Morph3ous's Weblog

Due to a power failure, my NAS device was powered down. When the connection failed, the icon used to represent the NAS changed.

Normally it looks like a rack-mounted XServe, but when the connection was lost it showed up as an old-school CRT monitor with a Windows blue screen of death (BSOD).

Here’s a screenshot:

This is how the NAS normally appears:

To see how to customize the icon used on Mac OS for a UPNP-advertised device, please read the earlier post: Using MDNS to advertise OpenSolaris NAS to Mac computers

This prediction is likely going to sound evolutionary rather than revolutionary. It is not based upon any insider knowledge or hot tips. This product seems to be a logical next step.

Apple will likely come out with a multi-touch laptop and it will likely be in the tablet PC form factor. The company has already pioneered this concept with the iPhone to great success. Many of the gestures are now available on their laptops, but by using the touchpad. This next generation product will allow more natural interaction by directly manipulating objects on the screen.

When will it come out?

I predict this will happen relatively soon. Microsoft has been hard at work incorporating multi-touch in Windows 7.

This is old news. The only reason that I am posting it is because it has to do with the contractor who is handling the improperly programmed People First Employment Portal.

Offshore outsourcing cited in Florida data leak
Employees who worked for the state during the 18-month period between Jan. 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, may be affected, according to an e-mail message sent to all state employees on March 16. The state’s Department of Management Services (DMS), which oversees the People First system, estimates that 108,000 current and former state employees may be affected by the data breach, although that estimate could change as the department’s investigation into the matter continues.

The e-mail was sent after a subcontractor of outsourcing service provider Convergys Corp. improperly allowed subcontractors in India to index state personnel files, said DMS spokeswoman Tiffany Koenigkramer. The offshoring was done as part of Convergys’s nine-year, $350 million contract to manage the state’s personnel work.

This looks not to be Convergys Corp’s fault. The simple to remedy problem with the People First Portal; however, is their fault. I emailed them to no avail.

I followed the the advice of a user of digg, Sillywampa, on Digg’s entry about my earlier post on Florida’s People First Job Portal and emailled PeopleFirst@dms.myflorida.com about this issue. Here is what I wrote:
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Update: I wrote a post about an email I sent to the State of Florida and the response I received. This was suggested by Sillywampa on Digg. Thanks Sillywampa for the email address.

The State of Florida’s People First job portal is still running an outdated script that locks out users of alternative browsers from applying to state jobs. The only supported browsers are Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.
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I just found the solution for a problem that I have been having. When visiting Youtube, I was not getting sound on any of the videos. The Flash video and no sound on OSX at fredericiana had the solution.

Thanks fredericiana!

This is a look back in history. The events happened about a year ago and have been resolved since that time. Apple’s response at the lower levels was completely unacceptable.

Quotes are taken from what I wrote at the time in these two threads at http://www.dslreports.com:

http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,13716128
http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/remark,13769295

The story begins when I take my Mac Mini to the Genius bar at an Apple store… Continue reading

I just stumbled upon a very comprehensive article at Stopdesign about how and why you should secure your email, especially when using unencrypted wifi.

Secure wireless email on Stopdesign