Lingo Explained : Plain Vanilla

“Plain vanilla is an adjective describing the simplest version of something, without any optional extras, by analogy with vanilla ice cream, the default flavour. Some Financial instruments like put options or call options are often described as plain vanilla options. The opposite of plain vanilla options are exotic options.”

Technical insight into NTFS

Check out OSnews’s article “NTFS: A File System with Integrity and Complexity“.

The topics handled in this article:

• Glossary of NTFS Terms
• A File System of Files
• Fill Your Quota
• Better Backups with Shadow Copy
• File Compression Made Easy
• Alternate Data Streams
• File Screening
• Volume Mount Points
• Hard Links, Soft Links, and Junction Points
• Fun With Logs
• Encrypting File System – EFS
• Advanced Format Drives
• Interview: Dr Gary Kimura

It showed me some interesting insights into the technical possibilities I wasn’t aware off. Nice examples are that “symlinks” is possible since Windows Vista and the concept of “streams!

Drive!

After “What drives motivation?“, check “Drive” from Dan Pink!

You think your business has it rough?

Macworld features an article called “Ten business lessons from ‘Battlestar Galactica'”

A summary

• 1. Tech isn’t always the answer. : Totally agree… IT-ers tend to always go for a tech solution where a human solution might suffice!
• 2. Don’t neglect training. : I guess nobody will disagree here, but companies often don’t see the hidden cost of neglecting to do so.
• 3. Some things can’t be outsourced. : I’ll repeat it again; Outsourcing is good, but don’t do it on stategical areas!
• 4. Update your antivirus. : Personally I’d like to see this one renamed to “keep your organization up-to-date”
• 5. Democracy doesn’t always work. : A simple Project Management lesson; It’s a democracy until the scope is set, then it’s dictatorship!
• 6. Some problems can’t be killed. : Indeed, not all problems can be killed, just learn to cope with them.
• 7. Seek strategic alliances with competitors. : So true! Being a stategic game fan, I found that alliances either make or break any outcome of a game. The numerous time I’ve “won”, is always due to making (and breaking!) stategic alliances.
• 8. Don’t store all your backups in one place. : Better renamed to “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”.
• 9. The mission can change at any time. : A bit like 4., the world keeps evolving, incorporate that in your strategy.
• 10. Beware of visionaries. Zealots make bad leaders. – Awh, crap, that’d be against me… 😉

Business modelling in lesser times…

A lot of business models are known:

• Brokerage
• Advertising
• Infomediary
• Merchant
• Manufacturer (Direct)
• Affiliate
• Community
• Subscription
• Utility

Yet you still have to get to the point where you can say… this is it! That’s where Alexander Osterwalder has created a good method to define your business model.

Slideshare Slideset

http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=business-model-template-5677&stripped_title=business-model-template

Out Cold

Even the best of us get sick sometimes… and so do I! 😉 Yet this post isn’t for pitty sake but to share a bit of knowledge I did not know before. The term “common cold” doesn’t have the “cold” as a cause. Neither heat or cold makes you get a “common cold“, but it’s a pure viral infection. The reason why it’s called this way, is because people tend to stay more inside during colder weather. This increases the infection rate as people are crowded into “small spaces”.

OpenSource Storage Management

I came across OpenFiler a while ago and was intriged by it. Now I’ve taken the liberty to testing it in my lab, and I must say that I’m impressed by the features. It’s something every sysadmin should check out to see if it isn’t a viable solution for their overpriced storage solution… 😉

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Openfiler is a powerful, intuitive browser-based network storage software distribution. Openfiler delivers file-based Network Attached Storage and block-based Storage Area Networking in a single framework. Its uses the rPath Linux metadistribution and is distributed as a stand-alone Linux distribution. The entire software stack interfaces with third-party software that is all open source.

File-based networking protocols supported by Openfiler include: NFS, SMB/CIFS, HTTP/WebDAV and FTP. Network directories supported by Openfiler include NIS, LDAP (with support for SMB/CIFS encrypted passwords), Active Directory (in native and mixed modes) and Hesiod. Authentication protocols include Kerberos 5.

Openfiler includes support for volume-based partitioning, iSCSI (target and initiator), scheduled snapshots, resource quota, and a single unified interface for share management which makes allocating shares for various network file-system protocols a breeze.

Freelancing during the lesser times

Freelancefolder.com features “8 Ways Freelancers Can Survive In A Troubled Economy” ;

• Be a Bargain Hunter. Whether you’re buying routine office supplies or making a capital purchase, make sure that you get the most value for your dollar. Check sales flyers and compare costs to maximize your purchasing power. You can also look into barter arrangements to reduce your costs.
• Don’t Spend Everything That You Make. I give this advice during good economic times as well. The advice to save some of your earnings is doubly important in an uncertain economy. Whenever you are paid make sure that you set some income aside for times when your business is slow.
• Moonlight on Your Freelancing. You may have started your freelancing business by working a corporate job and moonlighting as a freelancer. There’s no reason why you can’t turn the tables and moonlight on your freelance business now. Consider taking a part-time job to bolster your monthly income.
• Ask Past Corporate Employers for Gigs. Many employers have hiring freezes, but their workload remains the same. While they may not be able to hire a new employee, often they are allowed to hire temporary help to meet a deadline. (I’m told that the money for contractors comes out of a different “bucket.”)
• Consider the Do-It-Yourself Question. Are you paying others to do tasks for you that you could actually do yourself? If your cash flow is slow, then you may want to consider whether it’s more cost efficient to continue outsourcing as you have been doing, or to start doing the tasks yourself.
• Make Sure To Consider Your Tax Liability. Even if the economy is slow, it is likely that you will still owe taxes at the end of your tax year. To avoid being saddled with a tax burden that you can’t pay, start setting money aside for taxes now. If you paid estimated taxes during the course of the year, then ask yourself if you paid enough.
• Broaden the Scope of Your Business. If your workload has slowed, then ask yourself if there are other products or services that you could add to your current offerings. Do you have a skill that you are not using? Broadening your scope could bring additional business from current customers as well as attract new ones.
• Be Patient. Difficult economic times come and they go. It may be a matter of weeks, months, or even years, but this tough economic period will also pass.

Storytelling 101

http://static.slideshare.net/swf/ssplayer2.swf?doc=storytelling-101-1216161371844255-8&stripped_title=storytelling-101

Gapminder

You’ve never seen data presented like this. With the drama and urgency of a sportscaster, statistics guru Hans Rosling debunks myths about the so-called “developing world.”

http://static.videoegg.com/ted/flash/loader.swf

For more info, check out gapminder.org!