Paul McNamara
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Paul McNamara
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‘How to get an A/C budget approved’
According to one IT professional posting on Reddit’s section for systems administrators, the best way to get an air-conditioning budget approved is to turn up the heat – literally -- on the right company executives. He writes: After adding a second rack to our server room the portable A/C unit just couldn't hack it anymore. Ambient temperatures were regularly spiking above 30C (86F). I had to come in on weekends to open doors, move fans, etc.Since this is just the beginning of summer I know it's only going to get worse. We need a commercial A/C unit. The portable A/C we have exhausts above the drop ceiling, which just creates a blanket of hot air and compounds the issue.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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‘How to get an A/C budget approved’
According to one IT professional posting on Reddit’s section for systems administrators, the best way to get an air-conditioning budget approved is to turn up the heat – literally -- on the right company executives. He writes: After adding a second rack to our server room the portable A/C unit just couldn't hack it anymore. Ambient temperatures were regularly spiking above 30C (86F). I had to come in on weekends to open doors, move fans, etc.Since this is just the beginning of summer I know it's only going to get worse. We need a commercial A/C unit. The portable A/C we have exhausts above the drop ceiling, which just creates a blanket of hot air and compounds the issue.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Let’s Encrypt accuses Comodo of trying to swipe its brand
Let’s Encrypt, a free certificate authority launched by the Internet Security Research Group in November 2014 and backed by some of the biggest names in the industry, today revealed that rival CA Comodo is attempting to “improperly” trademark the Let’s Encrypt brand.And it’s difficult to see how that isn’t the case.From a blog post by ISRG executive director Josh Aas: Some months ago, it came to our attention that Comodo Group, Inc., is attempting to register at least three trademarks for the term “Let’s Encrypt,” for a variety of CA-related services. These trademark applications were filed long after the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) started using the name Let’s Encrypt publicly in November of 2014, and despite the fact Comodo’s “intent to use” trademark filings acknowledge that it has never used “Let’s Encrypt” as a brand.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Let’s Encrypt accuses Comodo of trying to swipe its brand
Let’s Encrypt, a free certificate authority launched by the Internet Security Research Group in November 2014 and backed by some of the biggest names in the industry, today revealed that rival CA Comodo is attempting to “improperly” trademark the Let’s Encrypt brand.And it’s difficult to see how that isn’t the case.From a blog post by ISRG executive director Josh Aas: Some months ago, it came to our attention that Comodo Group, Inc., is attempting to register at least three trademarks for the term “Let’s Encrypt,” for a variety of CA-related services. These trademark applications were filed long after the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) started using the name Let’s Encrypt publicly in November of 2014, and despite the fact Comodo’s “intent to use” trademark filings acknowledge that it has never used “Let’s Encrypt” as a brand.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Let’s Encrypt accuses Comodo of trying to swipe its brand
Let’s Encrypt, a free certificate authority launched by the Internet Security Research Group in November 2014 and backed by some of the biggest names in the industry, today revealed that rival CA Comodo is attempting to “improperly” trademark the Let’s Encrypt brand.And it’s difficult to see how that isn’t the case.From a blog post by ISRG executive director Josh Aas: Some months ago, it came to our attention that Comodo Group, Inc., is attempting to register at least three trademarks for the term “Let’s Encrypt,” for a variety of CA-related services. These trademark applications were filed long after the Internet Security Research Group (ISRG) started using the name Let’s Encrypt publicly in November of 2014, and despite the fact Comodo’s “intent to use” trademark filings acknowledge that it has never used “Let’s Encrypt” as a brand.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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‘Trojan horse’ stalks security conference
The creation pictured above, dubbed “Cyber Horse,” greets attendees of the ongoing Cyber Week 2016 conference being held at Tel Aviv University. This short video shows a time-lapse of the final assemblage with a narration devoted to a history lesson. And here’s another close-up video taken by a conference attendee: “Cyber Horse” was conceived and built by No, No, No, No, No, Yes, an agency based in New York City. Gideon Amichay, founder and chief creative officer, explains in a blog post.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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‘Trojan horse’ stalks security conference
The creation pictured above, dubbed “Cyber Horse,” greets attendees of the ongoing Cyber Week 2016 conference being held at Tel Aviv University. This short video shows a time-lapse of the final assemblage with a narration devoted to a history lesson. And here’s another close-up video taken by a conference attendee: “Cyber Horse” was conceived and built by No, No, No, No, No, Yes, an agency based in New York City. Gideon Amichay, founder and chief creative officer, explains in a blog post.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Activists fighting expansion of government powers to hack private computers
Rights activists led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project are rallying similar organizations and their constituents to step up opposition to a rules change backed by the U.S. Justice Department that would grant law enforcement vast new surveillance authorities and undermine anonymity online.Website operators are being asked to join the effort today by posting banners on their sites.From an EFF press release: EFF and over 40 partner organizations are holding a day of action for a new campaign—noglobalwarrants.org—to engage citizens about the dangers of Rule 41 and push U.S. lawmakers to oppose it. The process for updating these rules—which govern federal criminal court processes—was intended to deal exclusively with procedural issues. But this year a U.S. judicial committee approved changes in the rule that will expand judicial authority to grant warrants for government hacking. …To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Activists fighting expansion of government powers to hack private computers
Rights activists led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Tor Project are rallying similar organizations and their constituents to step up opposition to a rules change backed by the U.S. Justice Department that would grant law enforcement vast new surveillance authorities and undermine anonymity online.Website operators are being asked to join the effort today by posting banners on their sites.From an EFF press release: EFF and over 40 partner organizations are holding a day of action for a new campaign—noglobalwarrants.org—to engage citizens about the dangers of Rule 41 and push U.S. lawmakers to oppose it. The process for updating these rules—which govern federal criminal court processes—was intended to deal exclusively with procedural issues. But this year a U.S. judicial committee approved changes in the rule that will expand judicial authority to grant warrants for government hacking. …To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Verizon blames ‘routing’ error for Baltimore 911 outage
Residents of Baltimore who dialed 911 were unable to reach emergency dispatchers for more than two hours Tuesday evening and Verizon is laying the blame on a call-routing error.From the Baltimore Sun: Officials at Verizon — the service provider for the city's 911 system — said the phone company received an automated alert at 7:48 p.m. reporting that 911 calls were failing. Verizon spokesman John O'Malley said the company eventually determined that emergency calls were mistakenly routed to an empty back-up call center in the city.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Verizon blames ‘routing’ error for Baltimore 911 outage
Residents of Baltimore who dialed 911 were unable to reach emergency dispatchers for more than two hours Tuesday evening and Verizon is laying the blame on a call-routing error.From the Baltimore Sun: Officials at Verizon — the service provider for the city's 911 system — said the phone company received an automated alert at 7:48 p.m. reporting that 911 calls were failing. Verizon spokesman John O'Malley said the company eventually determined that emergency calls were mistakenly routed to an empty back-up call center in the city.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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AT&T moves Wi-Fi calling needle forward for users of some Android devices
Having provided the option for iPhone users looking to make such international calls back in March, AT&T today announced that owners of certain Android devices will now also have access to Wi-Fi calling.So if you’re stuck in a spot with lousy to non-existent cell coverage – my kids’ school, for example – you’ll be able to call and text without stepping outside.The Android option is limited for starters to LG G4 but AT&T indicated that others will follow “soon.”From an AT&T blog post:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How the Internet is like the Verrazano Bridge
No, the Internet has not become a series of bridges; it remains a series of tubes.The Internet is like the Verrazano Bridge in that there are moves afoot – ill-advised moves -- to change how each entity is represented through the written word.In the case of the Internet, the influential Associated Press and its indefatigable style disciples have already decreed that the word Internet should no longer be capitalized. Many news organizations and journalists are meekly complying by demoting the Internet to the internet. As you can see, I am refusing to fall in line.Meanwhile, in New York City, nitpicky petitioners are demanding that the Verrazano Bridge – North America’s longest such span – be renamed the Verrazzano Bridge. OK, fine, renaming may be oversating the case; they’re actually demanding the addition of a second “z” in Verrazano, despite the fact that it’s been spelled with only one since the bridge opened in 1964.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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How the Internet is like the Verrazano Bridge
No, the Internet has not become a series of bridges; it remains a series of tubes.The Internet is like the Verrazano Bridge in that there are moves afoot – ill-advised moves -- to change how each entity is represented through the written word.In the case of the Internet, the influential Associated Press and its indefatigable style disciples have already decreed that the word Internet should no longer be capitalized. Many news organizations and journalists are meekly complying by demoting the Internet to the internet. As you can see, I am refusing to fall in line.Meanwhile, in New York City, nitpicky petitioners are demanding that the Verrazano Bridge – North America’s longest such span – be renamed the Verrazzano Bridge. OK, fine, renaming may be oversating the case; they’re actually demanding the addition of a second “z” in Verrazano, despite the fact that it’s been spelled with only one since the bridge opened in 1964.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Vetting vendors via VoIP
Who among us hasn’t set up a new and unique email account for a particular commercial transaction just so we’ll know who to blame when the account gets flooded with spam? Well, a member of Reddit’s community devoted to systems administration (r/sysadmin) says he took the tactic a step further … actually, 12 steps further.From a post headlined: “How to get blacklisted as a vendor.” Yesterday I was hunting for a new vendor. Mostly out of curiosity (but also to help me in picking a company that's not completely sleazy) I set up a batch of temporary phone numbers in our VoIP system, 12 in all, and called each vendor from a different number.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Vetting vendors via VoIP
Who among us hasn’t set up a new and unique email account for a particular commercial transaction just so we’ll know who to blame when the account gets flooded with spam? Well, a member of Reddit’s community devoted to systems administration (r/sysadmin) says he took the tactic a step further … actually, 12 steps further.From a post headlined: “How to get blacklisted as a vendor.” Yesterday I was hunting for a new vendor. Mostly out of curiosity (but also to help me in picking a company that's not completely sleazy) I set up a batch of temporary phone numbers in our VoIP system, 12 in all, and called each vendor from a different number.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Verizon’s ‘Can you hear me now?’ guy is now selling us Sprint. This is wrong.
Paul Marcarelli – an actor better known as the “Can you hear me now?” guy – spent nine years profiting from a Verizon ad campaign that made his face famous and that phrase a part of the lexicon. That gig ended in 2011.Now he’s begun selling Sprint. In the new commercial he says he switched teams because Sprint’s service has become so wonderful. In real life, we all know he switched because Sprint is now helping him pay his bills. That’s fine. If AT&T had wanted Marcarelli’s services it would be the wonders of AT&T that the actor would be extolling on TV. Here’s the ad: Now there’s absolutely nothing to criticize about an actor earning a living. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong here.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Verizon’s ‘Can you hear me now?’ guy is now selling us Sprint. This is wrong.
Paul Marcarelli – an actor better known as the “Can you hear me now?” guy – spent nine years profiting from a Verizon ad campaign that made his face famous and that phrase a part of the lexicon. That gig ended in 2011.Now he’s begun selling Sprint. In the new commercial he says he switched teams because Sprint’s service has become so wonderful. In real life, we all know he switched because Sprint is now helping him pay his bills. That’s fine. If AT&T had wanted Marcarelli’s services it would be the wonders of AT&T that the actor would be extolling on TV. Here’s the ad: Now there’s absolutely nothing to criticize about an actor earning a living. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing wrong here.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Watching Steve Jobs stare slack-jawed at Muhammad Ali
Everyone who has a personal story about Muhammad Ali is sharing it today, including this remarkable anecdote from Dan Bricklin, father of the spreadsheet, originally posted online in 1999. “For those of you too young to remember Ali as the most famous person in the world, let me tell you about the one time I saw him in person. I was at Ben Rosen / Esther Dyson's PC conference in Palm Springs, California; January 1983, I think. Ali was attending a fighter's training camp at the same hotel. We were walking to some event outside. I was next to Steve Jobs and maybe Bill Gates was there. Ali walked down the street. I just remember how we all stopped to watch, mouths open, even Steve. I remember how well he carried himself and his tailored clothes. It made our industry seem small -- here were our top people and all we could do was stand and stare as ‘the Greatest’ walked by oblivious to us and our industry.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
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Groundbreaking jury verdict finds Utah firms made 117 million illegal telemarketing calls
In what the Federal Trade Commission is calling a first-of-its-kind verdict, a jury has found that a Utah man and his three movie companies are responsible for a variety of “deceptive and unlawful” selling practices that include 117 million illegal telemarketing calls. In a case that has already dragged on since 2011, the jury ruling enforces both the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule and its enormously popular Do Not Call Registry rules. The judge has yet to access civil penalties, but since they can be as high as $16,000 per violation it’s safe to assume the total will fall somewhere south of the $1.9 trillion maximum for just those illegal calls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here