eastwikkers

There's A New Man in Town

You may have noticed a new voice on eastwikkers this past week…welcome Joel Postman!  Joel comes to Eastwick as our new EVP of Emerging Media from his most recent stint at HP as head of executive communications for the Technology Solutions Group.  He has been involved in HP's executive blogging program for almost two years, and personally launched what is widely thought to be the industry's first podcast by a senior tech executive, Nora Denzel's Agility Radio. Stephen Shankland recognized stodgy old HP for having beat Sun and Jonathan Schwartz to the punch in this hot new medium. http://news.com.com/2061-10808_3-5697155.html

One of Joel’s claims to fame was his four year stint as senior speechwriter and executive communications manager to Sun Chairman and CEO, Scott McNealy. He has personally written close to 1000 CEO speeches, Q&As, briefings, presentations, video and webcast scripts, company-wide e-mails, editorials, and other projects for Scott. And is very proud of the Dukie Award that sits on his desk here at Eastwick. http://java.com/en/dukeszone/dukeschoice.jsp Apparently, he’s the only non-developer to ever get one!  Joel’s first blog  http://www.hydeparkassociates.com/blog for executive communicators and speakers was well read and well thought of. His new blog, www.techneuroti.com I’m sure will also attract a loyal following.

We are thrilled to have Joel take over from where Giovanni left off…driving the agency’s social media consciousness as well as programs. As Joel has already alluded to…you’ll be hearing more from him both here on eastwikkers as well as his own blog.

Once again…welcome aboard.

An Efficient Government? More Optimism

This from an InfoWorld Real World SOA blog post: “In working on a few projects, both commercial and government, I've come to the conclusion that many of the government organizations are both bullish on SOA, and are actually blazing trails that most in the commercial sector has yet to attempt.

“This is very different from the government IT work of my youth, where they were more about commodity and short-term cost savings, than long term strategic use of technology. However, things have changed, and for the better. As a tax payer, I could not be happier.”

Sometimes it seems that SOA has been hyped so much that it can’t actually be real and substantial, so this is great on two fronts. First that so much money and thought is being committed to SOAs that they may one day actually deliver the promised benefits. Second that the government might actually get it. I grew up with my conservative father dismissing any complicated activity he didn’t like with a pejorative “this is turning into a federal project.” Might be nice if some day that was a compliment.

Thinking About the Future and Happy About It

I started writing a post that drew rather depressing conclusions based on connecting (well, associating at any rate) news in InfoWorld that “Yahoo Inc. is researching areas such as microeconomics to help it better understand the behavior of users, or of advertisers in areas such as keyword auctions” with comments by Jaron Lanier, who voiced some justifiable concerns in “Digital Maoism” and now concludes “Beware the Online Collective” with:

“What’s to stop an online mass of anonymous but connected people from suddenly turning into a mean mob, just like masses of people have time and time again in the history of every human culture? It’s amazing that details in the design of online software can bring out such varied potentials in human behavior. It’s time to think about that power on a moral basis.” [There’s more to the article than this, so check it out]

Then I read this:

“Paradoxically, one of the biggest reasons for being optimistic is that there are systemic flaws in the reported world view. Certain types of news — for example dramatic disasters and terrorist actions — are massively over-reported, others — such as scientific progress and meaningful statistical surveys of the state of the world — massively under-reported.

“Although this leads to major problems such as distortion of rational public policy and a perpetual gnawing fear of apocalypse, it is also reason to be optimistic. Once you realize you're being inadvertently brainwashed to believe things are worse than they are, you can... with a little courage... step out into the sunshine.”

It’s by Chris Anderson and appears in The Edge Annual Question 2007. The question is “What are you optimistic about?” and the 160 responses (I have yet to get through them all) are often encouraging. It can be hard to look at current trends – the environment, population growth, pandemics, politics and religion, and, yes, algorithmically fueled mass online activity, and remain all that sanguine about the future, so it’s great to see these impressive thinkers immersed in the power of positive thinking. Of course, the question was phrased to elicit some kind of optimistic response. It doesn’t ask if the respondents are on the whole optimistic about the future. Anyway, I’m going to use up a little of that courage, get back to coverage of CES, and see if there’s a new toy I can’t live without.

 

Fun at CES? It Is When Bill Gates Stops By

Eastwick client Tzero got more than it could have hoped for at CES when Bill Gates dropped by the Tzero booth and bumped into Rachel Rosmarin of Forbes, who was already there for an interview with Tzero SVP Dan Karr. Writes Rosmarin:

“Gates was obviously looking for [Karr]. Gates has limited time on the show floor; he must make a short list of top visits and stick to it. That he chose Tzero implies Gates is curious about the potential of Ultra Wideband technology to network the home—perhaps in a future version of Windows Media Center PCs? Karr wouldn't tell me exactly what Gates wanted to know, saying only that Microsoft wanted to demonstrate a piece of software to Tzero at a later date.”

Interest in Tzero’s ultra wideband-based wireless chipset for distributing HD video throughout the home is rocketing because, as Rosmarin says, “consumers are clamoring for wirelessly-networked home theater setups.” Other bloggers have taken notice too, including Engadget, Bloggy Geek, and SmallNetBuilder. Check out more coverage here.

Also at CES, Eastwick client Seagate is sponsoring Podtech’s Bloghaus CES, a 24x7 haven for CES bloggers, complete with a podcasting station, lots of food, and a gaming room. Kudos to Seagate for understanding the key role bloggers are playing at this year’s event.

Rachel's Daily Tech Tidbits

Studios OK Movie Downloads Technology

San Jose Mercury News

Hollywood studios have approved a new technology and licensing arrangement that should remove a major obstacle consumers now face with burning movies they buy digitally over the Internet onto a DVD that will play everywhere.

Analyst Rates Apple Product Rumors

BusinessWeek

It is almost certain Apple Computer Inc.'s much-hyped iPhone is entering a production phase of 12 million units in the next few months, and even more certain the company will soon release an improved version of iTV.

Computer Theft Exposes Patient Data Across Five States

Computerworld

The theft of a computer from the office of an Ohio-based health care contractor on Nov. 23 has exposed sensitive data belonging to tens of thousands of patients in five health care firms across five states.

Why Your Next Wireless Gadget Will be a Car

Computerworld

We Americans love our cars, don't we? We have turned them into mobile bubbles of comfort and entertainment -- extensions of our homes, really. Nowadays, cars have incredible sound systems, comfortable seats, DVD players -- you name it. Just like home. But our homes have one thing cars don't have: Wi-Fi networks.

Taiwan Company Sues Apple Over Lost Sales

PC World

Luxpro wants compensation for millions it says were lost while its products were under injunction in an Apple lawsuit.

Useless Searches

From InfoWorld, an interesting but not surprising study from Accenture:

“In a survey of 1,000 middle managers at large companies in the U.S. and U.K., Accenture found that managers spend as long as two hours a day searching for information and more than half of the data they find has no value to them.”

But wait, isn’t “search” old news? Think about all we’ve read over the last couple of years about desktop search, centralizing information, new forms of collaboration. Then read:

* “Fifty-seven percent of those polled said that having to go to numerous sources to collect information makes managing data difficult.”

* “Forty percent of respondents said that other parts of their companies aren't willing to share information.”

* “Only 16 percent of managers said they store valuable data in a collaborative workplace, like an intranet portal.”

* “Just less than half – 42 percent – of those surveyed said that they accidentally use the wrong information at least once a week.”

It just goes to show that writing about a technology, even writing a lot about it, and even having all sorts of predictions about how it will take the world by storm, doesn’t mean that companies are implementing it. And even if they implement it, there’s no guarantee users will adopt it.

As we work through this latest prediction season, and as new (and often truly useful) technologies are unleashed, let’s keep in mind that many of us are early adopters, or at least early wannabe adopters, or early adopters in assessment, and that the rest of the world is just trying to make it through the day without falling too much further behind.

Rachel's Daily Tech Tidbits

Time Warner to Announce Dual-format DVDs Next Week

Reuters

Time Warner Inc. will unveil a new high-definition DVD next week, dubbed Total HD, which could end the battle between two next-generation videodisc technologies.

SanDisk Releases 32GB Flash Drive

PC World

SanDisk has launched a 32GB solid-state drive using flash memory chips, intended as a replacement for conventional hard disk drives.

Adobe to Bring Premiere Pro to Intel Macs

CNET News.com

Adobe Systems said that it will release its Premiere Pro video editing software on Intel-based Macs by the middle of this year.

Fuji Introduces New Digital Point-and-Shoots

PC Magazine

The company announced the addition of four point-and-shoot digital cameras, three under--$300 models, and a pricier, niche superzoom camera.

Samsung Unveils Double-Sided LCD Display

InformationWeek

Samsung is coming out with a new double-sided, mobile LCD panel that is designed to show either a set of the same images or two entirely different pictures on the front and back of the same screen.

Technology Helps Hollywood Control Burning

InfoWorld

Sonic Solutions has come up with a way to help Hollywood studios and other providers of video content distribute their movies over the Internet without fear of rampant, illegal DVD burning.

Amazon Pushes Service After Google Drops

Forbes

Amazon's Askville.com site, like others in the online answer service niche, allows visitors to post questions to be answered by other users.

Rachel's Daily Tech Tidbits

This Device Brings Broadband to the Car

Computerworld

Autonet Mobile, a San Francisco startup, said it is preparing to release a product for cars that combines 3G cellular access and Wi-Fi that will plug into your car's cigarette lighter.

MySQL is on Track with New Storage Engine

Computerworld

Open-source database maker MySQL AB will soon release the alpha version of its Falcon storage engine, designed for high-volume Web server environments.

Ahead of the Bell: Apple, Google, Napster

BusinessWeek

Digital heavyweights Apple Computer Inc., Google Inc. and Napster Inc. were sued for patent infringement by Intertainer Inc., a now defunct online video and audio on-demand service.

Pharos Launches Unlocked GPS Smartphone

PC Magazine

GPS firm Pharos launched its first hybrid GPS/cell phone, an unlocked Windows Mobile smartphone called the Pharos GPS Phone. 

U.S. Group Sues Nokia, Samsung Over Bluetooth

Reuters

A U.S. research institute sued the three companies for violating a Bluetooth patent, potentially putting the wireless standard at risk. 

EarthLink CEO Garry Betty Dies

PC World

Garry Betty, the president and CEO of EarthLink, has passed away due to complications from cancer. He was only 49 and had been with the company since 1996, which is a remarkably long run in the fast-forward world of technology.

Hitachi Database Software Finds U.S. Customer

CNET News.com 

Hitachi has found its first U.S. customer for embedded database software designed to ease searches on gadgets such as media players and vehicle navigation systems.

Security breaches: the “gift” that keeps on giving

How’s this for a holiday “wish list” gift item: Never having to worry about ID theft, stolen data or cyber fraud again…

My daily trip to the mailbox has been anxiety-provoking the last few days… I fear that stuffed between the bills, magazines and Christmas cards, there will be a letter from my alma mater, UCLA, stating that my personal data may be in the hands of hackers who apparently gained access to a giant database containing personal information for 800,000 current and former students, faculty and staff members. Read more here. UCLA is not alone.

It seems there has been a steady stream of stories about hacked databases, stolen laptops and compromised/exposed personal data. Those affected have included students, consumers, and veterans. In this age of spam, spyware, bots, worms and phishing… why isn’t more personal data encrypted? During the eight years it took me to pay off student loans (from another UC), every month I’d get a bill with my social security number doubling as my account number. These statements had my full legal name, address, social security number and other details printed all in once place – talk about one-stop shopping for potential ID theft. I also recall being instructed to write my account number (social) on my check. If you think of all this private data out there and the potential for ID theft as it passes through various channels – pretty scary.

Well, what is the answer then? Bolting laptops to desks? Standards and mandating for encrypting data? Rules for disposing and retaining data (does a school really need to store social security numbers of graduates from 15 years ago)? We’ll be watching.

Defining SaaS, Again

A terrific discussion by ZDNet’s Phil Wainewright about the various flavors and characteristics of SaaS, its relationship to SOA and Web 2.0, and more. If you haven’t figured out exactly what SaaS is and what SaaS isn’t, you’re not alone because it means different things to different people.

The quote below says a lot about the future of the Internet, and follow the link in the quote for another great discussion

“Once your software becomes a service in the cloud, it opens up the potential to link it up with other services that are out there. For many vendors and users this is still a barely dawning realization, but it’s of fundamental importance. In many ways, the Internet cloud is one great global SOA — still very rudimentary in many ways, but flexible enough to accommodate different levels of sophistication, and evolving fast.”