Archive for August, 2011
5 tips for secure cloud computing
Aug 30th
By David Ridout
Risks of the cloud have recently become an issue with well-publicized failures in popular public cloud services. 
Organizations are thus under more pressure than ever to evaluate their management solutions, including those focused on security and how they are deployed as they get onto the cloud. Here are five general tips for companies getting on the cloud: Read the rest of this entry »
Championship: Making the most of the juicy leftovers
Aug 30th
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
Recently, tech heavyweights from around the world lined up to bid for Nortel Network’s portfolio of more than 6,000 telecommunications and web-related patents. When the dust settled, the portfolio had been sold for five times the opening bid and at least twice as much as analysts had expected.
Feisal Mosleh, vice-president for acquisitions at Intellectual Ventures, put the Nortel sale in context for MarketWatch.
“Since the market took off in the last eight years or so, intellectual property went from being an unused asset in the corner to a prime financial asset that can be traded,” he said, adding that, “there is no shortage of capital for the right invention. It’s one of the most differentiating aspects of business today.” Read the rest of this entry »
Spammers benefit from stock market turmoil
Aug 29th
By Matt Sergeant
August was a busy month for cyber criminals, according to the August 2011 Symantec Intelligence Report. While phishing levels were one in 229.9 forCanadathis month, spammers were also busy taking advantage of the recent financial market fluctuations.
Matt Sergeant
“Pump-and-dump stock” scams have become popular among hackers hoping to generate profits on intentionally overvalued penny stocks, or highly speculative common stocks traded at less than a dollar. Just as they sound, “pump-and-dump stocks” are promoted (“pumped”) by their owners in order to inflate the price of the stocks as much as possible so that they may then be sold (“dumped”) before their valuation decreases to the original price. Using this scam, cyber criminals attempt to convince the prospective mark that the penny stock is actually worth more than its valuation, or that it will soon skyrocket, using false or misleading information.
When successful, these misleading scams can artificially drive up the price of the stock to a point where the scammers decide to sell their shares, ending the spam campaign and lowering the stock’s valuation back to its original price. Read the rest of this entry »
Sprouter and Akoha revivals show strong community matters
Aug 25th
At the beginning of the month, it looked like strong and committed user communities didn’t mean much for cash-strapped social networking startups Sprouter and Akoha, but now those communities appear to have revived both sites in different ways.
It looked like Canada was going to lose two social media gems after Sprouter announced plans to shut down on Aug. 2 and Akoh
followed suit Aug. 15. But now it seems the loss won’t be as great as it seemed. Sprouter continued online past its announced shut off date, and has announced it may be near a deal that will keep its operations going. Meanwhile, Akoha’s site did go offline, but the user community has simply moved their altruistic game playing to a new online home.
Two online legal services that are changing the game
Aug 25th
By Monica Goyal
Two startups recently came to my attention that offers creative solutions to help people resolve legal disputes.
Their methods include online reputation shaming, game theory tactics, and settlement negotiation, all in the hope of achieving better, faster settlements for far less expense than more traditional ‘in-person’ methods. The two online dispute resolution services I’m referring to are PeopleClaim and Fair Outcomes.
Monica Goyal
Shame on You
PeopleClaim’s service speeds resolutions along by putting the reputations of complaint targets on the line. For a small fee of $7.96, PeopleClaim will send a complainant’s (sender) complaint to its target (receiver), allowing the receiver an opportunity to negotiate a settlement directly with the sender or to send PeopleClaim a rebuttal. Read the rest of this entry »
Lenovo ThinkPad: four reasons it’s the right tablet for business
Aug 24th
By Tony Bradley
Tablet headlines have been dominated for the past week by the sudden demise of the TouchPad, and the subsequent fire sale by HP to clear out inventory. But, just because HP is bailing on the tablet industry doesn’t mean the world has come to a halt.
Today, Lenovo launched its ThinkPad Tablet–an Android tablet with more of a business focus than some of its rivals.
Despite the fact that the Apple iPad is being tested or deployed at 86 percent of Fortune 500 companies, and that businesses of all sizes have found innovative ways to use the iOS tablet in uniquely productive ways, there are still those who will argue that the tablet is a consumer gadget incapable of meeting the needs of business professionals.
Championship: Opening up the ivory tower
Aug 23rd
By Francis Moran and Leo Valiquette
In the context of getting technology to market, “champion” can mean a lot of different things.
Early in this series we defined it as individuals within established enterprises who see the value in supporting a new venture or investing resources in an innovation to help realize its commercial potential. This is often driven by the need to solve a pain point that the patron organization has been unable to address with its internal resources. Read the rest of this entry »
Where to get funding for hiring IT students
Aug 22nd
By NestorE. Arellano
Does you business need some help with IT issues? Are you looking for someone to fill in for a temporary absence?
For some businesses hiring a regular employee might not be an option due to budget constraints.
- Nestor Arellano
Increasingly many small and medium sized businesses (SMBs) as well as larger enterprises are turning to interns and trade school students for help.
In a majority of instances, this alternative has proven to be beneficial for both employer and student. The intern gains valuable hands-on experience, a chance to practice their training, mentorship as well as develop contacts for future employment. Employers that do their homework, get their crack at skilled individuals, fresh with tech knowledge and an eagerness to prove themselves in the workplace for the brief period that the program covers.
The practice need not be expensive either as government and industry associations often provide wage subsidies as an incentive to companies that hire interns and students. Subsidy arrangements typically involve the organization shouldering part of the talent’s salary. Read the rest of this entry »
Wind Mobile rolls out slowest 4G network in Canada yet
Aug 19th
By Brian Jackson
Wind Mobile became the latest wireless carrier in Canada to claim it was rolling out a 4G network, and also the latest to lower the bar on what a “4G” standard even means any more.
I’ve ranted before about how communications company marketing departments had turned those two letters into a meaningless term in the hopes of bamboozled consumers immediately equating the label with being good. 4G of course used to refer to fourth generation wireless communications technologies, which included only Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Wi-Max until last December.
Brian Jackson, Associate Editor, ITBusiness.ca
That’s when the International Telecommunication Union decided to ease up on what could be called “4G” and allowed it to be applied to what had been previously considered later-stage 3G technologies.
iPhone 5 coming October 7, reports say
Aug 18th
By Daniel Ionescu
More reports suggest the iPhone 5 will launch in October, with preorders beginning September 30. In Canada, there are reports that the much awaited smartphone will launch in Canada through Telus on Oct. 1.
Backing up a report from TiPB last week, 9 to 5 Mac claims it has independently confirmed Friday, October 7, as the launch date of the iPhone 5. Unlike with the iPad 2, Apple is also rumored to take preorders with the next-generation iPhone at the end of September. Read the rest of this entry »
