Wondering when things will pick up in the battled tech sector? Depending on which numbers you look at, you can see signs of an upswing - or continuing stagnation. The bottom line is that while some market segments are improving, they're the 'wrong' ones - corporate spending, representing over 80% of al IT spending, looks to remain tight.

What's Crimping the Tech Rebound. Tightwad corporations. That's where the big bucks are spent, and unlike consumers, businesses are keeping their wallets closed [Business Week: Technology] 

11:36:47 PM   

If you're confused when the conversation turns to web services, the latest collection of buzzwords and acronyms, worry no more. The nice fellows at McKinsey have put together a quick tutorial - with pictures - that will get you up to speed on technology, terminology, and prospects in no time at all.

McKinsey Quarterly: When computers learn to talk: A Web services primer: "Article at a glance: When computers learn to talk: A Web services primer Breathless predictions are too often the kiss of death for emerging technologies. Will it be any different for Web services, the latest wave of innovation on the Internet? Big investments by players like IBM, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems have convinced some observers that Web services will soon be a reality. Yet significant hurdles remainïFD1including security and consumer privacy." 

8:53:00 PM   

7:49:15 PM   

Technicians are working to develop 'microsdisplays' that will allow your PDA or cellphone to sport images you won't have to squint to see.

Chip eyeballs tiny monitor resolution. The focus is on the eyeball. Microvision is using mirrors to develop a tiny monitor for handhelds and mobile phones that packs an 800 x 600 pixel full-color display. [ZDNet Tech News] 

9:12:41 AM   

Now that Enron's house of cards has collapsed, politicos and commentators are aghast at the amount of money the company spread around Washington and other political environs. Turns out the company was a relative lightweight when compared to Microsoft. A report has revealed that total donations to political donations from Microsoft and its employees to political parties, candidates and PACs in the 2000 election cycle amounted to more than $6.1 million. During this period, Microsoft and its executives accounted for $2.3 million in soft money contributions, compared to $1.55 million by Enron and its executives for the same period. Stay tuned.

Microsoft's lobbying efforts eclipse Enron. An expert who monitors political influencers says Microsoft and its employees have been big spenders on the political scene--even outpacing Enron. [ZDNet Tech News] 

9:07:24 AM   

Some additional coverage on the FTC's anemic spam prosecution efforts. Note the statistic on the declining effectiveness of e-mail as a marketing vehicle - where last year some 10% of message receivers responded to posts, this year shows an 8% response rate. I'm keep talking with marketers who insist that spam isn't a problem and that people who don't like it can just hit the delete button. The facts just don't support that view.

FTC Joins The Fight Against Spam. When Tom Gellar was a music student at Oberlin College in 1987, he fell in love with the Internet. [The Washington Post : Business] 

9:01:10 AM   

Today is the day - Microsoft will deliver its Visual Studio .NET, a suite of developer tools infused with web services plumbing. In this fight, the one with the most developers wins, and early reviews suggest the package is going to be well received.

Microsoft to debut developer tools. The software giant is set to take its all-important Web services plan to its most important clientele: software developers. [CNET News.com] 

8:51:58 AM   

Several articles this week looking at a long-lived SEC investigation of Microsoft's accounting practices. The company is claimed to have held back revenue reserves in good quarters to pad weaker ones. There's smoke, but it's not clear there is a fire - since the investigation has been going on for over two years, it would seem the SEC is having some difficulty making a case, although the length of time required to investigate the charges may be a reflection of sometimes complex software revenue accounting practices. In any event, the flurry of attention seems a consequence of Enron's shenanigans - which look to be more bald-faced lies than sandbagging.

SEC suspects MS may have massaged results. Now, where have we heard that one before? [The Register] 

8:47:38 AM