Welcome To My Technology Blog!

Does the Internet service you or overwhelm you?  Do you wish you understood more about E-Commerce?  Have you asked yourself, “just what is a wiki anyway?”  Well, you’ve come to the right place!

My name is Wanda and I’m super excited about my blog!  In it we’ll discuss the following technology topics…

• Computer Hardware and Software
• Telecommunications and Networking
• The Internet & E-Commerce
• Collaboration Tools
• Technology Evaluation
• The Systems Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• System Analysis
• Project Scope Definition
• Data Modeling and Table Design
• Designing Queries and Reports
• Building Custom Forms

Here’s a little about me…

I’m originally from Louisiana and I’ve resided in Virginia for about 22 years.  I’ve had a passion for technology since childhood, before I was even familiar with the word.  My mom bought my first typewriter when I was 10.  Some of you may relate to it.  It had a manual return carriage and keys that jammed if you typed too quickly, which by the way, was the issue that was the basis for the QWERTY keyboard design.  From there my focus and love of technology only grew and I’ve had a wonderful career of more than 25 years in the field of Information Technology.

Another of my favorite things to do is ride my motorcycle, the ever-impressive Yamaha YZF-R1, which I refer to as “my baby.”  I could go on and on about this technologically advanced riding machine, but this blog is focused on a different type of technology. So I’ll save the throttle talk for a different forum.

Alright… who am I fooling?  I can’t help but talk a little about my baby.  So, click on the “My Hobby” link for a sneak preview.  But don’t get stuck there, because I’ve added a lot of cool links to my home page for the latest technology news, reviews and some other really cool technology blogs.

I’m excited about my blog because technology excites me.  I hope you’ll be excited too!

A Phishing Trip You Will Want To Miss!

If you’re ever invited to go on a phishing trip, don’t go!  You’ll find it anything but relaxing.

Phishing (sounds like “fishing”) is a form of online fraud.  Scam artists use legitimate company names, logos and other information to create authentic-looking emails and web pages to trick unsuspecting individuals into revealing their personal and private information.  Such information may include social security number, date of birth, bank account information, user id, password, personal identification number and any other information these criminals may find of use to themselves. 

There are a number of ways in which the thieves obtain this sensitive information.  One way is to direct the user to links imbedded within the email.  When the user clicks on any of the links, software is loaded onto the user’s computer in the background, so that it is not easily detected by the user.  This software then scans the user’s PC for sensitive information and transmits it back to the thieves, all without notice to the user.  Other links direct users to authentic-looking websites, usually posing as banking websites, and request the user’s login credentials.  This information is captured upon entry by software put in place by the criminals.  With the highly sought-after information in hand, the criminals can now access the user’s account and make unauthorized transactions.

A visit to SunTrust Bank’s website netted 22 results in response to my query on phishing.  Their approach, in the form of questions and answers, is to inform visitors to the website of all relevant details related to the crime.  This includes a description of what phishing is, how it is done, what scammers do to obtain SunTrust logos and other information, what the bank is doing to protect its customers and itself, what customers can do to protect themselves and what a customer should do if he or she believes that he or she is the victim of fraud.  In addition to providing contact information for SunTrust Bank, contact information is provided for the three major credit reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, the US Postal Service, the Social Security Fraud Hotline and two major check verification companies.¹

The same search at Bank of America’s website netted approximately 40 results.  Though each of the results seemed to be related to  phishing, not all of them were.  Clicking for more information on some of the links brought me to the banks privacy statement, while others returned me to the bank’s home page.  I did manage to see some information related to phishing by clicking on yet other links in the string of results.  Once found, this information also provided an explanation of phishing and provided instructions on what a customer should do if he or she believes that he or she is the victim of a fraudulent act.²

Watch this four-minute YouTube video from Bob Sullivan, MSNBC, for more useful information on phishing and how to avoid taking the bait:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzfPUmQcfDs&feature=pyv&gclid=CMXdxvy0jpsCFR1N5Qodlkzyog

 

References:

1. Suntrust Bank.  Fraud FAQs. https://www.suntrust.com/portal/server.pt?open=space&name=CommunityPage&id=cached&psname=SearchResult&psid=1&in_hi_userid=2&cached=true&control=SetCommunity&CommunityID=1275&PageID=0#offive. Retrieved June 15, 2009.
2. Bank of America. Your Results For: Phishing emails https://www5.bankofamerica.com/search/Search.do?questionbox=phishing+emails&searchSourceSite=dotcom&searchSourceDir=homeweb&locale=en_US. Retrieved June 15, 2009.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

What’s with all the talk about VoIP?

VoIP stands for Voice over Internet Protocol.  This is the means of facilitating voice communications via the Internet, technology made widely available only in recent years.  Since 2004 a number of companies have begun offering VoIP service to consumers and businesses.¹  These companies include Vonage, Phone Power!, via:talk, lingo and others.²  I consider myself an early adopter of residential VoIP usage, since I became a customer in early 2006, after carefully weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the services. 

VoIP is delivered by service providers in three ways.  The first, which provides fixed-location service, is achieved by connecting an analog telephone adapter (ATA) between an IP network (Internet connection) and an existing telephone.  The second way is through the use of dedicated VoIP phones.  These phones connect directly to the IP network, then connect to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) via service from the VoIP service provider.  Finally, there is the softphone, also referred to as the Internet phone.  The softphone is not a physical telephone.  Rather, it is software that when installed on a user’s computer allows VoIP calls without the need for dedicated hardware.  This allows the user to take his or her phone number with them wherever they go in the world.  This benefit can be achieved with the first two solutions also, as long as the ATA or dedicated VoIP phone is taken along for the trip.

To fully understand the benefits of VoIP, it is beneficial to understand the more traditional type of telephone service commonly used today.  This service is referred to as POTS, the acronym for plain old telephone service. 

POTS is provided through the PSTN and is the type of service most people use at home every day.  Over the years, the quality of this type of service has been greatly improved by the implementation of touch-tone dialing, fiber optic communications and other advancements. ³  Through the use of these technologies, telephone service providers offer such features to the customer as caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, speed dialing, three-way calling, call forwarding, do not disturb, call block, enhanced 9-1-1, return call and others, all of which can be had for additional charges to the user’s monthly phone bill.  Enhanced 9-1-1 service is a feature worthy of particular attention and will be discussed further as we talk about the features and differences of VoIP services.    

VoIP service offers many of the same customer features as POTS and a whole lot more.  I would say that the primary reason for many users for making the switch from traditional telephone service to VoIP is cost savings.  With most VoIP service providers the previously mentioned custom features are provided at no additional charge.  The same applies to long distance calls.  For instance, with Vonage a user can pay a flat monthly rate of $24.99, plus taxes and fees, for all of the same bells and whistles, plus unlimited long distance calls. 

Another great advantage of having VoIP phone service is the virtual phone number.  For a small monthly service charge a subscriber can add an additional phone number (not to be confused with an additional phone line) to an existing account.  This virtual phone number can have any area code in the US and can be selected from a wide variety of exchanges.  Now, you might ask yourself, “Why is this important?”  Well, I’ll tell you why it is important to me.  It is because I live 1200 miles away from my aging parents and for an additional $4.95 per month I have added  a virtual phone number to my VoIP phone line at home from within my parents’ area code and local dialing exchange.  This means that they can call me at a phone number that is local to them and I receive the calls at home, or wherever I am via the mobile features.  With most VoIP services providers virtual phone numbers and/or additional phone lines can be added to existing accounts at discounted rates.

Think residential customers are the only ones benefiting from this new type of service?  Think again!  Large and small businesses are also reaping benefits associated with making the switch to VoIP.  Increased bandwidth efficiencies and the ability to send voice and data over the same network mean lower infrastructure costs.  Lower costs per extension, user interfaces that are easier to configure and the ability to eliminate some equipment as a result of bundling capabilities made possible by VoIP services all play a major role in driving down costs for businesses.³

Do all of these advantages mean that everyone reading this post should rush to make the switch to VoIP?  Not until you’ve read the disadvantages and weighed them for yourself.  Yes, of course, there are disadvantages.  Security is one of them.  Since VoIP is a computer-based technology, it is possible for a malicious user to tap into it.  This means that someone may listen to or record your voice conversations, or they may access your voice mail, all without your knowledge or consent.  In fact, because of the way voice packets are broken apart for transmitting, then reassembled on the receiving end, the content of your call can be altered by a computer savvy hacker.  You should also know that most consumer-focused VoIP solutions do not support encryption, which is required for protection against malicious, wrongful access. ³  Scary, isn’t it?  Read on for additional disadvantages of VoIP. 

Other disadvantages of VoIP include susceptibility to power failure and the unavailability of Internet access.  In the event of either of the these two conditions, VoIP phone service does not work.  POTS, on the other hand, requires neither to provide its targeted 99.999% availability of service.  To minimize the risk of being without telephone service during a power failure or Internet outage, it is a good idea to keep a cell phone that is fully charged close at hand and utilize a backup power supply, if possible.

The disadvantage that concerned me the most when making my decision to switch to VoIP is the way emergency calls are handled through 9-1-1.  Most traditional telephone service providers offer what is referred to as Enhanced 9-1-1 service, whereby the location of the call being placed to 9-1-1 is used to route the call to the responsible Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) and automatically transmit the caller’s location and call back number to the emergency dispatcher.  These services save precious minutes and possibly lives in emergency situations and require no additional action on the part of the caller.  They are made possible since traditional phone service normally associates a specific phone number with a fixed address.⁴ 

Most unfortunately, 9-1-1 calling does not work this way with VoIP service.  Due to the portability of VoIP services, 9-1-1 calls made from VoIP phones may not connect to the PSAP.  These calls may improperly ring to the administrative line of the PSAP, which may not be staffed by trained 911 operators or may not be staffed at all after hours.  Additionally, although these calls may correctly connect to the PSAP, they may not automatically transmit the user’s location and phone number for call back.  VoIP customers may need to provide up-to-date location and other pertinent information to their VoIP service providers for 9-1-1 service to function properly from their VoIP phone.⁴

Careful consideration of the advantages and the disadvantages should be applied before making the switch from traditional telephone service to VoIP. 

For more information about VoIP and 9-1-1, please visit the FCC’s VoIP 911 Web site @ www.voip911.gov.

References:

1. Voice over Internet Protocol. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voip#Number_portability. June 9, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
2. NetAdvisor. VoIP Services. http://www.consumercompare.org/voip_services/compare.php. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
3. Plain Old Telephone Service. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plain_old_telephone_service. June 3, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
4. FCC Consumer Advisory.  VoIP and 911 Service. http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/voip911.pdf. September 17, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2009.

What’s So Great About Open Source Software?

What Is Open Source Software?

Open source software (OSS) is software that is primarily created by a public community of developers, often in collaboration, and distributed under what is referred to as “copyleft” licensing.  This form of licensing requires that distributors of the code make it available to non-commercial users free of royalties.  Additionally, this licensing requires that the source code is included in the package at the time of distribution and that users are free to use, copy, change and redistribute the code in alignment with the copyleft licensing.

Advantages

Low Cost

As a result, one major advantage of OSS is its cost effectiveness.  There are usually no up charges associates with acquiring the software and there are no per user licensing fees, as are most often attached to commercial software packages.

Probability of High Quality Code

An additional benefit of OSS is the availability of high quality software within the open source community.  Experts believe that this is primarily due to the notion that developers are being judged by their peers and commit themselves to delivering the best of the best.  For these developers, it is believed that reward comes in the form of satisfaction in their delivery and recognition within the community.  Another contributing factor to quality is collaboration between highly skilled individuals.  In these instances a development team can identify the best possible solution for delivering functionality.

Quick Turnaround for Bug Fixes

Due to extreme levels of pride within the open source community, bug fixes are usually addressed immediately, often within hours of posting the bug to the public forum.  It has been my experience in working with OSS that any developer is willing to fix a known bug, even if he or she is not the author of the source code.  This again is related to the pride that exists across the spectrum of the open source community.

Access to Source Code

The source code, along with debugging tools, are distributed with the software package.  This allows the ability to fix bugs in-house, make enhancements or make customizations.  Additionally, the user can validate whether the code adheres to acceptable development standards and whether the code is secure. 

Sustainability

Relieves users of pressures otherwise experienced at the hands of commercial software makers to upgrade routinely.  Each day in my job I experience the challenges and expense of software licensing and maintenance agreements.  Commercial suppliers frequently release upgrades to their products to continue their flow of revenue, discontinuing support of older versions of their product.  This leaves users in the somewhat precarious situation of spending additional dollars for the upgrade or accepting the risk associated with continuing to rely on a product that is no longer supported by the supplier.  With OSS there are no such forced releases under the threat of non-support.

Disadvantages

Fewer Features

There are disadvantages to utilizing OSS.  The disadvantage that is more readily noticeable to users is that there are often fewer features included in these applications since developers are more dedicated to ensuring the quality and reliability of the code than in building many features.   Additionally, this software is not written to predefined end-user requirements or specifications, therefore may not meet end-users’ needs with the same level of specificity as code developed in-house.

Risk of Licensing Infringement

Due to the ability of anyone to edit and republish source code, there is an increased risk of potential licensing infringement.  Specifically, it is unlikely that unsuspecting users of OSS would be able to audit every line of code to ensure that it does not use proprietary code, thereby infringing on licenses held by others, such as commercial software providers.  Such infringements have been the subject of recent lawsuits, as in the case of SCO, who alleges that proprietary software owned by them was included in the Linux open source operating system.

Possibility of Low Quality Code

In contrast with the high quality OSS available within the open source community, there are many developers who are not as skilled as others who also publish code within the community.  This code, when utilized may introduce potential security risks or may be unreliable in performance and sustainability.  Recovering from unreliable code can be costly.  Moreover, the impact of a security breach can potentially destroy a business.

Concern of Proprietary Code Conversion

A major concern for makers of proprietary commercial software is that inclusion of OSS with or within their own software may mean that their entire software package, or code base, is derivative work.  In this case the entire package would have to be made available free of royalties. 

Conclusion

It is my opinion that utilization of OSS can be beneficial.  The decision to use this type of software should not be based on cost savings alone.  Much consideration should be given to an organization’s ability to validate the quality, reliability and security of the code and on its ability to accept the level of risk that accompanies utilization.  These assessments should be made prior to moving forward with OSS implementation.

Are you interested in finding or perhaps even building open source software?  Or, would you just like to see a sample of what open source code looks like?  If any of these options appeal to you, visit this popular open source community: http://sourceforge.net/

 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software

http://open-source.gbdirect.co.uk/migration/benefit.html

http://www.cippic.ca/open-source/

A Day in the Life of…

Do you ever wonder how much computer hardware you come in contact with on a daily basis?  Today I kept a log of how much computer hardware I came in contact with and here are the results.

First up was my iPhone.  I used it to check my calendar for the day.  As I mentioned before in my blog, it’s my favorite piece of computer technology.  It’s useful for managing my schedule and collaborating with business constituents, family and friends.  It’s also useful for accessing the Internet where the whole world’s information is at my finger tips.  Throughout the day I accessed my iPhone more times than I care to count, including determining if we’re going to have clearer skies for the upcoming weekend.  I’m happy to report that the news is favorable!

Within the hour I encountered the next two pieces of computer hardware as I noticed that the LED on the refrigerator was signaling to me that it’s time to change the water filter and as I punched in the security code to exit my house.  It wouldn’t be long before I arrived at my office where I encountered another security system that required me to swipe my access badge across two different card readers to gain entry.  These are little things that many of us perform on a daily basis, requiring only seconds of our time, but providing us with immeasurable amounts of security.  But before I ever arrived at my office I encountered several other pieces of computer hardware.

Upon exiting the house, as I approached my car the inside lights illuminated and when I put my hand on the door’s handle to open it the car unlocked itself.  All of this was done without my ever having to take my key out of my purse.  This is because the “key” isn’t really a key at all.  It’s a computer chip that sends a signal to my car’s central computer, which tells the car it’s okay to unlock when I pull the door handle and it’s okay to allow the engine to start when I press the start button.  Upon startup I watched as the car’s computer ran through a check of all of its vital systems and reported back that everything was in order. 

I didn’t use the GPS navigation system for navigating today, since I already know my way to the office.  However, I did use it to conduct several hands-free phone calls through its integrated, voice-activated phone system.  This is very useful for reducing my chances of accident due to holding my phone and trying to dial numbers from it. 

Next up on my way to the office was my care-free breeze through the EZ Pass lanes on the Powhite Parkway.  I love those fast lanes!  No getting in line, no digging for coins, just driving at my normal rate of speed without even thinking about it.  I have to say that while this computer hardware doesn’t rank as my favorite or most important, I do believe it’s the easiest to use.  I don’t ever have to touch it or even look at it.  I just mounted the device in my windshield long ago and the computers do all the rest in a matter of seconds or less, from validating that I have an active account with an available balance to refreshing the funds from my bank account at the appropriate times.  No waiting, no touching, no calling, no mailing; that’s easy!

Shortly thereafter I arrived at work and made it through security.  Next up: the elevators, my least favorite.  Aren’t the elevators’ computers supposed to “know” not to tie both elevators up on the same floor when they’re headed in the same direction?  Aren’t they supposed to be “smart” enough to know that someone has pushed the button and is waiting on the ground level while both elevators are stopped on the fourth floor for no reason at all?  Weren’t these new and improved elevators just installed?  So I waited… and talked on my phone.

The moment I arrived in my office I saw it.  You know; the red light on my Cisco IP phone that signaled I had more voice messages.  You guessed it; yet another computer here to help me out tremendously.  Although after listening to some of the voice mails I often question whether I’d be better off without the phone.  Hmmm???  And then there’s the laptop sitting on my desk; I have several of them and a desktop, a total of four between work and home.  I guess somewhere it was decided that a person can never have too many personal computers.  While I would admit that I certainly don’t need all four of them, there’s absolutely no doubt that the PC is by far my most valuable productivity tool ever.  With it I collaborate, conduct analysis, create documents, manage my schedule, which I sync with my iPhone of course, do homework, shop online, pay bills and a host of other tasks that comprise my professional and personal life.

By now you might think that I was all done coming in contact with computer hardware, but I wasn’t.  I wasn’t even close.  By the end of the day I had swiped my meal card at the register in the cafeteria, processed my own order in the self-checking lane at the grocery store and had positioned my car in just the right spot at the traffic light so the sensor could tell the computer to give me a green light.  I had programmed the oven to make my ready-in-minutes dinner and scanned what was recently recorded on my DVR to determine what I might watch whenever I could manage to find time at some future date. 

Now here I am, once again in contact with another piece of computer hardware as I write this post.  I am not at all surprised at how much I use computers during the course of each day.  I’m delighted that there is so much technology so readily available to make my life simpler.  I embrace it and don’t find any of it difficult.  I recognize that not everyone feels the same as I do and I respect that some people are challenged by some technologies.  To any of them I say, “Kudos to you for whatever advancements you have made!”

 

References:

Elevator graphic source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/results.aspx?qu=elevator&sc=20