ComputerWorld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference
If you have been following me on Twitter (which you will see on the bottom right of this page), you will know that I have been attending ComputerWorld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders Conference. (By the way, to see twitter posts relating to the conference, search on #p100)This has been a different kind of conference for me as the focus is the business of IT and not just the technology itself. The conference is in line with my studies, which is working toward a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems.
I have seen some great presentations from various CIO’s. The panel sessions yesterday were very valuable to me. The morning panel session focused on the economy and how it affecting doing IT. I especially like hearing from Viji Murali, Vice President for Information Services and Chief Information Officer, Washington State University and also one of this year’s Premier 100 IT Leaders. Since Ms. Murali is also from a public university, her comments had more relevance to my own environment. It seems that Washington and Florida (as well as most public universities) are all facing the same kind of budget crunch, as state funding dwindles in this economy.
The cloud computing panel yesterday afternoon will be helpful to me as I need to write a paper on the topic for one of my classes. I think the most important point that the panel agreed on was that cloud computing shows promise, but it is still in its embryonic stages. Cloud computing is good for projects that do not require much security.
My highlight from yesterday was a presentation by H. James Dallas. The presentation was entitled “The Need to Lead.” The presentation was Mr. Dallas’ advice to CIO’s based on his years of wisdom. His advice was good for anyone that wants to be a leader in IT.
I just wanted to post a blog update on the conference. I have taken a lot of notes and may try to post some of the ideas that I have recorded in my notes later. I will also publish a summary of today. But for now, back to the conference . . .
WARNING: Windows Live Team Phishing Scam
I just received the following phishing email message claiming to be from the Windows Live Team. If you receive this email, do not respond to it. Just delete the message.
Some of the indicators that this email is not legitimate include:
- Email address of the sender is a plain hotmail address
- Poor grammar, capitalization, and spacing.
- Asks for too much personal information (Windows Live would not ask for your password, secret question, secret answer, and date of birth)
Here is the text of the message that I received:
Subject: Important Message Regarding Your Windows Live Account
From: Windows Live Team [zarjah@hotmail.com]
Dear Account User,
This Email is from Windows Live Team Customer Care and we are sending it to every Windows Live Team Email User Accounts Owner for safety. we are having congestions due to the anonymous registration of Windows Live Team accounts so we are shutting down some Windows Live Team accounts and your account was among those to be deleted.We are sending you this email to so that you can verify and let us know if you still want to use this account.If you are still interested please confirm your account by filling the space below.Your User name,password,secret question,secret answer,date of birth and your country information would be needed to verify your account.Due to the congestion in all Windows Live Team users and removal of all unused Accounts, Windows Live Team will be shutting down all unused Accounts, You will have to confirm your E-mail by filling out your Login Information below after clicking the reply button, or your account will be suspended within 24 hours for security reasons.
* YOUR NAME:
*USER NAME:
*E-MAIL ID:
*PASSWORD:
*VERIFY PASSWORD:
*ALTERNATE EMAIL ADDRESS:
*DATE OF BIRTH:
*COUNTRY/TERRITORY:
Warning!!! Account owner that refuses to update his/her account after two weeks of receiving this warning will lose his or her account permanently. We apologize.
Windows Live Team Account Service
Team Admin….
Access your email online and on the go with Windows Live Hotmail. Sign up today.
The History of Microsoft
Check out this video from Tina Wood Summerford of Microsoft. This is the first of 30 weekly episodes going into the history of Microsoft.
For an accompanying timeline, you can go to:
http://channel9.msdn.com/shows/History/The-History-of-Microsoft-1975/
Book Review: Microsoft® Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition Step by Step
This article will hopefully be the first in a series of book reviews of Microsoft Press titles.
Although I am not a programmer, I was drawn to this title. I manage web sites and I am intrigued by the development process and making the web pages do more than just display static images. The goal of this book is to help aspiring web developers create state of the art web sites.
The book contains thirteen chapters and 304 pages which take the reader from an introduction to the Visual Developer environment to creating a web site, using master pages and server controls, building data driven web sites, and finally deploying the web site. Chapters on HTML, Javascript, and Cascading Style Sheets are also included. Chapters build on previous code examples so you get to see how each part fits in the overall process of creating a web site. Code samples are available on the accompanying CD or web site.
This book is ideal for beginning web developers, hobbyists, or even IT Professionals (like me) wanting to expand their horizons. Since Visual Web Developer Express Edition and SQL Server 2005 Express Edition are a free downloads, the only other thing you would need is access to a Windows server based web site. If you use XP Professional or Vista (Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions), Internet Information Services (IIS) is already included and can be used as your local web server for testing.
| At a glance:
Title: Microsoft® Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition Step by Step |
Microsoft’s Career Assist Offer
Just posted on Born to Learn, the blog from the Microsoft Learning Team, Ken Rosen has pre-announced (official announcement on Friday) the Microsoft Career Assist Offer. The offer is an enhancement to the Second Shot offer. The offer is:
Register for Second Shot starting today and get ANY Microsoft Official E-Learning Collection for only $35 USD!
If you are currently registered for the Second Shot promotion, you will have to re-register to be eligible for the E-Learning offer. The $35 will give you 90 days of access to any E-Learning Collection title. Registration is open now. At the end of registration, when you click on the link to get your voucher, the code for the Career Assist Offer will also be displayed.
As an MCT, I have used Microsoft’s E-Learning. I have found it to be a useful tool to prepare for certification and to learn new technology. E-Learning uses a combination of slides, interactive slides, animations, and virtual labs (YES! a real environment) to teach you what you need to know to use the product and pass the certification. The collections are actually groups of courses, so one collection will keep you busy.
