Crisis Cleanup Mapping Tool Coordinates Rebuilding Efforts
by hilton-collins

A series of violent storms put Aaron Titus, disaster coordinator for the New Jersey branch of Mormon Helping Hands, through his paces last summer. He coordinated the dispatching of several hundred volunteers to about 300 locations to help remove damaged trees. The effort was so taxing that he doubted one person would be able to successfully coordinate large-scale disaster mitigation smoothly in all cases.

“I realized, if you try to do it as a single individual, you’re never going to be able to,” Titus said.

In response, he developed an early version of Crisis Cleanup, a free open source mapping tool that allows disaster relief organizations to coordinate cleanup and rebuilding efforts after catastrophes. The system’s undergone successive modifications since, and today members of volunteer disaster relief organizations logon to the tool and input data into an assessment form about a resident who needs help. This data includes the resident’s address and the type of incident, like flooding, tree removal or food delivery. That information then generates icons on a dynamic map alongside the assessment form. continued…

first published week of:   07/08/2013

Dark Side of the Digital Revolution
Google's Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen, fresh from a visit to North Korea in January, on why the Internet is far from an unalloyed good to the citizens of dictatorships around the world.

How do you explain to people that they are a YouTube sensation, when they have never heard of YouTube or the Internet? That's a question we faced during our January visit to North Korea, when we attempted to engage with the Pyongyang traffic police. You may have seen videos on the Web of the capital city's "traffic cops," whose ballerina-like street rituals, featured in government propaganda videos, have made them famous online. The men and women themselves, however—like most North Koreans—have never seen a Web page, used a desktop computer, or held a tablet or smartphone. They have never even heard of Google (or Bing, for that matter). continued…

first published week of:   04/22/2013

dealnews Price Trends: When to Buy a Mac
by louis ramirez

Contrary to popular belief, scoring deals on newly-released Apple products isn't difficult. Sure, you'll need a little patience, but waiting for those initial discounts could save you a decent chunk of change. While our data suggests that the first deals on new Apple electronics have begun showing up later than they have in years past, most products will still see reseller discounts in a matter of a few months. And with rumors swirling about a potential iPad 5 in April, now is the time to consider the benefits of holding out for a deal.

But how long will you have to wait? What products have the shortest wait time, and how will a product's first deal compare to the lowest price you'll get during that model's product cycle? dealnews has analyzed over a year's worth of Apple deals to find out, so you can strategize your next Apple purchase, from a new iPad to an updated MacBook Pro, and everything in between.

Details Here

first published week of:   04/01/2013

Decrypt Shortened Links (like the kind we often use in this newsletter)

The introduction of short links brought a number of advantages for web-masters and website owners from around the world, offering the opportunity to make use of shortened and easy-to-remember URLs. Not only did these services make life easier for web-masters, but they also established more efficient website management and operations.

Short URL services not only targeted web-masters and website owners, but also offered services to industries such as marketing, social networking and much, much more who started making use of these services.

Unfortunately, short URL services also became the target of more unscrupulous individuals, such as online fraudsters, hackers and more. These individuals started making use of short URL services in hiding the scams, malware, viruses and much more that awaits victims at the end of that short URL.

These short URLs are distributed to people around the world who blindly clicks on the links and suddenly fall victim to a large range of scams, viruses, malware, scare-ware and much more. Unfortunately there are not a lot of avenues in analyzing short links before they are clicked – until now.

DecryptLinks.com has been developed with the aim of offering Internet users the opportunity in decrypting and analyzing short URLs in real time before clicking on these links and visiting the websites hidden behind these links.

Try it for yourself. Decrypt this link: http://bit.ly/XXxyOw. Copy the link, then paste in decryptlinks.com

first published week of:   02/18/2013

Delivering positive ROI from mobile-enabled projects
by charles brett

The concept of deploying mobile devices into enterprises breaks down into two schools of thought:

• The first is a passive acceptance on the part of managers: Here, the expectation is that introducing solutions based around mobile technologies just makes sense, if only because today’s employees expect it. Much of this has to do with the arrival of the bring-your-own-device (BYOD) movement and the associated employee expectations that they will do better in their work by using these devices in their own ways.
• The second is a business-driven approach that bases its justifications on specific calculations of the return on investment (ROI).

This report demonstrates what enterprises can achieve by focusing on the second. In the following sections we will look at seven real examples from enterprises — covering sales, field support, distribution and logistics, local government, and administration — that are benefiting from a positive ROI. Every mobility project varies in the amount of ROI delivered and how each organization (whether enterprise or government) measures the net savings, new opportunities, or operational efficiencies. The basic message, however, remains simple: Mobile technologies are able to deliver process change and even business model change.

What is also clear from these examples is that introducing mobile technologies really can deliver substantial and ongoing ROI, even across multiple different disciplines. Indeed, there may even be a hidden formula: For each added business process (or business vertical) involved in a mobile solution, the potential gain can double.

For organizations looking to move toward a more business-driven model, GigaOM Research recommends four key practices for success:

• Think through in advance what your organization wishes to achieve with a mobility strategy.
• Examine thoroughly the processes that will be involved, and understand the associated costs and benefits of mobility-enabled change.
• Develop a solution model against which to calculate the potential ROI and, therefore, your decision parameters about whether to invest. This will also be the basis of an ongoing assessment of a mobility initiative’s success.
• Remember that automating existing practices within the organization is less likely to deliver maximum returns. Thinking flexibly and crossing process and business boundaries produce ever better results.

The target audience for this analysis includes: continued…

first published week of:   07/08/2013

DIY stalker boxes spy on Wi-Fi users cheaply and with maximum creep value
by dan goodin

You may not know it, but the smartphone in your pocket is spilling some of your deepest secrets to anyone who takes the time to listen. It knows what time you left the bar last night, the number of times per day you take a cappuccino break, and even the dating website you use. And because the information is leaked in dribs and drabs, no one seems to notice. Until now.

Enter CreepyDOL, a low-cost, distributed network of Wi-Fi sensors that stalks people as they move about neighborhoods or even entire cities. At 4.5 inches by 3.5 inches by 1.25 inches, each node is small enough to be slipped into a wall socket at the nearby gym, cafe, or break room. And with the ability for each one to share the Internet traffic it collects with every other node, the system can assemble a detailed dossier of personal data, including the schedules, e-mail addresses, personal photos, and current or past whereabouts of the person or people it monitors.

Short for Creepy Distributed Object Locator, CreepyDOL is the brainchild of 27-year-old Brendan O'Connor, a law student at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a researcher at a consultancy called Malice Afterthought. After a reading binge of science fiction novels, he began wondering how the growing ubiquity of mobile computing was affecting people's ability to remain anonymous, or at least untracked or unidentified, as they went about their work and social routines each day. continued…

first published week of:   08/12/2013

Document shows how much data cops suck up from suspects’ cell phones
by timothy b lee

The courts have traditionally allowed the police to inspect any items a suspect is carrying when they arrest him or her. But in the past, the information the police could obtain in this fashion was fairly limited. The advent of the smartphone has changed all that.

A new document uncovered by the ACLU provides insight into just how aggressive law enforcement agencies have become about obtaining the contents of seized cell phones. Last fall, writes the ACLU's Chris Soghoian, “officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) seized an iPhone from the bedroom of a suspect in a drug investigation.”

A document filed in court shows that police extracted a wealth of personal information from the device, including call records, contacts, stored text messages, photos, videos, and passwords. They also obtained “659 geolocation points, including 227 cell towers and 403 Wi-Fi networks with which the cell phone had previously connected” — a detailed record of where the device had been in previous weeks. Soghoian says law enforcement agencies can buy portable devices that extract this kind of information from smartphones in a matter of minutes.

While acquiring such a massive volume of data without a warrant may fit the letter of the law, it certainly seems to violate the spirit of the Fourth Amendment.

Details Here

first published week of:   03/04/2013

Don't Live in Fear of Your Cloud Storage Provider Going Under
by sharon florentine

The announcement last month that cloud storage provider Nirvanix was closing up shop set off a wave of hysteria in the IT world and sparked speculation about the viability of cloud storage as an option for businesses.

The fear is understandable given the value of business data. However, with proper contingency planning and a solid backup/disaster recovery plan, such a closure doesn't have to be a big deal.

"This is not remarkable -- it has happened before. Just to name a few, EMC, Sun, Iron Mountain, a lot of 'big' companies have shut down solutions -- even cloud storage solutions- shuttered divisions, and ended the lifecycle of products with a huge install base," says Nicos Vekiarides, co-founder and CEO of Natick, Mass.-based cloud storage provider TwinStrata.

"What's different in this case is the quickness with which it happened, and I think there's certainly a lot of hysteria surrounding this announcement simply because it involves the cloud," Vekiarides says. continued…

first published week of:   10/14/2013

Don’t Forget the Small Ideas That Make a Difference
by david pogue

To be specific, this week, I offer reviews of three intriguing accessories that recently landed on my desk: accompaniments to the headline-grabber gadgets.

1. ChargeCard

The ChargeCard is a replacement charging “cable” shaped like a black rubber credit card.

It’s one of the great unsung trends of the latest gadgets: they can recharge from USB jacks, which are found not only on every computer, but also in many cars, planes, wall jacks and TV sets. Unfortunately, you still have to pack and carry the cords for your USB-chargeable gizmos.

The cleverly named ChargeCard ($25) was a Kickstarter.com success story. It’s a replacement charging “cable” shaped like a black rubber credit card; you’re supposed to carry it in your wallet. At one end is the connector for your gadget; in the middle is a flexible rubber tongue with USB contacts on the end.

The idea is that you’ll never again suffer Battery Death Anxiety, where you’re out for the evening, watching your phone’s charge approach zero because you have no way to charge it. Now, you’ll always have the “cable” right there in your wallet. Find the nearest TV or computer and charge away. continued…

first published week of:   07/22/2013

Embedding Story Maps into websites and blogs
by bern szukalski

Story maps combine ArcGIS Online web maps with applications and templates that incorporate text, multimedia, and interactive functions. Story maps inform, educate, entertain, and inspire people about a wide variety of topics. You can view examples of these popular applications at the Esri Storytelling with Maps website.

Story maps are easy to create using a variety of downloadable templates. Just author your ArcGIS Online web map (some templates use multiple web maps), download the template, and follow the instructions to insert your web map ID(s) and other elements. Some of the story map templates are also hosted directly on ArcGIS Online, and you’ll find several to choose from in the template gallery. See About web application templates for more information.

Once you’ve created a story map, or found one that’s publicly available, you can embed them in your website or blog. In this example we’ll use a publicly shared story map, one that uses the story map swipe template that compares two maps, in this case obesity and diabetes.

You can open the story map by clicking this URL: http://storymaps.esri.com/templates/swipe/

To embed the story map in a website or blog we can use an iframe tag. The iframe tag is supported in all major browsers including Internet Explorer, Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Opera. continued…

first published week of:   02/18/2013