Author: shaned

Categories
politics

The legacy of Pope John Paul 2nd

I was born and raised a Roman Catholic but like most of my Irish 20-something contemporaries I have happily lapsed into a state of occasional church visits brought about more by guilt than any real conviction about catholic teachings or doctrines. Doesn’t mean that I’m not a spiritual person or even that I’m an atheist but there’s a strong degree of gnostic scepticism in my attitudes to all religious organisations, creeds & their underlying/supporting rituals. However, I was fascinated to read this article on Kuro5h1n today. Whatever your personal opinion on his legacy as pope or his pronouncements on socioethical matters such as abortion, divorce or, most controversially, contraception he was undoubtedly one of the truely great figures of the 20th century. Not just because of his longevity in the office of pope but because of his profound impact in bringing about the demise of communism in eastern europe and the end of the “eastern-bloc” of communist countries that opposed the US during the cold war of the 70s and 80s.
An extract from the kuro5h1n post is telling

Karol Wojty?a, Archbishop of Krakow, was the leading figure in the movement by which the Polish Catholic Church became involved in politics. It was he who successfully led the movement to force the state authorities to authorize the building of a church in Nova Huta (by, essentially, embarassing them into it). It was his decision as Archbishop which allowed dissidents to use church basements to set up discussion groups for anti-regime agitation. It was he who stood as the foremost advocate for the notion that there was a Truth besides that which the state had authorized.

The catholic hierarchy in Poland, led by Wojtyla, bet that the Polish government was too afraid of the church’s power to punish this insurrection. They gambled with their lives and won.

in so doing, they turned the Polish Catholic Church into something unique: it became the only entity in the entirety of communist Eastern Europe which held a moral authority independent of the state. It was the only independent source of power which was tolerated in the communist world anywhere.

Categories
humour

Im n a CWBB :-)

Today R & I officially became a CWBB. What the hell is that I hear you ask? Well it’s a Couple With BroadBand. I’ve noticed this as an emerging and ever increasing trend amongst my Irish friends. CWBB’s generally have

  • A high degree of shared computer literacy
  • Demanding jobs where one or both often work from home
  • A love of textual communication be it SMS, IM or email
  • laptop computers which are dragged throughout the house so they can surf whenever and wherever
  • A strong and growing appreciation of the joys of constant digital connectedness
  • A quirky yet often healthy tendency to communicate complex thoughts and emotions with eachother using web based communication such as blogs/IM/email… (even when they’re in the same house/room)

Other CPWB’s that I know include Bernie/Belene of running with bulls fame and my good friends Kristian/Cath.

Categories
technology

Data Protection in Ireland and Business Continuity

Both are two subjects that I’m becoming very interested in recently. In trying to develop a clear understanding of all the implications of National (Irish), European and World Market (US, predominantly) data retention legislation I’ve been having a look at the Irish Data Protection Act. More information is available at the authoritative DataProtection Commissioner’s website. However, the following point struck me.
Section 2 of the original 1988 Act (which is still valid AFAIK) states that

A data controller should observe certain principles in relation to personal data:

  • The data or information constituting the data shall be obtained and processed fairly
  • the data shall be accurate and where necessary kept up to date.
  • Data held for back-up purposes is exempt
  • shall be kept for one or more specified or lawful purposes – specified refers generally to purposes specified in any registration document, where applicable
  • shall not be used or disclosed in any manner incompatible with such purpose(s)
  • shall be adequate, relevant and not excessive in relation to that purpose(s)
  • shall be kept for no longer than is necessary; data held for historical, statistical or research purposes is exempt.

What’s worrying me is the point in bold print. The problem isn’t whether this data is currently used as part of a live data set but what happens if data that does not meet the terms of the act is restored, after information system loss or damage. The nature of some database and structured data records means that offending data WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY have to be restored from an incorrect archive AS LONG AS IT’S IN THE ARCHIVE IN THE 1ST PLACE. It’s a subtle point but surely, the onus should be on companies to ensure that they always have a backup or archive that contains only non-offending data that doesn’t breach any part of the act. Therefore, backup policy MUST be affected by this act.

Categories
technology

Microsoft to buy Groove Networks

Not exactly a shock but indicative of both technical intent and direction at Microsoft. The full article is available at Grid Computing Planet. Most followers of P2P and collaboration technologies are familiar with Groove Networks offering. It enables the creation of a virtual office by connecting PC’s together over a P2P network to create a secure workspace where document, applications and communications can be shared. The Groove software will be integrated within Microsoft Office, integrating with the RTC (Real-time Collaboration) s/w that Microsoft already bundles including Office Live Update.
In another twist, Ray Ozzie, the creator and CTO of Groove will become the CTO of Mc$oft’s collaboration s/w division.

Ozzie, who will become CTO and report to Microsoft Chief Software Architect Bill Gates, is renowned for creating Lotus Notes, now a multi-billion-dollar business for IBM. He is also one of seven “Windows pioneers,” an honor bestowed to engineers who have contributed to the improvement of the operating system.
Gates, who joined the conference call from Redmond, that Groove technology has “fantastic and very unique” properties Microsoft wants to put into Office.
“He’s made a huge contribution in terms of giving us feedback about the platform,” Gates said, citing Ozzie’s work on Windows user interfaces and Visual Studio. “It’s very exciting to have Ray and his team joining Microsoft. I think it’s really going to help us do a better job for all of the information workers out there.”
Noting that he has had the privilege of working with Ozzie for “many decades” as he was building applications on DOS or Windows, Gates said he had wanted to hire Ozzie for a long time. The CTO will have a great deal of say over corporate communication and collaboration offerings.
He will also continue his work with Groove’s roughly 200 employees, which will remain at Groove’s Beverly, Mass., headquarters as part of Microsoft’s Information Worker Group.
Ozzie said his plan for Groove reflected how the business environment was changing, including a different type of security model based less on setting up firewalls and more on how people work with one another.
“Over the years, we’ve been very fortunate have led us all to be carrying around Wi-Fi-enabled laptops,” Ozzie said. “The nature of work itself has changed for many of us. We very commonly do work in a geographically dispersed fashion, in the office, at home, in hotels, at Starbucks and so on. Our interactions involve being on multiple networks…”

Microsoft had already demonstrated its committment to both Groove Networks and collaboration software with a $38 million investment in Groove during 2003.