Links for 2011-08-20

Wenn die unten nicht mehr wollen - Berliner Zeitung

Die Welt wird sich in den nächsten Jahren gewaltig ändern. Die Vorstellung, ausgerechnet die Formen des wirtschaftlichen, politischen, kulturellen Zusammenlebens, die sich auch in Europa erst nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg durchgesetzt haben, würden das 21. Jahrhundert prägen, hat angesichts der demografischen und der Machtverhältnisse etwas Tollkühnes. Es wird neue Balancen von Volksbeteiligung, von Wirtschaftsmacht und Herrschaft geben. Die neuen Medien werden darin wichtige Rollen spielen.

5 Most-Ignored IT Security Best Practices – InformationWeek5 Most-Ignored IT Security Best Practices - security Blog

There’s nothing simple about enterprise security, but there are plenty of best practices that can keep most businesses safe from the most likely and pervasive threats. Unfortunately, according to a new study from research firm Echelon One and enterprise key and certificate management company Venafi, more than half of all IT departments are failing at some of the most important security practices. Here are the top 5 things your company could probably do better.

The epic unpopularity of Windows smartphones

Microsoft’s 1.7 million quarterly phone sales compare to 46.8 million for Android, 23.9 million for Nokia’s Symbian, 19.6 million for the iPhone and 12.7 million for BlackBerry. […]

The only major platform Microsoft is outselling is apparently HP’s WebOS, which doesn’t even show up in the rankings because it sold so poorly.

Millennials Aren’t The Little Devils IT Imagines – InformationWeekMillennials Aren’t The Little Devils IT Imagines - global-cio Blog

new research from GigaOM Pro and Isurus Market Research & Consulting, sponsored by IT support vendor Bomgar, suggests the Millennials have more respect for the IT organization than most of us give them credit for.

Why in the Hell Is Everyone Stealing Copper?

earch the news for „copper theft” and look through the headlines. LOOK. Why are there so many stories? Stealing wire to sell the copper? From a cell tower? What is this, the Great Depression?

Reports from the Department of Energy estimate that copper theft is responsible for $1 billion worth of damage every single year. The problem is so rampant that there’s a coalition to prevent copper theft. State laws are being passed left and right, requiring close monitoring of all copper sales. What gives? It’s the economy, stupid.

MOODY’S ANALYST BREAKS SILENCE: Says Ratings Agency Rotten To Core With Conflicts, Corruption, And Greed

The primary conflict of interest at Moody’s is well known: The company is paid by the same „issuers” (banks and companies) whose securities it is supposed to objectively rate. This conflict pervades every aspect of Moody’s operations, Harrington says. It incentivizes everyone at the company, including analysts, to give Moody’s clients the ratings they want, lest the clients fire Moody’s and take their business to other ratings agencies.

Moody’s analysts whose conclusions prevent Moody’s clients from getting what they want, Harrington says, are viewed as „impeding deals” and, thus, harming Moody’s business. These analysts are often transferred, disciplined, „harassed,” or fired.

In short, Harrington describes a culture of conflict that is so pervasive that it often renders Moody’s ratings useless at best and harmful at worst.