Damages caused by hacking attacks are not only technical headaches, but they can also cause tension between the company and its customers. This tension can be especially acute in cases where the hacked company offers a hosted service to its customers, and that service's functions are at risk. Hackers understand how damaging their threats can be and the importance that firms will place on meeting customer needs above nearly all other concerns. Despite the risks, companies can employ several best practices to become a less inviting target to hackers and to minimize the damages after a threat.
Monitoring of server status is a sound first step for companies that want to know immediately when a threat begins. The right monitoring tool will send alerts to administrators and other technical staff-who can begin to assess the damage. Protocols should also be put into place to alert the customer support team. If the hacking attempt will very likely interrupt or slow services provided for customers, then a quick and transparent explanation should be disseminated.
Enterprise-level hosted live chat, e-mail marketing, knowledge base, and help desk solution provider Comm100 recently experienced a distributed denial of service attack for which a hacker attempted to shut down the company's operations in exchange for blackmail payment. Comm100's core services are all hosted, so interruption of service means its global clients could not properly meet the needs of their own customers. The company took swift action to both combat the attack and inform its customers of the existence of the threat and the actions being taken to get services back online.
After the system admins at Comm100 analyzed the exact type of attack and its technical scope, they talked to the data center host to see if any network errors had occurred and to make sure they knew of the attack and were taking steps to guard the server. As the attack was confirmed, the company looked at more advanced defenses to help stop the hacker from repeating the attack, a popular tactic hackers use to extort companies.
Comm100 also knew multiple department coordination was vital to properly manage any threat. Its developers needed to adjust quickly any settings and work with a testing team to be sure any affected systems were functioning and ensure there would not be an interruption in service. The support team was tasked with gathering feedback from customers and keeping them informed of the issue and the likely timeframe for resolution. These communications were very transparent, as customer backlash could be severe if Comm100 did not disclose an outage.
For widespread public attacks, the marketing team should be involved to ensure the right messaging about the attack is provided to the public. Every department should understand its role before an attack occurs, so they can work quickly and collaboratively in a logical fashion to mitigate the damage to both technical systems and the company's reputation.
Once customers hear about the attack, they will naturally ask Was my data compromised? Management of customer data is vital for any firm that offers a hosted service, and companies should be sure all data protection policies are sound to stop any intrusion. Hackers often try to infiltrate through passwords, so companies should ensure complex password verifications are a part of server login credentials. These credentials should be actively managed by select staff members who have a proven ability to follow the strictest of policies. All customer data should be encrypted to the highest standards, with very limited numbers of staff having access to the data. Monitoring should be in place to spot any port or bug scans and to log all system visits in case of unauthorized attempts. It's important for customers to know such procedures are in place so they have the added peace of mind that you have considered the possibility of hacking and are proactively taking steps to shield their data.
Properly trained staff members are essential for repelling and preventing attacks. System administrators should proactively learn about the latest threats and hacking techniques as well as the appropriate responses or patches. The non-technical staff that manages customer relationships should have enough technical training to be able to understand the threat and translate it into plain language for their customer contacts. How the hacking threat is described and managed by the company is as important to customers as the technical details of the threat itself. Staff members need to be transparent with their information, and be able to relay confidence in the technical team's ability to quickly stop any threat and get the company (and the customer) back in business.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
Gao, Kevin. "How to manage the risks to your business and customers after Hackers attack." Customer Mar. 2013: 30. Computer Database. Web. 16 May 2013.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA326854546&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A326854546
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Paperback bestsellers/mass market
Envy is the third entry in Ward's Fallen Angels series. About book one, Covet, PW said, "Ward provides the combination of fun, thrills, and gratuitous sex she's best known for. Fans of the Brotherhood, clear a shelf: your next series addiction has just begun." According to the author's bio, "Writing has always been her passion and her idea of heaven is a whole day of nothing but her computer, her dog, and her coffee pot." (Since today's issue contains our Pets & Animals feature--see p. 24--we feel obliged to mention Ward's beloved golden retriever.)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In PW's June 6 Romance feature, Singh said, "Writing is so very right for me that even when it's hard, it's still the only thing I can imagine doing, the only thing I want to be doing." About her fourth Guild Hunter novel, PW said, "Singh's vampires, angels, hunters, and archangels engage in global power struggles within a complex larger story that new readers will find challenging. An engrossing narrative, vivid characters, and a well-imagined world mitigate those difficulties, resulting in a heart-pounding and strongly emotional read."
Woods's 19th title to star detective-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington --the first was New York Dead, back in 199l--enjoyed a six-week hardcover run at the beginning of the year. In a recent interview, Woods was asked about the increasing practice of authors co-writing (see today's Fiction and Nonfiction lists). His reply: "I am opposed to collaborating, because then you have to give the other writer half the money." Re the author's next opus, due Sept. 20: far be it from us to spill any plot-related beans ... but the title is Son of Stone.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
"'Could we take his legs off?' 'Take Eddie's legs off? How?' 'I have a hacksaw under the front seat,' Roma added.... Because she was a veterinarian she had a number of things in her vehicle that other people didn't.... 'But don't they detach somehow?' Wrong thing to say. Maggie laid a protective hand on Eddie's thigh. 'Do your legs detach?' she asked."
--From Kelly's Sleight of Paw
Paperback Bestsellers/Mass Market
Last Weeks
September 19, 2011 week on list
(1) Port Mortuary. Patricia Cornwell. 3 2
Berkley, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-425-24360-2
(2) American Assassin . Vince Flynn. 4 2
Pocket, $9.99
ISBN 978-1-4165-9519-9
(3) 1105 Yakima Street. Debbie Macomber. 2 2
Mira, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-778-31251-2
(4) Envy. J.R. Ward. -- 1
Signet, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-451-22945-8
(5) The Confession. John Grisham. 8 8
Dell, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-440-24511-7
(6) Lost Empire . Clive Cussler with 18 2
Grant Blackwood. Berkley, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-425-24361-9
(7) Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin. 11 25
Bantam, $8.99
ISBN 978-0-553-59371-6
(8) The Reversal . Michael Connelly. 1 3
Vision, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-446-55675-0
(9) Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue. 9 2
Stephanie Laurens. Avon, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-06-206860-6
(10) The Emperor's Tomb. Steve Berry. 17 2
Ballantine, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-345-50550-7
(11) Canyons of Night. Jayne Castle. 5 2
Jove, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-515-14988-3
(12) Strategic Moves. Stuart Woods. -- 1
Signet, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-451-23445-2
(13) A Clash of Kings. George R.R. Martin. 12 22
Bantam, $8.99
ISBN 978-0-553-57990-1
(14) Archangel's Blade. Nalini Singh. -- 1
Berkley, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-425-24391-6
(15) A Storm of Swords. George R. R. Martin. 15 22
Bantam, $8.99
ISBN 978-0-553-57342-8
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
Donahue, Dick. "Paperback bestsellers/mass market." Publishers Weekly 19 Sept. 2011: 18. General OneFile. Web. 9 May 2013.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA267710085&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A267710085
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In PW's June 6 Romance feature, Singh said, "Writing is so very right for me that even when it's hard, it's still the only thing I can imagine doing, the only thing I want to be doing." About her fourth Guild Hunter novel, PW said, "Singh's vampires, angels, hunters, and archangels engage in global power struggles within a complex larger story that new readers will find challenging. An engrossing narrative, vivid characters, and a well-imagined world mitigate those difficulties, resulting in a heart-pounding and strongly emotional read."
Woods's 19th title to star detective-turned-lawyer Stone Barrington --the first was New York Dead, back in 199l--enjoyed a six-week hardcover run at the beginning of the year. In a recent interview, Woods was asked about the increasing practice of authors co-writing (see today's Fiction and Nonfiction lists). His reply: "I am opposed to collaborating, because then you have to give the other writer half the money." Re the author's next opus, due Sept. 20: far be it from us to spill any plot-related beans ... but the title is Son of Stone.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
"'Could we take his legs off?' 'Take Eddie's legs off? How?' 'I have a hacksaw under the front seat,' Roma added.... Because she was a veterinarian she had a number of things in her vehicle that other people didn't.... 'But don't they detach somehow?' Wrong thing to say. Maggie laid a protective hand on Eddie's thigh. 'Do your legs detach?' she asked."
--From Kelly's Sleight of Paw
Paperback Bestsellers/Mass Market
Last Weeks
September 19, 2011 week on list
(1) Port Mortuary. Patricia Cornwell. 3 2
Berkley, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-425-24360-2
(2) American Assassin . Vince Flynn. 4 2
Pocket, $9.99
ISBN 978-1-4165-9519-9
(3) 1105 Yakima Street. Debbie Macomber. 2 2
Mira, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-778-31251-2
(4) Envy. J.R. Ward. -- 1
Signet, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-451-22945-8
(5) The Confession. John Grisham. 8 8
Dell, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-440-24511-7
(6) Lost Empire . Clive Cussler with 18 2
Grant Blackwood. Berkley, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-425-24361-9
(7) Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin. 11 25
Bantam, $8.99
ISBN 978-0-553-59371-6
(8) The Reversal . Michael Connelly. 1 3
Vision, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-446-55675-0
(9) Viscount Breckenridge to the Rescue. 9 2
Stephanie Laurens. Avon, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-06-206860-6
(10) The Emperor's Tomb. Steve Berry. 17 2
Ballantine, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-345-50550-7
(11) Canyons of Night. Jayne Castle. 5 2
Jove, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-515-14988-3
(12) Strategic Moves. Stuart Woods. -- 1
Signet, $9.99
ISBN 978-0-451-23445-2
(13) A Clash of Kings. George R.R. Martin. 12 22
Bantam, $8.99
ISBN 978-0-553-57990-1
(14) Archangel's Blade. Nalini Singh. -- 1
Berkley, $7.99
ISBN 978-0-425-24391-6
(15) A Storm of Swords. George R. R. Martin. 15 22
Bantam, $8.99
ISBN 978-0-553-57342-8
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
Donahue, Dick. "Paperback bestsellers/mass market." Publishers Weekly 19 Sept. 2011: 18. General OneFile. Web. 9 May 2013.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA267710085&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A267710085
Monday, January 21, 2013
Surface pro: more than a tablet
Microsoft's own Surface RT has been out for a while? No one questions whether the Surface RT is a tablet. It's priced like a high-end tablet, it's thin and light, and it has competitive battery life. But since that Windows RT tablet uses Nvidia's ARM-based Tegra 3 CPU, it can't run desktop programs. (See our review on page 48.)
Buyers may view the Surface Pro as just a pricey tablet as well. At the prices Microsoft is charging, shoppers who are not paying attention to its PC-like specs will likely ignore it.
Serious PC users who recognize the Surface Pro as a thinly disguised PC may grab one; they might also buy the Type Cover, or maybe a Bluetooth keyboard. Corporations may view it with interest too, as Microsoft has integrated enterprise-management capability. They'll be able to install all their software on it as well, since it's a full Windows 8 PC under the hood.
Pro vs. RT
If you're trying to decide between the Surface Pro and Surface RT you should be aware of the benefits and disadvantages of each Windows platform. Since the Surface Pro isn't out yet, for the sake of comparison we looked at several other tablets running Windows 8 Pro.
Battery life: In this respect, Windows 8 Pro tablets compete with Ultrabooks more than they do other tablets. Our testing of the Samsung Series 7 Slate, for example, yielded more than 5.5 hours of battery life--and that's with an Intel Core i5 CPU rather than the more energy-frugal Atom chips used in many Windows 8 tablets.
Size and weight: Here the two platforms are a mixed bag, depending on the device model. At 1.9 pounds, the Samsung Series 7 Slate weighs almost half a pound more than the 1.5-pound Surface RT. According to a blog post by Panos Panay, general manager of Microsoft Surface, the Surface Pro will weigh less than 2 pounds too.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The Dell Latitude 10, in contrast, is a Windows 8 Pro tablet listed at 1.47 pounds. The difference is that the Samsung and the Surface Pro use a traditional PC architecture, while the Atom CPU in the Dell is an SoC (system on chip) that merges more functionality into less space.
Legacy software: This is where the balance shifts away from RT tablets. Windows 8 Pro behaves the same on a desktop, laptop, or tablet, and all of the Windows software you rely on will work on a Windows 8 Pro tablet.
Windows RT can run only apps developed for the Windows RT Modern interface. The volume and quality of available apps is underwhelming but growing rapidly. That won't do you any good, however, if you rely on an industry-specific application that runs only in the full Windows operating system. The difference, again, is that Windows RT is strictly for ARM-based processors, while Windows 8 Pro works with x86 processors.
Advanced features: Another area where Windows RT is no match for Windows 8 Pro is in more-advanced features and capabilities. A Windows 8 Pro tablet, for example, can join a Windows network domain, and be managed and monitored just like any other Windows computer.
An x86-architecture tablet running Windows 8 Pro or Windows 8 Enterprise can encrypt data via BitLocker. A Windows 8 Enterprise tablet also opens up another realm of possibilities, including various Microsoft technologies that are not available for Windows 8 Pro--never mind RT.
Which One Wins?
If money is a factor, or if you want a tablet only to augment your Windows PC, the Surface RT or another Windows RT tablet makes sense. But if you want to run traditional software, or if you need a more robust device, a Windows 8 Pro tablet like the Surface Pro will serve you better.
In the end, what may kill the Surface Pro is its Surface name. It looks to be an impressive little Windows 8 PC. But if potential buyers see it as just a high-priced tablet, Microsoft could end up with a lot of excess inventory.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
Case, Loyd, Tony Bradley, and Melissa J. Perenson. "Surface pro: more than a tablet: although pricing for the Surface Pro seems high, the tablet has Ultrabook-level specs and differs significantly from its RT sibling." PC World Feb. 2013: 13+. Computer Database. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA315221942&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A315221942
Buyers may view the Surface Pro as just a pricey tablet as well. At the prices Microsoft is charging, shoppers who are not paying attention to its PC-like specs will likely ignore it.
Serious PC users who recognize the Surface Pro as a thinly disguised PC may grab one; they might also buy the Type Cover, or maybe a Bluetooth keyboard. Corporations may view it with interest too, as Microsoft has integrated enterprise-management capability. They'll be able to install all their software on it as well, since it's a full Windows 8 PC under the hood.
Pro vs. RT
If you're trying to decide between the Surface Pro and Surface RT you should be aware of the benefits and disadvantages of each Windows platform. Since the Surface Pro isn't out yet, for the sake of comparison we looked at several other tablets running Windows 8 Pro.
Battery life: In this respect, Windows 8 Pro tablets compete with Ultrabooks more than they do other tablets. Our testing of the Samsung Series 7 Slate, for example, yielded more than 5.5 hours of battery life--and that's with an Intel Core i5 CPU rather than the more energy-frugal Atom chips used in many Windows 8 tablets.
Size and weight: Here the two platforms are a mixed bag, depending on the device model. At 1.9 pounds, the Samsung Series 7 Slate weighs almost half a pound more than the 1.5-pound Surface RT. According to a blog post by Panos Panay, general manager of Microsoft Surface, the Surface Pro will weigh less than 2 pounds too.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
The Dell Latitude 10, in contrast, is a Windows 8 Pro tablet listed at 1.47 pounds. The difference is that the Samsung and the Surface Pro use a traditional PC architecture, while the Atom CPU in the Dell is an SoC (system on chip) that merges more functionality into less space.
Legacy software: This is where the balance shifts away from RT tablets. Windows 8 Pro behaves the same on a desktop, laptop, or tablet, and all of the Windows software you rely on will work on a Windows 8 Pro tablet.
Windows RT can run only apps developed for the Windows RT Modern interface. The volume and quality of available apps is underwhelming but growing rapidly. That won't do you any good, however, if you rely on an industry-specific application that runs only in the full Windows operating system. The difference, again, is that Windows RT is strictly for ARM-based processors, while Windows 8 Pro works with x86 processors.
Advanced features: Another area where Windows RT is no match for Windows 8 Pro is in more-advanced features and capabilities. A Windows 8 Pro tablet, for example, can join a Windows network domain, and be managed and monitored just like any other Windows computer.
An x86-architecture tablet running Windows 8 Pro or Windows 8 Enterprise can encrypt data via BitLocker. A Windows 8 Enterprise tablet also opens up another realm of possibilities, including various Microsoft technologies that are not available for Windows 8 Pro--never mind RT.
Which One Wins?
If money is a factor, or if you want a tablet only to augment your Windows PC, the Surface RT or another Windows RT tablet makes sense. But if you want to run traditional software, or if you need a more robust device, a Windows 8 Pro tablet like the Surface Pro will serve you better.
In the end, what may kill the Surface Pro is its Surface name. It looks to be an impressive little Windows 8 PC. But if potential buyers see it as just a high-priced tablet, Microsoft could end up with a lot of excess inventory.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
Case, Loyd, Tony Bradley, and Melissa J. Perenson. "Surface pro: more than a tablet: although pricing for the Surface Pro seems high, the tablet has Ultrabook-level specs and differs significantly from its RT sibling." PC World Feb. 2013: 13+. Computer Database. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA315221942&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A315221942
Monday, November 5, 2012
Earnings reports offer clues as to how marketing held up in the thirdquarter; Adland shows mixed results as spending pays for Coke, Pepsibut Intel, Microsoft face challenges
COCA-COLA: Thanks in part to its massive Olympics campaign, marketing spending was up double digits for Coke's international operations. And although it's still 20 months away, marketing running up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil also contributed to a spending uptick. The company highlighted a German campaign that used its global partnership with Spotify to offer teens access to songs and exclusive Coca-Cola content. The marketer claims it reached more than 90% of teens in Germany.
GOOGLE: The search giant shocked financial markets by sending out an unfinished earnings release six hours ahead of schedule, and its stock fell 9% before Nasdaq halted trading. When it resumed, the world absorbed the fact that Google's search business is slowing as users move from PCs to mobile devices. But that's temporary. Users are ahead of the advertisers, and as advertising gets more sophisticated they'll start bidding up keywords in mobile just as they have on the PC. "It's very clear that advertisers are going to follow the eyeballs," said Bryan Weiner, CEO of 360i.
INTEL: The quarter grew at only half the rateof the seasonal norm, and Intel's fourth-quarter forecast isn't much better: quarter-to-quarter growth of 1%,but a year-over-year decrease of 2%. CEO Paul Otellini expressed hope for the coming Windows 8, noting Intel will be inside 40 "touch" PCs in fourth quarter. Asked whether tablets willstunt PC growth,he said, "I don't think the tablet, as we have seen it evolve over the last several years, is the end state of computing. ... What I can't predict is what form factor is going to win."
JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Third-quarter earnings per share came in ahead of forecasts, and the company raised its full-year prognosis, though largely due to strength in medical devices and newer pharmaceuticals. The consumer business, which accounts for the vast majority of ad spending but only 21% of sales, grew revenue, excluding acquisitions, divestitures and currency just 1% vs. a 10.8% jump for the company as a whole. J&J still doesn't expect manufacturing-remediation efforts in the wake of recalls of consumer products such as Tylenol and Benadryl to be complete until late next year.
MCDONALD'S: Though a strong performer through the recession, McDonald's isn't immune to a slow economy. U.S. same-store sales were up 1.2% in the quarter--its slowest growth in 11 quarters. CEO Don Thompson said that was driven by breakfast and beverages, noting the company will put strong ad support behind "value offers" while also pushing news around "premium menu" items.
MICROSOFT: Total revenue was down 8%, thanks to the sluggish economy and buyers holding off purchasing in anticipation of Windows 8, launching Oct. 26. A bright spot was its online-services division, with growth of 9%. Online-advertising revenue was up 15% and search gains offset declines in display advertising.
OMNICOM: Third-quarter net income increased slightly to $203.9 million. Domestic revenue rose 3.2%, but global revenue fell slightly. CEO John Wren talked up the need to pool resources from different agencies to serve a single client, though he stopped short of suggesting dedicated agencies, which is the strategy being employed by rival Martin Sorrell at WPP.
PEPSICO: PepsiCo shared early signs that increased ad spending is paying off, reporting it gained global value share in carbonated beverages and improved brand equity in third quarter. The noncarbonated portion of its portfolio took a hit, however, as the company made the "very painful decision" to not chase price in categories like bottled water. Also worth noting: The marketer hinted at plans in the energy-drink category, which has grown rapidly in recent years. It said it has some "interesting" launches planned for 2013.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
"Earnings reports offer clues as to how marketing held up in the third quarter; Adland shows mixed results as spending pays for Coke, Pepsi but Intel, Microsoft face challenges." Advertising Age 22 Oct. 2012: 0010. Communications and Mass Media Collection. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA306328599&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A306328599
GOOGLE: The search giant shocked financial markets by sending out an unfinished earnings release six hours ahead of schedule, and its stock fell 9% before Nasdaq halted trading. When it resumed, the world absorbed the fact that Google's search business is slowing as users move from PCs to mobile devices. But that's temporary. Users are ahead of the advertisers, and as advertising gets more sophisticated they'll start bidding up keywords in mobile just as they have on the PC. "It's very clear that advertisers are going to follow the eyeballs," said Bryan Weiner, CEO of 360i.
INTEL: The quarter grew at only half the rateof the seasonal norm, and Intel's fourth-quarter forecast isn't much better: quarter-to-quarter growth of 1%,but a year-over-year decrease of 2%. CEO Paul Otellini expressed hope for the coming Windows 8, noting Intel will be inside 40 "touch" PCs in fourth quarter. Asked whether tablets willstunt PC growth,he said, "I don't think the tablet, as we have seen it evolve over the last several years, is the end state of computing. ... What I can't predict is what form factor is going to win."
JOHNSON & JOHNSON: Third-quarter earnings per share came in ahead of forecasts, and the company raised its full-year prognosis, though largely due to strength in medical devices and newer pharmaceuticals. The consumer business, which accounts for the vast majority of ad spending but only 21% of sales, grew revenue, excluding acquisitions, divestitures and currency just 1% vs. a 10.8% jump for the company as a whole. J&J still doesn't expect manufacturing-remediation efforts in the wake of recalls of consumer products such as Tylenol and Benadryl to be complete until late next year.
MCDONALD'S: Though a strong performer through the recession, McDonald's isn't immune to a slow economy. U.S. same-store sales were up 1.2% in the quarter--its slowest growth in 11 quarters. CEO Don Thompson said that was driven by breakfast and beverages, noting the company will put strong ad support behind "value offers" while also pushing news around "premium menu" items.
MICROSOFT: Total revenue was down 8%, thanks to the sluggish economy and buyers holding off purchasing in anticipation of Windows 8, launching Oct. 26. A bright spot was its online-services division, with growth of 9%. Online-advertising revenue was up 15% and search gains offset declines in display advertising.
OMNICOM: Third-quarter net income increased slightly to $203.9 million. Domestic revenue rose 3.2%, but global revenue fell slightly. CEO John Wren talked up the need to pool resources from different agencies to serve a single client, though he stopped short of suggesting dedicated agencies, which is the strategy being employed by rival Martin Sorrell at WPP.
PEPSICO: PepsiCo shared early signs that increased ad spending is paying off, reporting it gained global value share in carbonated beverages and improved brand equity in third quarter. The noncarbonated portion of its portfolio took a hit, however, as the company made the "very painful decision" to not chase price in categories like bottled water. Also worth noting: The marketer hinted at plans in the energy-drink category, which has grown rapidly in recent years. It said it has some "interesting" launches planned for 2013.
Source Citation (MLA 7th Edition)
"Earnings reports offer clues as to how marketing held up in the third quarter; Adland shows mixed results as spending pays for Coke, Pepsi but Intel, Microsoft face challenges." Advertising Age 22 Oct. 2012: 0010. Communications and Mass Media Collection. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA306328599&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=GPS&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A306328599
Monday, June 18, 2012
Project Management Software offers social media-style interface
Optimized for usability via its social media-style interface, Bitrix24 combines 30+ content, project, collaboration, real-time communication, reporting, and management tools. Cloud-based software package lets companies completely organize digital workplace, from clock-in to clock-out. In addition to Gantt chart generation and viewing, functionality offers ability to search and retrieve company documents, generate reports, and monitor company priorities.
********************
Cloud-Based Intranet Is All-in-One Collaboration, Communication and Management Tool
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The digital workplace evolved over time. First there was email. Then came software tools - initially delivered on CDs - including time and attendance, project management, CRM, reporting solutions and more. The rise of social media platforms opened up new possibilities for collaboration. But until now, small and mid-sized enterprises haven't had a way to harness the power of all these components into a single, unified platform. Bitrix, Inc. changed that today with the launch of Bitrix24 - the social intranet.
To create this breakthrough evolution in the digital workplace, Bitrix fused more than 30 content, project, collaboration, communication, reporting and management tools with a social media-style interface. The result is a cloud-based software package smaller companies can use to completely organize the digital workplace - from clock-in to clock-out. Bitrix offers a free version for businesses with up to 12 employees, providing an incredible array of tools on a unified platform - including CRM functions - and up to 5 GBs of disk space. Two paid versions deliver expanded functionality.
"With this next-generation release, Bitrix gives companies, especially smaller companies, the power to take collaboration, communication and business management to a whole new level," said Dmitry Valyanov, President, Bitrix, Inc. "We've combined dozens of distinct functions - like individual and group calendars, CRM, reporting, instant messaging and project management - and built a comprehensive toolkit in a single work zone employees can access from anywhere. Users can run an entire company from Bitrix24."
Serious Business Tools on a Single Social Media-Style Interface
With Bitrix24, colleagues can communicate and collaborate on projects in real time, search and retrieve important company documents, generate reports and keep up with company priorities - all on a single platform. One example of the symbiosis of social and business aspects is a "Like" button to trend popular documents up and boost intranet search rankings, pairing social media-style immediacy with sophisticated search engine capabilities. Despite its rich features and scalable capabilities, Bitrix24 is amazingly easy for companies to implement and begin using immediately since it was designed with an intuitive, social media interface that employees and managers alike can instinctively use.
Comprehensive Company Information at Users' Fingertips
Users can cut email clutter, turn down the noise and focus on the tasks at hand with internal messaging and file sharing tools that enable them to view communications and documents in the context of specific tasks and groups. This eliminates the need to search for files or communications in separate applications. The social media-style interface encourages individual contributions while giving users a big-picture view with the Bitrix24 Activity Stream.
Bitrix24 also delivers a Smart Search feature that provides a fast and easy way for users to find information that is accessible to them. Managers can supercharge efficiency by setting user access rights and creating workgroups, which function as sub-intranets and present only relevant information for each employee. This encourages greater focus for higher productivity.
Users can view projects and tasks in a Gantt chart for a quick overview of project status, participants and deadlines. They can also make changes directly in the chart view, triggering automatic notifications to all stakeholders.
Project, Document and CRM Tools Enhance Internal Collaboration
Project management tools include task definition, delegation and time tracking functions as well as file, message and discussion storage at the group or individual level. With Bitrix24, users can upload, share and store presentations, documents, videos and virtually any type of file for group, company or private use. Calendars, tasks, and contacts can be integrated across various platforms, and documents can be modified directly using Microsoft Office.
Users can quickly organize and track customer, prospect, partner, contact or agent interactions and manage, store and plan CRM activities with the powerful Bitrix24 CRM platform. Tools include reports and sales funnel management functions, business process automation, analysis features and roles and access management.
Reporting, Extranet and Time Management Tools
Bitrix24 offers rich reporting features, including Task Reports that provide a snapshot of employee time spent on specific tasks or projects as well as project status at customizable intervals. And because it's important to enable collaboration with external partners, Bitrix24 gives users the power to create projects via the Extranet.
There is a free plan for up to 12 users, and two paid plans that have no user limits. Both paid plans offer full Extranet functionality. The premium paid plan offers valuable time and attendance tools, including a clock-in and clock-out feature and reporting functions that make managing employee hours, vacation, sick days, etc., fast and easy.
More than 30 Handy Tools to Manage Workflow in the Digital Workplace
Bitrix24 works because it's designed around a business's natural workflow, creating a unified digital workplace. Instead of sifting through emails and checking a dozen different task management tools, employees can start their day with a unified view of tasks and projects, check their Activity Stream for new events, execute and document assignments, collaborate with project team members, get briefings and updates, manage CRM and wrap up the day with smart reporting tools - all on one unified platform.
Bitrix24 represents an evolution in business - the integration of rich social media tools and powerful company management functions on a single platform. Offered by an established leader in content management and portal solutions, Bitrix24 takes business communication, collaboration and management to the next level. The product has attracted over 5,000 users in its public beta stage thus far who've praised its efficiency, security and simplicity. Further information is available at www.bitrix24.com.
About Bitrix, Inc.
Bitrix, Inc. specializes in development of highly secure content management systems and intranet portal solutions for managing web projects and multifunctional information systems on the Internet. The software tech-corp. was established in 1998 and is still owned and managed by its founders.
Source Citation
"Project Management Software offers social media-style interface." Product News Network 15 June 2012. Computer Database. Web. 18 June 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA293172863&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A293172863
********************
Cloud-Based Intranet Is All-in-One Collaboration, Communication and Management Tool
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The digital workplace evolved over time. First there was email. Then came software tools - initially delivered on CDs - including time and attendance, project management, CRM, reporting solutions and more. The rise of social media platforms opened up new possibilities for collaboration. But until now, small and mid-sized enterprises haven't had a way to harness the power of all these components into a single, unified platform. Bitrix, Inc. changed that today with the launch of Bitrix24 - the social intranet.
To create this breakthrough evolution in the digital workplace, Bitrix fused more than 30 content, project, collaboration, communication, reporting and management tools with a social media-style interface. The result is a cloud-based software package smaller companies can use to completely organize the digital workplace - from clock-in to clock-out. Bitrix offers a free version for businesses with up to 12 employees, providing an incredible array of tools on a unified platform - including CRM functions - and up to 5 GBs of disk space. Two paid versions deliver expanded functionality.
"With this next-generation release, Bitrix gives companies, especially smaller companies, the power to take collaboration, communication and business management to a whole new level," said Dmitry Valyanov, President, Bitrix, Inc. "We've combined dozens of distinct functions - like individual and group calendars, CRM, reporting, instant messaging and project management - and built a comprehensive toolkit in a single work zone employees can access from anywhere. Users can run an entire company from Bitrix24."
Serious Business Tools on a Single Social Media-Style Interface
With Bitrix24, colleagues can communicate and collaborate on projects in real time, search and retrieve important company documents, generate reports and keep up with company priorities - all on a single platform. One example of the symbiosis of social and business aspects is a "Like" button to trend popular documents up and boost intranet search rankings, pairing social media-style immediacy with sophisticated search engine capabilities. Despite its rich features and scalable capabilities, Bitrix24 is amazingly easy for companies to implement and begin using immediately since it was designed with an intuitive, social media interface that employees and managers alike can instinctively use.
Comprehensive Company Information at Users' Fingertips
Users can cut email clutter, turn down the noise and focus on the tasks at hand with internal messaging and file sharing tools that enable them to view communications and documents in the context of specific tasks and groups. This eliminates the need to search for files or communications in separate applications. The social media-style interface encourages individual contributions while giving users a big-picture view with the Bitrix24 Activity Stream.
Bitrix24 also delivers a Smart Search feature that provides a fast and easy way for users to find information that is accessible to them. Managers can supercharge efficiency by setting user access rights and creating workgroups, which function as sub-intranets and present only relevant information for each employee. This encourages greater focus for higher productivity.
Users can view projects and tasks in a Gantt chart for a quick overview of project status, participants and deadlines. They can also make changes directly in the chart view, triggering automatic notifications to all stakeholders.
Project, Document and CRM Tools Enhance Internal Collaboration
Project management tools include task definition, delegation and time tracking functions as well as file, message and discussion storage at the group or individual level. With Bitrix24, users can upload, share and store presentations, documents, videos and virtually any type of file for group, company or private use. Calendars, tasks, and contacts can be integrated across various platforms, and documents can be modified directly using Microsoft Office.
Users can quickly organize and track customer, prospect, partner, contact or agent interactions and manage, store and plan CRM activities with the powerful Bitrix24 CRM platform. Tools include reports and sales funnel management functions, business process automation, analysis features and roles and access management.
Reporting, Extranet and Time Management Tools
Bitrix24 offers rich reporting features, including Task Reports that provide a snapshot of employee time spent on specific tasks or projects as well as project status at customizable intervals. And because it's important to enable collaboration with external partners, Bitrix24 gives users the power to create projects via the Extranet.
There is a free plan for up to 12 users, and two paid plans that have no user limits. Both paid plans offer full Extranet functionality. The premium paid plan offers valuable time and attendance tools, including a clock-in and clock-out feature and reporting functions that make managing employee hours, vacation, sick days, etc., fast and easy.
More than 30 Handy Tools to Manage Workflow in the Digital Workplace
Bitrix24 works because it's designed around a business's natural workflow, creating a unified digital workplace. Instead of sifting through emails and checking a dozen different task management tools, employees can start their day with a unified view of tasks and projects, check their Activity Stream for new events, execute and document assignments, collaborate with project team members, get briefings and updates, manage CRM and wrap up the day with smart reporting tools - all on one unified platform.
Bitrix24 represents an evolution in business - the integration of rich social media tools and powerful company management functions on a single platform. Offered by an established leader in content management and portal solutions, Bitrix24 takes business communication, collaboration and management to the next level. The product has attracted over 5,000 users in its public beta stage thus far who've praised its efficiency, security and simplicity. Further information is available at www.bitrix24.com.
About Bitrix, Inc.
Bitrix, Inc. specializes in development of highly secure content management systems and intranet portal solutions for managing web projects and multifunctional information systems on the Internet. The software tech-corp. was established in 1998 and is still owned and managed by its founders.
Source Citation
"Project Management Software offers social media-style interface." Product News Network 15 June 2012. Computer Database. Web. 18 June 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA293172863&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A293172863
Monday, June 11, 2012
Many 'name' sites sitting out today's World IPv6 Launch; Twitter,Amazon, eBay among major websites without next-gen Internet support
The Internet's biggest players -- including Facebook, Google, Yahoo and Bing -- are turning on IPv6 today as part of
the World IPv6 Launch Day challenge coordinated by the Internet Society. But which websites are not ready to support the next-gen
Internet Protocol?
Well, Twitter, for one. When asked about the real-time information sharing site's progress on IPv6 and why the company isn't
participating in World IPv6 Launch Day, Twitter spokesman Robert Weeks said: "Twitter is looking to enable IPv6 as soon as
we can." In the meantime, there is no IPv6-based access for Twitter, which has more than 100 million active users.
Other high-profile sites that aren't among the 3,000 participants in World IPv6 Launch Day are business-oriented social networking
site LinkedIn, e-commerce giants Amazon and eBay, and classified advertising service Craigslist. Neither Tumblr nor Pinterest
-- two popular image-sharing websites --- is participating in World IPv6 Launch Day. Nor is PayPal.
SLIDESHOW: Why the Internet needs IPv6
Indeed, of Alexa's Top 50 most popular websites in the United States, only 12 -- or 24% -- are listed as participants in World
IPv6 Launch Day.
That means 76% of the 50 most popular U.S. websites aren't ready for IPv6 traffic.
"As far as the laggards are concerned, if they are not actively working on IPv6 then the only progress they are making is
to make themselves irrelevant," said Owen DeLong, IPv6 evangelist and director of professional services at Hurricane Electric,
a leading IPv6 service provider.
"I understand that there are naysayers out there, but as of the sixth of June, IPv6 will be deployed," said Leslie Daigle,
chief Internet technology officer at the Internet Society. "With 50 participating network access providers enabling IPv6 for
1% of their subscribers on June 6, that will be a big enough percentage of Internet traffic to catch the attention of business
decision-makers."
World IPv6 Launch Day is a voluntary event designed to bring momentum to IPv6, the long-anticipated upgrade to the Internet's
main communications protocol, which is called IPv4. IPv6 is needed because the Internet is running out of addresses with IPv4.
Asia ran out of unassigned IPv4 addresses last year, Europe is expected to deplete its supply this summer, and North America's
will expire next year.
BACKGROUND: Rehearsals over, IPv6 goes prime time June 6
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses and can support 4.3 billion devices connected directly to the Internet. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses
and can connect up a virtually unlimited number of devices: 2 to the 128th power. Deployment of IPv6 has been hampered by
the fact that it is not backward compatible with IPv4. So network operators must either deploy both protocols in what's called
dual-stack mode or translate between them, which adds latency and cost.
Internet policymakers have been trying to drum up support for IPv6 with events like World IPv6 Launch Day, which has been
successful in raising the visibility of IPv6. But there's no question that encouraging U.S. companies to deploy IPv6 remains
an uphill battle.
"With World IPv6 Launch Day on June 6, organizations have got to make sure they have IPv6 plans or they are not selling complete
Internet services," said John Curran, president and CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers, which provides IPv4
and IPv6 addresses to U.S. network operators. "On June 6, ISPs are turning it on and leaving it on permanently. This is the
day that the Internet is now dual-stack, IPv4 and IPv6."
U.S. corporations that aren't participating in World IPv6 Launch Day include publishers such as The Huffington Post and The
New York Times and broadcasters such as CNN, ESPN and Fox News. Among entertainment companies, neither Hulu nor Disney is
participating. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase Bank aren't signed up, and neither is Walmart or the Weather Channel.
Even the leading online porn sites -- LiveJasmin and PornHub -- appear to be IPv6-free for now.
"There are definitely people living in denial about the inevitability of IPv6," DeLong said.
DeLong added that many big-name websites are working on IPv6 behind-the-scenes even though they didn't want to publicly commit
to supporting IPv6 by June 6, the World IPv6 Launch Day deadline. For example, Amazon in May announced expanded IPv6 support
for its Elastic Load Balancer. "Amazon's networking group is putting some effort into making its services IPv6 capable even
if Amazon.com isn't ready yet," DeLong said.
Similarly, Apple is making improvements in its IPv6 support in OS X Lion but isn't yet supporting the new protocol on its
popular Apple.com website or its iTunes or App Store services. "Apple is running IPv6 internally throughout its internal corporate
engineering network," DeLong said.
IPv6 proponents are hoping that a successful World IPv6 Launch Day will encourage Apple, Amazon and other laggards to ramp
up their IPv6-related efforts.
"There aren't as many IPv4 addresses as there are people on the planet," Daigle points out. "More and more companies are waking
up to that fact and wondering how they are expected to cope with IPv4 in terms of buying IPv4 addresses or installing increasingly
complex network address translators or deploying IPv6."
MORE: Sales of unused IPv4 addresses gathering steam
DeLong said there's no doubt that IPv6 will become increasingly important for website operators to support. "We've seen a
5X to 6X increase in IPv6 traffic in the last week on our own backbone network," DeLong said, pointing out that Hurricane
Electric has the Internet's most interconnected IPv6 backbone. "The IPv6 traffic is only going to go up from here."
World IPv6 Launch Day "is probably the first time we're going to see the amount of IPv6 traffic go up significantly and stay
that way," agreed Bob Hinden, a Check Point fellow and one of the developers of IPv6 at the Internet Engineering Task Force.
"I think we'll see it spike as more content is turned on."
Source Citation
"Many 'name' sites sitting out today's World IPv6 Launch; Twitter, Amazon, eBay among major websites without next-gen Internet support." Network World 6 June 2012. Computer Database. Web. 11 June 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA292665797&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A292665797
the World IPv6 Launch Day challenge coordinated by the Internet Society. But which websites are not ready to support the next-gen
Internet Protocol?
Well, Twitter, for one. When asked about the real-time information sharing site's progress on IPv6 and why the company isn't
participating in World IPv6 Launch Day, Twitter spokesman Robert Weeks said: "Twitter is looking to enable IPv6 as soon as
we can." In the meantime, there is no IPv6-based access for Twitter, which has more than 100 million active users.
Other high-profile sites that aren't among the 3,000 participants in World IPv6 Launch Day are business-oriented social networking
site LinkedIn, e-commerce giants Amazon and eBay, and classified advertising service Craigslist. Neither Tumblr nor Pinterest
-- two popular image-sharing websites --- is participating in World IPv6 Launch Day. Nor is PayPal.
SLIDESHOW: Why the Internet needs IPv6
Indeed, of Alexa's Top 50 most popular websites in the United States, only 12 -- or 24% -- are listed as participants in World
IPv6 Launch Day.
That means 76% of the 50 most popular U.S. websites aren't ready for IPv6 traffic.
"As far as the laggards are concerned, if they are not actively working on IPv6 then the only progress they are making is
to make themselves irrelevant," said Owen DeLong, IPv6 evangelist and director of professional services at Hurricane Electric,
a leading IPv6 service provider.
"I understand that there are naysayers out there, but as of the sixth of June, IPv6 will be deployed," said Leslie Daigle,
chief Internet technology officer at the Internet Society. "With 50 participating network access providers enabling IPv6 for
1% of their subscribers on June 6, that will be a big enough percentage of Internet traffic to catch the attention of business
decision-makers."
World IPv6 Launch Day is a voluntary event designed to bring momentum to IPv6, the long-anticipated upgrade to the Internet's
main communications protocol, which is called IPv4. IPv6 is needed because the Internet is running out of addresses with IPv4.
Asia ran out of unassigned IPv4 addresses last year, Europe is expected to deplete its supply this summer, and North America's
will expire next year.
BACKGROUND: Rehearsals over, IPv6 goes prime time June 6
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses and can support 4.3 billion devices connected directly to the Internet. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses
and can connect up a virtually unlimited number of devices: 2 to the 128th power. Deployment of IPv6 has been hampered by
the fact that it is not backward compatible with IPv4. So network operators must either deploy both protocols in what's called
dual-stack mode or translate between them, which adds latency and cost.
Internet policymakers have been trying to drum up support for IPv6 with events like World IPv6 Launch Day, which has been
successful in raising the visibility of IPv6. But there's no question that encouraging U.S. companies to deploy IPv6 remains
an uphill battle.
"With World IPv6 Launch Day on June 6, organizations have got to make sure they have IPv6 plans or they are not selling complete
Internet services," said John Curran, president and CEO of the American Registry for Internet Numbers, which provides IPv4
and IPv6 addresses to U.S. network operators. "On June 6, ISPs are turning it on and leaving it on permanently. This is the
day that the Internet is now dual-stack, IPv4 and IPv6."
U.S. corporations that aren't participating in World IPv6 Launch Day include publishers such as The Huffington Post and The
New York Times and broadcasters such as CNN, ESPN and Fox News. Among entertainment companies, neither Hulu nor Disney is
participating. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Chase Bank aren't signed up, and neither is Walmart or the Weather Channel.
Even the leading online porn sites -- LiveJasmin and PornHub -- appear to be IPv6-free for now.
"There are definitely people living in denial about the inevitability of IPv6," DeLong said.
DeLong added that many big-name websites are working on IPv6 behind-the-scenes even though they didn't want to publicly commit
to supporting IPv6 by June 6, the World IPv6 Launch Day deadline. For example, Amazon in May announced expanded IPv6 support
for its Elastic Load Balancer. "Amazon's networking group is putting some effort into making its services IPv6 capable even
if Amazon.com isn't ready yet," DeLong said.
Similarly, Apple is making improvements in its IPv6 support in OS X Lion but isn't yet supporting the new protocol on its
popular Apple.com website or its iTunes or App Store services. "Apple is running IPv6 internally throughout its internal corporate
engineering network," DeLong said.
IPv6 proponents are hoping that a successful World IPv6 Launch Day will encourage Apple, Amazon and other laggards to ramp
up their IPv6-related efforts.
"There aren't as many IPv4 addresses as there are people on the planet," Daigle points out. "More and more companies are waking
up to that fact and wondering how they are expected to cope with IPv4 in terms of buying IPv4 addresses or installing increasingly
complex network address translators or deploying IPv6."
MORE: Sales of unused IPv4 addresses gathering steam
DeLong said there's no doubt that IPv6 will become increasingly important for website operators to support. "We've seen a
5X to 6X increase in IPv6 traffic in the last week on our own backbone network," DeLong said, pointing out that Hurricane
Electric has the Internet's most interconnected IPv6 backbone. "The IPv6 traffic is only going to go up from here."
World IPv6 Launch Day "is probably the first time we're going to see the amount of IPv6 traffic go up significantly and stay
that way," agreed Bob Hinden, a Check Point fellow and one of the developers of IPv6 at the Internet Engineering Task Force.
"I think we'll see it spike as more content is turned on."
Source Citation
"Many 'name' sites sitting out today's World IPv6 Launch; Twitter, Amazon, eBay among major websites without next-gen Internet support." Network World 6 June 2012. Computer Database. Web. 11 June 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA292665797&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A292665797
Monday, May 21, 2012
Syncing ship: iTunes has become a bloated, unwieldy mess, and appleneeds to fix it.
When Apple introduced iTunes in 2001, it served one purpose: It was a music jukebox. But that was a long time ago.
These days, iTunes is simultaneously Apple's most important and most problematic product. It's a music and video player. It's a store where you buy music, videos, ringtones, and apps. And it's a syncing system, connecting the Mac to a range of Apple devices, from the iPad, iPhone; and iPod to the Apple TV.
Apple has packed almost everything relating to media and app management, purchasing, and playback into this single app. As a result, iTunes is now bursting at the seams. The app has become a complete mess and needs an overhaul.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Confused and Confusing
I use iTunes every day to listen to music on my Macs, and it works just fine. I don't have a problem with iTunes as a music player. My issues are with all the other junk that has been grafted onto it.
As a tool for syncing media and apps on my iOS devices, iTunes is inflexible and unreliable. I can't tell you how many times I've had to delete and then resync everything on one of those devices because iTunes got confused.
Recently I connected my wife's iPad to our Mac at home to add some videos for my kids to watch. That iPad had never been synced with that Mac before, because it was set up to use iCloud and the App Store. But the moment I plugged it in, iTunes attempted to sync its own collection of apps, which is not what I wanted. When I tried to abort the syncing process, iTunes offered me a choice I'd never seen before: To delete all the apps on the iPad, or to keep them and stop syncing. The second option was exactly what I wanted to do. So I chose it--and then watched in dismay as iTunes proceeded to delete all the apps on the iPad anyway.
Given that all apps are available in the cloud now, I'm not sure why iTunes is so persistent about syncing them with devices. In fact, given Apple's aggressive moves with iTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud, even Apple seems to realize that syncing media with a Mac or PC running iTunes is kind of a mess.
Rather than continue to patch a system that was wonky to begin with and has only gotten worse, it's time for Apple to rethink device syncing entirely. Right now, the company apparently intends to solve this issue by having every device you own automatically download everything. That's not a bad start, but users shouldn't have to pick between the cloud and their local computers--they should be able to move back and forth effortlessly. Adding a single movie to an iPad shouldn't take 25 minutes, with the risk of losing all your apps in the process.
iTunes is at its worst when it comes to managing apps. The interface is ridiculously slow. Your hard drive can get filled up with tens of gigabytes of iOS apps that could easily be downloaded instead. Syncing apps frequently makes apps and folders disappear. The interface that shows where the app icons will appear is unstable and unreliable.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
If Apple is going to truly embrace the cloud, it needs to change iTunes. The program should be simplified. It might be better off being split into separate apps, one devoted to syncing devices, another to media playback; perhaps the iTunes Store should be broken out separately, too, like the Mac App Store.
The iTunes we've come to know has had a good run, but it's now a crazy agglomeration of features. If someone were to design it today, it wouldn't look anything like it does now. As a portal to iOS devices and the iTunes Store, iTunes is too crucial for Apple to ignore.
Apple boldly replaces old hardware when necessary It's time for the company to do the same with iTunes.
From the Editors' Desks
For the past nine years, I have been (with one or two exceptions) the sole face of From the Editor's Desk. Earlier this year, I took on some additional responsibilities at the company that publishes Macworld. As a result, I can't devote as much time to this column as I have in the past.
The good news is, Macworld has an entire staff of intelligent editors who have plenty of informed opinions about what's going on in the world of Apple. So beginning next month, this space will be shared by all of the editors here. I'm still around, so I expect I'll reappear in this space now and then, but I'm going to share it with my colleagues, too. I hope you'll give them the same attention and consideration that you have given me all these years.
Jason Snell is the editorial director for Macworld. Email him at jason_snell@macworld.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jsnell.
Snell, Jason
Source Citation
Snell, Jason. "Syncing ship: iTunes has become a bloated, unwieldy mess, and apple needs to fix it." Macworld June 2012: 7. Home Improvement Collection. Web. 21 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA289724582&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPHI&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A289724582
These days, iTunes is simultaneously Apple's most important and most problematic product. It's a music and video player. It's a store where you buy music, videos, ringtones, and apps. And it's a syncing system, connecting the Mac to a range of Apple devices, from the iPad, iPhone; and iPod to the Apple TV.
Apple has packed almost everything relating to media and app management, purchasing, and playback into this single app. As a result, iTunes is now bursting at the seams. The app has become a complete mess and needs an overhaul.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Confused and Confusing
I use iTunes every day to listen to music on my Macs, and it works just fine. I don't have a problem with iTunes as a music player. My issues are with all the other junk that has been grafted onto it.
As a tool for syncing media and apps on my iOS devices, iTunes is inflexible and unreliable. I can't tell you how many times I've had to delete and then resync everything on one of those devices because iTunes got confused.
Recently I connected my wife's iPad to our Mac at home to add some videos for my kids to watch. That iPad had never been synced with that Mac before, because it was set up to use iCloud and the App Store. But the moment I plugged it in, iTunes attempted to sync its own collection of apps, which is not what I wanted. When I tried to abort the syncing process, iTunes offered me a choice I'd never seen before: To delete all the apps on the iPad, or to keep them and stop syncing. The second option was exactly what I wanted to do. So I chose it--and then watched in dismay as iTunes proceeded to delete all the apps on the iPad anyway.
Given that all apps are available in the cloud now, I'm not sure why iTunes is so persistent about syncing them with devices. In fact, given Apple's aggressive moves with iTunes Match and iTunes in the Cloud, even Apple seems to realize that syncing media with a Mac or PC running iTunes is kind of a mess.
Rather than continue to patch a system that was wonky to begin with and has only gotten worse, it's time for Apple to rethink device syncing entirely. Right now, the company apparently intends to solve this issue by having every device you own automatically download everything. That's not a bad start, but users shouldn't have to pick between the cloud and their local computers--they should be able to move back and forth effortlessly. Adding a single movie to an iPad shouldn't take 25 minutes, with the risk of losing all your apps in the process.
iTunes is at its worst when it comes to managing apps. The interface is ridiculously slow. Your hard drive can get filled up with tens of gigabytes of iOS apps that could easily be downloaded instead. Syncing apps frequently makes apps and folders disappear. The interface that shows where the app icons will appear is unstable and unreliable.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
If Apple is going to truly embrace the cloud, it needs to change iTunes. The program should be simplified. It might be better off being split into separate apps, one devoted to syncing devices, another to media playback; perhaps the iTunes Store should be broken out separately, too, like the Mac App Store.
The iTunes we've come to know has had a good run, but it's now a crazy agglomeration of features. If someone were to design it today, it wouldn't look anything like it does now. As a portal to iOS devices and the iTunes Store, iTunes is too crucial for Apple to ignore.
Apple boldly replaces old hardware when necessary It's time for the company to do the same with iTunes.
From the Editors' Desks
For the past nine years, I have been (with one or two exceptions) the sole face of From the Editor's Desk. Earlier this year, I took on some additional responsibilities at the company that publishes Macworld. As a result, I can't devote as much time to this column as I have in the past.
The good news is, Macworld has an entire staff of intelligent editors who have plenty of informed opinions about what's going on in the world of Apple. So beginning next month, this space will be shared by all of the editors here. I'm still around, so I expect I'll reappear in this space now and then, but I'm going to share it with my colleagues, too. I hope you'll give them the same attention and consideration that you have given me all these years.
Jason Snell is the editorial director for Macworld. Email him at jason_snell@macworld.com or follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/jsnell.
Snell, Jason
Source Citation
Snell, Jason. "Syncing ship: iTunes has become a bloated, unwieldy mess, and apple needs to fix it." Macworld June 2012: 7. Home Improvement Collection. Web. 21 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA289724582&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=PPHI&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A289724582
Monday, May 14, 2012
Achieving production readiness: issues at the forefront of making thatgoal a reality
When it comes to 3D education, companies in the film, TV, and games industries are no different from their brethren in the medical, scientific, and construction fields. "Employers in our industry are looking for candidates who come out of 3D programs ready for production," says Autodesk's David Della-Rocca. "That's their number one concern."
Della-Rocca, Autodesk's Education Industry and Business Development Manager for Media & Entertainment, has a unique perspective. "As a technology provider with a heavy focus on grooming the next generation of 3D digital artists, we sit in between the education and production communities. We bring these parties together to identify challenges to the production-readiness goal and come up with solutions."
While the goal remains consistent, the challenges of achieving it morph at a rapid pace. Della-Rocca shared some of the issues and trends that are top of mind for educators, studios, and Autodesk alike.
"With the fast growth of 3D, there's a real need for professional development to build the instructor base," Della-Rocca says. "There is also a need to better equip instructors to address industry requirements more quickly and to update programs more frequently as things change. At Autodesk, we're always looking at ways to help educators anticipate what's coming six months down the road so they can incorporate it into the curriculum."
What's That Mean?
Another challenge to turning out production-ready graduates is defining what 'production ready' really means. "There is really no globally accepted baseline competency yet," says Della-Rocca, noting that Autodesk is actively working with educators and the industry to establish some measurable baseline guides.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
A change in students' learning styles is also driving new approaches to 3D education. "The current crop of students learns and interacts with material very differently than previous generations," notes Della-Rocca. "There is a lot more emphasis on creating the most effective, dynamic learning environment."
For its part, Autodesk invests heavily in resources, tools, and ongoing programs to help educators deliver production-ready graduates to a hungry animation and VFX community. Della-Rocca emphasizes, however, that while Autodesk bridges the two worlds, "we're not educators, and we're not in production. We develop tools and resources to complement what and how instructors teach. We provide resources to move programs along and prepare students for the production challenges defined by our customers."
Pete Bandstra, director of the computer animation and game-arts programs at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, shared his institution's approach to the "production-ready" challenge. "We staff our team with production veterans. I don't accept the adage that "Those who can't do, teach.' My adage is, 'Those who can, teach here.'"
Full Sail, like most 3D education institutions, has an active advisory board made up of industry pros from studios like Blue Sky Studios, Turbine Games, Raven, and ILM. "That gives us a nice diversity across visual effects, gaming, broadcast, and film, and helps us see a bit into the future. We're able to continually bring relevant production knowledge into the classroom, both on campus and online."
Bandstra's staff also taps into Autodesk's Online Education Community and support materials to aid in professional development. With programs that run in month-long sessions, Full Sail is able to quickly integrate curriculum changes. "If there's a new version of software out, we can have it in students' hands in 30 days."
Greg Berridge, head instructor of Vancouver Film School's (VFS) digital character animation program, offered some insights on developing production-ready graduates. "An animator needs to know a little bit about many things. We provide a foundation aspect that includes modeling and texturing as they relate to animation."
Belinda Fung, a recent graduate of Vancouver Institute of Media Arts' Visual Effects program, shares that philosophy. As a compositor freelancing at Vancouver's Anthem Visual Effects, she found that having 3D skills made her an efficient employee. "All the shots are done through teamwork. It's important that I know 3D to be able to communicate with artists in other departments. It saves time for the studio, and it helps me with my own creativity."
Berridge, who started the computer animation program at Alberta College of Arts & Design, has been teaching at Vancouver Film School for 10 years. "I've seen a dramatic change in the student population. They're much more computer savvy, and many of them come in with some Maya experience. They download the software from Autodesk's site and experiment with it before they get here," he says. One of those students is Thiago Martins, a 2009 graduate of Vancouver Film School's digital character animation program. About a month before I started at VFS, I downloaded a Maya trial from Autodesk's Web site. I had been using 3ds Max for years, but I didn't know Maya. Having a chance to get to learn the interface and shortcuts beforehand was really useful," he says.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
During the six-month program, Martins conceived, created, produced, and finalized the smile-inducing animated short "Saloon." He's currently working at Sao Paulo-based VFX studio Magma in Brazil.
Vancouver Film School also taps into Autodesk's Subscription Service, which offers no-cost DVDs, books, podcasts, and other material for professional development. "A lot of that information seeps into my lessons," notes Berridge. "It's a great resource."
Over at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, Larry Bafia, vice president of faculty and business development, gives his perspective: "We prepare students to be industry-ready in their areas of passion. We treat classrooms like they're studios. It's all about practice time and focus."
Instructors at VanArts have years of industry cred. Many of them have held recruiting positions, where they were responsible for hiring and developing animators. "That gives us a great feel for what the industry needs," says Bafia.
In terms of industry changes impacting 3D education, Bafia notes, "Technology has allowed a broader range of animation-anything from chipmunks to transformers to Gollum. There's nothing that can't be approached. That calls for different animation skills. We're focused on making artists more marketable by training their eyes and teaching them to focus on solving problems in animation."
Bafia adds: "The tool sets available now empower artists to attack any look they want. Tools are also more accessible--not just in terms of cost, but in the availability of good tutorials. The time it takes for students to get over the learning curve has gone down. That allows us to focus on getting them seasoned."
To aid in professional development, Bafia taps into the knowledge base Autodesk provides. "I have a real back-and-forth relationship with David [Della-Rocca] and his team. He sends me materials and ideas to vet, and I get his opinion when we're considering development in courses," he says. "It says a lot when someone like David, at a software company, comes forward and takes a personal interest in what's going on in education."
Coming full circle, VFS graduate Martins gives his perspective on what it takes to come out of a 3D education program "production-ready." "I think you can go to any program, any course, any university. At the end of the day, it's your decision as a student to take advantage of the time, tools, and teachers," he explains. "You need to take it seriously. It's all up to you."
Source Citation
"Achieving production readiness: issues at the forefront of making that goal a reality." Computer Graphics World Nov. 2010: 36+. Computer Database. Web. 14 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA244949256&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A244949256
Della-Rocca, Autodesk's Education Industry and Business Development Manager for Media & Entertainment, has a unique perspective. "As a technology provider with a heavy focus on grooming the next generation of 3D digital artists, we sit in between the education and production communities. We bring these parties together to identify challenges to the production-readiness goal and come up with solutions."
While the goal remains consistent, the challenges of achieving it morph at a rapid pace. Della-Rocca shared some of the issues and trends that are top of mind for educators, studios, and Autodesk alike.
"With the fast growth of 3D, there's a real need for professional development to build the instructor base," Della-Rocca says. "There is also a need to better equip instructors to address industry requirements more quickly and to update programs more frequently as things change. At Autodesk, we're always looking at ways to help educators anticipate what's coming six months down the road so they can incorporate it into the curriculum."
What's That Mean?
Another challenge to turning out production-ready graduates is defining what 'production ready' really means. "There is really no globally accepted baseline competency yet," says Della-Rocca, noting that Autodesk is actively working with educators and the industry to establish some measurable baseline guides.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
A change in students' learning styles is also driving new approaches to 3D education. "The current crop of students learns and interacts with material very differently than previous generations," notes Della-Rocca. "There is a lot more emphasis on creating the most effective, dynamic learning environment."
For its part, Autodesk invests heavily in resources, tools, and ongoing programs to help educators deliver production-ready graduates to a hungry animation and VFX community. Della-Rocca emphasizes, however, that while Autodesk bridges the two worlds, "we're not educators, and we're not in production. We develop tools and resources to complement what and how instructors teach. We provide resources to move programs along and prepare students for the production challenges defined by our customers."
Pete Bandstra, director of the computer animation and game-arts programs at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, shared his institution's approach to the "production-ready" challenge. "We staff our team with production veterans. I don't accept the adage that "Those who can't do, teach.' My adage is, 'Those who can, teach here.'"
Full Sail, like most 3D education institutions, has an active advisory board made up of industry pros from studios like Blue Sky Studios, Turbine Games, Raven, and ILM. "That gives us a nice diversity across visual effects, gaming, broadcast, and film, and helps us see a bit into the future. We're able to continually bring relevant production knowledge into the classroom, both on campus and online."
Bandstra's staff also taps into Autodesk's Online Education Community and support materials to aid in professional development. With programs that run in month-long sessions, Full Sail is able to quickly integrate curriculum changes. "If there's a new version of software out, we can have it in students' hands in 30 days."
Greg Berridge, head instructor of Vancouver Film School's (VFS) digital character animation program, offered some insights on developing production-ready graduates. "An animator needs to know a little bit about many things. We provide a foundation aspect that includes modeling and texturing as they relate to animation."
Belinda Fung, a recent graduate of Vancouver Institute of Media Arts' Visual Effects program, shares that philosophy. As a compositor freelancing at Vancouver's Anthem Visual Effects, she found that having 3D skills made her an efficient employee. "All the shots are done through teamwork. It's important that I know 3D to be able to communicate with artists in other departments. It saves time for the studio, and it helps me with my own creativity."
Berridge, who started the computer animation program at Alberta College of Arts & Design, has been teaching at Vancouver Film School for 10 years. "I've seen a dramatic change in the student population. They're much more computer savvy, and many of them come in with some Maya experience. They download the software from Autodesk's site and experiment with it before they get here," he says. One of those students is Thiago Martins, a 2009 graduate of Vancouver Film School's digital character animation program. About a month before I started at VFS, I downloaded a Maya trial from Autodesk's Web site. I had been using 3ds Max for years, but I didn't know Maya. Having a chance to get to learn the interface and shortcuts beforehand was really useful," he says.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
During the six-month program, Martins conceived, created, produced, and finalized the smile-inducing animated short "Saloon." He's currently working at Sao Paulo-based VFX studio Magma in Brazil.
Vancouver Film School also taps into Autodesk's Subscription Service, which offers no-cost DVDs, books, podcasts, and other material for professional development. "A lot of that information seeps into my lessons," notes Berridge. "It's a great resource."
Over at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, Larry Bafia, vice president of faculty and business development, gives his perspective: "We prepare students to be industry-ready in their areas of passion. We treat classrooms like they're studios. It's all about practice time and focus."
Instructors at VanArts have years of industry cred. Many of them have held recruiting positions, where they were responsible for hiring and developing animators. "That gives us a great feel for what the industry needs," says Bafia.
In terms of industry changes impacting 3D education, Bafia notes, "Technology has allowed a broader range of animation-anything from chipmunks to transformers to Gollum. There's nothing that can't be approached. That calls for different animation skills. We're focused on making artists more marketable by training their eyes and teaching them to focus on solving problems in animation."
Bafia adds: "The tool sets available now empower artists to attack any look they want. Tools are also more accessible--not just in terms of cost, but in the availability of good tutorials. The time it takes for students to get over the learning curve has gone down. That allows us to focus on getting them seasoned."
To aid in professional development, Bafia taps into the knowledge base Autodesk provides. "I have a real back-and-forth relationship with David [Della-Rocca] and his team. He sends me materials and ideas to vet, and I get his opinion when we're considering development in courses," he says. "It says a lot when someone like David, at a software company, comes forward and takes a personal interest in what's going on in education."
Coming full circle, VFS graduate Martins gives his perspective on what it takes to come out of a 3D education program "production-ready." "I think you can go to any program, any course, any university. At the end of the day, it's your decision as a student to take advantage of the time, tools, and teachers," he explains. "You need to take it seriously. It's all up to you."
Source Citation
"Achieving production readiness: issues at the forefront of making that goal a reality." Computer Graphics World Nov. 2010: 36+. Computer Database. Web. 14 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA244949256&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A244949256
Achieving production readiness: issues at the forefront of making thatgoal a reality
When it comes to 3D education, companies in the film, TV, and games industries are no different from their brethren in the medical, scientific, and construction fields. "Employers in our industry are looking for candidates who come out of 3D programs ready for production," says Autodesk's David Della-Rocca. "That's their number one concern."
Della-Rocca, Autodesk's Education Industry and Business Development Manager for Media & Entertainment, has a unique perspective. "As a technology provider with a heavy focus on grooming the next generation of 3D digital artists, we sit in between the education and production communities. We bring these parties together to identify challenges to the production-readiness goal and come up with solutions."
While the goal remains consistent, the challenges of achieving it morph at a rapid pace. Della-Rocca shared some of the issues and trends that are top of mind for educators, studios, and Autodesk alike.
"With the fast growth of 3D, there's a real need for professional development to build the instructor base," Della-Rocca says. "There is also a need to better equip instructors to address industry requirements more quickly and to update programs more frequently as things change. At Autodesk, we're always looking at ways to help educators anticipate what's coming six months down the road so they can incorporate it into the curriculum."
What's That Mean?
Another challenge to turning out production-ready graduates is defining what 'production ready' really means. "There is really no globally accepted baseline competency yet," says Della-Rocca, noting that Autodesk is actively working with educators and the industry to establish some measurable baseline guides.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
A change in students' learning styles is also driving new approaches to 3D education. "The current crop of students learns and interacts with material very differently than previous generations," notes Della-Rocca. "There is a lot more emphasis on creating the most effective, dynamic learning environment."
For its part, Autodesk invests heavily in resources, tools, and ongoing programs to help educators deliver production-ready graduates to a hungry animation and VFX community. Della-Rocca emphasizes, however, that while Autodesk bridges the two worlds, "we're not educators, and we're not in production. We develop tools and resources to complement what and how instructors teach. We provide resources to move programs along and prepare students for the production challenges defined by our customers."
Pete Bandstra, director of the computer animation and game-arts programs at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, shared his institution's approach to the "production-ready" challenge. "We staff our team with production veterans. I don't accept the adage that "Those who can't do, teach.' My adage is, 'Those who can, teach here.'"
Full Sail, like most 3D education institutions, has an active advisory board made up of industry pros from studios like Blue Sky Studios, Turbine Games, Raven, and ILM. "That gives us a nice diversity across visual effects, gaming, broadcast, and film, and helps us see a bit into the future. We're able to continually bring relevant production knowledge into the classroom, both on campus and online."
Bandstra's staff also taps into Autodesk's Online Education Community and support materials to aid in professional development. With programs that run in month-long sessions, Full Sail is able to quickly integrate curriculum changes. "If there's a new version of software out, we can have it in students' hands in 30 days."
Greg Berridge, head instructor of Vancouver Film School's (VFS) digital character animation program, offered some insights on developing production-ready graduates. "An animator needs to know a little bit about many things. We provide a foundation aspect that includes modeling and texturing as they relate to animation."
Belinda Fung, a recent graduate of Vancouver Institute of Media Arts' Visual Effects program, shares that philosophy. As a compositor freelancing at Vancouver's Anthem Visual Effects, she found that having 3D skills made her an efficient employee. "All the shots are done through teamwork. It's important that I know 3D to be able to communicate with artists in other departments. It saves time for the studio, and it helps me with my own creativity."
Berridge, who started the computer animation program at Alberta College of Arts & Design, has been teaching at Vancouver Film School for 10 years. "I've seen a dramatic change in the student population. They're much more computer savvy, and many of them come in with some Maya experience. They download the software from Autodesk's site and experiment with it before they get here," he says. One of those students is Thiago Martins, a 2009 graduate of Vancouver Film School's digital character animation program. About a month before I started at VFS, I downloaded a Maya trial from Autodesk's Web site. I had been using 3ds Max for years, but I didn't know Maya. Having a chance to get to learn the interface and shortcuts beforehand was really useful," he says.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
During the six-month program, Martins conceived, created, produced, and finalized the smile-inducing animated short "Saloon." He's currently working at Sao Paulo-based VFX studio Magma in Brazil.
Vancouver Film School also taps into Autodesk's Subscription Service, which offers no-cost DVDs, books, podcasts, and other material for professional development. "A lot of that information seeps into my lessons," notes Berridge. "It's a great resource."
Over at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, Larry Bafia, vice president of faculty and business development, gives his perspective: "We prepare students to be industry-ready in their areas of passion. We treat classrooms like they're studios. It's all about practice time and focus."
Instructors at VanArts have years of industry cred. Many of them have held recruiting positions, where they were responsible for hiring and developing animators. "That gives us a great feel for what the industry needs," says Bafia.
In terms of industry changes impacting 3D education, Bafia notes, "Technology has allowed a broader range of animation-anything from chipmunks to transformers to Gollum. There's nothing that can't be approached. That calls for different animation skills. We're focused on making artists more marketable by training their eyes and teaching them to focus on solving problems in animation."
Bafia adds: "The tool sets available now empower artists to attack any look they want. Tools are also more accessible--not just in terms of cost, but in the availability of good tutorials. The time it takes for students to get over the learning curve has gone down. That allows us to focus on getting them seasoned."
To aid in professional development, Bafia taps into the knowledge base Autodesk provides. "I have a real back-and-forth relationship with David [Della-Rocca] and his team. He sends me materials and ideas to vet, and I get his opinion when we're considering development in courses," he says. "It says a lot when someone like David, at a software company, comes forward and takes a personal interest in what's going on in education."
Coming full circle, VFS graduate Martins gives his perspective on what it takes to come out of a 3D education program "production-ready." "I think you can go to any program, any course, any university. At the end of the day, it's your decision as a student to take advantage of the time, tools, and teachers," he explains. "You need to take it seriously. It's all up to you."
Source Citation
"Achieving production readiness: issues at the forefront of making that goal a reality." Computer Graphics World Nov. 2010: 36+. Computer Database. Web. 14 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA244949256&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A244949256
Della-Rocca, Autodesk's Education Industry and Business Development Manager for Media & Entertainment, has a unique perspective. "As a technology provider with a heavy focus on grooming the next generation of 3D digital artists, we sit in between the education and production communities. We bring these parties together to identify challenges to the production-readiness goal and come up with solutions."
While the goal remains consistent, the challenges of achieving it morph at a rapid pace. Della-Rocca shared some of the issues and trends that are top of mind for educators, studios, and Autodesk alike.
"With the fast growth of 3D, there's a real need for professional development to build the instructor base," Della-Rocca says. "There is also a need to better equip instructors to address industry requirements more quickly and to update programs more frequently as things change. At Autodesk, we're always looking at ways to help educators anticipate what's coming six months down the road so they can incorporate it into the curriculum."
What's That Mean?
Another challenge to turning out production-ready graduates is defining what 'production ready' really means. "There is really no globally accepted baseline competency yet," says Della-Rocca, noting that Autodesk is actively working with educators and the industry to establish some measurable baseline guides.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
A change in students' learning styles is also driving new approaches to 3D education. "The current crop of students learns and interacts with material very differently than previous generations," notes Della-Rocca. "There is a lot more emphasis on creating the most effective, dynamic learning environment."
For its part, Autodesk invests heavily in resources, tools, and ongoing programs to help educators deliver production-ready graduates to a hungry animation and VFX community. Della-Rocca emphasizes, however, that while Autodesk bridges the two worlds, "we're not educators, and we're not in production. We develop tools and resources to complement what and how instructors teach. We provide resources to move programs along and prepare students for the production challenges defined by our customers."
Pete Bandstra, director of the computer animation and game-arts programs at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida, shared his institution's approach to the "production-ready" challenge. "We staff our team with production veterans. I don't accept the adage that "Those who can't do, teach.' My adage is, 'Those who can, teach here.'"
Full Sail, like most 3D education institutions, has an active advisory board made up of industry pros from studios like Blue Sky Studios, Turbine Games, Raven, and ILM. "That gives us a nice diversity across visual effects, gaming, broadcast, and film, and helps us see a bit into the future. We're able to continually bring relevant production knowledge into the classroom, both on campus and online."
Bandstra's staff also taps into Autodesk's Online Education Community and support materials to aid in professional development. With programs that run in month-long sessions, Full Sail is able to quickly integrate curriculum changes. "If there's a new version of software out, we can have it in students' hands in 30 days."
Greg Berridge, head instructor of Vancouver Film School's (VFS) digital character animation program, offered some insights on developing production-ready graduates. "An animator needs to know a little bit about many things. We provide a foundation aspect that includes modeling and texturing as they relate to animation."
Belinda Fung, a recent graduate of Vancouver Institute of Media Arts' Visual Effects program, shares that philosophy. As a compositor freelancing at Vancouver's Anthem Visual Effects, she found that having 3D skills made her an efficient employee. "All the shots are done through teamwork. It's important that I know 3D to be able to communicate with artists in other departments. It saves time for the studio, and it helps me with my own creativity."
Berridge, who started the computer animation program at Alberta College of Arts & Design, has been teaching at Vancouver Film School for 10 years. "I've seen a dramatic change in the student population. They're much more computer savvy, and many of them come in with some Maya experience. They download the software from Autodesk's site and experiment with it before they get here," he says. One of those students is Thiago Martins, a 2009 graduate of Vancouver Film School's digital character animation program. About a month before I started at VFS, I downloaded a Maya trial from Autodesk's Web site. I had been using 3ds Max for years, but I didn't know Maya. Having a chance to get to learn the interface and shortcuts beforehand was really useful," he says.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
During the six-month program, Martins conceived, created, produced, and finalized the smile-inducing animated short "Saloon." He's currently working at Sao Paulo-based VFX studio Magma in Brazil.
Vancouver Film School also taps into Autodesk's Subscription Service, which offers no-cost DVDs, books, podcasts, and other material for professional development. "A lot of that information seeps into my lessons," notes Berridge. "It's a great resource."
Over at Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, Larry Bafia, vice president of faculty and business development, gives his perspective: "We prepare students to be industry-ready in their areas of passion. We treat classrooms like they're studios. It's all about practice time and focus."
Instructors at VanArts have years of industry cred. Many of them have held recruiting positions, where they were responsible for hiring and developing animators. "That gives us a great feel for what the industry needs," says Bafia.
In terms of industry changes impacting 3D education, Bafia notes, "Technology has allowed a broader range of animation-anything from chipmunks to transformers to Gollum. There's nothing that can't be approached. That calls for different animation skills. We're focused on making artists more marketable by training their eyes and teaching them to focus on solving problems in animation."
Bafia adds: "The tool sets available now empower artists to attack any look they want. Tools are also more accessible--not just in terms of cost, but in the availability of good tutorials. The time it takes for students to get over the learning curve has gone down. That allows us to focus on getting them seasoned."
To aid in professional development, Bafia taps into the knowledge base Autodesk provides. "I have a real back-and-forth relationship with David [Della-Rocca] and his team. He sends me materials and ideas to vet, and I get his opinion when we're considering development in courses," he says. "It says a lot when someone like David, at a software company, comes forward and takes a personal interest in what's going on in education."
Coming full circle, VFS graduate Martins gives his perspective on what it takes to come out of a 3D education program "production-ready." "I think you can go to any program, any course, any university. At the end of the day, it's your decision as a student to take advantage of the time, tools, and teachers," he explains. "You need to take it seriously. It's all up to you."
Source Citation
"Achieving production readiness: issues at the forefront of making that goal a reality." Computer Graphics World Nov. 2010: 36+. Computer Database. Web. 14 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA244949256&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A244949256
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Interest in All Things DNS Rises 346889
Anything having to do with the Domain Name System (DNS) these days is getting a whole lot more attention. Not only are DNS servers a fundamental piece of core Internet infrastructure that connects users to Web applications, they have also become one of the favorite targets of cybercriminals.
Whether it's in the form of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack or the hijacking of DNS servers as part of an effort to divert traffic to sites that distributed malicious malware, interest in all things DNS is on the rise.
The fundamental problem that many of these organizations have with DNS is that they depend on open source software running on commodity servers. The end result is a DNS server that is not particularly secure or robust enough to combat basic attacks.
For these reasons the folks at Infoblox think that as solution providers morph into providers of IT services many of them are going to need a more hardened approach to DNS. To help address that issue Infoblox today is launching an Infoblox 4030 DNS Caching Appliance that can process more than one million DNS queries per second.
According to Steven Garrison, Infoblox vice president of marketing, that's about 25 times faster than most legacy systems. But just as important as that might be from a performance perspective in terms of dealing with the requirements of social media and mobile computing applications, Garrison notes that kind of performance capability has multiple security implications as well.
Beyond the built-in detailed reporting and blacklisting capabilities that help automate early detection of certain attacks and disable URLs of attacking servers, multiple Infoblox 4030 appliances can be connected via a grid to provide the ability to process billions of DNS queries per second. In the event of a DDoS attack that capability could prove crucial because it buys service providers the time they need to track down the source of the attack and block it before the entire system crashes.
The Infoblox 4030 also includes hardened chassis and a custom operating system to prevent root access to the system while also supporting DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
Infoblox, which just filed for an initial public offering, has been specializing in the delivery of DNS server appliances for years. For the most part the market for Infoblox appliances has been limited to telecommunications carriers and high-end enterprise IT organizations. But as the volume of Web application connections that need to be made increases alongside the sophistication of the attacks being aimed at DNS servers, the need for more robust DNS appliances among providers of cloud computing and managed service providers (MSPs) has become apparent.
Not everyone may need an appliance as robust as the Infoblox 430, which is why Infoblox makes a range of appliance platforms available. But as Garrison notes, the world is a very much different place today when it comes to DNS security than it was even a year ago. In fact, the government planning to shut down in March a DNS network that was built to help catch hackers that had been poisoning DNS server results in order to redirect end users to fake Web sites where they were infected by malware. Known as Operation Ghost-Click, that shutdown could affect millions of PC and Macintosh systems worldwide. Because so many PC systems were found with altered DNS settings that pointed to the rogue DNS servers, authorities responsible for Operation Ghost Click decided to leave the network intact and just convert it to run as a legitimate DNS system. As a result, any PC still infected with the DNSChanger malware would start resolving URLs properly again. But the government plans to suspend that support for the rogue network in March, which could leave a lot of organizations without access to millions of Web pages.
Obviously, that creates both and opportunity and a headache for solution providers in the channel. But the good news longer term is a lot more organizations - both inside and outside the channel - have a much greater appreciation for the need secure DNS appliances.
Source Citation
"Interest in All Things DNS Rises 346889." Channel Insider 7 May 2012. Computer Database. Web. 8 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA288939289&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A288939289
Whether it's in the form of a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack or the hijacking of DNS servers as part of an effort to divert traffic to sites that distributed malicious malware, interest in all things DNS is on the rise.
The fundamental problem that many of these organizations have with DNS is that they depend on open source software running on commodity servers. The end result is a DNS server that is not particularly secure or robust enough to combat basic attacks.
For these reasons the folks at Infoblox think that as solution providers morph into providers of IT services many of them are going to need a more hardened approach to DNS. To help address that issue Infoblox today is launching an Infoblox 4030 DNS Caching Appliance that can process more than one million DNS queries per second.
According to Steven Garrison, Infoblox vice president of marketing, that's about 25 times faster than most legacy systems. But just as important as that might be from a performance perspective in terms of dealing with the requirements of social media and mobile computing applications, Garrison notes that kind of performance capability has multiple security implications as well.
Beyond the built-in detailed reporting and blacklisting capabilities that help automate early detection of certain attacks and disable URLs of attacking servers, multiple Infoblox 4030 appliances can be connected via a grid to provide the ability to process billions of DNS queries per second. In the event of a DDoS attack that capability could prove crucial because it buys service providers the time they need to track down the source of the attack and block it before the entire system crashes.
The Infoblox 4030 also includes hardened chassis and a custom operating system to prevent root access to the system while also supporting DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC).
Infoblox, which just filed for an initial public offering, has been specializing in the delivery of DNS server appliances for years. For the most part the market for Infoblox appliances has been limited to telecommunications carriers and high-end enterprise IT organizations. But as the volume of Web application connections that need to be made increases alongside the sophistication of the attacks being aimed at DNS servers, the need for more robust DNS appliances among providers of cloud computing and managed service providers (MSPs) has become apparent.
Not everyone may need an appliance as robust as the Infoblox 430, which is why Infoblox makes a range of appliance platforms available. But as Garrison notes, the world is a very much different place today when it comes to DNS security than it was even a year ago. In fact, the government planning to shut down in March a DNS network that was built to help catch hackers that had been poisoning DNS server results in order to redirect end users to fake Web sites where they were infected by malware. Known as Operation Ghost-Click, that shutdown could affect millions of PC and Macintosh systems worldwide. Because so many PC systems were found with altered DNS settings that pointed to the rogue DNS servers, authorities responsible for Operation Ghost Click decided to leave the network intact and just convert it to run as a legitimate DNS system. As a result, any PC still infected with the DNSChanger malware would start resolving URLs properly again. But the government plans to suspend that support for the rogue network in March, which could leave a lot of organizations without access to millions of Web pages.
Obviously, that creates both and opportunity and a headache for solution providers in the channel. But the good news longer term is a lot more organizations - both inside and outside the channel - have a much greater appreciation for the need secure DNS appliances.
Source Citation
"Interest in All Things DNS Rises 346889." Channel Insider 7 May 2012. Computer Database. Web. 8 May 2012.
Document URL
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA288939289&v=2.1&u=22054_acld&it=r&p=CDB&sw=w
Gale Document Number: GALE|A288939289
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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