Archive for September 15, 2016

Rogers Cancelling iPhone 7 Orders?

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 15, 2016 by itnerd

At present, I am tracking Twitter traffic that seems to imply that Rogers is cancelling iPhone 7 orders for some reason. Here’s some examples of what I am seeing:

At this point it is not clear why this is going on, though the second Tweet that I posted suggests that Rogers found some way to screw this up and tick off a very passionate group of smartphone users in the process. Rogers hasn’t put out any sort of official statement as far as I can tell, but it will be interesting to see what they way if and when they do. Watch this space for more details.

 

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macOS Sierra & iOS 10 Removes PPTP Support: Why This Is A Good Thing

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 15, 2016 by itnerd

If you have a VPN in your company, you should know that iOS 10 which hit the street earlier this week and macOS Sierra which will be on the streets next week have removed PPTP support. PPTP stands for Point to Point Tunneling Protocol and it was once a very common way to implement a virtual private network or VPN. But this protocol leaves a lot to be desired from a security standpoint. Thus organizations that still use VPNs should have been moving to more secure methods of encrypting VPN traffic. However, some haven’t and that’s why this move by Apple is a big deal. Users of Macs and iDevices that have PPTP VPNs configured will suddenly find that once they upgrade to the latest version of macOS or iOS, their VPN will stop working.

Now to be fair, Apple did warn people of this some time ago. But I think it’s safe to say that not everyone got the message as I suspect that help desks in organizations are being flooded with calls from iDevice and Mac users. But take it from me, the removal of PPTP support is a good thing. In my mind, there’s no reason why a vendor should support a technology or a standard that makes people insecure. In this day and age of everyone and their dog getting pwned by hackers, that not cool. Thus it may be necessary for the Apple’s of the world to force the issue by dropping standards that we know are bad. Thus, if you’re an organization who has a VPN set up with PPTP, you now have a massive incentive to quickly transition to something more secure as soon as possible. In the long term, you’ll be better off for doing so.

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PSA: How To Replace Your Galaxy Note 7 In Canada

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 15, 2016 by itnerd

If you’re someone who has a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 that has a tendency to explode, you may be wondering how you get a replacement. The process is actually quite simple. Samsung Canada has a  Canadian product exchange website that is live now that gives you options to get the replacement device at your home or the store you bought it from. Once you submit your details, you will be contacted within 48 hours or so.

The other option is to contact your carrier. From what I have heard, most carriers are working with Samsung to get these phones swapped out. But if I were you, I’d go directly to Samsung as that seems to be the path of least resistance.

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Highlights From The World IT Forum 2016

Posted in Commentary with tags on September 15, 2016 by itnerd

The IFIP World IT Forum (WITFOR) 2016 has been told that adopting technology is the key to solving the development challenges of productivity and innovation. In his keynote address at WITFOR 2016 in Costa Rica, Dr Robert Atkinson, founder and president of international think tank, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), said Latin America and other developing nations must digitize as many processes as possible.

The leading ICT conference for the developing world, WITFOR 2016 has the theme of “ICT for Promoting Human Development and Protecting the Environment”. It is an initiative of IFIP, the global association for the ICT profession, and brings together senior policy-makers, academics, ICT experts, vendors and representatives from various NGOs and GOs to discuss ICT strategies to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In considering the topic, “ICT and Innovation: What Firms in Developing Countries Can Do to Compete in the Global Economy?”, Dr Atkinson said productivity must come from new tools, particularly ICT tools, and using technology is more important than producing it.

Dr Atkinson offered three strategies for companies wanting to enable growth:

  • Put enterprise first: the Cloud is much more plug and play and requires less ICT skills;
  • Enable scale: larger firms are more productive than smaller firms and use more ICT.
  • Embrace disruption.

He also highlighted a clear role for governments in developing policies that encourage and enable development:

  1. Put ICT-led productivity growth first. Nations need innovation in all industries;
  2. Do not raise ICT costs;
  3. Do not burden ICT-enabled business models keep necessary service available and affordable;
  4. Make government a force for digital innovation.

Dr Atkinson also refuted claims that technology and automation will have a negative impact on the number of available jobs, saying that new technologies will translate to more positions and new job opportunities.

Other Highlights

  • ITU Deputy Secretary Malcolm Johnson emphasised the role of national broadband networks in enabling growth and opening up access to a broad range of services and delivering benefits for the world’s citizens.
  • Valentina Dagiene discussed the importance of competitions and contests to help engage in technology-related topics, saying they provided a valuable source inspiration and innovation.
  • Dr Erick Mata explored strategies for using technologies to help meet the global challenges of biodiversity conservation. He also presented global databases that store biodiversity information, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF).
  • A panel of leading educators considered what education will look like in 2030. They suggested that, because of the access students have to technologies and the overwhelming volume of information available, the role of teachers is changing. Rather than being the source of knowledge, teachers will become more of a guide, helping students to navigate the information highway more effectively and to create their own knowledge.

WITFOR 2016 concluded on Wednesday 14th September.

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