Kindle Unlimited

The popular electronic e-commerce Major Amazon will be offering its customers an unlimited access to reading and listening for $9.99 per month, the service which would be called Kindle Unlimited is expected to increase the growth rate of Amazon by offering customers access to its more than 600,000 books and audio books  Amazon will be initially offering a 30 day free trial service for its customers and the service would be available for Kindle, i OS and Android operating phones.

The company is required to attract well-known publishers for this service to gain popularity and also has to overcome peer pressure from start up firms. Amazon has included its best sellers like the Harry Potter Series, the Lord of Rings and the Hunger Game series to this soon to launch service. Amazon which has recorded low profits in the past has been trying to launch new services and is hoping to increase its sales by attracting customers to the new Kindle Unlimited, where customers can easily access the required author or genre of books and start reading.

Ethical Hacking

Ethical Hacking is breaking into the Computer information system to identify any loopholes and rectify the system and to report any vulnerability in the system, it is Legal and these hackers possess certain skills which are put to use as per the requirement. Ethical hacking helps an individual identify potential threats on the computer or network.

Hackers are divided based on their knowledge as

Coders: They are extremely skilled people with good programming knowledge and who know what they are doing. Good understanding of coding and the outcome of the code.
Admins: They are aware of what is expected of them, they make the work of coders easy by monitoring and guiding, they do not have knowledge of coding.
Script Kiddies: They are basically hackers with little experience and do not know the outcome of coding, sometimes could cause severe damage due to their lack of experience.

Hackers based on their Legality

White Hat Hackers: A hacker who specializes in testing and security methodologies, licensed to work with high pay scales, the good hacker.
Black Hat Hackers: Dangerous people with a wrong intent to earn money or destroy the security system, he is the bad hacker. They could be anybody from the coders, admins or script kiddies.
Grey Hat Hackers: This hacker generally involves himself in good and bad activities could be a white or black hat, and mostly could be the ‘admin’, as he has the opportunity to indulge in such activities.

Hacking with a malicious intent is ‘Cracking’, and it is used by breaking into Computer Systems for personal or commercial gains, for posting harmful or malicious content causing damage to the information and systems.

The important measures to be taken to avoid hacking with a malicious intent are adopting certain Security and counter measures, using effective Anti-Viruses, properly logging out after using mails, opening the browser manually, refraining from opening any spam files and maintaining proper password protection for all the administrator accounts. 

OSI and TCP/IP

The OSI model is a model which explains the way computers communicate with each other over a network; it uses a seven layered approach to transmit data, the layers being physical, data link, network, transport, session, presentation and application, the data flows down the transmit layer over a physical link, and finally passes through the receiver layer. The TCP/IP is also a layered model but does not use all of the layers as in the OSI model, the network protocol model is similar to layer 3 of the OSI model, the combination of the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th layers of the OSI model is similar to the application layer and the host-to-host layer is similar to the 4^th layer of the OSI model. A fiber media convertor is a networking device used to connect two media types which are not similar like a twisted one with fiber optic cable, they are significant in connecting fiber optic cable systems with the already existing copper based systems and the structured cabling systems.

          A network address is used to identify a computer on the network, when used properly computer can find the addresses of added computers on the same network, and can be used to send messages to these computers, the most used example of a network address is the Internet Protocol (IP) Address. The network protocol is a set of rules which a computer follows when data is exchanged in a computer network, a few examples of network protocols are FTP, HTTP, SMTP, Telnet, HTTPs, Bluetooth, OSI and RTPS protocols etc,. WAN (Wide Area Network) is a network that covers a larger area which uses telecommunication lines that are leased. LAN (Local Area Network) is a network used to connect computers in a small area which maybe at home, office or a computer lab for example, an Ethernet. Network security is the steps or approaches taken by a network administrator to avoid misuse, illegal access to the network, and ability to modify a computer network. Tools that are used for network troubleshooting are very important for every administrator to troubleshoot different conditions of working some of the troubleshooting tools are Ping, IPConfig, Trace route, Netstat, NS lookup, Subnet, Netstat, Mtr and Route. All the above discussed topics are extremely important to understand the working, data exchange and networking of a computer.

          Data communications and Network systems are used for computers to communicate with each other, computer networking systems are widely used in many fields like accounting, sales and many others, the job of a system analyst it to communicate with other computer systems for sharing information among them. Email and internet are most extensively used at homes, offices and in individual businesses, designing the hardware and software for computer usage for data exchange is a part of data communications and Network systems. The growing demand for computer analysts who have in depth knowledge in Data communications and Network systems itself is proof enough that internet and email play a major role in everyday life.

Why did Brazil Lose?

Brazil losing to Germany by 7-1 goals in the Semi Finals of the ongoing FIFA world cup came as a huge shock to the numerous fans and the team themselves. The reasons for the much acclaimed team to lose can be many, but the most glaring reason could be the absence of their most coveted player Neymar out of the game with a vertebrae injury. Neymar with his great talent as a skillful scorer was the most wanted person on the team during the match against Germany, but the Brazilian team had to play without him due to his injury. And adding further insult to injury was the manner in which Thiago Silva got himself suspended by being awarded two yellow cards, his absence as a defense player was also very obvious. And even the talented players like Ramires and Willian also could not fill the gap left by Neymar, they were totally at a loss when it came to scoring goals.

What was most evident was the lack of confidence, connection and spirit in the Brazilian team during the semifinal match, the players were not up to their mark and could not stop Germany from making the goals, and the German goal keeper turned out to be an excellent show stopper. All the hopes of millions of fans and the Brazilian government who invested so much money on their players came crashing down with Brazil losing badly to Germany. What was most apparent in the Brazilian team was the total lackluster play and inability to put up any defense, which along with the absence of two of their most sought after players and a strong and confident German team, was the main reason for them to lose.

Customary/Traditional Management

The old style of management follows a very disciplined and systematic style of working, in which the employees have no say in any matters and this sort of management is mostly seen in government and some private agencies. The management is usually not concerned with the well-being of their employees which may result in heartache for them towards the management, which further leads to the employees not performing their best at work, which in turn affects the quality of the work. Traditional leaders do not encourage knowledge sharing or discuss with their employees; they tend to believe that they have the power to be authoritative and usually do not encourage suggestions from their employees. When the employee’s performance at work is excellent also, the management fails to recognize or even fail to express their pleasure towards the employee in this kind of management.

In a modern organization the working is mostly fast paced and challenging and usually decisions have to be taken on the spot, for this sort of working environment the traditional style of management would be a restriction to progress. The management of such high profile organizations should be more flexible and collaborative and employees above managerial level should be given the freedom if necessary to take decisions on their own as required which benefit the organization. This style of management is also more interactive and more sensitive to the needs of the employees, were interaction is usually on a personal basis as this helps in better understanding, quicker completion of work and succeeding. This manner of management is very important for the growth and prospects of the organization.

With the fixed rules and principles of the traditional management it would definitely be a hurdle to progress in a high tech organization, in a collaborative management both the higher ups and the workers are viewed as equals and work on a common platform were they can share their ideas and information to achieve their goals and principles. Employees who excel at work are rewarded and given enough exposure to pursue higher assignments. Any concerns at work are quickly solved as all the workers are responsible for their work and are equally involved in their commitment. Knowledge sharing of resources along with a mutual respect towards a co-worker, are the key factors in a collaborative management due to which the work would be achieved much faster and effectively and also resulting in personal satisfaction to the employees.

In today’s world of frequently changing complex business processes and technologies, organizations have to work in an innovative and strategy based manner to reach targets and milestones. For any organization to succeed on a global level it is very important to plan, strategize and work towards achieving it. All the above reasons are why traditional management would not be effective in high tech organizations, the more interactive and collaborative manner of management is much preferred for its easy and effective manner in which all the employees and the leaders mingle and work together for the prospect of the organization. The work in a collaborative setting is accomplished much faster by having discussions, knowledge sharing and brain storming sessions. People are the most important resources in a collaborative management setting thus giving more priority to employees and their needs and requirements. Thus comparing to traditional management, a collaborative manner of management would be more preferable to any high tech organizations considering the fast paced work and complexities.

Technology to the Rescue

A local media firm has four branches in nearby locations, due to the operations in different locations and lack of streamlining of the sales and purchases in a systematic manner at a centralized location, the customer base was badly affected resulting in a drop in the sales.  To overcome this problem the company is required to set up a centralized data center like WAN (Wide Area Network) from where the employees from all the four locations can access the inventory for stock updates.  Using the WAN system makes it easier to transfer data faster from one location to another, and it is also cheaper and easy to access and catalog records from a remote location.  The work flow is more flexible as you have more control on the records thus giving the required priority to cataloging the records and communication among employees of different locations.

To overcome the issues of online security all the access to the enterprise network should be secured, this can be done by applying the device identity for control of access, securing the LAN and the remote VPN is very important in this sort of mechanism. In this methodology the authentication process is secured by using the Transport Layer Security to have more security between the authentication service and the device, this works in a similar fashion to web security between the browser and the web server. By using the WAN system the company can ensure zero tolerance of errors and all the transactions can be done on a customized intranet website, and web servers put up at the centralized data center can cater to the needs of the online web traffic by helping with online sales. Using Access control mechanisms by maintaining access control lists on authentication basis is also another solution to network security. The growing needs of online connectivity and usage, risks exposure to attacks from malware, an operative authentication device for network connectivity is very important to overcome the risk of probable malware attack. By using WAN, the company can have better service and improved productivity, combined savings and can easily manage and arrange traffic as per requirements.

Overcoming the Power Crisis

The solution to power crisis can be making use of alternative sources of energy like solar and wind energy. Especially in a country like India were frequent power cuts is common, the power cuts during the summer season vary from anywhere between 4-12 hours a day, the rural areas experiencing the highest power cut of around 12 hrs a day. It’s time that someone gave a serious thought to the solution for this crisis. By adopting solar energy, the rural people can benefit as they have an abundance of sunlight and space, they can install these solar panels on their rooftops or even near their fields for agricultural purpose and generate their own power. In this manner they will be fulfilling their needs and any excess power can also be sold to the grid at a fixed rate, by this they along with the government will be mutually benefited.

The only hurdle to more people adopting alternative sources of energy might be due to the lack of awareness and sufficient economic resources. The government by taking certain steps can help in creating awareness among people by conducting campaigns in different areas and at the same time they can also help the common man by providing the required solar panels and other resources at a subsidized rate or by providing loans at a cheaper interest rate. With the ever growing population in India meeting the demands of basic necessities has become a task, in such a scenario promoting alternative sources of energy should be taken up in a big way to meet the demand. In a country like Germany, one can see that all the rooftops are covered with solar panels where solar energy is hugely used; this shows the practical thinking of the Germans. It is high time that people in India think practically and put this into action.