TechRepublic, an IT resource of the publisher ZDNet, has a good summary of the security features of Windows 7 which are especially pertinent to system administrators.

While some features like BitLocker, a drive and volume encryption mechanism, and DirectAccess, a VPN-like remote access implementation, are available in the Enterprise edition only, Windows 7 generally adds more security measures than Vista in a less obtrusive manner. Although operating system security is no substitute for vigilance and user training, it's an important componet and defense against present and emerging threats.

Perhaps it's not a coincidence that the September National Preparedness Month is followed by National Cyber Security Awareness Month. Organized by the National Cyber Security Alliance, it aims to educate users in the home, business, and school environments about healthy and secure computing habits.

Global Voices Online is reporting how social media is playing a role in the latest parliamentary and council elections in Botswana. While they note that their use of social media tools is behind countries like Nigeria, Uganda, or South Africa, there are promising signs that individuals like journalists and students are using such tools to monitor and report on the ongoing elections. One blogger in particular, Patricia Maganu, notes that:

The Wall Street Journal's influential tech blogger Walt Mossberg just posted his latest and most comprehensive review of Windows 7, two weeks before its official release on October 22. A lot of his observations are based in comparison to Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS' Snow Leopard (which is somewhat a moot point because you can't install Snow Leopard on any computer other than an Apple computer).

After testing Windows 7 on 11 computers, "ranging from tiny netbooks to standard laptops to a couple of big desktops," he concludes that Windows 7 ran swiftly and had faster boot-up and shutdown times compared to Vista. He argues that the visual enhancements such as previews, navigation, and taskbar enhancements even beat those of the Mac OS, which traditionally is known for a more user-friendly interface.

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This post originally appeared on NTEN's blog. This is the second in a fantastic series of guest posts by the authors of Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission.

New applications and technologies are being developed at a rapid pace. This brave new world of touchscreens, aggregated data, and pastel AJAX-based social networking sites, is partly fueled by consumers' desires for faster, lighter, and often cheaper (if not free) technologies.

For hardware, the time that differentiates what is "new" and "passé" is becoming shortened. Your new iPhone is becoming old faster; your familiarity of the popular social networking app du jour may soon become obsolete. How, then, should a nonprofit professional learn about — and selectively embrace — new technologies, when it's hard to keep basic systems running?

Here are some tips to keep in mind: 

• Maintain a healthy dose of skepticism. Every new phone, new software-as-a-service, or a new program will claim to do many wonderful things that have never been done before — until the next version comes out. As a frugal, belt-watching nonprofit professional, it's not too hard to be skeptical of the latest ads and buzzwords. Be judicious when reading marketing material, and always try things out before investing time and money. Look at what it can deliver for your clients and constituents.
• Take advantage of free information. Once you are comfortable in differentiating what is marketing and what is actionable information, use all the free information that is available. In this age of unfettered access and crowdsourcing, you will find analyses and opinions from bloggers and writers just by using your favorite search engine or a community tagging site like delicious.com. While the community's viewpoint may not be aligned with yours, you will find information to form your own, more informed, opinion.
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Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month? Agility Recovery Solutions, a disaster recovery specialist, together with FEMA, is hosting a series of weekly webinars this month. Readers and followers of TechSoup are no doubt familiar with our resources on disaster planning and recovery, and Agility's webinars introduce some interesting topics as well such as "Pandemic Planning: How to Prepare your Business for the Upcoming Flu Season" with a former associate Chief Medical Officer from the Department of Homeland Security on September 16, and "Social Media: What Role Does It Play in Business Preparedness" with a Public Information Officer from FEMA on Sept 23. The free webinars are also archived in case you can't make those times.

Photo: Robert Thomson, CC license

Reporting and metrics are important sources of information for nonprofits and the foundations that support them, by making data available about who is benefiting from their work in the social sector. VentureBeat, a blog on news and trends in the venture capital sector, blogged about Acumen Fund's project on a metrics tool for social enteprises and nonprofits.

Update: TechSoup users can get a 25% discount off of the regular registration fee by using the special discount code "TS25" when you register here.

Did you miss your chance to attend NTEN's annual Nonprofit Technology Conference (NTC) back in April? Here's your chance to catch up on the many conversations about tech planning, fundraising, and social networking for your organization.

NTEN will be hosting an online NTC on Sept 16 and 17, with a keynote from our very own Marnie Webb, co-CEO of TechSoup Global. Attendees will receive a copy of the NTEN book, Managing Technology to Meet Your Mission (for which we contributed a chapter), and the many expert sessions promise to be engaging and informative.

Prices go up on Aug 31 so check out the full agenda here and register today!

TechCrunch, the popular technology blog, just published a survey and matrix on some online apps to share large files. We had a forum thread on a similar topic a few weeks ago, and as the responses in the blog post and forum thread suggest, there is no clear "winner" in this field, and the best tool for you will depend on your organization's needs.

Back in March we blogged aobut how URL-shortening services could pose a threat on social networking sites such as Twitter. The Wall Street Journal blog is now reporting that they may be doing something about it.

Although Twitter hasn't officially responded, the blog is reporting that tweets with links to suspicious sites will be deleted, with a message "Oops! Your tweet contained a URL to a known malware site!."