Azure AD Connect

Evidently, to support Active Directory in Azure – for security and access control requirements – one  has to obtain, install, and configure the Azure AD Connect software on a Windows server (could be a VM) on one’s premises.

See please below the 2 technical notes:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/connect/active-directory-aadconnect-prerequisites

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/connect/active-directory-aadconnect-select-installation

This step requires someone that has global AD Admin. Rights – someone from IT Network Infrastructure.

This tool then acts as a proxy between the site-specific AD and the Azure AD.

Azure AD does not support multiple forests, there is no concept of Forests in Azure AD. It is completely flat.

I also read that the Azure AD Connect does not support LDAP.

While I think setting up a Web application within Azure is not overly complex, I think a full turn-key implementation is more complex as the functionality of the on premise IT Infrastructure needs to be investigated, mapped, and connected to Azure’s capabilities.

In case of multi-site organizations with many sites within the United States and also many sites externally in UK, Germany, Singapore, Angola – each with its own AD Forest – one has 2 choices available to oneself; either leverage Federation or flatten the organization into one Azure AD tenant.

AD Connect is pretty great if you use it for what it was designed for and it supports many different topologies. If it does not fit the customers requirements for some reason then,  "yes", federation using ADFS to Azure is another option.

More Reading:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/connect/active-directory-aadconnect

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/connect/active-directory-aadconnect-topologies

Nonprofit Under Attack

Nonprofit Under Attack: A Cyber Defense Case Study:

https://redmondmag.com/articles/2017/04/01/defense-in-depth.aspx

NASA Software Catalog

Among all these US restricted, US Government restricted, and publicly available software, there must be some hidden gems.  Look for them @  https://software.nasa.gov/

Require registration.

Worth reading: "Software Testing and the Human Factor"

http://sdtimes.com/industry-watch-software-testing-human-factor/

Man Marries Robot

From Grauniad of the UK

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/04/chinese-man-marries-robot-built-himself

Chinese man 'marries' robot he built himself

Zheng Jiajia had grown tired of pressure to get married so he turned to Yingying, a robot spouse he constructed last year.

EU-U.S. Data Flows and Privacy Shield

From the Center for Strategic and International Studies:

https://www.csis.org/events/eu-us-data-flows-and-privacy-shield/?block2

زیباترین تزیین سفره هفت سین برای سال ۹۶

Birthday of Dame Vera Lynn - - born 20 March 1917

I should like this opportunity to wish Dame Vera Lynn a comfortable and pleasant birthday on her 100-th anniversary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNB8VbFmlOY

TargetLink

TargetLink is a software system that generates production code (C code) straight from the MATLAB®/Simulink/Stateflow graphical development environment.  Find it @ https://www.dspace.com/en/inc/home/products/sw/pcgs/targetli.cfm

Old Developers Learn New Tricks

http://sdtimes.com/old-developers-can-learn-new-tricks/

Language Server Protocol

The Language Server Protocol is used between a tool (the client) and a language smartness provider (the server) to integrate features like auto complete, goto definition, find all references and alike into the tool.

Learn more about it @ https://github.com/Microsoft/language-server-protocol

Sarah's Broad-band Provider Journey

Lovely & Excellent:

https://www.smashingmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/1-broadband-provider-journey-large-opt.jpg

Nightmare Robot

From Grauniad of the UK - From the lab of Dr Frankenstein

The robot is surprisingly mobile, shifting gears and changing posture as per the obstacles in its way. You wouldn't want that to go rogue.
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https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/28/boston-dynamics-handle-nightmare-inducing-hybrid-robot-google?


Boston Dynamics unveils 'nightmare-inducing' hybrid robot

www.theguardian.com

Meet Handle, the two-wheeled, four-legged creation from the Google-owned robotics firm that even company founder Marc Raibert says is frightening

Software Testing Tutorials

These tutorials are designed by Thought Works and cover

• Testing Fundamentals
• Test Case Development
• Testing Techniques
• Test Management & Control
• List of different Types of Testing
• Testing Certification Guide
• LIVE PROJECTS to simulate corporate test environments for beginners.

 Find them @ Software Testing Tutorial

Bloomberg: Who Marries Whom

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2016-who-marries-whom/

PIXEL - for MAC & PC

PIXEL is the desktop OS (PC & MAC) from Raspberry Pi Foundation.  It is a version of GNU/Linux with a modern user interface; a curated suite of productivity software and programming tools, both free and proprietary; and the Chromium web browser with useful plugins, including Adobe Flash, pre-installed.

Find it @ https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/pixel-pc-mac/.

Some additional information @ https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/introducing-pixel/

Recent Advances in Data Science

Last year, Zoubin Ghahramani published an algorithm that automates the job of a data scientist, from looking at raw data all the way to writing a paper.

His software, called Automatic Statistician, spots trends and anomalies in data sets and presents its conclusion, including a detailed explanation of its reasoning.

The paper is @ http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v521/n7553/full/nature14541.html
 
I think the implications are quite clear.

Already, there is: https://www.automaticstatistician.com/about/#

Hacking Cayla Dolls

From the BBC

Next week -- The fridge that talks to you and tells you off when you eat the wrong kind of food and drink too much: "A 4th beer, in 12 hours! My God! Do you ever think about your health, Butch? How about an orange juice or some guava? You really are a ghastly slob, fat and ugly. I can't take this any more!"

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39002142
    
German parents told to destroy Cayla dolls over hacking fears - BBC News

Researchers say hackers can use an insecure blue-tooth device to listen and talk to a child.

Is AI Sexist?

From the Foreign Policy Magazine:

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/01/16/women-vs-the-machine/

Hacker briefly hijacks insecure printers

BBC

"At my command, print 'War and Peace' in PDF format"

What will be interesting is when more and more people have wireless, internet-enabled,  so-called smart devices in their homes, and hackers will be able to turn on and off the kettle in the kitchen, or the fridge (full of food), or the taps in the bathroom...

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-38879671

     Hacker briefly hijacks insecure printers - BBC News

Warning messages urging printer owners to beef up security are left on insecure devices.