These guys seem hell-bent on pulling this tree out of the middle of a desert path with their SUV, but the tree is having none of it. But this plant isn’t merely interested in staying put, it wants revenge.
Six Reasons to Use Cloud CRM
Cloud supported management systems are establishing themselves more and more as a part of the day to day business. But not all businesses take this route. There are still small, and medium-sized businesses (SMB) that are quite hesitant when it comes to using the cloud. But especially for SMB, CRM systems come with plenty of advantages. They don’t only profit from price advantages, but also from competition advantages over their competitors. There are lots of reasons for using cloud CRM.
- An Overview of the Most Important Reasons for Cloud CRM
- Quick Introduction
- Easy to Use CRM Solutions in the Cloud
- Location Independency / Mobility
- Profitability for SMB
- Simple Scalability
- Better Integrability
1. Quick Introduction Without Any Ado
For people responsible for IT, the introduction of new systems is always a big challenge. Parts of the business IT have to be newly projected, and a smooth transition has to be organized. The daily business has to keep going, and the effect of the new introduction should be as little as possible. Even with proper preparations, this often doesn’t work completely smoothly, as there’s a short-term lack of staff resources. Experience reports when it comes to the introduction of cloud CRM often show that this doesn’t have to be the case. The CRM software can be implemented in the SaaS model (Software-as-a-Service) relatively quickly and can be used productively from the get-go. This is simply because most businesses don’t have a uniform solution for marketing, distribution, and customer service. Often, the different sections work with island-like sub-systems. Data redundancies and inconsistencies are the norm. In many cases, the exact same tasks are done multiple times by different sections, because there is a lack of comprehensive structures. With a cloud supported CRM system, however, everyone immediately sees the advantages that it brings to their own section. Cloud CRM systems are optimally designed for SMBs.
2. Simple and Modern CRM Solutions in the Cloud
I don’t think anyone wants to make mistakes in customer service, to avoid the risk of losing clients. But unfortunately, this is common practice. Often, working space is full with post-it notes on tons of different processes, as there’s a lack of options to systematically capture and follow them all. Workers get lost quickly. CRM solutions in the cloud were developed for practice, and are orientated towards common tasks in day to day business of customer service and distribution. Of course, the distribution agency plant, and the marketing area are also tied into the workflow. This way, marketing workers can systematically capture qualified leads, and forward them to the distribution. After the first contact with a distribution worker, this lead can be taken into his contact management. This makes sure that the business doesn’t lose any more prospects. Cloud CRM solutions have clearly structured, and easy to use user interfaces that match the standards of modern web applications. Thus, users learn to handle the software quickly. In the end, this results in a higher acceptance and shorter training periods for cloud CRM.
3. All Services Are Location-Independent and Usable on Mobile
One of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based CRM system is in the location-independent usability. No matter if you are in a branch of the KMU, or any other place with an active internet connection – a user can basically access the data of the cloud CRM from anywhere around the world. This includes mobile usage on the go via tablet computers and smartphones. For field service workers, this is the fastest way to inform themselves about all activities regarding a customer, or real-time developments in a sales region. Teamwork also becomes possible over larger distances.
4. Cloud CRM Solutions Also Save Costs
Aside from the improved business communication and the better information quality thanks to real-time data, the main reasons for using a cloud CRM are economic. Not only the relatively low entrance costs in comparison to on-premise solutions are positively noticeable, but also the fact that there are no IT costs. As a SaaS system, cloud CRM is maintenance-free. The business that uses it does not have to get any hardware or software for cloud CRM, and doesn’t need to take care of the system’s administration either. All backups are created automatically.
Programs and data are stored on the cloud provider’s servers, who also secures the CRM system’s availability, including the business data saved in the cloud. The SaaS concept for cloud CRM comes with another, completely different, merit as well: Updates and upgrades are permanent, so there are no inconvenient migrations. The workers always have the newest version of the CRM system available to them.
5. Cloud CRM Solutions Can be Adjusted to Any Need
With typical CRM systems, new users for new task fields mean lots of work for an administrator, who has to integrate them into the system. In contrast to that, cloud CRM lets you unlock new permissions for the customer and contact management, and integrate new users into work processes in just a few mouse clicks.
Aside from the Ad-hoc set up of new users, the easy scalability is one of the main advantages of cloud computing, because services can be adjusted to your needs dynamically. When businesses grow, additional features and modules can easily be added at any time. Still: the user only uses the functions that he really needs, and the provider bills by the rate of use: depending on the amount of users actively working with the CRM, the number of used functions, and the used storage. This way, the business only pays for what is really uses, and nothing more.
6. Better Integrability With Other Cloud Solutions
Another major reason to use cloud CRM is that professional office software like Office 365, or popular email marketing tools, like Mailchimp, already run in the cloud as SaaS solutions. Cloud CRM is more integrable with other cloud solutions than with on-premise implemented CRM systems. Cloud-based systems among each other have access to real-time data, so they are always up to date. To start an email campaign, for example, no tedious data transfer is required. The annoying duds, caused by outdated data and other inconsistencies, are a thing of the past.
Conclusion
Cloud CRM offers plenty of advantages to small and medium sized businesses, with mobile and location-independent work becoming increasingly more important to them. Using Cloud CRM, workers can now work together even more efficiently, by sharing documents and coordinating their tasks and deadlines much easier than before. Always having a full overview on all current customer activities makes for more transparency, increases productivity, and boosts the efficiency in customer service and distribution. Last but not least, using Cloud CRM allows you to lower the IT costs significantly, as the business only pays for what it actually uses, and doesn’t have to invest in quickly obsolescent hard- and software.
Film retrieved from a buried capsule shows life in Nazi-controlled ghetto [NSFW]
Film retrieved from a buried capsule shows life in Nazi-controlled ghetto [NSFW]
How do you feel when you see a major historic document right before your eyes? And what about seeing dozens of images that testify about the past? A series of images by Henryk Ross from the Nazi-occupied Jewish ghetto could make you feel the connection with the past you’ve never felt before. The series of images is very strong and emotional, and it could draw tears to your eyes. Some of them are also very graphical and not easy to digest.
It’s not about the photos of war and destruction; at least these are not the only things you’ll see. Ross managed to document daily lives of these people and smiles on their faces despite the conditions in which they lived. And he did it all secretly, risking his life. According to the Polish laws, the images are under public domain and can be shared. So we are sharing them, along with their incredible story.
Henryk Ross was a news and sports photographer from Poland. In 1939, German forces invaded Łódź, the city where he lived and worked. From then on, he became a staff photographer for the Department of Statistics for the Jewish Council (Judenrat). His official job was to take identity photos and propaganda shots for the Nazis within the Polish Łódź Ghetto. But he secretly managed to capture a lot more. Daily lives of people and day-to-day events in the ghetto remained eternalized in his photos. From heartwarming pictures of parents and children to the chilling images of death and starvation, he captured it all. And what’s fascinating, he kept it as a secret all along while he remained in the “good graces” of the German occupational administration.
The photographer used his coat to cover the camera. He would open it quickly when he wanted to take the shot, press the shutter and then hide the camera again. He also photographed through holes and cracks. He said that his wife Gloria was his assistant because she would look around to see if there were Germans nearby.
In 1944, the Holocaust was at its peak and the entire ghetto was liquidated. Fearing that he might experience the same fate, Ross did what he had to do. He took around 6000 negatives, put them in a tar-sealed box and buried them in the ground near his home. It was too dangerous to keep them accessible, and he could have only hoped that they would survive to tell the story.
In 1945, the Red Army liberated Poland. And Ross didn’t forget about the historical treasure he kept buried in the ground. He returned and dug the box out. Unfortunately, underground waters and moisture damaged a lot of negatives beyond repair. But still, around half of them survived to tell about the lives of Łódź Ghetto Jews.
Henryk Ross excavating his box of negatives and documents
Young girl
Children looking out the window
Babies lying on floor mat, probably in the hospital nursery
Deportation in winter
Deportation in winter
A wedding in the ghetto
Portrait of a couple
Three men after the liberation by the Red Army
Police and a woman behind barbed wire
A sick man on the ground
Skulls and bones on the ground
A boy searching for food
A nurse feeding children in an orphanage
Woman with her child (ghetto policeman’s family)
A man walking in winter in the ruins of the synagogue on Wolborska Street (Destroyed by Germans in 1939)
A man who saved the Torah from the rubble of the synagogue on Wolborska Street
The photographer survived to testify during the trial of Adolf Eichmann in 1961. He died in 1991, and his photos live to this day. They are in the Art Gallery of Ontario, testifying about the every side of life in the Łódź Ghetto. They tell the story of death and suffering, but also the story of hope, occasional joys, hopes, dreams, and smiles of these people. And it’s what makes them even more moving than I could have imagined. Ross once said that he buried his negatives in the ground in order to keep the record of the Jewish tragedy. And I salute him for the bravery and keeping a significant piece of history alive to this day.
via DIYPhotography.net – Photography and Studio Lighting – Do It Yourself
Film retrieved from a buried capsule shows life in Nazi-controlled ghetto [NSFW]
Reader Favorite: Hugo’s Amazing Tape
Resuable tape sticks only to itself
Here’s a reader favorite from 2104. – MF
I was introduced to Hugo’s Amazing tape several years ago by a colleague. He uses the tape to keep board game boxes closed for storage, and it has quite a following in the board game and collectible card game community. The tape is flexible, reusable, and has the fantastic quality of only sticking to itself. These qualities make it ideal for securing something that you need to wrap and unwrap repeatedly. Hugo’s Amazing Tape is available in rolls of various lengths & widths, allowing the user to cut a length to fit their needs.
I have found many household uses for Hugo’s Amazing Tape. I have used the tape as a sort of clamp, to secure oddly shaped objects together while glue dries. I have used it to secure small parts within an assembly to prevent them from falling out of place during storage. It is also perfect for securing rolls of gift wrapping paper, and for securing spools of thread, twine, or rope. I’ve also used it on all of my board game and puzzle boxes. Hugo’s Amazing Tape won’t leave sticky residue, and it doesn’t bind, crush, or decay like a rubber band. It is an indispensable addition to my household tool box.
04/12/17
How Negative Thinkers Can Train Themselves to Stop Being Grumps
Positive thinking has a ton of benefits, from expanding your creativity to boosting your health, but if you’re prone to a more negative outlook, it can be hard to see the glass as half full. Here’s how you can retrain your brain to become a more positive thinker.
Just like any life skill, learning to become positive takes practice and effort. You’re not going to transform into someone who always sees everything as good overnight, but you can focus your effort in a couple ways to move towards a more positive mindset.
- Do something nice for someone else. When we help others, even strangers, it feels good. Open a door for the person after you, offer to take a tourist’s photo so their whole group can be in the shot, or ask someone who looks lost if they need directions.
- Celebrate small victories. Look for little joys or wins in your day-to-day life. Maybe the sun was shining just right on your walk to work or you finished a project the moment before your boss messaged you about it.
- Practice compassion meditation. As the New York Times lays out, this type of meditation helps your health overall. It can rewire your brain to make positive connections, strengthen your heart, and impact your social relationships. Even just a few minutes a day can make a difference.
- Be kind to yourself. Negative thoughts about our own insecurities or perceived failures can be especially tough to deal with, so make an effort to be kind to yourself instead of beating yourself up over a mistake. Think about things you are good at or that you do well as a reminder of who you are as a whole.
Your goal to become more positive doesn’t have to end in you seeing the silver lining in every situation, especially if that’s just not your personality. But you can work towards being a bit more positive, which leads to enjoying life more each day.
via Lifehacker
How Negative Thinkers Can Train Themselves to Stop Being Grumps
MySQL InnoDB Cluster GA is Available Now!
The MySQL Development Team is happy to announce the first GA release of InnoDB Cluster–our integrated, native, full stack HA solution for MySQL. You can see highlights of the changes and improvements made since the RC release here, and you can download the GA packages from our MySQL APT (Ubuntu, Debian) and YUM (Redhat, OEL, Fedora) repositories or from dev.mysql.com.…
Inmates Stashed Two Homebrew Computers in Ohio Prison’s Ceiling, Used Them to Do More Crimes
Adam Johnston and Scott Spriggs may well go down as Ohio’s cleverest inmates.
The pair were incarcerated at Marion Correctional Institution, a low-security, 2,500-capacity facility which used inmate labor to recycle old computers as part of the non-profit RET3 program. Spriggs and Johnson managed to squirrel away dozens of RET3 parts and construct two new machines inside MCI.
According to the 50-page Ohio Inspector General report, the fully functional computers were “hidden on a plywood board in the ceiling above a closet” and subsequently “connected to [Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s] computer network.” But wait—there’s more.
Somehow Spriggs and Johnson were able to run ethernet cables through the ceiling and down to the network switch, where it was connected to port 16, and the inmates were able to obtain internet access via credentials belonging to Ray Canterbury, a retired prison employee who now works for ODRC as a contractor. Once connected, they were able to download articles on “home-made drugs, plastics, explosives, and credit cards.” Johnson, according to the report, also “accessed an article online from the Bloomberg.com site detailing how to submit fraudulent tax returns and have the refunds wired to debit cards,” and stole the identity of another inmate and used his name and social security number to apply for five credit cards.
But wait, there’s more.
As one does with an internet connection, the inmates used their unfettered access to download a shitload of porn, ferrying it to inmates via a thumb drive. But the inmate caught with said thumb drive told investigators that “it was not just pornographic movies. It was like the new releases, TV series” as well as music.
Oh yes, there’s still more.
On these two homebrew machines investigators found a litany of software useful for hacking and encryption, as well as brute force password crackers, an email spamming program, and a Java-based tool used to commit man-in-the-middle attacks. Likely this cornucopia of illicit programs was how the pair were able to issue “passes for inmates to gain access to multiple areas within MCI” and gain access to “unauthorized inmate records including disciplinary records, sentencing data, and inmate locations.” Ho-lee fuck.
Given that oversight at MCI is clearly lacking, the only way these two masterminds were caught at all was due to employee bandwidth throttling. Remember Ray Canterbury? An automated message informed MCI staff that on Friday July 3, 2015 “a computer operating through the ODRC computer network had exceeded a daily internet usage threshold.” The credentials were tied to Canterbury, who only worked Monday through Thursday. Considering the level of sneakiness required to build computers from scratch, run network cables, and steal someone’s identity, not looking up employee schedules is a spectacular own-goal.
The ring of prisoners involved with this data heist have been shipped off to other facilities, and MCI are shouldering the blame for not only allowing it to happen, but failing to notify Ohio State Highway Patrol as regulations apparently dictate.
via Gizmodo
Inmates Stashed Two Homebrew Computers in Ohio Prison’s Ceiling, Used Them to Do More Crimes
Investigation Finds Inmates Built Computers, Hid Them In Prison Ceiling
An anonymous reader quotes a report from WRGB: The discovery of two working computers hidden in a ceiling at the Marion Correctional Institution prompted an investigation by the state into how inmates got access. In late July, 2015 staff at the prison discovered the computers hidden on a plywood board in the ceiling above a training room closet. The computers were also connected to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s network. Authorities say they were first tipped off to a possible problem in July, when their computer network support team got an alert that a computer "exceeded a daily internet usage threshold." When they checked the login being used, they discovered an employee’s credentials were being used on days he wasn’t scheduled to work. That’s when they tracked down where the connection was coming from and alerted Marion Correctional Institution of a possible problem. Investigators say there was lax supervision at the prison, which gave inmates the ability to build computers from parts, get them through security checks, and hide them in the ceiling. The inmates were also able to run cabling, connecting the computers to the prison’s network. Furthermore, "investigators found an inmate used the computers to steal the identify of another inmate, and then submit credit card applications, and commit tax fraud," reports WRGB. "They also found inmates used the computers to create security clearance passes that gave them access to restricted areas."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
via Slashdot
Investigation Finds Inmates Built Computers, Hid Them In Prison Ceiling
‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ trailer leaks out a few days early
EA promised to reveal a trailer for its Star Wars Battlefront sequel on April 15th during the Star Wars Celebration event, but it appears to have popped up online a bit early. The 30-second teaser clip shows "game engine footage," with hints at what we can expect from both its single- and multiplayer experience. It appears that the story mode will have players taking on the role of a young woman fighting on the side of the Empire in a post-Return of the Jedi story line attempting to "avenge your emperor."
Still, most people will probably spend much more time in the multiplayer section, which promises to feature action "across all eras," as clips flash including Darth Maul, Yoda, Rey and Kylo Ren. The final shot (shown above) highlights the first two and what we assume is your single player character — expect to find out more about Star Wars Battlefront II over the next few days.
#StarWarsBattlefrontII is coming this year. Get your first look on April 15 at 2:30PM ET/11:30AM PT. Learn more: https://t.co/orUCPwoO4l http://pic.twitter.com/fAKY4hhR1u
— EAStarWars (@EAStarWars) March 29, 2017
Via: NeoGAF, r/Battlefront
Source: Vimeo
via Engadget
‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ trailer leaks out a few days early
Updated – Full Restore of a MySQL or MariaDB Galera Cluster from Backup
Performing regular backups of your database cluster is imperative for high availability and disaster recovery. If for any reason you lost your entire cluster and had to do a full restore from backup, you would need a reliable and up-to-date backup to start from.
Best Practices for Backups
Some recommendations to consider for a good scheduled backup regime:
- You should be able to completely recover from a catastrophic failure from at least two previous full backups. Just in case the most recent full backup is damaged, lost, or corrupt,
- Your backup should contain at least one full backup within a chosen cycle, normally weekly,
- Store backups away from the current data location, preferably off site,
- Use a mixture of mysqldump and Xtrabackup for extra safety, and not rely on one method,
- Test restore your backups on a regular basis, e.g. every two months.
A weekly full backup combined with daily incremental backup is normally enough. Keeping a number of backups for a period of time is always a good plan, maybe keep each weekly backup for one month. This allows you to recover an older database in case of emergencies or if for some reason you have local backup file corruption.
mysqldump or Xtrabackup
mysqldump is very likely the most popular way of backing up MySQL. It does a logical backup of the data, reading from each table using SQL statements then exporting the data into text files. Restoration of a mysqldump is as easy as creating the dump file. The main drawbacks are that it is very slow for large databases, it is not ‘hot’ and it wipes out the InnoDB buffer pool.
Xtrabackup performs hot backups, does not lock the database during the backup and is generally faster. Hot backups are important for high availability, as they run without blocking the application. This is also an important factor when used with Galera, as Galera relies on synchronous replication. However, restoring an xtrabackup can be a little tricky using manual ways.
ClusterControl supports the scheduling of both mysqldump and Xtrabackup (full and incremental), as well as the backup restoration right from the UI.
Full Restore from Backup
In this post, we will show you how to restore Xtrabackup (full + incremental) onto an empty cluster running on MariaDB Galera Cluster. These steps should also work on Percona XtraDB Cluster or Galera Cluster for MySQL from Codership.
In our original cluster, we had a full xtrabackup scheduled daily, with incremental backups created every hour. The backups are stored on ClusterControl as shown in the following screenshot:
Now, let’s assume we have lost our original cluster and have to do a full restore onto a new cluster. The steps include:
- Set up a new ClusterControl server.
- Set up a new MariaDB Cluster.
- Export the backup records and files to the new ClusterControl server.
- Start the restoration process.
- Start the remaining nodes.
The following diagram illustrates our architecture for this exercise:
Step 1 – Set up New MariaDB Cluster
Install ClusterControl and deploy a new MariaDB Cluster. Go to ClusterControl -> Deploy -> Deploy Database Cluster -> MySQL Galera and specify the required information in the deployment dialog:
Click on the Deploy button and start the deployment. Since we only have a cluster on the old server so the cluster ID should be identical (cluster ID: 1) in this new instance.
ClusterControl
Single Console for Your Entire Database Infrastructure
Find out what else is new in ClusterControl
Step 2 – Export and import the backup files
Once the cluster is deployed, we will have to import the backups from the old ClusterControl server into the new one. First, export the content of cmon.backup_records to dump files. Since the old cluster ID and the new one is identical, we just need to modify the dump file with the new IP address and import it to the new ClusterControl node. If the cluster ID is different, then you have to change “cid” value accordingly inside the dump files before importing into CMON DB on the new node. Also, it is easier to keep the backup storage location as in the old server so the new ClusterControl can locate the backup files in the new server.
On the old ClusterControl server, export the backup_records table into dump files:
$ mysqldump -uroot -p --single-transaction --no-create-info cmon backup_records > backup_records.sql
Then, perform remote copy of the backup files from the old server into the new ClusterControl server:
$ scp -r /root/backups 192.168.55.150:/root/
$ scp ~/backup_records.sql 192.168.55.150:~
Next is to modify the dump files to reflect the new ClusterControl server IP address. Don’t forget to escape the dot in the IP address:
$ sed -i "s/192\.168\.55\.170/192\.168\.55\.150/g" backup_records.sql
On the new ClusterControl server, import the dump files:
$ mysql -uroot -p cmon < backup_records.sql
Verify that the backup list is correct in the new ClusterControl server:
As you can see, all occurences of the previous IP address (192.168.55.170) have been replaced by the new IP address (192.168.55.150). Now we are ready to perform the restoration in the new server.
Step 3 – Perform the Restoration
Performing restoration through the ClusterControl UI is a simple point-and-click step. Choose which backup to restore and click on the “Restore” button. We are going to restore the latest incremental backup available (Backup: 9). Click on the “Restore” button just below the backup name and you will be presented with the following pre-restoration dialog:
Looks like the backup size is pretty small (165.6 kB). It doesn’t really matter because ClusterControl will prepare all incremental backups grouped under Backup Set 6, which holds the full Xtrabackup. You also have several post-restoration options:
- Restore backup on – Choose the node to restore the backup on.
- Tmp Dir – Directory will be used on the local ClusterControl server as temporary storage during backup preparation. It must be as big as the estimated MySQL data directory.
- Bootstrap cluster from the restored node – Since this is a new cluster, we are going to toggle this ON so ClusterControl will bootstrap the cluster automatically after the restoration succeeds.
- Make a copy of the datadir before restoring the backup – If the restored data is corrupted or not as what you are expected it to be, you will have a backup of the previous MySQL data directory. Since this is a new cluster, we are going to ignore this one.
Percona Xtrabackup restoration will cause the cluster to be stopped. ClusterControl will:
- Stop all nodes in the cluster.
- Restore the backup on the selected node.
- Bootstrap the selected node.
To see the restoration progress, go to Activity -> Jobs -> Restore Backup and click on the “Full Job Details” button. You should see something like this:
One important thing that you need to do is to monitor the output of the MySQL error log on the target node (192.168.55.151) during the restoration process. After the restoration completes and during the bootstrapping process, you should see the following lines starting to appear:
Version: '10.1.22-MariaDB' socket: '/var/lib/mysql/mysql.sock' port: 3306 MariaDB Server
2017-04-07 18:03:51 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
2017-04-07 18:03:51 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
2017-04-07 18:03:51 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
2017-04-07 18:03:52 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
2017-04-07 18:03:53 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
2017-04-07 18:03:54 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
2017-04-07 18:03:55 140608191986432 [Warning] Access denied for user 'cmon'@'192.168.55.150' (using password: YES)
Don’t panic. This is an expected behaviour because this backup set doesn’t store the cmon login credentials of the new ClusterControl cmon password. It has restored/replaced the old cmon user instead. What you need to do is to re-grant cmon user back to the server by running the following statement on this DB node:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* to cmon@'192.168.55.150' IDENTIFIED BY 'mynewCMONpassw0rd' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
ClusterControl then would be able to connect to the bootstrapped node and determine the node and backup state. If everything is OK, you should see something like this:
At this point, the target node is bootstrapped and running. We can start the remaining nodes under Nodes -> choose node -> Start Node and check the “Perform an Initial Start” checkbox:
The restoration is now complete and you can expect Performance -> DB Growth to report the updated size of our newly restored data set :
Happy restoring!
via Planet MySQL
Updated – Full Restore of a MySQL or MariaDB Galera Cluster from Backup