RJS Software is first and foremost a writer of IBM iSeries and Microsoft-based software. We have a rich programming background and a wonderful crew of seasoned programmers … some of whom started back in the punch cards days of the 1960′s and 70′s.  But as good as our programmers are, we still have errors in our code from time-to-time that find their way into a customer’s hands.

Let’s be realistic, when you write hundreds of thousands of lines of code, it’s inevitable that something will slip through the cracks. Luckily, our QA team catches the obvious stuff, but occasionally a small bug will slip past their keen eyes. These bugs are the ones that only appear within a unique situation employed by a unique customer. And with those, 99.9% are completely innocuous, but it’s the 0.1% we’re always concerned about catching and fixing immediately before a real problem occurs.

Similarly, such is the case with Apple.  About three months ago, they released an update for OS X Lion version 10.7.3. Shortly after, a German IT administrator discovered a bug while reviewing the var/logs/secure.log file. He noticed that his password was being passed plain text in the secure.log file, which caused him to immediately post the error in Apple’s forum. Unfortunately, the thread was largely ignored until last week when a security researcher ran into the very same problem. He started digging and discovered the bug was the result of a debug flag that was left enabled and writes passwords plain text. It’s not actually a bug at all, it’s simply a debugging option that is performing exactly as it was designed to. But as we ourselves find, sometimes those tiny errors that aren’t supposed to be present in the production build, somehow make it past a QA team. It happens to us … it even happens to Apple.

For most Mac home users, this doesn’t really mean anything to you. This particular debug option is designed for the HomeDirMounter service and most home users are not using server-assigned home directories/server-mapped shares. The folks this is a show stopper for, however, are corporations and schools that deploy Macs in large scale where server-assigned home-share mapping is routine business.

The good news is if you haven’t migrated to OS X Lion 10.7.3 from 10.7.2, you’re in good shape. The debug flag isn’t enabled in 10.7.2. For those who have migrated, the soon-to-be released 10.7.4 version will have this debug flag disabled.

Our first Friday Fun Link visualizes the incredibly stunning effect our humanity has had on Earth. This amazing video by Globaia is a “tour of our glowing transportation and communication networks” and “shows the majesty–and horror–of how mankind has altered the planet.”

We’ve all heard of the popular mobile app, Instagram, but have you downloaded Postagram yet for your Smartphone? Simply snap a photo and use Postagram to turn your picture into an actual postcard … which they even mail for you … all for just a dollar!

Who doesn’t like a good stop-motion video? Indie-folk artist, Hudson, used the popular technique for their recent single, “Against the Grain.” The impressive music video uses 920 pencils and 5,125 images!

Finally, here’s a humorous informational video from IBM that dates back to 1956. In the video, they show off a device called the RAMAC. It’s the world’s first hard disk, is the size of a refrigerator and can store … wait for it … 5 megabytes! Isn’t it amazing how far we’ve come?

And how great is this vintage advertisement for a 10MB hard disk, too?

Here’s how the exploit works:

Using FireFox and a plugin called “Tamper Data” (the plugin allows one to modify browser data in real-time), the hacker would first check the “I forgot my password” link. Next, they would enter the corresponding email address that needed the reset password, but would use Tamper Data to change the recipient email address that was to receive the reset data to whatever email address they wanted. Of course all the hacker has to do at this point is click the link they received in the reset email and voila! … the account is now theirs.

This is a relatively simple hack to pull off. The question is how long has it been going on?

In the past few years, I have helped a handful of family members and customers recover their personal and business Hotmail accounts that had been compromised without warning. One day it worked, the next it did not. The majority of these cases were just plain weak passwords or weak security questions that any quick web search could unearth. Unfortunately in this case, however, even an extremely complex and lengthy password is completely useless when a hacker can simply reset your password to whatever they want.

This is of course a fairly isolated incident and I can’t recommend enough that your best bet for a secure email, Facebook, banking account, etc. is to choose a long and complex password with only security questions you would know.

We kick off today’s Friday Fun Links with ESPN’s list of the “Best Paid Athletes by Sport for 2011.” We all know Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez make plenty of bank each year, but what about Joey Chestnut, the professional eater or Kane Waselenchuk, the Canadian racquetball champion? The list is actually quite interesting and has me tempted to take up badminton, where I’ll try to beat Lee Chong Wei and earn his $267,350 salary!

Superfoods (foods high in nutrients which offer health benefits) are all the rage for dieters and health nuts. Blueberries, broccoli and kale are a few of the more widely-known superfoods. One I hadn’t heard of though, is black garlic. Black garlic is different from raw garlic because it goes through a fermentation process similar to wine. As a result of this process, the garlic turns black, gains twice the amount of antioxidants as raw garlic and is infused with S-Allycysteine, a natural cancer prevention compound!

Don’t you sometimes wonder what your pet is thinking? Well, French intellectual feline, Henri, has much to express! Let’s just say he’s not impressed with you or the other cat you purchased to be his friend.

Finally, one of the summer’s most anticipated movies kicks off this weekend … Marvel’s the Avengers. Based on the reviews and this awesome trailer, I can’t wait to see it. Here’s a list of other anticipated summer movies of 2012.

This year, the holes are especially difficult and include rubber duckies, a Hot Wheels track, water hazards, camping gear, roughly 584 Mountain Dew cans and the mouths of our executive team.  Take a look!

When training iSeries or network administrators on the WebDocs iSeries content management system, inevitably the question of security comes up – as well it should. Nevertheless, we have found that when a hapless administrator, new to WebDocs (or even, perhaps, to the iSeries itself) is inundated with information regarding securing their WebDocs environment, the potential for missing something crucial is all too often realized. Having access to a reference document such as the RJS security guide  gives the canny WebDocs administrator an effective way to make sure that no aspect of security is mistakenly omitted. The content of the guide has been grouped by related topics to allow one to find answers to specific questions quickly.

Assumptions: The Security Guide assumes you have installed the RJSIMAGE library as a user with the security officer class (*SECOFR) , and that you have created an Apache instance on the iSeries called WEBDOCS. The web site files exist in the /www/WEBDOCS IFS directory. The locally stored WebDocs documents are stored in the /RJSIMAGEDOC IFS directory. WebDocs documents stored on a remote share are accessible from the /RJSIMAGEDOC/NFS IFS path, where your NFS share should be mounted.

The ordering of the sections in the guide corresponds roughly to the order of installation and configuration of WebDocs iSeries during a new install. If you are looking to demo the software, or have questions about an existing installation, you can contact RJS Software Systems Technical Support at 1 (888) RJS SOFT or via email at support@rjssoftware.com.

A Caveat
There is no such thing as absolute security. The security measures we discuss in the Security Guide are not the final word on iSeries security, nor are they exhaustive with respect to the myriad of possible WebDocs configurations. A better approach to security begins by asking what is being secured, from whom, and why. This will guide not only how you configure the software itself, but also how you allow access (intranet vs. internet), what index information is stored, and whether you require documents to expire. The purpose of this document is to assist you in mitigating the risks associated with a networked enterprise content management system (ECM); allowing your company to enjoy its full benefits.

Download the Security Guide.

Other helpful links:

Security Guide forIBM I V6R1:

http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/abstracts/sg247680.html

Tips and tools for securing your iSeries V5R2:

http://as400bks.rochester.ibm.com/iseries/v5r2/ic2924/books/c4153006.pdf

Burnsville, MN – RJS Software Systems (www.rjssoftware.com), a premier provider of document management lifecycle software, announced the release of SignHere 1.3.3, a major upgrade to the company’s electronic signature capture solution. The release includes direct integration with VeriFone signature capture devices, one-click integration to Microsoft Word and Excel, and direct print-to-sign capability from any Windows application.

The new release allows SignHere to be used with VeriFone point-of-sale (POS) devices to capture and apply signatures to documents in retail and hospitality environments. The software currently works with Topaz signature pads, MS Ink, Windows tablet devices and touch screen PCs to speed up approval processes by electronically signing documents generated from any source.

The new release also includes one-click access to SignHere from Microsoft Word and Excel, and print-to-sign capability from any Windows application. The integration allows users of those programs to sign documents from within their native applications. Another new feature is SignHere’s ability to display customized HTML billboard messages on Windows tablet and touch screen PC devices. This is a particularly useful marketing tool for customers in the hospitality space, where the software is frequently used to streamline hotel check-in and key card applications.

Key enhancements include:

• Direct integration with VeriFone POS signature devices
• Microsoft Office integration
• Print-to-sign from any Windows application
• Ability to link documents to HTML billboard files for marketing purposes
• Improved  speed and performance
• Updated imaging controls and hover-over tooltips

This release is part of an aggressive product enhancement strategy that has seen a series of improvements to SignHere since last year, including device integration updates, market specific deployment options and a host of new features.

About RJS Software Systems
RJS provides software solutions that help manage the entire lifecycle of a company’s businesses information. From front-end data capture and forms creation to managing, storing and distributing information electronically, RJS provides solutions that help businesses improve productivity, save money and make better decisions. For more information about RJS Software, visit www.rjssoftware.com.

Contact:
Joel Sawyer
RJS Software Systems
(952) 736-5800
joel@rjssoftware.com

NASA’s space shuttle, Discovery, took its last flight this week before its final rest at the National Air and Space Museum in Virginia. National Geographic was lucky enough to receive an unprecedented look inside the ship and snapped two-dozen, high-definition, 360-degree photographs of the iconic vessel. Lucky for us, we also get the opportunity to check out the spacecraft by zooming in and out of the incredible pictorial tour.

Heidi Hankins of Great Britain was recently accepted into MENSA with an IQ of 159. Big deal right? Well … she’s only a 4-year-old! Heidi was playing chess at 18 months and was reading at an 8-year-old level at 2. I hope you’re not too disheartened that such a young pup is smarter than you!

Another Brit across the pond doesn’t seem to share Heidi’s immense knowledge. Samantha Brick has offended people around the world with her article, “There are downsides to looking this pretty: Why women hate me for being beautiful.” The amount of narcissism is so shocking, you might think it is a joke. Unfortunately, she’s very much real and utterly confused at why she’s so disliked.

For those who tuned into Coachella, you received quite the surprise when rapper Tupac Shakur showed up to entertain the crowd. The infamous rapper has been dead for more than 15 years, so how could he be performing on stage? With the use of hologram technology, it actually was quite easy! As MTV’s James Montgomery wrote, “There’s an overhead projector that sort of reflects down onto basically a tilted piece of glass that’s sort of on the stage floor,” Montgomery says. “That then reflects the, well, reflection onto a mylar sort of screen, and it projects in this sort of 3-D kind of thing where it allows the other performers to sort of walk in front of Tupac and basically interact [with] him.”

Finally, I leave you with the Funky Fresh Senior Choir. I would say their elderly take on the hip-hop and rap genre is well … interesting. Worst church choir ever?

Burnsville, MN – RJS Software Systems (www.rjssoftware.com), a leading developer of document lifecycle management software, today announced an agreement with Lifeboat Distribution to sell its document capture, management, distribution and security solutions to Lifeboat’s North American reseller network.

Lifeboat Distribution, an international specialty software distributor for virtualization and other technically sophisticated products, will sell a suite of RJS solutions, including the company’s award-winning WebDocs document management system, WebForms for web-enabled form and data collection, SignHere for digital signature capture, and iForms for the creation of electronic forms and professional business reports from virtually any data source.

“We have had good success with our RJS PartnerConnect channel program in North America, but the market opportunity is so enormous that we need to scale up,” said Richard Schoen, President and CTO, RJS Software Systems. “Our partnership with Lifeboat will help us take our channel presence to the next level and expand the network of solution providers helping customers streamline their business processes with RJS Software solutions.”

“The RJS Software products should be extremely attractive to our resellers,” said Dan Jamieson, Vice President and General Manager, Lifeboat Distribution. “They are proven solutions, carry high-margins, and are easy-to-sell, install and support – a perfect value-added offering in helping customers deal with the compliance and productivity challenges of enterprise documents.”

According to a 2011 IDC Digital Universe Study “Extracting Value from Chaos”, the world’s information is doubling every two years, and by 2020 the world will generate 50 times the amount of information and 75 times the number of “information containers”, while IT staff to manage it will grow less than 1.5 times. This explosive growth is a cross-industry issue – and solution provider opportunity – in sectors such as government, financial services, healthcare, retail, and distribution.

About RJS Software Systems
RJS provides software solutions that help manage the entire lifecycle of a company’s businesses information. From front-end data capture and forms creation to managing, storing and distributing information electronically, RJS provides solutions that help businesses improve productivity, save money and make better decisions. For more information about RJS Software, visit www.rjssoftware.com.

About Lifeboat Distribution
Lifeboat Distribution, a subsidiary of Wayside Technology Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: WSTG), is an international specialty software distributor for virtualization/cloud computing, security, application and network infrastructure, business continuity/disaster recovery, database infrastructure and management, application lifecycle management, science/engineering, and other technically sophisticated products. Lifeboat Distribution services thousands of solution providers, VARs, systems integrators, corporate resellers, and consultants worldwide, helping them power a rich opportunity stream, expand their margin+ services revenues, and build profitable product and service businesses. For more information, visit www.lifeboatdistribution.com.

Contact:
Joel Sawyer
RJS Software Systems
(952) 736-5800
joel@rjssoftware.com

It was quite a coincidence, then, that the day I used a pedometer to track the distance around the lake (1.6 miles) and had openly wondered to a colleague why more people weren’t out for a walk, I came across an interesting Slate.com article about the crisis of pedestrianism in the United States.

The article points out the Americans walk the least of any industrialized nation. Studies show, the article said, that the average Australian takes 9,695 steps per day, the average Japanese 7,168, the average Swiss 9,650, and the average American manages only 5,117 steps. No wonder we’re getting so fat!

Why do Americans walk so little? Like with many forms of physical activity, modern life has largely engineered walking out of existence. For many, walking is what you do between getting out of your car and sitting down to watch TV. Sad but true.

That said, for those of us who still enjoy walking and who may be looking for new places to stroll, there is an interesting website called Walkscore.com that tracks the relative quality of walking or “walkability” not just in cities, but in actual city neighborhoods. The scoring appears to be based on things like access to ammenites, parks, cultural institutions, and whether traffic and commuting are issues.

Below, for example, is the Walk Score map for St. Paul, Minnesota, where I live, with neighborhood ratings. Kind of cool. How does your neighborhood stack up?

I leave you with two fun walk-related videos to inspire you to get out and stretch your legs this weekend: Aerosmith’s “Walk this Way,” with Run DMC and Dire Straits’ “Walk of Life.”