gore who compared the need for better data about environmental conditions to the mortgage credit crisis. Although mortgages were issued to people who didn't have the ability to pay them, this financial risk was hidden in securitized mortgages.
"When there are important factors that are systemically ignored, that can set us up for bad decisions," said Gore.
Although Gore often goes into detail about the climate change in these talks, to this audience of mostly IT managers he focused on the need for efficiency and the profit that a climate-saving strategy can deliver.
"Even if you don't buy into the evidence of the climate crisis," Gore said, the development of green technologies, investment in wind, solar and smart grids, offers "a chance to boost our economy."
"Efficiency is by all odds the most productive strategy," said Gore.
IBM isn't building sensors, but it sees wide adoption of sensor technology that can cover an office complex or a city like a blanket. The sensors can gather information about the health of physical systems and for instance, discover leaks in pipes by detecting changes in the environment near the pipes. Sensors in manhole covers can detect problems there as well.
And as sensor technologies improve, particularly through the use of nanotechnologies that can deliver microscopic-sized sensors, their usage will spread, company officials said.
The technology usage may also drive closer working relationships between facilities and IT managers if all the environmental systems, data center and building, are monitored in one system, said IBM officials.
Energy use of by building is a major source of energy consumption, accounting for about 40% of the total emissions, according to IBM. The centralized management systems, via its Tivoli software, envisioned by the company will gather sensor data, analyze it and develop proactive alerts that warn of pending issues, or as Al Zollar, IBM's general manager for Tivoli Software said, "fix things before they break."
Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld . Follow Patrick on Twitter at @DCgov , send e-mail to pthibodeau@computerworld.com or subscribe to Patrick's RSS feed

[patris1]

WINDOWS SERVER
Microsoft pulls plug on business server package

Mar 05, 2010 04:23 pm | IDG News Service
Cloud computing kills a Microsoft small-business server bundle
by Joab Jackson

Microsoft will discontinue development of Windows Essential Business Server (EBS) as of June 30, the company announced via a blog.
The blog calls the elimination of this package of integrated Microsoft back-office programs a move to "streamline [Microsoft's] server product portfolio."
"[M]idsize businesses are rapidly turning to technologies such as ... virtualization and cloud computing as a means to cut costs, improve efficiency, and increase competitiveness," the post stated. "Those capabilities are already available through other offerings, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft System Center and the Microsoft Business Productivity Online Suite."
Microsoft officials declined to comment further.
Windows Essential Business Server 2008 bundled versions of Windows Server, Microsoft System Center Essentials, Microsoft Exchange and other programs into one package priced to appeal to small and medium-sized businesses with 300 computers or less.
The change does not affect the next version of Windows Small Business Server (SBS), the company said.
EBS was an effort on the part of Microsoft "to simplify both the technical and licensing complexity for customers looking to use Microsoft's broader product portfolio," said Christopher Voce, a Forrester senior analyst covering infrastructure and operations. He praised the effort but noted selling such a package was a difficult challenge.
"EBS faced a tough road," Voce added. "Even with the lower cost of the EBS package, the opportunity to use cloud-based services for e-mail and collaboration holds a lot of promise for that targeted segment."
Microsoft will offer technical support for current EBS users for five years. The company also has several incentive plans for existing customers to migrate to standalone Microsoft products as replacements.
Earlier this week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told an audience at the University of Washington that the company is focusing its technical strategy on cloud computing

[patris1]

BROADBAND
Cisco quits WiMax radio business

Mar 05, 2010 08:47 pm | IDG News Service
The company will stop making base stations to concentrate on back-end IP infrastructure
by Stephen Lawson

Cisco Systems will stop developing and making WiMax base stations to concentrate on the IP (Internet Protocol) networks that sit behind them.
Cisco acquired Navini Networks, which made WiMax RAN (radio access network) equipment, in 2007. The dominant IP networking company said at the time that it saw a powerful opportunity to bring broadband Internet access to developing countries through WiMax.
However, despite hitting the market first, WiMax has taken a back seat to LTE (Long-Term Evolution) as a 4G (fourth-generation) mobile technology. LTE is backed by the industry body behind GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and is on the road maps of most major carriers that have chosen a 4G system. In the U.S., Verizon Wireless plans to launch LTE commercially this year and AT&T will follow next year.
Cisco can serve both markets with products it acquired through its purchase last year of Starent Networks, which made gateways between radio networks and a carrier's core IP infrastructure. Both WiMax and LTE are based on IP packet networks. In order to concentrate on this business, the company will get out of making the actual radios that deliver WiMax signals to subscribers' devices.
"Cisco's mobile strategy has always been to provide a radio-agnostic approach that focuses on the packet core and IP network, where the company can add differentiated value. After a recent review of our WiMax business, we announced a decision to discontinue designing and building new WiMax base stations and modems, and we also announced a support plan for transitioning existing customers," Cisco spokesman Jim Brady said Friday.
The Navini products haven't played a big role in high-profile WiMax networks. Cisco is a supplier to the world's largest WiMax network project, Clearwire's national U.S. buildout, but only with IP equipment, not radios.
Analysts called the Starent acquisition a move away from WiMax toward the larger LTE market. Unlike WiMax, which had its roots in the wireless LAN world, with strong backing by Intel, LTE is dominated by the giants of cellular equipment, such as Ericsson and Alcatel-Lucent. Cisco has said it does not intend to compete with those types of vendors.
Analysts were not surprised by Cisco's announcement.
"Cisco pulling out at this moment looks like good business," said analyst Laurence Swasey of Visant Strategies. He believes LTE will dominate the 4G world and may even be adopted by current WiMax carriers eventually.
Cisco did the WiMax industry a big favor by buying Navini, Swasey said. "It was a stamp of approval at a time when the market was very fragmented as to what 3.5G and 4G would be to the masses," he said. Today, several major vendors, including Huawei, Samsung and Motorola, are supplying RAN equipment for commercial networks. Cisco's decision to get out of the business will have far less impact than its choosing to get in, Swasey said

[patris1]

PROCESSORS
Intel investigating sale of fake Core i7 chip

Mar 08, 2010 02:29 am | IDG News Service
Customer finds a fake chip and a plastic heatsink instead of the processor he purchased
by Sumner Lemon

Intel acknowledged Monday that at least one counterfeit version of its Core i7-920 processor made its may into the U.S. market, and said it's trying to determine how many more are out there.
On Friday, hardware site HardOCP reported that one of its forum members received a counterfeit processor from Newegg, an online seller of computers and components. Instead of a processor, he found a fake processor and a plastic mold of a heat sink and fan.
The fake processor, sold as a standalone or "boxed" chip, came with an instruction manual comprised of blank pages. In addition, sticker on the outside of the box misspelled the word 'socket' as 'sochet' and other words on the box were spelled incorrectly -- subtle but clear indications that the contents inside were not genuine.
It was not immediately clear how the counterfeit chip ended up for sale at Newegg. HardOCP reported that when notified of the problem, Newegg shipped a genuine processor to the affected customer. Newegg could not immediately be reached for comment.
In a brief statement, Intel acknowledged the existence of the fake chip and said it was investigating.
"Intel has been made aware of the potential for counterfeit i7-920 packages in the marketplace and is working to identify how many and/or where they are being sold," said Nick Jacobs, an Intel spokesman, in an e-mail. "The examples we have seen are not Intel products but are counterfeits."
"Buyers should contact their place of purchase for a replacement and/or should contact their local law enforcement agency if the place of purchase refuses to help," he wrote

[patris1]

SOFTWARE
Google Gmail vs. hosted Microsoft Exchange

Mar 08, 2010 01:48 am | Network World
by Jonathan McCormick and Daniel Riley

More and more businesses are looking to hosted e-mail services to reduce costs and ease management, and the choice often comes down to Google's Gmail (the key component of Google Apps) or a hosted version of Microsoft Exchange.
In this Network World Tech Debate we line up two experts to argue opposing views: Jonathan McCormick, chief operating officer, Intermedia, who says hosted Exchange wins, and Daniel Riley, vice president of services, Isos Technology, who says enterprises will make the exchange for Google Apps.
Hosted Exchange wins
By Jonathan McCormick, Chief Operating Officer, Intermedia
More businesses are looking to hosted communications services to reduce costs and ease management, and the choice often comes down to Google's Gmail (the key component of Google Apps) or Microsoft Exchange 2010.
For many, the decision will hinge on the features and functions. Heavy BlackBerry and Microsoft Outlook users, for instance, may default to the safety of hosted Exchange providers and their proven ability to effectively support both tools. And while Exchange is perfect for these and other customers, it's important to look beyond features and functions, to consider the total experience the providers wrap around their hosted services.
Hosted Exchange services are available from a mature ecosystem of partners delivering the service direct from their own data centers and, alternatively, directly from Microsoft. To be sure, there are substantial differences between the companies, but generally they have loads of experience.
Here are the major evaluation criteria to keep in mind when comparing hosted Exchange with Google Apps and why Exchange – particularly with hosted Exchange 2010 available – comes out on top:
* Ease of migrating your existing e-mail data, users, contacts and more. This is the biggest stumbling block for most organizations when evaluating hosted services. It's easier to stand pat than transition to a new service. A sophisticated hosted Exchange provider has been dealing with these issues for years. They will have a heavily automated (ideally free) migration process that ports all that you've invested in your existing e-mail set-up to the new environment. Take a minute to walk through Google's online sign up process, and it is clear the company's preferred mode of operation is "self serve".
* Certified 24x7 support for the tools your organization relies on – BlackBerry and Microsoft software. If your company organization relies heavily on Outlook and BlackBerry, and plans to continue doing so, good hosted Exchange providers can offer you the confidence that their support staff is Microsoft and RIM certified. Likewise, Outlook was designed to run over Exchange, not Google Apps.
* Business-Class Reliability. Solid hosted Exchange providers operate multiple data centers with redundancy and multiple Tier-1 Internet connections. They guarantee and deliver on 99.999% availability. That translates into less than six minutes of downtime per year. Google does not have that history with business users. With hosted Exchange 2010's architectural improvements, a good provider can also guarantee 100% data protection – never lose your e-mail – at no additional cost.
* Control over the environment. Many organizations considering migration to hosted communications tools will likely continue to use other Microsoft applications on-premise. Sophisticated hosted Exchange providers can offer single sign-on experience across these applications and other benefits that come by integrating with Exchange's Active Directory.
While some will argue that Google Apps is more cost effective, hosted options from either camp will result in massive cost savings vs. use of an on-premise server.
Considering the criteria outlined above, the most important question boils down to which service, in the larger picture, adds the right value to your business. For most businesses – particularly firms with knowledge workers and others heavily dependent on cutting-edge communications software – hosted Exchange is the right answer.~~
Enterprises will make the exchange for Google Apps
By Daniel Riley, Vice President of Services, Isos Technology
While this debate is specifically about Google's Gmail for business vs. Microsoft Hosted Exchange Server 2010, it's safe to say any organization looking at these core messaging products will demand associated scheduling and collaborating products, so we'll also keep that in mind.
Gmail is, after all, one of the critical components of Google Apps, a suite that is already used by more than 1 million businesses. In fact, we can assume the growth of Google Apps is one of the main reasons Microsoft has bolstered its Business Productivity Online Standard Suite, which includes Exchange, SharePoint, Office Live Meeting and Office Communications.
But e-mail is the core of both suites, so we come back to comparing Gmail vs. Hosted Exchange.
Typically, the Exchange Camp will argue that the Gmail platform is not as full-featured, lacks support channels and doesn't support all mobile devices. Before we dive deeper into these half-truths, let's discuss one item the Exchange side won't argue: cost.
Gmail (and the entire Google Apps platform) costs much less on a per user basis then a comparable hosted Exchange 2010 solution. On average, hosted Exchange costs $141 per user per year compared with the $50 per user per year of Gmail. If you consider a larger organization with 500 users, on average a hosted Exchange Server will cost $45,780 more per year. In today's corporate environment, that is going to get the attention of any CFO.
I can hear the escalating cries from the Exchange Camp, "Cost is not the only deciding factor". Of course that's true. If it was the only thing we'd all be driving to work in our Yugos forcing down 25 cent coffee. Value has always been part of the purchasing equation and when you add it all up, there's lots of value in the Google story.
Consider the innovation factor. Last year Google added more than 40 new features for its Premier Edition Gmail users, in addition to the 45 new innovations released to its Docs and Sites applications. This in contrast to the hosted Exchange users who've waited up to three years to see a single new enhancement to the Exchange platform.
With the release of Exchange Server 2010, Managed Service Providers (MSP) are now scrambling to upgrade. Which means, of course, that hosted Exchange Server customers may be waiting awhile for their MSP to migrate them to the latest release. Even Microsoft's hosted Business Productivity Online Standard Suite (BPOS) is still running Exchange Server 2007, which illustrates the complexities involved.
Another criticism posited by the Exchange faithful is that of enterprise support. "What happens when a Gmail user has support issues? There's not even a support phone number!" That's weird, because I was just speaking with a Google Apps support representative by phone yesterday. Clicking on the support tab in my Google Apps control panel then dialing the 10 digits was exhausting and confusing, but I still managed to get through it.
All Google Apps Premier Edition customers have a support phone number for critical issues and escalation needs. In addition, there is a large online community and support site with reams of information regarding general questions about the service. Not to mention, the growing number of Google Apps MSPs that offer direct channels for phone and e-mail support.
One of primary knocks against Gmail for the enterprise is the lack of support for mobile devices, specifically BlackBerry. In reality, this claim is eroding fast if, in fact, it hasn't been completely washed away already.
Google's Gmail, calendar and contacts are available via a two-way sync with native applications or through installable applications on the majority of smartphones today. This includes the seamless integration with Google's own Android-based devices that are gaining momentum in the mobile market.
For RIM devices and the associated Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES), Google provides a connector for BES that allows BlackBerry users to utilize native applications for access to Google's Gmail, calendar and contact data. Google's Connector for BES also enables enterprise administrators to wipe remote devices the same way Exchange Server does.
While it's obvious Exchange Server and Outlook have tremendous market share in today's enterprises, there's no denying that Gmail and Google Apps provides a cost effective alternative, which more than 1 million businesses are benefiting from.
As Microsoft continues to do the heavy lifting required to push Exchange Server into the hosted landscape, Google continues to effortlessly roll out exciting innovations to Gmail and Apps. Considering the value, features, rate of innovation, ease of use and community support, no one will be surprised to see millions more make the exchange for Gmail and Google Apps.

[patris1]

TeamViewer brings its remote control offering to App Store

Mar 10, 2010 10:23 am | Macworld.com
by Philip Michaels

TeamViewer already offers a remote control and desktop sharing program for desktops. Now the software maker wants to go mobile, with a similar offering for iPhone and iPod touch users that lets them access and control remote computers from their handheld mobile device.
Aimed at IT support staff, TeamViewer Pro can access either Macs or PCs. The app provides complete access to unattended computers at home or in the office, including remote reboot capabilities. What's more, you can use multi-touch gestures to control those remote machines from the phone.
TeamViewer Pro users can create a partner list that contains all the connection information for any computers and servers they wish to control remotely; that makes it easy to connect through the app with a single tap.
TeamViewer Pro promises trouble-free use behind firewalls and proxy-servers. The app is encrypted with AES 256-bit encoding.
Those features may sound interesting to individual users, though TeamViewer Pro's $100 price tag may not. Don't fear--there's also a free version of TeamViewer intended for personal use. (TeamViewer defines that as using the app to access your own computer or helping family and friends remotely with their PCs.) The free TeamViewer offers the exact same feature set as the paid version of the app.
To use either the free or paid versions of the app, you'll need the desktop version of TeamViewer. Business licenses for that application start at $749, though, like its iPhone counterpart, the desktop version is free for non-commercial use

[patris1]

Hackers exploit latest IE zero-day with drive-by attacks

Mar 10, 2010 02:26 pm | Computerworld


Hackers are exploiting the just-disclosed unpatched bug in Internet Explorer (IE) to launch drive-by attacks from malicious Web sites, security researchers said today.
"This attack appears to be rather targeted at the moment, but as with other unpatched vulnerabilities in the past, this has the potential to explode now that the word is getting out," said Craig Schmugar, a threat researcher at McAfee, in a blog post today.
Attacks are launched from Web sites in a classic drive-by fashion, said Schmugar and others. "Visiting the page is enough to get infected," Schmugar said.
Symantec also confirmed that it has spotted in-the-wild attacks exploiting the critical vulnerability in IE6 and IE7 that Microsoft acknowledged yesterday. "We're still seeing just limited attacks," said Ben Greenbaum, a senior research manager with Symantec's security response team. "The exploit is carried out simply by visiting a Web page hosting the vulnerability," he continued. "When the browser opens the page, the exploit causes the user's computer to download and execute another piece of malware."
Most of the malware downloaded and installed on the victimized PC consists of backdoors that let hackers install and run even more attack code. Among the malware is a .dll that's injected into IE to provide additional remote access to the machine, Schmugar said.
"It started out as limited and targeted, but now, with the drive-by attacks, it's no longer only a targeted attack," said Schmugar in an interview today.
Tuesday, Microsoft warned users of IE6 and IE7 that attackers were using an unpatched vulnerability in their browsers, but as is its practice, did not publish technical details of the bug.
Nor did Microsoft spell out a patching timetable, or promise that it would issue a fix before the next scheduled Patch Tuesday on April 13. Instead, it recommended that users modify access to the "iepeers.dll," disable scripting, and/or enable DEP (data execution prevention).
According to Vupen Security , the bug is a "user-after-free" memory error in how iepeers.dll handles certain data. "User-after-free" refers to an attempt to reuse memory space after it has been freed, said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security, in an instant message interview.
Neither Symantec nor McAfee have yet found evidence that the attack code has been widely distributed via hacker forums or posted more prominently on the Internet. When that happens, Schmugar said he expects attacks to quickly increase.
Microsoft may be forced to react with an emergency update if that happens, Greenbaum said. "It's possible Microsoft may consider an out-of-band patch for this issue," he said.
Symantec notified Microsoft of its discovery of the drive-by attacks a few hours before the latter issued its advisory, Greenbaum said. "The timeline, however, makes us think that they already knew about the issue and were planning on posting the advisory very soon anyway," he said.
Both Symantec and McAfee have created and distributed signatures that detect and block the installation of the malware that the drive-by exploit tries to inject into PCs.
Tuesday's advisory was the second in the last 60 days from Microsoft warning of ongoing attacks against an unpatched IE vulnerability. In mid-January, Microsoft said that a flaw in its browser had been used to attack several companies' networks, including Google 's and Adobe's. Microsoft patched that vulnerability, and seven others, later in the month when it shipped an out-of-band update .
Users able to can also upgrade Internet Explorer to IE8 , which does not contain the bug and so is immune from attack

[patris1]

Cisco, Microsoft certifications increase high-tech salaries

Mar 10, 2010 02:36 pm | Network World
by Denise Dubie

For high-tech workers, it pays to be certified, according to research conducted by Dice Learning that shows 10 IT certifications stand out for delivering higher salaries.
Five ways to get affordable IT certification skills
"Not all certifications are created equal in terms of paycheck impact. While nearly half of all technology professionals have at least one certification, a minority attributed pay increases to certification," said Evan Lesser, director of Dice Learning, which offers technical training and information about certifications and career advancement, in a statement. "When you combine in-demand skill sets and proven salary impact, specific certifications become valuable to individual technology professionals."
Dice Learning used responses from some 17,000 high-tech professionals to determine which technical skills and IT certifications deliver more compensation and helped workers command higher salaries. For instance, IT pros certified as a Project Management Professional could demand more pay on the job and unemployed workers might find more open positions. According to Dice Learning, there are currently 1,400 available jobs on Dice.com with PMP certification listed as a requirement.
"It's a particularly important job today, when companies are beginning to resurrect projects they'd shelved during the downturn, but want them completed as cost-efficiently and quickly as possible," according to a Dice Learning press release.
Other certifications helping IT pros increase their compensation are vendor specific. Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers (MCSE), Microsoft Certified Professionals (MCP) and Microsoft Certified Systems Administrators (MCSA) all landed on the list, showing that high-tech workers who can prove they are adept at Microsoft systems and associated skills will be in demand. For instance, Dice.com has 1,000 jobs listing a MSCE as a requirement.
"Sought by systems engineers, technical support engineers, systems analysts, network analysts and technical consultants, the MCSE is for professionals who spend their time maintaining the basic platforms on which so much business is conducted," Dice Learning states.
IT professionals trained as Cisco Certified Network Associates (CCNA) are also seeing bigger paychecks, according to this research. Having the "ability to install, configure, run and troubleshoot medium-sized routed and switched networks" is paying off for CCNAs, who by getting this IT certification also prove they can handle security and wireless technologies as well as a number of network protocols. Dice.com lists more than 650 available job opportunities requesting CCNA skills

[patris1]

Virtual desktop start-up targets VMware and Citrix users

Mar 10, 2010 05:40 pm | Network World
by Jon Brodkin

A virtual desktop start-up Unidesk is aiming to improve deployments of VMware View and Citrix XenDesktop with management software that it says reduces storage costs and gives users a more personalized desktop than the VDI tools by themselves.
FAQ: Desktop virtualization
Unidesk, founded in 2007 in Marlborough, Mass., is still in stealth mode but describes its technology and management team on its Web site. Unidesk was founded by CTO Chris Midgley, a former Iron Mountain executive, and is led by President and CEO Don Bulens, who previously held the same positions at EqualLogic, a storage company acquired by Dell two years ago. Unidesk recently secured $12 million in second-round venture funding from Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.
The virtual desktop market is expected to expand considerably over the next year or so, in part because desktop virtualization products are reaching maturity just in time for Windows 7 upgrade cycles.
Unidesk claims that today's VDI products do little to contain operational costs related to image management, patching, application delivery and desktop support, and that the products boost storage costs while limitating desktop personalization and off-line use.
Unidesk virtual desktop management products are in a beta trial which is open to customers who "have deployed hosted virtual desktops on VMware virtual infrastructure and are using a connection broker such as VMware View/VDI, Citrix XenDesktop, Leostream, or RDP." General availability is expected later this year.
One beta customer is the Université Rennes 2, a college in France where IT co-director Humberto Duarte says Unidesk "will be very useful for us" because it helps manage desktop tasks such as operating system delivery and streaming, application packaging and versioning, and user data and personalization.
Unidesk has filed a patent application for its "CacheCloud" desktop image delivery software, the foundation for its forthcoming technology.
CacheCloud is "a system of virtual appliances – called CachePoints – that replicates operating system, application, and personalization containers across an enterprise network, delivering them to the edge where they are synthesized through Unidesk Composite Virtualization into rich, personal desktops," the company says.
Offline support will let users access their personal desktops from any computer even when disconnected from the network, and changes are automatically synced to the data center once connected

[patris1]

Poor Bill Gates: Mexican telecom tycoon grabs Richest Man title

Mar 11, 2010 01:31 am | Network World
by Network World Staff

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is no longer the world's richest man according to the annual Forbes magazine list released Tuesday, but it's not like he's going to have to go crawling back for his old job either.
Mexican telecom tycoon Carlo Slim Helu beat out Gates, last year's top billionaire, with a fortune worth $53.5 billion. Slim's rise this past year was fueled by growth in mobile telecom giant America Movil, which saw a 35% share price increase over the past year. Slim owns a $23 billion stake in the company, according to Forbes.
Gates, who has refocused his career on charitable endeavors, is now worth $53 billion. While he slipped a notch on the Forbes list, his fortune actually rose by $13 billion on the strength of a climbing Microsoft stock price.
Also read: CEO payday: How much tech chiefs made
Investor Warren Buffett came in behind Gates at $47 billion. Buffett beat out Gates for the top spot in 2008, snapping a 13-year streak for Gates.
Also on the list: Oracle founder and recent America's Cup sailing champ Larry Ellison, whose fortune is worth $28 billion.
Read more about software in Network World's Software section

[patris1]

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-summit/default.aspx

Windows Summit 2010


Over the past number of months I have been working increasingly with Windows 7 in both a Corporate and Consumer environments. It has been fascinating to use and understand the various technologies that make up Windows 7. One of the Events I would enjoy attending (but will not be able to this year) is the Windows Summit 2010 on the Main Campus in Redmond, Washington USA. This Event is of particular interest to me as Mark Russinovich (of SysInternals background) is a Keynote Speaker. Again, perhaps next year I can attend!
In the interim, here’s the details on this 2 Day Event. Also note, there is a really interesting Track for the System Technical Implementer I have highlighted below. Finally, I have included the Registration Form for reference

[ehsan653]

متاسفانه من این خبر رو برای نظر سنجی در بخش عمومی گذاشته بودم که به این بخش منتقل شده البته بدون نظر سنجی
بنده هم به عنوان اعتراض پاکش کردم.
دوستان باید ببخشید

[humata]

سلام دوستان :

من یک ماه دارم در مورد شبکه های شناختی تحقیق میکنم،خیلی جاها گشتم .از انجمنای زیادی سوال کردم.یعنی هیچ کس در این مورد اطلاعاتی نداره؟