Posted by pcidss on March 28, 2008
To counter a post by someone I respect is hard, but given the subject I thought it best to throw in my hat. The recent CanSecWest conference has a contest where security experts are given monetary incentive to break into three separate systems – Linux, Vista, OS X. Now the rules are to use a non-published vulnerability. The MacBook air was the first one down, using an already published Safari bug. So, in my remote mind (and not actually at the conference) the hack was not pure or new.
Beyond general denial, I thought it important to point out that EVERYONE of the attackers (at least in the picture) are running Macbooks! So, while there may exist a vulnerability… if it is good enough for the Leet it should be good enough for the common people.
Just a thought…
Posted in Mac, Technology and Gadgets | 2 Comments »
Posted by pcidss on March 13, 2008
Given the jitters in the market I thought it would be interesting to review prior financial panics and see if there are similarities and opportunities. I am a firm believer in learning from prior mistakes, and as the saying goes – better to learn from someone else’s mistakes than your own. So, with that in mind I picked up this book to continue my education on the financial markets and the events that lead up to, contribute, and the aftermath of panics. I read the book last night – a VERY fast read. The authors really focus on J. Morgan’s activities during the event and a focus on NYC. Obviously this limits the breadth of the topic, while still allowing the reader to understand the events as they unfolded. They discuss seven points of panics that I feel are logical.
Bottom Line: I did not walk away with a plan for proceeding in the near future, but I do have an awareness of the pressures on the financial markets today. I would recommend buying the book if you need a cursory understanding of the market, but it is not nearly detailed enough on the financial underpinnings to provide guidance in your own life.
Best,
James DeLuccia
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Posted by pcidss on March 10, 2008
I have worked with many individuals who are Black belts and Master Black belts, but I have yet to lead such projects. Out of curiosity I grabbed this book while I was at the book store to give myself a better grounding on the subject. The layout of the book was good and I enjoyed the end of chapter exams that reinforced what was discussed in each chapter. Broadly I can say that the value of six sigma is its structure, as I now more firmly believe that it is equal in value to other management improvement frameworks. The book had several editing errors and typos throughout, and the authors chose to end the book discussing GSM (a product of their consulting company).
Bottom line – there may be better books that are worth your time, but if this one catches your eye: read briskly, ignore the edit errors, if you feel like “didn’t I just read that”… you did, and skip the last 15 pages at the end.
James
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