In a conversation with a coworker the other day, we got onto the topic of "the cloud". To summarize, it seemed the marketing genius behind 'the cloud' knew exactly what they were doing. From an IT Pro perspective, the sentiment seemed to swing drastically with just the change of terminology. Outsourcing: "Booo!" The Cloud: "Yay!" Even servers in your own data center have … [Read more...]
Resources for a Bring Your Own Device policy
Bring Your Own Device has been a common phrase for a while now but its implementation often has room for improvement. The BYOD concept has even made its way into comics. Fortunately with time passing, more resources have become available. The benefit with not being on the cutting edge means others have gone before you. Here are a few resources with recommendations for a solid … [Read more...]
Municipal gigabit Internet has to be implemented as a service
While the implementation of Google Fiber might make you think otherwise, not all gigabit cities are on smooth sailing. Google has the magic combination of offering fast speed at a low price. Others, like Chattanooga, TN, have gotten the speed but not the low price. While some states have even implemented anti-municipal broadband laws for some unknown reason, some cities are … [Read more...]
A timeline of the unconstitutional “Amazon Tax” in Illinois
Today marks one year since Illinois Circuit Court Judge Robert Lopez Cepero ruled that HB 3659, Public Act 96-1544, was unconstitutional. Affiliates within the State of Illinois were cut off by most companies such as Amazon and eBay after the bill was signed into law. As a result, Illinois entered a lose-lose-lose situation by reducing taxable income of its citizens, forcing … [Read more...]
Is a notepad a secure place to keep your passwords? Password Minder thought so
One that's going around the web lately is poking fun at the Internet Password Minder infomercial. Infomercials are hardly known for their quality production and fair representation of their product but for this, even the concept is flawed. The infomercial states how problematic passwords can be and suggests their product, essentially a notepad with labeled lines for user name, … [Read more...]