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We are working on a local install of Oscar medical for Mac

We are in the process of developing a local install of Oscar Medical for OS X.  I’ll have more information as it becomes avaliable.

 

Thanks

Macpablodesigns

Installation of OSCAR v9.06 + Ubuntu Hardy Heron v8.04 LTS

Getting Started

First, you must install Ubuntu 8.04 LTS. The installation of the base operating system is beyond the scope of this document. Ubuntu can be downloaded or ordered in disk format directly over the internet.

Ubuntu runs on inexpensive, commodity hardware. To support a small practice with OSCAR, we recommend a minimum configuration of 200Gb Disk, 2Gb RAM, and a 2GHz Intel Dual Core CPU. For maximum subsystem compatibility, we suggest that you install the 32bit version of Ubuntu. If you are purchasing a computer to run OSCAR, one option is to order the machine with Ubuntu pre-installed.

Please note that OSCAR continues to run very well on hardware that is much less powerful than this practical minumum. For example, OSCAR will run quite reasonably on a machine with a single core CPU with 512Mb RAM and 20Gb disk.

I am assuming that your target computer is connected to the internet. After installing the operating system, log into your machine and open a terminal window.

We are now ready to begin.

Updating The Operating System

It is useful to update your system with the latest components and system patches. The first command below asks Ubuntu to update its database of available packages, and the second command installs the latest packages based on your current configuration. We run the upgrade command twice to ensure that any packages that may have post-upgrade dependancies, also have an opportunity to be upgraded.

From the command line, enter the following commands, one at a time.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get -u upgrade

sudo apt-get -u upgrade

The sudo command is used to run priviledged operations on the Ubuntu platform. The first time you run the command, it will ask for your password. Subsequently, it will not ask for your password again for a short period of time (typically 15 minutes).

apt-get is the program Ubuntu uses for managing the system’s packages. When used to manipulate the core packages of the operating system, it needs to be run in conjunction with the sudo command.

Installing The Infrastructure Packages

In order to support secure remote connections to your server, you will need to install the OpenSSH package. This package will come in handy in the future to support administrative tasks on the system.

sudo apt-get install openssh-server

To log into a remote computer that is running OpenSSH, you use the ssh username@hostname command, replacing username with a valid user name on the computer you are trying to log into, and replacing hostname with either the fully qualified host name (e.g. example.com) of your server, or it’s IP address (e.g. 192.168.0.17).

For example, if your everyday computer is a Mac, and your OSCAR server user account is david, and your OSCAR server IP address is 192.168.2.200, then you can now log into your server from your Mac, by opening a terminal window on your Mac and running the command ssh david@192.168.2.200.

OSCAR is predominately written in the Java programming language and thus requires the Java SDK to be built from source. The Java SDK also supports the Tomcat web framework. The following installs Java, plus fixes a bug in its default installation program. The server will need to be rebooted to catch this fix, but we will do this later.

sudo apt-get install sun-java5-jdk

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun/jre/lib/i386/libmlib_image.so /usr/lib

sudo ldconfig

The source code compilation process for OSCAR is managed by the Ant package.

sudo apt-get install ant-optional

Your specific CMS data, profiles, and information will all be stored in the MySQL database. This installation sequence will ask you for a secure password for the database server – remember this password as you will need it again later in the installation.

sudo apt-get install mysql-server libmysql-java

To support OSCAR’s web based user interface, the system leverages the extensive resources of the Apache Tomcat web application framework.

sudo apt-get install tomcat5.5 tomcat5.5-admin

sudo ln -s /usr/share/tomcat5.5 /usr/local/tomcat

OSCAR backup can be configured to use the Pretty Good Privacy subsystem.

sudo apt-get install pgpgpg

Concurrent Versions System (CVS) is used for source code control on the OSCAR Project. You will need this package to grab the OSCAR source code.

sudo apt-get install cvs

OSCAR’s prescription drug & allergy database, DrugRef, requires the PostgreSQL database.

Please note that the sudo command is not required for the following export and unset commands.

export LC_ALL=C

sudo apt-get install postgresql-8.3 python-pgsql

unset LC_ALL

If you are installing OSCAR on the Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Server Edition, the default package will not include unzip. We’ll install that now (note: if your Ubuntu is the Desktop Edition, then you can skip this step.

sudo apt-get install unzip

To keep OSCAR’s clock synchronized with the world, we recommend you install the Network Time Protocol (NTP) service. This will require that your OSCAR maintains a link to the Internet to work.

sudo apt-get install ntp

These are all of the base packages that need to be installed. Now, we will reboot the server.

sudo shutdown -r now

After the server restarts, log in once again, and proceed to the next section.

Configuring The Base Packages

A few environment variables need to be set to support OSCAR.

A note about the following command – ‘vi’ (for visual editor) is a classic unix editor (classic, in the sense of, you have to know it to really love it). Alternative editors exist. Examples of other Ubuntu editors include ‘nano’, if you are running in a terminal environment, and ‘gedit’, if you are running with a GUI. ‘emacs’ lovers need to install the emacs package via apt-get before you can use it as it is not part of the base distro. If you elect to use an alternative editor, replace ‘vi’ in the commands that follow with your editor of choice.

sudo vi /etc/profile

If you are configuring OSCAR on a freshly installed Ubuntu server, then you should be safe to add these lines to end of the file.

JAVA_HOME=”/usr/lib/jvm/java-1.5.0-sun”

CATALINA_HOME=”/usr/share/tomcat5.5″

ANT_HOME=”/usr/share/ant”

export JAVA_HOME CATALINA_HOME ANT_HOME

To load the new environment variables into your existing terminal, run the following command. Please note that the sudo command is not required in this case.

source /etc/profile

The infrastructure is now in place and it is time to get the OSCAR source code. The first cvs command below will ask you for a password – please respond by hitting the Enter key, without adding a password (ie a null password).

By specifying a specific date/time on the checkout command, you ensure that you get a specific, dated version that you can track from. The command, run without the datestamp verb -D “2009-06-30 23:59:59″ will retrieve the most recent version.

By specifying a particular release, you will get the code from that branch of the code. The command, run without the release flags, will get you the code from the development branch. If the development stream code is what you want, run the command without -r and also without -r RELEASE_9_06.

This tutorial is specific to the commands in the following section.

mkdir -p $HOME/src/oscar_source

cd $HOME/src/oscar_source

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@oscarmcmaster.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/oscarmcmaster login

cvs -z3 -r -d:pserver:anonymous@oscarmcmaster.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/oscarmcmaster co -r RELEASE_9_06 -D “2009-07-20 23:59:59″ oscar_mcmaster

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@oscarmcmaster.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/oscarmcmaster logout

It will take a few minutes for the source code to download. Afterwards, compile OSCAR.

cd $HOME/src/oscar_source/oscar_mcmaster/build

ant

You may ignore the warnings from the compiler, however you should expect to receive the message: BUILD SUCCESSFUL.

Copy the resulting WAR files to the web server.

sudo cp $HOME/src/oscar_source/oscar_mcmaster/build/tmp/*.war $CATALINA_HOME/webapps

OSCAR includes scripts to populate the MySQL database. For the following set of commands, you need to replace ****** with a secure password. Remember this password as it will be required to administer the database.

cd $HOME/src/oscar_source/oscar_mcmaster/database/mysql

Only run one of the following two database creation commands!

Users that wish to use Ontario’s billing subsystem should run the following command:

./createdatabase_on.sh ****** oscar_mcmaster

Whereas users who wish to use British Columbia’s billing subsystem should run this command:

./createdatabase.sh ****** oscar_mcmaster

OSCAR users that are from neither Ontario nor BC can run either of the above commands (you must run one of them), then you will need to adjust the billing system according to your own location.

You will need to move the oscar_*.properties files to $CATALINA_HOME as describe below.

sudo cp $HOME/src/oscar_source/oscar_mcmaster/install/oscar*properties $CATALINA_HOME

sudo ln -s $CATALINA_HOME/oscar_mcmaster.properties $CATALINA_HOME/oscar.properties

The oscar.properties file needs to be localized for your specific configuration.

sudo vi $CATALINA_HOME/oscar.properties

Specific configuration variables to consider for modification may include the following (but please review all properties for your own situtation):

db_password = oscar2003 ### change to your mysql database password

drugref_url = http://localhost:8001 ### points locally

project_home = oscar

backup_path = /usr/local/backups/ ### change to a place for your backup files

SHOW_APPT_REASON=yes ### uncomment by removing the ‘#’

ENABLE_EDIT_APPT_STATUS=yes ### uncomment by removing the ‘#’

#ticklerplus=on ### disable by adding the ‘#’

#clientdropbox=off ### disable by adding the ‘#’

CASEMANAGEMENT=all ### turn on the new echart

CMESort=UP ### make the echart sort nicely

TESTING=yes ### enables the Invoice Report feature

FILTER_ON_FACILITY=false

If you don’t change the default location for the documentation directories in the properties file, you will need to create the appropriate directories.

sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/tomcat/webapps/OscarDocument/oscar_mcmaster/form/record

sudo chown tomcat55:nogroup -R /usr/local/tomcat/webapps/OscarDocument/oscar_mcmaster/form

The defaults for MySQL will work fine when you are starting out, but you can tune the database so that it will run even faster. First, edit it’s configuration file:

sudo vi /etc/mysql/my.cnf

Find the section that looks like this:

#

# * Fine Tuning

#

key_buffer = 16M

max_allowed_packet = 16M

thread_stack = 128K

thread_cache_size = 8

#max_connections = 100

#table_cache = 64

#thread_concurrency = 10

#

# * Query Cache Configuration

#

query_cache_limit = 1M

query_cache_size = 16M

Assuming that your server has 2Gb RAM and a single, dual core CPU, then the following modifications are reasonable to help accelerate your OSCAR solution. For the lines that exist in the above block, you can just adjust their numbers. For the lines that do not exist, add them to your configuration file.

key_buffer = 384M

table_cache = 512

sort_buffer_size = 4M

read_buffer_size = 4M

read_rnd_buffer_size = 16M

myisam_sort_buffer_size = 64M

query_cache_size = 32M

thread_concurrency = 4

After saving the configuration file, you will need to restart MySQL.

sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

We will now configure Tomcat. First, adjust the configuration file to allocate more resources to OSCAR.

sudo vi /etc/default/tomcat5.5

Find the following sections and configure the variables to match what is below. Once again, I am assuming that you have at least 2Gb RAM.

# Arguments to pass to the Java virtual machine (JVM).

JAVA_OPTS=”-Xmx1024m -Xms1024m -XX:MaxPermSize=512m”

# Use the Java security manager? (yes/no)

TOMCAT5_SECURITY=no

Save the configuration file and when you are back to the shell, create the SSL certificate (localize the specific values noted in this command for your particular situation and change the default password of “changeit” to something specific for your installation).

sudo $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -genkey -dname “CN=192.168.2.200, OU=Indivica, O=Indivica, L=Toronto, ST=Ontario, C=CA” -alias tomcat -validity 3650 -keyalg RSA -keystore /root/.keystore -keypass changeit -storepass changeit

Now, modify Tomcat’s server config file to support secure encrypted connections via SSL.

sudo vi $CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml

In the server.xml file, look for the SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector entry and enable that block of configuration code by removing the comment tags (<!– and –>).

Then modify the section to look like the following section.

<!– Define a SSL HTTP/1.1 Connector on port 8443 –>

<Connector port=”8443″ maxHttpHeaderSize=”8192″

maxThreads=”150″ minSpareThreads=”25″ maxSpareThreads=”75″

enableLookups=”false” disableUploadTimeout=”true”

acceptCount=”100″ scheme=”https” secure=”true”

clientAuth=”false”

keystoreFile=”/root/.keystore” ### add this line

keystorePass=”put-your-password-here” ### add this line – this is the password from the certificate creation command

sslProtocol=”TLS” />

With these changes now configured, we need to restart the Tomcat application server.

sudo /etc/init.d/tomcat5.5 restart

Now we’ll enable the new echart interface.

cd $HOME/src/oscar_source/oscar_mcmaster/database/mysql

java -cp .:/usr/local/tomcat/webapps/oscar/WEB-INF/lib/mysql-connector-java-3.0.11-stable-bin.jar importCasemgmt /usr/local/tomcat/oscar.properties

mysql -uroot -p****** oscar_mcmaster ### will bring you to the mysql database prompt

insert into issue (code,description,role,update_date) select icd9.icd9, icd9.description, “doctor”, now() from icd9;

quit ### gets you out of mysql

The DrugRef source resides on a different code branch from the main OSCAR system. We will now download the subsystem.

cd $HOME/src/oscar_source

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@oscarmcmaster.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/oscarmcmaster login

cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@oscarmcmaster.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/oscarmcmaster co -P -D “2009-07-20 23:59:59″ drugref

cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@oscarmcmaster.cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/oscarmcmaster logout

We need to create some directories for DrugRef and move the code into them.

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/postgresql/8.3 /usr/local/pgsql

sudo mkdir /usr/local/DPD

sudo mkdir /usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5

sudo cp -r $HOME/src/oscar_source/drugref/drugref2/DPD/* /usr/local/DPD

sudo cp -r $HOME/src/oscar_source/drugref/drugref2/drugref-ca_1_5/* /usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5

We now need to give ownership of these files and directories to the postgres account.

sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /usr/local/DPD

sudo chown -R postgres:postgres /usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5

We will log into the postgres account for the next section, but first, we will need to set a password for the account.

sudo passwd postgres

su – postgres

We need to enable the execution bits on a couple of scripts.

cd /usr/local/DPD

chmod +x create_database.sh

chmod +x import_dpd.sh

The following command will create the database space for the DrugRef information.

./create_database.sh

The next command will download the latest drug database from Health Canada. This import script will take some time, so be patient (a good time to get a fresh coffee). You can ignore the ERROR: table “*****” does not exist CREATE TABLE messages.

./import_dpd.sh

We need to add a new first line to the DrugRef calling program to compensate for a python issue (see: http://www.python.org/dev/peps/pep-0263/). We also need to be specific about where the drug interactions plugins directory is.

First, edit the file:

vi /usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5/drugref_service.py

And now add as the very first line (including the sharp sign (’#’)):

# coding: latin-1

Change the following line…

def __init__(self, plugindir=”plugins”, name = “Drugref Service”, version=”1.0″):

to reflect the current directory:

def __init__(self, plugindir=”/usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5/plugins”, name = “Drugref Service”, version=”1.0″):

Save the file. Finally when you get back to the terminal prompt, we will exit from postgres account.

exit

Now that you are back to your original shell, the last step is to start up the DrugRef subsystem.

We will configure the system so that it always will start when the server is turned on. To do this, we need to edit a system script.

sudo vi /etc/rc.local

Add the following line to /etc/rc.local (before the exit 0 line):

nohup su -c “/usr/bin/python /usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5/drugref_service.py >> /usr/local/drugref-ca_1_5/drug.log 2>&1 &” postgres

And run the script:

sudo /etc/rc.local

That’s it! Your base OSCAR package is configured.

Trying It Out

We are now ready to log into OSCAR for the first time.

To test the connection, open your web browswer and go to your the web address of your server as shown below. You should see the OSCAR login page.

In the specific example below, replace the IP address of the example URL with the IP address of your server. To find the IP address of your server you can run the command “ifconfig” from the shell that you have been using to configure the system.

https://192.168.2.200:8443/oscar/

Your connection to the OSCAR server is encrypted.

Your browser may complain about your unofficial or uncertified certificate. You can ignore these warnings and avoid them in the future by installing the certificate on your workstation. The instructions for doing this is browser specific and beyond the scope of this document.

The default login parameters for OSCAR is as follows:

User Name: oscardoc

Password: mac2002

2nd Level Passcode: 1117

The first thing you will need to do once you log in, is change your passwords from the defaults. The primary password is changed via the Pref -> Change Your Password menu. The secondary password is changed via the Admin -> Search/Edit/Delete Security Records menu.

Configure Your Backup

There are a number of ways to automate your backup. A few areas will need to be considered:

• the database
• the properties file
• the document upload directory
• the eforms directory

My recommendation is to automatically backup the database nightly, then use rsync to move all the files, including the database dump to a remote machine.

First, create a database backup directory, and change the permissions so that only the root user can read the contents.

sudo mkdir /usr/local/backups

sudo chown tomcat55:nogroup /usr/local/backups

sudo chmod 755 /usr/local/backups

Now we will create a script that we can use to backup the database and create an archive of all the dynamic files on the system. As the archive file of the uploaded files will become quite large over time, we’ll only keep two copies on hand at any given time. You can, of course, configure your system to keep more if you like.

First, we will create the file:

sudo vi /usr/local/backups/backupOSCAR.sh

In this file, put the following lines (replacing the ****** with your actual mySQL database password):

#!/bin/sh -e

#

/usr/bin/mysqldump –add-drop-table -uroot -p****** oscar_mcmaster > /usr/local/backups/backupOSCAR-`date +%F`.sql

/bin/gzip -f /usr/local/backups/backupOSCAR-`date +%F`.sql

/bin/mv /usr/local/backups/backupOscarFiles.tar.gz /usr/local/backups/backupOscarFiles.older.tar.gz

/bin/tar cfz /usr/local/backups/backupOscarFiles.tar.gz /usr/local/tomcat/webapps/OscarDocument/oscar_mcmaster /usr/local/tomcat/oscar_mcmaster.properties

Make this file executable.

sudo chmod 700 /usr/local/backups/backupOSCAR.sh

We’ll configure Ubuntu to run the command every day. This is done by creating a cron job for the script we just made. Run the following command:

sudo crontab -e

And add to the existing file an entry so that the command looks like below:

# m h dom mon dow command

04 04 * * * /usr/local/backups/backupOSCAR.sh

You’ve now configured a daily backup of the mySQL OSCAR database. This backup will run at 4 minutes after 4 am, each morning. Each backup file will be created in the /usr/local/backups directory and will be time stamped based on the day it was created.

You will be able to see the contents of the backup directory with the command:

sudo ls /usr/local/backups

These backup files are also viewable/downloadable via the Admin->oscarDatabase/Document Download tab from within OSCAR.

To restore OSCAR from a backup file, you run this command (once again, inserting your own password in lieu of the asterisks, and also adjusting the timestamp for the appropriate backup file from your own directory):

sudo zcat /usr/local/backups/backupOSCAR-2008-11-20.sql | mysql -uroot -p****** oscar_mcmaster

Finally, lets move the backup files, and the backup database to a remote machine. This is accomplished by running the following command, and replacing username with a valid username for the remote machine, and replacing domainname with the FQDN or IP of the remote host:

sudo rsync -azvv -e ssh /usr/local/backups username@domainname:backups

You have now completed a full installation of OSCAR. Keep reading for hints on what to do next.

Getting Started With OSCAR

Now that OSCAR is installed, there are a number of activities that you will need to perform to get the most out of your new CMS. Some of these tasks may include:

• add users and configure their security and optionally their schedules
• configure your clinic information
• import your patient demographic records
• localize your billing templates and update the system to the lastest fees schedule
• configure electronic access to your labs
• configure your prescription pad
• add some forms and eforms

Many of these activities are intuitive to configure and most are described in the user guide which is available on the OSCAR Canada web site.

I will help you through a couple simple tasks to get you started.

Configuring Forms

Log into the OSCAR server as oscardoc.

Select from the menu Admin -> Select Forms. This will open a window which allows you to add and remove the forms that are available via the patient’s Encounter window.

Highlight Discharge Summary from the Selected Forms list, and click Delete. Add the following forms from the All Available Forms list:

• Annual
• Annual V2
• CHF
• Growth 0-36m
• Growth Charts
• ImmunAllergies
• Lab Req 2007
• Mental Health
• MMSE
• PeriMenopausal
• Risk Assessment
• Rourke
• Rourke2006
• Self Efficacy
• T2Diabetes
• Vascular Tracker

To finish your selection, click the Close button.

These forms will now be viewable via the Encounter page of each patient.

Enabling Flowsheets

OSCAR supports a number of flowsheets, including:

• INR
• Hypertension
• HIV
• Diabetes

These flowsheets are enabled by configuring the disease registry. First, select Admin -> Customize Disease Registry Quick List -> Edit Quick List -> default.

Then you enter each of the icd9 codes for the following items and select Add (select Close when you are finished):

• Atrial Fibrillation (code: 42731)
• Diabetes Mellitus (code: 250)
• Essential Hypertension (code: 401)
• Human Immuno Virus Dis (code: 042)
• HX-VEN Thrombosis/Embols (code: V1251)
• Long-Term Use Anticoagul (code: V5861)

And now, to enable a flowsheet for a specific patient, you will select from the patient’s Encounter -> Dx Registry -> Quick List window the appropriate condition. The appropriate flowsheet will now be enabled on the Encounter page (you will need to refresh/reload the Encounter page to see the Flowsheet under the Measurements heading.

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Emphony Technologies achieves 100 per cent uptime with Ubuntu

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Read the full story or download the PDF

Budget 2009 – Computer details for Small Business

Here is the lowdown from the Budget 2009 website from the Department of Finance

http://www.budget.gc.ca/2009/plan/bpa5a-eng.asp#Business

Tax Measures: Supplementary Information and Notices of Ways and Means Motions

Computers: Accelerated CCA

In general, computers acquired after March 18, 2007, are included in Class 50 of Schedule II to the Income Tax Regulations and are eligible for a 55-per-cent declining-balance capital cost allowance (CCA) rate. Budget 2007 increased the CCA rate to 55 per cent from 45 per cent to better reflect the useful life of these assets.

CCA Class 50 (Computers)

Computer equipment is described in Class 50 of Schedule II to the Income Tax Regulations as general-purpose electronic data processing equipment and systems software for that equipment, including ancillary data processing equipment but not including property that is principally or is used principally as:

(i) Electronic process control or monitor equipment;

(ii) Electronic communications control equipment;

(iii) Systems software for a property referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii); or

(iv) Data handling equipment unless it is ancillary to general-purpose electronic data processing equipment.

Budget 2009 proposes a temporary 100-per-cent CCA rate for eligible computers and software acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 2011. This 100-per-cent CCA rate will not be subject to the half-year rule, which generally allows half the CCA write-off otherwise available in the year the asset is first available for use by the taxpayer. As a result of this measure, a business will be able to fully deduct the cost of an eligible computer (including the systems software for that computer) in the first year that CCA deductions are available.

For this purpose eligible computers and systems software acquired by a taxpayer will be computer equipment and software described in Class 50 of Schedule II to the Income Tax Regulations, as described above, that

• is situated in Canada,
• is acquired by the taxpayer
  • for use in a business carried on by the taxpayer in Canada or for the purpose of earning income from property situated in Canada, or
  • for lease by the taxpayer to a lessee for use by the lessee in a business carried on by the lessee in Canada or for the purpose of earning income from property situated in Canada, and
• has not been used, or acquired for use, for any purpose before it is acquired by the taxpayer for use in Canada.

The 100-per-cent CCA rate will also apply to property that is currently included in CCA class 29, that would otherwise be described in Class 50 of Schedule II to the Income Tax Regulations, and that meets the conditions described above.

The computer tax shelter property rules, which prevent CCA deductions from being used by investors to shelter other sources of income, will also apply to computer equipment that is eligible for the 100-per-cent CCA rate.

This temporary measure could result in some limited adverse environmental effects to the extent that computer equipment that is being replaced is not stored, reused, recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner. However, there are a number of government and industry programs that encourage re-use and proper disposal of electronic equipment.

deduct 100 per cent of a computer purchase for Canadian Small Business

Did you know that if your business buys a computer between Jan. 27, 2009 and Feb. 1, 2011, you can deduct 100 per cent of a computer purchase that year, rather than simply deducting the amount that the computer has depreciated that year?

So far, though, like the proverbial tree falling in the forest, it’s a small business deduction that’s made no sound and had little effect, according to CBC News. (See Computer tax break yet to make an impact.)

What the Federal Budget 2009 Offers Canadian Small Businesses

Budget 2009 Direct Small Business Benefits

Improving Access to Financing

The government plan to get the sluggish lending industry moving again includes:

• Delivering $13 billion in additional financing by increasing the flexibility and capacities of the financial Crown corporations, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Export Development Canada, and the Business Development Bank of Canada. This includes at least $5 billion in new financing to be delivered through enhanced cooperation between these financial Crown corporations and private sector financial institutions under the new Business Credit Availability Program.

• Increasing the maximum eligible loan amount a small business can access under the Canada Small Business Financing Program.

As of April 2009, the maximum loan a company can access under the Canada Small Business Financing Program will be $350,000 (rather than $250,000) and this maximum will double to $500,000 for loans that are taken out to buy real property. This is expected to result in more than $300-million in additional lending.

• Creating the Canadian Secured Credit Facility, with up to $12 billion to support financing of vehicles and equipment for consumers and businesses.

Will these measures thaw the current credit freeze and allow Canadian businesses to access the money they need? Your guess is as good as mine. But I think the federal government should be commended for trying.

Other Direct Small Business Benefits of the Canadian Federal Budget 2009

The 2009 federal budget states that small businesses are dynamic and drive economic growth and job creation and pledges to support their growth through a variety of tax relief measures and replenishing the coffers of some of the established government programs that support small business. Here’s a list of the budget 2009 benefits that many small businesses will be able to use.

Federal Budget 2009 Tax Relief

• Reduction of the general corporate income tax rate to 19 per cent

• Increasing the amount of small business income eligible for the reduced federal tax rate of 11 per cent to $500,000 from the current limit of $400,000 as of January 1, 2009.

• EI premium rates will be frozen at $1.73 per $100 for both 2009 and 2010—their lowest level since 1982—a projected $4.5 billion stimulus relative to break-even rates.

• Providing over $440 million in savings for Canadian industry over the next five years by permanently eliminating tariffs on a range of machinery and equipment.

• Introducing a temporary 100% capital cost allowance (CCA) rate for computers acquired after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2011. This is truly a 100% write-off because the rule that restricts CCA deductions to one-half of the CCA write-off otherwise available in the first year will not apply to these computers.

• Extending the temporary 50-per-cent straight-line accelerated CCA rate to investment in manufacturing or processing machinery and equipment undertaken in 2010 and 2011.

Federal Budget 2009 Support for Small Business Programs

Several business support programs will get a much-needed infusion of funds under the 2009 federal budget:

• $30 million over two years for the Canada Business Network

• $10 million to the Canadian Youth Business Foundation

• $200 million over two years to the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program to enable it to temporarily expand its initiatives for small and medium-sized businesses.

According to Budget 2009, the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program helps small and medium-sized enterprises innovate by providing technical and business advice, networking services, as well as direct, non-repayable, financial assistance. This program also provides companies with support to hire recent graduates from colleges and universities for up to one year to work on innovative business strategies and technology-related projects.

Programs and investments to help specific regions and specific industries that have been particularly hard hit by tough economic times are also part of the Canadian federal budget 2009. However, for Canadian small businesses, it’s the government’s proposals to invest in housing and infrastructure, the indirect benefits to small business, that will be the most help.

Budget 2009 Regional Business Support

Three particular regions of the country are targeted for development support; Southern Ontario, Eastern Ontario and the North.

In response to Ontario’s economic challenges, Budget 2009 provides more than $1 billion over five years for a new Southern Ontario development agency.

Budget 2009 also provides $20 million over two years for the Eastern Ontario Development program to support business and community development in rural areas of Eastern Ontario. This program will be administered by the Southern Ontario development agency.

Budget 2009 provides $50 million over five years to establish of a new regional economic development agency for the North.

Budget 2009 Indirect Small Business Benefits

All of the direct measures to aid Canadian small businesses that I’ve described previously in this article are good things. However, none of them will do as much to get the small business sector of the economy humming again as the federal government’s proposed investments in housing and infrastructure.

Overall, Budget 2009 proposes to provide up to $7.8 billion in tax relief and funding to help stimulate the housing sector and improve housing across Canada.

Two programs, one a tax credit, the other an outright grant, will be a huge boon to the hard-hit renovation and construction industries; the Home Renovation Tax Credit and the ecoENERGY Retrofit program.

 

IBM and Canonical Launch Linux- and Cloud-based Desktop Software in the U.S.

Open Standards-based Alternative to Microsoft Windows 7 Offers 50 Percent Savings, Runs on Existing Hardware

ARMONK, N.Y. - 20 Oct 2009: Today IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Canonical are introducing a cloud- and Linux-based desktop package in the U.S. designed for use on a company’s existing fleet of personal computers (PCs) or even low-cost netbooks.

http://www.ubuntu.com/news/ibm-cloud-based-desktop-software-lotus-openclient

The new IBM package can be embedded in business processes. It is compatible with SOA-based IT environments and gives people a complete, open, and secure alternative to closed and costly Microsoft desktop software.

Independent market estimates range up to $2,000 for the cost of migrating to the Windows 7 operating system for many PC users. New PC hardware requirements account for a significant portion of the added expense.

The IBM Client for Smart Work package, launched September 24 in Africa, was initially designed for emerging markets but sparked calls for the solution in the U.S. The U.S. version is arriving in time to help companies avoid the higher licensing, hardware upgrades and migration costs associated with Microsoft Windows 7.

“If a company is a ‘Windows shop,’ at some point it will need to evaluate the significant costs of migrating its base to Microsoft’s next desktop,” said Bob Picciano, General Manager, IBM Lotus Software. “American businesses have asked for a compelling alternative that can help them free up PC expenses to use for more strategic collaboration and business transformation projects.”

IBM and Canonical expect to enlist hundreds of partners to offer the IBM Client for Smart Work in the U.S. in 2010. The current partner ecosystem includes regional systems integrators, ZSL and CSS Corp; virtual desktop provider, Virtual Bridges, and its distributors, Midas Networks and KalariSys; and several online, vertical industry businesses. IBM is also targeting the education market by collaborating with university faculty through the IBM Academic Initiative.

The U.S. solution includes several open standards-based components:

• Word processing, spreadsheets and presentations from IBM Lotus Symphony, which is a free-of-charge download on the Web;
• Email from IBM Lotus Notes or the cloud-based LotusLive iNotes launched earlier this month, which starts at $3 per user, per month;
• Cloud-based, social networking and collaboration tools from LotusLive.com from $10 per user, per month; and
• Ubuntu, an open platform for netbooks, laptops, desktops, and servers.

Since the IBM Client for Smart Work is based on Eclipse, Linux and open Web standards, it can integrate with any third-party software. This gives companies the freedom to use technologies of their choice, extend their functions and preserve existing investments.

“Canonical is proud to partner with IBM to help open up the American corporate  desktop through Ubuntu,” said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu and CEO of Canonical. “IBM’s smart client package running on Ubuntu will allow U.S. organizations the financial freedom to redistribute the costs of expensive software licenses into IT projects that will innovate and drive critical growth.”

The IBM Smart Work Initiative

The IBM Client for Smart Work enables you to deploy a desktop strategy that allows you to reduce costs of ownership up to 50% and at the same time increase organizational productivity. It is an optimized workspace with built in productivity and collaboration capabilities that can be embedded in business processes. It is compatible with, and complimentary to SOA-based IT environments and empowers users with a complete, open, easy to use, and security rich alternative to closed and costly Microsoft desktop software.

The IBM Smart Work initiative is designed to help companies become more efficient by better connecting their workers and business processes. The IBM Client for Smart Work helps achieve these objectives by cost-efficiently connecting the workforce through locally-based collaboration software and across firewalls through the cloud. The solution can be installed and tailored by IBM Global Technology Services and IBM Business Partners for specific job roles by mapping business services to human networking patterns. Essentially, the way people and organizations work can be improved through a combination of collaboration and business process modeling.

For example, the IBM Client for Smart Work can equip the members of a company’s marketing, sales and research departments with the means to quickly and efficiently collaborate. Business process modeling (BPM) can show workflows between sales and marketing, but very little between sales and research or marketing and research. Based on expertise residing in those functions and informal networks discovered through modeling, a company could find powerful insights from research playing an important role in sales and marketing efforts. It may turn out that an expert in R&D might be a company’s greatest resource for marketing content, but this expertise has to be identified and shared in order to provide the highest value to the organization. Through online communities on LotusLive.com, this kind of insight can be tapped as needed for the benefit of an entire organization.

Companies can use the IBM BPM suite components such as WebSphere Dynamic Process Edition as required. Business leaders and business analysts can discover and explore business-relevant content to help them understand, experience, and accelerate business process management using IBM BPM BlueWorks.

IBM is targeting the IBM Client for Smart Work for a number of markets, including:

• Large enterprises that have segments of employees for whom the PC on their desk is primarily a tool for collaboration, email, browser-based applications, and straightforward office productivity tasks.
• Small- and medium-sized businesses that have discovered initial savings of free or low-cost Web-based email services but have grown frustrated with service outages, advertisements or security concerns.
• Government organizations that want to leverage the Open Document Format for open standards-based office tools and industry-leading collaboration software to lower costs and self-fund mission critical initiatives. For this, IBM offers the package running on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.
• Education customers that want to rapidly deploy netbooks for smarter classroom initiatives. For more information on how IBM Academic Initiative faculty can access the IBM Client for Smart Work, visit https://greenhouse.lotus.com
• Commuters who want to travel light can bootup their netbooks using a USB stick and then login to a virtual Linux desktop on the cloud using Virtual Bridges’s VERDE solution.

U.S.-based customers can purchase the IBM Client for Smart Work from business partners such as Canonical, CSS Corp., Compariv, Mainline, Midas Networks, Red Hat, Virtual Bridges and ZSL. The IBM Lotus client-side package runs on Canonical’s Ubuntu operating system, and provides the option to deliver collaboration through the Web in a cloud service model. Also available are alternate delivery models including an appliance using Lotus Foundations and in-premise using Lotus Domino and related collaboration software.

Price varies depending on the configuration and support requirements.

For more information, please visit: http://www.ubuntu.com/partners/occs and http://www.ibm.com/lotus/openclient.

Hacked Facebook applications reach out to exploit sites in Russia

http://www.daniweb.com/news/story231627.html#

http://thompson.blog.avg.com/2009/10/hacked-facebook-applications-reach-out-to-exploit-sites-in-russia.html

Hi folks,

All the social networking sites have issues with calling out to exploit pages. Usually what happens is that someone’s website gets hacked, and because they link to it from their MySpace or Facebook page, their contacts and friends sometimes get drawn to the attack sites. This is quite common, and we’ll write about it soon, but today’s story is a little different, in that these seem to be actual Facebook applications that have been hacked. (Please note that the application developer(s) are innocent victims too, and did not intend for their games to be hacked.)

The first one we noticed was CityFireDepartment, which seems to be a sort of online game that allows a player to become a fireman. (Please DO NOT GO to this application until it is cleaned up).

This is how it’s supposed to look… (Click image to enlarge)

But what you see instead is something like this (especially if you are not patched)…

If you’re not patched, the next thing you see is this… (note the “Your computer is infected” warning in the bottom right corner of the screen):

Followed by…

And if you have a nifty change notification tool, like WRremote, you’ll see that you are already nailed, with sys files already having been installed.

At first, we thought this was a deliberate hack attempt by the developers, but when we looked at the source code for the web pages, we found this iframe injected into the source…

Interestingly, this line changes at least once a day, and calls to a different exploit site, so the Bad Guys are still exploiting the hole, whatever it is. And also interestingly, some of their users are also telling them they have a problem. Here are some of the comments…

Initially, we thought that the applications were deliberately acting as lures, but it now seems to us that they are victims themselves. The difficult part for them will be to find and plug the hole that the DataSnatchers are using to hack the applications.

The other applications where we have detected the hack include (we don’t include direct links to them in order to save you):

• MyGirlySpace

• Ferrarifone

• Mashpro

• Mynameis

• Pass-it-on

• Fillinthe

• Aquariumlife

There could easily be lots more, but that’s what we’ve noticed with this particular hack.

It’s a tricky world out there folks, keep safe.