Week 5 Reflections

It was nice having a "single" week after our first "double" week! I enjoyed the reading about computer security. Passwords and encryption schemes have always interested me, but admittedly, its not my strong suit. For that reason, I think I will be taking the course in Encryption during the fall semester.

The discussion question on "Alternatives to Passwords" gave me an opportunity to talk about PassFaces. The is a visual password technology that we piloted here at UMBC. An interesting alternative to traditional text based passwords.

The group project is finally starting to get underway. We have posted the questions we need to address and group members are starting to claim stake to their part. I'm starting regret not taking the library course this semester. Research should be "interesting".

Week 4 Reflections

Being an Oracle DBA for the past 10 years, I looked forward to the Database Management chapter. I was a little disappointed. I'm sure I'm being unfair, but I felt the chapter spent too much time discussing building reports and menus (which are NOT part of database management). Instead, the chapter should have addressed backup and recovery issues as well as database tuning. Yes, I know, I'm looking at it from a DBA's perspective rather than from the perspective of an end-user.

The discussion question on database security allowed me to speak to one of the current topics on the net - SQL Injection. This allows a user to add his/her own SQL code to a database form and have it executed on the server. It wasn't 6 months ago that the developers of web applications here at UMBC had a project to tighten up security to prevent SQL injection.

Week 3 Reflections

Week 3 began our first "double-up" week. One of the joys of taking a summer class. I found the reading much more enjoyable. I've always found networks and telecommunications interesting. Not that I'm an expert on them, but interesting none the less. I've always dealt with many of the individual parts discussed in the reading, but it was good to get an overall view that glued the pieces together. An example would be the discussion on the different layers of the network. Starting from the physical layer, moving to internet (IP), up to transport (TCP) and then finally to the application layer. This shows how a message or packet moves through all of these layers to request and receive information on our behalf.

I found the discussion question on E-mail overload humorous. It seems email overload was a common thread, yet people's perspective on email varied greatly. Some looked at email as evil while others thrived on it. I find myself on the side of thriving. :)

Week 2 Reflections

Week 2 brought about the reality of getting back to school.   Reading here.. responding there. Chapter 2 in our text, Information Technology Foundations, was pretty basic.  Again, looking forward to getting more into the meat of the book.  Glimpsing ahead, I see some interesting chapters ahead.  Being a DBA, chapter 4 - Database Management should be an interesting read.

The discussion questions for week 2 were of particular interest.  One of my focuses over the past year in our organization has been the need for faster and MORE storage.  It doesn't matter how much storage you get, it always seems to not be enough.  Discussing technology refresh kind of scratched the surface of my multiple hats here at UMBC.  On one hand, I'm a technologist that loves to get in the latest and greatest.  On the other hand, I'm a manager and have a budget that I need to stay within.  

Week 1 and The Merging of Technologies

Whats In A Number?


Week 1 in class has actually been fun. No, I don't mean to sound surprised. Being that it's my first grad class, and an accelerated one at that, I just wasn't sure what to expect. I am a little apprehensive about the group project. I don't ever recall hearing someone say "I love group projects - can't get enough of them!" The reading was interesting, but I'm looking forward to getting into the real "meat" of the book and out of the introduction.

My expectations of my professor have been exceeded. (begin suck-up opportunity) You see, working at a university, I deal with a lot of faculty. Let's just say that a sense of humor is not high on their priority list. Perhaps it has something to do with working with PeopleSoft. Regardless, it has been fun to be in Les' class. Anyone who understands the significance of the number 42 is alright in my book!

The iPhone is coming! The iPhone is coming!


This past week Apple announced the release date of the iPhone (June 29th). I have to admit, I've been following all of the buzz on the iPhone since Steve Jobs announced the product in January. Reading through all of the information and speculated features one thought continues to come to mind. What we are seeing here is a shift of a few industries towards each other. The business end of personal computers / communicators is being married up with the consumer electronics and entertainment industries. This one device will allow me to control my 50 oracle databases through the Oracle Grid Control web application, while at the same time get my groove on with the latest music from iTunes. While other so called "smart phones" have similar features, I believe the iPhone will drive the industry further into developing multi-function / multi-purpose appliances.

Yes, I admit it - I will be in line on June 29th for the iPhone. While I'm waiting there I'll try to come up justification to myself as to why I need a $500 phone... appliance...gadget... thing. Suggestions welcome.