William Safire's concern about the Homeland Security Act - He says, if the Act is not amended before passage, here's what will happen to you:
"Every purchase you make with a credit card, every magazine subscription you buy and medical prescription you fill, every Web site you visit and e-mail you send or receive, every academic grade your receive, every bank deposit you make, every trip you book and every event you attend — all these transactions and communications will go into what the Defense Department describes as "a virtual, centralized grand database.'"
If you are concerned about this sort of thing then check out Database Nation, by Simson Garfinkle. It's on my Amazon wishlist, which means I haven't read it but plan to get to it soon. Of course, if anyone wants to buy it for me, my birthday is coming up real soon. When? I'll let any interested gift-givers figure it out (hint: President Kennedy's assassination happened the day after my fifth birthday).
10:23:44 PM
Treo 300 is amazing! - I have been ragging on Sprint lately, but I should make it clear that the Treo 300 is a revolutionary tool, and all you Palm users should consider getting one when your cellphone contract runs out. Here are more thoughts.
10:11:14 PM
How to run a railroad, or airline - Jon Udell reports that Delta gets it. I've always liked Delta, and I'm glad to hear of their efforts to use technology to give passengers more information. Most corporations have the view that if you give people more information they just ask more questions. That's not always the case. Sometimes they ask fewer questions, and sometimes they ask more pointed or more intelligent questions.
8:40:51 PM
Phone companies are going to fail? - Yes, say David Weinberger and David Isenberg, and, what's more, the government should'nt throw them any lifelines. Read this article. Trust me.
7:32:32 PM
Computer security & network vulnerability - how do hackers get proprietary information? Well, as this article by Simson Garfinkle discusses it's often more about "social engineering." Even if you're not into geeky computer stuff this is an interesting article that explains how hackers, like famous Kevin Mitnick, take advantage of people using basic deceptive ploys.
2:50:16 PM
The Software Gods must be crazy - Maine has laptops for all of its students, but getting the laptops adds costs and creates new problems. The schools now have the additional expense of acquiring software and learning how to use the computers. If I was Microsoft I would send a SWAT team to Maine, loaded with free software, to go in and install the stuff and teach the kids and (more importantly) the teachers how to use it. The key to future profits and extending marketshare is in those young kids.
But, you know what? I'm glad that Microsoft hasn't figured that out. Dave is right about companies like Microsoft. They don't innovate. It's as if they are steering a truck toward a sharp bank in a road with a steep cliff. Even if innovation will save Microsoft's corporate life they aren't going to make the turn. The steering wheel only makes very small course adjustments. That's corporate innovation. Lumbering towards a turn with a cliff and making small corrections in the steering mechanism. Be sure to warn the bystanders down below.
