Yesterday, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and injuring over a hundred others. The big question people seem to be asking today, besides “who did it,” is “what it a terrorist attack?” My response is “who cares?” Continue reading “Boston Marathon Bombing – (Who Cares If) It Was Terrorists(?)”
CISSP
On April 5, after six months of preparation, I took, and passed, the CISSP exam. Here are some of the lessons I learned along the way.
Continue reading “CISSP”
Review: Genius LuxePad 9100 Bluetooth Keyboard
Genius LuxePad 9100 Bluetooth Keyboard
Price:$69.99 US
Company: Genius
I was recently sent a LuxePad 9100 Bluetooth Keyboard by Genius to review. In a nutshell, if you’re going to use a physical keyboard with your iOS (or other) device, this is a decent unit. However, there are shortcomings, not necessarily of the hardware, that you should be aware of. Continue reading “Review: Genius LuxePad 9100 Bluetooth Keyboard”
Slow Carb Diet Success
In May I embarked on a low-carb diet. Shortly after choosing to start this, I resumed the “slow carb diet” which was popularized by Tim Ferris when he released his second book, the four hour body. I tried the diet last year after the book first came out, with lackluster results. This time, it worked. Continue reading “Slow Carb Diet Success”
Review: Griffin HELO TC Assault
HELO TC Assault
Company: Griffin Technology
Price: $59.99
Every now and then I get a chance to play with a cool new toy. Usually, by “new cool toy” I’m referring to some computer-related tool, self-defense weapon, firearm, or bicycle. This time, it’s a genuine toy. I’m referring to the Griffin HELO TC Assault remote control helicopter.
Continue reading “Review: Griffin HELO TC Assault”
Review: Mac OS X Mountain Lion Pocket Guide
OS X Mountain Lion Pocket Guide
The Ultimate Quick Guide to OS X
Author: Chris Seibold
Publisher: O’Reilly Media
Released: July 2012
Pages: 272
Price: $14.99 US
I recently had the opportunity to review a copy of the OS X Mountain Lion Pocket Guide from O’Reilly media. Continue reading “Review: Mac OS X Mountain Lion Pocket Guide”
Review: iBike Coach and iBike Phone Booth
iBike Coach and iBike Phone Booth
Publisher: Velocomp
Price: $59.95
Publisher: Velocomp
Price: $59.95
I had the opportunity to review the iBike Phone Booth, a bike mount for the iPhone, and iBike Coach, a cycling computer app for the iPhone. Continue reading “Review: iBike Coach and iBike Phone Booth”
Type Like a Teenager, Communicate Like a Professional
(Originally posted on the Paradigm Consulting blog.)
Whether it’s fair, or not, people judge you by the words you use, spoken and written. This applies to electronic communication as well and, while the accepted norms for grammar are being relaxed more and more every day, f u typ lik ths n a prof ltr, ul look like a ful. Continue reading “Type Like a Teenager, Communicate Like a Professional”
Today's Spam/Scam Brought to You by…
What would my inbox be like without my old AOL account?
How are you doing? I am Anastasya. i look for a gentleman. i commonly am tidy, paint… Reply me email in [email protected] Yours, Anastasya…
That’s great! I am looking for a woman who commonly is tidy, paint…
Seriously, it scares me to think that things like this work as openers to social engineering and Nigerian scams that end up robbing people of not only time and money, but sometimes even their lives. Be careful out there.
How Much Does an Old Computer Cost You?
Today I worked on the system of a client who reported the computer was crashing. After briefly examining the logs, I found that the system had been reporting hard drive failures… for nearly a year.
The system was crashing with the infamous Blue Screen of Death, and running terrifically slow. Given that the computer itself was 6 years old, slow was to be expected, but this was slow. It took many minutes just to get to the logon prompt, longer to get to rendering a desktop, etc.
So, I had to ask myself, “how much is this costing them?” Let’s do a quick calculation:
An employee uses this PC, and sits at the machine for approximately 4 hours a day out of a typical 8 hour workday. For round numbers, let’s say that said employee costs the company $25/hour (after salary, benefits, taxes, etc.). Let’s also be generous and say that the machine was taking 25% longer to perform all tasks, on average. In reality, it was probably taking much longer, but let’s err on the low side.
So 4 hours at the desk, and 25% (1 hour) of that is wasted waiting for the PC. $25 a day * 5 days a week = $125 / week. Multiply this times 50 weeks out of the year and we can easily make the case that this slowness cost our client $6,250 a year in lost employee productivity.
Cost of a new computer, installed, with a new software suite and employee training? Significantly less.
How much money are you and your staff wasting by not upgrading your old computer?