Monthly Archives: May 2010
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Syndication
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May 21, 2010
Book Review: “Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 Resource Kit”
By New Signature
In the Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 Resource Kit, authors Mike Volardsky, Olga Londer, Bret Hill, Bernard Cheah, Steve Schofield, Carlos Aguilar Mares, Kurt Meyer and the Microsoft IIS Team all contribute. The result is mixed.IIS 7 is a completely different product than its predecessor, IIS 6, and the book covers the improvements in modularity, security and configuration well. Even the relatively short overview of the features was comprehensive enough to warrant purchasing the book. By the time the team digs down into the xml configuration files, I was super-excited about the changes. As a long-time user of Apache, htaccess and mod_rewrite, I’ve always wished IIS would move into a more granular level of configurations from the old registry and metabase system. The new xml files should prove a boon to IIS admins the world over. By providing a series of simple steps to secure the server from the start, Microsoft has always significantly focused on security in this revision. The new logging functionality also greatly improves the ability of IIS admins to rapidly diagnose faulty components that are affecting web apps negatively. (more…)
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May 17, 2010
Food & Water Watch Launches the Spill the Truth Campaign
By New Signature
Food & Water Watch launched a massive campaign today to shut down BP Atlantis, an oil platform in the Gulf that is missing 89% of its engineer-approved safety documents. This campaign is driven online by the Spill the Truth website. Food & Water Watch turned to New Signature to conceptualize, design and develop the Spill the Truth campaign website. In order to react to the Gulf Coast disaster and media coverage by 60 Minutes on their campaign to shut down Atlantis it was critical for Food & Water Watch to work with a partner who could quickly implement a stunning visual design and rich functionality. New Signature utilized our process-driven approach to design, build, and launch the Spill the Truth website in one week.SpilltheTruth.org features a compelling message delivered through multimedia content including a compelling video, interactive timeline, and supporting documentation. Visitors to the website can also take action through a variety of methods, including emailing or calling President Obama to ask him to shut down BP Atlantis until it is proven safe, spreading the word to friends via email and social networks, and direct contribution to Food & Water Watch. The website also integrates with social media, drawing community generated content directly from Twitter and Facebook.
Update: June 16, 2010 @ 11:38
Food & Water Watch’s Spill the Truth campaign to shut down BP Atlantis is featured in a 2 minute and 41 second hard hitting video on CNN.com’s homepage.
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May 16, 2010
Using Drupal’s Domain Access Module for Multi-site Implementations
By New SignatureFor organizations looking to manage more than one web property with a single Drupal instance, there is a great set of modules available to make the job entirely doable on a modest budget. Unlike some of the other Drupal multi-site modules available, the Domain Access Module uses one primary website and database that you can then add any number of affiliated sites to. Each website may run on its own domain, and content can be shared across one or more of the affiliated sites.
One time-saving benefit of this approach is that website administrators and editors use one administration back-end location to manage all affiliated sites. And because all custom and contributed Drupal modules are shared across all affiliates, maintaining and updating the Drupal installation requires no more effort than maintaining a single installation of Drupal.
Some other benefits of the Drupal Domain Access Module include: (more…)
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May 14, 2010
Book Review: “Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) Administrator’s Companion”
By New Signature
As network threats have become more complex, every node in a network has become a potential target, from routers to switches to workstations. Enter Microsoft Threat Management Gateway (TMG) 2010. The successor to Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server, TMG 2010 offers a more robust set of features than its predecessor. In the book, Microsoft Forefront Threat Management Gateway (TMG) Administrator’s Companion, authors Yuri Diogones, Jim Harrison and Mohit Saxena guide you through the features and functionality of TMG.The writing style, typical of a team effort, is somewhat dry and technical. On the plus side, the book assumes a basic knowledge of most networking protocols but doesn’t come across as patronizing. Sections detailing the history of TMG were especially interesting, as the past critique of ISA server has typically been that it’s running on a Windows platform. Despite the historical notes, however, one glaring area is a lack of context and comparison to other equivalent products. Forefront TMG is currently going up against a large number of SMB firewall products (and a few enterprise ones) and addressing the strengths and weaknesses would’ve been a good addition. Unlike most of Microsoft’s other products, TMG needs to deal with a strong anti-software-based-firewall sentiment among many network administrators. (more…)