Mr. Dimpz Blog

wow..atlast i finish all my assignments and projects for this semester..

congrats to me..wahahahaha

job well done..

OCTOBER 1, 2009

Submission of our major paper INFORMATION SYSTEMS NEEDS ASSESSMENT.

gudluck to all of us..

SEPTEMBER 30, 2009

THIS IS THE DAY!

No class for today…its family day! Yey!...
So glad there was no class for today, because today is the last day to finalize and finish our ISNA major paper.

Last day we decided to meet in the house of jealou in the morning to continue making the parameters, SWOT, and STEEP analysis of our paper.
Around 5pm we still haven’t finished the recommendation, implementation plan, and projected cost so we resolved that they stay for the overnight to finish everything.
It was almost 2am when the Information Systems Needs Assessment was done.
yes..atlast we've finish our project..tnx God.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2009

We successfully finished the first part of our ISNA.

Need more days to finish this project..

SEPTEMBER 29, 2009

We continued on our task and did some more research.
Furthermore we finished some part of our documentation and observation.

The parts we finished are:
• Flow Diagram of the Major Business Flow
• Matrix of the Functionality of the IS

We have one day left to finish our project..wew..
gudluck to all of us..

JULY 7, 2009

Macondray Plastics, Inc. and Ford Davao were approved today by our instructor to be our prospect companies for the ISNA.
Immediately we made the necessary request letters so that we can conduct our interview in those companies. The letter is needed to be signed by our instructor, college dean and the university’s OSS Director.


For the succeeding week we also started making the draft for our Gantt chart. Gantt chart serves as our guide for the activities and topics we will make in our ISNA.

Identify an information environment of your choice and write an essay to address the following questions: (3000 words)

• What should be your role within this environment?
• How can the principles of information organization and representation help you in performing this role?
• What are the challenges facing you in performing the role? How will you address these challenges?

Let’s define first what information environment is.

The information environment is the aggregate of individuals,
Organizations, and systems that collect, process, disseminate, or Act on information.
The information environment is where humans and automated systems observe, orient, decide, and act upon information, and is therefore the principal environment of decision making. Even though the information environment is considered distinct, it resides within each of the four domains. The information environment is made up of
Three interrelated dimensions: physical, informational, and Cognitive.

(1) The Physical Dimension. The physical dimension is composed of the command
and control (C2) systems, and supporting infrastructures that enable individuals and organizations
to conduct operations across the air, land, sea, and space domains. It is also the dimension where
physical platforms and the communications networks that connect them reside. This includes
the means of transmission, infrastructure, technologies, groups, and populations. Comparatively,
the elements of this dimension are the easiest to measure, and consequently, combat power has
traditionally been measured primarily in this dimension.

(2) The Informational Dimension. The informational dimension is where information is
collected, processed, stored, disseminated, displayed, and protected. It is the dimension where the C2
of modern military forces is communicated, and where commander’s intent is conveyed. It consists of
the content and flow of information. Consequently, it is the informational dimension that must be
protected.
(3) The Cognitive Dimension. The cognitive dimension encompasses the mind of
the decision maker and the target audience (TA). This is the dimension in which people think, perceive, visualize, and decide. It is the most important of the three dimensions. This dimension is also affected by a commander’s orders, training, and other personal motivations. Battles and campaigns can be lost in the cognitive dimension. Factors such as leadership, morale, unit cohesion, emotion, state of mind, level of training, experience, situational awareness, as well as public opinion, perceptions, media, public information, and rumors influence this dimension.

The information environment that I chose was the internet.

What is internet?
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies. The Internet carries a vast array of information resources and services, most notably the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail. In addition it supports popular services such as online chat, file transfer and file sharing, gaming, commerce, social networking, publishing, video on demand, and teleconferencing and telecommunications. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) applications allows person-to-person communication via voice and video.

The origins of the Internet reach back to the 1960s when the United States funded research projects of its military agencies to build robust, fault-tolerant and distributed computer networks. This research and a period of civilian funding of a new U.S. backbone by the National Science Foundation spawned worldwide participation in the development of new networking technologies and led to the commercialization of an international network in the mid 1990s, and resulted in the following popularization of countless applications in virtually every aspect of modern human life. As of 2009, an estimated quarter of Earth's population uses the services of the Internet.
The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in everyday speech without much distinction. However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global data communications system. It is a hardware and software infrastructure that provides connectivity between computers. In contrast, the Web is one of the services communicated via the Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and URLs.[1] The term the Internet, when referring to the Internet, has traditionally been treated as a proper noun and written with an initial capital letter. There is a trend to regard it as a generic term or common noun and thus write it as "the internet", without the capital.

• What should be your role within this environment?

My role in this information environment, as an IT student, I would rather be in the area that would really suit me and that would execute my skills and abilities. I think, I want to be a WEB DEVELOPER someday.ehehe
A web developer is a software developer or software engineer who is specifically engaged in the development of World Wide Web applications, or distributed network applications that are run over the HTTP protocol from a web server to a web browser.The Web Developer is responsible for developing and maintaining multiple company web sites.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

• Develop and maintain corporate web sites while working on a timeline.
• Assist with the planning, coordination, and execution of web related projects.
• Support social media, and social media programming.
• Work within a team of developers, graphic designers, copywriters and other creative staff.
• Track and monitor project progress and develop project work plans.
• Integrate multimedia, complex display systems and other hardware.
• Assist with the planning, coordination, and execution of the Global Finals event and other events
• Write reports, conduct research and compile information/data
• Assist IT Manager on Special Projects.
• Other duties as assigned
ESSENTIAL RESPONSIBILITIES
• This position requires a High level understanding of PHP, XHTML, XML, CSS, JavaScript, Linux, Apache, and MySQL
• A solid understanding of modern web based template systems including but not limited to Joomla, Drupal, Zen Cart, and Smarty Templates
• Ability to manipulate a web site’s template based on a graphics designers layout.
• Attention to detail, and professional demeanor (often under stressful circumstances)
• Ability to work within a team of programmers
• Bachelor’s Degree Computer Science or equivalent.
• Ability to work at an offsite company event (Tennessee) for a ten day period each May
• Ability to work at other offsite company events as business grows

Nature of employment

Web developers can be found working in all types of organizations, including large corporations and governments, small and medium sized companies, or alone as freelancers. Some web developers work for one organization as a permanent full-time employee, while others may work as independent consultants, or as contractors for an employment agency.

Educational and licensure requirements

There are no formal educational or licensure requirements to become a web developer. However, many colleges and trade schools offer coursework in web development. There are also many tutorials and articles, which teach web development, freely available on the web - for example: http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Basic_JavaScript
The Web Developer extension adds a menu and a toolbar to the browser with various web developer tools. It is designed for Firefox, Flock and Seamonkey, and will run on any platform that these browsers support including Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.

• How can the principles of information organization and representation help you in performing this role?

Modern web applications often contain three or more tiers, and depending on the size of the team a developer works on, he or she may specialize in one or more of these tiers - or may take a more interdisciplinary role. For example, in a two person team, one developer may focus on the technologies sent to the client such as HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and on the server-side frameworks (such as Perl, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, .NET) used to deliver content and scripts to the client. Meanwhile the other developer might focus on the interaction between server-side frameworks, the web server, and a database system. Further, depending on the size of their organization, the aforementioned developers might work closely with a web designer, web producer, project manager, software architect, or database administrator - or they may be responsible for such tasks as web design, project management, and database administration themselves.


• What are the challenges facing you in performing the role? How will you address these challenges?

When you are designing social media you are not building and designing a product in the typical sense of that word. You are really designing an infrastructure upon which social interaction, and eventually a community, can build. The affordances needed to "direct" and "control" the development of a community are very different from and much more subtle than typical single-user systems that (as designers, developers) know. Usually compare it metaphorically to a soap bubble: you can gently try to push it in a certain direction, but if if you push too hard, it'll burst. User-centered design takes on a whole new meaning when you are building social media and communities.

Designing for when there is "no there there." The users supply the content. However, the site needs to make sense and be compelling to those initial users who arrive when things are a bit sparse (otherwise you have no chance of it growing of course). In addition, a new user who joins the site (at any stage of that site's growth) should be able to understand how it works and see the site's value. They have to be motivated to do that initial work to become a part of the site before they've made a number of connections (or contributed content). Frequently Those two types of experiences are overlooked in favor of imagining every user experience being that of a long-time user on a mature site. But if those initial experiences aren't pleasant, the site won't ever reach that stage.





References:
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/dod/jp3_13.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_developer
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=challenges+in+web+development&page=1&qsrc=0&ab=3&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fanswers%2Ftechnology%2Fweb-development%2FTCH_WDD%2F103757-93094

Why outsource or in-source?

Let's define first the meaning of outsourcing and insourcing...

Outsourcing is subcontracting a service such as product design or manufacturing, to a third-party company.The decision to outsource is often made in the interest of lowering cost or making better use of time and energy costs, redirecting or conserving energy directed at the competencies of a particular business, or to make more efficient use of land, labor, capital, (information) technology and resources. Outsourcing became part of the business lexicon during the 1980s. It is essentially a division of labor.

Outsourcing in the information technology field has two meanings. One is to commission the development of an application to another organization, usually a company that specializes in the development of this type of application. The other is to hire the services of another company to manage all or parts of the services that otherwise would be rendered by an IT unit of the organization.

Outsourcing involves the transfer of the management and/or day-to-day execution of an entire business function to an external service provider.The client organization and the supplier enter into a contractual agreement that defines the transferred services. Under the agreement the supplier acquires the means of production in the form of a transfer of people, assets and other resources from the client. The client agrees to procure the services from the supplier for the term of the contract.

Outsourcing and offshoring are used interchangeably in public discourse despite important technical differences. Outsourcing involves contracting with a supplier, which may or may not involve some degree of offshoring. Offshoring is the transfer of an organizational function to another country, regardless of whether the work is outsourced or stays within the same corporation/company.


Reasons for outsourcing

Organizations that outsource are seeking to realize benefits or address the following issues:

Cost savings
The lowering of the overall cost of the service to the business. This will involve reducing the scope, defining quality levels, re-pricing, re-negotiation, cost re-structuring. Access to lower cost economies through offshoring called "labor arbitrage" generated by the wage gap between industrialized and developing nations.

Focus on Core Business
Resources (for example investment, people, infrastructure) are focused on developing the core business. For example often organizations outsource their IT support to specilaised IT services companies.

Cost restructuring
Operating leverage is a measure that compares fixed costs to variable costs. Outsourcing changes the balance of this ratio by offering a move from fixed to variable cost and also by making variable costs more predictable.

Improve quality
Achieve a step change in quality through contracting out the service with a new service level agreement.

Knowledge
Access to intellectual property and wider experience and knowledge.

Contract
Services will be provided to a legally binding contract with financial penalties and legal redress. This is not the case with internal services.

Operational expertise.
Access to operational best practice that would be too difficult or time consuming to develop in-house.

Access to talent
Access to a larger talent pool and a sustainable source of skills, in particular in science and engineering.

Capacity management
An improved method of capacity management of services and technology where the risk in providing the excess capacity is borne by the supplier.

Catalyst for change
An organization can use an outsourcing agreement as a catalyst for major step change that can not be achieved alone. The outsourcer becomes a Change agent in the process.

Enhance capacity for innovation
Companies increasingly use external knowledge service providers to supplement limited in-house capacity for product innovation.

Reduce time to market
The acceleration of the development or production of a product through the additional capability brought by the supplier.

Commodification
The trend of standardizing business processes, IT Services and application services enabling businesses to intelligently buy at the right price. Allows a wide range of businesses access to services previously only available to large corporations.

Risk management
An approach to risk management for some types of risks is to partner with an outsourcer who is better able to provide the mitigation.

Venture Capital
Some countries match government funds venture capital with private venture capital for startups that start businesses in their country.

Tax Benefit
Countries offer tax incentives to move manufacturing operations to counter high corporate taxes within another country.

To a layman, outsourcing would seem like a waste of time and money, as well as an unneeded complication. After all, why send business abroad when the work can probably be done better right at home? To a politician, the issue of outsourcing serves as a fortified objection to taking jobs away from ‘our own countrymen’. Sympathy towards this issue may elicit a few votes, but nothing more.

But to a businessman, outsourcing is a modern day boon. Outsourcing grants businesses the freedom to dump non – core, yet important sectors of its administration on companies specializing in those very individual aspects. Thus, leaving the businessman free to wholly concentrate on those areas of the company that bring in the real moolah.

The most enticing advantage of outsourcing is the cost effective factor. Human resource and IT services in the United States or Europe are not exactly inexpensive. Let’s avoid complicated business jargon and say that outsourcing is basically an option that offers these services at a much, much lower rate i.e., a cheap but highly productive mass work force. Let us take India as an exemplary illustration.

Thousands of highly intelligent people graduate in a variety of fields each year. Almost all of them speak English better than the English, and have dreams of making big money in a short period of time. The boom of BPO’s in the last 10 years has given them a chance to realize those dreams. It provides them with the opportunity to stay close to home and earn almost as much as they would if they took up a job abroad. On an average, an individual would earn $ 300 to $ 500 per month. A small sum to an American, but an Indian would be quite happy with that salary considering the conversion rate. It’s a win – win situation for your business as well as the company you’re outsourcing to.

There is no dearth of candidates willing to suffer incessant night shifts. Due to a constant effort of having to prove themselves, you can be assured of enhanced quality and productivity at all times. The company you outsource to will always be sure to reach your targets, deliver on time, ensure stringent security and maintain a level of productivity which won’t tempt you into taking your business elsewhere. Employees are regularly evaluated and terminated if found wanting in any aspect. The entire process of recruitment and the hassles involved with finding (and sustaining) the right person for the job is taken off your shoulders.

By 2006, in addition to human resources and IT services, companies that take on offshore contracts will also offer tax preparation and back office services. Hundreds of commerce students graduate in India each year and go on to become chartered accountants in a country where there is no dearth of them. Offering these services to countries abroad would be lucrative for both parties. The most advanced security procedures will be employed in this regard.

It all comes down to the money. Let’s face it; we live in a material world. And the technical term for material is moolah. So until the day the cons of outsourcing outweigh the monetary factors (read pros), outsourcing; as a legitimate and lucrative way to do business, is here to stay.


Advantages

* High strategic flexibility

* Low investment risk.

* Improved cash flow.

* Access to state-of-the-art


Disadvantages

* Possibility of choosing a bad supplier

* Loss of control over the process

* core technologies

* "Hollowing out" of the corporation products and services.



Insourcing is the opposite of outsourcing; that is insourcing (or contracting in) is often defined as the delegation of operations or jobs from production within a business to an internal (but 'stand-alone') entity that specializes in that operation. Insourcing is a business decision that is often made to maintain control of critical production or competencies. An alternate use of the term implies transferring jobs to within the country where the term is used, either by hiring local subcontractors or building a facility.
Insourcing is widely used in an area such as production to reduce costs of taxes, labor.
Insourcing is loosely referred in call centers who are doing the work of the outsourcing companies. Companies that outsource include Dell, Hewlett Packard, Symantec, and Linksys. The callcenters and technicians that are contracted to handle the outsourced work are usually over-seas. Customers may refer to these countries as "India" technical support if they are hard to understand over telecommunications. These insourcing companies were a great way to save money for the outsourcing of work, but quality varies, and poor performance has sometimes harmed the reputations of companies who provide 24/7 customer/technical support.

Insourcing gives a company a high degree of control over its operations, which is particularly desirable if the company owns proprietary designs or processes. Insourcing can also lower manufacturing costs, but only if a company enjoys the business volume necessary to achieve economies of scale. Unlike many smaller pharmaceutical firms, for instance, Merck is large enough to afford a sales force dedicated exclusively to selling only Merck products. Finally, insourcing encourages the development of core competencies.A major part of any business strategy development effort is identifying and building core competencies—organizational strengths or abilities, developed over a long period, that customers find valuable and competitors find difficult or even impossible to copy. Products or processes that could evolve into core competencies are prime candidates for insourcing.


Advantages

* High degree of control.
* Ability to oversee the entire process
* Economies of scale and/or scope.


Disadvantages

* Reduces strategic flexibility
* Requires high investment
* Potential suppliers may offer superior
products and services.


For me, I would suggest Outsource because it is tested and proven and it offers a lot of advantages.outsourcing allows your organization to contract with the other organization which is expert on the outsourced processes..

references:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insourcing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outsourcing
http://ezinearticles.com/?Advantages-of-Outsourcing&id=110032

ICT (Information and Communication Technologies)

ICT is all about the…
Computers ... The Internet ... Digital broadcasting ... Mobile phones ... e-Government ... Employment ... Telemedicine ... Online learning ... e-Commerce ... Entertainment ... and Cyberwar ...

The Information & Communication Technologies Group is one of the three academic groups within the Communication and Systems Department. ICT are now a crucial part of modern life. Almost everyone is affected by them, directly or indirectly. The ICT Group teaches and researches many aspects of these technologies. The group aim to foster knowledge and understanding of ICTs among Open University students and in the wider community. And the Group also encourages critical thinking about the use of ICTs and about their place in society.


The 3 areas related to ICT in SONA 2009

1.) “Sa telecommunications naman, inatasan ko ang Telecommunications Commission na kumilos na tungkol sa mga sumbong na dropped calls at mga nawawalang load sa cellphone. We need to amend the Commonwealth-era Public Service Law. And we need to do it now.”

As what I have read, the President made an appeal to revise the consumer laws because she wants the National Telecommunications Commission to act on the complaints against the dropped calls and the lost of cellphone loads of the consumers because they are the regulatory agency whose the one that ensures reliable, affordable and viable infrastructure and services in information and communications technology (ICT) accessible to all. So therefore, if there’s instances like having problems with this, they should take an action of it automatically, so that the consumers will no longer complain on them because we all know that loads, calls, and text messages are really important right now in our daily lives because it is really our means of communication nowadays, so we can’t ignore the problems, and should also for them too.



2.) “Kung noong nakaraan, lumakas ang electronics, today we are creating wealth by developing the BPO and tourism sectors as additional engines of growth. Electronics and other manufactured exports rise and fall in accordance with the state of the world economy. But BPO remains resilient. With earnings of $6 billion and employment of 600,000, the BPO phenomenon speaks eloquently of our competitiveness and productivity. Let us have a Department of ICT.”

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is delegation of one or more of non-core activities to an external service provider, who in turn will be responsible for managing and administering the selected process based on pre-defined and measurable performance criteria. It is played a very huge role in the local economy. That’s why the Pres. made her decision and call for the creation of DICT but it has been pending in Congress for the last five years though she has certified the bill as urgent. In connection with this, me as being an IT student and an IT professional someday, I am so excited about it because it would really give benefits to a lot of people here in the Phil. esp. us being an IT and a big help also in rural area. By this, there is a possibility that they can now use computers in there areas and that they cannot be behind already as well as they can now have possible job/work with this. So, I just hope that they will implement it sooner of what I have expected.



3.) “As the seeds of fundamental political reform are planted, let us address the highest exercise of democracy, voting! In 2001, I said we would finance fully automated elections. We got it, thanks to Congress.”

As what I have research, Angara whose the one filed a bill of the total amount of P11,301,790,000 (Eleven billion three hundred one million seven hundred ninety thousand pesos) supplemental appropriation for the use of an Automated Election System emphasized the need to finally automate our elections. P9,959,710,000 will go to the acquisition of machines for the 2010 automated national and local elections. Moreover, P1,342,080,000 will be allocated for the preparatory activities in relation to the conduct of 2010 automated elections. And it’s so good to hear this good news for us because at least now, we are already assured that the automated election will be happened truly.
And with that, I believe that it is imperative in order to respond to the crying need of the people: credibility of elections and legitimacy of leadership. Vote Wisely, and Vote Fairly! ehehe…

Let me define first the following ,Internet,technology,innovation and infrastructure this can help us to have an idea what we are going to suggest and recommend to the said problem which is on how to improve the Internet connectivity.

Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private and public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope that are linked by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, and other technologies. The Internet carries a vast array of information resources and services, most notably the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail. In addition it supports popular services such as online chat, file transfer and file sharing, gaming, commerce, social networking, publishing, video on demand, and teleconferencing and telecommunications.

Technology is a broad concept that deals with human as well as other animal species' usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species' ability to control and adapt to its environment. Technology is a term with origins in the Greek technología (τεχνολογία) — téchnē (τέχνη), 'craft' and -logía (-λογία), the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline.[1] However, a strict definition is elusive; "technology" can refer to material objects of use to humanity, such as machines, hardware or utensils, but can also encompass broader themes, including systems, methods of organization, and techniques. The term can either be applied generally or to specific areas: examples include "construction technology", "medical technology", or "state-of-the-art technology".

Technology has affected society and its surroundings in a number of ways. In many societies, technology has helped develop more advanced economies (including today's global economy) and has allowed the rise of a leisure class. Many technological processes produce unwanted by-products, known as pollution, and deplete natural resources, to the detriment of the Earth and its environment. Various implementations of technology influence the values of a society and new technology often raises new ethical questions. Examples include the rise of the notion of efficiency in terms of human productivity, a term originally applied only to machines, and the challenge of traditional norms.

Infrastructure can be defined as the basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, [1] or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. [2] The term typically refers to the technical structures that support a society, such as roads, water supply, sewers, power grids, telecommunications, and so forth. Viewed functionally, infrastructure facilitates the production of goods and services; for example, roads enable the transport of raw materials to a factory, and also for the distribution of finished products to markets. In some contexts, the term may also include basic social services such as schools and hospitals.

Innovation refers to a new way of doing something. It may refer to incremental and emergent or radical and revolutionary changes in thinking, products, processes, or organizations. Following Schumpeter (1934), contributors to the scholarly literature on innovation typically distinguish between invention, an idea made manifest, and innovation, ideas applied successfully in practice. In many fields, something new must be substantially different to be innovative, not an insignificant change, e.g., in the arts, economics, business and government policy. In economics the change must increase value, customer value, or producer value. The goal of innovation is positive change, to make someone or something better. Innovation leading to increased productivity is the fundamental source of increasing wealth in an economy.

Innovation is an important topic in the study of economics, business, design, technology, sociology, and engineering. Colloquially, the word "innovation" is often synonymous with the output of the process.


If I were hired by the university president as an IT consultant,I would suggest infrastructure in order to improve Internet connectivity..

With the increase in the ease of computer technology, Internet service providers have also upgraded their systems. Traditionally, users connected via dial-up to the Internet, but with high-speed Internet connectivity available to many areas, cable, wireless, DSL and satellite have replaced the old phone-line connection. With these new, faster connections, Internet technology can keep up with computer technology, allowing large files to be moved through the Web at speeds up to 6 megabytes per second.

ISP

An Internet service provider (ISP, also called Internet access provider, or IAP) is a company that offers its customers access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem, wireless or dedicated high-speed interconnects.ISPs may provide Internet e-mail accounts to users which allow them to communicate with one another by sending and receiving electronic messages through their ISP's servers. (As part of their e-mail service, ISPs usually offer the user an e-mail client software package, developed either internally or through an outside contract arrangement.) ISPs may provide other services such as remotely storing data files on behalf of their customers, as well as other services unique to each particular ISP.

End-User-to-ISP Connection

ISPs employ a range of technologies to enable consumers to connect to their network.
For users and small businesses, the most popular options include dial-up, DSL (typically Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line, ADSL), broadband wireless, cable modem, fiber to the premises (FTTH), and Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) (typically basic rate interface).
For customers with more demanding requirements, such as medium-to-large businesses, or other ISPs, DSL (often SHDSL or ADSL), Ethernet, Metro Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Frame Relay, ISDN (BRI or PRI), ATM, satellite Internet access and synchronous optical networking (SONET) are more likely to be used.

Typical home user connection:

* Dial-up
* DSL
* Broadband wireless access
* Cable Internet
* FTTH
* ISDN
* Wi-Fi

Typical business type connection

* DSL
* SHDSL

Ethernet technologies
Locality
When using a dial-up or ISDN connection method, the ISP cannot determine the caller's physical location to more detail than using the number transmitted using an appropriate form of Caller ID; it is entirely possible to e.g. connect to an ISP located in Mexico from the USA. Other means of connection such as cable or DSL require a fixed registered connection node, usually associated at the ISP with a physical address.
ISP Interconnection
Just as their customers pay them for Internet access, ISPs themselves pay upstream ISPs for Internet access. An upstream ISP usually has a larger network than the contracting ISP and/or is able to provide the contracting ISP with access to parts of the Internet the contracting ISP by itself has no access to.
In the simplest case, a single connection is established to an upstream ISP and is used to transmit data to or from areas of the Internet beyond the home network; this mode of interconnection is often cascaded multiple times until reaching a Tier 1 carrier. In reality, the situation is often more complex. ISPs with more than one point of presence (PoP) may have separate connections to an upstream ISP at multiple PoPs, or they may be customers of multiple upstream ISPs and may have connections to each one of them at one or more point of presence.
An ISP makes it possible for clients to access the Internet. School, universities and institutions are some examples, although most ISPs are commercially owned. Comcast, Netscape, EarthLink, NetZero, Verizon and Qwest are examples of ISPs. These companies can provide dial-up, cable modem, DSL, wireless or satellite Internet connectivity.

Cable

A cable is two or more wires or ropes running side by side and bonded, twisted or braided together to form a single assembly. In mechanics, cables are used for lifting and hauling; in electricity they are used to carry electrical currents. An optical cable contains one or more optical fibers in a protective jacket that supports the fibers. Mechanical cable is more specifically called wire rope.

Electrical cables

Electrical cables may be made more flexible by stranding the wires. In this process, smaller individual wires are twisted or braided together to produce larger wires that are more flexible than solid wires of similar size. Bunching small wires before concentric stranding adds the most flexibility. Copper wires in a cable may be bare, or they may be coated with a thin layer of another material: most often tin but sometimes gold, silver or some other material. Tin, gold, and silver are much less prone to oxidisation than copper, which may lengthen wire life, and makes soldering easier. Tight lays during stranding makes the cable extensible (CBA - as in telephone handset cords).
Cables can be securely fastened and organized, such as by using cable trees with the aid of cable ties or cable lacing. Continuous-flex or flexible cables used in moving applications within cable carriers can be secured using strain relief devices or cable ties. Copper corrodes easily and so should be layered with Lacquer.
At high frequencies, current tends to run along the surface of the conductor and avoid the core. This is known as the skin effect. It may change the relative desirability of solid versus stranded wires.

Cables and electromagnetic fields

Any current-carrying conductor, including a cable, radiates an electromagnetic field. Likewise, any conductor or cable will pick up energy from any existing electromagnetic field around it. These effects are often undesirable, in the first case amounting to unwanted transmission of energy which may adversely affect nearby equipment or other parts of the same piece of equipment; and in the second case, unwanted pickup of noise which may mask the desired signal being carried by the cable, or, if the cable is carrying power-supply or control voltages, pollute them to such an extent as to cause equipment malfunction.

The first solution to these problems is to keep cable lengths short, since pick up and transmission are essentially proportional to the length of the cable. The second solution is to route cables away from trouble. Beyond this, there are particular cable designs that minimise electromagnetic pickup and transmission. Three of the principal design techniques are shielding, coaxial geometry, and twisted-pair geometry.

Shielding makes use of the electrical principle of the Faraday cage. The cable is encased for its entire length in foil or wire mesh. All wires running inside this shielding layer will be to a large extent decoupled from external electric fields, particularly if the shield is connected to a point of constant voltage, such as ground. Simple shielding of this type is not greatly effective against low-frequency magnetic fields, however – such as magnetic "hum" from a nearby power transformer.

Coaxial design helps to further reduce low-frequency magnetic transmission and pickup. In this design the foil or mesh shield is perfectly tubular – ie., with a circular cross section – and the inner conductor (there can only be one) is situated exactly at its centre. This causes the voltages induced by a magnetic field between the shield and the core conductor to consist of two nearly equal magnitudes which cancel each other.
The twisted pair is a simple expedient where two wires of a cable, rather than running parallel to each other, are twisted around each other, forming a pair of intertwined helices. This can be achieved by putting one end of the pair in a hand drill and turning while maintaining moderate tension on the line. Field cancellation between successive twists of the pair considerably reduces electromagnetic pickup and transmission.
Power-supply cables feeding sensitive electronic devices are sometimes fitted with a series-wired inductor called a choke which blocks high frequencies that may have been picked up by the cable, preventing them from passing into the device.

Electrical cable types
Basic cable types are as follows:

* Coaxial cable
* Multicore cable (consist of more than one wire and is covered by cable jacket)
* Ribbon cable
* Shielded cable
* Single cable (from time to time this name is used for wire)
* Twisted pair
* Twisting cable

Cable has some of the highest Internet speeds available for homeowners, with speeds between 4 and 6 Mbps. Comcast and Time Warner can also provide higher speeds, up to 16 Mbps, but are only available in certain areas and cost more. Comcast's PowerBoost technology, featuring fiber optic upgrades, has enhanced some area's speeds up to 20 Mbps. Digital cable TV providers usually bundle their digital TV cable services with digital cable Internet services.

DSL

DSL (digital subscriber line) is a family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.
Verizon and AT&T provide DSL Internet, which is usually available from the phone company providing your house with phone services. DSL Internet connectivity is not as fast as cable but has lower prices and can still be a reliable alternative when cable is not available. Both Verizon and AT&T offer different packages with different speeds as well as useful extras such as personal homepages, email and web space.

Wireless

Wi-Fi (pronounced /ˈwaɪfaɪ/) is a trademark of the Wi-Fi Alliance for certified products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. This certification warrants interoperability between different wireless devices.
In some countries (and in this article) the term Wi-Fi[1][2] is often used by the public as a synonym for IEEE 802.11-wireless LAN (WLAN).

Not every IEEE 802.11 compliant device is certified by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which may be because of certification costs that must be paid for each certified device type. The lack of the Wi-Fi logo does not imply that a device is incompatible to certified Wi-Fi-devices.Wi-Fi is used by most personal computer operating systems, many video game consoles, laptops, smartphones, printers, and other peripherals.

The Wi-Fi Alliance promotes standards in order to improve the interoperability of wireless local area network products based on the IEEE 802.11 standards. It is a consortium of separate and independent companies, and agrees on a set of common interoperable products based on the family of IEEE 802.11 standards.[9] The Wi-Fi Alliance certifies products with a set of defined test procedures. The manufacturers with membership of Wi-Fi Alliance and whose products pass these tests can mark their products and packaging with the Wi-Fi logo.

A Wi-Fi enabled device such as a PC, video game console, mobile phone, MP3 player or PDA can connect to the Internet when within range of a wireless network connected to the Internet. The coverage of one or more interconnected access points — called a hotspot — can comprise an area as small as a single room with wireless-opaque walls or as large as many square miles covered by overlapping access points. Wi-Fi technology has served to set up mesh networks, for example, in London.[17] Both architectures can operate in community networks.

High-speed wireless connectivity is a more recent technology that allows laptops, cell phones and mobile devices the same speeds as desktop computers plugged into a cable or DSL line. WiMax, a wireless broadband service provider, claims that it can increase connection speed to laptops, phones and home use up to 7 Mbps, better than some cable and DSL connections. Hotspots that feature wireless ISPs such as airports, Internet cafes and public areas continue to increase in number.

Satellite

a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon.

The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957. By 2009 thousands of satellites had been launched into orbit around the Earth. These originate from more than 50 countries and have used the satellite launching capabilities of ten nations. A few hundred satellites are currently operational, whereas thousands of unused satellites and satellite fragments orbit the Earth as space debris. A few space probes have been placed into orbit around other bodies and become artificial satellites to the Moon, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

Satellites are used for a large number of purposes. Common types include military (spy) and civilian Earth observation satellites, communication satellites, navigation satellites, weather satellites, and research satellites. Space stations and human spacecraft in orbit are also satellites. Satellite orbits vary greatly, depending on the purpose of the satellite, and are classified in a number of ways. Well-known (overlapping) classes include low Earth orbit, polar orbit, and geostationary orbit.

Satellites are usually semi-independent computer controlled systems. Satellite subsystems attend many tasks, such as power generation, thermal control, telemetry, attitude control and orbit control.

Types of satellites

* Anti-Satellite weapons/"Killer Satellites" are satellites that are armed, designed to take out enemy warheads, satellites, other space assets. They may have particle weapons, energy weapons, kinetic weapons, nuclear and/or conventional missiles and/or a combination of these weapons.

* Astronomical satellites are satellites used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects.

* Biosatellites are satellites designed to carry living organisms, generally for scientific experimentation.

* Communications satellites are satellites stationed in space for the purpose of telecommunications. Modern
communications satellites typically use geosynchronous orbits, Molniya orbits or Low Earth orbits.


* Miniaturized satellites are satellites of unusually low weights and small sizes.[12] New classifications are used to categorize these satellites: minisatellite (500–100 kg), microsatellite (below 100 kg), nanosatellite (below 10 kg).

*Navigational satellites are satellites which use radio time signals transmitted to enable mobile receivers on the ground to determine their exact location. The relatively clear line of sight between the satellites and receivers on the ground, combined with ever-improving electronics, allows satellite navigation systems to measure location to accuracies on the order of a few meters in real time.

* Reconnaissance satellites are Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications.Very little is known about the full power of these satellites, as governments who operate them usually keep information pertaining to their reconnaissance satellites classified.

* Earth observation satellites are satellites intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc. (See especially Earth Observing System.)


* Space stations are man-made structures that are designed for human beings to live on in outer space. A space station is distinguished from other manned spacecraft by its lack of major propulsion or landing facilities — instead, other vehicles are used as transport to and from the station. Space stations are designed for medium-term living in orbit, for periods of weeks, months, or even years.

* Tether satellites are satellites which are connected to another satellite by a thin cable called a tether.
Weather satellites are primarily used to monitor Earth's weather and climate.[13]

* Satellite ISPs, useful for those who require high-speed Internet but are operating out of range of DSL and cable ISPs, can provide speeds up to 5 Mbps. Cable and DSL will usually be faster, more reliable and cheaper than satellite connections. Satellite should be a last option if no other Internet is available.


CableSolve R5

Cormant Technologies packs a lot of power and intelligence in Cable Solve R5 to provide end to end management and documentation of the network connectivity and infrastructure to manage, track, and audit IT assets and cabling while providing portable records through a Pocket PC Handheld device. Cablesolve R5 manages your cabling and It assets for increased employee productivity, reduced downtime , and increased cost savings.

Increase Wireless Signal Strength

Wireless connectivity has become critical to business and personal applications dependent on the internet. In order to facilitate instant access and improve network performance, it is essential to increase the signal strength...

Wireless internet access has facilitated quick and easy access to a global audience for business or personal pursuit. The speed with which you connect via the range and signal strength available largely determines the success of your online venture. Within the otherwise anonymous web world, it is essential to tap the potential of various components involved in the connectivity.

The strength of the wireless signal is very essential to capitalize on, through this medium of communication. Increased signal strength assures greater and timely communication between end points. The connectivity could be vital to business or a personal pursuit. The scope to lose out on important information is limited and critical to any related endeavor. A weak signal is indicated via:

* Slow connectivity that is not in sync with the actual design-performance.
* Regular loss of connectivity that hampers important work.

There are ways and means of increasing wireless signal strength, to extend the wireless range and improve dedicated network performance. There are a number of steps that can be implemented as part of home or office improvement, to improve overall performance of the connectivity adopted. It is important to identify the core components of the gadgetry and adopt the remedial measures and correct the signal strength in time. A little research on this arena goes a long way. The commonly adopted remedies include:

Identification and Access the Central Access Point:

You should identify a central location for the wireless router. The common observation is that the router fitted against any external surface will transmit weak signals. Preferably choose a big flat office or home space for the router set up, in order to ensure equal distribution of signal radiation over the desired area.

Select Router Placement:

Always look for an alternative to the floor, metal objects and file cabinets. These constructions interfere with the wireless signal strength.

Antenna Check:

Most antennas are omni-directional and hence most of the time, due to internal and external obstructions, they result in wasted signals. There are restrictions on the power output also. You can consider an investment in a hi-gain antenna. The hi-gain wireless signals are accessed and transmitted from a single direction and you get to choose the direction with optimum value.

Adapter Check:

The wireless network signals are ideally routed to and from the computer. However, in the absence of a good adapter, the router will be able to transmit strong signals to reach the computer, but the machine may not be able to re-transmit signals of equal strength. You could opt out of a card-based adapter and invest in a USB network adapter. The latter uses an antenna that is external. The increased range makes a huge difference to the signal strength and computer networking.

Consideration of a Repeater:

A repeater extends the network range, without a wire mess. The optimal placement is between the access point and the computing machine. The presence of a repeater instantly upgrades wireless signal strength.

Selection of a Clearer Channel:

Typically, the wireless router transmits signals on several different channels of varying clarity. You should consider changing the router channel and configuration for an improved signal strength.

Upgrade Firmware/Adapter Driver:

Router improvements come with every upgrade. Likewise, the network adapters are also updated to communicate with the adapter or driver more effectively. You should keep yourself well informed about such updates and use them for improved performance.


Consider an Extender:

Consider the use of a powerline extender instead of the ethernet cable. Once it is plugged into the router and the power socket, it provides instant access to increased signal strength.




References:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5132980_high-speed-internet-connectivity.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-to-increase-wireless-signal-strength.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_service_provider

Based on your adopted organization(s), identify and discuss barriers in their IS/IT implementation..

Barriers to achieving ideal intergovernmental systems...

These ideals are difficult to achieve because there are significant barriers to overcome. The Special Work Group identified many problems that state-local projects encounter. Among the top ranking barriers are:

A general lack of education and information about both technology and programs
Technology has rapidly permeated our society and most of our institutions, but government organizations often lag behind others. Government staff are often ill-informed and poorly trained in how to use information technology effectively. This is particularly true of the newest technical tools and platforms. Public employees, both users and technicians, seldom have ready access to skills training or professional development that continuously upgrades their knowledge and skills. Conversely, technical staff typically have few opportunities or incentives to learn the goals and operational realities of service programs and therefore tend to focus too sharply on the technical tools and too little on the programmatic reasons for new systems.

Lack of a shared, reliable computing and network infrastructure
Existing state-local systems suffer from the lack of a ubiquitous, consistent computing and communications infrastructure. This makes it difficult or impossible to operate technology supported programs in a consistent way from place to place and organization to organization. It also slows and complicates communication among state and local staff involved in joint programs. New York State is currently embarking on a statewide networking strategy called the NYT that will help solve this problem for future systems.

Goals that are too ambitious for the resources available to achieve them.
Project goals are often laudably comprehensive, but the staff, equipment, and dollars allotted to achieve them are often underestimated. Projects that could succeed on a smaller or incremental scale, fail to achieve success when their goals and resources are played out on different scales.

Human and organizational resistance to change.
In some cases, new state-local initiatives threaten a comfortable status quo. They promise big changes that not every participant is eager to see. Fear and resistance to change exist even in the best planned and managed projects. A new way of doing business threatens existing personal, organizational, programmatic, and political conditions by rearranging authority, influence, power, resources, and information. This natural resistance is exacerbated when new programs arrive with too little advance information, weak leadership support, inadequate user participation, too little funding, and less than comprehensive training and orientation.

Unrealistic time frames.
Many information systems projects take considerably longer than originally planned. State-local projects, with their added layers of legal and organizational complexity are especially vulnerable to this problem. Since so many different organizations are affected by them, time delays lead to serious difficulties in planning for and adjusting to changes in operations.

Organizational, programmatic, technological, and legal complexity.
The state-local environment is extraordinarily complex on a number of dimensions: organizational size, number of organizations, number and skills of staff, size of budget, financial practices, legal authority, programmatic focus, and geographic dispersion. Existing systems are an important complicating factor.Only so much change is possible in an environment that depends on information systems already in place — especially ones that were designed and implemented using older technologies. There is little that can be done to simplify this environment, making it essential that project participants have a good understanding of how it will affect their activities.

Changing priorities.
Any project that lasts more than a few months is subject to changing priorities for time, money, and attention. This problem is multiplied in state-local projects since each participating organization is likely to be working in circumstances and with responsibilities and priorities that are unique to its own situation.

Overlapping or conflicting missions among the participating organizations.

Government organizations at both the state and local level have public service and public accountability goals that can overlap or conflict, even when they are engaged in a joint project. For example, a state agency manager may have the role of project leader which implies facilitation, collaboration, and support for other participants. At the same time, that person’s agency may have oversight responsibility and financial and other regulatory means of compelling local compliance with state requirements. In other projects, non-profit service providers may be project participants sitting at the same table with state or local officials who license and inspect their programs.These roles are all legitimate but can conflict and become a source of difficulty in sorting out the working relationships within the project team.
The barriers are undeniable. But the potential benefits of successful systems are compelling reasons to go forward with well-designed state-local initiatives.

Other barriers in Implementing new system..
Human resource problems

• Insufficient skilled management in information-gathering and retrieving information
• Insufficient trained personnel at all levels
• Insufficient communication skills

Technical resource problems

• Need for modern information systems
• Difficulties in setting up information programme
• Problems in data processing
• Technical constraints to reproducing or copying documents
• Decoding statistics collected and the structure of statistical reporting
• Time factor in the collection and updating of information
• Need for qualitative aspects of information

Physical resource problems

• Need for publishing houses
• Need for documentation centres

Financial problems

• Need for funds for processing, printing and dissemination of information

Communication problems

• Production of incomprehensible information
• Insufficient understanding of the objectives, goals and aims of programmes
• Top-down approach
• Languages: media of communication
• Information-filtering
• Untargeted information
• Insufficient understanding among interest groups

Operational problems

• Need for co-ordination and networking among professionals and educational institutions
• Need for supportive policy to release information
• Insufficient access to information source
• Confidentiality
• Redundancy of information
• Nature of policy directives
• Need for identifying sources of information
• Centralization of activities
• Need for systematic documentation

Psychological and other problems

• Need for mutual trust between professionals and administrators
• Need for trust in information-sharing
• Need for of goodwill
• Competition between organizations
• Censorship
• War

2. How can these obstacles be effectively managed?

Human resource development

• Training
• Other capacity-building

Technical resource development

• Establish documentation centre (independent non-governmental institution for processing and disseminating information ?)
• Install modern information technology
• Create database
• Encourage small-scale publishing

Physical resource development

• Improve infrastructure
• Build documentation centre

Operational improvement

• Set clear policy guidelines on information dissemination
• Encourage government to have depository laws and enforce them
• Introduce information system
• Use mass media
• Follow a bottom-up approach
• Develop grassroots level inventory of information
• Create awareness of the value of information
• Identify user information needs
• Consult target groups
• Develop target-oriented and useable information
• Develop effective system of information management and dissemination; information should be simple, understandable and manageable
• Institute efficient and effective co-ordination and networking
• Encourage a free flow of information — horizontally and vertically



In our adopted company which is DOLE Philippines,Ms.Galindo mentioned some barriers in their IS/IT implementation.

Inexperienced Staff

People involve in the system should have the proper communication and social skills. Trainings and Seminars is important for them to upgrade and enhance their knowledge and improve their performance to the company.

Lack of IT/IS Awareness

The system that should be implemented in a company should be a user friendly. According to Ms. Galindo involving the user is very important when there is a development or a change of your system in the company or organization. In this way it will help both the IT people and the staff and the users to be aware of the other matters and the best solutions.

Lack of Resources

This barrier really affects the implementation of new system it’s because how can you implement your system if you have lack of resources to be use. Especially those very important resources like the programmers, system analyst and many more they are all considered as resources of a company.The company should have the resources or the budget, because having a system requires maintenance, probably hardware replacements.

Organizational Politics

A workplace can be conceptualized as a social marketplace in which individuals engage in transactions, all seeking to earn a return on their investments. The possibility of receiving a favorable return on one’s investment is contingent on the extent to which organizational rewards are perceived to be fairly allocated.
Politics help to recognize or even reconcile competing interests within an organization. Essentially, all employees bring their own interests, desires, wants, and needs to the workplace which leads to a diversity of interests in which politics form. Politics in an organization are viewed as both negative and positive. Everyone practices politics in some form or in some degree in an organization but viewing politics positively are considered to have a positive force within the organization. Relationships, norms, processes, performance and outcomes are all enormously affected and influenced by organizational politics due to the fact that they are all intertwined into the management system.
As we know, communication within an organization is the key element to success and achievement. A leader is an individual who should consider communication to be the most important aspect in their relationship within the organization. An employee and their leader need a high communication percentage in order to maintain success and achieve specific goals within the organization.

Time Pressure

Time is often in the form of meeting the project deadlines and getting the product within budget. Can also be considered as a barrier since it gives us limitations that we must follow. Such limitations can affect the developing process and the output.


references:

http://www.ctg.albany.edu/publications/guides/tying?chapter=3§ion=4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_politics

COMDDAP 2009

COMDDAP is an association of the country's top information technology businesses. Its primary objective is to promote the sustainable development of the of the country's information technology industry through voluntary collaboration of its member companies. It is the goal of COMDDAP to be able to provide its members general views and updates from different sectors - private and government, and highly regarded individuals to further uplift the morale and knowledge of its organization.

The vision of promoting and elevating the standards of Information technology (IT) in the Philippines fueled a group of prominent computer companies to form the Computer Distributors and Dealers Association of the Philippines or COMDDAP. Its initial member-companies represent the world's leading makers and providers of computer products, solutions and peripherals.

In 1997, the manufacturing sector - represented by industry leaders Hewlett Packard, Epson and Compaq, among others - was integrated into the COMDDAP membership, making the association a more diverse representation of the IT sector and thus the new name, COMPUTER MANUFACTURERS, DISTRIBUTORS AND DEALERS ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES.

Last July 2,3 and 4 COMDDAPP held at Apo View Hotel Davao, it advertises the advances of the new technologies. The event featured new products from different manufacturers that exhibits their new designed models of computer related products such as notebooks by neo, printer enhancement for business solutions, motherboards for servers, new designed harddisk by western digital company, and media CD’s, and DVD’s. There are also exhibits of newly designed computer monitors and System units from different manufacturers which attracts many visitors. One of the important events is seminars from different companies and groups that promote their new products and other services to the market. And I attended three different seminars; first is the Thin Clients from Hewlett Packard, the second one was Windows server 2008 by the EDUPRO, and the last is the Open source and the free source seminar.

This are the list of sessions that I attended:

1.Thin Clients by HP (Hewlett Packard)
The speaker in this seminar was Leonard Zapa, the Market Development Manager in Remote Client Solutions Group.

HP Thin Client is a computing device desktop and a solid state device. It does not have hard drive on it. According to the exhibitor, it is more reliable, stable and last longer compare to the thick desktop . Thin clients are actually “thin” that benefits space, it has 8 USB ports, 2 USB ports are kept inside its casing for the purpose of protecting the USB devices such as flash drives against accidents. A thin client needs a server, a central device where the operating system is installed.

Since it does not have a hard disk inside, it is not susceptible to virus attack and power failure. Because the operating system is actually not installed on the device.According to the speaker thin clients are just an extension monitor to the user but with advanced features. Clients work when it is connected to the server via networking and it accesses the server when the user login’s on the device. When the user do something on the device the client works like it has an operating system installed on it but actually it only access the system over the network to the server. According to the speaker it has the ability to detect viruses because once a virus is detected it automatically shuts downs and reboots, and the virus is gone.

Benefits that the thin clients offers:
Enhance Security
Easy Manageability
Environment Friendly
Lower Over-all Cost


Thin Clients only needs 11watts to 20 watts of power, so it saves up to 80% of your energy expenses compared to desktop computers. Since it does not have a harddisk inside, it generates less heat and extra cooling is not a requirement.

Here below are the factors to be considered in analyzing the total cost of ownership according to Mr. Zapa:

a.) Hardware cost
b.) Power consumption
c.) Heat dissipate
d.) Space saving

Thespeaker added that the life span of the thin client is longer than the desktop computers because desktop spans only 3 years of service, HP Thin client spans 5years guaranteed. HP Thin client offers more reliability and cost effective for business solution and thin clients give extra security to the system.

2. Windows Server 2008
The speaker of the seminar was Mr. Lee L. Gorospe, Technical Trainer from EDUPRO Inc.,
He discussed about Active Directory Roles,Active Directory Rights Management Service,Read Only Domain Controllers,Hyper-V,Network Access Protection and Server Core.
The speaker shows us how windows server 2008 provides the user an ease to perform these task on real operation.

Read Only Domain Controllers: one of the new improved feature of server 2008 that gives an option for deploying a new domain controller that can be deployed at a perimeter or branch office recommended for sites that are lacking IT personnel or physical, security and provides three benefits namely: Increased productivity, a solution for sites/office that has no or poor physical server security, and lower impact on theft or Error.

Hyper-V: Hypervisor based virtualization is another improved feature of Windows Server 2008 is the virtualization. Virtualization reduces costs, increases hardware utilization, optimizes your infrastructure and, improves server availability.

Network AccessProtection (NAP): NAP is a platform that enforces compliance with health requirements for network access or communication. NAP is available in Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Vista and, an upgrade of Microsoft Windows XP with service pack 3.

The communication method can be of the following:
Internet Protocol security (IPsec)-protected communications
IEEE 802.1X-authenticated network connections
Remote access virtual private network (VPN) connections
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) configuration

In this session, it provides us information about the new advancements of the Microsoft Company and updates us to the new platforms and systems soon we will be using.

3. Open Source for Business Applications
According to the speaker ,Open Source is the software that is free of use, in which the original source code is openly available for users to examine and modify, to use to run, reinstall the software, modify and enhance the software, and redistribute for better use and performance.

One of the best examples mentioned by one of the speaker is the Ubuntu. Ubuntu is an operating system consisting of free and open source software. With Ubuntu you can surf the web, read email, and create documents, spreadsheets and more! Ubuntu is powerful and flexible for business, education and home use.

According to the speaker, Open source software is different from free software even though they are the same as free. Open source software is considered distinct from free software, which is also open source but can be used for any purpose and without any costs or restrictions. Both open source software and free software are different from software provided for free (freeware) by commercial software manufacturers that do not allow access to the original source code.

I learned a lot from the discussions and known different latest gadgets. I hope next year there will be COMDDAP EXPO again..ehehe

Green Campus Computing..


Green energy is the term used to describe sources of energy that are considered to be environmentally friendly and non-polluting, such as geothermal, wind, solar, and hydro.Green energy sources are often considered "green" because they are perceived to lower carbon emissions and create less pollution.

Green energy is commonly thought of in the context of electricity, mechanical power, heating and cogeneration. Consumers, businesses, and organizations may purchase green energy in order to support further development, help reduce the environmental impacts of conventional electricity generation, and increase their nation’s energy independence. Renewable energy certificates (green certificates or green tags) have been one way for consumers and businesses to support green energy.

Energy-Efficient Lighting Tips:

* Use natural daylight when possible.
* If you spend a lot of time working at a computer, consider reducing the overall brightness level in your room to enhance CRT screen visibility.
* Report any lighting problems to your Zone Maintenance office. This might include a burned-out lamp, defective occupancy sensor, or a flickering bulb.
* Turn off the lights in classrooms, offices, and restrooms when the rooms are not being occupied.
* Consider using desk lamps ("task lighting") and reducing overhead lighting in the room.
* If your building has areas where "occupancy sensors" are being used to turn lights on and off (such as in conference rooms, rest rooms, and hallways), please cooperate with their use.
* Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs where possible.

Energy Conservation in the Laboratory

* Keep fume hood sashes closed when not in use. Fume hoods operate in a vacuum by drawing room air and any undesirable fumes through the cabinet and exhausting it out the building's exhaust stack. In almost all laboratories on campus, the room air being exhausted is 100% fresh outside air. Fresh air is very expensive to heat or cool. Lowering the sash (the glass window) when the fume hood is not in use reduces the amount of conditioned air exhausted.
* A Bio-Safety cabinet is another type of fume hood; it filters the air rather then exhausting it. This type of fume hood uses a recycling-air vent, which does not necessarily need to be kept on at all times. Remember to turn off the fan when not in use.
* When using running water for cooling or condenser systems, remember to turn off the valve when finished.
* If possible, use a cooling system with a re-circulating pump as opposed to running once through water.
* Turn off all equipment when not in use. This includes everything from hot plates to lights to computers.
* Keep the hallway door shut as much as possible. This is not only a safety measure, but it helps balance the air system in the laboratory.
* When using automatic glassware washers, wait until you have a full load before operating.
* Maintain refrigerators and freezers by keeping coils clean and doors properly sealed.
* If refrigerator or freezer is over 8 years old, consider upgrading to a newer more energy-efficient model.
* Do not place refrigerators or freezers next to room thermostats.
* Consolidate contents of refrigerators or freezers--a full freezer is more efficient to keep cold than a half empty freezer. Turn off the empty, unused appliance.

Energy Efficient Computing

* Do not leave your computer running overnight and on weekends. Also, wait until you are ready to use it before you turn it on.
* A modest amount of turning on and off will not harm the computer or monitor. The life of a monitor is related to the amount of time it is in use, not the number of on and off cycles.
* Try to plan your computer-related activities so you can do them all at once, keeping the computer off at other times.
* Do not turn on the printer until you are ready to print. Printers consume energy even while they are idling.
* Do not print out copies of email unless necessary.
* If you spend a large amount of time at your computer, consider reducing the light level in your office. This may improve CRT (cathode ray tube) screen visibility as well as save energy.
* Most computer equipment now comes with power management features. If your computer has these features, make sure they are activated.
* The best screen saver is no screen saver at all - turn off your monitor when you are not using it. This option is second best only to turning off your computer all together.
* Use "paperless" methods of communication such as email and fax-modems.
* When typing documents, especially drafts, use a smaller font and decrease the spacing between lines, or reformat to keep your document to as few pages as possible, especially when typing drafts.
* Review your document on the screen instead of printing a draft. If you must print a draft, use the blank back side of used paper.
* Use a printer that can print double-sided documents. When making copies, use double-sided copying.
* Always buy and use recycled-content paper. Look for papers with 50-100% post-consumer waste and non-chlorine bleached. Also, recycle your paper when done.
* Buy a monitor only as large as you really need. Although a large monitor might seem more attractive, you should remember that a 17-inch monitor uses 40 percent more energy than a 14-inch monitor. Also, the higher the resolution, the more energy it needs.
* Ink-jet printers, though a little slower than laser printers, use 80 to 90 percent less energy.
* Request recycled/recyclable packaging from your computer vendor.
* Buy vegetable (or non-petroleum-based) inks. These printer inks are made from renewable resources; require fewer hazardous solvents; and in many cases produce brighter, cleaner colors.

How the university can adopt this concept?

Our university can simply adopt green campus computing by simply educating the students about what is "green campus computing" and the benefits it brings to us. Our university should implement policies and regulations in conserving energy, and do orientations about the right ways of using personal computers and any other related devices. And lastly, take good care of our environment. In this simple way, we can conserve energy.





References:

http://www.energymanagement.umich.edu/utilities/energy_management/computing/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_energy
http://ecenter.colorado.edu/energy/projects/green_computing.html

How the Philippines Can in Lead Election Automation?

If the Philippine government ever gets down to automating elections in the Philippines, it has a chance to show the rest of the world how to do it. That’s because there’s already a lot of established “wisdom”, and the mistakes of other countries to learn from.

Ready for 2010?

In short, by looking from the mistakes of other countries, Philippine election officials can learn how to run automated elections properly. Primarily by designing election machines that make sense to the average Filipino voter, and relying on the results of sustained testing for any necessary revisions to the system.
Unfortunately, since the need for testing is crucial—unless you consider chaos on Election Day acceptable—a properly automated election system may not be ready by 2010. Yet no matter how clear the benefits of automated elections are for Philippine politics, it’s more important to get things right the first time. That’s much better than coming out with a system that will provide election automation critics with more ammunition.


Automated 2010 Elections, all set

The Commission on Elections, after a month long bidding, will award the P11.3 billion contract for the automation of 2010 elections probably this week.
Comelec’s Special Bids and Awards Committee (SBAC) chairman Ferdinand Rafanan said they will make the SBAC report and its recommendation to the Commission en banc. The awarding of contract will be upon the decision of the en banc whether they will approve it or not.
“We are all systems go for 2010 poll automation,” Rafanan added.
The SBAC will make a recommendation for Smartmatic-Total Information Management, the bidder capable for the 2010 automation project.
The SBAC Technical Working Group did the technical evaluation and finished them last Saturday.
Smartmatic-TIM consortium successfully passed all 26 technical criteria, however, there are still few documents that must be verified for post qualification of eligibility of documents.
In terms of figures, Smartmatic-TIM only bid for P7.191 billion, P4 billion below the total contract amount.
“The P4 billion will go to Comelec savings. Those are only figures and will only be disposed by the Department of Budget and Management for approved projects,” said Rafanan.

The Advantages of Voting Online or automated election

* Saved Ballot Templates eliminate the need to configure elections from scratch. Just do it once, then save that ballot configuration, and in subsequent years, specify only the names of the candidates.

* Reduced costs are enjoyed when the expenses of printing and mailing paper ballots are lessened or even eliminated.

* Email Solicitation adds value by soliciting an email address from voters without one already on record.

* Email Reminders helps increase voter participation by reminding those who’ve not voted to do so.

* Email Validation brings added value to your online election ensuring the validity of your voters’ email addresses.

* Ballot Scrubbing ensures no ballot is spoiled due to anything not in compliance with your voting rules.

* Ballot Shuffling randomly orders the candidates’ names on each request of the ballot so all candidates get a fair chance at prime name placement on the ballot. Shuffling may be enabled on some positions and not others.

* On-demand Paper Ballots simplify hybrid elections by allowing an election administrator to generate a voter-specific paper ballot that honors all the election settings just as web ballots do.

* Automated Tallying removes human fallibility from the tabulation and delivers the results within seconds of the close of the election.

* Comprehensive Reporting instantly provides you with informative day-by-day statistics about your election beyond just who won, demonstrated at the Sample Election Results page.

* Archived Election Results means all previous election results are readily available without having to dig through old records.

* Ability to correct mistakes allows candidate selections to be altered prior to final ballot submission.

The Disadvantages of having an Automated Election

Tallying is done at the city/municipal level. Ballot boxes leave precincts without voters knowing results at the precinct level
• Ballot box switching is possible

• Tallying is internal and voters will not be able to trace to the source

• There may be cases where more entries are marked in a ballot than are allowed. It will be difficult to fairly resolve issues arising from this situation.

• On the other hand, there may also be cases when there are less markings on the ballot. It is very easy to add markings in such cases.

• To achieve high quality readability, it is currently required that the ballot paper be of thicker substance and should not be folded. This means new ballot boxes will need to be designed and produced, adding to the cost.


My opinion on automated election this coming 2010:


Having this Automated Election this coming 2010 has advantages and disadvantages. Automated election could somehow help the smoothen the process of the election and easier and not so complicated when it comes to vote counting. It will ensure faster results than the manual counting thus winners will be proclaimed in less than a time. The Proposal for having an automated election is good in the sense that is fast and accurate.
It will be easier to determine who will be put in the position. It will also be an advantage on the part of voters because the voting system is organized. It will also bring out the result faster. And automated election will decrease fraud and more or les other forms of stealing and buying votes. But it has also its disadvantages; it is very costly because service provider here in invests a lot to insure that this technology will really work. It will also create hard work for government to send and pay people to of course educate people on how to participate and use this kind of election process and it’s not that easy. Because not all of Filipino voters are engaged and introduced to computer technology. This will not also ensure 100 percent accuracy and righteous counting of votes because there is still human intervention in this process.


References:

http://electionwatch.ph/
http://www.electionsonline.us/advantages.htm
http://www.transparentelections.ph/site/content/view/19/38/
http://technogra.ph/20090303/sections/editorial/how-the-philippines-can-in-lead-election-automation/

Based on the organization(s) that you visited, what do you think are the risks associated with business and IS/IT change?


Our adopted company was Dole Philippines, Founded in Hawaii in 1851, Dole Food Company, Inc., with 2007 revenues of $6.9 billion, is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. Dole markets a growing line of packaged and frozen foods, and is a produce industry leader in nutrition education and research. The Company does business in more than 90 countries and employs, on average, 36,000 full-time, regular employees and 23,000 full-time seasonal or temporary employees, worldwide.

As the world's largest producer and marketer of high quality fresh fruit and fresh vegetables and with a growing line of packaged and frozen foods, the DOLE brand is synonymous with high quality standards and satisfaction. Dole has earned this reputation over the last 154 years thanks to its unwavering commitment to fulfill its customers' needs and consumers' expectations in the critical areas of quality assurance, food safety, traceability, environmental responsibility and social accountability.

First, we define Information System (IS)
In a general sense, the term Information System (IS) refers to a system of people, data records and activities that process the data and information in an organization, and it includes the organization's manual and automated processes. In a narrow sense, the term information system (or computer-based information system) refers to the specific application software that is used to store data records in a computer system and automates some of the information-processing activities of the organization. Computer-based information systems are in the field of information technology. The discipline of business process modelling describes the business processes supported by information systems.

During our interview for assignment 1 with the MIS Internal programmer of Dole Philippines, We also discussed the risk associated with business and IT/IS change.We prepare some questions for her to answer and these are the list of risk that she mentioned.

User

When changing the information system of company, programmers must consider the end users. End users a person or group that is one of the ultimate consumers or users that a system has been designed for.

Sometimes users will find it difficult to understand the new system implemented. So, when you implement a new system it should be a user friendly for the user to easily understand and operate. This is very important because a system that is poorly designed and cannot be use effectively by end users does not meet the goal or requirements of the company.

System Failure

Failure with regards to the changes in the system of business or in an organization is a serious mistake and a threat to the company. Changes can lead to success or sometimes it can lead to failure. An example of this failure is associated with the system, it is called System Failure. System is the brain of the company. It keeps information needed by the company to assess its performance and help them make decisions. So if the system fails all operations are affected especially if this system is designed to be used by all the departments. If this is the case, then the changes will lead to the failure of the company.

Financial Risk or Cost

is normally any risk associated with any form of financing. Risk is probability of unfavorable condition; in financial sector it is the probability of actual return being less than expected return. There will be uncertainty in every business.

Security Risk

describes employing the concept of risk to the security risk management paradigm to make a particular determination of security orientated events.
is the demarcation of risk, into the security silo, from the broader enterprise risk management framework for the purposes of isolating and analyzing unique events, outcomes and consequences.
Security risk is often, quantitatively, represented as any event that compromises the assets, operations and objectives of an organization. 'Event', in the security paradigm, comprises those undertaken by actors intentionally for purposes that adversely affect the organization.

Data corruption

Data corruption refers to errors in computer data that occur during transmission or retrieval, introducing unintended changes to the original data. Computer storage and transmission systems use a number of measures to provide data integrity, the lack of errors. In general, when there is a Data Corruption, the file containing that data would be inaccessible, and the system or the related application will give an error. For example, if a Microsoft Word file is corrupted, when you try to open that file with MS Word, you will get an error message, and the file would not be opened. Some programs can give a suggestion to repair the file automatically (after the error), and some programs cannot repair it. It depends on the level of corruption, and the in-built functionality of the application to handle the error. There are various causes of the corruption.
Data corruption during transmission has a variety of causes. Interruption of data transmission causes information loss.
If you are going to change the information system of the company you have to plan what type of system you are going to change. You have to consider the factors and issues regarding the change before you implement it. Some of those factors to consider are:
Do you want to change the database?
Are you going to change or upgrade the system?
What type of language will be used for the new system?
The MIS Programmer said that whatever the data is in the system before change, it will be the same data that the users will be able to see or to access.

In general, changing information system has many risks to consider. Because
when changing the system it is the same in developing or improving a new system.


references:

http://dole.com/CompanyInfo/Company_Index.jsp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_systems
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Financial_risk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_risk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_corruption

These are the list of our prospective companies:

1. Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)
2. AMA Computer College
3. PLDT Company
4. Dole Philippines

Our Final company selected was The Dole Philippines.

Company Background

Dole is the world's largest producer and marketer of high-quality fresh fruits, fresh vegetables and fresh cut flowers with a growing line of quality packaged foods. Dole’s dedication to quality is a commitment solidly backed by: comprehensive programs for food safety, scientific crop protection programs, stringent quality control measures, state-of-the-art production and transportation technologies, continuous improvement through research and innovation, and dedication to the safety of our employees, communities and the environment. Dole is committed to nutrition education to communicate to the public the health benefits of eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

In the Philippines, Dole has introduced premium quality, healthy food products in fresh and packaged foods. Its focus on health and nutrition remains strong even as Dole continues to expand its healthy food products. Its product lines range from canned pineapple solids, canned mixed fruits, canned beverages, packaged fruit snacks to tomato sauce.

Yesterday, we have already contact a person to interview but unfortunately he was not around it’s because of having an emergency, that’s why we have to look for another organization or company to interview. Last night, we contact our friends in different companies we know and ask a favor. Finally, one of the companies that we’ve contact, respond on our request. There’s an available person who is willing to be interview and give us her vacant time. She is an MIS programmer in one of the offices of Dole Philippines and to be interviewed at SJRDC Building, Lanang, Davao City. We told our friend that the interview that we are going to conduct is an ambush interview.

During the interview, there are lots of questions we ask to the MIS programmer. The first question we ask was “How do we identify Dole’s Information Technology and Information System?” According to her, DOLES IT department is categorized as IT for Regional and IT for local. In their branch, they are categorized as IT for local and they are divided into two groups: the application group and technical group. In the application group, software and system are being discussed while the technical group discuss about hardware and the network. She also mentioned that they are using different systems categorized according to their departments such as payroll system, production system, logistic system, research system, manufacturing system and many more. DOLE has internal programmers that develops and maintains the system to be used by the company.

As she mentioned earlier, DOLE has different systems in every department. We ask her if they have a system that connects all the systems from different department and she says “yes” but selected systems only because they don’t have an integration warehouse yet.

Among all the questions we ask, we are very much concern about this question, “What are the best practices in IT/IS?”.

In DOLE, as the programmer said, the best practices are as follows:

Determine the project

Is the capability to find, retrieve, report, change, or delete specific data without ambiguity. This applies especially to information stored in databases.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identification_(information)

In making a system we or programmers should identify first or determine the project for them to know what they are going to make and they’re planning on how to develop the system. They identify the uses of the system. They determine also the cost of the system they’re going to develop it must be cheaper, but a good system that can make there companies improve or succeed.

System Analysis

Dealing with analysis of sets of interacting entities, the systems, often prior to their automation as computer systems, and the interactions within those systems. This field is closely related to operations research. It is also "an explicit formal inquiry carried out to help someone, referred to as the decision maker, identify a better course of action and make a better decision than he might otherwise have made. The systems discussed within systems analysis can be within any field such as: industrial processes, management, decision making processes, environmental protection processes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_analysis

System analyst analyzes the software to be used, the hardware specification, and the compatibility of the system to the hardware for them to fulfill the needs of a company or organization. And analyzes the cost of the system according to the software they were going too used and the hardware purchased.

Development

As of now the programmers are on going to start their system. Members of the programming project will now be designated according to their field. They'

Testing

Using a test method, perhaps published by a respected standards organization, is a good place to start. Sometimes it is more useful to modify one or to develop a new one. Again, documentation and full disclosure are very necessary. A well written test method is important. However, even more important is choosing a method of measuring the correct property or characteristic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_method

Before using the system you have made, programmers ensure the quality of the system. They are going to test there system, so that programmers will know the capability of the system. Testing can help eliminate the errors that may occur during the operation or in using the system. So before using or deploying the system made they see to it that the system is ready to use by the company. In testing also we or the programmers can identify the weakness and in testing they well know on how to improve or complete the needs of company who will be using the system made. And programmers identify some revisions of their system and this saves time.

Implementation

Is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy.

Is a realization of a technical specification or algorithm as a program, software component, or other computer system. Many implementations may exist for a given specification or standard.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation

In this step the System made is ready to use by the company or an organization.

Based in our interview in Dole Philippines about their IT/IS their organization is very systematic and highly classified. According to the MIS Programmer, Information System is the brain of the company because it holds all the information of the organization.