Also, hybrid IT help,UltraVNC SC remote control software,the Internet a simple case of supply and demand,paying the tab for the ‘Net, more
Another option
Regarding the “Help Desk” item about remote control support and administration for a remote office: I have another suggestion.
UltraVNC SC is a version of UltraVNC remote control software that works backwards, so the people you are servicing do not need to configure firewall rules or port forwarding. Rather than you initiating the connection with them, they connect to you, meaning that you would need a static IP and port forwarding on your end, but the customers you are supporting could be fully firewalled and still easily establish remote control sessions with no reconfiguration needed. It is free
Mike Ducharme
IT manager
Manitoba First Nations SchoolNet
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Supply and demand
Regarding Thomas Nolle’s column, “Future shock, future tension”: Why would he think the carriers and the researchers would talk? The carriers would love to displace Microsoft as the number one monopoly and resume their position of “charge them, they can’t live without us” again. And the researchers are living in a fantasy world where no one should care about the cost someone will pay for it.
The Internet needs to become pay as you go; however, there need to be logical laws where the greedy carriers are kept in check on their gouging the users. It is simple supply and demand.
Ray Windisch
White Hall, Md.
Paying the tab
In Johna Till Johnson’s column, “Somebody’s got to pick up the ‘Net’s tab”, she writes: “So what’s the answer: Nationalization or blanket reliance on the free market? My vote is none of the above.” Actually, it appears she did vote for blanket reliance on the free market. Johnson says the Internet companies that stand to lose the most (Yahoo, eBay, Amazon) would be willing to support a fair-market backbone. This would allow the free market to fix the problem.
And thank God. Bring in the government to nationalize the Internet? That scares the socks off of me, and not for privacy concerns or government snooping, but just for the efficiency. Show me a government agency that is efficient. How about we bring in FEMA to run the Internet — yeah, great. We could nationalize the Internet backbone and watch availability drop to 80%.
Free markets fix problems, not government.
Michael J. Morris
WAN architect
Network Appliance
Research Triangle Park, N.C.
The description of peering in Johna Till Johnson’s column, “Somebody’s got to pick up the ‘Net’s tab” is inaccurate. The column is actually describing what is referred to as a Transit Agreement. Such agreements may be employed for full or partial Internet routes and are typically billed on a usage basis. Peering is a quid pro quo type of agreement that does not involve an exchange of currency. Peering usually occurs between networks sharing similar qualities — such as capacity — and most have increasingly strict criteria for potential peers to meet before entering such an agreement.
Scott Gross
Washington, D.C.
Hybrid help
Regarding your Management Strategies story, “Hybrid IT help”: I have been a hybrid guy for years, but it is not always an easy sell to be recognized for your diverse talents. I have clicked with some general manager/CEO types along the way, but it seems I have the toughest times with the IT senior managers. Although my technical skills are very good, I could “spin my hat around” and step in the business side, then blend the two sides to find a best-fit solution that was sometimes IT centric and sometimes not.
I lost my CIO job with a small furniture manufacturer when the company closed due to industry trends. I was hired because I was a hybrid to help in a financial turnaround effort. It took over six months and lots of contacts to make a connection to a company that needed another hybrid. I have managed and worked both inside and outside IT in the same organizations in manufacturing operations and engineering. I find most senior IT managers just don’t understand hybrids, but open-minded senior business managers do.
In an effort to diversify my talents I became CISSP certified, but once again nobody wanted a hybrid security guy. Everybody wanted somebody that had specific and verifiable hands-on technical skills. In my opinion, many of the security issues in the IT arena today are not solely technical based but leadership based. Everybody wants a magic technical tool to solve their security problems, but today you need a holistic approach. Tools only make the people better, but not invincible. You need to focus on people and security education that is augmented with tools, not the other way around.
Mark Strickland
Director of IT
Balfour Beatty Construction
Atlanta
