THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY December 18, 2002 waving a dead chicken ______________ TODAY'S SPONSOR: VeriSign - The Value of Trust
Secure all your Web servers now - with a proven 5-part strategy. The FREE Server Security Guide shows you how to: * DEPLOY THE LATEST ENCRYPTION and authentication techniques * DELIVER TRANSPARENT PROTECTION with the strongest security without disrupting users. And more. Get your FREE Guide now: http://searchWebServices.com/r/0,,8537,00.htm?freeguide ______________ TODAY'S WORD: waving a dead chicken See our definition with hyperlinks at http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci869618,00.html Waving a dead chicken is a slang expression for an effort to solve a problem even when the effort is expected to be futile. The problem-solving effort may be a sincere though desperate effort or it may be "for show" to demonstrate to superiors that everything has been tried. Consider the example of a computer application that does not properly run because the computer's operating system does not support that application. The department head demands that the application be made to run, but is unwilling to change operating systems. So the technician waves a dead chicken by trying all sorts of tricks known to be futile, but that make the department head think an effort is being put forth. The antivirus program is shut down, the firewall is disabled, the application program is installed with different folder names, and still the application does not work. The hope is that if the dead chicken is waved long enough, the department head will eventually start to believe that the technician might be correct. (At this point, the technician might install the application in a computer with a different operating system to show that it will run properly there.) ______________________ CROSSWORD PUZZLE #7 | Computer Basics Improve your flexible thinking skills. Print out the puzzle and keep it nearby to work on throughout your day! http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci865741,00.html ______________________ QUIZ #32 | Securing Your Network How much do you know about network security? Take our latest quiz and find out. >> Take the quiz http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci857673,00.html ______________________ REAL-LIFE CHALLENGE #20 | Is it ever a good idea to outsource IT? Is outsourcing the IT department under a contractual basis or a per-incident agreement ever a good way to cut costs? Nan, the Director of IT for a manufacturing company must decide. Can you advise? http://whatis.discussions.techtarget.com/WebX?[EMAIL PROTECTED]@.1dcfae0e/194 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES [1] NIC handle http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci867444,00.html [2] dumb network http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci867260,00.html [3] SoC testing http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci866453,00.html [4] single-system image http://search390.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid10_gci866451,00.html [5] automated test equipment http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci866407,00.html ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: LOWELL THING, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ____________________________________________________________________ MARGARET ROUSE, Associate Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ___________________________________________________________________ :::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER ::::::::::::::::::::: Published by TechTarget (http://www.techtarget.com) TechTarget - The Most Targeted IT Media Copyright 2002, All Rights Reserved. Unsubscribe from 'Word of the Day' - Simply Reply to this Email with REMOVE within the Body or Subject > or - Go to: http://WhatIs.techtarget.com/register - Log in to edit your profile. - Click on the link to Edit email subscriptions. - Uncheck the box next to the newsletter you wish to unsubscribe from. - When finished, click "Save Changes to My Profile."
