Jimmy and Mary are in trouble, some months ago they illegally tried to bring their small business computers to a civic amenity site for disposal. The story so far can be found in Episode 1 and Episode 2
“Hello”
“Hi Jane, It’s Mary McGuire”
“Mary, how are you, it’s been ages, I thought you had decided to ignore us, now that you’re in the big house on the hill”
“I know Jane, I’m sorry, I’ve been busy with the business and Jimmy and all but, I could do with meeting for a chat”
“Yeah, no problem Mary, my fellah’s away playing golf this week so, while the cats away”
“It’s not that kind of stuff Jane, the business is going through a hard time and I just need to talk to someone”
OK, what about MOONDO’S for a coffee tomorrow about 10:30?”
“Yeah , that sounds great, thanks, I’ll see you then”
“Hiya Mary, Jeez, you look fantastic, must be all that money you an’ Jimmy are makin’. Easy livin’ whah?”
“Don’t talk to me Jane, you’ve no idea”
“Ah! Mary, you really are down in the mouth, what’s the story?”
“I don’t know Jane, everything was going great, Jimmy was busy with the van, we bought the new house, had a great holiday last year and we were talking about having a baby”
“So what happened, sounds like it’s all gone pear shaped”
“Well, everything was fine until Jimmy bought a new laptop”
“Mary, I may not be the smartest thing around computers but buying a laptop is not supposed to ruin your life”
“No the laptop’s fine and really makes managing the business much easier”
“So what’s the problem”
“Well, when we got the laptop we had two old PCs in the office, one we were using for the current business and an old one that had been lying around for years. I rang a company called Electronic Recycling and I spoke to a really nice girl, who gave me a price to recycle them properly, including wiping any old information off them”
“So were they goin’ to charge you an arm and a leg or somethin’”
“No Jane, it was only about €45 if we dropped them off”
“So what’s the problem Mary, that’s hardly goin’ to break the bank”
“Well, Jimmy decided, with his usual save money attitude, to bring them to a Civic Amenity site and pretend that they were just some old home PCs for recycling, you’re not supposed to do this if you are a business”
“OK, so Jimmy’s a cheapskate, saves a few bob, hardly the end of the world”
“The Civic Amenity site was closed, we went for a Pizza and when we came back to the car, it had been broken into and the computers were stolen”
“So problem solved Mary”
“Yeah, so we thought”
“OK, sounds like problem not solved then”
“No, the short version is that whoever took the computers found our bank account details and cleared out our accounts”
“Jayzus Mary, you‘re jokin’, I hope you boxed the ears off Jimmy McGuire for that”
“Well, I did give him a lot of grief but that wasn’t the end of it”
“I don’t know if I want to hear any more, but go on anyway”
“ Some other information from the computer was used and a customer of Jimmy’s boss lost a huge contract”
“ So Jimmy’s boss is pissed off, it wouldn’t be the first time a boss is pissed off with someone, you still sound like it’s the end of the world”
“Well, when I say Jimmy’s boss, I just mean that he calls the shots, Jimmy owns his own van and works for him as a subcontractor”
“Oh no, so Jimmy gets no more work”
“Yeah ,that too, Jimmy’s had no work for weeks”
“That too, you mean there’s more?”
“Yeah, the worst part is, the company who lost the contract are suing Jimmy for €100,000, we might have to sell the house”
“Come on Mary, they can’t sell your house”
“Well Jimmy already had to sell my car to pay the first part of the legal fees and the court case is coming up in October”
“He sold your car!! and he’s still walkin’ around?” enough of this already, your doin’ me head in, let’s talk about something else”
“You’re right Jane and thanks for listening, I just needed to tell someone”
“What are friends for Mary?”
“ Anyway, as I told you my fellah’s away for the week and me and a few of the other girls are going into town on Wednesday for a bit of craic. Why don’t you come along?, it’ll take your mind off things”
“Oh I don’t know Jane, I’m up the walls about this thing”
“Listen, a bit of fun will do you the world of good, we’re goin’ to the Meridian, a few drinks, a bit of dancin’ and there’s always a few good lookin’ fellahs around the place”
“Jane, I’ve had it up to here with men right now but maybe a drink or two and a bit of dancing would be good”
“OK, that’s settled then, were meeting in the bar at 7:30”
“OK, and thanks a million for listening, I feel better already and you know what, I have been so busy wrapped up in my stuff, I forgot to say how fabulous your hair looks, who did it for you?”
“His name is Tony, he’s real cute, he works in Valentino’s and I think he will be in the Meridian on Wednesday”
“Enough already Jane, I’ll see you on Wednesday, Byee”
“Bye Mary, see ye Wednesday”
See our story on data security here
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
Laptops for all students produces a stunning grade boost at school
By Katherine Donnelly Irish Independent Monday October 19 2009
A SCHOOL has recorded stunning improvements in exam results and attendance levels among pupils after they were given their own laptops.
A big turnaround in student engagement has been tracked since a ground-breaking technology project was introduced four years ago in the school, which is in an area of serious disadvantage.
The 500-pupil St Aidan's Community School, Brookfield, Tallaght, Co Dublin, had some of the highest levels of student absence in the country.
The results underline the value of computers in schools as Ireland languishes close to the bottom of the world league when it comes to technology in the classroom
A 2006 survey found that one in three Irish 15-year-olds hadn't used a computer in school, twice the average in the rest of the developed world.
St Aidan's principal Frank Moran said the laptop programme could not take all the credit for the impressive changes at the school in recent years, but it was a factor.
Four years ago, the first laptops arrived in the co-educational school thanks to South Dublin Co Council's Connect initiative, aimed at embedding technology in the community.
The change in attendance statistics at St Aidan's between 2004/05 and 2008/09 is startling:
• Days lost through student absence fell from more than 9,000 a year to less than 4,000.
• The number of students absent for 20 days or more halved from almost 200 to below 100.
• The number of students suspended in a year fell from almost 70 to about 40.
Connect is being phased in, with each first-year pupil given a laptop -- which they retain throughout their schooling -- while teachers have embraced a professional development programme to bring them up to speed with how to use technology in the classroom. Part of every class is now devoted to teaching and learning how to use the technology and, from second year on, the pupils are allowed to bring the laptops home and use them for project work.
The first cohort of pupils to receive a laptop sat the Junior Cert this year and Mr Moran said there had been a significant improvement in results, most particularly among weaker students.
Factor
Mr Moran said it was hard to say that the changes could be attributed exclusively to the Connect initiative, but it had been a factor in student attendance, student engagement and in making St Aidan's a school of choice in the area.
However, he said that the school had also been working hard in recent years on its disciplinary policy and on building relationships with parents and the community. Connect has transformed the learning experience for pupils, he said.
"You can imagine teaching art or classical studies and not just reading boring text, but being able to go on a virtual tour of an art gallery or visit a classical city like Ephesus," he explained.
A number of high achieving older students -- whose entry to the school pre-dated the phasing in of Connect -- were also given laptops one of whom, this year, became the first St Aidan's pupil to enter medical school.
As well as the county council, other partners in the project were the Department of Education, the Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin West Education Centre and the National Centre for Technology in Education. The school is showcasing its technological skills to other teachers and students tomorrow.
Katherine Donnelly
Irish Independent
Computers for Irish Schools: Takes computers, which are not quite ready fo rthe recycling bin and donates them to local schools in Ireland.If you are thinking of recycling some old IT equipment logon to http://www.cfis.ie/ or call Bryan at 01 864 2773
A SCHOOL has recorded stunning improvements in exam results and attendance levels among pupils after they were given their own laptops.
A big turnaround in student engagement has been tracked since a ground-breaking technology project was introduced four years ago in the school, which is in an area of serious disadvantage.
The 500-pupil St Aidan's Community School, Brookfield, Tallaght, Co Dublin, had some of the highest levels of student absence in the country.
The results underline the value of computers in schools as Ireland languishes close to the bottom of the world league when it comes to technology in the classroom
A 2006 survey found that one in three Irish 15-year-olds hadn't used a computer in school, twice the average in the rest of the developed world.
St Aidan's principal Frank Moran said the laptop programme could not take all the credit for the impressive changes at the school in recent years, but it was a factor.
Four years ago, the first laptops arrived in the co-educational school thanks to South Dublin Co Council's Connect initiative, aimed at embedding technology in the community.
The change in attendance statistics at St Aidan's between 2004/05 and 2008/09 is startling:
• Days lost through student absence fell from more than 9,000 a year to less than 4,000.
• The number of students absent for 20 days or more halved from almost 200 to below 100.
• The number of students suspended in a year fell from almost 70 to about 40.
Connect is being phased in, with each first-year pupil given a laptop -- which they retain throughout their schooling -- while teachers have embraced a professional development programme to bring them up to speed with how to use technology in the classroom. Part of every class is now devoted to teaching and learning how to use the technology and, from second year on, the pupils are allowed to bring the laptops home and use them for project work.
The first cohort of pupils to receive a laptop sat the Junior Cert this year and Mr Moran said there had been a significant improvement in results, most particularly among weaker students.
Factor
Mr Moran said it was hard to say that the changes could be attributed exclusively to the Connect initiative, but it had been a factor in student attendance, student engagement and in making St Aidan's a school of choice in the area.
However, he said that the school had also been working hard in recent years on its disciplinary policy and on building relationships with parents and the community. Connect has transformed the learning experience for pupils, he said.
"You can imagine teaching art or classical studies and not just reading boring text, but being able to go on a virtual tour of an art gallery or visit a classical city like Ephesus," he explained.
A number of high achieving older students -- whose entry to the school pre-dated the phasing in of Connect -- were also given laptops one of whom, this year, became the first St Aidan's pupil to enter medical school.
As well as the county council, other partners in the project were the Department of Education, the Institute of Technology Tallaght, Dublin West Education Centre and the National Centre for Technology in Education. The school is showcasing its technological skills to other teachers and students tomorrow.
Katherine Donnelly
Irish Independent
Computers for Irish Schools: Takes computers, which are not quite ready fo rthe recycling bin and donates them to local schools in Ireland.If you are thinking of recycling some old IT equipment logon to http://www.cfis.ie/ or call Bryan at 01 864 2773
Friday, October 2, 2009
A New Arrival at Electronic Recycling
A big welcome to our new Ulster U45 Shredder, which will enable us to process larger volumes of equipment at faster speeds and provide an even more secure hard drive destruction service to our clients
The new shredder was purchased to replace our older single shaft shredder, which was originallypurchased to shred high value printed circuit boards and struggled with any sort of volume of hard drives.
The ultimate security method for making certain that your valuable or sensitive data is destroyed is for the total destruction of the hard drive. The end product is then sent to our smelting partners where the various metals are recovered for reuse
In previous BLOGS we haveconstantly emphasised the importance of data security and as the amount of data stored electronically grows by the day, it is more important than ever to make certain that your valuable informationdoes not fall into the wrong hands.Managing and protecting sensitive data is very important and companies need to be extremely careful when disposing of IT equipment that contains sensitive data. There are many reports of computers, with their hard drives intact, being found in open markets around the world or on eBay and there is also a market for used data tapes. Deleting files or even reformatting a hard drive does not remove the information, as this can be restored using readily available software.
See our full blog article on Data security here
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