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The InformationWeek August 2007 Archive « July 2007 | Main | September 2007 » |
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Is Yahoo Working On A Cell Phone?
Earlier this week Michael Arrington at TechCrunch dropped a bombshell that has yet to be explained: Yahoo is supposedly working on a cell phone.
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Why Is Wall Street Punishing Clearwire?
It would be unethical of me to offer stock tips in this space, so I'll just phrase this as a question: Why is Wall Street hammering Clearwire Corp.? After reaching a high of $33.30 on July 19, the share price for the WiMax network startup has declined 37%. And on Tuesday the stock dropped 7% "on no news whatsoever," as The Motley Fool put it.
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Six Questions About The Google Phone
We're all waiting for the big news next week: Will Google finally announce the Google Phone? Well, I am ready for the Google Phone. In fact, I know exactly what I want to do with it when I first get my hands on one, assuming there actually will be a Google Phone. Here is my list of questions.
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iPhone Impresses Europeans. Almost.
Not all of them, obviously, but during my tip to London this week anyone within sight of my iPhone sidled up next to me quickly for a demonstration of how it worked. There were lots of oohs and aahs, quickly followed by bahs.
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When Will Anyone Actually Watch Mobile TV?
With his post today, my colleague Eric Zeman raised a great question: Is anyone actually watching mobile TV? If by that he meant people watching video on their iPods, yes, I see many iPod users watching video. If, however, he meant people watching V CAST and other mobile TV services that stream over cellular networks...
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Verizon Wireless Quietly Rolling Out More V CAST TV Markets
Verizon Wireless launched its MediaFLO-based V CAST mobile TV services back in early March to two dozen or so markets across the United States. Today, Verizon added Corpus Christi, Texas, to the list of markets, which has swelled over the past few months to 37.
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Where Are All The IT Jobs And People? Expand Your Horizons.
It’s one of the great IT dichotomies of our time: Employers fret over a tech talent or labor shortage, while employees say jobs are as scarce as ever. Where’s the disconnect?
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Popover Hate
Engadget managing editor Ryan Block struck a nerve yesterday when he posted a scathing attack on keyword popovers, such as those supplied by "IntelliTXT / Vibrant Media and like ad services whose entire business depends on polluting your content, confusing your audience, and tricking them into clicking on ads that just won't go away."
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Letting Crazy People Set Intellectual-Property Policy
Three stories in the news this week demonstrate that intellectual-property policy is set by crazy people. NBC is threatening to dump iTunes unless Apple violates the laws of nature. An organization of science fiction writers is sending willy-nilly takedown notices for property it doesn't control. And Viacom pirated a YouTube video, and then sent down a takedown notice against the video's real author.
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Women In High Places -- Or Not
Is the number of female CIO's diminishing? It certainly seems that way.
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Dear New IRS CIO: Admit Disastrous Failures And Outsource All IT
I haven't had a nice high-colonic IRS audit in a while, so what the heck: Of all the deep-seated horrors within the IT organization you now head, this is the killer: "60% of the IRS employees contacted by testers posing as help desk workers were talked into changing their computer passwords over the phone." A new CIO can't fix that -- but wholesale outsourcing will.
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The IRS Gets A New CIO
If there's a CIO hot seat, it's got to be at the Internal Revenue Service. Who would want that job, anyway?
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Five Things Microsoft Should Fix In Windows Vista Service Pack 1
Having long taken the position that there are many things which need to be fixed in Vista, I'm happy to see Microsoft is at work on a beta of Service Pack 1 for Vista. On the other hand, an examination of Redmond's documentation reveals that there may some significant shortfalls when SP1 ships in early 2008.
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Gear6 Aims To Speed Storage Access
For most applications, the storage industry is fairly adept at delivering requisite performance. All, that is, except for large data set processing. Think: Financial market modeling, or digital image rendering, or seismic analysis for the gas and oil industry. For these applications, thousands of servers churn away for days before the job is finished. And when there's a lot of data fetching, the speed of the storage system is critical, and in most cases, currently inadequate. Gear6 thinks it can help.
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Another CIO Priority: Managing Uncertainty
Management philosophers have held forth for years on the chief role of the chief information officer. We've been told that they must be adept at managing complexity and managing the ever-accelerating pace of change and even managing their bosses' expectations. Let's hurl another esoteric priority into the mix: managing uncertainty.
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Microsoft Spooning BlackBerry? I Think Not
The ripple effects in the mobile and wireless market continue to spread, in ever more Byzantine ways. Today Reuters reports that "Research in Motion Ltd shares rose more than 3 percent on Thursday on renewed market speculation that Microsoft Corp could be interested in buying the BlackBerry maker."
This according to one analyst would be "in response to Google's recent announcement that it is interested in making its own mobile phone operating system, which would compete with Windows Mobile." I'm with Barron's tech blogger Eric Savitz on this one: I don't buy it.
Continue reading "Microsoft Spooning BlackBerry? I Think Not..."
Jaxtr's New Twist on VoIP
Given the recent failure of SunRocket, and Vonage's lack of profits and patent problems, you might find it odd to see VCs pouring money into yet another VoIP company.
Continue reading "Jaxtr's New Twist on VoIP..."
Coming Soon To Theaters: The Return Of The Spectacular CIO
Not long ago I interviewed Thomas Tull, the chairman and CEO of Legendary Pictures -- the folks who helped bring the blockbuster 300 to movie screens this summer. His challenge for the movie business is nearly identical to a CIO's challenge.
Continue reading "Coming Soon To Theaters: The Return Of The Spectacular CIO..."
Why An OS X-Based iPod Matters
Last week, we wrote about reports that the upcoming new line of iPods would be based on OS X. Even as I wrote that, I was thinking, "So what? Why should the average iPod user care?" My colleague Antone Gonsalves provides the answer.
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Symbian Gains Market Share Thanks To Japan
Symbian reported a huge jump in the number of mobile phones shipping with its operating system on board. It claims the 52% increase is due to larger sales volumes in Japan.
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Nokia Parties Up London
After the day-long confab called Go Play, Nokia hosted 400 journalists, analysts, customers and staffers at a big old bash at London's Ministry of Sound night club. Maroon 5 was rocking the house, and so were the beat mixers.
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Are You Linked In Or Facing The Book?
Lately, I've been getting two similar appeals in my business e-mail: from LinkedIn members wanting to add me as a connection, and from Facebook members adding me as a friend. So now I'm wondering: Which network should I actually take the time to cultivate?
Continue reading "Are You Linked In Or Facing The Book?..."
End Nigh For Muni Wi-Fi?
The news this week -- EarthLink's retrenching, Chicago's decision to shelve (not "review," not "delay for more research," but "shelve" as in can, eighty-six, disavow all knowledge of) its prospective citywide network, and of course the usual posturing out of San Francisco -- would seem to indicate that it's difficult to divine signs of vitality in the municipal wireless market. But that's not entirely the case: Muni Wi-Fi is not dead; it's just going through a phase of, uhh, creative destruction.
Continue reading "End Nigh For Muni Wi-Fi?..."
EarthLink Muni Wi-Fi Head is History
As I reported earlier today, EarthLink CEO Rolla Huff says that his company is "not exiting" the municipal wireless business but will not invest in future projects unless the costs, and the risk, are spread across multiple stakeholders. That's a hollow claim. For evidence, take a look at this SEC filing, in which EarthLink spells out the "Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities." At the bottom is the news that Don Berryman, the company's muni Wi-Fi head, is out.
Continue reading "EarthLink Muni Wi-Fi Head is History..."
Will Google Announce A Linux-Powered Mobile Phone OS Next Week?
The Google Phone rumors are now in overdrive. Last week I blogged that Google could be preparing to launch the Google Phone in India. Since then more clues have floated to the surface.
Continue reading "Will Google Announce A Linux-Powered Mobile Phone OS Next Week?..."
Terrorism Hits Hyderabad: How Will CIOs Weigh The Risks?
Two terrorist bombings in the rapidly growing Indian IT city of Hyderabad have reportedly given some investors the jitters. For CIOs who've contracted with Hyderabad outsourcers, how serious is the risk?
Continue reading "Terrorism Hits Hyderabad: How Will CIOs Weigh The Risks?..."
Reports: Apple Announcing iPods Sept. 5, Mockup Photos Available
Looks like Apple is launching a new line of iPods next Wednesday, and bloggers are posting speculative mockup photos. They include a square nano -- nicknamed the "phatty" -- and another one that looks a lot like an iPhone. Read on for links to the photos, and more discussion of the announcement.
Continue reading "Reports: Apple Announcing iPods Sept. 5, Mockup Photos Available..."
Survey: Consumers Want Companies To Guard Their Data
Or is it simply lip service? Because the letters that come to my lips are TJX.
Continue reading "Survey: Consumers Want Companies To Guard Their Data..."
Angry Blogger Sends A Love Letter To Sprint
Michael Arrington at TechCrunch has written what has to be one of the most scathing blog posts of 2007. The target of his ire: Everyone's favorite wireless carrier, Sprint.
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Demo: Using The Nokia Music Store
I had the opportunity to take the new Nokia Music Store for a test drive. Will it be an iTunes challenger or an also-ran?
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Ovi Smokes! Nokia Breaks It Down
Today in London, Nokia unveiled a number of new handsets as well as revamped media services under the new brand name Ovi.
Continue reading "Ovi Smokes! Nokia Breaks It Down..."
AMD Promises Rapid Ramp Of Barcelona Clock Speed To 2.3 GHz
There's been lots of chatter lately about problems AMD has had on the road to Barcelona, the quad-core processor it'll launch with great fanfare on Sept. 10. (That date ensures the story will have only a single day of prominence.) After talking to AMD, I've got some important news about Barcelona's clock speed.
Continue reading "AMD Promises Rapid Ramp Of Barcelona Clock Speed To 2.3 GHz..."
How To Optimize Your Mobile Website For Search
Welcome to Take 5, a regular feature on Over The Air where I inteview an industry insider about a pressing mobile or wireless topic. Today's guest, David Harper, is the founder of Winksite, a mobile application designed to make it easier to build mobile Websites. In this edition of Take 5, David and I discussed mobile search optimization, a topic we covered earlier during a Mobile Monday meeting in June.
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Does Privacy Matter?
Donald Leka, CEO of New York-based TransMedia, maker of the Glide online media sharing and storage service, believes consumers care about privacy.
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Why Does Microsoft Get Smacked For Doing The Right Thing?
Microsoft endorses a third-party software product that helps customers "create a secure, auditable, and compliant enterprise environment" -- that's a good thing, right? Not so fast! A colleague of mine says that, conversely, it's simply another wacky chapter in what he calls the ongoing "Through The Looking Glass" saga of Windows Vista.
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Hired Guns: CIO Consultants
Temporary CIO talent can be a quick fix, but is it worth it in the long run?
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SaaS, Mashups, And The End Run On IT Departments
In its early days, one of the hottest selling points for software as a service was "you know, you don't really need your IT department to do this." SaaS vendors have to be more subtle these days. But end-user mashup tools could raise some of the same questions of how much end users should do without IT's help.
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Blocking The Ad Blockers: Formula For Success?
A Web site owner is protesting a Firefox plug-in, Adblock Plus, that blocks advertisements. He's doing it by blocking all Firefox users from his site, whether they're running Firefox or not. It's a gutsy move. As Microsoft with its Windows Genuine Advantage screw-up this weekend reminds us, nothing builds relationships with your customers quite like giving the impression you're calling them all thieves and liars.
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5 Keys To Social Networking Success
Investors are flocking to fund social networking startups. How can you identify a good investment? Here are five key characteristics, backed up with real-world examples.
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Is Unlocking The iPhone Really Going To Change Anything?
The last five days or so have seen a spate of announcements from basement-dwelling geeks all around the planet who claim to have unlocked the iPhone. Some have used hardware and software mods, others have just used software. What does iPhone unlocking really amount to?
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A Clean New Internet?
Sometimes, when things aren't going your way, the best way to handle things is to simply walk away. At least, that's the philosophy being followed by the Japanese communications ministry, which apparently intends to build a new Internet.
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Refurbished Equipment Redux
We raised some questions about the quality of refurbished devices in the Over the Air blog recently. True to form, a tidy little survey shows up after we publish saying that refurbed units just aren't that good.
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Did Apple Hurt Its Loyal Customers? Or Bravely Resist Software Bloat?
Computer users complain continuously about software bloat, so you'd think we'd applaud a vendor's efforts to simplify and slim down a popular application. That's what Apple did with iMovie '08 -- but it's got some of Apple's most loyal users squawking that Apple turned a once-powerful application into crippleware.
Continue reading "Did Apple Hurt Its Loyal Customers? Or Bravely Resist Software Bloat?..."
What's The Rule For Embedding Open Source Software?
I just talked with two CIOs who have different takes on embedding open source software in their companies' products. One sees it as standard practice, the other approaches it like a snake in a bag.
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Ubuntu Adds Ho-Hum Features In Latest 'Gutsy Gibbon' Alpha
Ubuntu, the Linux distro which I've personally found to be somewhat less than it's cracked up to be -- your mileage may vary -- is getting an update.
Continue reading "Ubuntu Adds Ho-Hum Features In Latest 'Gutsy Gibbon' Alpha..."
Don't Fear The Acer-Gateway (And Other Globalization) Grim Reapers
Taiwan's Acer plans to acquire U.S. PC maker Gateway, a deal some may view as further evidence that the U.S. tech industry is bolting offshore. Despite the upheaval in the domestic tech industry and profession, however, the United States is holding its own as a high-tech center.
Continue reading "Don't Fear The Acer-Gateway (And Other Globalization) Grim Reapers..."
Alltel Lets Managers Be Puppet Masters
For the SMB on a budget, the new FieldMasterPro service from Alltel lets managers simplify scheduling and dispatch on Windows Mobile smartphones. It's perfect for control freaks!
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Hate Your Cell Phone? Go Ahead And Chuck It
On Saturday, the tiny Finnish village of Savonlinna hosted its annual Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships. The winner, one of 32 male contestants, flung a mobile phone 294 feet to take the gold prize.
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Aggregate Knowledge Aims To Be A Mind Reader On The Web
Having jumped into the market for Web "discovery" technology last December, Aggregate Knowledge is getting closer to general availability of three new services. Founded by the same guys behind social networking site Tribe.net -- the assets of which were acquired by Cisco in March -- Aggregate Knowledge promises to help companies get the most appropriate products and content in front of Web site visitors.
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Microsoft Endorses A Fix For Something It Insists Isn't A Problem
Vista's User Account Controls prompts are something almost everybody loves to hate. Microsoft has steadfastly maintained that they're a feature that improves the product. But this week, "Microsoft has taken the very unusual step of endorsing another company's product that fixes a problem in its own operating system." The "Through the Looking Glass" saga of Vista continues.
Continue reading "Microsoft Endorses A Fix For Something It Insists Isn't A Problem..."
Is The Google Phone Ready To Launch In India In Two Weeks?
A few weeks ago I blogged that Google was working on a cell phone but, in typical fashion, refused to comment. Now Rediff claims the Google Phone is set to launch in India in as soon as two weeks.
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What Orkut Really Needs
Google's software engineers report that they've been busy giving Orkut, the company's social networking service, a face-lift. But perhaps what the site really needs is a new name for the U.S market.
It's true that short, memorable domain names are hard to come by, but if ever there was a Google product in need of re-branding, it's Orkut.
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Advice On Building A Better Password
We're always hearing that we need stronger passwords, but many people don't know how to craft a better, stronger password or they simply don't take the time to come up with some crazy complex string that they have no chance of remembering.
I was just talking with someone who gave me some great advice.
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Why Waiting On An iPhone Deal In Europe Hurts Apple
So now France Telecom, parent company of Orange France, has gone from "Non non" to "Oui oui" on talks with Apple about becoming one of the European carriers for the red-hot iPhone once it (finally) makes its way to the Continent. Leaving aside for the moment the question of which operator(s) will get the privilege of offering the 365-Euro touch-screen wonder, here are three reasons that the longer these negotiations play out, the worse it is for Apple.
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A CIO's Top Priority: Make The Boss Look Good!!
Call this approach strategic pragmatism or multidisciplinary synchronicity or old-fashioned brown-nosing, but there's lots of common sense in the suggestions offered by reader Danny C.
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The CIO's Biggest Headache: Resource Constraint
I recently spoke with the CTO of a financial services firm and he told me a chilling tale of how his rapidly expanding firm had been "locked out" of needed data center resources.
Continue reading "The CIO's Biggest Headache: Resource Constraint..."
UBS Claims iPhone On Pace To Beat Apple's Forecast
Just in case you were curious, it looks like the iPhone is on pace to beat Apple's internal sales estimate of 730,000 units this quarter. That's a heck of a lot of iPhones.
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IBM Employees Might Strike...In Second Life
IBM, like other businesses, plunged into Second Life partly in search of a new profit stream. I bet it never considered employees would use Second Life to strike the company.
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The iPhone Has Been Unlocked: Apple, AT&T, Deal With It
A few weeks ago I asked if it was possible to unlock an iPhone. According to the guys at Engadget, the iPhone has been successfully unlocked. The jig is up.
Continue reading "The iPhone Has Been Unlocked: Apple, AT&T, Deal With It..."
Apple, The BlackBerry, And Vendors' Obligations To Serve The Enterprise
Blogger Anil Dash picks up the discussion about why enterprise applications are a chore to use, and what Apple can and should do about it. He says Apple doesn't have a moral obligation to the enterprise, but rather a social obligation.
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Jonathan 'Marketing Weenie' Schwartz Offers Lessons For Would-Be Exec Bloggers
Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz is being filleted and fried on his own blog right now for changing Sun's ticker symbol from SUNW to JAVA. The 277 comments include such subtle insight as "you're a marketing weenie." Name-calling aside, Schwartz provides a good test for an internal blog: Would employees rise to challenge a boss' idea like this? If not, is it worth anyone's time?
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CIO As Outsourcing Expert
In the ongoing discussion of the expertise necessary to succeed as a CIO, let’s not overlook knowledge and experience in handling multiple -- perhaps overlapping -- outsourcing relationships. For some companies, that’s the prerequisite.
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Enterprise Collaboration Vendor Gets $15 Million For Expansion
Jive Software, maker of enterprise collaboration software Clearspace, has landed a $15 million investment from Sequoia Capital.
Continue reading "Enterprise Collaboration Vendor Gets $15 Million For Expansion..."
The New YouTube Ads: Is Regular TV Next?
Google began showing "advertising overlays" on YouTube videos this week. I bet it won't be long before we see something similar on regular television.
Continue reading "The New YouTube Ads: Is Regular TV Next?..."
Palm, It's About The Experience And Your Experience Is Out Of Date
The mobile blogosphere has been abuzz this week with the now notorious open letter from Engadget to Palm. Like my fellow blogger, Eric Zeman, I agreed with a lot of what the letter had to say. But I also think that the letter didn't focus enough on the one key ingredient missing from Palm's mobile strategy: A great user experience.
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Google In Oregon: Mother Nature Meets The Data Center
I just got back from a week's vacation in Oregon, where the highlights included a hike up Mt. Hood, fishing in the Deschutes River canyon, and a county fair where goats competed in an obstacle course. There also was the magnificent Columbia River Gorge -- and, on the banks of the Columbia, Google's expansive new data center complex.
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Blog Blasts Palm, Palm Responds
The other day three writers at Engadget posted an open letter to Palm. The letter essentially blasted Palm's inability to produce a truly innovative product in the last few years and laid out steps Palm could take to regain its one-time innovative status. Palm CEO Ed Colligan responded with a blog post of his own.
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What Would Linus Do? Torvalds Offers Lesson For Microsoft
An interesting interview with Linus Torvalds showcases his thinking about how operating systems should be released, and he's floating a powerful idea Microsoft would do well to heed.
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Mobile Technology Makes Beer Taste Better
There's something to be said for a pint of your favorite brew. Nothing comes as close to refreshing the soul sometimes as a beer. Heineken's distributors in Ireland work hard to make sure every sip of Heineken you take while on the Emerald Isle tastes as fresh as possible. Here's how mobile technology makes it happen.
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Reports: Apple To Unveil New iPods In September, Including 'Fatboy Nano'
Apple plans in September to launch up to four new iPods, including a full-screen video model and one nicknamed the "Fatboy Nano," according to reports on Apple Web magazines and blogs. The new hardware will include upgrades to the video iPod. Most or all of the products will use NAND flash for storage, and be based on Mac OS X.
Continue reading "Reports: Apple To Unveil New iPods In September, Including 'Fatboy Nano'..."
New App Lets You Navigate The iPhone With Voice
VoiceSignal has a new application that lets users navigate through their iPhone's menus with voice commands. Does it really work?
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No Go On iPhone Deal, Says Orange France
Now that we know who Deep Throat is, the favored topic of speculation is: who will Apple pick as its carrier partner in Europe for the iPhone? Yesterday The Financial Times Deutscheland put its oar in the rumor stream, citing "people familiar with the matter" as saying that Apple will choose not one but three carrier partners -- T-Mobile in Germany, Orange France in that country, and O2 in the U.K. Alas, a person even more familiar with the matter, Orange executive director Louis-Pierre Wenes, already has issued a denial.
Continue reading "No Go On iPhone Deal, Says Orange France..."
The Last CIO Standing: Joke #1
There’s nothing funny about being a CIO -- right?
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Desktop Virtualization Is Coming... But From Whom?
Virtualizing the desktop represents an even larger opportunity than virtualizing servers, but it may take someone other than a brainy, high-level virtualization company to capitalize on it.
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Software Bargaining Tips
A Business Week guest columnist offers tips on negotiating for business software. One tip surprised me.
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Should CIOs Take Google Seriously?
I haven’t seen any evidence that tech execs have Google on their lists of top-tier enterprise application providers. Am I missing something?
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Advertising Makes Mobile Search Better?
Nearly four out of five participants in a recent study conducted by Usable Products indicated that advertising-supported search produced more relevant results.
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More People Using Mobile Google Services
Bucking typical summer technology trends, the number of savvy mobile users logging onto Google's services has jumped since May. The most popular mobile apps? Gmail, Google Maps, and good old Google search.
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When Online Becomes Offline
It wasn't all that long ago that I was still declaring that online applications could never replace hard disk-based software. Just wouldn't happen. Yeah -- I was totally wrong.
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Does Apple Have A Moral Obligation To Serve The Enterprise Market?
Blogger Anil Dash very nearly declares that Apple does. His essay is part of a blog conversation in which IT managers take a beating for deploying technology that's downright painful to use, as opposed the tools that delight the user, like the Mac and iPhone.
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Calling Out The Storage Market's Innovators
Are you an IT professional who needs to find more efficient, cost-effective ways to handle the storage of your burgeoning corporate data before your infrastructure costs spiral out of control?
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Fresh Data On Whom The CIO Reports To--CEO Or CFO?
If the CIO reports to the CFO, is that a red flag for IT's role at the company? Does it suggest IT's considered a cost center, not an innovation engine? I've listened to surprisingly passionate discussions about this topic, and we've got some fresh data about how common it is.
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CIOs: Use It, Or Lose It
Do you rush to spend up your IT budget before the fiscal year runs out? That’s certainly an interesting way to look at the budgeting process.
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Microsoft Has Itself To Blame For MTV's 'Urge' Dump
It's hardly surprising that MTV has dumped its 'Urge' music partnership with Microsoft and hooked up with RealNetworks and Verizon. What would you do if you got stabbed in the back?
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Who Is Responsible For Security, IT Or The Employee?
The answer should be obvious. Both IT and the employee bear their own roles for maintaining security. So why is it that 73% of mobile workers admitted that they aren't always aware of security risks and best practices?
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What Makes A CIO Shudder?
It’s mobile workers saying, “Security is not my job.”
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Quick Take: New Headset Targets Notebook-Toting Web Workers
With VoIP becoming more popular (despite occasional blackouts from Skype), there is more of a demand for wearable and efficient headsets. Logitech's Premium Notebook Headset is an efficient and, for the most part, comfortable choice, especially for those constantly on the go and on the phone.
Continue reading "Quick Take: New Headset Targets Notebook-Toting Web Workers..."
Are Dual Mode Smartphones Really Overhyped?
Some analysts and industry insiders have claimed that dual mode devices are overhyped. I share their skepticism about new technologies and I agree that we need to caution against hype. But, I have to ask a question: Doesn't the iPhone prove that dual mode access is ready for primetime?
Continue reading "Are Dual Mode Smartphones Really Overhyped?..."
Are You Ready To Text Message For A Pizza?
Domino's Pizza has launched a new program in the U.K. called Pizza by TXT. All users have to do is register on their Website, and then they can order a pizza with a simple text message.
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Google Still Likely To Bid On Spectrum
Google CEO Eric Schmidt yesterday said his company is still likely to bid in the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction. OK, why does Google want to buy spectrum?
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Wait. Mobile Content Use Declining? What's Going On Here?
That's what Continental Research says in its latest report. In fact, 68% of survey respondents agreed with the statement: "I would prefer a more basic mobile phone that was simple to use and affordable." This gels with American phone-buying habits.
Continue reading "Wait. Mobile Content Use Declining? What's Going On Here?..."
AMD Paves Path To Sept. 10 Quad-Core Barcelona Launch
By now, the worst-kept secret in the industry is that AMD is hosting the formal launch of its quad-core Opteron processor, code-named "Barcelona," on Sept. 10. The scrappy semiconductor maker has sent out invites to "The Most Anticipated Premiere Of 2007." Though they won't say just what that might be, their previously announced shipping plans lead one to the only obvious conclusion.
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MTV Deal With Rhapsody Crushes URGE Users
Pity the poor users who've stuck with the iTunes alternative from Microsoft and MTV--the URGE online music store--only to have the rug pulled out from under their collective singin' feet, when RealNetworks and Verizon came calling at MTV's door.
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Got Bacn? More E-mail Buzzwords We'd Like To See
"Bacn" is a new buzzword for e-mail you want, but don't want to see right away. Examples: newsletters, Google Alerts, and notifications from social networking services. Bacn is a great buzzword, but it's only the beginning. We applied our sophisticated analytical tools and came up with additional needed jargon:
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VoiceCon: Make Your RFP Future Proof
The world of VoIP, video, and instant messaging is traveling at such a speed that your request to evaluate competing products may be obsolete by the time you finish reading this sentence.
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MTV-RealNetworks-Verizon Music Service: The New Cream?
Long on superlatives and short on specifics, today's announcement that power trio MTV, RealNetworks, and Verizon Wireless are joining forces to take on Apple in digital music had a certain hastily assembled quality, as if the three companies had hooked up last night in a crowded bar. Anyone who uses iTunes, a Mac, and an iPod for their digital music library knows that the most powerful advantage of the Apple system is its seamlessness.
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Are Offshore Outsourcers Invading the USA?
One company’s strategic initiative does not equate to an invasion.
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Facebook: The New Business Bugaboo
A new hot online Web site/social movement is costing companies billions in lost productivity. Haven’t we heard this tune before?
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Future Of 4G Finally Firming Up?
Three different flavors of wireless, 802.16m WiMax, LTE, and UMB, are the top three contenders for the fourth generation of wireless technology. Each has pluses and minuses, as well as corporate backing, says In-Stat.
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The Future Of Virtualization And What That Means For CIOs
Citrix buys XenSource, VMware raises $1 billion, Microsoft plays footsie, and VMware says it'll make operating systems obsolete. That's all very exciting, but why should CIOs care?
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Cell Phone Customer Fakes Death To Avoid Cancellation Fees
That's right. A Verizon Wireless subscriber was so desperate to avoid paying the $175 contract cancellation fee that he had a friend fax a faked death certificate to Verizon. Too bad being dead didn't work.
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Back At Louderback: Why I'm Sticking With Windows Vista
Outgoing PC Magazine editor Jim Louderback has caused quite a stir with his column slamming Vista. Me, I'm sticking with Microsoft's glitzy, though resource-hogging, operating system.
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Readers Respond: What Does Your E-Mail Signature Say About You?
Who would have thought signing e-mail was such an interesting subject? We heard from quite a few people with their own observations, following our recent blog about what people's e-mail signatures say about them.
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SaaS Startup Offers ERP via the Web
SaaS vendor Workday has announced a beta version of Workday Financials, an ERP solution.
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Red Shift: Lame Buzzword Or Deep Insight?
Here's a sentence that didn't make it into the final draft of my "Red Shift" feature, which leads off this week's print issue: "Also gaining currency among a wide swathe of CIOs faced with insatiable computing demands, the red shift concept promises (or threatens, depending on our point of view) to join 'tipping point' and 'long tail' in the business-buzzword pantheon." So is the red shift just a deft bit of Sun propaganda, or a deep insight into the future of computing demand?
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Refurbished iPhones Available For $100 Less
Who buys refurbished stuff? While it can be one way to save some cash (in this case, $100 off the price of an iPhone), it seems to me that you're taking a risk. Risk or not, Apple is now offering refurbished iPhones from its online store.
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Visual Voice Mail For The Non-iPhone Crowd
Action Engine and Acision have teamed to offer a visual voice mail service for Java, Brew, and Windows Mobile. Could there finally be some momentum behind visual voice mail?
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Blogging Convention Open Only To Traditional Press
Chalk this one up to the great moments in unintentional irony department. I just received an invitation to "the industry's first BlogWorld and New Media Expo." What's interesting is that the only people who can get in with a media pass are traditional press. Just what kind of blog and new media show is this?
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Where Do You Stand On Intellectual Property Rights?
On the issue of protecting intellectual property rights, especially in a digital world, we often divide into two extreme camps: one that views the World Wide Web as a wacky wonderland where just about anything goes; and one that approaches the issue with all the flexibility of a stalag commandant.
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Netflix Tries To Revive Customer Service
My mother likes to chat with customer service reps over the phone -- that is, when she can actually work her way past the menus to a sentient human being. I'm now thinking of giving her a Netflix subscription for her next birthday -- because Netflix has apparently decided that offering real customer service is a viable business option.
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Upcoming Second Life Discussions: Doing Business And Using Voice
Don't miss our upcoming discussions in Second Life, where you can learn about the best ways to do business in the virtual world, and about using the new voice feature.
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Intel Explains 45-nm Chip Fabrication Technology
Understanding chip-fabrication technology is like getting the facts on that other thing you became curious about when you were 12. Most people don't have anyone who really sits them down and explains it; they just kind of pick it up. Well, I can help you with the chip-making stuff. Listen to my podcast with Intel Senior Fellow Mark Bohr, who has been leading the development of the industry's first 45-nm processors, which will appear later this year when the quad-core Penryn ships.
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Facebook Could Challenge Google And Become The Remote Control For The Web
Yesterday the blog Facebook Insider reported that TripAdvisor acquired Where I've Been, the top travel-related application on Facebook. While TripAdvisor later denied the rumor, the ensuing story exposed something: The exploding number of applications on Facebook. Thanks to its Facebook API program, Facebook is fast becoming the front page for much of the Web.
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The 300-Page Massive iPhone Bill
If you haven't already seen it, check out this video of the massive, 300-page iPhone bill. Pittsburgh-area blogger Justine Ezarik received her first iPhone bill in a box. It seems AT&T listed all the items called "Data Transfer" individually on the bill. Even though most of these items weren't charged, it added up to a whopper of a bill delivered in a box. That's customer service. Ezarik isn't the only person to report issues with her iPhone billing.
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Should IT Interact With Customers? Some Readers Don't Think So
Readers have offered some thoughtful responses to my recent posting of "The First 10 Things A CIO Should Do," but I was puzzled by what I interpreted as a general resistance to change and a reluctance to put customer needs at the top of the priority list. Am I naive or just misguided?
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How Startups Get A Foot In The Door
How do startups attract those crucial first customers? A venture capitalist shares four key steps. In a previous post, I wrote about balancing the risks and rewards of buying from a startup.
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Want The Dirt On Somebody? Two Sites Will Help.
There are a number of new sites popping up that focus on aggregating Web information about people. Want to find out what an old friend is doing these days? Curious about what's being said about you? Two services, Spock and pipl, are now making that easier. However, they approach the process very differently.
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The High Cost Of Identity Theft, Part II
In the 21st century, the retail industry doesn't stand alone. Here's one approach to avoiding impending consumer-privacy disaster.
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Video: Steve Jobs Demoes The Macintosh In 1984
This clunky-looking little Macintosh is a recognizable ancestor to the more sophisticated machines today. It's simple, versatile, and playful. I'm impressed by how Apple's central philosophy hasn't changed in 23 years. They build machines that work, and are fun to use.
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Quality Is Job One For CIOs
Wasn't there a car commercial that used the tagline, "Quality is Job #1"? Well, according to a survey of chief financial officers, that is Job #1 for CIOs. Data quality, that is.
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Microsoft Needs Integrated Online Storage
This week, Microsoft announced some updates to Windows Live Hotmail, including 5 Gbytes of free storage. Meanwhile, Windows Live SkyDrive has a relatively measly 500 Mbytes of storage. Why isn't Microsoft's online storage integrated?
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Skype Dials Up Crisis Management Skills To Soothe Subscribers Over Outage
It's very Web 2.0, the way VoIP powerhouse Skype is attempting to sooth its subscribers over a software glitch, which has left users unable to make calls. Like an old-style corporate behemoth, Skype is in full damage control. The modern twist, though, is that it's being proactive and only slightly defensive as it aggressively reaches out via e-mail and online forums to quell customer concerns.
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Economics 101, By Way of Hollywood U.
What do global outsourcing, protectionist policy, and the movie Dave have in common?
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Is Open-Source A Business Model? $500 Million Says It Is
There has long been a school of thought that says there's no business model for open source -- in fact, that open source is the opposite of a business model. Citrix's acquisition of XenSource, a business that rests on open-source software, is one more piece of evidence to the contrary.
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Do The Movies Ever Get It Right?
In a recent article, two professors from the University of Central Florida complained that movies tend to mislead audiences about how physics really works. They think they have it bad? They should try looking at how movies have portrayed computers.
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The First Thing A CIO Should Do (Actually, The First 10 Things)
Hint: They have to do with assigning, creating, grabbing, launching, firing, hiring, crafting, mandating -- and singing a song from “The Wizard of Oz.”
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What Does Your E-Mail Signature Say About You?
Do you ever really look at people's e-mail signatures? I don't usually, but I was looking for contact information for a colleague recently, which led me to scrutinize her sig. It was a museum of 20th century communications: The street-mail address and fax number was in there, but no instant-message ID or Skype account.
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Arctic Cooler Chills Down My Intel Quad-Core Processor
Processor cooling fans are normally as exciting as your average oil filter. So imagine my surprise when the most noteworthy item (after the processor itself) in the latest PC build project I've undertaken turned out to be. . . the cooling fan.
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The High Cost Of Identity Theft
Besides a series of annoying TV commercials, the real-world impact of identity theft is much debated these days. Finally, there are some cold, hard numbers.
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Carriers Still Not Jumping On Convergence Caravan
According to a a new survey conducted by Infonetics Research, "Nearly 80% of service provider respondents … say they plan to offer fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services by April 2008, a sharp increase over the number planning to offer FMC services this year." In even better news, a full 100% of carriers intend to offer FMC services just as soon as hell freezes over.
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Hi-Ho, Silver! Google And Microsoft Ride To Health Care's Rescue
Microsoft and Google are working on major digital health-care information initiatives, the New York Times reports. There's a suggestion that these two can make a dent in the sorry state of digital health information because they can throw money, brainpower, and storage at it. Unfortunately, that's not what's been missing.
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Facebook Joins The iPhone Crowd
Facebook released a version of its site for the iPhone today, attempting (like so many others) to capitalize on the success of Apple's sleek new mobile device.
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BlackBerrys: So Easy A Caveman Could Do It
There's a reason why Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices posted strong results in an enterprise survey. They work. They're simple to use. And they don't throw their users into an existential identity crisis.
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Mac OS X 'Leopard' Hacked To Run On Generic Wintel Hardware
The bloggers at Profit42 posted instructions that they claim will get the upcoming version of Mac OS X, code-named "Leopard," running on generic Wintel hardware. Two catches: It's illegal to do, and they won't tell you where to get the software, because that would be illegal, too.
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Research: Mobile Phones To Be Video Terminals
This year, people are going to spend $1 billion on video calling, video mail and video sharing services. That figure will swell to $17 billion in just five years. Is mobile video really going to be that popular?
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Was Journalist A Jerk For Asking Apple About 'Intel Inside'?
You can tell it's August because people are finding the weirdest issues to get worked up about. For example, Apple fans are getting their knickers in a twist about whether a journalist was out of line in asking Steve Jobs about why Apple didn't participate in the "Intel Inside" marketing campaign.
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Taking A Chance On Startups
In case you haven't noticed, startups are back. And not just the Web 2.0 kind that appeal to hyper-connected youth. Today, new companies aiming to solve complex enterprise problems are sprouting up as if the dot-com bust never happened.
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Imagine John Lennon On iTunes
It's easy if you try... Now Lennon and Beatles fans can wake up from their Number 9 Dream and sing out in unison: "All we are saying... is do you take checks or cash?"
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What Makes For A Good CIO?
Anyone wanting to be a CIO should have his or her head examined. To judge from a recent CIO appointment, it might help!
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To Groklaw's 'Pamela Jones': Get Your Facts Straight
A misleading article appeared Monday on an anti-SCO Web site called Groklaw run by a blogger who calls him or herself 'Pamela Jones.' Jones tried to pick apart a story I wrote about SCO v. Novell. I need to set the record straight because virtually everything 'PJ' said about my article is wrong.
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Access Prepping Linux OS For Palm?
A new Web site has appeared from Access touting its next-generation mobile Linux operating system. According to the site, the new Linux OS will be loaded with capabilities desired by smartphone users around the world. Will Palm take advantage of it?
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We Have A Winner!
Eight nifty nominees to replace the term "End of Life Services."
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Pocket Feeling Warm And Tingly? It Could Be Your Nokia Phone
No, it's not a new feature to help fend off Finnish winters. Today Nokia issued an advisory that its most popular battery could overheat and cause some, er, issues. Though actual incidences of trouble are low, it is offering to replace the 46 million offending batteries.
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The Line Between Laptops And PDAs Gets Fuzzier
Fujitsu is announcing two new devices today -- an ultramobile PC with a 5.6-inch display, and an ultralight tablet/laptop PC with a 12.1-inch WXGA screen. They are nifty devices that underscore the movement in not just one market, but two, because they come just days after IDC reported that the PDA market has dropped 42% since last year.
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Get Skype On Your iPhone
Do you want Skype on your iPhone? Well, you're in luck. Shape Services has launched a version of Skype for the iPhone, no hacking required.
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Thumb Surgery Hoax Exposed
OK, for those of you still posting messages to my earlier blog, questioning whether the story (about a Denver man who allegedly got his thumbs surgically altered to more easily manipulate his iPhone) was real or not -- and impugning my fact-checking ability and my judgment -- you can stop wondering now. It's a hoax. Really.
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Look, Ma, No Batteries!
Here's another startup that's been starting up for a while now. Active Power was founded in 1992 and provides what it calls flywheel-based UPS systems.
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In Wake Of SCO Ruling, Torvalds Sticks To Kernel
We've had responses from Novell, SCO, and even Groklaw's Pamela Jones to this weekend's legal ruling that Novell owns the Unix copyrights, but no one has heard from Mr. Linux himself. So what is Linus Torvalds up to? Apparently, he's doing what he does best, working hard on the latest upgrade to the Linux kernel.
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VoiceCon S.F. Products Pre-Announced
If you're going to San Francisco -- as the song goes -- be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. But you may also want to bring your appetite for enterprise-class IP telephony and software that converges all of those communication devices. Yes, it's VoiceCon time again.
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The Dog Fight Over Linux
When it comes to the legal controversy around Linux, it ain't over till it's over.
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Is Google Really More Than Just A Search Engine?
I want to thank Zack Miller for responding to my blog post from last Friday. Miller's big beef with my post was that I argued that Google is really just a search engine -- and one that could be defeated by smaller startups and vertical players. Miller, on the other hand, contends that Google is no longer just a search engine. But is Google really more than just a search engine?
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Meet One Of The Top Companies Bringing Real-Life Businesses Into Second Life
Join us in Second Life Tuesday for our Geek Meet with Infinite Vision Media, creators of some of the most popular areas and events in Second Life, which happen to be sponsored by big real-life companies: The Weather Channel's island, Suzanne Vega concert, and Kurt Vonnegut interviews.
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Why No 'Intel Inside' Stickers On Macs?
It seemed like a stupid question -- one which deservedly got a heaping helping of ridicule from Mac bloggers: Why doesn't Apple participate in the "Intel Inside" marketing program, earning the company big wads of cash just for putting a tiny little sticker on Macs?
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Will Google Kill Its Enterprise Apps If The Business Doesn't Pan Out?
Techdirt today commented on Google's decision to kill its paid video service. The move effectively eliminates access to content Google users paid for. Mike Masnick is spinning the move as another strike against DRM -- and I don't fault his argument there. But, I see another issue this decision reveals.
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iPhone As Video Conferencing Tool?
Two Mac-hacking brothers set out to create an application for this year's C-4 Developer Conference Iron Coder competition. What did they come up with? A video conferencing program for the iPhone.
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Mobile Data Usage Continues To Grow In U.S.
Analyst Chetan Sharma cobbled together some new statistics about mobile data usage. The results show that data services make up an increasingly bigger chunk of wireless network operators' revenues. In all, we spent $5.85 billion on data in the second quarter of 2007.
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Novell's Victory Over SCO Could Have Downside For Linux Users
The free software world spent the weekend celebrating after a judge nixed SCO's ownership claims over Unix and, by extension, Linux. But the ruling did not specifically address SCO's charge that Linux is a Unix knock off--and a case that could have settled that question for good may now fade away as a result of Friday's decision.
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Should Business Or Government Do Our Terrorist Screening?
Ever since Sept. 11, 2001, there’s been a question of how big a role businesses such as airlines and banks should play in helping to identify terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security's headed in the right direction in wanting to take passenger screening over from the airlines.
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Groklaw's Pamela Jones On The SCO Decision
By now, everyone knows that the upcoming SCO vs. Novell trial is mostly moot, because Judge Dale Kimball has ruled that Novell owns the Unix copyrights. While the decision marks a welcome end to the three-year-long legal saga, it spotlights the wimpy nature of pundits and many in the computer industry, who cowered on the sidelines, fearful of recommending or adopting Linux while the litigation proceeded, lest SCO sue them, too.
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Will Google Be Destroyed By Open Source Search Engines?
Could open source kill the golden egg that laid Google? If Wikia has its way, it just might.
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Thumbs Surgically Altered For iPhone? Think Again
It's been a long week. More layoffs at Sun, Sprint Nextel's earnings down (again), the wheels finally coming off the municipal wireless bus, AT&T censoring Pearl Jam's anti-Bush lyrics (and then claiming it was unintentional), etc. etc. So when we saw this story, the editorial team at IW rejoiced.
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Texting While Driving Redux
As a follow up to the story I wrote the other day about texting while driving, I decided to conduct a highly unscientific little experiment. I took a stroll around my New Jersey neighborhood and looked in each car as it zoomed past. You'd be surprised to learn how many people weren't paying attention to the road.
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The Wall Street Journal's Irresponsible -- And Dangerous -- Attack On Corporate IT
What in heaven's name were the people at The Wall Street Journal thinking when they recently published an article detailing -- and advocating -- how readers can circumvent corporate IT policies to breach network security, visit blocked sites without getting caught, access confidential work documents remotely, and otherwise trash every cybersecurity policy a company has?
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News Flash: Kids Lie To Their Parents
First, I will admit that I don't have kids myself. But I have friends with kids and kids as friends. And I remember what it was like to be a teenager myself. So my first reaction when I read the article Cyber Divide Widens: Kids Outsmarting Their Parents was: So what else is new?
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How The Record Companies Committed Suicide, And Hollywood Is Jumping Off The Same Cliff
Everybody knows Napster was a disaster for the music industry. But Cory Doctorow demonstrates that what everyone knows is false. In fact, Cory argues, Napster could have been wonderful for the music industry, and shutting Napster down was a blunder which will prove fatal. What's worse, Hollywood will likely repeat history with YouTube.
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Microsoft Catching Up To Apache? Maybe, Maybe Not
Earlier this week, I wrote about a survey that finds Apache falling and Microsoft rising in the Web server race. Not so fast. Another recent survey lends itself to a much muddier picture.
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You Can Fool Some Employees All Of The Time ...
TO: Richard Spires, CIO, Internal Revenue Service
FROM: John Soat
SUBJECT: Social Engineering
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Modernizing Legacy Applications: How Are Best-In-Class Doing It?
A study by research firm Aberdeen Group of more than 300 enterprises shows that the most successful approaches for modernizing legacy apps involve plenty of SOA, SLAs, and a minimum of CYA.
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A Nagging Problem Gets a Nagging Solution
A couple of months ago I asked a question in this blog about a problem I was having with file transfers to Vista – it was giving me an error message that said only, "You must have permission to perform this action." Nobody came up with the answer. Maybe nobody is having the same problem? I hope not, because it turned out to be pilot error. Dummy me. Here's what was happening.
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WiMax Or 802.11n: Which Will Win?
In its latest report, ABI Research is bullish on the potential of 802.11n to permeate all facets of connected electronics. Just how many radios are we going to stuff into our gadgets and where will WiMax fit into the picture?
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Novell CEO Speaks Truth To Linux
It's been a good news, bad news kind of week for Linux. On the one hand, some supporters remain deluded that the open-source operating system has a legit chance of taking on Vista. At the same time, Novell CEO Ron Hovespian took a hard look at the Linux landscape and came to a conclusion not too different from my recent rant about their being way too many distros. (OK, he didn't say precisely that.)
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Motorola Weaves Its Magx For Mobile Linux Developers
Last month, Motorola shipped its next-generation Linux-based phone for North America -- the Razr2 V8. The follow-up to that launch is the debut of a new development platform the company is hoping will be a big hit with mobile Linux developers.
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Google's Greatest Act Of Charity
Google has been recognized for a number of positive environmental and public policy initiatives to benefit people around the world. But its most under-appreciated act of charity is the fact that it serves ad-haters.
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What's The First Thing A CIO Should Do?
It’s the first day of a brand new position. What’s the first order of business?
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Big Surprise, Mobile Advertising Is Annoying
I am shocked -- shocked! -- that the results of a new study say 64% of people who've viewed mobile advertisements were annoyed by them. Tell me it isn't so! What does this say for the future of mobile advertising?
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U.S.-Specific Version Of Nokia N95 In The Works?
Apparently there has been enough demand for the Nokia N95 here in the U.S. that Nokia has decided to build a version compatible with AT&T's HSDPA 3G network. Booyah!
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Windows Live Folders Becomes Live SkyDrive
Call it the code name shuffle. Microsoft's long-rumored online storage offering has been in beta for a little while, but it's changed names so many times it's hard to keep up. Originally code-named Live Drive, it became Live Folders and today got its final name, Windows Live SkyDrive.
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The Worst Name In The IT Industry -- Check That -- The Worst Name In Business
It’s time to shoot the phrase "End of Life Services."
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Apple Kicks Microsoft Where It Hurts
Apple's announcement this week of new iMacs, software, and services strikes at the Windows platform's core strengths. The new generation of iMacs, priced starting at $1,199, compete on price/performance with midrange PCs. And Apple rounded out its iWork suite with the Numbers spreadsheet software and other capabilities, making it a head-to-head competitor with Microsoft Office.
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Harry Potter, Microsoft Windows XP SP3, Beck's Album Guero
What do these three all have in common? They've all leaked to the Internet before they were even released to the public. It seems that's getting to be standard fare.
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HP CEO Hurd Says Green "Enhances" IT Price and Performance
Hewlett-Packard’s strong man has offered up some strong words about the business benefits of green computing.
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Top 5 Things About Windows Vista That Still Suck
Is Vista the operating system you love to hate, or the one you hate to love? Those conflicting thoughts surfaced as I followed Ed Bott's provocative post on whether Vista scare stories are distorting user perceptions. My take: Vista wouldn't be my primary OS if I didn't really like it, but it's still got issues. Five in particular stick in my craw.
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Top 5 Things About Windows Vista That Still Suck, Part 2
Continued from Part One, here are the other final two items from my list of lingering--and annoying--Windows Vista issues.
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What To Do With Old Cell Phones?
Going green is a big topic these days across the various tech industries. My colleague Bob Evans has been blogging on the green theme in recent days. His posts got me to thinking about mobile phones and the green issues faced by the wireless industry. If you think recycling dead PCs is a big issue, you ain't seen nothin' yet.
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Priorities? Lenovo Leans Green But Some Buyers See Red
How far do customers really want their vendors to go with green computing? Depends on who you ask.
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HTC's New Smartphone / UMPC / Huh? Is Finally Available
Today geeks of every stripe have access to the HTC Advantage smart device at certain retail locations across the U.S. This odd-ball piece of hardware is part PDA, part smartphone, part UMPC, and part weird. But what the heck, it looks like it just might be fun to use.
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Motorola Is At The Top Of The Bottom
In the race to provide ultra low cost handsets to emerging markets, Motorola has shouldered aside the competition for an early lead. Nokia is gaining ground, though. What spoils go to the victor?
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Data Center Manager Asks: Is IT Automation A Best-Of-Breed Or Single-Vendor Game?
After we ran our article on how data center automation is changing, I exchanged e-mail with Robert Yale, a key leader of the data center team for the Vanguard Group, one of the largest mutual fund companies. The biggest piece he thought missing from the article: Discussion of best of breed versus single vendor strategy. His thoughts:
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Meat Space Still Matters In A Web 2.0 World
Web-based communication and collaboration tools are supposed to make physical proximity irrelevant by letting employees work together regardless of where they happen to be. But when it comes to building -- and investing in -- those tools, it turns out proximity is relevant as ever.
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Palm's Foleo: The Closer It Gets, the Better It Looks?
Palm's announcement of the Foleo at the end of May quickly became a ridicule-fest. The name was an acronym for "Fat Obsolete Lacking Expensive Ordinary" according to one Engadget commenter. But Palm is showing it off this week at LinuxWorld in San Francisco, and the better you understand it, the harder it is to make fun of it.
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The Difference Between Last Century's CIO And This One's
What's the difference between data and information? Something tells me it's like the difference between knowledge and wisdom, between amateur and pro, between last century's CIO and this one's.
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Service Must Be Job #1 In The Data Center
In two separate events on two sides of the country, smart minds are discussing how to build a better data center. Savvy managers thankfully will be able to filter out the marketing noise and focus in on what makes customers happy: Service.
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SF Muni Wireless: Not Dead But Expiring
In the past I have angered Bay Area politicians and activists by "making fun" (as one miffed commenter put it) of the ongoing fiasco that the San Francisco municipal wireless effort has become. I'm afraid I'm about to do so again.
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Qualcomm Ban Harms Wireless Users
It's not often I agree with policy positions of the Big 4 wireless carriers, but in the case of Broadcom v. Qualcomm, I have to make an exception. The decision by the Bush administration not to overturn the International Trade Commission's ban on imports of certain Qualcomm chips, as a result of the patent-infringement lawsuit brought by Broadcom, may or may not harm the operators. But it definitely hurts U.S. consumers.
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Automated Search And The Advil Test
One of the trends identified by Nick Hoover in The Ultimate Search Engine is that search technologies are becoming increasingly automated, executing searches and delivering results without being asked. Startup Kosmix.com is about to formally launch three Web sites based on that concept. It's a big idea, but hard to pull off.
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iPhone Hacked To Run Nintendo Games -- And More
The iPhone is officially a "closed" architecture, meaning only Apple, and people with Apple's blessing, can write applications for it. In reality, the platform is anything but closed, as industrious hackers have dug into its software guts and figured out how to run applications, , including Nintendo games, on it.
Continue reading "iPhone Hacked To Run Nintendo Games -- And More..."
LBS: No Longer Just For The Enterprise
The enterprise benefits of location-based services are clear when you consider things like recovery of stolen vehicles. But enterprises aren't the only ones interested in knowing where things are. More and more parents are ready to turn on LBS in their kids' cell phones. And 20-somethings want LBS-enabled social networking apps.
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If You Want To Go Green, You Gotta Show Them The Green
It's all fine and dandy for businesses today to yap about environmental consciousness and saving the planet and picking photosynthesis green as their new corporate color, but those plans will never get past the yap stage unless they're tied inextricably to rigorous, real-world business plans that demonstrate the financial benefit of such strategies.
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Charge Fines For Computer User Foul-Ups
Recently, a hospital system based in Indianopolis called Clarian Health announced that it was going to start taking money from its employees' paychecks if they didn't meet certain physical standards. I don't think Clarian went far enough -- I think that employees should be penalized for violations involving their technical health as well.
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Sybase To Show Off New Mobile Business Products
Sybase today will give a preview of its mobile business initiatives at its TechWave conference in Las Vegas. The company is expected to announce a global partnership with smartphone maker HTC as well as give its partners a look at the future of its iAnywhere and Sybase 365 platforms.
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The Web Claims Another Casualty Of Publishing -- The Weekly World News
I read with much sadness today in the Washington Post that the Weekly World News -- the infamous tabloid that ran such brilliant trash news items as the birth of Bat Boy -- this month will close its tatty print doors for good.
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Poll: 89% Of Americans Want Texting While Driving Banned
In late June, five teenage girls were killed in a late-night car accident in upstate New York. They had all just graduated from high school, their lives ahead of them. After the accident, police discovered that the girl driving had been sending text messages in the moments leading up to the crash. Would a ban have saved their lives?
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And The 45-nm Winner Isn't . . . Intel
If you've been following the quad-core wars, you know that Intel has repeatedly beaten AMD over the head with the news that it (Intel) will be first to market with 45-nm processors. What you didn't know is that both Intel and AMD have been beaten to the 45-nm punch by two companies, one of which you probably wouldn't suspect (the other one is an easy guess).
Continue reading "And The 45-nm Winner Isn't . . . Intel..."
IBM Lost His Data... A Follow Up Story
George is an ID theft victim whose personal data was potentially exposed after an incident involving IBM. While IBM has graciously extended its hand to help fix the problem, George hasn't been completely happy with how things are turning out. His story may have lessons for the rest of us.
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Can Fed Funds Encourage IT Training?
The business technology establishment generally prefers a hands-off government. But when it comes to cultivating their next-generation workforces, tech execs tend to fancy federal intervention on two broad fronts, one short-term, the other longer-term.
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Nokia Adoption Of Microsoft's PlayReady Is DRM Difficulty For Consumers
What on Earth is Nokia thinking? The Finnish cell phone behemoth's move to put Microsoft's DRM is doomed to failure. As I've previously "proved," every consumer DRM technology worthy of the name has been hacked, cracked, and busted.
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New iMacs, .Mac Upgrade Rumored For Tuesday
What's Apple got up its sleeve for its Tuesday announcement? Apple blogs say the company plans to unveil sleeker iMacs and possibly an upgrade to the .Mac service, and that Apple plans a new flash-based video iPod next month.
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Is It Possible To Unlock The iPhone?
One intrepid iPhone fan has posted a guide to unlocking the iPhone. Engadget claims to have spotted a process that, frankly, looks really long and more than a little scary. Does it actually work?
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Is Your Home PC Better Than Your Work PC?
If so, you are likely a big headache to your IT department. But you're also not alone. According to Yankee Group, 50% of employees think their home technology outpaces their work technology and aren't afraid to bend rules. What's an enterprise to do?
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Forget RFID. GPS Is The New Tech Bogeyman
So you're thinking of using GPS-enabled technology in some way, from optimizing sales calls to offering directions to route drivers. It's getting easier, with GPS built into more smartphones. But execs would be wise to remember the lessons of RFID, and the depths of tech paranoia it revealed.
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Real 'Fake Steve Jobs' Tried To Out Anonymous Linux Blogger
Talk about irony. Now that we know "Fake Steve Jobs" is Forbes reporter Dan Lyons, we also know that FSJ--as Lyons--once tried to out the tech industry's other, equally infamous sub-rosa blogger--Groklaw's Pamela Jones.
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Nokia Jumps From Apple's Bed To Microsoft's Bed
Just last week, Nokia released a new media transfer beta program for Mac computers. Today, it announced a new PlayReady DRM licensing agreement with Microsoft. Looks like Nokia is playing both sides of the fence ahead of its music-themed launch in London later this month.
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Business Users Don't Feel The Love From Wireless Carriers
According to a new study from In-Stat, business users change wireless carriers more often than regular consumers. Why? It's simple. They don't get enough attention from their carriers.
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Where To Find A Quad-Core Bargain (And Which Intel Processor Is Selling For More Than List)
Here's a strange, but understandable, example of free-market capitalism at work in the market for hot chips. Intel instituted deep price cuts on many of its processors on July 22, the better to stoke demand and squeeze AMD. However, Intel's top-of-the-line Core 2 Extreme QX6850 is now so popular that it's actually selling for a price well above the company's list. At the same time, one big quad-core bargain has emerged.
Continue reading "Where To Find A Quad-Core Bargain (And Which Intel Processor Is Selling For More Than List)..."
3 Tips For Getting More From Your Mac
Learn how to fix the mouse problem you didn't even know you had, find out which applications are hogging your processor cycles, and replace the Finder with an ultra-powerful alternative.
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Microsoft Delays Upgraded Office For The Mac, Shoots Itself In The Foot
Earlier this week, I sent a very authoritative e-mail to my editors, explaining that Microsoft would likely update the Mac version of Office in the first couple of weeks of August. A day later, Microsoft announced that the update will be delayed until January. Do you ever have weeks like that?
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The Contributor
There's arguably no greater CIO contributor to his company's product development, and ultimately its growth opportunities, than Hewlett-Packard's Randy Mott.
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Why AdMob Rocks The Mobile Ad Market And Google Doesn't
As I completed my daily roundup of the mobile blogosphere, I noticed a post on Russell Beattie's Weblog about AdMob. Beattie sent out mad props to AdMob for hitting a new record: over five billion mobile ad impressions served. How on earth did AdMob do it?
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Mobile Phones As Artistic Tools?
Has the mobile phone come far enough to be its own artistic tool or medium? The Betty K Mix Studio thinks so, and recently conducted an artistic experiment with 25 painters to create a collective piece of artwork with mobile phones.
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When Is A CIO Not A CIO?
In which I learn the real meaning of CIO in the financial community, and that there are limits to a PR person's patience.
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Mobile TV: A Huge Failure?
The sound of white noise coming from England is deafening. Several months ago, Over the Air reported that mobile TV services were not taking off as expected in the U.K. A new article in the Guardian practically sounds the death knell and says that fewer than 1% of Brits have signed up. Cue "For Whom The Bell Tolls"?
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Search Will Assimilate You
Give up your free will now. In the future, Google and other search engines will search you and dictate to you, not the other way around. Maybe.
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Brains Trump Money For Startups
The balance of power is shifting from investors to hackers when it comes to starting a software company.
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Eggs And IT
How much interesting shoptalk can you get up to over coffee and waffles? A lot -- and all of it relevant and penetrating.
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Sun's Niagara 2 Processor Is Multicore Computing On Steroids
Think you've heard the latest word on multicore computing via the new crop of quad-core processors from Intel and AMD? That stuff is nice, but if you want the heaviest-duty multicore going, you gotta call Sun Microsystems, which is on the verge of unveiling its eight-core, 64-thread Niagara 2 processor.
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The ROI Of Innovation
Most executives view innovation as one of their top three priorities, but they're increasingly frustrated with their returns on such investments. That's the big takeaway from a new Boston Consulting Group survey of nearly 2,500 execs worldwide.
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Rant: Brilliant Journalists Prove That If You Leave Your iPod Lying Around, It'll Get Stolen
Demonstrating that the spirit of investigative journalism is not dead, Dateline did an expose about how, if you leave your iPod lying around unattended in public, it'll get stolen. I'm sure there's a Pulitzer Prize in this for Dateline. Because we could never have figured that out on our own.
Continue reading "Rant: Brilliant Journalists Prove That If You Leave Your iPod Lying Around, It'll Get Stolen..."
Solaris, Virtualization Combo Floats All Boats?
Bundled virtualization features in Solaris 10 are bolstering the IT industry's server business and may even have a positive impact on the storage sector, if CEO Jonathan Schwartz is to be believed.
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Who Needs A Free Version Of Works?
One of the informal rules of computing, as recognized by most of my friends and colleagues (at least, those who know anything about the subject), is: Thou Shalt Avoid Microsoft Works. The suite, which is presumably directed toward consumers, hasn't been really useful for anything but the most elementary tasks for years now. It's a suite with training wheels.
Continue reading "Who Needs A Free Version Of Works?..."
How Many People Really Use Linux -- And Stick With It?
I am growing infernally curious about what the end-of-the-year sales figures for Dell’s Ubuntu machines will be. Not just how many bought those machines or in what proportion to Windows users, but how their long-term experiences shape up against others (as well as whether or not they elected to buy support). What if Linux has its big day in the sun, and simply doesn’t achieve more than a small percentage of the market?
Continue reading "How Many People Really Use Linux -- And Stick With It?..."
In-Stat: Handset Biz Headed For Major Shake Up
Like it or not, technology is an important part of our everyday lives. As we come to rely on it more and more for the little things (like remembering to attend meetings or pick up the kids from soccer practice), how we interact with it becomes increasingly vital. And that is set to change.
Continue reading "In-Stat: Handset Biz Headed For Major Shake Up..."
Nokia Sells 101M Mobile Phones In 2Q07, Including 1.5M N95s
In case you forgot, the N95 "multimedia computer" sells for $750. In addition to its brisk N95 sales, Nokia also sold 2 million E series devices, which are its business-class smartphones, and another 7.5 million of its N series multimedia devices. Turns out there is an appetite for expensive phones, after all.
Continue reading "Nokia Sells 101M Mobile Phones In 2Q07, Including 1.5M N95s..."
Yes, Virginia, Google Is Building A Mobile Phone
Yesterday I pointed out that the Google Phone has returned to the rumor mill. This morning The Wall Street Journal reported that Google is working on a cell phone but has declined to comment on the project. Looks like this dog will hunt.
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Is The Google Phone Dead Or Alive?
Unstrung editor Dan Jones today pointed out that Google is hiring for lots of wireless and mobile positions. One of those job ads is for a candidate with "a thorough understanding of the mobile vertical – both from a carrier and a handset OEM perspective." Why does Google need to hire someone with knowledge of handset manufacturers?
Continue reading "Is The Google Phone Dead Or Alive?..."
3 Free Tools For Getting Things Done Faster On The Mac
These three utilities will make you more productive on the Mac. And the price is right - they're free. Namely is a simple application launcher that works from the keyboard, Document Palette makes it easer to create documents, and Visor puts the terminal window a hotkey away.
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CIO: From Here To... Where?
There was a time, not that many years ago, when the acronym CIO was interpreted to mean Career Is Over. It was meant to imply, in a bitter, sarcastic sense, that the CIO job was what you might call a “terminal position”—nowhere to go from there but out the door.
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Lessons In Starting A Startup
Having sold Opsware to Hewlett-Packard recently for $1.65 billion, Netscape cofounder Marc Andreessen has advice on how others can duplicate his successes. Andreessen's recently launched Pmarca Weblog includes a "Guide To Startups" series that's worth reading.
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Learn Web Site Analytics From Capt. Kirk And The Enterprise
What can Capt. Kirk and the original Star Trek TV series teach us about Web analytics? Quite a bit, actually.
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What Richard Clarke Was Really Saying At Black Hat
Don't let politics get in the way of progress. That was one of the key messages former U.S. counterterrorism advisor Richard Clarke delivered during his Black Hat keynote. Of course, Clarke has a colorful way of putting things.
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Can Execs Disconnect From The Office While On Vacation?
Um. Nope. According to a recent study by The Ladders, nearly 80% of all executives plan to take a vacation this summer. While fully one-third said they'd refrain from checking in at all, just over half said they'd touch base with the office periodically when on vacation.
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Linux Vs. Mac: Which Should You Choose?
In our ongoing series of head-to-head platform comparisons, we take a look at the Mac vs. Linux, asking which is the better option for people looking to switch from Windows.
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Apple Issues iPhone Security Update
After hackers recently pointed out some vulnerabilities in the iPhone's browser, Apple must have set right to work to get them patched. Today, it made the first security update for the iPhone available.
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DRM Scorecard: Hackers Batting 1000, Industry Zero
Forget the moral questions: Whether the millions of kids who load up their iPods from LimeWire are thieves, or whether there's something incongruous about Sheryl Crow, a millionaire many times over, railing against piracy. When you look at the technology, there's no getting around the fact that DRM is an abject failure. I put together a scorecard, which shows that every single significant attempt at consumer-music DRM has been cracked. Here it is:
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