July 2006

  Feature Articles

Certification Feature
Reality Bytes: Preparing for Performance Exams
Kellye Whitney
Times are changing, and not just in regard to technology. Certification exams also are evolving. Performance-based tests that look not at whether a candidate can memorize and recall facts, but how well the person can replicate actual tasks in a real-world environment, are replacing traditional exams.

Job Roles Feature
Applications Developers: The Artists of Technology
Brian Summerfield
To the uninitiated, information technology might seem to be a tedious enterprise, virtually devoid of any artistry. While this view might not be too far off for certain sectors of IT, it's certainly unjustified where applications developers are concerned.

Techniques Feature
Rules & Regulations: The Impact of Compliance on IT
Uday Ali Pabrai
The Wall Street Journal on Dec. 9 reported that Sarbanes-Oxley and other rules aimed at fighting fraud are creating a market for software. Microsoft, Computer Associates, Symantec and many other vendors have solutions specifically targeted at the regulatory compliance market.

  Columns

Tech Careers
Landing a Job in Today's Market
Katherine Spencer Lee
If you watch the latest news reports, it's difficult to know what to make of the current job market. One day you might hear of layoffs, while the next day's reports indicate improving employment numbers. All this uncertainty makes determining your next career move challenging.

Consultant's Corner
Keeping Your Clients In the Know
David Garrett
Ah, the network. I don’t mean servers and routers, but people. If you can’t afford to advertise, then your network—your expanding circle of colleagues, clients and prospects—is your best route to new business. The question, of course, is how to work it and how to make it grow.

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Cyberwar!
Brian Summerfield, Web Editor
If you've been closely following the news in the past few years about conflicts in regions such as the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Central Africa, you might have noticed the regularity of phrases such as "terrorism," "guerrilla tactics" and "asymmetrical warfare." Simply put, these refer to the strategies weaker powers adopt against stronger ones.

  Departments

Inside Certification
HP: The Benefits of Continuous Learning
Linda Musthaler
This month, the Hewlett-Packard Certified Professional Program in the Americas region will launch a new Continuous Learning initiative. Similar to skill refreshment programs in other professional fields such as nursing and accounting, the HP Continuous Learning Initiative encourages HP Certified Professionals to update their knowledge and skills and to stay current in the certification program.

Specialty Certification
Computer Hacking Forensics Investigators: Reducing Security Breaches
Jay Bavisi
Computer-hacking forensics investigation has become a very popular practice within the corporate world. Although most knowledge workers probably equate computer-hacking forensics investigation with law enforcement, the military or the security community, very few understand the deep, positive impact computer-hacking forensics investigators can bring to the organizations they represent.

  Communities

Career development
Polishing Your Resume
July 2006
Patrick Evans
Resumes often make or break applicants for positions they attempt to land. Against the sheer number of competitors, one must perfect his or her resume in order to stand a chance in the hunt for new employment.

Networking
Aligning Your Network to Business Objectives
July 2006
Cari McLean
Just as wheel alignment is critical for a vehicle to travel correctly, network-business alignment is vital for organizational success. Network-business alignment consists of linking the configuration, management, troubleshooting, maintenance and installation of a network to company imperatives.

Security
Changing Sides: Hackers Turned Security Gurus
July 2006
Patrick Evans
Ethical hacking is a practice that is as old as the security business. How better to find a hole in your security than to try and hack it yourself? Thinking about this process would then beg the question, “Would an ex-hacker have an advantage over the strict white-hat techie with classroom experience?”

Database
Data Vulnerability: Securing Information
July 2006
Brian Summerfield
Information security has worked its way into just about every facet of IT these days and necessarily so. New vulnerabilities and attacks seem to spring up every day, and some of the most at-risk technology systems right now are enterprise databases.

Wireless
Free Wireless: Right or Privilege?
July 2006
Brian Summerfield
It’s important to understand how political leaders and legislators frame the discussion about the services they provide—or intend to provide—to the public, and then consider what the implications of that might be. Wireless networks are a hot topic of conversation among politicians these days, many of whom want to subsidize access for all, and turn entire cities and other geographic regions into hot spots.

Project management
Synergy: Communicating With Other Teams on Cross Projects
July 2006
Cari McLean
Creating a mutually advantageous union with other teams or team members is critical for project managers—especially when teams or team members are dispersed across the nation or worldwide. Managing a distributed team or groups of teams on cross projects, of course, requires project managers to possess the ability to motivate, maintain cohesion and establish trust through various methods of communication.

Help Desk and Support
FAQs: Forming the Help-Desk Knowledge Base
July 2006
Brian Summerfield
One thing that any experienced help-desk professional can tell you is that they have to deal with the same issues over and over again. For these circumstances, it helps to have a frequently-asked questions (FAQ) list on hand that details both the problems and solutions.