Don MacVittie

Throughout history there has been a cycle that ebbs and flows where new technology makes production more efficient and reduces the need for manpower in a particular space, thus forcing those in charge into the difficult position of deciding who stays and who goes. This is normally replaced by an uptake in needs for employees elsewhere, and eventually by expansion of the original vertical market, a return to labor-heavy workloads. This cycle has existed (in a variety of forms) for ages. With a crossbow, less skill and more bodies were needed to field an army. With early guns, more skill and less bodies were needed. The cycle goes around again. The same is true of any marketplace where technology can help improve efficiencies. In the case of farming, fewer small farms and an increasing number of massive farms with staff no larger than the small farms whose land the la... (more)

Blitzkrieg and VDI Edge Protection

By now, everyone even vaguely familiar with information security knows the military maxim of blitzkrieg – burst through the hardened defense at a single point and then rush pell-mell to the rear where the soft underbelly of any static army lies. It is a good military strategy, provided you have the resources to break through the defenses and follow up with a rapid advance into the rear areas. While there are variants of this plan, and a lot of discussion about how/when it is strategically worth the risk, historically speaking it has been a smashing success. Germany did it to Fran... (more)

From Point A to Point B

The complexities of life often escape a young child. The Little Man asked me the other day why I had to go work, which was both a compliment to wanting to spend time with me and an unintended backhand slap at Lori, who was going to hang out with him while I took care of business. The answer was the usual stuff, that working paid the bills, and work has its own rewards… It did not include “and I like my job”, though I do, simply because I didn’t want to imply “more than hanging out with you” to a three year old. But children boil everything down to simplicity. The picture over ther... (more)

Multiple Stream Protocols, eBooks, And You.

EBook readers are an astounding thing, if you really stop and think about it. Prior to their creation, how could you reasonably have hundreds or thousands of books in one place, all the notes you took and highlighting you wanted to do, and your current page in each book all stored together in one easy to use place? We have a room that is a library. It has shelf upon shelf of books. We have other bookshelves throughout our house with more books. And do you think where you last left off in those books is remembered? Sure, some of them will retain bookmarks, but not automatically, y... (more)

Committing to Overhead: Proceed with Caution

Back when SaaS was making its debut in the enterprise, I was a mid-level IT manager with a boss that was smart. It was a great experience working for him overall, and if not for external pressures, I might still be working on his team. One of the SaaS conversations we had was pretty relevant to today’s rush to public cloud. He looked around the room and asked “Why are we getting rid of our mainframes?” There was the standard joking about old dogs and new tricks, and then the more serious cost analysis. Finally he said “No, we’re getting rid of our mainframes because a couple of ... (more)