Wednesday, April 28, 2004

AWE-ful. AT&T Wireless sees churn levels hit 3.7%, and almost 400,000 user defectors, in the first quarter. [Wireless IQ - News Feeds]
2:14:29 PM    comment   

A Plan for Wireless Telecommunications Network. The Lower Manhattan Wireless Redundancy System seeks to avoid a future disruption in phone service like that of Sept. 11. By John Holusha. [New York Times: Technology]
2:14:14 PM    comment   

Beyond the EKG, to a Hypersensitive Heart Monitor. A new computer-based method delivers far more detailed information about the electrical activity of the heart. By Anne Eisenberg. [New York Times: Technology]
2:14:00 PM    comment   

Companies team on ubiquitous, secure mobile/wireless system. Alcatel SA, smart-card maker Gemplus International SA and Norwegian software vendor Birdstep Technology ASA plan to jointly develop a system that allows portable device users to roam easily between WLAN networks and a range of cellular networks. [Computerworld Mobile/Wireless News]
2:13:42 PM    comment   

The Biggest Jolt to Power Since Franklin Flew His Kite. Companies say they are closing in on the goal of producing relatively inexpensive superconducting wire. By Barnaby J. Feder. [New York Times: Science]
2:13:28 PM    comment   

Take Two Aspirins, E-Mail Me Tomorrow. In an age of palmtop computers, wireless Internet and instant messaging, more and more doctors are using e-mail to work with their patients. By Anahad O'connor. [New York Times: Science]
2:13:14 PM    comment   

Radical software customization. The always-interesting Sean McGrath has a great column this week about software customization. He says, in part:
In order to stay sane, most programmers concentrate on the part of the problem they are working on today. As a consequence, their view of what pieces of the functions under development need to be parameterized and which do not, tends to be a quite low level. Indeed, most of the items programmers will chose to parameterize will amount to double dutch to the business analysts. [Sean Mcgrath: The mysteries of flexible software]
In the companion blog entry Sean gives the example of a Jython script that he used, instead of an XML configuration file, to parameterize a piece of software. It illustrates, by example, one of the points I tried to make in my recent IT Conversations interview with Doug Kaye. Dynamic languages are a great way to record data when a solution is fluid and requirements are evolving. And, come to think of it, when aren't those things true? ... [Jon's Radio]
2:13:01 PM    comment   

Jack of all trades, master of none.
E-mail is the jack of all trades, but the master of none. There are better ways to transfer files, hold discussions, deliver notifications, broadcast newsletters, schedule meetings, work collaboratively, and manage personal information. But even though e-mail isn't the best tool for any of these tasks, it provides a single interface to all of them. Here's a challenge: Let's improve the various functions performed by e-mail without multiplying the interfaces people must learn in order to use those functions. [Full story at InfoWorld.com]
A favorite example of mine is RSS. It's an inherently opt-in, spam-free channel of communication that can replace certain of email's most broken functions: broadcast newsletters, notifications. But, as NewsGator shows us, RSS can still look and feel like email to the user. ... [Jon's Radio]
2:12:11 PM    comment   

ABI: Symbian's Smarts. Oyster Bay, NY -- Despite inroads by Microsoft's Windows Mobile OS, which... [Wireless IQ - News Feeds]
2:11:53 PM    comment   

China Tempers 3G Expectations. The Chinese government indicates that it's in no rush to get to 3G and will allow mobile operators to choose their own standards. [eWEEK Technology News]
2:10:59 PM    comment   

Holographic Storage: Help Me Optware, You're Our Only Hope.. A company known as Optware has debuted a holographic storage prototype which they expect to release in a retail version by 2006. The device uses "polarized collinear holography" that coordinates both blue-violet and red lasers in combination to record between 200 to 300GB of data on a single 12cm disc.... [Gizmodo]
11:36:07 AM    comment   

On 1st birthday, iTunes unwraps new features. Apple's music store hits the one-year mark with a handful of enhancements, including a feature that lets customers publish their playlists for others to preview, rate and purchase. [CNET News.com]
11:32:39 AM    comment   

World PDA shipments plunge. Q1 sales down everywhere but Europe By Tony Smith . [The Register]
11:29:43 AM    comment   

Visa trials RF credit cards. Security implications unclear By Lucy Sherriff . [The Register]
11:24:50 AM    comment