December 2005
Ed Schaefer and John SpurgeonWe believe that you don't learn anything or do something without making mistakes. Because this is our last column of the year, we'd like to discuss this year's blunders and enhancements...
Paul GuglielminoMaintaining large numbers of systems over time can cause small (and sometimes large!) differences in the system configurations. Some of these differences may occur in the system's patch levels. Perhaps an ad hoc patch for the development environment never made it to production or space issues prevented a patch from getting installed. Regardless of the reason for these differences, it's good to have a way to measure the accuracy of your configurations. When issues arise, knowing these differences will aid you in troubleshooting problems.
Rob KolstadProbably the sharpest focus for salary surveys is on the actual salaries of the participants and the rate at which they are changing. The SAGE salary survey asks dozens of questions about demographics and other items that include benefits, certifications, commute time, corporate policies, education, hours worked, location, professional organizations, telecommuting, time off, and another 18 similar items.
Kristy WestphalAn interesting question comes to mind when you use as many open source forensic and security tools as I do — if I ever go to court over this case, will my tools be considered valid?
Emmett DulaneyThere is no shortage of books that take complex topics and shrink them down to where they just barely fill a 300-page spine. These whimsical digests are simple to write, for if there is anything the writers don't want to spend time on, they simply slap in a sentence saying the topic is outside the scope of this book. They are also simple to read, but you may come away not knowing a great deal more than when you started. These books may introduce you to a topic, but rarely can they help you master it.
Peter SalusDebian Linux (or GNU/Linux) provides more than 15,000 packages on 18 CDs. But you only need one CD to get started, and that one's bound in with Krafft's extraordinary book.
Ed SchaeferIn the 1980s, there was a spate of books that taught "C" programming. Most have fallen into disuse, but Stephen Prata's C Primer Plus continues to thrive. With more than half a million copies sold, this text deserves to be called a classic.
Peter SalusOver the past 15 years, I have read all or part of about two dozen books on "improving the software process" or "modeling software production" or "process improvement" ... and, now, business process modeling. Save your money. Read "Dilbert" or "User Friendly" and you'll know as much as these folks are trying to push.
Peter SalusISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG21 is the C++ standards committee. You don't need to remember that; there won't be an exam. But the fact of its existence is of great importance.
Emmett DulaneyFileEngine is a company intent on meeting the server needs of small businesses who would prefer to focus on their trade rather than on systems administration.
Emmett DulaneyRare is the person in IT who has not heard of Cisco and the CCIE certification. Most, though they may not be able to rattle off all the acronyms, can also name certifications from Microsoft, Novell, and other big players. In addition to these well-known offerings, though, there are a slew of other possibilities out there that are less well known. This article will introduce four of those and look at the reason for each, as well as discuss some changes to a few existing certifications.
Ed SchaeferIn the past, any Unix system that did not have the vi editor was considered neutered. While many users still believe that, my opinion is the best Unix text editor is the one you know, and, today, many people do know Emacs. Scuttlebutt has it that even Bill Joy — the creator of vi — uses Emacs. With Emacs users in mind, Tom Benton presents some useful XEmacs customizations.
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