WebProNews » requirements

Live Meeting 2007 – Web Access Problems

Ken Molay — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 16:09:44 +0000

It turns out that while David Chao’s article was correct about the size of the Microsoft Live Meeting client download, that is only part of the story.

The Live Meeting installation information and product website recommends using the full client if possible, for complete functionality. That is indeed a 15MB download, with an installation disk space requirement of 125MB! The installation requires Microsoft Windows, as the EXE and DLL components are written only for a Windows operating system.

But there is an alternative. Live Meeting allows the use of "Meeting Web Access" (MWA), which lets you run the service from a web browser as a Java applet. The system requirements page lists supported platforms as Internet Explorer on Windows, Firefox on Windows (but only XP… not Vista!), Safari on Mac OS, and Firefox on Solaris. I called tech support and asked about Unix and Linux operating systems. The rep told me that those platforms may or may not work and they are not tested or supported. (By the way, Microsoft turned down my request for a briefing or interview, so all information here is via my own experiments, the official web pages, or tech support calls.)

I unsuccessfully looked around the website for a description of what functionality is lost when you access a meeting through MWA rather than the full client. Tech support helped me out again. I was told that you lose only the ability to share streaming video content and to use 2-way VoIP for voice communications.

I thought I would try to deliver my first test webinar as a presenter using MWA before I installed the local client software… Just to see how that worked for people who couldn’t do the disk installation. The web applet loaded within about 15 seconds, which is reasonable. When I tried to upload a PowerPoint file to the meeting room, the program told me that I had to load an Active/X control. But no matter what I tried, the control refused to load. I turned off my antivirus software, I checked my Internet Explorer settings against the documentation and couldn’t find anything blocking it. Yet it stubbornly refused to work. I called tech support and got a nice guy in Austin, Texas who stepped me through all the normal troubleshooting procedures (including my favorite… "Reboot your machine.") Still no luck. So he asked me to run a Microsoft system dump utility that amazed me. It ran for more than ten minutes. That’s a lot of information! I sent in the data file and I’m waiting for a response from the "expedited problem" team.

Results of Day One: Zero success in performing the most basic function of presenting a PowerPoint slideshow via the web access console. I’m the first to admit that it is most likely a problem with a setting on my computer rather than anything inherent in the Microsoft program. But it is frustrating that we can’t figure out what the conflict is and how to resolve it. This is supposed to be the easier and faster way to connect!

Keep checking in for more developments and tests.

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Zango Ignoring FTC Requirements

WebProNews Staff — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 15:53:07 +0000

Sneaky pop-up ad company Zango settled with the Federal Trade Commission last November, paying $3 million in penalties and agreeing to stop duping users into downloading adware. But it appears the company is still up to its old tricks.

The reason the government began imposing jail time on insider traders and books-cookers in the financial sector is because companies were taking calculated risks by adjusting their business plans to allow for government fines. What’s a few million dollars to make billions?

Ben Edelman, a professor at Harvard Business School and certainly no fan of Zango (formerly 180solutions), has gathered evidence suggesting Zango is willingly and openly violating the terms of the FTC settlement.

On his blog, he presents his case:

Among these practices are widespread, ongoing Zango-designed installation sequences which install Zango pop-up ad software without any on-screen disclosure of material terms. Instead, these installations mention Zango’s effects only in a lengthy EULA – exactly contrary to the FTC settlement’s requirements.

Zango’s ongoing practices also include widespread in-toolbar ads without the labeling and hyperlinks specifically required under the FTC settlement. Other Zango ads, including desktop icons and even certain pop-ups, also lack these labels and links.

Perhaps the company filed the FTC fine under "Business Expenses."

Edelman presents a thorough (read: lengthy) investigation, complete with screenshots. In a summary, Edelman cites ActiveX installations, banner-based installations, both without proper disclosure, unlabeled ads, toolbars, desktop icons and pop-ups, and ads for bogus sites with the intent to defraud users.

Keeping Clients Within Project Boundaries

Brett Derricott — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:39:49 +0000

I suspect most of you have experienced “scope creep” before. Scope creep begins at the moment when your client asks for something outside of the scope of work for which you’ve contracted (you do have a contract, right?). Naturally, they’re asking for this thing to be included at no extra cost. Actually, they’re probably not asking. They’re probably acting like it’s always been understood that this thing will be included. Duh.

Scope creep is the bane of custom work. Defining the boundaries of a project can be extremely challenging and becomes more difficult the larger the project is. Many clients have difficulty understanding why estimating a creative endeavor can be difficult but for their success and for our sanity we, the vendors, need to understand the side effects of scope creep, its causes, and some possible remedies.

Scope Creep’s Side Effects

Scope creep has at least the following four nasty side effects, probably more:

It causes fixed-fee proposals to be priced higher than necessary to account for the risk scope creep will happen.

It causes clients to feel like their vendor isn’t very customer service oriented because the vendor seemingly responds to every additional request with a fee (for those vendors who resist scope creep).

It erodes project profit margins to zero and beyond (for those vendors who don’t resist scope creep).

It eventually forces vendors to create all sorts of protections against it in the form of wordy contracts, protective clauses, rigid processes, and whatever else can be put in place to make sure the client doesn’t have their cake and eat it too.

At Agency Fusion we’ve experienced our fair share of scope creep. In the early days we assumed that scope creep was a byproduct of working with a bad client. Bad clients do tend to push for as much free stuff as you’ll allow and it does behoove the wise vendor to weed out the bad clients and keep the good ones. But over time we’ve come to better understand the nature of the dreaded creeping-of-the-scope and we now view it as a problem for which we’re responsible.

With that said, here are several reasons scope creep occurs and some suggestions for how to address it, in terms of both prevention and treatment. Scope creep is so universal a problem that I anticipate many of you have suggestions or tips of your own. Please comment below for our benefit!

Why Scope Creep Happens

I think scope creep is so common for several reasons.

Clients don’t always know exactly what they want.
Clients often have a general idea, but it’s usually not detailed enough initially. Vendors who fail to ask the dozens and dozens of follow up questions necessary to create a tight scope of work will usually suffer later on.

Vendors are too busy to elicit detailed requirements.
We’ve stopped lamenting about clients and their vague requirements. Most of our clients don’t know they’re bringing us insufficient information so it’s our job to ask for it. If a vendor is too busy to do the work of requirements gathering odds are good the scope is at risk of changing later on.

Bulleted lists are a client’s best friend.
Clients often present their requirements in a concise, bulleted list. While the list may provide a good summary of what they want, each bullet is usually too vague for accurate estimating. A client may say to us, “I need a secure login area.” This could be accomplished with 1 hour of programming or 100 hours, depending on what the client means. We always smile lovingly when we see an RFP that has bullets like these:
- E-commerce functionality
- Secure login area
- Newsletter signup
- Integration with shipping

Assumptions, assumptions, assumptions.
Most discussions about scope creep will involve either the client or the vendor or both saying, “Well, we just assumed that feature XYZ [was][was not] included.” Assumptions are at the root of all scope creep.

I’ll know it when I see it.
Most people are pretty visual and as a result, are better at critiquing things than designing them. This commonly leads clients to find issue with their project once it’s delivered.

What to Do About It

As with many challenges in life, the best approach to addressing scope creep is to focus on only those things within your control.

Learn to estimate pessimistically.
Most of us are too optimistic when we estimate. We’re skilled at what we do so we tend to estimate like we’re playing golf. Low score wins. True, you might be able to do the task in 2 hours if everything goes as planned but what if it doesn’t? If you can’t assume the worst when estimating your time, then do your optimistic estimates and double it later.

Define the ins and outs.
Getting the scope tight means documenting exactly what you will do for the client. That’s what is “in scope.” Defining what is “out of scope” can be as important as defining what is in, especially because you probably already know the areas in which clients usually tend to push the limits. Write them down and include them in your proposal. Tell them that these things are not included for this price.

Use ranges for risky requirements.
Maybe most of the client’s requirements are fine but there is one that you think could be risky. Propose a cost range for that section if you can’t get sufficient detail to ease your discomfort. Explain your discomfort to the client and tell them you’re reasonably sure it will cost somewhere within this range.

Identify common tip-of-the-iceberg requests.
We often hear, “I need a secure login,” a common tip-of-the-iceberg phrase for us. Who knows what they want beyond the login itself? Requests like these need to be either fleshed out or we need to have a well-defined solution ready to present each time we get this request.

Embrace the fact that it will probably happen.
Show your client progress often and keep the ship on course. It’s easier to make several small course corrections along the way than to present the final project and find out it’s half wrong. The Agile programming approach is somewhat based on this principle. You know your clients will have new ideas when they see the first deliverable, so embrace that fact and show them something early. Don’t make the final product the first thing they see. You’ll think you’re done but they’ll have a laundry list of changes they need.

Recognize you are different.
Having a well-defined scope means different things to you and to your client. Educate them about the level of detail you need. Don’t assume they see things the way you do.

Never assume it’ll all work itself out.
When you’re busy it’s easy to tell yourself the scope looks detailed enough and those two or three vague portions will all work themselves out. Remember this: when those vague sections get worked out it will rarely be in your favor.

Set expectations up front.
Tell them that the scope represents exactly what they’ll get. If it isn’t in writing they shouldn’t expect to get it. Tell them you’ll charge them for all work outside the scope. Don’t assume they read the clause in your contract about this. Tell them in person and tell them you want to avoid having them feel like you’re being unfair when you inform them of additional costs. Be blunt now; it’s easier than doing it later.

For more reading on this subject, check out these resources:

A List Apart: In Defense of Scope Creep

A List Apart: The Problem, the Balloon, and the Four Bedroom House

Wikipedia: Requirements Analysis

Now it’s your turn! What advice do you have for others who’re fighting scope creep? How do you manage your clients’ expectations and remain profitable in the process?

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Another Thing CIOs Should Know About Requirements

James Taylor — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 21:32:02 +0000

I saw this article on CIO magazine – Five Things CIOs Should Know About Software Requirements. It seems to me that there is one more thing (at least) that they need to know about requirements:

Business rules are NOT requirements

After all, business rules are about how your business takes decisions, not about how a system works. Trying to capture business rules the way you capture any other kind of requirement is not going to work – simply trying to write better requirements will not get it done, I think system requirements, use cases and business rules are great complements to each other (as noted in Use Cases: Requirements in context) and, fortunately, you can find rules the same way as you find requirements

Here are the five things CIO magazine listed, with comments

The Inconvenient Checkbox: Understand the Role of Requirements
As this section says "Many development projects are handicapped from the start. The requirements are vague and subject to interpretation, require intimate knowledge of the business to interpret correctly, and aren’t prioritized" and that’s certainly true. It is also true, however, that part of the problem is mixing of business rules with requirements.

Don’t Throw It Over The Wall: The Right People Should Define the Requirements
Indeed business users should maintain rules but there are some secrets about getting them to do so. IT departments and business people have fundamentally different perspectives and separating out business rules can really help resolve this.

Superficially Complete: Define Requirements With "Enough" Detail
While I agree with the comment "They should have information that states more of what the requirement is to do (the What) and the way it is to do it (the How)", I think this means making sure testers can see the rules as well as the requirements as otherwise you run the risk that the how of the business will get mixed in with the how of the system.

Working from Ignorance: Recognize that Requirements Change
Much of the change in "requirements" really come from changing business rules and separating them out can dramatically reduce the change in the requirements themselves. However, most systems spend most of their life changing not being specified, so you do need to build systems where the rules can keep changing over time.

Carpet Yanking: Pay Attention to the People on the Front Line
One example of this is the necessity of making sure that the policies and regulations you think you are implementing are really being used.

One last thing, rules can and should be used with agile methods. If you are interested in more on rules, Barb von Halle and others (including me) published a book recently on the Business Rules Revolution.

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Google Allows Canadian Adwords Qualification

Ross Dunn — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 01:55:04 +0000

Google took a big step recently by finally allowing Canadian companies to become Adwords Qualified; a stamp of a approval previously denied to Google’s ignored neighbors. Yes, that is ever so subtle bitterness you sense. Thankfully however I can begin to put to rest my ill will now that Google has come to its senses.

What does it take for a company to become Adwords Qualified?

To become a Qualified Company in the Google Advertising Professionals program, a company must:

Have a billing and mailing address in a country where company qualification is available.

Employ at least two Qualified Individuals in the program. Individuals must be qualified under the main company-registered My Client Center account and not their own account. See the requirements for becoming a Qualified Individual.

Build and maintain the minimum 90-day required total client spend (spend requirements vary by country) for the company’s My Client Center account.

Special thanks to Shane over at SearchEnginePeople.com for sending over the good news this morning Here is his more substantial article on the subject.

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Requirements For Social Media Press Release

Shel Holtz — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 16:36:38 +0000

Chris Heuer and the social media press release working group have released the requirements for a social media release.

Published to the working group’s blog, the requirements dive deep into “the key elements of the Social Media Release that we have identified over the course of our discussion,” Heuer writes in his November 2 post:

The Social Media Release is intended to make it easier on people to identify and share the most important pieces of information with others around the globe while adding their own valuable perspective and/or editorial. It also takes full advantage of HTML, multimedia and the network effects enabled by the Internet by using structured data via the Microformat, which ultimately increases its findability by interested parties-which is ultimately the driving purpose of public relations and the press release specifically.

Detailed information about a variety of elements are included, such as

Tags and keywords
Embedded audio, video, and images
Company RSS feed
Reserved link types

Incidentally, if the topic interests you, there’s a mailing list you can join. You should also give a listen to NMRCast, a podcast featuring Chris, Tom Foremski (who authored the original post that sparked the social media release), Brian Solis, and others involved in the effort talking about the latest efforts to establish a standard.

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Shel Holtz is principal of Holtz Communication + Technology which focuses on helping organizations apply online communication capabilities to their strategic organizational communications.

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Key Measures of Success for System Implementation Project Management

Liz Davis — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 19:26:06 +0000

In all the years of managing projects from Sales Force Automation, Customer Relationship Management, Help Desk, Sales Quotation and Lead Tracking systems, and ERP Software, I have learned some key factors which, if always kept in check and balance, will lead you to project success.

Sure it is important to follow industry project guidelines from the Project Management Institute and within the Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, but I always keep these particular topics at the forefront of my mind ALL THE WAY through the project – from beginning to completion. Sometimes these factors can be overlooked or forgotten, or thought of as “not needed” in the rush to get a project underway. Stand Up and stop the madness, make sure you have a clear path before trying to get to your destination…. Or you will get lost along the way.

Key Measures:

1. Before even looking at business requirements or spending much time on a project, make sure you know:

a. Who the executive sponsor is and obtain the following information directly from that sponsor:

i. Project intentions and scope

ii. What the project is NOT or what is out of scope

iii. Who the “Customers” are for the project. (many times, customers are internal to the organization)

iv. If a Return on Investment document has been created and what is expected of a ROI document. What areas of the business are returns expected?

v. Project Budget and how expenditures are approved

vi. Expected Project Success Factors

vii. That they want this project moving forward at the present time, if not, when is it to start

viii. Timeline expected for project completion

ix. Agreement to put companies resources on the project to get it done

x. Required project status and reporting

xi. Agreement on a communication plan to sponsors, customers and other impacted parties

xii. Agreement as to the assigned project manager and support from the sponsor that if there are problems with the project that require the executive sponsors attention, that the sponsor will extend support for obtaining the resolution

b. Then put all of that information in writing, generally in some sort of project initiation document and then all project leaders, sponsors and customers and CIO SIGN the document. I cannot stress how important this part is. I cannot stress how many times we have come the end of a project and at least one of these parties (sponsors, customers or CIO) state they never agreed to some portion of the documented information in the project initiation document. This is especially important for System Implementation projects as a lot of time can pass between the time the project got underway and the time the final product is delivered.

2. Business Requirements

a. It is vitally important, before talking with any IT personnel (if the project involves internal IT – which, if it is system implementation, it most likely will) or product vendors, that you take the time needed to adequately document all business requirements from all customers. Documenting business requirements should, at a minimum, involve going through the following steps:

i. Identifying the subject matter experts and project representatives from each part of the business that serve as your customers for the end result of the project.

1. Identify the current problem or need

2. Document current processes

3. Discuss what is not working about the process

4. Review results they would like to see to support the business and analysis they need to perform to manage the business

ii. In business requirements documentation, DO NOT spend time discussing what systems or technology will allow them do. Discuss what is needed for the business. Do not let your customers try to define a process around systems or technology. Technology is there to support the business, not to dictate how a business should be run. Don’t worry, All the technical pieces will come together later.

iii. Document all the business requirements as discussed with all customer groups and subject matter experts. Be sure you specify the problems and needs, how it is hurting the business, what is needed, and how that will help the business. Be specific. This information will help you put together the ROI document to be sure the cost and expected benefits are in line with what the project sponsor(s) is expecting. Some project managers might disagree here and state that the ROI should be done before getting to the business requirements stage. However, I have always found new areas of investment (cost) and return on that investment present themselves when going through the business requirements discovery process.

iv. Always be sure to think about how a product will be used and how reporting will be required. This can really get you in the end if you don’t pay close attention up-front during the requirements phase.

v. You will then match the business requirements to the scope that you created in the project initiation document, or change the scope, which would require an amendment to the project initiation document requiring new signatures.

vi. Once the right set of requirements is documented and it lines up with project scope, then be sure to again have project sponsors, customers (remember, customers can be internal or external), and CIO acknowledging these are the business requirements, that the project is active and sponsored, and that they are in agreement with moving forward to the next project phases. This piece is especially important, as people tend to forget or say things like “I never said that” as you get further along in the project. You can always bring them back to the initial documentation and signatures. If you do not get signatures, you are a sitting duck.

3. Now it’s time to figure out how you are going to deliver on these business requirements.

This usually leads to a buy or build decision. That is, buy software from a vendor that specializes in the type of product needed, or build with internal IT personnel. The business requirements document is your basis for evaluating the buy or build decision. Do not stray; do not extend scope or budget, without going back through the sign-off process. If you are “buying” a product from a vendor, do the initial “paring down” process of determining top software products which match the business requirements.

4. Now that you have your top list of software contenders, have demonstrations performed by the vendors for your customer group(s).

They can help cast the vote for the selected product. It is critical to get buy-in from your customers every step of the way.

5. If possible, it is a good idea to perform a trial phase with 2 top vendors to see how the business requirements match up to the product.

6. After the trial phase, get back with your customers to demonstrate the products against the business requirements.

Then have your customers make their final selection. At that point, be sure a technical specifications document is written that matches up against the business requirements. The purpose of the technical specification document is to demonstrate within the product, how business requirements will be met, what business requirements cannot be met or can only be met partially, and the IT requirements for the product. Be sure that, before beginning a major development phase, that you have gone back to your sponsors, customers and CIO or other representative IT parties for agreement on the specifications and agreement for moving forward. This phase will also require an updated project schedule outlining the full development schedule, resource requirements, and commitment from involved parties.

7. Be sure to do a “pulse check” with your customers and sponsors at many points throughout the development cycle.

This will ensure your customers are not surprised by the end result or that you haven’t gone completely down a path that they did not want or that you developed something incorrectly. It is much better to catch these things while development is still going on – your time-line will probably be impacted much less this way AND the perception of project success by customers and sponsors will be much higher this way. Ultimately, it is best not to have any such “hang-ups” during the development process. But, it is probably not realistic to expect that you won’t have any. That’s the job of the project manager – to work through such issues and still complete the project on time.

8. When the development phase is complete, it is important that you have documented not only how to use the product, but how it impacts that business processes.

It will require discussion with customer group representatives about what the system will now do, and what the new process should look like. It is important to have this document and be in agreement with customer group representatives BEFORE any product rollout occurs. If you do this, you can expect a much smoother training and rollout phase of the product than if you just try to throw the product out there. If you do not have a carefully planned training and rollout phase, all your work will go down the drain, and the project will most likely not be perceived as a great success.

9. During the rollout and training phase, it is extremely important to communicate what the users need to do if they need help with the product.

What support for the product is available? A good project manager will already have this in place and be ready to put the support process into motion during the rollout and training phase. It is also important that you obtain agreement from the customer groups on the support process and that they think it will work for their group.

10. Lastly, be sure to follow-up with customer groups ensuring things are running smoothly and to see what problems or issues need to be corrected.

Keep doing so until your customers are happy with the product.

Remember, there are no levels of success. Either it was a great success, or it wasn’t.

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Hello, my name is Liz Davis and I have been working on System Implementation Projects for the last 13+ years in the high-tech and print industries. I am PMP certified and have worked for companies such as Informix Software, Synopsys, USA.NET and Cenveo.

The Virtual Project Office, LLC has been serving the CO community since 2006. Specializing in project management services for system implementation projects and Web Master design, Liz Davis offers 13+ years of Fast, Experienced and Professional Project Management services you can count on. Find out more about Liz at: http://www.thevirtualpo.com

Vista System Requirements, Upgrade Advisor

Nathan Weinberg — Thu, 18 May 2006 18:31:22 +0000

Microsoft has announced the base minimum system requirements to run Windows Vista.

They are:

Processor (CPU) – 800 MHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
System Memory (RAM) – 512 MB
Graphics capability – SVGA (800600)
Hard Drive – 20 GB
Hard Drive Free Space – 15 GB
Optical Drive – CD-ROM drive (can be external)

However, these requirements are only for Vista Home Basic. You’ll need a little more power for Vista Premium:

CPU – 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
RAM – 1 GB
A graphics processor that runs Windows Aero
128 MB of graphics memory
40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space
DVD-ROM Drive
Audio output capability
Internet access capability

Computers that meet the first list can get a Windows Vista Capable sticker, while those good for the second list can get a Windows Vista Premium Ready sticker.

The actual full Aero requirements are:

DirectX 9 class graphics processor that

Supports a WDDM Driver
Supports Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware
Supports 32 bits per pixel

Adequate graphics memory

64 MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor less than 1,310,720 pixels
128 MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels
256 MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions higher than 2,304,000 pixels
Meets graphics memory bandwidth requirements, as assessed by Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor running on Windows XP

Microsoft has released a program designed to advise users in which version of Windows they need, called the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor Beta.

Here’s the intro screen:

And here’s the main screen:

Now, the program starts off with Vista Home Basic, and checking any single check box moves you up to Vista Home Premium or Vista Business. The options are:

Strengthen Security (Included with all editions of Windows Vista)
I want to protect my PC from malicious software like worms, viruses and spyware. I would like to know when my PC is vulnerable to attacks and how to make it safe again. Learn more
Search and Organize (Included with all editions of Windows Vista)
I would like to instantly find what I need on my computer. I’d also like to quickly search my computer from almost anywhere in Windows Vista. Learn more
Elegant User Experience with Windows Aero
I’d like to see my information in realistic and dynamic new ways. I would like a smoother, more stable desktop experience with a modern look and feel. Learn more
Work Anywhere
I’d like to more easily detect and connect to WiFi hotspots. I would like to use Windows Tablet PC features like digital ink, touch and handwriting recognition. I want to edit and share documents whether or not I am physically connected to a network. Learn more
Watch and Record TV
I want to record and watch TV on my PC or through connected devices and TVs throughout my home. Learn more
Premium Photo, Music and Movie Experiences
I want to enjoy and share my pictures, music and movies throughout my home with Windows Media Center. I want to burn music and movies to DVD. Learn more

Connect to Corporate or Campus Networks
I’ll need to connect my computer to my company or school network. I’d like to remotely access and control my computer from a different location through another computer. I want to ensure that I have network backup for my PC. Learn more

Simplify My Business
I’d like to have integrated faxing and scanning capabilities. I want to protect the data on my PC in the event that it is lost or stolen, by taking advantage of advanced encryption. I need tools that make it easy for me to set up and use my PC even if I don’t have IT staff. Learn more

The first two, security and search, are checked by default and cannot be turned off, presumably to remind you what Vista Basic does have. All of them activate the suggestion at the bottom for Vista Home Premium, except the last two, which suggest Vista Business. Accordingly, if you choose any one option from the middle four Premium options, and any one of the last two Business options, you get recommended Vista Ultimate.

So, what wonderful suggestions does the program have for me? Well, they don’t like that I don’t have 15 gigabytes of free space (easily solved). Since I have a TV tuner and TV-out, I’m fine for the premium entertainment experiences and recording TV. I’m golden for everything else, including Aero (thanks to my ATI Mobility Radeon X300).

Next, it talks about drivers, listing your system devices that already have Vista drivers you’ll need to install, the ones that don’t need new drivers, and the ones with no drivers Microsoft is aware of. My SigmaTel C-Major Audio integrated sound controller has a Vista driver update, but my Dell AIO 922 printer, Mobile Intel 915GM Express Processor, Intel Wireless Connection Agent Miniport, and Intel 82801FBM Ultra ATA Storage Controllers don’t have known Vista drivers.

Devices with drivers that come with the Vista installation, requiring you to do absolutely nothing:

HP DeskJet 600
ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300
Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller
Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
Intel(R) 82801FB/FBM USB Controller
OHCI Compliant IEEE 1394 Host Controller
SDA Standard Compliant SD Card Controller
Ricoh R/RL/5C476(II) or Compatible CardBus (PCMCIA) Controller
Conexant D110 MDC V.92 Modem

Obviously, unless you have the exact same Dell Inspiron 6000 I have, you’re experiences will be different, but if you’re reading this and recognize some familiar hardware, you can worry jus that much less.

Check out the full Vista Get Ready site and the press release.

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Office 2007 Beta: Later This Month

Nathan Weinberg — Wed, 10 May 2006 19:48:33 +0000

Jensen Harris drops the confirmation: Beta 2 (the public beta) of Office 2007 will hit later this month, joining the Windows Vista Beta 2, which is expected on May 22.

To be sure you’ll get in, register right now at the Office preview site. The likely beta system requirements are Windows Vista, XP SP2 or Server 2003, 500 MHz, 256 MB of RAM and 2 gigs of space. If you want to run Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager, better bump that up to 1 GHz and 512 MB of RAM.

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Meeting Your Bandwidth Requirements For SCM Applications

Michael Lemm — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 22:08:41 +0000

As I pointed out in a previous article, Supply Chain Management (SCM) is a complex animal.

The key to a successful SCM implementation is a clear understanding of the business objectives and business requirements of the company the SCM primarily supports. This often includes a number of legacy systems which need to be integrated into the solution. From this will come the technical objectives to be met and the technical requirements that frame the solution. Only then will the commmunication requirements for bandwidth capacity, reliability, resiliancy, latency, security, and expandability be meaningful.

Here’s just 2 such technical aspects…..

Frame Relay

Frame relay initially had several advantages over the alternative solutions for SCM and other multi site and multi company communications networks.

The first advantage was with circuit costs. For a multi site network, the traditional approach was a large number of point to point circuits. Each circuit required a router port, a CSU, and often a circuit monitoring module. With milage based pricing, each circuit represented a significant recurring cost on top of the initial hardware costs. Router sizing was often a factor of ports supported rather than performance capability.

Frame relay exchanged the point to point circuit costs with an access circuit, typically at less than 1/10th of the cost. With port speeds from DS0 to DS3, multiple sites could be connected with a single port at each site. A partial or full mesh, even with full redundancy, could be accomplished with very few router ports and CSU at each site. This represented significant capital savings.

Using fractional T1 and T3 on the access circuits, frame relay made expanding capacity between sites relatively painless. Port changes within the frame relay provider’s network was often a configuration change. Expanding the actual circuits was typically a configuration change on the CSU and DACS.

Adding new sites was often accomplished with physical changes at the new site only. The new PVC across the frame relay network and at the existing site(s) was a configuration change. Depending on the routers used and the routing protocol implemented, this might be accomplished without a maintenance window.

The PVC approach allowed for additional security. A given location could be directed to a specific port within the DMZ, limiting the exposure of one’s own network to other vendors within the SCM network. Firewalls at each end allowed each company to control its own security. The frame relay network was vulnerable to external monitoring at very few points, and the relationship of PVC traffic to specific customer required specific network design information.

Frame relay offered the ability to have a disaster recovery site support multiple locations. PVC between the disaster location and other locations could be defined in the configuration, allowing dynamic implementation of the disaster recovery network.

As a circuit protocol, frame relay functions independent of other protocols. This segmentation allowed IPX, IP, SNA, and other system communications protocols to be implemented over the same paths. If desired, each of these could have its own PVC and bandwidth, or they could all operate over a common path. Finally, the bandwidth and performance could be established specifically to site pairs on a PVC basis.

For a vendor that participated in multiple SCM networks, frame relay represented real cost savings. Instead of a new circuit for each network, a PVC could be established. Instead of 6 week circuit installation delays, service could be established in hours.

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So why the past tense? The advantages of frame relay are now achieved via the Internet. The timeframes for implementation have been reduced from hours to minutes. Encryption has advanced beyond the security offered by isolated paths. Advances in application based routing can achieve availablity assurances. Legacy protocols have been largely replaced by IP.

There are still times when frame relay is the best choice based on business requirements or technical constraints. But a robust bandwidth network (e.g. OC3 or OC12 bandwidth….perhaps with GigE connectivity) applying IP protocols will enable a seemless flow of information without risking security concerns.

Emerging Technologies

The most notable is Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID. RFID tags are essentially barcodes on steroids. Whereas barcodes only identify the product, RFID tags can tell what the product is, where it has been, when it expires, whatever information someone wishes to program it with. RFID technology is going to generate mountains of data about the location of pallets, cases, cartons, totes and individual products in the supply chain. It’s going to produce oceans of information about when and where merchandise is manufactured, picked, packed and shipped. It’s going to create rivers of numbers telling retailers about the expiration dates of their perishable items–numbers that will have to be stored, transmitted in real-time and shared with warehouse management, inventory management, financial and other enterprise systems. In other words, it is going to have a really big impact.

Another benefit of RFIDs is that, unlike barcodes, RFID tags can be read automatically by electronic readers. Imagine a truck carrying a container full of widgets entering a shipping terminal in China. If the container is equipped with an RFID tag, and the terminal has an RFID sensor network, that container’s whereabouts can be automatically sent to Widget Co. without the truck ever slowing down. It has the potential to add a substantial amount of visibility into the extended supply chain.

Right now the two biggest hurdles to widespread RFID adoption are the cost of building the infrastructure and the lack of agreed-upon industry standards. But regardless…RFID implementation will be bandwidth intensive to retrieve and disseminate the mountain of information such a tool will provide.

Summary

The answer to how to meet bandwidth requirements for SCM applications is as complex as ever. The addition of emerging technologies like RFID into the mix of legacy point-to-point approaches, the frame relay darling, and the simplification afforded by OCx backed IP protocols….means your IT staff will be pegging their stress meter trying to make a decision. To navigate the aspect involving researching and acquiring the right bandwidth solution….do yourself a favor. Use the services of an independent unbiased consultant such as FreedomFire Communications to navigate the minefield for you. Your IT staff will love you for it.

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Michael is the owner of FreedomFire Communications….including target="_new" href="http://DS3-Bandwidth.com">DS3-Bandwidth.com and target="_new"
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