The MADOFF AFFAIR

Tomado de: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/madoff/

Unraveling the story behind the world's first global Ponzi scheme...
How was he able to sustain it for so long?

Chapter 1
The '60s: When It All Began




Chapter 2
1992: First Brush with the SEC




Chapter 3
The '90s: Wider Worlds to Conquer




Chapter 4
Puzzlement, Suspicions




Chapter 5
2000-2008: Many Red Flags




Chapter 6
Final Days

copyright 1995-2010 WGBH educational foundation

Skype Scrambling To Fix Global 'Supernode' Outage

Tomado de: http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=120001ZLHPMO
Autor: Jennifer LeClaire

A failure of "supernodes" that connect users took Skype down on Wednesday, and as of Thursday morning, millions of users around the world were still disconnected. Skype's Peter Parkes said about 30 percent of Skype users were back online. An analyst said the anger among Skype users shows the Internet phone service is now an enterprise player.
 
Skype went down suddenly Wednesday -- and still hasn't come back online for millions of users around the world. As of Thursday morning, about five million people are back online.

Peter Parkes, Skype's blogger-in-chief, said the ability of one Skype user to find another relies on what the company calls "supernodes." On Wednesday, he explained, a number of those supernodes failed due to a software issue. Skype has identified the issue and engineers are working to resolve the problem.

"Millions of you are already reporting that you can now sign in to Skype normally, and we estimate that there are already almost five million people online," Parkes said. "As a guide, this is around 30 percent of what we'd expect at this time of day -- and that number is increasing all the time. Unfortunately, it's not possible for us to predict on an individual level when you'll be able to sign in again, and we thank you for your patience in the meantime."

Skype Credits?

Brad Shimmin, an analyst at Current Analysis, said it's interesting to watch the reaction -- not so much of Skype but of Skype's consumer and business users -- to the outage. As he sees it, more moderate expectations of availability driven by the consumerization of IT, coupled with the seemingly impervious nature of the Internet itself, have created a strange brew where customers anticipate outages like this yet still feel outraged when they occur.

"Certainly Skype is no longer a tiny, private startup playing the role of market disruptor," Shimmin said. "If anything, the angry shouting that has followed on the heels of this outage point to the fact that Skype is now an enterprise Relevant Products/Services player, and as such it must adhere to a higher standard of performance and, if not performance, then responsibility."

Shimmin pointed to vendors like Microsoft Relevant Products/Services that post financial credits to customer Relevant Products/Services accounts whenever they fail to meet a self-published service level agreement for services like BPOS/Office 365. Another interesting facet of this outage, he said, stems from Skype's description of the problem.

"The company indicated that the problem stemmed not from loss of connectivity, but rather from a loss of communication between users and Skype supernodes, which appear to be directory-service platforms, much like the Internet's domain naming system servers," Shimmin said. "It's too bad Skype's servers don't behave in the same, redundant manner as DNS servers, which are by and large responsible for the resiliency of the Internet itself."

Creating Mega-Supernodes

Skype explained that it isn't a network like a conventional phone or IM network. Instead, it relies on millions of individual connections between computers and phones to keep things up and running. That's where the supernodes come in. Under normal circumstances, Skype explained, there are a large number of supernodes available.

"Our engineers are creating new 'mega-supernodes' as fast as they can, which should gradually return things to normal," Skype said in an update. "This may take a few hours, and we sincerely apologize for the disruption to your conversations. Some features, like group video calling, may take longer to return to normal."

© Copyright 2000-2010 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved

Colombian military's new weapon against rebels: Christmas trees

Tomado de: http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/12/20/colombia.operation.christmas/
Autor: Mariano Castillo

This holiday season, the Colombian military is trying a unique angle to get guerrillas to lay down their arms: It is creating Christmas trees deep in the jungle in hopes the holiday spirit will tug the rebels back home.

The first tree of "Operation Christmas" was decorated in the jungle of southern Colombia, the military said.

Two units in two Blackhawk helicopters dropped in on a supply path that the guerrillas are known to use and picked a 25-meter (82-foot) tree to decorate with sparkling blue lights.

A commercial made by the military shows the soldiers, dressed in camouflage uniforms and face paint, wrapping 2,000 lights around the branches and trunk.

The tree was rigged with a motion sensor that will turn the lights on when someone walks by. A banner next to it says,

"If Christmas can come to the jungle, you too can come home. Demobilize. At Christmas, everything is possible."

Officials hope the gesture will be enough to lure rebels away from the jungle.

"For us, the most important month is December," Colombian military spokeswoman Marcela Duran said.

"Many make the final decision about demobilizing this month."

She says that traditionally, the holiday season sees a larger number of defections as rebels reflect on the positives and negatives of their situation. When they were recruited, many of the rebels did not know that it would mean being isolated from their families, she added.

The tactic is a shift from what has been an aggressive military campaign against the rebels this year.

In September, a military raid claimed the life of the No. 2 leader in a Marxist guerrilla group that has been at war with the Colombian government since the 1960s. Victor Julio Suarez Rojas, also known as Jorge Briceno Suarez and by the nom de guerre Mono Jojoy, was the military leader for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly called the FARC.

It was one of a number of military successes for the government this year.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, a former defense minister, was known for his tough line against the rebels, but he also has a softer side, an analyst said.

During his time as defense minister, the government began using billboards and radio advertisements in areas where the rebels operate at an unprecedented level, said Adam Isacson, senior associate at the Washington Office on Latin America.

Operation Christmas sounds a bit gimmicky, he said, but "rather than trying to kill all the rank-and-file guerrillas, it's better to try to convince them to leave."

FARC leaders tell their followers that they will be killed if they turn themselves in, but the advertisements and Christmas trees give another message, he said.

Despite the military successes this year, "the challenge is that their recruitment at the youngest levels is very easy," Isacson said.

The tree decorating is probably aimed at those young recruits.

In all, 10 jungle trees throughout the country will be decorated as part of Operation Christmas.

This year, 2,411 guerrillas have demobilized, including 140 during this holiday season, the military said.

In 2009, a total of 2,638 rebels laid down their arms.

© 2010 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Del mundo de los Nule

Tomado de: http://blogs.elespectador.com/delmundodelosnule/2010/12/23/del-mundo-de-los-nule/
Autor: delmundodelosnule
Les presento este nuevo wikiblog. ¿Existe tal cosa? No lo sé, pero es lo que mejor lo describe. No tengo cables diplomáticos secretos, pero sí han llegado a mis manos, y seguirán llegando, algunos del mundo del Grupo Nule, al que fui cercana. No puedo firmar con mi nombre real por obvias razones, pero lo importante no soy yo sino los documentos.

Algunos trataré de conectarlos, de explicar su contexto cuando lo conozca. Sobre otros dejaré preguntas por las cosas que vi. Los demás, la mayoría, estarán ahí para que entre todos descifremos su sentido y ayudemos a despejar ese oscuro mundo de la contratación que ha servido a unos pocos, ni siquiera sabemos qué tan pocos, para enriquecerse con el dinero que es de todos nosotros. Estaré atenta, entonces, a sus aportes.

Hoy, en este primer post del  “wikiblog”, publicaré dos archivos, que corresponden a los contratos de leasing que tenía activos el Grupo Nule. Muchos son vehículos y propiedades propios de empresas de ingeniería y construcción. Pero entremezclados se pueden encontrar Jaguares, Porsches y BMWs cuyos usuarios eran las cabezas del grupo o sus familiares, así como otras propiedades, por ejemplo un apartamento en leasing por $2.400.000.000= en el norte de Bogotá, también para uso particular. Aparecen también entre los usuarios de los vehículos de las compañías nombres sugerentes: ¿José Guerra es el mismo Joselito? ¿los vehículos Alejandro Char los utilizó hasta antes de asumir la Alcaldía? ¿Un periodista con vehículo a cargo de las empresas concesionarias del Estado?

Ahí les dejo este abrebocas. Tal vez las vacaciones nos mantengan alejados un tiempo, pero aquí les irán llegando documentos salidos “del mundo de los Nule”. Estén pendientes.

Vea los documentos en http://blogs.elespectador.com/delmundodelosnule/2010/12/23/del-mundo-de-los-nule/

Derechos de Autor ELESPECTADOR © 2006

La historia de una vendedora de chance que conmovió al país

Tomado de: http://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/bogota/la-historia-de-una-vendedora-de-chance-que-conmovio-al-pais_8660274-4

 

Tiene cuatro hijos y gana menos del mínimo. Se enteró en radio que ganó un apartamento.

Una llamada le cambió el miércoles, a las 7:30 de la mañana, la vida a una mujer cabeza de hogar dedicada al oficio de vender chance: recibió la noticia de que se había ganado un apartamento, en un programa radial.

Al otro lado de la línea, el periodista Julio Sánchez le informó, en pleno noticiero de 'La W', que era la ganadora de un apartamento.

"Dios le multiplique don Julio", atinó a contestar Diana, de 30 años, quien se encontraba haciendo el desayuno.

Todo empezó el 23 de noviembre pasado cuando Yesid González, un contador público de 63 años, inscribió a la mujer en una campaña organizada por el Centro Comercial Palatino, la constructora Amarilo y 'La W', que buscaba a una familia de escasos recursos para regalarle un apartamento de 52 millones de pesos, ubicado en Quintas del Portal, una urbanización de Usme, en el sur de Bogotá.

Antes de mandar el correo electrónico con la historia de Diana, el hombre le pidió autorización, pero se encontró con una respuesta desesperanzadora: "No vaya a perder su tiempo. No me gano unos vasos me voy a ganar una casa".

Pese a esas palabras, Yesid mandó el correo. El hombre sabía de las dificultades de Diana. Sabía que nadie le quería arrendar un cuarto para vivir con Laura (15 años), Carol (13 años), Diego (6 años) y Paula (4 años). Sabía, que muchas veces se iban a la cama sin comer. Sabía, que Diana solo se ganaba 300.000 pesos mensuales y que por eso, en los días de descanso, vendía obleas. La noche del lunes, Yesid estaba triste porque los organizadores de la campaña le habían dicho que habían cancelado el evento.

"Le dije a los niños que había que esperar", narró el contador, emocionado. Ayer, Diana contaba las horas para trastearse a su nuevo hogar. Actualmente, ocupa una pequeña pieza del barrio Fontibón La Cabaña, que no tiene nada que ver con el apartamento de tres alcobas, dos baños, área social y parqueadero que recibirá hoy en la mañana. "Para que me dejaran vivir aquí tuvo que venir el papá de los niños. La dueña me decía que no le podía arrendar a una mujer sola y con tantos hijos".

El periodista Alberto Casas y las directivas de Palatino escogieron a Diana como la ganadora, después de conocer 1.557 dramas más.

'Yesid, un ángel en mi vida'

La amistad de Diana y Yesid empezó hace un año y medio. El contador la conoció porque compra regularmente el chance. Él le ayudaba a conseguir trabajos para lavar ropa ajena. Diana no dudó en calificar al señor como un ángel en su vida.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 CEET

Personal productivity is a cross between organizational skills and courage

Tomado de: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p=2664
Autor: Toni Bowers
 
I read somewhere that 85 percent of the things you do account for only 15% of your results, and vice-versa. I think that’s a pretty important observation and one that is key to turning around any problems you have with personal productivity.

First off, ask yourself why you spend 85% of your time on things that only represent 15% of your results?
For one, we tend to tackle our smaller, less strenuous duties first. When it is a willful choosing to postpone duties we’re not entirely comfortable with, it’s called procrastination. Or fear. So part of increasing your personal productivity is to conquer those fears-dive in and hit the critical 15% first and get it over with.

I’m not a procrastinator, but not because I have some altruistic need to go out on a limb any time I’m asked. It’s because I can’t concentrate on small projects or duties if I have a larger, more complex one looming over me. I really can’t devote my attention to little things if my mind is preoccupied with details of a larger project. I will have to do it at some point, so why not now?

Think of it as like having a meal. Don’t eat dessert (in this case, the easier projects) unless you’ve finished the main entrée, even if the main entrée feels like punishment. (Yes, I’m talking to you liver and onions.)

So every day, make a list of what you have to do. Take a look at your list and ask yourself, “What’s the activity that I fear most?” and start your day with that activity. By training yourself to do your feared things first, you unconsciously urge yourself to tackle tougher tasks. And you’ll feel much better for it.

Another thing I do is reward myself. If I have a particularly onerous duty in my lap and I finish it, I treat myself to something like a new book or CD. I know that sounds kind of ridiculous — bribing yourself — but it works. And if you have multiple personality disorder, the treats will be a surprise!

Procrastination seems like an easy way out at the time, but it really builds up a lot of tension and guilt in your subconscious. As Nike used to say, Just do it.

---

Toni Bowers is the Head Blogs Editor of TechRepublic. She has been in the publishing industry for 20 years, with concentration in IT-related topics. She has edited newsletters, books, and web sites pertaining to software, IT career, and IT management issues.

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

FF.MM. le regalan a las Farc un árbol de Navidad

Tomado de: http://www.ejercito.mil.co/index.php?idcategoria=268914

EL ESPECTADOR.- Durante cuatro días dos comandos contraguerrilla apoyados por 200 hombres de la Fuerza de Despliegue Rápido FUDRA, llevaron la Navidad a las selvas de la Serranía de La Macarena, como regalo para los guerrilleros de las Farc.

Los militares se infiltraron en la selva y en uno de los más importantes corredores de abastecimiento de las Farc, seleccionaron un árbol de más de 25 metros de altura, lo adornaron con luces navideñas y le dejaron un mensaje a los guerrilleros para que en esta época de celebración decidan dejar las armas y busquen el camino a la desmovilización.

La operación planeada y ejecutada desde el Fuerte Militar de La Macarena, requirió de la utilización de dos helicópteros Black Hawk y 2.000 luces navideñas que se activan con un mecanismo especial que detecta el movimiento de las personas.

Con la denominada operación Navidad, el Ministerio de Defensa y las Fuerzas Militares, invitan a los guerrilleros a recuperar su libertad.

Gracias al éxito de la operación, el Comando General de las Fuerzas Militares ordenó multiplicar ésta iniciativa del Programa de Atención Humanitaria al Desmovilizado llamada "Desmovilícese en navidad todo es posible", con otros nueve árboles de navidad que se seleccionaron en diferentes regiones del país.

En lo corrido del año, 2.411 integrantes de los grupos armados ilegales se han acogido al Programa de Atención Humanitaria al Desmovilizado, de los cuales 126 pertenecientes a las Farc y 14 del Eln, lo han hecho en ésta época navideña.

 

El Espectador

Mercedes-Benz Biome: prototipo de inspiración natural

Tomado de: http://www.motor.com.co/revistamotor/15dediciembrede2010/mercedes-benz-biome-prototipo-de-inspiracion-natural_8587196-1

Este es un carro ultrafuturista y ecológico cuyas piezas estructurales se 'cultivarían', tendría un fluido que absorbe la energía del sol y se reutilizaría al final de su ciclo como abono.

En una mezcla de ciencia ficción y posibilidades técnicas, Mercedes Benz construyó un carro ultrafuturista y ecológico denominado Biome, que sería un modelo único cuyas piezas estructurales se 'cultivarían'. Tendría un fluido que recogería la energía del sol para su propulsión y se reutilizaría al final de su ciclo como abono.

Así, los diseñadores de Mercedes-Benz, con sede en Carlsbad, California, sorprendieron durante el concurso de diseño del Salón de Los Ángeles con una visión revolucionaria de su automóvil, el Biome. Este es un prototipo que se integra de manera perfecta con el medio ambiente, pues nace de un 'cultivo', utiliza energía solar, no contamina y, al contrario, emite oxígeno y puede ser reutilizado como abono al final de su vida útil. Así por lo menos, está planteado de manera teórica y de cumplirse sería uno de los avances más grandes que haya hecho marca alguna en materia ecológica.

Lo real de este vehículo es que cumplió con los objetivos del concurso de diseño que eran tener un diseño impactante, la posibilidad de llevar cuatro pasajeros en una configuración de 2+2, ser muy seguro y confortable dentro de su tamaño compacto y que su carrocería pesara menos de 454 kilogramos.

De esta forma, el Biome conjuga las líneas de auto deportivo futurista con unas medidas compactas pues de largo registra un poco más de 4 metros y de ancho 2.5, lo que le da una buena presencia en la vía. Inclina la balanza apenas hasta los 384 kilos y en su interior se pueden acomodar efectivamente 4 personas, pero en una distribución estilo 'rombo'. Esto quiere decir que la posición del conductor es central, siendo la primera silla del carro. Más atrás hay dos asientos ubicados a los lados y la última silla va también en el centro pero atrás.

Sin embargo, los detalles tecnológicos, teóricos por el momento, fueron los que más impacto causaron por la conjugación de ideas y presupuestos teóricos. Así, se supone que el Biome es la simbiosis perfecta entre el vehículo y la naturaleza pues nace a partir de semillas de un árbol especial que se cultivan en un vivero de la marca y que se han manipulado genéticamente para que entreguen una madera especial ultraligera con la que se fabricarían las piezas, cuyo nombre científico es Biofibra, y que tendría la cualidad de ser más resistente que el acero pero más ligera que el plástico o el metal.

Además, la manipulación genética también involucra la capacidad de este material y de un fluido que llevaría en su interior, para recoger y utilizar la energía solar. El BioNectar 4534 sería el líquido encargado de esta labor y estaría en las ruedas, el chasís y algunos elementos interiores del carro, pero su tarea no solo sería la de proveer la materia prima de la propulsión de este auto, que sería eléctrico, sino que no emitiría gases contaminantes pues generaría oxígeno a la atmósfera. Tal cual como si fuera una hoja.

Incluso, las semillas podrían llegar a modificarse a petición del cliente si requiere formas o tamaños diferentes tanto en el interior como en el exterior del vehículo a partir de la combinación de componentes que se darían en los dos emblemas de la marca, ya que en la estrella de atrás se modificaría el exterior y la de frontal influiría en los cambios dentro del habitáculo.

Al final de su vida útil, el Biome de Mercedes-Benz puede ser transformado en abono o utilizado como material de construcción.

Este proyecto, que por el momento está en el papel, puede llegar a ser posible en un futuro y por el momento se convierte en la más extrema de las propuestas ecológicas para un futuro sostenible.

Ecología total
La curiosa presentación de este modelo es que se hizo en el marco de un concurso que evaluaba el diseño, la seguridad y la ligereza de los automóviles. Mercedes fue más allá y presentó todo un proyecto de sostenibilidad, que incluso lo llevaría a tener sus propias plantaciones de semillas, árboles, centros de modificación de ADN y de reciclaje final para aplicarlos a toda la cadena que mueve su industria. Claro, en un futuro no muy cercano, porque por el momento lo único que toma el Biome de la idea de sus creadores son las fibras vegetales con las que se construyó gracias a las cuales obtuvo tan poco peso.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 CEET

10 dirty little secrets you should know about working in IT

Tomado de: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/hiner/?p=546
Autor: Jason Hiner


If you are preparing for a career in IT or are new to IT, many of the “dirty little secrets” listed below may surprise you because we don’t usually talk about them out loud. If you are an IT veteran, you’ve probably encountered most of these issues and have a few of your own to add — and please, by all means, take a moment to add them to the discussion. Most of these secrets are aimed at network administrators, IT managers, and desktop support professionals. This list is not aimed at developers and programmers — they have their own set of dirty little secrets — but some of these will apply to them as well.


You can also view this list as a slideshow.


10.) The pay in IT is good compared to many other professions, but since they pay you well, they often think they own you
Although the pay for IT professionals is not as great as it was before the dot-com flameout and the IT backlash in 2001-2002, IT workers still make very good money compared to many other professions (at least the ones that require only an associate’s or bachelor’s degree). And there is every reason to believe that IT pros will continue to be in demand in the coming decades, as technology continues to play a growing role in business and society. However, because IT professionals can be so expensive, some companies treat IT pros like they own them. If you have to answer a tech call at 9:00 PM because someone is working late, you hear, “That’s just part of the job.” If you need to work six hours on a Saturday to deploy a software update to avoid downtime during business hours, you get, “There’s no comp time for that since you’re on salary. That’s why we pay you the big bucks!”


9.) It will be your fault when users make silly errors
Some users will angrily snap at you when they are frustrated. They will yell, “What’s wrong with this thing?” or “This computer is NOT working!” or (my personal favorite), “What did you do to the computers?” In fact, the problem is that they accidentally deleted the Internet Explorer icon from the desktop, or unplugged the mouse from the back of the computer with their foot, or spilled their coffee on the keyboard.


8.) You will go from goat to hero and back again multiple times within any given day
When you miraculously fix something that had been keeping multiple employees from being able to work for the past 10 minutes — and they don’t realize how simple the fix really was — you will become the hero of the moment and everyone’s favorite employee. But they will conveniently forget about your hero anointment a few hours later when they have trouble printing because of a network slowdown — you will be enemy No. 1 at that moment. But if you show users a handy little Microsoft Outlook trick before the end of the day, you’ll soon return to hero status.


7.) Certifications won’t always help you become a better technologist, but they can help you land a better job or a pay raise
Headhunters and human resources departments love IT certifications. They make it easy to match up job candidates with job openings. They also make it easy for HR to screen candidates. You’ll hear a lot of veteran IT pros whine about techies who were hired based on certifications but who don’t have the experience to effectively do the job. They are often right. That has happened in plenty of places. But the fact is that certifications open up your career options. They show that you are organized and ambitious and have a desire to educate yourself and expand your skills. If you are an experienced IT pro and have certifications to match your experience, you will find yourself to be extremely marketable. Tech certifications are simply a way to prove your baseline knowledge and to market yourself as a professional. However, most of them are not a good indicator of how good you will be at the job.


6.) Your nontechnical co-workers will use you as personal tech support for their home PCs
Your co-workers (in addition to your friends, family, and neighbors) will view you as their personal tech support department for their home PCs and home networks. They will e-mail you, call you, and/or stop by your office to talk about how to deal with the virus that took over their home PC or the wireless router that stopped working after the last power outage and to ask you how to put their photos and videos on the Web so their grandparents in Iowa can view them. Some of them might even ask you if they can bring their home PC to the office for you to fix it. The polite ones will offer to pay you, but some of them will just hope or expect you can help them for free. Helping these folks can be very rewarding, but you have to be careful about where to draw the line and know when to decline. For help, take a look at TechRepublic’s free download “Ten ways to decline a request for free tech support.”


5.) Vendors and consultants will take all the credit when things work well and will blame you when things go wrong
Working with IT consultants is an important part of the job and can be one of the more challenging things to manage. Consultants bring niche expertise to help you deploy specialized systems, and when everything works right, it’s a great partnership. But you have to be careful. When things go wrong, some consultants will try to push the blame off on you by arguing that their solution works great everywhere else so it must be a problem with the local IT infrastructure. Conversely, when a project is wildly successful, there are consultants who will try to take all of the credit and ignore the substantial work you did to customize and implement the solution for your company.


4.) You’ll spend far more time babysitting old technologies than implementing new ones
One of the most attractive things about working in IT is the idea that we’ll get to play with the latest cutting edge technologies. However, that’s not usually the case in most IT jobs. The truth is that IT professionals typically spend far more time maintaining, babysitting, and nursing established technologies than implementing new ones. Even IT consultants, who work with more of the latest and greatest technologies, still tend to work primarily with established, proven solutions rather than the real cutting edge stuff.


3.) Veteran IT professionals are often the biggest roadblock to implementing new technologies
A lot of companies could implement more cutting edge stuff than they do. There are plenty of times when upgrading or replacing software or infrastructure can potentially save money and/or increase productivity and profitability. However, it’s often the case that one of the largest roadblocks to migrating to new technologies is not budget constraints or management objections; it’s the veteran techies in the IT department. Once they have something up and running, they are reluctant to change it. This can be a good thing because their jobs depend on keeping the infrastructure stable, but they also use that as an excuse to not spend the time to learn new things or stretch themselves in new directions. They get lazy, complacent, and self-satisfied.


2.) Some IT professionals deploy technologies that do more to consolidate their own power than to help the business
Another subtle but blameworthy thing that some IT professionals do is select and implement technologies based on how well those technologies make the business dependent on the IT pros to run them, rather than which ones are truly best for the business itself. For example, IT pros might select a solution that requires specialized skills to maintain instead of a more turnkey solution. Or an IT manager might have more of a Linux/UNIX background and so chooses a Linux-based solution over a Windows solution, even though the Windows solution is a better business decision (or, vice versa, a Windows admin might bypass a Linux-based appliance, for example). There are often excuses and justifications given for this type of behavior, but most of them are disingenuous.


1.) IT pros frequently use jargon to confuse nontechnical business managers and hide the fact that they screwed up
All IT pros — even the very best — screw things up once in a while. This is a profession where a lot is at stake and the systems that are being managed are complex and often difficult to integrate. However, not all IT pros are good at admitting when they make a mistake. Many of them take advantage of the fact that business managers (and even some high-level technical managers) don’t have a good understanding of technology, and so the techies will use jargon to confuse them (and cover up the truth) when explaining why a problem or an outage occurred. For example, to tell a business manager why a financial application went down for three hours, the techie might say, “We had a blue screen of death on the SQL Server that runs that app. Damn Microsoft!” What the techie would fail to mention was that the BSOD was caused by a driver update he applied to the server without first testing it on a staging machine.


Jason Hiner is the Editor in Chief of TechRepublic and an award-winning journalist. He examines the latest trends and asks the big questions about the technology industry. You can also find him on Twitter, LinkedIn and at JasonHiner.com.


© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Colombia: Cloud of Scandal Haunts Uribe's Legacy

Tomado de: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2035765,00.html
Autor: John Otis
When he stepped down in August after eight years as Colombia's President, Alvaro Uribe gave up the keys to the national palace, the private jet and the other perks of high office. But Uribe also surrendered his Teflon coating.

Uribe is hailed as a modern-day savior by many Colombians for orchestrating a military offensive that severely weakened Marxist rebels, making the country much safer and opening the door to an economic revival. Screwups — and there were many — were forgiven and forgotten. Had he not been banned by the Constitution from running in this year's presidential election, Uribe would likely have breezed to a third term. He bowed out with an 80% job approval rating.

But sans presidential sash and the aura it conveyed, Uribe has been scampering to defend himself and former aides amid accusations of skullduggery reminiscent of Watergate. Allegations include illegal payoffs, wiretapping and campaign-finance shenanigans. Several members of Uribe's inner circle could end up behind bars if convicted on charges based on the allegations. The former President further stained his image last month when he helped convince the Panamanian government to grant political asylum to his former intelligence chief, María del Pilar Hurtado, who was to be a key witness in the most serious scandal of the Uribe years.

During Uribe's second term, Hurtado briefly headed Colombia's version of the FBI, known as the DAS. In 2009, DAS agents were caught eavesdropping on opposition politicians, journalists, human-rights activists and, incredibly, Supreme Court justices. Uribe's greasing the skids for Hurtado's getaway prompted howls of protest. Jaime Arrubla, the president of Colombia's Supreme Court and one of the people spied upon, rightly noted that political asylum is supposed to protect "people facing political persecution, not the persecutors themselves."

Amid the prospect of indictments and trials, hard-line Uribistas in Bogotá are setting up a legal-defense foundation. "The idea is to raise money to pay the legal bills of former government officials, which will cost a lot," said Rodrigo Noguera, one of the organizers.

Uribe can't even escape controversy in Washington — he was met by street protesters on his first day of class at Georgetown University, where he is a distinguished scholar on the practice of global leadership.

First elected in 2002, Uribe quickly secured congressional approval of a Constitutional amendment that paved the way for him to win a second four-year term in 2006. But the support of fence-sitting lawmakers may have been obtained through offers of government jobs and other benefits. Two legislators were convicted of receiving payoffs, while two of Uribe's former ministers are now under investigation for bribery. One of them, former Interior and Justice Minister Sabas Pretelt de la Vega, recently sought — and was denied — political asylum in Costa Rica. Like former DAS director Hurtado, Pretelt de la Vega has denied any wrongdoing. But both sought political asylum claiming that they would not receive fair trials in Colombia.

Far more troubling is the DAS eavesdropping, a scandal that might have brought down a President less revered than Uribe. True, the intelligence agency was plagued by problems long before Uribe was sworn in. Last month, a former DAS chief was indicted for his alleged role in the 1989 assassination of front-running presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán. But under Uribe, the agency seemed firmly embedded on the dark side. In fact, Uribe's first handpicked DAS director currently faces criminal charges that he colluded with paramilitary death squads to murder union activists.

Besides monitoring Uribe's political opponents, the DAS targeted the Supreme Court. At the time, the court was investigating dozens of pro-Uribe lawmakers, including the former President's cousin, for their financial and political links to paramilitaries. Uribe apparently thought the court was out to get him and the ensuing surveillance campaign seemed designed to dig up dirt and discredit its magistrates. In one episode, a DAS agent convinced a cleaning lady to place a tiny tape recorder in the main court chambers, which allowed the DAS to monitor the judges as they discussed criminal accusations against Uribe's allies.

Speaking on Colombian radio last week, Uribe denied any wrongdoing and blamed the turmoil on unnamed "enemies" of his government. "No one can say that I ever gave any illegal orders," he added. Still, the DAS answers directly to the President, while former DAS agents have testified that the information on the Supreme Court was requested by and sent to the presidential palace.

Former officials under investigation include Bernardo Moreno, Uribe's loyal chief of staff, who noted that his dealings with the DAS "were always carried out with the knowledge of the President." In October, strong evidence of Moreno's involvement in the conspiracy prompted Colombia's Inspector General — an independent figure who monitors government malfeasance — to ban him from holding public office for 18 years.

According to an October 2009 cable sent by then U.S. ambassador William Brownfield and revealed by WikiLeaks, Colombia's National Police commander suspected that Moreno and another top Uribe aide, José Obdulio Gaviria, had ordered the illegal surveillance campaign. Brownfield noted that the police chief, General Oscar Naranjo, was speculating but called him the best-informed member of the Uribe government, and said his analysis "has a pretty good track record for success."

Uribe has also been knocked back on his heels by sensational revelations of corruption in government agencies under his command since 2002. For example, the government land-reform agency turned over properties meant for landless peasants to front men for drug lords and paramilitaries. Flower growers received millions in government credits, then donated large sums to the 2010 presidential campaign of Uribe's favored candidate. Then there's the National Narcotics Department, whose employees were caught doling out assets seized from drug traffickers to friends and colleagues. "It's a mess," said Juan Carlos Restrepo, the department's new director and designated cleanup man. "For some seized properties, there's no documentation. In other cases, you can find the documents, but there's no sign of the property."

Through it all, Uribe continues to enjoy wide popular support. He's even contemplating a run next year for mayor of Bogotá, the country's second most powerful political post. Yet, the dirty laundry now emerging raises serious questions about Uribe's performance in the top job. "These were Uribe's people, and he bears political responsibility for what happened," said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. "His record is going to be sullied by these scandals." The downward reassessment has already begun. In a recent survey of 42 Colombian Presidents by the newsmagazine Semana, Uribe ranked a middling No. 20.

© 2010 Time Inc. All rights reserved

It's good to be a PMP

It's good to be a PMP, originalmente cargada por Germán Largo Urrea.

after so much work, and so much reading, finally I passed the PMP exam

Project Management: Death by deliverables

Tomado de: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/tech-manager/?p=4837
Autor: Patrick Gray
Spend about four minutes with an IT project team and you will likely hear several references to a “deliverable” of some sort. Conceived in the pre-technology “dark days” of projects that involved huge folders filled with reams of charts, tables and pencil scratching that were eventually “delivered” to someone, they have become the standard tool for tracking a project’s progress. A “deliverable” in its most noble form advances a business objective of the project, or represents a physical output from the project that furthers the company’s objectives and delivers monetary value to the organization. Where deliverables go wrong is when they become disconnected from the actual business objectives of the project, and morph into an end in themselves.

Deliverables aren’t cheap
Distilled to their essence, a deliverable should be regarded like any other output of your company. They have cost associated to their generation, and should have a corresponding, quantifiable benefit. They must also advance the project towards its ultimate objectives and the corresponding returns associated with completing the project. While any process has some “supporting” steps that do not directly generate value, astute organizations keep these supporting steps to an absolute minimum. Sadly, many organizations that are quite effective in delivering efficient and cost-effective ongoing operations fall flat in a project environment. Often a key contributor to this project malaise is “death by deliverables.”

Projects can become obsessively focused on deliverables rather than the end game. Hoards of otherwise intelligent people scramble around leaving a wake of PowerPoints and spreadsheets analyzing deliverable completion rates every which way, focusing all attention on supporting documentation, rather than the end game: a successful project that meets its objectives. Traditional project management techniques, unless executed flawlessly tend to shift the focus away from the business objectives of the project as well, chopping the effort into phases and tasks, and focusing on completing tasks in sequence rather than completing tasks that will deliver the maximum amount of organizational value. CIOs and line managers become focused on the percentages tied to each phase, forgetting the fact that each number is based solely on the task and time to complete, not organizational value.

In the worst case, you can end up with one of the most frustrating possible outcomes to a long IT project: an effort that meets its timeline and cost goals, but delivers and output that misses the business objectives. Usually these projects either require huge rework, or deliver a system or process that few embrace, and that eventually languishes until it is eventually “unplugged” due to disuse.

Avoiding the Grim Reaper
How does one avoid this death by deliverables? Distill your project into several critical success factors, each with a measurable value to the company. Much of this work should already have been done, and is sitting in that business justification document collecting dust on a forgotten shelf. These success factors might revolve around a few key processes, or an ability to complete a business transaction with a certain level or quality and speed.

If you were able to justify the project as a whole based on some business benefit, you should be able to distill that benefit into component parts. For example if you are implementing a CRM solution with $10M in benefit, and one of the key features is enhanced reporting to sales managers, some element of the $10M should be tied to this reporting. Link each deliverable to one of these critical success factors rather than focusing on the different types of deliverables in an aggregate state. “83% of all functional specifications complete” paints a far different picture than “14% of work required for $1.9M organizational value complete.” Key to this is determining how to benchmark what portion of this value has been realized, usually through demonstrations to key stakeholders or successfully testing functionality that ties to each business objective.

Focusing on the end game and the critical factors to get there also maintains momentum throughout the project team. Rather than pushing to get a deliverable done, which may add zero value to the organization save for checking a box in someone’s plan, the team focuses on objectives that provide true, measurable monetary value to the company.

Tracking the project based on value also helps prevent eleventh hour meetings, where the CIO gets the bad news that the project requires another extension and yet another injection of funding. It’s all too easy for a project to look like it’s on track when counting deliverables, since they lack the connection to the overall value of the project. You can’t hide the fact that key contributors to organizational value are not being delivered, but you can bury project status under bullet points proclaiming “99% of all documentation complete!” Imagine a builder measuring the status of project to build a house based on tasks rather than value. He could report impressive sounding statistics like “93% of all nails hammered” and “100% of planning phases completed” without having completed anything that even vaguely resembles a livable house.

Patrick Gray is the founder and president of Prevoyance Group, and author of Breakthrough IT: Supercharging Organizational Value through Technology. Prevoyance Group provides strategic IT consulting services to Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. Patrick can be reached at patrick.gray@prevoyancegroup.com
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Car or computer? How transport is becoming more connected

Tomado de: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11832473?OCID=spttb

Autor: Kabir Chibber

 

Fiat is using software that tells drivers how to make better, and more fuel efficient, choices behind the wheel

 

While few would blink any more at the sight of a Mini Cooper alongside their own vehicle, some may have noticed a few of their models out and about at the moment that are strangely quiet.

And their silence masks some heavy-duty engineering under the bonnet. 

They are among the 612 Mini E cars being trialled in the US, UK and Germany since 2009.

These plug-in electric models are leased to customers, and BMW - the owner of the Mini - is monitoring every aspect of the cars' use, in almost every scenario, as they are put through their paces. The amount of data that can now be collected about how drivers use their cars is unprecedented. And the impact of so much information is potentially huge.

Imagine having your car post MoT reminders to your social networks, or share your location with friends, or prove that you were not responsible for an accident. 

Behaviour changing
A British company, Riversimple, has designed a range of tiny hydrogen-powered cars, which it will roll out in Leicester in 2012.

They will collect every minute detail about how the cars are used. If the pilot goes well, they are already discussing ways of connecting the cars to social media, and sharing data about how the cars are used.
"Drivers could play games to see who is driving the most efficiently," says Rosie Reeves, Riversimple's sustainability officer.

Italian carmaker Fiat has been compiling data from the Blue&Me navigation systems installed on many of its cars over a six-month period. It may be the largest such data harvest done by a major carmaker. 

"We can extract a number of data - on how the pedals are used, petrol consumption, braking," says Candido Peterlini, vice-president for product development at Fiat. It developed eco:Drive from the data collected from 420,000 car journeys of 5,700 drivers in five countries.
Cars with this function allow the driver to download data about their journeys to a USB stick, which they can plug into their home computer.

It will tell them how to improve their driving - for example, by changing gears less.
Mr Peterlini says the plan is to make this response instant soon, via the on-board computer - so that a driver gets told how to improve their driving while they are cruising through town - and then integrate it into live traffic maps.

"The plan is to tell you the most eco way to drive, by changing your behaviour, taking in traffic conditions and the structure of the road" such as how steep it is, Mr Peterlini says.
It is not hard to see a future where the on-board computers get ever more sophisticated - such as personal profiles for a car, so the car's settings are individualised for each family member.

The computer would adjust the seats, music, the suspension between sports and comfort mode, depending on which family member was using the car.

All while telling each one how to be a better - and more fuel-efficient - driver.

Fiat's data found that the British, for example, use the least fuel when driving and the Spanish use the most in Europe, whilst Spaniards also have the least efficient traffic system. 

Electric models
Increased data collection also tells us a lot about different drivers and how they use the cars.
With the introduction of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf to car lots, the electric car is poised to go mainstream very soon.

BMW's tests of the Mini E have found most people think they use their cars far more than they do.
According to the people behind the Mini E tests, the average daily car journey in the UK is 22.8 miles. Drivers of the Mini E used theirs for 26.7 miles, fractionally less than conventional petrol Mini Cooper drivers.

People also think they will have to charge the car every day, when in reality they charge them every two or three days.
"It's a misnomer that we're going to have to adapt our driving to electric vehicles," says Suzanne Gray, Mini E's UK project manager.

Soon, many of the Mini Es will be reallocated to new trials in France, China and Japan.
Carmakers are preparing for a world where not only are cars collecting data about you, but they are sharing it with each other.
"We are aware of this constantly increasing computing power in cars," Ms Gray says. "The degree of connectivity and the degree that we will be able to share information - it will jump to a whole new level."

Other uses
And this is not just for cars. All forms of transport are become increasingly interconnected.

 

Riversimple will roll out a series of hydrogen cars in Leicester in two years

 

For example, a group of students at MIT recently caught the attention of British inventor James Dyson with the Copenhagen Wheel.

It is a sleek red disc that attaches to the back wheel of a bike, which captures energy lost during braking and turns into an electric motor for steep climbs.
It also includes location-based software to log information about the bike ride, plan routes and even connect with other cyclists. 

An Italian firm, Octo Telematics, installs boxes on-board cars that allow insurers to price the costs of journeys, as well as perform diagnostics on the cars.
It now has a million total subscribers, and illustrates the potential for real-time insurance on car journeys to be integrated into the build of cars. 

Tube planner
Public transport is also being revolutionised. One of Boris Johnson's priorities when he was elected London mayor was to open up the city's data to developers.

The result, the London Datastore, contains information on all sorts of factors of city life - fires, crime rates, school truancy, recycling rates and so on.

 

Many smartphone apps, like this one, show live information for London's cycle hire scheme

 

As a result, there have been many new smartphone apps, especially around the popular "Boris bike" cycle hire scheme. Most show available bikes near to you on a map.

"There are apps which feed to the traffic camera data so you can see if the road is clear before you set out on your journey and check along the way, there are interactive maps showing carbon emissions in London," says Anthony Browne, the mayor's adviser for economic development.
Other apps show live boards for the London Underground, live road cams and other features that make public transport more convenient.

Like Riversimple, Mr Browne anticipates greater social use of the data as developers use it in ever more sophisticated ways.
"We anticipate a growth in the integration of data into gaming, particularly looking at transport," he says.
"In particular for use in commuting games, or games that encourage people to use public transport more, or indeed walk or cycle more."

BBC © MMX

La diferencia entre un amigo y un amigo antioqueño

Un amigo es alguien que nunca te pide comida…
Un amigo Antioqueño es la razón por la que organizás una comida.

Un amigo te pregunta ¿cómo estás?…
Un amigo Antioqueño te dice que te ves bien y te abraza

Un amigo llama a tus padres señor y señora…
Un amigo Antioqueño le dice a tus padres "mi viejo" y "mi vieja…"

Un amigo puede que nunca te haya visto llorar…
Un amigo Antioqueño ha llorado con vos, por cualquier cosa.

Un amigo te manda flores y una tarjeta cuando estás internado en el hospital.
Un amigo Antioqueño se queda a dormir en una silla, al lado tuyo.

Un amigo te pide algo prestado y te lo devuelve a los dos días…
Un amigo Antioqueño te pide algo prestado y a la semana se le olvida que no es suyo.

Un amigo te ofrece el sofá para que durmás.
Un amigo Antioqueño te brinda su cama, se acuesta en el suelo... y no te deja dormir en toooooda la noche conversando con vos.

Un amigo sabe unas cuantas cosas acerca de vos…
Un amigo Antioqueño podría escribir un libro con las cosas que le has contado de vos mismo.

Un amigo te lleva 'Resprín' cuando estás resfriado.
Un amigo Antioqueño te hace una aguasal de huevos y los remedios que le enseñó su abuela. Y puede que hasta te haga 'el avión' con la cuchara, para que te tomés la sopa.

Un amigo toca a tu puerta para que le abrás…
Un amigo Antioqueño abre la puerta, entra y después te dice: ¡Llegué!

Un amigo te pide que le hagás un café.
Un amigo Antioqueño pasa para la cocina y monta la cafetera y hasta le pide azúcar a una vecina si no tenés.

Un amigo puede serlo por un tiempo…
Un amigo Antioqueño es para toda la vida.

Un amigo ignoraría este correo...

Pero si eres Antioqueño o tienes un amigo Antioqueño se lo pasarás a todos tus amigos pues te sentirás orgulloso de los amigos Antioqueños...

Are you doing your whole job, really?

Tomado de: http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/career/?p=2575

Autor: Toni Bowers

In today’s blog I’d like to talk about a somewhat squishy topic that was utmost in my mind recently during a personal event. That topic is empathy on the job, or, rather, lack thereof.

Here’s the story briefly: My father went to his family doctor on a Monday about a breathing problem. Since it had been three years since the last battery of tests he’d had, his doctor decided to admit him into the hospital overnight for more tests. So they run the tests that night, up until 12:30 the next morning. They tested parts of his body he didn’t even know he still had.

Then we waited. All the next day, and most of the next. Because it is the law of the land, only the admitting doctor can sign the discharge papers. Despite having been paged the second night and half of the third day, the doctor did not see fit to come by.

Now, my dad doesn’t complain. This man wouldn’t complain if you were repeatedly striking him in the head with a ball peen hammer. But he had convinced himself that he had some terminal illness and they were waiting to break the news to him. We were all held hostage as we waited minute to minute for the doctor, afraid if we left the room she’d come by.

So at one point, my frustration took over and I took some alternative channels to get the doctor’s attention. She finally came in late on the third day, not very happy, told my dad that he was in perfect health except for some allergies. Then she signed the papers and breezed out.

Now, I use that extreme example to illustrate what can happen when those in the business of serving others fail to put themselves in the shoes of their customers (or, in our case, patients). Maybe you don’t have a scared old man waiting on you, but your end-users have a dependence on you to do ALL of your job. Technical expertise is marvelous but if it stops there–if there is no consideration of the person receiving the benefit of that expertise–then what’s the point?

For the IT pro: Accountants can’t do reports if the tool you’ve created for them doesn’t operate the way they need it to, so your actions are holding up a part of their lives. If a tool you’ve created for an end-user takes three times longer than it should because you didn’t really take the user’s needs in mind when creating it, then that’s a problem. The slickest tool in the world is worthless unless it can be used for its intended need. By failing to deliver that, you’re not doing all of your job, which is delivering a product that the customer can use.

This need for consideration is true even if it’s a matter of completing your part of a project before the next person in line has to do his. A lot of people think, “So what if I miss my deadline by a day or two?” It’s a big deal because you can rest assured that someone further down the line, closer to the final deadline, will bear the brunt of those missed interim milestones. You are working with people (who are affected by what you do or don’t do) and not some vague concept of “them.”

© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.

Bees or Beetles

Tomado de: http://cmsms.schoenstatt.de/en/resources/periodicals/virtual-retreat.htm
Autor: Father Nicolas Schwizer

Indulgence (leniency/pardon) is a virtue of great importance, but very difficult for life in community. Leniency with the faults of brothers /sisters, translates into forgiving faults, expiating them, understanding them, ignoring them. Father Kentenich, the founder of the Schoenstatt Movement, explains: “the community is not only condensed grace, it is also condensed original sin. Thus Christian reality tells us that human groups are not only a “community of saints,” but also “a community of sinners.”

And when I find out about the fault of a brother or sister, the temptation to criticize him/her right away or in an unbecoming manner (behind his/her back) is very great. It is at this time that we have to guard our tongue. If you want to examine whether you have taken love seriously among you, you can verify it with this point. And we have the criteria when it has to do with criticizing a brother /sister who is absent:

 1. Behind his/her back, I only say that which I would also say in his/her presence.

2. Behind his/her back, I only say that which I would want said about me in a similar case.

 Now, how should I act, how should I conduct myself when I discover faults and weaknesses in my brothers / sisters? Father Kentenich proposes two attitudes and a practical method.

Which are those two attitudes?

1. We have to consider human miseries as something evident because we are all beings laden with the rubble of original sin. We should not and we cannot ever forget this. It is natural for me to have faults. It is also natural for my brothers / sisters to also have faults. And just as I have to daily endure my own defects and limitations, in like manner I must also endure the weaknesses of others.

2. Thus being the situation of men and women, we should, in the second place, approach the brother/ sister who errs with much benevolence. None of us is a judge, neither of the living nor the dead.

 Benevolence is “a certain cover up which seems to not see certain obvious deficiencies.” It is the opposite of “that sad shrewdness which some have to see hidden defects.” Benevolence also presupposes a certain ingenuity to discover the gold in each one. And, in each one of us there are many gold bars. We only need a sense for discovering the good in the brother/sister.

Then Father Kentenich makes a comparison: we should not be like the beetle. The beetle can pass over the richest and most delicious foods, but they are of no interest. The beetle only seeks what is rotten and decomposed. We should be like the bee. She goes everywhere, but only stops at the nectar.

The practical method when I discover a defect in a brother or sister

1. I should ask myself: do I perhaps not have the same defect? And many times I will have to answer that I do have it. Perhaps it manifests itself in a different way. Or perhaps I do not have the same fault, but I must acknowledge that I have other faults and perhaps even greater than that of my brother/sister.

 2. Secondly, instead of calling it to the attention of the brother/sister, I should try to conquer that defect in myself. I should strive in that area, at least for a while.

After complying with those two conditions, I can talk to my brother/sister and tell him/her my criticism. I will be able to be more objective and the way in which I call it to his/her attention will necessarily be more careful, softer and more dignified.

Questions for reflection

1. Do we have the mentality of a beetle or a bee?
2. Do I speak in the absence of others?
3. Is it easy for me to see the positive in others?

---

If you wish to subscribe, comment on the text or give your testimony, write to: pn.reflexiones@gmail.com
Translation: Carlos Cantú Schoenstatt Family Federation La Feria, Texas USA 101410.
http://cmsms.schoenstatt.de/en/resources/periodicals/virtual-retreat.htm

Ellison: Oracle Has $4 Billion Case Against SAP

Tomado de: http://www.newsfactor.com/story.xhtml?story_id=023002AKJWTF

Autor: Jordan Robertson

The courtroom fight between SAP and Oracle, two of the world's biggest business-software makers, is shifting into high gear. The companies are fighting over how much SAP should pay to atone for the shady tactics of now-shuttered support subsidiary TomorrowNow. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's testimony injected some drama into the trial.

Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison turned up the pressure in an industrial espionage trial Monday by testifying that archenemy SAP Relevant Products/Services AG should have paid $4 billion for licenses to Oracle software.

SAP and Oracle, two of the world's biggest business-software makers, are fighting over how much SAP should pay to atone for the shady tactics of a now-shuttered software support subsidiary called TomorrowNow.

SAP has already admitted to bad behavior. It acknowledged that TomorrowNow stole customer Relevant Products/Services support documents from Oracle password-protected Web sites and used them to steal business from Oracle by offering similar services at a cheaper price.

Oracle has said that it is owed billions for the value of the intellectual property that was taken from it. Ellison's $4 billion estimate concerned the amount of money SAP would have paid for the appropriate licenses to Oracle's software, under certain conditions.

SAP claims TomorrowNow wasn't that effective at stealing customers, and it should only have to pay $40 million for Oracle accounts it did manage to lure away.

The trial, in its second week in federal court, offers a rare look at the corners big companies might be tempted to cut in the battle for new business.

It is also as much a public relations bonanza for Oracle as it is an attempt to recover damages, since Oracle gets to pillory two rivals at once: SAP and Hewlett-Packard Co.

The conflict with SAP has grown as Oracle has moved beyond its core business of selling database software and into SAP's stronghold of applications that help companies manage payroll, human resources and other tasks.

The issue with HP Relevant Products/Services stems from Oracle's decision to start selling computer servers, an HP mainstay. Also, Ellison has taken HP to task for hiring Leo Apotheker, SAP's former CEO, as HP's new CEO. Apotheker is replacing Ellison's friend and tennis buddy Mark Hurd, who was ousted as HP's CEO over expense-report lapses. Ellison has since hired Hurd to serve as an Oracle co-president.

Apotheker may not wind up testifying live about his role in the TomorrowNow espionage.

Oracle has tried to force him to appear in court but says HP has refused the subpoena. Apotheker has proven so elusive that Oracle has hired investigators to try to track him down and serve him with the subpoena if he appears within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the federal courthouse in Oakland, which includes HP's headquarters in Palo Alto.

If Apotheker stays out of range, Oracle can't force him to testify.

HP accuses Oracle of harassing its new executive and says Oracle had ample time to question Apotheker during an earlier sworn deposition. If Apotheker doesn't appear, Oracle could play the videotaped testimony.

Ellison's testimony injected some celebrity drama into the trial. Although he is known for trash-talking against rivals, his courtroom appearance was devoid of theatrics, and he didn't give any public comments afterward.

Ellison testified that he was deeply worried that his company would bleed customers because of what seemed like SAP's masterstroke of an acquisition of TomorrowNow in 2005. Ellison called the TomorrowNow deal a "brilliant idea" that posed a "grave risk" to Oracle because of its ability to let SAP steal business, even without the theft of Oracle's documents.

The extent of those fears, and how they squared with the amount of business SAP actually poached, consumed most of his hourlong testimony.

Lawyers from Oracle and SAP questioned Ellison on his initial fears that Oracle could lose as much as 30 percent of the customer contracts it got as part of its $10.3 billion acquisition of PeopleSoft in 2005.

That deal sparked SAP's interest in TomorrowNow, since TomorrowNow supported PeopleSoft software.

SAP insists that it owes far less than Oracle is demanding because TomorrowNow stole far fewer customers than Oracle thought it would. SAP's lawyers have repeatedly cited SAP's claim that TomorrowNow stole only 358 Oracle customers, out of the thousands that came to Oracle through the acquisition.

© 2010 Associated Press under contract with YellowBrix. All rights reserved

© Copyright 2000-2010 NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved.

Colombian domain challenges .com

Tomado de: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11720728

A domain name owned by the Colombian government is proving popular in the increasingly crowded space of web addresses.

The .co web address was assigned to Colombia by net regulator Icann but is now being run by a private firm.

Since being launched in July, the .co domain name has attracted nearly 600,000 registrations and is being seen as a challenger to .com.

It comes ahead of a big shake-up in the way web addresses are assigned.

It has taken the Colombian government 10 years to get its domain name up and running on a commercial basis.

Originally the .co address was administered by the University of the Andes in Bogota.

The university recognised the potential of the name but the commercial roll-out never got off the ground.

"It has been a long process of creating the laws and procurement process," said Juan Diego Calle, chief executive of the .co registry.

A quarter of the revenue the registry makes from .co will go to the Colombian government.

Mr Calle is hoping the name can compete with the dominance of .com.

"We are going for a global audience and in three to five years we hope to have three to five million registrations.

"The average person can try up to 20 times to register a domain and companies are starting to come up with long and silly urls," he said.

So far, 38% of firms registering for a .co domain are in the US, with 20% in Europe, the majority of these from the UK.

For countries lucky enough to have a domain name with a meaning beyond their own borders - such as the tiny South Pacific island of Tuvalu (.tv), domain names can be a rich income source.

The .tv web address has proved a hit with the broadcast industry, while Montenegro's me has appeal to the social networking generation.

The .co landgrab could be one of the last before Icann overhauls the way net addresses are assigned.

Next year the body is due to open up the system so that companies and individuals can register any name they want.

Mr Calle does not think it will impact the success of .co.

"You need technology resources to manage a domain name. Running a domain registry costs millions," he said.

The deregulation of web addresses will show that net names can go beyond the established names, he thinks.

"It will help educate consumers that you can type .co into a browser and get a valid website," he said.

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