Hello all,
Several years ago I posted my first article, Novell is Dead. It was never my intention to have a continuing discussion of the matter. However, times have changed. I have gone back to read what I said and continue the discussion.
Novell has continued its tradition of Brainshare and they continue to do a good job. Back when Attachmate announced that it was going to purchase Novell, many of us long time IT customers were a little more than just concerned. What is this all going to mean? What is going to happen to the products? Will Novell finally get the marketing piece that was so tragically missing? Is Novell dead?
The answers to these and many more questions came as time passed. Since 2011, Attachmate sliced and diced Novell into 3 or 4 business units; Novell, NetIQ, Suse, and Attachmate proper. The very first messages were that it was business as usual, and the products were going to continue to be improved and built. Many of the IT veterans quietly said, "We've heard that before!" as the leaders of Novell for the past decade said one thing, but clearly were operating in the best interest of immediate gratification of stock holders and their own pockets. Could we trust Bob Flynn, Jay Gardner, Nils Brachmann, and Jeff Hahn at their word, or are these business men, much like politicians, who will say one thing and do another?
My answer is "Yes.....and no"
Attachmate has added to, not taken away from, the core products. They have invested in doing the right things the right way in technology. Features, functionality, product development, and even Q/A has improved over the past few years. They are reconnecting to some of their core values of delivering products that address their customers wants and needs; and getting it done. If something is the right thing to do, then they do the right thing the right way; even when it costs more than not doing it at all or doing it poorly.
On the other hand, It is curious that a company which at its very core is tied to Identity Management seemingly has the difficult and daunting task of establishing its own identity. What is Novell? What is Suse? What is NetIQ? What is OES? I remember sitting in meeting after meeting, desperately trying to make sense of and catch the vision of one company with 4 business units. I would listen to them repeat the same things over and over in hopes that the 150th time they said the same thing it would finally click with a EUREKA realization moment. So far, it hasn't. How can one take a single company, chop it up into 4 nearly separate stand alone business units, and still be functional?
So, my bottom line is that we can and did trust the leadership of Attachmate at their word. They have done exactly what they said they would do, but some of us haven't caught or understood some of the vision. Overall, the past three years, the situation has stabilized and gotten a little better.
Enter Micro Focus.....
OH NO! WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN? DEATH AND DESTRUCTION! CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER!
Unlike the Attachmate purchase, we heard none of that! The message pretty much was, "Oh...and by the way, we are now owned by Micro Focus.....carry on....that is all." And everyone continued about their business as usual. Unusual? Probably. Maybe those customers, partners and employees are accustomed to the new normal being acquisitions? Or maybe.....it just doesn't matter anymore....Novell is dead anyway.
There are no simple solutions to complex opportunities. Anyone suggesting a "all you have to do is...." is like suggesting the solution to every problem is a hammer. If the problem is a nail, it works just fine. If the problem is a screw or bold, not so much.
Once the problems are openly and honestly shared there are strategies that can and should be put into action. So what are those problems?
Stay tuned for Part 3. Feel free to comment and join the conversation. I already have my answers, but would like to hear others.
Tom
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Sunday, July 27, 2014
50 Shades of Grey - a man's perspective
In a store the other day I overheard one lady talking to another, "Have you read 50 Shades of Grey? OMG I did and it was... (with hands fluttering in front of her face)... was...OMG, WONDERFUL! It is such a great book, you have to read it. It is now my favorite book of all time. I wish I had a guy like that!" And the conversation continued in more detail. So what is the big deal? It is just a book that is going to be a movie, right?
Speaking for many of the men that I know, we are visual in nature. Men are aroused by the visual, and even the imagination is visual to us. Aural and written words typically have little effect to us without the visual or imagination of the visual. Having talked with a few women, they shared with me it works differently for them.
(Explanation forward is my best attempt at understanding women....a task as monumental as herding cats)
For women, it is all about the feeling and the aura and the mystery and the passion and the imagination. It is not about the visual. Although a good visual doesn't hurt the moment, the true passion for women is in what is going on in their minds, and then the body follows.
Speaking as a guy, it is completely opposite. Let me explain this a bit more to see if anyone gets it.
A man is just sitting there minding his own business; thinking absolutely nothing. A woman walks by him. She is wearing a mini skirt and a blouse that is a bit too small for her figure. She is well made up and she walks with a strut in her high heals. The man looks up and his eyes are drawn to her like a tiger to prey. He his mesmerized by her and may have a difficult time turning away. There is only one thing he is thinking if he is thinking at all....WOW. (queue the scene from Bambi where all of the animals became "twitterpated")
At no time does he go off into an internal soliloquy, "I wonder if she is smart? I wonder what she does for a living? I wonder if she can cook? I wonder what she does for fun? I wonder what makes her laugh? What is her favorite movie? I wonder what she was like as a kid? I wonder what her favorite place is in the entire world? I wonder if she is a cat or dog person?" You get the drift.
And here is what doesn't make sense, ladies. Even if a man is older and wiser and understands this, he may ask these questions, and then answer them for her in his own mind with answers that suit him.
"Is she smart?" Of course she is! A woman like that can't be dumb.
"What does she do for a living?" She must be a Doctor, or Lawyer, or some sort of executive because a person that beautiful must have one of those positions.
"Can she cook?" Of course she can! She is a master chef in 3 different genres of food.
"What is her favorite place?" With ME of course!
"I she a cat or dog person?" She loves ALL animals, especially the ones I love!
After the woman passes along, and the emergency alert system sound that just played in his mind which cause the man to pause all brain function and garnished his complete attention, stops alarming, then the man can reflect and begin to think rationally again. Blood begins flowing again to his brain and his thinking senses return. His mind takes control again with "I now return you to your originally scheduled programming."
If any of you are having a difficult time with this, let me point you to the 1979 film "10". There is a specific scene where Bo Derek is running down the beach in her one piece bathing suite, her beaded hair flopping up and down. The camera then switches back to Dudley Moore where you can almost see the intelligence leave his body as he stares at her. This, ladies, is the power you hold over men. Use it wisely.
By this time reading through this blog, if not sooner, I can hear the collective moan of "Men are pigs!" Right? Let me redirect you to the reason for this post. I postulate that the book/movie 50 Shades of Grey does something very similar to women as my story does to men. After reading this book or watching the movie, you should not have the expectation or deserve the right to tell your husband or boyfriend to not watch porn. It does exactly the same thing to woman as traditional porn does for me. In essence, 50 Shades Of Grey is porn for women. And because it doesn't fit the visual definition of porn, it can fall under the categories of "Art", "Entertainment", "Fantasy", which makes it completely acceptable in our culture.
Take that same conversation that I heard, change it up a bit from a woman's perspective hearing two guys talk to one another. "Hey John, have you read that new book "New Porn Book"? There aren't many words but lots of pictures. Nothing left to the imagination! It is OUTSTANDING, probably my favorite book of all time. I can't wait until they make it a movie! I wish I had a woman like that!"
And all/many of the women collective say, "What a pig!" Know that some guys think the same way when we hear you talking with admiration about 50 Shades of Grey.
Let me share another person's blog "To the Women of America: 4 Reasons to hate 50 Shades of Grey" http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/07/25/women-america-4-reasons-hate-50-shades-grey/2/#cgMkbhTpqceK5kPb.01
*I have not read the book but have talked with enough people (men and women) who have read it.
Thoughts
Speaking for many of the men that I know, we are visual in nature. Men are aroused by the visual, and even the imagination is visual to us. Aural and written words typically have little effect to us without the visual or imagination of the visual. Having talked with a few women, they shared with me it works differently for them.
(Explanation forward is my best attempt at understanding women....a task as monumental as herding cats)
For women, it is all about the feeling and the aura and the mystery and the passion and the imagination. It is not about the visual. Although a good visual doesn't hurt the moment, the true passion for women is in what is going on in their minds, and then the body follows.
Speaking as a guy, it is completely opposite. Let me explain this a bit more to see if anyone gets it.
A man is just sitting there minding his own business; thinking absolutely nothing. A woman walks by him. She is wearing a mini skirt and a blouse that is a bit too small for her figure. She is well made up and she walks with a strut in her high heals. The man looks up and his eyes are drawn to her like a tiger to prey. He his mesmerized by her and may have a difficult time turning away. There is only one thing he is thinking if he is thinking at all....WOW. (queue the scene from Bambi where all of the animals became "twitterpated")
At no time does he go off into an internal soliloquy, "I wonder if she is smart? I wonder what she does for a living? I wonder if she can cook? I wonder what she does for fun? I wonder what makes her laugh? What is her favorite movie? I wonder what she was like as a kid? I wonder what her favorite place is in the entire world? I wonder if she is a cat or dog person?" You get the drift.
And here is what doesn't make sense, ladies. Even if a man is older and wiser and understands this, he may ask these questions, and then answer them for her in his own mind with answers that suit him.
"Is she smart?" Of course she is! A woman like that can't be dumb.
"What does she do for a living?" She must be a Doctor, or Lawyer, or some sort of executive because a person that beautiful must have one of those positions.
"Can she cook?" Of course she can! She is a master chef in 3 different genres of food.
"What is her favorite place?" With ME of course!
"I she a cat or dog person?" She loves ALL animals, especially the ones I love!
After the woman passes along, and the emergency alert system sound that just played in his mind which cause the man to pause all brain function and garnished his complete attention, stops alarming, then the man can reflect and begin to think rationally again. Blood begins flowing again to his brain and his thinking senses return. His mind takes control again with "I now return you to your originally scheduled programming."
If any of you are having a difficult time with this, let me point you to the 1979 film "10". There is a specific scene where Bo Derek is running down the beach in her one piece bathing suite, her beaded hair flopping up and down. The camera then switches back to Dudley Moore where you can almost see the intelligence leave his body as he stares at her. This, ladies, is the power you hold over men. Use it wisely.
By this time reading through this blog, if not sooner, I can hear the collective moan of "Men are pigs!" Right? Let me redirect you to the reason for this post. I postulate that the book/movie 50 Shades of Grey does something very similar to women as my story does to men. After reading this book or watching the movie, you should not have the expectation or deserve the right to tell your husband or boyfriend to not watch porn. It does exactly the same thing to woman as traditional porn does for me. In essence, 50 Shades Of Grey is porn for women. And because it doesn't fit the visual definition of porn, it can fall under the categories of "Art", "Entertainment", "Fantasy", which makes it completely acceptable in our culture.
Take that same conversation that I heard, change it up a bit from a woman's perspective hearing two guys talk to one another. "Hey John, have you read that new book "New Porn Book"? There aren't many words but lots of pictures. Nothing left to the imagination! It is OUTSTANDING, probably my favorite book of all time. I can't wait until they make it a movie! I wish I had a woman like that!"
And all/many of the women collective say, "What a pig!" Know that some guys think the same way when we hear you talking with admiration about 50 Shades of Grey.
Let me share another person's blog "To the Women of America: 4 Reasons to hate 50 Shades of Grey" http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/07/25/women-america-4-reasons-hate-50-shades-grey/2/#cgMkbhTpqceK5kPb.01
*I have not read the book but have talked with enough people (men and women) who have read it.
Thoughts
Sunday, April 6, 2014
Importance of DNS in every organization
Hello all,
I have been struggling to find a way to explain the
importance of using DNS in our environment as opposed to direct IP
addresses. While IP addressing is
important in what we do, connecting to other machines or services via DNS is
vital to sustainability and growth.
I found a bit of information and changed the message a bit
to fit our needs. Maybe this will
help. Bottom line….when connecting to
anything, PLEASE use DNS.
DNS is foundational for any business. True, while a company is small, it is easy to
memorize a small portion of static IP addresses. This works fine for home or a small
organization, but does not provide flexibility for growth, nor does it allow for
scalability. Take this example:
In your web browser, type http://74.125.225.115
and press enter (or just press the hyperlink) ….where did it take you? Google?
So, why would anyone want to type in http://www.google.com
when they can easily memorize a number like 74.125.225.115? (sarcasm).
It is much easier to remember www.google.com
than it is to memorize a number like that, yes?
Now…I could stop right here, but I am sure there are some people out
there that are numbers people who will argue that memorizing the number is
easier than remembering www.google.com. Okay…put on your helmets, this is going to
hurt a bit.
In your browser now type (or press the hyperlink) Http://173.194.46.48 where did it take you? Google?
How about http://173.194.46.49 ? Google?
Now try http://173.194.46.50? Google? Now try http://173.194.46.51 ?
Google again? Now…I can keep putting
typing addresses about 400 more times that will bring you to the exact same
spot…..www.google.com. The google web
servers are a part of a cluster. If one
doesn’t work for whatever reason, another one picks up.
So now, numbers person, would you like to memorize about
400, 4 octet string numbers to get to a single server, or would you rather use
DNS and just type http://www.google.com and
let DNS figure it out for you?
Okay, Mr. Smarty pants…you know who you are? They guy who wants to argue everything just
for the sake of arguing. You said you
are going to memorize 400 number strings because you do not like or do not
trust DNS. Fine. Let’s test your mad number skills. IPv6! Full contact sport now! Put on all your armor!
IPv6 is coming. If you
are in other countries, this is all they do now. Since Feb, 2013, the IANA has completely
exhausted the IPv4 range, which means that there is no more address spaces
available in the IPv4 range to be given out publically. So, eventually, everyone will be force to
migrate/move to IPv6 (www.test-ipv6.com )
So, if you are already running IPv6 you are ahead of the
curve! (Clap)
So now……you want to goto google. You can type in www.google.com and let DNS resolve it for you….or,
Mr Numbers Guy…..you can type in Http://2607:f8b0:4009:8010:0000:0000:0000:1012
YUP, that is the www.google.com address in
IPv6 format. Now, again, there are about
400 different combinations of this number for you to memorize. GO!
OR…..you can just type in www.google.com
and let DNS sort it out for you.
Your choice, choose wisely!
Hope you enjoyed this.
J
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