Software Piracy Isn’t Always a Choice
Scrolling through Facebook today, I happened upon one of those sponsored links. The advertisement immediately caught my attention for a few reasons. First, I too believe that software developers, like...
View ArticleSuccess, the Path to Failure
I hear a lot about the failures on the path to success. Lately, I’ve been hypothesizing that the reverse is also true. So how can success be a milestone on the path to failure? More importantly why do...
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The Struggle with Terminology Ambiguity
One of the areas that our industry seems to struggle with is terminology. For example, if your coworker is talking about a packet, are they using specific terminology for a layer 3 protocol data unit?...
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Why is SDN Happening faster than IPv6?
It often seems like my enthusiasm for new technologies is met with resistance. This is legitimized by statements like, “Sure SDN Will happen quickly–like IPv6.” While that is a statement I can relate...
View ArticleNo One Cares About Our SDN
Readers of this blog know that Software Defined Networking is a popular topic in our industry. Nearly every recent Networking Field Day session has involved some form or flavor of SDN. The centralized...
View ArticleSnowden Interview on MSNBC
For those who haven’t had the opportunity to listen to Brian Williams’ interview of Edward Snowden, it is well worth the time. Regardless of any predisposition on politics, privacy, and the war on...
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LinkedIn Automation Fail
Like most everyone else, I receive a regular influx of email from LinkedIn. Over time, I’ve noticed that these don’t appear to be vetted by a human, any artificial intelligence or even keyword...
View ArticleStreamlining Service Delivery with Technology
Today Uber began offering service in Lexington, Ky. I know a lot of people out there wonder why I’m such a fan of Google’s ride sharing service. The answer to that question is simple. Uber is...
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Book Recommendations — Jeff Aiken Series by Mark Russinovich
Last week, I spent a the majority of my commute time listening to a cybercrime novel by Mark Russinovich. This book, Trojan Horse, is the second of three books in the Jeff Aiken Novel series and didn’t...
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Asking for Clarity
I have a lot of discussions with vendors, peers and other friends in the business. One of the things that I find challenging is the nuances with the language of technology. Our conversations include...
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Using Cisco’s DevNet “All-in-One VM” as a Free Router Lab
I know many have been [not so patiently] waiting for the arrival of a Cisco virtual lab. Although I haven’t heard any official release date for VIRL or CML, there is a small scale virtual router lab...
View ArticleGoogle and Cloudflare: Encrypting the WWW
A couple of months ago, Google announced that it had started using SSL as a factor in SEO ranking. Since the search giant is the referrer for most website traffic, this is the type of announcement that...
View ArticlePositioning an IT Conversation
About a week ago, I took my wife’s van to the shop. The main issue was it was making a popping noise in the front end. I only observed the noise when steering sharply and the vehicle was in motion....
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Forming a Thought Process for Troubleshooting
Periodically, I get a message from someone asking for troubleshooting help. The most recent of these went something like the following (paraphrasing)– I have the following routers, R1 through R5, and I...
View ArticleForming a Local User Group
I just read a short post by Lindsay Hill titled Doing Community Programs Right. I think the points made are accurate and well-founded. Prior to working for Cisco, I was part of the “CLN Designated VIP...
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IRS Banner Fail
So I go to the IRS Page that allows taxpayers to check status of a refund. This is under the number “3” at the following URL– http://www.irs.gov/Refunds The following banner pops up prior to setting a...
View ArticleAre You an ACKer?
There are lots of differences in the way that individuals communicate and interact. One difference I often notice is whether a given individual does or does not respond. Using myself as an example, I...
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Merchant Processes and CID/CVV2
I recently received a letter from the company that monitors my home alarm. It basically stated that to avoid a $3US surcharge that I must opt out of receiving bill in the mail (which is fine) and that...
View ArticleBlack Friday, Technology Glitches and Revenue Lost
This morning my wife was trying to purchase something from BELK.com. She ran into an issue at the point of transaction. The error that was being returned looked like the credit card number was invalid....
View ArticleWhat’s Wrong With the Internet?
How many times have you received that call or even made the statement that “The Internet is Down?” Or perhaps the “Internet is Slow?” Obviously these statements are very rarely true. As a whole, the...
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