2014 Session Abstracts

Everything You Know About Mobile Is… (Presented by: Antoine Wright)

Each year, we see ministries merge into using mobile for ministry. Here are a few projects from the past year worth examining.

Influential Mobile Ministry Projects of the Past Year  (Presented by: Antoine Wright)

Each year, we see ministries merge into using mobile for ministry. Here are a few projects from the past year worth examining.

Raspberry Pi and LTSP Setup for Icafes/Computer Centers (Presented by: John Edmiston)

How to set up an extremely low cost computer center using Linux Thin Server Protocol, Raspberry Pi Thin Clients and a good serve.

Some of the spiritual risks associated with technology and how to control them.

Privacy issues, economic issues, Technology and Deception,  technology in Daniel and Revelation, God’s technology vs Demonic technology, genetic engineering of humans, post-humanism, the Singularity, robot ethics etc.

There’s more to software development than code. Is it true that “Perfect is the enemy of Good”? Are pixels more important to users than primary keys? Does the saying, “Good, Fast, or Cheap – pick any two” still apply? What is scrum and agile, and do they really work? In this session, we’ll look at a couple dozen favorite sayings and practices of successful software developers and have a free-flowing discussion on the wisdom of software development. If you sling code or manage folks who do, come to learn and share.

Google “database performance” or read a few database questions in slash dot and you’ll find that the answers are often confusing, conflicting, or simply wrong. Is it true that you should “Normalize till it hurts, then denormalize till it works?”. Can’t I just run a wizard to upsize my Access database to SQL Server? Is dynamic SQL really that bad? Before you give up and just index every column, stop by this session. We’ll look at several strategies that really work for designing performance into and tweaking performance out of your database. note: some ideas may be specific to Microsoft SQL Server but most ideas will apply to any database platform.

A database server on the internet will receive an average of 5,000 hack attempts a day – the peak that I’ve seen is 168,000 in one day. But you can protect yourself. This session will walk though a SQL Server hardening Checklist and explain each step. Guest speaker, Little Bobby Tables, will join us to explain SQL injection in practical terms. And, I’ll explain strategies for application to server authentication. If you’ve ever wondered what a password could possible have to do with having hash with salt for breakfast, come to this session to find out. note: while the checklist specifics apply to Microsoft SQL Server, the principles will apply to other database platforms.

Have you ever built an application, felt proud that the code was pretty tight and functional, only to be baffled when the users didn’t like it? Those idiot users, don’t they realize how much work went into the donation processing routine? You’re not alone. The software industry is going through a major paradigm shift as disruptive as the move from mainframe to desktops, or from DOS to Windows. This shift is from “making a task possible is success” to “It has to be easy (on whatever device is handy at the moment) to be a success”. It’s true, the pixels have become more important than the code. Fortunately for us non-artistic, “Isn’t the Fibonacci sequence cool?” types, there are solid principles of user experience and user interface design that can be learned. This session will highlight some of those principles and demo the Rocket Surgery method of usability testing.

In this open discussion session (*not a lecture, no PPT slides, no agenda), the Mac users will gather to share tips, talk about Mavericks, wish we could afford a new MacPro, discuss Macs in the organization, debate Parallels vs VM Fusion, and discover at least a few ideas that will make life even better with a Mac. If you use a Mac now, or you’re wondering if there’s life beyond Dell, come, listen, and share.

Introduction to Security  (Presented by: David White)
Computer security is a big deal. In this session, we will discuss introductory concepts, two-factor authentication, strong passwords, public-key cryptography, why you should NOT use PGP for email, and data encryption. This session will be introductory in nature.

What is Drupal? (Presented by: David Needham)

What up with this Drupal thing you’ve heard all about? Fundamentally, Drupal is a content management system that has grown into a popular and flexible solution for building websites that any laymen can maintain. Drupal is a free open source project and is known for it’s supportive regional and online communities. Drupal isn’t for everyone, but with Drupal you’ll get more than just a website.

Building a Role-Based security environment in Active Directory (Presented by: Dave Crim)

Linux Servers and Applications (Presented by: Ben Woods)
This introductory Linux session will cover setup, configuration and administration of Linux servers. Some of the included topics will be user administration, traditional permissions, ACL’s, LAMP stack configuration, Samba configuration, log management, reporting, and whatever else someone comes up with during the Q and A time!

 What a technician needs to know when dealing with end users (Presented by: David & Linda Householder)
Description coming soon

Extreme Differences – Working with Cross-Cultural Teams (Presented by: Roy Campbell)
We’re going to take a look at several cultural differences (specifically between Africa and North America) and examine ways to overcome those differences and grow a strong productive team.

How to Successfully Perform an Information Systems Risk Assessment – Using OCTAVE Allegro (Presented by: Corey Keating)

An information system (IS) risk assessment is an important part of any successful security management strategy. Risk assessments help organizations to identify mission critical IS assets and prioritize risk mitigation efforts. Many risk assessment methodologies, however, are complex and can only be completed successfully by highly qualified and experienced security experts. Small-sized organizations, due to their financial constraints and lack of IS security expertise, are challenged to conduct a risk assessment. Therefore, most small-sized organizations do not perform IS risk assessments, which leaves the institution’s data vulnerable to security incursions.

However, OCTAVE Allegro is a well-respected, yet streamlined, risk assessment methodology that can successfully be used by small-sized organizations and is available free of charge. OCTAVE Allegro has the ability to provide robust risk assessment results, with a relatively small investment in time and resources, even for those organizations that do not have risk management expertise. OCTAVE Allegro is fairly easy for IT staff to understand, provides the means for an organization to document the security requirements of their IS assets, helps to identify and evaluate IS security concerns, and provides an objective way to prioritize IS security projects.

Information Technology, Cross Cultural Ministry & the Poor (Presented by: Andrew Sears)
The majority of the world does not have the same access to resources as the middle-class Western church. How do we use technology to serve the “majority world”? This workshop will explore the low cost business models reaching the “bottom/base of the pyramid” that we might consider poor. It will also look at how to apply cross-cultural ministry principles to technology strategy. It will also explore the digital divide, knowledge divide and case studies of organizations that have used technology cross culturally and serving the poor. This workshop will build on TechMission’s 15 years of experience in using technology with the poor and present a summary of our Master’s level course on this topic.

 

Surviving a Migration to Office 365 (Presented by: Ed Eby, Leon Hedding & John Huschka – Leon & John presenting Remotely)
We will be discussing our different organization’s (WorldVenture and OM) move to Microsoft’s Office365. Office 365 E1 level is now being offered for free to non-profits, so this will be of interest to many missions organizations. We will discuss our experience with two migration strategies and the lessons learned from each option.